The shrill beeping of an alarm cut through the faintly lit serenity of the small household. It was a standard annoying device - meeting all requirements of being the perfect pitch to slice open dreams, the right frequency of beeps to keep one from drifting back into the grasp of their blankets, and with just enough flashing red accompaniment to bother the eyes.
Jesse hated alarm clocks. He bolted upright at the sound of it, staring groggily over at the man made time keeper as if considering smashing it to pieces upon the surface it lay on. In fact, his fingertips twitched as he reached as if to do just that before changing course to instead fiddle angrily with the buttons to turn off the incessant beeping. The blurred cerulean depths then shifted, staring into the cleaned and clear egg that rest carefully on a stand, housing the delicate creation only a few days old. Irritation at the alarm was near instantly lost as he reached to take the casing in his hands, opening it to carefully extract the precious cargo housed within.
He shouldn’t have felt so attached already, he knew - she was a doll, his testosterone grumbled. He shouldn’t even own her - but there she lay, motionless as ever with the golden skin lightly glistening in the seven am sunlight, dark hair falling around her like spun onyx. He knew the eyes would be violet when they opened. In that instant, he didn’t care what his testosterone thought because in that instant he remembered that today was the day he was going to go and try moving her for the first time.
A slow grin slid across the boy’s lips as he lightly placed her back into her temporary holder to go and get himself ready. One shower and a fresh ensemble of traditional cowboy wear later and he was out the door, the egg tucked into a knapsack that he’d lightly slung over one jacketed shoulder with an unopened package of what he and his aunt had dubbed ‘angel underwear’ - a strapless one piece that looked rather like a bathing suit, a dark red in color with a decorative golden dragon wrapping around it - and a wad of money to rent out the layer.
A short while later, he stood in line to do so, whistling a low tune to himself as he studied the surroundings, taking in the little details in decoration and the people that passed him. Mostly girls, he mused, watching them from beneath pale lashes as they moved past with bags of Angelic Layer goods or angels of their own. He was caught in one of these subtle staring fits when the woman at the desk cleared her throat. Jesse jumped, spinning to face her with a guilty grin.
She didn’t return it, instead arching an impatient brow at him. “May I help you, sir?” His grin faded at the curt tone, and he cleared his throat.
“Well, ah.. I’d be interested in rentin’ out one of the layers, ma’am,” he explained in his best honest little Southern boy voice. Still, she failed to look impressed.
“For how long?”
“..Ah.. About an hour will do, I reckon..,” he mumbled, slightly put out by the treatment as he shuffled in his bag, fingers brushing the smooth shell of Min Xiu Ling’s casing as he reached for the bills as she rattled off a price. Once paid, she offered him a ticket and a key, directed him on his way and turned her gaze to the next to receive her loving attentions.
The blond sighed, shaking his head as he roamed off to find the practice layer, unlocking the door and blinking as the clock above blinked to life as he stepped inside. The room was small, but in a cozy way - the walls painted pale blue with eggshell carpeting upon which a wide white table framed with two chairs await him. Upon the layer rest two headsets - pink visors with wings on either side that were currently folded down, the plugs already pressed into their proper slots - and a brief paper explaining the procedure. Next to this, resting on a shelf jutting from the wall, was a large CD player with a stack of cases beside it and a note explaining the benefits of using dancing to train both the dues and the angel.
A small grin pulled at the teen’s lips as he slid over to select a disk to pop into the tray and settle down, pulling on the visor and skimming the instructions before activating the layer and freeing Min Xiu Ling from her case, changing her into the layer friendly clothing, and tossing her through the activated field.
“Well, then,” he mused to the angel as the dark eyes opened, and the doll shakily got to her feet, staring back at him with a patient, expectant gaze.
“Let’s get down to practicing.”
Jesse hated alarm clocks. He bolted upright at the sound of it, staring groggily over at the man made time keeper as if considering smashing it to pieces upon the surface it lay on. In fact, his fingertips twitched as he reached as if to do just that before changing course to instead fiddle angrily with the buttons to turn off the incessant beeping. The blurred cerulean depths then shifted, staring into the cleaned and clear egg that rest carefully on a stand, housing the delicate creation only a few days old. Irritation at the alarm was near instantly lost as he reached to take the casing in his hands, opening it to carefully extract the precious cargo housed within.
He shouldn’t have felt so attached already, he knew - she was a doll, his testosterone grumbled. He shouldn’t even own her - but there she lay, motionless as ever with the golden skin lightly glistening in the seven am sunlight, dark hair falling around her like spun onyx. He knew the eyes would be violet when they opened. In that instant, he didn’t care what his testosterone thought because in that instant he remembered that today was the day he was going to go and try moving her for the first time.
A slow grin slid across the boy’s lips as he lightly placed her back into her temporary holder to go and get himself ready. One shower and a fresh ensemble of traditional cowboy wear later and he was out the door, the egg tucked into a knapsack that he’d lightly slung over one jacketed shoulder with an unopened package of what he and his aunt had dubbed ‘angel underwear’ - a strapless one piece that looked rather like a bathing suit, a dark red in color with a decorative golden dragon wrapping around it - and a wad of money to rent out the layer.
A short while later, he stood in line to do so, whistling a low tune to himself as he studied the surroundings, taking in the little details in decoration and the people that passed him. Mostly girls, he mused, watching them from beneath pale lashes as they moved past with bags of Angelic Layer goods or angels of their own. He was caught in one of these subtle staring fits when the woman at the desk cleared her throat. Jesse jumped, spinning to face her with a guilty grin.
She didn’t return it, instead arching an impatient brow at him. “May I help you, sir?” His grin faded at the curt tone, and he cleared his throat.
“Well, ah.. I’d be interested in rentin’ out one of the layers, ma’am,” he explained in his best honest little Southern boy voice. Still, she failed to look impressed.
“For how long?”
“..Ah.. About an hour will do, I reckon..,” he mumbled, slightly put out by the treatment as he shuffled in his bag, fingers brushing the smooth shell of Min Xiu Ling’s casing as he reached for the bills as she rattled off a price. Once paid, she offered him a ticket and a key, directed him on his way and turned her gaze to the next to receive her loving attentions.
The blond sighed, shaking his head as he roamed off to find the practice layer, unlocking the door and blinking as the clock above blinked to life as he stepped inside. The room was small, but in a cozy way - the walls painted pale blue with eggshell carpeting upon which a wide white table framed with two chairs await him. Upon the layer rest two headsets - pink visors with wings on either side that were currently folded down, the plugs already pressed into their proper slots - and a brief paper explaining the procedure. Next to this, resting on a shelf jutting from the wall, was a large CD player with a stack of cases beside it and a note explaining the benefits of using dancing to train both the dues and the angel.
A small grin pulled at the teen’s lips as he slid over to select a disk to pop into the tray and settle down, pulling on the visor and skimming the instructions before activating the layer and freeing Min Xiu Ling from her case, changing her into the layer friendly clothing, and tossing her through the activated field.
“Well, then,” he mused to the angel as the dark eyes opened, and the doll shakily got to her feet, staring back at him with a patient, expectant gaze.
“Let’s get down to practicing.”
