The room Jax and Jemma were in was fairly small, after all the house wasn’t big and normally only housed one person. There was a small, broken picture frame sitting next to the bed, the picture shooting what looked to he a young Alex, his brother and his parents.
Her eyes swept around the room and settled on the picture, studying it carefully. She sat up after a minute and reached over, grabbing the picture so she could study it closer.
Alex looked to be about fourteen in the photo, and he didn't have his metal hand or leg when it was taken. His older brother had an arm wrapped around his shoulders and they were laughing at something or another. Their parents stood next to them, smiling at them. There was a clear resemblance between the four and you didn't have to ask to know they were a family.
Jemma lightly traced over each of the people in the photo, easily deciding they were a family. The younger boy in the photo looked like Alex and she decided it must be him.
The family were standing outside the house, though it wasn't as broken and damaged as it was now. Even though it was small, the bright smiles and laughing showed they didn't care and they were happy.
She smiled lightly from looking at the photo, wishing there was a way she could capture her few moments of happiness like this one. They seemed so happy and she traced around the people.
"Hey, did you want anything to-" Alex stopped at the door, and the screwdriver that was fiddling with his left hand stopped, too when he noticed what Jemma was holding.
Jemma looked up quickly when he came into the room, moving to put the photo back quickly while also trying to not wake up her already asleep brother. “I was just looking at it,” She said quickly, “I’m going to put it back.”
Alex sighed a little, “I-It’s okay, it’s just a photo,” He forced himself to relax, “Want anything to eat?”
"Sure, food sounds good." She glanced at the photo one last time before focusing back on him.
"Warning you now, it won't be much." Alex said before he walked towards the small, pathetic space he called a kitchen.
She snorted, "I'm quite used to getting a tiny portion of food." Standing up, she followed him out of the room, wanting to give her brother some quiet so he could sleep.
Alex hummed a little and nodded, "Yeah, I think most of us in level three are used to small meals and tiny portions."
“I think that anyone who doesn’t live on the upper levels or another fancy town is used to small portions.” She said out loud, more to herself than to him as she leaned against the wall and looked around.
The kitchen was connected to the living room, a counter top acting much like a bar. It wasn't big but it was a nice size all together. Alex had always wanted more room but couldn't afford it, not when he constantly needed more parts for his hand and leg.
The space reminded her of a slightly larger version of where her and her brother had lived on the other town. A small back part where they had slept and the rest of the tiny space cramed right next to it where they spent their free time.
It did take long for Alex to make two, small sandwiches, filled with some form of meat and a dressings but it was hard to tel what exactly it was. He pushed a cracked plate towards Jemma, taking the other for himself.
She nodded in thanks and took the sandwich, not even bothering to pick up the plate as she started eating the food silently.
He smiled in return, picking his own sandwich up and taking a bite. Not the best but it wasn’t the worst, either.
The sandwich was relatively good and she scarfed it down, happy to finally have food to eat. "Thanks." She said, looking around his house before her focus drifted to his mechanical arm and leg.
Alex couldn’t help but chuckle, “Please, touch if it’ll lower your curiosity. Or ask questions I’m used to them.”
"No, I'm fine, I'll just observe it from a distance." Her eyes flashed with curiosity, "Though I do have a few questions about how they work."
Alex lifted his leg up a little and moved it a little, “Honestly your guess is as good as mine…” He muttered.
She studied the leg and glanced at him, "Actually, forget what I said about observing it from far, now I'm really curious since even you don't know how it works."
He chuckled, "Yeah. They didn't tell me how to work it properly when I woke up from the surgery. Just told me to change the batteries when they die and keep it in goof condition."
"Battery operated," She started, more to herself than to him as her mind already whirring, "Which means a internal wiring sistem most likely."
"Yeah, something alone those lines. It was years ago so I can't really remember anymore, had more important things to focus on…" He shrugged, examining his metal hand.
“Could I study it then?” She looked up at him, hoping he would say yes. The leg really did intrigue her, a wiring system that must be quite good, along with gears and other stuff to let him have use of the leg.
Alex chuckled and nodded, "Please, go right ahead, maybe then you can tell me how it works."
A rare but happy smile appeared on her face and she looked around for something she could sit on while she looked at it, “I have an idea of how it works, but I have to test it to make sure.”