Chapter Three
Because Skye just lived around the corner she had offered Jemma to loan her a clean shirt. Jemma would have to go to the other end of town for the simple purpose to change her shirt but they weren't done talking just yet. There were still quite some baby business talking to do.
When Jemma entered Skye's house she was quite surprised, actually, how tidy everything looked. Jemma still held the baby in her arms, trying not to think of the puke on her shirt or the mess the puke would cause in this house.
They headed towards what Jemma assumed was Skye's room but for that they had to pass the living room first. Slowly and with obvious curiosity Jemma examined the living room as she followed Skye. It was modern styled with black elements and if Jemma hadn't known a family lived here, nothing would have given that away. The only décor were small Asian accents, such as a small bonsai tree next to the sofa and other things Jemma couldn't name. But after all, it was a beautiful home.
When they reached the stairs that lead upstairs on one side and downstairs on the other, a sudden change of mood could be felt. Whereas the living room had no living at all, rather a feeling of fascination like a visit in an art gallery, the stairs warmed up the entire body and suddenly everything felt alive and loving, like family.
The staircase wall that lead downstairs to Skye's room was covered with photos of young Skye and the things she seemed to enjoy. The first photo that caught Jemma's attention was a picture of Skye where she must have been somewhere around the age of 5. Her front teeth were missing and yet she smiled happily. The brightly coloured schoolbag on her back was captain America themed, just like the shirt she was wearing, and a purple shorts were covering up her legs.
Jemma was looking at that photo for a while. Skye looked so happy and strangely enough, seeing Skye happy comforted her a lot and made her feel something, that could only be described as a warm hug. Another picture a bit down the road was Skye when she was even younger with a guitar on her lab way taller than the child herself. Jemma followed the photos with her fingers, tracing the hundred different smiles of Skye's, which varied from polite photo grin to genuine laughter.
Jemma hadn't realized it but she'd stared at all the photos for a good 15 minutes already. In the meantime Skye had started searching for a shirt for Jemma to change.
Jemma's finger stopped at the one of the few framed pictures upon the wall. The time the photo was taken Skye was probably 11 or so, and from all the photos upon this wall, Jemma thought this one looked the happiest. A woman was hugging Skye from behind and little Skye showed the woman what was hidden in the necklace she wore around her neck. The chain of the necklace was too long for Skye's tiny neck. But it wasn't just Skye that had caught Jemma's attention here, it was mostly the woman behind her that drew Jemma's curiosity. She knew this woman from somewhere but couldn't quite figure out wherefrom.
Looking at this photo for a longer time Jemma suddenly realized who she was.
"Skye?"
Jemma said a bit louder without taking her eyes off the photo. The other girl appeared in the door frame with a piece of clothing in her hand.
"Is that professor May?"
Professor May was Jemma and Skye's PE teacher and on top of that one of the strictest teachers in school.
A bit embarrassed but proudly Skye shakes her head.
"Yeah, that's… mom"
Obviously surprised by that new information the British girl looked at Skye.
"Your…mom?"
Skye tried to hold back a grin, even looked down to hide the smirk but her eyes were just smiling so for her. She walked up the stairs next to Jemma and looked at the photo.
Her fingertips tipped on the glass, the other hand moved up her throat and wrapped around the necklace she was still wearing. Skye talked to Jemma but her face didn't leave the photo once. Her voice was calm and spoke softly, almost nostalgic.
"That's the day mom gave me that very necklace."
A quiet moment followed, and then another and another, all while Skye was looking at the photo and Jemma can't really remember when exactly she began to study Skye's face. The way the corner of her lips raised softly, forming a small smile. The calm blush that had appeared on her cheeks and nose. The way Skye's eyes shone brightly, smiling even brighter than her mouth ever could. Jemma hadn't really paid attention to it before but Skye was beautiful and Jemma had this stupid feeling that she could study every bit of Skye's face and never grow tired of it.
Eventually, Skye sighed.
"Anyway, here"
She handed Jemma the purple piece of clothing in her hand, which was later made out to be a t-shirt, way too big for either of them, to be honest.
"How about you give me Peggy Carter here, and you get changed?"
While offering this, Skye pointed with her head towards her own room before taking the baby doll resting on Jemma's arm. On further notice it was probably not the best idea to have Jemma, who wore something entirely covered in fake baby puke, carry the baby close to her chest. When Skye took the doll in her hands she couldn't help but let out an oppressed laugh.
Jemma laughed, too, striking one strain of hair nervously out of her face. Both went in different directions, Skye upstairs where the bathroom is and Jemma downstairs to Skye's room.
In Skye's room she quickly changed the shirts. It kind of smelled sweet, Jemma thought, a bit like Skye and in the mirror that stuck to the closet she noticed she was blushing but what really rang her bell was the reflexion of Skye's room.
There was her natural skill, or weird habit, of examining everything again. She couldn't help but notice the extraordinary flair of Skye's room. Other than the living room this room looked almost exactly like Jemma would have thought Skye's room would look like, except for all the pictures and memories that stuck to the walls. She would have never guessed Skye was the kind of person to hang up baby photos of herself. It made Jemma almost envy her. All that Jemma had on her wall were different theories she's been working on.
The general mood of the room was a bit lighter than the living room. It was obviously messier but comfortable, somehow. And just like the stairs everything was covered with photos and posters and some notes.
In the corner next to the closet there was the same guitar from the photo leaning against the wall. It was what Skye had doodled on it that drew Jemma closer to it. Skye had drawn circles, lines and squares all over it. It somehow looked like it was in a specific order that Jemma would have loved to figure out what it was suppose to mean but after a few seconds that Jemma had spent staring at the marks something blinked in the corner of her eyes.
She followed the irritating light and saw a pointer light was sticking upon the opposite wall. It seemed like a wire was coming from it but stopped midway at a plug. Confused yet excited about what the use of that was, she quickly looked all around herself until she reached the guitar in her hands again. On the bottom of it was a second plug, and a third one was stuck on the floor where it was standing.
Carefully she put the guitar down and the light stopped blinking again. To be honest, Jemma was quite impressed that Skye knew how to build up such a system to protect her guitar.
"It's because I never play anymore"
Skye's voice was cold, almost stern. It felt somewhat strange as if she was somewhere in the distance although she stood right there in the doorframe. A sudden and annoying peep noise started and Jemma turned around to look for yet another source, just then she saw that the screen of Skye's laptop had also brightened up. A page long code that looked incredibly complicated, and on top of that, way too complicated for Jemma's comprehension appeared on the screen.
Helplessly, she pressed her hands on her ears to protect them from the horrible sound. Skye was still standing in the doorframe, smiling and shaking her head. She enjoyed seeing Jemma so confused for once. She always seemed to know everything, so seeing her so incredibly clueless for once was quite refreshing. But after Skye had pressed just a couple of letters on her keyboard the noise was silent.
"What the hell was that and how did you come here so fast?!"
There was such a piss in Jemma's voice but when Skye looked up from the screen and was ready for whatever arrogant comment would follow, she was actually surprised by the amusement that was written all over Jemma's face while she tried to study all the numbers and letters on the screen. Skye started to explain how the disconnection of the plugs wouldn't only set off the light alarm nor just the noise, but it would also send a direct message to Skye's phone. So she had already known someone picked it up before even the lights went on.
"I had no idea you knew how to do such a thing. That's pretty cool."
Jemma looked up from the screen. The excitement was visible up to her ears. Almost her entire face was blushing in a soft pink. Only her nose and ears were not pink; they were bright red. And on top of that, somewhere between line Jemma bit her lip.
"Thanks"
Skye said sheepishly.
For a moment both were quiet, both kind of started to study the other's face. Skye noticed how Jemma's lips had started to shake slightly as if she wanted to say something really desperately but wouldn't know how or what. Jemma noticed how Skye's eyes traced her own face and she couldn't help but mirror this action. A blush was clearly visible on either of their faces, slighter on Skye's face and more intensely on Jemma's, though. But again this time a baby's cry broke the silence.