That same Saturday afternoon, James took Michael to meet his grandmother so they could arrange Michael's decision on renting the floor. The house was very near so they had to walk just a few blocks as Michael told James why he was in India, and he adored how James' attention made him feel like he was saying the most interesting thing in the world. "Right here", said James as they arrived to a terracotta colored house with an antique door; he knocked and opened with his keys and gestured Michael to follow him, "this is my house - your house", he turned to look at him politely as he said that, and Michael chuckled, "thank you", he answered with a little smile that was returned by James. "Gran? Are you home?" he asked a bit loudly as they entered the living room, "yes, sweetheart!" was heard from another room; James asked Michael to wait a second and went to get her.

In those couple of minutes that he waited for James and his grandmother, he grinned and shook his heath in disbelief as he settled down to actually realize how odd everything was, in the best of ways, of course, but it still amazed him how things were going so well and it was just his first day there. "Hello, Michael, what a pleasure to have you here!" was the first thing James' grandmother said as she entered the room, a big smile on her face and getting close to shake hands with him; he quickly stood up and shook her hand, "the pleasure's mine, Mrs. McAvoy", he said, and for a second he felt as if he was meeting his boyfriend's mom. Yeah, he wished.

James smiled from the back, "I was telling Gran how you found me in the balcony and I showed you the flat" he said, and Michael smiled at how adorable he was. His grandmother rolled her eyes playfully, "if you decide to rent it, darling, you won't find him hanging around your house, I can promise that", she said, and James bit his lip with a little smile; Michael chuckled as he thought he definitely wouldn't mind that, but he wasn't going to say so, so he just said, "don't worry, it was a nice surprise". She smiled in a way that Michael suspected was a bit too knowingly so he added quickly to change the subject, "I loved the place, Mrs. McAvoy, what proceeds so I can rent it?". She nodded and gestured him to sit down, then sat on the couch in front of him; Michael eyed James for a second, who asked if he could get them something to drink. "Well, just water. Thank you, James", he said, and Mrs. McAvoy asked for water too; James nodded and left the room with a perky step.

It took only a couple of minutes for Mrs. McAvoy to ask what she needed to know before granting him the room in the other house, then when James came back they were talking about his life back in London and how he had decided to come to India. The three of them talked for a bit, and she told him how she and her husband had come from Scotland to India with their grandsons about 20 years ago, and how they had lived in the other house before, changed into the new one and had been renting the first one for about 10 years now. Mrs. McAvoy was a delight, and they both made Michael feel incredibly comfortable, something he noticed James had managed to do since the moment they had met: he made him feel like home, for some reason.

"So, when are you planning on moving in, sweetheart?" asked Mrs. McAvoy, and Michael hadn't really thought about that. "Uh… well, it could be on Monday, or tomorrow if that's not a problem", he answered; "tomorrow's great, please give me a call before you leave the hotel, okay?" she said as she handed him her card. Michael nodded, "I will. Thank you, really, the place is lovely", he said, and she answered with a sweet smile, "you're welcome, and we always want our guests to feel like home, you can call us whenever you want or need, and if you ever want to come visit, this is your house, too". Michael smiled gratefully at her and then looked at James, who smiled softly at him. "Well, I have a meeting in about an hour and I want to walk there, so I'm going to leave you kids but make yourself at home –said Mrs. McAvoy as she stood up, and both James and Michael stood up too to say goodbye to her - Michael, it's been a pleasure, and I'll be waiting for your call tomorrow, okay?" Michael nodded and shook her hand with a smile, then she kissed James' cheek, "bye, Gran", he said, and she left the room with a wave of her hand.

They looked at each other and smiled a bit bashfully; "your grandmother's the best", said Michael with a little chuckle, and James nodded, "I know. I love her to death –he said with a smile – and, you know? By renting that room you're also gaining a new grandmother yourself", he added with a chuckle. Michael laughed, "well, if you had put that in your sign I wouldn't even had thought about renting other place", he said, and James rose an eyebrow playfully, "oh, you had other place in mind?" Michael nodded, "yeah, I saw it this morning after I went to the market". James squinted at him playfully, "I see. What made you choose ours?" he asked with a little bit of a teasing tone, and Michael smiled. This man was too conscious of his own charms. "Well, it's all great, you know? The view, the location, the gardens… you – I mean – your family" he said with a blush at the end, he didn't mean it to sound like that but he guessed his subconscious was betraying him, and James hid his little smile with a bite of his lip. "I see. Yeah, the view's great", he said, then smiled fully at him as he rocked his body a little.

Michael really couldn't stop looking at him; he wanted to ask him out but he thought it'd be too soon and didn't want to be intrusive, so he took a deep breath before saying he should get going; right before saying so, James looked at his clock and rose his eyebrows, "oh, I… I have to go –he said with a little frown- I have an appointment in 15 minutes". Michael nodded, "yes, of course. What's your appointment about? – he asked- I mean, if it's not indiscreet", he added with a little blush. James smiled and shook his head, "not at all, don't worry. It's an appointment with a client, I'm a physiotherapist – he said as they started walking towards the door - and a masseuse", he added with a smile.

Michael rose his eyebrows, "that's so great!" he said a bit excitedly "I've always been very fond of physiotherapists because of my rugby days back in school", he added, and James laughed, "why, thank you. We're very fond of rugby players, too. They keep us working", he said, and Michael laughed, too. "Also massages are very cool", he said with a soft smile already stepping outside the door, thinking for himself how stupidly sexy he found it that it was his actual profession, as if he wasn't too perfect already; James blushed a little, "thank you. You know –he hesitated for a moment- I give one free massage to our guests renting the house as a welcome gift" he said with an impish smile, and Michael chuckled, "oh, you do?" he asked with a little raise of his eyebrow. James' smiled went a bit wider, "no, not really – they both laughed- But I could make an exception, maybe". Michael smiled and bit his lip, "That'd… yes, consider it", he said a bit flirtatiously, and James sniggered. "I do have to go" he said, giving a couple step backwards with a little smile on his face, "but I'll see you very soon. It's been great meeting you, Michael", he added sweetly, and Michael nodded, smiling a little goofily, "thank you, James, it's been a pleasure". They both waved their hands and Michael stood in his place for a few seconds, watching James go in the opposite direction of his hotel, then started walking. It was just the afternoon so he walked around the place, passed in front of his future house and walked the surroundings, making a mental map for himself, and tried not to think too much about those blue eyes.

Next day, he woke up early again and used the morning to go visit a temple he had read about; the place was impressive and stunning, and he took beautiful photos of it and its details, also of the people who were there to pray. After about an hour there, he felt a bit of a need to say a little prayer himself so he used the opportunity to give thanks for his adventure, and asked for his heart to be open to read the signs, to do things well.

He spent there all morning and after eating, he went back to the hotel to pick his things up and change into his new flat; he called Mrs. McAvoy from the hotel as she had asked him to, and after a couple of rings, someone picked up the phone. "Hello?" he heard her say, "hello, Mrs. McAvoy, it's Michael", he said, and she answered quickly, "Oh, hello Michael darling. How are you?"; Michael chuckled, "I'm very good, thank you. How are you?" he asked, and he heard a bit of ruffling on the other side, then she chuckled, "I'm very good, too. Are you coming to the flat already?" she asked. Michael nodded even if she couldn't see him, "yeah, I was wondering if it's a good time for me to go and settle", he said. "Yes, yes, it's perfect. James will be there in a few minutes to help you out", she said, and Michael blushed, "oh, don't worry please, it's not necessary, I just have one backpack and my camera", he said, not wanting to disturb him but God, did he want to see him again. "Nonsense. Wait up for him, okay?" she said in a way that reminded him of his mother, so he knew he shouldn't argue, "okay, Mrs. McAvoy, thank you very much, and tell James I say thanks", he said with a little chuckle. "Don't worry darling, see you later!" she said, and Michael smiled for himself as he heard her hang up the phone.

He took his shirt off and changed into a clean, white one and washed his face again. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he thought he'd be seeing James again in a few minutes, then looked in the mirror again and groomed his slight beard and short hair; not that there was much to groom but he was nervous. He checked out from the hotel and waited for him in the entrance, and after a couple minutes he saw a little blue Vespa coming down the street in his direction; he smiled as he remembered the one he owned when he was in University, then squinted and realized it was James in the Vespa, and his smile grew wider; he wanted to marry this man already. "Well, hello there", said Michael with a little chuckle as James parked in front of him, and James blushed as he laughed, "well, we thought you might need a ride. How are you?" he asked getting closer to him. "I'm great, and you?", he asked with a tiny touch to his forearm; James smiled softly, "I'm great, too". "I'm glad –said Michael with a big smile now, and then turned to look at the bike- I love your Vespa, I used to have one a few years ago" he said, caressing the handle with a melancholic grin, "you did? They're awesome –said James excitedly- do you wanna drive it?" he added, and Michael's eyes grew bigger, "really?", he asked, and James chuckled tenderly.

"Of course. I'll carry your backpack and you can carry the camera case on your lap", he said, already taking Michael's backpack; "well, it is a bit heavy", said Michael a bit worriedly, he didn't want James to make any effort, and helped him pick it up. James laughed, "I'm stronger than I look, don't worry –he said with a gentle smile – but thanks for worrying", he added. "Okay, sorry. And you're welcome", he answered teasingly, causing James to laugh; "are you ready? You hop on first and I'll go on the back", said James, handing him the keys. Michael was exceedingly happy, the whole situation excited him and he wasn't sure if it was more because of riding the bike or because of having an excuse to have James sitting so close to him, which was happening in that exact moment. He felt James hesitate about where to place his arms, then surrounded Michael's torso softly; "you okay back there?" he asked, and James spoke near his neck, "yes, It's perfect", his tone a bit lower. Michael swallowed and nodded, "let's go, then". The excitement was definitely about James.

They rode for what felt like just a minute, and arrived at Michael's new home. "I wish it was further away", he said with a soft laugh as he parked, and James chuckled too, "I know. Don't worry, you can leave your things and then we'll have a longer ride", he said, the soft breath on his neck giving Michael a delicious feeling all throughout his spine. He smiled and nodded, "that would be amazing" he said, then jumped down and helped James to get down too, immediately taking the backpack from him. "Thank you", said James a bit bashfully and Michael noticed a bit of a stare at his arms and torso as he put the backpack on. "No, thank you", he said with a charming smile.

They entered the house with James' key, as he explained to Michael that Rajul, the housekeeper, didn't work on Sunday. The couple that lived in the house downstairs weren't there, either. "Oh", said Michael when they entered his flat and saw things were changed, there were sheets on the bed, a few lamps that weren't there before, and it was all swept and shiny. "It looks great", he said, looking around, and heard James chuckle, "yeah, it does. Gran told Rajul you'd be moving in today so I guess he must have arranged things last night", he said, and Michael made a mental note on thanking him for doing so in such a short notice, he had thought he was going to do it himself that afternoon. "There's bowls and plates and all those kinds of things already, so you don't need to buy those", said James as he watched Michael looking around; "that's great", he said from the bathroom, "God, there's even a new soap in here", he added with a little chuckle, feeling like he was the guest in a hotel more than he was renting a flat. He heard James laugh softly, "I told you you were getting a brand new grandmother, too", he said jokingly. Michael stepped out the bathroom with a big smile, "I'm so lucky I found you and your family, you're all so great", he said, and he meant it from the heart. James smiled at him heartily, and with a little shrug he said, "India has always treated us like home. I guess we want the rest of the people to feel like that, too". Michael nodded and smiled softly; "well, you do".

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, a thing Michael realized they had done a couple times already without really noticing, but there was this intense chemistry and energy between them that he didn't really know what to do with other than share it through longing stares; he looked down, "I, uhm… I need to go buy some food, I think", he said, and James nodded quickly, "yes, of course. You can take the bike, if you want", he said a bit nervously, causing Michael to smile tenderly at him; "you could come with me, if you don't have other plans", he said, and James smiled back with a soft and blushed "okay". "You know –started Michael- actually I'd… maybe we could have a cup of coffee first? Or tea or whatever you want", he said as he felt a bright blush coming to his cheeks, and he had forgotten how that felt. He was very nervous, but he craved James' company and wanted to let him know that he wasn't just interested in his help, he was interested in him. James' eyes went a bit bigger, making him look adorable, then smiled impishly and said, "I'd love to" with a soft voice that acted as a soothing technique impeccably on Michael's nerves. Michael smiled, "you'll have to choose the place, though, since I don't know any place in here", he said with a soft laugh, and James smiled brightly, "don't worry, I know the perfect one".