I own nothing!
I don't know why, but I keep picturing James as he looked in The Last King of Scotland in this story, haha. I'll just flow with that.
Hope you enjoy the chapter, thank you for reading!
For a photographer, India was paradise. Nothing he'd ever seen before compared to the colors and life he saw as he walked from his hotel to the market, the first place he wanted to see. He was used to tall buildings, grey offices, glass and rain; he had traveled a lot before, he knew and had seen beautiful places, but this time it was different, since India was now his home, even if he'd been there less than twelve hours; he knew it in his heart, so everything he saw, amazed him. He arrived at the market and stood for a few seconds deciding where to go, and opted for a hallway that looked like it was mostly of species. He struggled with himself since he wanted to take pictures of absolutely everything, but also wanted to enjoy by just watching, so he managed to balance both things and took a long walk, asked for the names of things, touched and smelled species and fruits he'd never seen before, and a kind, smiling woman gave him a fig for him to try, then he bought half a dozen for a snack since he'd never had figs so sweet before.
As he kept walking along a sea of dark brown eyes, a fig on his hand and a smile on his lips, he stopped abruptly as a flash of the bluest blue caught his breath. Under the sun, a little Indian girl was wrapping a bright orange scarf on a man's head playfully, leaving only his eyes visible. They both laughed as she finished and she placed a kiss on his covered forehead, then left running with other kids. Michael stood there, unable to move, as he felt hypnotized by those eyes that looked so incredibly mysterious and beautiful surrounded by a simple orange wrap. It only lasted a few seconds since this man unwrapped his face out of the scarf as he stood up with a smile, and the beauty of the rest of him made him gasp in his place, conscious he was staring but there was nothing else he could really do.
On the past few days he had thought he'd probably find a dark, exotic, Indian man –whom he had always found very attractive- and fall madly in love with him when he was ready, but it hadn't been his priority at all when he decided on coming to India. This man wasn't Indian, but he was exotic, curiously so, with gorgeous freckled skin that looked almost golden by what were evidently years of living under that sun, with dark golden hair and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He was so mesmerizingly beautiful that he looked otherworldly, and Michael fell in love right then, even if he had never really believed in love at first sight. He watched his delicate hands as he pulled at the scarf and left it on his neck, then started walking in his direction; he immediately looked back at Michael, who noticed a soft gasp coming from him and a sparkle in his eyes, and felt his own body trembling softly when their looks crossed, as if they had shared an electric shock that didn't let them stop looking at each other, and then he smiled gently at Michael, a bit flirtatious, just the perfect amount to leave him dizzy in his place. He disappeared in the crowd, and Michael knew those few seconds had changed him, and that he needed to find this man.
But first, he needed to find a home. He took a deep breath and made a little prayer to his insides, "please, let me find him again" he thought, and leaving it to destiny, walked for about an hour more and then went to visit those flats he had seen online. The first one was beautiful, but was a place that he wasn't sure it was what he wanted, since it was in the most modern part of the city. It was well located, but he wanted to be a bit closer to nature other than buildings; he walked around that area though, and it was certainly an interesting place. He took a bus back to his hotel since the other place was very near it, and used the opportunity to take another shower; his body had to get used to the heat or he was going to dehydrate himself out with sweating so much. Once he was clean and fresh again, he ate in the hotel's restaurant as he enjoyed the terrace and the sounds of nature around him, and let himself remember the little encounter of the morning with a sigh and a smile, then headed to the other place he had in mind.
"Good evening?" he said as he knocked on the slightly open door of the place the address marked. It was a big, old house with a flat on top, and that was the one they were offering; he knew a European family owned it since he had talked to the owner by e-mail. He had found it nice that there were other people they rented the house to living in the same place but he could have his privacy, and once he saw the area it was in, he thought the pictures online didn't make it any justice; the place was a dream. He was greeted by a man in a turban with a bright smile; "Hello –he said- I'm here to ask about the floor you're renting, I'm Michael Fassbender, I talked to Mrs. McAvoy by e-mail", he said a bit slowly since he wasn't sure the man would understand him, but he answered in perfect English, "oh, please come in, let me show you around", and Michael felt a bit silly. The man showed him the gardens and surroundings chattily, telling him how the McAvoys didn't live there but had owned the house and the land for a long time, and how they lived near there with their grandson and granddaughter, "who should be your around your age, you should meet", he had said. He had also mentioned their grandson had arrived around an hour ago and should be around there somewhere. "Last but not least –said the man- your place is right above this staircase, feel free to go see it, and you'll forgive me if I don't come with you but my hip's been hurting for a couple of weeks now" he said merrily, and Michael just nodded and smiled brightly at him, "please, don't worry, I'll go see around by myself and be right back", he answered politely, and the man just nodded and left, disappearing through the garden.
Michael took the outdoor stairs that lead to what would be his flat and really hoped for everything to be as great as the rest of the house and gardens, he was already picturing himself living there. Once he turned right to finish walking up the slightly crooked stairs, he gasped in surprise and stood in his place with big eyes, feeling his soul going to his feet: it was him, the man from the market was there, in his future terrace. He wanted to speak but the image before him was so magical that he let himself stand there and take a mental picture of it since he didn't bring his camera, wishing he could draw so he could translate it into something everybody else could see. The door-sized windows held long bright yellow drapes that were flying around, the wind lifting them easily and surrounding this man's figure marvelously, looking like those images in the movies when someone dreams or fantasizes of their loved ones; a beautiful, glowing person with teasing, flowing veils framing him, making him look like an absolute dream. He was looking at the mountains, offering Michael his profile, unaware someone had arrived. - Was everything magical in India? –thought Michael distantly.
"Hello", he spoke softly, hating himself for interrupting that moment; the other man gasped and turned to him instantly, and opened his eyes in surprise, his mouth dropping a bit in confusion, but then his whole expression turned into a soft smile, as if he had understood something. "Who are you?" asked Michael more to himself than to him, with a little chuckle and a sigh, starting to think he was just imagining this person. "I'm James", he said softly, and Michael took the last few steps and got closer to shake his hand, "Michael", he said nervously, then felt all the worries fade away when he received a bright smile from James. "A- are you here to see the flat?" asked James after a few seconds, with a little blush after he realized they had held their handshake longer than necessary and had stared deeply into each other's eyes, again not being able not to.
"Yes, I'm… I think I'm moving in", he answered, assuming James was McAvoy grandson. "I see, I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was coming today – he said with a little blush – I just really like this balcony, it has the best view" he said, looking again at the mountains, and Michael found it hard to stop looking at him and look at the view, but once he did, he agreed with James. "It really is gorgeous" he said after a moment, and James smiled. "My grandparents own the house", he said, and Michael nodded, "yes, I've been talking to your grandmother, I believe", and James laughed, "you're Michael Fassbender? –Michael nodded in confusion – well, okay, I'm Mrs. McAvoy. I mean, that's my grandmother, but I'm the one who answers her clients' e-mails. It's very nice to meet you in person", he said with a flirtatious smile, and Michael had to fight the urge to remove that glorious strand of his longish hair away from his cheek.
He chuckled as he thought of destiny's weird ways, too. "That is… a pleasant coincidence. And it's very nice to meet you in person, too, Mrs. McAvoy", he said teasingly with a little wink, and James chuckled and bit his lip. "Do you want me to show you around?" he asked, gesturing at the flat right next to them which Michael had seemed to completely forgotten. "Oh, yes, that would be great, thanks", answered Michael coming out of his trance, and followed a smiling James. It turned out that the place was perfect, and Michael couldn't really believe his luck; as James was saying something about how the view in the sunrise was something he shouldn't miss even one day –James had lived in that flat for a few months before- Michael smiled and thought how he was seeming to get everything he was asking for and in a very short notice –"thank you"- he thought, sending a little impish look and smile up above.
James was the most gorgeous thing Michael had ever seen, and his voice transported him somewhere else; he wished to kiss him right there, to touch that beautiful skin and run his hands along his hair. It only took him two minutes to already venerate everything he said, the kind and optimistic words his red lips pronounced, his perfect height and gorgeous body, the vintage style he dressed in and cut his hair.
"You were at the market today", said Michael out of nowhere, but he couldn't not say so, it was right there and it would be silly not to acknowledge it. It didn't really mean anything, but it meant a lot at the same time, what he said, and James seemed to have understood the meaning of it, and smiled beautifully at him, "I saw you, too", he said gently, and Michael returned the peaceful smile, then they continued talking about a little leak that had to be fixed. "So, are you staying?" asked James looking at him brightly, and Michael decided that, if he was going to do this, he'd do it properly and using all of his charms. "Well, it depends –he answered with a little squint of his eyes- does it come with the man on the terrace?" he asked nonchalantly with a playful smile and raise of his eyebrow, and saw James blush tremendously; "I – uh" he managed to mumble and was interrupted by Michael, who said with a reassuring smile, "it's perfect, I'll stay". James smiled and bit his lip, speaking a soft "good".