Ross made sure he was up early and dressed and ready to leave the flat so that he could get to the bus stop in good time.
He got to the stop and waited impatiently, looking up the street that Jim had gone down towards his own home. Sure enough, he soon spotted him.
Jim had his head down, earphones in. His glasses had slid down his nose and today he was wearing a light grey cardigan over a red t-shirt with the Flash logo on the front.
Ross felt the little burst of excitement inside him grow exponentially as Jim got closer and closer. When he was in range, he decided to take the bull by the horns and went to intercept him. Jim almost bumped into him before he realised Ross was standing there and the look of delighted surprise on his face made all of Ross' anguish at having stood him up evaporate. He gave Jim his most brilliant smile and was immensely pleased when it was returned, dimples lighting up Jim's face.
'Hi.' he greeted brightly and Jim laughed ruefully.
'I should be pissed off at you.' he stated and Ross' smile faltered a little.
'I know.' He was crestfallen. 'I am so bloody sorry. I'm working for an absolute bastard.' The smile reasserted itself. 'How about I buy you lunch to make up for it?'
'Are you going to actually show up?' Jim sounded serious, but his blue-green eyes were sparkling and Ross momentarily forgot himself as he got lost in them.
'Yeah.' He gave Jim a cocky grin. 'I'll even come get you, if you want?'
'How would you know how to find me?' Jim's reply had a teasing note to it and Ross inwardly punched the air as he realised he was definitely in there.
'I'd just ask around for the man with the dimples.' He gave Jim a playful shove in the arm and Jim laughed.
'Okay.' He shrugged. 'I have lunch at 12:30.'
'Done.' Ross looked up and saw the bus. 'Our ride's here.'
This morning they shared the back seat and chatted all the way to King's Cross. Ross showed Jim his playlists full of obscure bands Jim really had never heard of and offered him his headphones to listen to different songs. In return Jim told Ross about the book he was reading and expounded the virtues of Carl Hiaasen.
The trip went far too quickly and they were both laughing when they got off the bus. Ross stood and shifted from one foot to the other.
'So seriously?' he asked. 'How do I find you?' Jim huffed and held out his hand.
'Phone.' he instructed and Ross dug his mobile out and handed it to him. Jim typed in his number and then handed it back. 'Now you can find me.'
With that he walked off, leaving Ross grinning like an idiot. He watched Jim go down the road and then practically skipped across to the other side.
**********
Lunch time arrived and Jim was feeling nervous. He was sitting at his desk, one knee bouncing as he waited for the text to come through from Ross. Behind him, Tom and Ben were gleefully spectating. Jim was touched with how pleased they were on his behalf that Ross had finally asked him out, and so he didn't mind the conspiratorial giggling going on.
'Jim?' Silver stuck his head around the corner. 'Has he texted yet?'
Jim threw his two idiot friends a glare and they affected looks of mock innocence.
'No.' He couldn't help sounding a bit grumpy. 'I'm still waiting. Although I am very interested in how you know I'm waiting for a text.'
'Nothing is sacred.' Silver chuckled. 'Besides, the whole department knows.'
