Ross was feeling particularly hot that day as he stepped out on the streets of London, dressed in a mysterious, long, black trench coat with the collar popped. Underneath was a stylish outfit only a gay man or James Bond could truly appreciate. Truth be told, part of Ross' feelings of hotness were inspired by his lack of a wardrobe at the moment. Seems like the landmasslady didn't appreciate half her tenants not paying their rent for six months and felt it was necessary to punish them by calling the Repo man.

Everyone had money problems these days. Was it any reason to rob Ross of his long-procured Wardrobe of Seduction? No. Of course not.

He was starting to think that he either A. had to give up on the London thing, B. succumb to taking a boring job as a model, salesman, or God help him, another ten years as a stripper, or C. become a sugar baby.

That's why he was on his way to a date with a pretty gay man he had met while sabotaging a speed dating event. There was something mysterious about the blue eyed man Ross hadn't yet figured out; it was the same allure the Scottish water nymph had. There was something...magical...about them.

Ross waltzed up to the apartment with all the grace and flamboyancy of the most gay American he could imagine. There would be no doubt in Mr. Channing's mind when Ross was through with him. He knew enough about him to surmise that he had a good job which ensured he could indulge in a treat like Mr. Blaine.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Confident against the wood of his apartment door. He checked his hair before shoving his hands in his pockets and moving around a bit nervously, slipping as easily into this role as he did all his other ones.

What in Merlin's name was going on with his hair?!

Will blamed it on the fact that it was very difficult to style one's hair with shaking hands, and he quickly ran into the kitchen to make a Calming Draught. He was quite practiced at it, having made plenty for Constance over the years, and he was able to go through the motions automatically. This left his mind free to wander from topic to topic. He struggled in vain to focus on mundane things, like the fact that he was almost out of dried caterpillars; but thanks to the anthropological inevitability of a creature to be concerned with the finding of a mate, his thoughts went almost immediately to the day's planned events.

He had a date.

And not the furtive thing he'd gone on with James Edwards, seemingly ages ago. No, a proper date, with the whole going-out-in-public thing. A proper date with an openly gay man like himself, who also happened to be the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on. Who also happened to be so devastatingly charming Will had almost not been able to speak when they met at the speed dating function he'd gone to with Connie. Naturally, Will was terrified. He never thought well enough of himself to assume that he also was handsome, charming and generally attractive to potential partners.

Will finished the potion and was about to drink it down when a horrible thought struck him. This was technically going to be their second date, wasn't it? Did that speed dating thing count as a first date? Dating was in the title of it! But it had only been three minutes. So as far as Will was concerned, it didn't count. But what if Roscoe thought it counted? What was he expecting? What was Will expecting, really? Merlin, it had been awhile. Oh no...what if--

"This is ridiculous," Will said, shaking his head. He downed the potion and closed his eyes as he felt the relaxing warmth flood his body. It was a great testament to his ability to fret that he still felt a slight nudge of worry in the back of his mind, but overall he felt much better, and he walked back to the bathroom to finish fixing his hair. It didn't look so bad, he allowed as he examined it in the mirror. It was rather casually tousled, like he'd just gotten up from bed. If Will was going to be honest, he'd go so far as to say that the look suited him, which was for the better: his golden curls were generally not wont to cooperate with him and be styled in any way.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

There was a slight fluttering in Will's chest as he turned and strode to the front door, and it didn't go away when he opened it to reveal the man of his dreams, dressed...strangely, like Jasper. He was wearing a black trench coat, and as he moved Will caught glimpses of a well-cut pinstripe suit beneath it. Well, at least I can be assured of Jasper and Apollo's approval, Will thought to himself as he smiled.

"Roscoe. I'm so glad to see you," he said. "Please, come in." He stepped back to give the man room and went over to the closet to get his own good trench. Somehow, he felt under-dressed in his grey slacks and Armani shirt. "I thought we might go to Diagon Alley for the afternoon. I've got to stop at Gringotts anyway, and there's certainly enough to keep us occupied in the Alley," he said, turning back to Roscoe, suddenly feeling like this suggestion was horribly mundane and that he should have bought tickets to the opera.

Gay men were generally more attractive than straight men. Maybe it was their sense of style, or maybe it was the unattainable desire they tended to spark in women; it was their extra sparkle that had opened his eyes to the marvelous world of undefined sexuality in the first place. And Will Channing...he had sparkle in buckets.

In fact, his amount of sparkle was excessive and unusual, and Ross couldn't figure out where it came from. The man was attractive. Of course. He had the whole 'chiseled blue eyed Brit' thing going for him. He was also successful and apparently quite wealthy, which put a sparkle in Blaine's eye. The entrepreneurial American wasn't below being a sugar baby. Definitely not when the economy was collapsing. Any job was great for him in times like these.

But what else could it be? It was the same extra sparkle that the Scottish water nymph had displayed (of course, her sparkle might have actually been sparks of rage). He considered himself an excellent judge of character but couldn't penetrate the mystery about these new people in his life. He was determined to...explore the possibilities of the mystery...during this date.

And so it was that Ross arrived at Will's door, somewhat awkward and displaying several unconscious habits and traits of gay men that he had picked up over his many careers, bringing with him a burning desire to penetrate Will. And his personality.

"Roscoe. I'm so glad to see you. Please, come in."

"Will Channing! You look fantastic!" enthused Ross as he stepped in and kissed him on both cheeks. His smile betrayed the faintest of nerves. "How are you? How have you been?"

"I thought we might go to Diagon Alley for the afternoon. I've got to stop at Gringotts anyway, and there's certainly enough to keep us occupied in the Alley."

Aha! More strange twists of the tongue. First it was muggle and wand and now it was Diagon Alley and Gringotts. What mysteries was Will hiding? Ross took it all in stride and said "Well isn't that funny! I was going to suggest the Alley myself. I can already tell we are going to have an amazing time together." Cue cheeky grin and wink.

"Will Channing! You look fantastic!"

Will felt warmth rush into his cheeks and his tense shoulders relaxed a bit into the hands that Roscoe had placed on his upper arms. A distant part of his mind thought dimly that Roscoe must have been able to feel the heat of his blushing cheeks when he kissed him, but the Calming Draught was at full potency now, so he wasn't inclined to worry. In fact, he decided that knowing that he, Will, was somewhat nervous to would make Roscoe feel better; Will had seen the slight twitch of nerves at the corners of the other man's mouth when he smiled. Will tried not to sigh romantically. It was so nice to hear someone complimenting him for a change!

Which meant he clearly needed to compliment the other man, to regain balance. "You look wonderful too, Roscoe," he said earnestly. He felt like something more needed to be said, but he didn't want to go into further detail about the other man's appearance. They'd never get to the Alley if he did! Instead, he smiled and gestured apologetically around his apartment. "Pardon the mess; I figured we'd be out, so I didn't really bother to pick up. Not that I've had time, of course. As Minister, I'm--well, in high demand, to say the least," he said with a half-smile.

"Well isn't that funny! I was going to suggest the Alley myself. I can already tell we are going to have an amazing time together."

"Oh, good," Will said, smiling a relieved smile. "I was worried; thought you'd expect--well, nevermind," he finished nervously. He put his coat on. "I figured we'd just Apparate. It's not too far to the Leaky Cauldron, but Gringotts is at the opposite end of the Alley, and if we go straight there we'll be able to come back in a nice convenient circle." He grinned and got ready to Apparate.

At the last second, he reached out and grabbed Roscoe's hand.