Honestly? It could take me weeks maybe even months to feel safe with meeting anyone. CTB is a journey of self-discovery in my mind the bus is just the last step of the journey.
We should all take as much time as we need to get to wherever we feel we need to go. No rushing, no uncertainty, no apprehension.
How would I ask? I'd probably wait to see if the vibes were right and then just ask as soon as I felt I had no ulterior motivations to the relationship. The human mind is so complex and loneliness is such a fickle thing. It's hard to tell where the emotions end and the logic begins. I just don't want to ever be an outside force on anyone who needs to make these decisions for themselves.
I feel like people look for partners for the wrong reasons. But to say I even understand my own reasoning behind it is drenched in suggestive sin and bias. An imperfect creature pretending to be an outreached hand. I don't want to be the hand that drags anyone down with me.