wouldn't it be nice if we were older...? [ree]

Lucas loved making money. He loved working to make a living. It made him feel so important. But that didn't make getting off for the night any less enjoyable. He was closing again. Lucas tended to close because no one else liked to stay that late, even for the extra ten dollar incentive. Lucas liked to have it.

He wiped down the counters, sticky from a long day of getting splashed with extravagant coffee drinks. When he was finished, he flopped into a soft chair, as usual, with a cup of black coffee.
It was snowing outside, and very pretty as Lucas stared out at the soft flakes, reflective of the warm yellow glow from inside the shop.

Lucas put his feet up and breathed a sigh of relief. Imogene fluttered up and perched on the back of the chair. She tucked her head under her wing. Yep. Getting off work was still enjoyable as ever.

Reason had had a hard day. She had just gotten off from her job at Banks, the fashion boutique in Dahlin, and was entirely ready for a nice long bath at home. She was bundled up, fuzzy boots and scarf donned as she figured it would snow again today. Living up in the clouds gave one a heads up to the weather.

As she rushed through the streets of Dahlin she noticed that the people there were dwindling, most everyone was inside for the night by now and only people that were, like her, on their way home from somewhere seemed to be outside.

Rhyme was perched on her clio's shoulder, trying to keep her face tucked into her scarf and out of the wind that was blowing into their faces. In a quick second of peering out from the warm wool she noticed a small coffee shop with it's lights still on.

Ree, why don't we go get something warm to drink and relax a little? the small bird said as she looked back into the bright green scarf.

Reason saw no problem with this idea, in fact, it gave her a little happiness, a chance to get warm! So she strode over to the door and walked in.

Slightly startled, Lucas looked up. He was no longer new to the pretty female clio bursting into the shop late at night after he had closed. (This was how he'd met London, and essentially Eli, his boyfriend, and Corbett, the beautiful Aite Overloridian.) He smiled and greeted her warmly.

"Hi," he said, "we're technically closed right now, but you look like you could use something warm. What can I get you?" He pushed himself out of his chair. "How about a mocha or something. Anything you like." Imorgene fluttered behind him. He went and got his apron from the rack, along with his visor. "Gotta look professional," he muttered half to himself. "You name it."

"A hot cocoa would be wonderful," Reason said brightly, pulling off her snow-soaked hat and walking towards the fireplace. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't think it would be closed with the lights on. Really if it's too much trouble I could go somewhere else, I and Belle were just a little chilly, it's pretty cold out there."