It had been a busy today, from running from store-to-store to get specific Christmas gifts to meeting up with his cousin for a brief talk to waiting in line at the gas station for a solid six minutes. The city was hustle-and-bustle around this time of year, that was for certain. It had his [sup]ups[/sup] and [sub]downs,[/sub] but either way, Charlie wanted his coffee. He didn't visit coffee shops all too often, not when he had a keurig at home, but he was out and about anyways. He might as well just buy one.

The man, dressed in a thick and dark coat, sat at a table near the window and took a sip of his dark roast coffee. It was cold outside, the wind even blowing in tiny snow particles, but there was something tranquil about observing them from inside of the warm environment that was the coffee shop. His chocolate-brown eyes traced along the sky idly and he cleared his throat before shifting in his chair and glancing down at his phone. Great, it was almost noon and he still had to go to IKEA. That was going to be a shitshow and a half to deal with, he could already feel it.

―――― The winter season was upon them, and between the busy holiday crowds, and her limited shopping budget, Rhiannon only had a few small bags to account for her Christmas shopping. The good thing was that she only had a few friends to shop for, but her family still deserved something nice. Of course, unless she had a shop attendant at her side, trying to figure out what color or size a specific garment was, as well whether or not it would even fit her little sister was a nightmare. The poor employees barely had any room to breathe with the amount of people trying to get their Christmas shopping in last minute, but were it not for the fact their postal service sucked, Rhiannon wouldn't even be out in the first place.

Sniffing against the cold, her features made bright red by the frozen air outside, she gently pushed in the door to the coffee shop, following the blissful scent of roasting coffee and sweets of chocolate and pastries in the little cafe. The jingle of a bell filled the room as she shut the door, and the winter air, behind her. The dog at her side, proudly donning a 'SERVICE' vest patch waited patiently as she briefly stepped aside to pull off her gloves and sniff her cold nose.  Snowflakes still clung to her chocolate-colored curls, and her fingers were a bit stiff despite the warmth of her gloves, but the woman eventually made her way to the counter. "Just a medium hot chocolate, please," she spoke sweetly, digging her small wallet out of her coat pocket and handing her card over for a moment. Once it was returned, she stepped aside to wait for her drink, and ultimately grabbed it and turned, pausing a moment before she began carefully making her way towards an open table. She could hear the occasional clinking of a cup of occupied tables, the clearing of someone's throat off to the side by a window, judging by the faint glimmer of light that crossed her blinded vision, ultimately taking the table besides it so she could find some interest in the Christmas lights over the city. She set her cup down first before sliding into her chair, scooting aside to let her dog lay himself beneath the table by her chair with a small gesture of her hand. Taking a sip of her cocoa, she sighed contently, finally regaining some feeling back into her cold face.

//oof i wrote this in three seperate parts sorry if it's roughhh