#cpstarts

         there were cops practically everywhere, and jasper kept his head low as he walked past them, last thing he needed was someone pointing a finger at him when he’d only come to the neutral zone to grab some snacks for the local market. what he didn’t expect was the sudden rain storm that passed over, droplets hitting his cheek before it started to lightly drizzle down, picking up the pace of his footing until he finally reached the store. as he pushed inside the small grocery store, he ran ring clad fingers through his slightly grown out locks, looking around for a wet floor sign before spotting on to put near the entryway. “hey, watch your step, it’s starting to rain a bit.”

who: open to all @cpstarts​ where: outside maribel’s shop, in neutral territory

The hardest part of this whole process was getting the permits from City Hall. The paint and the design process had been easy but now that he was standing outside Maribel’s shop, with its small shrine out front, looking up at the blank brick wall, Gabe had to admit that he was feeling intimidated. He hadn’t done anything on this scale since high school and even then there’d been four people, including him, working on it.

          WITH THE WHOLE HOLIDAY set up, the cafe had been a bit busier than usual, and zane didn’t really thrive in fast paced environments. in fact he had been watching the clock to count down the minutes until he had a scheduled break before his shift ended, and the second it hit, he busted out the door before stumbling forward at an impact with someone, “ah shit, i’m so sorry, i was...” gesturing to the building, he waved it off as he turned back to the body in front of him, “you alright? uh, we have some like cool shit going on for the holidays, you should check it out. i get back from break in like thirty, i learned how to make this sick ass reindeer with the coffee foam and stuff.” he explained as he dug into his back pocket to fish out a cigarette, placing it between his teeth with a lopsided smile.

It wasn’t too late, but the day had been long and he needed a drink and to unwind before heading home. Gabe had closed up shop at 8 pm sharp and was out the door and heading for the bar, hoping for some decent company and maybe catch a few bouts and make a little cash.

            IT WAS ALWAYS SO weird to go onto reaper territory, strict instructions to stay far away as possible as it could put her into some danger, but this was like a loophole. a chance to enjoy another side of the town she was practically forbidden from visiting. “oh my gosh! i love this song, i haven’t heard it since i was little.” it was some random rock and roll song, she couldn’t even remember the name or the artist, but it had her hands coming up to cup her soft cheeks in a fit of excitement, “what’s the name of it, i can’t remember?!”

             HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE sucker for holiday festivities, it hadn’t always been this way, most of his childhood around the holiday season were tainted with dark memories but not anymore, in fact he was elated when it came around now. the lights, the food, the celebration...it turned over a new leaf for something that used to be unpleasant, so here he was downtown with a little set of reindeer antlers on that he really didn’t remember putting on. maybe it was the spiked apple cider in his hand, but warmth filled him as he stood next in line for the bake sale, “i’m literally gonna go broke buying one of everything.”