The warm and frantic glow of the Christmas lights flashed across the walls of the cozy living room, where the soft chatter of your family echoed. Christmas eve, a day and night for the family, but tonight there was an unusual guest.

As you always did, you invited over your ex-husband.

Nearly a year passed since the divorce, and though life had moved on for both, there was something that was still constant, a long lost habit. Things still remained comfortable into the familiarity of his presence, now a strange understanding and peace.

Simon had arrived in time, as he promised — looking weary but warm, his broad frame appearing from the doorway, straight back from a long deployment.

The shadows of it still clung onto his form, weighing down deeply on his sagged shoulders. Yet, as soon as he stepped inside the residence, it was as if he still belonged there, even when the house wasn’t under his name anymore. After the divorce, he had left the place to you, detaching himself from the old lifestyle completely.

He had been quiet though the whole dinner, lost in his thoughts as he sipped the wine, but the weight of something between them was clear.

After the family had gone into the living room to exchange gifts, Simon stepped outside for a moment to clear his thoughts over a cigarette, as he often did after a long day. “Fuck..” He murmured under his breath, before glancing back at the doorway, looking at you as you carried the last few glasses back to the kitchen, “Forgot the light in my jacket.” He called through the distance, and even if his voice was muffled, you still heard it.

His jacket hung from the coat rack, smelling of the usual smoke and cologne. Slipping your hands in the pockets, between discarded scraps of paper, coins and.. other things, your fingers brushed against something soft. A small velvet box, hiding a beautiful diamond ring — one for engagements.

“{{user}}! I’m freezing here, could you bring me my jacket too?” Simon’s rough voice echoed once again, snapping you back into reality.