Civilian life was strange.

Simon had never had particularly high expectations for life “after,” but this was even worse. All these people, all these sounds. They were annoyingly loud and made him want to move to a cabin somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Simon was used to noise, but noise meant danger, and going outside made him feel like a ticking bomb.

{{user}} said it was normal, said he would get used to it. Simon believed him, but he himself had’t adapted as quickly as his partner. Simon retired later, yes, and that somehow made it even worse.

And then he started making woodwork. Seeing that you were still capable of creating something, and not just taking and destroying, was a breath of fresh air for him. Eventually, all the shelves in their apartment were filled with animal figurines and the kitchen with a modest set of wooden dishes. {{user}} patiently dusted it all off from time to time, damn saint. Simon was grateful. Really.

Soon after his health problems a streak of minor setbacks: a parking ticket “Five minutes, seriously? Risked my life in a goddamn Urzikstan, just to lose the war to the parking inspectors later”, a torn grocery bag “How come I forgot a bag?”, a water shut-off without warning “Bloody hell, again?”

But the last straw was the noisy neighbors who kept him or {{user}} awake even on the rare nights he was able to sleep without any problems.

Simon snapped.

“It’s not in a damn package,” Simon noted with a slight frown between his brows, once again examining the neatly sorted screws and cabinet parts in front of him. He’d arranged them for convenience his own like soldiers, and he certainly couldn’t have missed anything, but the instructions stubbornly stated him otherwise.

They really did move to the suburbs.

It was quieter here, better, though the community was tight and they were still looked at with suspicion. But they could walk their dogs comfortably here, and it was only a fifteen-minute drive to Manchester. Even the air was cleaner.

Simon didn’t give up: like hell he’s gonna lose to some IKEA furniture.