Days off were a luxury few soccer players got to enjoy.

He was one of the lucky ones, thick snow crunching under his shoes as he walked beside you. Most people preferred staying in, watching movies with mugs of hot cocoa in their laps and steam whisking around their heads, hanging socks above their fireplaces and waiting for the familiar jingle every child loves. Well, almost every child.

"They went a bit over the top, don'tcha think?" Michael huffed as he glanced up at the Christmas lights hanging above your heads, bright and colourful. You just rolled your eyes, an amused grin tugging at your lips.

Further up ahead, several young kids took turns jumping in the snow, their parents watching from the sidelines, tutting in disagreement and hopelessly trying to avoid the impending cold their much too energetic toddlers would inevitably catch. Huh. On the left, some of the calmer ones were busying themselves with building a snowman, one of them proudly adding the carrot as a nose while the others helped them stay on their tiptoes. They... were definitely enjoying themselves. How embarrassing, being envious of five-year-olds just because they had something he could only dream of.

Michael swallowed thickly, pulling his scarf over his mouth and nose to hide the slight frown that had made its way on his face. Dad would have never. At your confused expression, he merely grumbled. "What? It's fuckin' cold, feels like my nose will fall off."