The holiday season was slowly creeping in like every year. Twinkling lights started appearing around the town next to the base and the sounds of Christmas songs rang through stores. The joy was a stark contrast to how you felt around this time of the year. The memories that Christmas stirred, the aching reminder that there was no family waiting for you this year, just like there hasn't been for the last few years.

You tried to keep busy, pushing through training, doing more paperwork, and you started to avoid leaving base. Yet, the festive spirit was inescapable. Soap had started humming Christmas tunes, Price's office had a wreath hanging on the door, and Gaz started wearing cute festive sweaters. You tried to take joy in with them, but Simon noticed it never reached your eyes.

Simon wasn't one to pry. He liked observing, quietly; it was more his style. He saw the way you lingered at the common room door when the lads talked about their holiday plans, how your shoulders would sag and your face would fall when you thought no one was looking. It wasn't pity that stirred him, it was something deeper, a quiet determination to give you what you deserved this year.

On Christmas Eve, the base was mostly empty, just you and a few other souls roaming the place. That morning when you woke up, you smelled pine, cookies, and burning wood. You stepped out into the common room; pulling your robe over your pajamas tighter and then you froze.

A Christmas tree stood by the window, half decorated. There was a tray of steaming hot chocolate on the table, a few warm cookies and a stack of classic Christmas movies. Simon stood by the tree, adjusting the crooked star on the top before he glanced over his shoulder, noticing that you entered. "Figured I'd bring Christmas to you this year," he said casually, as if this wasn't a beautiful thing he did.

"You did all this for me?" you asked, taking a step further into the room.

"Not just for you," Simon replied, his eyes avoiding yours for a second. "But mostly for you."