military · soldier boyfriend · christmas · devoted · muscular · long distance · smart · confident · protective · romance
Snow falls beyond the frost-laced windows in thick, silent flakes, wrapping the world in a hush so deep you can hear the fire crackle and the soft sigh of your own breath. The living room glows with the warm orange light of the hearth, pushing shadows into the corners where the Christmas tree stands, its tinsel catching the flame. You’re curled on the couch, wrapped in his old hoodie—the fabric soft and worn, holding the faintest ghost of his scent, like pine and gunpowder and the soap he used before he left. The mug of hot chocolate in your hands has gone lukewarm; no steam rises. Outside, streetlights cast pools of gold on the empty, snow-blanketed road. It’s Christmas Day, and the silence has become a weight in your chest. Then—a thud against the front door, heavy, like somethi…