**Author's note: Hello there! Hopefully this fanfic turns out okay. I noticed that there are literally only 3 RomanxCinder fanfics, and I knew that that just HAD to change. Reviews are welcomed and greatly appreciated! Just no flames please (haha. She made a pun). Also, this is a one-shot- unless I suddenly decide to write a sequel- but for now, it's a one-shot.

Interruptions

Cinder was sitting in her office, sorting through some papers when a knock came at her door.

"Who is it?" she called.

"The most dastardly handsome redhead around."

"Ugh….. You may enter," she said with a slight growl. Her eyes narrowed in frustrated anticipation, waiting for some flashy attempt to impress her. Roman tentatively cracked open the door, then pulled it fully open once he saw that she wasn't going to castrate him like she had threatened the last time he knocked at her door.

"Heeey there, Cinder. How's the work coming along?"

"It was going just fine until you interrupted me. Thank you very much," she replied while continuing to immerse herself in sorting papers, never once looking at him.

"Uhhh…" Roman did not know what to say that would not further upset her. He nervously laughed and said, "I just wanted to check up on you." Cinder pulled her head up to find him standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, fiddling with his cane.

"Roman…" she said with gritted teeth, the frustration clear in her voice. "Look. We may have been together in the past, but we aren't now. You don't need to check up on me. I am perfectly capable of handling myself."

Roman's green eyes became wide; he worried that perhaps he had finally out-stepped her boundaries by accidentally insulting her abilities.

"I know you're capable." He took a step forward. "I just…. worry about you."

"You… worry about me," she stated matter-of-factly. He nodded and took another step. He now stood right behind the two chairs that were placed in front of her desk.

"I know it may not be my place to worry about you," he began.

"It isn't."

"But I still care about you." He continued to fiddle with his cane, feeling extremely out-of-place. Cinder stared him plainly in the face. Roman, however, was looking everywhere but at her.

He turned his head to the left, eyeing the two bookshelves set side by side, packed with all sorts of books. Books about the history of Vale, the military leaders of the world, education establishments, traditions, cultures, Grimm, dust, and many more lay on those wooden shelves. He wondered if Cinder ever found the time to read through them all.

Next to the bookshelves, in the corner of the room, were file cabinets. He had no idea what information was sealed in there. Even when they were dating she told him nothing about them. Bringing his eyes back to her mahogany desk, he saw the pile of paperwork she was working so diligently through, some sorted and some stacked in a heap of disorder. He noticed the mug sitting off to the side, away from the papers lest a spill were to happen. He wondered if she still preferred tea over coffee.

Beside the mug was a pitch black pen that he was never permitted to touch; anyone who touched it was dead meat, or- at least- would be given a broken nose as he had been given when he picked it up and twirled it between his fingers. He still had no idea why Cinder was so possessive over that pen.

All of a sudden, Roman became painfully aware of the fact that Cinder was boring holes into his face. Her gaze was so intense that he felt his cheeks grow warm; she was just too beautiful for him to stand being the focal point of her amber orbs. He felt unworthy. Heck, he felt unworthy for the duration of their dating.

Cinder stood from her desk and sashayed around it to stand beside him. He slowly turned his head to look at her. Even with heels, she was still several inches shorter than him, and he had to bow his head to look her in the face. He always felt like she was much too small for the amount of power and authority she wielded.

"Cinder, I…" he trailed off. He, once again, didn't know what to say. Well, he knew what he wanted to say, but that would probably result in her ordering him to leave, and possibly punching him in the face.

"You worry too much," she finally said, breaking the silence. "I'm not made of glass."

"But you're not made of stone, either," he countered.

"Why have you been visiting me the past few weeks?" she asked, completely ignoring his previous statement. "You come in here, interrupting my work- very rudely, I might add-, fidgeting with your goddamn cane, looking like you want to say something, but you never say it. You stand there for not even 10 minutes, making small talk, sometimes saying outrageous things to impress me, and then you abruptly leave. What is this really about? Are you trying to bail on the plan? Are you-"

"No!" he interrupted quickly, waving a hand back and forth to indicate that was not the case.

"The reason I've been visiting you is…" he closed his mouth. "Uhh, the reason is…" he trailed off again. Cinder raised an eyebrow expectantly, her lips slanted downward in a frown of annoyance.

"I want you back!" he burst out.

Cinder's mouth dropped. Roman was highly surprised by this. She hardly ever showed any emotions other than annoyance or dominance over others. He had never seen her shocked by anything.

"You want me back," she stated. It wasn't a question.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Why?" she asked without hesitation.

He took a deep breathe, the scent of the room filling his nostrils. Old books, just like a library, he thought fondly. He really missed that scent.

"Because you're the best thing that ever happened to me."
"That's it?" she asked apathetically. That was one thing Roman didn't miss; she felt the need to mask her voice whenever she actually felt something besides anger, but she masked herself so well that he could not figure out how she truly felt.

"… No," he replied after a moment. "You're beautiful, and sassy, and assertive, and snarky, and humorous at times, and…. I just miss you. The real you. Not the façade you put on around your subordinates."

Cinder's face softened slightly. "You really mean all that? You… miss me?"

Roman nodded.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes squinting in disbelief.

He nodded again.

"No one has ever missed me before," she said quietly while looking down at her matte, suede heels.. Roman lifted her chin with his hand. He gazed directly into her amber eyes.

"You're all that I need. Will you be mine again?"

A very faint smile caressed Cinder's rose petal-pink lips. She took a step forward, closing the gap between them and placing her hands on his cheeks. Then she stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips gently against his. His lips were smooth and tasted like cigars. In her opinion, he smoked too much.

They pulled apart, but their faces remained close together. Cinder reached up and removed the hat from atop his head. She turned around to place it on the desk. She then faced Roman again and pushed him down by the shoulders, forcing him to sit in a chair.

His eyes widened in disbelief, but he said nothing. She sat down on his lap with her legs off to one side. Ever the lady, Roman thought, but with a bit of spice.

He smirked at his own thoughts, but Cinder thought he was smirking because she was sitting on him. She rolled her eyes at his apparent childishness but grabbed the scarf around his neck to pull him closer and kissed him with force.

Roman noticed that she tasted like cinnamon, somehow managing to be sweet and spicy simultaneously. He thoroughly enjoyed her taste, and her hair smelled wonderfully, giving off a faint scent that he could not pinpoint. Cinder certainly looked good at all times, but that was truly due to her natural beauty. She never cared to make herself smell nice for people.

Maybe it's her shampoo, he thought. She continued kissing him, switching between roughly dominating him and letting him softly kiss her. He gently placed his tongue in her mouth.

God, she tastes so good. Literally like a stick of cinnamon, he thought.

She ran her hands through his ginger hair, admiring the silkiness of it. Roman had long since placed his hands on her hips, but now he allowed his hands to slightly wander up and down her back. He was careful not to go too low, lest she decides to stop kissing him, and he would not risk that. She pulled apart from him for air, and then gently pecked him on the lips.

"Sooo does this mean we're together again?" Roman asked once he had caught his breath. He always forgot to breathe when he kissed Cinder. She rolled her eyes.

"Is that a yes?"

Cinder sighed. "….. Yes."

A cocky grin broke out on Roman's face. He then pressed his lips against hers, roughly. She complied with just as much ferocity, but then he pulled away from her just as quickly as he had initiated the kiss. He gently rubbed his hands along her back. She sighed in content and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and resting her head atop his.

Cinder was not one for hugs, so he was stunned, but after a moment, he returned the gesture, holding her even closer. A slight tinge of red caressed his cheeks as he realized that her breasts were pressed against his face, but he tried not to think about it because he knew she would get angry if he mentioned it.

Had he known that she would accept him so easily, he would have asked her much earlier. Cinder placed a soft kiss atop his head, causing a small smile to grace his lips.

"I missed you too," she whispered, and for a moment, Roman couldn't care less about what was happening in their world. He couldn't care less about dust, or money, or power, or the soon-to-be war. All he cared about was being able to hold the woman he loved and kiss away the pain that plagued her heart.

Knowing that he could get her to truly smile and feel happiness, even for a few moments, was all he needed.