The woods welcomed you back as always, and you inhaled deeply of the scent of fresh pine and snow. Another year, come and gone. Another trek up the mountain. Another four days to be alone.

A cardinal sang somewhere up in the canopy of pine trees, the noise making you recall...

"I saw a cardinal!"

You shook your head at the memory, feeling silly. It wasn't like you were making a conscious effort to think about Roman. He just...snuck in sometimes. A lot of times, if you were being honest.

I wonder how he's doing. Whether he was sad when I didn't call him.

You had opted to ignore the phone number, email address and note on the piece of paper he'd given you, your mature adult brain telling you that the distance would be too much and he probably wasn't actually interested in you, it had just been a way to pass the time.

You had however, laminated the scrap of paper when it tore from being in your pocket. It stayed in your wallet now, tucked away from sight most of the time. But sometimes, during hard days, you pulled it out so you could read his kind words one more time.

You sighed, adjusting your pack. You had gotten a later start than usual, the sky almost completely dark when you made it to the familiar stand of naked birch that heralded the cabin trail. You trudged on silently, and the closer you got the more you couldn't wait to have a nice cup of hot cocoa and curl up with your favorite book.

As the cabin came into view however, your brow furrowed in irritation. There was a light shining in the window, and smoke issued from the chimney into the twilight. Fucking pricks. you thought, overly-used to people who figured that they could extend their vacation a few extra days free of charge. Your sled knocked up the steps with a muffled series of thunks, and you stormed to the door.

Banging loudly on the door, you took a step back as you heard movement inside. You squared up to your full height and puffed your chest out slightly, ready, willing and fucking able to take someone to task over this. It was your reservation, god dammit, and you weren't about to be cheated out of single hour by some uppity yuppie son of a bitch who thought-

The two deadbolts on the inside slid back and the doorknob creaked.

"Dude, you've got some fucking nerve-!" you began.

"Man, they must have double...booked..." the man's words trailed off when he swung the door open and saw you standing there. Roman looked like he'd seen a ghost, his jaw going tight. You weren't fairing much better, pressing your hands over your mouth. Your eyes blurred with tears while your indignation fled, replaced with a screaming ache in your chest.

A whole year of trying to forget him, of talking yourself out of contacting him and convincing yourself that it was better this way. But here he was, every bit as huge and bright and real as you remembered. His hair was twisted up into a neat bun, and he was wearing that black and gold jacket (which had a little more wear and tear on it now).

"I uh, seem to remember a situation kind of like this." Roman's voice broke your train of thought and you felt a few tears track down your face. "I'd be pretty inhospitable if I turned you away, huh?" he said softly. He reached out a hand. "C'mon in, baby girl. Get warm."

When you took his hand Roman pulled you into a fierce hug. His whole body was hot, radiating like a furnace. "Don't cry, baby girl. It's alright. It's alright." he whispered against the top of your head as you snuffled. Then he asked, "Why didn't you call me?"

He actually sounded sad.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to!" you tried to explain while he tugged you inside and started helping you out of your heavy clothes. "I just...I mean, Florida is so far away. And there's got to be a million other more accessible women for you, Roman."

"I don't want any of them." he said firmly.

"Roman-"

"It drove me fucking nuts, you understand that, right?" Roman's face bordered on perplexed and you felt a stab of guilt. You'd been so sure that he hadn't actually wanted you to get in touch with him, you didn't really give any thought to the notion that he might have missed you.

"I don't...I mean I don't really know why you would...I'm just me, y'know?" you reasoned sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck and staring at the floor. Roman's fingers caught your chin, raising your eyes to meet his.

"You were way fucking more than that. You, just you, you were the one who invited a stranger in because he was lost and cold. You dragged me over the damn threshold and probably saved my fucking life by doing so. You taught me and listened to me, and you never acted like I was a nuisance. I...I figured you would want to stay in touch. But when I didn't hear from you..." he paused, his throat working. "It threw me off. I haven't really been able to get you out of my head since last New Years." Roman admitted quietly.

"I'm the same." you said after several seconds of silence. It felt nice to say it out loud. "I'm so sorry. If I wasn't so worried about not being enough we could have skipped a lot of hurt for the both of us."

"It wasn't fair of me to put all the responsibility on you." Roman protested, resting his forehead against yours. "I didn't want to be too presumptuous, but I kicked myself for months for not getting your info before I left. And when I saw that the cabin was open for these four days, I took it. I thought it was open because you weren't going to be here. I needed something concrete to remind me of you when my imagination finally fell flat." Roman closed his eyes. " A year is a long fucking time when you miss someone, baby girl."

He straightened up, gesturing with an open hand to the main bunk area of the cabin. "I started at eight, made it up here by noon. Set everything up. I've been practicing! I brought lighters this time. Firewood too."

You couldn't help the giggle that fought free. Roman seemed so proud of himself. "You've done good, Ro."

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, kissing your forehead. "If I'd known you'd be here I would have packed heavier. Impressed you with my strength and endurance." he joked.

"Last time I checked, packing fifty pounds in cans of beef stew isn't impressive. Just makes for really boring eating."

"It's only twenty-seven pounds of it this time!" he said indignantly.

The two of you filled in the blanks on what had happened since you'd last seen each other. You easily fell back into speaking with him, a strange sense of wholeness permeating your conversation and leaving you feeling overly content.

Roman had (of course) loads of pictures and videos to show you. New nieces and nephews, birthdays, a Thanksgiving table that looked a mile long and a Christmas tree stretching to a white cathedral-style ceiling. A fair amount were selfies, triumphant ones at the top of sunny sand dunes, scowling ones at the gym. He played a few videos of him climbing with his twin cousins.

You swallowed, watching the shift and twist of the muscles in his arms and legs as he hung easily off a rock face and hollered playful abuse back and forth with the twins. Roman nudged your shoulder, a teasing grin on his face. "Like what you see, baby girl? The big guy is single, y'know."

"Ha ha, so funny." you stuck your tongue out at him, shocked when he leaned down and pressed his mouth over yours. Roman groaned when you tentatively rested your hands on his chest, breaking away to yank his shirt off over his head.

"Here, touch me here." he practically begged, dragging your hands back to his chest. "It's been so fucking long. Please."

Your fingers ran across the bold ink, his chest heaving under your touch. You could feel how fast his heart was beating and your eyes widened. I guess he really does like me.

"I haven't been able to get you out of my head, baby girl. No one else would do it for me." Roman said fiercely. "I've missed you so fucking much."

"I missed you too, Roman." your voice was soft, when really you wanted to yell it. Not contacting him had been the hardest thing in the world, common sense or no. Especially after reading and rereading the note he'd left above his contact information...

I've never met anyone like you before.

I won't say love, because that's a damn scary word to use with someone you've only just met. But over these four days you've shown me more kindness and patience than a lot of people see in their whole life.

The long and short of it is that I think you're amazing, and I would love to get to know you better. So just give me a call whenever, and we'll work out a visit. Go on a date. Normal stuff.

Sincerely, Roman.

"My mom said that I was a fucking idiot for not getting your number." Roman's grin was rueful. "She doesn't swear much, so it was kind of an experience to hear that from her. Of course, my dad said the same thing." You carded your hands through his hair, having denied yourself that pleasure long enough. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes in bliss.

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey. Not your fault. Like I said, putting all the responsibility on you was shitty on my part. I'm sorry for that." Roman locked eyes with you and you were blindsided by the emotion you saw there.

Your heart swelled in your chest and your own gaze got a little damp. You cleared your throat, getting to your feet and pulling on his hand so he stood as well. "I think it's time for bed, don't you Roman?"

"Oh God." he groaned, kissing you and then nipping your lower lip. "It's more than time."

Roman was gentle with you, murmuring equal parts praise and curses against your skin while he stripped you naked. You were grateful for the privacy of the cabin when he lowered his mouth to your aching pussy and made you cry out in ecstasy with his skilled tongue.

He was insatiable and you loved it, the both of you having missed each other more than enough through the past year.

When you finally fell asleep sometime in the gray dawn of the morning, you were utterly exhausted. Roman murmured wordlessly into your hair and soothed your still-thrumming nerves, even while clearly fighting his own battle with sleep.

"Baby girl, you gotta' wake up. We slept past noon." Roman's voice breathed against your ear and you shuddered involuntarily.

"This is a dream. Don't need to get up. Just need you to fuck me 'til I can't walk." you mumbled. "If I wake up you're gone n' I'm all alone again."

His laughter broke out and strong arms wound around you, hugging tightly. "You're not getting rid of me that easy, baby girl."

Eyes still closed, your fingers quested lazily across the skin of his chest, up his neck and then pressed against his lips. "Shush." He kissed the pads of your index and thumb, and you could feel his smile. You'd had a few realistic dreams of him before, but this one seemed a little too good. "I'm not dreaming, am I."

"Nope."

"Ah. Well then." You opened your eyes the tiniest bit, squeaking when Roman got up out of the bunk and started throwing his clothes on. "How can you still move?!"

"I won't lie, you did a number on me." The smile he graced you with made your tired body stir, just enough to bewilder you. "I don't think I've ever..." Roman knelt beside the bed as his words slowed to a halt, taking your hands in his own. "I'm so fucking happy, you have no idea." he said finally, seeming confused. "I shouldn't be this happy, y'know? I love that I am, but still. Its strange."

"I'm just that good." you offered in explanation, laying back and stretching with a loud, distinctly non-glamorous yawn. Roman chuckled, ruffling your hair and standing.

"Did I perform well for you, ma'am?" he asked, bowing deeply.

"Oh you are top-notch, no doubts there." you said pompously, sticking your hand out of the warm sleeping bag. "Now help me stand."

Lunch was a languid affair, Roman and you slowly powering through some freeze-dried lasagne. Afterward you pulled a notebook out of your backpack, clicking your pen and starting to write. "What's up boss?" Roman asked, slinging his arms around your shoulders to hug you from behind.

"I'm writing this for you now, so nothing dumb happens." you said, making sure there weren't any misspelled words as you jotted down your email and phone number. Roman kissed your ear, and his stubble rubbed against your cheek when he smiled.

"Thank you."

You flushed at the gratitude in his voice. "It's not really a big deal, Roman."

"It really kind of is. And I think you know it." he murmured, releasing you and starting to struggle into his hiking pants. "We have to go to the summit today. Tradition." Roman continued, sounding a bit less serious. "Gotta' do it."

"Alright, I suppose. Can't just sit around the cabin and do nothing." you agreed, giving your contact info another once-over and then handing him the paper. "Keep that safe. You're not getting another one." you threatened playfully, making him laugh.

The sky was overcast with the promise of more snow as the two of you scrabbled across the rocky trail to the top of the mountain. Strangely enough, the camera clicks no longer seemed out of place. It was a little funny how fast you had gotten used to having Roman around, even after not seeing him for a year.

"I can see why you come here." Roman said softly, watching as you brushed snow off some stones at the summit and carefully stacked them on top of one another in a sort of makeshift cairn. "It's so peaceful. Compared to how loud and crowded most places are, this is kind of heavenly."

The camera snapped again, capturing your neat little pile. "I'm really, really glad that you're here with me." You bit your lip when he turned to you, phone slack in his hands and eyes wide. "You make me happy, Roman. Like, kind of stupidly happy. I'm just glad that I got another chance."

"So am I, baby girl." His smile warmed you more than you cared to admit. "This shit works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

"It sure does."

You were awoken in the wee hours of the morning by Roman shifting behind you with a quiet groan. "Ro?" you asked sleepily, rolling over and laying a hand on his arm. You stroked it appreciatively, going to hold his hand. Your fingers made their way down his arm until you met the waistband of his sweatpants.

"I didn't want to wake you up." he said guiltily, stopping when you raised your hand.

You bit your lip, touching his wrist. "Do you want me to...?" you trailed off, running your hand down the front of his sweats.

Roman swallowed hard, not objecting when you tugged his sweatpants down around his knees. "I'd kind of like you to ride me," he admitted, "if you're not too tired, that is?"

"This isn't stuff you normally ask someone to do, Roman. It's usually a command." you teased, giggling when you heard him huff in annoyance.

"Fine." His large hand suddenly wrapped around the back of your neck, hauling you in close enough to feel his breath ghosting across your lips. "I'd like it very, very much," he growled, "if you would ride my fucking dick until you cum." His stern tone made you shiver and press yourself closer to him.

"Y-yeah, I think I can manage that." you tried to answer flippantly, but your stammer gave you away. You could almost feel Roman smirking in the dark as you shed your panties.

"Good girl. Hop on up now." he instructed, and you felt his fingers touch yours for a second at the base of his cock. "I'm waiting."

"Bra on or bra off?" you asked, Roman wordlessly answering your question by scooting a strap down your shoulder. "Okay, one sec."

"Still haven't gotten the hang of those hooks." Roman mumbled, making you chuckle. "At least, not in the dark." he quickly added, hissing out a breath afterward as you slowly sank down onto him. "Jesus, baby girl." His hands immediately went after your breasts, kneading and fondling them. "You feel so fucking good."

Your body was flooded with heat, both from his words and the skin contact. You moaned and he answered you just as loudly, clearly unashamed in his enjoyment of you. "You take me so fucking well, baby girl. Holy shit."

You could hardly form words as he shifted your hips against his, one of his hands flying to cup the back of your head when he did. "Gotta' make sure you don't ring your bell again." he panted, laughing breathlessly when you smacked him on the chest.

"You would bring that u-up!" your words hitched when he thrust up into you, and you rolled your hips in reply.

"How are you this fucking good," Roman sounded bewildered, "shit. Shit." he swore, giving a drawn-out groan when you bent to mouth over his neck. "You're fucking killing me, baby girl."

"So try and stop me." you challenged, feeling his fingers dig in to your hips.

"Oh you do not want to go there, baby girl."

You gasped when he gripped you to his chest and rolled over, pinning you to the sleeping bag. He quickly hooked your knees up over his shoulders, the new position making you moan as he sank deep into you. "Suddenly, you don't seem to be doing much." Roman teased, fingers toying with your right nipple.

He took hold of your hips again and thrust home. "More." you begged shamelessly, hands cupping his face. Your thumbs brushed across the scruff on his cheeks, and he ducked his head to kiss your palm sloppily. "Please, Roman."

"Roman's got you, baby girl. Come undone for me. Let me fuck you through it," he said softly, "let me feel you cum around me again, I want it so bad-"

You whimpered, his words and firm strokes pushing you over your edge. You arched up underneath him, feeling overstimulated but your whole body still demanding you meet him thrust for thrust. Roman growled, crushing his hips to yours and then quickening his pace. He barely pulled out before slamming back in, creating a frantic, almost humping motion that ground his taut stomach and pelvis against your clit.

"Oh god-!" Your whole body tightened up again, the speed of your readiness shocking you as you felt a second orgasm creep in.

Roman shook his head, pressing a kiss to the side of your thigh over his shoulder and breathing hard. "Don't want to not yet don't want to not yet-" he chanted, groaning when you cried out your completion. "Oh fuck." he said helplessly, and you felt him quickly pull out. Warmth landed on your stomach, Roman knocking his forehead gently into your own. "God, god, Jesus fuck." he sighed. "You're so fucking amazing, you know that?"

You kissed him drowsily, sleep already pulling at you again now that you were sated. "Come back to bed with me, okay?" you murmured.

New Years Eve found the cabin buried, after a snowstorm that carried on well into the day. You had gone out to sweep off the porch numerous times, eyes and ears open for any hikers that had gotten caught in the storm. After what happened to Roman the first time he'd been here, you didn't want to take any chances.

Roman spent most of the day tramping through the snow around the cabin, taking pictures of everything from the cabin itself to you sweeping quietly. Naturally you protested, even though secretly you relished the attention. It was nice to have someone who actually enjoyed your company.

"I'm gonna' have to send a few of these to my mom." Roman said as he stepped up onto the porch, fingers tapping away at his phone screen. "I mean, I don't have reception up here so not now or anything. Good news is, battery life on this thing is infinite when it's on airplane mode."

"Yeah but once you get back down to the parking lot that poor phone is probably going to erupt with texts and missed calls." you pointed out.

Roman shrugged. "I'll take it. I need all the pictures I can get. Don't want to miss anything." he said seriously, cold fingers gripping your chin and tilting your face up to meet his eyes. He smiled widely at you and you blinked in confusion, before realizing the phone coyly shielded in his other hand was aimed at your face.

"Whoa, hey, c'mon! Give a girl some warning!" you protested, making Roman laugh.

"And miss how expressive you are when you're not all tense? No thanks. I like you like this." He kissed your forehead. "I especially like it when you blush like that."

"I do not-!"

"I've got some pictures that would say otherwiiiiiise." Roman sang, hastily jumping out of reach when you swung the broom at him halfheartedly.

...

Roman couldn't seem to wait until after you were done repacking your bag that evening, finally dragging you across the table into a bruising kiss. You moaned into his mouth, slightly startled at his urgency but completely willing to go along with it.

He begged permission with his mouth even while his hands yanked at your clothes. When he paused to whisper, "it's almost New Years, baby girl", you understood why he was so eager.

"I know." you murmured against his mouth.

Roman groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I'm going to fucking do without you."

"We'll figure something out, Roman. I'm not letting you go again." you said firmly.

His chest heaved against yours as he sucked in a surprised breath. "Baby girl...it means so much to hear you say that."

"Hey, I gave you up once. It was pretty shitty. I couldn't get you out of my head for hardly any time at all." you teased, excited when a barely-visible blush snuck across his face.

"Hell." Roman seemed at a loss for words, all smiles as he kissed you again. He pressed you to lay back on the table, knocking a few things out of the way (that may or may not have been important, but you'd scold him later).

Roman leaned down to gently kiss your pussy, his hands keeping your thighs spread. He circled your clit once with his tongue, making a soft noise of satisfaction as you ran shaking fingers through his hair over and over in reply. "Gonna' make you feel so good, baby girl." his voice was a low, almost feral growl. The tone of it sang through your body, making your stomach twist with want. He opened his mouth again and gave you an achingly slow lick, flattening his tongue against your cunt and dragging a whimper of his name out of you with the motion.

"I'm going to miss this." Roman groaned, one of his hands leaving you momentarily to adjust himself through his pants.

You bit down on one of your knuckles as he continued, mercilessly bringing you closer to completion with careful tongue and fingers. You ended up arching off the table and Roman 'tsk'ed, dropping one strong arm to rest heavily across your hips, pressing you harder into the wood and keeping you steady while he thrust his fingers into you underneath his questing tongue.

"Oh god, Ro-!" you whimpered, and he hummed against you, finally tipping you over your edge for the first time that night. His tempo slowed as you shuddered, licks gentling and staying away from your sensitive bud.

"Good?" Roman asked, yelping when you grabbed a handful of his thick hair and pulled him up to press your mouth to his.

"You'd better get into me." you said, not caring about how desperate you sounded as you took in how thoroughly sloppy he looked. Hair all tangled and eyes wide, chin coated liberally in the remains of your orgasm. "After all, we've only got a little time left." You could taste yourself on his lips when you drew him back in for another kiss.

Roman surged forward at your demand, fingers fumbling with the button on his pants. He was already slotted in between your legs, fitting better than you dared to admit. He didn't even bother getting his pants off, just pushed them down far enough to free his cock and then...

You had closed your eyes in anticipation, but when nothing happened you opened them again.

He was just propped up over you on one arm, a pained look on his face. "You're beautiful." he said quietly, making you flush. "And I swear, if this is the last time I get to do this..." he trailed off, sliding his cock into you.

You gave a low cry, wrapping your legs around his hips. "You can do this to me whenever you want, Roman. Whenever you want." you blurted.

Roman moaned, burying his face in your neck as he set a fast pace. "I'm not going to last. Not like this," he panted, "not knowing that this could be the last time for a long time." His hand reached down between the two of you to rub rough little circles on your clit. "But I want you to cum with me when I do."

You gasped, raising your hips to grind harder against his hand and cock. "I'll try, Roman." you managed to say.

"Oh no you don't." Roman grunted. "You're going to. There's no fucking trying here." He rocked against you harder than before, knocking you up the table an inch or so. "You're going to cum all over me as I cum inside you, and its going to be fucking mind-blowing, so do me a favor-" Roman pressed his forehead to yours, making you hold his gaze while he fucked you. "-and stay with me, baby girl."

You blushed again at the intensity of his look, dimly wondering why your body even put in the effort to redden your cheeks at this point. He had a downright heart-wrenching expression on his face, gray eyes full of hurt and fear and want all at once.

"I'm not going anywhere, Roman." you murmured, making those eyes go wide. "Not ever again."

"You promise?" he asked, groaning when you shifted against him.

"Yeah." You knew your smile was probably too wide, but you couldn't bring yourself to care. Your stomach dropped out when Roman rubbed his thumb hard against your clit, like a reward for your promise. You gasped, fingers digging into his biceps as your orgasm caught you suddenly and made you buck underneath him. "Roman!"

Roman snarled out a "good", closing his eyes and tilting his head back. His hips shuddered to a stop and warmth flooded you, the sensation making you cry out. He moaned your name in reply, kissing your forehead. "Fuck." he said breathlessly. "Fuck, fuck. Wow."

You couldn't answer yet, panting for breath as you came back down. He laughed, sounding ridiculously happy as he peppered your face and neck with light, ticklish kisses. "You're fucking incredible, you know that?"

"I try." you managed to say finally as he pulled out. Roman worriedly slid an arm under your shoulders, helping you sit up.

"Was that too much? Shit, it probably was. I'm so sorry, baby girl, I-" he panicked before you pressed your lips to his, effectively shutting him up.

"It was fucking phenomenal, don't you dare apologize." you ordered when the two of you parted, unable to hold back a giggle at his dumbfounded expression and the flush that rose on his cheekbones. "Happy New Year, Roman."

"Happy fucking New Year." he replied, kissing you again.

The hike down the mountain was certainly different from last year's. The day was clear and cold, blue sky peering through the gaps in the pine trees. The two of you walked next to each other, talking quietly about what would happen in the coming months.

You were three-quarters of the way down the mountain when Roman grabbed your hand and hauled you off to the side of the trail. He held his phone out at arms length and you laughed when he snapped a picture. "You're pitiful, you know that?"

"No, I have reception." Roman watched with a grin as realization dawned on you, tapping at his phone screen for a few minutes before locking it again. "That right there is going straight to my mom."

"You'd better silence that thing." you blustered as he kissed your cheek." You'll scare off everything in a ten-mile radius."

True to your warning the phone lit up with a text, the tone deafening in the quiet. Roman almost dropped the phone in his haste to read it, his grin broadening as he tapped away.

"She wants me to call her." he laughed, turning the screen so you could see the words in all caps beneath the sent picture of the two of you.

-CALL ME!

-Reception isn't great yet. Will call when I get to the car, low battery. Love you mom.

"She might be almost as excited as I was." Roman chuckled, tugging you close and kissing the top of your head. "I should be getting a text from my dad soon." The phone dinged again. "And there he is."

-rOMAN YOUR MOTHER WANTS YOU TO CALL HER.

-I know dad. I will.

-wILL EXPECT DETAILS YOU KNOW HOW SHE GETS.

You couldn't help the giggle at the order, Roman rolling his eyes and locking his phone again.

"They mean well."

"They're parents, Roman. I hardly expect anything less." you teased, continuing down the snowy trail.

When you reached the parking lot it was almost one o' clock. Roman bounded ahead of you to his rental, unlocking it and yanking the driver side door open quickly so he could plug in his phone. You unlocked your own car, throwing your heavy pack and supply sled into the backseat before leaning back and crossing your arms.

Roman winced, jerking the phone away from his ear as he fumbled out of his pack. "I know, Mom, I know. I'm sorry. They don't really have outlets up at the top of the mountain." he apologized, "We just got back down now. In one piece, as you can see. Yeah, uh." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have her info. I mean, she's still here and stuff." He mouthed mom says hi at you, making you laugh. "I know. I'll call you when I get to the airport, okay? I'm gonna' just charge my phone for the drive. Love you."

"How is she taking this?" you asked, feeling your chest tighten with nerves.

Roman's easy shrug banished them almost instantly. "She hasn't met you, but if she told me to say hi to you for her, there's hope. I've got to leave soon, baby girl." he said regretfully, pulling you in for another hug and resting his cheek on the top of your head. "Otherwise I'll miss my flight."

"I know. Text me when you get a second?" you asked hopefully, nudging your cold nose against his jacket.

He smiled, kissing you until you were breathless. "I'll always have a second for you, baby girl. Here's to the first day of the new year."

"And many, many more."


AN: We made it guys! A big thanks goes to toxicpop over on AO3, YOU'RE THE BEST! Thank you everyone so much for reading!