Winter had arrived yet again, and with it the university's break.

The snow was light, but the air was bitterly cold. Lili had chosen to walk home anyway on her last day. Saying goodbye to a few of her friends, she started to head back through parks and through the city to her penthouse apartment. She had gotten an enormous, two story penthouse in a highly ritzy area nearby the university-she wasn't the type to stay in a dorm, of course. She lived there alone; Sebastian would come at her behest now and again, but for some reason she wanted to live by herself, as she was nineteen now. She would, of course, go back to her family's mansion from time to time, especially on holidays. She wasn't due to go there for another couple of weeks, though.

She still sent out for certain services, of course. She wasn't about to do her own major cleaning, for one, and she often called for a luxury car to cart her around. Today, though, she felt like clearing her head on her last day.

It seemed fairly empty; it was around two, and most people were at work still at this time of day, but there was some light traffic. She bundled her thick coat and scarf around herself; it was quite cold. She had a few of her books with her, but left most behind. She was naturally studying business management-Rochefort Enterprises would be hers eventually, after all. Her other elective classes were mixed, though people wondered why she took Russian of all languages, when she could have taken something that could have been more directly useful in her chosen field. She was doing very well in that class, as all the others, since she hadn't really gone out to party much like her friends.

Her friends had wondered why she hadn't decided to go out with them today as well. There would be a rather nice single guy there for her. He was even into martial arts; they figured he'd have been perfect. Since Lili had shown absolutely no interest in dating, her friends decided to step in, but she still had no interest. They had no idea what was wrong with her; everyone around her age was interested in getting together, especially during vacations. She simply told them she was very busy, even over the holidays. They also pointed out her more quiet demeanor these days; they thought something was wrong. She assured them she was fine and that silence did not necessarily mean anything was wrong. She did go out from time to time with them-she wasn't a total homebody-but she was a bit more reserved than she used to be.

It's funny how one can change after a time.

She could have sworn she saw a dark figure on a bench during her walk home, but she wasn't sure. Deciding to move on, she went back to her penthouse, with the distinct feeling that she was being followed.

It was not a threatening feeling, however-in fact she got a bit of a lump in her throat. She fingered the war medal she always kept in her inner coat pocket absently.

Arriving back at the place, she went up the twenty-odd floors to the top; she basically had the entire floor to herself. It was no trouble, of course, money wise. She unpacked her bags and hung up her coat; she then decided to put on some coffee to take the chill off.

About a half hour after she had settled down with the coffee, there was a knock at the door. Lili looked up from her laptop, putting her cup off to the side before she closed it.

As she stood, she found herself already trying-and failing-to hold back tears, wiping them from her eyes.

Opening the door-she didn't bother checking through the peephole-the towering figure stood there in his fur-lined longcoat, army trousers, and combat boots. He stared down at her with pale eyes, which held a hint of longing. There were one or two new scars on his face as well, showing that he must have been through some harsh battles. She guessed there were even more on his body.

Each scar, she reckoned, was made by a dead man.

Lili stood aside, letting Sergei in-as soon as he took his coat off, she began throwing her fists against his chest. After a short time, he easily-though gently-grabbed her wrists; she looked up at him, a few more tears falling. He dropped her hands, wiping the tears away with his fingers. She looked at him defiantly a moment.

"I thought you were gone. You should have at least tried to contact me."

Sergei only shook his head, leaning forward for a long and hungry kiss; she returned it in kind. He broke off a moment.

"I'm sorry, Lili."

She had missed his voice so much, as little as she got to hear it.

She then went forward to kiss him again, not about to lose this moment.

They lay together in Lili's bed, naked. Several hours had passed, most of them spent right there. It had grown dark.

Lili, with a highly pleasant ache in her midsection that she had not felt in over a year, looked over to brush back some of Sergei's hair. She was happy to see neither of them had forgotten what the other had liked. He turned over to lay on his side, meeting her gaze. To say that this day's encounter had been more intense than their last one would be selling it short. Lili was aching in more than her midsection, and she would have to likely cover up some of the marks on her body if she had to meet anyone soon. As far as they knew, they would actually have at least a week this time; possibly more by the look. It was something to at least make up for the huge gap.

The tiny smirk that he had on his face grew into a smile when she touched his hair.

A real, actual smile.

His first one to her.

It only lasted a few moments before it went back to the smirk, but it was enough for her. She leaned forward to kiss him once more. It broke after a few moments, Sergei still smirking again as he lay back, one arm behind his head as he silently grabbed a cigarette out of the pack he put on the nightstand.

Lili could only chuckle, his smile having told her everything she needed to know and more.

I know, Sergei.

I know we can never be together permanently, but we can take our days...sometimes even weeks when we can.

I know that you're sorry it took you over a year to get back to me.

I know it wasn't your fault.

And I love you too.

A/N: Just a short epilogue to the story. It felt like around the right time to end it. I wanted to end it on a good note. It may not be 100% happy-go-lucky; I mean let's face it, the Rocheforts are probably still targeted and the two of them can't see each other more than a week or two at a time every some months-but it's nice to know that they'll be able to continue what they have every so often, and that he'll be around to smash some sniper skulls.

I never thought something that started as a 3 chapter lemon would grow to a 10 chapter...lemon-action-plot short story epic. Guess I have EVO to thank since it got me wanting to pick up fighting games again, which meant Tekken, which meant my old main Sergei got played again and inspired me. Also the fact that I saw this story tended to get the most attention made me think that folks out there might enjoy a little more.

It was challenging to write at times, though. Trying to keep Sergei in character was fun; he'd never be the overly sensitive type, but I feel that, given the proper circumstance, the Spetsnaz could have it in him to have some more loving emotions in there, at least toward someone, even if it would only be one person. Even if they come out in their own way, I could see them existing. Trying to give him just enough dialogue was a little tough sometimes, but in my head, Sergei talks when he has to, but isn't, for example, completely devoid of a sense of humor, even if it is more dry and biting than actually ha-ha funny. The physical stuff was easy. Sergei is a grown man and Lili is a beautiful young lady; that part was easy to figure out. Sergei could easily have had all sorts of physical attraction to her to do all the sexy stuff. But the emotional stuff was challenging to do. (Like in the last chapter, I could see that one single moment where he sheds that tear; not for himself, but for how she was left feeling. He probably never does it again in his lifetime.)

Lili was a little easier; though it was more trying to preserve the 'spoiled rich girl' with 'likes tournaments' with 'loves her family and tries to protect them' with 'fell in love with a deadly Russian commando and wouldn't give him up for anything'. It was interesting to see her grow from a headstrong and naive 17 year old to the 19 year old still somewhat headstrong but more tempered college woman...who knows to whom her heart belongs, even if it's only for some weeks out of the year spread out.

I also felt that the words Lili thought at the end should never be said between them...since, well, there would be no need for them to be.

Maybe I'll do some side stories with them. I like the pairing enough to put them in different situations. ;)

Thanks again all to who followed this long one. Hope some new folks find some enjoyment in it as well!