Hello hello! This is an AU/AH One shot full of fluff!

I hated goodbye more than anything else. I've had to say goodbye to too many people in my life. My best friends' parents, my best friends' brother, my friend Mason, all of them I had to say goodbye to too soon. And the thing I hated the most was that I didn't know that would be my last goodbye because it was sudden.

But every time I had to say goodbye to Dimitri it left me sick for days.

I met Dimitri when I was seventeen. He had volunteered at my school to help students get caught up with physical education classes. He was tall and handsome and swoon-worthy, but completely reserved. He didn't talk much, but when he did speak – man, what a voice!

We had slowly bonded over the year. I took one on one classes with him because I was seriously falling behind. He didn't like it, I didn't like it, but if I didn't do well I couldn't get my scholarship or graduate. Or escape the wrath of my mother.

Over the first few weeks, I learned that he was twenty-four, the only son out of four children, originally from Russia, and all in all a big softy. He loved his family and had a good heart. But he wasn't going to be around long because he was on leave from the military. His best friend, Ivan, had died in the line of duty during the summer, and Dimitri had been sent home because of an injury and concern for his mental wellbeing. Dimitri didn't open up about Ivan much, but the first time he did it seemed like he had been dying to speak to someone.

Dimitri was in the army and had been overseas for the last two years. He didn't talk about it much, but there were times when he would get quiet and lost in his thoughts. I usually would stop what I was doing and sit next to him when that happened, just lending him the smallest bit of comfort that I could.

It wasn't long until I started to fall for him. There were moments where we would talk and we would gravitate closer, and along the way, there were stolen kisses too. He fought against what we had because of my age, but I didn't make it easy for him. I knew what I wanted, even if I was a few weeks shy of being eighteen.

When my birthday rolled around, I had walked into the gym in the morning with a smile on my face, only for it to drop seeing the look on his. When he told me that he was leaving, that he had gotten the call late last night that he was to return to base. I nodded and tried to act like it didn't matter, but it did. I wasn't ready to let go of him yet.

When he brushed the small tears from my cheeks and pulled me in for a kiss, it felt like my body had come alive. I could feel the spark of electricity into my arms, all the way down to my toes. It was like it was consuming.

"I promise I will come back," Dimitri had whispered to me in the gym that morning, cupping my face tenderly. I nodded sadly and pulled him back down for a kiss before letting go.

"I hate goodbyes," I said.

"Then don't think of it as a goodbye. Think of it as I'll see you soon," he had said.

After school that day I had begged my parents to drive me to the airport so I could see him off. I spotted him with his family not far off and thought about bailing, not wanting to intrude, but when he spotted me he gestured for me to come to him.

There was no graceful walking, instead, I ran to him and let him envelop me in his arms. I could hear my parents talking quietly between them, and I'd willingly take the consequences when I got home, but at that moment I just stayed there.

Watching him walk away was hard, and I spotted a girl from the year below me. Looking at her it clicked that she was one of Dimitri's sisters, the youngest. I had seen her in the hallways before, but never spoken to her. I gave her a small, sad smile that she returned.

Maybe I would go out of my way to talk to her now, knowing that she was missing someone that I missed too.

Two Years Later

"What do you mean he's staying?" I asked, weaving between people in the hall.

"When I talked to him last week, he said that he had to extend his stay by another six months. I thought he told that," Viktoria said worriedly.

"No," I said as I reached my lecture hall, "He didn't. He never said a word."

Viktoria sighed. "I'm sorry, Roza. I hate being the one to tell you that."

I shrugged. Things had been a struggle. The first time Dimitri went back overseas, he returned for a short period of the summer. He came home the same day of my high school graduation, and I watched him slip into the back row shortly after the ceremony had started. Again, I had no clue he was coming. I had grown close with Viktoria, and by extension, her family. They all had come too, but there was one person I wanted there. And he did show!

That summer had been someone of a haze and a dream. We started dating and I had come to terms that I would have to prepare for him to go overseas again at some point. That summer was full of love and sweet whispers, days spent in the sun and nights curled together around a fire. I had fallen completely in love with him, and I couldn't see my life without him.

But halfway through my first year of college, he had to leave again. And like he had left the last time, he left with an 'I'll see you later'.

"It's fine, Vika. Anyways, I have to go. I have my Russian class," I said shifting my bag on my shoulder. The only reason I took this class was to learn how to speak it to surprise him, but our phone calls were getting fewer and farther between. I hadn't even seen him in over a year. He was supposed to come home this weekend, but that was no longer the case.

Viktoria said her goodbyes and I walked into the room, climbing the stairs and finding my spot. I was miserable now. I took my supplies out and set it all on my desk, scrolling through my phone. I hadn't spoken to Dimitri in a little over two weeks, and I missed him horribly, but I was starting to feel like I wasn't going to see him for a long time. I didn't know how our relationship was going to work out at this point. We spent so much time apart that it was like we were only seeing each other in passing.

A classmate sat down next to me as I put my phone down on the desktop a little harder than necessary.

"Wow. Who pissed you off?"

I sighed and looked at my classmate, finding my friend Evelyn.

"Dimitri. The universe? Take your pick?"

"Uh oh. I don't think I've ever heard you say you were pissed off at Dimitri. What happened?" she asked.

"He isn't coming home this weekend. Or for the next six months," I said bitterly with a sigh, resting my head on my hand. "I hate not seeing him."

Evelyn rubbed her hand over my back in a comforting gesture. She understood what this felt like. Her dad was in the army too.

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

"It's fine," I said. Evelyn frowned and reached into her bag and deposited a big box of chocolates on the desk between us.

"Looking for a sugar high to get you through class?" I asked.

"No. It's Valentine's Day. Did you forget?"

I frowned. "Yeah. I guess I did," I sighed as our professor had walked into the class and started the lesson, but I wasn't really paying attention. I spent more time doodling in my notebook than listening to what was being said. I could hear our professor speaking but I was so lost in my daydreams that Evelyn had to practically shove me out of my chair to gain my attention.

"What?!" I snapped, turning to look at her, but was met with her smile. I furrowed my brows at her and she pointed to the front of the room. I could hear mumblings from my classmates as I looked, confused about what was happening when I felt my breath catch in my chest.

"Please tell me I'm not hallucinating," I said to Evelyn.

"No. You're not."

I rose from my seat and stumbled through the row and practically ran down the stair, barreling into the arms of my man, still dressed in his greens. I didn't care that I was in the middle of class, but I had practically climbed up his body to get close to him, tucking my face into the cervical of his neck.

"You're here?!" I sobbed, but it was muffled.

Dimitri's arms were tight around me, one around my waist and the other under my butt. I had flung myself at him, wrapping my legs around his waist. His chuckled was deep and quiet in my ear.

"I'm here."

It took me a moment to compose myself and I realize that I was putting on a bit of a show for my classmates. When I managed to pull myself off of him, my professor had a small smile on his face.

"He did call your name a few times. He's been standing in here for five minutes."

I scoffed a laugh and wiped my face before punching him hard in the arm. "You told Viktoria that you weren't going to be home for another six months!"

That made everyone in the room laugh. Dimitri grinned and kissed the top of my head. "I didn't want the surprise to be ruined. I told her that, but not Mama and your parents. I got home this morning."

I scowled at him but slipped my arms back around him for a quick hug.

"As touching as this is, I do have a class to continue teaching, and Mr. Belikov is here as a guest speaker."

I nodded and pulled back, stretching up to kiss his cheek and then scampered back up to my chair. I could feel the blush radiating through my cheeks, but I didn't care. I felt like I was floating on air!

I didn't want to move. I was curled so tight against him that it was like we were glued together. The final thirty minutes of the class went by and when we were dismissed, I skipped right up and planted a long hard kiss on his lips. It had been so long that I had forgotten what it felt like to feel his lips on mine.

I ditched the rest of my classes that day and spent them with him. I didn't want him out of my sight or my arms, and I think he felt the same way. Almost a year and a half was too long for me.

"How long are you back for?" I asked him that night laying in bed. His arms were tight around me and I had my head on his bare chest, our naked skin moulded together.

"For a while," he said tenderly, running his index finger over my spine. I pushed up at looked down at him, my brows worried together.

"Like a couple of weeks?"

"More like a couple of months, or even years."

"What?"

Dimitri smiled up at him. "I've done my required years of service, Roza. I transferred into a position where I'm here permanently. No more tours, no more going over seas. I'm here to stay."

I bit my lip as a smile crossed my lips. "So…No more 'I'll see you later'?"

Dimitri sat up and cupped my neck, pulling me in for a kiss. "No more. I'm here to stay. You're going to get sick of me."

I squealed a small laugh and wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing us back into the mattress.

"I don't think I'll ever get sick of you!"

Dimitri sighed and smiled up at me. "Happy Valentine's Day, my love."

I smiled down at him and pressed my lips to his. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Happy Valentine's Day babes!