Okay so sometimes I get lost on one story and in order to get my mind in motion again I start writing short stuff for another fandom or something to warm up a bit. So here is just shorts that I have taken the time to write. It doesn't really have a plot, I just love Vaas and figured if I couldn't write about one thing, I will write about what I can until I shake off that writer's block.
Day One
The Meeting
There was no way that Vaas was nervous, no way in hell. He couldn't be. It was impossible. But the fact that his palms were sweating beneath the thick bandage wrappings and the evidence that was left behind his heavy breathing: he was nervous. It wasn't the type of nervous that resulted from being talked down by Hoyt, or coming closer to killing his sister. It was the nervous that a man got when he was about to meet a woman, a woman that he was interested in.
He clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, eyes flitting around the dingy shanty at the center of Badtown. He was expecting an old woman to answer the door. The exact woman that had offered her grand daughter to him. It was odd and Vaas was amused, so he entertained the old woman and said he would accept her grand daughter's hand in marriage. He wasn't really going to marry her, merely see how far this would play out. But here he was... Nervous.
The door opened, there was a young girl standing on the other side. No younger than Vaas and just about as pretty as a delicate flower: bronze tan skin, pink lips shaped to perfection, long charcoal hair, hazel eyes. Her hair was decorated in a fashion that one thin line above her left ear was shaved completely, the rest of her hair folded over to the right side and braided. Her hair was wet and she adjourned a black bikini top and blue jean shorts. Tattoos came rolling up the full length of her right lower torso up from her hip.
"Can I help you with something?" Vaas's eyes only fluttered the slightest, her voice was soft and milky, her beautiful accent doing nothing but good to every single word.
"I'm Vaas, your grandmama invited me over." Her features suddenly turned into a scowl and she creaked the doorway just enough to peak her head out.
"Sorry, but we aren't looking for grooms, okay?" She nearly spat it, but was tugged violently back into the home, when wrinkly fingers grabbed her ear. The door was opened further, the young girl wincing and hunched over as her grandmother held her by the ear. Her grandmother wasn't pretty, a bit overweight, saggy breasts, and long grey hair, but Vaas still showed a great amount of respect for the woman. For all elders Vaas would remain respectful, unless they gave him reason not to. This girl's grandmother had guts, she was willing to give her granddaughter to a wealthy pirate lord for the sake of protection and grandchildren. He could remember exactly how the lady had phrased it, "I want grand babies and she ain't givin' them to me," he nearly laughed at the memory.
"Come in, Vaas. Please, dinner is at the table."
"Sounds good. Thank you, Ms. Petrico." Vaas entered the home and made his way towards the kitchen. He could hear the whispered bickering back and forth between grandchild and abuela, it amused him to no end. He sat down at one end of the round wooden table in the kitchen. Moments later both woman entered and the young girl took her seat across from him.
"So Vaas, did you have trouble getting here?"
"Of course not, I know my way around the island so good I could get here blind folded, mama." She snorted in response, her granddaughter glaring at Vaas the entire time. The woman came to the table with a metal bowl of vegetables and meat. She picked up the ladle and poured some of the soup in Vaas's bowl, the granddaughter's bowl, and her own. Vaas reached his head down and closed his eyes, inhaling the delicious scent of venison soup.
"Mmmm... Mama, this smells delicious. It has been a while since I have had a home cooked meal. Where did you buy the deer?" The granddaughter crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat.
"I hunted it myself. So as you can see I am fully capable of being husband-less for the rest of my-"
"Maria." Her grandmother chided, shutting the young girl up immediately. She busied herself with stirring the contents in her bowl and every so often glancing at Vaas from across the table.
"Now Vaas, forgive my granddaughter. As I had told you, she is a bit feisty."
"That's alright, Ma'am. I like feisty." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, picking up the spoon to bring it to her mouth. "Maria is your name?" Vaas asked, taking a sip of his soup also. She didn't answer, her grandmother let out a low growl and sigh.
"Yes, her name is Maria."
"This is very good meat. Did you cut it yourself?"
"I did." She replied herself this time, her voice was dull and morbid, much unlike how she sounded earlier.
"It is cut well. You are a master, Maria." She gulped and took another spoonful of we soup.
"Thank you." Vaas looked over at her grandmother.
"I will take her..." A look of content crossed the old woman's features. "But..." She frowned. "I am not going to marry her until she wants to marry me."
"She will never want to marry. You have to force her." Her grand mother had mentioned this before, but Vaas didn't want to marry. He just needed something to appease his boredom and after meeting Maria, she certainly would do.
"If she does not want to marry me, I won't force her. But I would like to ask her if she would stay with me at my compound for a few weeks, so I may get to know her." Vaas was being a lot more sympathetic than usual, but really he figured that this girl would give in. Most of them did.
"Thank you." Her voice was much less depressed once those two words left her lips and he smiled at her.
"But you have to try to get to know me, Chica."
"Of course." Maria nodded her head vigorously, a tiny smile forming on her lips. "Will I be able to surf and hunt?"
"You will be able to do whatever you want, but you have to check in with me." She jumped up from her seat and fist pumped the air.
"Thank you so much, Vaas. I will go gather my things." Maria ran from the kitchen to go and get her stuff, Vaas smirked turning his head towards the old woman. The old woman was frowning, not at all pleased with the turn out of this meeting.
"She will not be easy to control."
"I don't want to control her..." Vaas placed his hand on the old woman's shoulder. "Let her live a little, Mami. You wanted grand children, I will think about it." He removed his hand and began to assault his soup.
The Arrangement
"Okay." Maria let out a deep sigh when she made it to the top of the metal stairs leading into Vaas's room. He had brought her to his compound shortly after leaving her home. He had brought her there by boat as it was on an island and ice they arrived she had left her things on the boat so he could introduce her to where she would be living for the next few weeks. Vaas didn't give her a specific number of days, but due to all the good things that Vaas promised her on the boat ride there. She didn't care. After showing her around, he sent her off to get her stuff off the boat and then warned his men behind her back that she was not to be touched. He told her to meet him in his warehouse, where he was nowhere to be found until he shouted from his room for her to go up the stairs.
His room was practically empty; a couple of beer bottles, white packages laying around, a single mattress at the center of the room with a couple of covers and a feather pillow, a poster of a nude asian woman hanging on a wall adjacent to the door. A window shed light on from above the mattress, the walls of cinder blocks and floors of concrete. She didn't feel very welcomed by it all.
Vaas spun around, gesturing to all around him. He placed his hand on his hips and smirked at her.
"What do you think?" She gave no reply, his smile slowly fell, but he tried to hold as best as he could. He itches the back of his head awkwardly and pointed to the empty space on the right side of the mattress. "Put your stuff there." She nodded her head and did as he requested, he turned his back to her and quickly shoved a stack of porn mags beneath the bed.
"Where will I be sleeping?" He froze and gazed at her over his shoulder with a stone expression.
"You will be sleeping with me, is that a problem?" She timidly shook her head, she was just happy to be free from her grandmother.
"Where do I change? Shower? Um... Go to the bathroom? What if I get my monthly? Where will I go? Do you have pads? When I am hungry where do I get food? I typically midnight snack. Is that okay? Do you mind if I sleep on the left side of the bed instead of the right? How do you sleep? I wear Panties and a t-shirt to bed. Will that be a problem? What about-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He yelled at her, silencing her from her babbling. All because she was worried about sleeping with Vaas. Vaas notice her flinch when he rose a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and then put his hand back at his hip. He pointed to the mattress, too annoyed to make eye contact with her.
"You can sleep in what you usually wear, I don't give a fuck. I always sleep on the left, so fucking deal with it." He pointed to the door. "Downstairs around one of the storage containers is a shower, the toilet is in the back of the warehouse. If you are hungry, you leave the warehouse and walk across the fucking compound to the mess hall." He took a deep breath and looked up at her, his hand was placed over his chest. "I like my privacy and I am sure you do to. If you get your little bloody fiasco, you take care of it yourself. I don't want to know. My things you don't touch and if I want you to leave for a few minutes, maybe an hour, you leave." She shrugged and nodded her head.
"What if I-" Vaas groaned and placed his palms on both of his temples.
"I don't want to hear complaining and shit. I don't like to talk a lot and if I don't answer you, it's because I don't want to talk, okay?" She nodded her head and he nodded his head to mimic her, clapping his hands together.
"I have never lived with a man before, neither have I ever slept with one." Vaas's eyebrow raised, he was slightly shocked, especially since she was the same age as him, a woman who has hardly had any legit contact with a man and already past the stage of womanhood.
"Oh Well, get used to it and don't make friends with my men either."
"What if I need you?" She blurted it out because she didn't want him to interrupt her again.
"You go looking for me."
"But what if you aren't here?" He squinted at her, wondering if perhaps he had chewed a bit more than he could swallow. Being in the same proximity as the same beautiful woman over and over again for the next few weeks and then working at the same time. Then there was the utter fact that her mouth couldn't stay shut for more then a millisecond.
"Wherever I go... I guess you go to. Until I say otherwise, alright? Any more questions?" She shook her head, but then rose a hand up when he was about to turn around and tend to the very few items lounging around his room; clothing, trash, porn, drugs, etc.
"Why do you really want me here?" Vaas chuckled and itched his jaw.
"I'm bored. I am not going to marry you, but I thought. Why not? Your grand mother has some balls and to be frank, you have some big balls to. You know who I am right?"
"Yes." She tilted her chin up. "Everyone on the islands knows Vaas Montenegro."
"What I am curious about now is why your grand mother would rather you marry a pirate than a Rakyat soldier?"
"We have never really liked them much, besides these tattoos mean nothing to me now." She gestured to the designs that carved into her abdomen.
"You were Rakyat once?"
"I was chosen to marry the son's leader a while back, but Citra betrayed us all." Vaas paused, he crossed his arms.
"You..." He pointed at her a bit skeptical. "Were chosen to marry Maku's son?" She nodded her head. Vaas hid his surprise, Maku was his father, Maku was Citra's father and he didn't have any brothers as far as he knew. He remembered his father mentioning an arranged marriage, but he had never cared much for it.
"What about your parents? What happened to them?" She bit her bottom lip.
"They died with Maku and Kara, Citra had them killed." How could she not know? He was Maku's son and she didn't seem to notice a single bit. But everyone knew Vaas. Vaas this and Vaas that. Vaas is king. Vaas is a murderer. Vaas is crazy. Vaas is Vaas. And she wasn't scared a single bit.
"I hate Citra." He muttered under his breath. It was his destiny to meet Maria, it was his destiny to take up her grandmother's offer. His eyes trailed to the tattoos, he watched her as she began to pull her clothing from her duffle bag. Those tattoos were his signature. Those tattoos meant she was his.
The Arm Bar
The rest of the day went smoothly, Vaas spent his time trying to get to know Maria. They had talked about a lot. She didn't keep her word and complained once about leaving her Surfboard at home. He punished her by locking her in a cage for two hours and taking a short cat nap in his room. Afterwards he promised that it would be longer next time if she complained again. Her comfort zone seemed to become smaller after that. Their conversations were awkward and few, she would busy herself with something useless, while he tried to busy himself with cleaning his gun.
They ate dinner together, a bowl of rice and a mango on the side. When it came time for bed, it was dark out, the room was dim aside from the moonlight that hung over the mattress from the window. Vaas disposed of his clothing down to his boxers and tucked himself under the covers. He cared less about Maria's frigid figure at the corner of the room, she would get use to it. It was a while before she finally laid down on the mattress as well. She decided to wear black shorts over her panties and an oversized white shirt.
She huffed and tried to get as comfortable as she could, but she found that there were many dilemmas. Vaas had the only pillow on the bed, he had hogged a good majority of the covers, and his legs were practically pushing her off the mattress, which in itself was not big enough for two. She cleared her throat, Vaas tossing around on his stomach and shoving his face into the pillow.
"Vaas..." She whispered, Vaas didn't answer. "Vaas." She whispered again, she turned onto her side and tapped a finger at his bare bicep, which was once covered by a black cloth. "Vaaassss." She whispered a bit more loudly, Vaas slammed his fist into the mattress and groaned. He lifted his head and glared at her, laying on his stomach, she could barely make out the sharp darkness of his eyes.
"What the fuck is it?!" He snapped, she wrapped her arms around herself.
"I was wondering-"
"Why the fuck are you whispering?! I mean God fuck! Nobody else is in this fucking warehouse."
"I don't have a pillow." She said without whispering this time, Vaas pushed his face back into the feathery delight. "And it's not really nice to use the lord's name in vain." Vaas didn't lift his face up to send her a glare and in this darkness, she probably wouldn't catch it.
"I am not letting you use my pillow."
"Can you at least share the covers?"
"Are you complaining?" She shook her head and realized he might not have seen it.
"No. Good night." He grunted in response and turned his back to her. She went back to trying to sleep, as for Vaas he was about to shoot something. Ever since she mentioned the pillow, ever since she asked if he could give her some more covers, it was itching at him. He didn't know why. Vaas wasn't going to care. Vaas didn't care. It was impossible. Who cared about her not having a pillow and not having covers?
Vaas sure as hell didn't. But here was Vaas. He cared. Moments passed.
Itch...
Itch...
Itch...
Itch...
He sat up on the bed and fisted the pillow in his hand.
"Fucking! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He shouted so loud that it startled Maria and she jumped from the flat mattress, crawling from it onto the floor. He placed his head in his hands, leaning in between his bent knees. "Fuck..." He placed the pillow on her side of the bed and threw the covers off of himself. He laid down on his back and placed his arm over his forehead. "Fuck you." He whispered, taking in deep, ragged breathes. Maria slowly made her way towards the mattress again, she crawled onto it from the concrete floor and patted a hand over the pillow.
"Thank you Vaas."
"Don't fucking mention it! Ever!" He turned his back to her and pouted like a child. She snuggled into the pillow and threw a portion of the covers back over Vaas, just enough for both him and her. An hour passed and neither of them seemed to be getting good sleep. Vaas kept tossing and turning, Maria was starting to get hungry.
It was when her stomach growled that she decided she was going to walk to the mess hall. She sat up and turned to Vaas.
"Vaas..." She whispered, he sat up on his elbows and harshly slapped her in the arm. Her hand grabbed to hold over the slowly flushing area.
"Why are you whispering? Huh? Why are you fucking calling my name? Vaas. Vaas." His voice tried to mimic hers as he said his name. "What the fuck do you want?!"
"I am going to the mess hall. Do you want anything?" Vaas cocked his head at her, wondering if she was serious.
"Are you serious, Chica?"
"I am hungry." Her shoulders shook slightly as she shrugged.
"We just ate two fucking hours ago?"
"Well I want a midnight snack."
"No." He turned his back to her again.
"You said it was fine earlier." He sat up abruptly and turned to her, his finger now sitting an inch from her nose as he pointed at her.
"I said how you could get there, I never said you could or you couldn't go there. Now go to fucking sleep."
"I want to go eat." He didn't say a word and grabbed her, pushing her down to the bed. He took the pillow and propped it under his head. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shoved her head against his pectoral. She struggled hard, her legs swinging everywhere from beneath the covers, but she did not scream. He wrapped his legs around hers and pressed her bottom hard against his hip.
"Now, Problem solved. We both have covers, we both have pillows and you have decided that you aren't hungry. Now go to fucking sleep." He growled in her ear, he could feel her shiver beneath him from his words. But no more thirty minutes later was she sleeping softly against his chest. Vaas followed shortly after.