Chapter 12 - Old habits die hard

Pirate skulls and bones
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs
Running when we hit 'em
Lethal poison for the system
(Paper Planes - M.I.A)

Rosa's party continued long into the night. She never once stopped dancing only to get a drink of beer or tequila. Not having Hoyt around gave her a new sense of freedom and she was enjoying it. Vaas had stopped dancing with her after a while, going to sit down to drink a few beers. He loved watching her in the moonlight; the way her body moved in time to the music, how sexy she looked.

She caught him looking at her and smirked at him. 'Novacane' by Frank Ocean started playing as Rosa mouthed the words at him and moved through the crowd. Vaas felt like he was in a trance, the swaying movements of Rosa's body pulling him in. Eventually, she reached where Vaas was sat and sat next to him, him eyeing her up and down.

"Where can I get a pick me up around here?" Rosa purred into his ear.
Vaas looked at her like an animal about to pounce. He reached down to the table that lay in front of the couch and picked up a joint. He placed it in Rosa's mouth, pulling out a lighter. The sexual tension between the two was tangible as Rosa had to resist jumping him in front of everyone. He was still hers, wasn't he?

Vaas flicked the lighter as Rosa watched the flame dance. Vaas lit the joint and motioned for Rosa to inhale. Taking a deep drag, the effects of the weed were immediate as the island only stocked the strongest stuff. It made Rosa's head spin slightly, but in a good way; she took another drag and passed it to Vaas. Their eyes never left one another, the feeling between the two becoming increasing sensual.

Vaas passed the joint back to Rosa, her inhaling again. Deciding that it was enough, Rosa stubbed the joint out on the table, pulling Vaas up and leading him back to the dancefloor. Their bodies merged into one as Vaas starting grinding behind Rosa. The high between the two was increasing as Rosa turned around to put her hands around Vaas' neck so she could get closer to him, if it was physically possible. Rosa was loving every second, as was Vaas. The song changed and they stopped dancing. Vaas put his forehead against Rosa's.

"Would it be so bad if I kissed you right now?" he asked.
Rosa shook her head and smiled.
"Do it." she replied, smirking.
But before Vaas could an alarm rang out, sounding louder than the music and causing everyone to shout.
"FUCKING COCKSUCKERS!" he screamed, "PISSING ON MY SUNSHINE!"
"What the fuck is going on?" yelled Rosa.
"The Rakyat are attacking." Vaas shouted back, throwing Rosa a P416.
She caught it with ease and ran after Vaas up onto the stage, where she had killed the reject a few hours earlier. She blinked a few times, trying to bring her vision back from it's high state.

"Just kill the fuckers, princesa. Don't fucking hold back." growled Vaas as gunfire started to ring out.

The Rakyat entered the compound, screeching a tribal war cry as the pirates started mowing them down with bullets. Vaas got off the stage, joining in with the open fire. Turning around, Rosa saw that there were Rakyat everywhere, swarming their space. One stood below her so she pulled out her knife and jumped, stabbing the man in the neck. She twisted the knife and pulled it out, pushing the warrior's body aside. Rosa couldn't hekp the growl that escaped her lips, like an animal.

Another Rakyat was running to her, his knife poised in the air. Rosa opened fire, killing the the man but another had come behind her, attempting to slit her throat. With the adrenaline pumping round her body, this forced her to flip the man over, twisting his arms and breaking them, a move Hoyt had taught her. The man cried out as Rosa pulled out her handgun and shot him in the head. Giving an evil smile, she turned to face the entrance of the compound, only to see another Rakyat, who lunged and tried to stab her.

She blocked his advances and before Rosa could kill him, a knife came through his chest, causing him to fall. Raul stood behind the man and smiled at Rosa as she laughed. They both ran towards two Rakyat men who were tackling another pirate, Rosa jumping onto one of the warrior's back, grabbing his head and twisting, until it gave a sickening crack. She jumped off the man and saw that Raul had stabbed the other with his knife and was helping the pirate get to his feet.

The Rakyat were retreating and many bodies lay dead all over the floor. More Rakyat had been killed than Vaas' men. Rosa looked around for Vaas but couldn't see him. She still felt murderous, her eyes dark, her breathing low. She stalked her way back to the warehouse only to bed stopped by a voice.

"Come with me, princesa."

Rosa turned to see that Vaas was already walking off, out of the compound. She followed out after him and spotted his mohawk down on the beach. When she got down to where he was sat, a pile of clothes were on the sand, Vaas' head emerged from the sea. She flashed him a seductive smile and peeled off her bloodied tank, skirt and boots so she was left in her bra and panties, and walked down into the water. The cool feel of it instantly calmed her down, as the blood washed away in the sea. She waded over to Vaas, who was scooping up water with his hands and washing the blood off of his face.

"You were fucking amazing, princesa." he said and Rosa blushed.
"I learnt from the best." Rosa replied, humbly.
She began wiping off the blood on her arms and her face, also wiping away her makeup. Vaas watched her the whole time.
"Did you have a good birthday then?" he asked.
"100%." she replied, "I've never had a birthday where I've gotten drunk, high and killed a load of cocksuckers, so it's been badass."
Vaas laughed.
"What would Daddy think, eh?"
"Shit! I totally forgot to call him. I'll do it tomorrow." said Rosa.

Holding her breath, she dunked her head under the water to scrub her hair. Vaas didn't know what she was doing and yanked her back up.
"Hey, man, what the fuck?" complained Rosa.
"What the fuck were you doing?" said Vaas, his eyes wide.
"Washing Rakyat blood out of my hair, you idiot." said Rosa pushing Vaas' shoulder.
"Idiot? Oh, it's on." Vaas said.

Before Rosa could say anything, he jumped on her and pushed her under the water. Rosa used her free hands to force herself back up, squealing as she pounced, pushing Vaas under. This continued for a few minutes, resulting with both of them laughing loudly. They were close together in the water as Vaas pushed some wet hair out of Rosa's eyes.
"Kiss me." sighed Rosa and Vaas didn't hesitate.
Their lips crashed into each others, the familiar fireworks rushing back. Vaas fought for dominance and Rosa let him, their tongues mingling. Vaas' hands rested on Rosa's hip and thigh and she snaked her arms around his neck. It felt like floating. Rosa pulled away and both her and Vaas were breathless and smiling.

Rosa was unpacking some of her things from her backpack onto Vaas' dresser as Vaas was sat on the couch, smoking a cigar. Rosa put out her lipstick and eyeliner, a hairbrush and perfume, a couple of grenades and a packet of cigarettes. She some underwear and couple of changes of clothes inside the bag; she would figure that out later.

"I didn't know you smoked, Rosa." said Vaas, who had been watching her.
"I don't, but I took them off of Hoyt's desk. I'm not sure why." said Rosa, chuckling.
"Good job you didn't take his best cigars otherwise he would be coming over for your head." Vaas joked.
"Urgh, don't. Remember when that newbie guy tried to take one during orientation and Hoyt took his hand? That man is crazy about his cigars, I'll tell ya."

Rosa walked over to the bed, collapsing back onto it, staring at the ceiling of the warehouse.
"Vaas, how old are you?" she asked.
It had been so long, Rosa could barely remember.
"22, hermana. I think. I know for sure that my birthday is May 7th, but that stupid tribe can't keep track of the years." he replied.
"Weird, how I've never asked you when your birthday is."
Vaas flashed her a smirk, as Rosa sat up to take her boots off.

"I don't even know how you fight in these heels, hermana." said Vaas, picking up one of the boots.
"Practise." said Rosa, winking.
Vaas pulled off his top and boots, laying down on the bed. He unclipped his weapon holster and placed it on the floor but slid a knife under the pillow.
"Safety first, right?" he laughed.
Rosa rolled her eyes, settling down next to him. It was weird, for some reason Rosa felt like she was 17 again, unsure of where she stood with Vaas after their time apart.

"Come here." whispered Vaas as he motioned for Rosa to cuddle into him.
She did, putting her hand on his chest and listening to his heartbeat. she decided to keep her hands to herself, fighting the urge to touch his toned stomach.
"Can I ask for another birthday present Vaas?" she mumbled.
"What might that be, Rosa?" he said, rolling the 'r'.
"Tell me what happened with the Rakyat, please." she said, holding her breath.
Vaas sighed.
"Fine, but only because you said 'please'. And you're giving me that puppy dog face that I could never say no to." Vaas replied, chuckling.

"When I was born into the Rakyat, I was destined to be the ultimate warrior. I loved it when I was little, being told I was going to be all strong, powerful and shit. But my cunt of a sister, Citra, didn't want me to be. She's always been such a selfish pera, wanting to rule the tribe herself, saying that we needed to come out of the 'old ways' and let a woman be in charge. She didn't think I was man enough. My mother and father disregarded her comments, so that made her even more jealous and hell bent on taking over the tribe."

Rosa was captivated. Vaas had never told her anything like this before.

"That cunt killed my mother and father in their sleep. I can't say I particularly care as harsh as it sounds. She then brainwashed a group of the men to follow her orders and then came to kill me. One whiff of pussy and those dogs are willing to do anything to get it. I fought her off the best I could but I didn't have any weapons. Instead, I ran for my life and just before I got away, she threw a knife at me, managing to slice my head. I went through the jungle in the pitch black, no supplies with me and happened to run into Hoyt's guys. I scared the shit out of them so they beat me up first before asking me who I was. So I told them. They thought I would be useful for Hoyt so took me to the compound, and the rest is history."

Rosa didn't know what to say.
"Fuck." she breathed and Vaas chuckled.
"So what about Citra now?" Rosa asked.
"Once they heard I had come here, they followed. She came over here but left some others over on Hoyt's side. According to some technicality in the tribe rules, she can't take over the tribe unless I'm dead, so she's just slightly more pissed off. They attack all the time, trying to capture me but always fail. Stupid cocksuckers."
"If I ever see that cunt, I won't hesitate to kill her." stated Rosa, the promise palpable in her words.
"Get in line, princesa. Don't think of her now, try to sleep." replied Vaas as he stroked Rosa's head.

"Goodnight, Rosa." he said.
"Goodnight, Vaas." replied Rosa before she gave into the darkness that was sleep.