*Updated 01-05-2018*

Chapter 23 - Better

A couple of weeks went by and Vaas was getting stronger by the minute. The medicine that Doctor Earnhardt had given him was working wonders as he was up and about, shouting his usual orders, bossing everyone around. Hoyt hadn't arrived at North Island yet; he had called Rosa to let her know that business had got a little hectic and that he would be over whenever he could.

Rosa wanted Vaas to be fully better before Hoyt came but she knew that that would probably not happen. All was calm around the island and there hadn't been a RaKyat attack since Badtown, which relaxed everyone. The tension was noticeably decreased as everyone was no longer on edge all of the time.

"Vaas, stop messing around with the hostages, I wanna have a smoke with you." whined Rosa.
Vaas pulled out some cigarettes, along with a lighter as Rosa smiled at him.
"Good idea, chica."

He took a cigarette, lighting it and watched as the tip turned amber. Rosa then frowned.
I want to smoke, she thought and stepped forward before Vaas interrupted.
"It's so fucking beautiful, is it not?" said Vaas addressing the hostage.
Rosa knew what was going on, was a little annoyed that she wouldn't get her smoke but waited with anticipation for Vaas to get going.

"W-What is?" stuttered the hostage.
The fear could so clearly be seen through his body, as he started to shake, unable to keep eye contact with Vaas.
"Just how this, this cigarette, is so powerful. Addictive. It's strange how so many people depend on this little thing."
Vaas held the cigarette in his dirty fingers, twirling it around. The hostage tried to scramble back further into his cage but Vaas reacted too quickly. He grabbed the mans neck, pulling his face against the bamboo caging.

"Tut tut. Didn't your Mama teach you any manners? It's rude to try and get away when someone is talking." taunted Vaas, "We must fix this."
Vaas very abruptly pressed the lit cigarette into the mans bare arm as he screamed out in pure pain. Vaas pushed in harder with a twist as the man squealed, Rosa smirking in the background. Vaas released the cigarette, the man falling to the floor, collapsed from the pain and a deep burn hole in his arm. His body was sweaty in reaction to the burn as some ants started to crawl onto him.

"Fucking pussy. He better earn me some good fucking money."
Vaas dropped the cigarette and got to his feet.
"And that, Rosa, is how it's done." he said, swaggering out into the main compound.
Rosa raised an eyebrow at his comment; as if he was teaching her something new.
"Vaas!" Rosa called after him.
"What?" Vaas replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Let's have a fiesta, please. You know you want to." Rosa purred, waggling her eyebrows at him, "We've not had one in ages."
"I like your thinking, princesa. EY, YOU COCKSUCKERS! GET THE SUPPLIES READY! IT'S TIME TO PARTY!"

Music thudded through the warehouse as Rosa finished off applying her eyeliner. She pulled out one of Vaas' red t-shirts, which was oversized and smelt like him. She grabbed some denim, ripped shorts and finished it with black converse; she didn't care for wearing heels tonight. The outfit looked lazily sexy, minimal effort but maximum beauty.

As Rosa opened the warehouse door with a pull, a dubstep track pounded through the compound. A sea of bodies moved on the make shift dance floor, pirates and prostitutes all having a good time. Beers were passed as joints were lit up, the atmosphere feeling good. Scanning the area, Rosa spotted Vaas sat on the usual couch and walked over, swinging her hips. Vaas glanced up, double taking before getting slowly to his feet.

"Damn, I still don't know how you do it." he muttered, pulling Rosa in for a deep kiss.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pulled a little on the oversized top, scrunching it at the bottom. In converse, Rosa had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss Vaas so he lifted her up, not minding his stitches, her feet no longer on the ground. Vaas pressed hard onto Rosa's lips, just the way she liked it, the taste of his mouth putting her in a daze. He pulled away and rested his forehead against Rosa's.

"I can't wait any longer. I have to have you." he said, putting Rosa down.
He took her hand and lead her back to the warehouse. When they got in the room, clothes fell off without hesitation as Rosa climbed onto Vaas, paying mind to his stitches. All of the pent up emotions and energy were released, pleasure surpassing them all.

Vaas then flipped Rosa under, going faster as Rosa's moans grew louder and quicker until she could no longer take it. She squeezed her legs around him and dug her nails in his back, her trademark sign, letting people know that Vaas was hers. Their bodies rocked with one another as their panting breaths started to subside. Afterwards, Rosa lay her head beside Vaas' chest, being careful not to touch the wounds that were still healing.

"What happens with the Rakyat now?" she asked as she stroked his body, weaving her finger around the wounds.
"I would love to say that they're all dumb fucks, which they are, but we need to get rid of them, soon. They need a leader and once that's sorted then it'll all go apeshit again."
"Do you have any clue as to who it could be?"
"It all depends on who was next to be the warrior. It probably would have been Dennis but you took care of that fucker like a god-damn pro."
"I would have killed them all that day if I could of, but it was too risky."

Vaas played with Rosa's hair as the gentle hum of the lights filled the silence. Rosa closed her eyes, but they snapped open when the music was turned down and familiar chopper noises could be heard.
"For fuck sake."

"Where is my daughter? I demand to see her now!"
Rosa and Vaas got hastily dressed and ran outside to see Hoyt, waving his arms in the air and screaming at some pirate.

"Hoyt! What the fuck is going on?" asked Rosa, her stomach flipping.
She hadn't seen Hoyt in a while and he looked run down with stress, his hair messy and his shirt untucked, wrongly buttoned.
"Ah, Rosa, you're here finally. Are you okay?" said Hoyt and he slurred a little, his breath smelling of alcohol, "It's not safe for you to be here. Look at these men, they could lunge at you at any chance they got!"
"No way, Hoyt, no fucking way. They wouldn't dare." growled Vaas asRosa wondered where this was going.

"Why have you come here to bitch and moan, Hoyt? You haven't seen us in over a month." Rosa said, Vaas standing close behind her.
"I told you, business got a bit...heavy. Buck being a little cocksuckers but ... HEY! ONE OF YOU FUCKERS GET ME A BEER, PRONTO!" screamed Hoyt, pirate running to the bar, "I have assessed the situation here and I can't have you in danger all of the time, Rosa. You're going to kill me with stress. It's not good. You could have died."

"Vaas could have too. It's how it goes around here, Hoyt, you of all people should know that, fucking hell."
"You don't understand, Rosa. Brody wasn't the first and he isn't going to be the last."
"Jason never wanted to kill me, it was Citra. But she's taken care of now, so everything is fine."
"No, it's not fine." Hoyt stated.

The pirate that had gone to get him a beer passed it to Hoyt as he took a long swig of it, some of it running down the side of his mouth, which he wiped away with the back of his hand.
"Jesus, Hoyt. You're drunk as fuck. What are you doing?" Rosa snapped, getting annoyed.

"Hoyt, hermano. Anyone that was a threat to us is now dead. You have nothing to be worried about, Rosa is perfectly safe." said Vaas.
A little group of pirates had started to form around the trio as Hoyt's privateers stood behind him, their guns at the ready. Rosa felt uneasy.

Something was going on.

"Where are you going with this Hoyt?" Rosa asked.
Vaas grabbed her hand and squeezed it in reassurance, to let her know that he was there. She squeezed back, happy he was stood with her. She hated when Hoyt got like blinding drunk as he showcased an awful side to him; he was always erratic, saying crazy things, getting angry. She couldn't take him seriously.

"I'm taking you back to South Island. And then, I'm taking you home. Back to where you're from."