Her Mistake, His Fortune: Divergence

"So," Jason starts as her family and friends, and Carter, get hauled away by Vaas' men. She ignores the looks of betrayal—and hatred on Carter's part—sent her way, and focuses on Vaas. He's taller than her, which she is just now realizing, but that isn't something she's going to complain about. "Still up for that walk?"

Vaas gives her a considering look, his dark gaze raking over her, and then he gives a shake of his head. "Not with you dressed like that, Preciosa." He doesn't need to elaborate any further. She knows full well just how dangerous Rook is, even when fully dressed and armed.

"Then is there somewhere we can go to talk?" Because they do need to talk. About Jason and everything that she's already been through. About Hoyt. About Citra. About them. "Preferably where nobody can overhear us," she adds as an afterthought, even though she's already revealed some of her situation to her brothers and friends, and the pirates that had been waiting in the jungle.

"If you want to talk now, then this is as private as it's gonna get, Preciosa," Vaas says as he motions to the beach around them. There are a few pirates loitering nearby, guns at the ready, but they're keeping a fair distance from her and Vaas. "Otherwise you'll have to wait till after we get back to camp." Meaning after he's processed Jason's brothers and friends.

"It can wait," she finally says after a moment of thought, even though she knows what it will mean for Grant, Riley, Daisy, Keith, and Oliver if she waits. Not that she has any intention in asking Vaas for their freedom this time around. Losing that much product had made Hoyt overly suspicious towards them the last time, and though they had gotten lucky by having Becker assigned to them it hadn't lessened Hoyt's suspicions any.

Vaas glances in the direction her family and friends have been taken, the corners of his mouth turning down into a frown, and then he studies her for a long moment. "Okay," he says slowly, looking as though he had expected her to answer differently. Or maybe he's wondering why she's forsaking the others. He'll know soon enough if that's the case, and she knows that Vaas will understand.

Jason starts to turn away, to follow after Vaas' men, but she's stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She arches a slender brow and gives him a questioning look when he turns her back towards him. It vanishes as he steps closer to her, his hand sliding up to cup her cheek, and leans in to press a chaste kiss to her lips. She winds her arms around his neck, pressing herself closer to him, and returns the kiss.

Vaas' mouth curls into a smile against hers, his dark gaze filled with warmth, and then he pulls back a few scant inches. "I'll take care of you, Jason, I promise you that."

"I know you will, Vaas," Jason murmurs, affection curling through her. She doesn't want to disturb this moment, to move from this spot, but… "We should get going," she says, her voice low.

"Yeah," Vaas rumbles out in agreement and strokes her cheek with his thumb. After a few seconds, he lets his hand drop down and, without any warning, he slides his arm around her and dips down a little to pick her up.

Jason just barely manages to suppress a surprised yelp and clings to Vaas, her nails biting into his shoulders. She gives him a half-hearted glare but doesn't even bother to ask that he put her down. She's far too used to his whims and being carried around isn't all that bad, especially now. "Warn me next time," she grits out and lets go of his shoulders to settle in his hold. Angry welts are left behind, temporarily marring his skin.

"And miss out on getting this kind of reaction from you, Preciosa?" Vaas asks amusedly as he carries her in the direction his men had gone. "I don't think so."

Jason rolls her eyes and lets her head rest on Vaas' shoulder, knowing that there's really no point in pressing the issue. Instead, she thinks about the situation and what steps they'll need to take, especially in regards to Hoyt. The man simply cannot be tricked, nor can he be lied to as her past experiences have proven. If anything… "You'll have to buy me from Hoyt, or whatever it is you need to do to legitimately keep me."

"Asking usually works, Jason," Vaas responds with a glance at her. There's a hint of curiosity in his gaze but it's gone in the blink of an eye. "He won't like missing out on the potential profits he could make from selling you off to the highest bidder, but he'll get over it." The smile that he gives her is a touch manic, and his grip on her tightens with a possessiveness that has her relaxing immediately.

"For my sake, I hope you're right," Jason murmurs, more to herself than anything, and lets her gaze drift towards the crystal clear water.