#brolaiweek2019

Cheelai blanched and grabbed Broly’s arm, forcing it down and pulling him away before any trouble could ensue. “Broly, you can’t just comment on people’s appearances like that. It’s not polite.”

“Oh.” The excitement at his discovery faded, replaced by a kicked-puppy look. She cringed, feeling bad for having to shatter his child-like curiosity.

She crooked an index finger at him, beckoning him closer and giving him a saucy smile. “You only say stuff like that between friends, okay?”

He stared at her for an almost awkwardly-long time, trying to process her meaning. Even with thousands of people moving around them, Broly made her feel like she was the only one in existence. Or at least, in his existence. “I just tell Cheelai?” He at last concluded.

Her heart skipped a beat. That he left out Lemo’s name probably didn’t mean anything, right? She cleared her throat and nervously tucked her hair back behind her ear. “Yeah. You can tell me anything, okay?”

He smiled, and her stomach did a funny little flip flop. She was saved the embarrassment of stuttering her next words when a deep BOOM resonated around them. It was followed in quick succession by more rhythmic beats. Broly tensed and stood up, pushing Cheelai behind him. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as the air between them thrummed with energy. She wasn’t the only one who felt it, other people glanced up at Broly and quickly backed away.

“Broly, Broly, it’s okay,” she reassured hastily, patting the arm he held defensively before her. “It’s just a drum.”

“What is a drum?” he asked, staring warily towards the noise.

“It’s for making music.”

“What is music?”

She couldn’t help gawking at him in shock. Had she or Lemo really not introduced him to music yet? Apparently not. “Erm, it’s something you listen to. For fun, and for dancing. See?”

She pointed to where several people in the crowd had begun bouncing to the beat of the drums, shouting foreign lyrics as they danced down the street. Once she got a sense of the rhythm, she began tapping the same tattoo on his palm. 

“Bum, ba-da-bum ba-da-bum ba-da-bum,” she sung for him. He glanced down at where her fingers lightly tapped his hand. The uneasy energy around him dissipated.

“It sounded like fighting,” he confessed, his brow furrowed.

Her fingers stilled. Oh. Now that he mentioned it, the drums were a little aggressive, almost like the distance booms of battle. Poor thing. Broly had been skittish about the topic of fighting since his father’s passing. He still attacked the mites on Vampa when necessary, but any time she or Lemo tried to talk to him about Earth, Broly clammed up. He’d been suffering from nightmares a lot too, only calming down when she would stay with him until he fell back asleep.

She brushed her fingers over his palm one last time as if to wipe away the beat of the drums. “It’s not fighting, I promise. We’re safe.” She gave him a smile, hoping to imbue him with her confidence.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and his shoulders relaxed, the worried lines on his brow easing. With a gentle nod, he acquiesced to her experience.

“Broly! Cheelai!” Up the street, Lemo waved his arm high in the air to get their attention. They moved through the crowd until they reached his side. Lemo gave Broly a worried look. He must have seen his reaction to the drum. “You okay, big guy?”

“It is only music,” Broly said, glancing at Cheelai for assurance.

She grinned and gave him an ‘okay’ gesture.

“Alright. This way, kids, it’s a bit less crowded.” Lemo pointed to a tiny alley between two buildings that took them away from the main street.

It was so narrow Broly had to shuffle in sideways, his shoulders far too broad. They emerged into a side-street filled with trash, but at least it was deserted. It felt nice to breathe without hundreds of other bodies pressing around them. The sides were lined by massive apartment buildings. Broly stared up up up until he almost lost his balance.

“Careful there, big guy,” Cheelai cautioned, grabbing his forearm to steady him.

He glanced down and gifted her a soft smile that melted her insides to the spot. He’s going to be the death of you.

Lemo stepped away, checking his directions on his portable device. She hurried up to the little orange man’s side. “Hey, we’re not lost, are we?”

“No.” Lemo glanced over her shoulder at Broly. The Saiyan was still taking in the sights, having never seen a slum before. He wandered over to a large pile of trash and crouched down. A moment later a stray cat-like animal slunk out of hiding and approached him, cautiously sniffing his outstretched fingers. 

Lemo lowered his voice for her ears only. “Cheelai, I think I should go without you two.”

“What?” She threw him an affronted look. “Why? You’re not trying to cut us loose, are you?”

He scoffed. “And lose the best body-guard the universe has to offer? Not likely. It’s just that these guys I’m going to meet aren’t exactly welcoming of strangers. They know me because we go way back, but they don’t know you, and I really don’t think they’re going to buy that Broly isn’t a threat. Besides, I’m worried how the big guy might react.”

Cheelai thinned her mouth, not liking the idea of separating from Lemo or him insinuating that Broly was a liability. Still, he had a point. Broly was awfully protective of them, and awfully naive. One misinterpreted joke or loud noise and he might overreact like he had done with the drums. After double-crossing Frieza, they needed to be making allies, not more enemies. “Alright, I see your point. You go. We’ll meet you back at the hotel I guess.”

Lemo nodded. “Sounds good. But you should take the long way back. Go have some fun, show Broly the sights. Broaden his horizons. It’ll be good for you kids to have some alone time.” There was something about the way he said that last part which had her narrowing her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean, old man?”

“Nothing,” he smirked. “Just put a glove on the door if you need some privacy.”

Her eyes flew wide at the insinuation, her cheeks flushing. Lemo chuckled and left before she could take a swing at him. “It’s not like that!” she shouted after him, shaking her fist. Lemo just waved and left her behind.

Still blushing, she glanced over her shoulder to where Broly was getting swarmed by cute little street animals. A whole litter of the things crowded at his feet, sniffing his fingers, mewling, and rubbing all over his boots. Any embarrassment she felt dissipated at the sight. 

She should have known Broly would be an animal person.

He brought one of the kittens to his face and allowed it to lick his nose, the softest smile lighting his face. He was whispering something to the creature as she approached.

“Making friends?” she asked fondly.

Broly looked up at her with adoring eyes. “Cheelai, look. Tiny Bas.”

Dear Kais, save me. She had to physically restrain herself from clutching her heart. Crouching next to him she pet the tiny animal under the chin and watched with growing amusement as more of its siblings started climbing all over him. “They’ve really taken to you, huh?”

Broly smiled and put the kitten on his lap where it rubbed its face against his knee. Another of the tiny creatures popped out from his wild hair, looking at her with slitted eyes. Cheelai laughed and plucked it free. “C’mon, Broly. We should go before they adopt you. I don’t think it would be very safe for them to live on Vampa.”

His expression turned sad, and she regretted having to play the bad guy. Taking one last longing look at the animals, Broly pried the creatures off and set them gently on the ground. “Goodbye, tiny Bas.” He stood and noticed they were alone. “Where is Lemo?”

She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “He went on ahead to meet his contacts.”

Broly frowned, the worry clear as day on his face.

“Hey, he’ll be fine,” she reassured, nudging him. “He’s been doing this longer than either of us have been alive. Besides, we get the fun job. Tourism!”

“What is that?”

“Pretty much anything we want. Are you hungry? I bet they have some awesome street food for the festival.”

Broly looked perplexed. “I did not see any giant mites.”

She laughed. “Exactly. Whatever goes for food around here has gotta be better than that. Let’s go find something yummy!”

She took his wrist and tugged him back towards the alley. Broly gingerly stepped over the mewling kittens with one last longing look, and followed after.

Back on the main street they rejoined the sea of people. It was much easier to move when they were going along with the tide. Broly tugged on her shirt, trying to get her attention.

“Is this everyone?” he asked in a low voice.

“Everyone?” she repeated, not sure what he meant. “In the city?”

“In the universe.”

Oh. Oh wow, he was so sheltered. “…No, Broly. Not even close.”

“Oh.”

She let him wrap his head around that until they reached the end of the road. The crowds of people emptied out onto the beachfront, dispersing amongst the stalls and food-carts, decorated in fresh flowers and fruits, that sprawled as far as the eye could see. They were hit with the smells of exotic foods and fresh sea air, sounds of children laughing and crashing waves and soft music in the distance. Broly came to a stand still, needing a minute to soak in the magnitude of it all.

“Oh wow, look!” Cheelai pointed, running over to a nearby stall selling candy-dipped fruits and spun sugar. “Broly, do you wanna try some sweets?”

The Saiyan followed close behind. He had to duck down to peer into the short stall. The handler was a woman who looked older than the universe itself, her wrinkled old face giving Broly the stink-eye. He didn’t notice, sniffing a hanging candied fruit with great interest. Opening his mouth wide, he tried to inhale the whole thing in one go.

“Wait!” Cheelai yanked him back at the same time the old woman started yelling at them. “You have to pay for it first!” She fished in her bag for a metal chip and tried to offer it to the angry handler, but the woman was furious, yelling at them in an unknown language and pointing wildly not only at Broly, but at Cheelai too. People were starting to stare.

“Hey, I’m trying to pay you here!” Cheelai huffed, thrusting the chip towards her but the handler knocked it from her hand to land in the sand. 

Then the woman spat on the ground, and in a thick accent filled with loathing, growled, “Frieza.”

Cheelai’s eyed widened and she glanced down at her armor, realization dawning. Her head jerked up in time to see Broly scowling fiercely at the woman.

“Broly, c’mon,” she said, grabbing his wrist and tugging him away before he could cause any damage.

Broly reluctantly obeyed. “I do not like that person very much.”

“Ha, me neither, but I think I understand what her problem was. Let’s beat it.”

“Where are we going?” Broly asked, scooping up the chip from the sand as they went.

“To get a change of clothes. I don’t think we’re going to be very popular here otherwise.”