Oh holy universe, I can't take it anymore.

Cheelai was freezing her ass off on yet another freezing night on Vampa. For some reason this night was colder than any of the other nights on this hell-hole, with the winds raging and even making it into the cave. Which in turn made even the house freezing, even bundled up in her jacket and blanket like she was. She knew Lemo was probably just as cold as she was, but Cheelai was feeling childish enough to where she only cared about her own comfort. Broly had attempted to try and explain that sometimes this happened on the planet; that these were considered storms of a kind, but his father likely hadn't taught him the proper terminology so as to provide a viable description.

Tossing over in her bed, she found herself thinking over Paragus and Broly, and their likely complicated relationship. Paragus had treated Broly like he was a weapon of some kind, a tool to be used to complete his end game, whatever the heck that had been. But the big lug had loved that jackass (for some reason), and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe, at some point, Paragus had been softer to Broly. Kinder, maybe even had actually been fatherly to the guy as a kid. The attachment had to stem from somewhere, right? Broly wouldn't just love someone who had treated like complete and total crap, right?

And it wasn't like she could ask Broly about it; the subject of his father was still a touchy one. The wound was too fresh, too raw. He didn't know how to handle the emotions that the loss of the man evoked; said man hadn't taught him how to handle it.

Tired of thinking these thoughts, Cheelai threw herself up into a sitting position on her little bed with a huff, and tousled her mussed hair in frustration. Standing, she secured her blanket around her should and went off in search of something to do. If she was going to be awake, then she might as well make the most of it. Too bad anything interesting to do was outside the house and in the cave.

Shuffling out of the bedroom that belonged to her (there was a grand total of two) and into the main living space, she braced herself for the undoubtedly colder air of the cave. Stepping out of the front door, she shivered violently, tucking the blanket closer around her. Jeez, and she had thought it was cold in the house.

Making a face, she trudged on and moved about in the darkness, wondering if maybe she should have brought a flashlight or something with her. It was really freaking dark.

"You should be asleep."

"Holy fuck!" Cheelai swore, jumping about three feet in the air. Placing a hand on her thundering heart, she whirled around in a circle, trying to find the source of the voice. She knew that it was Broly, in some part of her brain, but that didn't stop her from being scared out of her ever-loving mind. "Broly? Broly, where the hell are you?" she whispered furiously.

"Here." He answered unhelpfully. Cheelai rolled her eyes, a retort on the tip of her tongue, when suddenly a small light began to illuminate part of the cave. Looking towards it, she saw Broly sitting in a cross-legged position on the ground, a ball of energy in his hand so that she could see him and his placement. His face was solemn, more so than normal, and she felt a certain tinge of sadness to his overall demeanor. Was he upset about something, she wondered? Was that why he was awake in the middle of the night brooding in the dark? Their eyes met, and she knew immediately that yes, something was indeed wrong.

As she calmed completely from her scare, she tilted her head at the Saiyan, wondering what to say. Mushy-gushy talks weren't her specialty (that was sarcasm) but so far she had to say that she and Lemo had been doing a pretty good job of handling the few emotional talks they had had with the kind-hearted warrior. Not to mention the sex-talks, she thought as she made a face in her head.

"So…" she said, pausing as she thought about her words. "You're up."

Smooth, Cheelai. Real smooth.

Broly blinked at her. "So are you."

"Yup," she agreed, scratching at the back of her head. "Too cold to sleep."

A furrow of confusion drew his brows together. "It is warmer in the house, you know."

Had he just attempted sarcasm, she wondered in bemusement, or was he really just stating the obvious like she didn't know it?

"Um, yeah." She laughed self-consciously, "Kinda dumb of me to come out here, but I was bored, to be honest. And the house can feel awfully confining at times. So I thought I'd come out here, find something to do."

"Without a light?"

Okay, now he was just calling her dumb without actually calling her dumb. And she was pretty sure that that thought was running through his head, too.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Dumb." She rolled her eyes and blew a stray lock of hair out of them. "Anyway. Why are you up? Can't sleep, big guy?"

He was quiet for a moment, before he answered. His eyes drifted away from hers and to the side, further confirming that something was bugging him.

"…No." he answered finally. "I…" he hesitated, but she didn't push him to finish his answer. She just waited. Sometimes Broly had trouble piecing together things that he wanted to say, they had quickly learned. Most likely because Paragus had told him to be quiet most of the time.

It seemed like an eternity before he finished his thought, but eventually he did speak.

"I…" he repeated, before quieting his tone and hanging his head. "I was thinking about my dad."

Aw, crap.

Cheelai just stared at him for a moment, her shoulders sagging. She held back a sigh, trying to figure out how to address this problem. Sure, they had all talked to Broly about his dad, but both she and Lemo knew that it would take time for that particular wound to heal. He had been Broly's world, after all. A messed up world, sure, but a world nonetheless.

"Yeah?" she answered, clearing her throat a little. "What about him?"

Okay, now she was just sounding insensitive. Bad move. Where the hell was Lemo? He was better at handling talks about Paragus than she was. He had been more understanding of why Paragus had done what he had done to Broly, unlike herself. She had a tendency to focus on the bad shit, and not any of the good.

C'mon, Cheelai. Try sensitivity for once, she scolded herself. It won't kill ya.

"I was thinking that I…miss him." Broly interrupted her thoughts with his whispered confession, and she felt even worse for her earlier response. He was so like a child, despite being apparently well into adulthood. So innocent. And so unprepared for the emotions he was having.

And, he was probably unwilling to discuss them with her, because she had been stupid and made it abundantly clear just what her thoughts were on the man who had raised him. He knew that she didn't like Paragus, and that was putting it mildly. Of course he would be reluctant to discuss his mourning with her; he probably thought that she would get mad at him for it.

Talk about being a crappy friend…again.

Jeez, the poor guy deserved better, she thought with a grimace.

Okay, so; trying to comfort Broly about his dead father. How hard could it be? Really? Cheelai had never personally lost someone close to her, so she had never experience grief herself, but she understood the process and what it could entail. She had seen others suffer through it, but they had never been especially close to her. Lemo had lost friends in his years on the Frieza Force, so it really should be him talking to Broly about this, but that short orange jerk was sleeping at the moment, so unfortunately that just left Cheelai.

Not that she considered herself second-best; this just wasn't her forte was all.

Straightening her shoulders and gathering her reserve, she tried to figure out how to approach this. After what seemed like forever, an answer occurred to her.

"Yeah?" she said, trying to make her voice softer. "I bet you do, big guy. You loved him. Losing someone you love is…hard." She moved closer to him, watching him watch her from the corner of his eye. Sitting carefully down next to him, she moved forward with her plan and leaned against him. He was stiff an unresponsive at first, but he gradually relaxed and allowed her to make herself comfortable against his arm. Pushing her luck, she wrapped her arms around his big, muscular one and entwined them so that she could grasp his hand.

They had been close like this before (Cheelai was a physically affectionate person, and Broly affection-starved) but this time felt more awkward than others. Or maybe that was just Cheelai herself, who was feeling awkward about the nature of this particular conversation.

Jeez, why was it always her handling these things? Lemo really needed to step up his game on this crap, she thought with a mental pout.

Getting back to the task at hand, Cheelai continued.

"You know, I've never lost someone before," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, I've never had anyone that I cared about die. I guess I'm lucky enough, in that way. But you and Lemo have been my only real friends in a long time. I mean sure, I made friends before my life with the Frieza Force, and during my time with the FF, but no one means as much to me as you and Lemo do. So, I can't imagine how hard it must be to have lost someone who you've known and loved since birth."

She stared out into the darkness of the cave, silently allowing Broly to absorb what she had said and form an answer. She hoped she hadn't screwed up by saying what she had, but she honestly didn't know how else to proceed with this talk. It was starting to seem like most of their conversations they were having lately were bringing Cheelai out of her element, she thought with both some amusement and irritation.

Maybe it would help her grow as a person, she thought sarcastically.

The quiet reigned for some time, allowing Cheelai to realized that she was still pretty freaking cold, despite being sidled up to Broly's heat. The guy was like a heater, but the cold was just too much. Unless she snuggled closer, she was going to keep freezing.

Whoa. Wait up. Snuggled? She and Broly did not snuggle. They…she frowned, trying to find the word for what they did. Well, whatever it was, she told herself confidently, it was not snuggling. Snuggling was for couples, and she and Broly were certainly not an item. Like, so not an item. At all. Whatsoever.

She was just a very physically affectionate friend; that was all.

Shivering slightly and now just a tad uncomfortable with her position, she fidgeted in place, trying to decide if the heat Broly provided was worth the discomfort it was now causing her. But why should she be uncomfortable, she wondered? It wasn't like anything had changed in the last minute, just the fact that Cheelai didn't know how to classify their affectionate embraces. It was disconcerting, now, to think back on just how much physical contact she had initiated with Broly. Like just randomly hugging him or one of his arms, tugging on him to lead him somewhere, leaning against him like that one time that had ended disastrously and led to the second of their awkward conversations. But then again, she was also always invading Lemo's personal space too, and looping an arm around his shoulders or punching him on the arm, getting in his face when she felt like saying something witty or saucy. And she and the old man certainly weren't an item; Cheelai shivered at the very thought of such a thing.

"You are cold."

Snapped out of her thoughts, she jumped a little, and whipped her head to look at Broly's face.

He had stopped staring out into the darkness of the cave, and was now peeking at shyly.

"Um, yeah." She laughed nervously. "Not everyone can generate heat like you can, big guy."

Broly nodded slightly, having been told that he ran warmer than his two companions on multiple occasions.

"You should go inside."

Broly was looking back down as he spoke this time, and Cheelai frowned at him. Apparently Broly didn't want to talk about Paragus? Well, too bad. He was obviously in need of some counseling, and Dr. Cheelai was in session.

"Nah, I'm good right here." She waved a hand to brush the thought aside. "Besides, friends don't ditch friends."

This got him to look back at her. "Ditch?" he enquired.

She nodded. "Yeah, ditch. Means to leave you alone when I shouldn't. Like right now." She gave him her best impression of a hard look.

"I'm fine." He replied quietly. "There's no reason to worry."

"Tch. As if." She rolled her eyes, but gave his arm a squeeze. "Look, I know you're sad, and I want to help. That's all. I'd be a craptastic friend if I didn't." she held up a hand to stay the question she knew was on the tip of his tongue. "Don't even ask me what craptastic means."

Broly slowly closed his mouth, apparently having been well prepared to ask that very question. He blinked at her, as if unsure of where to go from there. Cheelai sighed, and butted her head against his arm gently.

"C'mon, big guy. Let's talk about." She chewed on her cheek thoughtfully for a second, trying to figure out a form of catharsis for the Saiyan. "I hear that talking about your problems is good for you, or something like that."

Broly seemed hesitant, but eventually his mouth twitched, and slowly began to open, words just as slowly coming out.

"He could be…hard, sometimes. Like when he shot off Bah's ear. Or when he would force me to train so hard, and wouldn't let me play. But he was also…kind, to me. He taught me everything, and would offer praise to me sometimes. He said, once, that…" Broly's voice lowered, near a whisper. "That he was proud of me."

Jeez, only once? Was Cheelai's first thought, but she quickly shoved it aside so that she could focus on finding some way to build up the relationship Broly had had with Paragus.

"Of course he was proud of you, Broly." She said with a smile. "He had every reason to be proud."

Broly looked at her from the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she began, scrounging for reasons that would make the most sense to Broly, and would be the most believable. Of course any parent would be proud of Broly; he was the epitome of a good guy, if a little unstable. Unfortunately, those attributes weren't valued by Saiyans. Only battle prowess.

And Broly had that in spades.

"You're so strong." She finished her thought. "You're the strongest person I've ever met. And I know Paragus loved you even more because of that. He might have been mean sometimes, Broly, but I think he was like that because he did care about you." Cheelai didn't say that she thought Paragus only cared about him because of his power. She knew when to hold her tongue.

Most of the time.

"Do you…do you really think so?"

The hope in his voice made Cheelai want to tear up, but she knew that Broly would only be alarmed at the sight of her tears and would only serve to upset him more. Instead, she forced a smile, a nod, and, of course, her signature sign.

"I don't think so, bud." She said confidently. "I know so."

Broly smiled, eyes soft and warm, and he ever so slowly turned towards her. Raising his arms up so very carefully, he put them around her petite frame, enfolding her into a delicate hug.

Cheelai was surprised. Broly willingly accepted her and Lemo's affections, but he was usually never one to initiate. Probably too afraid of rejection.

That wasn't to say that she minded the embrace. Not in the slightest. It was…quite nice, actually. He was warm, and his arms wrapped around her made her feel safe, and protected. It was a bit awkward though, having her face pressed softly into his muscular chest, and his into her hair. But still. It was nice, and she found herself wrapping her arms around his middle to return the embrace. She closed her eyes, and let herself just enjoy the feel of him pressed against her.

She would let the matter of his father slide for now, but they would touch again on the subject in the morning. For now, she would just enjoy the sensations she was feeling.

Eventually, though, Broly leaned away, the soft smile still on his lips and a warm, soft look in his eyes that Cheelai found hard to describe.

"Was that…okay?"

Cheelai giggled and pressed herself against his side, slinging one of his massive arms around her shoulders.

"Yeah, Broly. Yeah it was."

Silence reigned supreme again, until eventually Cheelai felt her eyes growing heavier and heavier, and harder to keep open. She found herself leaning more into Broly, immensely enjoying the heat radiating from him.

She vaguely heard her name being spoken, but she was too close to sleep to be able to respond.