Beta read by Darklord331 and Shigiya
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-Magnolia-
"So all of that happened?"
Sitting at the table in their new abode and having some light snacks, Lucy took the time to recount everything that happened during the quest.
From their journey over there to meeting the various guilds along with their members, Broly's sudden action which ended up causing a major fight, his departure, them going after him, Christina crashing, Broly being mind controlled and forced to fight them due to the effects of the forbidden weapon long forgotten by time; Nirvana.
Cana listened to all of it with various expressions flashing on her face.
From intrigue, shock, disbelief, sadness, and relief.
Lucy found them to be funny to see, it was hard to see the usually mature and mischievous Cana be so expressive for every little thing. Then again, she could understand why given everything that happened with Broly in such a short amount of time.
"I still can't believe he got mind controlled, it's scary magic now that I think about it. To suddenly turn on your allies in an instant… it must have been hard for him." She said with a sorrowful expression, looking outside where she looked at the Saiyan carrying a large tree five times his size on his shoulder to plant it closer to the house.
The man had even done some light gardening at the front. Planning to plant some fruits and other kinds of vegetables — he was surprisingly good at it. Cana had a hard time imagining someone with his appearance being interested in such activities.
But it was cute.
To imagine this same person who had been contemplating for the past ten minutes about where to place the tree with such a serious expression and suddenly turning on his allies was hard.
"He did mention it is not really mind-controlling magic but something different. From what I remember, Nirvana is supposed to reverse the light within oneself, from light to darkness and from darkness to light. I do not know the details of what he felt like under its effects, but he did mention how it happened before." Lucy answered with an uncertain face, remembering Erza's name coming up during the conversation. "Erza apparently saw something similar happen many years ago when they first met."
Cana hummed, being familiar with the redhead's past. "I still don't understand how he freed himself from it"
At that, Lucy just chuckled awkwardly, averting her eyes with Cana which made the brunette curious.
"What?"
"N-Nothing…" The blonde's memories reverted back to the moment she asked this same question to Broly out of curiosity and his answer was something that turned out to be completely different than she expected. "I don't know how to explain it without it sounding a bit weird."
Cana's eyes widened and she showed a sly smile, "Hehehe, oh you naughty little girl. Going to kiss someone in the middle of a battlefield, how bold~! Still, I one hundred percent approve of your method, no need to feel weird about it as long as it works!"
Lucy's hand loudly struck the table, nearly spilling the content and startling Cana who saw a glowing blush make its way on her face till she resembled a tomato.
"Nothing like that happened!"
"Yet."
"Cana!"
The card mage raised both hands in defeat, barely able to contain her laughter when seeing her friend's reaction. "Alright alright, I was just messing with you… kinda. But you can't blame me for making assumptions if you're suddenly so quiet. So just tell me."
Lucy continued to hesitate for a few more seconds before she gave up. She didn'twant Cana to come up with even weirder ideas on this topic. "Broly said he was hugging someone." She whispered, knowing how odd her answer sounded.
Cana tilted her head, wondering if she heard correctly.
"Hugging? Did you not just mention he was beating all of your asses from here to Bosco? Unless he was trying to break someone's spine with a bear hug, I guess that would've counted." Lucy shivered at that, being held so strongly until her bones broke like twigs sounded so painful.
"Yes, he was not hugging anyone. I don't know how to explain it. He said It happened in his mind and some kind of girl with long hair came and helped him from losing control completely. He said she was really warm." Her voice trailed down at that last part.
A girl with long hair, that description barely narrowed down the list of people who knew him and the description of her being warm did not help at all. When she asked him to give her more information, He just shrugged and mentioned that his memory was a bit hazy at the time and to not worry about it.
"I'll admit, this is the first time I have heard something like this. To break control of a mind-altering magic by dreaming of a girl hugging you is not something I would hear from someone who wasn't drunk. Are you sure he wasn't just messing with you?"
At that, Lucy immediately shook her head and denied that claim resolutely. "Broly is not someone who makes jokes like that and he is not even good at it when he tries. And the situation was pretty serious so it didn't seem like a good time to make jokes in the first place."
All in all, it was a confusing case in which part of her wanted to know the answer, and the other continued to be curious. But come on! Whoever or whatever happened, it still managed to save him from whatever Nirvana did to her friend and for that Lucy was grateful. "Never mind, if you are still curious about what happened, then just ask him yourself when he gets back."
"Speaking of which, when is he going come back? He's been trying to find the sweet spot to place that tree for a —huh? Mirajane?" At first, she just threw a small gaze outside just to check what he was doing, and suddenly out of nowhere saw there was someone else present.
Speaking with Broly whilst holding a basket, dressed in a beautiful black dress that failed to hide her curves.
"I hadn't thought she would come over for a visit, wait… I didn't even tell the others about this place." Cana muttered, with both her and Lucy standing near the window watching the duo interacting with one another. "Say, don't you think she is a bit too happy speaking with him?"
"Eh? I don't think so, she looks to me like her usual self." Lucy answered, peeking at the scene with some uncertainty as well. Her eyes narrowed and her guard was up against many people lately. "Maybe Broly told her where we live, they get along well enough from what I'm seeing."
"Everyone gets along with Mira, there's hardly anyone in Fairy Tail that doesn't. But she is not one to willingly go out of her way to look after someone else outside the guild like this. Ah, he's coming back! Act natural."
"Stop making it sound like we were doing something bad!"
With both girls going back to their seats, they heard the door open with Broly walking inside with a towel around his neck. Wiping off some sweat and holding a basket that had an enticing savory aroma coming from it. "Hey you two, Mirajane just dropped by and gave me this — she told me it's a housewarming gift or something like that."
Putting the basket on the table, he walked away to his room before halting in his step and turning to face both women. "By the way has Makarov mentioned anything about repaying the damages I've done on the quest?"
"You seriously expect him to ask you for compensation for destroying that freaking thing!?" Lucy pointed outside at the sky, the meaning behind her words being quite clear. "Even if he asked us to repay it, where the hell are we supposed to find that kind of money? How do you even fix that thing to begin with? Or who do we go to give the money to!? No one owns the moon! I don't even think the royal family has enough coins in their vaults to do it! So forget about it and please never bring it up again, I don't want our case to worsen after what happened at Mount Hakobe uuuuuh! We barely have enough left to just eat!"
"You also need to contribute to this month's rent." Not willing to miss this opportunity, Cana added with a mischievous smirk.
"Already!?"
"It's been a few days since you all returned and the end of the month is near. So the clock is ticking~!" She popped her wrist, enjoying the sight of the blonde panicking so much. She found the blonde to be adorable when she's like this. "Are you two that low on money? I remembered you had quite a bit of jewel when you first got here and both of you have accomplished quite a few quests so far that had high-paying rewards."
"But we didn't get paid for most of them! And the last one we also were not paid for obvious reasons!"
"Well, no use crying over spilled milk. There is an easy way to fix this issue within a day and earn enough money to pay many months of rent in an instant"
Broly grew curious, He was not that worried about their dwindling funds since he could easily live in the forest as he did in the past. But he could not have Lucy live the same kind of lifestyle as him. Even if she had grown used to it after leaving her house, she still clearly enjoyed the city life more than himself. Also, he did feel a bit guilty to see her stress about money so often and he also felt partially or rather mostly responsible for everything that happened so far.
"What is it then?" He asked the brunette.
"Hehehe, just follow me."
{Break}
-Fairy Tail-
Honestly, he should have expected this.
"Time for us to take on a few quests!"
After managing to encourage Lucy on a way to gain a lot of money in a short amount of time, all three of them quickly left the house before noon and were dragged by Cana to the guild. The place was as lively as ever, even despite what happened during the quest no one seemed to be bothered by the outcome and only cared about the others coming back alive.
"Hey, Broly! I like what you did with the moon! Now I no longer hear the wolves howling near my house hahahahaha!"
"You look even more beautiful today, Cana! Let me buy you a drink!"
"I need another fill, Mira-chan~!"
"God fucking damn it! That bitch is going to suck my money dry just because I accidentally destroyed her roof! She keeps increasing the amount day by day by demanding ten thousand jewels for even the smallest cracks on the wall! If she increases it again today I will punch her in the face!"
Safe to say, no one even bothered to bring up the details of the quest. To them, as long as Erza, Natsu, and Gray were involved then the quest was bound to succeed with a bit of collateral damage.
No one even remotely believed him when he confessed about destroying the moon. Treating it as a joke he made and bringing it up from time to time. Broly did not know how to feel about that since he fully expected everyone here to look at him with disappointment or anger after what he did.
But none of that happened.
Looking around, he found no trace of Erza, making him wonder where she went. The same goes for both Natsu and Gray, perhaps they were on another quest?
"Hm?"
At the corner of his vision, he saw a set of white wings and blue hair which reminded him of a dragon slayer and flying cat duo he met during the prior quest. His eyes widened at the sight of Wendy sitting at one of the tables with the annoyingly talkative cat having a meal.
And the girl just happened to notice him.
"Ah, hello!" She hesitated at first but managed to show a big cheerful smile and waved at him. Getting up from her seat and rushing towards him with Carla following along. "U-Um… nice to see y-you again."
"Humph, we meet again, brute." She just started to greet him like that, though he had gotten used to it.
"Wendy?"
"You remembered!" Of course, he would remember her, it had only been a few days since they last met. "I-I was afraid I wasn't going to be re-recognized."
"Be more confident in yourself, Wendy! If you continue to behave like that then no one is going to remember you. So don't act all scared and stop trembling so much, young lady!"
"I'm trying my best…"
As usual, the dynamic between these two had not changed since they last met. From his perspective, though the flying cat was a bit unknown to deal with, she appeared to genuinely care about the young girl which he found to be reassuring.
"Why are you…" There were plenty of questions swimming around his mind concerning her current presence. But right as he was about to ask why she was here, Broly managed to spot the Fairy Tail guild mark on her. "Oh, then what about your old guild?"
Her smile faded quickly, replaced with one that was closest to sorrow. The sudden change caught him off guard and Broly wondered if he mentioned something he shouldn't have. Surprisingly, Carla was the one to speak up immediately and give him an answer with a soft tone. "It is a bit complicated to explain everything, so just read this. That old man wanted to pass this onto you specifically."
A letter?
Curious as to what was going on and feeling a strange sense of dread, he quickly opened it.
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To the one who managed to burn away our greatest sin,
Greetings,
I present myself as Roubaul, former Master of the Cait Shelter guild and the late chief of the Nirvit clan.
I am sure you may have many questions upon reading this letter, especially after seeing Wendy join your guild. Allow me to assure you that she was not cast away nor abandoned. Wendy has always been, and will forever remain, a beloved member of our family. She has spoken of you during your encounter, and though some of her words were difficult for me to believe at first, I now recognize their truth.
I will not waste your time and will address the heart of my message: I write to express both my gratitude and my plea for forgiveness.
The Nirvana was never intended to be a weapon of war. Its sole purpose was to foster peace and bring an end to conflict between forces locked in unending strife. It was meant to be a tool of harmony, capable of transforming the hearts of those consumed by darkness into ones open to understanding and compassion. But the road to peace was fraught with unintended consequences, and in our arrogance, we created an abomination—a weapon of destruction that betrayed everything we sought to achieve.
For this, I ask your forgiveness. I have witnessed firsthand the harm Nirvana brought upon you, and I am acutely aware of the rage and pain it has left in its wake within your heart. No apology could ever erase the scars it inflicted, but I must at least acknowledge my responsibility. I am deeply sorry.
My time in this world has been fleeting, extended only by the duty I carried—to guard our mistakes and protect an innocent soul who bore no connection to the sins of the past. For centuries, I remained shackled to that duty. But now, with your intervention, those chains have been broken. The complete destruction of Nirvana is a reality I never dared to dream of, yet it has brought me a measure of peace. To see it turned to ashes has lifted a weight I thought I would carry into eternity. For this, I thank you, my clansmen can finally rest in peace.
Finally, I must ask one last favor, though I know I have no right to do so. I plead with you and your guild to look after Wendy. She is still young, untested, and maturing. She deserves a future unburdened by the mistakes of my past. Care for her as we did. Protect her, nurture her, and keep her safe.
Best regards,
Roubaul
…
A complicated well of emotions rose within Broly's heart when he read the letter. On one hand, he felt particularly sorry about this person who had to look after that weapon for so long and secondly, it was the frustration of any lack of what happened — for he never intended to blame anyone other than Irene for what happened to him.
But that was not the end of it, for him to see the sense of gratitude coming from this letter about him destroying Nirvana… felt good. Warm.
He failed to explain it in words, but when reading the letter made him feel more accepted. But then again, doubts continued to persist stubbornly from within. 'If I had not destroyed it, would Wendy's guild members still be around?'
"W-What does the letter say?" Wendy ended up asking after a few minutes of silence from him. Seeing her worried expression momentarily made him remember Lucy from all those years ago when she helplessly wandered inside the forest.
Right, This was not the moment to be having such thoughts. So, he got onto his knees putting him out at nearly the same level as Wendy. "It's asking me and the others to take good care of you. Welcome to Fairy Tail, Wendy." His giant hands ended up finding their way to her soft hair and tussling them a bit like he used to do with Lucy. His action momentarily caught her by surprise but she ended up accepting and even leaning against it.
"T-Thank you! I'll do my best as a Fairy Tail wizard!"
He was happy to see her reaction like that. The girl bowed her head once and had to leave to meet the master, she still had a few things left to discuss with him but as she went along her steps carried more confidence than before.
While he went back to join the main group who was waiting for him.
"Here we are, the only way you can get enough money to buy yourself an entire warehouse of booze within a single day. Trust me, it works." Cana mentioned while she stood in front of the quest board. "Of course, I may be exaggerating the numbers a bit since neither one of you are S-class wizards, So don't expect to find quests that reward more than working as a group."
Now that she mentioned it, the Saiyan realized that despite the three of them being a team they had yet to complete any kind of quests on their own.
Lucy on the other hand who was prepared to face a monumental challenge given how much her friend was hyping it up could not help but sigh. "How could I have forgotten about these? I guess dealing with all kinds of ridiculous things in the past few days made me forget about there being simple jobs that won't endanger my life or have me face dangerous mages."
All three of them began scouting for something fitting their requirements. Simple enough that it could be accomplished in a single day and also offer enough compensation for them. 'There are a lot. Request to babysit a dog, clean someone's house, buy groceries on behalf of another person, act as background characters in the theater play, and even paint fences. They are simple enough, but I think the pay is too little.'
Neither of these offered much at all, many of them barely even going over ten thousand jewels.
"I see you are having a bit of trouble choosing as well." a voice spoke next to him, that of a man he never heard before. Broly turned to face a similarly tall, heavily muscular tan young man. Having clothes similar to his, a bob cut, and white tattoos of the sun on his shoulders. "I understand How you must feel right now. Taking on any kind of request is not an easy job and finding the right one can be very tricky. If you need any kind of advice on which ones to choose and which ones to stay away from then don't hesitate to ask me, newbie."
"Uh… who are you?" Uncertain about how to respond to such a thing in the first place, Broly just went with the first question that crossed his mind when looking at this person.
The person in question did not show any kind of offended expression and even puffed his chest whilst putting on a serious expression. "My name is Nab Lasaro, a long-time member of Fairy Tail. I have a lot of experience dealing with such things, more so than anyone else here, so don't hesitate to as—ka!"
A slipper came flying from behind Broly, hitting Nab straight in the face.
"Oi Nab! Don't go infecting Broly with your serious case of indecisiveness when it comes to picking out a request! I don't want to see him spending most days standing here and just looking at the board like you!"
"Ah! That hurt, Cana! And I was not infecting him with anything, he clearly needed some help to decide. And just so you know, I don't spend all day standing here unable to choose a quest, I am just waiting for the perfect one to appear so that I can be more efficient with my time."
"You're just a procrastinator." She did not hold back with her cutting words, striking the man where it hurt most verbally. "Anyways, ignore him, Broly. Nab is infamously known to just stand here all day looking at the quest board without picking out anything with how indecisive he can be. You'll see him often, so just get used to it."
The man nodded, turning his attention to Nab who was getting back up with a giant red footprint on his face. "I see, it's nice to meet you too, Nab. If I have any questions about a quest, I will come to ask you for advice."
His response made all of the gloomy atmosphere around the man instantly disappear. Making him laugh while continuously patting Broly's shoulders. "Hahahaha! I'm glad to hear that. See, Cana? You should be nice to me like the guy here, it will make you a bit more cut—"
"—Finish That sentence and I will have you taste the bottom of my other shoe since you clearly like it so much."
That instantly made him shut up, the irritated expression of the brunette clearly telling him to just walk away silently while he was still in one piece.
"Don't mind Nab. He is a good guy but his indecisiveness can be irritating after dealing with it for so long. But part of what he said is true, given how frequently he hangs around here that guy is familiar with the kind of people who send in the requests. So if you want to avoid potentially dealing with a shady person who might try to undercut you then you can just ask him if the quest giver is an honest person or not. In any case, both Lucy and I chose a couple of quests that might be interesting." She said before showing him a small stack of posters.
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"Need help to move around heavy objects to finish construction on a bridge. Here it's mentioned that the sooner the job is done the more they will pay with a maximum being almost ninety thousand."
"Searching for strong individuals who can scare off a bunch of wild blood bats That settled in the forest a few days ago. Apparently, they are quite annoying to deal with for the farmers."
"Oh, look at this! Looking for a water mage who can fill up a large pool with clean water in seconds. I remembered you mentioning holding the Aquarius key, you can use it and ask her to fill it up."
"Absolutely not! Are you insane!? If I even thought of asking that, she will drown me!"
Cuddled around a table, all three of them were checking the request chosen by each one of them. Seeing which one was potentially the most worthwhile while also being easy to accomplish within a day. The rewards varied from the lowest offering a mere twenty thousand with the highest being a hundred thousand.
"Let's just the one where we are asked to cut down a few trees for a lumberjack. It pays well and I know the person myself, he's pretty easygoing."
Lucy hummed, not immediately agreeing. "It does look interesting, but this one seems more interesting don't you think? Where someone needs some assistance to paint their whole house, even the pay is similar and it won't be as physically demanding. What do you think, Broly?"
He shrugged, "All of them seem fine to me. If we are quick with it then getting it done within a day." They were pretty boring and simple requests that didn't demand much. And all of it is happening locally unlike the past few quests.
So they continued to search for another few minutes till he sensed someone familiar approaching them with a tray in hand holding multiple mugs of beer. "Oh? It's rare to see you being so choosy about quests, Cana." Mirajane walked over and took the empty glasses of juice near Lucy and took a quick peek at the posters on the table. Leaning ever so slightly which made part of her chest accidentally touch the saying's shoulders, though neither of them commented or even cared about it. But the same could not be said for Lucy who had a weary expression on her face.
"Well yeah. Since this is the first one we are taking all three of us together without anyone else then I wanted it to be something special. Something that will pay enough for Lucy and Broly over here to afford rent. So I want it to be something special and not dangerous. I can't believe I spent almost half an hour going over these, perhaps Nab really infected me…"
The white-haired Mage did not give her a quick response and instead just looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, tapping her finger on her lips a couple of times before snapping her fingers. "I just remembered something. If you guys are searching for a worthwhile quest then I might be able to help with that. You may even get paid almost half a million if all goes well." She said with a small smile on her face As soon as those words left her mouth. Getting a reaction of pure disbelief from Lucy and skepticism from Cana.
"Half a million? Not that I doubt you, Mira… but hopefully you're not sending us to a quest where we have to fight a group of bandits or dark mages. I don't even remember seeing such a quest posted on the board."
"Fufufu~! No, it's nothing like that. You will see it for yourselves. Just come to this address in the afternoon, I will be waiting." Leaving them a small piece of paper where she wrote the address of the job's location, all three of them agreed.
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(A few hours later)
It did not take long for her group to find out what their job turned out to be. Now having left the guilt and walked over to the southern part of Magnolia, they reached the address with him on the paper that turned out to be a large studio building with models, photographers, and other people. A few of them even mistook Lucy and Cana as models themselves and approached them.
Some of them even started surrounding Broly and admired his physique, of you even daring to touch his muscles shamelessly and compliment him on them. Not that he found it weird and just accepted them with a smile on his face.
It wasn't until later that they managed to find Mirajane posing in front of a decorated set wearing a rather skimpy-looking swimsuit. This was followed by multiple flashes of the camera as the photographer kept taking multiple shots from different angles.
The trio froze for a moment, not quite expecting the scene before them. Mirajane, always the cheerful and composed mage, looked entirely in her element as she struck elegant poses for the photographer. The swimsuit she wore—a white and blue ensemble with delicate frills—complemented her curves. "Finally, she noticed their arrival and waved."
Mirajane, noticing them, broke from her pose and waved enthusiastically at them. "Oh, you made it! Perfect timing!" She walked over, ignoring the frantic protests of the photographer begging her to stay on set. "We will soon begin the group pictures and you two will need to change into swimsuits prepared for you inside the changing room." It wasn't the job they'd imagined when she said it would pay half a million jewels.
Lucy's jaw dropped. "Wait… This is the job? Modeling?! Oh my god, are you serious!?"
She exclaimed, both bewildered and equally as awed seeing the renowned model she'd seen countless times in her favorite magazines posing in front of her in real life and also telling her to join!
Cana folded her arms, arching a brow. "Figures Mira would pull something like this. Though, honestly, it doesn't seem too bad." Her eyes flicked to the photographers and the assistants bustling around. "Looks more glamorous than chopping wood, at least. Well, it's easy money."
"..." Broly scratched the back of his head, his expression neutral but curious. He noticed the photographer eyeing him for a while but did not say anything about it.
"This isn't just about modeling. I've been doing some promo shoots for a new campaign, and they're short on people for tomorrow's event. They need some extra models."
Lucy's face flushed red. "Mira! I'm not a model! I don't even know how to pose like that!"
Mirajane chuckled and placed a reassuring hand on Lucy's shoulder. "You don't need to. It's more about presence than anything. They'll guide you through it. And Cana, you'd be perfect with your confidence.
Cana smirked. "Oh, I'm in. This sounds like fun." She nudged Lucy playfully. "C'mon, Lucy. You're always worried about rent. Here's your chance to make a lot in one go."
Lucy groaned, conflicted. "But this is so out of my comfort zone…"
She was still hesitant until Mirajane approached her and whispered something in her ears which Broly failed to hear, whatever it was made the girl blush and instantly agree. "Let's get you all set up then. The fitting room's that way."
As the duo were led away deeper into the studio, Broly stayed behind unsure what to do until Mirajane approached him. Still wearing the swimsuit that continued to attract a lot of attention from even the other models. "What do you think?" She asked, striking a pose with her arms under her chest, pushing them upwards and making them pop out even more than usual.
"It looks good." Broly just said the first thing that came to mind, remembering how Aquarius used to ask him the exact same kind of question whenever she got herself a new bikini. But his relaxed answer did not seem to satisfy her unlike the Celestial spirit, as Mirajane gave him a small pout.
"You answered it so easily I thought you'd be more stunned since I don't usually wear something this risque. You aren't even blushing." She pointed out, making him slightly confused about that statement.
"Why should I be blushing?"
That caught Mirajane by surprise, realizing he was very genuine with his question. "Oh my, well how do I explain this… most men tend to get excited seeing me in such clothing. I thought you would have had the same reaction but I suppose I was wrong. Or maybe I am not putting in enough effort?"
He tilted his head, not that he felt nothing seeing her like this. But he did not truly understand what she meant by excited, then he recalled the faces Makarov and Wakaba made when looking at similarly dressed models in magazines.
Perhaps that was what she meant?
Not that he understood why, he had seen Aquarias's bare chest during their baths together but he never made such a face. Though his body did feel hotter during those times but that was about it.
"While we wait for the two to change, want to take a few pictures of me? They will be trying multiple sets of swimsuits to see which one suits them best, so we have plenty of time on hand."
Broly blinked, slightly taken aback by the offer. "You want me to… take pictures? Of you?"
Mirajane nodded with a playful smile, tilting her head slightly so a strand of her silver hair fell over her shoulder. "Why not? You're already here, and it's part of the job. Besides…" She leaned in just enough to catch his attention, her voice dropping to a soft, teasing tone. "I'd like to see how you think I look."
He didn't fully grasp the implications of her flirtation, but her gaze lingered on him with an intensity that even he couldn't ignore. "Alright," he said simply. "But I've never used one of those cameras before."
Mirajane giggled and reached for a nearby professional camera, already prepped by one of the assistants. She placed it carefully into his hands, stepping close enough for him to catch the faint scent of her floral perfume. "It's easy. I'll show you." She guided his hands to the proper position, her fingers brushing lightly against his. Her touch lingered a fraction longer than necessary, though Broly didn't seem to notice.
"Like this?" he asked, adjusting his grip as she instructed.
"Perfect," she replied, her voice honeyed. "Now, just focus on me. Don't worry about anything else."
She stepped back into the spotlight, the lighting catching the shimmer of her skin as she struck another pose. This time, her movements were more deliberate, almost feline in their grace. She rested a hand on her hip, tilting her head slightly with a playful smirk. "How do I look now?"
Broly peered through the camera's lens, his expression calm but focused. "You look… good." He clicked the shutter, capturing the moment, but his tone lacked the reaction Mirajane was fishing for.
"Oh, come on," she teased, her lips curving into a sly smile. "You can do better than 'good.'" She shifted positions, arching her back just enough to accentuate her figure while maintaining elegance. But her stretch made the fabric be pulled back even further, showcasing more skin and a slight pink color at the center of her breast. "What about now?"
He paused, studying her through the lens. There was no denying that she was stunning—her beauty was undeniable, even to someone as straightforward as him. He started to feel a bit restless but did not show it, choosing to ignore that feeling and focus on the task at hand. "You look… beautiful? But be careful, I think your top is going to come off with how much it's stretching."
The sincerity in his tone caught Mirajane off guard for a moment, her cheeks dusting with a faint pink. "Fufufu~! That would be embarrassing but don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
As she moved into another pose, she decided to push the boundaries just a little further. "You know, Broly," she said casually, "I'm glad to see you look more cheerful compared to when we last spoke by the lake. I heard the quest did not go as planned and I was worried that you'd be in a worse mood."
He showed a smile, "Is that why you came over this morning?"
"You can say that I suppose."
"I did many things I regret during the quest because I thought it would keep the others safe. It was at the end I realized just how flawed that kind of thinking was and it put them in danger regardless. So I don't want to cause them to worry even more about me, I gave them enough of a hard time." The Saiyan answered while taking the picture, his answer making Mirajane stare at him for a while.
In the end, she sighed. "You know, it's not wrong to be more reliant on us. We care about you just as much as you care about us."
His hands stopped, as her words sunk in. They were very familiar with what that person mentioned before and it soothed him more than he expected.
"I know, but I still want the others to rely on me without something going wrong. I made a lot of mistakes, and I don't want it to continue. Which is why I will do my best from now on to not mess things up."
A gleam flashed within the girl's eyes, "Then how about we take a picture together to commemorate this occasion?"
Broly hesitated, lowering the camera. "Are you sure about that? I'm not exactly dressed for photos like these."
He pointed at his clothes which covered his entire body with a coat that seemed to be made out of the fur of some kind of monster.
Mirajane's playful smile widened. "It is a difficult situation, isn't it? Unfortunately, we don't have any swimsuits for men prepared today, so I suppose you would be against taking off a few layers yourself. It must be a new experience for you. How unfortunate~! So I suppose we don't have any choice but to—!?"
What was supposed to be just an attempt to tease the Saiyan even further was instantly shattered when Mirajana saw the man in front start undressing without hesitation. Taking off his upper clothes showing his bare chest and was stunned when he started to loosen the fur around his waist along with the pants.
"I don't mind, since you, Cana, and Lucy are making the effort to wear those kinds of clothing so I shouldn't be shy as well." He answered earnestly, not noticing Mirajane's eyes lingering on his body till they started to lower ever so slightly.
"Besides, I usually am used to walking around without much on. So it's more comfortable for me." With nothing but some boxers that clung tightly to him, Broly approached the set and stood next to a speechless Mirajane. "Alright. What do I need to do?"
Her prior mischievous expression was completely gone and her eyes darted away to look at anything else but what was presented before her.
"Hold her close like in the poster here!" One of the photographers couldn't help but exclaim out loud and pointed at one of the pictures glued to the wall. The moment she saw it, she started to panic.
"W-Wait! I was just messing ar—ah~!" An involuntary moan escaped her mouth when she felt his arms circle around her waist, firmly holding onto her and pulling her body closer to his. Her soft body pressed against what felt like a mountain of muscles, warm to the touch coupled with the scent of his sweat reaching her nose.
'He smells surprisingly pleasant.'
Such thoughts managed to creep into her mind.
"Tell me if I'm holding you too tightly." His voice came from behind, far too close to her ears that she felt his warm breath touch her neck, causing a chill to rush up her spine.
She was not supposed to be the one to be flustered today!
Her hazy eyes saw the camera flash and instantly remembered that she was not even paying attention to the kind of faces she was making! But from the reaction of those around, it was enough to make them blush.
The way he held her was not something that could be done by someone inexperienced! He had done this before with someone else, she was sure of it.
It couldn't have been Lucy, right? Despite how mature her body is, that girl did not give her the impression of being bold enough to do such a thing given how easy it is to tease her.
"Your body is growing warmer, is something wrong, Mira?"
"N-No, it's nothing."
She could not let herself be beaten so easily!
Her pride as a model just refused to do so.
The girl just had to compose herself and regain control.
"Nice! Now have her sit on your lap like this poster and bring your face closer to hers."
That damned photographer! She was not used to taking this kind of picture, her usual work was mostly solo!
Just as she was about to put an end to all of this, she saw Lucy and Cana walk into the set and stare at the scene with various emotions flashing on their faces.
"What is going on here?"
"That sly fox…"
'It was supposed to be just some light teasing!' She wanted to exclaim but couldn't as she felt the man shift his posture, each movement nearly making another embarrassing sound escape her mouth.
Right, it was just a few pictures. There was nothing wrong about this. Surely they would understand if she explained later on.
Now she learned something else about Broly, he was not shy about intimate contact in the least… nor was he shy. Just far too innocent or just pure-minded for his own good.
"Am I doing good?" He asked again, his face almost nestling on her neck. His hair tickled her body which made the tingle within her grow more intense. Being held closer than ever before, having never experienced this with anyone of the opposite gender.
"Yes… hah… y-you're doing amazing."
Maybe she was enjoying this a tad bit too much.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.