DBZ X-Readers, Vol. 2

King Cold x Reader Pt. 5 'Such Beautiful Shirts'

Cold changed after that. There were no more sad expressions; instead, there were more outright-gloating kind of smirks.

And you couldn't understand it.

He'd never been like this before. A hundred years ago, you would have laughed at anyone who told you that he would be so manipulative. As a royal, you might have thought he'd have to be hard to deal with sometimes in order to rule, but this just went far beyond that. You thought that you knew him, that you knew what he was back then. Had that charming personality been only a facade?

In a way, you were now almost glad he'd married the late Queen instead of you. What a delightfully awful pair they must have been; it was no wonder that Cooler and Frieza were so...different.

You were both incredibly glad and incredibly anxious when you finished the last painting--all of which, by the way, looked stunning--because you weren't sure what was going to happen next. The socially accepted mourning period for a spouse, particularly in the heavily traditional royal court was one year. It had only been three and a half months--for him. What did he honestly expect to happen in the near future? Would he even--?

"Oh, mother, it's beautiful," you heard.

And turning back, you saw--your daughter (d/n).

"(D/n!)" you said in surprise, hugging her once you'd set your palette aside. "When did you--?"

"Just this morning. I wanted to surprise you." She grinned, and you couldn't help but return the expression. "You look tired, are you alright?"

"I am a bit tired, these took a lot of work. Tons of paint...if it weren't for the money, it might have been hard to keep going."

"But I thought you...enjoyed it?"

"I do, but you can still be frustrated by the process."

You smiled again. Your daughter was still learning, it seemed. She was an adult, true, but still finding things out about life. And you still enjoyed teaching her.

Her scales were a light blue, like yours, but instead of the white biogems you had--hers were an aqua-green shade and they gave her an almost oceanic look.

"So what are you going to do next?"

"I don't know...probably clean up, and head back home for the holidays."

"Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?" You stopped and looked at her, wondering...had he already...would he honestly have--?

"One of Crystallo's kids had scale pox, and they didn't find out until after everyone had gotten together a couple days ago. They started getting the spots...and now the rest of the kids have it. So do half the adults who didn't get it when they were kids."

"How did you not end up getting it?"

"I was talking to my publisher, and...well, you know I don't like crowded houses," she said, "I'd gotten a hotel room and was just waking up when Crystallo gave me the call to not come over."

Great. Just great. First this thing with Cold, now you weren't going to be able to spend holidays with your family...how could it possibly get any worse?

"Well, well, I see two lovely ladies before a finished work of art."

Oh.

That.

You and your daughter both turned towards...Frieza.

Great. Just great.

"A pleasure to meet you," your daughter said, bowing briefly.