The next chapter is up! Enjoy :)

Saturday, Christmas...

Eve woke up feeling very refreshed. She got out of bed with a slight stretch, walked over to the windows, and opened the curtains. She then slid up the shades and had to partially cover her eyes from the brightness streaming in from outside When her eyes adjusted, she saw nothing but white. Snow was steadily falling, blanketing every surface. Not surprising to see yet another white Christmas. This was Massachusetts after all.

She slid on some thick cotton booties and checked her digital clock on her nightstand. The bright red numbers flashing 8:47am. Eve left her room and saw that the door to Frieza's room right across the hall was open. She peaked in and saw that he wasn't in there. This didn't surprise her too much. He was a pretty early riser in the mornings. He was most likely in the living room on the couch.

The young woman made her way down the hall and into the living room. And just like she thought, he was wide awake, and sitting on the couch. The t.v. was on but it looked like his mind was elsewhere like he was deep in thought. Much so that he didn't even look up when she rounded the couch and stood about a couple feet away from where he was sitting.

"Hey, good morning. And Merry Christmas." She said.

He sharply turned his face towards her, like she startled him. It was very brief though and he quickly composed himself, before speaking.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Frieza asks.

"Yeah, how about you?" Eve inquires.

He shrugs, "I slept alright, I guess."

"You guess?" She says.

"Just have a lot on my mind." Frieza replies.

She sat down on the couch next to him.

"Anything you wish to talk about?" Eve asked.

"No," he says, shaking his head.

Whatever it was that was bothering him, she didn't want to push it. So, Eve decided to switch topics.

"Well, you hungry? I'm feeling pretty flexible this morning. We can do French toast, Belgian waffles, chocolate chip pancakes, or omelets? Take your pick." She suggested.

Frieza leans back with a sigh, "It doesn't matter. Go with what you like."

She arches a brow. 'Ok?'

"Ok, well I'm feeling French toast this morning. So, we'll go with that." Eve stated.

She got up and headed to the kitchen to start. Eve was wondering what's up with him. Here she thought he had a pretty good time yesterday. Perhaps, he had a rather shitty night after all. She pushed it aside for now and brought out what she needed to make breakfast.

Around ten minutes later she had the food ready.

"Hey, it's ready." She called out to him from the entrance of the kitchen.

A few moments later Frieza was up with his crutches and headed for the kitchen. He noticed she had a chair pulled out for him and he went and eased himself down into the chair as carefully as possible. Eve placed a plate of food down in front of him, which he thanked her for. While she sat across from him in his usual spot. They hardly talked much as they ate.

The rest of that morning wasn't much better. Eve did the rest of her morning routine which involved showering, brushing her teeth, and putting on her outfit for the day. She put on a green tea length corduroy dress with some black leggings, and grey ankle high boots. Then applied some light makeup to her eyes and lips.

She called Drew and told him that she was taking the noon ferry out to Cape Cod and will meet him at his Parent's House. Like always, it won't be a long visit because of the holiday the ferry would only run on three scheduled times today. The first-time being noon, the second time was 2:45pm, and the last time was 5pm. So, she takes the noon ride and arrives at their house around 2:20pm stays for a few hours before taking the 5pm ferry back home. That way she is back home around 7:15pm.

It's too bad the commute was two hours and fifteen minutes each way. Otherwise, Eve would've visited them way more often. Her job took up a lot of her time too. She keeps telling herself, she will take some time off to visit them for the week at some point. At least that was her plan before a certain 'someone' came to stay with her for the time being.

But for today, she'd only be leaving him for a total of seven hours. Had he not been here, Eve would've stayed the night at Drew's Parent's in one of the spare rooms so she wouldn't have to bother taking the ferry back and forth both days. And even then, she didn't do that every year. It all depended how she felt.

Eve spent the time gathering up the presents into bags. Then she put together a couple cookie platters and carefully put them in a separate bag. Good thing she went with much smaller gifts this year. It would've been a pain traveling with a couple big and bulking bags of gifts. Especially, since she had to leave her car at the marina and then be picked up at the dock in Cape Cod.

'I sincerely hope they are not having problems with their heating again in the cabin on ferry again. That was not fun.' She sarcastically thought.

When Eve was finished with getting everything together, she approached Frieza again who was once again laid up on the couch.

"Hey, I'm leaving now. I will be back in a few hours. I left out food from yesterday for you for later." She said.

"Thank you." Frieza replied.

Eve bit her lip, "You sure you will be fine today? You really seem kind of out of it."

"I'm fine. Don't you have somewhere to be?" He snapped slightly.

She was a bit taken aback with the sudden outburst of anger. It certainly rubbed her the wrong way though.

"Alright fine. I'll leave you to your grouchy asshole self. Try not to pull anything while you sit here the whole day watching documentaries." Eve quipped sarcastically.

She didn't wait for him to respond. Eve turned and walked away. She grabbed her coat and scarf and bundled up. Then grabbed her bags and keys on the way out of the house. Luckily, it stopped snowing some time ago and there was only three inches on the ground. The young woman pulled out of the driveway in her Camero and headed down to the marina.

Eve had a smooth ferry ride there and enjoyed some hot chocolate in the large toasty cabin of the boat with a small handful of other people. She texted Drew to let him know, that way he'd be there with the truck to pick her up.

She was met with a round of hugs from his Parents and some of his other relatives at the house. Eve like always had a great time there. They had a nice buffet of food and dessert came out later that day. And not long after eating, they exchanged gifts. Everyone enjoyed what they received. She got a pretty necklace from Mary (Drew's Mom) and Luke (Drew's Dad) gave her a new diver's mask. Last but not least, Drew gave her a funny graphic t-shirt. It said, 'Diver Addicts Anonymous' on the front.

While Eve got him a nice new pair of Isotoner gloves. She knew he needed new ones and had asked for them so she got him one of the best brands she could find. They all talked over some drinks. And surprise surprise, Drew's uncles became drunk and started having silly debates with each other. At least no one puked this time so that was a plus.

The afternoon went fast and before she knew it, it was time to go home. Drew drove her back down to the marina and she hopped onto the last ferry for the evening. Her happiness started to slowly dwindle as she got closer to home. Mainly because her thoughts drifted back to Frieza. Just what the hell was up his ass this morning? Did the males of his species go through their own variation of monthly mood swings or what?

She made it home in record time, around 7:30pm. When Eve entered through the front door, she noticed the t.v. was off in the living room. The young woman didn't see him at first. Until she drew closer to the couch. He was laying down on the couch with his arms crossed behind his head and the thick throw blanket covered him from the waist down. His crimson gaze turned to her face.

"How was your day?" He asked.

"It was great like always. How about you?" She asks.

Frieza sat up and turned slightly putting his feet on the carpeted floor and face forward. Eve cautiously came around to sit on the couch. She was still unsure of his mood.

"It was productive. The twinge in my right shoulder is doing a lot better. I'm starting to get more rotation in it." He informed her.

"That's good, it shows your still healing properly." Eve said.

"Yes, though I feel I may have overexerted myself a little. I'm feeling a bit sore and drained." Frieza admitted.

It was good that he was still getting better. But she still wanted to know why he was so tight lipped and snippy earlier today before she left.

"That's understandable." She paused for a moment. Trying to piece together her next sentence.

"Is...is that why you seemed a bit off this morning? Because you were a bit sore?" She hesitantly asked.

He sighs, "No, that wasn't it. It was...other things on my mind. Something I don't feel like talking about at the moment."

"Fair enough." Was all she said.

Frieza then noticed her attention was drawn elsewhere. She got up and walked over to the mantle. And he saw her pick up something from behind a picture in the corner. It appeared to be some small, wrapped parcel. Eve brought it back with her to the couch and sat back down next to him. There was a moment of silence before she handed it to him.

"Merry Christmas." She said.

He continued to stare for a couple more moments before he took the offered gift. Frieza eyed it curiously before pulling away the wrapping. It revealed something rectangular. When he ripped off the last few pieces, he noticed it was a book. It was quite thick and obviously brand new. His gaze went back to her.

"I know we only started your reading lessons a little while ago. But you've been coming along rather quickly and efficiently with it. I have a feeling it won't take long before you know just about every word there is. I know you will know enough to eventually be able to read books without any trouble. When you do, you will have at least one book that is your own to read." Eve said, as she gestured to the new book in his hand.

Frieza didn't know what to think about or say at this moment. He never would've believed she'd be thoughtful enough to give him anything. Either way, it was a very nice gesture on her part.

"Thank you. And I'll admit, I'm much further along than you think. Ever since you showed me the dictionary a couple days ago, I have been reading the words from it. It's not really all that hard. Especially, since you taught me from the beginning how to sound out the words. And of course, the words in the dictionary are sounded out. Don't have to read any definitions because once I know the words, I already know what they all mean." Frieza confessed.

Eve's eyes widened in surprise.

"Damn, I knew you were a fast learner. But that's pretty incredible." She told him.

He shrugs, "It's really no different than the tutoring I went through in childhood. My tutor made me read my kind's own dictionary at a very young age. And as you should know by now, I have a steel trap memory. I'm also a very fast reader once I get them down. So, it shouldn't take me too long to go through your dictionary. Though don't take it the wrong way. There will still be times I may need your assistance with some words I may have trouble pronouncing."

"No problem." Eve said.

Frieza gives her a small smile and briefly glances down at the book he was still holding.

"So, what is the title to this book? And what's it about?" He asks.

"It's called' 'The Art of War'. It's one of the earliest known book documentations on military strategy and warfare. It is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu. Who in fact written this very book back in 5th Century BC. And to this day is renowned as one of the best books in history about war." Eve explained.

The brief summary did impress the tyrant. Warfare was definitely one of his favorite topics. And he had always been fascinated by war and history during his tutoring years as a child. It made the gift an even more thoughtful gesture by her. She didn't just randomly pick out some book. She found one about a topic he was always thoroughly interested in.

"It certainly sounds very interesting. Thank you again." Frieza said.

He didn't just say it to say it either. It was genuine thank you. Because when he thought about it, Frieza can't remember the last time he was even given a gift. It had to have been over several decades ago. When his mother gifted him with his first set of armor. She made sure it was very nicely crafted and detailed. The Queen always wanted the very best for her sons. Of course, his father would get angry at her and accuse her of spoiling their children.

His train of thought was broken when he heard her speak again.

"Again, you're welcome. And I'm glad you like it." Eve said.

Some more awkward silence pursued afterwards. Until she spoke up again.

"Well, I'm going to change into something cozier for the night. Maybe when I get back, we can see if there is anything good on the history channel again." Eve suggested.

Frieza shook his head, "No, it's alright. You can put on what you like. I promise I won't complain." He lightly joked.

She chuckled a little, "Ok, be back in a couple minutes."

Eve got up from the couch and made a b-line down the hall to her room. Frieza sat back and placed the book on his lap for the time being. He leaned his head back and gazed up at the ceiling. This little adventure was getting more and more interesting. And he was unsure if he hated how this was going. It's why he was pretty abrupt with her earlier. Because he wasn't sure if he likes the fact that she's getting so comfortable around him.

While she was gone, it was a topic that plagued his mind for a good portion of the afternoon. Unfortunately, he knew the longer he remained here, it was inevitable that she gets more laxed around him and he around her. It was something different and he didn't like it.

Frieza kept reminding himself he's putting too much thought into it. He will eventually be healed, and he will not give up until he somehow finds a way back to his reality and go back to the way things were. He certainly cannot wait until he gained his power and strength back. In the meantime, he will continue to make the best of things.

In case anyone is wondering, yes, this story will be a bit of a slow burn between Frieza and my OC. Sorry I didn't mention this earlier in the story. Sometimes I don't always realize it while I build it up one chapter at a time. I know it seems like Frieza is already cracking a little around her now. But in truth, he isn't just yet. As we all know the Galactic Emperor is a hard nut to crack. It will take some more time for her to get through that tough exterior of his. In the next few chapters, they will reveal a little more about their past lives as time goes on. Until Next Time ;)