I recently remembered Piccolo is a thing and now he's living in the front of my mind so here are my headcanons for what he'd be like in a relationship
I haven't seen DBS or DB so this is solely based off what I've seen of DBZ (which is most of the show)
Piccolo has literally no idea what the feelings he has for you are
After years observing humans and seeing couples together, he'd never thought twice about having anything like that himself
But you changed all of that
The way he feels for you and cares for you are unlike anything he's felt for anyone
Similar to when he started mentoring Gohan, who became his first true friend, but different
Stronger and deeper and more...
Well, more something
He doesn't really know
Why do his thoughts wander to you so often while he's training?
Even when he's meditating?
He trains harder
Fights more angrily
Tells himself it's risky to be as close with someone as he wants to be with you
Basically he tries his absolute hardest to stay away from you
But after going a couple weeks without seeing you, he finds himself flying to your house without even realizing it, until he arrives at your front door
The look on your face when you greet him makes him wonder why he stayed away in the first place
He's not the most eloquent with words, especially when it comes to expressing his feelings, but he tries
For you
"I... I think about... you... often... and... I wanted... to know... you were... doing well..."
It's hard for him to get the words out, but after a while of letting him try to assemble words together, you quickly realize he's trying to express that he cares about you
Really cares
That he thinks about you
Often
You tell him you care about him and think about him too, and he's finished
He doesn't look back after that
The loyalty he shows you is unlike anything you've ever known before
There's nothing he won't do for you
Need wood chopped for your fireplace?
Have a seat, you could get a splinter
Or pull a muscle swinging the axe
Or chop your pretty head off
He'll cut up all the logs you have in a fraction of the time it would take you
(Enjoy the show ;) )
Have errands to run?
He'll fly you anywhere you need to go
(Scary Namekian privileges, bark bark)
And he'll carry all the bags for you
He'll grumble and pretend to be annoyed, but you both know he doesn't mind
On the contrary - being of service to you is very important to him
He's extremely protective of you
If some kind of attack or fight is going on near where you live, he'll ditch everyone to fly straight to you as fast as he can
He'll bring you somewhere safe and retrieve you when the threat is neutralized, or stay with you if he can
Worst case scenario, he'll bring you to the Lookout, but that's a last resort, because then everyone will be in your business
If you work in the city late at night, best believe he's watching over you
Either from the rooftops or walking alongside you
He feels a deep level of pride hearing you tell him that he makes you feel safe
Physical affection is a very new and foreign phenomenon to him
His examples of relationships are Goku and Chi-Chi (bro does not even know how to KISS how could he, he's never around), Bulma and Vegeta (another Saiyan who basically never engages in physical contact w/ their partner), and Krillin and Android 18 (probably the most affectionate couple he's seen but they don't do much in public at all at least from my memory)
So you'll have to take the lead for the first little while
He doesn't know what to do, or what you like, and he doesn't know how to ask
But he knows he likes the feeling of your hand in his larger, calloused one
And when you put your head on his shoulder, or touch his arm
One day, he gets the guts to reach up and touch the back of your head when you lean on him
Your hair is so nice to touch
He's extremely tentative, but the smile you give him tells him all he needs to know
Gradually, after a while, he starts to try to mimic what you do
The first time he reaches for your hand, you're so shocked you almost gasp
But don't make a big deal or he'll worry you didn't like it!
Just smile and squeeze his fingers
You'll honestly probably have to teach him how to kiss
Once he's comfortable with all the physical stuff, he won't initiate all the time, but he will do it
Plop down in his lap and it takes all his willpower not to smile or chuckle
Loves laying with you and touching your skin
You're just so soft
How are you so soft?
Could spend hours with his arms around you, listening to your heartbeat and your breathing and your little sighs
The feeling of you becomes so imprinted onto him, he remembers it whenever you're apart all too clearly
He won't spend more than a couple days away from you at a time if he can help it
The thought of anyone else getting to hold you and make you smile like he does makes his insides feel hot
Tell him no one has ever made you feel the way he makes you feel, and he's yours forever
Wrapped around your little finger like a sucker
And he's honestly okay with it
Because it's you
When you get sick, or if you get your period, he short-circuits a bit
Whatever you ask for, he'll do
Whatever you need, he'll get it
Need cuddles? He'll hold you as long as you want
Water? Don't even have to ask, he'll keep your bottle full pre-emptively
He definitely can't cook
Maybe he could pour you a bowl of cereal or toast some bread for you
Granted, if you ask him one day if he wants to learn to cook, he won't say no
Mostly to hear your voice and have you close
He's a very good student, he'll remember everything you say
Anyways, if you're ever too unwell to cook and don't want anything simple that you have at home, he'll go out and get something for you
If you'd mentioned once that you like Chinese food, he'd fly to the nearest place and get you some
He scares the crap out of the employees, but he's polite and is as patient as he can be
In the event that he can't think of anything, he goes to Goku's place to ask Chi-Chi to make something
(Goku's off God knows where as always)
Chi-Chi suspects something, so she pries a little
Gohan's ears perk up, and he joins in
"You don't even like food Piccolo, what do you mean you need food?"
After a while of prodding, it slips from him accidently, too focused on you and your well-being to concentrate on his words-
"Just- I just need to bring her something-"
"HER?!?!?!?"
He throws his hands up and storms out
But he doesn't go far, because he still needs to get you something to eat
So Gohan sits outside with him while his mom cooks up a storm
"I know you probably don't wanna talk about it, Piccolo, but I just hope she makes you happy!"
He sits with his arms crossed, facing away from Gohan, but he cracks a tiny smile
"Thanks, kid."
Chi-Chi makes a whole feast - meat, fish, noodles, rice, the whole shabang
He thanks her briefly before bringing it all to you
"Pic, where did you get all this-? You didn't steal it, did you?"
"Why would you think I stole it?!"
He explains reluctantly that he asked for help from a friend
Tells you all about Gohan and Bulma and all of those guys while you eat
You chastize him a little for leaving a poor little child in the woods, but he's quick to reassure you that he never left him alone alone, and didn't let him starve but he leaves out the rotten apples of it all
This only confirms to you what a big softy he is not-so-deep down
And makes you think of all the times he coddled you, in his own gruff ways
Always doing everything he can for you, whether you're feeling under the weather or right as rain
When you tell him you'd like to meet them, he rolls his eyes a little
"Maybe some day. Better prepare yourself now, they're insane, all of them."
But secretly, he begins daydreaming a little about you meeting them, especially Gohan
He knows you'll get along great, and he won't admit it, but he looks forward to the day
Ultimately, he's doting, devoted, and cares for you more than he thought he was capable of caring for anyone or anything
He'll show you parts of himself he didn't know were there
When tutoring Gohan proves to be a bit boring, your attention turns elsewhere...(Piccolo/Fem!Reader Fluff. SFW, Minors DNI.)
//Shoutout to the ask I got with the prompt having something to do with a character unsure about why the reader or MC was watching them! Sadly the ask is no longer in my inbox, nor do I remember the name of the sender, but it was a big inspiration for this story!
When you signed up to be a children’s math tutor, you had no idea what you were getting yourself into. Most of the kids you worked with were sweet and cooperative for the most part - some were a little mopey when you forced them to try equations on their own - but they were quick to improve compared to when you first started working with them. Gohan was no different: in fact, he was far beyond most kids his age, and you had to wonder why his mother had hired you. While Gohan himself was very mild-mannered, the environment you often walked into was…not. You would sit down at the kitchen counter to do some problems with Gohan just to watch his father run in, down multiple containers of leftovers without bothering to sit down, and then jog back out to do whatever it was he was doing. You heard his mother yelling constantly about how much he was training and how he wasn’t being a great role model for his son. Eventually, you figured you would have better luck tutoring Gohan outside.
Gohan seemed amiable to the idea. The weather was starting to warm up, and you even started to bring a blanket for the two of you to sit on while you worked. You were unsure if Gohan’s parents were in an unhappy marriage, or if they were just unusually loud - either way, you no longer had to deal with them. The first few tutoring sessions outside went flawlessly, and you left feeling proud. It wasn’t long until some new strange…thing popped up, however.
And that was exactly what it was, a thing. Or perhaps a man, you couldn’t be sure.The first day you noticed it, or him, you were in the middle of explaining long division to Gohan. You trailed off when you saw the…creature cross the yard and gingerly sit down, propping himself against a nearby tree.
“Mrs. [L/N]? What were you saying?”
“Hm?” Your attention was jolted back to the child in front of you. Gohan followed your gaze and laughed.
“Oh, that’s just Mr. Piccolo. He likes to come here to meditate sometimes.” You just nodded, although that raised further questions. How could this eight year old be so calm about a man - if you could even call him that - wandering onto his property? Was this Piccolo human? Could he be trusted?
You had heard rumors of aliens, invasions that could have caused disasters had it not been for a special fighting force on earth. They consisted of super-humans, or so you figured. Though you had never really put much stock into the idea in general. Perhaps you should have. You decided that Piccolo's origins and intentions were above your paygrade, so you handed Gohan a list of division problems and asked him to complete them what you had just gone over.
It didn’t take long for you to become accustomed to Piccolo's presence. It seemed that he enjoyed the fresh air and quiet, much like you and Gohan did. Sometimes, you would study him while Gohan was busy with his work: the way his face was so serious despite its peaceful state, the occasional twitch of his antennae, the bicep muscles that poked out from underneath his cape, somehow bulging even when he just had his fingertips lightly pressed together. Gohan often had to poke you or call your name to bring your attention back to reality.
Gohan’s final math test of the year was coming up, and his mother - Chi-Chi was her name, you learned - asked you to come in more and more frequently as the test grew closer.
“...and if we divide by two, what would the answer be?”
“One hundred and ten,” Gohan murmured, picking at the grass below you two.
“Very good! Let’s see…” You looked over your lesson plans, trying to find something the two of you haven’t covered yet. “How about we review the multiplication table, then? Can you tell me what twelve times nine is?” You asked, trying to think of one that might challenge him.
“One hundred and eight,” Gohan’s answer was immediate: his gaze was on the sky now, seemingly more interested in the clouds than in multiplication. Sighing, you put your lesson plans down. You felt bad for the kid: he was more than prepared for the test. It wasn’t his fault his mother was a nut.
“Alright, what do you say I give you these worksheets, and when you finish, you sketch some of the prettiest clouds you see for me?” You suggested, grabbing a few worksheets.
Gohan’s eyes widened, “But mom wants me to study as much as I can before my big test!”
“Trust me, Gohan,” you smiled, “I wouldn’t be offering this if I thought you weren’t more than prepared.” Gohan hesitantly took the worksheets and you turned away, content. This way Gohan could get a bit of a break and you could still get paid.
You had come prepared for this very situation. Rummaging around in your bag, you pulled out a worn-down leather sketchbook and a pencil, deciding to do a bit of drawing yourself. First, you started sketching individual blades of grass, harshly dragging your pencil against the paper to encapsulate a bit of texture. But that quickly grew boring. You sketched a few interestingly shaped clouds - one seemed to be shaped like a dragon, another a hand - but the day was shockingly clear. Most of the clouds were either fluffy and nebulous or too small to appear interesting. You huffed and lowered your gaze back down, resting your chin in your palm.
That was when you spotted Piccolo. He was a bit further away than usual, but still visible as ever in his purple gi.
Perfect.
You started with a simple outline - his straight back, the way his slender fingers just barely touched, his elbows resting stiffly on crossed knees. There was a delicacy in his posture, a delicacy you tried to capture. After sketching his body, you moved onto his facial features: his peaceful eyes that still held a certain seriousness even when closed, the way his face was turned slightly upwards, and, of course, his antennae. You were just adding his ears when you heard a voice in your ear.
“Whatcha drawing?”
You yelped and pulled your sketchbook close to you, turning to the kid next to you. You must have lost track of time - all of Gohan’s worksheets were completed and there were even a few sketches of clouds in the margins.
“Nothing, it - it’s nothing!” You checked your watch. “It seems like we’ve only got a few minutes left anyways, so we can -”
“Hey, that’s Mr. Piccolo!” Gohan was leaning in closer, squinting at your drawing. “Yeah! That’s a really good drawing, Ms. [L/N]. You should show him!”
You looked at Gohan, bewildered. Show him? Why would someone like Piccolo be interested in a drawing of yours? He’d been nothing but stoic every time you’d seen him.
“He told me he’s caught you watching him, y’know.”
“He has? How does - I mean, why does he think I was watching him?” You could’ve sworn each time you had stolen glances, Piccolo’s eyes had been closed. Gohan just shrugged.
“I dunno. But he asks about you, sometimes.”
“Really…” You tilted your head, turning your gaze back to Piccolo. As if on cue, he opened a single eye and raised a brow questioningly. The sudden eye contact sent what felt like a jolt of electricity through your system, and you quickly averted your gaze. You could have sworn you heard a deep chuckle in the distance, and your ears burned red.
You were here to teach, damnit! Not gawk at alien creatures in your client’s yard. You looked wearily back at Gohan, who nodded encouragingly. Maybe…maybe if you gave him the drawing, you’d stop thinking about him. Without another word, you stood up and tore the drawing out of your sketchbook, tossing the book to the ground. You tried to walk quietly so as not to disturb him - maybe you could put it next to him or something and pray it didn’t blow away - but Piccolo opened his eyes as soon as you started to get close.
“Yes?” His voice was gruff, but not harsh. You held out the drawing pathetically, and you couldn’t help but notice how his calloused fingers brushed yours as he grabbed the drawing from you. He looked it over and chuckled to himself, and you felt yourself get even redder. Eventually, he looked up, and you were surprised to see that there was a gentleness in his eyes.
“When are you coming back?”
“I-I’m unsure - Gohan’s final math test for the year is in a few days, so I don’t think I’ll need to be back -”
“Come back in a week. I’ll be training Gohan in the woods then.”
You opened your mouth to ask what he meant by training, or why they were going into the woods, or why Gohan’s parents trust him with their son, but Piccolo shut his eyes as soon as he finished speaking, so you took it as a sign that the conversation was finished. You walked back to collect your belongings from under the tree where you and Gohan had been working. Hearing a knock coming from the house behind you, you looked back to see Gohan beaming out of one of the house’s windows, giving you two thumbs up. You smiled to yourself, walking back to your car with your bag, your hands still shaking. You weren’t sure what was coming next, but it was sure to be interesting.
Piccolo LOVES cooking. Like, aside from meditating, training and reading, it's his favorite thing to do. He has an impeccable ability to make everything taste good by using just the right spices in the right amounts. Nameks may not eat much but he always at least taste-tests everything he makes. He was excited to make food for Pan when she was a baby and was actually the one to first learn that she hated celery. He was very close to building a kitchen in his house, but he still feels a bit embarrassed about his love for cooking, so he decided against it in the end. Videl notices his love for it, however, and often asks for his help in the kitchen and even lets him do Pan's school lunches often. He watches cooking videos on his phone. Whenever he is visiting the library with Pan or Gohan, he always uses his time to read cooking books.
You probably met while training! Maybe you met at a tournament and put up a valiant fight against him, or you ran into him in a remote yet gorgeous training spot outdoors. Either way you hit it off immediately! If you aren’t a fighter, then you probably were set up on a blind date through Bulma lmao
You aren’t able to spend much time together, but when you’re on dates or training together you feel like you’re in heaven. He makes you feel so incredibly special: I like to think that since the Cell Saga, he’s learned that not everyone is inherently a fighter and that’s okay! He makes sure to take an interest in your interests no matter what they are
Cooking. Lots of cooking. Or eating takeout. I’d say you can look forward to leftovers but I doubt there’ll be any lmao
Lots of laughter, whether intentional or not. Mans is a huge goofball and always tries to make you laugh, but some of his funniest moments are just him acting as his usual self hehe, he's so nonchalant when telling you stories about his past you can't help but laugh at how casually he describes getting shot and dying lmao
His love language is definitely touch! He’s very clingy so get ready for cuddles in the middle of the night after a looong training session, arms wrapped around your waist as you cook breakfast, or even just holding your hand as you walk down the street together!
I feel like he’d absolutely LOVE theme parks as a date, but he’d definitely force you to go on the biggest rollercoasters / death drop rides so be warned
Also enjoys any type of outdoorsy activity with you! Rock climbing, nature walks, even just fishing with you! Be ready to cook whatever he catches though
Despite not always being present he’s a 10/10 BF hehe
Vegeta
Cracks knuckles
You’d probably have to be the first one to make a move if you saw him at a coffee shop or a party and found him cute, even after you give him your number he waits like two weeks to text you
Once you two start dating though he switches his attitude REAL quick
He’d never admit it, but unlike Goku, he definitely prioritizes your dates and pleasing you over training. He’ll be in the middle of sparring with Goku and remember that you two have a date soon and make up a lame excuse to leave (probably claiming he’s hurt Goku enough for the time being or something along those lines) before dipping lmao
I love the headcanon that Saiyans love strong women because even if you’re not physically strong, if you’re snarky enough you and geets are gonna have LOTS of fun
Bullying is his love language.It’s constant but if you try and return it at all he’ll get all defensive and pissy
Can talk about your inferiority all day but you make a single height joke? Nope. He’s done he’s out go apologize to him Right Now
Actual love language is quality time! He’s not great with words or PDA but will always go shopping with you or take you out to eat. And don’t you dare think about paying how could you even think to damage his ego like that
Very cuddly in private though, won’t ask for it he’ll just sit at the edge of your shared couch/bed and stare at you until you go over to him and wrap your arms around him, running a hand through his hair.
If you’re an artist do NOT draw him/paint him/etc. unless you want his ego to increase exponentially
Krillin
I feel like If You Are A Woman, then you’re Krillin’s type.
Absolutely the type to make you food / homemade gifts to express affection even if they’re not great. You love them all anyways! He tries to make your favorite meal one day and it tastes burnt and raw but you can’t let him know that so you eat absolutely as much as you can without puking
You probably met by both being friends with either Bulma or Chi-Chi and therefore spent a lot of time at Kame house. Definitely a friends to lovers situation
Which adds an even more stable ground to your relationship! You’ve got friendship and history that makes your relationship even better, inside jokes that date back to before you were dating
Like Goku, he’s also a huge joker. Probably even more than Goku, but definitely more purposeful with his jokes and with
One of his go-to jokes is trying on brightly colored wigs and it never fails to leave you howling
Will literally do anything you ask him to, he just wants to make you happy. You need him to drive you somewhere? Hes on his way. You need cuddles? Always. You need to vent? Hes all ears.
pleasepleasePLEASE dont take advantage of this trait
Piccolo
HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT…. Even though Piccolo is akin to plants in that he’s green and only requires water to survive, there are certain types of plants that do reproduce sexually!
Piccolo absolutely values intellect and morality over looks but hes a tough nut to crack so you’d better be in it for the long haul
Lots of your dates are just sitting under trees together meditating, reading or sitting in silence
Piccolos love language is absolutely gift giving and hes amazing at it. He knows what you want/need before you do. You wake up one morning and think to yourself about how you could use a cute new outfit and by the end of the day there’s a new dress on your bed that looks amazing on you. He also LOVES making you breakfast in bed, or any meal really if you’re too exhausted from your day to cook.
Don’t get me wrong, he can be intimate. He’s just emotionally constipated alright ! But when he opens up you better be ready to listen bc not many get that privilege
Absolute freak in bed
You have to be willing to get along with Gohan. Non-negotiable. If you start dating while Gohan’s a kid, you absolutely go on dates together with Gohan tagging along like your adopted child. If he’s older, then the three of you regularly get together to catch up and maybe act as adoptive grandparents to Pan!
