For Piccolo, today was the day. It was Valentine's day, probably the day that Piccolo could use as the final push he needed to get with Cus.

"Good morning" Cus said as Piccolo entered the kitchen. Smiling, Piccolo said "Good Morning Cus"

"Bulma's invited us to a pool party today, and we maybe babysitting Bulla later too" Cus said, to which Piccolo replied, as he wrapped his arms around Cus, "Great. When does it start?" Piccolo asked, to which Cus replied "Half-past ten"

"Cool" Piccolo replied. He then asked, "Are you going to go swimming like you did last time?"

"Naturally" Cus replied. Piccolo let go of us, then sat at the table and started drinking the water that had been set out for him.

Piccolo had only received two Valentines in his entire life. One was from Gohan Valentine's day after they defeated Cell. The other was a year later from Chi Chi.

In a way, Cus reminded Piccolo of Gohan when he was younger, just after the defeat of Cell. Gohan had bounced back quickly from the Cell Games and the death of his father. It had been a much longer process of recovery for Cus, but she had recovered pretty well.

That being said, the events of the Tournament of Power have left their mark on her. Although she wasn't reserved, she was no longer as flamboyant and showy as she was, although she was still excitable, lighthearted and her blood raced when she saw good/evil fights.

"So, are you going to get ready for the party at Bulma's place?" Piccolo asked, to which Cus replied: "Yes, I will". She then stood up, and she left.

Cus had undergone a couple of changes since she had returned to Universe 7. Firstly, Cus had decided to remove the braided side pigtail that she normally wore.

Over the course of the last fourteen months, she had tried a few styles, but she had eventually settled, for most of the time, with just letting her hair hang, On occasion, she would put her hair up into a ponytail, but this was only for special occasions. As today was a special day, she decided to put her hair up into a ponytail.

Soon, she had decided on what she would wear, and both Piccolo and Cus were on their way to Bulma's place. It was another warm day, and Cus was intending to spend a big chunk of the day swimming again, something she had discovered she really liked to do. Cus was once again wearing her sky blue dress, and she now had matching sandals and a similarly colored band holding up her ponytail.

Piccolo, meanwhile, was wearing his normal outfit, minus the white turban and cape. Cus had also taken her bathers with her because she wanted to swim in the outback pool.

Soon, they arrived at Bulma's place. Knocking on the door, they wait. They don't have to wait long, however, before Bulma opened the door.

"Hey guys" Bulma said, letting Piccolo and Cus in. Cus immediately asked, "Bulma, where can I change into my bathers?"

"Sure, the bathroom is just there" Bulma said. Cus went into the bathroom and came out a couple of minutes later in her sky-blue leotard.

"Oh, who else is in the pool?" Cus asked, noticing the splashing, to which Bulma replied "Yeah, Marron, Jasper, Cheelai, Kyle and Anna". Cus nodded, then raced outside.

Piccolo watched Cus race out to the backyard pool and, yelling "CANNONBALL!" bombed into the water, smiling.

"You love her, don't you Piccolo" Bulma said, looking at Piccolo's smile. Piccolo turned to face Bulma, and said "Yes, I do"

"Are you going to tell her how you feel?" Bulma asked, to which Piccolo replied "Not until she tells me how she feels. Well, I know that she loves me, but I want her to tell me herself"

"Alright" Bulma replied. She then added "You two will make an adorable couple"

"I agree" Videl said, who had appeared next to Piccolo. Piccolo then decided to head outside, and watch Cus play in the pool.

There were quite a few people who were working on lunch for everybody. The full list of people working on lunch was Bulma, Videl, Android 18, Chi Chi, Kale, Broly, and Cheelai. As a result, lunch was ready within half an hour.

When they sat at the table, Cus found herself sitting next to Jasper, and directly across from his father, Android 17.

There was a sense of awkwardness between Cus and Jasper as they were sitting next to each other. This wasn't so much because of what had happened between them after Cus had watched that epic fight between Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, Broly, Paragus, Cheelai, Cabba, Renso and Kefla, as the following day her and Jasper had agreed to never mention what they did the previous night ever again, but because of the discussion Android 17 and Videl had, which Cus and Jasper both overheard, which strongly indicated that Android 17 had heard what they had gotten up to that night.

That agreement had meant that, until now, there had been no sense of awkwardness between them. And once lunch was finished, the awkwardness disappeared, as it seemed to be because Jasper's father, Android 17, was sitting opposite them.

The pool party finished mid-afternoon, but for Piccolo and Cus, it wasn't over.

"Hey Piccolo, would it be OK if you and Cus babysit Bulla for Vegeta, Trunks and I for a few hours?" Bulma asked, to which Piccolo replied "Uh, sure"

"Babysit Bulla? OK. Bulla's a year younger than Pan, so she isn't toilet trained, is she?" Cus asked, to which Bulma replied "She's potty training right now, so if you can help with that, that'd be great"

"OK" Cus replied. Bulma then gave Cus Bulla to hold.

"Hello Bulla, you're adorable" Cus said, smiling. Bulla smiled as well. Piccolo then kneeled next to Bulla, and said "Hello Bulla", and at this, Bulla looked at Piccolo nervously. Piccolo smiled and held out a finger for her. Bulla reached out and wrapped her entire hand around Piccolo's finger.

"Aw" Piccolo said. Bulla then realized she needed to go potty, and she said "Potty!"

"Oh, right" Cus said. Bulla let go of Piccolo's finger, and Cus raced her to the toilet. She made it, just. Once Bulla was finished, Cus cleaned up with her staff. Cus gave Bulla a new nappy to wear, then returned to the lounge room.

Once the babysitting had finished with Bulla, which included chasing her a couple of times, and playing peek-a-boo with her, Bulma said "Well, Piccolo, I think it's time"

"I think I know what you're trying to say" Piccolo replied, smiling. Cus looked puzzlingly from Piccolo to Bulma, then, as Bulma left, Cus asked "What are you two talking about?", and now, Piccolo had decided. If he was going to find out how Cus feels about him, it was now.

"Cus, there's something that I want to talk to you about" Piccolo said. Cus turned to face Piccolo, then asked "Yes?"

"Well, I was just curious about how you feel about me" Piccolo replied. Cus looked up, smiled, then said: "I think its time I said to you what I said to Mr. Snuggleton". And then she started talking, and Piccolo listened. For Cus, Piccolo was being just a large Mr. Snuggleton, as she talked, Piccolo listened. Piccolo had expected Cus to be feeling what she had felt while in Universe 10. Once she had finished, Piccolo asked: "So, I've been a source of comfort for you, and you've been able to process what happened by spending time in stasis with me?"

"Yes" Cus replied. Piccolo nodded, then said "Alright"

"I also want to add that all of your showcases of affection towards me have helped as well" Cus replied. She then added "And, since you've spent most of the last fourteen months helping me to recover from the deeply traumatic events of the Tournament of Power, I've come to realize that I can't live without you. Piccolo, I love you"

"Awesome" Piccolo replied. Cus then asked, "So, Piccolo, how do you feel about me?"

"Well, we'll start with the Tournament of Power. What I mainly wanted to do was to provide comfort for you. Saving your life, and trying to comfort you made me deeply care about you. You should have heard me when I found out that Rummshi and Gowasu weren't helping you recover"

"You must have been angry" Cus replied, to which Piccolo added, "I was". Piccolo then continued with "Well, it was during the six weeks we were apart, that I realized how much I cared about you. But, it was during the fourteen months that I spent with you, and I came to realize, that I actually share the feelings, I love you too Cus" and at this, Cus floated up, and kissed Piccolo on the lips, which he returned.

Watching from the nearby room, Bulma said "YES! It happened, they've officially hooked up!", and at this, she called Videl and Gohan, and said "It's happened, Piccolo and Cus are officially lovers"

"Alright! I'm so glad Piccolo finally found love" Gohan said, while Videl added "They're going to be so adorable together"

"That they will" Bulma said, as Piccolo walked out smiling and holding Cus.

"Oh Piccolo, I'm so glad you accepted my feelings" Cus said. Piccolo smiled, then asked "Was there any doubt about whether I would?"

"Even so" Cus replied. Piccolo smiled, then said "Don't worry about it, I've actually loved you for a little while now. I only confessed now because I wasn't 100% sure about what I was feeling"

"Oh you're so sweet Piccolo" Cus said, to which Piccolo replied by kissing her on the cheek and saying "You're adorable Cus"