Just a few notes before I start: I know Dragon Ball operates on a multiverse theory of time travel, but our characters aren't really aware of that at first. Hell, I don't even think Future Trunks is sure how time travel works when he first does it! So this is written from that unaware perspective.

Goku was trying his best during this sparring match- that is, he was trying his best to look as if he was trying.

Training with others had grown to become a difficult task after becoming a Super Saiyan. No power level came close to his own. Training with Vegeta, however, was particularly awkward. His opponent was giving it all he had- the Saiyan prince put all of his strength into each punch, utilized any speed he could summon, and had the rage to back it all up with. Despite his efforts, he never came close to contending with the lowborn Saiyan.

While Goku knew that pity wasn't a friendly emotion (Master Roshi had shared that old piece of wisdom with his students years ago), the frustration in Vegeta's eyes and the image of the Saiyan dying on Namek still burned in the earthling's mind. He didn't want to hurt the man's pride more than what damage had already been dealt to it.

So the stronger of the two allowed the other to get a few hits in and pretended that he didn't dwarf him in power, speed, and height, before the duo sat down to rest.

Summer was turning into autumn and the refreshing breeze drew leaves from the trees and onto the ground. Goku relaxed on the forest clearing's floor and took in the sounds and smells of Fall, noticing that the noise of their fighting must have chased away any animals nearby. Vegeta sat on a stump facing away from the earthling, hunched over and polishing off water from a Capsule Corporation bottle.

Well, that's a good sign!

Goku grinned, "Hey, Vegeta?"

A sigh came from the direction of the other Saiyan, followed by a curt, "What?"

"What do you think of Bulma?"

Silence. Goku stared at the prince's back waiting for a response. Finally Vegeta turned around, one eyebrow raised, "What?"

"I asked what you thought about Bulma."

"What the hell is a Bulma?"

Goku felt his heart sink, not receiving the response he had hoped for, "Vegeta… how do you not know? It's the woman you've been living with for over a year now… and for a few months before that. Don't you two ever talk?"

"Oh. The woman." Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned back around, "Why the hell are you asking such stupid questions, Kakarot? She's an insignificant human like every other irritating being on this planet… barring you and the Namekian, of course."

"…But you would be homeless and have nowhere to train without her."

"Is there a point to this conversation?!" Vegeta stood up and turned to his rival, irritated, "I have better things to do than to sit here and gossip with you like fools. Unless you want to do something productive like spar, than stay the hell out of my way." With that, the prince took off into the sky, leaving the younger Saiyan alone in the woods. Goku pouted, bringing two fingers to his head and feeling out a different powerful energy.

In an instant, he was sitting next to a meditating Piccolo, looking over a cliff at more forested land. The Namekian floated in midair, eyes closed and legs crossed looking both calm and focused. Piccolo didn't even acknowledge his former-rival before immediately asking for answers.

"So… how did it go?"

Goku sighed again and rested his chin in his palm, "Not so good. He barely even knows she exists. Shouldn't she be having a baby soon?"

Piccolo opened his eyes to glare at the other man, "Didn't your wife carry Gohan? How do you not know how long it takes for humans to produce a child?"

"Well it's not like I was keeping track of time!" the earthling whined as Piccolo scowled at the fellow warrior's incompetence. The rare look of worry on the other man's face stopped the Namekian from chastising his childishness. "I can't believe I told Bulma to take care of her baby. What was I thinking? Seriously though, how could something so minor change time so much?! What if her and Yamcha end up having a baby instead? Trunks won't exist! But will I still remember him? Will I still have the heart medicine?!" Goku groaned and lay back on the ground, staring into the sky, "It's all so confusing it makes my head hurt."

"It's hard to say. I'm not exactly versed with time travel myself, you know." Piccolo responded sarcastically and looked back at the Saiyan's face, "But if Trunks was concerned about not existing than we shouldn't take that lightly. So you need to make sure that kid is born."

Goku sat up, "Are you saying I have to make them get together? ...How?'

The Namekian gawked at the other man, "What? How the hell should I know?! You're the Saiyan with a human wife! You should know better than anyone!" Goku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Well yea… but honestly I don't even know why Chi Chi married me!" Piccolo snorted, unsurprised by that news.

"Well, who do you recommend we ask then?"

Goku's eyes lit up. Piccolo was unable to question him further as his shoulder was grabbed and they blipped out from one existence and into a new one.

"Hey Gohan? What do women like?"

Startled at the sudden intrusion, Gohan looked up from his book in bewilderment to see both his father and teacher standing there staring back at him. Mr. Piccolo growled.

"Really, Goku? We're asking the eight-year-old for this kind of advice?!"

"Relax Piccolo! Gohan knows lots of things! Doncha?" Goku grinned expectantly down at his son as Gohan sat, processing the sudden turn of events.

"Umm… well mom likes cooking a lot. And she likes when I study and when you're here." Gohan toyed with the pages of his book, trying to figure out how to answer such a random question. Piccolo crossed his arms and Goku shook his head.

"No, no. Like let's say there's someone your age that you really really liked! What would you do to make them like you?"

"Uh… be… nice to them?"

Goku pondered that answer for a moment, "Yea, I don't think that's gonna work with these two."

"Goku, this is highly inappropriate."

An abrupt crash from the other side of the room caused the trio to whip their heads around as the door slammed open. Chi Chi stood at the entrance of the room, one leg raised in the air, which seemed to be the source of the destruction, and one arm holding a bowl while the other furiously whisked the contents inside it. She marched over to her husband.

"I knew I heard something going on in here! Goku! Where on Earth have you been?!"

Goku shrieked and ran around the room, putting a bed between him and the irritated woman, "Chi Chi! I've been, uh, job hunting?"

"Don't lie to me, Goku! I just got off the phone with Bulma! You were training with that nasty Saiyan again, weren't you?!" She turned her attention to Piccolo, who cringed at being the new target of the housewife's wrath, "And you! What do you think you're doing here? Come to steal my baby again?!"

"N-no!" Piccolo stuttered, waving his arms in front of him, "I'm just trying to help your husband with some important business!"

"Unless you're helping him to get a job, I'm not interested!"

"Hey mom? Can Mr. Piccolo stay for dinner?" a timid voice interrupted the fight and Chi Chi turned to her son, who was smiling sweetly while still holding his book, "Please? He doesn't have anywhere to go."

The former demon king wasn't sure if he could blush, but if he could he would being doing it now. Would it be a bad time to remind everyone that he couldn't eat?

The human woman stared at her son before sighing in defeat, "Fine. But only because the three of us are going to have a long, much-needed talk in the kitchen right now," She turned her head to the two alien men, an expression on her face that no one would dare disagree with, "right you two?!"

"Sure, sure!" The duo hurried to agree with the small woman before reluctantly heading into the kitchen, leaving Gohan alone once again to reflect on what just happened.

"I told you, Goku, I don't like you spending time with that Vegeta guy. You have enough delinquent friends as it is." Piccolo swore he saw Chi Chi glance at him as she said that.

Goku's chin rested on his folded arms as he sat at the dining room table with his highly uncomfortable Namekian friend, who was also seated with his arms crossed. Chi Chi turned around when she didn't receive a response. "Goku!"

The Saiyan's eyes shot up to meet the worried face of his wife, "Sorry, Chi, just a little distracted today."

Chi Chi stared at him before turning to Piccolo, "What's the matter with my husband?" Piccolo blinked at the question, unsure of what to say and not feeling up to the task of handling a marital dispute, before turning to his fellow warrior.

You should ask her, you know. Piccolo communicated telepathically. The housewife's eyes narrowed, knowing something suspicious was going on. Goku turned to him, making eye contact for a few seconds, before nodding and turning to his wife.

"Chi Chi! How does time travel work?!"

Piccolo felt an eye twitch. Not that, you idiot!

Chi Chi stood, staring at the two dumbfounded, "What?"

The Saiyan shook his head, "Uh, never mind Chi. Actually I have something else I need to ask. Um…" His brows furrowed as he pondered the best way of phrasing such a question. Finally, Goku looked up, "Chi Chi, how do we get another woman pregnant?!"

The raven-haired woman stood motionless, staring at her husband. Piccolo sat still, certain he would be sweating if he was human, and awaiting the incoming assault of anger on her behalf.

To his surprise, she started giggling.

"Goku, if I didn't know you any better I would be really concerned about our marriage right now," She walked over and grabbed his hand in between her own two delicate palms, "Honey, if you need my help with something, you're going to need to tell me what in Kami's name is going on."

Goku and Piccolo glanced at each other, before telling the woman to sit down.

"And so, like an idiot, Goku told Bulma to take good care of her baby. So now we're afraid Trunks won't be born and the future is going to end up the same somehow."

"But you can't tell anyone, Chi! This needs to stay between us three? Okay?"

Chi Chi stared at the tabletop, forgetting about the dinner now burning in the kitchen as the two warriors revealed that both her husband and son would die within just a few years. She sighed, and looked at the two.

"But if we know what's going on, that means Trunks still came back in time, right?"

Goku and Piccolo looked at each other before turning back to the human, unsure of what point she was trying to make.

"What I'm trying to say is that, if we remember Trunks being here, then that means he still goes back in time. Which means nothing caused him not to be born. Which means he's still going to be born. Though I guess that means this awful future turns out the same…" Chi Chi stood up and walked over to a window, deep in thought. "Of course, maybe he's only born still because we are inevitably going to do something about it. Which means we should go ahead and do something. But what if destiny means we don't do anything… It's hard to say…"

Goku and Piccolo stared at the woman's back, "… Huh?"

Chi Chi twirled around, hands on her hips, staring the two aliens down with determination, "Okay! I'll help you guys. You two meatheads couldn't romance your way out of a paper bag, so someone has to make sure this poor kid is born and that our baby survives!" The human grabbed a pen and paper from the counter and joined the two flabbergasted meatheads at the table. "Okay! C'mon you two, we have a lot of planning and work to get done. It's time to play matchmakers!"

Clicking the pen open, she turned to Goku, "Ok, first we're going to list all of the things Saiyans like. I'll start. Number one: Fighting…"