Okay so I swear this is the last short story I'll start until I finish up at least another two ahahah! But my cat mated with a neighbour's cat and she's pregnant now! And then this story just hit me! (I don't know how I came up with it from that situation, but I knew I had to write this and it wouldn't leave me alone!) This was going to be in Love and War, but then as I wrote out the notes, I realized it was definitely more of a short story than individual set of standalone oneshots like the others so here we are! ;3

Written because I desperately needed practice writing off-kilter WAFF/Fluff and because I wanted to try my hand at a more vulnerable Maya.

Rated T for Tactical Decisions

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: It's a good thing I don't own GMW because these poor characters would be put through the ringer...

Lucas hopped out of the cab and rushed into the Starbucks, thanking someone who held the door open for him. He searched around the crowded coffee shop, looking for the blonde head of hair of his best friend. She had texted him that she urgently needed to talk to him, so they'd set up a quick lunch meeting during their breaks. Lucas didn't have any appointments at noon, and Maya's next class wouldn't be until one.

It wasn't too difficult to see over the bustling heads, since most people in the shop were college and high school students who were shorter than him. He ignored some of the interested stares he received and headed towards the back. Maya had always preferred slight isolation to the tumult closer to the doors.

He found her seated at a table in the back near the windows, staring at the street and absentmindedly swirling her straw around in her drink. She had an untouched pastry in front of her and her chin resting on her palm. And that was how Lucas knew whatever she wanted to talk to him about was really bothering her if she wasn't scarfing down a ton of sweets.

He walked up to her table and seated himself in the chair across from her, blocking her view of the street and snapping her out of her little trance. She blinked in surprise and stared at him, looking a little caught off guard.

"Not hungry?" he asked her, cutting right to the chase. Idle chit chat would get them nowhere, and she usually got irritated with beating around the bush. "Are you sick?"

Maya shook her head, but otherwise didn't say anything. She stared down at her pastry, her eyes slightly narrowed. And Lucas knew it was bad. Not general bad for Maya like getting into a fight with her mom or having a student who gave her a hard time or some neighbour who wouldn't shut the hell up in the middle of the night. This was bad. Bad enough to make Maya Penelope Hart—who always had something to say—absolutely silent.

"Maya. What's wrong?"

She finally looked back up at him and sighed, running her fingers through her short blonde cut and then frowning and stopping when she realized the ends weren't as long as they once were. It was a little bit amusing to Lucas; she wasn't used to having the short hair. She'd wanted to give it a try, but she kept forgetting and doing routine things with her fingers that she used to do with her long hair.

"Lucas. I know we ended things five years ago, and I know this might be kind of crazy, but I have a serious request." She started nervously, chewing on the inside of her mouth. "You're my best friend, and I just thought I would ask you…"

She tapered off, staring at him, looking as if she had lost her nerve. Lucas frowned, concerned by how anxious she looked and sounded. Maya was usually always confident no matter what she did, but she really looked a bit lost and if he really thought about it, terrified.

"What is it Maya? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah I just…" she stopped again, taking a few small breaths and staring at the table.

"Is someone making you uncomfortable?" Lucas growled, his fists clenching.

Back in college, there had been a number of assholes and dicks who tended to try to go after Maya because they'd thought since she was blonde, she was easy. And unfortunately, that hadn't changed even in her adulthood. Lucas had had to mess up a couple of them, and if he needed to crank back out some violence to keep some creep away from Maya, he would.

She shook her head. "It's nothing like that."

"Then what is it?" Lucas said, a little impatient. He couldn't sit at the Starbucks all day. Despite his next appointment not being until two, he still had a lot of things to finish up, and she wasn't saying anything.

"Alright. Let me just put it out there." Maya took a deep breath, meeting his gaze head on. "Lucas, can you be my baby daddy?"

Lucas stared at Maya, absolutely positive he hadn't heard her right just then. He remained silent, watching as she twiddled her thumbs and wondering if he had actually heard the right words come out of her mouth. He was a bit sleep deprived, and he hadn't gotten enough rest last night. He'd been off his game all day. He'd probably heard it wrong.

Who the hell was he kidding? He'd heard her right, alright.

"I'm sorry, what?" He asked incredulously, raising a brow.

"Shit, hold on. I didn't start off well." Maya winced, looking like she was mentally berating herself. "Look. The truth is, I work with a lot of kids from early junior high to late high school and I don't know… As time has gone by, I can't help but feel more and more like there's something missing in my life. And then I realized what that something missing was that I was searching for."

Lucas felt himself sweat as she spoke, knowing what she was about to say before the words left her mouth.

"I want a kid. I really, really do. As weird as that sounds for me—and trust me, no one was more surprised than me—I want to raise a child of my own one day too. I've been thinking about it for a couple years now. I'm twenty-nine. Time is flying by." She let out a small, breathless laugh that was neither happy nor despairing. "Lucas, I've been hurt so many times I just don't trust anyone. There are no prospects right now and I honestly don't know if I want to wait forever for one to show up. Not to mention it'd be a long time before I could learn to trust him. And you know I don't want marriage."

Oh he knew.

Lucas' brows furrowed. "So what exactly are you proposing, Maya?"

"I thought about who to ask for a pretty long time. We've been friends since middle school. I trust you more than I trust any other guy I know. And I know you're a great guy with a great personality. So I was wondering if you could be my sperm donor."

Lucas remained quiet for a long while, just staring at Maya. She wasn't averting her gaze anymore. Clearly she was very serious about this, but the only thing going through Lucas' mind was just how utterly crazy her request was. She was asking him to father her child. Nevermind the fact that Maya wanted a kid that badly that she wasn't willing to wait (which was the most mindboggling thing he had ever heard in his life), but it was the fact that she was asking him to be the other half of her baby.

"Maya, do you even know what you're asking?" he said at last, a frown on his face, "You're asking me to father your kid so you can raise it in the city. The city where we run into each other every day. Do you know how weird that is?"

"I know… And I know after our breakup our friendship was completely ruined, and I know it took us three years to even get back to this point, and I know this could very well make things awkward again, but I'm willing to take that risk. That's how important it is to me for you to be the father of my child." Maya sighed dejectedly, "I know it's messed up to ask you, but I can't think of anyone else."

He felt for her. He really did, but this wasn't like asking to borrow money or to borrow his car or anything. This was something serious and involved bringing to life another human being. This wasn't a joke. It wasn't something that could ever be taken back once it happened. She couldn't just undo anything. And Lucas would very much have to live each day knowing he had a child in the city from Maya no less.

"Why do you want a kid so badly that you can't wait?"

"You know why…" Maya picked at the pastry for a few quiet seconds before looking back up. "Lucas, I grew up with a messed up home life, a mother who dated around, but never settled, a life where I barely saw my mother growing up. And despite all that, you would think I wouldn't want kids. But I do. That kind of lonely existence still exists in my heart. I've always wanted a family of my own. A real family. I want to bring a child into this world and have a family now. I want to form a connection with them that I never truly had with my mom. I want to be able to share my love of literature and art with a kid someday. Maybe this is just my biological clock going crazy, but I want to be a mom.

"And I've thought about adopting for a while. But in the end, I knew what I wanted was a baby. My baby." Maya sighed, "The sperm bank selection process has an enormous amount of nuances to properly discuss and consider. Not to mention I'd have a long selection process mapping out and deciding possible candidates and maybe having to meet them if I need a bit more substantial evidence on their personalities. I mean hell, the guy could have a total douchebag personality I wouldn't want my kid to develop. So I thought why not ask someone who I've known for countless years who I already knew could father a great kid. And after that, I knew I wanted you to be the donor."

"Maya, that's a lot to ask for." Lucas said seriously, still feeling awkward and iffy about the request she had made.

"Which is why I perfectly understand why you would refuse or say no. But I just wanted to let you know I'm asking this of you as a friend. There are no tricks involved. No gimmicks. I wouldn't hold you to anything. I'd do this in vitro in a fertilization clinic."

"In vitro? Isn't that an expensive process?"

"While it is somewhat expensive, I've been saving up for a while for this, so I'll still be okay."

Lucas frowned. As much as she was saying he wouldn't have to be involved if he did not want to, that still didn't change the fact that he would have to see this child every time he saw Maya. What were they supposed to do if the child grew up and figured out he was the father anyway? Maya wasn't thinking this through.

"I know it's just a huge request, and one that isn't just simple, but I really want you to know I'm serious about this..." Lucas grew concerned when Maya's voice cracked the slightest bit. When she glanced up, he noticed the stormy blue-grays were somewhat glassy. "And if you don't want to be my donor, I understand. I'll respect that, and I won't bring it up again."

An extended uncomfortable silence fell over their table, Lucas staring at Maya and Maya staring at the table dejectedly. It lasted for a few minutes, the two of them completely in their own world and oblivious to the sound of bustling patrons of the Starbucks, despite the ample amount of noise.

Lucas could tell this was really messing her up. And Maya was rarely affected by things.

"Maya." Lucas finally said. Maya looked up at him, wiping the tears away with her sleeve, looking annoyed with herself for crying. "I care about you a lot. And I want you to be happy."

"But…?"

"But I don't know if I can just accept this right away. I need some time to think."

She cracked a small smile, sniffling. "I know. You wouldn't be Huckleberry if you didn't properly weigh all pros and cons. But thank you for giving it a thought and not automatically rejecting the idea."

Lucas sighed, running his hand through his hair. This was absolutely crazy.

Maya checked her watch and stood up, putting the pastry back into the brown bag before picking it up along with her iced drink. "I have to go back to work. My next class is starting soon."

"Maya." Lucas stood up as well. "If I say no, what's your backup plan?"

She paused, staring at the ground for a while before she looked up at him seriously.

"I can't see anyone else as the donor except for you." she said honestly, "If you say no, I think I'd give up."

Lucas stared at her in slight shock, his pulse speeding up a little bit at her words. Maya smiled and stood high on her tiptoes, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"No pressure or anything." She said with a smile before backing away and turning with a wave.

Lucas stood in the same spot next to the café table for a second, a little lost and still trying to decide if that conversation with Maya had really just happened. He sighed, heading out of the Starbucks to go back to his clinic.

He had a hell of a decision to make.