Steve was a tactician, the best of the best according to some, but apparently only when it came to his job. Or rather former job. He never just acted, he always had a strategy, he wasn't really spontaneous. But when he'd offered Natasha his help, he hadn't really thought about it. He didn't need to.

When she had said that she was having a baby, he had died a little inside. The thought of her being with someone, having that man's baby was killing him. He was ashamed of it, but he had been so relieved when Natasha had cleared up that she wasn't seeing anyone and not pregnant yet. He couldn't believe he was that selfish, he wanted Nat to be happy, he really did, he would just like her to be happy with him if he had any say in it. God, he was such a selfish bastard.

He wanted Natasha to have everything she wanted, and if she wanted a child then he would help her have one. She needed sperm and he had sperm. Jesus, that sounded weird.

He had what she needed and he gladly would help her if she wanted him to. He had seen the look on her face when she'd told him that she was having a baby and he'd wrongly thought that she was already pregnant, she had looked so happy. He had never seen that kind of happiness on her face before. And when she'd talked about how she had trouble to find the right donor, that happiness had vanished.

And he couldn't let that happen. He would do anything for Natasha. Truly anything. So of course he offered her his help. And yes, he wanted to have a child with Natasha. He hadn't thought that children were something that would ever happen for him. Before the serum he hadn't wanted anyone to inherit his many weaknesses and illnesses, and after the serum there had been no time to even think about settling down. But now there was a real and actual chance for him to become a father after all. The father of Natasha's child. And he hadn't known it before, but now that was all he could think about.

But there was on thing on his mind that made him question himself.

Was it wrong that he had offered her his help when he had feelings for her? Should he tell her that he loved her before she decided to use him as a donor? Was he somehow trapping her like that? He wasn't doing it to force a romantic relationship with her. If she would tell him that they would never be more than friends, he would still volunteer to be her donor.

She had told him that they should both think about his offer and that she wanted him to take enough time to truly think about it and what it would mean. She had said that she wanted him to be one hundred percent to be sure if he really wanted to do it. Natasha had had a year to think about having a child and becoming a parent as she'd told him, but Steve didn't need that much time.

He knew what he wanted. He wanted to fulfill Natasha's biggest wish and he wanted to have a child. And he only wanted one with his best friend. He knew that Natasha would include him in their child's life, that they would co-parent, that she would let him be a dad to their kid.

Now that he knew that this was something that could potentially happen, he wanted it. More than anything. He just prayed that Natasha wanted the same, that she would choose him as the father of her child.

The bar was filled with people enjoying their night and Steve had managed to snatch up the last empty table and the two women at the next one were smiling at him. He had no idea if they were flirting with him because they liked how he looked or because they had recognized him. In the end it didn't matter. Both things were tied to each other, he looked that way because he was or rather had been Captain America. They wouldn't be smiling at him if he didn't look the way he was looking now thanks to the serum. He gave them a polite nod and then looked away, signaling them that he was not interested.

Bucky finally walked through the door ten minutes and Steve waved when his best friend was looking into his direction. He slid over one of the two beer bottles when Buck sat down.

"Sorry, I'm late. Yori needed me for something."

"It's fine."

They talked a bit about Yori and the latest Dodgers game, both still couldn't believe that they were LA based now, when Bucky started to grin.

"What?"

"These two women over there are practically undressing you with their eyes! Buy them a drink, Stevie!"

"No."

"You're never gonna get a girl with that attitude!"

He glared at Bucky. "I don't see you buying anyone drinks."

Bucky seemed unimpressed. "I think we can both agree that I am in no state to start courting a woman any time soon." He said and took a sip from his drink. "You on the other hand have no reason not to go on dates."

He immediately thought of Natasha. She was the only one he wanted to go on dates with, but with what could potentially happen next there was no room for romance. Two friends having a child together was already complicated enough, he didn't need to throw in his feelings for her.

"Are you okay?"

Steve blinked at his friend. "What? Yes, of course."

"You just had a look on your face." Bucky didn't seem satisfied with his answer. "Something is going on with you."

Natasha hadn't told anyone about her plans yet, not even Clint and Laura, so Steve couldn't talk with Bucky about it. And in a way he didn't need to. He had already made up his mind. The only question was if Natasha would accept his offer.

"I'm okay, Buck, really. Don't worry." He assured his friend and after studying him for a moment Bucky nodded.

They ordered another round of drinks and Steve noticed that the women were gone. Thank God, he'd feared that they could come over, trying to chat them up.

"How's Romanoff?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't you two go to the movies recently?" Bucky smirked. "You complained that you hadn't seen her in so long."

"I wasn't complaining. She's good."

Bucky gave him another look like he was trying to read his mind. "Something happened with Natasha?"

"No." He said too quickly and Bucky raised an eyebrow. "Nothing happened."

His best friend was so kind to let him get away with that obvious lie. He had always been a terrible liar and Bucky knew him better than anyone.

"Do you-" Steve started, but he stopped himself. He couldn't ask his best friend the question on his mind or he knew something was definitely up. He couldn't just suddenly asked him if he ever thought about having kids. Bucky raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Do I need to worry about you, punk?" Bucky asked quietly. "Do you need help with anything?"

"No, there's no need to worry about me. I swear!" Steve replied, knowing that his friend was aware on the fact that Steve wouldn't promise something lightly.

"You can always count on me."

"I know, Buck. Yes, something is going on, but it's nothing bad. Actually if it's going to happen it's gonna be amazing. The most amazing thing that could happen to me."

Bucky gave him a blank expression and Steve couldn't blame him for it. "You do realize that tells me nothing. And makes me want to know about even more!"

"I can't talk about it yet, but once I can, I'll tell you." Steve promised and got a nod in return.

Steve spent the next morning on the internet, reading blog posts and articles about artificial insemination, IVF, and people who had chosen this route to have a family. There were even stories about best friends who had chosen to become parents together, so Natasha and he wouldn't be the first ones to do it.

God, he prayed that Natasha was going to choose him. He now wanted to have a baby so badly and he only wanted one with Natasha. It would be the biggest honor of his life if Natasha would choose him to be the father of her child. And he wanted to be the dad, not just be the guy who had donated sperm. He could have a family of his own, he wouldn't just be a friend or uncle anymore, he would be someone's dad.

He was looking at books on Amazon about parenting and fatherhood when his phone buzzed on the table next to his laptop. He picked it up and saw that Nat had texted him. Finally.

Hey. Are you free tonight? I wanna talk with you about everything.

He quickly answered her that he was indeed free tonight, hoping and praying that she was going to accept his offer. He had never wanted anything more in his life. Well, that wasn't completely true. He wanted this and Natasha more than anything in the world.