𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

soda pop

challenge:  clairs 22nd Birthday Bash by @romantic-barnes on Tumblr

prompt: soda pop

pairing: 40's!bucky x reader

words: 1,222 words

warnings: fluff, a lil baby bit of angst, a smooth fucker named James Barnes, and language

summary: getting to work early wasn't so bad after all.

a/n: happy birthday clair! i hope you like this, cuz i had a lot of fun writing it. this prompt was super fun to play around with, and 40′s bucky is an little sneaky charmer. also, i had to look up forties slang, so I have no clue whether it's accurate or not. thank you so much <3

The diner was empty when she went in. Sighing, she headed to the back of the dimly lit room and hung up her coat on the hook in the kitchen. The first shift on Wednesday morning truly was the worst.

"Callie, Sue?" Y/N called out, but no answer came back except for the echo of her voice. Today wasn't her day. Of course, it had been her choice to stay out at the dance hall, but her bastard of a date, Richie, had left her to dance with another girl, and she spent the rest of the night wallowing in the corner and drinking her woes away. The bin of dirty white aprons wasn't under the sink like usual, so she went up to the front counter and saw that there was already someone waiting outside the glass doors.

This early? She could've sworn it was eight-thirty when she entered, so she checked the clock right above the jukebox. Yup, it was only eight forty. Figuring it was another drunk, she unlocked the door and spoke. "Good morning, sir, can I help you?"

The man looked up from the ground and smiled at Y/N. Boy, was he a dreamboat. Nicely pressed uniform, neat chestnut hair, pretty blue eyes, and a charming smile that could knock anyone off their feet. Y/N's knees nearly buckled on the spot.

"Yes, I was wondering if I could come in and get some soda from a beautiful gal?" She visibly flushed at his words, and he grinned wider when he saw.

"We don't open for about another fifty minutes, but if you'd like, you can sit until the others start coming in."

She opened the door for him, and he stepped in with a quick, "thank you." He seemed to have never been there before, and he looked around in wonder. "I've gotta be honest, this place is a whole lot nicer than some of the diners where I'm from."

Y/N's brows furrowed as she walked behind the counter and found the aprons. "Are you not from around here?"

"Just across the bridge in Brooklyn."

She smiled. "So you're another one of those Brooklyn boys, aren't ya?"

"Ah, so you've heard of us?" When she just rolled her eyes and walked to the back, he grinned. "What about you, sugar, where are you from?"

"My daddy moved up here from Virginia, but I'm from Manhattan, born and raised." The workers in the kitchen started entering,  and they both could hear the clanging of metal in the back. "I should probably go and check-in with the guys. Anything you want while I'm back there? Or I can get you a good cup of joe?"

"How about a cola, with two straws, so we can share?" He posed it as a question, a lopsided smirk accompanying it.

She leaned over the counter, her face inches away from his. "And why should I be sharing a drink with a stranger?"

"The name's James Barnes, doll, but you can call me Bucky. Close friends only."

Y/N scoffed and walked to the back to grab his soda. Truthfully, her heart was racing, because this handsome man was charming her socks off, but she had a history with men like them. They were sweet in the beginning, then they used and cheated her. Maybe she had been corrupted at a young age when Carl had left her for another girl in high school, but her mantra remained the same: love is for fools. Regardless of that loud voice screaming at Y/N to stop interacting with him, she grabbed a cola from the icebox, waved to the boys who had started working, and grabbed two red straws walking back out from the kitchen.

"So, Mr. Barnes, I see that it's fair that I tell you my name now that I know yours. I'm Y/N L/N, it's a pleasure to meet you, Bucky." He winked at her and took the opened bottle from her.

"Now, we aren't strangers," he smirked, "so how about that soda pop?" Seeing her rolled eyes, he laughed, and Y/N couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat to this man.

"Okay, but I start my shift in," she checked the clock, and saw it was nine at this point, "thirty minutes, so you best be gone by the time other customers start coming in or they're gonna think I'm sweet on you."

"Are you not already, sugar?" He mocked an expression of offense, and she laughed. "Well, damn, I was putting on my best show!"

That was what struck a chord in Y/N. A show. It never lasted long, did it? Once they got bored, they stopped the show, the circus, and moved on to their next location. Her sadness must've shown up on her face  because Bucky noticed her small frown. "What's wrong, Y/N? You feelin' okay?"

"Are you a heartbreaker, James?" Her harsh tone surprised him. "Because I don't waste my time on a silly boy, who's gonna take my love and trample over it. Who's understanding and kind, but then sees another sweet thing and leaves. I don't want that anymore."

Her eyes teared up at the confession, but she couldn't help it. There was no luck for her at this point and the night before had just been proof. Bucky immediately took her hand and placed his lips on it.

"Doll, I swear on my life, I have no intention of breaking your heart, and I've gotta say that if anything, you'll be breaking mine." With a sigh, he continued. "Maybe another guy showed up, and maybe the fella did you wrong, but that doesn't mean that that's all love is. He's a rotten man if he couldn't see the gem that was right in front of him. Love, it's real Y/N, and giving it out is scary, but when you find the right person, it'll all be worth it. And right now, my heart is in the hands of a pretty beautiful dame who's standin' right in front of me."

Tears silently trickled down her face, smearing her mascara, but he didn't care. Y/N had held his heart from the moment he saw her through the diner door. "What do you say, doll, you trust me?"

Her face broke into a small smile. Nodding, she grabbed the two straws and dropped them into the opening of the cola bottle. "How about that soda, then we can start talking about when you'll pick me up for our date?"

He grinned and took a sip of the cold soda. "Tomorrow night, seven o'clock, at the Roseland Ballroom. You'll wear your nicest dress, and I'll have my hair all slicked back, and I'll pick you up from your house. I'll make some talk with your daddy and mother, and we'll hold hands as we walk, and eventually spend the whole night dancin' until our feet fall off. Then, I'll walk you back home and kiss you sweetly by your front door, and give you my number so I can take you out again. How does that sound?"

Y/N's lips widened into a full grin, and she managed to nod before taking a sip of their shared soda pop. "That sounds real swell, Bucky."