#highlighting the meet cute and the christening of 'buck'

[anachilles]

whiskey neat, coffee black 🥃 || ch 2.

aka: firefighter!bucky x bartender!buck (chapt 2), as detailed [here]

“Hey, man. Another round?” His voice came out pitched low, in a way that went straight to Bucky’s stomach, inclining his head towards the firefighters’ table just as Curt slammed a fist on the table, clearly making a very animated point, and Harding barked out a laugh that carried all the way over. Up close. Oh yeah, fuck, he was right in front of him now. While his face remained placidly detached, when he’d spoken the words were clipped, an edge of vexation managing to sneak in. For what reason, Bucky wasn’t sure. He hadn’t even opened his mouth yet. Making an effort to right himself, Bucky leaned one arm on the bar in what he hoped was an altogether casual-looking stance, and took a shallow breath with an iron-clad will to make his voice as even and steady as he possibly could. Please, God, if he’s ever needed to sound sober now is that time . With how hot it had gotten in the room and with all their exuberance, he could feel sweat gathered in his hairline, and an errant curl had fallen loose from the hold of the product in his hair and flopped over his eye. He jerked his forehead trying to dispel it, but it immediately fell right back into misplace. “Well, what would you recommend?” He was pretty sure the boys (read: Curt and Douglass) had raised the idea of some form of shot for this next round, leaving it to Bucky to choose which. He knew his liquor and he knew what he liked, but the temptation to bait this guy into an actual conversation was just too much to resist.

-> read here on AO3! <-