Don’t Cross the Bar
A bartender!Bucky au (inspired by an episode of New Girl)
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader, reader x OMC (briefly)
Summary: Bucky has one rule, until one day, someone forces him to change it.
Warnings: Kissing??
Words: 2462
A/n: This is kind of long and I’m not super proud of it but it was an interesting dynamic I wanted to explore - hope some of you enjoy! It is midnight in Australia right now and I have been writing all night, so I’m going to bed.
She was biting her lip. Goddamn she was biting her lip and it’s so hot. Her fingers circled the edge of the glass. And she pulled her phone out of her pocket, rolling her eyes at something on the screen.
“Buck”
She bought the brown liquor up to her lips, tipping the glass back and allowing the whiskey to flow across her lips before disappearing across her tongue. He never knew how much he wanted to be whiskey until that moment.
“Bucky”
When the glass hit the table her tongue poked it from her mouth, gently wetting her lips to taste the remains of the liquor on them. A hand ran through her hair and he imagined it was his-
“James Buchanan Barnes”
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as a large hand waved in front of his face, quickly bringing his attention back to his friend sitting across the bar.
“What, Steve? What could you possibly want? I’m already giving you free drinks” he snapped at the blonde, irritated that he had been pulled from his daydreaming and slightly embarrassed that he had been caught.
“Oh, you mean the beer I finished 5 minutes ago while you were ogling the pretty girl in the booth?” Steve teased, leaking across the bar to grab another bottle of beer.
“I was not– ok, you know wh–“ Bucky stumbles over his words for a minute before glancing over at you again “shut up, Stevie”
“Go talk to her”
“Absolutely not”
“C’mon, Buck! You’ve been staring at her every Thursday and Friday night for the past 3 weeks!” Steve gestured towards the booth you were sitting in, attempting to convince Bucky to gain some confidence.
“You know my one rule, Steve” he buried himself by wiping down the bar in front of him. “Don’t cross th–“
“Don’t cross the bar, I know, I know” Steve interrupted taking another sip of his beer “but this is ridiculous. Rules were made to be broken”
“Shut up Steve. Bad things happen when I cross this bar.”
Bucky’s eyes drifted back over to you, only to find you already looking at him. He cleared his throat and quickly looked away, briefly glancing back up to see you smiling behind your glass.
He stared at the 3 feet of wooden bar in front of him. The 3 feet separating him from you.
He was seriously considering breaking his rule.
A couple of hours passed and you were still sitting in the same booth.
Originally, you were waiting for your boyfriend. Now, it had been 3 hours and you were just getting drunk.
“Hey, (y/n), I’m sorry I’m late”
You turned your head and saw Matt walking towards your booth. The man looked dodgy - his shaved head decorated with tribal tattoos and his leather jacket worn and ripped. Bucky looked up as your boyfriend made his way towards you and found himself rolling his eyes. He wouldn’t keep you waiting.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Matt?” You threw your hands up in the air. “We were supposed to meet three hours ago! I’m so sick of this”
“Oh come on! I’m a little late it’s not a big deal.” Bucky scoffed internally at his words and watched as you stood from the booth, your eyes flashing with anger.
“A little late?” You were a bit tipsy and suddenly it didn’t matter to you if the whole bar overheard your argument “did you not hear me? I’ve been waiting for her for thre–“
You abruptly stopped your rant when he turned his head and you got a glimpse of his neck underneath the collar of his leather jacket.
“Is that– is that a hickey?” Your hand reached for his neck but he quickly grabbed your wrist.
“It’s nothing, (y/n)”
“I’ve been sitting here for three hours and you were fucking somebody else?!” You were hysterical now and you bought your other hand up to slap him but he grabbed your wrist roughly, now holding both of them hostage and Bucky almost jumped the bar to get his hands off you.
“Look, I’m gonna go” he let go of your wrists and begun to walk out of the bar “call me when you’ve calmed down,” he hissed.
You slumped down into your seat, suddenly extremely uncomfortable with all the attention you had brought on yourself. Your head fell into your hands and you gripped your hair tightly. You suddenly felt far too sober for this. Bucky watched as you threw your head back and gulped down the rest of your drink. His eyes shifted to where the bar opened. “Fuck it” he whispered the words to himself as he stared at the bar in front of him. One rule. Don’t cross the bar. He ran his hand down his face, took a step, and suddenly his rule was broken. He sighed, looking back at the bar and hoping nothing bad happens. “Here we go” he murmured to himself before walking over to where you were sitting and cleared his throat. “Uh, hey can I get you a whiskey?”
Your head left your hands and you quickly found him standing beside you “What?” you asked, confused by his sudden appearance.
“Uh, I say that because you like whiskey” he paused, smiling at you nervously “you’re a whiskey girl, like me”
You chuckled lightly at his words “You’re a whiskey girl?” you bit your lip to hold back a chuckle, suddenly forgetting you just had an argument with your boyfriend.
He closed his eyes, regretting his phrasing. “I’m Bucky” he sighed. He was starting over.
“I’m (y/n)” You rubbed underneath your eyes, both from tiredness and checking for tears. When you looked back up at him he was standing silently, obviously struggling with what to say next. “Well, Well, what are you standing there for? Go grab a bottle and get me drunk, idiot.”
“Well, I-I couldn’t drink with you– I work here.”
You raised an eyebrow at him, having seen him drinking with his friends every time you were here.
“Just kidding, I get drunk, like, all the time.” He laughed and quickly strolled back towards the bar, leaning over and grabbing a full bottle of whiskey. You watched him, slightly confused by his approach but happy to have some company.
“Thanks, Bucky”
“I respect the amount you drink-” Bucky chuckled as you took another swig from the bottle. You were both considerably tipsy by now. “Oh, - FYI these drinks -” he gestured to the half-empty bottle between you “aren’t free.” He was smiling so you knew this was a joke. The bar was empty now, supposed to be closed but Bucky didn’t want to leave yet.
“Wow, well, joke’s on you ‘cause Matt left with all my money.” You pouted your lips and shrugged at him, both giggling from the alcohol.
“Oh really?” he laughed “Then how’re you gonna pay for these drinks, doll?” you had both become touchy over the last hour or so, he would rest his arm over your shoulders or rub your arm gently as he spoke. You didn’t mind.
You watched as he took a sip of the whiskey and decided to have some fun with your answer. “Oh… probably with sex?”
He choked on his drink and some of it escaped his mouth, exploding onto his shirt as you laughed at his shock. He was visibly affected by your words and it made you want to say more.
“I mean, I was gonna let you have sex with Matt” you continued to joke and he groaned lightheartedly.
“That was a trick” he mumbled and you took another swig of your drink, gently laughing at him. “Can I just say, you two…” his sentence trailed off and you looked at him curiously. “Actually don’t worry - not my place to say”
“What? What were you gonna say?” you placed your hand on his arm, urging him to continue.
“I– I just don’t think you should be with a guy like that,” he mumbled, obviously uncomfortable with this conversation.
“Yeah? Why would you think that?”
“He’s an asshole” he practically yelled, the alcohol getting to him. “Sorry, I don’t feel like it’s my place to say, doll”
“Well, you just said it–”
“I don’t know, doll–”
“Do you think I should break up with him, Buck? Do you–”
“Look, it’s not my–”
“You think I should dump hi–” You weren’t annoyed at him, but you continued to interrupt his bumbling, wanting to get the truth out of this dark-haired stranger.
“Dump his ass!” Finally, Bucky interrupted you. The alcohol was clouding his better judgment and he had always gotten bad vibes off that Matt guy. You were both silent for a moment and he closed his eyes, regretting his words. He did not want to ruin your relationship.
“I’m sorry, (y/n), I just… You seem like such a great and vibrant person. He seems like such a dick. You deserve better.”
You suddenly realized how close you had gotten, your face only inches away from his and you caught his eyes dropping down to your lips.
You grabbed onto Bucky’s collar, pulling him towards you and pressing your lips to his. You both tasted of whiskey and the kiss was sloppy and passionate. You were sober enough to realize what you were doing and tipsy enough to not care as his tongue brushed across your bottom lip and he deepened the kiss. Your hands went to his hair and he gripped your waist tightly, groaning as you tighten your grip on his roots, pulling gently at his hair.
You pulled at the bottom of his shirt, lifting it off of him before continuing the kiss. You were both lost in it, unaware of how lonely you felt without his touch and you never wanted to stop kissing each other.
Suddenly he remembered he had to breathe and pulled his lips from yours. Then he remembered you had a boyfriend and pulled away completely.
It wasn’t long after that when you both retreated home.
He closed up the bar, thinking about your lips on the edge of the glass and your hand on his arm. He thought about your smile behind the cheap glass and your hand running through your hair. He thought about your chapped lips on his and pressed his hand to his mouth.
You walked home, thinking about how this complete stranger had just come and changed your entire night. He made you laugh. You thought about his hair and his hands and his eyes. You thought about his advice. But most of all, you thought about his lips on yours. His hands on your waist and how it was better than any kiss you had ever shared with Matt.
That night, Bucky dreamt of you. That night, you broke it off with Matt.
It was the next day when Bucky was standing behind the bar, chatting with Steve and Sam carelessly. Matt burst through the bar door, you following in his footsteps, attempting to grab his arm and hold him back but he looked determined. He looked angry.
Bucky looked up when Matt reached the bar, “Are you Bucky?” he asked, anger laced in his voice as he practically spat straight into Bucky’s face. You caught Bucky’s eyes, a worried look on your face as you mentally attempted to apologize to him.
Bucky should not have crossed the bar.
“Um… no?” The denial came out as a question, that was a mistake. The man gripped onto Bucky’s collar and Steve attempted to pull him back, but Bucky dismissed him with a shake of his head. Steve struggled, he did not want to sit back and allow this to happen so he quickly dialed the cops.
He really should not have crossed the bar.
Matt reeled back and threw his fist at Bucky’s face, his knuckles hitting his cheekbone. Bucky groaned in response but didn’t fight back. He probably deserved this for kissing another guy’s girl.
Suddenly, Matt’s grip loosened and when Bucky opened his eyes, he saw you standing there, holding a ceramic bowl of what used to be pistachios above your head. You had knocked Matt out.
Bucky turned to look at Steve whose eyes were wide. “I should not have crossed the bar,” he groaned.
It was about an hour later, after Matt was removed from the bar and taken into custody that you re-entered the bar. Your hands were in your pockets and you avoided eye contact with bucky, evidently embarrassed by your ex’s outburst.
Bucky, unaware of your break-up, did not want to get more involved and sighed when you approached the bar, attempting to treat you like a normal customer. “What can I get for you?”
“I don’t want a drink, Buck” you murmured, hearing the coldness in his voice you were determined to gain his trust again. “I came to hang out”
He sighed again, looking up at you, his blue eyes piercing as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I have this rule” he begun to explain “Don’t cross the bar.” He shook his head slightly in regret. “And I broke that rule and–” he cut himself off, running a hand through his hair again, exhaling loudly.
“Look, these 18 inches of oak are the only thing that separates me from guys like Matt!” he gestured vaguely to the place where the incident had occurred, shaking his head gently. “I should not have crossed the bar last night.”
You stared at him for a moment, deciding what to say. You did not want to lose whatever it was you and Bucky had shared last night.
“I don’t have any rules”
His eyebrows twitched in confusion as you stood up from the barstool, pushing a couple of glasses and napkins to the side as you climbed up onto the bar.
“Don’t do th-” you pressed your hands to the bar, swinging one leg over “Don’t, no–” you pulled the other leg over “No customers–” he protested weakly but gave up once you were sitting in front of him, your legs on either side of his body. “Behind the bar” he murmured, but he was silenced when you grabbed the collar of his black shirt, pulling him up to your lips and pressing them harshly against his.
He immediately kissed you back, wrapping a hand around the back of your neck whilst the other rested on your thigh. A couple of customers clapped and whistled as your hands tangled into his dark hair, but he didn’t stop, pressing his lips to yours, as his tongue entered your mouth and you moaned into his.
“Okay, okay, you two need to stop, you’re ruining this place for everyone” Steve nudged Bucky’s arm and the two of you finally disconnected. “I told you rules are made to be broken” Steve mumbled before continuing his chat with Sam.
You leaned down so your lips were right next to Bucky’s ear, your breath rushed across his neck as you spoke “When your shift’s over, you should come to my place” You chuckled lightly into his ear making him shiver before continuing “unless, of course, you can’t cross the bar.”
