One Night In Brooklyn | Bucky Barnes 1940's

8.32 PM

They walked into the bar. It was hazy with cigarette smoke and the music was playing loudly from the radio, the grainy static carried through the room. Peggy twirled around anxiously looking for Steve.

Suddenly she shrieked loudly and made a run towards a man standing in the back of the bar. Eloise squinted her eyes in an attempt to get a better look from afar, but decided that she should just walk up and say hello.

"Steve, this is Eloise. Eloise, Steve" Peggy introduced them.

"Pleasure to meet you, miss" Steve shook her hand politely, still holding his arm around Peggy, who was shining brighter than any light in the bar. They all took a seat in one of the booths, Peggy and Steve practically wrapped around each other already. The two of them fell into conversation immediately. Eloise had never heard Peggy talk so much, and she was quite the talker.

"Oh, Bucky should be back in a moment" Steve peered over to Eloise, using his most reassuring voice. She was already dreading meeting Steve's friend, and was hoping he would take longer to get back so that she could escape this set up.

But of course, Eloise said none of these things out loud, instead she just gave Steve a polite nod and reached into her bag to pull out her cigarette case.

She popped one out and put it between her lips. Before she realized, someone was holding out a light.

Eloise looked up at the man attached to the lighter and was met with a smile.

"Pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes" He stated, and Eloise carefully leaned into the flame.

"Thanks" She gazed up at him blowing out the smoke.

She despised Peggy more in this moment than she ever had. Why, god why, did he have to be so handsome? She had said nothing about the fact that he was tall. His eyes were a piercing blue, bright enough to shine in the dim light of the bar.

He was wearing a Sergeant's uniform, his hat neatly tilted to one side. He reached out and Eloise placed her hand in his. Bucky lifted it to his lips and pressed them gently against the top of her hand.

"I'm James. But everyone calls me Bucky. Pleased to meet you, miss" He looked her straight into her eyes. For some reason, Eloise was scrambling for a response.

"El-Eloise. I'm Eloise" She finally managed. She quickly took another drag from her cigarette as he sat down next to her.

"So, Eloise. What do you do?" He asked politely.

"I work with Peggy. Switchboard" She kept it short. The fact that he was ridiculously handsome and charming was not going to change the fact that she was only staying for two hours. It was best not to get too friendly.

"I see." Bucky was taken aback by her standoff-ishness, something he wasn't used to when it came to women. He figured it was just nerves or something.

"Eloise was promoted last month. She's our supervisor now" Peggy winked from across the table, at this point she was basically sitting in Steve's lap.

"Wow, supervisor. That's an accomplishment" Bucky looked back at her.

"It's alright work. Pays the rent" Eloise pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with the end of her old one and continued to smoke.

Peggy noticed the tension, and jumped in again to try and lighten the direction of the conversation.

"So, how do you and Steve know each other?" She asked out loud, her smile said one thing, her eyes darting at Eloise said another.

"We go way back. Grew up together, enlisted together. And here we are" Bucky smiled. Steve joined in. "Yeah, Bucky's been looking out for me since day one. I wasn't always able to take care of myself" Steve laughed.