#yes I am posting boston vacation photos almost six months after my trip

[the-forest-library]

Smithsonite - Harvard Natural History Museum

[moonstruckbucky]

Once Upon an Us (1/?)

Summary: When your childhood best friend asks you to be her Maid of Honor in her wedding, you’re thrilled. When she confesses that your ex is the best man, you’re suddenly not so sure about this.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Warnings: A boatload of angst, some nasty words, Bucky and reader are both mean, fluff, and some good old smut

Notes: Oh man, another new story. I need to calm down a bit no? Gonna get nerdy up in here about whales because I can.

Series Masterlist

chapter one.

Some days you really missed city life. Sure, Port Angeles had a population of 20,000, so it wasn’t necessarily small, but it was nothing compared to the bustling life of Boston and its suburbs. Your job as a marine biologist had called you out here, where you could study the progress of Washington State’s Southern Resident orca population.

It had been hard to leave your family, but you made time to see them every year for more than just major holidays. Coming from a big family, it was important to keep in touch with all of them. You called your parents and siblings multiple times a week, your best friend almost every day, and your grandparents a few times a month. Cousins, aunts, and uncles also got phone calls, though not quite as often. It was hard work balancing a 6 AM to 7 PM job and still make time for phone calls, a social life, and keeping up with responsibilities at home.

Today, Port Angeles was quiet. Not much of a vacation spot, summers in Port Angeles tended to be laidback and relaxing. Tourists tended to flock to Seattle or the national parks, leaving Port Angeles tucked away in its own quiet corner of the state, though the city did have its own whale watching charter. 

You were stranded today, confined to your office to finish up a dissertation on the behavioral patterns of the Southern Residents. Instead of typing away at your computer, though, you were staring out the window at the water just across the freeway. Growing up in Boston had given you access to the ocean early on. You spent many afternoons after school at Boston Harbor, watching the boats as they came in. At five, your parents took you on your first whale watch. It was there you fell head over heels in love with marine life.

It had been a tough decision to move out to the West Coast, but your parents understood. More than your siblings had. Being the second oldest of six, your younger siblings argued against your move while your older sister understood completely, knowing you needed to spread your wings and make your own life. It had been a very tearful goodbye, filled with promises to call multiple times a week which, so far, you had kept. Skyping with your siblings always tugged on your heartstrings, but every so often one or two of them at a time would fly out and stay with you for a week.

Snapping yourself out of your thoughts, you blew your hair out of your face and resumed your work, fingers tapping rapidly on the keys as your dissertation came to fruition. Beside you on the desk, your phone began buzzing. You glanced down at it, smiling when you saw the face of your childhood best friend.

“City morgue, you kill em, we chill em,” you answered, smiling wide.

“God, you need some new material,” Nat groaned on the other end.

“Hey, I happen to like my old school jokes, thank you very much. Congratulations on the engagement, by the way! I saw the post before I got a phone call, you bitch.”

“I’m not living that down,” she muttered and then sighed. “I really am sorry about that. I did mean to call you.”

“Nat, relax, I was joking. It’s okay, I get it.”

“Do you? I mean, that was pretty shitty of me and I was feeling so guilty because I didn’t tell you first but someone got a photo and posted it before I could say anything and—”

“Natalia,” you stressed, cutting her off from her self-driven guilt trip. “It’s okay. You called me right after, so it’s all good. Now to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

“What? Can’t I call my best friend without having an ulterior motive?”

“No.”

“Damn, you’ve known me too long. Okay, I’ll just get right into it. I’m asking you to be my Maid of Honor.”

“Why do you sound so nervous? Of course I’m going to say yes, Nat! You’re getting married!”

“I know, I know. We just settled on a date and I’m already so excited. But I feel there’s something you should know before you completely agree to be my Maid of Honor....”

“Uh oh, is it a themed wedding? Do I need to buy a giant top hat and drink tons of caffeine?”

“Ugh, I talked about that once.”

“Still not letting it go,” you sang, grinning even though Nat couldn’t see it. “Okay, okay, I’m done. Spit it out.”

“Bucky’s the best man.”

Out of all the things you thought she’d say, that was not one of them. Silence filled both ends of the phone, Nat waiting with bated breath and you trying to reteach your brain on how to formulate words.

“He- I- You- What?” Very articulate. “I-I thought he was still...”

“He moved back,” Nat responded quietly. “Are you...will you be okay? With this? I can talk to Steve, see if he can...”

“No,” you interrupted quickly. “No. He’s Steve’s best friend so it wouldn’t feel right for anyone else to be the best man. I’ll be fine, Nat. This is your day. if you want me as MOH, I’ll do it. Don’t you worry about me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” you insisted. In the back of your mind, though, you were freaking out a little. “I can handle it. When do you want me there? I have a shit ton of vacation time racked up. I could use a trip home.”

“As soon as you can I guess? I have no idea what I’m doing and I need my best friend. You’re welcome to our spare room, of course.”

“Are you sure about that? I don’t want to put you out.”

“Nonsense. You’re family, Y/N.” You smiled into the phone, heart swelling.

“I’ll get the first flight out Thursday. Give me a day to get some things together.”

“Yay! Oh my god, I can’t wait for you to get here!” Nat wasn’t usually one to get squeaky, but that’s exactly what she was doing on the other end. You imagined her dancing in her kitchen or living room, and had you been home, you would’ve been doing the same.

“I’m so excited! I’ll see you Thursday, okay?”

“Okay! Steve and I will pick you up from the airport. Let us know when you land! I can’t wait to see you, it’s been too long!”

The two of you chatted back and forth for a while, catching each other up on your lives, before hanging up. As soon as you were off the phone, you tilted your head back and groaned into the open office. Loudly.

You loved Nat with all your heart, but how were you supposed to perform Maid of Honor duties when the best man was your ex?

Chapter Two