The Winter Highlander || Bucky x Reader

Part 1

Note before reading

So here we go, my second story here on Wattpad. Inspiration for this story largely came from my time roaming the Scottish Highlands and from my deep love for the Winter season. Please consider leaving a comment as they literally make my day.

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Glenmoray, Scotland

For the third time that week, you felt like you were unable to breathe.

The first time had been a terrible affair; all tears, apologies and your heart pounding like it had been trying to run away from it all. Perhaps it had. Perhaps it explained why you were sitting in an old smelly bus on a remote road in the Scottish Highlands, melancholily staring out of the window like you were an orphan in a Charles Dickens novel.

Right now being the third time you felt like the wind had been knocked out of you, it wasn't solely because you felt the consequences of your actions weighing down on your shoulders. This time you also felt overcome with the sight of the dark and gloomy countryside stealing your breath from your lips. You revelled in the sights of impossibly dark green pine trees on high cliffsides, the tops of mountains disappearing under sombre clouds and the sight of murky dark lakes. It felt exactly as you did right this moment; dreary, tired and full of secrets.

Of all the reasons you found yourself in Scotland on this cold and rainy day, you had never expected it to be because of a broken heart. You would have expected it to be because perhaps you had wanted to trace back your family's roots, to visit the town your grandmother grew up in, or to take a well-deserved break from your demanding job.

Pardon me, previously demanding job. That, by the way, was the second time you had felt breathless that week; quitting your job and cutting it out of your life like you had done with so many other things in the past several days. Because, apparently, abandoning people and things who once meant the world to you became easier the more you did it. You had made the decision sitting on your bathroom floor, nursing a half-finished bottle of wine that really should have been thrown out weeks ago. It would have made for a great start to a romantic comedy film; a sobbing spinster, murmuring to herself while she spilled sour wine all over her crisp white wedding dress. Now that is a story that would entertain the masses.

You grew increasingly more nervous as the bus covered the final miles to Glenmoray. It was a small town hidden away between one of the many glens that were to be found in the Highlands. It wasn't far away from a beautiful lake, or loch as they called it here, and thrived mostly because of hikers and climbers making their away up north. You really didn't know all that much about the town, besides the fact that there were a fair amount of B&Bs and climbing gear shops which catered to tourists. Also, it was the town where you grandmother had grown up and met your grandfather, ultimately following the grumpy American climber all the way to America to get married.

You fumbled around nervously with the keys you had inherited only months ago, days after your grandmother had passed away and was buried next to your grandfather. People were usually excited about moving into a new place, only you didn't feel that same giddy feeling of anticipation. You weren't even sure yet whether you had made the right decision.

You looked around anxiously as the bus made it around the final bend before the quaint town of Glenmoray was revealed to you. It existed mostly of small grey cottages, narrow streets and little shops that most likely hadn't changed their decor in centuries. A small but nervous smile played on your lips as you imagined the peace and quiet you were hoping to experience here. No more crossing streets with the fear of being run over by an angry taxi driver who somehow always seemed to resemble Danny DeVito , no more overpriced coffee runs for your boss and, most importantly, no one here who knew who you were or what you had done.