#business au

Title: Family-in-law  (5) 

Summary: Why does Winnifred Barnes hate you? What does your mother have to do with it? And will you and Bucky get your happy end? 

Pairing: CEO!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Characters: Winnifred Barnes, George Barnes, Andy Barber, Mike Weiss, Ari Levinson, Jake Jensen 

Warnings: angst, language, awful mother-in-law, pregnant reader, awful behavior, mentions of cheating, manipulation, fluff, romance, mentions of character’s death, mentions of attempted rape (not the reader) 

Rating: Mature

Words: 2,7 k

<< Part 4

Monster-in-law masterlist

“James Buchanan Barnes, stop tickling your pregnant fiancé,” Bucky doesn’t give in. He runs his fingertips up and down your sides, snickering as you fight his fingers. You push against his naked chest while fighting to not slip in the showers. “Buck, that’s dangerous.”

“Aw, look at you,” his eyes drop to your swollen belly. “You are showing, doll. Soon everyone will know you are having my baby.” He stops tickling you to bring you into his arms. His hands soothingly run up and down your back and his lips press against your temple. “You’re so beautiful inside and outside.”

“You’re a cheesy man, Mr. Barnes,” he laughs at your words. “But I kinda like you. Maybe you can stick around.”

“I kind of like you too, Y/N. I hope you’ll stick around for a while,” Bucky lovingly looks at you as you place your hands on his chest. “For the rest of my life, to be precise. You and I, till the end of the line.”

“I hope so too,” you stand on tiptoes to wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him softly. “How about we this lead somewhere more…private…”

“Holy fuck! The dry spell is broken!” giggling you try to escape Bucky’s hands and lips. He grasps you, ready to devour you right here, in the showers. “I’m gonna devour you, sexy lady…”

“Mr. Levinson, stop beating around the bush. I’m a grown woman, and you don’t have to shelter me. You said that you know the reason for Winnifred Barnes’ behavior, so tell me what we can do to make her stop,” your mother says in an exasperated tone. She’s just done with Winnifred Barnes and the games she plays.

“Did you know Winnifred Barnes and you went to school together?” Ari looks up from the manila folder in his hands. “It was a hard piece of work to connect the dots. You moved miles away, she did too. What a coincidence your children found each other.”

“We went to school together?” your mother furrows her brows. “I was a little shy back then, just like my daughter. I stayed mostly to myself and had only a few friends. I don’t remember a girl named Winnifred.” She truthfully says. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone remembers my name.”

“She does,” the private investigator place an old police report and picture of a car wreck onto his desk. “Maybe back then people called her Freddie or Winnie,” Ari explains. “Do you remember her now?”

“Freddie,” shaking her head your mother frowns deeply. “That name doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t remember much from my time at school. I wanted to stay invisible most of the time until I met George.”

“Mrs. Y/L/N, did you get into an accident on the night of your prom,” something flashes up in your mother’s eyes. “I need you to tell me the truth now.”

“I-“ she shakes her head, sniffling. Suddenly memories she forgot about long ago hit her out of nowhere. “I went to prom with a boy I thought likes me. His name was Michael, and every girl was jealous to see me attend the prom with him. It’s just…he…”

“It’s okay. Everything you tell me will stay within these walls, Mrs. Y/L/N,” Ari softly says. He can see your mother struggles with her feelings and doesn’t want to be too pushy. “If you want to help your daughter, tell me what happened that night.”

“Michael tried to get into my pants,” she hastily says. “Or rather, he tried to force himself on me. But…” exhaling sharply she looks at Ari.

“But?” he asks. 

“There was this nice guy,” she says. “His name was Jimmy…I mean everyone called him Jimmy, but his name was actually James.” Now her head snaps toward the pictures. She gasps, as her heart starts racing. “He almost ripped the door to Michael’s car open and dragged him off me.”

“He saved you that night?” your mother nods. She gives Ari a soft smile, as she remembers her savior. “What else happened?”

“He beat the shit out of Michael, that’s what happened,” Ari chuckles as your mother tells him how James punched and kicked Michael until he was a sobbing mess. “After Michael peed his pants, Jimmy helped me out of the car and offered me a ride. He wanted me to go to the police and tell them what happened but, they would’ve only arrested Jimmy for hitting that bastard.”

“So, you drove away with Jimmy?”

“Yes,” her eyes fill with tears now. Your mother takes a deep breath as he hands clutch her knees. “I haven’t thought about that night in ages, Mr. Levinson. It’s a shame I didn’t remember Jimmy at first. He saved me and all I did was forget about him.”

“Mrs. Y/L/N, you were barely sixteen. I can tell, no one thinks about their teens a lot. I don’t,” Ari gives your mother a soft smile. “Please continue.”

“We barely made it a few miles until a thunderstorm approached. Jimmy drove a little too fast. He wanted to go to the cops. I tried to not think about the statement they would want from me, and then…there was this car,” she cries now. “Jimmy tried to change course, but it was too late. The other car rammed us and…” 

Your mother’s voice cracks, and she can’t continue her story. “He was flung from the car and died immediately,” Ari recites the police report. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” your mother wipes her eyes. “The other driver was drunk and got killed too. I needed months to recover and, when it was time for me to return to school, my parents decided we will leave town.”

“Why?” 

“People believed Jimmy and I got drunk and left the prom to make out,” she bemoans. “I should’ve said something, but it wasn’t my place to tell people the truth. I told his parents what happened and thanked them for raising a good young man. They are the only ones knowing the truth beside my parents.”

“I see,” looking at Ari your mother frowns deeply. “Take your time.”

“I just still don’t understand what my past has to do with Winnifred Barnes’ hatred toward my daughter. That was a lifetime ago,” she says. “Can you now tell me what you found out?”

“Jimmy or James was Winnifred C. Barnes’ first love,” now your mother’s face falls. She slumps back in her chair, shaking her head. “She named her firstborn after him.”

“Bucky…of course,” she exclaims loudly. “James Buchanan Barnes. Y/N told me that his mother sometimes calls him Jamie or Jimmy. Bucky hates it, though. I just don’t get it. It was an accident…”

“I know that. The cops know that. Even his parents know that Y/M/N,” Ari gets up from his chair. He walks toward your mother to hand her another manila folder. “A friend of mine dug a little deeper. The moment Y/N stepped into Bucky’s life; his mother did a background check. She always does that with the new girl in her son’s life. The only difference is, this time she found out that—”

“I was the one in Jimmy’s car,” shaking her head your mother looks at the folder in her hands. “What else did she do?”

“Winnifred knows every little bit about your daughter’s life. She didn’t aim for you but Y/N,” Ari sits on his desk. “She wanted to hit you where it hurts the most. Of course, she tried to make your daughter’s life living hell.”

“I will kill that fucking bitch,” your father finally speaks up. He balls his hands into fists and spits the words out. “What is wrong with that woman? The boy died so many years ago. It wasn’t my wife’s fault. It was an accident. The other driver was drunk and rammed the car.”

“He was the one that got away,” your mother says, looking at the folder in her hands. “She never got over Jimmy, honey. I don’t say that I would’ve done the same, but I understand her. You were my first love, and I would kill anyone hurting you.”

“Darling, she wanted to ruin our daughter’s life,” exhaling deeply your father looks at the folder in your mother’s hands. “What now, Mr. Levinson. Shall we let that woman get away with all she has done to Y/N?”

“We should find a way to make her stop,” looking at Ari your mother swallows thickly. “I will talk to that woman and tell her what happened that night. She can ask Jimmy’s parents and his brother for confirmation.”

“What if she doesn’t want to listen to you, darling?”

“Well, in that case,” your mother chuckles darkly, “I will bury that bitch. She will never get back up after I send her flying to the ground…”

“Bucky, what is it?” you giggle as Bucky wrapped his tie around your head to make sure you cannot see his surprise. “Baby, I want to know what you are hiding from me.”

“It’s a surprise, be patient,” he opens the door for you, smirking as you impatiently stand in front of the room, shifting from one foot to the other. “You’ll love it.” He pecks your neck before guiding you inside the room. “Voilà.”

He takes off the tie to let you have a look around the nursery he and Steve renovated in secret.

You slowly step inside the room, smiling softly as Bucky already painted the walls in unisex colors. Your old cradle stands in the middle of the room, and Bucky’s old teddy bear, the one he got from his father last week, sits in the cradle.

“Bucky,” you pounce on Bucky, kissing him all over. “That’s so beautiful. And you got my cradle, and there is your old bear, the one on the pictures.”

“You admired the old bear one the pictures last week. I called my dad and asked me to get my old toys and stuff,” Bucky runs his hand over your hair when you wrap your arms around his waistline. “He got all my toys and trinkets for me.”

“This is so thoughtful of you, baby. I want our children to have something from our past. Now they got your bear, Buck,” you whisper against him. “I couldn’t be happier. I love you.”

“Love you too, doll,” he smiles wildly. Bucky is not a man of many words but he loves to tell you about his feelings. “So much. You and the little bean in your belly.”

“Winnifred C. Barnes,” your mother waltzes into the office, holding her head high. “What a strong name for such a weak woman. I always believed women like you know how to not draw too much attention toward their foul play.”

“What do you want here?” Winnifred blanches as your mother, Ari, and your father steps inside the small office. “I didn’t allow you to enter my house.”

“I did,” George follows the others inside the room. He crosses his arms over his chest, huffing as Winnifred glares at her husband. “That is enough. You ruined your relationship with our son. I can only meet up with my son in secret. I want you to listen to what Mrs. Y/L/N has to say.”

“No! She’s a homewrecker and a murderer. She is the reason for Jamie’s death,” Winnifred gasps as all eyes are on her. “I—I mean Jimmy.”

“Jimmy and I never were a thing,” slamming the police report and a letter from Jimmy’s parents onto the desk your mother glares at Winnifred. “He saved me that night. My date tried to force himself on me and Jimmy saved me.”

“Liar. You are a worthless piece of shit, just like your daughter,” your father steps toward the desk, ready to rip Winnifred apart.

“He offered me a ride to the police station,” your mother continues, as she opens the folder Ari hands her. “I don’t care if you believe me or not, but Jimmy was a hero to me. He saved me and died as a drunk driver rammed his car. It was raining and he lost control. Read the police report, call his parents and brother. They all will tell you the same thing.”

“I don’t care,” Winnifred violently shakes her head. She doesn’t want to believe your mother’s words. If she does, everything she did would have been horrible. “No…no! You are the reason that I lost my Jimmy!”

“Winnifred, that is enough,” George steps in. “I checked on the information. Jimmy’s parents confirmed that Y/M/N told them about the accident. Winnie, she never was with your boyfriend. Jimmy’s death was tragic, but an accident. Let the past rest, and the boy too.”

“I can’t…he’s dead because of her. I wanted to…we wanted…to have a family. We had all those plans and a bright future,” she cries now.

“I thought you love me, and our family,” as your mother places the folder onto the desk, shaking her head, George’s face falls. “You are a great pretender then. I want you to think about what’s really important. If you cannot accept that your son loves Y/N, then you are not welcome in this family any longer.”

“George,” she gasps, “you can’t do that. Not for that girl!” 

“I guess you won’t miss your family as you are still longing for a dead boy who died so long ago…”

“What do we do now?” your father looks at the men crowding his living room. “Mr. Levinson?”

“My partners are here to make sure that Winnifred Barnes will leave your daughter and your son-in-law alone. Over there we’ve got Jake Jensen, tech expert and the best hacker you can hire for money, and the grumpy man in the corner is Andy Barber, the best lawyer in town.”

“I’m still here, Ari. Why do you always forget about me,” Mike glares at the private investigator. “Now, let’s get to the point where we explain our plan.”

“We will fight fire with fire,” Andy pushes off the wall. He looks at your mother, giving her a curt nod. “If Winnifred Barnes even looks the wrong way at your daughter, she will regret it.”

“Son, thank you,” George Barnes sits on your sofa, looking like someone punched him in the guts. “I’m so sorry.”

“That wasn’t your fault, George,” after Bucky’s father arrived at your and Bucky’s apartment, he told you everything happening this morning. “I never thought my mom’s past is the problem here.”

“Rebecca and I made sure that my wife knows that we will not accept another mishap. If she wants to lose her family, it’s up to her,” Bucky silently nods. He hates to see his father heartbroken and sad.

George didn’t mention all the things Winnifred said about Jimmy, or that he knows that she named their son after her dead boyfriend. 

“We wanted to look at a few houses tomorrow,” you jump in to break the awkward moment. Your heart aches for your mother, and the Barnes family. A tragedy from the past just destroyed a family, and the chance to bring two families together. “My father wanted to join us. Do you want to join us too, George?”

“I’d like that,” George gives you a soft smile. He can’t understand how his wife could treat you so badly for something that lies long in the past. “I know a thing or two about houses. I could give you advice.” 

“He’s finally asleep,” Bucky holds you a little tighter tonight. He kisses your temple, inhaling your scent as he buries his nose in your hair. “What did your mother say?”

“She explained a few more things. I didn’t know about any of this,” you whisper. “I wish your mother would come to her senses. It’s a tragedy, but the boy died so many years ago.”

“I won’t forgive her, Y/N. Whatever reason she had, this is inexcusable,” he mumbles against you. “She hurt the woman I love. Your mother was a kid back then, just like the boy.”

“I know, Bucky. It’s so sad he died,” you sniggle now.

“Baby doll, can my dad live here for a few days until he found something new?” almost shyly Bucky looks at you in his arms. “Please.”

“Of course, baby. He can stay as long as he wants to.”

“Winnifred,” Dot coos into the phone. “How can I help you? Do you have a better plan to get me my Bucky back?”

“A little patience,” Winnifred ignores the nagging feeling that her doings are wrong. All she has in mind is to get back at your mother for rebelling against her. “I will bring Y/N and her mother down…”

>> Part 6

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