Chapter 13
The next couple of weeks sped by, Bucky was busy most of the time getting ready for the motorcycle shops grand opening. Star spent a lot of time with Pepper and Tony who were advising her on the businesses she inherited from her father. She saw the news that John had been censured by congress and stripped of his committee assignments as information about the divorce, affair and upcoming criminal trial came out. She had met some of those representatives and was impressed that Congress had the integrity to do anything to one of their own.
Olivia seemed to show up on every talk show that would have her, shamelessly talking about sneaking around with John and showing pictures of their son. Blaming Y/N for the loss of her second pregnancy. Apparently getting paid was more important to her than privacy. Y/N shook her head and turned the tv off to find some music, she hated having all this attention on her personal life.
Gideon Malik and John had both been oddly silent which made Star nervous, waiting for the other shoe to drop and John's upcoming criminal trial but she threw herself into her businesses and helped plan Bucky's big day.
The morning of the grand opening was a sunny Saturday that saw Star, Peggy, Sarah and her boys decorating the garage within an inch of its life. Star made sure there were plenty of snack foods for guests to eat. She made sure the tubs with ice, waters and sodas stayed full and that there were plenty of balloons for the kids. A stack of BRW calendars with pictures of custom motorcycles they had worked on, sat on the front counter while a box full of more was on the floor behind the counter. And a stack of t-shirts identical to the ones they were all wearing.
Bucky pulled Star aside as people started coming in "Are you ok doll? I don't want you over doing it but the place looks great, I don't think there's a bare spot of wall or counter anywhere." He teased.
She stuck her tongue out at him "Blame Sarah and her boys, they can't seem to control themselves. It definitely looks festive."
He pulled her into a tight hug "Thank you so much for your help, Star. You have always made everything in my life better." He kissed the top of her head and breathed her in. He still didn't know how he survived 3 years away from her.
Star felt her face heat up, the love she felt for Bucky never truly died it was just locked away but now that he was back and she knew the truth, her emotions were almost overwhelming. She was struggling to work past the trauma of the last 3 years but she knew she would get there and she hoped Bucky would be there when she made it to the other side.
She looked up at him, eyes full of love and he couldn't help himself, he cupped her cheek with his right hand and kissed her so softly she had to lean in to reassure herself that it was real.
Their moment was broken when Sam came barreling into the back room "Hey, Barnes where are- Oh. Sorry kids, there's a reporter who wants to get a picture of the three of us."
Bucky nodded curtly at Sam then looked at Y/N "We will definitely pick this up later" and kissed her forehead before he went outside.
Star made herself comfortable on the barstool behind the counter, answering the phone, giving directions and the website info. She handed out t-shirts and balloons to the kids, calendars to the adult men, many who tried to flirt. A couple asked for her number but she politely declined.
The day was going well, the boys had a number of potential clients lined up and the crowds were still coming strong.
Shortly after Star took a quick break for lunch she heard someone bellowing her name and her blood froze, John.
She went to the garage to find Bucky, only to run into Tony who tried to turn her back to the office "Come on Y/N, nothing interesting to see out there and I-"
He was interrupted by John yelling her name again, like she was Stella.
Star shook her head, he was obviously drunk.
Tony tried to stop her from leaving the office "Look, just call the cops. He's violating the restraining order by even being here."
Star shook her head "I can't keep running away and hiding from him. I won't let him control my life anymore."
She walked towards the front driveway of the shop when she saw him, standing in the middle of the street and looking like he might fall over.
John smiled "There she is! My beautiful wife, the fucking bitch that ruined my life." He staggered towards her "Did you see what they did to me because of you? Your fucking father made promises to me and you're gonna keep them. Fucking Olivia left me because of you, she had no use for me without your fathers money. Just another useless cunt, taking from me." He lost his balance and sat heavily on the ground "I was gonna be president and you ruined me. I was a good man until I met your father."
Y/N walked up to him carefully, making sure to stay out of reach. "A good man wouldn't have sold himself out like you did, John."
She shook her head "We're not doing this here. There's a restraining order and you can't be here. Just leave or I'll call the police."
John lurched towards her and tried to grab her leg. She jumped back and ran into a warm, hard body that wrapped strong arms around her. She relaxed as Bucky whispered in her ear "I've got you, Star. You're safe"
In front of her, Sam and Steve were picking John up by his arms as he struggled to get to her.
His faced screwed up in anger when he saw Bucky behind her "Its always been him" he spat "Your father and I tried to give you everything. You were gonna be first lady but you'd rather hang out with a bunch of dirty bikers. Ungrateful whore."
Star felt Bucky tense as Steve shook John up and growled at him "You better watch your fucking mouth Walker. No one talks that way about our family. Just shut the fuck up until the cops get here."
Nick Fury had called his friends on the force and they arrived quickly. John was arrested and held without bail until his trial began because he kept harassing Y/N.
After John was taken away Bucky pulled Star back into the office. He sat on the desk and pulled her between his legs, looking in her eyes earnestly "You alright doll? I promise he won't hurt you anymore. Soon enough he will be out of our lives completely."
Star held onto him until her sobs slowed down "Sometimes I feel like I'll be chained to him for the rest of my life. Like he'll keep pulling me back in forever."
Bucky rubbed her back and soothed her "I know baby but we're gonna cut that chain and let him drown with it. You are stuck with me though. As long as you want me."
A few days later Tony called Y/N to come to his office with the promise of good news. When she arrived Tony was behind his desk and a dark haired women sat across from him. Tony stood when he saw her "Y/N! There you are. Come in and have a seat." He gestured towards the other woman "This is Jessica Jones, she's the private investigator that we hired to look into all the intrigue that surrounds you. She has very good news for you. Ms Jones, this is Y/N Pierce."
Jessica stood and offered her hand "Ms Pierce."
"Please call me Y/N." She shook her hand and sat down.
Jessica nodded and sat "Y/N. I found Sharon Carter. She was in Madripoor, dealing art. She has evidence of John's plots, including how they killed your father. And she has the details of your father's behind the scenes dealing which involved a lot of blackmail materials. One of his other associates was involved, Gideon Malick. Sharon was smart, kept a paper trail and some recordings. She agreed to work with the DA to take John and that Gideon guy down hard. She'll get immunity from prosecution for her part in your fathers death. You should be hearing from the DA soon."
Y/N felt tears on her face, thinking that this could be the end for John Walker.
Tony came over to her side with some tissue "We're going to get you clear of all their bullshit. Pull the rug out from under all those bastards."
The next morning the news hit the internet and the cable news shows were in an uproar. The switchboard at Stark tower was overloaded, now they were desperate to talk to the woman in the middle of the John Walker and Alexander Pierce storm. Salacious details about a number of respected elected officials were leaked and some careers were suddenly over or worse headed to jail. John was expelled from Congress who voted to ban him from federal public office.
After consulting with Tony and her attorneys, Star agreed to appear on one show with Sharon Carter.
Anderson Cooper won the honor by being mostly fair minded and agreeing to their conditions.
Star tried to keep herself occupied while waiting for the agreed upon interview date and found herself diving into the muck on the internet. Most people were behind her and supportive but there were those few that excused John and her father for doing 'what had to be done' and demonized her for meddling in affairs she didn't understand. Some deep state and QAnon comments were thrown in there.
The night before the interview, Bucky came home after work to find her staring at her laptop, tears streaming down her face as she read all the hateful comments the trolls posted about her.
"Hey doll, how was your-" he stopped when he saw what she was looking at and put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him. He pulled back and looked in her tear reddened eyes "Oh Star, my beautiful Star." He gently closed the laptop "Don't worry about what the worst losers online say. They are crazy or stupid or both and you are brave, beautiful and strong. They don't mean anything."
She grabbed onto him almost desperately "Help me forget, Bucky. Please. I need you."
Bucky felt his jeans tighten, then tried to think of anything but her spread out naked for him to worship. Now wasn't the time, he would feel like he was taking advantage of her in such a vulnerable state.
He picked her up off of the chair "Come on doll, lets go lay down for a bit, then I'll order some dinner."
He carried her to the bedroom and laid her gently on the bed before taking off his shoes and jeans, then laying down next to her pulling her back flush against his chest. He rubbed her arm softly until her breathing evened out and without meaning to, fell asleep with her scent surrounding him.
When Star woke a couple of hours later her stomach was growling but she felt so safe and loved curled up with Bucky she didn't want to get up.
Then she heard Bucky's stomach loudly protesting the lack of food and he woke up, grumbling angrily at his stomach which of course didn't work so he sat up, pulling her with him.
He kissed her forehead "Sorry sweetheart but we need to eat. Any requests?"
She groaned "Something I don't have to cook."
Bucky snorted "Obviously. I love you Star but you could burn water."
Star tried to push him away "That's mean, Jamie."
He pulled her closer "Doesn't make it any less true." He looked at his watch "Its only 10. There might still be someone in the kitchen."
She shook her head "No, Tony keeps them working too late so I told them to leave if no one called before 9. Just order pizza or something quick."
Bucky nodded "As my Star commands." smirking at her.
Star narrowed her eyes at him "And don't you forget it, Jamie."
He ordered on his phone then took her hand to kiss "Never, my queen" staring at her with a twinkle in his eye.
Star felt herself warming up at Bucky's stare. It was the same way he used to look at her before he-. She stopped herself, which was getting harder to do the more time they spent together. She wanted what they had before and hoped that he did too, he seemed to but she still hesitated, afraid to let him touch her and hurt her again. Afraid of being touched intimately after John and everything else. Her internal war waged as she stared at him, until he started to feel uncomfortable.
"Are you alright doll?"
She startled back to him "Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, sometimes my mind wanders." She was planning to explain more when the bell rang.
Bucky kissed her cheek and went to answer the door, returning with hot pizza that he set on the table. He went to pour her a glass of wine and grabbed a beer for himself.
As they ate Bucky told her about his day. Steve and Sam arguing about all the tiny details that Steve insisted on focusing on while Sam was more of a big picture guy. Somehow Bucky had become the peacemaker and they always worked things out. The new kid that Sam insisted he would personally teach and train, Torres, sounded a little star struck to be working with them according to Bucky.
Star laughed at him "Was Torres star struck or did your ego embellish that part."
Bucky looked offended, which made her laugh harder. "I'll have you know, Ms Pierce, that I'm kind of, well we, me Steve and Sam, we are kinda big deals around here, hometown heroes. I know it's not the same as being born with a silver spoon up your-"
Star shushed him with two fingers against his lips "Now Jamie be nice."
Bucky kissed her fingers with a growl "You make me crazy Star but I'll wait as long as I need to doll. I've always been yours." He pulled her hand away "Now finish eating so we can go back to sleep, you need your rest before your big day."