June recs
Till the Shadows Lengthen, and Evening Comes by
dsudis
He fell, he froze, he bled to death. They recovered what remained of him, and it belongs to them.
Rec of the Week - Some Summers They Drop Like Flys by
kvkindi
Natasha blew all her covers. It's a brave new world.
For those who want more Natasha, this post-Cap 2 fic is a treat. Quiet and introspective, this story takes you on a journey with Natasha as she visits ghosts from her past in an effort to determine her course and her place in a future where everyone knows her name, her face and her history. There are no dramatic moments and no revelations or answers that Natasha hasn't already guessed for herself, but that's not the point of the journey. The past is important, but she has to turn her eyes to the future, uncertain though it may be. Gen-lovers, FYI, this story is a straight-up character piece with no romance.
Junk in the Trunk by
DisappointMe
Bucky gives brand new meaning to the term 'junk in the trunk.'
-[Fancomic] Junk in the Trunk with
warmsteel
Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do by
copperbadge
The year is 1930, Prohibition and the Depression are both in full swing, and Chicago Police Detective Steve Rogers has his hands full. There's a dead body on the banks of Lake Michigan, the entire city's legal system is corrupt, and the king gangster of the North Side, Tony Stark, has taken more than a passing interest in him.
Steve Rogers vs. The All-American Feast by
copperbadge
Steve can't resist a challenge, even when the challenge is a five pound pulled-pork sandwich.
The Son of Man by
copperbadge
JARVIS did not want to be a real boy. He was quite happy being a building.
Miracle on Park Avenue by
owlet
Should've stayed indoors, Barnes. That's where the photographers aren't.
One Caress by
fuck_me_barnes
Steve's rarely been touched in a way that didn't equate to some kind of hurt. The cold metal of a stethoscope against his frail chest or the sting of a needle drawing yet another blood sample, when he was a sickly child. The bone-shattering punches thrown by the neighborhood bullies on the playground, or by his own father at home, drunk and wild. His mother, weak and clutching at him as she grew more incoherent with the drugs as the cancer ate away at her insides. Touch was something he shied away from, something he told himself he just didn't want.
Except...he did. He just didn't know how.
Until he finds a flyer for a local "affection and intimacy services" program.
In which Steve learns how to become comfortable with touch, and there is one very good dog, and a slow-burn romance.
The Devil On Your Back by
thesardine
While Steve's off fighting killer robots, Sam carries on the search for the Winter Soldier until the Winter Soldier finds him. Maybe he is the kind you save, but Sam doesn't think he's the guy for the job.
Toasted Buns by
copperbadge and
scifigrl47
After seeing Tony naked and tanned -- all over -- in a decontamination shower, Steve realizes he may be in trouble. Tony, meanwhile, is definitely in trouble over those tabloid pictures of him sunbathing nude. The solution is clearly a tropical island getaway.
The Ghosts of War by
scifigrl47
Steven Rogers never wanted to be king, but he knows his duty, and he does it well. Lord Tony Stark, the king's appointed consort, does his duty as well, even though he'd enjoy his duty more if it actually involved sleeping with the king. As it doesn't, he's just resigned. The war that made Steve king and cost him nearly everything may be over, but a meeting of old enemies might stir up some ghosts none of them are prepared for.
the hills are alive by
biblionerd07
Bucky's part of a prestigious teacher education program, but he's not doing very well. The headmaster, Nick Fury, decides he needs a summer job as an au pair to decide if teaching is really what he wants. Bucky goes to live with Captain Steve Rogers and his brood of children. (Sound of Music AU)
fracture by
lupinely
Someone propositions Bucky in an alleyway. Steve runs him off. Bucky is drunk and overwhelmed.
(Or: the back alley blow job fic.)
that original lifeline by
lupinely
Steve's hair is matted and damp, his eyes closed, dark like bruises in the hollows of his face. He’s in a bad way. A real bad way, and Sam can tell; he’s seen this before, this sort of slow dying.
(Sam's blood type is O negative. It was useful during his service, and it's useful now.)
Only the Facts by
prettybirdy979
'It's not just an impossible case, it's the impossible case.'
Scenes from the time Captain Rogers engaged Nelson and Murdock to defend Bucky Barnes.
your homecoming will be my homecoming by
lupinely
This is what Bucky thinks he remembers. Writing a letter to Steve in the trenches, muddy footprints, impressions of army boots on the ground. So cold his fingers ache. He’s writing the letter but it doesn’t make sense. He’s writing the letter but he wants to go home. It’ll make sense then, he thinks-it’ll make sense when they both come home.
[Steve/Bucky, post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier]
nothing in me wasted by
lupinely
It’s hard to love someone you fight alongside. It’s hard to love someone who is courageous and fierce and a little wild and watch them slowly get beaten to pieces, beaten down to nothing.
It’s hard to love someone, Sam thinks; but then again, it’s harder not to.
(Steve/Natasha/Sam/Bucky. Summer’s ending, and it’s time to start telling the truth.)
Sparked Up Like a Book of Matches by
Sena
Steve lives in Stark Tower and doesn't have much to do when he's not going after Hydra strongholds. He attends charity events to make Pepper happy. He goes hiking with Sam. He hangs out with Clint in Bed-Stuy and watches Dog Cops. Sometimes Tony gives him super alcohol in a sippy cup. Sometimes he sees Bucky out of the corner of his eye and wonders if it's real or if he's starting to lose his mind.
Alternately, the one with terrible jokes, a foot chase through the Lower East Side, and a tiny little robot named Shitcan.
Friday Night At Josie's by
Kryptaria and
rayvanfox
Tonight of all nights, Foggy didn't expect a visitor at Josie's. He certainly didn't bargain for Captain America's pet assassin to walk through the door.
The Coffee Bandits of Greater Manhattan by
daroos
A Coffee Shop AU with a twist. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were thrown together by fate but now run one of the most successful food trucks in the five boroughs. This is a story of how they came to be, how romance can bloom in strange places, and how the bonds of family aren’t always constricting.
A little tenderness by
notallbees
If he could put a date to it, if that were even possible, Bucky would say that this thing between them had started just after Steve's ma passed away.
Bucky never gave a thought to the wrong or right of having sinful thoughts about other boys, not until Steve went to confession with his old priest. Now he can't stop thinking about it.
The Series Known To Tumblr As 'Gratuitous Archivists' by
ineptshieldmaiden
That became the shape of Steve’s visits to Stark Tower: mornings with Bruce; movies with Clint (usually children’s movies); dinner, quiet and increasingly comfortable between the four of them; and ending up with a pile of affectionate billionaire in his lap by midnight.
Or: in which Tony is useless at expressing himself, Natasha gives terrible advice, Rhodey is protective, Captain America meets archivists, and JARVIS teaches Steve about modern relationships.
Or: the work known to Tumblr as The Gratuitous Archivists Fic
Let your heart be light by
relenafanel
Bucky looks like he’s had a difficult month, what with the eviction notice and all, but that’s not the reason Steve gives for allowing him to stay on his couch.
“You have somewhere to go?” Steve questioned, crossing his arms and attempting to look casual, not like he was worried for Bucky. He stepped into the apartment, ignoring how bare it was.
Bucky paused and gave him an exasperated look. “I’m not completely hopeless.”
A fic spanning from mid-November to early-February.
and we'll get married under the shining sun by
radialarch
Steve and Bucky get married, and then they fall in love. Most people would have done it the other way around.
The Water Can't Drown Me by
camwolfe
Bucky Barnes needs to thank the guy who saved his little sister's life, but it's harder than he expected.
Gotcha by anon
Artwork for the MCU AU fest, steampunk flavoured.
A Little Honey & A Little Sun by
kvikindi
me: "I kind of want to write a fic where Bucky doesn't decide to become a superhero."
me: "Like a fic where he becomes a pacifist beekeeper in upstate New York."
aka: The Emotionally Repressed Bee Farm Love Story
About Damn Time by
kath_ballantyne
Marriage equality across all of USA? Something to celebrate about. Have some Steve/Bucky getting married.
Rec Of The Week - Space Electric series by
icarus_chained
"The SHIELD interceptor spaceship Avenger is under final attack. Aboard her, sitting in his cell, the war criminal Tony Stark gets ready for the confrontation, and the revelation, that he knows is about to come."
Space Opera AU, focused on Tony & JARVIS, with Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Fury, Maria, and original AI characters.
I'm not always that bothered about space opera AUs, but this older series (but new to me!) is truly worth your time. Read if you like gen, space opera AUs like A Curious Carriage of Crystal and Cold and The Captain and His Courtesan, technopath Tony Stark and Anne McCaffery's Ship series.
Breaking The Ice by
dsudis
It always hurt like this when he came out of the ice. Freezing to death was peaceful at the end, but waking up was fire and pain and this horrible helpless shaking every time. This was the first time he'd had someone to hold on to, though.
Rec Of The Week - Data is King by
Amuly
In a cyberpunk dystopia, all the wealth is concentrated in New Versailles and the majority live in impoverished ghettos outside. Prosthetics are strictly prohibited, though many of the poor have body modifications to help them live. Steve Rogers is an idealistic young man who raids the storerooms of New Versailles with his best friend Bucky Barnes, to bring food and medicine to the poor. But when tragedy strikes, Steve is inspired by Dr. Erskine to go seek out the notorious slumlord/black market trader Tony Stark. Rumor has it that Tony used to be a member of New Versailles, but left to make his fortune off the backs of the working man... or was he kicked out? Although they don't hit it off at first, Steve and Tony must work together.
They have some help. The Three Fates are women who control information. Steve's friends from his old life are good people on the fringes of society because of their prosthetic enhancements. And there's Tony's network of resources and connections, not to mention his brilliant engineering mind that helped him build his empire.
But when Steve and Tony finally manage to put their differences aside and rise up against New Versailles... not everything is as simple as it seemed.
Another fic I'd had open for a long long time that I finally got to. This one's an AU set in a future cyberpunk dystopia, where the masses live in ghettos and their lives are controlled by the ruling class that lives in the high-walled city of New Versailles. On the one hand you've got Tony, who has come from the privileged world of the City and who is trying to change things, slowly and gradually, but who has retained the capitalist need to stockpile resources to retain power and position, thinking that without this leverage, he can't do anything. On the other, you've got Steve, who has never had anything, but who freely gives whatever he steals and scavenges and who firmly believes that change needs to come fast and come for everyone, everywhere, without time and resources wasted on power games and posturing. Steve's need to flee his own ghetto to escape the sentinals of New Versailles brings him to Tony's front door, and that's when things really start to kick off. Though this is listed as a Tony/Steve story and there is explicit content, that pairing isn't what really grabbed me about this story. It was the exquisite worldbuilding, the large and exciting cast of characters, and the balanced exploration of politics that really resonated with me. Amuly has created a rich and vivid world and given her core cast the space to develop over time, rather forcing either action or romance to the forefront all the time and trampling the delicate character growth that makes this fic a truly breathtaking experience. Read if you like V for Vendetta, Katharine Kerr's Palace, The Matrix, or Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
Made With Love by
seratonation
based on the tumblr prompt: au where Steve is a famous youtube baker who makes the most delicious recipes imaginable [and] Bucky is a vet looking for something relaxing and distracting to fill up his evenings, and they bond over how horrible Bucky is at cooking.
Counterparts and Puzzle Pieces by
sara_holmes
coun•ter•part [koun-ter-pahrt] [noun] 1. a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function. 2. a copy; duplicate. 3. one of two parts that fit, complete, or complement one another.
Just because Hydra used the DNA of a Captain America from another dimension to create a lab-grown, six-year-old super-soldier, it doesn't mean that said six-year old super-soldier is biologically Steve's, right?
(Where Steve wants to ban Clint from bringing things home from alternative dimensions, until he doesn't.)
Care and Maintenance by
dsudis
"Before a mission and before I went into the ice, somebody would have to clean me. Mostly it was a chore they got stuck with. Sometimes--some handlers insisted on doing it themselves."
Wanna Take You Home And Show You I’m the Best by
Paraxdisepink
"That big enough for you?" is all Steve can say. It's thick around and red at the top, then white and blue.
Bucky's eyes go to his, warm and teasing. "Think I can handle it."
(Written for the this prompt: "Bucky drives Steve crazy with lust by eating phallic food in front of him.”)
The Tragic Ballad of an Under-Caffeinated Hawkeye by
sara_holmes
Steve and Tony are idiots, Pepper and Phil are 110% done with everyone and Clint just wants a cup of damn coffee. And maybe someone to appreciate how awesome he clearly is.
Also known as: you know you’re in trouble when Clint Barton is the one sane person left in the tower and Bucky Barnes is the only one who realizes this.
Parting Shot by
ratherastory
Two years after the events of New York, Clint Barton is deep undercover in Bulgaria. When the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier reveal his identity to the organised crime syndicate he's infiltrated, he finds himself stranded in Varna with no allies and no resources. Moreover, the local mafia are about to enact a plan that could put the entire region at risk. With Hydra hot on his heels, Clint must rely on his wits and a few local friends to put an end to the plot and get out alive.
Rec Of The Week - I'll Keep You Safe Here With Me by
sara_holmes
Yes, Clint is avoiding the other Avengers. No, he does not want to go back to New York. But then again, he didn't exactly want to be kidnapped by the Winter Soldier either. Really, he just wants to go back to bed.
Read a bunch of murder road trip fic where Steve, Sam, and sometimes Natasha, Bucky or the Avengers come along to help out hunt down Hydra? Well, how about trying this one - Bucky and Clint on the run, taking down Hydra and trying to stay one step ahead of Hydra, law enforcement, various government agencies and the Avengers at the same time. It's not your average roadtrip story, love story, mission story or pairing, but it's wonderful, and if you like Clint and post-WS Bucky at all, you should try this out for size. Read if you like - hunting Hydra stories, Bucky recovering post-WS, Clint recovering post-Avengers 1, and OddityBoddity's The Chains That You Refuse.
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