#cap2 recs

SPOILERS. SPOILERS. SPOILERS.

These are for my 4 favs - Natasha, Steve, Sam and Bucky (because The Winter Soldier is still one of my all time favourite movies and the reason I even watch the MCU movies), but if people are interested I could definitely expand to a few others.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Natasha

1. Gen. (or whatever pairing) Natasha flitting through time and space and peaking in on her friends from the soul realm. Break my heart with all the feels.

2. Gen (or whatever pairing floats your boat) Natasha figuring out how to control the soul realm and playing tricks on the avengers. Like, sweet - I get to haunt my friends. Make me laugh and bring that Natasha dry wit and brilliance.

3. Gen (or any pairing) The soul stone was gotten some other way, how would she react to the ending? I would love to have a one shot of her with old cap.

4. Gen (or whatever) They splintered time and there are now alternate realities. A Natasha, after the Battle of New York, awakes with all the memories of the Natasha that sacrificed herself.

5. Nat/Sam. Rewrite Endgame based on the idea that Nat and Sam had started a relationship - maybe something casual to start, but after the snap she realizes there might have been more.

6. Nat/Clint. Clint, as the one that got the soul stone, finds he is able to communicate with that realm. Some sad pining separated by death or maybe happy ending of being able to cross that boundary. Up to you!

7. Nat & Steve friendship fic. During the 5 years, the only reason they survive is by coming together. Natasha and Steve realizing that they are each other’s family and being there for each other. Any side pairing is welcome.

8. Gen or whatever pairing or side pairing you want. she is part of the team that go to NYC, and, after an incident with the pym particles, they are stuck. Forced to try to hide from their current selves and maybe not completely screw up the timeline. You may choose any team you like, but my suggestion would be Tony, Steve and Natasha. (If that is the case bonus would be either stony or stucky side pairing)

9. Gen. They saw your life flashes before your eyes as you die. What would Natasha see? Break my heart with some poignant character exploration.

10. Gen. The soul realm is filled with lost souls and sacrifices. Natasha finds a purpose in death by helping these people - especially when she notices that some souls are gentle and others are not (bonus Natasha and Gamora friendship).

Steve

1. Steve/Bucky. Steve staying in the past broke the timeline and now Bucky, having lost his love, is forced to deal with unfreezing and bringing a new Steve Rogers into the 21st century (aka the one where Steve Rogers was never discovered in the arctic).

2. Steve/Bucky. Steve came back from returning the stones, but tries to retire. Gives Sam the shield. Bonus marks to anyone who can make it a long slow mutual pining for the two of them.

3. Steve/Sam: mutual pining, where Steve realizes too late that Sam actually loved him. And now all that is left is handing him the shield. Make a one shot that breaks my feels.

4. Steve/Tony: They get stuck in the 70s. Forced to rely on each other and find a new life in a different time, they start to develop ~feelings~.

5. Steve/Bucky. In a different timeline that Steve Rogers wakes up in the future, battles aliens then his clone, finds out Bucky is alive - the search for the Winter Soldier starts a lot earlier (and Hydra outs itself to cap because they think he is a member). Side pairings welcome.

OMG - LOOK AT THIS WIP THAT FITS PROMPT #5!!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/18674590/chapters/44287000

6. Gen or any pairing. Steve’s suit malfunctions at the end and he gets stuck in the quantum realm. Que rescue mission and quantum realm shenanigans.

7. Steve/Natasha: it is not really love, or at least not that one true love that both have lost. But in those five years, they find solace with each other, and maybe even surprise themselves with how well they work together.

8. Steve/Bucky. Steve goes into the past for more than a dance. He knows he is creating new timelines - but he also knows that if one less Bucky is forced to go through what his did - it is worth the sacrifice.

9. Gen. Steve makes a time pit stop to see his mother one final time. To see that old apartment and walk as a ghost through his old life.

10. Steve & Natasha (friendship or ship). Steve can’t leave Natasha behind like that. He finds a way to communicate with the soul realm, and eventually bring Nat home.

Sam

1. Steve/Sam. Sam is struggling under the mantle of Captain America, and things don’t get easier when splintered timelines start collapsing and a Steve Rogers who just fought his body double and woke up in the future is suddenly also Captain America. Sam is pretty sure his Steve was way friendlier than this guy.

2. Sam/Bucky. Afterwards, it is only the two of them. Even they could not explain why they decided to stick together. But an apartment, several movie nights and two cats later, Sam is wondering if maybe he should mention that this kind of seems like dating.

3. Sam/Steve. Sam wakes up in the Wakandan forest and his only thought is to get to Steve. (This could be flipped Steve/Bucky - but the idea that of course the idiot is in the biggest fight).

4. Gen or any pairing. Sam goes home for his first holiday in 5 years, since he was snapped, and it both feels like homecoming and like he is stranded on an alien planet with strangers. How could 5 years tear apart and build up a family.

5. Gen or any pairing. Sam stumbles to get his bearings as the new Captain America. It would help if there was less racist assholes, the shield came with instructions, and he could get his coffee without being mobbed by fans - and if bad guys didn’t think the best congrats was to test his abilities every two goddamn seconds.

6. Sam/Steve. Both of them go to return the stones. They don’t return. Instead they get stranded, forced to rely on each other and ust changes to rst. They both, as old men, hand Bucky the shield.

7. Sam/Bucky. Not every dusted person woke up at the same time. Bucky and Sam miss the big battle and are forced on an trians, planes and automobiles romcom adventure halfway around the world to reconnect with their mutual best friend Steve.

8. Gen or any pairing. Sam tried to go back to work at the VA afterwards but struggles. He tries to find a balance between his old life and this new one.

9. Gen or any. The dusted remember their time in the soul stone (where they were kept). Set during that time, Sam tries to help figure a way out.

10. Gen or any pairing. The timeline was never supposed to fracture the way it did. Now cracks in reality are forming and Sam is the first to notice because the crack happens to be in his living room.

Bucky

I. Bucky/Steve. Bucky joins Steve to retire in the past, but it is still a lot of work to settle down especially when it is illegal to settle down with the person you love.

2. Bucky/Steve. Bucky lost his Steve before telling him that long held secret of loving him more than a brother or friend. Thinking he is too late, the last thing he expects is to end up with a room full of different Steve’s from all the times he interacted with the infinity stones (tfa, aou, avengers, etc).

3. Bucky/Sam. They can’t look at the shield, so they put it in storage and take a road trip before Sam takes up the mantle. Along the way it gets harder to pretend they are doing it because they were forced together, or because Steve made them do it, or because they had nothing better to do.

4. Bucky/Steve. A fractured timeline was never supposed to exist and now there are holes in time. Literal holes. That people fall into. Bucky ends up with a pre-serum Steve on his lap two days after his Steve left him.

5. Bucky/Steve. In a different timeline (the one that Steve believes his evil clone is running around in, Hydra thinks Cap is one of them, and Loki is on the run), Bucky is rescued by the avengers on a hydra raid months after the battle of New York.

6. Gen. Bucky tries to integrate himself back into life. He comes back to the States and with the help of the other avengers, tries to build a life.

7. Bucky/Sam. Sam wants to share the title of Captain America, but Bucky feels like he doesn’t deserve it. Bonus points if, at sometime, they decide to flip a coin to decide who gets to wear the shield for missions.

8. Bucky/Sam. Kind of already mentioned, but I would love a roommate fic if these two slowly falling in love and NOW IS THE TIME!

9. Bucky/Steve. Bucky takes care of an elderly Steve and things come to light that might have otherwise stayed buried (aka ~feelings~).

10. Bucky/Steve. Bucky thinks he is cracking up when he starts seeing ghosts, but it ends up that there is only supposed to be one timeline and the splinters that the Avengers created are started to merge. “Ghosts” or mirages of the other timelines are sighted everywhere. Bucky sees a younger Steve, who did not stay in the past, and slowly, as they merge and start to communicate - they finally make that final step into committing to each other.

And there it is!

Hmmm ... I had no luck finding one that matches it completely. So I am opening this one up to followers for any feedback? 

As we wait for that might I suggest reading:

Easy Work For Easy Pay by AustinB

Bucky's working his way back up through the ranks at S.H.I.E.L.D. after a mission took his left arm and Stark gave him a new metal one.

So when Fury tasks him with integrating the newly defrosted Captain Rogers into the 21st century, he jumps at the promotion.

rated mature . 45k

Hi there! I am to too sure which fic you were looking for but here is a list of all AO3 fanfics with “The Tower” as the full or partial tower. 

There is a chance the one you are looking for will be there. If not, and it has been deleted, I would highly suggest thinking about saving fics you love on AO3 as a pdf or ebook using their handy download feature! It is the author’s prerogative for how long a story is posted and they can be pulled for any number of reasons. 

Check out this list of angst-filled fics and I also just finished reading: 

One Cloud Feels Lonely by thecommodore_squid

“I’m going to take a break for a while,” Steve said quietly, not looking at T’Challa, not knowing that this was what he was gonna do until the words were out of his mouth. “I can’t be on a team right now.”

T’Challa nodded as if he understood. “Alright.”

AKAIn which Steve and Bucky both figure out how to be a person again, and it still takes them over 130 years.

rated mature . 72k

There aren’t many of these, and I will admit that I don’t think I have personally read any of them yet. However, I did check the first view paragraphs to check for SPAG and some quality control. I will have to get around to reading them myself later: 

baby, it’s cold outside by icoulddothisallday, PocketGuideTyrant

series of three pics described as “a series of blow jobs.” The last two entries fit the bill. The first is a short, short drabble 1k words, and the next is an illustration of the drabble. Both are explicit. 

Auras by WolfenM

After a heart-to-heart with T'Challa, Tony uses his memory device (with a new feature!) to help Bucky deal with his HYDRA programming – but first, they witness the love story of Bucky and Steve ….

rated teen . 36k

in a dream (you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy) by notcaycepollard

When he opens his eyes, it's to Steve sitting in the grass in a park. There are rays of sunlight picking out individual glints of gold in his hair, and he has a crown of daisies, lopsided over one ear.

"You've got flowers in your hair, you mook," Bucky mumbles, and leans over to straighten them. Steve's hair is very fine; it catches on the stems of the flowers, on Bucky's fingers, and he has to go carefully to avoid breaking the looped chain. His fingers are warm, and Steve sighs a little in what sounds like pleasure when Bucky strokes his hair smooth.

"This isn't real," Bucky mutters, "it's just a dream."

"It's never just a dream," Steve says solemnly, "come on, why'd you bring me here, Sleeping Beauty?"

rated teen . 4k

I have a ridiculously hard time answering this one. It makes me panic trying to pick out my favourites, because they are all so precious to me - and I have a horrible memory. The reason I started the Master Post was because I needed a way to remember what I read and how to find it again. For these picks I am going by the ones I can still recall without looking up, that fill me with that “book happiness” feeling and that makes me smile.

I am also going to step outside of the MCU for this one too, because it has been, historically, a recent thing my StevexBucky love. In fact, I originally started rec’ing MerlinxArthur fanfics ... 

Through The Open Window by 74days

Steve Rogers gave up on joining the army and worked for Stark Industries writing policy letters by hand. It’s a dull job, right up until the office across the fire escape is given to an attractive stranger with one arm and no personal boundaries.Was going to be PWP but then there was like… a little plot? Steve and Bucky if Steve & Bucky never met as kids, I guess.

rated explicit . 28k 

All The Leaves Are Brown (And the sky is gray) by AvocadoLove

The Winter Soldier's mission is nearly complete. Howard and Maria Stark are dead, leaving him to dispatch their four-year-old child. One quick twist of the neck is all it will take, but the Soldier finds he cannot do it.

So instead of killing Tony Stark, the Winter Soldier takes him away to raise as his own.

rated teen . 17k

The Student Prince by FayJay

A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...

This story was inspired by the thought of Prince William of Wales (and indeed the current Max von Hapsburg) studying at the University of St Andrews; it is also, as the title suggests, at least a little inspired by the operetta 'The Student Prince'.

rated mature . 145k - this is not MCU, and if you are part of the Merlin fandom I am assuming you have read this, but it is a classic for a reason and I actually got really excited that it was still available because I know there have been rumblings for years of it being taken down and possible publishing deals - but for my stucky readers, if you wanted to expand your horizon, this is a very, very awesome story and as an AU, you really don’t have to have watched Merlin to get it. (but if you like reincarnation and coffeeshop fics this is a pairing you might want to look into because the quality of fic here is OMG amazing)

United States v. Barnes, 617 F. Supp. 2d 143 (D.D.C. 2015) by fallingvoices, radialarch

The Associated Press @AP

Winter Soldier set to stand trial for Washington D.C. massacre and treason apne.ws/1og6SWE

rated teen . 20k

Critical Feline Mass by Kryptaria, rayvanfox

Adjusting to civilian life is hard for any military veteran — especially for one ex-sniper with a cybernetic arm, a classic Harley, and friends who keep trying to ‘help.’ When Sam Wilson at the VA sends Sergeant Barnes to rent a room from the hottest guy in the DC area, Bucky thinks maybe civilian life is worth it after all. And then he finds out Captain Rogers is everything Bucky’s not: a real hero, a Medal of Honor recipient, and an all-around nice guy. Bucky doesn’t have a chance in hell with him.

Sam was a huge help to Steve Rogers when he left the military. In the spirit of ‘pay it forward,’ Steve decides to rent out his basement room to a vet in need. But when Sergeant Barnes shows up on his doorstep, he knows he’s in for a world of trouble. Barnes is exactly what Steve never knew he wanted, from his bedroom eyes to his wicked innuendos. And he’s Steve’s tenant.

A love story in twelve chapters, including two Harley-Davidsons, a guardian angel, multiple snipers, the only woman who can scare them into behaving themselves, spontaneous kittens, and one attacking sheep.

rated teen . 39k