Happy New Year, everyone. May 2023 treat us all kindly.
In celebration of the new year, I have two fic recs. I read both of these in the last couple of days. They're fairly different, but both great reads that feel like Stucky classics.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
This is a post WS domestic fic that is lightish on the angst and features beautiful rapport between Bucky and Steve. Their getting together feels inevitable and right, and yet also a little like a dare that neither of them wants to back out of. There are flashback snippets that show the evolution of their relationship, and the kind of writing that sometimes makes you stop and reread a line just to marvel at how perfect it was.
My second rec is a modern childhood friends reunited AU. Again, there's tragic back story aplenty and yet it's dealt with in a way that, even though Steve and Bucky have each done their share of wallowing in sorrow, the story does not. It's hopeful and fluffy and sweet, and makes teacher training sound far less stressful than it actually is. It's also left me thinking about the concept of home, and the people, places, traditions and experiences that build our understanding of home. I'm one of those people who straddles places and sometimes I don't quite feel I belong anywhere. This story helped with that feeling this year.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. Trans Steve and Trans Bucky! Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
âYou make the rockin' world go 'roundâ (E, 7k) by Neonbat
Steve was determined to hit the gym and try to bulk up when his biweekly trips took an unexpected turn. He was caught between his goal and staring at a man that was sending him into a bisexual spiral.
A man, that turned out, kind of wanted to kick his ass.
+ Modern AU. Trans Steve is really into thicc Bucky. Rimming, strap-ons, and datingÂ
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âseasons change (but people don't)â (E, 2k) by ftmsteverogers
âIf thereâs a girl Iâm meant to be mourning, I want to know,â Bucky persists, as though Steve hasnât had a close brush with asphyxiation right before his eyes. His foot twitches against Steveâs under the table.
âThere wasnât a girl,â Steve coughs. âWhyâŚ?â
Buckyâs gaze is sharp and discerning as his eyes flick back and forth between Steveâs.
âThere was,â he says, right hand gripping the counter behind him in a white-knuckled grasp. âA girl. A small blonde girl.â
+ Pre-War, WW2, and Post WS. Three Non-linear scenes of acceptance
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âWhat's In A Nameâ (M, 3k) by cleo4u2
Steve has always know his best friend will be his soulmate. So when he wakes up with the name of a guy on his arm that he's never heard of, he's devastated. Thankfully, Bucky has a surprise in store for him.
+ Modern AU. Soulmate AU! Steve wishes his soulmate mark read Bucky instead of James.Â
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âTomorrow Is Another Dayâ (T, 75k) by charlesdk
When Bucky got the door shut in his face by a tiny, barely awake blond, he never thought that said tiny blond would become such an important part of his life. Or that he would fall deeply, hopelessly in love with him way too quickly.
 + Modern AU. Bucky meets Steve, befriends, and falls in love with him over seven months. Found family and supporting each otherÂ
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âUndercurrentâ (T, 4k) by NachoDiablo
Bucky might be more than a little smitten with a certain cute, blond lifeguard, but there's no way his feelings are reciprocated... right?
+ Modern AU. Mutual crushes, a small misunderstanding, and a date
âIâm Captain Rogers,â Steve said, once the Winter Soldier had joined them and took off his motorcycle helmet, shaking his mane of hair free. âYou must be the Winter Soldier.â
âThatâs what they call me,â the Winter Soldier replied. His mask took up three quarters of his face and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of goggles, but Steve could still hear the hostility in his voice.
Steve pasted on a smile and stuck out a hand for him to shake. âWelcome to the Avengers.â
Words: 13351, Chapters: 1/1
Fandoms: Captain America (Movies)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: M/M
Relationships: James âBuckyâ Barnes/Steve Rogers
Ever wondered what itâd be like if Steve had gotten captured? Wonder no more; below are my Top 5 Favorite Stories:Â
âthe long gameâ (M, 6k) by dirtybinary
In 1945, Steve Rogers trades himself to the Red Room in exchange for the Winter Soldier. They accept his offer, but don't let Bucky go. After all, their supersoldiers come as a matched set.
(Featuring crafty Steve, pining Bucky, and a very noisy metal arm.)
+ Fall to WS. Steve and Bucky take turns remembering and play the long con. The one with the Fact Game
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âFalling Back on Foreverâ (E, 24k) by ftmsteverogers
Bucky falls from the train in 1945. Steve jumps right after him.
The Winter Soldier and the Midnight Patriot are the world's most feared duo, serving HYDRA and leaving a trail of bodies a mile wide behind them. But then they remember.
+ Fall to Avengers. They remember each other, break out, and go on the run
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âSteve Rogersâs epic failures meeting the expectationsâ (T, 5k) by StuckySituation
Steve Rogersâs patriotic eyebrows jump up. âHoly cow.â
That was not what Tony would have expected from Captain America. ââHoly cowâ? Did the history books mess up? Was your family actually from India and not Ireland?â
âFuck off, Stark. I ainât shitting on what comes out of your mouth, so you better leave my goddamn cows alone as well.â
Tony doesnât know whether to feel awestruck or betrayed. âYou,â he says and points at Rogers, âare nothing like I expected.â
âSorry to be a fucking disappointment,â Rogers says with a scowl and pulls his ridiculous helmet on, covering the sleekly styled brown hair. It was astonishing how even Rogersâs golden hair had been false propaganda -- but of coursethe great America had wanted to present its figurehead as Aryan perfection in the time of eugenics. âSuit up, everyone. Letâs get this shit done.â
+ Defrosting to WS. A series where defrosted Bucky tries his best without Steve, and then doesnât have to anymore
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âWinterâs Heartâ (NR, 5k) by Speranza
"Good morning, Soldier," and Steve opened his eyes and said, automatically, "Ready to comply."
+ Endgame. Steve uses the time stone to jump after Bucky in the Alps
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âSleeping With Ghostsâ (M, 33k) by rohkeutta
The first two years after Bucky gets out of the ice are-- surprisingly easy. Serve his country, learn to use his charmed robot hand, make friends, donât think about the spark of magic in him thatâs gone out, see the world, try to live with the grief (try to live with the grief, try to--)
Maybe theyâre not that easy, in the end, but heâs settling - until he gets reluctantly pulled out of the Army and has Steveâs shield (Steveâs shield, its magic wary and curious and half-dormant) thrust onto him again, even though heâs already turned it down once before. The world has changed and so has he, but as he tries to immerse himself into a new life, he meets a ghost he could never leave behind.
+ Fall to WS. Magic, bonding, blood binding, and finally coming home to each other.Â
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*More Winter Soldier Steve fics in the Handler Steve list
Trying to be someone else was harder than it seemed. Secret identities, mistaken identities, and identity reveals. Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
âTake You For a Ride (On my Garbage Truck)â (T, 20k) by GoodbyeBlues
"This is it," Bucky murmured to no one but Mother Earth herself, blades of greenery tickling his lips as he sang his dying whale song into the ground. "This is where I perish."
...
Despite how it often looks, dramatic millennial Bucky Barnes is not actually homeless. He's just really, really bad at flirting.
+ Modern AU. Hilarious misunderstandings. Steve is the sweetest guy alive, Sam is a Good Bro, and Buckyâs a Disney princess
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âHow to Woo the Winter Soldierâ (G, 21k) by writeonclara
âI think Iâm ready to date again,â Steve said.
âWhat,â Natasha said.
âWhat?â Clint said, lowering his binoculars. He blinked at the dumbstruck look on the Captainâs face, then followed his gaze to where he was staring dopily atâat the Winter fucking Soldier.
âSteve, no,â Clint groaned.
Or: Steve courts the Winter Soldier.
+ Post Avengers. Steve falls in love with Bucky (again) and gets questionable courting advice from the internet. Buckyâs reluctantly charmed despite himself
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âStrange Visitor (From Another Time)â (E, 51k) by Niitza
James Barnes, rising star reporter of the New York Bulletin, has a plan. One, find out all there is to know about New York's newest vigilante Nomad, starting with his true identity. Two, write a masterful piece about it. Three, win a Pulitzer and become the envy of all his peers. Four, enjoy.
Or, you know, something like that.
One thing's for certain, though: he sure as hell isn't going to let that fucking asshole newbie Grant O'Connor steal his spotlight.
-
Or: the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman AU no one asked for.
+ Shrunkyclunks. Love has a way of throwing ambition off track. (Names may change, but hearts stay the same)
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âthe secret circuit homeâ (E, 3k) by ftmsteverogers
In which Bucky escapes Azzano on his own with the other Howling Commandos, rough around the edges, but alive. He makes it back in time to watch Captain America's godawful performance, not knowing that it's his best friend up there in tights.
Then he hits on him after the show.
+ Post Azzano. Steve takes Bucky back to his trailer for a personal morale boost
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âDirty Picsâ (M, 3k) by lillupon
Thereâs this one guy Bucky slept with three months ago who still sends pics of his ass whenever Bucky asks. What can he say? Grantâs got an ass that just wonât quit.
+ Shrunkyclunks. Hookup to friends to potentially more, if Steve ever finds the right time to tell the truth.Â
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-â- And a freebie! -â-
âMetallurgyâ (M, 22k) by eyres and TheFriendlyPigeon
The battle quieted for the moment, the great metal giant turns, at last, and sees Steve. Dark, almost human hair frames a sharp, steel face - but, Steve is caught by its eyes. Theyâre bright silver, sparking in the sunlight, shot through with gray and blue, visible even at this distance. Something about them nags at Steve, calls to him, reminds him ofâŚ
Instead of making the Winter Soldier, Hydra transfers Bucky's consciousness to a metal body, locking his mind within a prison of steel and programming. However, Bucky is stronger than they could've ever imagined.
+ WW2 to Avengers. Reposted from the Robot List because itâs a gorgeous story. Bucky canât even say Steveâs name, but Steve figures it out anyway
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*More identity fics in De-Serumed, Teacher AU, Spy AU, Hitman AU, Sign Language, Video Games, Weddings, Other Peopleâs Weddings, Medieval AU, and Mythology lists
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âIâm going to track down every HYDRA agent thatâs left,â Bucky says, buckling his gun deftly to his belt. âAnd then Iâm going to kill them.â
âOh,â Steve says.
âCome with me?â Bucky asks, dangerous hands tucked into his pockets.
a blade with no handle (13343 words) by ftmsteverogers
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Captain America (Movies)
Rating: Explicit
Relationships: James âBuckyâ Barnes/Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe
Summary:
âIâm Captain Rogers,â Steve said, once the Winter Soldier had joined them and took off his motorcycle helmet, shaking his mane of hair free. âYou must be the Winter Soldier.â
âThatâs what they call me,â the Winter Soldier replied. His mask took up three quarters of his face and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of goggles, but Steve could still hear the hostility in his voice.
Steve pasted on a smile and stuck out a hand for him to shake. âWelcome to the Avengers.â
Notes:
Basically an AU where Winter Soldier joins the Avengers before Bucky and Steve met. Basically a fic which made me squee in anticipation of them meeting and cry where it happened. OMG GO READ IT. *cries*