#leveragehunters
I’ll be your operator baby, I’m in control. Nothing that you do, you do unless I said. The Winter Soldier answers to Steve and Steve alone. Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
“The Wolf and The Sheep” (T, 50k) by aislingdoheanta
Steve Rogers is a SHIELD agent who is recruited for a secret project: Becoming a handler for the Asset. Steve’s world is thrown for a loop when he discovers the Asset is an actual person and he needs to figure out who he is and what he’s going to do.
Steve as the Winter Soldier’s handler AU. (Non-HYDRA trash party.)
+ Modern Steve. Captain Rogers makes his own secret plans to free the Winter Soldier and discovers Hydra within Shield. An alternate retelling of the WS movie
-☆-
“Cabin Fever” (E, 11) by Dibsanddabs
It was just Steve’s luck really. It was his first outing as the asset’s handler and everything had gone to shit.
Steve is the asset’s new handler, and when a mission goes bad he makes the decision to wait in a safe house. But mountain weather is against them and the pair end up snowed in together. The longer the asset spends out of cryo, the more of Steve’s questions he can answer, and Steve might not like what he finds.
+ Alt Canon . Snowed in a cabin together, Bucky’s programming starts to crack and Steve starts to remember this isn’t his first time working with Bucky.
-☆-
“Ready to Comply” (E, 66k) by exclamation
The asset’s orders at the end of The Winter Soldier weren’t to kill Captain America, but to capture him, so that he could be wiped and turned into another asset. The asset has succeeded in that mission, capturing its target and taking him back to the Hydra base. But the Hydra soldiers are dead, captured, or fled, so there is no one there to give the asset new orders.
Alone with its captive, the asset has no instructions on how it is meant to act. But the more time it spends with its target, the more old protocols start to assert themselves, like the protocol that when that face is hurt and bleeding, the asset is supposed to clean away the blood.
+ Post WS. The Winter Soldier chooses Steve to be his handler and as he recovers, continues to choose Steve. (Numerical rankings, chocolate covered raisins, and cookie bribes)
-☆-
“find a way to forgive myself” (T, 34) by napricot
“Okay, let’s try this again,” says Steve’s own voice. “I’m not Loki and I really need you to listen to me. The literal fate of your universe depends on it.” Steve comes up swinging before he’s even really opened his eyes. “Oh for god’s—”
As if Steve’s life isn’t already weird enough what with the waking up in the 21st century and fighting aliens thing, his future self’s Time Heist and Reverse Time Heist have left 2012 Steve in a pretty awkward position: not only does he have to pretend to be HYDRA in order to save Bucky, but now he also has to help save the whole damn universe too? Luckily for him, if the first time was tragedy, then the second time around is definitely a hell of a lot closer to farce.
+ Alt 2012. 2012 Steve gets memories from the future, and goes undercover as Hydra to look for Bucky with help from the Avengers. Featuring the magic space rock mind stone
-☆-
“Blood” (T, 45k) by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)
In a world where magic is as commonplace as electricity, HYDRA worships a god who craves order through death. They used His blood to create fierce Soldiers then enslaved them by chaining their souls.
The man who was James Barnes is the last Soldier, the rest having been put down after succumbing to the call of the Blood. One night, out of control after a mission, the increasingly unstable Soldier runs into Steve Rogers. Instead of being turned into a red smear on the ground, Steve successfully talks him down. HYDRA decides to keep him. The Soldier’s the last one they’ve got; if Steve can keep him calm he’s going to do it whether he likes it or not.
Like fractious racehorses have companion goats, they hand Steve off to the Soldier as a kind of pet. But studies have shown pets can ease depression, despair and loneliness, lead to an increased sense of safety and well-being, and provide a source of protection and unconditional love. HYDRA really should have reviewed the literature before they decided to give Steve to the Soldier. Especially since, once Steve Rogers is involved, protectiveness can get slightly out of hand.
+ Shrinkyclinks. Modern Steve is the only one who can bring the Winter Soldier back from bloodlust. When Shield rescues them, Bucky doesn’t trust anyone but Steve and Steve would never abuse that power.
-☆-
-☆- And one where Bucky thinks Steve is a handler -☆-
“This is the Ghost Story” ( T, 45k) by Taste_is_Sweet
You can’t have amnesia if you’re not supposed to remember.
(“I don’t want to forget you,” Bucky says wistfully.
Steve looks half-asleep, but he blinks and lifts his head. “What do you mean?” he asks. His smile is puzzled. “Why would you forget me?”
“After maintenance, when they’ll wipe me and put me in Cryo,” Bucky explains. “I’ll forget you again, and I don’t want to. You’re the best handler I’ve ever had.”)
+ Post WS. Bucky gets hurt on an Avengers mission and reverts back to the Winter Soldier. Very intense and angsty. Part of a longer series but can be read stand-alone.
-☆-
+ More Handler Steve fics here and the Pepper list (upcoming)
For I am still thy lover true, come once again and love me. Castles, quests, and adventure! Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
“Change Your Stars” (M, 52) by histoires_eternelles,JJK
“No, wait.” Steve reached out a hand to stay Sam, overcome with a terrible, or maybe a brilliant idea. “All he has to do is not fall off his horse,” Steve said, with a slow smile spreading across his lips.
Sam frowned at Steve.
“One of us could ride in his place.”
⋆☆⋆❀⋆☆⋆
A Steve/Bucky Knight’s Tale AU with a double dose of Identity Porn, featuring fake-knight Steve and secret-prince Bucky.
+ Steve pretends to be a knight and Bucky pretends to be a squire. Jousting, banquets, falling in love, and chivalry.
-☆-
“A Simple Breeze, A Single Spark” (T, 36k) by leveragehunters
Like he’d been waiting for his cue, a tall, dark-haired man appeared behind the jailer. He wore a fighter’s leathers, all in black, with a long sword peeking over one shoulder. His eyes were a complicated grey, flecks of blue giving them richness, but they were…empty.
Steve fought not to recoil from the blankness, letting his gaze flick to the bird perched on his other shoulder. It was some kind of hunting bird, maybe a falcon or a hawk, no hood or jesses, and it mantled, staring down at Steve like he was a mouse it was considering for dinner.
They were something from a legend or a nightmare and they were here for Steve.
+ Ladyhawke AU. Bucky is a wolf by night and Sam is a hawk by day. Steve joins them on their quest to kill Pierce.
-☆-
“silver and gold” (E, 19k) by Claudia_flies
Bucky wakes up to the sound of the rooster, like he’s done every morning since he arrived in the village. The crow echoes through the yard and makes the horses move in their pens below him, they too waking up to the day.
+ Omega Bucky escapes Pierce and finds a home in a new village. He gets an anonymous partner for his seasonal heats and a crush on Lord Steve
-☆-
“The Tale of the Silver-Armed Knight” (E, 5k) by BeaArthurPendragon
After being exiled from Ireland, Steven Grant is quietly making a new life for himself in York crafting the finest armor in all of England. One late December afternoon, a legendary knight visits his smithy to commission armor with very specific requirements.
Mr. Grant has a few requirements of his own.
+ Part 1 of a series where Blacksmith Steve and Knight Bucky spar and get frisky
-☆-
“A Midsummer Knight’s Dream” (E, 29k) by cobaltmoony,GoldBlooded
Sir Steven, knight, alpha, and baron of a small countryside estate, receives an invitation to a Royal Tournament: It’s a winner-take-all competition, and the prize? The hand of Prince James, the kingdom’s most eligible omega, in marriage.
It seems like a lifetime ago that young Steven left the palace – and his best pal, the prince - to attend to his familial duties. Since that time, he’s dreamed of reclaiming his friendship with the prince; if not as a companion, then perhaps as a member of the prince’s guard.
Prince James, royal, omega, and heir to the throne is tired of being reduced to his designation and pressured into an arranged marriage like a political pawn. He devises the tournament as a means to an end: winner claims his hand in marriage, but if he wins? He’ll get to claim his own future.
Let the tournament begin…
+ Omega Bucky fights for the right to avoid arranged marriage. Childhood friends, requited feelings, heat/rut. Dense King George and awful Rumlow
-☆-
+ More Medieval stories here
I just wanna be by your side (if these wings could fly) for the rest of our lives. Magical Realism! Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
“Sunshine’s Gifts” (E, 52k) by Quarra,wearing_tearing
“Who are you?” Steve asks, eyes bright with anger and cheeks flushed with heat.
Bucky laughs.
His warrior, his Steve, is as brave and as incredible as Bucky thought him to be.
“Is this how you offer me thanks for saving your life?” Bucky grins, delight making him giddy and playful. “Pinning me to the ground without even a proper courtship first?”
*
Or: Bucky is Horny. Steve likes his big rack.
+ Alt Avengers. Fae Bucky leads the Wild Hunt and gets a crush on Captain America. Courting, flying horses, space dogs, and everyone is happy
-☆-
“The Leshy’s Prey” (E, 5k) by DeamonSlayer576,exclamation
Steve is just a small woodland fairy, but when he hears that the Leshy, a powerful forest spirit, has stolen a child, he can’t let this injustice stand. He takes it upon himself to confront the Leshy. The confrontation… doesn’t go as planned.
When the confrontation goes in a more sexual direction than Steve had intended, he’s not certain he minds, and maybe the Leshy isn’t as bad as he’d first thought.
+ Fantasy AU. Fairy Steve helps the local village find lost items, and gets more than he bargained for when he looks for a lost child.
-☆-
“Runaways” (T, 4k) by crinklefries
“Do you believe in magic?” Bucky asks, sitting back on his haunches.
Bucky’s too old to believe in that kind of thing. He graduates in a year with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Columbia University. He believes in what he can see, in what he can touch and feel.
He can’t believe in magic.
But.
+ Modern AU. Bucky finds interesting trinkets all around New York and falls in love with Steve along the way
-☆-
“Going Through” (G, 2k) by Taste_is_Sweet
Bucky wasn’t quite sure what to do with the extremely angry fairy he rescued from the group of Make Humanity Great Again! assholes who’d been trying to suffocate him in a jar.
+ Fantasy AU. Steve gets saved, nursed back to heath, and gets a crush.
-☆-
“Under the Hawthorn Tree” (E, 57k) by odetteandodile
There is a faerie tale of sorts, though it’s one known only by the Fair Folk themselves and a few others who know that they can’t tell it.
It goes like this.
A young man wanders into the woods one night, and wanders until he isn’t a young man anymore—but something else.
Seventy years later, another man follows him. Inside of a magic ring, they meet.
(or, Bucky is a faerie—amongst other things—and Steve Rogers, as always, is helpless but to love him from the start)
+ Modern AU. Environmental Consultant Steve gets sent to check out a forest before it gets bulldozed. He finds a mushroom circle, Bucky, and the fae court.
-☆-
-☆- And a freebie where fae are involved! -☆-
“Thyme and Tide” (T, 21k) by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen),seleneheart
Bucky might be only a one-armed ex-mercenary who’d washed up, half-drowned, on the shores of Sciatha with nothing and nowhere—never mind how hard Captain Rogers, head of Sciatha’s Royal Guard, was trying to change that—but even he knew better than to get involved with the fae.
Unfortunately, that wisdom had somehow bypassed Sciatha’s ancient kings…and fae bargains always came due.
+ Fantasy AU. The kingdom has a deal with the fae, and they’ve taken Steve. Bucky holds faith that Steve will return.
-☆-
+ More fic recs here
I’ll put a spell on you, you’ll fall asleep. I’ll be the first thing you see and you’ll realize that you love me. Witch-Specific fics! Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
“If You Ever Did Believe” (M, 33k) by wearing_tearing
Bucky Barnes will never die of a broken heart. The spell he cast at thirteen, in between white petals and whispered words of magic, makes sure of that.
But then Bucky murders someone, conspires with his sister to hide the body, and meets Steve Rogers.
+ Modern AU. A Practical Magic AU. Steve investigates a small town when Rumlow goes missing, falls in love with the main suspect, and participates in an exorcism
-☆-
“60 Beans and a Cup of Magic” (T, 28k) by crinklefries
In a little corner of Brooklyn, Bucky Barnes is a baker, Steve Rogers is a witch, and over the course of a year, they bake some goods, drink a lot of coffee, and discover, between them, a little magic.
or;
steve rogers–once a disaster bi always a disaster bi; and now a disaster bi with magic
+ Modern AU. A hilarious and adorable fic where Bucky doesn’t realize Steve is magic and falls in love with him. Featuring an incredible amount of desserts and Steve’s sweet tooth
-☆-
“A Soft Place To Land” (E, 10k) by anoneknewmoose,Livelylute,mwestbelle
Plant witch Steve spends his days with his tight-knit coven, gardening and loving on plants of all kinds. Bucky has a gloved hand and dark energy he can’t quite hide. This is the low-fi magical realism story of their love.
+ Magic AU. Bucky breaks away from his coven and moves into Steve’s apartment building. He wants to do good and be better, and Steve loves and accepts him
-☆-
“Northern Sky” (M, 50k) by littleblackfox,WarlockInTraining
Bucky casts around the field, the light rapidly fading as the storm clouds grow denser, swallowing up the weak winter sun. The spirits are here, he can feel them, their amorphous thoughts, panicked and trembling. They can feel his own fear, rising in the back of his throat, fuelling their own terror.
Bucky reaches for the chain around his neck, fumbling for his amulets. His fingers close around the two pieces of silver, fine and bright as the scars on his arm.
Please. Please keep me safe.
+ Fantasy AU. Bucky is the village witch with an affinity for spirits, and Steve is an artist that can’t stay away. Mutual pining, a lot of rain, and Studio Ghibli feels
-☆-
“Something So Familiar” (G, 6k) by leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)
When Bucky was seven the Training Masters told him he had no magic, no potential, that he’d never be a witch. It wasn’t a surprise. Witches came from certain families and a certain class, just like magic was sterile and ordered and familiars were obedient and servile. That was simply the way the world worked.
Bucky grew up and got on with living his mundane life, knowing he was one hundred percent magic free. Which meant it came as something of a shock when the familiar appeared in his living room, claiming Bucky was his witch. It meant the Masters had been wrong. It meant Bucky had magic.
It meant, just maybe, that wasn’t the way the world had to work after all.
+ Fantasy AU. Witch Bucky finds out he has magic, gets trained by his familiar, and starts a quiet revolution
-☆-
