Summary: Three years after the events of Shake The Frost, Steve organizes a cross country road trip to celebrate Bucky’s 100th birthday. Healing, happy, and now a member of the Avengers, Bucky considers taking the next step in their relationship. But when they return home to find Steve’s got a stalker obsessed with preserving the image of Captain America, they find themselves on a journey neither of them ever expected to take.
Sometimes at night he squints at it so hard the words blur and he can’t remember what they say and
Sometimes he presses his wrist against his forehead like he’s trying to get the words to imprint on his mind so they’ll always be there and he’ll never forget again.
Ive been thinking very many thoughts about pre war stucky and everytime my hearts just explodes from how muc love i have for them, like theyre just so cute and domestic even in dark hard times and i lovethem so muchhhh 😫❤️
I need to know if you have any fic recs of them ??!!! I’d love to see your favs, you just have such good taste when it comes to stucky
LOVE YOU MY BEAUTIFULLL🫶
Drew my beloved, my sweet cinnamon roll princess (gender neutral), of course I can share some recs! Pre-war Stucky are my special boys, I love them to the moon and back and I can never ever ever get enough of them 💖💖💖 Here are some of my favs: some of them are canon-compliant, some less so, but I love them all and I hope you'll find a few to your liking! 😘😘💖 ALRIGHT LET'S GO!!!
Body Studies by Ark (Explicit, 9.7k)
Bucky wants Steve to draw him. Bucky's bored enough to model, and that's -- that's --
“That's -- a fun idea,” Steve supplies, fingers tight around his pencil. “I mean, we could try that if you wanted to.” Is his palm sweating on the pencil? “It'd be pretty boring for you, though, I guess.”
Why God Made Steel-Toed Boots by what_alchemy (G, 1.7k)
Steve's been waiting a long time.
Painted in Indigo by nekare (Mature, 11k)
“You should be careful of that one,” Mr. Hendrickson says, with a nod to Bucky outside the window. “It ain’t right. Looking at you all the time as he does. The way he should be looking at girls.”
Steve laughs, because damn, but what a ridiculous idea.
Or, five times Steve caught Bucky looking at him, and the one time he looked first.
The Last Time by MaddieWritesStucky (Explicit, 3k)
‘Friends’ don’t do what they do, especially not friends of the same sex. There are words for people like that, ugly words that feel jarring to hear and even worse to say...
But when Bucky’s body is on top of his, when Bucky’s breath is warm against his neck and his teeth are scraping over that pulse point just below his ear?
...It’s easy to forget that they aren’t allowed to want this.
A Different Touch by GoldBlooded (Explicit, 2.5k)
Every day, Steve passes the garage on his walk to work, and every day he sees a particular mechanic and just wants.
Tonight, he's gonna get it.
April, 1939 by what_alchemy (Explicit, 2.6k)
Bucky knows what Steve wants when he comes in like that, hair wet, robe slipping off his shoulder.
Nice Work if You Can Get It by reserve (Mature, 13k)
Bucky Barnes and his best pal Steve Rogers stumble into a situation that leaves Bucky feeling tongue-tied, out of his element, and convinced that Steve—Steve!—has more experience with the ladies than he previously let on. It's terrible.
(Pre-serum Steve, pre-war Brooklyn, befuddled Bucky, and showgirls, for your pleasure.)
Room's Still Spinning by hollybennett123 (Explicit, 3.3k)
“This ain’t no dance I’ve ever seen before,” Steve protests, trying not to laugh and not quite succeeding. He grasps at Bucky’s shirt, the fabric twisting sharply in his fist as he steadies himself, anchored.
“It’s ours,” Bucky says as he turns it into an off-tempo waltz, eyes bright and his wide, lush mouth kissed pretty. “Our dance, you an’ me.”
Wake by toffeecape (Explicit, 3.6k)
Steve has trouble processing grief. Bucky helps him out.
Through The Open Window by 74days (Explicit, 28.6k)
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. (Steve and Bucky if Steve & Bucky never met as kids.)
Hot as a Two Dollar Pistol by strangeasfiction (Explicit, 2.5k)
“You just never danced with anyone good enough. Give me one night and I’ll having you gliding along with the prettiest dames there.”
Steve couldn’t help but snort again. “Wouldn’t people talk.”
A moment of silence, nothing but buzzing from a fly perplexed by the impermeable top half of their open window.
“You’d dance with me, though.”
It wasn’t a question, but it very clearly was.
Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen by Laura JV (Explicit, 7.5k)
Bucky Barnes and the Great Sexuality Crisis of 1938.
Big Talker by sariane (Explicit, 2.3k)
“Bucky,” Steve says absently, “What’s it like, being with a guy?”
Bucky tells him.
I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you by alby_mangroves (Explicit, 11k)
Steve had already stopped believing in the hopeful mantra that he just hadn't met the right person yet, that things would turn around for him, that someone would see past his shortcomings.
Fact was, he'd known that someone most of his life but no amount of looking past shortcomings was gonna deliver that person into his arms.
It's 1937, and Steve takes matters into his own hands.
we wear red so they don't see us bleed by unicornpoe (T, 2k)
Bucky sits on the hard wooden bench, back against the cold wall, and stares across the holding cell at the other man.
He glares back. Blood on his chin, in his teeth, in his hair; a nasty bruise coming up over the bridge of his nose and around his puffed-up eye. Knuckles split. Sharp chin jutted out at a defiant angle. The collar of his shirt is ripped, and the garment gapes across his clavicle, showing a bruise running up the side of his neck as well.
Small, Bucky thinks; all ragged edges and razor-sharp angles. But strong.
And pretty.
And stupid.
(Bucky and Steve spend one night in a holding cell together. They leave together, too.)
Paint You Like a Picture by Deisderium (Explicit, 2k)
Bucky comes home from work to find Steve at a stopping point in his work; Steve is still feeling artsy.
All Myself To You by MaddieWritesStucky (T, 3.2k)
The familiar song winds its way around them as they stand, looking at one another the same way they always have; the way that is 'almost' and 'if only', and there’s more than music waiting in the space between them. Bucky swallows, breathes in deep, and Steve waits for the inevitable step backwards; the turn away that has always followed the step toward.
But it doesn’t come.
Bucky breathes in deep, and shifts his feet forward, the smallest movement closer.
He breathes in deep, and reaches out his hand; palm upwards like the offering it is.
“…Will you dance with me, Steve?”
Accidentally on Purpose by nekare, notallbees (Explicit, 12.5k)
After Bucky drunkenly kisses Steve by accident, it just seems to keep on happening, until it's not so much by accident anymore.
Dream a Little Dream Of Me by unicornpoe (T, 6.5k)
Steve turns, wiping his hands on the ragged dish towel he holds, and Bucky can’t even smile—
Because here’s a truth: when Bucky was strapped to that table in Italy, and when Bucky was crouched in muddy trenches while bullets whistled overhead, and when Bucky was dying in a hospital bed, thrashing with a fever, he resolved to tell Steve if he made it out alive, because he couldn’t bear the idea of leaving this earth behind without Steve ever having known that Bucky loves him.
(After the war, Bucky comes home.)
Well-worn by dharmashark (T, 5.2k)
Bucky was halfway out the window when Steve grumbled, “Can’t believe you named a chicken after me.”
He turned back to look at Steve over his shoulder.
“Just missed you, I guess.”
He was still smiling, but it was the honest kind that grew from both corners of his mouth. Not teasing. The weight on Steve’s chest widened, a familiar measure of dread that lasted all summer, long after the hand-me-down sweater stopped smelling like Bucky.
It really would’ve been easier if he were teasing.
—
Five times Steve tried on Bucky’s clothes, and the one time they fit.
Twelve Nights by spokenitalics (Explicit, 4.5k)
Hands brushing against smooth ivory, Bucky explores Steve's body — his arms, his legs, his chest, where his heart is beating so fast it's a surprise it hasn't burst out of his rib cage yet.
"Are you scared?" he asks, whispers. "It's alright if you are."
Steve swallows nervously. "Are you?"
"Hell, yeah."
Or, twelve nights spread across eighty years, from first time to first time.
Throw In the Towel by sunflower_dragon19 (Explicit, 7k)
Steve comes down with scarlet fever, and Bucky spends every last penny he has on the medication. He doesn't regret it one bit, but now there's nothing left for rent and groceries. Desperate for cash, he starts fighting in underground boxing matches run by the mob.
Every time he comes home late, flushed red and sweating from exertion, Steve assumes he was out with a girl. Bucky doesn't correct him. He also doesn't let himself think too hard about why Steve seems so pissed off about it.
One Day We Won't Have to Be Scared by Paraxdisepink (Explicit, 13.5k)
Written for this prompt: Steve and Bucky are at a gay bar in the 30s, and some guy offers them money to take pictures of them as they fuck. They need the money, they say yes, and pretty much forget about it afterwards. The pictures come out years later.
The Very Thought of You by what_alchemy (Explicit, 6.2k)
Bucky's got a date with the prettiest girl in Brooklyn. If only he could stop wishing she were someone else.
1A by PR Zed (Mature, 3.2k)
Steve lies on the couch, staring at the piece of paper clutched tightly in both hands, not quite believing it's his. A Department of Selective Service Certificate of Acceptability. And stamped in the corner, 1A.
Steve gets what he thought he wanted. Bucky comes back for a proper goodbye.
A Little More Light by MacksDramaticShenanigans (G, 7.5k)
“How many times do I hafta tell you, you ain’t crashin’ anything. We want you there,” Bucky assures, and bends down so his head falls into Steve’s line of sight, which has dropped back down to his sketchbook. Bucky’s practically lying in his lap now, and he reaches a hand up to touch Steve’s cheek, soft and gentle. “I want you there.”
When In Sparta by Ark (Explicit, 2.8k)
“You still like to do this?” Bucky’s voice is low, like an invisible someone might be listening.
“Sure,” says Steve, who likes nothing more, though he tries to sound non-committal. “If you want to.”
Look At the Stars (Look How They Shine For You) by GoldBlooded (G, 1k)
Every year Bucky struggled with getting Steve a present worthy of his magnificence. At age ten, watching Steve chew on a nub of a pencil as he drew weird little comics in the corner of his notebook at school, Bucky Barnes was struck with inspiration.
Winter, New York City by unicornpoe (G, 3.6k)
Between the rough sheets stretched rumpled across the bed, two boys curl like a set of parentheses around each other and their breaths mingle arhythmically in that dark place behind Bucky’s eyelids. It’s still night until he looks; it’s still night, and he doesn’t have to move.
But then: a shift, Steve’s head rolling a little where it rests on Bucky’s chest, soft-fine hair rasping against Bucky’s collar bone. A quiet, wet cough.
And Bucky opens his eyes.
Now we have met by Ark (Explicit, 4.3k)
Whatever they came in for, they need to get it and go. In the morning Steve’ll give Bucky a talking-to. The living room is fine, hell, it’s half Bucky’s flat and he can do as he pleases, but Steve would really prefer if he kept his dates from the bedroom, it’s not an unreasonable--
“James! Is that your roommate?” They’re trying to whisper, but drunken whispers are highly pitched.
“Yeah, that’s Steve.”
“Well, won’t he mind?”
“Naw. You never met a better fella. Besides, Stevie’d sleep through an earthquake.”
even if there is no star in sight by inwardphae (Mature, 18k)
Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have always been in love, but they never had the guts to tell each other how they really feel.
In 1943, Steve has to watch his best friend cross the ocean while he's left behind. In 1945, Sergeant James Barnes is declared MIA. In 1946, Bucky comes home from the war.
Or: the one where the serum doesn't exist, recovery is a long way ahead and Bucky can't cope with the darkness he's sure is hidden between his ribs and his heart. Steve, bless him, refuses to see it. And oh so slowly, Bucky starts to believe him.
The Prettiest Dame by glitterykoi (Explicit, 3.3k)
Steve’s in the back room, if you could call it a room. It’s more of a curtained-off corner where they keep the mirror and a few hooks for shirts. He’s quiet, but Bucky hears the soft rustle of fabric. The little click of a barrette.
“You almost ready, doll?” Bucky calls.
If You Let Me by lillupon (Mature, 7k)
Steve always thought it was silly how easily girls fell for Bucky, even though they must have known he would only break their hearts. Told himself that he would require more than a few sweet words and a cocky grin. But thinking that while watching Bucky charm his way into a girl’s bed for the night is completely different from being on the receiving end of it.
Bucky teaches Steve how to flirt.
Photo Booth by copperbadge (T, 2.3k)
Seventy years ago, Steve and Bucky had their picture taken.
Hold Still by bopeep, ElisAttack (T, 10k)
Sarah Rogers knows her boy inside and out, for better and for worse, and she doesn't suggest he spend his afternoons studying Bucky Barnes' handsome face just for practice.
A mother knows things, even if her son and his angsty childhood friend haven't quite figured it out yet.
Impressions of You by Brynncognito, zooeyscigar (T, 3.5k)
Bucky is suspicious. Not only that, he's outright curious. Steve's always been a little touchy about his art, and a little particular about who he shows it to, but he's never hidden an entire sketchbook from Bucky before.
Or, Steve Rogers fills an entire sketchbook with pictures of Bucky, and Bucky finds it.
Ill With Want by thedoubteriswise (Mature, 27k)
Bucky pretends to be asleep when Steve crawls into bed, too tired to feel guilty over the quivery pleasure that settles in his belly when Steve’s arm brushes his. Steve falls asleep in about five minutes flat, unconsciously wedging his icy toes against Bucky’s leg. Bucky doesn’t move him.
He drifts to sleep in a comfortable haze and tries not to wonder where this feeling was two hours ago when he had Marie in his lap.
Oh my god, Black Widow fandom PLEASE FIND ME, I DIDN’T KNOW Y’ALL WERE STILL ALIVE, NATASHA HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OF ALL TIME FOR OVER 14 YEARS, YELENA IS ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTERS
