#teenage stucky

[firegal19]

Peter: Y/n got into a fight at school.

Steve: Is she ok?

Bucky: Did she win?

[marvelflame2010]

Y/n: Besides, no one's getting hurt!

*A guy who Y/n previously knocked out falls from the bridge she, Steve, and Bucky are standing on and lands on a car.*

Y/n: ...That guy was already up there when I got here

Steve: Y/n, you could be an Avenger! Use your powers for good!

Y/n: But I am using my powers for good

Bucky: What Steve meant was you are a kid, judging on your voice, and we can give you a home. Plus, HYDRA is trying to find you and won't stop

Y/n: I was HYDRA's death squad. I have powers that can destroy people like that. *snaps her fingers*. Besides, I am a dangerous person who doesn't deserve to have a home. I can handle HYDRA myself. *flies off*

Steve: *sighs* She is stubborn

Bucky: Like you

Steve: Hey! That's true

Bucky: Do you think she knows that she was created using you and I's DNA?

Steve: Probably, she has her file. The question is, did she decline our offer or not?

Bucky: She thinks of herself as a monster, so she is going to make it so we don't want her when we do. Pushing people away is not coping with your past. We can help her, we just need to help at her own pace, as well as get her the help she deserves.

Steve: Right. No kid deserves to be alone. Assassin, or not.

Bucky: Now we have to find her again

[lnsfawwi]

Rumlow said Bucky and all of sudden I was a 16-year-old kid from Brooklyn

yes, Steve froze bc Rumlow said Bucky's name, but it's the 16 yro Steve that froze, not the 30ish Steve! which means 16yro Steve froze when Bucky was mentioned!

So imagine back when they were still in school, Steve overheard random classmates chatting in the hallway

Person A: Bucky won another boxing match. gosh, he's so cool!

Steve: *blushes for no reason*

Person B: we have math together. he's so smart, he even corrected the teacher today.

Steve: *heart pounding so hard he's gonna have a cardiac arrest*

(after school) Bucky: what's with the asthma attack today? what caused it?

Steve: nuthin'

[lavenderbuckyy]

Stucky Week Day 4: Teenagers

17-year-old Bucky Barnes likes a lot of things. He likes astronomy class and books and loud music. Most of all, he likes his boyfriend, Steve — likes going on dates and sneaking out to meet him late at night.

My fill for @stucky-week's day 4 prompt, "Childhood/Teenagers" and @buckybarnesbingo 's C3 Free Square, which I chose to interpret as "High School AU".

[gay-jewish-bucky]

gays when steve and bucky get together in wakanda, a place where they can have peace and be together without having to hide, after decades of secretly requited pining and repression and missed connections

[sapphicpenguin]

saw "tws" being used to mean the writer's strike but there was a good minute where i was trying to figure out how the post related to the winter soldier

[b00inazkaban]

My inbox is very much at a lack of smut requests, mainly age regression requests are being made, I like writing for age regression but I feel like I’m being placed into a little box when I get those requests but when I get smut requests I get more creativity with it :(((

[spintwinwb]

How to Really Succeed At Business (and Fail Trying)

Did you know I am not dead?!

Here I return from my fandom graveyard, to deliver you a lil 11k STUCKY (you read that right, but calm down, it's the comics two) piece of underage, dubious and non consensual nonsense, in which we find pre-war, teenage idiot Bucky expanding his contraband business into sex and finding it gets out of hand extremely quickly.

It's been a long time (and I've never written these two!) so gentle pls!

[chaossmagic]

I wonder if Steve and Bucky ever fought - like actual, no-holds-barred, full-on fights that meant they didn't speak to each other for days or weeks.

What would they fight about? Did they feel miserable and lonely for those few days or weeks, regretting what they'd said to hurt the one person they cared about the most? Missing them so much that they soon forget what they'd even been fighting about, they just wanted to say sorry and go back to being best friends again because not having them in their life really fucking sucked?

I wonder if that ever happened.

[firegal19]

Five minutes later

One minute later

[comet-fire13]

i just ranted about stucky in a friends dms but felt bad becauss i spammed the SHIT outta their notifs...

so here's the remainder of the rant so they dont have to deal with my shit

mcu: "hey what if we mix steve's teenaged sidekick with steve's childhood best friend who's canonically gay and jewish"

comic fans: "...so bucky's gay and jewish now? sick!"

mcu: "wHAT?? Nononono hahahah what??? no? thats so?? stupid?? are you even watching???"

mcu: *proceeds to make all three cap movies centred around steve's relationship with bucky*

fans: "oh my god??? so bucky is not only gay and jewish BUT STEVE AND BUCKY ARE IN LOVE??? CAP IS QUEER TOO??"

mcu: "no!!!! whATTT?? you guys are CRAZY!! where could you POSSIBLY be getting these ideas??? "

fans: *stares as they send steve back in time, abandoning his best friend who he's shared basically his entire life with to be with a girl he kissed once. who's character was based on a character from the comics who was a double agent for the nazis* "whAT THE FUCK??????"

mcu: *confirm the winter soldier plotline is a romantic story*

fans: "HOLY-"

mcu: *BUT ONLY WHEN ITS BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN (captain carter THE FUCKING NAZI and steve as tws)*

fans: "SHIT???? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE???"

fans: *are rightfully pissed at marvel*

mcu: *surprised pikachu face*

[lavenderpanic]

Hey I’m sorry about your poll, I didn’t vote but when I looked and saw how many ofmd fans were getting death threats I stopped looking, so I don’t know much of what is happening, but I am sorry you’re sad. Fandom is supposed to bring people together and I feel like that girl from mean girls that just wants everyone to get along

First I want to start off by saying that people shouldn't send death threats unprovoked, that's doing a bit much for an online poll.

I think the main problem here is that a lot of OFMD fans are relatively young, and/or relatively new to fandom spaces, especially tumblr (from what I can tell). Tumblr has a lot of kind of unspoken etiquette, as do fandom spaces as a whole, and I think it kind of rubs years-or-decades-long fans the wrong way when people who don't understand the history and etiquette of fandom start acting in certain ways.

I also think that a lot of OFMD fans, again being younger and only starting to consume media and enter fan spaces in the 2020's, have no idea how long fans have been waiting and fighting for adequate queer representation. With so many new queer shows (which is an incredible thing, btw), younger people don't really seem to understand that for most of our teenage/childhoods, we didn't have queer relationships to look up to. It's in really bad taste to mock queer adults for finding community in non-canon ships like Stucky in their adolescence because we wouldn't have had anybody to look up to otherwise. People have created a very dedicated community out of necessity, and that's why so many Stucky stans are so defensive.

Additionally, it was the dedication of fans in the 2010's that got studios to understand that there was a demand for queer shows/movies, which absolutely paved the way for the queer shows that younger people/newer fans take for granted (imo). OFMD and other shows like it would not exist without non-canon ships like destiel, spirk, stucky, etc.

I feel like I'm rambling but yeah that's pretty much it. Younger people in fandom spaces should respect the literal decades of fandom that created the shit they take for granted. This was really never about the poll, it was about the disrespect OFMD fans showed towards Stucky fans.

[romanestuffsposts]

Can we have a beach day fic maybe the reader is anxious to go in the water at first but as soon as she goes out with her daddies she wants to go as far out as they can reach ❤️❤️❤️

Hi there love! 💜

Of course I can write that for you, I’m so sorry it took that long to be out. I hope you’re okay and will be happy with the fic 🩷

Enjoy beautiful <33

****

Warnings : fear of sea, anxiety, pet names, reassurance, kisses,

Pairings : Daddies!Stucky ; Daddy!Bucky x Papa!Steve x Little!Reader

Summary : the beautiful day was about to turn into an anxious one if your Daddies weren’t there to support and help you

A/N : I’m scared of the sea too hihi

****

You arrived.

The beach is actually right in front of you. You can see it through your window, as well as the kids running with sunscreen on their skins or adults walking with sunglasses and nice swimsuits.

But the thing that caught your eyes was the sea.

The deep and infinite water which remains calm in the background of the landscape.

You don’t have much fear in your life. When you were a kid you were scared of big dogs, one day your aunt adopted one and it happens to be your favorite animal now. At your teenage time, you were scared to talk to people, one day you had to talk in front of an assembly to defend the only person who mattered to you. Now you love talking to people when you feel listened to by others.

You’re not scared of the sea, you never had a bad experience with the deep water but maybe it’s for that exact reason that you’re not comfortable with the idea of going in it. You don’t know the sea, you don’t know what’s inside and the whole world that can live under you once you go for a swim.

You watch the family playing int the salty water, you watch kids on their animal-shaped buoy and you don’t understand how they’re just happy and nope scared or full of questions about that underworld.

‘’Sweetie ?’’ It’s the third times that your Papa is calling for you with you door wide open. You snap out of your mind and peer up at him ‘’it’s time to have fun, come on’’

He gave you his hand and help you stepping out of the car. You look around you and see your Daddy coming back from the trunk with towels and a bag. Your Papa keep a good grip on your hand as you all are walking toward the sand. The sensation feels weird against your naked soles and little toes. You’re not used to it.

Your Papa made you remove your shoes and sockets before going on the sand.

‘’Choose a good spot baby’’ your Daddy smiles as he looks down at you. You narrow your eyes because of the sun and point a spot you like once you find one.

‘’Here, remove your clothes so you can feel comfortable, I don’t want you to get too hot with the sun’’ Your Daddy says as he sit down, he opens the bag to put all the clothes in it and take out the sunscreen.

While your Papa removes his clothes, your Daddy applies the cream on your skin, he’s careful to put it everywhere so you won’t get burn. He gives you a little massage at the same time and you’re not going to tell him to stop. When he finish he wraps his arms around your torso and put your back against his chest, his chin fall on your shoulder and he kisses your cheek.

You melt into his arms, filled with all the emotions that are coming out from his body.

‘’I love you’’ he whispers in your ear. A tiny but sweet smile appears on your lips after his words. As your gaze is wondering around the blue sky, you answer him ‘’I love you too Daddy’’ in a quiet but loving voice.

During the three hours you spend there since you arrived you had the chance to build the most beautiful castle with your Papa. You tried to remove sand that were on your eyes because of the wind while your Daddy was laughing his ass off because of the face you were making.

To resume, you had a lots of fun, you didn’t even thought of the sea while you were spending time with your favorite men. That until your Daddy said he wanted to go take a swim with the fishes.

Your happy face changed into a anxious one when your Daddy put all the personal stuff in the bag, making it clear that you all were going in the sea.

They stand up and look down at you ‘’come on it’ll be fun you’ll see’’

You frown and shake your head ‘’I stay here’’ you mumble

‘’Baby, as much as we trust you we can’t let you alone here’’ Your Papa says.

‘’I don’t wanna’’

‘’Why’s that ?’’ He asks, kneeling beside you ‘’what’s wrong, princess ?’’

‘’ ‘m scared’’ You whisper

‘’Of what ? The sea ?’’ Your Daddy joins, kneeling beside you too.

You look at him and nod

‘’Oh babygirl’’ He sighs and sits beside you ‘’I know it can be scared because it’s big and it's the unknown down there so you have all the rights to be scared’’ he takes your hand in his ‘’but if you never take the first step you’ll always be scared. We don’t have to stay for hours in the water nor to go far away for a swim, we can just drop a toe but you can’t let that fear stop you from having the moment of your life’’

‘’Daddy’s right, sweetie. If you hide behind your fear you’ll never step above it to keep going in life, you can’t let that stop you’’ Your Papa adds. They both stand back up an,d give you their hands ‘’so what do you say ? We go drop a toe while watching the sunset before heading home ?’’

You look between them and the sea for a few seconds before nodding your head. They help you going on your feet and keep your hands in theirs while you walk. You stop a few feet from the water causing your Daddy to lift you up and rest you on his hip ‘’hey it’s okay, the water won’t eat you. We’re here with you little one, just as always’’

When your Daddies’s feet are in the water, your Daddy lowers himself so the tip of your toes touch the water. You gasp and retracted your foot ‘’it’s cold, isn’t it ?’’ He chuckles

You nod and smile a little

‘’Take it easy, princess. We have all the time in the world’’

You take a breath and lower you foot again. The cold doesn’t surprise you now, but the sensation of the water does. It’s not that bad in the end.

‘’hey baby look’’ your Papa points at the sky. You turn your head and see the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen.

‘’It’s beautiful isn’t it ?’’

Yea, it is… just like the time you spend here with you Daddies.

[the-dove-is-recuperating]

In the past few years I’ve been seeing increasingly outlandish takes regarding the MCU’s role in Bucky’s (and to a lesser extent Steve’s) characterization, both in the movies and the comics. They all start from a premise that I generally agree with:

The Captain America movies set up what is in essence a love story, romantic or otherwise.

In view of that love story, Steve’s Endgame ending makes very little sense and was at least partially motivated by the Russos’ homophobic reaction to the Stucky fandom.

The MCU’s portrayal of Steve and Bucky has since affected their portrayal in the comics.

However, people seem to have lost sight of the fact that Stucky as an even remote possibility has only ever been an MCU thing. But because so much of the fandom proceeds from the basic idea that “movies bad, comics good,” I have now seen multiple people claim that the movies made the comics homophobic … because there is still no Stucky in the comics?

As someone who loves Bucky in all his iterations and especially the way these iterations have impacted each other, I just really want to set the record straight:

Stucky is an MCU thing. Soft Bucky is, at least originally, an MCU thing. Bucky as Steve’s only reason for doing anything is … you guessed it, an MCU thing.

You can’t decry the MCU bleeding into comics and simultaneously complain that Steve is still hanging out with Sharon Carter. I mean, you can, but that would be just fucking silly. Steve/Sharon is the comics doing its own thing, without any regard for the MCU! In fact the very reason that CA:CW’s sad attempt at making Steve/Sharon happen failed so abysmally was because Bucky had already taken her place by then.

The original comics’ Bucky was a little kid who (for whatever unfathomable reason) was allowed to fight in WWII. Later on, Ed Brubaker aged him up to teenager and created what was in essence a new character: the Winter Soldier. MCU went further and blended that new version of Bucky with a minor (but pretty revolutionary) character from the 80s: an openly gay Jewish man called Arnie Roth.

Arnie’s backstory, revealed in a two-page flashback in Captain America #270, goes something like this: growing up in New York he was scrawny Steve’s bigger and stronger best friend and protector from bullies. As a young adult he was also ostensibly a ladies’ man, while Steve decidedly was not. Sound familiar?

However, the similarities end there: Arnie and Steve drifted apart before Steve became Cap, and while they briefly reconnected during the war, they did not actually fight together. Plotwise, Arnie does end up filling the same damsel-in-distress slot that MCU’s Bucky does, but his role in Steve’s life never becomes as outsized as MCU Bucky’s. Steve has his love of his life (at the time), and Arnie his.

Moving on to Winter Soldier era, I have now seen people claim that Brubaker aged Bucky up to set up Stucky, and I can hardly express just how patently absurd that take is. Both Steve and Bucky in his runs are almost aggressively straight in that their respective relationships with Sharon and Natasha play a big role in their lives.

What’s more, the early 2000s Brubaker was, unfortunately but unsurprisingly, not free of the period-typical homophobia. In his “director’s cut” commentary he says that his main problem with “Cap in the late 80s and early 90s” was that “they [had] completely sissified” him. Now, what he meant was that it was an unrealistic portrayal of Steve as someone completely unwilling to kill, given what he must have had to do in the war. But that wording is hardly a hallmark of someone who could even conceive of Stucky back then. That he has now, almost twenty years later, liked some Stucky tweets or whatever is completely irrelevant. His views have evolved, and you can see it in his more recent writing too (which I love, by the way). And he must recognize that the MCU Steve and Bucky are different characters from the ones he wrote. You can’t possibly write comics for Marvel and not have made peace with characters having multiple, sometimes conflicting iterations.

[nornsfate]

9 people to get to know better, thank you for tagging me merv @comicsguy :)

list 3 ships you like: ooh, i've been revisiting rhack after playing borderlands 3, steddie is a ship i'm always reading (and writing) for, and scollace is a new ship for me

first ship ever: johnlock.... and stucky

last song you heard: prove you wrong by prong

favourite childhood book: i loved "are you there god? it's me margaret" by judy blume, and as a teenager it was "weetzie bat" by francesca lia block

currently reading: listening to the young mungo audio book by douglas stewart

currently watching: rewatching mtv daria, beavis and butt-head, and jessica jones

currently consuming: just drank some strawberry milk

currently craving: some water, i'm so parched but too lazy to get up and get some

no obligation tags: @allmoshnobrain @fairytalesreality @faggotfungus @handholdingisabigdeal @smilingwithfangs @alonetogether @lesbian-hannibal @snowangeldotmp3 @wastrelwoods

[voylitscope]

Stucky Recs: Back To School

It's September, and that felt like the very most appropriate time for a back-to-school-themed rec post.

So: A rec post of 11, very seasonally appropriate, high school/college Stucky AUs.

Note: As part of my personal campaign to combat the persistent idea that every great fic in this fandom was written in 2015, I'm now marking recs of fics written post-2016 and recs of fics written post-Endgame.

🎓 The Daily Rogers | Nonymos | Explicit | 32,154 words | College

We have a (surprisingly?) large number of fics in this fandom that use tumblr as a decently central plot point. Of all of them, I feel like this one is probably the most well-known. (Unless it's this one?) This fic, featuring a defenses-way-up skinny Steve and a very sweet, but also very assertive, Bucky, is super memorable, and so incredibly well done. It's somewhat of a meet-ugly, or, honestly, a first-several-encounters-ugly, and I love the way their relationship develops from there over the course of the story. I also love what that relationship turns into once they're together. Plus, the place this story gets them— both as individuals and in their relationship — before it ends is a satisfying and beautifully done one.

Quote:

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Steve mumbled, handing him the phone back. “She, uh, she’s the one who drove me to the hospital when Rumlow broke my arm that first time. She’s a bit protective now.” Bucky stared at him. Steve—and when had Bucky started to think of him as Steve?—looked fucking adorable in Bucky’s hoodie, with his stupid glasses and his pink lips. He’d also left Bucky’s bed completely covered in blood and dirt after attempting to fight a guy twice his size. Who’d broken his arm before and threatened to do it again. “I think I understand a bit better why they made a whole Tumblr about you,” Bucky said. Steve bristled all over again. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Bucky looked heavenwards. “Somethin’ nice, Rogers.” Steve looked—well, he looked puzzled. Like he didn’t know what to do with that.

🎓stars shining bright above you | cable-knit-sweater @cable-knit-sweater | Teen | 3,339 words | High school & College | **Post- Endgame Rec**

Look, sometimes, you want to read angst. Intense emotions. Canon. Canon divergence. Sometimes, you want to cry about these boys. But then there are times that your heart needs to read about them just being all happy and painfully cute about each other — just being wide-eyed teenagers with wide-eyed feelings about each other. My heart does, anyway. This fic is perfect for that. So sweet, so lovely. A fic that left me smiling and thinking about the two of them on a blanket under the stars.

Quote:

Steve thinks he’s going to die. He wants nothing more than to say yes. To the holding down, that is. But he cannot find his voice at all. He looks up into Bucky’s eyes. It’s dark, but the moon and the stars in the sky already provide enough light to see those eyes sparkle. They’re so close now, almost breathing the same air. Forget stars, forget meteor showers. Steve wants to drown in those grey blue eyes, and he’s barely holding his head above water as it is, judging from how hard it feels to breathe.

🎓He's All That | crinklefries | Teen | 88,665 words | College | *Post 2016 rec*

All of the rom-com AUs forever for these two, please. This is such an engrossing and immersive fic. That's something I really enjoy about college AUs, and that works so well in this particular fic —the way that, because actual college campuses are often their own little world, the world's of college AUs can be these really tight little realities with their own specific sort of pacing and consequences. I love that, and I love it in this fic — it's so beautifully done, and it's such a great read, too, I think, because the original rom-com is both high school set and limited to being movie length/tied to Hollywood standards. There is so much more depth and additional story here, while still having that really fun element of being an AU loosely based on a film. So enjoyable, and such a satisfying read.

Quote:

“You do this often?” he asks, keeping his voice quiet to preserve the stillness around them. “Lay on the ground and play dead?” “Yeah,” Steve quirks a smile. “It was the second trick I learned after fetch.” Despite himself, that makes Bucky grin. “You always have an answer for everything huh?” he says. That makes Steve sigh a little, his shoulders droop enough that it’s only then that they both notice they had been hunched close to his ears. “Yeah,” he says. “Character flaw.” “One man’s character flaw is another man’s personality trait,” Bucky says. He stretches his legs out in front of him, props himself up on his palms behind him. “Pretty sure a personality trait can also be a character flaw, but I appreciate the sentiment,” Steve says with a half-smile.

🎓That Boy is a Problem | 2bestfriends | Explicit | 10,091 words | College | **Post- Endgame rec**

I sometimes debate whether I should go with including fics on these rec posts that fall heavy on the porn side of a porn-to-plot ratio, solely because, at a certain point, smut-heavy fics feel like their own thing that should go in their own post. But! That said, this fic, although it does fall pretty heavy on the porn side of the porn-to-plot-ratio is very, very solidly a college fic. It also does have a really fun plot, and I really, so much, enjoy that it features a Steve POV that is an absolute, just total and complete disaster about Bucky. Also! This fic has vibes and aesthetics that I quite appreciate.

Quote:

Steve grins like an absolute buffoon when he sees him, frozen in place like he's rooted there. Bucky glances around, gaze settling on Steve. The expression that spreads across his face in response to the realization that Steve is in fact there waiting for him is incandescent; Bucky actually brightens like maybe he wasn't expecting Steve to show. He draws his shoulders up and walks to Steve. When he reaches him, Bucky reaches out and grabs him by the front of his hoodie, pulling him into a kiss. Steve goes with a muffled squeak, ducking down to meet the firm press of lips. For a second, Steve doesn't know what to do with his hands, hovering just above Bucky's hips as he grasps tightly at Steve's shirt. Just as Steve's knees go weak and fireworks start to go off behind his eyes, Bucky pulls away, blinking at him with big, sultry eyes. "Hey, pal. You're very punctual. You ready?"

🎓Natasha Romanoff's Dating Service | HMSLusitania | Mature | 12,223 words | College | **Post-Engame Rec**

So, here's a thing about me: I really like it when fics emphasize that Steve and Bucky are meant for each other. That's it always them, In all universes. It's a thing I'm big into for these two. And this is why I enjoy so much when a fic pulls off the thing where there is some sort of doubled get-together or double feelings build. Like, ID porn fics can do this sometimes — falling for each other two different ways at once — as can fics like this one — a fic about Steve and Bucky both ignoring Nat's insistence that she knows the perfect guy for them and instead going out to a bar and meeting a total stranger. A total stranger they fall for basically on sight. A total stranger who, as it turns out, is that exact guy Nat meant the whole time. — Yeah. That's a premise I really enjoy. This is a fic I really, really enjoy. A total delight.

Quote:

“Now I’ve got some ridiculously low resting heart rate,” Steve said, tipping his head sideways towards his wrist. Taking the hint, Bucky pressed his fingers to the pulse point below the base of Steve’s thumb. Maybe he did have a low resting heart rate, but if he did, Steve was not currently at rest. It made Bucky feel a little better, knowing that for some reason – Bucky? – Steve’s heart was racing. “Do you want to, um,” Steve started. When he paused, unsure, he touched his tongue to his bottom lip before chewing on it and something in Bucky’s body short-circuited. He just hoped it wasn’t the actual mechanical hardware attached to his left side, because that would be ill-timed. “Go home with you?” he suggested quietly. “Yeah,” Steve said. “That.”

🎓What a Wonderful World This Would Be | Mambo | Teen | 28,723 words | College

You know how sometimes you read a fic and you find yourself literally making embarrassing sorts of noises out loud about it? And also feel yourself making ridiculous faces at your screen in response to it? Right, that was me reading this fic. Featuring an art major Steve who is completely convinced Fraternity Bucky is going to be some total jerk of a guy when they're paired as project partners — until they have all of one conversation and Bucky is ... you know, sweet, friendly, smart, charming, and generally Bucky-like. So then Steve spends thousands and thousands of words falling hard for Bucky while also being super confused by why Bucky wants to keep spending time with him — and incredibly doubtful that Bucky actually does want to be spending time with him. Even though Bucky spends thousands and thousands of words being the Very Most Obvious that he's super into Steve. It's so ridiculously and delightfully cute. I love it a lot. Also! This fic is actually the start of an entire college AU 'verse. I've only read this first fic, but the rest of the 'verse is on my TBR and is likely equally delightful.

Quote:

Steve’s brow furrows. “How do you know I do?” Bucky moves his laptop off his lap, sets it on the floor. He stretches his arms up over his head, exposing the stretch of tan skin where his shirt rides up over his jeans. And Steve is definitely not looking for purely artistic and aesthetic reasons, but manages to drag his eyes away before Bucky notices. “You always annotate your books. I can see all those post-its from where I sit, even. You don’t talk much but you’re always leafing through your book because you know which exact quote will prove somebody wrong. Don’t try to argue; I totally notice.” That’s not untrue. “No fair,” Steve says. “You sit behind me. I can’t stare at you creepily at all.” “Not starin’, just appreciatin’ the view.” Steve must look confused because Bucky laughs again. “You’re kinda cute,” he says. “‘Specially when you blush.”

🎓Alkynes of Trouble | yammz | Explicit | 11,450 words | College | **Post Endgame Rec**

The author tagged this "enemies to friends to lovers" and "the softest of enemy-ships though," which, honestly, is absolutely perfect tagging for this incredibly sweet fic. It is soft. Everything that happens in this fic is very, very soft. Steve and Bucky are assigned to be lab partners! They spend all semester in this terribly and wonderfully cute slow burn! There's tutoring! There are coffee dates shop hangouts! There is cake! There is a Very Meaningful hug! It's all very, very charming and super adorable. Plus, this is a fic that works with one of my personal favorite tropes: someone slowly realizing that they were wrong about another person and falling for that person — hard — as they do. I'm always weak for that, and I love this fic's delightful — and, yes, very soft — take on it.

Quote:

His notebook was full of eraser marks, his lines uneven and confusing, running into each other when he made his structures too small for the amount of bonds between molecules. He could always see them in his mind, but drawing them out was hell for him, his hands just a little shaky. Steve didn’t seem to have that problem because Steve’s notebook…that shit was just about the prettiest art Bucky had ever seen. He couldn’t help himself from reaching out his fingers and running over the neat, perfect hexagons with their lines and perfect little letters for the attached elements. They looked straight out of a printed textbook. Steve didn’t move, the solid mass of him almost against Bucky’s side. “How long do these take you?” he asked. “Oh, I’m quick,” Steve supplied cheerfully. To prove his point, he drew a quick acetyl salicylic acid, copying its structure from the sloppy one on the board, where the lab’s flowchart was. Bucky was mesmerized, his form perfect and confident and tiny, so at odds with how huge Steve’s hands were. “See?” “Okay, well,” Bucky let out a laugh, “You can definitely write the lab report.”

🎓Lane Lines | sparkagrace @sparkagrace | Mature | 132,519 words | College | **Post-Engame Rec**

A fic I spent a weekend totally engrossed and lost in on first read and that, ever since, has always been sitting somewhere in my brain. I think something that really, really appeals to me about sports AUs is when they're used as a lens to translate some things Steve genuinely struggles with in canon — the ways he handles guilt, the ways he feels responsible for things and people, his loneliness, etc — into these incredibly real-feeling modern, actual world, contexts. This fic does that so unbelievably well. Steve isn't truly okay, at all, during most of this fic, and affects everything. I love that so much. I also love this fic's worldbuilding, with a childhood Steve and Bucky backstory, a college swim team friend group, the pressures of professional athlete life, Olympic sponsorships, world records, and in-verse media like fake tweets and news articles. (This fic is the first fic in an in-progress 'verse, all of which I would also recommend.)

Quote:

“I didn’t want to come,” Steve says, trying to be honest, “but I’m glad I did. It feels nice to clear the air. I think it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while actually.” Steve thinks maybe this has been the happiest he’s been in a long time. He doesn’t want to tell Bucky that or speak it out loud, but the knowledge that this is happiness, and that he truly feels lightness in his bones, thrills him and he wants to keep that feeling close to him as long as he can. “I’m glad you’re here now. Just you.” Bucky says. Steve doesn’t know how to respond to that so he takes another swig of the champagne. There’s bubbles in his stomach but he’s not sure if it’s from the champagne or Bucky’s words. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?” Bucky says. It takes Steve a second to understand what he’s referring to.

🎓Targeting | queenmab_scherzo | Explicit | 149,148 words | High school & College

I do not know if I will ever be over the way this fic manages to mirror canon so closely while being about high school and then college football. I feel as if that shouldn't work. And yet it does, and I love it. I also love the way, because this fic so closely mirrors canon, we get a lot of Steve refusing, just absolutely refusing to give up on Bucky. Or doubt Bucky. Or listen to anyone's objections or concerns about Bucky. There is a lot of Steve being determined to get real answers to things, and Steve being determined to make things right, and Steve being determined to not let Bucky take the blame/punishment for things, and Steve being determined to not let Bucky go. So you know, very much like canon. Except it's about football? It's so, so good.

Quote:

Bucky doesn't attack. He backs away instead, an immediate, heartbreaking reflex, crystallizing proof that Steve isn't dealing with a predator. It's inhuman, the raw metal of his eyes and his expression, his hollow features, the way he blinks slowly and deliberately. He just won a football game, for crying out loud, not just any football game, the Game of the Century, he beat the number two team in the country and he can't even crack a smile. There is James Barnes, but where is Bucky. Bucky used to smile through broken bones and blood in his teeth, where is that Bucky. Come back, what happened, come back to me. Heart thudding, Steve surges forward, thinking about 49-yard field goals. "At least take my phone number." For a long time, he doesn't think Bucky will respond, and when he does, it's on an exhale, an inaudible brushstroke on dry canvas: "Fine." "You—do you want to write it down or something?" "I'll remember." The noise of the crowd rises and falls.

🎓Okay, so he can play… (pretty's got nothing to do with it | Darter_blue @darter-blue | Explicit | 50,858 words | College | **Post-Endgame Rec**

I realized when I was pulling this list together that I actually probably should have included this fic back in June as part of my Pride recs post I didn't, obviously, and I'm a little annoyed at myself about it. But, that allows me to rec it now, and this is absolutely a college fic. So I guess that works out. Anyway, like I said when I talked about Lane Lines, I love when a sports AU also works as a lens to look at some of Steve's less-than-healthy ways of dealing with things. This fic, which is about college hockey, is another great example of that. There are a lot of things in this fic — many of them, but not all of them, related to Bucky — that Steve has told himself he Absolutely Cannot Do, and his journey of letting go of some of that over the course of this story is one I enjoyed so, so much. Like I said, I could've rec'd this one in June, so there's a lot centered on sexuality happening here. There are a lot of feelings and a lot of romance. Also, one of my spreadsheet notes in the tropes column for this one says, "GRAND GESTURES." So.

Quote:

Bucky doesn’t know what to do with those smiles. He doesn’t know where to keep them (because he so desperately wants to keep them) that they won't cloud him. That they won’t press into his stupid crush and spill it over into something more dangerous. The team dynamic is flowing, winding, warming into something so comfortable, it bleeds into their game, and it’s like they can’t lose. They win their next two home games, Bucky chasing down Steve’s scoring record and loving every second of it. The way Steve isn’t even mad about it. The way Steve nods at him in the locker room at the end of the games. Claps him on the shoulder now with the rest of the team… All of it leaves Bucky so wholly unprepared.

🎓Persued by a bear | Zenaidamacrouras1 @zenaidamacrouras1 | Explicit | 19,200 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

So, they're slightly older in this fic than any other fic on this list. (Well, actually, maybe not? They're a bit older in Natasha Romonaoff's Dating Service, too.) Steve is a professor and Bucky is a PhD candidate. This is also the very most academic of all fics on this list, and it's a complete and total delight from start to finish. It's a Shakespeare conference! There are tweed jackets, and suspenders, and pickup lines using Shakespeare, and the cutest Steve POV voice. I'm always, always a huge fan of a fic that features what could have been, should have been, a one-night stand, but that turns into so much more — with some hiccups, but also a lot of shameless flirtation, along the way. This fic delivers that so incredibly well and is just such a fun read.

Quote:

“You’re good at what you do, too, James,” Steve says softly, looking up at Bucky through his lashes, and shit, he didn’t mean for this to get all sexy all of a sudden. Bucky’s just. Really sexy. “You should call me Bucky. If you want," Bucky says softly. "I think I do, Bucky," Steve says because. He does. And Bucky's at a completely different university, and he's obviously a full-on, real-deal grown-up. Maybe this is okay. "Watching you work and listening to you think after following your scholarly writing for so long was incredibly hot,” Bucky says in a rush. “I’m sure you get that all the time. God, now I sound like a groupie.” Steve suppresses a smile. “Believe it or not, I don’t really have groupies."

There are a few additional fics that could be classed college/university fics and that absolutely are on my rec spreadsheet/in my bookmarks, but that I didn't include here. These are almost all fics with a plot about driving home (from campus) for the holidays/car sharing/motel room sharing/etc. that I feel like are holiday fics more than college fics, and holiday fics will almost definitely be their own post. (I didn't realize I had more than one fic like that bookmarked. But apparently, I do.)

I do have an apocalypse/dystopias/etc rec post sitting in my drafts I'm stressing myself out about it. Probably unnecessarily. I swear it's coming soon. Maybe I'll also do something seasonal in October? I haven't thought about that yet, but it's completely possible.

Fic Rec Series