It has come to my attention that this community has a single, solitary rec for my current obsessive OTP. ONE. That is simply unacceptable, and the reparation begins today, because Winter Widow is a glorious ship that everyone should enjoy!

Fandom Category: The Avengers
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes
Fic Title: a case of you
Author: irnan
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2188725
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: This is a quiet, beautiful exploration of how romance might blossom between everyone's favorite pair of ex-brainwashed assassins in the wake of "Captain America: the Winter Soldier" and its presumed aftermath. irnan leaves most of the comics canon behind while still bearing in mind the essential elements of each character that make them so suited for one another, even without the shared backstory Ed Brubaker wrote for them on the page. It's wonderful to see these two get to know each other in simple, human ways, and then there are lines like, "I know we’ve tried to kill each other in the past but I’d really like it if we put that behind us (even further behind us?), ripped each other’s clothes off and locked ourselves in your bedroom for, I don’t even know, at least a week? At least" that make you want to scream with joy.

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Fandom Category: The Avengers
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes
Fic Title: as the living does not arrive, as the dead do not leave
Author: liarfaker
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1663256
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: Muted and action-packed by turns, this fic is a worthy follow up to "Captain America: the Winter Soldier" that imagines Natasha attempting to "vacation" while Steve searches for Bucky—and the Winter Soldier finds her. Sometimes haunting, sometimes breathless, and sometimes sad, the story is just vividly, painfully perfect.

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Fandom Category: The Avengers
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes
Fic Title: I set fire to my maps
Author: musesfool
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2017821
Rating/Warning(s): Mature
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: Though this fic has a superficially similar premise to the one above, it's a bit more lighthearted, definitely hotter, and spends a little more time focusing on what Natasha actually wants for herself and what she wants to do with herself after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. And the ending is just as wonderful and satisfying as it should be.

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Fandom Category: The Avengers
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes
Fic Title: persuasion (and other reasons why she bleeds)
Author: shadows_of_a_dream
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2076246
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: Terrific and haunting, this piece pokes at the Winter Soldier's attempts at a sense of self and his uncertainty about his own humanity—all of which intersect with a budding Black Widow who's coming into her own. These early stages of their relationship aren't always pretty, and they aren't always healthy, but damn are they interesting.

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Fandom Category: The Avengers
Pairing: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes
Fic Title: something to fill the space
Author: sevenfoxes
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/1975305
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: This fic is mostly about Steve, and his adorable stumbling toward a surprisingly normal, modern crush. Darcy is everything you'd want her to be here, too. But honestly, the parts where Bucky and Natasha scheme on Steve's behalf and bicker over fruity drinks are really everything you could possibly want. The whole thing is mad fun, in any case, and there's bonus Clint fun to boot!

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Fandom Category: The Avengers/Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff/Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff/James "Bucky" Barnes, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Jane Foster/Thor Odinson
Fic Title: Rascals, Scoundrels, Villains, and Knaves
Author: frea_o
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/631799
Rating/Warning(s): Teen
WIP?: No
Recced By: stars_inthe_sky

Why This Must Be Read: Okay, so this is more of a Nat/Clint fic than it is a Nat/Bucky one, and it's worth reading for the story and the team dynamics more than any of the ships involved (pun intended). But you know those fics that everyone should read because they're just *that* awesome? This fic is one of those. Frea_o takes the action from the first "Avengers" movies and transfers it to the high seas of the eighteenth century, complete with magic, Norwegian royalty, and a Loki-Coulson confrontation that left me grinning like an idiot. Just read it. Now. Trust me.