The Winter Soldier
Fics focusing on the character of the Winter Soldier as distinct from Bucky, i.e. he never gets back his memories, is just a person who looks like Bucky, or feels entirely disconnected from the persona of Bucky.
NOTE: Captain America: The Winter Soldier fics typically involve a lot of triggering material so please check the tags on the fics yourself before reading.
** = I love it, * = I like it
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Identity Porn (one or both of them don't know who the other is)
The Winter Soldier is not Bucky
The Winter Soldier is pretending to be Bucky
The Winter Soldier thinks Steve is his handler
The Winter Soldier never gets his memories back
Time Travel (Past Bucky meets Winter Soldier)
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Ipseity by SkyisGray
E, Complete, >140,000, Steve/Bucky, warning: [rape/noncon]
- Even the strongest personalities, when subjected to great physical, emotional, and sexual abuses, can splinter, or dissociate.
Bucky Barnes lives a nightmare after falling from a train and being recovered by Hydra. His mind deals with the trauma by splintering into the soldier, the prisoner, the patriot, and the assassin.
Years later, they team up to save Steve Rogers.
Identity Porn
The Blind Leading by SkyisGray
E, Complete, >40,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve is specifically told not to fraternize with the independently contracted Winter Soldier.
Our Broken Parts (Smashed on the Floor) by This Girl Is (non_sequential)
E, Complete, >10,000
- Steve is sent undercover to catch an elusive Russian assassin. He didn’t want to do it in the first place; he’s damn certain he won’t be asked again.
The Winter Soldier is a clone
Have to put him on a shelf by herecomesbuckytofuckshitup
M, Complete, >120,000, Steve/Bucky and other minor pairings
- James’ life was weird. He was born in a HYDRA lab, a clone of an assassin who was actually the brainwashed best friend of Captain America. He was rescued and raised by SHIELD. You might say he has some identity issues. He tried to have a normal life: he went to college, made friends, got a job, all while trying to honor the memory of Bucky Barnes, the man that he might have been, once. That all gets shot to hell when Captain Steve Rogers is discovered in the wreckage of the Valkyrie.
Steve’s life was weird. He grew up skinny and sickly with his best friend by his side. When war came to his country, he wanted to fight, to protect people. He became a super-powered soldier, and a symbol of victory for his country. He fought against HYDRA and watched the love of his life fall to his death. He died and woke up in a new world, where nothing was the same. That is, until he runs into a young man that looks just like Bucky...
** Look into my eye and tell me if I'm real by cyanspark
T, Complete, >20,000, Steve/Bucky
- He's found in the water by strangers and interrogated for reasons he doesn't know. They tell him his name is the Winter Soldier and he tried to steal their intel, but he doesn't remember any of this. All he knows for sure is that he is a weapon, not a person. But the man with blond hair and blue eyes is trying to tell him that that's not true, either.
In the absence of information, you take what other people give you. It’s not trust; it’s necessity. When you have nothing, you can’t afford to wonder if they might not be telling you the whole truth.
(An AU where Steve Rogers isn’t a man out of time, SHIELD is locked in a war with Hydra, and Bucky Barnes was laid to rest in a cemetery. Or so everyone thought.)
* Siege by ftmsteverogers
E, Complete, >22,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve called him Bucky, and the Winter Soldier was trying to shoulder into that name like a badly-fitting jacket.
Or, the one where the Winter Soldier pulls Steve from the Potomac and sticks around this time.
The Winter Soldier is not Bucky
i'm a righteous man (who does so much wrong) by saveourtiredhearts
T, Complete, >4,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve has killed a lot of people. It's something others tend to forget.
But when he has a chance to save someone, he does. It doesn't matter that the man before him isn't Bucky. It only matters that everyone doesn't know he's not.
** World of Our Making by fmo
G, Complete, >1,000, Steve/Bucky
- The Winter Soldier isn't Bucky Barnes. But SHIELD needs him to be.
The Winter Soldier is pretending/programmed to be Bucky
* Drawn from Life by littlerhymes
T, Complete, >2,000, Steve/Bucky
- "I remember," Bucky says, but that's not entirely true. Set after The Winter Soldier.
Out of the Dead Land by emilyenrose
E, Complete, >60,000, Steve/Bucky
- Someone is building machines that look and act like people.
Meanwhile, the Winter Soldier tries to be Bucky Barnes.
the lies we tell to save ourselves by nighimpossible
T, Complete, >2,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve still doesn't know if he prefers the lie.
The Pretense of Being by radialarch
E, Complete, >3,000, Steve/Bucky
- Captain America believed that the soldier was Bucky Barnes. This did not make it a fact.
The Winter Soldier never gets his memories back
Dick Move by anenglishwolf
T, Complete, >5,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve is a master tactician. Seriously, would he not use up every last option to bring in the Winter Soldier? Including being the hottest superhero on the planet? (Maybe.)
In which Steve seduces the Winter Soldier into giving himself up, the Soldier courts him with stolen jewels and Me To You bears, and the whole thing's a little sadder than you might expect.
lacuna by alcibiades
E, Complete, >60,000, Steve/Bucky
- The Winter Soldier doesn't remember Steve Rogers, but he needs Rogers' help.
OR: The one where Bucky doesn't remember Steve, but falls in love with him anyway.
** Memory by emilyenrose
T, Complete, >20,000, Steve/Bucky
- He remembered nothing. After the first few weeks, he asked to be called James.
The Winter Soldier thinks Steve is his handler
Dragging Me Down by cleo4u2, cobaltmoony & xantissa
E, WIP, >70,000, Steve/Bucky
- After D.C., Hydra captured the Winter Soldier and brought him in for recalibration. Though Steve and Natasha performed a daring rescue, they were too late.
Now Steve has to pretend to be the new Hydra handler for his brainwashed friend while they try to stay under the radar long enough to heal. There are other forces at work, that will not let them rest.
** Eat Rotten Fruit by birdbrains
T-M, Complete, >70,000, Steve/Bucky
- Steve is putting a crimp in Bucky's plan to pretend everything is normal post-WS, and he tests Steve's patience by turning it all into a joke. But Steve can take a joke.
** Give an Inch by lauralot
M, Complete, >5,000
- The Captain has a warm smile and clear, open eyes. The Soldier knows these are tricks. He's fallen for them before and he won't do it again.
* Secondary Function by stoatsandwich
E, Complete, >1,000, Steve/Bucky, Bucky/Others
- The Winter Soldier is waiting for his new handlers to hurt him.
* Simple by Osidiano
E, WIP, >50,000, Steve/Bucky
- Written for the capkink meme; "To the Winter Soldier, there are basically three kinds of people in the world: superiors, mission support, and targets. He doesn't have the context to understand things like friendship. So what he sees in the Smithsonian exhibit and what little he remembers or feels about his past, he interprets in that light. He thinks that Steve must have been his handler during World War II. That the reason he couldn't kill Steve and the reason he was smiling in the museum photos was because Steve was a good superior who treated him well (or at least didn't hurt him like Pierce and Rumlow, which to him might be the best he can imagine).
Thinking he understands the situation, he decides to report to Steve. Cue misunderstandings, confusion, and heartache for both of them."
This is the Ghost Story by Taste_Is_Sweet
T, Complete, >45,000, Steve/Bucky
- 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.")
Windmills by coffeestainanalyst
E, Complete, >20,000, Steve/Bucky, Bucky/Hydra Agents, warning: [noncon]
- His current codename is Bucky. His new handlers are called friends. Steve, one of the highest ranking friends, only had to correct him once before he’d adapted to the new vocabulary. Yet so far, things are looking rough: decommissioned from active duty, he's left with no other purpose than their entertainment. All he can do is wait, push through with gritted teeth and do whatever he can to turn the tables in his favor again.
The Winter Soldier and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Mission Parameters by Lasgalendil
Not rated, Complete, >1,000, Steve/Bucky, warning: [noncon]
- Steve loves Bucky.
…But who the hell is Bucky? The Winter Soldier is given a new Handler, but the Mission Parameters continue to elude him.
Time Travel
Cross the same river twice by littlerhymes
T, Complete, >5,000, Steve/Bucky
- In the fall of 1940, a stranger with Bucky's face saves Steve and Bucky's lives. The stranger claims he's from the future and that his only mission is to protect Steve Rogers.
Real or Not by DagReaper
T, Complete, >100,00
- Either this was very real Role-playing, or this was the war, and by the reactions and expression on the couple in the room… this wasn’t a game. But… that couldn’t be. It was impossible, preposterous nonsense that still hadn’t been reached in their science and technology yet. It was beyond what they had.
“What year is it…” he still questioned out of the need for an answer and confirmation that this was an idiotic thought, because it was. The soldier turned to gaze at him, trying to seem less dangerous so he’d answer. He still seemed understandably hesitant and reluctant, but he opened and closed his mouth, like a fish out of water, a few stutters of words and letters, and then-
“1943.”
** Thermotemporal Equations by Blinky the Tree Frog
T, Complete, >40,000
- Bucky Barnes is used to strange happenings; his time with the Howling Commandos has guaranteed that. He's therefore not totally thrown off balance when he wakes up in an extraordinary tower in a seemingly impossible year. He can’t help but be worried though, no matter how much reassurance he's getting from Steve and his new team.
Other
but hey, you're all right by beardsley
T, Complete, >5,000, Steve/Bucky
- 'This is not my fault,' Tony lies. 'It was supposed to be a joke! Christ.'
'Thanks to your joke,' says Coulson, 'we now have a code three-four-delta, with the variable being a Russian immigrant. We're checking his background right now, but it might take a while. Meanwhile, I suggest you civilian-proof the Tower. If any SHIELD intelligence is compromised, I will hurt you.'
Yes, this is the story where the Winter Soldier is a Russian mail-order bride. Everything goes about as well as you'd expect.
Like a Cruel Mistress Woos by Salvia_G
E, WIP, >180,000, Steve/Bucky, Steve/OMC, Steve/Thor, warning: [suicide attempt, homophobia]
- Steve has struggled with the modern world since he woke up, and mostly he and it have called it a draw. When the Winter Soldier comes in from the cold, asking for help in recovering his identity as James Buchanan Barnes, Steve is thrilled. Finally, he's going to have a friend and ally who understands what it's like. He's getting Bucky back, and he couldn't be happier.
But six months later, James is well enough to be living in Avenger Tower, making moves on Natasha Romanov, occasionally fighting the forces of evil alongside the Avengers, and adapting to modern life like he was born in 1987 instead of 1917.
And he wants nothing to do with Steve.
Maybe it's time to figure out what Steve wants if he doesn't have Bucky. What he can live with. What's not worth living without.
Featuring a confused and questioning Steve Rogers, a Tony Stark with a daddy complex, a Bucky Barnes whose mouth needs to be washed out with soap, a Natasha Romanov who likes her cars fast and her boys bad, and a handful of OMCs with designs on Steve. But I promise you'll come to love them just as much as Steve does. Most of them.
Out of Time by ibroketuesday
E, Complete, >38,000, Steve/Bucky
- Bucky can't remember anything before Hydra. He doesn't want to know about his life. That's the way it has to be: Bucky Barnes was a monster, and the past is in the past.
Or: in which Steve and Bucky are thrown back to 1937, where they have to figure out how to get home, work together, and, as another time traveler hunts them down, simply stay alive.
People Change (Memories Don't) by lucymonster
T, WIP series, >20,000
- “I can’t force you to do this if you don’t want to,” says Steve.
“You can, though,” said Bucky. “Anyone can. That’s the whole fucking point, isn’t it?”
Bucky’s choice was an extreme one, made in extreme circumstances. Steve wonders, now, if they should have thought it out a little longer.
Situation: Normal by redcigar
M, Complete, >3,000, Steve/Bucky
- AU wherein Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers never met, Steve somehow manages to rescue the Winter Soldier anyway, and Avengers Tower ends up with the world’s angriest duckling and a whole new brand of entertainment.