My favorites:

we were emergencies (http://archiveofourown.org/works/405828) by gyzym
Post-movie, serious angst, but beautifully written. This was the first fic in the fandom I read, and I find it absolutely gorgeous every time.

Boys Wanna Be Her (http://archiveofourown.org/works/458742) by paperclipbitch
Bodyswap fic. Hilarious and incredibly sexy.

So No One Told You (http://archiveofourown.org/works/357252/chapters/578616) by Kari_Kurofai
This one is Clint/Natasha/Bruce, but that's okay. It's a Friends AU and it's about a million chapters long but it. is. amazing.

That Time Clint and Natasha Had a Threesome With Darcy (http://archiveofourown.org/works/427304) by eiluned
Exactly what it says on the tin. 11,600 words of smut, and you learn a lot about Clint and Natasha's relationship in the process. Also: unf

See How I am Faithful (http://archiveofourown.org/works/455105) by lar_laughs
Deaf!Clint fic, from Natasha's point of view. Hauntingly gorgeous.

Oh! Glad you liked that one! Thank you!

Boys Wanna Be Her is hysterical. :-)

Ummmm I left a comment with links and it was marked as spam. Am incredibly confused. Mods, help?



ETA: NEVER MIND FIXED.

Edited 2012-07-30 01:41 am (UTC)

First of all: *flails* Thank you for the rec! I made a little meep sound when I saw it. (I'm also samalander at AO3, in case my SN here didn't give me away.)

Second of all, my list:

The Dinosaur Game (http://archiveofourown.org/works/436013) by Emmypenny (Gen, Clint/Coulson. Based off a game I played with a friend for many years, SHIELD agents hide dinosaurs from each other.) (actually, anything by Emmy is awesome. If you have read this one, try the ones where Clint and Coulson raise 30 ducklings. (http://archiveofourown.org/series/17582))

Any Way I Do (http://archiveofourown.org/works/400771) by MissJeeves (Clint/Natasha. Secret wedding, secret wedding, through the mountains...)

One hears clearly only with the heart (http://archiveofourown.org/works/419478) by kathierif_fic (Clint/Coulson, Clint loses his hearing from a traumatic injury, he and the team deal with the fallout.)

Psalm 102:7-9 (http://archiveofourown.org/works/456824) by boosette (Clint/Natasha friendship, dealing with the aftermath of the movie. With burritos.)

A Ballad of Letting Go (http://archiveofourown.org/works/450148) by reverentbet (Sif gen, on having her hair cut.)

still officially lost (http://archiveofourown.org/works/385871) by Pollyrepeat (Clint, Coulson. Clint is an angry teenager. Coulson gets to live with him!)

Did you just quote Avatar secret tunnel song??

Yes. Yes I did.

that's amazing and i love you.

Well, yeah! :-)

And The Dinosaur Game!! \o/

Some of mine:

Flying Monkeys (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8280054/1/) by Thimble -
The inevitable, horrifying debriefing. "Is this some kind of hobby for you? Planning our imminent destruction?" Very funny and very odd.

The Right Call (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8243766/1/The_Right_Call) by the graytigress
At SHIELD, he'd made it a rule not to let emotion interfere with his mission. He'd done it before, when he'd spared Natasha. But when he breaks the rule a second time, Clint might have just cost Steve his life. Maybe even both their lives, if he can't find a way for them to escape the dangerous mess he's made. - Still in progress, I both crave and dread each new chapter. Clint and Steve are stranded and injured in the jungle. Very well written (which probably makes it all the more gut-wrenching).

Youngest in History (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8326029/1/) and Vietnam (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8367383/1/Vietnam) by Aggie 2011
The second one just started, so I'm not quite sure where it's going, but I loved the first one. It's about Clint's evolution from a disgraced soldier to assassin to eventual member of SHIELD. The author does a great job with building Clint and Coulson's friendship.

Wayfairing Stranger (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8149964/1/) by Leroy J
It's been three years since Clint has seen Natasha. He's been dismissed from S.H.I.E.L.D & the Avengers team. Discovering a certain redhead has been compromised during a suicide mission, he is needed when he is most unstable. Lies, secrets, and love. I hope this one gets updated soon - has a cool dark, noir-ish vibe to it.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8290035/1/) by DevinBourdain
Pepper had the best intentions when she asked Clint for a favour but when things take a turn for the worst the situation could cost them both their lives. - Clint and Pepper are trapped in a bank that's being robbed. Good action so far.

So Flying Monkeys was awesome and now I'm all on the edge of my seat in The Right Call. So thank you! (And damn you for getting me stuck in a 50,000-word new story!) :D

Haha - you're welcome ^^ I need more people to suffer through that story with me - it's causing me so much stress lol.

Yay, I hadn't seen the Pepper & Clint fic before because I usually search for Natasha & Clint.
I should widen my net a bit.

It Starts Out Like an A-Word (http://archiveofourown.org/works/415169/chapters/689720) (Avengers/Sesame Street) by Amy (AO3) This fic is brought to you by the letter Y, the number 12, and the Avengers' decision to help fix what Loki and the Chitauri did to destroy parts of Manhattan. (Mostly that last part.) I giggled while reading this. Actually giggled. And there were other people around, doing people-y things while I was reading and giggling. Then I had to read bits and pieces to those people. It became one big love fest and I was proud of how Clint and Natasha handled themselves!

I Take My Children Everywhere (But They Always Find Their Way Home) (http://archiveofourown.org/works/374019) by kellifer_fic (AO3) "Oh my god," Phil groans, smacking a hand over his face just as a tiny Tony Stark marches up to him and very determinedly and with great gusto, kicks him in the shin. This is a Clint/Coulson piece but you'll AHH your way through it just for the fact that Clint loves tiny!Tony and tiny!Steve. This, incidently, is here I got my prompt for a story like this but from a Clint/Natasha vantage point.

Another truly beautiful story in this same "genre" is Getting to Know You (http://archiveofourown.org/works/433362/chapters/734595) by queenriley (AO3) When four of the Avengers are affected by Asgardian technology and turned into children, Tony is left to care for them. *pure crack kid fic!* Pure crack? NO! Pure wonderfulness! The way that the four (Clint, Natasha, Bruce and Steve bonded while children is amazing and poignant but that fact that !!SPOILERS!! it carries over afterwards is what makes this story really shine.

Stickshifts and Safety Belts (http://archiveofourown.org/works/464795) by sienamystic/OracleGlass (AO3) Prompt from workerbee73: Clint, muscle cars, grease smudges Yes, it's true. I have a thing for a guy with grease smudges! Clint... with grease smudges... WOAH BABY! This has great descriptions and is just a lot of fun to read.

Partners (http://archiveofourown.org/works/469715/chapters/812020) by ironheartwriter (AO3) Tragedy strikes when Clint tries to protect Natasha during a battle. I read the first chapter yesterday. It made me so sad, I had to put it away in the drawer marked To Be Read When Heart Is More Prepared. This list made me think about this story, though, and I hurried to read the second (and last) chapter. Read the second chapter! This is a lovely story with some great emotion packed into it.

To Be Modified as Necessary (http://archiveofourown.org/works/415792) by ignipes (AO3) They only need ten rules to ensure (relatively) peaceful cohabitation. If you need to laugh, this is a good story to read. While Clint is used as a comic foil, I like the effect it gives to the story as a whole. Clint and Natasha's fight is wonderful and... well, I told you there was laughter. Let's just leave it at that.

And then last (because I'm counting those two kid!fic as one selection!) is a story that I read just today and it summed up so many of my thoughts! nothing but a fear (http://archiveofourown.org/works/472118) by ashen_key (AO3) “Doesn't it, you know, bother him? What you have to do?”

“He doesn't get jealous, if that's what you're asking,” Natasha says with a shrug, spinning away on her chair just enough to signal conversation is now over.

For most people, it is what they are asking. They mean 'bother' as if it means arguments and jealous rages, they mean 'doesn't he get possessive', as if she were a possession that others played with without his express permission.

It depends on how one defines 'jealous'. When my friend asked me if I thought the two of them got jealous, all I could say to her was "Not like other people get jealous." This answers that question SO MUCH BETTER! Read it! Headcannon it!

The making of this list has made me realize that I am sorely behind in reading the promptathon AND outside of it. Thank you for doing this because now I have someplace to start!

Edited 2012-07-30 06:48 am (UTC)

I'm probably the only American on the planet who DID NOT like Sesame Street growing up. Yeah, I know. But I DO like Elmo. And this fic. Yes, I did indeed love this story. Holy cow!! So apparently Sesame Street is redeemable. LOL

And Getting to Know You!!!! Man, had I not pulled a mind-blank, that would have been on my list - I adore that story! I even went looking for more kid!fics after I read it, but that's a weird thing to try to look for/Google and I was spectacularly unsuccessful, so I loved I Take My Children Everywhere!

And the 10 Rules fic!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

Nothing but a Fear was beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful. Heartbreaking, but beautiful.

Partners? Well, I'm trying to gird my loins to get myself to read it. I tend to avoid character!death fics like the plague. I'm trying, though... EEP!

It is a heartbreaking story! I was smiling at the end, though. Not for me but for the couple!

Nothing but a Fear was beautiful. Beautiful, beautiful. Heartbreaking, but beautiful.

Oh, thank you! I didn't mean it to be heartbreaking, oops, but I'm glad you found it beautiful :)

Thank you so much for the rec! I honestly never expected anybody to like that fic at all, but I had to write it. I love kidfic and them and just... the picture of tiny them all curled up sleeping in bed wouldn't leave my head. So out came a story around that one scene.

I <3 that scene so much! I love the whole thing! I've always loved the trifecta of Clint/Natasha/Bruce but hadn't come up with something to truly justify the relationship until this story! It's sort of my head cannon now for them. *grins* All four of them are adorable in this and I love how Tony reacts, as well!

*squeaks* ohmygosh, thank you so much for the rec!

:D

:DDDDDDDD

*twirls*

You're welcome! It's a truly wonderful fic!

for me anything natalia-centric is pretty much a sure fire way to make me love it so most of these run along those lines. we were emergencies, like kuhori_rei pointed out, is a staple and cannot be rec'd enough.

the only soldier now is me (http://archiveofourown.org/works/434090?view_adult=true&view_full_work=true) by samalander
rated: m; in which the author's extensive head canon is brilliantly woven throughout book!canon and married to mcu!canon. natalia romanova gives me so many agency feels and this is her journey to remake herself. she straight up hates maria hill in this story yet admires the SHIELD directness, cleans up old messes but creates some new ones and finds her singularity while making partner status. mostly i'm trying to convince myself to like natalia/bucky just in case it's a thing that happens during the second arc of mcu storytelling.


two truths and a lie (http://archiveofourown.org/works/435761) by hannasus
rated: pg13; budapest. in the harshest of ways full of all those unsaid but completely felt things. very apophasis in nature. a mature and highly likely canonical possibility of how their relationship functions between partner and friend and how it could shift into more. quite fluid and wonderfully abound with inner struggle manifesting itself in action and dialogue all without being saccharine, melodramatic or james bondian. it's like a punch to the face and then your assailant finds the nicest piece of meat to keep the swelling down.


all your metal armor (http://surreallis.livejournal.com/768339.html#cutid1) by surreallis
rated: m; post-movie decompression fic. reading this is akin to living in fiona apple's pale september. non-explicit sex which, when translated, means love. ...well, as far as natalia is able to allow herself. oh, and it's from her POV so, you know, DOUBLE bonus.


right where i used to be (http://sugar-fey.livejournal.com/200737.html) by sugar_fey
rated: r; HELLO excellently toned UST on natasha's twenty-first birthday complete with PERFECT levels of understanding going hand in hand with under developed emotional gauges from these extremely talented yet stunted idiots. full of awareness that this means something different, something more than what they're allowed if they weren't killers relying on subterfuge and deception. great with delivery and fraught with palatable tension.


a girl is a gun (http://miawkitten.livejournal.com/4735.html) by miawkitten
rated: unrated, but there's violence and swearing; this is a take on how clint recruited natasha. it's more of a character piece for natalia but it really showcases how this relationship works due to their lone wolf natures. a slow courting process with missions in tokyo, sao paulo, and budapest setting the base from which you can project how their partnership functions.


here the city code is lock and load (http://flying_android.livejournal.com/30287.html) by flying_android
rated: m; it was for the promptathon but i'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic/fallout fic when the atmosphere is full of desperation and struggle but you have characters that are fighting to cling on to hope. there's also excellent world building on a subtle scale that helps put you into the place where all this is happening.


indebted (http://archiveofourown.org/works/440522) by sablier_bloque
rated: m; LOTS of trigger warnings. straight from the author: There are mentions of underage rape, and there is a scene where an underaged Natasha uses a sexual act for an ulterior motive, but there is no underage sex between Clint and Natasha. Also warnings for graphic violence, sex, and language. not gonna lie, it's brutal difficult read, but goddamn this girl is a survivor and fighter. seeing natasha through clint's POV and how her background is simultaneously abrupt and haltingly revealed to him balances ever so carefully throughout the piece serving as a prelude of sorts to the trust we see already built up in the movie. clint is probably the first person that ever ACTUALLY protected her from others and herself. just, JFC these kids!

edited cos of coding fail. apologies.

Edited 2012-07-30 08:21 am (UTC)

Wow, thanks so much for the rec! *squee*

eeeeee thank you for the rec and the kind words!

I LOVE Two Truths and a Lie! And All Your Metal Armor was awesome - thanks for the rec!!

What a fantastic idea. Took ridiculously long to narrow it down but here's my list.

Mr. & Mrs. Barton (Or, Why Natasha Sends Jennifer Aniston an Annual Apologetic Fruit Basket) (http://be-compromised.livejournal.com/73127.html) by kuhori_rei (Blackhawk; NC-17; 13763 words)
Five years before they meet as Hawkeye and the Black Widow, they meet as Clint and Natasha. There is a romance, a marriage, and then, predictably, everything goes absolutely to hell, and Clint still thinks they should be getting royalty money from the DVD sales of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. (Or: boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl get married. Boy and girl neglect to do background checks.)

The Kids Weren’t Alright (http://archiveofourown.org/works/458162) by lettered (Gen; PG-13; 56199 words)
Characters: Bruce, Tony, Pepper, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Jane
Tony accidentally turns himself into a twelve-year-old using alien tech. Steve is stuck as bodyguard, Bruce is stuck trying to fix him, and Pepper is stuck trying to ward off a twelve-year old’s attempts at flirtation. And then things go from bad to worse. -- This story takes a cracky fun trope and gives it depth, uses it to for the kind of character exploration that hits you right in the heart, without being maudlin or sappy. It gives the characters new dimensions while staying in character. On top of being fun and cracky.

Five Dates Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff Absolutely Positively Did Not Go On (and One They Did) (http://workerbee73.livejournal.com/139874.html) by workerbee73
The banter-laden, UST-filled adventures of two assassins in love. And denial. -- This put me in a happy mood. :) I love the UST and the banter, the spy mission backdrops, and the slow build-up of their epic friendship/bromance/relationship. The pacing is just right. Perfect.

Indebted (http://archiveofourown.org/works/440522) by sablier_bloque
Clint/Natasha; NC-17; origin/action/friendship/romance; 14312 words
Author's warnings: mentions of underage rape, and there is a scene where an underaged Natasha uses a sexual act for an ulterior motive, but there is no underage sex between Clint and Natasha.
Clint Barton is sent to kill a young girl named Natalia Romanova. He makes a different call. -- This story is amazing. Slightly different take from what I've read before, in that Natasha is 14 when Clint is sent to kill her. The way the story deals with Natasha's young age (and the age difference between her and Clint) always feels credible and realistic and I love her growth as a person and the progression of her relationship with Clint, the growth of trust and loyalty between them.

Any Way I Do (http://archiveofourown.org/works/400771) by MissJeeves
Team with Natasha/Clint; PG-13; humor; 4394 words
Summary: Tony discovers Clint and Natasha got married, reacts typically. -- Hilarious, cute & teamy. I'm normally not into marriage tropes of any kind but this fic is all kinds of fun.

This one is still WIP (39577 words) and the dialog punctuation needs fixing, but who cares when it has one of the most gripping plots I've read in this fandom, with great descriptions of the action.
Origin of the Debt (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8117611/1/Origin_of_the_Debt) by Sinkme
My take on how Clint got Natasha to come to SHIELD. Focuses on developing the backstory of their relationship and why Black Widow feels like she owes Hawkeye so much.

(I'm squeezing in one more, because technically it's not an official rec; it's a possibly abandonded WIP, hovering at 9,732 words).
In a Winter Month (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8202644/1/In_a_Winter_Month) by justreading4fun... which has Natasha and Clint hiding out in a safe house in wintery Lithuania after Clint got shot: enter the Avengers (well, Tony, so far). Really fantastic Natasha and Tony POVs, among other things.)

EEEEEE YOU RECC'D ME! :D

Thank you so much!

Thank you for writing that fic in the first place. :)

This is so hard because I just devour stories when I get excited for a fandom, like I did with this one, and I don't really rank them. Especially with this one where there is so much talent floating around (this ship is yacht). But there were a couple that have stood out and imprinted on my brain for being especially memorable.

1. we were emergencies (http://archiveofourown.org/works/405828) by gyzym
Basically, Clint has a memory of a relationship with Natasha and she doesn't and they have to figure out which one had their memory messed with. This story is just epic and is perfect in every way. It's angsty, but doesn't drown in it. I love what somebody posted about this story being a "classic" for this fandom. It really is.

2. Of Languages (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8138868/1/Of_Languages) by QueenRiley
This is a great story that pieces together the observations of the team on Natasha and Clint's relationship. I like the lack of focus on romance, but more on the complete trust between them and how they need to trust the team. Bruce in this is amazing.

3. The Exchange (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8238191/1/) by SLynn
This is just a general Clint story about how he exchanges books wherever he goes. I love this story and the what he notices about people's reading habits. Anything by SLynn is really good and she has a knack for both Clint/Natasha stories but just general Clint stories as well.

4. if ever two were one (http://thoughts-to-ink.livejournal.com/769.html)by kuhori_rei
Five times the Avengers find out Clint and Natasha are married. This one made me actually laugh out loud so many times. And taxes are now a part of my elaborate Clint and Natasha head canon.

5. Two Truths and a Lie (http://www.archiveofourown.org/works/435761)by hannasus
This is a Budapest story, but to me it is the ultimate one. I love this one the most and comes up with very clear distinctions as to why they remember it differently. I love this story.

6. Fearful Passage (http://archiveofourown.org/works/445806/chapters/762595) by rayruz A mission goes terribly wrong and Clint has to deal with the aftermath. I love the team in this one and Clint just needs a hug. It's super angsty...not going to like I cried like a bitch baby in chapter 2 and I normally don't cry from ff. But, so good and satisfying.

Oh, my goodness, I am so onboard with your fic recs. :-) Of Languages is AMAZING! And the taxes scene with the glasses on Clint's nose? Yep, SO part of my canon now. :-) AND Two Truths and a Lie! AND The Exchange! Love, love, love, love it!!!

Second the love of Of Languages. Gosh, that was beautiful!

Aw, thank you for the rec! :)

You recc'd me! I... just... I'm all flustered! Thank you!

And to rec me amongst such wonderful stories, to boot. I laughed so hard at if ever two were one that I actually had to read passages out loud to my spousal person.

And thank you for introducing me to SLynn and The Exchange. I fell in love with her headcannon here. Brilliant!

::excited squeaks and kick-y feet::

OMG thank you! :D

I will have to think on what my favorite six are - I wonder if I can actually manage to narrow it down that far? There's just SO MUCH good fic out there.

er.... just recently joined this community and am devouring as much C/N fic as possible?

my favorites so far:

Culture and Other Balls of Twine (http://archiveofourown.org/works/442795/chapters/756590). This just made me laugh and laugh.
It was immediately clear who did the undercover work in the Barton-Romanov partnership - Barton was a horrible liar.

"The Colonel decided we didn't look busy, I was an innocent bystander."
"You were in his ceiling."
"It's roomy - I recommend it for all your surveillance needs."
She shot him a flatly unimpressed look. "I'll stay with the undercover details, thank you."
"What kind of person prefers ambassadorial parties to vents?"

All Your Metal Armor" (http://archiveofourown.org/works/422116?view_adult=true)

More than once she has fought at his back while he drew his bowstring endlessly, unguarded, until his fingers were cut through to the bone. Until his blood soaked the string and misted the air with each vibration.

Any Way I do (http://archiveofourown.org/works/400771)

“I’m not getting married,” Steve says. “I wouldn’t even know how,” he trails off. Tony thinks he might have been watching too much The Bachelor.
“I know how!” Thor says, excited because he can’t usually contribute to these conversations. “You go the place of governance,” he tells Steve, earnestly. “You and your beloved take vows before a man of the justice and the peace.”
Tony squints at him. “That’s not insanely wrong,” he says, confused.
“With a witness,” Thor continues, “who signs the parchment and promises to tell no one. This is an honored task.”

Clint has trouble keeping his towel on his hips, nearly giving them all a glimpse of more marital equipment.

Exercising Restraint (http://archiveofourown.org/works/463642/chapters/799980) One of my all-time favorites and one I read and reread often. I have a HUGE competency kink - I love when Clint and Natasha are written to be extremely skilled and competent - and this one hits all my marks. Kidnapped Clint that doesn't just wait to be rescued. Natasha, working on retrieving him while simultaneously running an important mission halfway across the world, Tony being smart and capable. If you haven't read it, please please do.

This was the world of his nightmares, the world where what he saw never quite fit with what he was hearing.

Nat whirled on him. “No! This can’t be an Avengers thing,” she snapped. Enough of her anger flared out at him that Tony took an involuntary step backwards. Exhaling sharply, she forced herself back under control. “They were going into a very unstable area. That means a light touch, Stark.”
Bruce snorted softly. “And you’re coming to me for that?”

An Arrow, Discarded (http://archiveofourown.org/works/421467?view_adult=true) Raw, painful, almost-not-quite-death story. Amazingly well done.

He is Clint Barton and he is Hawkeye and he is Loki and he is a rime of blue ice

"Do me a favor and stop telling me what I want," she says shortly, which is so authentically Natasha that he immediately feels more at ease, because maybe not everything has changed, so when she kisses him again he is a willing participant.

(oh, dear. I really got word-y there, didn't I. sorry)



Edited 2012-07-31 06:35 am (UTC)