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!!