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I hope you’ve all had a great week and have an even better weekend!

This Friday I want to talk about Clint, Natasha, and doctors.

I’m sure you’ve all read fic that in one way or another involves our favorite master assassins and encounters with the medical profession. One fanon cliché that seems pretty widespread is that Clint and Natasha both have an above average aversion for hospitals/doctors. Whether they’re leaving the hospital before advised or avoiding medical care altogether, it seems a predominate idea that our favorites and health care providers just do not mix. Where do you think this idea comes from?
What’s your head canon?

I waffle back and forth with my head canon on this one depending on what backstory I’m leaning toward at the time. With Red Room experimentation as her background, I can totally see Natasha wanting to avoid doctors at all costs. And for Clint, I generally see him as your stereotypical man’s man, wanting to avoid being seen as weak and/or helpless so he tends to keep his injuries to himself. On the other hand, I think they both see their bodies as their most effective weapon and would want to keep them functioning at peak performance; seeing a doctor would just fall under weapons maintenance.

I do have head canon about one of the SHIELD nurses though. Marcella has been with SHIELD for years and doesn’t take guff from doctors, patients, or the organizational bureaucracy. She knows the rules and regulations but she also knows which ones to bend and which ones to break. Marcella knows her field agents by name, medical history and, more importantly, by their quirks. She knows Natasha hates to be cold so she makes sure the room temperature is turned up a little and brings extra blankets (even when Natasha is the one at bedside). If they’ve managed to keep Clint from breaking out early, she brings him a supply of coffee stirrer arrows and rubber band bows to use for target practice. Marcella’s no pushover though; she’s the one they send to make sure Fury takes his Flu shot.

How about other medicinal topics? What kind of medical directives might Clint and Natasha have in place? Medical powers of attorney? Fear of needles? Does Clint actually like hospital food?

And what about their relationships with SHIELD psychologists? The doctor-aversion idea also seems to cover mental health professionals as well.

How about turning this cliché on its head? Give me fic where Natasha goes to the infirmary for even the tiniest things. Or fic where once they actually get Clint into a hospital bed, it’s a fight to get him back out; after all, he has a TV, room service, and Natasha usually keeps him company, right?

Do any fic recs come to mind?

Here are some recs that may not be entirely medical, but do have medical related scenes:
Perspectives by ittykat, Rating: PG, Warnings: Some violence, some bad language, Summary: Perspective is all about angles and interpretations.
The Blanket by shenshen77, Rating: G, Warnings: None, Summary: Natasha is hurt and Clint gives her something he once had…
Follow You Down by sneakronicity, Rating: Mature, Warnings: None, Summary: With Natasha in a coma, Clint is told to stand by but he can't just wait around. In true Hawkeye fashion he does something stupid instead.
Such Lost Creatures by lar_laughs, Rating: Teen and Up, Warnings: None, Summary: They're dancing around, testing the boundaries of this thing called a relationship. He's got things he needs to work on and she's just trying to keep her head above the water of her new world.

So, pull up a barstool, first round of drinks is on me. STAT!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)