hero on duty
— spider-man! sim jaeyun x nursing student! reader —
synopsis — with the amount of run-ins y/n has had with spider-man, she was starting to think that saving people was his full-time job. what she doesn't know is that when it comes to saving her, hes always on duty. (or the 3 times spiderman saves y/n + the 1 time she saved him!)
3.9k words. (3,948)
NOT PROOFREAD!
genres — superhero au, established relationship, college au (nursing major reader, engineering major jake)
warnings — mentions of blood, injury, stitches, guns, robbery, one F bomb I think
prequels — halloween special (coming soon) | look out! (coming soon)
a/n — chat, it’s time! SPIDERJAKE IS HERE!!! this is like 3 years in the making because I’m a full time student and a serial procrastinator but it’s finished!! I hope all of you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it💕 (also I feel like u can tell who my fav Spider-Man is based off this😭)
some things are a given when you live in new york city. delayed trains, food trucks on every corner, crazy people on the train, it was all normal. there was always something going on or someone who needed saving, which is why the city was lucky to have its very own friendly neighborhood hero.
y/n remembered how life in the city was before Spider-Man came on the scene, but now she couldn’t imagine it without him. he brought so much hope and life to the city that it was hard not to love him. though her boyfriend, jake, sure did try. it’s not that he hated Spider-Man! no, no! he thought he was a great hero, but he just “didn’t see the big deal”. y/n would roll her eyes whenever jake said that. no matter what anyone said, she knew that when danger was near, Spider-Man would always be there to help. he was always on duty, but over the next week, she would start to realize how often that truly was.
—
the first time y/n encountered Spider-Man was on her way to work. It was an early monday morning, and the sun was still rising as she walked to the train station. this wasn't the first time she had taken this route, so her brain was on autopilot for most of it. the tired morning haze still lingered in her mind as she pushed past the turnstile and stood on the platform to wait for her train.
BZZT! BZZT!
her phone buzzed in her pocket. she sighed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, wondering who would be calling her this early, but the caller ID brought a large smile to her face.
“jakey? what are you doing up so early?”
“does there have to be a reason?” he huffed. y/n could hear the smile in his voice. “can't a guy just call his beautiful girlfriend before she goes to work?”
“i guess you can but it's Monday. you never wake up early on Mondays.”
“fine, you caught me. I just wanted to check up on you. I don’t like the idea of you waiting for the train this early all by yourself, its dangerous.”
y/n rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly. in the year that they had been together, she was extremely familiar with how protective jake was.
“babe, don’t worry about me! the train is about to pull up right- jake?”
“yeah, baby?” the boy panted.
“are you ok?” she asked. “you sound really out of breath.” he had been huffing and puffing since she answered the phone.
her boyfriend let out a breathy laugh. “yeah, I’m fine! I’m just uh- I’m on a run right now! yeah on a run! I’ll pick you up after work ok? I love you, bye!”
“oh-“ y/n could barely get a word out before the call dropped.
‘that was weird,’ she thought.
this was the first time jake had ever mentioned running to her, but hey, he always did like to try new things. y/n shrugged and watched as the train's headlights came into view. she stepped closer to the edge of the platform as the train drew closer, ready to get on, completely oblivious to the man who had appeared next to her on the now crowded platform.
y/n reached into her bag to pull out her headphones, and then boom, the man bumped into her. she tried to catch herself, but her foot slipped. she lost balance. she was falling, and the train was only a few yards away, coming at her at full speed.
everything happened so fast that y/n didn't even have time to scream. she could only squeeze her eyes shut and hope to God that someone, anyone, would save her. she braced herself for impact, but it never came. instead, she felt herself shift from free-falling backwards to being pulled sideways. she could hear the air rushing past her ears and feel an arm around her waist that held her tight.
it wasn't until she felt her feet touch solid ground that she finally let herself breathe again.
“are you okay?” the person connected to the arm around her waist asked.
when she finally opened her eyes, she gasped. “Spider-Man?!”
“that's me!” he cheered.
“what?- how did you-” y/n couldn't even get a sentence out. she took a deep breath and tried again.
“thank you! seriously, thank you!”
“don’t worry about it! it’s what I do!” the hero beamed.
the two stared at each other for a split second, not sure what to say next.
“um, here. you dropped this.”
y/n looked down at the hero’s hand and saw her work ID in it. she hadn't even realized that she lost it. it must have fallen out when she reached into her bag.
“oh! thanks.”
“I gotta run, but maybe try the bus this time around, okay?”
“I-” y/n couldn't finish her sentence before the hero shot a web and swung into the tunnel.
—
the second time was at the convenience store near her apartment building. she stopped by to pick up some snacks for she and jake’s movie night. the store was relatively empty except for her, the older man behind the counter, and another woman near the refrigerators looking at the alcohol section.
y/n browsed the last aisle farthest from the register.
“where is it? where is it?” she mumbled. her eyes scanned the shelves slowly before stopping on the familiar red packaging of shin ramyeon. her boyfriend’s favorite! y/n cracked a small smile before grabbing 2 packs and making her way to the different aisle to grab some chips.
ding!
y/n watched as another person entered the store. a tall man dressed in all black made his way to the register. his hands were stuffed in his pockets and a ski mask covered everything but his eyes. y/n’s heart sank as she slowly moved as far as she could away from the front and out of the man’s line of sight. she had the sneaking suspicion that this wouldn’t end well.
a shot went off in the store. “hands up old man!”
y/n gasped and crouched behind the shelves. this could not be happening right now.
“please,” the man at the register begged. “i have a family.”
“well, if you know what’s good for you. you’ll empty out the register into this bag. now.” the robber said. “and don’t even think about trying anything, or else the next one goes in your chest.”
she had to do something! she couldn’t just let this guy rob her favorite store. with shaky hands, y/n fished her phone out of her pocket. she went to open her phone app, but then a text came in. a text from jake.
DING!
fuck.
y/n’s eyes widened as she desperately hit the volume button on her phone. she forgot to turn her stupid ringer off!
“what was that?!” the criminal snapped. y/n screwed her eyes shut, and clutched her phone to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible.
thump.
thump.
thump.
his heavy footsteps were getting closer and y/n’s heart sped up with each one. she stayed as still as possible, hoping, praying that she wouldn’t be caught.
that's when she heard him. “yo! I know the job market is bad right now, but this is just low!”
“what the-” thwip!
y/n didn't dare move from her spot, but from what she could hear, the only way the robber was leaving the convenience store was in the back of a police car. after what felt like seconds, y/n could hear footsteps coming towards her again, this time a lot lighter.
“ma’am?” y/n finally peeked her head out from behind the shelf. and there he was, Spider-Man.
“are you okay?” she was still too stunned to speak, she could only nod.
“here, let me help you up.”
y/n’s heart still raced as she took the hero’s hand and let him pull her up from the ground. she couldn’t tell if she was still in shock from the robbery or if it was because Spider-Man stood in front of her again for the second time in three days.
“thank you,” she started, “for saving me.”
the eyes of Spider-Man’s mask squinted, almost like he was smiling.
“hey don’t mention it! saving people is kind of my thing.” he shrugged. “good choice by the way!”
y/n tilted her head. “huh?”
the hero pointed at the packs of ramen still clutched in y/n’s other hand. she hadn’t realized that she was still holding them. “shin ramen, it’s really good!”
“oh,” she smiled sheepishly, “yeah, my boyfriend loves it.”
—
the third time was a bit embarrassing to be honest. or at least y/n thought so.
she had been walking to the library to meet up with jake for their date when it happened. well, speedwalking, actually. her chemistry lab ran late, so now she had to hustle to make up for it. she didn't know if jake was at the library already but if he was, she didn't want to make him wait any longer.
the light had just switched to red when y/n got to the crosswalk. she still had 10 seconds to cross so she hustled. in her hurry, y/n didn’t notice the raised manhole cover in the middle of the street and when she did, it was too late. her foot caught on the edge of the cover! she stumbled forward, fully expecting to faceplant on the concrete, but the impact never came. a pair of strong arms caught her and swiftly pulled her to the sidewalk.
“you gotta watch where you're going, miss!”
y/n knew that voice, it had only been 48 hours since she last heard it. “you again?”
it wasn’t the best response but it was better than nothing.
“don’t sound so disappointed! I just saved you from eating concrete!” he joked.
y/n could feel the heat rush to her face and turned away. no way she was losing aura like this, especially in front of the city’s favorite hero.
“I’m actually in a hurry so I can’t hang around, but if you ever run into another evil manhole cover, just shout and I'll be there!” the hero shot a web at the nearest building and in a blink, he was gone.
y/n huffed as she watched the hero swing away. she was grateful he saved her, of course, but this was definitely going with her to the grave.
it was okay though, because the fourth time y/n encountered Spider-Man, she actually got to return the favor.
—
the sun had long gone down since y/n had returned from class, and she still sat in the same place. her desk was covered in papers and notes from her anatomy class, and with midterms approaching, she was trying to absorb all of it. jake was supposed to come by that night so they could study together, but he texted her earlier saying that he would be running late. apparently, his train was delayed or something, y/n couldn't really remember. all she could focus on were her flashcards.
well, she tried to focus. the words had started to blur five minutes ago, and her brain was basically mush at this point. she needed to take a break.
y/n leaned back in her desk chair with a deep sigh. her exam was in three days and she definitely hadn’t memorized enough information to take a break. y/n pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes and took a deep breath.
“ok, 5 more minutes.” she sighed before leaning forward again.
she flipped through 7 more flashcards before she heard a light tapping on her window.
'tap, tap, tap'
y/n ignored it at first, thinking that a pigeon had landed on her fire escape and started pecking at the glass.
it was only after a second, much louder round of tapping that y/n stood up from her desk to see what was going on. she walked towards her window and pulled back the curtain.
her eyes widened.
“spider-man?!” she gasped. “what are you doing here?!”
he was the last person she expected to see sitting on her fire escape.
“just wanted to swing by and see how my favorite civilian was doing!” he quipped.
"favorite?" she raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know superheroes played favorites,"
"well, considering the amount of times I've seen you this week, I think you've earned that spot."
the memories of the past few days played in y/n's mind. it seemed that wherever she was, Spider-Man was there too, always ready to catch her when she fell (literally). if it hadn’t been for him, who knows what kind of trouble she could’ve been in!
y/n flashed a grateful smile. “seriously, you have no idea how grateful I am! I still don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“i think letting me in would be a good place to start.” there was a slight shake in his voice, but y/n just chalked it up to the chilly weather.
“oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” y/n hurriedly unlatched the window and pulled it open. “I don’t know what’s with me recently. I think midterm season is getting to me.”
she stepped back and watched the hero stumble into her room. he clutched his side and even though she couldn’t see his face, the narrowing of the eyes of his mask looked almost like a grimace. something was wrong.
“you okay there, spidey?”
“uh yeah,” he started. “I was just wondering if you could maybe help me out with this.”
spider-man slowly lifted his hand from his side to reveal the long gash spanning from the bottom of his rib cage down to the top of his hip. y/n gasped at the amount of blood that covered his suit.
“why did you come here?! you- you need to go to a hospital,” y/n’s voice trembled. “that looks way too deep for me to fix.”
spider-man took a step closer, staggering slightly from exhaustion. “if I went there, my secret identity wouldn’t be so secret,” he joked.
“plus, you’re a nursing student, i trust you.”
y/n squinted at the hero. “how did you know that?”
the eyes of his mask widened.
“I- uh, I saw it on your ID badge. that day in the train station.”
“oh.” y/n blinked. that was so long ago. how could he remember that? maybe super memory came with the webs.
“ok, well you lie down and I’ll be right back.” she said before rushing to the bathroom to grab her first aid kit.
—
jake winced as he laid down on y/n’s bed. he had been there so many times, but for the first time, he wished he wasn’t. his job was to protect y/n and he knew that showing up to her apartment like this could only put her in danger. jake made sure he wasn't followed and took weird turns to hide exactly where he was going, but his mind was fuzzy from the pain. who knows what he missed?! even now, his spider sense was working overtime, trying to detect any possible threats. thankfully he wasn’t picking up any.
usually after a fight with a criminal or a villian, jake could just walk it off. he would lie and say he bumped into a pole or something and the pain would be gone in a few hours anyway, so it didn’t even matter. but this, he knew he couldn't handle alone. he could barely inhale without his side feeling like it was going to tear open. so now here he was, staring at his girlfriend's ceiling, hoping against hope that she could fix this. (and that she had pain medication.)
"i'm back," y/n said gently. even in his pain-muddled mind, y/n was still the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. she was an angel. maybe that's why he saw a slight glow around her head as she sat down next to him. or maybe it was coming from her desk lamp, he couldn't tell.
"my hero." jake sighed.
he watched closely as y/n set all of the supplies down on the bed and moved closer to jake. her eyes scanned over his right side, where the wound was, but she couldn't see it clearly. the ripped spandex was in the way, and the dried blood made it hard to tell what was what.
"i can't clean your wound like this." she said quietly.
"huh?"
"your suit is in the way."
"oh."
jake took a deep breath, bracing himself for the pain to come, before sitting up against y/n's headboard. it was a slow go, but with y/n's help, jake was able to get his arms out of the suit.
y/n turned away slightly when he started to pull the sweaty spandex off his torso all the way down to his hips. she was going to have to look at his torso anyway but he still deserved some privacy.
"ok i'm ready." he grunted.
with gentle hands, y/n got straight to work. she cleaned him up first, using a warm rag to get off the dried blood, being extra careful around the open skin. now that the blood was gone, y/n could finally see what she was working with. there was one main gash, which was what drew her attention at first, but his torso was littered with purple and blue splotches. each one more gnarly than the last.
jake watched her face, gauging how bad this might be. "so whats the diagnosis?" he asked.
y/n let out a shaky sigh. "it looks like you really took a beating. the cut isn't too bad but the bruises..." she trailed off.
"if you think this is bad, you should see the other guy."
a ghost of a smile crossed over y/n's face and for a moment jake's pain disappeared, but the burning feeling of the disinfectant in his cut brought it all back. y/n let out a string of sorrys as she tried to move as quickly as possible while jake did everything in his power not to scream at the top of his lungs.
y/n made quick work of the stitches and the bandages, not wanting to cause him any more pain, and within minutes, jake was sewn back together. sure, the bruises were still really bad, and he was still in pain, but the worst was over.
y/n let out a shaky exhale as she cut the end of the bandage roll she had used. "you're all done, spider-man. how do you feel?"
"i think i should be asking you that question."
"what do you mean?" y/n asked as she hurriedly picked up all the bloodied gauze and supplies. jake grabbed her wrist, forcing her to stop her movements.
"you just performed a minor operation on a superhero in your bedroom. i doubt anyone would be okay after that."
y/n locked eyes with him. "you needed help." she said simply as if it were the plainest fact in the world. "yeah, it was scary, but you risk your life every day to save others. this is nothing compared to that."
"well I wouldn't say it was nothing. you saved me."
“yeah i guess i did.”
the two kept their eyes trained on each other, not sure where to go from here. jake’s hand was still on y/n’s wrist and honestly he would’ve been content just staying like that forever.
he watched as y/n’s eyes left his and traveled down his face, stopping at the area right next to his lips. there must have been blood seeping through his mask.
“is your face bleeding?” she asked.
“yeah, but it's just my lip. nothing major.”
“are you sure? because all the stuff is still here. i could clean it right now.”
“uhhh,” jake hesitated. he knew he would have to take his mask off for y/n to look at his lip, but if he didnt take it off all the way, his identity would still be secret, right?
“uh sure.” he just hoped that the light from her lamp would be dim enough for her not to notice.
jake slowly lifted his mask, stopping right above the tip of his nose.
y/n leaned in closer to look at the cut on his lip. it was small, and the bleeding had mostly stopped, but she couldn’t look away. his lips looked familiar, like way too familiar. they kind of looked like-
"jake?!"
the boy froze. there was no way.
jake wanted to wait a little longer to tell her, preferably at a time when he wasn’t injured and in pain, but there was no time like the present. he took a deep breath before pulling his mask off completely.
y/n’s hands flew to her mouth in shock. "no way!" she gasped.
"yes way."
she shot up from her bed. "is this for real?!"
"it’s definitely for real."
y/n didn’t know what to say. how could this be? Her boyfriend? jake? sweet, adorable jake was Spider-Man?
this couldn't be!
but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. she thought about all about the times that jake had been late, with some vague excuse. and then she remembered how, over the past few days, wherever she was, so was Spider-Man. how he knew she was a nursing student, how he knew which apartment to come to. it all made sense!
y/n turned to jake and swatted at him. “why didn't you tell me sooner?!”
“ow! hey! stop that!” jake grabbed her hands and pulled her down onto the bed.
“i didn’t tell you because i didn't want to risk you being in danger. some bad guys would do anything to get to me! that includes going after the people i love.”
their faces were only centimeters apart now, and jake could practically see the gears in y/n’s head turning. every time he thought about telling her about his secret, he never thought about how she would take it, which is why it caught him off guard when she kissed him. her lips moved against his softly because of the cut, but the passion was still there. jake could feel her hands move through his hair as she pulled him impossibly closer. it was like she was trying to steal the air out of his lungs, leaving him dazed when she pulled away.
he took in a steadying breath before speaking again. “so… you’re ok with this?” he asked.
“jake, you’re a hero! I couldn’t be more okay with this! you have no idea how proud of you i am.”
a dopey grin spread across his face. “really?”
“really.”
jake wrapped his arms around y/n, pulling her impossibly close to him. it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. sure, telling y/n his secret might have been a risk, but he was just glad he didn't have to hide it anymore. the two of them laid in silence for a while, y/n’s fingers slowly combed through jake’s hair.
"oh my gosh, do you get hurt like this all the time?!"
jake sighed and buried his head deeper into y/n’s chest. here come the questions.
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