Honestly, I love Dennis Whitaker, especially because he's so specifically weird that half the fandom hcs him as the runt-of-the-litter underfed traumatized youngest son and the other half as a spoiled best-loved youngest farmboy baby that grew into a bossy pillow princess brat.
Like, that takes a special kind of creature to be read in completely opposite ways.
what's crazy about this spiderman au i've randomly started writing as a result of the pitt au bingo is that i have literally about ~200k words of other pitt fics on my computer that i have yet to post ANYWHERE. i have been chipping away at them on my own until i feel ready to post. i have a hucklerabbot fic that is at about ~73k words (barely finished, too, mind u) and i haven't posted a word about it.
but this fucking random spiderman au has possessed me and I HAD TO POST IT IMMEDIATELY OR I WOULD DIE. what the hell.
This is my first piece for @thepittaubingo! Prompt is: Superhero.
Summary: Dennis Whitaker is Spider-Man. Jack Abbot is also Spider-Man. Robby doesn't know either of these things. Things get complicated.
Also can be read on AO3.
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Note: the way that this was meant to be a fun drabble that has now turned into a beast I am hyperfixated on. These ~2000 words poured out of me and I have now plotted an entire hucklerabbot fic in this verse. To give you an idea of the vibe of this fic:
Jack and Robby have been married for 20 years (Robby has no idea that Jack is Spider-Man).
Jack has been mentoring Dennis since he was 18 (25 in present day of the fic) and it was easy to keep that a secret until Dennis started his ER rotation at PTMC + saved Robby's life and they became friends.
The government is cracking down on heroes, opting for their eradication rather than their governing, and now Jack, Dennis and Robby (as an allied healthcare worker) are all in danger.
Feelings. They all have FEELINGS for each other.
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for all your armour
The kid has gotten under his skin. He’s so fucking worried about him all the time, it’s laughable. He wants to pin it down to professional concern but Robby has never been able to do things by halves. The professional bled into the personal without warning and now Robby spends time worrying about this kid that he’s known for all of six months.
The fact that the kid is Spider-Man, well. That’s another thing entirely.
“He’s an adult, Michael, let it go,” Jack tells him, waving it off over morning coffee.
“He’s going to get himself killed,” Robby says, shaking his head. “Or he’s going to get caught and locked up. You know they’re hunting these vigilantes.”
“Some would call them heroes.”
“You know what I mean. It’s not safe, what he’s doing.”
“He saved your life,” Jack says, shrugging.
“Yes and I’m thankful for that, of course I am. But–”
“You feel like you owe him a debt?” Jack supplies, rolling his eyes at his husband. “I don’t think the kid saved your life because he wanted something in return. Though I would say you’ve given plenty back with how many times you’ve helped him out. You’re the only doctor he lets treat him now.”
Robby raises an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
Jack takes a long swig of his coffee, eyes flitting over the newspaper crossword he’s done every morning since they got married twenty years ago. He clears his throat before he speaks and Robby tries not to linger on the lingering, Jack replying with an evasive, “Didn’t he say that last time he was here? You made some joke about him seeing other doctors, probably flirting knowing you, and he said you were the only doctor he was seeing?”
Robby feels himself go red. “I wasn’t flirting.”
“You’re enamoured with the kid. I know what it looks like,” Jack says, but his voice is light and teasing. He smiles at his husband. “It’s okay. I like the kid, too.”
And that’s well – that’s something else entirely. Robby has no idea what to do with that.
“I’m not enamoured with him, I don’t even know who he is,” Robby says, struggling to hide his annoyance at that, because yeah. He knows the kid but he doesn’t know the kid, and it hurts him somewhere specific that he won’t reveal his identity.
Robby has no right to it. He wants it more than anything in the world.
“Well he knows you and he keeps…coming around. That’s something,” Jack says, shrugging. There’s something in his voice Robby can’t quite decipher. “You’ve always had a way of pulling people into your orbit.”
“Not people - liabilities. You included.”
“Hey.” Jack smirks. “That’s not very nice. You love worrying about me day and night and cleaning up my messes.”
“Yeah, it’s my favourite thing, worrying if you’re going to come home bleeding from your stupid SWAT side quests. You and that damn kid. You know it’s illegal what I’m doing? If I get caught treating him, they’ll expect me to turn him in or lose my license.”
“Or face prison time,” Jack reminds him, his voice bitter.
The government has cracked down on heroes, nationwide. Opting for a system of policing and eradicating the heroes has become an easier alternative to the initial proposal of tracking and governing. Too many variables, too many different types of heroes and powers, wielded in too many ways - both beneficial and detrimental - the discourse has turned more violent than its previous (and now tame in comparison) Sokovia Accords.
The legislation quickly came down on accomplices and allies, too. Many healthcare workers spoke out against the new laws, citing that most of these heroes were an extension of healthcare workers, keeping citizens safe and out of the ER during catastrophic events.
The government responded with additional legislation within the week: any medical professional caught treating a vigilante faces losing their license and prison time.
“He’s a good kid,” Robby says, grimacing. “I don’t want him getting himself killed or thrown into prison.”
Jack nods and seems thoughtful. “No, me either.”
Robby rubs at his forehead and mutters, “And I think he’s getting more reckless.”
“Hm,” is all Jack says to that.
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Dennis is staring out at Pittsburgh as the sun sets, his legs dangling off the side of a bridge. He’s devouring a sandwich he snuck off a patient's plate when they were discharged and it was left uneaten.
Though he’s making a little money now and has a place to stay, the scarcity mindset is muscle memory at this point. He’s been hungry so many times that his body has grown to expect it. The only thing that abates his anxiety is taking when the thing is on offer, even if there is food at home or he can grab something later, every fibre of his nervous system screams that it’s too uncertain to wait; tomorrow he might go without. It’s a hard habit to stifle.
His mask is tugged up to reveal only his mouth as he eats; it’s too risky these days to go maskless, he doesn’t know what street camera might pick up footage of him and get him caught.
He feels a little more exhausted tonight, thinking in hindsight it was probably a bad idea to be swinging around the city all night before a shift.
Dennis feels his senses stand on edge, alerting him, a split second before the voice speaks. “At least you’re not dumb enough to take your mask all the way off, must be retaining some of the shit I’ve taught you.”
Dennis turns and grins at the other Spider-Man who has appeared like an apparition, standing off to the side, his arms folded. “Nice to see you, too, Jack.”
“Are you still stealing sandwiches from the hospital?” Jack groans. “Man, I’ve told you – if you need a little extra cash–”
“I don’t,” Dennis insists, but his cheeks flush. He tugs his mask down. “They were just gonna go in the bin anyway.”
“Mhm. Where are you staying now?”
Dennis rolls his eyes, getting to his feet. He wraps up the rest of the sandwich and shoves it into his backpack. “I’ve got a place.”
“Where?”
“Did you just come here to interrogate me? Jack, I’m twenty-five.” Jack crosses his arms and just waits. “I’ve got a place, I’m staying with Trinity. Santos. R1?”
“Right,” Jack says. “And is that looking like a permanent situation or…?”
“Well, I’m not planning on marrying her, if that’s what you’re asking–”
“Don’t be a smartass.”
“Oh my God, you’re the one who came looking for me. What do you want?”
“Robby’s worrying about you,” he tells him. That makes Dennis freeze for a moment and Jack just tilts his head, watching him. “And that makes me think that he’s been seeing more of you after I told you to keep your distance.”
“I’m not–” Dennis tries, but that sentence has nowhere to go because he has been seeing more of Robby even after Jack warned him to stay away. Dennis can’t help it - he’s just - fuck, he’s smitten.
He knows it’s nothing, can never be anything. He’s Jack’s husband, Dennis’s fucking boss, and he has no idea that his MS4 is also Spider-Man who also saved his life and now keeps sniffing around him because he wants to be his fucking friend. The entire situation is a little…messy.
Messier still now that the government is effectively sweeping through the nation and picking up heroes in the dead of night, never to be seen again. Them and anyone that helps.
“I told you,” Jack says, his voice hard now. “You get hurt, you need a doctor, you come to me. I don’t want him getting caught up or implicated in any of this shit, you know how dangerous it is right now.”
“Can’t be more dangerous than him literally being married to you.”
Jack says nothing to that and then it dawns on Dennis. “Wait. Does he not – does Robby not know that you’re Spider-Man?”
“It’s none of your business,” Jack replies, prickly.
“Wait. What the fuck. Are you serious?”
“It’s for his own safety. If he doesn’t know, he won’t worry about me and he can’t get in trouble if something happens. I want to keep it that way.”
“Dude. You’ve been married for what, forty years–?”
“Fuck off, I’m not that old–”
“And he has no idea that his husband runs around in a mask saving the citizens of Pittsburgh on top of his day job. How have you not given it away?”
Jack glares at him. “It’s not been easy. I do other jobs on the side that can explain why I might come home beat up.”
“Oh, the SWAT medic stuff? That’s smart. Dude that’s - that’s so cool. How do you even have enough time in the day? When do you sleep?”
Jack ignores his questions and says, “It’s not easy but it’s been the right decision. Times like these prove that. People are disappearing in the middle of the night, good people who are doing their best to help others. Some of my friends–” Jack’s voice breaks off and he shakes his head; looks off the side of the bridge and out at the city. “And Robby’s told me you’ve been more reckless.”
“No, I haven’t!”
“Either you’re being more reckless and showing up with more injuries or you’re faking them to be around him and I don’t know which is worse,” Jack snaps, taking a few steps into Dennis’s space.
Dennis takes half a step backwards and feels himself shrink. Dennis has been under Jack’s wing since he was eighteen. They know each other well by now, aside from whatever well kept secrets Jack purposely keeps close to his chest, but they’re still not on equal footing - not even close.
Jack pushes all of his buttons, tests him, throws him in the deep end and Dennis pushes right back but if Jack draws a line and pulls rank, Dennis falls in line.
Jack has taught, mentored and protected him for years. He’s the closest thing Dennis has to family, and Dennis can feel the way that Jack is cemented deeply in his heart, almost as if Dennis has imprinted on him. He can’t tell if Jack cares about him the same way at all, but he’s always there, always looking out for him. He knows that Jack would drop everything if he called.
A part of him wants to snap at Jack that if he just let him in, if he just let him be as close as Dennis wants to be, if they could blur the boundaries a little bit, then Dennis would have known long ago that Robby was his husband and not a random citizen he saved and grew close to. They could have avoided this entire mess. Sure, they couldn’t have exactly controlled his rotation into PTMC directly under Robby, but if he’d known, he wouldn’t spend his time trying to get Robby to like him both as Dennis and Spider-Man.
Dennis Whitaker, MS4 on the clock, trailing after Robby, trying to be his favourite student, trying to become a good doctor, doing his best to help.
Spider-Man, sort-of-hero off the clock, pain the ass most likely, swinging onto Robby and Jack’s balcony at stupid o’clock, bleeding or concussed or just wanting to hang out, desperate for a scrap of attention.
Maybe if Jack let him a little closer, Dennis would stop feeling so starved for affection from him, too. Maybe that would be better than this embarrassing candle he also holds for Jack. Now that Jack is standing over him so close, he feels how hot his skin is under his suit.
“I’ll back off,” Dennis says, quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Jack doesn’t say anything for a while. Finally, his voice softens and he says, “I don’t want either of you getting hurt. That’s all.”
Dennis nods, once, and tries to ignore the way his chest tightens at the words. “Okay.”
Jack walks off to the edge of the bridge and before he leaps off says, “Stay out of trouble, Whitaker. I’ll see you at work.”
oh i know michael ‘secretly pining for my best friends since college’ ‘robby’ robinavitch been going absolutely insane ever since dennis joined the pitt
