USM 2021 Bingo

Lost in the Woods (Part 2)

"It was all I could find."

"I know, I know, I just-"Peter sighed and leaned against the wall. His eyes closed and he made grabby hands for Sam, "Can you just...lay here with me? Share body heat and all that. That's a thing we're supposed to do when we're stuck in the cold, right?"

Sam huffed a smile, rolling his eyes, "Are you just saying that so you can get your hands on me, Parker?"

Peter cracked a smile, eyes still closed, "You got me."

Shaking his head, Sam shuffled forward. "Move up then, you need to sit with your back to my chest to get the most out of my warmth, you greedy gremlin." Peter did as instructed and Sam slid behind him, so when Peter lay back his head was tucked up near Sam's chest and his body was snug between the smaller man's legs. Sam curled his arms around Peter to keep him in place. "I have a boyfriend, you know," he said next to Peter's ear.

"Don't worry, I won't tell if you don't," Peter whispered back, "I'll fight him in hand-to-hand combat for your favor if you want."

Sam hummed as if considering, "I don't know if you can take him. See he's got these glasses, and this stupid haircut, and he's a real dweeb. His name is Peter Parker, maybe you've heard of him."

"Hmm, can't say that I have," Peter said, "He sounds like a real hunk though."

"He's aight," Sam said and Peter gasped, twisting his neck to try and look at him. Sam laughed and pressed his lips to his temple in a soft kiss, "But I like him. I don't know if Spider-Man can take him though."

Peter rested his head back on Sam's chest and his chuckle was lazier this time, "I guess not," he murmured, "Sounds like a real dweeb to me."

Sam hid his smile in Peter's matted hair, "The dweebiest."

When the silence stretched on, Sam craned his neck to see Peter and was startled to find him dozing. "Hey," he shook him. And then shook him a little harder when he didn't respond, "Hey, stay awake for me, Webs. You can't fall asleep right now. You have a concussion, remember? And your freaky spider biology."

"Just a few minutes," Peter murmured, eyes drooping, and Sam nudged him until his eyes fluttered open again.

"We can't take that chance. You need to stay awake. Just, uh...talk to me. You're good at that. What do you want to talk about?"

Peter fidgeted, grimacing when it disturbed his injuries, but nestled more comfortably against Sam, "I don't know...sleep? That sounds nice."

"No. How about...tell me about your webshooters. How did you make them? Or that new paper on uh...what was it...nanotechnology? Nanofibers?"

"The use of nanobots in the medical industry?" Peter's said and perked up, as the prospect of talking science always did to him.

Peter blinked more lucidly and started a long-winded, jargon-filled explanation of nanobots, looking awake enough that Sam relaxed. It didn't hurt that the nova force was keeping the winter chill at bay. He was just sad it couldn't heal Peter's wounds like it did his own.

If only it were easy enough to just pop the helmet on Peter's head and let him get a free healing session in so they wouldn't have to wait out the storm. But, of course, it was never that easy.

The helmet was tuned to Sam specifically, passed on to him through his father. It was connected by bloodline. Sure, Sam could give up the helmet and transfer its ownership to someone else, but that wasn't something to be done lightly. Besides, he'd never done it before and a part of him was worried that if he transferred ownership, he'd never be able to take it back. Or, more accurately, the helmet would never take him back.