AN: And it is Sartie week once again! Each chapter will be for a different day of the week, and the stories will connect to one another. Also, this is an AU in which Sam and Artie are childhood friends.

"Nananananananana BATMAN!" Sam screamed as he ran down the hallway of the Abrams' home, a bed sheet flapping behind him. Halfway down the hall he stopped running and slid the rest of the way on the laminated floor in his socks. Reaching Artie's bedroom at the end of the hall, he ran in and jumped on the bed. Not very far behind him was Artie who similarly had a bed sheet tied around his neck. The other boy leapt much like Sam had and landed on the bed next to him. The two boys were consumed with laughter as they tried to catch their breath.

Artie was the first one to jump up. "Quick, we have to save the people in the city from the evil monster!" He took off down the hall with Sam on his heels. Thundering down the stairs, they dashed toward the living room where the fort they had built earlier was still set up. Between the two of them, they had amassed enough G.I. Joe figurines that they could have filled a small city. A gigantic stuffed bear represented the "monster" that was attacking the people.

With a yell, Artie launched himself at the bear, knocking it off the sofa. Sam joined him with punching the stuffed animal until they declared it "beaten." In the process they had knocked over half the G.I. Joes, which they deemed as casualties in the attack. After they put the bear back in Artie's sister's room so she wouldn't notice it missing when she got home, they tried to figure out what they would do next. They knew they were absolutely not allowed to try jumping off the roof and seeing if they could fly. The first time they had that idea, both sets of parents had to sit down with them and go over the rules for playing superheroes: and the first rule was that they couldn't jump off anything that was taller than themselves.

Eventually they just decided to do the running-down-the-hallway-and-sliding technique that they had previously perfected. Artie's mother said it would be all right as long as they didn't shout too much. The first couple of runs through went fine, but on one of Artie's turns, he tripped over his own feet and slammed his knee against the doorframe. Pulling his knee close to his chest, he curled up in a ball and tried his hardest not to cry despite the shooting pain. Sam immediately ran over to his friend when he saw him fall.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, trying to get a look at Artie's face. The other boy had tucked his head down so Sam couldn't see him trying not to cry. A shake of the head and a slight sniffle is all Sam got as a reply. He knew Artie was pretty stubborn about people helping him with stuff and didn't like people to think he was weak. After being Artie's friend for a couple of years, he knew the best way to handle this. Gently but firmly, he pried Artie's hand away from his knee to look at it. It was red but there was no blood so he figured that his friend would be fine.

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" Sam asked in all seriousness. This was enough to make Artie pull his head up and give Sam a weird look.

"Are you a superhero or my mom?" Artie asked.

"My dad sometimes says that my mom is a superhero," Sam replied. "So it should work."

Before Artie could protest, he bent down and gave the other boy's knee a swift kiss. Artie let out a little giggle and pretty soon both boys were laughing hard at the situation. They were interrupted by Artie's mom calling them down for lunch. Sam helped Artie stand up and straightened his cape for him. Artie flashed his friend a small smile in gratitude.

Feedback is much appreciated as always.