"Can't you do anything useful, Buckethead?!"

"Oh, I don't know! How 'bout you come up with something? You're the genius, remember?"

"Hey, this is your fault, too, you know! You can help with some of our escape plan! Blast us out, fly us, something!"

"In case you forgot, this cell is suppressing our powers, Webs! You couldn't stick to that wall if your life depended on it!"

Spider-man sighed. This was one of the few times he'd admit that Nova was right; he'd forgotten about their stupid cage… And to think this was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission... It would have gone fine if the two of them hadn't insisted on fighting instead of focusing on the enemy… Now, Doc Ock literally had them trapped like caged rats. There was no way either of them was going to get out any time soon.

He groaned, smacking his head on one of the bars in frustration.

"Come on, Webhead, I'm not that bad, am I?" Nova joked, attempting a half-hearted smile to try to staunch the fear and anxiety flowing freely from his racing heart. It didn't work; he was still terrified, and Spidey's continued self-abuse wasn't helping matters. Sighing heavily, he slid down the bars until he hit bottom, closed his eyes, and tried to meditate like Danny had taught him.

Spider-man, for his part, was more than uneasy. If it were any other situation, he'd be bouncing insults off of Nova like there was no tomorrow—but this time was different. This time, his friend really didn't look like he needed to be brought down any more, like he might have already crash-landed on rock bottom. And that wasn't even the scary—

Nova must have picked up on the sudden silence, must have felt Spider-man's eyes on him, because at that moment he sighed once more, deeper this time, and opened his eyes. The webslinger couldn't help the kicked puppy comparison.

"I'm such a failure..." the boy mumbled, dropping his head and staring at his feet. "All I want is to be a hero, one that people respect and look up to...but all I ever do is mess up." His friend crossed the cage to sit beside him, guilt pooling in his stomach and making him feel ill. Spider-man was always ragging on Nova and making him feel worthless… No wonder he was so down. "I want…" he whispered, raising his head and staring his teammate straight in the eye, expression more honest than Spider-man had ever seen, "…to be like you..."

What happened next surprised them both. Spider-man, unable to take the brokenhearted expression on his friend's face, surged forward and wrapped his arms around him tightly. Nova squeaked in surprise and struggled for a second until he realized how comforting it really felt, and then he carefully removed his helmet so he could properly bury his face in his companion's chest. It had been years since he cried, let alone in front of anyone else, and he never would have dreamed that next time would find him in his teammate's arms.

On his end, meanwhile, New York's webslinger rested his forehead on Sam's head and tightened his grip a little. As much as the kid annoyed him, he'd never meant for his jokes and taunts to cause this much pain. He reached up to lift his mask enough to expose his mouth and nose. He wanted Sam to hear this clearly and straight from his own mouth.

"Nova, I swear I'll string you to the Statue of Liberty and leave you there for a week if you ever tell anybody I said this," he threatened, "but I'm gonna let you in on one of the few intangible things I actually believe: you are the most amazing guy I've ever met. I know that all I ever do is criticise and make fun of you, but I guess I do it because I'm, well...jealous of you. You're an amazing artist, and you have these, like, really cool powers that let you fly and absorb massive amounts of energy and a whole bunch of other awesome stuff..." He smiled a bit despite himself. "I'm really, really sorry for everything."

Sam pulled away just enough to stare up at him with stunned, wide eyes. Peter blushed brightly. "What?!" he demanded, flustered and embarrassed. "It's not like I never apologise!"

Every bit of that humiliation was worth it, though, when that bright, warm smile came to the boy's face and he burrowed into Peter's chest again. "Sure. Whatever you say, Webs!" he replied softly, hesitating for just a moment before sliding an arm around his companion's waist.

Butterflies immediately erupted in Peter's stomach. Wait a minute… Why did that—?! No! No, no, no, no, no way, no! He couldn't…like Sam! Nuh-uh! It was just his…Spidey sense going out of whack! Yeah, that must be it! It definitely had nothing to do with those emerald eyes or that silly smile that always made him look…so...cute…?

"Heart's beating pretty fast there, Spidey. You feelin' okay?" Sam asked, concerned, eyes darting from his friend's heart to his face. Then, he smirked and narrowed his eyes playfully. "Don't tell me you're scared!"

"No! I mean…I'm fine! Just, uh…thinking about...science! Yeah! You know me: brain's filled with the stuff! Ha ha!" Peter stammered.

Sam leaned closer and grinned wolfishly. "You know something? You're a reallybad liar."

His friend was about to protest when Sam's lips pressed to his own without warning. It was surprisingly gentle, as Sam wanted to test Peter's reaction first, but Peter was in no mood for that. He grabbed Sam by the back of the neck and deepened the kiss, causing the boy to yelp in surprise and Peter to pull away and drop his hands.

"That's…not what I wanted..." Sam said, eyeing Peter seriously.

The sixteen-year-old blanched and immediately rushed to mend his mistake. "I'm so sorry! I never—!"

Sam suppressed a giggle, though it came out when he spoke. "No, stupid!" He smiled, moving closer. "I meant I didn't want you to stop!"

Peter immediately narrowed his eyes. "You—! Oh, Iha—!"

Lips silenced him, though their owner pulled back a second to get the last word: "Hate me later."