A/N: I also blame this on the painkillers
The benefits of being secret boyfriends include sleepovers. After all, Artie's parents appreciate that Sam gives him someone to nerd out with, while Sam's parents have noticed a definite increase in Sam's grades since Artie has been helping him with his essays. So both pairs of parents are more than happy to let them have sleepovers whenever they want, even though Artie and Sam want often.
As the spider sits on his ceiling, Sam is glad that Artie is there with him, but he wishes that they could have stayed at Artie's place instead.
"You're afraid of spiders?" Artie asks, eyebrow raised.
"No!" Sam protests. He winces as the spider moves and relents. "Yes. Kill it?"
"Sam, I have yet to master the power of flight. Even if I could stand I doubt I would be able to reach your ceiling," Artie points out.
Sam paces nervously.
"Well I can't sleep with it in here," Sam says.
Artie beckons him closer. Sam walks over to the bed, and Artie pulls him forward, tilting his face upward for a kiss.
"I can't do that with the spider watching either," Sam says.
Artie yanks him into bed. He crawls on top of Sam and Sam automatically wraps his arms around his boyfriend.
"I will protect you from the spider," Artie announces grandly. "You may slumber in peace, good sir. Your knight, Arthur, is here."
Sam laughs.
"Knight Arthur, will you slay the spider for me?"
"If it threatens you, it will be vanquished!" Artie says. His voice turns more serious. "No, really, you can sleep. I know you've got a big game tomorrow. If the spider comes nearby, I'll squish it for you."
"Really?"
"Of course," Artie leans up and kisses Sam's cheek, "You're safe with me."
Sam smiles and drifts off to sleep. He wakes up a couple hours later because Artie is moving on top of him. Artie gets into his wheelchair, rolls across the room, and quietly kills the spider. He leaves to dispose of the body.
When Artie comes back in, Sam pretends to be asleep. Artie gets back into bed and crawls up onto Sam again. He leans in close to Sam's ear.
"You're crap at pretending to sleep," he says.
Sam cranes his neck so he can look Artie in the eye.
"Knights are just unusually observant. I'm an excellent fake sleeper," Sam argues. "Plus I didn't want to miss your gallant rescue."
"See? Told you I'd protect you. Now back to sleep so you can win tomorrow," Artie says.
Sam feels himself drifting away already. He doesn't know if he imagines telling Artie that he never doubted him, but he's pretty sure that he doesn't imagine Artie kissing his temple and pressing his face into the crook of Sam's neck.
