He looks over at a sleeping Ernie, squeezing his eyes shut and banging his head lightly against the headboard. Can't get to sleep, gosh darn Ernie and his flipping toga party, who wears togas? Couldn't even be called a toga party really once Elmo got a hold of the suds and turned the living room into the equivalent of a bath tub. He thought of Ernie's huge grin when that happened, running off to fetch his bucket of rubber duckies (which side note who kept a bucket of rubber duckies around anyways?) and making up some sort of hide and seek game. Bert was a little fuzzy on the details, aware only that it had taken the technician seven hours to drain, dry and vacuum the left behind suds, glitter and food which had intertwined themselves into the carpet.

"Mmrflmfl…mmm."

At least the "E-Man" had had a good time, snuggled securely in his blankets after sneaking into the room long after he thought Bert would have finished the documentary he'd been watching and gone to bed. Ernie. Bert shifts uncomfortably beneath his own blankets, glancing over at his roommates slumbering form, positive their beds hadn't started off this close together. Maybe it was an unorthodox arrangement but they couldn't necessarily afford a two bedroom and neither would deign to let the other sleep on a pull out couch hence the side by side beds. Ernie was usually content to keep his guests contained to the living room so it wasn't too bad. And, well, people had made some less than PG insinuations about the set up, of course, but it wasn't like that. Would never be like that.

He glances over again and sees that the other has turned on his side too, his face contorted into a worrisome frown. Bert rests his chin in his hand to prop his head up, staring long and hard at his lifelong roomies face. His shoulders are locked up now, fingers curling in tight fists around the blanket.

"Uh…Ernie?" He whispered, "Ernie are you okay? Ernie?"

"STOP IT!"

"A simple 'no' would have done the job." He harrumphed, settling down onto his back

"Oh, sorry Bert, I was having a nightmare."

Bert nods, staring up at the ceiling, "It was just a dream, Ernie, dreams can't hurt you.""But this one felt REAL, Bert."

"It was just a dream, Ernie, go back to bed."

"Oh I don't think so, I'll just pick up where I left off."

His eyes remain fixed on the ceiling, but he can hear the blankets sliding across Ernie, shoved down, no doubt ,to prop up his feet which he often did when he couldn't sleep."Just a dream." He murmured again, they'd gone through this and the words were almost mechanical

"Hey Bert?"

"Yes Ernie?" He allowed a bit of annoyance to slip into his voice

"Would you mind talking me to sleep?"

"Yes, Ernie, I would mind very much. I'm trying to sleep and your…your overactive imagination will not ruin my rest."

"….But weren't you the one to wake me up?""Oh for christs-!"

"Sorry, sorry."

But after a few torturous minutes of listening to one another breath in and out Bert gave in. Of course. He'd known he would the minute he'd heard Ernie's frantic yelp. This was who they were. So typically Ernie shoves the blankets off and crawls beside his long time friend quicker than it takes him to interrupt Bert reading a great book. And they talk and talk and talk until Ernie is stifling yawns while recanting some conversation he had with Oscar. At some point his voice becomes a monotone hum to Bert's ears, lulling him to sleep. It isn't until he feels an elbow pressing into his side that he realizes Ernie has literally talked himself to sleep and is snoring peacefully at Berts' side.

Rolling his eyes, Bert tugs the blanket over their forms tucking the ends around Ernie's side, his touch brushing over the other's chest as he pulls away. Ernie murmurs something and turns his face towards Bert, a small smile touching his lips as his eyes remain closed

"You're a real pal, Bert. Love you."

"Yeah…."

I wish this was real. I wish I could bring myself to do more than tuck you in at night. He feels a sudden inexplicable urge to twine his fingers into Ernie's spiky dark hair and tug hard, to shake him from his fantasy world and into the present. To make him realize that reality isn't wishing on stars or solving everything with a hug and a warm bath; that reality is how Bert feels about him, about how he's downplayed those feelings with harsh words and a tone dripping with cynicism. Because the fact of the matter is that Ernie loves everything and Bert….Bert just loves Ernie.

He presses his forehead against the side of Ernie's head, inhaling his scent deeply. Promising silently to always be there for him even if it is just to smell his hair and turn his nightmares into dreams.