a true fraggot

Gobo was starting to drift off when he heard restless rustling from Wembley's bed, off above. He smiled sympathetically and poked his head out from his own bed's little cove.

“Can't sleep, pal?”

There was so much fondness packed into that last word. There always had been, but now that Gobo and Wembley were a couple, ‘pal’ had become a term of endearment they now only used for one another.

Wembley leaned out from his bed. “Yeah, I can't sleep… Or, I mean, no I can't? Uh, I'm not sure which sounds right. But I'm sure awake, Gobo,” he sighed.

Gobo chuckled, sitting up. “Well, how about you come sit with me for a bit, eh?”

“But I don't want to keep you up, too, Gobo…”

“Awh, don't worry about it, Wembs. I'm offering, aren't I?”

After a moment's more hesitation, Wembley climbed down and came to sit beside Gobo. The two cuddled together, Wembley nuzzling his head against Gobo's chest.

“Is something bothering you?” Gobo asked.

“Nahh. Sometimes it's just- hard to stop thinking and start sleeping!”

Gobo patted Wembley's back. “I getcha. Whenever I'm preparing for my next expedition, it's hard to settle down at night. All I want to do is keep planning, or heck, just get going!”

Wembley let out a soft laugh, his head growing heavier on Gobo's chest. “Exactly… But you know, I feel like I could fall asleep real easy being like this.”

Gobo nuzzled the top of Wembley's head. It meant a lot to him that Wembley felt so comfortable, so safe, with him. More than he  knew the right words to say.

But even if he didn't have the words, he could be there. He eased himself down to lie in bed, keeping Wembley held close.

“Hoo hoo hoo, this was fun! You should make Boober let you out more often, Sidebottom!”

“Ohh, I wish it were that easy, Red! I'd just love to spend more time with you, hon!”

Red has been going over this conversation since she left Boober's cave, the words playing in her head over the dripping of stalactites and the distant chatter of the handful of Fraggles still awake at this hour.

She'd spent a long time hanging out with Sidebottom today, and boy, he'd seemed even happier than usual over it - which was really saying something!

And… He'd called her “hon.” Boober did that all the time, and Red thought nothing of it. But coming from Sidebottom… It felt different. The way he talked about spending time with her, in general– It was so wistful.

Could Sidebottom have a crush on her?

Those kind of feelings… Red usually just rolled her eyes when they came up. But now it was directed at her; she couldn't just shrug it off. Well. Maybe she could, but she probably shouldn't.

She also wasn't sure she wanted to… Sidebottom was fun! He was silly and cool and they had a great time together! Was that enough?

Red wasn't sure, so she tried to imagine herself with Sidebottom that way - holding hands, sitting close, cuddling up to him… It didn't seem bad, but– Did it seem good? Did it seem like something she wanted?

Ugh, Red was in over her head. She didn't know anything about this mushy stuff! She wasn't sentimental - not when anyone was watching!