Sam mumbles slightly and buries his face in his pillow as something nudges at him. "Tired. Few more minutes."

"Can I sleep with you?" A little whisper cuts through his slumber and he opens his eyes to look at the set of big blue optics that are looking back at him hopefully.

It takes him a few moments before his brain starts working again, and then he nods and opens the blankets, shivering a little at the chill of the desert night. "Sure, but, like, you don't need to ask. Honey just crawls right in."

"Oh." The small mech lays down beside him, then snuggles close, little arms reaching out in a hug. "Okay."

Sam can't help but quirk a grin as he settles the blankets back in place and lays down, putting an arm around his chibified friend. "Why're you here? I mean, it's not that I mind or anything. Just wondering, you know?"

"Ever'body else has somebody to sleep wif... with, 'n you don't," says Optimus, shuttering his optics and snuggling contentedly.

Sam blinks, resisting the unmanly urge to squee at the cute, and instead whispering, "Oh."

"Night-night." Optimus sighs and falls silent.

Sam looks down at him, amazed as he realizes that this tiny being is the same mech who once held him safely in the palm of his hand as they fell off the roof of a building. The awesome being who once protected him is now looking to him for protection and comfort. It just doesn't make sense... but at the same time, it does.

It's awhile before Sam can sleep again.