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Zayn hadn't slept well in weeks. He tossed and turned every night, struggling to fall asleep despite his exhaustion from the band's hectic schedule. He'd tried everything from warm milk to white noise machines, deep breathing exercises to reading, even that stupid counting sheep trick, and not a single one worked. Zayn was lucky to get even two hours of sleep a night, and the other boys were starting to notice the toll it was taking on him: dark circles under his eyes, struggling to pay attention during rehearsals, and snapping at them over little things like leaving socks on the floor.
The other boys weren't sure what to do. They wanted to help Zayn, of course, but none of them knew how to go about handling it. All of them dealt with insomnia from time to time, and everything they suggested to Zayn was shot down with a "tried that" or a "doesn't work".
It all came to a head one night after a show in Edinburgh. Zayn had been forgetting lyrics all night, practically falling asleep on his feet, and had to be held up by Harry and Liam through the remainder of the show. The fans could tell, too, and the boys knew it'd be all over Twitter in a matter of minutes. They needed to do something. But they didn't know what.
As they walked offstage, Liam put an arm around Zayn's shoulders. "Mate, you need sleep." he said, calmly.
"You think I don't know that?." Zayn snapped. "There's nothing I want more. But I haven't been able in weeks and I don't know why."
"Well, what have you tried?" Liam gently suggested.
"Every damn thing I could think of." Zayn whined, tears of exhaustion starting to form in his eyes. "Warm milk, a white noise machine, meditation, reading, that counting sheep crap, I even bought a weighted blanket at the last stop!"
"Okay, okay." Liam rubbed Zayn's back, attempting to soothe him. "Well, we're rooming together in the hotel tonight, right? I'll see if I can help you."
"Okay." Zayn sighed, just keeping his eyes open long enough to get himself into the car. He closed them the second he was strapped in, lightly dozing on Liam's shoulder. Liam smiled down at Zayn, happy to see him able to rest, even if it was just for a 10 minute drive to the hotel.
As he looked down, he wondered why Zayn seemed to fall asleep so easily with him there.
An idea may have formed in his head right then.
They got into the hotel, throwing the deadbolt as well to prevent Louis and his master key shenanigans from entering their room. They didn't need that tonight. Zayn barely toed off his shoes before flopping down on one of the beds with a sigh.
"Okay," Liam began, sitting on the edge of the bed Zayn had claimed. "So I may have gotten an idea to help you sleep on the ride here."
"Mmmf," Zayn mumbled into the duvet, an acknowledgement that he was at least listening.
"Now don't get freaked out by this, just stay with me here," Liam cautioned.
"Just get on with it." Zayn snapped.
"What if we cuddled?" Liam said, making Zayn's head snap in his direction with a quizzical expression.
"Just as friends!" Liam exclaimed. "Sometimes physical comfort is helpful for a lot of people, and I don't think it's something you've tried yet, and I noticed you fell asleep pretty easily in the car since I was there, so it might work for you... it's just a suggestion, of course, we don't have to..."
"Uh..." Zayn hesitated, unsure if he was comfortable with the proposal.
"We can stay fully clothed, it won't mean anything." Liam continued rambling. "I just want to help you and I think this is a way I can. And if it doesn't work, we can just pretend it never happened. What do you say?"
Zayn thought for a second. Sure, cuddling with his closest guy friend sounded a bit weird, but he was desperate for a good night's sleep at this point. Worst-case-scenario, it didn't work, he just suffered through another sleepless night, and he and Liam would just keep it between them.
"Alright. Let's do it." Zayn said. "Fully clothed, though."
Liam nodded, trading his skinny jeans he wore for the concert for a comfortable pair of sweatpants, before crawling under the covers beside Zayn and wrapping his arms around his bandmate. Zayn was a bit tense at first, still feeling weird about this whole situation, but the warmth and security that radiated off of Liam relaxed his muscles, and he soon found his head laying on the younger man's chest.
Liam just started talking. Stories, little songs, and questions about Zayn's day filled the otherwise silent room, giving Zayn something to focus on.
"So, what's been your favorite stop on--" Liam started, only to be cut off by a soft snore from Zayn. Liam smiled down at his bandmate, happy to see that his idea seemed to be working. For now, at least.
"Sleep well, mate." Liam whispered into the darkness. "Wake me up if you need anything."
Liam woke to the sunlight streaming through the crack in the curtains, and quickly looked down at Zayn, still passed out cold on his chest, hand fisted in Liam's shirt, snoring lightly. Glancing over at the clock, he saw a bright 9:07 AM written on the neon red digital interface. Quickly doing the math in his head, he managed to deduce that Zayn had been asleep for about...10 hours, without waking up once? Thankfully, they didn't have any commitments until noon, and Liam was determined to let Zayn sleep as long as possible.
Which ended up not being for much longer.
Zayn stirred when the sunlight hit him right in the eyes, yawning and snuggling closer to Liam, making the younger man chuckle.
"Morning, Z." Liam said, stroking his back. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good..." Zayn mumbled into Liam's shirt. "Really good, actually."
"Glad to hear it. So I take it our little cuddle helped?" Liam asked impishly.
"More than I ever thought it would." Zayn admitted. "I didn't wake up once. What time is it?"
"Just past 9:30, mate. We slept about 10 hours."
"That's more than I've gotten in weeks."
Zayn squeezed Liam a bit tighter, as if trying to hug him while still lying down.
"Thanks, Li."
Liam squeezed back.
"No problem, mate. Anything for you."