Work Text:
Louis had stayed up far too late. Again. He knew he'd regret it in the morning, with another early wake-up call ahead, but he just had to watch Donny play. Even if they got their asses kicked.
Walking toward his bunk, he stripped down to his boxers. The familiar sounds of Niall, Harry, and Zayn all snoring to various degrees around him were a usual part of the nighttime routine. But tonight, there was a fourth joining them, which made Louis freeze.
Liam.
Liam (alongside Louis himself) doesn't snore.
Usually.
But over their years of touring together, Louis had picked up on a distinct pattern: The only time Liam ever snores is when he's coming down with something, usually a cold, congesting him and messing with his nasal passages. Louis turned towards Liam's bunk, just to confirm that he wasn't just hearing things. He observed for a minute or two, watching Liam's chest gently rise and fall, confirming that yes, the snoring was in fact coming from none other than Mister Liam Payne.
He'd ask about it in the morning.
"Oi, Payno!" Louis shouted as Liam entered their tiny tour bus kitchen.
"Hi, Tommo." Liam replied, energetic as ever.
"You feelin' alright, mate?" Louis asked.
"Hm? Yeah, of course. Why?" Liam asked, genuinely confused.
"You sure you're not getting sick?" Louis gently prodded.
"No, I feel fine. Why do you think I'm getting sick?" Liam asked, tilting his head a bit.
Louis, not wanting to reveal his... eccentric, let's call it, nighttime habit, just waved it off. "Oh, just... heard there's a flu going around the crew." he lied. "Just wanna make sure we're all good to go. Can't afford to be getting sick now with our schedule!"
Liam seemed to accept this, and nodded, not questioning Louis further. "Ah. Okay." he said. "Well thanks, I'll try to keep my distance, then."
Louis nodded, going back to his tea, but silently promising himself to keep an eye on Liam throughout the day.
For once in his life, Louis might have been wrong about this. Every other time he'd heard Liam snore before, he'd wake up sick the next day, without fail. But maybe Liam just snores now. Louis knows it can happen as people get older. It had happened to Zayn, after all. Their raven-haired bandmate had been a silent sleeper up until about a year ago, but now joins Niall and Harry in their nighttime snoring symphony. It wasn't impossible that the same could have happened to him.
Sure enough, Liam got through all the day's events none the worse for wear. Through interviews, meet and greets, and even their show that night, Liam was just as lively and engaged as always, laughing and joking with the other boys, no sign of illness anywhere to be found. Louis finally dropped it. Liam was absolutely fine. He just snores now. That's just a thing now.
Louis had stayed out late. Again. He had to stop doing that. Quietly tiptoeing through the tour bus, making his way to his bunk, he did a quick check of his bandmates.
Harry's snores that could rival a lion's roar: check.
Zayn's quiet rumbles: check.
Niall's soft snuffles: check.
Nothing out of the ordinary. But the real test was Liam. And sure enough, he was snoring once again. A bit louder tonight. But this time, Louis brushed it off. Liam had been fine all day, never showing any signs or symptoms of a cold or flu.
Louis was in the tour bus kitchen again, sipping his tea while he scrolled through his phone. He heard a grunt from the bunk room, and then a loud sniffle. Going back in to check, he saw Liam curled up in his bunk, shivering and sweating.
"Payno?" Louis asked.
"Tommo?" Liam asked, sounding painfully stuffy. "I feel like shit. I know I slept fine but I'm still exhausted. How did this happen? I felt fine yesterday..."
"Yeah, colds can sneak up on you, mate." Louis responded.
"But you knew." Liam protested weakly. "You somehow knew I was coming down with something, even before I started feeling sick! How the hell did you know?"
"We've known each other for years now, Payno. I pick up on things." Louis said, not wanting to rub it in.
"But I didn't even notice... are you psychic or something?"
Louis sighed. Maybe it was finally time to confess.
"Not psychic, Liam. You have a tell." Louis admitted, making Liam's eyebrows quirk.
"I do?"
"Yeah, mate. You do." Louis said. "You were snoring."
"I don't snore." Liam said. "...Do I?"
"Not usually, no." Louis confirmed. "But I've noticed that every time you're sick, you snore the night before. Probably congestion fucking with you."
"How the hell did you pick up on that?" Liam asked, bewildered.
Louis laughed. "We've spent the past few years up each others' arses 24/7. You just start to notice shit after a while."
Liam hummed in acknowledgement, before a painful-sounding sniffle ripped through his nose again.
"Just stay put. I'll go make you some tea. And an extra blanket, you're shivering really bad." Louis said, before heading off.
Liam closed his eyes again, planning to rest up as much as he could before the reality of their hectic schedules took hold again.
He realized he was lucky to have a friend as observant as Louis. He never would've picked up on something like that.
But Louis often knows people better than they know themselves.
The boys spent the day taking care of Liam on the bus. He was able to power through the single radio interview they had, but definitely wasn't in shape for the meet and greet or the concert. And yeah, fans were disappointed, but they understood that Liam wasn't feeling his best and didn't want to infect anyone else. They'd both been canceled, allowing Liam to rest and recover under the care of his boys.
He spent the day after that feeling well enough to participate in their scheduled obligations, even if not to his usual energy level.
And by the time that night had rolled around, Liam was back to sleeping silently, as he usually did.
Louis' work here was done.