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Zhou Keyu leans over him, one arm lightly draping around his shoulder. Bai Yu tilts his head back and looks up at him for a second before shrugging him off. He nods his head towards Liu Yuning instead. Zhou Keyu follows his gaze and then after a second of hesitation, nods.
He watches as Zhou Keyu walks over towards Liu Yuning, perhaps not entirely casually but close enough. Liu Yuning is standing, so it's not so easy to drape himself all over him, but Zhou Keyu touches Liu Yuning's arm and then leans against him a little.
"Dage, you're not still upset, are you?" Zhou Keyu asks, with a bit of concern.
Liu Yuning blinks and then shakes his head tiredly. They're pretty much wrapped up for tonight and they should be heading back to their hotel soon enough. It's no surprise Liu Yuning is tired; Bai Yu is not much better off himself. Zhou Keyu, on the other hand, still seems to possess reserves of energy. Well, not that that's anything new.
"Maybe you should sit down, Ning-ge," Zhou Keyu says, evidently seeing the same as Bai Yu.
"No, it's fine. We're leaving soon," Liu Yuning says, and Bai Yu could swear he's swaying on his feet. He frowns, gets up from the chair he's appropriated for himself and pushes it closer to Liu Yuning.
He gives Zhou Keyu a meaningful look. Zhou Keyu nods a little and then as good as pushes Liu Yuning down into the chair. Apparently, Liu Yuning really is tired because he only makes a small, token protest. His whole body seems to sag into the chair.
He looks up at them. His hair has flopped down into his eyes, and Bai Yu has the sudden urge to reach over and brush it aside, but he's not really that sure how welcome that would be at the moment. He hadn't thought anything about touching Liu Yuning earlier. In fact, he'd mostly forgotten about his own loss, seeing how upset Liu Yuning actually was and just headed straight over to him.
When did he actually, really hesitate to touch Liu Yuning before?
It's just that after the excitement was over, Liu Yuning still looked so… so defeated. And now Bai Yu is thinking maybe he shouldn't be going over and putting his hands on Liu Yuning. Maybe that will make things worse. Or maybe he's just too tired too, and they'll all feel back to normal after a good night of sleep.
He looks at Zhou Keyu's hand, still resting against Liu Yuning's shoulder. At least he knows Liu Yuning would never be upset at Zhou Keyu touching him.
Bai Yu sighs quietly and tiredly rubs a hand down his face. Sure, this whole thing is just a game, but sometimes it gets to them a bit more than expected.
Liu Yuning is still looking at him. He looks a little like he's struggling to keep his eyes open, but he still doesn't look away from Bai Yu.
"You just wanted to sit in my lap, right," Liu Yuning accuses him, his tone quiet and a little tentative, like he doesn't quite know what to do about the sudden awkwardness between them either.
Bai Yu feels the corners of his lips twitch upward, in relief more than anything else.
"If you're offering," he says. And god, does he want to suddenly. He could just climb into Liu Yuning's lap and just hold onto him until they're both okay.
"Later," Zhou Keyu says, patting Liu Yuning's arm comfortingly. Liu Yuning closes his eyes and nods, looking like he might have decided to just take a nap then and there.
Bai Yu steps closer, briefly touching Liu Yuning's shoulder. Before he can pull his hand away, Liu Yuning grabs it, squeezing it slightly.
Having to take separate cars to the hotel feels like an inconvenience, but it really is simpler that way. It does mean that by the time Bai Yu is knocking on Liu Yuning's door, he doesn't even know for sure if Liu Yuning is still awake.
He's not particularly surprised when Zhou Keyu arrives a moment later. Bai Yu looks at him and doesn't say anything, just knocks on the door again, a little bit louder. If Liu Yuning doesn't hear that, then Bai Yu will leave him to rest. He'll see him tomorrow. It'll be fine.
Zhou Keyu touches his arm, his fingers sliding down along it and then wrapping gently around Bai Yu's wrist.
"Ning-ge isn't really upset at you, ge," Zhou Keyu says, like he knows that for certain.
Bai Yu doesn't say anything. Liu Yuning still doesn't show up to open the door. Bai Yu takes a step back, but Zhou Keyu's hand tightens around his wrist, and he resolutely bangs his fist against Liu Yuning's door, loud enough that the people in the neighbouring rooms probably heard.
Bai Yu frowns, opening his mouth to say something, and then just closes it again. He wants to see Liu Yuning.
A few heartbeats later, the door is pushed open, revealing a tired, dishevelled-looking Liu Yuning.
"Sorry," he mumbles tiredly, and then steps aside, letting them inside.
Bai Yu hesitates for a second, thinking about saying something about letting Liu Yuning get back to sleep. He doesn't manage to actually say it. Then, Zhou Keyu is already pulling him inside.
Liu Yuning covers a yawn with one hand. "I don't think I'll be able to stay awake for long," he says apologetically.
Zhou Keyu practically shoves Bai Yu closer to him. And honestly, Bai Yu isn't typically like this. He knows he's being a bit ridiculous. Liu Yuning doesn't even look upset. Mainly, he looks sleepy.
Bai Yu swallows and lets himself be shoved right into Liu Yuning, wrapping his arms around him. Liu Yuning makes a soft little 'oof' noise and then sort of sags into Bai Yu, his long frame leaning into him, his arms wrapping around him.
"Are you okay, Ning-ge?" Bai Yu asks worriedly.
Liu Yuning just hums, his arms tightening around Bai Yu.
"Ning-ge?" he asks.
"I thought I knew you better," Liu Yuning mumbles tiredly.
And maybe Bai Yu is pretty tired too, because it takes him a good moment before he figures out what that means. He stiffens slightly. He thinks about taking a step back.
Liu Yuning is not upset at Bai Yu, not really. Bai Yu isn't sure Liu Yuning is upset at himself either, exactly.
"It's my fault," Bai Yu says.
He feels Liu Yuning's head moving, which might be him shaking his head. He doesn't say anything for a moment, though, and when he does, it's, "Do you want to sleep with me?"
There's a choking sound from off to the side, and then Zhou Keyu is just full-on giggling. Liu Yuning tries to pull away, but Bai Yu tightens his hold on him, and he stops even trying, leaning back against Bai Yu. A moment later, he feels Zhou Keyu rest his forehead against his shoulder, still giggling, apparently entirely unable to stop.
"Can didi stay too?" Bai Yu asks.
Liu Yuning makes a wordless noise of agreement, sounding like he's moments away from falling asleep. Zhou Keyu's giggles quiet down a little, but he can still feel him shaking slightly, like he can't quite contain all of it. Bai Yu knows Zhou Keyu gets extra giggly when he's tired.
They really should all get to bed and sleep.
In a moment, Bai Yu tells himself, closing his eyes as he keeps holding onto Liu Yuning, Zhou Keyu leaning against him, small puffs of breath ghosting against Bai Yu's shoulder as he tries to not start laughing again. In a moment.