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Shane and Conor had barely made it into the hotel room before Conor collapsed onto the bed.
He was exhausted. The concert had drained every last bit of energy out of him, and all he wanted now was to lie down, watch something mindless, and slowly drift off to sleep. He didn’t even bother with a shower.
“I'm not moving,” Conor muttered, already scrolling through the TV options.
Shane laughed softly.
“I’ll be quick,” he said, grabbing a towel before disappearing into the bathroom.
A few minutes later the sound of the shower filled the room while Conor curled deeper into the pillows, a movie now playing quietly on the TV. His eyes were already heavy.
When Shane came back out, hair still damp and wearing nothing but sweatpants, he looked completely refreshed. The shower had woken him up, and now he had the exact opposite problem Conor had: he had energy.
Too much of it.
He climbed onto the bed and flopped down on Conor’s side, resting his head on Conor’s lap while Conor leaned back against the headboard.
Shane stared at the TV for about five seconds.
Then he got bored.
He rolled onto his side so he was now facing Conor, chin resting near his stomach, and grabbed Conor’s hand.
Without warning he lifted it and let it drop onto his own face.
Thump.
Conor barely reacted.
Shane did it again.
And again.
Each time lifting the hand a little higher before letting it fall.
Finally Conor sighed.
“Can you stop?”
“Okay.”
Shane paused.
For about two seconds.
Then he grabbed Conor’s hand again and started lightly tapping it against his face instead.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Conor closed his eyes in pure exhaustion.
“Shane… please. I just wanna watch a movie and sleep.”
“Yeah, sure. Sure.”
Shane released his hand and rolled onto his back again, staring up at the ceiling.
For a moment it was quiet.
Then Shane’s hand wandered over to Conor’s leg.
Conor was only wearing loose shorts, and Shane immediately started playing with the hair on his legs, twisting the strands between his fingers like it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen.
“Shane…”
“Hmm?”
“Please stop.”
Conor weakly tried to push him away. Shane finally sat up so he was facing him.
Conor looked completely done with life.
Shane, meanwhile, was grinning.
Slowly, Shane reached out and placed his hand against Conor’s cheek, clearly about to say something stupid like you’re cute when you’re angry.
But before he could even open his mouth—
Conor turned his head.
And bit his hand.
Hard enough to hurt.
“OW!”
Shane jerked his hand back. “That hurt!”
Conor didn’t even look sorry. “Good.”
Shane stared at him in disbelief. “Why did you bite me?”
Conor rubbed his face tiredly and leaned back again.
“So you stop annoying me. I just want to watch a movie and sleep.”
For a second there was silence.
Then Shane started laughing.
“You know that’s how animals mark territory, right?”
Conor’s ears turned slightly red.
Shane looked down at the bite mark forming on his hand.
He grinned.
“Well,” he said casually, “guess I’m yours now.”
-
Shane kept staring at the faint bite mark on the back of his hand like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
Conor groaned softly. “Are you done?”
“Probably not,” Shane said.
Conor didn’t even open his eyes anymore. He had already sunk deeper into the pillows, the movie still playing quietly in the background. The glow from the TV flickered over his face, highlighting the tired lines around his eyes.
Shane watched him for a moment.
The annoyance on Conor’s face was already fading, replaced by pure exhaustion.
“Did it actually hurt?” Conor mumbled after a moment, voice quieter now.
Shane looked back at the bite mark and shrugged.
“Yeah.”
Conor opened one eye, clearly not believing him.
Shane smiled a little. “But I deserved it.”
That seemed to satisfy Conor enough. He let his head fall slightly to the side again, eyes drifting back to the screen.
For a few minutes, Shane actually stayed still.
Which, for him, was impressive.
He watched the movie with Conor, even though he had absolutely no idea what was happening. His attention kept drifting back to Conor instead.
The way his hair fell into his face.
The way his breathing was already slowing.
Eventually Conor’s eyes started closing more often than they stayed open.
“You’re falling asleep,” Shane said quietly.
“No, I’m not,” Conor murmured.
Two seconds later his head tipped forward slightly.
Shane smiled to himself.
Without saying anything, he shifted a little closer and gently pulled the blanket up over both of them.
Conor didn’t protest this time.
Instead he lazily adjusted his position until his shoulder pressed against Shane’s arm.
Half asleep already.
The movie kept playing quietly in the background, but neither of them was really watching anymore.
After a moment, Conor’s voice came again — soft and sleepy.
“You’re still annoying.”
Shane chuckled under his breath.
“Yeah.”
There was a pause.
Then Conor spoke again, almost already asleep. “…but you can stay.”
Shane looked at him for a moment, something warm spreading through his chest.
He leaned his head back against the headboard and closed his eyes too.
“Good,” he murmured.
Because honestly, he wasn’t planning on leaving anyway.
And the bite mark on his hand?
Proof that he might have been claimed and honestly, Shane didn't mind belonging to his little Aussie at all.