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The office of the dentist smelled awfully sterile as Shane walked into the building again. Forty minutes ago he brought Conor in, and they said he should be done by now. One of the nurses walked straight towards him with a smile, saying, «Great, you’re back.»
Kathleen was the one who allowed Shane to stay until Conor felt woozy enough to fall asleep, because it was a big drama to get the Aussie to the dentist this morning for his wisdom teeth removal. Probably because all of this mess started yesterday afternoon with Conor whining during sightseeing that his mouth hurt, and one small visit at a local dentist told them all they needed to know; those teeth needed to get out as soon as possible.
«We monitor him for half an hour more, and then he’s free to go after the last check,» Kathleen said as she brought him to the small room where Conor was propped up on an armchair, a blanket over his legs and hooked up to a blood pressure cuff. «Everything went okay, he’s probably a little out of it right .»
Conor lifted his head slightly, «Shaneeee!»
Shane had to keep his best together to not start laughing at how Conor sounded with all the cotton in his mouth. He looked awfully tired, his eyes not fully open as he seemed everywhere, except here. It was a good thing to not send all three boys to get Conor from the surgery, because their younger Aussie would have been simply overwhelmed.
«Best thing to do is stay by his side, and if something is wrong, there’s a button on his left,» Kathleen said as she noted something down on her tablet. Shane nodded and thanked her as he grabbed the chair nearby and sat down next to the seat Conor was curled in.
Mason and Zach were out in the town, washing their clothes from the past weeks, while Shane would get Conor back to the Airbnb. All three knew that their poet would be knocked out from medication all day and not be up to sightseeing the next days.
Shane pulled the chair in the corner closer to Conor’s armchair and smiled at the Aussie, «so did they give you the good stuff?»
Conor furrowed his brows, «they’re out?»
Okay, someone was definitely a little funny now. Shane nodded with a slight grin and put a hand onto Conor’s to prevent him from touching his mouth.
«Keep those dirty fingers away from your mouth now,» Shane warned softly and watched how Conor’s face twisted between confused, offended, and frustrated.
Conor grumbled, «I can’t feel my tongue.»
Shane pulled the soft blanket a little higher on Conor, and his grin turned into a comforting smile.
«That will be over in a few hours,» Shane said softly and patted Conor’s arm gently. The Aussie still didn’t seem very happy as he sat up a bit more. «And no, keep lying down; your body needs a few moments to recover.»
Conor pouted, «but you’re so far away.»
Oh, that jerk. Shane pulled the chair closer and leaned on the seat with his elbows before he asked Conor if that was better. The Aussie seemed more happy about it, nodding, and then his hand searched for Shane’s.
«My tongue feels weird,» Conor then said and looked at Shane like he had a solution for everything. Oh, that was going to be a long day…
Shane grabbed Conor’s hand and sighed, «you just said that.»
For a few seconds Shane thought about calling Mason, asking him to get them both, because he wasn’t too sure if he could get Conor home without an accident.
«Shaneee?» Conor asked randomly and looked with his ocean blue eyes into the ones of the long-haired man. Shane patted Conor’s arm and grinned, «yes Conor?»
There was a loopy smile on Conor’s face, and Shane knew the next words were probably filled with bullshit.
«You’re cute when you look at me like that,» Conor grins.
Shane spluttered, «huh?»
To be honest, the blonde thought he had a neutral, maybe amused, expression on his face. He didn’t even think twice about how he actually looked, because his attention was currently more on Conor to make sure he didn’t choke on his own spit.
The Aussie didn’t answer and just sighed deeply before leaving his eyes shut close. Shane knew that getting those wisdom teeth out was a whole rough procedure and that Conor would definitely need some rest on the heavy medication he was on.
«We already stocked up on some soft foods for you,» Shane softly said and smiled when Conor just weakly hummed. Technically they missed some days of going around the city, but that didn’t matter to Shane as long as he was able to spend some quality time with Conor—to be honest, he didn’t even want to leave him alone in the current state.
It wouldn’t need much, probably Conor would be back to his poetic self tomorrow morning, but at least for today they were introduced for cooling those cheeks and resting. They managed to get all kinds of ice cream and other stuff that Conor didn’t need to chew in the fridge.
Conor only nodded softly, and Shane sighed as he poked his arm gently.
«I know you’re sleepy, but that has to wait until we’re in the car, alright?» Shane asked and smiled when Conor did open his eyes again. As much as he was for it that Conor got some nice sleep, he didn’t need to make the way to the car any harder than necessary.
«Only a few minutes more and then we can go, yeah?» Shane motivated the Aussie with a soft nudge.
―୨୧⋆ ˚
«C’mon buddy,» Shane groaned as he tried to make Conor do another step, «you can fall onto the couch instantly if you would cooperate with me.»
Mason had a grin on his face as he watched them while he held the door open. Zach was out, Mason said something about getting the medication for Conor, as Shane’s patience dropped.
«Alright princess,» Shane sighed deeply and put his arm underneath Conor’s legs to carry him. Conor didn’t fight him thankfully, but leaned his head against Shane’s shoulder and mumbled a thank you.
The older Aussie at the door snickered, «if Conor wouldn’t feel that miserable, I would film that.»
That would make views, but Mason wasn’t in the mood to film Conor while he was recovering.
«Ha ha, you’re so funny,» Conor grumbled softly from Shane’s arms before addressing Shane, «don’t let me fall.»
With the pain medication already starting to leave, he felt awful, and the sound of ice packs on his cheeks sounded like heaven to him.
Shane didn’t need much strength to put Conor onto the couch that they had already prepared for him with blankets and some water bottles.
«Doctor said you could have another round of meds at lunch, but you will have to eat something then,» Shane softly said as he watched Conor moving his face in pain.
Mason smiled softly, «here, that will help.»
He put some ice packs in a towel and onto Conor’s cheek, who mumbled a thank you. He seemed absolutely not in the mood for anything now.
«Let’s see if your wisdom teeth removal tool took your genius poems with you,» Mason joked softly and squeezed Conor’s arm lightly before letting go.
Conor opened his eyes and looked at Shane, «could you please hit him for me?»
Shane didn’t need to be asked twice, not when Conor asked and slammed his fist into Mason’s arm.
«Ow?» Mason sounded offended and rubbed his upper arm while Shane looked at Conor, trying to see if he did it right.
«Thank you,» Conor mumbled and pushed the towels with ice tighter against his cheek.
Shane rubbed Conor's arm and mumbled, «maybe you should get some sleep again.»
Conor nodded and closed his eyes again, the blanket around him like a shield as he passed out rather quickly. Mason and Shane shared an amused glance before going after some other things, leaving their poet sleeping.
While Conor was sleeping, Zach came back with a bag full of medication, setting it down in the kitchen as they were busy with all other stuff and writing some lines down.
So when the young Aussie woke up two hours later, it was quiet in the house. Mason was in the garden, on a call with his girlfriend, and Zach was just the same in his bedroom.
Only Shane sat right on the floor in front of the couch, smiling when he saw that Conor woke up.
«What are you doing?» Conor mumbled sleepily, sounding much better than he did just after the appointment. Shane smiled softly and answered, «you were whining in your sleep, and I wanted to make sure you’re alright.»
Conor groaned, his face now hurt like hell. Shane still smiled before getting the now warm cool packs away from Conor, making a mental note to replace them later.
«Would you feel up for some chocolate pudding?» Shane asked softly and rubbed Conor’s arm in a comforting gesture. «Then you could take your antibiotics and pain meds.»
The Aussie looked at Shane and asked if he would stay with him if he would say yes.
«You never have to ask me, I would always stay with you,» Shane answered and stopped rubbing Conor's arm, but took his hand for a gentle squeeze.
Conor smiled, «you still look cute when you look at me like that, all soft.»
Shane blinked twice before grinning, «then maybe I should always look at you like that.»