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When they had first started dating, Race hadn’t noticed it much.
On occasion, a passing glance, Race would see the way Spot’s nose scrunched up, but he never worried himself over it.
Not until he saw how Spot wiggled his nose when he was nervous, or the way it twitched when he heard a scathing insult. By Race’s observations, the only time Spot’s nose didn’t move was when he was smiling, which in itself was a rarity.
Spot’s poker face was no longer that and Race relished in how he could tell just what Spot was feeling based on a simple nose twitch. They hadn’t talked much in those terms, but Race figured that would come with time.
So, when Spot sat on Race’s couch, his nose constantly wiggling with short huffs, Race had to say something.
“What’s wrong?” Race cut to the chase, arms crossed.
“Who said anything’s wrong?” Spot retorted, rubbing his nose. “Nothing’s wrong.”
Race held himself back from rolling his eyes as he took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.”
Spot’s nostrils flared as his eyes pierced Race, threatening and fearful all the same. “What do you mean by that?” Spot spoke low, but Race wasn’t afraid.
He knew this bit all too well and he let out a short laugh.
“Don’t know if you realize this, Spot, but your nose says everything.”
Clapping a hand over his mouth, Race mentally kicked himself for revealing his hidden knowledge. He ran a hand down his face as Spot’s eyes widened even more.
“What?” Spot’s voice squeaked a little, his cheeks reddening with each passing moment. “What do you mean my nose?”
Biting down on his finger, Race contemplated his options and found himself falling towards what he would’ve wanted if he were in Spot’s place.
“Your nose,” Race pointed. “It wiggles around whenever you’re anything but happy. It scrunches more when you’re angry and when you’re sad, it just does this….thing.”
Race tried to imitate said thing with his hands and sighed, resorting to pushing his nose the way Spot moved it earlier.
With a blink, Spot turned away from Race, his movements sluggish as he reached to his side. Pulling a pillow in to his chest, Spot held it there for a moment before shoving the pillow against his face and yelling into it.
“Whoa, hey, hey,” Race jumped across the couch, wrapping his arms around Spot. “It’s not like a bad thing or whatever. It’s cute or-”
Spot yelled again and Race laughed, tugging down the pillow. Spot’s arms were resistant, but the pillow came down nonetheless. Race kissed Spot’s cheek, continuing to hold his boyfriend close.
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
“You better not,” Spot mumbled, brushing away some of his hair. “And don’t be using this to your advantage all the time.”
Race shifted, resting his cheek on Spot’s shoulder. “As long as you promise to talk to me about things. Doesn’t have to be everything, but you gotta let me know what’s going on in that brain of yours, Spot.”
Spot’s nod was slow, but it was all Race needed. He grinned at Spot, watching the corners of his mouth twitch and Spot rubbed his nose as he sighed.
“Just miss my mom, you know?” Spot spoke just above a whisper. “The day she died, it’s coming up next week and I just feel...empty.”
Race gave a single nod, squeezing Spot as he thought over his words. His mother was still alive after all. Race didn’t want to say the wrong thing, but he needed to reassure Spot.
“Will you come with me? To see her,” Spot added, a small sniff following.
“Of course,” Race responded immediately, pulling back a little to look at Spot.
A few tears were running down Spot’s face and Race reached out to cup Spot’s face in his hand. Steadying his breaths, Spot attempted to give Race a happier face, only to end up covering his nose as the tears continued to fall.
“God, I’m like a rabbit or something,” Spot mumbled, his scrunch still visible over the top of his hand.
Tugging down Spot’s hand, Race placed a small kiss on Spot’s nose, then interlacing his and Spot’s hands together.
“I’m sure your mom’s still looking out for you, Spot,” Race began, his words heavy on his tongue. “Even if there’s days you don’t feel her there, she’s always going to be in your heart.”
Race laughed a little at his cheesiness and shook his head.
“I’m sure you’ve heard it all, but-”
“-No, it...means a lot, Race,” Spot interrupted, a hand wiping away his tears. “Sometimes I just need to hear it. Need to know someone cares.”
Spot turned to look at Race then, their eyes searching, learning all at once as Spot leaned in, bringing them into a deep kiss. When the embrace ended, Spot rested his forehead against Race’s, his eyes downcast.
“My nose isn’t doing anything funny, is it?” Spot sighed, scratching his face absentmindedly.
“I mean, it’s a little red…” Race’s voice trailed off as Spot groaned.
“That’s it. I gotta chop it off. No other choice,” Spot fell back on the couch, draping his legs across Race’s lap.
Noticing the shift in the room, Race pressed into the cushions, his hands running along Spot’s legs.
“Nah, don’t do that. I love it. I love all of you, I mean, but your nose especially,” Race teased.
Draping an arm over his face, Spot let out a small groan. “Fine. Just for you I’ll keep it.”
Moving Spot’s legs, Race positioned the two of them to lay on the couch comfortably, an arm wrapped tight around Spot’s waist. With a contented sigh, Spot rolled into Race’s embrace and just before Spot buried his face into Race’s chest, Race managed to catch Spot’s nose relaxing as a hint of a smile sprouted on his face.