Duncan thought his girlfriend was perfect just the way she was, honest. While Courtney had once written that long list of things she sought to change about him, Duncan couldn't think of a single thing that would make her any more attractive to him than she already was. Not that any sort of modifications would make her less attractive; she was just that gorgeous that she would pull off practically anything. But why bother to change something that was perfect to begin with? He loved her warm cinammon skin, the cute freckles dusting her nose, her large mocha brown eyes that glinted like caramel in the sunlight, the crease that appeared in her forehead each time he surprised her with a sudden kiss. He even loved her bottom row of teeth that she was so self-conscious of - she had only ever gotten braces on her top teeth, leaving the lower ones sharp and crooked.

So when he came home that night and was instantly met with a pair of long arms being strewn around his neck and a chaste kiss bestowed upon his lips, the change in her physical appearance was… jarring, to say the least.

It was such a minor tweak. If he had been viewing her from a distance, he wouldn't have even noticed it. But when she was right in front of him, her face mere inches from his and greeting him with that cheeky smile he loved so much, it was hard not to see it.

Right there, sitting on the wing of her nose, was the tiniest silver rhinestone, almost taunting him as it shimmered under their ceiling lights.

He couldn't stop his ice blue eyes from locking onto the piercing. He never thought Courtney, his sweet, prim-and-proper Courtney, who never had a wrinkle in her clothes or a strand of hair on her head out of place, would be the type to put jewelry in her face, especially considering how often she used to complain about Duncan's excessive piercings. He knew she had earrings, but she hardly ever wore them, and she was firm about her adventures in body modification ending there. Duncan had practically begged her to get those matching tattoos, and even when he eventually succeeded, she ended up just getting a temporary one after she was nearly thrown into a panic attack at the first screech of the needle gun. (His was real, though; he still had it.)

Just because Courtney wasn't the type to get a face piercing, though… didn't mean she wasn't the type to look good in one. And although Duncan had never imagined her with a nose stud before, he'd be lying if he said the sight of it wasn't doing interesting things to his heart. It was rather fitting for her, surprisingly. It rested on her cute nose so quaintly, giving the perfect touch of sparkle to her already stunning features.

He had seen her with it for all of two minutes, but somehow, he couldn't picture her without it anymore.

Courtney's perfectly straight upper teeth were digging into her plush lip as she closely examined his face, waiting for a reaction. She knew exactly what she was doing. That stupid, cunning woman. Stupid cunning woman that drove Duncan up the wall in the best of ways.

"That…" Unsure of what to say, he pointed to her with a pale, trembling finger. "Y-You…"

"Oh, this?" Courtney raised a hand to her face, shielding her nose behind her fingers. She chuckled a little, a sound that made Duncan's chest flutter. "I lost a bet with Gwen. She did it herself, so I was a bit nervous at first, but she assured me she's done this before… it looks kinda silly, doesn't it?"

Duncan wanted to grab her by the wrist and pull her hand away. Tell her not to hide herself. Tell her that she was beautiful, face piercing or none. But all he could do was stare, still recovering from the initial shock of seeing her.

"Come to think of it, Gwen only said I had to let her pierce my nose. She never said I had to keep it. If I take it out by tonight, I'm sure the hole will close up and heal quickly enough on its own…"

"Don't you dare."

"Huh?"

This time, he actually did take her hand away from her face, before catching her lips in an ardent kiss. The squeak of surprise she gave was swallowed into Duncan's mouth, but it wasn't long before she reciprocated, melting into his embrace and pushing back with just as much force.

When they departed, Duncan brushed a stray lock of auburn hair behind her ear and planted another kiss to the tip of her nose. "I kinda dig it, princess. It suits you."

She had known him long enough to know that this was his way of telling her how beautiful he thought she was. Duncan was never good with words, but that was fine by her. He had his own ways of showing affection, and she liked him that way. She just liked him in general, even if she did rant about the mohawk and the piercings and all the other things she had grown to adore about him.

Instead of thanking him, Courtney just rolled her eyes. "I wish you'd stop calling me that."

"You don't really mean that."

She smacked him against the shoulder, but not hard. He was right.

They knew each other too well.