Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

spot was running out of shirts. sure, he had a couple flannels he loved, but he wore them almost everyday. he had a few undershirts, but those were dirty as well. hell, he didn't even own a lightweight jacket or a hoodie anymore. all thanks to one dumbass bitch.

"i gave all my old clothes to les!" his boyfriend had said. "honest!" for a short period of time, spot had actually believed him. then, he went to his house. he had accidentally stumbled into a closet stuff with clothes, some of which belonged to spot.

"you have better fashion sense than me!" his boyfriend had said. "seriously!" for another short period of time, spot believed him. then, he overheard a conversation that his boyfriend was having with jack kelly. in said conversation, the two boys insulted spot's fashion sense.

"i'm broke and i fit in your clothes!" his boyfriend had said. "i'm tellin' the truth!" for a final short period of time, an exasperated spot believed him.  then, he saw his boyfriend walk into a store. spot had wanted to surprise him, but then he saw the oversized hoodie covering his hands, and his boyfriend pulled out an one hunderd dollar bill to pay for a couple shirts.

so, it was safe to say that spot was rightfully upset about the lies. so, he confronted his boyfriend.

"i like your scent," his boyfriend had said softer than before. "when i get upset, i where your clothes and it gets better." spot wanted to believe him, but he was skeptical. he went to his boyfriend's apartment one night to find the door unlocked. spot was immediately alarmed and stormed into it. he heard a muffled cry from the bedroom. he quickly had his way in there and cracked the door open. his boyfriend was sprawled out on the floor, wearing spot's hoodie in summer.

spot knew then why his boyfriend stole his clothes, but it didn't help solve the problem that spot was having; he was out of shirts.

"hey, could i borrow that shirt?" spot had asked his boyfriend, eyeing a new shirt. "i'll return it, i guess." his boyfriend had let spot borrow the shirt. spot, not keeping his word, kept the shirt.

"you took all my clothes!" spot had said. "i guess if you want, i'll five it back, but still!" his boyfriend had let spot borrow a lightweight jacket he had bought. spot, not keeping his word, kept the jacket.

"my remaining clothes are dirty!" spot said, tiredly. "i can't show up to work with no shirt on!" his boyfriend had reluctantly let spot borrow the polo he had been given. spot, once again not keeping his word, kept the polo.

his boyfriend had gone long enough with not knowing the truth. he wanted to know why spot took his things.

"i love the smell of you," spot had said gently. "your smell is intoxicating, and when i want to forget, i wear your clothes and suddenly i feel a bit better." his boyfriend gave spot the thick blanket hesitantly, not wanting to let go. spot didn't keep his word. his boyfriend had gone to get the blanket a few nights later, but he found the apartment door unlocked. he had rushed to spot's room immediately, but was surprised to find spot curled up in a ball, the blanket wrapped around him.

so they shared clothes. they shared blankets. they shared food. they shared drinks. soon, they shared a home. the best part was, they finally got to share a last name.

spot conlon didn't mind that his boyfriend stole his clothes.

racetrack higgins didn't mind that his boyfriend stole his blankets.

they were only happy to be together.

Chapter Text

"kindly get off me," spot said annoyed. race scoffed and rolled his eyes. he didn't budge. spot frowned and pushed race gently. race furrowed his eyebrows and clung tighter to spot.

"'m comfy." race rested his head on spot's shoulder. his legs were wrapped tightly around spot's hips. the television was on in front of the couch. spot couldn't remember what was playing, but he assumed it was something that race had chosen. probably something like steven universe, spongebob, or the office; race's taste in shows was odd.

"darlin', i have to work," spot tried again, softer but still annoyed. race shook his head. spot sighed and attempted to push race again, but race's grip around him tightened, and he dug his chin into spot's shoulder.

"i don't wanna move," race whined. spot rolled his eyes. he loved his husband a lot, but he needed to work to make money. race hadn't been able to work since the cafè he worked at was closed, but spot's work as an assistant teacher in a special needs room in an elementary school still required him to work. if spot was being completely honest, he thought he was doing more work than the actual teacher.

"i have a zoom meeting in about," spot paused to look at the digital watch on his wrist, "three minutes." race nodded, teeling spot to continue. "i need you to get off or else we'll both be embarrassed." race nodded again, but didn't move. spot frowned. "hun, they don't know that i'm bi. or that i'm married. i dont't know how they'll react."

"who'll be in the call?" race asked instead of moving. spot thought for a moment.

"the art teacher, the music teacher, one of the fourth grade teachers, and the library aid. a couple of the third grade teachers might be there as well, but i'm not sure."

"so nobody that's in charge?"

"no," spot answered, feeling defeated.

"then 'm not movin'." race loosened his grip on his husband, and spot sighed. he didn't try to push or move race anymore. he moved the laptop off the table and on the arm of the couch, facing the two of them. he turned it on and opened zoom. he opened the call, and eveyone went silent.

"wait, you have a boyfriend?" the fourth grade teacher asked finally. spot shook his head.

"he's my husband, actually," spot explained tiredly. the teacher nodded slowly.

"so you're gay?" the art teached asked curiously.

"i'm not, but my husband sure is." this got the music teacher to laugh. "i'm bisexual." the art teacher let out a sigh of relief, and spot raised an eyebrow. the art teacher looked off screen and yelled something that spot couldn't make out. suddenly, a hand a appeared from the side of the screen.

"anyway, this is my husband, david." the art teacher, mr. kelly, pulled the man in frame entirely. spot waved at the camera, and the other teachers did the same. "davey, say hi," mr. kelly whispered. davey shook his head. davey whispered something back to mr. kelly, and he nodded. "alright, go ahead." davey moved back off screen. "he gets really anxious in front of people, which is why i haven't introduced him to anyone yet."

"okay so this is gonna sound crazy," the library aid said, pulling a man into frame. "this is my husband finch."

"my name is patrick, asshole," finch smiled. mr. dasilva, the library aid, rolled his eyes. finch moved off screen again. race smirked into spot's shoulder.

"my boyfriend isn't home right now, but his name is romeo and i love him dearly," the fourth grade teacher said, smiling. he pushed up his glases and stared at the camera.

"homophobia is dead," race said loudly. spot chuckled and rolled his eyes. mr. kelly laughed along with him.

"you never introduced us to your husband, sean," mr. dasilva said matter-of-factly. spot rolled his eyes.

"you guys can jus' call me spot. this is anthony. anthony, say hi," spot turned to his husband, who had finally moved his head out of spot's shoulder.

"hi," he said meekly, suddenly getting nervous. he shot spot a scared look. spot sighed and kissed race gently on the cheek. race's face turned red. a chorus of 'aw's came from the computer. spot blushed lightly. suddenly, another person joined the call. it was one of the third grade teachers. she had someone's head in her lap.

"maybe this was a bad time?" she asked. it looked like she was playing with someone's hair, but spot couldn't tell if it was because of the angle or not. "wait, that's gay." she stared straight into the camera.

"babe, you're gay," someone said. the third grade teacher, mrs. pulitzer, blushed and nodded.

"this is my wife, sarah. sarah, this are my colleagues." sarah moved her head in frame and smiled. suddenly, her expression changed.

"kelly," she said sternly.

"jacobs," he answered. spot exchanged a confused glance with race.

"how's david?" she asked, monotonous. mr. kelly shrugged.

"he's fine. how's les?" he questioned. 

"he's great. how dare you marry my brother."

"that's good for him. how dare you marry my best friend."

"how about you two stop arguing and we can actually get to work?" mr. dasilva interrupted. mr. kelly sighed but nodded.

the rest of the meeting wasn't as memorable. maybe spot would've remembered if race had gotten off his lap.

Chapter Text

spot despised coffee. it tasted terrible, and he didn't understand how people liked it. it could either be too bitter or too sweet; there was no in between. he probably needed some coffee, but he never drank it willingly.

why he kept showing up at the corner street cafè was beyond him. it was a nice place. the outside of the shop was a pastel blue with light pink accents. the sign for the shop was written in cursive, and it was placed above the door. inside, it was a cozy place. there were booths in one area, tables in another, and there was a place for leisure with beanbags. it was the only side of the room with carpet on it.

spot walked up to the queue, ready to order. there was only one person ahead of him, and he had just finished ordering. spot cleared his throat and looked at the barista, who was snickering quietly.

"black coffee for spot i assume?" he asked, smiling. spot felt butterflies in his stomach. he nodded quickly and looked down, feeling his face heat up. "man, you must really like this place. this is your tenth day in a row coming back here," the barista said. spot looked back up and shrugged.

"it's good coffee," he explained. he wore a small smile, trying to keep his composure. the barista eyed spot suspiciously. he finally sighed and looked away.

"that's weird, 'cause i've never actually seen you drink the coffee." the barista looked out through the glass door, longing for his shift to be over. spot's face flushed. "hey spotty, you sure you still want that coffee?"

"i guess not," spot answered. "don't call me spotty, please," he addes quietly. the barista rolled his eyes and looked at the clock. he smirked as he realized his shift was over.

"you stay right here, i'll be right back." the barista suddenly disappeared behind a door. spot stood, staring at the ground awkwardly. a teen that was sitting in a beanbag looked him up and down curiously. spot cleared his throat and the teen looked away. the barista finally appeared, this time walking out with someone else.

"you are hopeless," the other person said to the barista. the barista rolled his eyes and made his way over to spot.

"you say that like you aren't, davey. good luck with jack, by the way." the barista smirked as davey turned red and looked down. the barista stood next to spot awkwardly. "so, you wanna get some lunch from next door?"

"i will if you tell me your name." spot looked at the taller boy expectingly.

"'m anthony."

"that's no good. you got any hobbies?" spot asked. anthony was a but offened by spot calling his chosen name 'no good'. spot seemed to catch on. "sorry, i just want to give you a nickname. anthony's a great name." anthony nodded. the two began walking to the door, spot opened the door for anthony, and they walked on the sidewalk.

"i like betting on horse races i guess," anthony answered. spot nodded and thought to himself. he smiled and looked up at anthony.

"we'll call you racetrack."

Chapter Text

"why am i doing this," race whispered to himself. "right, because i'm a dumbass. forgot about that for a second." spot gripped his hand excitedly as they neared the front of the queue to a roller coaster at holiday world. spot had suggested that they ride the roller coaster. spot loved roller-coasters. race hated them.

spot had let race choose the roller coaster. race had stupidly chosen the tallest ride, the voyage.

to say that race was scared was an understatement. race was absolutely terrified. he had thought that the ride was going to be a smaller one. he had hoped the ride was a smaller one.

so when they reached the front of the queue, race could hardly breath. he wanted to go back down, but he didn't want to disappoint spot. spot was ecstatic about being able to ride the voyage; he had never riden it before and he had race there with him.

the two boys sat down in the front cart. race's second mistake was to get in the front cart.  he tried to gulp down his anxiety, but it only resurfaced a moment later. 

spot got in the seat to the left while race sat next to him on the right. the both buckled their seatbelts and stared forward. apparently race was shaking because next thing he knew, spot was staring at him lovingly and lacing their fingers together.

"it's gonna be alright," spot cooed. race nodded. "just take a deep breath," spot inhaled deeply, and race did it as well, "and let it go," spot said, exhaling. it took a moment for race to release the breath as well. he did this two more times. suddenly, the jerked forward. race's eyes widened. he squeezed spot's hand. spot squeezed back, letting race know that he was there.

they slowly ascended upwards. race turned to spot, scared. spot offered an encouraging smile, which race returned uneasily. they crept upwards until they were at the top. race shut his eyes. he hadn't said anything about it to anyone, but race was afraid of heights. spot traced a circle into race's hand, and then the dropped.

they were going far too fast for race's liking, and he couldnt breath. he shrieked along with the children behind him. spot chuckled heartily, and race squeezed spot's hand again. spot squeezed tighter.

the went up another hill, this time very much faster. race took a deep breath right before they descended once more. there was another hill ahead, and race's eyes shut tightly. he held onto spot and didn't let go. spot rolled his eyes. he smiled to himself.

they descended quickly, and they were plunged into darkness for a few seconds before coming out again. this happened about three times more, and everytime they went into the dark, race screamed.

the ride was shaky, but steady. race took in a few quick breaths, his eyes still closed. he gulped. the ride was still going way to fast. race anticipated another hill, but that wasn't what he had gotten.

the tracks ahead were going sideways and spot squeezed race's hand. race opened his eyes slightly and screeched. spot smiled as they hung to right of the tracks.

spot wasn't scared of the roller coaster, but he was afriad for race. he didn't want race to start crying, which was most likely going to happen. race took in another deep breath.

race kept his eyes closed for the rest of the ride, afraid of what he'd see. he hated roller coasters in general, but wooden ones made him more nervous. the wood could just snap at any moment, and race wasn't ready to die.

once they came to a stop, race hesitantly opened his eyes. he looked up at the people staring at him. spot laughed softly. race's face flushed and he unbuckled his seatbelt. he still didn't let go of spot when they were back down on the ground.

"see? it wasn't that bad." spot smiled at his boyfriend softly. race scoffed and looked away.

"i hate you."

Chapter Text

spot's night was going perfectly well. he was alone in his room, trying to sleep, and almost succeeding. almost. he groaned when his phone began ringing. he saw the coller id and hesitantly answered the call.

"race, what do you need?" spot asked tiredly. he heard a muffled sob from the other line, and he was immediately alarmed. "'ey, what's wrong?" he asked in a softer tone. race sniffed.

"im locked inside of a walmart," race sobbed. "all of the doors are locked and i can't leave! i wanna go home!" race wailed loudly into the phone. spot turned to look at an imaginary camera, pretending that he was in the office.

"what do you want me to do about it? how the hell did you get locked in there in the first place?" spot asked, confused. race drew in a shaky breath. he wasn't panicking as much as he was earlier, but he was scared to death.

"i think i fell asleep in the toy section."

"what the fuck, race!" spot exclaimed. "first off, why where you in the toy section?" he asked.

"i was gonna get albert a barbie doll as a prank," race muttered, embarrassed. spot rolled his eyes and bit back a laugh.

"how did you fall asleep? why did you fall asleep?" were spot's next questions. race cleared his throat.

"i havent been sleepin' lately, i got finals to study for and i work the night shift at casey's. tonight was my only night off in a while," race grumbled sadly. spot sighed.

"hun, you need sleep or you won't be able to function properly. this is just gonna be one occurrence out of many if you keep this up," spot explained. "also, why is walmart closed? isn't it open twenty-four hours?"

"appearantly not tonight!" race huffed. he pouted and crossed his arms. spot frowned and looked at the clock in his bedroom. it was one in the morning. spot sighed.

"lucky for you, i have a friend who works at walmart," spot said. he could practically hear race light up through the phone.

"seriously?" race asked, not quite believing it. spot grinned.

"absolutely! i one hundred percent have a loser friend who chose to work at walmart. definitely," he said sarcastically.

"how dare you get my hopes and dreams up just to crush them right before my eyes," race said angrily.

"we literally can't see each other," spot said. he knew race wanted to leave, but maybe he'd get more sleep if he was in a closed in area that he couldn't leave. spot shook off the idea. he didn't want race to be alone.

"what the fuck am i supposed to do?" race asked, panicking again. he took in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. spot stayed silent for a minute, thinking.

"i dunno, i guess you're gonna have to figure it out on your own," spot said. he didn't really know what to do in that situation; he wanted to call the police, but he knew race was afriad of them. 

"no! don't hang up!" race said a bit too quickly. "please, i don't wanna be alone again."

"i'll talk to you until you fall asleep, okay?" spot asked softly.

"alright," race responded. race leaned up against the shelf behind him. "i'm not tired, y'know." spot hummed.

"i'm worried about you," spot admitted hesitantly. "you need sleep. i dont't want you falling asleep in the middle of finals," he joked playfully. race rolled his eyes.

"i'm fi-" the line suddenly cut out. spot's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. he spoke into the phone for a second before realizing that race's phone had died. he sat in silence for a moment, staring at the carpet.

spot's night couldn't have gotten any worse. he felt bad for his boyfriend, but he assumed that race would fall asleep within the next hour or so. he sighed and snuggled into his bed, feeling content.

Chapter Text

race was afraid of many things. some noteable things at the top of the list were heights, the dark, abandonment, ghosts, bugs, and the highest on the list; thunder. race hated loud noises in general, and a thunderstorm one evening didn't help at all.

it was around ten p.m. when race had woken up his boyfriends. he shook them both, and albert was the first to lay eyes of race's scared expression. albert's own expression softened and he sat up in the bed they all shared. spot goraned and sat up as well. albert pulled race close.

a crack of thunder rang through the house, and race jumped. he crawled in between spot and albert, hoping the storm would cease soon. spot grabbed race's hand tightly, and albert wrapped an arm around him.

"what's the matter, babe?" albert asked softly. he kissed race on the forehead, and race melted into him. spot continued to hold onto race's hand protectively, hoping that race would find comfort in his presence as well as albert's.

"it's just so loud," race answered quietly. spot nodded, understanding. he was made aware of race's disliking of loud noises when they were little; race would always sneak away from home when his parents were fighting, and it'd take hours before people remembered that race was always with albert and/or spot.

"it's gonna be alright," spot cooed. he traced circles into race's hand lovingly. race relaxed a bit and looked forward into the dark room. he saw a lightning strike from the window, and he braced himself for the thunder.

"why is the thunder so loud?" race asked after the loud thunder crack. albert thought for a moment and looked at spot. spot bit his lip and looked back down at race.

"well, when the lightning strikes, it's saying something to the thunder. the thunder then responds. the thunder has to be loud so the lightning can here him." no, spot had absolutely no clue why the thunder was so loud. he had zoned out when they had a conversation about it in a class of his a couple years ago. he knew the explanation he gave was completely false, but he wanted to give a race an alright reason.

albert gave spot a disappointed look, but said nothing when race nodded along.

"well, i still think it's entirely too loud," race whispered, frowning. albert rolled his eyes. race leaned his head against spot's shoulder, and he dozed off. spot and albert smiled to each other and high fived quietly. spot put his head on top of race's, and fell asleep shortly later. albert smiled to himself, wondering what he did to deserve the two boys next to him.