The Romance-Inducing Smudge is any kind of smudge, stain, or blotch that causes one character to help clean it off of another, which leads to a romantic moment between the two. This serves as an excuse for the characters involved to get closer together than they otherwise normally would, and the ostensibly innocent touching involved is almost sure to increase romantic tension for the pair. Often used as a form of Ship Tease. Compare with You Taste Delicious, when one character decides to lick a smudge off of another, and with Finger-Suck Healing. Examples: