He bent and kissed her cheek, then whispered near her ear. "Will you promise me something, Lois?"
"Clark..." Her entire body seemed to have gone stiff and cold with dread.
"Promise me you'll remember that I wanted to tell you - right now - only I couldn't?"
"Tell me what?" she asked in a voice thick with fear.
He pulled her against him, his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug. She was still clutching his shirt between them in her numb fingers even as her mind screamed that this was her last chance ever to hold him and she was squandering it.
"I can't say right now." His words were like a caress against her ear. "Just promise me, please."
"I promise." She wasn't even sure what she was promising him. Her head was swimming. Hold him! Her mind screamed the words over and over. Hold him while you still can. Tell him the truth. Tell him how much he means to you. Her arms moved mechanically to embrace him and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. It was a bad dream. It had to all be just a bad dream.
"I love you, Lois. I always have."
"No," she whispered fiercely into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. "No. This isn't how it ends."
"It's not the end," he whispered back and tipped her chin up to meet his eyes. "I promise."
He looked so confident and unafraid and she marveled at his composure. His thumb swept lightly across her cheek and wiped a tear away. "Please don't cry," he murmured. Then he bent down and brushed a light kiss on her lips. "I'll see you again soon, I promise."
What a wonderful scene! It's so beautifully written and I love how Clark makes her promise. It's just so Clark. I really hope Lois remembers her promise and doesn't get angry when Clark is clearly still alive in the next part.
My first thought was to be worried about his Kryptonite exposure, but even Clark remarks that he wasn't feeling the effects, so here's hoping that he wasn't around it enough to mess with his invulnerability.
Such a moving part!
