I really liked this. Scratch that, I loved it. The beginning really pulled me:
The mud was thick with the smell of death. Of loss. It'd seeped into his bones as he'd worked, weighed him down as he'd shifted brick and concrete and bodies with slippery hands. His costume, covered in layers of mud caked over mud, was ruined. He'd never get the dirt out. It was staining his skin. He'd need a new suit, but he didn't... it didn't...
It just seems from this point that things will just continue to get worse. Then the repetition of "three days" conveys Clark's anxiety and desperation.
Then it just kept spiraling down so fast, I could really feel Clark's mounting dread and his guilt as he realizes what he put her through. I liked how in the quote below you detail her movements so by the time Clark's heart wrenches mine had too:
She pulled back suddenly, her warm hands finding his arms, his shoulders, his neck. Her touch burning through his thin t-shirt. Her fingertips skimmed his face, nails brushing over his scalp, as if she was making sure he was real. Whole. And then she paused, her worried eyes flicking upwards and finding his. "Are you okay? Please, please tell me you're okay."
It's one of the sadder revelation fics I've read and so beautifully written. No it's not right Clark hid his identity from her and married her, but his guilt, his anxiety and pain are so raw--I wish this was a larger story because the narration was just so effective in conveying emotion. It was gorgeous! Thanks so much for posting this Dave.
alcyone
