Welcome to the 2025 Kerth Quiz: Waffy Story
SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGY!: All the stories featured in this quiz qualify for the Best Waffy Story, but this quiz is not a stamp of recommendation for nomination. There are more fantastic stories which qualify for this category, but this quiz only covers 7 randomly chosen ones.
(Instructions are blatantly copied/linked from previous Kerth Quizzes.)RECOMMENDATIONS: Don't forget that recommendations for other favorite eligible stories are *very* welcome and encouraged! So don't forget to add these in a section after your guesses!
QUIZ RULES: One point each for getting the story and author from the quote. Plus, shiny gold stars for those who recognize their own stories. Please don't forget to mention which number you're answering. Rule recap: Open hard drive and open boards (even if you don't know, just guess an author!), *don't* forget to snip out the excerpts in your replies, and don't forget the spoiler tag when you post in the replies thread.
CATEGORY: Ah, those Warm and Fuzzy Feelings. These fun, feel-good stories are full of the cozy, happy moments that make us smile and the romantic moments that make us swoon. Apparently the kids these days call it “fluff”...so this category is ALL about the fluff!
The DEADLINE for entries for this quiz is SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2025, by 11:59 p.m (Eastern Time Zone).
Here’s the full list of
Eligible Stories.
Here are the full quiz instructions:
Countdown to Kerth Quizzes Extended Instructions and Disclaimers.
Please post your answers
HERE.
Good luck!
Evie
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EXCERPT #1:“We're supposed to go to Smallville, tomorrow.” Claire let go of the end of her cape and lost altitude until she was once again standing on the cave floor. “We made plans to spend Christmas with my parents. The tree is already up, and we were all going to decorate it together. There was going to be eggnog and homemade cookies.”
He was quiet for a moment. “That sounds really nice.”
Claire nodded. “I was looking forward to it.” She swallowed, swiping at her eyes again. “Especially giving him his present. Mom helped me pick it out, and we hid it in her art studio.” She stared out across the chasm that ran through the cave. A family of bats flew together in the dark. They became blurrier and blurrier until they finally disappeared.
Bruce said nothing. He'd never been a man for empty platitudes, nor could anyone justly call him an optimist. It was why he often left the task of comforting people to her. As for the times when she needed comfort herself—well, one didn't need the world's greatest detective to conclude none of that would be happening this time.
Eventually, his voice interrupted her maudlin thoughts. “What did you get him?”
She blinked at him. “What?”
“I was just wondering.” Bruce gave a casual shrug. “If there's one upside to being stuck here, it's that you don't have to worry about spoiling the surprise if you tell me. So, tell me: what's he getting for Christmas?”
The utter seriousness in his tone and the thinly-veiled curiosity in his expression sent her into a peal of laughter despite herself. She wiped the last tears away, and her breathing slowly steadied. “If you really want to know: I got him a coffee mug.”
“A...coffee mug?” His brows knitted together.
Claire nodded.
“...Did you have a fight?”
Claire's jaw fell open as she whirled to face him. “What? No!”
He tilted his head at her. “Then why—?”
“It says 'World's Greatest Dad' on it.” Claire stared down at the floor.
Bruce was silent for a long time. “Oh.”
EXCERPT #2:The peephole in the door darkened for a moment. There was a sharp intake of breath and then he heard the locks clicking.
His own breath caught in his throat as she opened the door. She wore slacks and a gray tank top that hugged her soft curves. He couldn't help his eyes dropping to her cleavage for a moment, that hint of the enticing valley between the swell of her breasts.
Clark's mouth ran dry and with difficulty he dragged his gaze back up to her chocolate brown eyes. He could get lost in those, too.
Tongue tied, he held out the flowers.
A smile spread across her lips. “What's the occasion?”
He swallowed hard. “Does there have to be an occasion?”
“Nope.” Her smile broadened, making his knees weak.
She stepped aside, letting him in. He brushed his lips against her cheek.
“It's so good to see you,” he mumbled.
He let his lips linger on her skin as he pulled her into an embrace. Today they hadn't seen much of each other. Different assignments had them leave the newsroom in alternating intervals, the rest of the time Superman duty had interfered. Which was why Clark had preferred knocking at the door over tapping on her window.
If he could help it, the hero had the night off.
“It's good to see you, too.” She buried her face in the crook of his neck.
EXCERPT #3:“What if it doesn’t work?” Lois whispered.
He had slowly crossed half of the distance that had been between them and he longed to rush the last half and embrace her, assure her that they would be perfect together.
“What if it does?” He asked in a hushed tone, trying to match her own.
Her gaze moved from the floor to focus on his face.
“Lois, there will never be another tonight. This is our moment.”
“But what if it isn’t?”
“What do we have to lose?” He asked gently as he stopped just in front of her, realizing that her arms weren’t crossed in defiance, but in fear.
“Everything,” she whispered.
“If you’re going to take that chance, shouldn’t you know what exactly it is you’re saying no to?”
Clark took a gamble and reached up, gently cradling her elbows in his hands. He expected her to tense up or flinch out of his touch, but she didn’t.
“What are you suggesting?”
“This,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her.
EXCERPT #4:She stepped into his arms and he willingly embraced her. It was like coming home. She was surrounded by his scent, which had long since faded from his jersey. His arms felt sure and strong around her. His heartbeat pounded just a little fast in her ear as he came down from the adrenaline rush which had brought him to her apartment.
“Oh, wow,” she breathed into his chest. “I’ve missed this so much.”
She felt him nod and tighten his hold on her, but he didn’t speak. If he was anywhere near as overwhelmed in the moment as she was, she couldn’t blame him for not being able to find his voice. They stood there for several moments, simply basking in each other’s presence. How had they gone so long without this?
Eventually, Clark leaned back to look at her but didn’t let her go. “Lois, what happened? Why did you call? I thought we agreed to only call if there was an emergency.”
“It is an emergency… sort of.” Lois bit her lip, feeling a bit sheepish for summoning him all the way from… wherever he had been. “I mean, I’m not in danger or anything. But something happened and I didn’t know what to do. And you’re the only one I can talk to about this.”
EXCERPT #5: How had her life become millionaires and superheroes? Was this what she’d been hoping her life would be?
In reply, her mind offered up an image of Clark in the newsroom, handing her a cup of perfectly warmed coffee, leaning over her shoulder as they wrote together. Now that was the life she’d wanted to build for herself, before the millionaires and superheroes had appeared. All of her favorite things in one mental snapshot: a job where she was in the top of her field and helping people, non-fattening legal addictive stimulants, and a partner she could rely on.
Her partner...
Clark was going to hate her engagement when he found out.
“It’s getting late,” her hero said, interrupting her thoughts. “I should get you home.”
She blinked. Had she just been daydreaming about Clark Kent while standing a on moonlit Parisian bridge with Superman?
It’s been a weird week, she thought.
She turned to him, then, and recognized how deeply the atmosphere had shifted. It felt like there was something between them now that hadn’t been in the way before. She wondered if it was on her end, because of her sudden thoughts of Clark or on his end, because of her sudden announcement about Lex.
“Thank you for the story,” she said. “And for bringing me here.”
She felt the wind catch her hair then, and casting one final look around, she leaned out over the railing into the breeze. It reminded her of flying. The exhilaration of it all pulled one last grin from her. Whatever was going to happen with her love life, right now she was in Paris, and she wanted to memorize this feeling while she was present in it.
I’ll be back for you soon, she thought, saying au revoir to the city. Not goodbye forever, she promised herself, with a quick glance down at the love lock, just for now.
She turned back to her hero. His expression was still but the look in his eyes was haunted and longing. It made her breath catch in her chest, and she was sure he’d heard her heart skip that beat.
EXCERPT #6:Lois hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling for a moment, feeling frustrated and irritated with herself. What on Earth had that been about? Why had she lingered on the phone like that with him like some sort of infatuated school girl?
She’d been talking to Clark…CLARK! The guy who almost always dipped his tie in his coffee every morning. The guy who always seemed to be disappearing at a moment’s notice with the silliest explanations and excuses. The guy who…
The guy who had thrown her down onto the bed…this very bed and kissed her in a way that she’d never been kissed before. The fact that it had been a ruse did not keep her mind from traitorously replaying that kiss — easily the best kiss she’d ever had — over and over again.
She rolled over, frustrated with herself for allowing her thoughts to go there once more. She’d successfully told herself over and over again that Clark was a colleague and a friend. Nothing more. But she couldn’t ignore the way her body seemed to come alive when he looked at her, or when he gave her that smile that seemed to exist only for her. Something about that smile made her feel warm all over. And that was before the kiss.
God, that kiss.
EXCERPT #7:Looking down at their entwined hands, Clark couldn't help but smile at how effortlessly she had taken his hand in hers while he couldn't even muster the courage to do the same over the course of a two-hour movie.
"Clark?"
He cleared his throat, forcing a smile.
"It's just been a weird week," he confessed quietly.
"Mayson," she nodded understandingly, her eyes briefly lowering before meeting his again. "You want to talk about it?"
He didn't want to talk about Mayson.
"I'm sorry you thought I was ignoring you," he blurted out, surprising himself as he recalled their interrupted conversation at her apartment.
"Oh," she responded in a small voice. "That's okay. Like you said, it's been a weird week."
"You're not yesterday's news," he emphasized, noting a sense of relief seemed to wash over her. "I still want to... um... date." Was that what they were doing? It felt like so much more to him. "I still want us to... see each other. You know, see where things go. Because..." he paused, feeling his heart race. "Just because... I like you." He winced at his own words, feeling his cheeks flush.
Lois smiled shyly, her hand squeezing his. "You're the only person I wanted to be with tonight."
Good luck, everyone!
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In order to help you find all things Kerth for this year, we’ve created a TOC for all the
🏆TOC for Kerth Awards 2025 Posts🏆.
The Kerth Committee
(KSaraSara, Michael, lovetvfan, and Evie)
