Welcome to the 2025 Kerth Quiz: Best Kiss
SPIFFY DISCLAIMER THINGY!: All the stories featured in this quiz qualify for the Best Kiss in a 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 (+AO3!), *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: “Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.” Which kiss left them all behind this year?
The DEADLINE for entries for this quiz is SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 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:She stood from the bale. “Come on, Farm Boy,” she said offering him her hand. “It’s time we got some sleep.”
Clark went down the ladder first and stood at the bottom in case Lois needed assistance. She came down easily and jumped to the ground, turning towards him.
And almost into his raised arms.
She stopped. He stopped.
She smiled. He smiled.
She… or maybe he… leaned forward.
And suddenly, they were kissing.
Not light. Not quick. Not meaningless.
Full. And rich. And deep.
As the dam broke inside him, Clark’s arms surrounded her and enclosed her against his body.
His mind went to mush, except for the only thought that mattered. Lois was responding to his kisses.
Lois was kissing him! Just as fully. Just as richly. Just as deeply.
And then, she lurched away, turning from him.
He stared at her back for a long moment, trying to catch his flyaway breath, still his thundering heart, and quell the rampant fear that he had ruined everything.
At last, she turned. Slowly. And faced him.
Her expression was unreadable. Her eyes cannoned into his.
EXCERPT #2:He dipped his head and kissed her.
Lois felt herself falling into the kiss. His mouth was warm and firm against hers. Her adrenaline had been fading since Henderson had shown up. Immediate danger over, she’d pushed herself to uphold the brave facade to contain the kryptonite. But Lex’s memory and Nigel’s threats had shaken her. Superman rarely kissed her in plain view of the world, even as alone as they were now, behind an abandoned warehouse and covered by night, so he must have sensed that they’d both needed the connection.
The kiss was comforting.
And electric.
Her pulse sped up and she leaned into it.
He felt her deepen the kiss and felt his control slip in the same instant. His arms slid fully around her again, drawing her closer to him as proof that she was still sound and alive in his arms. The thought sent a thrill through him, and he slid a hand into her hair, cradling her head with primal possessiveness.
She inhaled on a gasp as he began to trail erratic kisses down the side of her neck, languorously teasing her pulse point. In an automatic response, she rocked her hips against his.
Her movement against his body sent a rush down through his pelvis to his toes. He couldn’t catch his breath and he didn’t care.
His mouth moved down across her neck until it met the line of her shirt collar, and he ran his other hand up her side and over her shoulder to tug it aside. He kissed her skin beneath the fabric, feeling her fingers digging sharply into his back beneath the cape.
A siren pierced the surrounding darkness.
They paused, brought back to a world that held more than just the two of them.
EXCERPT #3:“I can’t promise you that nothing will happen to me,” Lois told him, drawing a somewhat shaky breath. “But I can promise you that you don’t have to be strong by yourself. That’s the point. I’m scared of losing you too, but I refuse to let fear stand in the way of being happy. And you make me so happy. I’ve never had that before. Not like this. I need you. Don’t you know that by now?”
He hadn’t. Not really. The force of her words slammed into him like a wave. He knew she loved him. She’d told him and shown him, but he’d never really realised that she needed him the same way he needed her. He felt his throat tighten and fought back the emotions that threatened.
“I guess I just needed to hear it,” he admitted. “Everything is so new. Falling in love…planning a wedding…being vulnerable. Somehow you are both my weakness and my strength and I’m having a hard time figuring out how to handle that.”
“I understand,” she told him, and somehow he believed her. “We can figure it out together. I’m right here.”
She leaned close again and kissed him softly. It was a gesture of comfort and one he sorely needed. Yet, even as she began to pull away, he knew he needed more. Reaching out, he pulled her into his lap, deepening the kiss. Every nerve ending in his body came to life as she returned the depth of the kiss, her body flush against him in a way that felt…dangerous.
But she didn’t pull back. Instead, she settled into the kiss, straddling him as their tongues danced against one another and running her fingers through his hair with an urgency that felt contagious. They’d been careful with one another ever since the near miss inside the virtual reality simulation. Both of them were aware that, whenever they touched, things had the possibility of going from a spark to a flame within a matter of seconds, and right now they were playing with fire.
EXCERPT #4:So, what do you say, Farm-boy? You want to get your first kiss in a few years early with the girl you know you’re going to marry instead of some stuck-up cheerleader?”
Clark leaned back into the couch. “L-Lois…”
She leaned in closer. “Kiss me, Clark.”
He hesitated just a moment longer and then reached up to cup her cheek and draw her in the last few inches. Their lips pressed together for a few short moments. It wasn’t anything like the kisses they had shared before – when they were adults. It was short and simple and… sweet. And, as far as first kisses go, it was absolutely perfect. Because it was Clark.
As he pulled away, Lois smiled and bit her lip, feeling her cheeks warm. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Clark whispered, his hand still lingering on her face and his thumb gently stroking her cheek.
Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind and the two teenagers sprung apart, Clark’s hand dropping abruptly to his own lap. They both spun to see Martha Kent standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.
“Mom!” Clark exclaimed, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. "How long have you been standing there?"
Martha set her hands on her hips and eyed the teens disapprovingly. "Longer than you'd like"
EXCERPT #5:My heart starts thudding hard in my chest, as if it’d had stopped and just now remembered it was supposed to be beating. The air catches in my lungs again as his eyes meet mine just briefly, then he takes a halting breath and drops his gaze. I watch him reach down to take my hands in his—they’re warm, and trembling slightly—and he raises them to his lips, brushing a few gentle kisses against my knuckles.
What’s left of the air in my lungs rushes out, and I take a shuddering breath. He still hasn’t spoken, but his head lifts again. And this time when our eyes meet, he nods, just slightly, as though he’s just as scared as I am in this moment.
Clark’s gaze flits down to my mouth and back as he leans in, slowly still, closing the impossibly short distance between us now. And when his lips meet mine, my heart starts to flutter wildly, like a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies soaring into the air. It’s the first time he’s kissed me for real, and god, it feels so real, so true, so…comfortable and reassuring and heartfelt.
I whimper lightly as he pulls away, my body clamoring of its own accord that the kiss ended far too quickly. But I don’t agree, because I’m desperate to look in Clark’s eyes and see the warmth and the truth of my choice staring back at me. I’m tempted to get lost there, in the deep pools that seem to hold only love and tenderness for me, and a healthy edge of desire.
“What now?” I whisper, almost hesitant to break this moment that surrounds us.
His hand comes up to cup my cheek, and his touch is gentle and affectionate, but a little timid too. There’s warmth when he smiles, though, probably because it’s so familiar to the both of us. “You pick a movie?”
I laugh lightly, half from relief at the way the tension so suddenly left the room. I didn’t realize there had been any left. But of course there was. This was new, brand-new and delicate, whatever was next between us.
EXCERPT #6:“I was suddenly faced with a future that wasn’t so planned and perfect anymore. There would be this big gaping hole in my life where you had been, and I couldn’t figure out where I should go from there.”
He felt his stomach twist. Lois was admitting to him that she cared for him in a way he’d longed for since he’d met her, but he realized the pain and trauma she’d gone through to get to that revelation was now based on a lie, and he felt the need to tell her now before he burst.
“But now you’re here, you’re really here.”
He was desperately tired, his mind full of what Lois had just admitted, along with the weight of what he had to tell her, but the sparks of delight that fired up and down his skin as she lightly plucked at the bits of cake and cement that were stuck to his shirt, just about short circuited his mind. He stared at her, his mouth slightly agape.
She ceased touching him and he could see doubt creeping into her expression as he remained silent and motionless. He reached out and gently captured her hand in one of his, watching as her downcast eyes returned to meet his.
“I am,” he said in response. “I am really here. But there’s something I have to tell you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Clark. I’m just so happy you’re here.”
She leaned towards him and moving on autopilot he reciprocated, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. Within moments his fingers were threading through her hair, while his other hand reached for her waist, pulling them closer together. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening, right when he thought he had to give all of this up.
After a few more glorious moments of kissing Lois, Clark pulled back, leaving one hand at her waist, while tucking the mussed hair behind her ear with the other.
EXCERPT #7:Before she could talk herself out of it, Lois took a brush and a small bucket of paint. “Okay, then, let's get started.”
He grinned at her. “So, does this count as doing normal things together? I thought that painting a room would be well past the dating stage.”
It was their usual friendly banter, with an added note of something more. Lois’ heart fluttered. How did he manage to make something as mundane as painting sound romantic? The mere thought of moving in with him one day sent an inexplicable rush of excitement through her. And the warm gleam in his eyes let her believe that he was picturing the same.
As he looked at her, his gaze so full of love, she was painfully aware of his presence. His lips were only inches from hers. She could feel the whiff of his breath. The air seemed to crackle with electricity, sparks flying as they drowned in each other’s eyes. Her whole body ached to close the distance and forget about painting altogether.
Without thinking, she dipped the brush into the paint and colored his nose in cream white.
“Getting cheeky, are we, farmboy?”
He laughed. Then his lips were suddenly on hers, warm and pliant. His tongue darted forward, teasing, caressing…. She moaned into his mouth as he wapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Heat shot through her belly and her desire for him flared. The world around her faded, reduced to the taste of his lips, the sweetness of his kiss and the heat of his body setting her on fire.
The brush threatened to slip from her hand, but he pulled back just in time. As the world swam into focus, Lois felt something sticky on her cheek.
Cream white paint, she realized.
“Turn-about’s fair play.” A wicked smile crossed his lips, then he snatched a paint roll that was lying in a corner of the room.
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)
