His hand that was rested behind Soren's head, holding him tightly, and he said with deep emotion, "…me too, I love you the same, more than you love me."
Soren smiled gently.
It was as if he held a secret he was immensely proud of.
He pursed his lips and chuckled quietly, "How could you possibly know how much I love you?"
How could Clark know?
How could he know that before meeting him, Soren had crossed the entire universe to be by his side?
How could he know that Soren had secretly hidden the person he loved most deep in his heart for an entire lifetime?
He had come from another universe, one without him…
The real reason he had been so determined to agree to Dr. Manhattan's request was simply because of his Superman…
Soren rested his head on Clark's shoulder, laughing quietly, his eyes narrowing into two small crescents, like little moons.
He placed his forehead against Clark's neck, his fingers clutching the collar of Clark's cape, "Now that you know my secret, you can't leave me anymore, not for anyone—except for saving the world, of course."
Clark gently took his fingers and kissed them softly.
His long lashes cast shadows on the face of a god as he spoke tenderly, "I won't leave you. Neither of us will ever leave the other."
Soren made a soft, contented sound and sniffled, "I'll always be by your side. You can't dislike me."
Clark chuckled quietly, "How could I ever dislike you? …You don't even know how much I love you."
Soren felt his face heat up; Clark's straightforwardness made him a little bit shy.
His gaze darted away awkwardly, "R-really? Then will you love me forever?"
"Yes," Clark answered without the slightest hesitation, "I will love you until I grow old, and I will love you until the end of my life."
"...You're being so cheesy!" Soren turned his face away, sounding a little annoyed.
—But the smile on his face betrayed him.
Deep down, he was overjoyed, he was so happy that it felt like beautiful flowers were blooming everywhere in his heart.
He allowed Clark to gently guide him to the Fortress of Solitude, utterly compliant.
Clark placed him into the Kryptonian healing chamber, and the little robot 9-9 circled around him excitedly, "Master Soren is here! Master Soren is here! Master Soren is here…"
The healing chamber began to activate, and at the same time, diagnostic results for Soren's body started flashing on the screen in front of 9-9.
...Each of the conditions listed made Clark's heart race.
He clenched his fists in agony, wishing he could bear all of it in Soren's place.
His expression seemed to alarm 9-9, whose tone turned uncertain, "Master Kal-El, should we continue the treatment?"
"Continue."
...
When Soren woke up, he found himself lying in a room in the Fortress of Solitude.
Beside his pillow were clusters of five-petaled blue flowers.
Their delicate blue-violet color gave them the appearance of soft, fragrant snow piled together.
Just then, Clark entered the room while holding a plate of blueberry cupcakes.
"Do you like them?" Clark smiled as he saw Soren awake, "I just picked them for you in Africa. They're called blue snow flowers, and it's your favorite color."
Soren happily picked up one of the flowers and examining it closely in his hands.
It was a beautiful little flower he had never seen before on New Earth, and he found it incredibly novel, "It's so pretty... I really like it."
Clark set the plate of blueberry cupcakes down on the bedside table, "I'm glad you like it. I made these cupcakes using the blueberries you brought me. Want to try one?"
Soren nodded his head, "Those are the blueberries Martha gave me! She told me to bring them to you..."
Clark smiled, "I know. She even called me to say that she and Jonathan are coming to Metropolis to visit me in a couple of days."
"They're coming to Metropolis? Won't you go and spend time with them?"
"I... I'll go back once they're here. But for now, I want to stay with you." Clark hesitated for a moment before taking Soren's hand.
Soren nodded without thinking much about it.
Clark fed him one of the cupcakes, and Soren happily ate it, but shortly after, he started to vomit violently, emptying everything he had just eaten.
He broke out in a cold sweat, his face turning deathly pale, almost on the verge of passing out.
Clark was panicked, he quickly got him a glass of water and gently rubbed his back to help him breathe easier.
Soren, terrified and guilty, clutched at Clark's cape, "I... I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to throw up... I just couldn't hold it in..."
Clark's brow was tightly furrowed as he watched Soren bend over in pain, his hands trembling.
But with incredible self-control, when Soren lifted his head, Clark forced a gentle and forgiving smile.
He comfortingly stroked Soren's hand, "It's okay, Soren. You probably just weren't hungry."
"I..." Soren's mind felt foggy, and he couldn't understand what was wrong with him.
He mumbled softly, feeling both sad and guilty, "But you made those cupcakes for me..."
"I'll make you more next time. It's no big deal, don't worry about it." Clark held his hand.
Soren was feeling a little down and dejected.
He gave a quiet "oh" and picked up the blue snow flower beside him to play with.
Clark sat next to him, watching, then suddenly spoke, "How about I take you to see some whales?"