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I lifted her head, she looked at me and said "Hold me, Darling, just a little while." I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss; I found the love that I knew i have missed. Well now she's gone, even though I hold her tight. I lost my love, my life that night.
— "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (covered by Wednesday and later by Pearl Jam)
From out of nowhere Falina has found me Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side. Cradled by two loving arms that I'll die for One little kiss and Falina good-bye.
— "El Paso" by Marty Robbins
The only kiss that's more meaningful and dramatic than the First Kiss (unless, as is frequently the case, they happen to be one and the same). It's not just the last one we'll see, it's the last one these two characters will ever share... as far as they know at this point, at least. If the characters don't think it could be their Last Kiss, the music and color scheme of the scene will definitely indicate to the audience that it is.
The favorite time to write it in seems to be when one (or both) of the partners is/are on their deathbed (or past it), literally or proverbially, such as just before someone goes off into battle (or their wedding). Possibly will be teary. Less dramatic in old shows where the main character could share one with every new Girl Of The Week or Temporary Love Interest.
See Also: Final First Hug and Go Out With A Smile. Death's the time to show you love someone.
Sometimes overlaps with Dude Shes Like In A Coma.
Not to be confused with Kiss Of Death or Sealed With A Kiss. And definitely not with Last Dance With Mary Jane. If the characters think it's their Last Kiss but it turns out not to be, it's a Now Or Never Kiss.
Examples:
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Misato, knowing she's about to die from the bullet wound in her back, kisses Shinji, possibly to snap him out of the near comatose depression he's in.
- It backfires spectacularly as, moments later, Shinji wipes her blood off his mouth and realizes she has probably died.
- Ninja Scroll - In the cold universe of the film, where lust, violence and greed has cheapened sex as an expression of love, Kagero's simple kiss for Jubei was an expression of love stronger than any other.
- Yoko Ritona from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a prime example of these, having kissed Kamina and Kittan before both of them died in battle. This is prominent enough for her to earn the Fan Nickname "Doombitch". However, Kittan who kissed her fully knowing he was going to die anyway and apologized for his selfishness.
- Nia's last act before she disappears into nothingness was kissing Simon.
- Played straight and subverted in the same episode of Mai-HiME:
- Yukariko and Ishigami share one before they go down together.
- Subverted moments later with Mai just barely missing out on one of these as Yuuichi disappears before their lips touch.
- That, or he vanished at the exact instant their lips do touch. Either way, she doesn't get to... uh, 'enjoy' it.
- Tokyo Mew Mew combines this with Almost Kiss, Final Speech, and Pieta Plagiarism when in the second to last episode Kisshu gets killed trying to help Ichigo.
- Subverted in Basilisk. The dying, despaired and insane Kagerou tries to kill a severely injured Gennosuke with her literal Kiss Of Death, but she commits the mistake of briefly looking at her love rival Oboro... who's got the power of neutralizing any ninja's powers. Even more - Oboro had her eyes sealed with some Applied Phlebotinum, but the effect had just worn out as Kagerou was getting ready.
- Almost played straight in Bleach where Orihime is given 8 hours to say goodbye to one person before being abducted by Ulquiorra. She enters Ichigo's room. Unfortunately he's unconscious because of a battle, but she says goodbye anyway. She tries to sum up the courage to kiss him, but her insecurities hold her back.
- Code Geass has a case of both First Kiss and Last Kiss between Lelouch and Kallen near the end of the show, complete with background music and all. The irony is that while Lelouch really IS on his way to his death and this IS the last thing he does before crossing the point of no return, Kallen initiates the kiss without knowing it at the time.
- In Pirates Of The Caribbean, Elizabeth shares not one, but four last kisses with different partners: the Kiss Of Death with Jack Sparrow at the end of Dead Man Chest; one with James Norrington when he found out Redemption Equals Death; her wedding-cum-battle kiss with Will Turner; and a forced kiss from Sao Feng. Good thing death isn't always permanent.
- Jack Sparrow lampshades this in the third movie when Elizabeth tries to kiss him, telling her that once was enough.
- Neo and Trinity's last kiss before she dies in The Matrix Revolutions.
- One such occurrence in Signs is based off an urban legend of a worker at a quarry who falls into the rock crusher and will die soon whether or not he is pulled out or left there, so a third option is taken: he's fed painkillers and his wife is called in who kisses him goodbye and then turns the machine back on.
- After Madeleine omniously tells Scottie in Vertigo, "If you lose me, then you'll know I loved you and wanted to go on loving you," she gives him a final kiss before heading off to the clock tower that seems to strangely draw her... Scottie runs after her, but is slowed down by his acrophobia enough to see her plunge to her death from the top of the tower.
- Jim and Selena's ...messy kiss from 28 Days Later. It's their third kiss throughout the film- the first was on the cheek and the second was intentional, but this is a full on, Chick Flick Hold, with-tongue affair, sure proof of being doomed. Shortly afterward, he gets shot. Depending on the ending, he usually dies.
- In the film version of Death Note, Shiori and Light share a Last Kiss when Naomi Misora shoots her, as a tragic callback to Shiori stating that she would only kiss in public for her Last Kiss. Its a rather dark example since Light used the Death Note to bring about her death, and is exploiting this trope in order to make himself seem genuinely remorseful, as part of his Xanatos Gambit to get onto the Kira investigation team.
- This got elevated to somewhat disturbing levels during the Pierce Brosnan James Bond films where he gives the dead Paris Carver a last kiss before he goes and backseat drives in Tomorrow Never Dies, and to Elektra King before starting the final action sequence of The World Is Not Enough. Considering he shot her dead, Bond should logically be giving a smooch to a bloody mess.
- Juliet's final kiss to Romeo before stabbing herself may count, despite that Romeo was already dead.
- His Dark Materials: Will and Lyra and their respective dĉmons share one final kiss (rushed, clumsy, and tearful) before Will seals their universes apart forever.
- In GK Chesterton's The Return of Don Quixote, when John Braintree and Olive admit that their opposing principles mean they should not be a couple, they part after a kiss. At the climax, they realize that their principles can, in fact, be reconciled, so they are reconciled, too.
- Doyle kissing Cordelia before his death in episode 8 of Angel.
- Also, Cordelia kissing Angel... after hers.
- And Wesley kissing Fred "please Wesley... why can't I stay"
- Buffy kisses Angel goodbye before sending him to hell in the season 2 finale.
- In the Space 1999 2nd season episode "The Beta Cloud", a monster is rampaging through Alpha Complex and nothing the crew tries can stop it. Maya and Tony Verdeschi are together waiting for the end when they suddenly start making out (kissing).
- In Doctor Who when Jack goes off to die.
- Chuck and Sara are trapped with a bomb about to go off, and go for what they believe will be their Last Kiss... and then the bomb doesn't go off. Awkward.
- Psych has one episode where the wife of a murder victim gives him a Last Kiss at his funeral. It ends up being her Last Kiss as well. She dies in the middle of it.
- Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" tells the story of a motorcycle-riding outlaw and his beloved, ending with her coming to the hospital and finding him shot and dying. He "gave her one last kiss and died," slipping her the keys to his titular motorcycle as he does so.
- Marty Robbin's song "El Paso" (quoted above) tells the tale of a man who loved a dancer in a bar and killed a man who shared his interest. He later runs off into the badlands of New Mexico to escape vengeance from the family of the man he killed only to come back to El Paso and be shot off his horse. Crawling to the door of the bar, the woman cradles him in her arms and kisses him before he succumbs to his wounds.
- In the 1960s, "teen tragedy songs"
 such as the Trope Namer were remarkably popular, including such classics as "Teen Angel" (Mark Dinning), "Patches" (Dickey Lee), "Tell Laura I Love Her" (Ray Peterson), "Leader of the Pack" (the Shangri-Las), and "Ode to Billy Joe" (Bobbie Gentry). Spoofed by Jimmy Cross in a rather shocking manner in "I Want My Baby Back".
- In Wagner's Die Walküre, Wotan's kiss that strips his daughter Brünnhilde of her powers. The Leitmotif is quite touching.
- Subverted in the ending of Final Fantasy X wherein the hero begins losing physical form, so that when the heroine runs after him for the effective Last Kiss she runs through him instead, denying the characters (and the player) a sense of closure.
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ended its rather unsubtle romantic subplot with this.
- Avatar The Last Airbender: Princess Yue's already in spirit form when she gives Sokka one last kiss before disappearing.
- Teen Titans: After several tries, Cyborg finally lets Sarasim kiss him as the two wait to go into battle.
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