-1Bequest:
- The act of giving, leaving by will, or passing on to another.
- Something that is bequeathed; a legacy.

Bequest : Chapter Eleven - Truth

Lois snapped her notepad shut, her eyes followed the crowds' awestruck gaze to the night sky where she barely made out the red of Superman's cape he flew out of sight. A pipeline burst had filled some of the suburban streets of Metropolis with water, had it not been for Superman's quick arrival, many homes in the area would have found themselves with water front property and severe flooding.

Lois smiled as she looked around her, some children nearby jumped up and down excitedly as they playfully argued over who Superman had waved to. The fire fighters looked relieved and were escorting people back to their homes so they could clean up the remaining water. A few residents stood with their eyes still on the sky, whispering quiet thanks to the departing hero, confident he could hear them.

The spring evening was unusually chilly as Lois made her way down the block away from the crowds. She'd walked about two blocks when she felt someone watching her. Lois coughed and put her head down, keeping her pace. In a block or so she would turn the corner and the city would open up before her with all of it's lights and the taxis she sought.

The feeling persisted and Lois stopped suddenly, the heels of her shoes clacked against the pavement. She turned her eyes to the darkness at her side.

"Statement for the press?" Lois asked, she bit her lip, trying to hide her smile.

"Maybe I'm not the only one with Super-hearing." Superman stepped out of the shadows, a grin spreading widely across his handsome features.

Lois turned toward him and returned his grin. Superman towered over her without being imposing, his hair still wet from the stopping the wild spray of water coming from the pipes. Lois reached into her pocket and produced her tape recorder.

"Care to give a struggling journalist a sound byte?" She batted her lashes innocently at him. His deep laugh echoed off the walls around them.

"You're hardly struggling." He said, falling into step beside her, "I'm almost surprised to see you covering a fluff piece what with all the drama you stirred up at the mayor's office."

Lois glowed under his praise and tilted her head toward him, "It's a slow news night." She lifted the recorder in front of him and wiggled it insistently.

Superman cleared his throat a dramatically and leaned toward the microphone, closing the distance between them. "Did you have a question for me, Miss Lane?" He tilted his head to the side and the light from the streetlamp above them caught the mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"Yes in fact I did, Superman." Her tone was overly business-like causing his smile to widen further still. "Were you able to repair the water main? Or will it need to be fixed by professionals?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly. "I have every reason to believe the main is back in working order, and will not need further repair, however it is city policy for the officials to make sure my repairs are up to code."

"Do you think the rupture was a result of faulty piping?"

He chuckled. "Not everything is a scandal, Lois. I would pin the burst on the unusually cold nights we've had. Nothing more."

"Always the diplomat." Lois teased. She brushed a drop of water from his forehead before it slid into his eye. "Where did you take Jason today? He usually comes home with some random trinket and a crazy story about the Great Wall Of China or your eight hundredth trip to Disney World. Today, I asked him if he had fun and he just said; 'We sure did!' and went to his room."

An emotion flickered in and out of Superman's eyes before Lois could define it.

"Here and there. But right now I have a question of my own if I might, Miss Lane." The smile leaving his face, but there was no mistaking his playful tone.

It was Lois' turn to raise an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to speak but he reached between them, clicking the stop button on the recorder and slipping it back into her hip pocket.

"I wondered if you had dinner plans tonight."

Lois reached up and ran her finger down his cheek. She smiled, her eyes searching his.

"You tell me."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and carried her away from the exposing light of the street lamp. As the darkness enfolded them, his lips found hers automatically. Water fell in cool droplets on her cheeks as he leaned toward her. The kiss was tender, his lips seeking gently for hers to respond. Lois needed no encouragement. She threw her arms around his shoulders and felt his smile as his mouth slanted over hers.

Superman reached down and gathered her legs into his arms. Lois slipped the shoes from her feet and tucked them into her purse, settling into the familiar shelter of his embrace. She wasn't sure of it was his kiss or the fact that they were flying that sent a thrill of electricity through her, all the same she held him tightly, knowing he could fly her anywhere in the world with his eyes closed and at this rate he might have to.[/I

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Lois leaned her face against the towel hanging on the nearby wrack and patted dry her freshly washed face. She slipped Clark's flannel off of the back of the door, snuggling into the soft fabric. Lois opened the door and wrapped the flannel more tightly around herself. It was unseasonably cool for June and the warmth of the sun had given way to a brisk evening breeze that invariably found entrance into the old house. She padded down the hallway and her eyes momentarily locked with the amusement-sparkled gaze of Martha Kent that looked back at her from beyond the glass of the mounted picture frame.

Lois paused, looking into the other woman's face. There was such wisdom in her eyes, such gentleness couple with an unparalleled love that had guarded the secrets of the world's greatest hero with the ferocity only possible in a mother. How she wished she could bend Martha's ear about her current situation. Lois took a breath and straightened her shoulders, setting her course for downstairs.

As she entered the kitchen, she was greeted by an unfamiliar, yet not unpleasant aroma. Equally unfamiliar was the sight of Clark Kent in jeans and a t-shirt, his glasses nowhere to be found. His hair splayed across his forehead as he leaned forward to test the sauce on the wooden cooking spoon in his hand. Clark slurped quietly and after a moment he added a shake of cinnamon into the cooking pot. His eyes met hers, the second taste test hovering in front of his lips. He grinned and extended the spoon towards her.

"He cooks!" Lois exclaimed, crossing the room to accept his offer.

Clark blew gently on the spoon to cool it and held it before her, his hand just below to protect the floor a spills. Lois sipped from the spoon and gave him a surprised look. "This is fabulous! What is it?"

"Cinnamon Beef. It's my mother's recipe. I grew up on this. You wouldn't think marinara and cinnamon would mix so well but.." Clark gestured to the empty spoon and smiled, returning his attention to the simmering pot. After a moment, his brow furrowed. "I've cooked for you before."

Lois sat down at the table and smiled.

"Reheating moo goo gai pan in the microwave doesn't count, Clark."

"Well. I'll have you know my microwave has been broken for years, I used heat vision... so...that kinda…counts…"

Lois grinned and shook her head

"Anyway!" He looked at her pointedly, I can cook. My mother wouldn't have let me move out of the house without this basic skill!"

Lois bristled good-naturedly. "MINE did!" She took a sip of the ice tea in front of her. "Plus you barely had to cook at all! A home-cooked meal was always just a flight away!"

Clark laughed, their earlier tension just a memory, but there was much to discuss. Clark had been right about waiting for a full stomach to continue their conversation. She had the sinking suspicion he knew she was most understanding when her stomach was full. He knew her well. So much between them was the same, and yet Lois felt like she was getting to know him all over again. When her eyes fell made their way back to him, his expression was wistful, distant. Lois didn't need to guess where his thoughts had taken him.

Clark looked up and saw her sympathetic gaze.

"It seems so impossible that I won't be able to fly home and find her waiting for me with a plate full of food and an ear ready to listen." He sighed heavily lowering his head as he stirred thick pasta and cubes of beef into the sauce.

Lois rose from the table and stood beside him. He raised his arm, stretching it over her shoulders. Lois leaned against him, her arm wrapping itself around his waist. She squeezed gently.

"I can help with the listening part." Lois said softly, she tilted her face up to look at him, and rested her head on his shoulder. "And the cooking..."

He held the spoon in front of her mouth and she enthusiastically accepted.

"I'll handle the cooking." He smiled softly and returned her squeeze.

Lois smiled, licking the sauce from her lips. She was glad to see the sadness in his eyes seeming to be less sharp today. The road would be a long one but Lois was sure of Clark's ability to overcome. The loss of his mother had been a severe blow, but Martha had raised a man strong well beyond his physical abilities.

She patted his stomach and slid from under his arm.

"Where do you keep the bowls, I may as well make myself useful."

Clark smiled and turned off the burner. "Middle cabinet next to the fridge. Silverware is just below in the first drawer."

Lois retrieved the bowls and grabbed a few spoons from the drawer. She handed Clark the largest one and extended his hand for a bowl. The oven timer chimed and Clark handed her the bowls and reached into the oven to pull out a sheet cookie sheet loaded with garlic bread.

Lois snorted as she sat down. "I guess you save a lot of money on oven mitts."

Clark paused and looked down at his hand wrapped around the metal sheet.

"I guess so." He smiled sheepishly at her, dropping a slice of bread onto her napkin.

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Thirty minutes later they'd made a sizable dent in the mountain of garlic bread and Lois' was finishing her third bowl of cinnamon beef. Clark smiled as Lois inhaled and patted her stomach.

"I'm so full." She said as she reached for another slice of bread.

Clark took a sip of iced tea, hiding his smile behind the glass. He took a deep breath of his own.

"I'm sorry you found about me the way you did, Lois." He said softly.

Lois' eyes flew to his, her mouth frozen mid-bite, teeth sunken into the buttery surface of the garlic bread. She broke off the bite and chewed slowly, Clark felt a little better judging from the jump in her heartbeat that she was as nervous as he.

Clark reached across the table, taking Lois' hand in his.

"I've never known someone I loved so much or trusted so completely other than my family. I've spent my whole life hiding who I am. I didn't know how to do anything else. The choices I made had nothing to do with not trusting you... I just didn't know what to do with that trust." His eyes searched hers for a reaction. Her expression was calm if not a bit guarded, he squeezed her hand gently and continued.

"I know my parents loved me, but I also saw the burden of my secret was on them. They made the decision when I was a child to take it on, but anyone I tell, I'm choosing that burden for them. And I love you so much, I didn't want to put it on you."

"Clark, loving someone is a burden. No matter all the good and wonderful things that come with it, there is still the fear and the worry it could all be ripped away." Lois covered his other hand with hers. "But if you let that fear isolate you, you never get to have the blessings that loved ones can bring. You have to take the good with the bad and know that ultimately, it's all worth it."

Clark nodded. "In the last few days I've really come to understand that. I really don't know how I would have gotten through all of this without you Lois. That night in the Planet, I felt like you'd given up on me and I really didn't blame you. I can understand why you were so angry. You thought I didn't trust you."

Lois' eyes studied the table. "That's part of it." she said softly.

Clark tilted his head to one side. He said nothing, encouraging her to go on.

Lois exhaled slowly. "Do you remember the stakeout last month?"

Clark nodded.

"When I thought Stanov had shot you, my feelings had nothing to do with Superman. I thought there was a chance that you had been…" Lois voice broke. "I thought you might have been taken away from me and it took that event to make me realize that I loved you. You." A tear slid down her cheek and dropped onto the top of Clark's hand. "But I loved you as Superman too and I didn't know what to do with that…"

Clark soaked in this new information, he pulled his hands away and rose. Clark strode quickly around the side of the table and knelt next to Lois' chair.

"Oh Lois." He gathered her hands in his, brushing his lips across each knuckle. "I'm so sorry." He cursed his foolishness. "I should have told you so long ago." He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head across her chest, heart aching at the pain he had caused her. "Forgive me."

His eyes fell closed in relief as he felt Lois' hands rest across his back.

They sat there like that for a moment, their embrace soothing the wounds of the past.

Finally Lois broke the silence. "I understand why you didn't tell me." she whispered.

Clark lifted his head and looked into her eyes and saw it was true, he exhaled at the love he saw shining there.

"The night you found out… I was actually going to tell you. I went to the roof to gain my nerve. I was headed downstairs when the fire broke out downtown. You opened the door to the roof just as I returned.

A slow smile spread over Lois face. "That explains why you looked like a deer in the headlights."

Clark smiled back and stood up, reaching down to wipe the last tear from her cheek. "I knew it was all over. You had that look on your face that you get when you're chasing a lead. When you started sniffing me in the elevator, it was all I could do not to fly through the roof of the car."

Lois laughed.

Clark took her hands and pulled her to her feet. He held out his arms and she stepped into his embrace. A waterfall of relief washed over him. It felt so good to hold her and not have to pretend to be someone he wasn't.

Lois looked up at him. "So no more secrets?"

Clark grinned and shook his head, then a thought occurred to him and the smile melted from his face.

Lois noticed and drew back her neck to look at him.

"What is it?" she asked apprehensively.

"Okay. Promise not to get mad?"

Lois' eyes narrowed slightly. "When you make that face, I can make no such promise."

"Jason already kinda knows."

"Knows…"

"… About me."

"What? When?"

"About a year ago."

"A year!"

"And last week he asked if we could visit the farm and I brought him here." Clark blurted.

Lois eyes were wide. "Boy you're really getting it all out of your system, aren't you!" She stepped out of his embrace and walked into the living room.

Clark followed her. "He wanted to visit his…Grandma Kent."

Lois stopped and turned around a look of understanding crossing her features. "I'm sorry. It's just a lot of information here. I feel like there has been this whole part of my life I didn't know about. Part of me is glad to not have to explain all of this to Jason, but the other part want to be there when he found out, you know?"

Clark crossed the living room and took her hand. "Well you kind of were. He figured it out the first week I was back." He smiled wryly. "I need to not stand next to a television monitor when a story on Superman is running."

Lois snorted and rolled her eyes. "I guess I should be surprised. Child of two reporters, one of whom has x-ray vision, he wouldn't be in the dark for long."

Clark stepped closer and smiled down at her. "You're just mad he figured it out first."

Lois exhaled. "A year."

"Yeah."

"Well at least we don't have worry that he can't keep a secret. This [Bis[/B the last secret right? No more things I need to know about floating around that head of yours?"

Clark shook his head. "Nope." His smiled widened. "Did I mention the I can shoot fire from my eyes?"

Lois laughed and draped her arms around his neck. "With my cooking and your broken microwave, we need all the help we can get."