Title: Unmasked

Author: Nadia Mack

Rating: K

Disclaimer: I Own Nothing

Summary: Post Superman Returns. Behind the hero is a man longing to be free.

Author's Notes: Wow. I'm totally floored. You all are fantastic with the feedback. It's definitely encouraged me to write more and update daily. It's honestly hard for me to withhold the next chapter when you all have been very gracious. In addition, I'd like to clear up a few things. When Lois discovered the Superman suit, I referred to it as the original because in the movie, Perry White questioned if he got a new suit. So in this story, he wears an updated one, and considering Lois's history with Superman, she knows that outfit a lot more intimately than most. If you've got any questions pertaining to certain things, feel free to ask, I don't mind answering them at all, but please refrain from asking storyline details. This story is coming in fast and will be over even before I notice. Thank you all and again, and Barbara... you da bomb! My tenses are... er... ugh. There are no words that I can express how much I appreciate your help.

Chapter 11: Hero

Her heart skipped a beat as she ran her hand along the fabric, willing her mind to understand why and how this came to be here. She searched her memories and remembered that on several occasions Clark had beaten her to a couple of scoops. Naturally, he must have formed a friendship with the Man of Steel as well.

It was impossible, though – their reunion atop the Daily Planet roof had proved that. The only reason Superman had remembered Clark was because she had mentioned him.

No, there had to be another reason why these things were here. Her resolve was shaken when she caught sight of a leather bound album underneath his old red boots. Her mind argued that it was wrong, but her heart desired to know the truth. Once it was in her hands, she didn't know why, but she ended up opening it from the back first.

She noticed quickly what it was.

A scrapbook.

One after another, most, if not all the articles she had ever written on Superman was prominently displayed on each page. Photos of his heroic acts all over the world appeared powerfully with every article. If she had been a betting woman, she would have gone as far to say that Clark was just a really big fan, but when she flipped further into the album, something more amazing happened.

To say that she was floored would be an understatement.

For the first time since he had literally swept her off her feet, she questioned everything she had ever known about him. The first photo that caught her attention was a picture of Clark Kent without his glasses. A high school photo, perhaps? And next to it was a close-up photo of Superman that showed a remarkable likeness to Clark.

Lois gasped as the wheels in her head began to turn.

It couldn't be. Not after all these years, they couldn't be the same. She and Richard had made fun of the possibility, and she thought nothing of it, thinking it was just a mere coincidence. Putting aside her pain, she couldn't ignore the evidence. Everything that she had discovered: the original Superman suit, the album, all those times Clark would disappear and Superman would appear, the two men's secretive nature and the newspapers… Oh, God, the newspapers.

Superman had been gone for over five years; his mother must have kept all the issues for when he returned.

He has a mother?

Somehow it was hard to imagine Superman sitting down having a cup of coffee in one hand while he reads the newspaper in another. Yet he did.

And Jason.

A new set of tears began to fall as the truth hit her hard. Clark Kent is Superman. She couldn't deny that fact anymore. Clark Kent. Her friend. Her co-worker. The man that she was starting to care very deeply for was Jason's biological father.

Their son.

And another moment was remembered.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked.

"There are things about me that you don't know about."

"What kind of things?"

"I'm not as different from people… from Richard… that people have come to believe."

When the memory ended, a mix of emotions filled her and they alternated between anger and betrayal, stupidity and lack of foresight, and back to anger again. Above all, she felt pain. Never once did she suspect Superman to have another identity, and blindly assumed he never had one.

Isn't that one of the reasons why he never wore a mask?

But he did have a mask.

His glasses.

Or so she thought. What the hell kind of disguise was that? And how come she never saw past it?

Then she remembered how he acted at the office. The timid, shy, mild-mannered reporter who did his best not to be noticed – it all dawned on her perfectly. The bumbling attitude and lack of backbone had easily flown under her radar, and looking back on it, she couldn't honestly take all the blame for not noticing.

Even though she understood why he had done it to some extent, she couldn't forgive him.

Not yet, anyway.

By the time she got back to the house, she was lucky to find Clark still sleeping, but as soon as she caught sight of him, she knew she wasn't ready to confront all the questions that's been nagging in her mind. She thought she could handle knowing the truth, but seeing him there, asleep, it was so… human. She never had the chance to watch him sleep like that, especially after the nights they had spent together. He was always gone by the time she woke up.

Sitting down on a loveseat nearby, she couldn't tear her eyes away from him. When he stirred, she was almost compelled to leave but she didn't. She watched as he turned his body around, the muscles on his back disappearing, quickly replaced by his toned chest, and the face she thought she'd never see like this again.

Without his glasses, Lois finally saw the man she had fallen in love with so many years ago.

And the rest of the night was spent in his silent company.

Was love truly blind?

Clark grumbled when he felt the sun's rays hitting his eyes. It reminded him of all the early mornings he had to endure to get to school. He laid there for a few minutes until his super hearing picked up someone moving around in the kitchen. Scrambling to get up, he grabbed his glasses and darted in the direction of the slight noise.

"Morning," Lois greeted, pouring coffee in an extra mug on the kitchen counter.

Clark, who was fully awake, brushed his hand lazily through his hair as he slowly made his way to table. "Good morning, Lois." He sat down; his energy was back at full force after a good night's rest. The distance between him and the Kryptonite definitely helped as well.

"Sleep well?" she asked, making small talk.

"Uh… yeah." Clark stopped to look around. "Where's Jason?"

Lois looked away sadly. "He's still sleeping." No wonder Jason appeared so happy whenever he was with him, Clark treated him more than just his co-worker's son; he treated him like his son. A son he couldn't openly acknowledge without revealing everything.

"So… um… what's our plan today?"

She hid a small smile at hearing him sound so unsure. Knowing what she knew of him, the semi-normal life he led before donning the iconic suit, it startled her how humble he appeared now that she was aware of the truth. Even though she was committing the very same act that she was angry at him for, she was content to play the part of the oblivious ex-girlfriend.

For the moment.

"Well, our bus ride isn't until 11 o'clock, so for the time being, we can all just relax." She reached for the old box-like radio and turned it on. As the song ended, there was a news brief. There had been an accident on Route 88 this morning, a multi-car pile up.

At the corner of her eye, she noticed Clark's back straightened after hearing the news and he looked… upset.

"Did they say if anybody was hurt?" he asked.

"No, it doesn't look like it."

He breathed out a sigh of relief, and it was then that she realized what kind of man Clark Kent really was. The fact that he was more than just a man would always put her in a state of awe one way or another, but it was his kindness and love, and his unwavering compassion toward those who might not even deserve it that took her breath away.

Especially now, when all was said and done, the hurt visible in his eyes whenever someone could have been hurt showed a great deal of his character.

"What do you say we spend the morning inside? You know, get to know one another a bit more."

The look of surprise on his face made her chuckle.

"Don't look so surprised, Smallville." She winked at him before leaving the kitchen to check on her son.

Clark stared blankly at the spot she had abandoned as if she had left an impression of herself there. She wanted to get to know him, and it filled him with surprising warmth and anticipation. Despite his need to protect and separate his identity, he found that allowing her into his simple life in Smallville gave him the hope and strength he needed to get through the day.

Lois descended the stairs with Jason in her arms. When the munchkin saw Clark in the living room, he immediately released his arms from his mother's neck and reached for Clark. "Morning, Mister Clark!"

It was the second morning in the row that Jason had preferred Clark's arms over hers, and if she hadn't found out who he was last night, she would've felt competitive about it. Now she couldn't help but be amused.

Clark waited until Lois placed Jason in his arms. He didn't want to appear rude even though Jason was in a hurry to switch places. While it comforted Clark to hold his son in his arms, he felt uncomfortable doing it without his mother's permission.

"What do you want to do this morning?" Clark asked.

Jason moved to whisper in his ear, making his mother roll her eyes at the display.

Clark already knew what the little guy wanted before he even had to say it. He couldn't help but grin widely after he was through, even before Clark moved to his little ear and whispered back his answer.

Witnessing this exchange was just too adorable for Lois to bear. "What are you two whispering about?"

Both father and son gave identical looks of pure ignorance, and it finally made sense why she had always thought her son's mannerisms oddly looked like Clark's every once in a while.

"Oh, forget it!" she said, giving the two a chance to bond over their secretive whispers. If she didn't know better, her son was probably requesting to go flying. Little did she know she wasn't far from the truth.

A couple of hours before they were scheduled to leave, Clark made the excuse of having to go to town for a couple of errands. Lois, knowing his secret, and also knowing that he didn't know she knew his secret, tried not to roll her eyes. She couldn't be angry at him for excusing himself to save the world.

How many people could actually say that and get away with it?

So while he was off flying to some distant country to save people, it afforded her the time to speak with Jason privately.

She sat down next to him on the porch as he petted Shelby. The dog looked like he was in heaven. She couldn't blame him. She asked Clark yesterday why Shelby was all alone, and he mentioned something about his mother being in the process of moving to Montana while friends of the family would stop by on occasion to look after the remaining animals on the farm.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked softly.

"Spending time with Shelby."

"Ahh…" she joined in on the petting. "You like him, don't you?"

Jason nodded. "He plays with me when I want to, and then watches over me when I don't." He smiled down at the pretty dog before hugging him. Shelby barked his affections back. "He's nice!"

Lois laughed. "Maybe we can get you a dog when we get back home."

Jason frowned. "But I like Shelby!" he protested, the Lane part of him coming out. She was going to have to embrace and accept that inevitability before he became a teenager. "And I like it here," he added softly.

Lois smiled sadly, in a matter of a few days, he had grown a lot more attached to Clark than she had expected. But he was Clark, so the unexpected shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"You like Clark, too, huh?"

"Yeah!" he responded happily. "He's like daddy but more fun!"

Lois tried not to let his answer affect her. She hadn't thought of Richard at all since she had discovered the truth about Clark Kent. Knowing it just made everything that much more complicated. If Superman had ever thought of telling her, she was glad that he hadn't done so immediately after discovering that Jason was his.

That would've probably pissed her off.

The bus ride back to the Kansas Airport went a lot differently than the bus ride to Smallville had gone. As always, Jason sat between the adults while Lois had the window seat and Clark the aisle. This time though, she wasn't annoyed. She thanked the company she was keeping for that. She would've lost her mind if it hadn't been for these two.

Halfway through the ride, Clark ended up sitting in the middle with Jason on his lap as Clark began to act as their unofficial guide to Kansas' sights through the duration of the trip.

Clark clearly had Jason's rapt attention, while Lois was content to just watch the two, barely speaking for fear that she would break the magic that Jason and his father were displaying.

It really did warm her heart to see them getting along so well, so much that she even regretted leaving the small town. A part of her realized that Sup… No, Clark, would revert back to his shy self once they returned to Metropolis, and the thought upset her greatly. He had just as much to offer as Clark Kent as Superman did.

It was Smallville where she truly first caught a glimpse of the Clark he kept so carefully hidden from the world. He was charming in ways she didn't expect. She was even finally able to acknowledge that she was jealous of Lana and Pete for having the chance to know the real man behind the cape as opposed to one half of him before she did. Or in her case, a quarter of him.

Lois knew that there was no turning back. She was falling for him all over again, and this time, it wasn't the cape that attracted her to him…

…It was the glasses.

To be continued…