736/Quite the Secret Keeper

Quite the Secret Keeper
Date of Scene:	24 March 2020
Location:	Joe Coffee, Bryant Park, New York City
Synopsis:	Lois reaches out to Steve about their friends reconciling -- Clark is actually Superman after all!
Cast of Characters:	Lois Lane, Steve Rogers

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Lois Lane has posed:
Lois doesn't have confirmed fact that Steve Rogers knows the same secret she does. What she does know is that there is a very strong possibility that his name was in the 'small handful' that Clark had mentioned. It's more than enough of a hunch for her to double check. Double checking on a secret this big was important. So she'd sent him a message.

'Talked to Clark. If you knew this entire time, I owe you an apology.'

If, of course, he understood her and showed up for the coffee she'd arranged, she could be certain he knew. Of course, she'd triple check. Not that Steve couldn't be trusted, but it's not /her/ secret. Seated on a bench near the coffee stand, Lois sips her coffee, doing her best not to feel guilty when she goes over the last conversation she had with Steve.

Steve Rogers has posed:
The straight-razor pauses on the flat of his jawline as Steve hears his phone go off, a standard ping of alert. In a white undershirt and grey sweatpants, he sports half a cheek's worth of shaving soap as he sets the implement aside to pick up and peer at the phone. Eyebrows lift and then quirk; a quiet sigh is blown. Thumbs fly on the screen:

'Figure this bears talking over a cup of coffee. Got a place in mind?'

Joe Coffee over in Bryant Park it is, and Steve finishes shaving what faint scruff stood on his face before finishing up getting ready. The Einherjar are briefly addressed -- no, this is not court business, thank you, please enjoy some down-time -- and he drives his motorcycle through the city with a thoughtful furrowed brow.

Lois will easily spot him, Dodgers baseball cap notwithstanding, and he gives her a small wave before getting in the short line for another mocha. Then, with a settling of leather jacket and scoot of chair back to the table, the Captain sits down across from the woman. He gives her a faint, knowing half-smile.

"Not sure what apology you owe," he says quietly, his eyes upon her patiently. "Bit more certain that ball's maybe in my half of the field."

Lois Lane has posed:
Time for the triple check. "I may have put you in an uncomfortable situation having to give advice in a situation in which you knew something I didn't," Lois glances over at him, taking a slow sip from her cup. "In which case I'm sorry because that must have been a very complicated conversation to have." Having to keep a secret that big and pretend in that circumstance was, in fact, a very impressive thing in her eyes. He'd managed it somehow, though.

Hopefully that made enough sense for him to understand her exact meaning there.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Lois will notice the man's gaze sharpen in direct counter to his benign and good-natured mask he wears. It might not necessarily be uncomfortable, but one can see the gears whirring at serum-boosted speed. Options are weighed, calculated, a conclusion drawn.

The half-smile deepens a touch. "Can guarantee you that wasn't the most uncomfortable conversation I've had. Maybe one of the more delicate, sure," Steve allows with a small ho-hum tilting of his head. "Seems the advice went over well enough. Our fellow friends have reconciled their differences?"

He does wait with some semblance of bated breath. Clark does //not// idly hand out his public super-persona, after all.

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois gives a bit of an amused sound at the phrasing. "It was a bit of a mess at first, your advice /almost/ didn't work, but it ended up being extremely useful in the long run. So yes, they have certainly reconciled. I don't believe that he was quite expecting me to be the one initiating the situation, but it did happen and everything is fine. We're happy."

She looks at her coffee. "But I am /really/ sorry. I'm glad you were able to give me helpful advice and really listen, but I certainly didn't mean to put you in that position. It was bad enough that /he/ put me in that situation." That was the first thing she confronted him about, really.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve's smile grows to include a dimple now. It's the simple things in life: like his advice not blowing up in his face, much less anyone else's.

Leaning back into his chair, the man keeps his coffee settled on the latticed surface of the outdoor table, his fingers still wrapped about it. "It's not a position 'm unfamiliar with. Some of us in the community don't want our laundry aired in public." The Captain means those of the Avengers and the superhero community as a whole. "'m admittedly a little jealous of anybody who can manage to walk around without a baseball cap." He doffs it towards Lois with a pinch of the brim, smirking to himself. "Regardless, 'm happy for you both."

Lois Lane has posed:
"I see the upsides and the downsides. Upsides, sure, you don't need a baseball cap. You can go out to dinner without having attention drawn to you," Lois seems amused by this idea. "But there are downsides, too. No one gets to see how amazing he is when he's /himself/. Walls down, just him." There's a wry smile. "I like being able to see it, but sometimes if you've got something good you want everyone else to be able to enjoy." She's still getting used to it. It's an adjustment.

She takes a long sip from her coffee cup. "We're good though. I think he's ready to return, as well. He's wearing it again. He just needs his moment."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I can imagine that'll take some planning." Steve's eyes take on an empathetic light. "What with Luthor running his platform as it is. Thing is...wonder if he's taken into account the 'how's about his moment. He can take more guff than most of us can 'nd it tends to coincide with a standard of incident requiring some serious damage mitigation."

With care does the man share this thought, fully aware of the circumstances that initially caused Clark's disappearance.

"I'll probably reach out to him again, see if he needs an ear about this." Finally, his mocha is sipped rather than ignored.

Lois Lane has posed:
"I think that's the idea. He's waiting for something that's not just a house fire. I think he really needs to 'save the day'. Not just for the world, but for /him/. I'm not in the world saving business, but sometimes you need a win for your own confidence, regardless of the situation," Lois comments before looking over at him. There's a warm smile.

"Do give him an ear. He's glad to have me, I know, but... there are some things I just can't relate to."

Steve Rogers has posed:
"I'll reach out to him," confirms the Captain with a nod. He then starts minutely in place as his phone chimes -- nay, chirrups loudly...in a high-pitched skreeee type of manner, not the standard phone chime. Plucking it from his jean pocket, he laughs at it. Glancing back at Lois, he clears his throat and offers a polite grimaced smile.

"Gotta take this, it's business. Sorry to have to leave. 'm glad to hear the news that it's all falling into place. You two deserve some steadiness after what all went on." By his tone, he sincerely means it. "I'll tell Janet you say hi, tell our friend the same for me." The metal chair vibrates as he scoots back, coffee in-hand, and gives Lois a final little smile before bringing his phone to his ear. Maybe Lois can catch some of it as he departs.

"...they did what? Well, that's not their -- is Thor around? Right. Right. Right, 'll speak to 'em. Yes, 'll speak to Thor too."