Clark leaned back against the rough wooden door, sliding the bolt home and letting out a sigh of relief. Even he was glad to be out of the wind and the snow, and his friends were probably nearly frozen.

Chloe hunched her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest to tuck her mittened hands under her arms. Predictably, Lex pretended to be untouched by such petty concerns as temperature, though he did rub his gloved hands briskly together when he thought no one was watching him. Lana, however, immediately crossed the tiny room, knelt on the hearth, and opened the wood stove, expertly stacking wood inside. "Someone check around for matches," she said as she worked.

Tossing a small smile at Clark and Chloe, Lex strode into the adjoining kitchen—even tinier than the main room—and began to open doors and drawers. Reluctantly removing her hands from her armpits, Chloe joined him. There wasn't room for a third person in the kitchen, and a quick scan through the cupboards told Clark there were no matches to be found anyway, so he joined Lana at the hearth with a casual, "It's okay. I have a lighter."

If he was quick, no one should notice a judicious use of heat vision. When the alternative was three of his best friends freezing to death, he really had no choice.

"Clark Kent, quintessential boy scout. Always prepared." Lex's voice was dry, but Clark heard the fond amusement in his tone.

Chloe trailed Lex back into the main room as the dry wood caught fire from Clark's surreptitious use of his abilities. She sighed in relief and came over to warm her hands. Clark was tempted to sigh in relief as well that no one had noticed how he had lit the fire. Pushing himself to his feet, he stepped back to allow the others to crowd in closer to the warmth that he didn't really need.

While the girls huddled together before the flames, Lex stood next to Clark, his hands in his pockets his only concession to the cold. While Chloe and Lana were bundled in parkas, knit caps, and scarves, Lex's long coat was more suited to chilly city nights than this kind of harsh winter weather. And he hadn't even worn a hat, leaving his bare head completely unprotected.

Rolling his eyes a bit, Clark shrugged out of the heavy coat he had worn for appearance's sake and laid it around Lex's shoulders. "I don't really feel the cold," he explained when Lex turned toward him questioningly. "Good circulation, I guess."

Lex nodded, but his eyes said he didn't quite buy it. He pulled the coat more tightly around himself though, so Clark took it as a victory.

While Chloe and Lex's foraging trip into the kitchen hadn't turned up any matches, they had found several cans of beans and vegetables, and dented cast iron soup pot. Now that the most pressing issue of the cold was taken care of, Clark turned his attention to making sure they wouldn't starve. His mother probably could have made a more palatable dinner even with such limited ingredients, but he did the best he could and, while Lex wrinkled his nose a bit at it, no one complained.

A huge yawn from Lana set them all yawning and Chloe dissolved into giggles, collapsing against Lana's shoulder. "My shrewd reporter's instincts are telling me we're sleepy," she pronounced.

Lana covered her mouth on another yawn. "I saw a bedroom earlier, but there's only one double bed. I think the couch pulls out, though."

"You and Chloe take the bed," Lex said immediately, gallantly.

As the girls got up and left the room, Clark was suddenly very aware that was about to share a bed with Lex, and he couldn't decide if he was more terrified or turned on at the prospect. He firmly told himself neither option was appropriate. They were stuck here, since even if he wanted to show off his abilities to all three of them, he wasn't sure even he could dig through all of that snow in the dark. He could sleep on the floor of course, but it was only practical to share body heat.

Avoiding looking at Lex, he got up and pulled out the hide-a-bed. It was old and rusted and likely not going to be very comfortable, but marginally better than the rough wooden floor.

"Well," Lex said from behind him, "it's not the Ritz, but what's that they say about beggars?"

Clark busied himself with straightening the slightly musty yet surprisingly clean sheets and blankets. "At least it'll be warm."

"True." Lex walked around the bed, unbuckling his belt as he went. Clark pretended complete absorption in the wrinkled blanket, smoothing it obsessively. Folding his shirt and pants neatly, Lex laid them on a chair and slid under the covers. "Clark, you're not going to sleep in your jeans, are you? Not that I have much experience wearing such things, but they can't be comfortable."

Turning away to hide his sudden, embarrassing blush, Clark shook his head and undid his fly. "Much experience? I would have guessed none." He was proud of how calm he sounded.

A soft chuckle did nothing for his composure. "Don't you remember me telling you about the farm where my mother and I used to spend holidays? Dress slacks wouldn't have been exactly practical there."

"Right. Of course." Folding his jeans, Clark placed them on another chair, and thanked his lucky stars he had worn boxers today. Clean ones, at that. He just might have died of embarrassment if Lex had seen any of his not-so-white tighty whities. Leaving his t shirt on, Clark took a steadying breath and turned back toward the bed. To his relief—and a bit of chagrin, but mostly relief—Lex already had his eyes closed.

Clark was very careful not to touch Lex as he slid in beside him. Lex didn't move, lying flat on his back with his hands folded on his stomach, his even breathing the only sound in the quiet room. Even the crackling of the fire had faded away. Copying Lex's posture, Clark stared at the ceiling and tried to shut his mind off.

In the dark stillness, Clark's sensitive ears picked up soft sounds from the bedroom. At first, he thought Lana and Chloe must be dreaming, muttering in their sleep. But the sounds intensified, clarified in his ears, became soft panting and moans of pleasure, and a flush of heat washed through him, likely painting his face as red as a stop light.

He would never have guessed anything like that was going on between them, and he really shouldn't be listening. Try as he might, though, he couldn't not hear them now, and his imagination was helpfully giving him images of what they might be doing—interspersed with images of he and Lex doing similar things. He was quickly becoming uncomfortably aroused, and there wasn't much he could do about it without disturbing Lex.

Maybe if he went to the bathroom he could take care of himself without Lex noticing. He shifted, preparatory to rolling out of bed, and Lex said quietly, a sardonic hint in his voice, "The girls are having fun."

Clark gulped and went perfectly still. He hadn't realized that they had gotten loud enough for human ears to hear them, and likely they hadn't either. They were really going at it now, probably completely oblivious to anything else. "I… uh… never would have guessed that they… uh…" Wow, Clark. Really articulate.

"Were into each other?" Lex's lips curved slightly as he stared at the ceiling—though he likely couldn't see it. "Or were into girls?"

"Both." Clark's cheeks were burning brighter than the banked fire where it peeked through the vents on the front of the stove, but he couldn't seem to stop talking. "I mean, they've both dated guys, so…" He trailed off, not sure where he was going with that sentence.

Lex's smile became a smirk. "Dating the opposite gender doesn't mean you can't date your own, Clark. It's called 'bisexual'."

"I know." Clark's voice was a bit grumpier than he meant it to be, but did Lex really think he was that much of a country hick?

One of Lex's eyebrows arched. "It's actually a lot more common than most people think." He was in lecture mode now, and Clark rolled his eyes, knowing Lex wouldn't be able to see it. "Although, I have heard that it's possibly more common in women than men."

Well, that didn't make a lot of sense, unless… "Maybe girls are just more likely to admit it."

"Maybe. Societal pressure and all that." Lex snorted softly.

"Yeah." Clark chewed on his lip for a few seconds, watching the faint firelight play across Lex's face. He kinda wished he was chewing on Lex's lip—and that thought made his face flame again, glad he didn't say that aloud. "How does anyone ever know if someone else…?"

Pursing his lips, Lex nodded slowly. "I can't speak for others, but, in my case, I usually just ask." His lips twitched. "Or they ask me." He turned his head on the pillow so he faced Clark. "I happen to be one of those men who is willing to admit it."

Struck speechless, Clark turned his head and found Lex's eyes on him. The faint light from the banked fire was enough for Clark to see the desire there, tempered with a nervousness he had never seen in Lex before. "Oh," he said stupidly. Then, swallowing hard, he continued, "I–I… um… me too." Lex's eyes widened and his lips parted, drawing Clark's eyes. He suddenly really wanted to taste those lips.

Lex's breath caught in his throat. "Clark...?"

Clark shrugged. "Well, you never told me either." He refused to think about just how many things he still hadn't told Lex.

Lex let out his breath in a soft sigh. "I guess I just—I didn't think it was relevant, really."

There was something in Lex's voice that made Clark ask, "Did you think that I'd—that I would react badly?"

Lex lifted one eyebrow and his lips tilted into a small smile with a hint of self-deprecation. "Maybe. To be fair, Clark, you are rather a perfect icon of wholesome family values."

"I'm not. Really, I'm not." Clark wet his lips slightly, praying his voice wouldn't crack. "If I was, I wouldn't want to kiss you right now."

Lex's breath caught. "What?"

Biting his lip, Clark turned away. Of course he had read the signs all wrong—he wasn't exactly experienced at this sort of thing. Just because Lex was attracted to guys didn't mean he was attracted to Clark. "Nothing. Forget it."

"Clark." Lex's voice was doing that thing where he knew he'd said something wrong and he wanted desperately to fix it. "That's not what I meant. You took me by surprise, but… I've wanted to kiss you for a very long time."

Clark turned back, his heart pounding. "Really?"

"Really." There was no hint of mockery in Lex's voice, only certainty.

"Oh." Clark blushed, ducking his head for a moment. He'd read the signs right after all. Maybe he wasn't entirely hopeless at this. Holding his breath, Clark dipped his head and brushed his lips over Lex's, his hand sliding almost of its own accord up over Lex's chest.

A strangled gasp escaped Lex, and his hands came up and tangled in Clark's hair, tugging him down into the kiss that quickly became something intense and desperate. Clark's whole body was on fire, and he helplessly pressed closer, fingers tangled in Lex's undershirt.

"Clark," Lex whispered against his lips, and it sounded like a prayer or a curse. Clark lifted his head to catch his breath, and Lex slid his hands down to cup Clark's face, his thumbs stroking around the curve of Clark's ears.

An embarrassing whimper escaped Clark and he closed his eyes, trembling with the effort of holding himself back. He could really hurt Lex if he wasn't careful. He forced his hand to open, smoothing the wrinkles he'd made in Lex's undershirt. A shudder ran through Lex as Clark smoothed his hand over Lex's chest and down over his flat stomach, stopping in a confused mix of embarrassment and shyness at the waistband of Lex's boxers.

"Clark." Lex smoothed his thumbs over Clark's cheekbones, fire following his touch. "Is this still okay?"

"Yes." Clark answered without hesitation, then bit his lip. "I just—I don't really know what I'm doing." He could feel the blood rush to his face again and he ducked his head even though Lex probably couldn't see his blush.

Lex let out a breath in a soft sigh. He took one hand from Clark's face and laid it over the hand at his waist. "That's okay. I do. Do you trust me?"

Clark swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Lex slowly ran his hand up Clark's arm, trailing sparks of electricity across his skin the whole way up. "If you want to stop at any time, for any reason, just tell me."

"Okay." Clark sucked in a gasping breath as Lex slid his hand up the back of his bicep. Who knew that was an erogenous area? Then Lex's fingers were trailing down Clark's back and he wished he had taken his shirt off. Why had he left it on? It had seemed a good idea then, but now… not so much.

But then both of Lex's hands were on the hem of Clark's shirt, tugging it up and over his head. Clark lifted his arms and shrugged out of it; Lex tossed it on the floor, and then his hands were on Clark's skin, skimming up and down his back. And lower. And—oh. Clark jerked, pressing Lex down into the thin, lumpy mattress. At Lex's gasp, he quickly pushed himself back up. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yes." Lex sounded amused. "I'm fine." His teeth flashed white in the darkness. "Let's see if I can make you do that again." And he squeezed.

Clark yelped and immediately snapped his mouth shut. They could hear Chloe and Lana earlier, and sound traveled both ways. His whole body trembled with the effort of holding himself up so as not to crush Lex.

"I won't break, Clark." Lex slid his hands forward to wrap them around Clark's hips.

"I'm stronger than I look." Clark's breath was coming in sharp gasps as Lex's thumbs started to move in little circles on his hip bones.

"I know." Lex smoothed one hand across Clark's lower belly, slipping his fingers under the waistband of his boxers. "I trust you, Clark."

All coherent thought fled from Clark as Lex's hand dipped inside and… oh God. Fisting his hands, Clark braced himself against the thin mattress on either side of Lex's head. He couldn't think, could hardly breathe, could only move with the demands of his body as Lex led him toward the edge. Then he was bursting apart into millions of little pieces, sparks dancing over his skin, and he bowed his head, his breathing gradually slowing.

Raising his head, he carefully lowered his weight back to the mattress next to Lex, then lifted a hand and laid it on Lex's stomach. "Your turn," he whispered, and slid his hand down, not stopping this time at the waistband.

Lex's whole body jerked upward as Clark's hand found its target—and the blood rushed to Clark's face again. He was glad that Lex's eyes were closed. It was just ridiculous that he was still blushing.

Clark watched Lex, feeling more powerful than he had ever felt before at the way Lex reacted to his touch. A fine sheen of sweat lay over Lex's skin, and his hands were fisted in the blankets at his sides. His body arched upward, straining into Clark's touch. When he came, it was with a sharp gasp, his body shuddering and collapsing back onto the lumpy mattress.

Opening his eyes again, Lex pulled Clark's head down onto his shoulder. They fell asleep like that, Clark's arm laid across Lex's stomach, and Lex's arms wrapped around Clark.