Lex still couldn't believe that he'd not only slept outside under a meteor shower, but that he'd fallen asleep at all with a willing Clark in his arms. Well, a relatively willing Clark since the younger man had been determined to keep things fairly innocent. A drawback and a benefit to dating someone so much younger, he figured. It kept things interesting, that was for sure.

He'd been less than comfortable waking up, his back and neck stiff from the unfamiliar and uncomfortable ground. On the plus side, Clark had kept him very warm, the sleeping bag had only been halfway pulled around them by the time the sun woke them at the insanely early hour of six and change.

Walking back to the castle had worked up an appetite and a definite desire for a shower. He'd made the suggestion to conserve water by showering together and Clark had laughed at him. If there hadn't been a distinct undertone of restraint, Lex would have been seriously miffed. Still, he'd resolved to take things at Clark's pace and he would.

Which, at the moment, was a benefit since they were seated on the couch, making out. He'd almost forgotten how good it was just to kiss for an extended period of time. He was straddling Clark's lap, one hand twined through the thick, dark hair and the other lightly roaming up and down Clark's stomach. Clark's hands were firmly placed on Lex's waist, squeezing and caressing as they held him in a loose confinement.

Panting, Lex broke the kiss off and rested his forehead against Clark's and groaning, "God, Clark. Where the hell did you learn to kiss like that?"

With a grin, Clark said, "A gentleman never kisses and tells."

Lex snorted rudely. "You're safe then."

"Hey!"

Loving the cute, indignant pinch to Clark's eyebrows, Lex leaned in and captured the softened lips for another, extended bout of necking. Necking. He chuckled into the kiss as the word ran through his mind. It was certainly never something he'd thought to be doing.

Clark pulled back this time, green eyes sparkling as he asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Lex assured him, grinning anyhow.

Suspicious, but willing to be convinced, Clark's hands slid down to Lex's ass and squeezed lightly. "Oh yeah?"

Lex nodded and rocked forward and back slowly, increasing the contact between them and provoking a gasp from Clark. And a distinctly possessive growl, Lex noted with increased breathing as Clark seized his mouth in a deep, slick kiss where his tongue delved into Lex's mouth to search it out.

"Holy shit!"

Lex froze at the exclamation, losing contact with Clark's mouth, but even worse, Clark's body completely stilled beneath him. Bracing himself, Lex turned his head and found Pete looking at them in shock and disgust. This was definitely bad.

"I can't fucking believe this!" Pete exclaimed harshly, dark eyes narrowed. "I mean, I see it, but I really can't believe it! What the hell!?"

Clark shifted and Lex immediately got off, standing and moving aside to let Clark deal with his friend. Wiping his hands nervously on his jeans, Clark said, "Pete, let me explain."

"Explain what? That you were making out with Lex Luthor? I know what I saw! Unless some kind of Smallville weirdness is going on?"

Lex held his breath as Pete gave Clark the out and willed his young lover to take it, to fix the breach that looked pretty insurmountable from where Lex was standing.

Clark breathed deeply, explosively, and shook his head. "No, no weirdness. I love Lex and he loves me. We're, ah, together."

Pete blanched at the verbal confirmation to what he'd just witnessed. "You and me need to talk, Clark. Now."

Clark looked between Pete and Lex, torn.

Wincing faintly at the hard look that looked so out of place on Pete's face, Lex said, "It's okay, Clark. Go on. Fix this if you can."

Pete's jaw tightened at the apparent permission seeking Clark had just done, turned on his heel, and left.

"Go after him," Lex urged. "He's your best friend."

Painfully, Clark shook his head and whispered, "You're my best friend. And I'll be back, Lex, I promise."

Lex smiled briefly, reaching out to take Clark's hand and bring him close. The kiss was completely different from before, ragged and desperate, and Lex held tight, not wanting to let go.

Finally, Clark pulled away and repeated, "I'll be back."

Nodding, Lex agreed, "I'll see you later."

As Clark strode out of the room, a chill took Lex and he rubbed his arms almost violently, whispering to himself, "He'll be back."

* * * *

Clark heard the soft plea in Lex's voice and almost turned right back around. It took a lot to keep his forward momentum going, but he forced himself to walk out the front door to Pete's car in the driveway. He got in wordlessly and buckled up. Pete started the car just as silent, driving away from the castle at a normal speed.

To Clark's surprise, he found that they were heading back to his home. "I thought you wanted to talk."

"Yeah. But I think this is something your parents need to be in on," Pete answered shortly.

"Pete, pull over."

Pete kept driving.

"Pull over or I'm going to jump out."

Throwing Clark a dirty look, Pete pulled over on the deserted road and stopped the engine. "So all right. Talk. What is going on?"

Clark unbuckled and faced his still-angry friend. "What are you more angry about? That it's Lex, or that Lex is a guy?"

"I'm pissed because you never breathed a word about this to me!" Pete snapped, arms crossing over his chest.

Suddenly seeing that Pete was really hurt, as well as angry, Clark said, "I'm sorry, but no one knows. I mean, it's all really new to us, you know? We just wanted it to be us for a while."

"So all that not seeing each other was a cover?"

"Sort of, yeah. But he really was in Europe."

Taking a breath, obviously trying to rein in his emotions, Pete said, "Clark, you can't be serious about all of this. What about Lana? What about Kyla? You can't tell me that you weren't into them. And last I knew, you were still into Lana!"

Uncomfortable, Clark said, "I was. I think I really did love Kyla, but we only knew each other for a few days, so there's no way to tell. And Lana...well...I don't know. I think we went back and forth one too many times. She's a good friend now, but that's it."

Pete sighed deep and looked out of the window as he asked, "Is it just Lex? Or, um, is it guys in general?"

"I don't know," Clark answered honestly, squirming a little at the bluntness of the conversation. It seemed to be what Pete needed, though, so he bit the bullet. "Right now, it just seems to be Lex. But, um, I haven't really thought about doing this with any other guys, either."

"What about your folks? I know your dad'll be ticked if he finds out. And your powers? Did you let him in on your powers?"

All totally valid questions and he'd thought about them to an insane depth since starting this entire thing. Feeling a headache coming on, even though it hadn't seemed impossible up until then, Clark said, "I know my dad's not going to be happy."

Pete snorted.

"Yeah, I know," Clark agreed, wry. "But that's not going to happen for a while yet anyhow. Right?"

Finally, Pete met his eyes and gave him a reluctant nod. "I don't think it's right for you to keep secrets from your folks, but I won't tell, either. And your powers?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Clark didn't answer.

"You didn't tell him."

Clark didn't really have to answer because it wasn't a question, but he said, "No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," Clark said.

"You don't really trust him."

"Yes! I do trust him."

Pete grabbed his shoulder and said, "No, you don't, Clark. If you did, you'd have told him everything already."

Which was something that Clark had been trying to get through just last night. He did trust Lex, he loved him, but there was so much going on in the man's world that sometimes, Clark thought Lex just forgot what was right and wrong. It was easy for Lex to get caught up in his father's games. What if one time, he got caught up and let something about Clark slip? Just by accident, because he was angry with his father and needed to get one-up on him?

It was a totally valid scenario and one that Clark felt guilty about even thinking. Because if he really loved Lex, really and truly, didn't that mean he'd feel that Lex wouldn't betray him, even accidentally?

On top of that, and far more important to Clark, what if Lex found out and hated him for the deception. What if Lex couldn't accept that he was an alien with superhuman powers? What if Lex couldn't stand the sight of him once he was told the truth? Even thinking about it caused his stomach to churn unpleasantly.

"Clark?"

Coming back to the present, Clark sighed. "I do trust him. I just...do you remember how you reacted? What if he does that too, only..."

"Only he can't accept it?" Pete finished softy.

Clark nodded miserably. "I don't want to lose him."

Tightening his grip on Clark's arm, Pete said, "If he doesn't accept it, then you never really had him in the first place."

"And if he doesn't accept it, if he hates me for lying to him, what do you think he'll do with the knowledge?" Clark asked with a groan.

Pete was silent, sympathy warring with caution on his face. "I think we both know the answer to that. He's a Luthor, much as you hate it that I keep saying that. I'll give you that he might love you, I don't know. But Clark, if it's not as real as you think it is and you tell him everything, then you're screwed. You're parents will be screwed, too, don't forget."

Thumping his head against the window, Clark said, "I know, I know. Don't you think I've already thought about this a million times? I just don't know what to do. I think he's willing to let the secrets go for now, until we're on a better footing, you know?"

"What about you? You hate lying," Pete pointed out. "It's going to be hard to keep it from him now that you've um, you know."

Clark sighed. "I know. And we haven't actually, well, done it."

"But it's moving that way."

"Well, yeah. I sure hope so."

"Clark, gross, TMI there," Pete protested.

Grinning, Clark apologized sheepishly, "Sorry."

Pete eyed him for a long moment then sighed. "You never do anything the easy way, do you?"

"Mom says it's not in my nature," Clark agreed. "So, are we okay?"

Looking out the window, Pete answered, "I don't know. You said last time that you'd never lie to me again, but you did. It seems like you don't really trust me and how can we be friends if you don't? I tell you everything, Clark."

"I'm sorry. I just...I didn't think you'd understand."

"You didn't think I'd understand about you being an alien, either."

Clark winced at the anger in Pete's voice. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry don't make it right."

"I know, but...I am sorry."

They were silent for a few minutes, then Pete sighed again and said, "C'mon, I'll bring you home."

* * * *

"Everything all right, son?"

Clark looked at his dad for a second without really seeing him.

"Clark?"

Shaking the fog off, Clark answered, "Yeah, fine. I'm going upstairs."

Though he felt his father's eyes on him all the way up the stairs to his bedroom, Clark just couldn't handle another confrontation with someone he loved about lying and secrets. It seemed like everywhere he turned, there was someone getting hurt when that was the last thing he wanted.

Crashing on his bed, Clark turned and faced the wall, closing his eyes and wondering how his life had gotten so complicated. It was several minutes later that a light tap on his door signaled his mother wanting to come in. Sighing, Clark turned over and called, "Come in."

Martha opened the door and crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed, smiling at him. "Just wondering how the meteor shower went."

Smiling wistfully, he said, "It was great."

It was just the day after that sucked.

"So what's wrong?" she asked, brushing her fingers through his bangs, pushing them back.

"Can I claim the fifth?" he countered, hopefully.

After a moment, Martha nodded and said, "Sure. I'll give you a 'get out of jail free' card today."

"Thanks, mom."

She nodded, then hesitated before saying, "Whatever's wrong, you can tell us. You know that, right?"

Stifling an urge to scream, Clark somehow kept his voice steady and agreed, "Sure."

"Really?"

"Really. I promise."

"All right," she said, leaning over to kiss his forehead, then standing. "Your dad wants to know if you'll be around tomorrow to help with some work on the tractor."

Considering that there was probably no one who wanted to hang out with him, Clark was pretty sure his calendar was clear. "Yeah. No problem."

"All right. I'll let him know Are you eating with us tonight?"

Clark shook his head and replied, "I'm not really hungry."

Nodding, Martha reached the door and said, "Okay."

The door closed softly behind her and Clark turned back to the wall. Then he groaned and realized that Lex was still waiting for him to return. Searching his pockets reminded him that the cell was sitting on the coffee table in Lex's study where they'd been making out. Pissed with himself for forgetting, he hissed, "Fuck!"

He debated whether or not to go downstairs and use the phone to call, but disregarded it almost right away. If he did, his parents would want him to join them. Getting up, he flipped on the computer and brought up his email.

* * * *

Lex was in the middle of a grueling and sudden inspection preparation when his email pinged at him. Seeing that it was Clark's email, he immediately opened it, then his heart sunk.

Lex,

Wish I could have gotten back tonight, but it was impossible. Pete's pissed, but he's not going to tell my folks about us. Seems like fate's conspiring, doesn't it? I'm tied to the farm tomorrow, and I've got some thinking to do anyhow, but I thought I could come by on Tuesday if you'll be around? Let me know.

Love,

Clark

Thinking to do. That wasn't good. What was worse was that Clark didn't want to call him to let him know. He could see the polite kiss off coming a mile away and felt physically sick. He hit respond and typed quickly and sent the email back to Clark.

He picked up the phone and dialed. "Yeah, Dad, it's me. I'm leaving Smallville for Metropolis in the morning. What time did you want to get together?"