High-speeding toward home, Clark was slightly worried how he was going to explain his nightly excursion to his mother. He couldn't very well simply tell her that he'd gone to Lex's place. To make sure that his friend was still there, to…

Clark came to a dead stop, dirt and gravel flying through the air. 'God! I've just had sex! I just got laid.' Could anyone tell? He'd showered and the speed-running was rapidly drying his hair, but still, there had to be something that would be different about him - something that would make it hard to keep it secret.

'Um, Clark? You've just had sex with your best friend.' Heat rushed to his face and various other places. 'Your best *male* friend.' Did that mean that Lex was gay? Did that mean *he* was gay? He'd never really given it much thought, always pursuing Lana. 'Maybe that's why I keep sabotaging the opportunities I'm handed.' He'd never given the other guys in the locker room a second look. Well, not the he could remember, but considering how perceptive his sub-consciousness had proved to be so far, he couldn't be quite sure.

Finally forcing himself to speed up again, Clark quickly covered the distance to his home. Taking a deep breath, he walked through the back door, entering the kitchen.

His mother looked up from the vegetables she was cleaning. A deep sigh of relief escaped her. "Clark, you're home."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, mom, didn't mean to upset you." Clark kept staring at the vegetables. One carrot specifically. Oh. Oh! Cheeks burning, he avoided his mother's eyes, sure that she'd be able to read everything that had happened this morning on his face.

"Go do the chores before your father comes home - then we'll talk." His mother's eyes softened.

Clark nodded. He could do that. Do what he did every day, familiar things.

It felt like a lifetime before he was finally done. Though, he realized with a glance at his wristwatch, it had only been around half an hour. Leaning against the barn door, lost in thought, Clark felt the residue of the morning's heat course through his body.

"You're awfully happy today, dear." His mother startled him out of his little fantasy.

"Um, hi mom." Clark shifted uneasily, his jeans a little beyond the definition of tight. 'What do you tell your mother at a time like this? Oh, by the way mom, I just got laid this morning, your son's no longer a virgin and he's in love with a guy you don't like.'

"Is something wrong, Clark?" She shot him a puzzled look.

"Ah, no Mom, everything's fine, just… fine." Wonderful in fact - absolutely fantastic.

His mother shook her head. "Then do you think I could *maybe* have an explanation as to why you left in the middle of the night?"

"I… I needed time - and space to think." 'Yeah, mom,' yelled Clark's inner voice. 'I think I'm gay, and I've just had sex.'

"And did you solve your problem?"

"I… more or less, yes." Was it really so important for him to be able to put a label on himself? To say that he was gay or not? God, why didn't sex ed ever cover this area? All that really mattered was that Lex hadn't turned him down, had in fact welcomed an inexperienced kid in his bed. Clark frowned. What if Lex only wanted him because he was a virgin - had been? Thoughts of doubt swirled through his mind.

"Well," his mother began. "Finish up, take a shower and perhaps then, you'll share your newfound epiphany with your old mother."

"Eh, ok." Oh dear, oh no, oh… A third degree from his mother wasn't on Clark's top 10 list of things he'd like to do today. Or ever. Not after the things he'd done together with Lex. The kisses, the touches…

Clark quickly went into the house behind his mother, praying that she wouldn't turn around and see him blushing. Foot on the first step of the stairs, the phone rang. Two more steps and his mother answered it. Another two steps and she called for him. "Clark, phone."

He met her at the foot of the stairs, as he went back down to take the cordless phone.

"Yes?" He nodded to his mother, turning around again, walking up the stairs.

"Clark?" Low, slow drawl.

Clark almost fell up the last few steps. "Lex!" A little too loud. Why was Lex calling him? Was he having regrets about what they'd done?

"Still alive, I assume."

"Ah, yeah - the third degree is rescheduled to take place after I've showered."

"Mmm, where are you now?"

Clark closed the door to the bathroom behind him, after having heard his mother's call to him, that she'd be outside in the yard. "I'm… I'm in the bathroom." A moment of silence followed. "Lex?"

"Mmm?" Lex sounded… a little odd.

"Is… why… why are you calling?" He hated the insecurity in his own voice.

"I… I'm sorry, Clark." An almost audible smile. "I had every intention of embarrassing you when I picked up the phone, but now…" A deep breath. "Are you ok, Clark?" Worry?

"Yeah, I'm… fine." Was Lex really worried about him? How he felt after… Clark blushed.

"I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time earlier."

Oh, Clark couldn't help a snicker.

"Clark Kent! You have a dirty mind." Even Lex couldn't help laughing. "You know perfectly well that I wasn't referring to your… physical state."

"I know Lex, sorry." Clark suppressed another grin.

"Well, speaking of. Wanna have a little fun?" Devious streak in the silky voice.

"Fun?" Clark said warily. He still wasn't sure how Lex felt about this.

"Yeah," a little husky. "You could tell me that you're already naked."

"Lex!" Clark almost chocked. "Are you suggesting… phone sex?"

"Why Clark! How perceptive of you." Soft laughter.

"Oh, Lex. As much as I… wouldn't mind, your timing really sucks." Clark pressed his hand against his rapidly tightening jeans. This just wasn't fair. He shouldn't be getting off on Lex's voice and the underlying… suggestions so easily. "I just don't think I could face my mother so shortly after…"

"Oh, I get it, Clark. I'm sorry." A little chuckle. "You might want to try a cold shower, now that you're at it."

"Does it work?" Maybe he should.

"Sometimes, yeah."

"Use it a lot yourself?"

"Mmm, especially when I've been around you."

Clark felt the blush creep across his face. "Oh."

"Though it hardly ever works for me." Almost a purr.

Clark let out a strangled noise. This wasn't helping.

Another chuckle. "I'm sorry, Clark. I'll let you get back to your shower." A few short breaths. "Call me later? Tell me how your… meeting with your mother goes?"

"Um, sure." Clark leaned his forehead against the cool tiles as he unbuttoned his shirt one-handedly. "Lex?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…?" How was he going to ask what Lex's feelings were for him.

Lex obviously saw it coming. "Yeah, Clark." Voice soft, barely audible. "I… I like you a lot."

Clark felt his knees grow a little weak. Lex Luthor, his best friend… liked him. A lot. A silly grin spread on his face. "I like you too. A lot."

A relieved sigh, probably not meant to be heard. "Talk to you later, gorgeous."

The blush returned tenfold. "Yeah, later." Clark waited for Lex to hang up before he hit the disconnect button himself. Wow. He'd been afraid that Lex wasn't interested in him in any other ways than physically. Clark couldn't have blamed him for it if that had been the case, really. He'd climbed into Lex's bed, uninvited. He couldn't fault Lex for taking advantage of it. But, wow, Lex had admitted he liked Clark. Really liked him, a lot.

The cold shower more or less worked. With a little aid from the knowledge that he had to face his mother afterwards. And jerking off to the fantasy of another guy probably wasn't such a good idea if he wanted to be able to look her in the eye without giving too much away.

Clark came down the stairs, lost in thought. It wasn't really a question of whether he *should* tell her or not. He was fairly sure he'd be grounded anyway. What mattered was how *much* he could tell her. He had no doubts that if he told her the whole story - including crawling into Lex's bed, naked *and* having sex with him, he'd be grounded beyond a lifetime.

Drawn to the kitchen by the smell of fresh coffee, Clark took a deep breath and entered. He went to sit by the table, his mother putting a cup in front of him, taking her own and sitting down across from him.

"Well?" A sip and a calm gaze.

Clark tried to relax. "I… dreamt last night." He hesitated.

"Yes?"

"It was really… weird. It was an odd dream and I don't remember that much…" 'Liar!' screamed his inner voice. The dream was still extremely vivid in his mind.

His mother motioned for him to continue.

"I went through a few scenes from possible turns my life could take." 'Don't tell her you ended up with Lex two out of three times. Not bad statistics though.'

"Good or bad?" his mother inquired, genuinely interested and very patient, obviously.

"Most of it was… well, turned out ok." 'More than ok, Clark.' He closed his eyes for a moment.

"You saw a possibility that you didn't like?"

"I, um… yeah."

"Did it have anything to do with Lex?"

Clark finally looked up, though reluctant to meet his mother's eyes. 'I guess it's hard to hide anything from your mother.' He nodded, not quite trusting his voice.

She sighed deeply. "Clark, you shouldn't let your father's words about Lex make you doubt your friend."

Clark frowned. 'What?'

His mother seemed a little torn between explaining and not really wanting to speak against her husband. Especially since he wasn't here to defend his own views. "What I meant was, your father is afraid that Lex might… hurt you in some way."

"And what… what do you think?" Clark swallowed hard.

"I… I think you're a good influence on each other." His mother finally smiled. "He seems more at ease around you, and you around him."

"I…" Clark trailed off. He'd known that his mother wasn't as hostile toward Lex as his father was, but from that and to them actually being good for each other. Wow.

"So, what was so bad about your dream that you had to disappear in the middle of the night?"

"I… I woke up to a reality where Lex was dead." 'See, first step.'

"Dead?" His mother's expression was a mixture of interest and perhaps even a little worry.

"Yeah, I hadn't saved him." Clark closed his eyes. Yes, it had turned out ok, but it still gave him a chilly feeling in his gut. "That day on the bridge." He finally met her gaze.

She must have seen something in there. "So you had to check?"

"Um, yeah." 'Step two - see? There's nothing to it.'

"And where were you from that point until you called past noon?"

'Oops.' "Oh… I was… I was at the mansion." 'What just happened to steps 3-5?'

She frowned. "But Lex said…"

Oh! "No mom, he didn't know I was there." How had this suddenly gotten to step 7?

"Clark, tell me the truth." She sighed. "Were you there when I called Lex?"

"Eh, yeah?" 'Uh-oh.'

"And he *thought* he was telling the truth when he said you weren't there? He didn't know?"

"Yeah?" 'Ouch, are all mothers this perceptive?'

"And I woke Lex? Didn't I?"

"Yeah." Barely audible.

"Clark, what were you doing there?"

"Eh…" 'Come on Clark, you can handle this.' "Watching over him." 'More like groping him in his sleep!' This wasn't going the way he'd planned, but he should have known that his mother would see right through him.

"You broke into Lex's home to watch him sleep?" Martha shook her head.

"I…" Clark blanched. He *had* actually broken in. At the point where he'd done it, he hadn't given it a second thought.

"Clark, what got into you? What possessed you to break into the Luthor mansion?"

"I needed to see him." 'Touch him.' "Make sure he was there."

"Clark…" His mother was visibly torn between pushing, to make him tell and leaving it alone. "You *do* know that you can tell your father and me anything, right?"

"I just don't think dad would understand.," Clark blurted out just before he could stop himself. He was fairly sure his cheeks couldn't have burned more than they did.

"Clark, did something happen between you and… Lex?"

Clark found himself wishing the ground would just open up and swallow him.

"Is that why Lex called?" She reached out, putting a hand on his arm. "Did you boys have a fight?"

'Oh God!' Clark buried his head in his hands. "No," he forced out.

"Clark?" Gently coaxing.

"I… I kissed him." 'After having crawled into his bed - *naked* - and just before we had sex!'

"Oh." His mother didn't look as shocked as he'd expected, when he finally found the courage to meet her eyes. "And how did Lex react to you… kissing him?" Carefully neutral.

"He…" Clark hesitated. "He let me… and kissed me back." 'And then we had sex!' Ok, that hole in the ground was more than welcome to do its job, and *now* would be more than perfect timing. He hid his face in his hands again.

Clark heard his mother push her chair back and come around to his side, a warm, light touch to his shoulder. "Clark?"

A guttural sound escaped him. Why did this have to be so difficult? Because Lex was a guy or because his last name was Luthor? Or because he was 21 and Clark only 16?

"Clark." His mother's grip tightened on his shoulder. "Are you sure about this? How you feel about Lex? How he feels about you?"

"With Lex… I'm fairly sure, though…" Clark swallowed hard. "Though I *know* I've got to sit down and talk this through with him."

"And what were you doing then, from the time you phoned me and till you got home?" Martha's face revealed no hints as to what she was thinking.

"Oh, um…" Clark swallowed nervously. His mother knew, she knew, she… "Eh, it took me a while to… confess my feelings to Lex?" 'Futile attempt, Clark.'

His mother frowned. "How stupid do you think I am, Clark? You were fresh out of the shower, when you came home, you smelled of soap, nothing like the one you use here, at home."

Clark groaned. 'Oh no!' His mother pulled him around, and Clark realized he had no other choice than to look her in the eye and hope for the best.

"Clark, tell me you didn't…"

"Mom, no. We, eh, we fooled around a bit, kissed. That's it, I swear!" 'Clark Kent, you're gonna go to hell for all those lies of yours.'

A deep sigh. "Tell me you're sure about your feelings for Lex."

"I…" Clark took a deep breath. "I'm more sure than I ever was about Lana."

Martha raised an eyebrow. "Absolutely sure, Clark?"

Clark nodded. Felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. "Yes mom, I am." He couldn't help wondering what was going on inside his mother's head when she suddenly smiled at him.

"I don't think we should tell your father just yet. And I don't think I need to ground you, young man." Her smile widened. "Considering that going through this seems embarrassing enough to be a punishment."

"I'm not grounded?" Clark was surprised.

"It would only bring your father to ask questions we do not want to bring up just yet." A little thoughtful. "I want to talk some things through with him, before he finds out about this."

"This doesn't bother you?" Clark was amazed. It had been easier than he'd expected. "You're not… disappointed?"

"Clark," she laughed. "I'm glad that you're happy, that's really all that matters." Her demeanor turned serious again. "But promise me, Clark, that you won't do it again. Don't leave in the middle of the night like that, and we can't allow you to stay with Lex late on school nights."

"That's it?" Wow, what a surprise. 'I wonder if I can ask…' "Can I go talk to Lex then?" 'Please, please, *please*.'

A short hesitation. "Yes, you do that. Just don't do anything foolish."

Clark nodded enthusiastically. "No problem, mom." He kissed her on the cheek. "I love you, mom, thanks." He was halfway out the door, when she called at him.

"Ask Lex over to dinner tonight, dear."

Clark smiled broadly. "Sure mom." Then a frown. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean with dad and all?"

"You just leave your dad to me, I'll think of something." Loving smile. "Dinner's at six."

As Clark sped up, he was glad that it hadn't been as difficult as he'd expected, telling his mother. His father would be more difficult, though he hoped his mother could soften the ground for him, before he'd tell his father about his feelings for Lex. Though things seemed to finally be looking up.

TBC