Max P.O.V

It felt like I was wrapped in a hot cloud; soft, pliable, but firmly defined. The warmth was nice. I buried my face deeper in the soft yet solid mass. Even the smell was warm, something like cedar and wood smoke. I inhaled deeply, there was an odd familiarity about this smell, but I couldn't quite place it. Especially not when my brain was fluffy like cotton, still hazy with sleep. Oh well, I would think of it later, who cares right now, I don't.

Then I realized my cloud was breathing... ah yes, now it was all coming back to me. This stupid mountain climate tried to kill me while I slept and Clayton saved me...Clayton, saved...me...

Oh God, I was snuggling Clayton. Now that I thought about it it made sense, the cloud did have legs, that, currently, were tangled with mine; not to even mention the strong arms that were looped around my hips and waist, keeping me in comfortable contact to a hardened chest. My face was in his neck, his buried into the top of my head. When did I put a hat on? Whatever! I had more important things to think about. Like the fact that one on Clayton's thighs was between my legs, pressed against...yeah...well, moving on!

I felt my face, neck, ears, chest and just about the rest of my body flush a dark red as my pulse quickened. I took my palm off of his chest and held it against my own.

"Are you awake Max?" Clayton mumbled into the top of my head, his hot breath seeping through the scratchy material of the hat.

"Uh-huh." Was all I managed to get out, but I could pass that awkward shyness off as sleepiness...maybe.

Clayton sat up slowly, detangling himself from me carefully. "Sorry I kind of shanghaied you last night," he said as he stretched. "I could hear your teeth chartering from across the room." He stifled a yawn as I sat up, repressing a yawn of my own. I sheepishly took the hat off and handed it back to him, not looking at him.

Why was I feeling so embarrassed? "No it's okay, thanks. Uh, so, is there really six feet of snow outside?" I couldn't quite suppress the whine that tainted my tone. Please, just let it have been a cruel joke.

"Well, it's not quite six feet, but it is still taller than you." Clay said, grinning.

Damn... my worse fear confirmed, the apocalypse is near.

"After I freeze to death I want to be cremated and my ashes spread somewhere warm, like a volcano." I said moodily. Clayton didn't even bother to hide his smirk as he threw the covers off and climbed over me and out of bed.

"Drama queen, it's not even that cold." He said pulling jeans over-top his long-johns and rummaging in his dresser for a clean shirt.

"Get up fat ass!" Franky hammered on the door, calling rudely through it, ruining the bright smile Clayton had.

"Unless you're here to suck my dick, fuck off!" Clay said jerkily.

"Ew god what the- that's fucking nasty, even coming from you, lard ass!" Franky cried obviously disgusted. "I won't be able to stomach breakfast now."

"Then you should be thanking me. A ready made excuse to continue being anorexic, you're welcome." Clayton called snarkily through the door. Frankly grumbled darkly as he left as Clay snorted in disguest. "I hate him." He said his cheeks red.

"I can tell." I said laying back onto the bed and reclaiming the blankets, it was too cold to get up. I suddenly understood why hibernation was all the rage among small animals. I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Clayton draw his arms around himself, almost as if he were uncomfortable. He quickly pulled an over-large sweatshirt over his head and opens the door.

"You should get up and get dressed while your still warm. There is a fire going downstairs." He said shortly, not looking back at me, closing the door behind him with a snap.

That was abrupt. Did I piss him off? I didn't mean too. Feeling suddenly cold, and not because of the arctic nature of this bedroom, I dressed quickly and scurried downstairs. There was a roaring fire crackling merrily in the grate, showering sparks and warmth into the living room.

Outside the window the world was a single sheet of glittering white. The morning sun reflected off the crisp snow casting gold and grey shadows along the trees. The lake looked like a black ink blot on a clean piece of paper and all the trees looked like they had been frosted.

"Ugh why the hell did it suddenly get so cold?" Franky grumbled, picking listlessly at the eggs on his plate.

"Well Franky, it's because of you." Clayton said seriously. "Yeah, you see, you're so far in the closet that you bypassed the Christmas presents and are now in Narnia. Welcome to my kingdom, call me Queen."

Franky turned purple, and was clearly struggling to come up with a comeback. While I stuffed my fist in my mouth to stop from laughing, Amanda shoved a piece of toast in Franky's furiously working jaw. He gagged slightly, but she didn't move her hand.

"I'm not dealing with your shit today." She said with a happy smile. "Franky finish eating. You, me, Jill and Dad are going out today." She forced more of the toast into Franky's mouth. "Clay you and Max are staying here to play in the snow or whatever." She said cramming the last bit of toast down Franky's throat before standing up. "Have fun and stay out of trouble, okay." Amanda smiled brightly and she and Clay exchanged brief kisses.

"You too." He said giving a little wave as she took Franky by the arm and dragged him away.

"I love my sister, she will kick your ass so hard you can't sit for a week, but she will do it with a smile on her face." Clay said pleasantly. "Good thing I'm her favorite." He took a thoughtful bite of his bacon and egg sandwich. "Well, I'm splitting wood today, wanna help?" He took a sandwich from the stack next to hmm and pushed it into my hand. He really was Roy's son. "Eat." He said frowning.

"You're splitting wood...outside?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, outside where the woods are." He said rolling his eyes in a way that clearly told me he was thinking 'city kid'.

"Maybe when hell freezes over, I'm just going to hide under my bed... for the rest of the winter." The sad truth is I was seriously considering it.

"Then welcome to hell." He said giving me a devious grin.

"Clayton no, don't!" I brandished my sandwich at him. I already knew it was too late. Like watching a car crash into you, knowing there is nothing you can do, except squeal like a bitch, which I did.

Clay grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into a perfectly executed firemans carry, whistling happily as he carried me towards the back door.

"No no no, dear God no! I'm going to be buried and frozen for a million years like cavemen they keep finding in Greenland or whatever! I haven't even had coffee! It's too cold and too early and did I ever mention I was short? Well I am very short and the fact that fluffy frozen water is taller than me is frightening. I also don't like the cold, I'm kind of scrawny, like really scrawny, I get cold easy. If you are dressing me in dead animals then it is too cold for humans to be outside!" I babbled frantically, throwing my dignity away along with my pride and self respect. Clayton plopped a furry musher hat on my head and I pulled off and waved it at him, trying to make my point.

"Don't you wear a leather belt?" He asked slyly, adding a scarf. Damn him... He put the hat back on my head and handed me a big coat. I swallows hard, clearly there was no room for negotiation of the matter.

Oh god I'm going to freeze to death! My whole life is going to end in a very slow, very cold way. I have barely lived life! I pulled my boots on as Clayton strapped snowshoes on and grabbed an ax from the corner.

"I shouldn't be enjoying this as much as I am." Clay said gazing at me with a smirk. "You ready?"

"Tell my mother I said 'I love her'." Clayton rolled his eyes. He turned the door handle and rammed his shoulder into the door, pushing the mountain of snow aside, forcing the door outwatds. "That is a bad sign." I moaned.

Clayton smiled at me, the sunlight reflecting his green eyes, illuminating his face. My heart fluttered. He took me by the mitten,(I'm pretty sure my hands were somewhere in the depths of the coat sleves) and pulled me close spinning me so my back was to him. Before I could even ask what he was doing, Clayton took me by the hips an lifted me up so I was sitting on his shoulders.

Adding to the list of things I wasn't fond of, heights was one of them.

"Mother Fucker!" I gasped, my legs tightening around Clayton as I clung to his head. "What the fuck are you doing!" Clayton laughed, striding out into the thick, deep snow. I wasn't sure if he was laughing because of what I said, or, because when I said it my voice was an octave an a half higher than usual. Either way, not encouraging.

"The snow would be above your head, I'm not letting you walk." Clayton said simply, carving a chest deep trench through the snow. "Deal with it. You have short people problems."

"You're an ass." This was said without much conviction because my voice kept shaking whenever Clayton took a step, making me feel as through I was going to be unseated, and fall to my death. Can you drown in snow? Well whatever, I didn't want to find out.

Oh god I hate winter, it turns me into such a pussy!

"I love winter," Clay said seriously, ducking so my head went under the lower branches of a large pine tree. The snow wasn't as deep in the trees.

"Seriously, why?" I tried not to sound scathing.

"It's simple, intense and indiscriminate." Clayton said stopping beside a large snow cover pile of logs and leaning back so I could slide down to the ground.

"Well, right now it is discriminating against short people who can handle the cold." It was so cold out. Our breath clouded and hung in the air for a few moments before dissipating in the frosty, ice sharp chill. I was sunk in snow to my knees, even in the trail Clayton made and starting to shiver. Clayton, on the other hand, stripped off his coat and started splitting wood, stopping every so often to stack the pieces or take off another layer.

I ended up wearing his coat over top of mine, sitting on a couple of stacked logs. I would be lying if I said I was bored. I was not bored, cold yes, but not bored. It was nice just talking to Clayton and the view wasn't bad either. Why was it so entertaining to watch other people work? Maybe it had something to do with the way the muscles rippled and flexed as they effortlessly spit trees in half bit by bit. Who knows, but I like it.

"Come here you look half frozen." Clayton said after a while, beckoning me to him.

"That's because it's twenty degrees out here!" I said, getting up none the less.

"Really you think so? I thought it was colder." He put the ax handle into my hands, it was really heavy,and positioned me in front of an unsuspecting log. "Give it a wack, wood warms you twice. Trust me you'll feel warmer when you're done."

"Are you kidding me? I've never swung an ax before, I dont know how. The most dangerous thing I know how to use is a steak knife."

"You just spent the last hour watching me do it." He said, exasperated. "Grip it here." He put my hands on the handle, one over he other, his hands wrappers over mind as he stood behind me. "Choke up on the shaft." He said leaning into me to help with my ax griping. I wish he wouldn't, my face was suddenly pink and warmer than it had been all morning.

"Raise it over your head, keep your eye on he place you want to hit and swung it down. This maul is pretty heavy so it will do most of the work for you, all you have to do is help get it there."

I turned my head, looking back at him and our eyes locked. His face was lower, close to mine, I could feel the warmth from his body through my coat and even my mittens. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, I didn't dare take a breath. Everything was silent in the pale, slightly dappled gold light that managed to fight its way through the trees.

Clayton moved his bare hand off of my gloved one. Bringing it up, he gently cupped my face, tilting it lightly to better catch his slightly rough lips to mine. I felt myself melt. I tipped my head up to press our lips more firmly together. The kiss deepened and soon Clay's other hand was in the small of my back, my arms wrapping around his neck, the ax laying forgotten in the snow.

Clayton broke the kiss, his cheeks pink as he leaned back. He was right, I was definitely warmer now.

***and I'm sure you are all now screaming because you don't want the F-ing authors note, you want to know what happens next. ...I feel so evil, I would make a great villain. Anyways my side job aside please please please (I'm on my knees here people) tell me what you think...please! Oh and I enjoyed writing every one of those euphemisms XD.
I am going to try my damnest to get another chapter done by Thursday. Hang in there, stay tuned, don't hate me! Vote, comment, snowshoe! \^~^/