The old beat-up pickup truck looked out of place on the sleek, new LuthorCorp runway, but none of Lex's staff questioned it. They wouldn't have dared.

Clark was the first to scramble out of the truck, pulling a backpack half his size out behind him and swinging it onto his back as if it was weightless, and then running toward Lex as though he was carrying nothing at all. Lex made a mental note to ask Jonathan if he knew any workout routines that had similar effects as farm chores—he could use a bit of that strength. Jonathan climbed out of the driver's side and trailed behind, carrying a large paper bag.

"Hey!" Clark slammed headlong into Lex, not bothering to take his backpack off first. The air rushed out of Lex's lungs, and he stumbled back a couple of steps. Lex could have sworn that Clark had grown at least four inches since the last time Lex had seen him.

"Hey, Clark." Lex patted his backpack, and Clark let go, still grinning. Lex turned to Jonathan, who was setting down the paper bag beside Clark. "Uncle Jon. Good to see you."

Jonathan shook his hand and nodded, but his smile seemed a bit forced. "Appreciate you doing this, Lex."

"It's no trouble at all. Anything for my little brother."

Jonathan's smile relaxed a little, but it faded before he turned to Clark. "You're going to do everything Lex and Dean tell you to do, okay?"

"I will." There was an edge to Clark's voice, a hint of annoyance.

"And you remember, as soon as you get back—"

"I know, Dad."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "You wanna try that again?"

"I'm sorry." Clark's cheeks turned pink. "I know, just—not here, okay?" His eyes darted toward Lex, then back at his father.

A short pause, then Jonathan nodded. "Okay. You have fun, alright, kiddo? Be safe."

"I will." Clark smiled.

"I love you."

"Da-ad." Clark lowered his head, and muttered. "Love you too."

Lex wanted to laugh at Clark's embarrassment, but a wave of envy passed over him, and he couldn't bring himself to smile.

Jonathan gave his son a clap on the shoulder, and he gave Lex one last nod before he went back to the truck.

Lex raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

"Nothing." Clark shrugged. "So . . . we're going to fly?"

"Yeah. Private jet. Can't wait to show you the inside." Lex had had the interior decked out to impress: decorated with colored lights like a party bus, all of their favorite snacks plus ones he was sure none of them had heard of, the newest sound and entertainment systems, top-of-the-line video game consoles installed and ready to go. "What's in the bag?"

"Mini pies my mom made."

Lex bit the inside of his cheek. Somehow, Clark's contribution was still more impressive than his.

Once the initial excitement of seeing Lex had worn off, Clark seemed to be much more subdued. He fidgeted and wrung out his hands, wincing as he snuck glances at the jet.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

Lex gave him a look. "What's up?"

"I, uh . . . I have a thing about heights. I thought we were going to drive and then take a ship or something."

"Oh." Lex blinked a couple of times. He hadn't even considered that. He hadn't actually mentioned in his message that they'd be flying to the island; he wondered if Sam and Dean would assume they were going to be on some kind of boat. "Hey, can I tell you a secret?"

"Uh huh?"

"I used to be scared of heights, too."

"Really?" Clark's eyes grew wide.

"Yeah."

"How did you get over it?"

Lex breathed in, but stopped himself before he blurted out the number of asthma attacks he had had as a result of his father forcing him to look out of a helicopter window before his body finally learned that panicking wouldn't do any good. "I flew a lot. Eventually, I got used to it. Learned that my pilot is the best in the world, and this jet lands safe every time."

Clark glanced at the jet, eyes full of suspicion.

Lex sighed. "I'll be right there with you the whole time."

Clark still looked suspicious.

Lex put a hand on his shoulder. "Can you be brave for me? I promise this week will be worth it."

Clark hesitated, then looked up at Lex. "Okay," he said.

Just then, the Impala pulled up on the landing pad and screeched to a stop. Dean got out of the driver's seat, looking at the jet the same way Clark just had. "Luthor, you didn't tell me we were gonna fly."

Lex raised his eyebrows. This, he hadn't been expecting. "The great monster hunter Dean Winchester, scared of planes?" he asked.

"No, no." Dean glanced back at Sam, who was unloading duffel bags out of the trunk of the car. "I'm just . . . nervous for Sam."

"I'm not the one who's scared of planes, Dean," Sam called.

"That's okay, Dean!" Clark said. "Lex is scared of heights, too."

Lex glared at Clark—he did not just throw Lex under the bus.

Dean just laughed, giving Lex an amused look. "Really, Luthor? Didn't peg you for the type."

"Mind your own business," Lex said. "Besides, that was a long time ago."

"Hey, like Clark said. No shame in it."

Clark gave him a huge grin, and even Sam laughed.

Lex's cheeks felt hot, but he smiled back. None of them were getting away with this.

They filed onto the plane, the attendant helping them each with their bags—with the exception of Clark, who kept his backpack on until he was on the plane.

Lex watched them struggle to get their luggage into the overhead compartments, and he slipped forward into the cockpit. "Hey, Stu?"

"Yeah, Lex?"

"Give us a fun ride, will you?"

"You got it."

The engines began to rev up and Dean's face fell. "A fun ride? Wait, wait, what does that mean?"

Lex smirked. "It means buckle your seat belts and hold on tight."

A half second later, the jet took off down the runway, nearly knocking all of them off their feet, and Sam, Dean, and Clark scrambled into their seats. Lex smiled to himself and calmly, carefully walked to his seat, strapping himself in. He was used to this.

They took off and banked in the sky. Sam was laughing like he was on a roller coaster, and Dean's face had gone a greenish color, but Lex was most concerned about Clark. He was gripping onto his arm rests, letting little shrieks out every time the plane turned in a new direction or sped up suddenly, but there was a hint of a smile in his eyes. It was more like he was riding a roller coaster that was a little overwhelming to him than like he was truly worried.

If Clark was okay, Lex wouldn't let up. Stu would only keep this up on the way to cruising altitude, anyway, and that wouldn't take more than a few more minutes. Lex whooped along with Sam, then he grinned at Dean. "Having fun?"

"I'm fine," Dean said.

"Oh, you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you're sure." Lex pressed the call button to the pilot. "Stu, I said a fun ride, not a kiddie coaster!"

The drop and swoop into the air that followed had all four of them screaming.

They recovered for the bulk of the flight, snacking on the mini pies, blasting music, and playing video games. But Lex asked Stu for a repeat performance on the way down.

Clark jumped up from his seat when they arrived on the island, crying out, "It felt like flying!" Sam gave Lex a grin on the way out. Dean punched him hard in the arm as he passed. Even then, Lex couldn't hold back his grin.

-------

Dean spent the plane flight thinking about increasingly creative forms of revenge he could take on Lex for the stomach-churning terror that the flight had been. By the time they'd landed, he'd had to clench every muscle in his torso to keep himself from losing his breakfast several times, at which point he had become much less creative and instead regressed to fantasizing about beating him up. Even the limo ride to the hotel, as cool as it was, wasn't quite enough to temper his anger against that jerk.

All of that went away when the arrived at the resort.

For one thing, it was huge. It had been hard to see anything out of the window of the limo, but now it was all laid out before him. The beach stretched for as far as the eye could see, sandy for the most part, with rocky cliff faces on the sides. The hotel was as fancy a place as Dean had ever seen, and far more so than he'd ever stayed at. Between the buildings that made up the hotel, he could just make out an enormous pool and hot tub, and signs pointed to arcades, galleries, restaurants, and bars.

And the blond concierge who came to greet them wore a tight, short skirt and a tank top that didn't leave much to the imagination. This place was the real deal.

"Hey," Dean said, flashing the smile he'd practiced in the mirror.

The concierge smiled back, a smile that was as good as a promise.

Lex backhanded him in the arm. "What are you doing?" he muttered.

"You said we were here to have fun, right?"

"I'll ship you back here any weekend you want, and you can have your fill. This week is about them." Lex nodded toward Sam and Clark, who were already following the busboy toward the elevator.

Dean sighed, gazing wistfully in the direction the concierge had gone, but he finally let out his breath. "Okay, Luthor. You win. This is a brother trip." He turned to look at Lex. "But I'm taking you up on that offer this summer. As many times as I can talk you into it."

Lex smirked. "I wouldn't expect any less."