Dean's threats were still running through Lex's mind when he woke up. It was frustrating—the nicest thing about being away from boarding school for the summer was that he didn't have to spend any time around bullies like Oliver Queen. But now, apparently, he had another bully to contend with.

He rolled over onto his right side, wincing slightly—sleeping on the floor after a hard day of chores hadn't done him any favors—and glanced up.

Clark's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled. "Hi Lex!" he whispered.

Something about the kid's kindness and innocence hit Lex especially hard this morning. It reminded him of Duncan and made him think of what he'd hoped Julian would be like, all at once. His voice was choked up when he replied, "Hi Clark."

"That was fun!" Clark pushed his covers aside and sat up. "I like sleepovers. But if those other boys stay for another day, I'll let you have a turn with the bed tomorrow."

Lex got to his feet and began stretching out his sore muscles. "I don't think they're staying, Clark."

"But it could be so much fun. Like a party! We can all be friends and play together."

"Don't get your hopes up. The older one doesn't like me."

Clark's jaw dropped. "But you're the coolest."

Lex chuckled. "Thanks, Clark."

"Maybe you can try to be nice to him?"

"I'll try." Lex was willing to put on a good face for Clark's sake, especially since Sam and Dean were leaving today.

But when they arrived down in the kitchen, they found the table set with mountains of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. A carton of milk sat next to a full jug of orange juice, and Mrs. Kent was putting the butter and syrup out with a big smile on her face. Sam, Dean, and Mr. Kent were already seated.

"Come on in, I was just coming to get you!" Mrs. Kent beckoned them over, and Lex took a seat next to Clark. "This morning, I had to get out the leaf for the table. I've never used it before. But it looks like we'll be using it a bit more this summer."

Lex's heart sank. That meant Dean wasn't leaving.

They all started dishing up in silence until Clark piped up, "So, did you guys get sent here by your dad, too?"

"What?" Dean said.

Lex's cheeks felt warm—he did not want to explain what Clark was talking about. Thankfully, the Kents didn't offer anything.

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"Our dad left us in a cabin in the woods," Sam said. "He was supposed to be home a few days ago, but he hasn't come back yet."

"Sorry to hear that," Lex said. "He sounds like a real bastard."

"Hey!" Dean's fist pounded the table.

"Boys." Mr. Kent glared at Dean and Lex in turn.

"Oh, it's okay, Jonathan," Mrs. Kent said. "Dean, Lex was just trying to sympathize, and we don't yell or hit the table at breakfast. Lex, we don't insult other people's family members, and we don't use that kind of language."

Lex decided against pointing out the thing he'd overheard Mr. Kent saying about Lex's dad. "Sorry, Mrs. Kent." He kept his eyes on Dean.

"Yeah. Sorry." Dean didn't break eye contact, either.

"Eat," Mr. Kent said. "We've got a lot of chores to do today, you'll all need your strength."

Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Mr. Kent was right about not working on an empty stomach, but he didn't know if he could eat. He reached for the orange juice and poured himself a full glass. It was the best orange juice he'd ever had—it tasted fresh squeezed, like Mrs. Kent had made it that morning. She probably had.

Lex had almost been having a good summer, until Dean had showed up.

----------------------------------------

Dean hated everything about this situation. He hated that he and Sam had been caught breaking in, and that they'd been caught sneaking out. He hated that Mr. Kent had manipulated them into staying. He hated that Luthor kid who had insulted both Sam and his dad. He hated that his dad hadn't come back, and he hated that this house felt warmer and safer than anywhere he could remember staying since he was four years old.

The food, though. He didn't hate the food. The bacon was thick and the eggs were fluffy enough, and the pancakes smelled like apple and cinnamon. Mrs. Kent didn't mess around.

Neither did Mr. Kent, for that matter. The chores were even more exhausting than their usual morning training. Mr. Kent sent Sam off with Clark to tend to the horses, and he left Lex and Dean to load in hay onto the tractor.

Dean was stronger than Lex, but the hay bales were awkward, and Lex had clearly had a bit of practice handling them, so they worked about the same speed, despite Dean's attempts to be faster.

He didn't even realize Lex was competing with him as well until he accidentally bumped into Lex, knocking Lex's cap off. Dean hadn't decided whether to apologize or tell Lex to watch where he was going, but then Lex shoved Dean right back before putting his hat back on, blushing furiously. Dean couldn't let that go; he jumped up into the truck bed and pushed one of the hay bales on Lex's side off of the truck, then Lex jumped up and pushed off one of his, and before long, they were shoving hay bales at each other and tearing through the hay itself.

"Lex Luthor and Dean Winchester."

Dean straightened right up—Mr. Kent had returned. His face was bright red, and a vein stood out in his neck—he looked a lot angrier than he had that morning when he'd caught Sam and Dean stealing the food. Dean's heart jumped.

"Get down here. Now."

Dean leapt down from the truck bed, and stood at attention; Lex climbed out and stood beside him, but he kept his head down, glaring. Dean responded to every barked order and question with, "Yes, sir" and "No, sir," while Lex remained silent. It figured—Lex didn't even know how to take a lecture with dignity.

"Now clean it up and start over," Mr. Kent shouted, finishing the scolding, and he stalked away.

That was it. No hitting, no creative punishments, no threats. Just a scolding and an order to redo the work. Dean took a deep breath and forced his muscles to unclench, the way he always had to on the rare occasions when he was expecting to be punished more severely than he actually was.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lex forcing himself to relax in the same way.