Lex breathed hard, back against the wall, gun in his hand. It was only a matter of time now. He could hear footsteps coming. He held his gun at the ready.

"It's me, don't shoot!"

Lex lowered his gun as Sam ran out behind the neon green-rimmed barrier. "Were you able to find where they hid it?" Lex asked.

"No, they chased me out before I could see anything," Sam said.

"Damn it. I think they keep moving their flag."

"You sure the walls of this maze aren't moving?"

"Sure seems like it." Lex winced. "Should we move our flag?"

"Nah, I don't think they've found it yet."

"Clark is fast."

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, for an eleven year old, I guess."

It seemed to be more than that to Lex. Dean had suggested partnering up with Clark against Lex and Sam, to try to make it a little more fair, but Lex could swear that Clark was the strongest player out of all of them, not the weakest.

"I'm almost out of ammo," Sam said. "What kind of laser guns have ammo?"

"You're supposed to aim. You can aim, right?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "But we need a plan of action."

Lex nodded. "We should go in together. Back each other up. That way even if one of us gets taken out, the other one can still grab the flag."

"That leaves no one to defend here."

"They still don't know where our flag is. They keep running to the wrong places."

"We don't know where theirs is, either."

"Yeah, but we at least know the general area. They're not even getting close."

"You're right." Sam took a step toward the other side. "Okay, let's go."

They were on Dean and Clark's side for less than a minute when the lights came up, and they could hear Dean and Clark whooping and laughing.

Lex lowered his gun, and Sam looked over at him in confusion. "What the . . .

Clark came running up to them, waving the flag over his head. "I got it!"

"How did you do that?" Lex asked. "You kept running to all the wrong places."

"Yeah, so you'd think I didn't know where it was."

Lex blinked. Clark didn't usually think like that; it was the kind of plan Lex would have devised. "That's quite the game plan there."

Clark grinned. "I just kept thinking to myself, what would Lex do? And that's how I came up with it."

Dean emerged from behind a barrier. "Alright!" He gave Clark a high five.

"Okay, well, where was your flag?" Sam asked.

"We didn't really hide it," Dean said. "Figured you'd check the good hiding spots first, it's kind of out in the open."

Lex chuckled to himself. Of course, he and Sam, the strategic team, would be out strategized by a middle schooler and a twenty-year-old man child.

Dean whooped and lifted Clark into the air. Sam shrugged at Lex, and Lex smiled.

-------

Dean lasted less than twenty-four hours at the resort before he gave up on Lex's advice to stay away from the women on the island.

Lex had said that this was a brother's trip, but if anything, that made it all the more important for him to model for Sam and Clark how to pick up girls. These were important life skills they'd need to know. Sam was well into his teen years and Dean was pretty sure he was still a virgin. And Clark was in middle school. It was past time for them both to learn something from their oldest and wisest brother.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The four of them sat in a classy restaurant at breakfast time on the second day of their trip. It was the kind of place Dean usually only went to if he was working a case under cover. Dean had caught the eye of a girl in a tight blouse working as a hostess, and he'd launched into his speech at the table.

"The key," he began, sitting across from Sam and Clark and looking back and forth between them, "is confidence. Women aren't interested in a man who doesn't know what he wants, or who isn't sure he can deliver on his promises, if you know what I'm saying."

"Dean, what do you think you're doing?" Lex asked.

Dean went on as if Lex hadn't spoken. "Now. Both of you are pretty okay-looking guys. Sam, you've got that awkward teen thing going on, but if my genetics are any indication, it won't last long."

"Are you . . . trying to teach us how to flirt with girls?" Clark asked.

"That's exactly what he's doing." Lex took a swig of his orange juice.

Dean scoffed. "No offense, billionaire, but not all of us can charm a girl with our wallets. Some of us have to rely on talent."

Lex snorted, and Sam burst out laughing.

"Fine. Don't believe me? I'll show you how it's done. I'm going to go get that hostess's phone number."

"Up for a wager?" Lex asked.

Dean crossed his arms. "What do you have in mind, Luthor?"

"I bet you can't get her number. You bet you can."

"What's the point in betting? You're paying for the trip."

"We're not wagering money." Lex glanced at Sam, then over at Dean. "Loser gets inked. Place and design is up to the winner."

"Is there even a tattoo parlor on the island?"

"You'd be surprised. Getting inked is a lot of people's idea of a good vacation."

Why not. When Dean won, he figured he'd go easy on Lex, wouldn't make him get anything too embarrassing or painful. Of course, he still had to talk it up. "You're on. Get ready to have my face on your chest." He held out a hand to shake.

Lex shook his hand. "We'll see."

Dean stood up straight and walked casually over to the front. He put on his best winning smile. "Hey," he said. "How's it going?"

The hostess raised her eyebrows. Definitely a hard-to-get type; Dean had all too much experience with these. This was going to be easy. "Can I get you something?" she asked dryly.

"Oh, I'm sure." He took a step closer. "But right now, I'm more interested in what I can do for you. You see—"

He didn't get to say anything else. She slapped him.

He blinked. That wasn't exactly the first time he'd been slapped by a girl, but it usually happened much later. "Whoa. Um, hey, lady—"

"You're Dean Winchester."

"I—yeah?"

"Your friend warned me about you."

Dean breathed in to ask who, but then he frowned. "Bald guy?"

"Tips well."

Dean nodded slowly, looking back at Lex, who was smirking while Clark and Sam laughed.

He gave her a sarcastic smile. "Good talk," he said. His face burned hot all the way back to the table.

Lex laughed as Dean slid back into the table. "Lesson learned," he said. "Never bet against a Luthor."

"You son of a . . ." Dean trailed off; Clark's innocent eyes were staring at him.

Lex shook his head. "It's okay, Dean, I'm not gonna make you get a tattoo."

Dean set his jaw. His pride had taken enough for one day. "Sure, you are."

"You want one?"

"No, but Winchesters don't back down on their bets."

"It was never a fair bet."

Dean made half his money hustling pool and the other half on credit card scams. He wasn't about to whine that Lex had been cheating. "A bet's a bet. You're calling that tattoo artist and setting an appointment."

Lex shrugged and took out his cell phone.

-------

As far as Sam knew, just about everyone in their group disliked heights. Clark was terrified of them, for reasons Sam would never understand, since a fall wouldn't hurt him. Dean was mostly scared of planes, but he didn't love heights in general. Lex seemed to have some repressed fears from his childhood. Sam himself wasn't exactly scared of heights, but he didn't exactly enjoy them, either. The rock climbing hadn't been nearly as steep as he'd expected; they'd used ropes and harnesses, but they'd rarely been looking at a sheer drop on that wall. And they'd gotten to move pretty slowly, in control the entire time.

Sam had thought it was funny when Lex and Dean fought over who was more scared of the plane, so as soon as they got back to the room, he casually mentioned that the ropes course was on the activities list. Ropes courses had sheer drops, and this one ended in a zip line, which meant stepping off a platform over fifty feet above the ground. Dean made a joke about Lex being scared of heights, and Lex made a joke back, and then they kind of argued, and then Dean punched Lex, and then Lex punched back, and then Clark had told them to stop fighting, and now, somehow, they were all on the ropes course.

Sam himself actually loved it. There were all sorts of interesting obstacles and paths to take to get from tree to tree; tight ropes and balance beams and nets and hanging ropes, and a couple of places where the trees were closer together, so he could jump straight from one to the next. On the whole, Clark seemed to be handling it pretty well. He was clearly scared, and he was taking a lot of deep breaths, but he didn't complain when he switched his ropes from one tree to the next. Dean put on a bravado, but Sam could see his legs shake every time he had to take a bigger step. Lex didn't show any fear at all, but he didn't show any enjoyment, either. In some ways, Sam kind of regretting bringing it up, but he was really enjoying it.

Then they got to the zip line. Sam had never been on anything like this. He was the last one to step off the platform. Dean was first; he never stopped screaming, the whole way down. Clark took a long time to jump, and only did it after a few whispered words of encouragement from Lex. Lex stepped off casually, but his muscles were clearly tense.

Sam had to take a few deep breaths before grabbing on to the rope that held him and just lifting up his legs. He flew faster and faster, wind sailing through his hair, and his stomach soared. He smiled so hard, his cheeks hurt.

They piled back onto the bus to take them back to the hotel. Clark and Dean sat side by side, both excitedly talking about their braver moments. Clark emphasized how scared he had been; Dean rambled on about how he hadn't been scared. Lex sat beside Sam. Sam rolled his eyes at Clark and Dean, and Lex muttered, "There's another course a few miles north of here, all zip lines. I don't think our brothers'll go for it, but I'll get you a spot on your own, if you want."

Sam grinned.