Note: Sequel to Playground Antics, also archived.

"Clark, how long can you hang upside down?" Lex studied Clark after posing the question, but Clark couldn't tell what he was looking for.

"I don't know, Lex. I never tried it." Clark caught a gleam in Lex's eyes that he didn't like at all. "Why?" he asked warily.

"Well, I've been thinking, and I have this idea..." Lex merrily explained his plan to Clark, who gulped and ran through the logistics in his head...

"Lex, I don't know if this is going to work. I just... we've only done this once while lying down, and this is going to be so much harder..." Clark stood next to the monkey bars with his arms crossed over his chest.

Lex stood next to him in the same posture. "Well, it can't hurt to try. And who knows? It may be excellent." Lex drew himself closer to Clark, so that he could whisper in his ear. "And if it isn't, I can make it up to you any way you want..."

The words ghosted over Clark's ear, making him shiver and breaking down his defenses. "Okay, Lex. We can give it a try." He shucked off his shirt and deposited it into the sand/gravel concoction in which they were standing. After all, Lex had never steered him wrong before. Well, maybe that one time...

They were at the playground again, where they had first initiated their relationship. Except this time the plan was to use a piece of playground equipment a little more challenging than the slide.

The fantasy was heavily dependant on Clark's super strength. Clark had revealed his secret to Lex as soon as he realized that their relationship was not, as Lex had feared, a one night stand. There was a spark between them, chemistry, to the point that one craved the bodily contact of the other when they were separated. Like they were two parts of the same whole, or something equally wonderful yet a little creepy.

Once both of them came to the conclusion that there was more going on than pleasant release and exchange of fluids (wonderful though that was), Clark had made a decision. He couldn't go any deeper into the relationship without coming clean with Lex (a little tough to think about when sometimes all he could focus on at all was simply coming). Otherwise, he would have felt that their entire relationship was built on a lie, which wasn't good for any relationship, especially with his lie being of such magnitude. He needed to make sure that Lex was in it for more than debauching an innocent farm boy. Well, he knew that that wasn't Lex's only interest or he would have dropped Clark by now, but would Lex still want him when he knew that Clark was from somewhere between the stars they studied that first fateful night?

Clark had brought the issue to Lex the next time Lex moved in to kiss him as foreplay. First, he apologized for lying. Concerned, Lex listened attentively. Then, he told Lex that he was going to be informed of something he may not like, and that he may feel differently about Clark once he knew. Lex had gone blank, probably calculating the horrible things that Clark could possibly tell him.

When Clark had finally admitted that he was an alien, Lex had seemed almost relieved. Clark wasn't sure he wanted to know what Lex had been thinking. Lex told him anyway.

"Well, Clark, I have been curious about you since you breathed life back into me on the river bank. The way you're always there to save people. The way you always seem embarrassed when people ask you certain kinds of questions. The lies that were just atrocious. Considering that thoughts of venereal disease, deadly meteor freak, and unknown incest were among those running through my head, you being an extraterrestrial certainly does not top my list of things that would cause me to commit suicide, homicide, run from you, or cause me to lose my mind. Really, it just explains a lot. Just about everything, actually." Lex frowned at something that Clark couldn't see, then his expression became genial once more. Lex made sure that Clark's eyes were once again locked on his own. "Don't ever worry, Clark. I can protect you, and keep you safe. Your secrets are safe with me. I'm not going anywhere, and I hope neither are you."

Clark had finally relaxed, the tension that he hadn't realized had been building within him released. "I just... wasn't sure how you would take it. I thought you might be mad at me for keeping it a secret for so long, especially once we'd been together a little while. Or run, or scream. Something that would make me hurt a lot..." He latched his fingers over the back of his neck and stared at the floor.

"I'd be far more upset if you had kept it for much longer. A relationship with an unknown that immense could not have survived long. Not that I have that much experience in this department, but so I've come to understand." Thinking quickly about anything that he could have possibly been keeping from Clark that he didn't already know, Lex determined that there was nothing having to do with Clark or anything could sabotage their relationship.

They had then engaged in slow, passionate love-making in their own way, knowing that everything important was in the open between them, ready to be filed away for when it was needed. It was a means of sealing the future of the relationship, for one with as many variables, uncertainties, and obstacles as theirs, cleanly passing this hurdle gave them the necessary hope to move on, move deeper.

Thus, Clark's revelation had brought them to where they were this evening, after midnight, alone on the playground, ready to try something new. They had measured it, seen if it would fit, and it all seemed promising, but it also could be a disaster. But it hinged upon Clark being able to support himself upside down without pain or too much exertion, where being an alien was crucial.

Oddly enough, only the one set of monkey bars fit both of them properly. There were several sets (for some reason all new playground equipment seemed to be comprised of slides, stairs, and monkey bars), but one was too high, the other curved, and one slanted on an odd angle. The one that they had sat and talked on before fit nicely, probably because it was the oldest set and therefore hadn't needed to stand out in any way.

Wedging himself underneath the bars as best as he could, Clark swung himself upside down and slipped his feet awkwardly through the bars, catching his feet underneath the adjacent bar through which his legs projected. He let his arms drop to his sides, then down over his head, where his hands rested in the sand and supported his weight.

"You okay, Clark?" Lex did not bother to try to hide his amusement as he regarded Clark critically.

"Peachy, Lex."

"I mean, are you comfortable enough to continue?"

"For now. It doesn't hurt, it's just a little uncomfortable. All my blood is rushing to my head."

"Well, we're just going to have to fix that, aren't we, Clark," Lex murmured. He slipped off his own shirt, sat down, and shimmied over the sand to rest his back against the platform at the end of the monkey bars where Clark hung; the platform was only about a foot and a half off the ground. Apparently this section of the playground had been built for either midgets or kindergarteners. The platform led to the rest of the piece of metal disguising itself as a play area. He bent his knees, straightened his back, and got as comfortable as he could. Considering that Clark was looking at him with his huge eyes and his face was flushed, he couldn't imagine being more comfortable anywhere else. He was about eye-level with Clark's collar bone when he slouched back down a bit.

By pulling himself up a little with one hand on the parallel bar as Lex leaned back with his head forward, Clark could reach Lex well enough with his head tipped forward to kiss him while hanging from his place on the second bar from the end. It was awkward as hell, and Clark wouldn't have recommended it for a human, but as it was it sort of worked. It was like kissing Lex normally, but nearly backwards. Or upside down, he supposed, chiding himself. No matter how they were oriented, it was still Lex slipping his tongue into Clark's mouth and drawing his own into Lex's. As Lex got more forceful, Clark stopped caring that his head pounded from the blood pooling in it; his attention was focused solely on the gorgeous man in front of him who clearly wanted to ravage his mouth.

Thinking of something and trying to smile, Clark pulled back to speak. "I feel like Spider-Man in the movie. Except I hope I'm not as geeky as Peter Parker. And you're definitely hotter and less annoying than Mary-Jane."

"I would hope there's no competition," Lex replied and smiled back knowingly. Clark leaned back in as best he could.

The angle was odd, but it was much easier for their tongues to dovetail in their sensual dance. Large front teeth weren't in the way, and the most sensitive parts of their tongues could rub against each other without engaging in difficult calisthenics. Clark still tasted of the juice he drank earlier because he knew that Lex liked it.

Lex drew back for a second to catch his breath, and to look at Clark. The light wasn't terribly great, but it was more than enough to focus on Clark's beautiful eyes, and observe his hair as it was pulled toward the ground by gravity, lying parallel to the sand beneath them and perpendicular to his head.

Smiling once more at the comical sight, Lex returned his tongue to Clark's mouth, one hand propped underneath the teen's head and the other cupping his jaw and stroking his cheek. Clark gave a small moan that was almost a purr. Clark bit at Lex's lip twice, and Lex gave his own equivalent of a soft moan-purr (not that he would ever admit that he could make such a sound). Both of them felt their groins stirring, though Lex had been half-hard with anticipation since before he had sat down.

This time it was Clark that broke away. Still gripping the bar with his left hand, Clark put two fingers of his right hand in his mouth and sucked, coating them with saliva. He then brought his hand to Lex's chest. The fluid was warm on Lex's skin. Using his fingertips, Clark tracked it along Lex's sternum and first to one nipple and then the other, getting more when needed. Lex moved into the touch as each nub was brought to a peak, his own fingers stroking along Clark's well-developed abdominal muscles, which twitched at the caresses.

Lex straightened so that he could reach Clark's chest with his tongue. Clark's purr became more of a groan when Lex applied his skilled tongue to Clark's own nipples. He tried to arch into it, which only made his sway, his strength not enough to overpower his libido. He could feel Lex snicker against him.

"Ha ha, Lex. You try hanging here."

"I'm having way too much fun with you there." Lex dropped down a little again to kiss Clark again. "But I'm sure I can help make it a little less uncomfortable for you..." Lex straightened once more and sat up on the platform. He opened Clark's fly (grateful that it was a zipper and not buttons), pushed his jeans up, and massaged him through his boxers. Clark was doing his best to mimic the action on Lex, and had to briefly support himself with only his legs as he used two hands. Thankfully Lex had also decided to be a normal person that night and wear jeans (the thought of the hidden buttons and latches on Lex's dress slacks frightened him a little). Clark grinned widely when he saw that Lex was going commando.

They had not stripped down completely before starting because it augmented the suspense and sensations, and Lex had wanted them to be able to jump up and cover themselves should they be interrupted at some point. One of them naked at a time was one thing (and the slide had been very impromptu in the first place), but Clark was certainly in no position to quickly hike up his pants if they were strewn about underneath him.

Lex's eyes slipped to only half open as Clark gripped his cock. "Mmm, Clark. That feels good..." Lex did his best to slide as close to Clark as possible, managing to thrust a little into Clark's huge, warm hand.

"Hang on, it'll get even better..." Lex pulled his hands away from Clark's groin as Clark reached up into his pants pocket and pulled out some sort of bottle.

"And what might that be?" Lex inquired curiously.

Even in the poor light and upside-down, Lex could see the glimmer in Clark's eyes. "Well, you know I've had my doubts about this..." Lex nodded. "Well, I thought this might help. We could use it again, too, it's a big bottle. It's flavored lubricant."

Lex thought his eyebrows would be airborne if they flew any higher up on his forehead. "Pardon?"

"Flavored lubricant. Since I'm only comfortable with one hand here, I thought it might help. In the future, too."

Lex grinned to match Clark. "And where might you have found that, oh high school student?"

"Internet. I used the computer in the Torch office and made sure to be home before the mailman came."

Lex chuckled and shook his head. "And here I thought you were this innocent farm boy. I guess I've struck again. To both our advantage."

"Sometimes farm boys are very far from innocent, even when they aren't seeing rich city boys." Clark dug another bottle out of his pocket. I got one for you, too, in case you didn't like the flavor I got for me."

Lex snatched it out of Clark's hand and read the label. "Gee, Clark, it's sugar free, too. Thank you for caring about my dental well-being."

Clark opened his bottle (using both hands again and therefore swaying once more) and poured some on to his fingers, part of his mind babbling that this was a very complicated pornographic physics project (if you are suspended inverted and gravity is pulling on you at negative 9.8 m/s squared and you need to apply a particular volume of lubricant at an angle of ten degrees...). He slid his hand back to Lex's shaft, causing Lex to gasp at the new sensation.

"Oh god, Clark..." Lex's words just encouraged Clark to add a little more and stroke Lex with more of a rhythm. Lex hardened fully quickly.

For his part, Lex had shoved Clark's boxers up as best as he could, thankful that Clark wore clothes that allowed them to be slipped over his thighs (yet another advantage of not being with a girl wearing tight pants), though had still been secure enough to conceal the lube bottles. He warmed his own lube in his hands before bringing both of them back to Clark's cock. He gripped it and fondled it, amazed that it got erect so quickly even with all of Clark's blood pooled in his head. He slid one hand over Clark's testes, causing the teen to groan and catch his own hand motions for a second.

He massaged until he didn't think Clark could get any harder. He then looked at the bottle again, and snickered at the flavor Clark had chosen for him. Ripe Cherry. Clark, Lex thought, you're going to kill me.

"What flavor did you get for yourself? Interesting choice for me, by the way, since cherry isn't the best description for you any more..." Lex tilted his head to see Clark's expression better. Christ, is that a blush? Lex thought. How much blood does he have in that gorgeous body?

"Passion Fruit. I thought it was fitting." Clark tried to ignore Lex's stare as he went about stroking him. Apparently he was successful as Lex rolled his eyes back slightly as Clark squeezed.

"Yes. Quite. Now, how does this fit...?" Lex leaned up and, with the aid of the lube, deep-throated Clark readily.

"Gah!" If Clark could have jumped at the sensation, he would have. As it was, he just slipped a little. Readjusting himself on the bar, he returned his hand to Lex, and, adding his tongue, started to massage Lex's slit with its tip while slowly stroking with his hand.

It was Lex's turn to cry out, and he did so, jerking forward on the platform and forcing his way a little deeper between Clark's lips. He pulled back off of Clark and teased him in the same way, sliding his tongue around the head and flicking it into the slit periodically.

Whatever rhythm Clark had tried to set went to hell with Lex's new sweeps of his tongue. Lex's hands were still gently stroking him everywhere... "God, Lex, I'm gonna..."

Immediately Lex drew back his tongue and clamped a hand down on the base of Clark's cock, stopping the feeling of impending release and also the slight rocking as Clark tried to thrust. "Not yet," Lex growled. "Think about something else."

Doing as instructed even has he whined, Clark returned his full attention to Lex's own erection. He dumped a little more lube onto it and proceeded to do his best to lick it off. Lex's eyes were only half open once more as he leaned over to watch Clark working on him, and he spread his legs as wde as he could to give Clark more access. Feeling himself draw near climax, he followed his own advice, or tried to, and thought unsexy thoughts. Jonathan's shotgun. Lana. Cafeteria food. The freshman dorm bathroom after an all-night kegger...

Deciding that Clark's body could be trusted to not react rudely, Lex returned his thumb to Clark's slit and pressed, using his other hand to once again massage Clark's balls. His tongue eventually replaced his thumb, licking at the precum as it mixed with the remains of the lube. He applied more because it actually didn't taste too bad. And it was sugar-free, after all. His hand slid nicely over Clark's cock and balls, and he returned to massaging the shaft with his tongue. For good measure he slipped one lubed finger down Clark's abdomen to his chest to rub Clark's nipples, first one and then the other. Clark mewled with pleasure and jerked back like he had been burned (well, how a human would have reacted to being burned), then he practically melted into the touches.

For his part, Clark had taken in Lex as deeply as he could from that angle. Cursing his gag reflex with the few remaining functioning brain cells he had (Lex had instructed him in the secrets behind getting beyond his gag reflex, but he was a tad bit too distracted at the moment to try to remember the skills his teacher had taught him), he laved the top part of Lex's cock happily with his tongue. His right hand slipped behind Lex's balls to stimulate the back of them. Above him (below him?), Lex groaned and his body shuddered.

Christ, Lex thought, I'm the experienced one here, why is he so good at this... Lex didn't even realize that he was whimpering. To stave off his orgasm as much as possible, he put his full attention back to Clark's cock and took it in deeply. And thought of Lana eating cafeteria food in the bathroom while Jonathan engaged in target practice. With one hand still fingering Clark's nipples and the other kneading his sack, he knew the teen couldn't last much longer.

Clark felt his body tense as Lex put everything he had into getting him off. Clark had other plans, though, and he redoubled his own efforts, bringing his hand back to Lex's shaft and his tongue back to the slit. He lightly scraped his front teeth over the ridge on the underside of Lex's cock. Not expecting quite that reaction, Lex was unable to hold off any longer as he exploded into Clark with a yell. Clark had slipped off of Lex enough to ensure he wouldn't do something horribly scary and embarrassing like choke on him while Lex came, the whole being inverted thing potentially causing a problem.

Clark didn't have much time to worry about it though because as Lex shuddered and tensed the last time before all tension slipped from his body, Clark himself climaxed as Lex pulsed and his aftershocks tore through both of them. Clark shouted something that wasn't quite "Lex!" and wasn't quite "God!" but some odd amalgamation of the phonemes comprising the two syllables. Lex would never admit that he was quite pleased at the mix up.

Going limp, Clark crashed through the bars onto the sand, pulling Lex with him since Lex still hadn't let him go in his quest to swallow every drop of Clark. They collapsed there, unable to move, until Lex realized that the sand was making him itchy, and it stuck to the remains of the lube. He tried to drag Clark up onto the platform with him, but realizing that in his state and the size of the boy in question his task was impossible, he resigned himself to sliding over the metal on his own. Wincing at the metal grate, he also pulled up his pants.

Deciding he missed his warm partner even more than he missed the comfort of the sand, Clark also redressed (at least from the waist down) and pulled himself over to sit with Lex. Well, slouch and cuddle as much as possible with Lex, sharing their body heat in the rapidly cooling night air. The small ladder leading to the next section of the play set allowed some sort of a backrest. Lex swore to himself and made a mental note to bring something like a blanket with them next time. Playground equipment was not designed with cuddling in mind.

When Clark could actually speak again, he simply exclaimed, "Okay. That was excellent. Even with the blood in my head... I think it helped give me an extra rush... I may have even blacked out there when I fell."

Lex snickered. "I told you it would be great. Nothing like a new toy to spice up a sex life."

"Because we were so cold before?" Though he couldn't see it from the way they were sitting, heads resting against each others', Lex could practically hear Clark's eyebrows being raised.

"No, no, it just enabled us to do more until we're ready for the next step. Though if we can just keep doing this I'll be perfectly happy. I mean, that was just incredible. Who would have thought simply having your partner hang upside down would add whole new sensations to that act."

"`Simply hang upside down' my ass, Lex. Let's see you try it next time."

"If I hung like that I'd pass out shortly. Been there, done that. Not pleasant. Believe it or not, Clark, you may be the only person on the planet who is physically able to 69 in that position. You don't have to worry about getting fatigued or the bars digging into your legs. I mean, I haven't exactly researched it, but it's not something I've heard of other people doing. If they have, kudos to them."

"Yeah, now if I could just work on not falling to the ground in a heap, I'll be all set."

"If you must. I almost thought it was cute. Except for dragging me with you. I'll have to remember to let go next time."

"Next time?"

"Well, if you'd like to try it again. We can try different flavors, different positioning... I noticed you didn't float this time. Did the exercises work?"

"Yeah, I hadn't even thought about it. I guess the meditation and practice worked enough for me to control myself without having to think about it. Unless because I was upside down I just floated to the ground. Does that make sense?"

Lex frowned, trying to decide if it did or not, but his brain was still clouded with the post-coital haze. "I'm not sure, Clark, but the important thing is that we can have sex without you floating around after you climax. Unless you want to. It could prove interesting if I were on top of you. And expecting it. That first time was not very pleasant."

"Yeah, sorry about that... I was still new to all of this..."

"It's okay, Clark. There are things I haven't done and never will, unless you want to, of course. There's plenty of time for you to figure out what you like and what you don't, and to explore everything we can."

Not spoken in Lex's words but that Clark still picked up on was the mention of the future. Both Lex and Clark were comfortable in the relationship, very comfortable. There was no sign of failure. And Clark was very much looking forward to exploring everything through which Lex was willing to guide him.

Their sweat was drying and it stuck them together, Lex's chest to Clark's back. Clark rather enjoyed it, but also preferred the adhesive properties of semen when they were in a more private location. But being discovered half-naked and coated in Lex's jizz or his own was not something Clark wanted to even consider. He chuckled quietly to himself as he pictured Chloe or Pete wandering to the playground themselves one night and happening upon himself and Lex in that state.

"What?" Lex inquired, having learned to be wary every time Clark had a private joke.

"Nothing. You don't want to know."

"Uh huh. I'll take your word for it, this time." Lex slid out from behind Clark and picked his shirt off the sand. "Maybe we should find someplace that isn't a big sand box to play around in. My clothes get all gritty."

Clark also got up and pulled on his own shirt. "Lex, you're talking to a farmer. You'll need a little more to get any sympathy from me." To show he was teasing he came up behind Lex and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, kissing his neck. "If we go back to your place we can get cleaned up properly..."

Lex tilted his head back and to one side to give Clark better access. "Then you're going to have to stop doing that-Agh!" (Clark had bitten him) "-or I'm going to have to do something to you right here..."

"Well, we're already gritty..." Clark superspeeded them both to the slide. "Care to relive our first time?" Again Clark had a mischievous glint in his eyes, one that Lex found himself getting more and more turned on by every time.

"I don't see why not..."

An hour later they finally made it back to Lex's, and Clark was forty-five minutes late for his curfew. He couldn't bring himself to tell his parents why it had been so worth it.