This Used to be my Playground

If I owned 'em, would I be working at McDonald's? The title is borrowed from a Madonna song. What can I say? I'm a child of the 80's. Y’know, not long after I posted “Hungry Like the Wolf”, I saw that Old Spice commercial Bruce Campbell did. If I post this, will Ted Raimi do a cover of “Like a Virgin”? Here’s hopin’.
Squick warning: mental image of underaged boy taking matters into his own hands. Exact age is kept vague.

"You're gonna get burned, you know."

Joxer was nearly drifting off when Autolycus' voice roused him. He grunted, not quite sure where they were. He remembered now. Ever since Xena and Gabrielle had taken off for India, he had been traveling with Autolycus. One thing led to another and now they were together *together*. The King of Thieves was his lover and this had been the best two months of Joxer's life so far. They were now on the shores of a lake a few miles from Scyros. It had been Auto's idea to go for a swim to cool of from the summer heat. Seeing his love naked and dripping only made Joxer feel hotter- only in a good way. After a good hour of playful splashing, they made love on the shore and napped in the shade. The sun had since moved, taking the shade with it.

"We can't have all that beautiful skin getting blistered." Autolycus said, gently running a hand over Joxer's bare back. "C'mon, I know of a cave not far from here that's always cool."

Joxer stretched and yawned. The sight was enough to make Auto want to pounce on him and make love to him all over again. He got control of himself and got the torch ready.

"Not too deep underground, is it?" Joxer asked as he dressed.

"Nah. Might like some light though." He shrugged into his tunic, not bothering to do up the clasps. "C'mon, it's this way."

Joxer followed Auto to the mouth of a cave in some foothills not far from the lake. Autolycus used some flint to light the torch and entered. Joxer hesitated. Darkness and closed spaces were two childhood fears that left him feeling uncomfortable about this excursion. He heard Auto call him, and he told himself that Joxer the Mighty was not at all afraid to enter the cave. He also knew he'd follow his beloved anywhere.

Autolycus shined the light on the lower half of cave walls, seeming to look for something. "What are you looking for?" Joxer asked.

"A chalk drawing." Auto said as he searched the corners. "A long time ago, when I was a kid, I drew a picture of a wolf on one of the walls. Hey, there it is!"

"That's a wolf?" The scratches of chalk sort of resembled a dog with a bad hair day.

"OK, so drawing's never been one of my strong suits." Auto said with a shrug. "And I was only ten, so cut me some slack! Should be a sconce around here somewhere...here it is!" Auto put the torch in the sconce.

"You came here as a kid?"

"All the time. Grab a rock, have a seat." Auto did so himself. "When I was a kid, I was always off by myself, doing my own thing. Didn't really have a problem with the other kids. I just liked doing my own thing. Alone but not lonely, y'know."

"I guess I understand." Joxer was often the odd kid out himself, but it wasn't by choice.

"Sometimes, I felt like I needed my space. A place that was just mine." Auto continued. "Yeah, I had my own room, but it wasn't quite the same."

"You had your own room?" Joxer said enviously. "I had to share with my two brothers."

"My only brother was a lot older than me. By ten years. So, he had his space, I had mine. But, it wasn't as private as I wanted. I'd get 'Are you going to stay up there all day? This place is a pigsty! Yadda yadda yadda....'" Joxer laughed at Auto's impression of a nagging mother. "So, I came here. Made my own den. You know, I didn't even tell Malikos about this place. You're the only one I've ever brought here."

"Really?"

"Unless you count Boots."

"Who?"

"Our cat. He'd follow me sometimes." Autolycus pulled back some rocks from the wall. "Let's see if it's still there."

"The cat?"

Auto snorted a laugh. "I think Boots went to the Kitty Fields a long time ago. What I'm looking for is...it's still here!" Autolycus said joyfully as he took out a small chest with a lock on it. Joxer wondered what sort of treasure could be hidden in the chest.

"You got a key for it?" Joxer asked. Auto gave him a look that told him that was a silly question. "Oh, that's right." Auto took out one of his picks and went to work on the lock. As soon as it was opened, a small leather ball bounced out. Joxer picked it up. "What's this?"

"Eh, just something I played with." Joxer bounced the ball off a wall and caught it. "Yeah, I used to do that all the time."

"What else is in there?" he asked as he tossed the ball between his hands.

"Just trinkets, doo-dads, stuff I played with when I was a kid."

Joxer looked in the box and pulled out a cloth mouse. "You played with this?"

"That was more of Boots' toy than mine."

"Smells like catnip."

"Yeah. I'd toss it, he'd attack it. He'd chase after the ball too." Autolycus went through the box's contents. "Here's an old horseshoe I picked up at Rent-A-Nag. Half-melted tin soldier, snail's shell, a yo-yo."

"A what?"

"A yo-yo. Look, I'll show you." Autolycus wound the string between the two wooden discs and demonstrated its use to an amused Joxer. "I used to know a few tricks." After a bit of fumbling, the cat's cradle technique came back to Autolycus. He went through more of the trinkets. "An old syrinx. Used to bug the Hades out of Malikos with that. There's a deck of cards here. Used to play a few hands of solitaire with those." He quickly checked the deck. "I think some of the cards are missing." he said.

"Oh, you never play with a full deck anyway." Joxer quipped.

"Ooh, funny. Looks like there's a sack of marbles in here. Thought I lost those."

"I thought you lost your marbles too."

"Oh, you're on a roll tonight." Autolycus drew a circle with some chalk stone and arranged the marbles on the floor of the cave. "I used to be pretty good at this." He gave one of the larger marbles a flick with his thumb. The collision made the smaller marbles scatter. "Yep! Still got it! You try it, Jox." Joxer lined up the other large marble and flicked it, making the marbles scatter closer to the edge of the circle.

"Jace would play this with me sometimes." said Joxer.

"Malikos and I spent hours doing this." The two of them played the game, not really keeping score, just enjoying each others' company.

"What else you got in there?" Joxer asked.

Auto checked the box. "Well, this brings back some memories." He pulled out a conch shell. "When I was about ten, Malikos had to go to Panthos to settle Mom's estate. Since every baby-sitter in Scyros was terrified of me, I had to tag along. It was the first time I ever left Scyros. Panthos is right on the ocean and I found this on the beach. Put it up to your ear; you can hear the ocean." Joxer put the conch up to his ear. He could hear a whirling echo like the waves of a far away ocean. "Hey, Joxer, why does the ocean roar?" Auto asked with a smirk.

"Um, I don't know, why?"

"You'd roar too if you had oysters in your bed and crabs on your bottom!" Joxer groaned at the horrid pun. "I thought that joke was silly when Malikos told it. I learned lots of things on that trip. How to ride a horse. How to start a fire. How to find water. At night, Malikos would tell me stories about the stars."

"You miss him?"

"Sometimes. I-I wish you could have met him. I think he would've liked you."

"You'd introduce me to your family?" Joxer smiled. "That's serious."

"Yeah, well...oh, look what else is in here!" Autolycus changed the subject by taking a small scroll from the box. "One of my old comic scrolls."

Joxer looked at the scroll. "You collected *Attis the Ape-man too*?"

"Who didn't?"

"My brothers and I would fight over these all the time." Joxer unfurled the scroll to reveal sequential drawings of a muscle-bound hero swinging through the trees, trying to rescue a lost princess.

"Malikos gave me a lot of his old things. Here's another comic scroll." Auto took it out. "*The Adventures of the Amazing Human Spider*."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that one." Joxer looked at the new scroll. "It's about this skinny wimpy guy named Petros who becomes a hero after getting bit by one of Arachne's children. Yeah, I loved that story. If Petros could be a hero, there was hope for me."

"I liked it too." said Auto. "But I never cared for that name, The Human Spider. Just sounded clunky. They should have gone with a cooler name, like Spider-Man or something."

"Spider-Man...hmm....yeah, that does sound better. You got any others in there?" Joxer looked in the box and pulled out another scroll. He opened it, revealing drawings that most certainly were not meant for children's eyes. "Oh my." Joxer was blushing.

"Oh yeah, a reminder of the days when I was straight."

"There's drawings of both men and women here." Joxer pointed out. "Men and women doing stuff...women doing stuff with other women...men doing stuff with other men...it's all...um...very interesting."

"I was still trying to figure out what I liked. I think I just wanted sex period at that point."

"You-uh-definitely weren't a kid anymore."

"Oh, I was a kid. Just a kid growing into a new body. I think this is the first thing I stole and got away with, besides the odd apple or pastry. Wanna know a secret? This spot right where we are- this is where I had my first orgasm."

"R-really?" Joxer felt hot at the mental image the confession was forming.

"I was so scared when it happened. I thought I was dying at first. Nice way to die, though."

"Yeah." Joxer breathed as Auto edged closer to him.

"I just barely knew anything about sex at the time." Auto murmured to him. "All I knew was I wanted it. I wanted it so badly I was burning for it. I could feel my body changing. I'd touch my body everywhere, desperate to do something to cool the fire." Joxer wondered if he'd be Tartarus-bound for mentally picturing a pubescent Autolycus pleasuring his ripening body. "I felt good all over just squeezing and pulling on it. And when my fingertips touched the head...wow. I was playing with a different set of balls that afternoon." Autolycus chuckled as Joxer gulped. "It felt so good." Autolycus nuzzled his lover's neck. "It was all warm. Like floating. I could feel my blood pumping. I was breathing hard and panting like I had been running for miles, but I was just lying there, learning how to pleasure myself." Joxer felt a hand that wasn't his brush over his crotch. A squeeze. A delighted chuckle. "I felt joy splashing over me in waves. And it just kept getting bigger, stronger. I could feel my dick swelling up in my hands. I stroked it, squeezed it, pulled it, touched it a dozen different ways, trying to decide what I liked best. I was so hot and sweaty I barely noticed the pre-cum. I was feeling so good, I didn't expect it to start feeling even better." Joxer groaned as the clever hand freed him from his clothes and stroked him. "I wanted more. I didn't ever want to stop feeling this way. My whole spine was tingling and the rest of me was melting away. I could feel it boiling inside me. I felt all tight inside, and it exploded like a volcano. My scream echoed off the walls. My cum was hot and dripping over my hands."

"Auto!" Joxer gasped.

"I lay there who knows how long." Auto picked up his speed. "I could feel my heart pounding away inside my chest and I was breathing heavy. And just when I started to calm down, the tremors came. My whole body was shaking with aftershocks. That scared me almost as much as that first orgasm. I felt so good. I was so aware of my body. One minute floating, another flying to pieces and finally just laying in a happy puddle. I wasn't sure if I'd get to feel that way again. The next evening, I was pleased to find that I could. I could give myself pleasure. Just like I'm giving you pleasure."

"Oh....oh....oh, Auto!" Joxer's scream echoed off the walls as he came.

Autolycus pulled Joxer's quivering body close to him and kissed him gently. "Years later, I found out it's even better with another person. But it wasn't until you came into my life that I realized just how good it can be."

Joxer smiled at his lover and caressed the hand that pleasured him. "I know what you mean." he whispered. "It's one thing to be with yourself. Having someone with you is better. But, it's best of all with someone you really love."

Autolycus smiled at him. "Face it, Tiger, you hit the jackpot."

"Tiger? I like the sound of that."

"I'm gonna make this tiger purr." Autolycus promised, kissing Joxer's neck.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm gonna make this wolf howl!" Joxer promised, brushing a hand over Autolycus' crotch.

Joxer couldn't believe how they got naked so fast. That was one of Auto's many talents. He could undress at lightening speed- and get him naked just as fast. He could also take things slow if need be. Just like he was doing with Joxer's nipple. Autolycus slowly stroked the nipple into a tight bud as he lightly kissed Joxer's neck and throat. He knows how I love that! Joxer thought. He returned by running his nails gently over the flesh where Autolycus' back joined with his ass. This made the thief thrust against his lover with a sharp moan. They both moaned and panted as their erections rubbed together.

"Oh...gods...fuck me!" Joxer's voice echoed in the cave.

"Say that again?" It wasn't often that Autolycus could get his lover to talk like that, and hearing it echo made it even hotter.

"Fuck me, Auto! Fuck me hard!"

Autolycus gently teased Joxer's passage. "You want me to fuck you?"

"Didn't you just hear me?" Joxer asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I heard you." Autolycus chuckled. "I just wanted to hear it again. Now, if you don't want me to hurt you, I suggest you open your mouth." He rested his fingertips against the corner of Joxer's mouth. Joxer eagerly took them in and sucked them while Autolycus used his free hand to coat his cock with Joxer's seed.

Joxer removed the now damp fingers from his mouth. "Now...please...fuck me." he breathed.

"Patience, Joxer." Autolycus said with a smile. He slipped a damp finger into the passage, causing Joxer to gasp. "Tell me about the first time you jerked off." he murmured as he slid the finger in and out.

"I-I-oh-can't-can't r-really-ooh...talk when you d-do that!"

"Give it a try, Jox. Tell me something that will get me hot."

"Oh...I-I didn't really have a lot of pri-pri-privacy for this." Joxer admitted. "S-sometimes I-I'd go into the barn, up in-in the hay-hay-hay loft!"

"Hay lofts are nice. All that soft, sweet smelling hay."

"Oh, yes!" Autolycus wasn't sure if Joxer was agreeing with him or responding to his ministrations as he slipped in a second finger. "I'd have to do it quick. Did-didn't want any-anyone to c-catch me...oooooooh!"

"You ready, Jox?"

"I'm ready! Fuck me!"

"You asked for it." Autolycus removed his fingers and replaced them with his long, hard shaft. Once more, he was rewarded with the sound of Joxer's scream echoing off the walls of the cave. Autolycus smiled. One thing he loved more than Joxer talking dirty was hearing him scream with lust. The echo made it more intense. Autolycus began the rhythmic glides that would give them both the most pleasure. By the flickering torchlight, he could see the erotic look Joxer got on his face whenever he was enjoying himself. He braced himself against Joxer's shoulders and thrust harder and faster. When Joxer's eyes popped open and his jaw dropped, Auto knew he had hit that special spot deep inside Joxer's body. He savored the feeling of being encased in hot, damp tightness- like wet silk. "This feels good, doesn't it?" Autolycus whispered to his lover. "I can see how much you love it when I fuck you. Gods, Joxer, you're beautiful!" Joxer moaned as Autolycus thrust harder. Joxer grabbed his lover's hips and thrashed under him, determined to give and take pleasure. Autolycus gave a shuddering cry as he filled his beloved with his hot passion. Joxer soon followed.

One would think lying naked on a cave floor wouldn't be the most comfortable place for a nap, but Joxer figured he must've drifted off for at least a few minutes. Really good sex had that effect on him. When he looked up he saw Autolycus writing something on the cave wall. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked. Autolycus moved aside to show him that he had written "Autolycus loves Joxer" in chalk. Joxer smiled and Autolycus drew an odd but symmetrically attractive shape around their names. "What kinda shape is that?"

"I don't know." Autolycus confessed. "I saw it in one of Cupid's temples. It seems appropriate." He took the slim, lanky man in his arms. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too." Joxer snuggled against him.

Autolycus smiled. Long ago, this cave had been his playground, his childhood dream. Now, he had some very nice adult memories to attach to it.


For no reason, the lyrics to Madonna's "This Used to be my Playground".

This used to be my playground [used to be]
This used to be my childhood dream
This used to be the place I ran to
Whenever I was in need
Of a friend
Why did it have to end
And why do they always say

Don't look back
Keep your head held high
Don't ask them why
Because life is short
And before you know
You're feeling old
And your heart is breaking
Don't hold on to the past
Well that's too much to ask

(Long and movie versions only:)

(chorus)
Live and learn
Well the years they flew
And we never knew
We were foolish then
We would never tire
And that little fire
Is still alive in me
It will never go away
Can't say goodbye to yesterday [can't say goodbye]

(chorus)

No regrets
But I wish that you
Were here with me
Well then there's hope yet
I can see your face
In our secret place
You're not just a memory
Say goodbye to yesterday [the dream]
Those are words I'll never say [I'll never say]

This used to be my playground [used to be]
This used to be our pride and joy
This used to be the place we ran to
That no one in the world could dare destroy

(Short and movie versions only:)

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our childhood dream
This used to be the place we ran to
I wish you were standing here with me

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our great escape
This used to be the place we ran to
This used to be our secret hiding place

This used to be our playground [used to be]
This used to be our childhood dream
This used to be the place we ran to
The best things in life are always free
Wishing you were here with me