Escorting Edd back to the bedroom is simple enough. Terry keeps a tight grip on his shoulder to prevent any possibility of running and he looks too preoccupied with his own thoughts to start screaming. Before leaving the bathroom, he'd grabbed a roll of toilet paper to keep on hand for tissues, but otherwise, they left everything where it was to be cleaned up in the morning.
As they approach the bedroom, however, Edd pauses. Clutching the roll to his middle, he hesitates to actually walk in. Eyes flickering around the door frame and once or twice down the hallway. Worrying his lip between his teeth and furrowing his brow as the temptation to run seems to take him. After a gentle nudge from Terry, however, he takes a timid and reluctant step inside. He's careful, as Terry locks the door, to avoid glancing at the floor tie and takes a wide step around it.
The first thing Terry does once the door is locked is approach the dresser. Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Edd waiting near the bed, his head bowed as he sets the roll of toilet paper on the bedside table. Only looking up when Terry returns to him with the jersey in hand.
"Here," he offers, holding the shirt towards the boy, "Might be more comfortable to sleep in."
Edd nods, his eyes locked on the floor as he accepts the garment. The offer seems to calm him a bit — perhaps because of the unspoken assurance that there'd be no sexual demands yet — and he finally glances up as Terry moves to the head of the bed. Edd watches him, his brow furrowed, as Terry wordlessly begins to unroll the blanket and lay it out over the bed.
"That looks new…" he notes shyly, adjusting the robe over his shoulder.
"Just got it tonight," Terry replies, "My mom made it."
"I wasn't aware that Mrs. Sampson made her Christmas gifts…" Edd reaches out and rubs the soft material between his fingers, "It's…very nice."
"Yeah, yeah," Terry mumbles, pulling the blanket back once it's properly laid out so that Edd can settle beneath it when he's ready, "Mom's always been somethin' of a homemaker."
"You speak quite fondly about your mother…" Edd mumbles, hesitating to mount the bed, "When you mention your father, you sound so…hateful…"
"That's cuz my dad's an asshole."
"What do you mean?"
Terry turns to him with a grimace; "Do you wanna eat or not?"
"I do, but—"
"Then this conversation can wait till I bring you dinner."
Terry stalks back to the door, ignoring the pitiful look Edd's sending his way.
"So you're just going to shut me out again?" he hears Edd mumble, "I still have questions…"
He stops at the door, clenching his fists. As he places his hand on the doorknob, Terry turns his head towards Edd again.
"We'll talk more after you eat," he promises, "Make yourself comfortable for now."
Still looking disappointed, Edd says nothing more as Terry slips back out of the room. He still takes no chances and locks the door behind him before retreating to the kitchen to retrieve the leftovers. They're not too cold, but they were in the refrigerator long enough that he needs to throw them in the microwave for a few seconds at least. He does a quick taste test of everything and is pleased to note that microwaving the food didn't seem to alter the taste much. Still damn tasty. After fixing up a plate with a little bit of everything for each of them, snatching a couple of forks, and tucking a couple of water bottles under his arm, he returns to the bedroom.
Edd's finally retreated under the covers and is snuggled up beneath the soft, warm blanket. He's definitely not sleeping, though. His brow is furrowed and he's staring straight ahead him, lost in thought. His fingers curl into a fist against his temple intermittently and he's whining softly. As Terry locks the door behind him, he observes this behavior silently. Edd looks miserable. Nothing unusual, really, but something about this expression looks…worse? More empty. He clears his throat as he approaches the bed. Startled, Edd glances up at him. The fabric of the pillowcase has a small dark spot of damp where Edd's tears had fallen from his cheek and he wipes away the salty trail on his skin. Terry scrutinizes him carefully as he holds the plate towards him.
"Hope you're hungry, sweetheart," he states with a smirk.
In response, Edd sits up fully, refusing to make eye contact with Terry as the plate is set before him. Now that the blanket is around his waist, Terry can see that he did pull on the jersey. Goddammit…The exposed skin of his neck and shoulder is tantalizing as fuck and he can feel his mouth watering. Fuck if he doesn't want to drag his tongue along that bruised flesh. To suck a more intimate mark to stand out among the others. The food can wait, right?!
Gritting his teeth, he forces that thought out of his head. He finally got Edd back here and has him dangling precariously from the hook; he ain't gonna scare him off this time, dammit! Instead, he sets the water bottles down on the bedside table and takes a seat beside him on the bed. Edd immediately tenses up, his body curling away from the man beside him.
"The fuck are you doing?" Terry asks, brow cocked.
Bowing his head, Edd fidgets with the blanket.
"You're not…" he mumbles, hunching his shoulders, "You're not going to…m-make me…do anything for this…are you?"
Gritting his teeth, Terry rolls his eyes.
"No," he nearly growls, "Relax, Princess, I don't feel like puttin' up with your struggling tonight after everything else…"
"Everything else…?" Edd glances in his direction, but avoids looking directly at him, "Does actually talking to me for once tire you so tremendously?"
Terry shoots him an angry look before shoving a fork into his hand; "No. But putting up with my shitty, fucking family and yours sure does."
"Oh…" Edd mumbles, bowing his head contritely.
He pokes at the food a bit, pouting as he lifts a bite of the ham to his lips. The blissful smile that breaks on his face speaks more than any words could. Clearly, the first real, home-cooked meal he's had in days is to his liking. It's kinda nice, seeing such a happy look on his face. And he's too preoccupied with his meal to actually try talking again, which means no more questions for the time being. As such, they eat in silence for a while until about half of Edd's plate is gone. That's when he seems to decide that he wants to speak again.
"Why do you hate your father?" he asks softly.
"What?" Terry asks, glancing at him with a grimace as he's brought from his meal.
Edd hesitates a moment before shifting his posture.
"Earlier," he begins uneasily, "I said you spoke fondly of your mother, but that whenever you'd speak about your father, you would sound much more hateful."
"Oh," Terry scoffs, rolling his eyes as he takes a swig from his bottle of water.
"Why is that?"
"Cuz he's an asshole," Terry replies as he swallows down his drink.
"So you mentioned," Edd sighs, "but what do you mean? I recall that Mr. Sampson was often a little…'abrasive', but he never seemed that bad to me."
Terry glares at him again; "Yeah, well, you didn't grow up in that house…"
"No…" Edd relents prodding at his remaining meal, "but Eddy did…He would sometimes complain about how his parents would be overbearing, but there were never any incidents where Mr. Sampson was ever hateful towards him at all."
"That's cuz 'pwecious wittle baby Eddy' is the fuckin' favorite," Terry explains coldly, "Pipsqueak always got what he wanted."
"Did he?" Edd asked, turning to him again, "Because Eddy always complained about never getting anything he wanted. Particularly around Christmas…"
"Oh yeah, he was so fucking neglected," Terry guffaws, "He gets that giant fucking bedroom with his own goddamn bathroom, a full walk-in closet, a fuckin' fireplace and a t.v. Little fucker was spoiled goddamn rotten."
He forces himself to calm down and sets his plate aside. There are still a few bites left, but he's lost his goddamn appetite.
"But me?" he continues, "I get a fuckin' hole in the wall."
Edd doesn't seem to have much of an argument against those accusations. And how could he when he's presented with that indisputable evidence of parental favoritism. He seems to have lost his appetite as well.
"So your parents favored Eddy over you?" he asks after a moment, "Why?"
"Cuz they didn't care about me," Terry shrugs back, crossing his arms over his chest, "They had me when they were young and stupid, so they didn't bother trying to raise me. Fuck, they didn't try with me at all. They let me do whatever I damn well pleased and practically let my grandad raise me cuz they didn't know how to and didn't wanna learn."
He can feel Edd's eyes upon him, but he chooses not to return his gaze. He's already in a shit mood talking about this and he can't bare to look at Edd when he feels this upset.
"But then…why did they have Eddy?" Edd asks, uneasily, "If they were so unprepared for a child, why have another?"
"Cuz by then, they wanted to start over and try again," Terry fidgets with the lid of the bottle, tempted to start guzzling down the water to avoid talking, "I was almost out of high school by then and they were sick of me. Pipsqueak was basically born to replace me and be the kid they wanted."
Edd's silent for a moment as he sits back away from the plate.
"That's…terrible…" he mumbles, "but…isn't that typical, childish reasoning?"
"The fuck's that supposed to mean?" Terry snarls, glaring at him.
"I just…" Edd stutters, "Isn't that a typical response for some older siblings? That they believe that they're being replaced by the new baby?"
Ah.
"Maybe," Terry shrugs, calming down, "But in my case, that's just how it was."
"Perhaps it's an over-exaggeration?" Edd suggests, "Or perhaps their behavior was more…unconscious? Surely they weren't intentionally trying to replace their own child…?"
Terry's eyes narrow. It's surprising that Edd's so invested in this. Guess I did say we'd talk…and he's latching onto it. Fine. Taking a deep breath, he sits up to turn to Edd fully, making Edd shrink back a bit, edging away slightly.
"Okay, let's say you're right," Terry offers, "That I'm lookin' at it wrong. That they're doing this 'unconsciously'. With that in mind, answer me this; how many pictures of me are hangin' in my parents' house?"
Edd's brow creases and he lowers his gaze to the bed. His eyes flicker back and forth over the sheets as he thinks carefully. Rather than let him continue to struggle with the answer, Terry continues.
"How many times did one of my postcards or letters get to the little brat with my address smeared off?"
Still no response, but this time, he searches Terry's face, perhaps thinking he'll remember that way. The look on his face suggests he's not finding the answer.
"Did you even know my name?" Terry presses, "You said Pipsqueak always talked about me, but you didn't know what I looked like. Did he not tell you that? Did he ever say my name once in those stories you heard? Did my folks ever say it?"
At this point, Edd's looking away again with an expression he can't quite place. He's yet to respond and it seems as though he isn't going to.
"Exactly," Terry grumbles, reclining on the pillows again, "They want to pretend I never existed, so they tried to start over with Eddy."
A long silence stretches between them. Edd's back to nudging his food along with his fork and taking an absentminded bite every now and then. Terry doesn't mind. Though he wishes he didn't have to be left with his own thoughts like this. It's nothing pleasant to think about.
"Why did you go home…?" Edd asks softly, his plate nearly empty of the food.
Terry glances at him, a bit startled after the break in their conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"If it's that bad, then…why did you go home at all?" Edd elaborates, "If they dislike you so much and you them, why would you go home to them? Even for Christmas? Maybe even…especially for Christmas?"
"Aside from your little attitude problem lately?" Terry snarls back, glaring at him.
Edd returns the hateful look; "My desire to escape your abuse is not an 'attitude problem'."
"Says you," Terry grumbles.
"Are you going to answer my question?"
Rolling his eyes with an irritable sigh, Terry sits up again.
"Aside from giving us both a break," he replies, "My fucking parents wouldn't stop bitching at me to come home. And after what you did, it seemed like a good time to get away for a bit."
Edd shoots him a hateful look for that comment, but says nothing to it.
"Why would they pester you so much about coming home?" he asks instead, "If they want to pretend you never existed, why would they be so adamant that you return?"
"Cuz Pipsqueak was being a whiny brat," Terry scoffs back.
"What?" Edd squints at him, "What does Eddy have to do with any of this?"
"You of all people know how he is," Terry turns to him to face him properly, "You said it yourself that he fuckin' worships the ground I walk on. He's been beggin' me to come home ever since he actually managed to get my address and now he's using you bein' gone as an excuse to get what he wants."
He sees a flicker of hurt cross Edd's face. The little body deflates instantly from his anger and he once again resembles the frail, frightened child all of these revelations have left him.
"Wh…What do you mean?" he nearly whimpers.
Terry leans towards him a bit, lowering his voice.
"He's been telling my folks that he's 'so sad' and only seein' me will make him feel better," he explains, "Not you comin' home. Not even hearin' your voice again. All he wants is me. Because he's just so sad." He scoffs, sitting back again. "What a crock of shit…Little fucker never even mentioned your name while I was home…"
Edd curls in on himself again, hugging his knees to his chest. He's quiet again. It feels like a longer silence than the first. But maybe that's just because of the anticipation. As Terry watches him, though, he begins to wonder if this conversation is really for Edd's benefit anymore. He's looking more and more upset the longer they sit there. Desperation shines in his eyes, but it's dwindling. When he breaks the silence, his voice is barely audible.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised…" he mumbles, more to himself than to Terry.
"What's that?"
Is he finally coming around?! Is he finally internalizing the things Terry's trying to convince him of? Is he finally going to submit to him? Edd's eyes shift to him before he shrugs.
"I just…" he pauses, looking around uneasily before settling his gaze on the blanket, "I had believed…that you would have been disappointed by me…" He stiffly moves his legs so that they're folded beneath him. "And I just realized…I shouldn't be surprised that he'd want you over me…"
"Why the fuck would you think that?" Terry asks, gritting his teeth, "The fuck kinda bullshit was that little fucker feeding you to make you think that?"
Edd hesitates, looking thoughtful as he begins tracing idle shapes into the nap of the material.
"He just made it sound like…" he pauses again, a frustrated look on his face, "Like you were the kind of person who would abhor someone like me. He never said as much himself, but…I always…assumed based on his descriptions. After all, I'm not street-smart like Eddy or…'fun' like Ed…I'm…'boring'. The exact opposite of the way Eddy described you."
"Is that all?" Terry scoffs, "So what? I don't want you to be like them."
Edd glances at him out of the corner of his eye; "That's not the impression I got from Eddy…"
"What all did he tell you? What kind of impression did he give you, exactly?"
Edd shifts again, moving away from the man slightly. His eyes shift back to the blanket.
"I told you; he never said as much himself," he sighs, "It was a feeling I got." He takes a moment to think. "I remember when I first…came to that conclusion. It was back when he spread this rumor that you were coming home. He was convinced that the lie would make everyone respect him, but everyone had a very different response to it. Most of the kids were…terrified, though a few were excited. As the day wore on, his lies began spinning further and further out of control. After the last big lie of the day, we ended up hiding in his room to avoid the angry children who were realizing that you weren't coming home.
"Then…someone decided to pay us back with a prank," Edd's cheeks burn a bit in embarrassment, "They dressed up like you…or…I guess what they assumed you'd look like, given what was in Eddy's closet…Eddy was terrified and…for a moment it worked…we believed them when they threatened us. And later, when we realized our error, they mocked us and it was the talk of the neighborhood for a few days about how gullible we were."
"Is this going somewhere?" Terry asks, rubbing his eyes.
His question makes Edd huff indignantly; "The point is, after all that was said and done, I thought about what might've happened if it really had been you at the door and I realized that I was just as terrified as Eddy was, but for different reasons. He was afraid you'd be mad, but…I realized that…I was afraid you'd be disappointed in the friends Eddy surrounded himself with. And if that happened…if I somehow embarrassed Eddy in front of the person he valued above all others…that maybe he'd stop talking to me. That he wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore."
Terry doesn't say anything to that as Edd strokes the hair near the scar on his forehead, staring absentmindedly ahead of him.
"I didn't linger on it after that," he finally continues softly, "After all, it wasn't really you. And there was never any indication that you were going to return home. So what did I really have to worry about?" He shakes his head. "Still…looking back on everything…I…I should've known he would prefer you over me…It was clear in his behavior."
"Like what?" Terry keeps his voice low as well.
He's answered with another shrug; "He always wanted to be like you. No matter what I'd say or do, if there was ever a choice between my advice and what he thought you'd do, he'd always opt to follow your lead. My opinion meant nothing compared to yours."
He stops talking and swallows thickly. Terry lets that settle as well, waiting for him to say anything else. Where is he going with this? After a few moments, he starts shivering and rubbing at his eyes to stop the tears. Wait, what about that is making him cry?
"How horrible must that make me?" he whimpers, "That he would prefer your counsel over mine? How deplorable must I be that he would choose you over me…?" He buries his face in his hands, sobbing. "No wonder he…h-he doesn't care if I come home!"
Aw shit…As Edd breaks down further, Terry briefly worries that he may have pushed it too far this time. This isn't quite how he wanted Edd to react to the notion that his friends don't care about him. Sure, he wanted Edd sad about that and to accept it, but not…like this…
Then again…This is providing him with an interesting opportunity. Edd's in desperate need of comfort and Terry is the only one who can offer it. And why shouldn't he? He's brought him down lower than he's ever been, and now he's drowning in his hurt. It's Terry's job at this time to drag him back to the surface and give him something new to cling to.
Slowly, gently, he places his hands on the slender shoulders. Edd jumps a bit, startled by the sudden contact, but he doesn't move away. Too distraught by his own sorrow, he doesn't resist the embrace he's pulled into. Terry watches him carefully, rubbing his back and letting him weep. His fingers graze the leather of the collar. For a moment, he considers removing it for the night. Let him breathe easier?
In a minute. For now, he just lets Edd cry. He only moves once more after pulling Edd into his arms and it's only to adjust his position so that they can be more comfortable. With Edd's cheek against Terry's chest, he can feel the tears soaking into his jersey and the heavy puffs of air as Edd's breathing is broken by his sobs.
It doesn't last too long, thank god and as Edd begins to calm down again, Terry reaches over to grab the roll of toilet paper. Sniffling and hiccuping, Edd takes a string of the perforated sheets and blows his red nose. He starts coughing again, probably choked a bit by the sudden crying. A few deep breaths later and he's calm enough to ease himself away from Terry again.
"Better?" Terry asks, his brow cocked.
Edd barely manages a glare through his red eyes; "No."
"You stopped crying."
With a sniffle, Edd crumples up the toilet paper and leaves it on his empty plate.
"That doesn't mean I feel better…" he mumbles back, "I just can't cry anymore…" He rubs his sore eyes wearily as he slouches. "I just want to sleep…"
With a shrug, Terry grabs the plate and groups it with his own. Rising from the bed, he hands Edd one of the bottles of water, which he gratefully drinks down. He doesn't see much of a reason to talk as he leaves the room to return the plates to the kitchen. He also stores away whatever he didn't eat — why waste such good food? Before returning to the bedroom, he considers grabbing a beer. He wants to sleep, sure, but he's got a nagging, annoying feeling that is urging him to the bottle.
Rubbing his eyes and the bridge of his nose, he abandons that thought to instead trudge back to the bedroom. He's still got to figure out the best way to secure Edd for the night. Edd's in a fragile state, so he's not sure he wants to handcuff him the same way he did before. But if he doesn't, he might slip away again.
As he reenters the bedroom, he finds Edd under the covers again, curled up as far away from the bedside table he can get while still remaining on the bed. Can't have that. After locking the door, he undresses down to his boxers and approaches the bed. Storing the keys in the bedside table, he retrieves the handcuffs. He opts against taking the collar off. Maybe some other time. For now, he's got an idea that might make Edd more comfortable. Nothing for it but to try…
Mounting the bed, he eases himself over to Edd, who tenses against the close proximity.
"Please," he begs softly, hoarsely, "I can't bear anymore abuse from you."
"Relax, sweetheart," Terry breathes, reaching over him to grab his wrist, "We're gonna sleep."
"What are you doing?" Edd gasps as the frigid metal locks around his wrist, "No! I-I promise! I won't run! Don't make me—"
"Easy," Terry sighs, taking the other end of the cuff in hand.
Rather than attach it to Edd's other wrist, he instead attaches the other handcuff to his own.
"Wha…?" Edd stutters.
"See?" Terry asks, "That's not so bad, right?"
"Surely you jest!" Edd guffaws, trying to pull himself away from him.
"It's either this, or I'll handcuff both of your wrists like I did before," Terry states casually, "Is that what you want?"
Edd answers with a whine, his body reluctantly relaxing; "No…"
"Didn't think so," Terry says with a smirk, "Now come away from the edge, Princess. It's warmer in the middle of the bed."
Again, Edd whimpers, but says nothing more as he's pulled back, away from his little corner of the bed. Those distressed noises get worse as Terry shuts the lights out with his free hand before settling in behind him and grabbing the sheets to cover them both. He wraps his free arm around the slender waist, pulling Edd nice and close. Sure, his arm will feel dead in the morning, but it's worth it to spoon with his little darling. He also joins their hands that are handcuffed, linking their fingers together as he nuzzles his cheek against Edd's own.
"Ain't this cozy, Princess?" he breathes, leaving a quick peck to Edd's cheek.
More pitiful whining escaped the tiny form beneath him.
"This feel so much worse…" he groans, "Why did you have to be his brother…?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Terry scoffs.
"I don't…know…" Edd mumbles, hunching his shoulders, "There's just something about it that feels…worse than before."
"Well, get over it," Terry grumbles, "Cuz regardless of who I am, the one thing you better remember is that I'm all you got." He strokes Edd's thumb with his own. "But you'll start feelin' a lot better if you just start cooperating."
He hears Edd mumble something, but it's too quiet for him to hear. Eh, fuck it. As he lays here under the covers, warm and with Edd in his arms, he finds himself caring less and less about their conversation as he allows himself to relax. He can tell Edd's drifting off too. He's not struggling and he can feel the little torso moving more and more slowly against his chest. It's not long after that before he finds himself joining Edd for a content slumber.
