So warm…Fuck, he could lie here forever. Sighing softly, he bows his head further to nuzzle the top of Edd's head. The coarse, tangled hair submits against his cheek and caresses his skin affectionately. As he pulls the delicate little body closer to his own, he waves away the consciousness that's reeling him in. Just a few more minutes. He tries to settle back into his heavenly slumber, but a tiny voice in his head begins to grow louder as it reminds him of his pressing obligations. He's got to get up. Got to work. Got to earn the money.

Got to avoid giving Mike or whoever he might send any reason to come calling on him.

With a sigh, he forces his eyes to open. He's not totally sure what time it is. He forgot to set an alarm the night before. Glancing down at Edd, he curses his work schedule again. His little darling had turned towards him at some point in the night to cling to him. Did the movie scare him that bad? That's probably the most likely answer, but he decides instead that it must be because Edd's just too shy to show him his affections just yet. It's easier to admit to those desires in the late hours of the night, when only the darkness can bear witness, after all.

With a grimace and a suppressed groan, Terry untangles himself from Edd's weak grip and tucks him back in. The boy stirs a bit and nuzzles the pillow with a soft, sleepy moan before settling back down. Terry grits his teeth, squashing down the desire bubbling up in him to rip the sheets away and ravage the perfect, sleeping form. To once again marvel at the sensation of that blessed skin upon his own and worship the body that instilled such intense desire with him.

But, of course, he doesn't. Never mind the fact that he's under a time constraint — Edd would never forgive him. Everything he's been working so hard to achieve would be lost. He'd have to go back to barbaric techniques to get what he wants. And he'd never hear the blessed words he so longs for from his Princess again.

No, as much as he hates it, patience will earn him the better reward. His desires will be satisfied in due time, he reminds himself, and it'll be even better as Edd begins to want him back. With a sigh, he does at least lean over him to place a tender kiss to his temple. Again, Edd stirs a bit, but doesn't wake, sighing softly as he returns to dreamland.

With that out of the way, Terry gathers his clothes for the day, catching sight of the time. Luck seems to be on his side today, as it seems that he's got more than enough time to get both a shower and breakfast in, but it's probably best not to dawdle anyway. As silently as possibly, he retreats to the bathroom, locking the bedroom door behind him, of course.

He tries, as he bathes, to make the process as quick as possible. However, he can't stop his thoughts from wandering to the precious boy sleeping soundly amidst his sheets. The water has washed away most of Edd's scent and the gentle touch of his skin from his senses, but the image of his peaceful expression and limp, prone body is as clear as day.

Oh well…It's not like I've got any other option to get off right now…

His breathing becomes labored as he strokes himself to erection, leaning heavily on his hand against the wall. His mind does laps between each heavenly scene that has been burned into his memory. Every wanton moan made by that sweet little voice. Every time Edd would arch his back or clench his toes against the pleasure accosting him. Every time those delicate hands would cling to him. Every time his pretty face would scrunch up in pain and a denial of pleasure. Every time their lips would meet so passionately. Closer…He licks his drying lips, groaning as his movements quicken. His breath is damn near impossible to get back and the water is starting to get cold. Shutting his eyes tight, he focuses entirely on the memory of Edd's face at the very peak of climax so that he can finally reach his own. As he comes down, resting his forehead against the wall of the shower, he grits his teeth in disgust.

It's not the same…

When he's composed himself again, he gives himself another quick once-over with the soap before shutting off the water. Then it's back into the familiar routine of drying off and throwing on his clothes, after which he heads straight for the kitchen. A quick glance at the clock shows that he'd not wasted too much time in the shower. Still just enough time for breakfast.

He cooks up a handful of bacon strips and a couple of eggs each, feeling a bit more refreshed than before. After preparing a couple of plates, he returns to the bedroom with them. Edd's still sleeping as he closes the door behind him. He decides not to lock up for now — he'll be leaving soon anyway, so why bother? Instead, he approaches the bed and sets the plates aside. Leaning over Edd, he places a kiss to his cheek, making him groan a little as he's beckoned from sleep. As a clincher, Terry grabs a strip of bacon from Edd's plate to wave under his nose. That gets his attention and Edd blinks his eyes open with a pout.

"Hungry?" Terry teases, as Edd reaches feebly for the food that's held just out of his reach.

Edd groans back before pushing himself up. Brow furrowed, he looks over the plates.

"You made…breakfast…?" he asks softly as he sits up straight.

"Sure," Terry retorts, "Gettin' ready for a long day. I figured we could both use somethin' to eat."

Edd hums a bit as he reaches for one of the plates and a fork. Breakfast is silent for them; a result of Terry's time constraint and Edd's lingering fatigue. As their meals dwindle, however, Edd casts him a shy glance.

"Do you…really have to work today?" he asks, swallowing thickly.

Terry savors the last bite of his breakfast, garnished perfectly by that little question. He tries not to show his joy as he swallows.

"Yes, I do."

Edd bows his head a little; "Would it…be possible for you to maybe…call in sick or something?"

Ooh, now that's even better.

"Unfortunately, no, I can't," Terry retorts, "My boss has been on my ass ever since that little stunt you pulled. If I called off, he'd get suspicious and come a-callin' and it'd be a whole other fuckin' problem."

That deflates Edd's mood even more. Okay, so maybe mentioning 'the incident' wasn't the best way to respond to his question.

"So…" Edd murmurs, "you're not just…using this as an excuse to avoid being…here?"

With a smirk, Terry gently tilts Edd's chin up, drawing Edd's bashful gaze back to him.

"Are you gonna miss me that much, sweetheart?" he purrs, stroking Edd's jaw with his thumb.

Whining softly, Edd pushes his hand away.

"N-No," he insists, hugging his middle, "Y-You just…act like being around me is so much of a chore. I was just…wondering if that's what this was…"

Okay, didn't expect that…Brow furrowed, Terry leans towards him a little.

"And why would you think that?"

Shrugging, Edd stares down at the bed.

"You appeared to be disinterested yesterday while we watched those movies," he answers matter-of-factly, "Why shouldn't I assume that you felt the same about just being here?"

Terry sighs a bit, rubbing his eyes. Definitely didn't expect that…Taking a breath, he gently cups the sides of Edd's head to look into his eyes.

"C'mon, Princess," he coos, "I'd spend every waking moment with you if I could." He leans a little closer. "You know that."

Edd jerks away before their lips can meet, drawing Terry to grimace.

"Anyway," he grumbles, rising to his feet, "Once my shift ends, I'll be off till after the first of the year, so we can spend all our time together when I get home."

No answer to that as Edd stares down at the bed. As Terry adjusts himself a bit, Edd seems to find his voice.

"May I…please leave this bedroom?" he asks feebly.

"You wanna stay in the bathroom instead?" Terry suggests.

"No…" Edd answers, "I…I want to…be able to come and go from this room and the bathroom."

Terry sighs again, clenching his fists; "Princess…"

"Please," Edd begs, clasping his hands together and gazing up at him with those pretty, puppy-dog eyes, "I promise I won't leave. I just feel so stifled in here. Please."

With a groan, Terry pauses to think it over, dragging his hand over his face. Edd's behavior has improved. He's certainly more dependent on him than before. Is that enough, though? He could lock the front door even tighter — maybe add the padlock from the bathroom door. Eh, but then there's the windows — he definitely doesn't have time to deal with them. Not to mention; the phone — he'd have to unplug it, which might be a problem later if he doesn't remember to plug it back in. And that prospect is definitely likely if he's focused so heavily on Edd. Not that unplugging the phone would even be enough, of course: Edd could start screaming. And outside of this room…

"No," he answers finally. As Edd opens his mouth to beg him again, Terry adds; "At least not today. Not when I can't be here to keep an eye on you. I'm sorry, but you'll have to be patient."

That's not enough to satisfy his impertinent little Princess, though, and he pouts back at him.

"What about tomorrow?"

Terry looks him over carefully, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We'll see," he replies, "Now, you wanna make a quick trip to the bathroom before I go?"

With a shrug, Edd slides off of the bed and joins Terry by the door. They're silent as Terry escorts Edd by the hand. He doesn't join him in the bathroom, though, and allows Edd a moment of privacy to relieve himself and brush his teeth or whatever. When the door opens up again, Terry turns to him with a question.

"Would you rather stay here?" he offers, "Get a shower or somethin'?"

Edd shakes his head, rubbing his eye; "I think I'd like to go back to sleep…"

So, it's back to the bedroom with him. Terry allows Edd to curl up under the covers before leaning over him to place a gentle kiss to his forehead.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he states softly, stroking Edd's cheek.

Edd nods, his gaze unfocused and averted away from him. With a sigh, Terry leans in to give him a quick peck on his lips before standing straight again.

"See you soon, darlin'."

With that, he snags his keys and leaves the room, hoping to avoid looking at him any longer lest he crumble and crawl under the covers with him.

Jesus, could this take any goddamn longer? His back is fucking killing him already and whenever Mike opens his fucking mouth, he finds his attention severely waning. Not that he was hyper-focused on work to begin with; too distracted wondering what to do about Edd. He's gotten the kid to open up a lot more to him with his little acquiesces and he'd like to think Edd's finally internalized the idea that no one back in Peach Creek wants him — that he has nothing and no one else to turn to. But then again, he's also not getting any goddamn affection from the little Princess by being so damn accommodating. Instead, his doting and compliance is providing a constant reminder that he's being treated more like a parent than a lover.

Fuckin' bullshit.

His first fifteen minute break sneaks up on him, but he's unable to head back to the trailer. Paul and Russ decide they want to talk his ear off instead. Nothing of real note. What's happening? Why've you been holed up in your trailer?Ain't seen ya at the bar in fuckin' forever. You hidin' something? Are you even listening? In order: fuck off, fuck you, I got better shit to do, see all of the above, and yes, but I don't give a shit. The cigarettes helped to drown out that conversation well enough, at least.

After a few more hours of tedium, he gets his lunch break. They've taken care of the food shipment and most of the inventory — mostly all of the prepackaged food that require less-extensive storage — and after lunch, they'll finish that up and start taking care of the maintenance inventory, which will be a whole other headache entirely.

He manages to break away from the others and heads home to eat, making his way to the bedroom first. Might as well ask what Edd wants to eat. There, he finds Edd sitting up in bed, his attention only just tearing away from the television to glance his way when Terry walks in. The screen is displaying a horribly dull-looking snail…moving(?) along a mossy log while a dry narration plays over it.

"Enjoying your movie?" Terry grumbles, remaining at the door.

Edd nods, a small smile on his face as he pauses the slow-moving film; "It's fascinating. I've only just started it, but I'm thoroughly enjoying the mental stimulation."

Rolling his eyes, Terry feigns interest as best he can; "That's nice…"

Before he can ask about food, Edd throws his legs over the side of the bed.

"May I please use the lavatory?"

Right, he had been gone longer than he expected…

"Oh…yeah," Terry shrugs, "C'mon."

He escorts Edd to the bathroom, but stops him from closing the door.

"Look, I've only got about half an hour for lunch," he states, "So, what do you wanna eat?"

In response, Edd shrugs; "Anything is fine…"

That's enough of an answer, so Terry lets Edd shut the door. Before walking away, Terry then decides to secure it with the combination lock before returning to the kitchen. It won't take long to prepare the sandwiches he has in mind to make, but he's not sure he's willing to take the chance to let Edd wander out of the bathroom just yet.

It feels like he's on autopilot as he spreads the peanut butter and jelly over the slices of bread. He doesn't feel like heating anything up or making anything else for himself. Just needs the bare minimum to get him through the rest of his shift. Placing the sandwiches on a single plate once they're ready, he returns to the bathroom to let Edd out. He looks a bit annoyed when the door opens, pouting a little with his arms crossed.

"Don't gimme that look," Terry scoffs, grabbing his arm to lead him back to the bedroom.

There's no response to that, and as he ushers the boy back into the bedroom, he can tell that Edd doesn't have any arguments to make, but that he's not willing to let his irritation go. As such, as soon as he climbs back onto the bed, he resumes his film, clearly intent on eating in silence. Terry wants to be irritated about it. He wants to grab the remote and turn the t.v. off and demand Edd give him his full attention.

But instead, he begrudgingly sets the plate down and sits on the edge of the bed with his own meal. His own thoughts and his chewing distract him from the droning narration as he broods. So much for getting any sort of reprieve from his shitty day…

His thoughts drift back to the prospect of letting Edd out of the bedroom like he keeps badgering him for. As long as he's under strict supervision, it wouldn't be that bad? He could take precautions, like with the phone, and locking the door tighter. He could gag Edd like he used to. He could cuff his wrists so that he can't take the gag off or run as easily.

He sighs a bit. But he doesn't want to do that. Resting his head in his hand and leaning with his elbow on his knee, he tries to quell his growing headache. No, he doesn't want to restrain him again. Doing so would only result in making Edd sad — completely negating the point of letting him out in the first place. And, of course, Edd would be horribly upset with him and may view it as some sort of betrayal. Which…yeah, Terry admits that, in a way, it would be. So what the hell should he do…?

"Are you okay?"

He glances to his left, where Edd has moved to sit beside him on his knees. He's looking up at him, his brow furrowed. With a grimace, Terry shoves the last of his sandwich into his mouth and rises to his feet.

"M'fine," he grumbles, walking to the door.

He's feeling too damn irritable to actually talk to Edd any longer and fuck if he wants to say anything he'll end up regretting.

"I'll be back later," he states as he approaches the door, "Hopefully, it won't be too late."

"Okay…" he hears Edd mumble. As he opens the door, Edd speaks up one last time. "I…I hope the rest of your shift goes smoothly."

Taken aback by the gentle well-wishing, Terry stops in the doorway. He glances back at Edd, his brow cocked as his little Princess fidgets shyly. He sighs, regretting the cold way he'd addressed Edd before.

"Thanks…" he replies softly.

He still doesn't return to the bed or to even embrace his little darling again, instead walking out of the room. As he locks the door behind him, he's overwhelmed with his desire to cast aside his work and devote the rest of the day with Edd. To apologize for his coldness and spend all his time making it up to him. To give him all the attention he's craving and put the smile back on his face. To avoid becoming like the parents who would so callously abandon their perfect child emotionally in favor of their own careers. He holds the key before the lock, his breathing uneven. Maybe he could convince Mike he'd come down with something? Maybe he'd buy it since he really is feeling as lousy as he is?

No. Of course he wouldn't.

With a sigh, he pulls himself away from the door and trudges out of the trailer to get back to work. However, his thoughts don't follow his body, leaving him on autopilot again as he returns to the tedious chore. Instead, his mind lingers on his earlier quandary about whether or not to let Edd out to wander the trailer. It would certainly earn him a bit of gratitude — make his Princess more and more docile, maybe even enough to…

He tries his damnedest to avoid thinking about Edd submitting to him sexually in appreciation. Not the time! He can fantasize about that later. Rather, he should plan appropriately. Even if Edd does agree to sex, it'll be for naught if he's unprepared for any unfortunate contingencies.

If he's careful about it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad…He'll probably have to guard the door pretty carefully and unplug the phone, of course. But then there's the issue with Edd's screaming. He can't afford to soundproof the entire trailer — and even if he could, there's no way he could get it done before tomorrow. He could bring the television back out to the living room. Maybe some cable t.v. for the first time in months will keep Edd distracted from trying to run or scream?

Or…maybe he's setting himself up for failure by allowing this at all? Maybe Edd will indeed use it as an opportunity to completely blow his cover and escape him?

But…the new year is just around the corner, and, frankly, he still owes Edd a gift of some kind. Perhaps the risk will be worth it if it means they can start fresh?

His hopeful thoughts dwindle as the day drags its knuckles to a close. By the time he returns home, his back is aching — fuck, everything is aching — and his body is making a beeline for his bed. Fuck if he doesn't want to just lie back and sleep…He has just enough foresight to grab a bag of chips and water. He definitely can't muster the strength to eat right now or prepare a meal for Edd, but he doesn't want the kid to go hungry.

As he enters the bedroom, Edd seems to be finishing up the documentary about amusement park rides. Whatever…With a yawn, Terry closes the door behind him and starts to lock up.

"May I please have a bath?"

Dammit…With a sigh, Terry drops the chips off on the bed and the water on the bedside table. He escorts Edd by the hand to the bathroom and follows him in. However, he doesn't disrobe himself. As much as he'd like to enjoy a nice bath with his Princess, he decides it's not worth fighting with the kid right now. Maybe when he's not so damn tired. Instead, he takes a seat against the door, and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Aren't you…" he glances up at Edd as the boy mumbles to him, "Aren't you going to make me bathe with you?"

Terry peers up at him with a grimace.

"Is that what you want?" he asks, arching his brow.

"Well…no," Edd shrugs, "But why are you—"

"Then just get on with it," Terry sighs, rubbing his eyes, "I'm fuckin' exhausted and the sooner you get your bath over with, the sooner I can go to sleep."

Edd doesn't answer for a moment, but Terry doesn't look at him. Opening his eyes is a bit of a feat right now and one he's unable to accomplish.

"Okay…" he hears Edd murmur.

Moments later, the taps cry out in protest as they're turned and the pipes groan as water rushes through them. The soothing sound of running water lulls Terry further, coaxing him gently towards slumber.

Terry…?

Glancing up, his attention is grabbed immediately by the sight of Edd's naked body. The bruises he'd inflicted upon him have vanished, leaving behind the perfect, porcelain skin that drove him wild. The collar glints beautifully around his neck, tickled lightly by his thick, black hair. It's just barely reached his shoulders by now and end in natural, gentle curls. He's facing away from the man, the broad expanse of his back beckoning him. The slender waist that mesh into the supple hips and thighs. Edd's little giggle draws his eyes back up to his face, where he finds the boy smiling at him.

Are you sure you don't want to join me?

A shiver races down Terry's spine that spurs him to his feet. Stripping down out of his clothes like they're melting off of him, he scoops Edd up into his arms, his fatigue forgotten. Edd's arms are locked around his neck and his legs around his waist. Licking his lips, Terry leans in, as does Edd, eager to close the gap between them before they begin the best fucking bath they've ever—

"Terry?"

His shoulder is nudged and then shaken, rousing him from the sleep that had taken him. With a groan, Terry holds his head, blinking his eyes open as reality sets in. Edd's standing before him, but he's fully clothed. His hair is shining lightly, still damp from his bath. Oh. His groans turn to a soft whine as he rubs the sleep away to push himself to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

Without offering an answer, Terry grabs Edd's hand in a feeble grip to lead him back to the bedroom. As they walk, he notices Edd's fingers tighten very slightly around his own. Yeah right…Fuckin' dreaming again…

While Terry locks the door behind them, Edd returns to the bed, turning off the television and grabbing the water. Though, Terry hardly notices as he undresses, dropping his clothes unceremoniously to the floor. Plaid overshirt sliding down his arms, shoes kicked off, pants shedding like a second skin and socks catching on the denim. He almost leaves the jersey, considering it to be too much effort, but ultimately shucks it off, throwing it aside. He holds his keys loosely in his hand before dropping them into the bedside table drawer to mingle and mesh with the sex toys. Then it's under the covers. He hears Edd opening the bag of chips, clearly recognizing that that's dinner for him tonight.

As Terry's body settles in to sleep, he regrets for a moment that he can't muster the will to stay awake. Fuck his job. Fuck his boss. Fuck goddamn everything. He notices Edd taking a seat against the pillows beside him to tuck into his meager meal. With a weak sigh, Terry lays his arm across Edd's waist. It's not nearly enough to hold him still, but at least he can have some semblance of embracing his Princess as he drifts off to sleep.

And what's more; he notices in his last moments of consciousness that he feels no resistance.