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Todd likes to play with the temperature.
He likes to see how hot he can turn the water before Jesse can’t take it anymore, before the water gets too scorching. Sometimes it’s hard to tell how much Jesse can really take, though, because half the time his loud protests and squirming are just Jesse being difficult, and Todd can’t always tell the difference.
It’s harder still with all the steam coming up from the water and from Jesse’s heated skin. The milky steam blurs everything to smudgy vague shapes. And it’s even more difficult when Jesse is being so contrary. It’s as if it’s near impossible for Jesse to hold still – it really would be in Jesse’s interest to be more helpful, now that Todd thinks about it. Even more so since it was Jesse himself who asked to be clean in the first place, so all his struggling makes no sense to Todd.
He suspects Jesse isn’t so good with thinking, seeing how he can’t even decide what he wants. Todd doesn’t mind, though. It just means he has to take special care of Jesse and decide himself what’s best for him. He’s willing to do that.
Jesse is most sensitive around an on his head, the waist, and between his legs. The waist may be especially sensitive because the chain goes around it, and it heats up, too, and it holds the heat for a long time. If Jesse weren’t so resistant, Todd could take it off. As it is, the chains have to stay on, and the resulting discomfort is the result of Jesse’s own actions.
Naturally Todd had assumed Jesse’s dick would be sensitive, but it’s more than that: trying out different temperatures has shown him that it’s the entire area that’s sensitive for Jesse, including the insides of his thighs, and he yells and fights Todd not only when Todd turns the water hot, but also when he turns it cold, which is also a very interesting temperature to use.
Where hot water makes Jesse jerk and kick out and try to bite when his mouth isn’t busy shouting, cold water is different. Sometimes it makes Jesse cling to Todd, which is a curious feeling, and Todd likes to keep the water cold until Jesse’s skin is just as cold to the touch, until it’s freezing, until Jesse stops trying to get away and just sits there on the wooden pallet next to the house a few yards from Jesse’s hole in the ground, where Todd has taken to clean him with the hose, and Jesse’s hands are clenched in the fabric of Todd’s trousers or in his shirt and they rhythmically bump against Todd’s skin in time with Jesse’s violent shaking, and his teeth chatter and his lips turn blue.
Afterwards Todd towels Jesse dry with rough, firm strokes to warm him up again, and Jesse really is overly sensitive, just like Uncle Jack always says. Uncle Jack says “he’s almost more trouble than he’s worth, that boy, but he’s your pet. He’s your problem.”, and Todd just nods, because it’s true. Jesse is very sensitive and very emotional, and Todd doesn’t actually mind all that much, even when there are other pets he could get that would be less fussy.
Jesse resists and evades Todd’s hands and the towel every time, and he doesn’t seem to understand that it’s best like this. He doesn’t even seem to listen to Todd at all, because instead of answering or showing Todd he understands, Jesse more often than not starts to cry, or he starts shouting, or his responses are nothing but “No” or “please stop”, no matter how often Todd tells him that it’s all for the best, that it really isn’t that bad; Jesse doesn’t understand when Todd tells him “don’t fight” or asks him “you want to be warm, right?”, or when he patiently tells him again and again that this is the best and fastest way to get warm, because it is. Todd knows.
Todd knows best.
And he’ll take care of Jesse.
Jesse is very responsive in other ways, though, and mostly easy to train, apart from these smaller hiccups. When Todd thinks back, they’ve already come a long way since they decided to agree to Jesse’s wish to get cleaned up: Jesse’s not as violent and defiant as he used to be. Mostly he just whimpers and squirms, now, whereas when they started he used to fight a lot. Uncle Jack and his friends had had to help out the first three times, and they did a good job in teaching Jesse how to behave better. Todd is grateful for the help, but he thinks it’s better now, with just Jesse and him.
Jesse has calmed down enough for Todd to handle him alone, and Todd has always had more patience than the rest of the crew. He doesn’t leave as many bruises on Jesse.
At any rate, Jesse now knows that bad behavior has consequences; Todd thinks that telling Jesse about the consequences helped more than the beatings, because after they told him about what they could do to his ladyfriend Andrea and her son Brock, Jesse’s behavior had improved a lot. So sometimes Jesse does listen to reason, Todd just never knows when he will and when he won’t. Jesse is very curious creature; very unpredictable. Todd is still learning to navigate and anticipate his ticks, but it’s not easy, because Jesse is so irrational.
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After Todd has put Jesse back in his cage for the night, he goes to his own room and undresses for the night. When he pulls off his shirt, wet from where Jesse has grabbed him and splashed around, he stares at it for a moment, an afterimage in his head of Jesse’s hands fisted in the fabric.
He looks at his own hands and thinks about holding Jesse still, and how difficult it is, and he thinks it might be easier to use the bathtub in the house next time, where Jesse would have less room to lash out or twist away. The porcelain is sturdy, and he could draw a bath. Submerge Jesse.
He sits down on his bed so hard it creaks, still staring at his own hands.
He could clean all of Jesse himself, with actual soap and a sponge, or maybe just with his hands, because Jesse’s skin is so soft and slippery, and Jesse doesn’t like rough fabrics like towels, so he’d probably prefer Todd’s hands over a rough sponge. If Todd were to press down on Jesse’s skin, it would turn white and then pink, Todd knows that from holding Jesse’s twitching body down. His fingertips tingle at the thought.
The next time he bathes Jesse, he takes him into the house, where he’s prepared a bath. Jesse seems suspicious and he’s more twitchy than usual, so Todd makes sure his movements and voice are calm and placating. Jesse is so easy to startle.
Jesse acts up again right away, even though the water isn’t that cold, just a little bit cold, and when coaxing Jesse to stillness doesn’t work, Todd reminds him about Andrea and the kid. He thinks maybe getting them out here might make Jesse more compliant, and resolves to mention it to Uncle Jack later.
Todd takes his own supplies and uses them on Jesse. Todd’s shampoo; Todd’s shower gel. He’s already used his own shaving gear on Jesse a couple of times, now, and that’s one of the few moments when Jesse’s irrational flailing stops abruptly. He holds stock-still whenever Todd shaves his beard off with his straight razor, like he’s frozen, and he even holds his breath.
Jesse holds his breath a lot now, too, while Todd is busy shampooing his hair, and his arms jerk in their chains once or twice, the sound of the clanging pieces muted by the water. It’s as if Jesse wants to reach up and touch Todd; cling to him. Todd’s too far away, though, leaning over the rim of the tub as he is, but he finds he wants that, too. He wants Jesse to cling to him. He misses Jesse leaving wet handprints on his shirt. He can see and feel Jesse’s shivering where he touches him, even Jesse’s head seems to shake where Todd still has his hands buried in bubbles and silky hair, but Jesse holding on to him is one thing that’s missing.
Maybe next time Todd will climb into the tub with him. For better access to Jesse, and also so Jesse can hold on to him. People can’t say Todd isn’t good to Jesse, when he’s thinking about what’s best for Jesse so much. Not when he’s making everything most convenient for Jesse and cleans him so carefully and now thoroughly, with real soap and shampoo.
Jesse’s eyes are closed. They’re squeezed shut, actually, and his breath is stuttering out before he takes a deep breath in again, just to hold it again. Todd can’t fathom why he’d do that.
“Does the soap burn your eyes?” he wonders out loud. Jesse makes an aborted noise that could be anything or nothing, so Todd resumes washing his hair, massaging his head.
Jesse’s eyes, when he’s got them open, are blue. His hair is fair, too, a dirty blond that shimmers gold in the sun. When Todd looks at Jesse, he understands the talk of superior genes of the Aryan race. He gets it, then. Uncle Jack says Jesse may be rotten, but he’s got good genes, and they won’t needlessly waste one of their own. Maybe they’ll use Jesse for breeding. He has all the right parts, though Todd doesn’t know if Jesse can get hard. He’s never seen him get hard, at least.
He leaves the shampoo in and slides his hand down, into and under the water, all the way down on Jesse’s slippery skin. Jesse’s muscles jump when Todd’s hand glides past his stomach, and Jesse’s entire body jolts like he’s being electrocuted when Todd’s hand has reached his cock.
A lot of splashing follows, where Jesse tries to get away and makes Todd lose his grip in the process. Jesse even tries to stand up and almost succeeds before he slips on the sleek bottom and falls back with another big splash, the water flooding the bathroom floor in big waves. It sounds like Jesse hits the back of his head on the left side of the tub – looks like it, too, from the dazed shine in his eyes, and with the way he groans and half lies down in the tub, so Todd doesn’t waste any time before getting a secure grip again. He swings one leg into the tub so he’s straddling the side of the tub, all without even getting out of his shorts first, but it doesn’t make much of a difference to when he normally washes Jesse, because his clothes are always more or less soaked when they’re done, anyway, so Todd’s not mad at Jesse for making Todd resort to drastic measures like these.
Jesse still looks out of it, and Todd admonishes him: “Look what you’ve done to yourself, now. There was no need to panic.” He tries to stroke Jesse, but it doesn’t work. Jesse stays soft, and he resumes making noises again, but softer ones. It sounds like a dog whining. Maybe it would work better in warm water, Todd thinks, or if they did this completely out of the water.
On a bed would be nice.
Jesse would surely appreciate a nice, soft bed with pillows and blankets.
Todd stops his attempts and lets go of Jesse’s soft cock, leaves it free so it’s gently swaying in the water again. It looks kind of cute like this, Todd thinks. All small and wrinkled and pinkish-blue; like a scared animal trying to hide in Jesse’s pubes. Maybe Todd should shave those off too, the next time he feels like shaving Jesse. He uses soap to clean Jesse’s skin, and it’s easier with Jesse lying in the tub instead of sitting up. There’s more stability; solid ground. Todd should have done it like this from the start, but Jesse is Todd’s first own human, so Todd is still finding out how to best handle him. There’s trial and error in all things, and Todd has already learned how to cook good meth, so he’s sure he can learn how to be really good at handling Jesse, too.
He’s already pretty fit at it, he decides. He slides his hand between Jesse’s legs again, ignores Jesse’s protests and his squirming and kicking, and it’s easier to keep his grip now that Jesse’s movements are weaker and more uncoordinated, probably because Jesse is still bit sluggish from hitting his head. Todd will check Jesse’s head later, but for now there’s no blood in the water. No reason to worry. It’s actually very convenient: less work for Todd, with Jesse slowed down like this.
Jesse is slippery everywhere, and Todd slides his hand further back, past Jesse’s balls, and strokes over the furled skin between his cheeks. He hadn’t intended on doing anything more than that, he just wanted to explore a bit more, but Jesse gets louder again and more frantic when Todd’s finger is at his hole, so Todd lets go of Jesse’s arm and closes his hand over his mouth instead to muffle Jesse’s squeaking and squealing, and starts prodding and poking at his hole, trying to push his finger in.
It’s harder than he thought it would be, and if feels dry even though there’s water all around.
He’s never done it this way with a lady – he would never presume – and he wouldn’t do this with a man, either, but this is Jesse, and Jesse’s different, so it’s okay.
“All this ruckus, when you just started to calm down so nicely”, he mumbles, his words swallowed up by the noise Jesse makes, and then he pushes harder, because Jesse just won’t stop struggling, and surely it’s not that bad. Todd has heard about this, about men especially enjoying something up their bum, and some women like it, too, he’s heard, and Todd wants to try it too, now, and he wants to try it on Jesse, who won’t stop splashing and jerking, and who keeps hitting his elbows and legs on the sides of the tub, so Todd first shifts the knee he has between Jesse’s legs back as he lets go of Jesse’s still busy mouth. Then he pulls Jesse right along down before he pushes him right to the bottom of the tub. Jesse goes wild, but finally something gives and Todd’s finger sinks in. The skin inside is a surprisingly hot contrast to the cold water, and Todd can’t decide if the skin is as velvety-soft as a ladies folds are, or maybe softer.
Jesse went completely still as soon as Todd’s finger was in all the way. Like an animal playing dead. Todd decides to reward Jesse by pulling him right back up. He reaches in and around Jesse’s upper body and lifts him halfway out of the cold water in one swoop. “That’s it”, he praises over Jesse’s spluttering, and when he crooks his finger Jesse tenses up and his breath hitches.
Todd shushes Jesse, gently.
He can feel the muscles get tighter around his finger, too, and when he starts to pull it out, the skin drags, like Jesse’s trying to keep Todd’s finger in, like his hole is trying to suck it right back in, even as Jesse’s voice breaks over the first word as he says “Please stop”.
Jesse’s body knows better, though, and Todd knows best.
Jesse had asked them for a proper cleaning, and when Todd thinks about it, this is just Todd being especially thorough, because after bathing, Jesse will be cleaner than ever before. He’ll be clean inside and out, cleaned with soap and everything, all proper. Todd leans close to Jesse and presses a kiss to his forehead, inhaling deeply. Jesse’s hair and skin smells like Todd, now.
If Jesse would get hard, then Todd could try to get Jesse to come; clean him out from the inside there, too, but stroking him hasn’t done much so far; the finger, now, that got more of a reaction, and from the talk he’s heard it seems people can come like that, too. Come from nothing but that alone. Jesse is very sensitive. Todd could try that with him. Maybe it would be easier with something to slick the way.
Todd has lotion in his room, and a small tube of real lube.
He might use it next time.
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Coda:
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Todd doesn’t know why Jesse keeps crying when Todd takes him to bed.
He’s observed that Jesse likes to cry from time to time, and he doesn’t mind if Jesse has to let the tears out sometimes, but Jesse’s also always crying after an orgasm, additionally to already having cried before, and it’s all very puzzling to Todd. Jesse should be happy. It took him a while to get hard in the beginning, and he had to learn to hold still for that, too, but by now they’ve got a good routine going, and Todd knows how to help Jesse along.
Jesse asked to be clean, and he now gets the most thorough cleanings anyone could wish for, just like Jesse wanted. And Todd is being generous, too, treating Jesse right and making sure he has a good time. Orgasms feel good, and Todd is really trying his best, so it’s really confusing that Jesse won’t stop crying.
Todd knows Jesse is a little peculiar, though, so mostly he ignores it. He doesn’t really mind the tears and the sobbing, or even the occasional fighting, it’s just very confusing for him.
He doesn’t even complain about it to Uncle Jack. Sometimes Uncle Jack asks after Jesse, and Todd tells him “He cries a lot”. Uncle Jack and the Gang laugh, and Todd smiles along.
Jesse might be easy to upset, more so than any lady Todd has ever been with, but that’s okay with Todd.
He’ll continue showing Jesse he means well, and he’ll continue making Jesse feel nice.
That should fix the crying eventually.