Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Steve would’ve been driving a whole lot safer if Eddie wasn’t distracting him every ten seconds by wiggling around like a damn toddler.

“Seriously, Munson. Can you please sit still,” Steve groaned after Eddie crossed and uncrossed his legs in the passenger seat for the second time in thirty seconds. Eddie rolled his eyes, and Steve turned up the radio.

He turned it back down a minute later when Eddie literally moaned.

“Dude. I’m serious. What the fuck is wrong with you,” he said with a side glare. Eddie was staring out the window, and Steve couldn’t get a good look at his face. But his hands were grabbing the chain on his jeans for dear life.

“I’m fine, Harrington. Just drive,” Eddie deadpanned, still staring out the window.

Steve knew what was wrong. It was Eddie, after all, and he was predictable. Especially when it came to one specific topic.

“If you piss yourself in my car, I’m going to kill you.” Eddie’s eyes shot to Steve’s, but quickly darted back around the car, squeezing his thighs together even tighter.

“Shut up,” he groaned. Steve pressed the gas harder as he turned down Dustin’s street.

“Just. Tell me to pull over if you need me to. I’m serious.”

“We’re almost there. I’m fine.”

Steve didn’t answer, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened as the song playing died out. He could still hear Eddie shifting every few seconds, but he did his best to ignore it, silently praying that Eddie would actually say something if it was too bad. Which, by the looks of it, it was.

“Pull over,” Eddie suddenly gasped just as Dustin’s house came into view.

“Jesus Christ,” Steve muttered as he drove the last few feet until he was in Dustin’s driveway. Eddie was bolting out of the car before he even put it in park. Steve sighed and tentatively glanced at the seat beside him, which was thankfully not wet. When he looked back up, Eddie was gone.

Dustin was at the door, smile on his face and hand waving towards Steve. Steve waved back before locking his car and strutting over.

“Did Eddie run past you?” Steve asked, seeing the closed door.

“No? Why are you out of the car, I thought you were just picking me up,” Dustin commented, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You didn’t see Munson? He had to pee.”

Dustin shrugged. “Maybe he opted for mother nature’s toilet,” he said, gesturing towards the trees surrounding his house. Steve took off his sunglasses to squint towards the forest. In the distance, behind a few tall trees, he could make out a head of black hair and a denim clad back.

“Bingo, Henderson,” he mumbled, shuffling back to his car and swinging himself in. Dustin climbed into the passenger seat as Steve turned on the engine. But after a few minutes of Steve and Dustin drumming their fingers along to the beat of a Journey song, Eddie was still nowhere to be seen.

“What’s taking him so long? We’re gonna be late,” Dustin muttered, glancing at his watch.

“Isn’t Eddie the one hosting it or whatever?”

“Dungeon Master—”

“Right, obviously. Isn’t he the guy doing that?” Steve said with a hand wave, eyes unsuccessfully searching the trees for any signs of life.

“Yeah, exactly. That’s why we can’t be late,” Dustin said matter-of-factly.

Steve sighed, reached over to his keys, and shut off the engine. “Stay here. I’ll go find him.”

Once Steve made his way to a clearing, he found the same head of black hair buried deeper into the trees than he was before. As he got closer, shoes sticking in the mud and cobwebs coating his hair, Steve could make out what looked like Eddie throwing rocks at a tree.

“Munson, what the hell, man,” Steve called. Eddie didn’t look back from where he sat on a tree trunk low to the ground. He threw another large rock at the same tree, splitting the bark. “Munson!” Steve called again, louder.

“Leave me alone,” Eddie said, standing and making his way towards another, slightly further away dead tree stump.

“The kid’s in the car waiting for you. What are you even doing out here?” Steve asked, trying to get closer. Eddie was shielding himself almost completely from view. As Eddie threw another rock, this time unsuccessfully hitting a tree, Steve realized why.

The bottom half of Eddie’s jeans were clearly soaked down to the cuffed bottoms.

“Oh, dude.”

“Seriously, Harrington. Leave me alone,” Eddie yelled, finally turning towards Steve. Steve let himself sigh.

“Eddie, come on. It’s not a big deal—”

“You didn’t pull over,” Eddie said into his hands that he was clasping tightly in front of him.

“What? Yes, I did,” Steve argued, hands on his hips and feeling like the man in front of him should be a lot more mature than the pubescent teen currently sweating in his car.

“Not soon enough,” he said, wiping a hand across his face, eyes darting around.

“I pulled over as soon as I could, Munson. It’s not my fault that you didn’t speak up.”

“Yeah, because I should’ve been able to hold it! Because I’m not a fucking toddler!” Eddie shouted, finally standing. Steve couldn’t help but sneak a look at the damage done to his jeans. The stain was obvious, and Steve sighed again.

“So, you just should’ve spoken up sooner, Munson,” he said, taking a step towards Eddie, who was frantically shuffling back and forth. He grabbed another rock, throwing it on the ground this time. “Hey. Let’s cut it with the rocks, alright?”

Eddie sat down hard on a tree log, hands going up into his hair and pulling. “I know, okay. I fucking know. But I didn’t, and now I’m here. Running away again. And you’re here too, which is the worst part, because Steve Harrington is the last person I want to be around right now.”

Steve took a long look around and breathed in deeply.

“You want me to leave? Fine, I can go get Henderson to take care of you,” Steve said, loudly, turning back towards his car. Eddie looked up quickly.

“Wait, no. No, I don’t want… I don’t want Dustin.”

“Well, that sucks, because you don’t want me either, and Henderson is the only other person here right now.”

Eddie scratched the back of his neck, not making eye contact. “No I… I’m sorry. You’re right. I should’ve spoken up sooner,” he said at the ground, hands still pulling on his hair. Steve took a few steps until he could reach Eddie’s hands, pulling them down towards his lap.

“You’re alright, okay. It’s not like this is our first rodeo,” Steve said, trying to lighten the mood. Eddie blushed even deeper, giving Steve the inclination that he just made things worse. “I’ll go talk to Henderson. See if he has something for you to wear and if you can shower before doing your nerdy master dragon thing.”

“Dungeon Master.”

“Obviously,” Steve said, extending a hand towards Eddie that he thankfully accepted, pulling him up onto his feet. “Why didn’t you speak up sooner, Munson?” he asked once a decent sized silence stretched between them. Eddie’s head was trained towards the dirt below them.

“I thought I could make it,” he mumbled, kicking dirt up with his boots. “That’s fucking embarrassing. I just thought I could. I’m just stupid.”

Steve stopped them in their tracks, turning towards Eddie. “You’re not stupid. You just couldn’t hold it.”

Eddie rolled his eyes at the juvenile implications of that. “Yeah, and that shouldn’t happen to me anymore. I’m not five,” Eddie said, biting his lip and seeming like he had to fight the urge to not stomp his feet further into the dirt. Steve had to admit that the almost tantrum Eddie had been throwing was kind of entertaining. In the past when he’d caught Eddie with wet pants, which wasn’t exactly common, but also wasn’t exactly a once in a blue moon occurrence, he was usually closed off and too embarrassed to speak. He usually wasn’t stomping his feet and throwing rocks.

“Munson, look. I don’t care about this, okay. Dustin’s not going to care about this. You didn’t do it on purpose, I know that. Let’s just get this taken care of and get you and Henderson to your nerd club thing, okay?”

Eddie smiled tightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes, which were glassy. Maybe Eddie’s usual reaction of having to hold back tears was just coming a little bit late.

Eddie sat on the ground by a tree while Steve talked to Dustin through the car window.

“Hey, man, you’re definitely going to be late,” Steve said through the passenger window that Dustin cranked down.

“Shit, why?”

“Munson. He, uh, didn’t quite make it to mother nature’s toilet. You have some pants he could fit into?” Dustin sighed.

“Shit, yeah.”

It only took thirty minutes of showering and getting Eddie into a pair of jeans that were simultaneously too small and too big on him until they were finally ready to leave.

“I said we’re leaving now!” Dustin yelled into the phone, waving a hand towards Steve who stood by his front door. “Yes. Yes, with Eddie, Jesus. Lucas, shut up. We’re leaving now!”

The car ride was quiet the entire way to Hellfire, Eddie staring out of the back-seat window the whole time, wiping at his eyes every few minutes in a way that Steve didn’t read as subtle. When Steve pulled around to the front of the school, Dustin jumped out immediately, giving Steve a pat on the back and a thanks. Eddie didn’t make a move to get out.

“Hey,” he said, voice barely even audible, “I just wanted to say thanks. For… you know. You’re not so bad, Harrington. And I… appreciate you,” he finished. Steve tried to catch his eyes in the review mirror but eventually gave up and turned his body towards the back seat.

“No problem, Munson. Just promise me one thing?” Eddie nodded. “Next time, speak up.”

Steve liked the way Eddie blushed as he finally exited the car, giving Steve a wave and disappearing into the school.

Chapter Text

By the time the sun set across Hawkins the Saturday before summer break, Eddie was three beers deep and definitely feeling the effects. It had been awhile since he’d had a drink. Defeating Vecna and spending the following weeks fixing all of that mess didn’t give him much time to relax.

“Pass the Lays,” Robin directed at Eddie just as he finished the final foamy mouthful of the room temperature beer in his hand.

He passed the chips and opened another can.

Steve was on Robin’s bed, half his body hanging off, head facing forward and hair dangling upside down. “I want the chips,” he whined, his hands outstretched towards Robin, who clung them to her chest. “You’re mean. I wish Henderson were here. He’d give me the chips.”

“He’s also a fifteen-year-old who can’t drink,” Robin said around a mouthful, hand deep in the bag.

“Legally,” Steve said, laughing.

“We’re not giving the kids alcohol.”

“It was a joke, Robin,” Steve said, grabbing the bag of chips finally and falling off the bed in the process.

It was late. Robin and Steve got off their shift at the video store around eleven and picked Eddie up by midnight. He brought a twelve pack of beer that was quickly being torn through as a movie they rented played quietly on the TV. Eddie was too tipsy and too tried to concentrate on what the movie was about.

“I’m tired. I think I need to go to sleep,” Steve groaned, now sitting on the floor, back against Robin’s bed. Eddie yawned.

“Me too. I’ll probably head out,” he said, trying to chug the rest of the beer in his hands.

“You boys don’t want to sleep over?” Robin asked with an eyebrow wiggle.

Eddie shook his head. Maybe too quickly. “I have to help my uncle with something tomorrow morning,” he lied.

“Okay. Want me to walk you home?” Robin asked, eating the chips again.

“No, no, we’ll be fine. Right, Munson?” Steve asked, standing and offering Eddie a hand that he took. “We’re big boys.”

“Big, drunk boys,” Robin commented.

“Hey!” Steve protested, “I’m not drunk. I’m just very tipsy.”

“I’m drunk,” Eddie said with a laugh.

“Come on, Munson. Robin needs her beauty rest.”

“Take the rest of the beer, will you?” she called as Eddie and Steve gathered their things.

The air was cool but not cold as they walked side by side, Eddie clutching the half empty box in his hands and dragging his feet.

“Can you carry it,” Eddie asked, trying to shove the beer towards Steve.

“No.”

Eddie groaned and opened another beer just the alleviate some of the extra weight.

“You sure you need another?” Steve asked.

“You sure you don’t? I don’t want to hold them anymore,” Eddie complained, stopping in his tracks and making a dramatic show of how heavy the box was, which wasn’t actually very heavy at all. Steve stopped too, rolled his eyes, and extended a hand.

“Gimme one,” he said.

They drank in silence as they walked down the quiet road. They were a few blocks from Steve’s house and a lot farther from Eddies.

And Eddie realized that he definitely needed to piss in the next few minutes, the amount of beer in his system making his brain connections fuzzy. He didn’t even realize he had to go, which was stupid, considering the amount he had to drink. Anyone would be dying for a piss, especially Eddie.

“How far away are we from your house?” he asked, trying to keep his legs together in a manner that wasn’t obvious.

“Ten minutes, maybe. Why?”

“I need to piss,” Eddie admitted with a blush, cringing as he remembered he and Steve’s conversation from a few weeks ago.

“Just go in the woods,” Steve suggested like it was obvious.

“I can wait 10 minutes, Harrington.”

“Right,” Steve muttered. Eddie resisted the urge to throw a full can at him.

They walked for another 5 minutes before Eddie realized he wasn’t making it to Steve’s house in dry pants. He crossed his legs tightly when a leak threatened its way out and had to stop for a moment.

“Eddie,” Steve warned, cocking his head towards the forest surrounding the street.

“Jesus H Christ, I’m going,” Eddie said, setting the case of beer down and making his way towards a tree. Steve followed.

“Can I get some privacy, Harrington?” Eddie asked with an eyebrow quirk, praying that Steve would turn away before he had to resort to holding himself like a kid.

“I don’t want you disappearing in the woods. It’s been known to happen,” Steve slurred, hands in his pockets from where he stood a few feet away. Eddie shuffled.

“Fine, just, turn away.” Steve turned with his hands up as Eddie undid his jeans frantically. There was already a decent sized leak that turned his boxers damp and probably left a fist sized spot on his thankfully black jeans, but the damage was thankfully not too bad by the time he was done, the tree beneath him now decently watered.

“Good?” Steve asked. Eddie nodded in the dark and returned to the box of beer, picking it up. Steve dragged behind him. “Hey, Munson?” Steve asked as they continued to walk towards Steve’s house that was finally in view, a few minutes too late to completely save Eddie’s pants. Not that Steve would ever know that.

“Yeah, Harrington?”

“I’m really drunk, I think,” he said, a stupid smile plastered on his face. “I feel like my face is pudding.”

“Pudding?” Eddie laughed.

“Yeah. Like. Vanilla pudding. Hey, what flavor of pudding are you?” Steve asked, ruining a second to catch up to Eddie. The stars and moon were the only light source outside of the approaching neighborhood.

“Strawberry.”

“That is not a pudding flavor,” Steve argued.

“Oh, shit, yeah, I was thinking about the milk,” Eddie said, laughing louder than appropriate when he realized his mistake.

“The milk?” Steve laughed, throwing an arm around Eddie’s shoulders as they walked the last few feet to the house. Eddie tried to get around Steve’s grip once they were at the front door, assuming he’d just drop him off, but Steve didn’t let go. “Hey, wait. I don’t want you walking home alone. It’s late and dark.”

“I’ll be fine,” Eddie tried to protest.

“Come on, just stay the night here. I know you know all this but it’s… it’s been a scary few years. I just don’t want to risk anything.” Steve was looking at him straight on now, his eyes glossy and drunk, but honest.

Eddie bit his lip and glanced around before responding. “Yeah, alright.”

Once they made their way to Steve’s room, Eddie was ready to pass out. Which wasn’t a good thing. Steve was taking off his clothes in exchange for a pair of shorts as Eddie hovered awkwardly.

“You look like you don’t know what to do with yourself,” Steve commented, sitting on the end of his bed and pulling on a cotton shirt. A corner of Eddie’s mouth rose.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Do you want to borrow something to sleep in?”

“No, no,” Eddie started, inching closer inside of the room and tentatively sitting down at his desk, “I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, man, well. You can sleep in the guest room. It’s in the left down the hall.” Eddie nodded and stood, heading towards the door. “I mean. You don’t have to go, like, now. Unless you want to.”

“Steve Harrington wants to hang out with me. Wow,” Eddie smirked, hands on his hips.

“Okay, smart ass, do me a favor and get me another beer.”

The twelve pack was gone by the time Eddie’s eyes were drooping. Steve started to fall asleep hallway through a nature documentary they were drunkenly narrating, and he was snoring now, meaning that Eddie needed to retreat to the guest room and try to spend the next six hours keeping his brain occupied before he fell asleep in Steve’s bed.

He hadn’t had a beer in at least an hour, but he was still pretty drunk, and Eddie couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a lot to drink and woke up to dry sheets. As comfortable as the Harrington’s guest bed looked, Eddie grabbed a few pillows and the end blanket to make a make-shift bed on the floor just in case he did fall asleep. Eddie had gotten good at keeping himself awake at other people’s houses, but usually he had something to entertain him. All the guest room had was a bed and a chair in the corner.

It was almost four in the morning when Eddie couldn’t take it anymore. He’d counted the pink flowers on the comforter twice and pissed at least five times. He needed to sleep for a couple of hours. Thankfully one of the few amenities the room had was an alarm clock, which he set for eight am, figuring that was the earliest he could get away with without it being weird. Curled up on the hardwood floor, he passed out.

He woke up five hours later to someone kicking him.

“Eddie. Wake up,” Steve was whispering, standing above him. Eddie’s eyes shot open, squinting against the oddly bright room. Eddie didn’t feel very hung over or tired, and he quickly looked at his watch. It was noon, and his boxers were soaked.

“Shit. Shit,” Eddie muttered, sitting up.

“It’s okay, man,” Steve said. The blanket Eddie draped over himself was clearly wet, as well as a small pool that didn’t get soaked up below him. “But I need you to get up so I can mop.” Eddie cringed.

“I’m so sorry. I am so, so sorry I… please, let me do it,” Eddie begged, swallowing tightly to keep the tears down.

“It’s fine, just go shower. And give me your things to wash.”

“No, please, don’t wash them—”

“Munson. I have to wash the blanket anyway. Come on, just get in the shower.” Eddie nodded lightly.

“I’m so sorry—”

“And stop apologizing,” Steve said, gathering the blanket in his hands. Eddie was standing awkwardly in nothing but completely soaked black boxers trying to not cry, but he nodded, shuffling towards the bathroom down the hall.

Steve left a pair of boxers for Eddie as well as the clothes he’d stripped out of the night before folded on the counter. When he left the bathroom, eyes only a little red, the guest room was empty and no longer covered in piss. Steve was on his bed tying his shoes.

“Man. My head fucking hurts,” he said as Eddie approached hesitantly.

“Mine too.”

Steve smiled. “Want a ride?”

They drove in silence for a moment before the embarrassing tension was too much for Steve.

“You know I don’t care, right?” he said, not looking at Eddie, who was staring out the passenger window.

“Harrington—”

“I just don’t want you to think that I care about this, or, like, any of these kinds of things with you. Because I don’t.”

Eddie turned his head, face blushing deeply. “Yeah. I know. But it doesn’t mean I don’t still feel like shit.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Eddie said, biting the back of his thumb.

“What?”

“I set an alarm to wake me up, but I guess that alarm clock doesn’t work. And I tried to stay awake, really.” Steve didn’t respond for a moment.

“You knew this was going to happen?”

Eddie shrugged. “I figured it was likely. Didn’t you assume it would happen?” he laughed lightly, but it was more out of pure embarrassment than anything else. “I mean. You’ve seen my mattress,” he added, blushing even deeper and immediately regretting what he said.

“Yeah, yeah, I figured it was a possibility. And, no offense, man, but you weren’t very subtle with how much you didn’t want to sleep over. But… I don’t want you doing that, for future reference. Trying to stay awake and sleeping on the floor and shit. It took just as much time to mop as it would’ve to change some sheets—”

“I wasn’t going to let myself ruin your family’s expensive mattress—”

“I’d blame it on Dustin, calm down.”

The rest of the drive was quiet, and they rolled into Eddie’s neighborhood without incident. “Hey,” Steve said, leaning out of the window as Eddie made his way towards the front door, “you do owe me another beer, though.” Eddie laughed as Steve backed away.

Chapter Text

“This is a bad idea,” Robin groaned as she walked towards the large, loud house at the end of the block. Eddie grinned.

“It’s a huge house, with two hundred drunk teens. There’s no way he’ll even see us,” he responded. Robin stopped in her tracks and turned towards him.

“Maybe not me, but you?”

“Thanks.”

“I just mean that if Jason or any of his friends see you, you’re toast.”

“Good thing we’re just going for the free alcohol. We won’t stay long,” Eddie assured. Robin rolled her eyes, but continued walking towards Jason’s house, where half of the newly graduated teens in Hawkins were celebrating over room temperature beer.

The house was extravagant, with people partying both inside and out, loud bass filtering into the hot summer air. Eddie had on just his sleeveless demin jacket while Robin had on one of Steve’s shirts she’d stolen months ago. The closer they got, the more nervous Eddie became. He didn’t want Robin to realize, but the idea of sneaking into one of Jason’s parties after everything that went down was feeling more and more like a death wish.

He walked with his head down until they were inside the threshold of the front door, where people were huddled around in loud groups that Eddie wanted absolutely nothing to do with. But he spotted the kitchen counter riddled with alcohol quickly, which he did want something to do with.

“I’ll grab us a few drinks. Meet back outside?” he asked, close to Robin’s ear, who was looking around the party. She nodded over the loud music.

Eddie managed to grab a few cans of beer without anyone trying to interact with him. There was a small pathway to the side exit of the house that he made his way through, clinging the beers to his chest and hoping that he’d find Robin again soon. Thankfully, she was leaning against a tree just outside the side exit, a few dozen feet away from any other guests. Guests who were actually invited, probably.

“Catch,” he said with a smirk, tossing one of the cans at Robin. She caught it and popped it open.

“Nice,” she said, taking a swig. Eddie popped his own open and set the remaining two on the ground floor, leaning up against the tree with her.

“So, what, do we just drink for free out here all night?”

“Until we’re caught, yeah.”

“How often did you do this in high school?”

Eddie shrugged. “Only a few times. Usually alone, though. So, thanks for tagging along.”

Robin smiled as she took another sip, tucking one of her hands into her jeans pocket and looking up towards the night sky. The rock music was loud from inside the house. “Anytime. I’m sorry I couldn’t drag Steve out with us.”

“Nah, it’s alright. He’s allowed to have a life outside of us I guess. Did he have a date tonight or something?”

Robin nodded. “Yeah. This girl who keeps visiting him at the movie store. I don’t think it’s going to work out.”

“Sure you’re not just jealous?” Eddie said around another smirk. Robin’s face dropped.

“No. Trust me. No.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, one hand in the air, the other clasping his can.

They finished the first two beers sitting on the ground, backs against the trees and talking about anything. Eddie was halfway through his rundown of the last Dnd session when his body decided to let him know that it needed the bathroom sooner than later.

“I’m going to grab a few more beers,” he said, standing and clapping his hands together. Robin gave him a thumbs up as he walked swiftly back into the loud, still crowded house. He tried to make a beeline to the bathroom on the ground floor, but the walkways were hard to get through, and it took him ten minutes to get ten feet away from the bathroom, which had a line at least six people long. Eddie bit his lip as he glanced around towards the stairs, which were a good distance away and also had high schoolers stacked together like sardines all the way up. Not to mention the further Eddie got into the house, the more he risked exposing himself.

But his bladder very unfriendly reminded him of his need by letting go for a few seconds. Eddie’s cheeks were on fire as he quickly shoved his way towards the stairs, Jason seeing him be damned. The stairs were thankfully not too difficult to shove his way through, and at the top of the stairs to the left was an open door with a toilet. Eddie let out a very pent up sigh as he made his way over to the door, already unzipping his jeans.

“Munson? What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Jason growled from behind him. Eddie let go of the door handle and turned slowly.

“Just looking for a friend. I guess they aren’t here. I’ll get out of your hair,” he tried to say, smiling brightly and attempting to push past Jason’s solid body.

“You’re not going anywhere, freak.” Jason grabbed a handful of Eddie’s shirt, pushing him slowly against the wall behind him. Eddie gulped, his thighs pushed tightly together.

“Look, man, I’m not trying to cause anything,” he said, hands up.

“Yeah? Then what exactly are you trying to do?” Jason slurred, breath reeking of liquor. He gave Eddie a once over. His eyes stuck to the zipper on Eddie’s jeans, which was still down. He smiled. “Looking for your friend, huh? Sure you weren’t going for a piss?”

Eddie’s cheeks went hot. His bladder was aching now, pulsing painfully every few minutes and begging to be let go. Which was inevitably going to happen soon, regardless of where he was. “Yeah, man, Jesus.”

“You gonna piss your pants again, freak? Hey, Andy, come out here!” he shouted into one of the open rooms. Eddie realized that the few pairs of people in the hallway were all staring at them, drinks in hands and ready for a show. Jason had one hand up against Eddie’s throat, and his grip was strong. Strong enough that Eddie wasn’t getting out of it in the state he was in. Andy came out of the bed room with a smile on his face.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, approaching eagerly. Eddie would’ve rolled his eyes if he wasn’t terrified for his life and for his pants.

“What was it that we called Munson here? Pissy Eddie or something… something pathetic.”

“Wetty Eddie,” Andy supplied proudly.

“Wetty Eddie. Right, right. And do you remember why we called you that, Eddie?”

Eddie licked his lips, heart starting to race in a way that he was pretty sure would be considered concerning. The worst part about bullied for wetting himself as a high school freshman four years after it happened was that he was on the verge of wetting himself as a just graduated senior. He tried to squeeze his legs together harder, but it was going from bad to unsavable very quickly. And the increase of gathering eyes weren’t helping.

“Yeah, I remember. Mrs. Johnson was an asshole and wouldn’t let a fourteen year old piss.”

“Right. So, what’s the excuse now?” Jason asked, hand still firmly pressed against Eddie. He was glancing down at his legs, which were slightly crossed and as tight as they would go.

“Jason! Some girl just broke a vase!” someone yelled from downstairs. Someone who Eddie recognized.

“Shit. Stay here, Wetty,” Jason said with a shove, letting go of Eddie finally. He stumbled backwards slightly. Which was enough for his body to release a painful stream against his will that he was barely able to control. Jason ran down the stairs as Robin ran up, turning her face away from him.

“Oh my God, you just saved my life,” Eddie choked out, quickly moving towards Robin, who was trying to suppress a giggle.

“Where do you thinl you’re going, Wetty?” Andy asked, reaching for Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie punched him before he knew what he was doing. Rubbing his knuckles, he yelped as Andy fell to the ground.

“We need to get out of here,” Robin urged.

“Yep!” he agreed, glancing miserably towards the empty bathroom and making his way after Robin down the stairs. Each step he took led to his body releasing for a few spurts, and by the time they were at the side door, his dark blue jeans were definitely stained.

“Jesus, I can’t believe he fell for that vase thing. And I can’t believe you punched Andy! No offense but that’s something I didn’t expect to see in my lifetime,” Robin rambled as they walked quickly down a dirt path towards the street. Eddie paused by a tree, hands pressed against his crotch attempting to save himself some dignity. “Oh.” Robin said when she turned around.

“I’m sorry I’m gonna… I need to piss on this tree or I’m going to piss myself.”

“It looks like you may have already done that a bit,” Robin said with a laugh, but immediately covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’ll turn around.”

“Thank you,” he muttered, finally being able to piss. Unfortunately, it didn’t save much considering both begs of his jeans were already wet to the tops of his knees. He cringed as he pulled his completely soaked boxers back up and waddled back over to Robin.

“Here!” she pointed to a telephone box at the end of the street. “I’ll call Steve and get him to give us a ride.”

They sat on the street curb as they waited for Steve, who was forty minutes away and was told to not rush in hopes that Eddie’s pants would dry enough for it to not be extremely noticeable.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Eddie said into his hands as they sat. Robin shrugged in the dark. The low lighting of the closest streetlamp thankfully made it seem like Eddie’s pants were all the same color.

“For what? Pissing yourself?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Please, don’t sugar coat it just for me.”

“Sorry. But it’s stupid for you to apologize for this. Jason was, like, trying to kill you.”

Eddie shrugged. “It just felt like freshmen year again.”

“Yeah. I remember Wetty Eddie. Kind of a brilliant nickname for the fact that Jason came up with it.”

“I’m so glad you remember that.”

“Yeah, well, us losers had to stick together.” Eddie smiled and shifted uncomfortably.

“Can you do me a favor and not tell Steve about this? If he doesn’t figure it out on his own, at least.”

Robin nodded. “Yeah, of course. But, for the record, I know he wouldn’t care.”

Eddie nodded. “No, I know he wouldn’t but he also… um, Jason didn’t come up with the nickname. You’re right, he barely passed English, he can’t rhyme for shit.” He paused for a second. “It was Steve who came up with Wetty Eddie.”

Robin turned her whole body. “What? You’re kidding me.”

“Yeah, no, I’m really not. But I know he’s different now I think that’s why he’s so… I don’t know, accepting of it? He’s like… almost too cool with my… issues.” Eddie was thankful for the lack of light. He could feel how badly he was blushing.

“But he hasn’t apologized?” Robin asked. Eddie shook his head. “He should.”

“Yeah. Maybe. But I know that he’s… he’s a good person now. And it’s nice to just have a friend without making it complicated,” Eddie said, playing with his hands in front of him.

“I get that. I hate complicating things.”

“Is that why you two are just friends? I mean, you’re not my type, but I feel like you and him could make a great couple.”

Robin’s face fell again. “No. No, I’m really serious when I say that I’m not at all interested.”

“Really? But he’s so cute.”

“Really,” Robin said, emphasizing it a little too much. Eddie squinted his eyes. “Wait, did you just call him cute?” she asked, genuinely.

Eddie laughed, trying to cover up the way his chest filled with anxiety. “For you! I mean, he’s cute for you and for girls.”

“Yeah. He’s cute. If you’re into cute boys,” Robin said, voice lower than before. Eddie got a good look at her face. Which was just as red as his.

“So you’re not into cute boys, or are you just not into… boys?” he asked hesitantly. Robin’s head shot back up.

“What?”

“Sorry, sorry I wasn’t sure if that’s what you were implying.”

Robin shrugged. “It… kind of was.”

Eddie smiled. “You know, when I said you weren’t my type I really, really meant it.” Robin gave him a once over. “Yeah, yeah, I think Steve is cute. Of course I think he’s cute,” he said, burying his face into his hands. Robin wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Well, then. I’m really glad we’re not each other’s type,” Robin said with a grin, and Eddie smiled back.

“Me too.”

Chapter Text

Eddie was in the middle of messing around on his guitar, the bass high and the peace of the trailer calming his brain, when the phone rang.

“Hello?” he huffed into the phone he pressed against his shoulder and the wall as he got the guitar strap off of his body and carefully set her down.

“Munson. I need you,” breathed what sounded like a very tired Steve.

“Steve?” Eddie asked, quickly bringing the phone to his ear.

“Yeah.”

“You need me?” Eddie asked.

“I can’t find my car.”

“Okay… where are you? Why are you calling me?”

Steve whined over the phone. Like, actually, full on whined. “I need you to help me find my car. And I’m pretty sure you live close to where I am.”

“What are you talking about, Harrington?”

“Dude, I’m drunk and I’m lost, and I need you to come find me. Please.” The line was silent for a moment before Eddie started laughing. “Don’t laugh at me, Munson.”

“Why are you drunk?”

“Becky. That’s why. Are you coming?”

Eddie sighed, playing it up, knowing he didn’t have anything better to do all night than babysit the babysitter. “Yeah, yeah. Where are you?”

After stealing his neighbors’ kids’ bike, Eddie managed to find Steve’s car in under fifteen minutes. It was parked by a small lake surrounded by trees. The only problem was Steve wasn’t with it.

“Harrington! Where are you?” Eddie yelled into the night, stepping off the small bike and walking with it by his side.

“Munson?” Eddie was somewhat sure he heard someone yell from a few yards away. When he squinted, he could see a small human looking body in the distance.

“Obviously, you called me,” Eddie muttered to himself, hopping back on the bike and heading towards who he was hoping was Steve. Thankfully, as he got closer, the blue light from the telephone booth Steve presumably called him from was bright enough to show Steve, hunched over, sitting on the gravel.

“Aren’t you always the one telling me not to go frolicking through the woods at night?” Eddie joked, hopping off the bike again and walking up to Steve, who lifted his head with a very big, surprising smile. His eyes were slightly more pink around the eyelids than usual.

“I know. I was scared,” he said, truthfully. Eddie ignored that, not wanting to abuse Steve’s lack of filter by playing into his unusual vulnerability. Eddie lent him a hand up, which he took graciously, only wobbling a little bit as he stood.

“What happened, man?” Eddie asked, looking Steve over to make sure he wasn’t physically injured.

“Oh, man. I planned this whole picnic for Becky. We were going to go down to the lake. But she ditched me, so I just started walking and then suddenly it was dark and I drank the entire bottle of wine I bought for us,” he said, reaching down to hold up an empty glass bottle. “I need to find a trashcan.”

Eddie resisted the urge to throw his arms around him as they walked down the path. “I’m sorry Becky didn’t show,” he said instead.

“It’s okay, I don’t even know if I really like her. I may just want someone to talk to, you know?”

“Yeah. I get that.”

They walked for a few moments in silence.

“Are we biking back?” Steve asked, glancing down at the tiny bike.

“I mean I could drive your car—”

“That’s the other issue. I locked my keys in my car.” Eddie stopped in his tracks to stare at Steve for a moment.

“Your house is like a forty-five-minute walk—”

“Can’t we just go to your house?” Steve asked, serious.

Eddie sighed. “Yeah, sure, why not.”

The walk was mostly filled by Steve switching between rambling on about Becky and rambling about Dustin, both of which with the same degree of annoyance to the point that Eddie wasn’t sure why Steve ever wanted to date Becky in the first place.

“Anyway. I’m done with girls for a while,” he rambled off, a few feet behind Eddie. Eddie was laughing to himself for a moment before he noticed that Steve had stopped in his tracks. He turned after a minute to see Steve unzipping his jeans and turning towards the trees lining the street.

“Dude, we’re like five minutes away!” Eddie called after him.

“You’re one to talk,” Steve responded. Eddie could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah. Fair enough.”

The rest of the walk was uneventful as Eddie had to get Steve to shut up for a few minutes to quietly return the kids’ bike.

“Okay, Steve, my uncle isn’t home yet, but if you’re going to stay here… you have to pretend like you’re not staying here.”

“What?” Steve asked, illuminated only by the yellow light of the trailer.

“He can’t know that you’re staying over,” Eddie said as he opened the door, letting Steve in first.

“Oh. Uh… shit, dude. I don’t have to stay if you’re like not allowed—”

“Dude, it’s fine. It’s a stupid rule.”

“Seriously, Munson, I can walk—”

“Shut up, man. He’ll be home late and leave early tomorrow, so it’s not a problem,” Eddie tried to convince him.

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

They almost immediately retired to Eddie’s room, which Steve had only seen a handful of times. Eddie moved a few things off of his bed before sitting down.

“You can take my bed, I’ll sleep on the ground,” Eddie said very pointedly. Steve’s eyebrows fell down his face.

“What? I’m not taking your bed, dude.”

Eddie swallowed. “I promise my sheets are clean—”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I meant, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I’m not making you sleep on the floor. I’d let you sleep on the couch but… my uncle. And I can’t sleep on the couch because I’ll… probably… you know—”

Steve huffed. “Your bed’s big enough. We’ll just have to snuggle,” he said, slumping down and taking off his shoes. Eddie gulped.

“Okay, fine,” he settled, giving up arguing with a drunk Steve, knowing that he’d just have to move onto the floor at some point after Steve fell asleep to avoid getting both of them wet.

Once Eddie’s teeth were brushed and he threw on some comfy sweatpants, he crawled in after Steve, who had already turned over, and was hogging most of the blankets. But once he felt the bed dip, he turned to face Eddie, blankets pulled up to his chin.

“Thanks, Munson. Thanks for being there for me,” he said, looking to be almost asleep and still pretty drunk. Eddie had the weirdest urge to tuck him in.

“Sure, Harrington. Don’t mention it.”

They laid in silence for a moment. “Can I ask why your uncle won’t let you have people over?” Steve asked. Eddie was staring up at the dark ceiling, eyes focused on nothing.

“It’s not everyone. It’s just… guys.”

“Why? Because of the bed-wetting?”

Eddie tried to hit Steve lightly but missed and hit a pillow instead. “No. That’s not… it’s not that.”

There was another silence and Eddie prayed that Steve would just let it go.

“Why just guys?”

“Steve, go to sleep.”

“Girls are fine?”

“Steve.”

“Sorry, I’m just confused by that.”

“I’ll explain tomorrow, okay,” Eddie said, turning over and moving as far away from the boy as he could get, but keeping his eyes wide open. Eddie was convinced Steve had given up for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“Promise me you’re not going to try to stay awake all night again, please?

“What, I wasn’t going to—”

“Because I’ll sleep on the floor. I swear to God. I’m aware of the risks, Munson, and I don’t care—”

“Fine, Jesus, Steve. Just… sleep time, okay.”

Eddie did try to stay awake for another hour until he heard Steve snoring. Once he felt like it was safe, he moved carefully onto the floor, taking a small blanket and pillow with him. He figured that as long as Steve slept in, he’d be fine.

He woke up to his alarm at eight am. The ground below him was miraculously dry, and Steve seemed to still be sound asleep in his bed. Eddie carefully sat up, planning to move back onto the bed before realizing that he was on the verge of pissing his pants. He moved quickly out of his room and down the hall.

“Hey, Ed,” a gruff voice sounded from the couch as Eddie reached for the handle.

“Hey!” he called back, trying to not be suspicious about the boy in his bed or the fact that he was moments away from waking up for no good reason.

Once he reemerged from the bathroom, his uncle was grabbing his keys and heading out, and Eddie breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled his hair into a bun as he climbed back into his warm bed, reaching gently for the blankets a still snoring Steve was hogging.

Eddie woke back up a few hours later to Steve lying on top of him. He looked over at the clock to see that it was almost eleven. Any other morning, he would stay in bed longer, but the idea of letting Steve sleep practically on top of him gave him a pit in his stomach, like he was doing something dirty by letting a straight boy do that. He also realized, as he shifted a bit, that waking up at eight hadn’t meant much because the sheets below him were still wet. Eddie had no idea how that was even possible, but after a quick assessment, he was at least rest assured that it was a small spot. Still, Steve was close enough in proximity that he may have gotten wet, and Eddie’s stomach sank even more. There was no way around it, he was going to have to wake Steve up. He tried to move out of Steve’s embrace, but it didn’t do much. Eddie sighed.

“Harrington? Hey, Steve?” he tried saying, shaking him lightly. Steve rolled over slightly, his eyes flickering open for a moment.

“Hm?” he slurred.

“I need to get up and you’re on me,” Eddie tried. Steve groaned in response but must’ve listened enough to understand that he needed to move. He rolled over a bit, taking the blankets with him. Thankfully, it seemed like the only damage done was to the sheets, and the spot was no bigger than a throw pillow. Steve was, however, still on said sheets. “Steve. I’m sorry, you need to get up. I need to change the sheets,” Eddie said, louder than before and trying really hard to not blush. He shook the other man’s shoulder lightly, and Steve finally seemed to get the memo.

“Oh, shit, sorry, Munson, I didn’t… realize,” Steve slurred quietly, sitting up and seeing what was going on. Without another word, Steve plopped himself on the ground, dragging a pillow and blanket with him much like Eddie had done a few hours prior.

Eddie did his best to fight the overwhelming feeling of immense embarrassment as he took off the sheets and put them into his particular washing bin in the bathroom, throwing his pants in as well. He scrubbed the mattress protector a few times before taking the fastest shower of his life and returning to his room to put a new set of sheets on the bed before Steve fell back asleep on the floor.

“I gotta piss, dude,” Steve said as soon as Eddie returned, clearly failing to be at all conspicuous about what he was up to.

Once Steve returned, the bed was made up, and Eddie was back in it.

“Sorry about that,” Eddie said as Steve crawled back inside of it as well. It was a Saturday, and Eddie was weirdly comforted by the fact that Steve was crawling back inside of his bed, actually not thrown off by any of it.

“I’m pretty sure drunk Steve told you last night that he knew what he was singing up for. Is it okay if I sleep for just, like, another hour? Someone had the great idea of drinking a whole bottle of wine last night,” Steve grumped into a pillow, already laying down.

“Stay as long as you want,” Eddie said, getting comfortable again.

“Cool.”

Eddie closed his eyes, letting his body be tired and enjoying the soft sounds Steve made from his mouth.

“Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“Are you… are you a homosexual? Is that the reason why you can’t have guys over?” Eddie’s body went stiff. His throat suddenly felt very dry. He wasn’t sure if he should move away or deny it or— “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. It’s none of my business. But, for the record, that’s not a problem with me,” Steve continued, like this wasn’t the most shocking thing he’d ever said to Eddie.

“I… um…” Eddie trailed off, mouth and throat dry and voice stammering.

“Thanks for having me over, Munson. Seriously.”

Steve was back to snoring within ten minutes, and Eddie stared up at his now well-lit ceiling, face on fire and having no idea what to do with this boy in his bed.

Chapter Text

“Come on, please?”

“No, I’m not going,” Eddie argued for what was probably the fifth time in an hour. Steve sat
back further in his desk chair.

“It’s a free vacation, I don’t see why you won’t even consider it!”

Apparently, Steve’s parents owned a small lake house a few hours outside of Hawkins, a lake house that Steve had graciously invited Eddie, Robin, and Nancy to for a weekend trip. This was an opportunity the other two had immediately agreed to. Eddie, however, didn’t even seem to consider it.

“Gas costs money. And we’ll need food,” Eddie argued back from his position on Steve’s bed. They were watching a movie on Steve’s TV, but Steve paused the VHS halfway through to beg Steve to reconsider. Again.

“I’ll pay for you—”

“No—”

“Please, dude. The dynamic will be completely thrown off if I’m stuck with the girls.” Eddie buried his head in his hands. “Is it… your uncle? Will he not let you go?”

“No.”

“So it’s the other issue.”

“No!”

“Okay, so, what’s the issue?” Steve asked, truly not understanding what the problem was. Eddie bit the back of his thumb.

“Okay, yeah, it’s the… the second issue. I just… I can’t stay overnight for an entire weekend, Steve,” he finally lamented. Steve sighed, relived it wasn’t just Eddie not wanting to spend time with him, but sad that his friend would rather miss out than try to figure something out.

“We’ll share a room, so the girls won’t know. And you can bring that thing!”

“… what thing?”

“The plastic thing. On your mattress.”

Eddie was blushing deeply, having buried the memory of Steve sleeping over deep, deep in his memory to avoid how embarrassed he still was. He was also slightly convinced that Steve didn't notice it, but apparently he had.

“I… I don’t know, Steve,” he said, sighing deeply.

“Okay, it's fine. You don’t have to, Eddie, it’s fine, but… if that’s really the only reason, I promise I’ll help you out to keep it from them. Or whatever you need. I'd really love if you came.”

They left the next week, Steve’s car packed with enough alcohol, VHS tapes, and records to entertain the four of them for three days. It was only a two-hour drive from Hawkins, but Steve definitely knew they would require at least one stop for a certain someone. Steve drove, Eddie in the passenger seat and getting the first pick of music.

“Can we stop soon?” Robin asked after the first hour passed, setting down her magazine, “I’m thirsty.”

“There’s water in the cooler,” Nancy said, gesturing to the small cooler between them.

“This whole time? What the hell, I’ve been dying over here,” Robin said, grabbing one of the bottles of water.
Eddie squirmed slightly in his seat next to Steve.

“I’m still going to stop when we can. I should top off the gas,” Steve lied, keeping an eye on Eddie as he drove down the long stretch of forest-lined road.

“Okay. Can I get music next?’ Nancy asked.

Steve drove for another ten minutes without seeing any gas stations or signs for gas stations. In those ten minutes, whatever signs Eddie was showing of needing to stop seemed to have doubled. He was now shifting every minute, crossing his ankles tightly and wringing out his hands. They were halfway through a Blondie song when Eddie grabbed himself.

The girl’s in the backseat didn’t seem to notice, both of them reading (Robin a magazine, Nancy a book). Although Steve was pretty sure he saw Robin peeking over the seat in the review mirror.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked quietly as the chorus of the song played.

Eddie seemed like he didn’t even know Steve was aware of the issue. Which… of course he was aware of the issue, Eddie looked like a pretzel. “Yeah,” he grunted.

“There’s a map in the glove box. You can check to see when the next gas station is.”

Eddie nodded and pulled out the map, legs crossed. “Uh… there’s a Shell. In a few miles, I think.”

“Works for me.”

A few miles translated to another ten minutes, and Steve was getting slightly worried. Especially because the map was still sitting on top of Eddie’s lap, unfolded and covering up most of his lower region. Steve was really hoping it had nothing to do with the situation at hand. But Eddie was still twisting around, suggesting that all hope wasn’t lost.

“Steve,” Eddie warned when the Shell was still nowhere in sight.

Steve bit his lip. “Just tell me when, and I’ll pull over,” he said quietly. Eddie was gripping onto his seatbelt like a lifeline, but he nodded.

Thankfully, once they climbed a hill, the gas station appeared. At the right time, too. Eddie’s hands were hidden under the map doing god knows what as Steve pulled up to a pump and parked quickly. Eddie was out of the door the second it was considered safe enough, walking quickly into the small store. Nancy followed, muttering something about wanting to get a newspaper. Robin stayed in the back seat and leaned forward towards Steve.

“He okay?” she asked.

Steve glanced at the seat next to him. It looked completely dry. “I think so. If he doesn’t come out in the next few minutes, we’ll reevaluate.” Robbin nodded, and Steve stayed true to his word and put five bucks of gas in.

After a few minutes, he was beginning to sweat, and not just from the hot sun, but because Eddie still hadn’t come out yet, despite Nancy already being back. Steve slumped back into the car and checked the time. If Eddie wasn’t out in the next minute, he’d go after him. Probably with an extra pair of pants.

But thankfully, that wasn’t necessary as Eddie emerged from the store, seemingly doing better and not needing Steve’s emergency services. Steve started the engine as Eddie slumped back into his seat.

“Alright, everyone good?”

There was a chorus of yes’s, and he pulled out of the Shell, thanking whoever needed to be thanked that that worked out for everyone.

Unless it didn’t, fully.

Eddie was still shifting in his seat. At a stoplight, Steve observed him in the least creepy way he could manage just to make sure something wasn’t seriously wrong when he caught sight of the issue.

Ah.

There was a decent sized wet spot on the inside of his right thigh that he seemed to be trying to cover up by having his hands firmly cemented in his lap. Steve didn’t say anything, and they pulled up to the lake house after only another forty minutes.

“Here, take the keys. Me and Eddie will bring in the luggage,” she said, handing the keys to Nancy and staying seated. Eddie did the same.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Robin commented as she quickly fled the car.

“Thank you,” Eddie said once the doors shut, removing his hands. The spot had faded a bit but was still pretty noticeable.

“You alright?” Steve asked. Eddie nodded quickly.

“Believe it or not, Steve, this is nowhere near the most embarrassing thing to happen to me on a road trip.”

Eddie pulled out a sweatshirt from his backpack and tied it around his waist before they walked in together with the rest of the luggage, Eddie holding his very strategically in front of him.

“This place is great!” Robin beamed from the living room of the small house. It had wooden walls and two full bedrooms, with a kitchen and bathroom attached to the living area.

“How are we splitting up the rooms?” Nancy asked, emerging from one of the bedrooms she probably already claimed.

Steve shrugged. “I figured boys with boys, girls with girls?”

“Very progressive of you, Steve,” Robin said.

“Unless you’d rather sleep with me, Robin,” Steve replied.

“Nancy, how’s that room?” she asked, following her inside.

Eddie dropped the backpack he was still holding in front of him and carried it into the other room, Steve following. Eddie kind of shuffled for a moment, standing by the bed.

“I’m, uh, I’m gonna change—”

Steve blushed. “Right, right, yeah… I’ll be out there,” he said, letting himself out and closing the door behind him.

Inside the room, Eddie stood in silence for a moment and took a deep breath. They weren’t even a day into the weekend and he already had to do laundry. And he was pretty sure this lake house didn’t have a laundry machine.

He changed quickly into another pair of jeans that looked pretty similar to his original pair, hoping that the girls wouldn’t notice the slight change. With the door still closed and Steve out of the room, he decided now was a good time as ever to do some remodeling to the room. Eddie packed pretty light because a majority of the space in his backpack was being taken up by the rubber sheet he hauled around. Which, if he had it his way, wouldn’t even be a thing because he wouldn’t have come. He was playing a dangerous and stupid game with fate, but reluctantly put the sheet on as fast as he could, really hoping no one would walk in on him red handed.

Thankfully no one did, and he rejoined the group in the living room without issue. The three of them already got into the alcohol and Eddie was offered a beer from Nancy of all people immediately, which he took graciously. Which probably was a bad idea. But Steve was there, and Eddie knew that he had someone if everything went to shit.

Something that he’d never had before. And something that Steve used to literally bully him for. He knew that Robin was right, that he’d need to bring it up the whole Wetty Eddie thing eventually, it was eating at him. A apart of him wondered if the reason Steve was so… weirdly kind about all his things was because he felt guilty. Maybe their entire friendship was based on guilt.
Eddie tried his best to ignore that thought and enjoy their first night, which he definitely did after the first few beers. Steve was sitting next to him on the old green couch, shoulders hitting his and laughing loudly about something Robin said. They were close together too, touching in the same way. Eddie wondered if that was exactly what Eddie was to Steve, just a best friend who had no romantic interest in him at all. Which… he was. Unless he was just completely lying to himself every day.

They stayed up until almost 3 am, ending out outside by the lake setting sticks on fire. Nancy was the drunkest Eddie had ever seen her, and he wholeheartedly suggested skinny dipping.

“Maybe tomorrow. I’m tired. I’m going to sleep,” Steve announced loudly, slapping his knees as he stood up, turning back towards the house.

They all took turns getting ready for bed like a family, Eddie going in last. He briefly considered giving himself a pep talk in the mirror before going to sleep for multiple reasons. One reason being that he was once again sleeping in the same bed as Steve. The other reason being obvious.

The room had an alarm clock on the bedside table, which Eddie was very thankful for.

“Are you setting an alarm?” Steve groaned when Eddie started playing around with it.

“I… Uh,” he fumbled.

“It’s vacation, we don’t need to wake up early!” Steve said, rolled onto his side and looking very comfy under the blankets.

“That’s not… the reason,” Eddie kind of muttered, shifting on the plastic sheet below them and hoping Steve didn’t need any further explanation.

“Ohhh,” Steve said, getting it, “sorry, that was dumb.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Eddie said awkwardly. “Is, uh… is seven am too early?”

Steve shook his head. “Don’t worry about me, do what you need to do.”

Eddie rolled his eyes as he laid back down next to Steve. “Right. What I need to do,” he muttered.

“Hm?” Steve asked.

“Nothing.”

“No, no, what is it?” he pressed.

Eddie bit his lip in the dark, not expecting Steve to be sober enough to clock that something was wrong. Which, nothing should be wrong. Steve was acting like the kind, supportive friend he’d been for months, and Eddie definitely shouldn’t complain about how nice his friend was. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Did I do something?” Steve asked, sounding smaller than normal.'

“I… uh, no. You’re just. You’re nice. To me,” Eddie rambled.

“You’re my friend—”

“I know. I’m glad you’re nice to me. It’s just… it’s different.”

Steve shifted. “Are you saying it’s not normal for people to be nice to you?”

“I’m saying it’s not normal for you to be nice to me,” he blurted before his brain told him to shut up.

“Oh.”

Eddie sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing. You're right I... I bullied you in high school.” Steve said, sitting up and turning on his table-side lamp. Eddie covered his eyes with an arm.

“This is not a lights on moment—”

“Yes, it is.”

“Steve.”

Steve was fully sitting up, not very drunk and looking at Eddie like he was the most important thing in the world. It made Eddie’s heart drop. “I want you to be able to see me when I apologize to you. I’m sorry about how I treated you my Freshman year. It was wrong, and I regret it. Because you are one of my best friends in the world, and I wouldn’t have ever known that if I had stayed that asshole,” Steve finished.

“Oh,” is all Eddie could manage to say. He had no idea what else to say.

“And I’m sorry about the nickname,” he added before shutting off the lamp and lying back down.

“You remember that?” Eddie asked.

"Unfortunately. Wasn’t very creative, was it?”

Eddie laughed lightly. “Well… it wasn’t... untrue.”

They fell into a silence after that. Eddie turned onto his side away from Steve, giving them some distance.

“Let me know if you need anything, okay?” Steve said, turning away as well.

Eddie closed his eyes, his heart beating fast, and let himself fall asleep.

Chapter Text

When Eddie woke up, it was to someone shoving him. Which. Rude. But also, never a good sign. But the alarm was also going off. It was wailing ever other second in a low, vibrating tone. The alarm he’d set hoping and praying it would wake him up. Being a heavy sleeper and a bed wetter was a terrible combination. And yet, somehow, it didn’t wake him up. Whoever was shoving him in the dark did.

“Hey. Get up, dude.”

It wasn’t Steve. Steve wasn’t the one shaking him. Not good.

“Robin?”

“Yes, dumbass. Wake up.”

When Eddie finally got his eyes open and his body moving, he realized very quickly that his boxers were perfectly dry. Maybe there was a God. He reached over for the lamp on the bed side table and turned it on.

“What’s going on?” Steve groaned.

“That stupid alarm was going off. It’s seven in the morning. What the hell do you have an alarm for? It woke us up.”

“I don’t know, I didn’t set it!” Eddie groaned. Way too defensively. He reached over and turned off the constant screeching.

“Why didn’t you just turn it off and leave us alone?” he asked.

“I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be waking you up or not!"

“Why would we set an alarm for 7am?” Eddie asked while crossing his legs under the blankets. Because that alarm was actually supposed to wake him up, and the purpose behind it was showing its colors.

“I don’t know, Eddie,” Robin droned out. Eddie got the feeling it was sarcasm. “But I’m going back to bed. Sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s okay.” Eddie needed to get up. And soon. He pressed his thighs together tighter.

“Okay. Well,” Robin tapped the frame of their open door a few times, “bathroom's open.”

Eddie slammed himself back down against the pillows as soon as she was gone. He was an idiot. She knew he was lying. He was lying to her, and she knew. That was more embarrassing than actually pissing the bed.

“Oh my God, Munson, turn that off. The light. Go to sleep. Well, pee first. But then go to sleep.”

“How did neither of us wake up to that?”

“Shh. Don’t know. Don’t care. Pee. Sleep. Go.”

Eddie obliged. Well, he would’ve had to oblige no matter what because he barely even made it the twenty feet to the small bathroom without leaking. He needed to figure out how to get that alarm to actually wake him up moving forward, because if Robin hadn’t, things would've been a lot worse. Eddie crawled back into the bed with an already asleep Steve. Who was hogging most of the blankets, again. He fell back asleep easily.

* * *

When Steve woke up the second time, it was because the sun was burning a hole through his face. The curtain on the cabin windows were short and didn’t cover a few inches, leaving ample room for sun to stream in at ungodly hours and blind him. Ungodly hours was, as Steve realized after looking at the alarm clock on Eddie’s dresser, only 10 am.

Normally, Steve would go back to sleep. But this was their only full day at the cabin, and he didn’t want to waste the whole day asleep. Normally, he also would’ve let his friend sleep in longer while he made breakfast by himself. But he was pretty sure waking Eddie up was always a good idea.

“Munson. Wake up. We gotta make eggs.”

“Huh?” he groaned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm. He looked comfy. And soft. Like a big, warm loaf of bread. Steve was tempted to just lay on top of him and let himself sink in. Which wasn’t at all a weird thought. Totally a normal thought.

“Eggs. And bacon. And… whatever the girls eat. I don’t know.”

“Right now? It's too early.”

“It is not that early. Come on. Get up.” Steve omitted telling him to take a piss this time around, figuring he could manage on his own. Which, he probably could?

Steve never knew if he could ask. Eddie definitely didn’t have a normal bladder based on everything Steve had seen. At least not normal compared to anyone else he knew. But he wasn’t sure why. He wasn’t sure if it might be medical, or caused by an injury or a disease or something. Or if it was just Eddie. Which was also fine. Steve liked Eddie exactly the way he was, tiny bladder and all.

Steve cracked the eggs while Eddie brushed his teeth. And, presumably, pissed.

“What can I help with?” he asked, emerging in the same light blue boxers and white tank top, hair tied up. He leaned against the counter; arms crossed. Steve gulped as he returned to whisking the eggs.

“You do a lot of cooking?”

“Um. No. Believe it or not.”

“Can you make pancakes? Out of a box?”

“I can try?”

The pancakes turned out okay. Mostly edible. The company was much better, though. Eddie was elaborately describing his dream (somehow Steve was forced to DM a DnD session that took place in hell, and Eddie was a tiny elf? Steve wasn’t following very well. He kept getting distracted by the lines of Eddie’s jaw as he spoke) when Robin and Nancy joined.

“Did you get caught up on your beauty rest?” Steve asked, plopping Eddie’s misshapen pancakes onto the table with his perfect eggs and bacon.

“Just enough to miss having to do forced labor, apparently,” Nancy said, plating a pile of everything.

“So, Harrington,” Eddie promoted, sticking a piece of bacon in his mouth, “what’s on the agenda?”

“I’m glad you asked. Hiking!”

Growing up, Steve would go hiking with his parents every time they stayed at the cabin. It was one of his favorite things about the cabin. Everyone groaned at the suggestion except for Nancy, who was too busy eating. He’d have to do some convincing that it would be fun.

Once he promised snacks, they were onboard, and he packed the backpack of essential items (which included an extra pair of shorts. Not for him) and they were off down his favorite trail.

“This is like… the Upside Down but boring,” Eddie said after thirty minutes of walking through forest.

“I cannot believe you just said that,” Nancy muttered.

"Kidding!"

It took another fifteen minutes until Steve noticed Eddie showing signs of needing to piss. Just subtle things like bouncing more and squeezing his hands together. But soon it grew into bigger things, like crossing his legs when they stopped and rubbing his thighs with his palms.

“You know you can piss, like, anywhere, right?” Steve prompted after another fifteen minutes.

“Of course, I know that,” Eddie groaned. He didn’t make any move to actually do it, though.

“Well, then, what’s the matter?”

“I don’t need you worrying, okay? I’m fine,” he said firmly, continuing down the path.

Another five minutes went by before Steve was pretty sure he saw Eddie grab himself. But Eddie didn’t want him to say anything. So, he didn’t. Eddie knew his body. He said he was fine.

Another five minutes and Steve was pretty sure Eddie was not fine.

“Eddie. There are trees. Everywhere. Just go.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes. Sorry.”

That was easier than he’d anticipated. Eddie ran off in the other direction towards a cluster of trees, and Steve continued walking, not wanting to draw attention to it. The girls were in their own conversation a few feet ahead and didn’t notice Eddie run off. Or they just pretended to not notice.

Eddie caught up to the three of them within a couple minutes, looking red in the face but overall fine.

“Alright?” Steve still asked.

“Alright.”

“You want to tell me what that was about?”

“No.”

“Eddie.”

“Jesus. I just,” he stopped walking and kicked a boot into the ground, slightly dislodging the hard dirt of the path beneath him. “No one else needed to go. And of course, I’m the only one that did. I just… It’s embarrassing.”

“Okay. I get that,” Steve lamented. And he meant it. He didn’t know how it felt to have his problem. Still, he was glad he pushed. "But it's not embarrassing. Not with your friends."

The hike finished with a beautiful waterfall. It wasn’t very large, but it was big enough to have a cascading river of water at least fifteen feet high that sent heavy mist into the air and made a loud booming sound as it hit the rocks that drowned out the world completely.

“Oh, I’m so getting in,” Robin said as soon as they came to the end of the trail. After pulling off her shoes, she hopped onto the wet rocks and waded through the low rise of water towards the waterfall. The water almost reached the tops of her shorts. “Last one in has to make dinner!” she shouted before disappearing behind the waterfall.

At that, Nancy and Steve both quickly took off their shoes, glancing at each other with a sudden competitive urge. Nancy was fast, and Steve was halfway to the waterfall when he realized Eddie wasn’t following.

“You coming, or what?”

“I’m not wearing shorts!”

It was true. Eddie was wearing ripped black jeans while everyone else had on short shorts that wouldn’t get wet in the fairly low rise of the water. “Not my fault you refuse to dress normal!” Eddie glared at him. “Wait, actually, that’s not fair! I don’t want you to make dinner!”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, but you’re admittedly not a good cook! But come on. Just take off your pants!”

“I’m not doing that!”

“Fine, whatever, suit yourself, Munson,” Steve finally said, continuing towards where the girls disappeared.

After a moment of making his way through the slimy stones, Steve heard shuffling followed by water moving behind him. Eddie finally got in. Eddie was also moving through the water very fast, his jeans getting wet to the bottom of his thighs.

“Hold on, hold on!” Steve yelled at him, trying to get his feet to stop stumbling over the slippery rocks. Eddie apparently had no issue with the rocks and was moving through the water alarmingly fast. But just as he past Steve, Steve stepped on a particularly slippery rock and would have gotten dunked if he hadn’t caught Eddie’s shoulder to steady himself. Unfortunately, that meant that Eddie lost his balance and fell backwards into the water, soaking himself completely.

“Shit, I’m so sorry!”

“You. Are. Making. Dinner,” Eddie groaned as he pulled himself up, completely dripping everywhere but his hair, and continued on towards the waterfall. Steve didn’t argue and let himself lose.

“There you are! Our chef tonight!” Nancy exclaimed as Steve slid behind the water and the stone and was met with a small, damp cave. Robin and Nancy were sitting on the driest looking rocks. The cave echoed with their voices and the loud crash of the water. It was the perfect size for the four of them. Eddie was sitting on a wetter rock and motioned for Steve to join him. He obliged, feeling bad that Eddie was now drenched because of him. He wasn’t going to make a joke about the irony. He wasn’t. He was tempted, but he wasn’t.

“Okay. Truth or dare,” Robin declared once Steve sat

“What Is this, summer camp?” Eddie mocked.

“I’ll go first!” Nancy said, immediately up for the game. “Robin, truth or dare.”

“Um. Truth. I’ll start us out easy.”

“Okay. Um. Truth. Have you ever, even for a moment, wanted to date any of your friends?”

Steve saw Robin’s smile falter for a moment. Just a brief one. She put it back on before answering. “Yes. Okay. Me next. Steve, truth or dare?”

“I never said I was playing. But, dare.”

Robin clapped her hands. “I was hoping you’d say that. Steve. I dare you to wear your pants as your shirt and your shirt as your pants.”

“Really?”

Robin chuckled. “I just thought you’d look stupid.” Rolling his eyes, Steve did as he was told. It was tight and loose in all the wrong places. “I was right. You do look stupid.”

“Okay! Eddie. Truth or dare?”

Eddie darted his eyes around the cave. “Dare?”

Steve hadn’t thought that far. “I… dare you to call your crush and prank them. Once we’re back at the cabin, obviously.”

Steve was pretty sure he saw Eddie gulp. “Prank them how?”

“Uhh… I’ll figure that out later.”

“Works for me. Nancy, truth or dare?”

* * *

The game went on for much longer than Eddie expected. His hair was in pigtails and Nancy was wearing Robin’s bra on the outside of her shirt when he felt the first pang in his lower abdomen. Which he should’ve expected. He’d last pissed over an hour ago. Somehow no one else needed to pee for the entire trip and now Eddie was sitting there bouncing his knee to keep himself in check. The worst part was it came out of nowhere and was immediately a six out of ten at minimum.

Thank God Steve made him fall in the water. The first leak happened without any warning at all. Eddie wasn’t sure if it was because his jeans were still soaked and his body was reacting to that, but it just happened. And then another one came a minute later, and Eddie sat with tight criss crossed legs on the already damp rock. It wasn’t that damp, though. It wasn’t damp enough to mask Eddie having a full-blown accident. Which, if they didn’t leave this cave in the next ten minutes, he was going to have.

Eddie didn’t know what to do. The other three were deep into some conversation about people from high school he didn’t know very well and weren’t paying much attention to him. Which was good. Because he was slowing pissing himself. And pretty soon, they’d notice, because his pants were still wet, but they weren’t nearly as sopping as they’d been when they first got into the small cave. Which was at least forty minutes ago.

It was a nine out of ten when Steve finally looked over at him. Eddie froze his body as much as possible, praying that there wasn’t a literal stream dripping down the side of the rock.

“As fun as this has been, ladies, and Eddie, I’ve got a dinner to make at least a few beers to drink before I’m doing that. Shall we head back?”

“Me too. Robin?” Nancy offered Robin her bra back and stood.

“I’m going to switch my clothes back to how they should be worn, you go ahead,” Steve said, struggling to pull his shorts off his upper body.

The girls did just that, already starting a new conversation that Eddie seriously could not listen to. Because he was dying. He was going to die. He had already peed so much. There was no way Steve wouldn’t notice. He stayed sitting.

“So. What’s up?”

“Hm?”

“What’s wrong? You look like you’re in pain.”

“I am.”

Steve crouched down and Eddie hid his face as best as he could. This was so embarrassing. More so than any other incident he’d found himself in with Steve.

“What hurts?”

“Steve.”

“What?”

Eddie felt like he was going to cry. He absolutely could not cry. “I need to piss.”

“I figured. Why aren’t you getting up?”

He’d been steadily leaking for minutes. More like streaming. Now that Steve knew, he grabbed himself tightly. “Because it’s already happening.”

He felt like a little kid. This was ridiculous.

“Oh,” is all Steve said. Because why else was there to say?

“I’m so sorry,” Eddie said as he felt his body letting go more. He was still trying to hold it back, but this was one of those moment’s where his brain told him way too late that he even needed to go. He barely stood a chance no matter where or what he was doing when he had accidents like this. It sucked so much. He'd only known he needed to go ten minutes before he was actively peeing himself.

“It’s okay. Do what you need to do.”

“This is so embarrassing.”

“Hey, well, it’s okay, your pants are already wet. They won’t know.”

“You know.”

Steve sighed, still sitting in front of him. “Yeah, but I’m not them.”

It was true. A few months ago, having an accident in front of Steve was his worst nightmare. Now, if he had to choose someone to do it in front of, it would be Steve. “They’re going to wonder why it’s taking so long.” Another leak. A big one. He was worried Steve could hear it. He was still trying to stop it though, even when he knew there was no chance he could even stand without pissing himself completely.

“They’ll just assume we’re making out.”

That was the moment it was all over. No amount of squirming or holding himself could hold it back. Especially not after Steve said that. Making out? Them? How did that thought even get inside his brain? His very straight brain? “Huh?” he said, involuntarily. A lot of things happening to him were involuntary at that moment, but somehow Steve saying that was more distressing than the fast and hard stream of literal piss coming out of him, rewetting his jeans and pouring down the side of the rock he was still sitting on.

“What? I’m sure the thought has crossed their minds.”

“Us?” he was still peeing. Why was he having this conversation while literally wetting his pants?

“Yeah, I mean. Why not?”

Eddie could think of multiple reasons. Steve was the one who dared him to call his crush later, so casually making jokes about the two of them making out was like a stab to the gut. Eddie still didn’t know who he was going to call. Which was not at all his priority right now. Finally, he was pretty sure he was done. But he wasn’t positive because his body was just doing his own thing today, apparently.

“We need to get out of here,” he said, finally standing, cringing at how soaked he was. Again. The rock was obviously just peed on.

“Yeah. So, if they ask, we weren’t making out, right?”

Eddie was going to kill Steve.

On their way back to the trail, Steve pushed Eddie back into the water, this time on purpose, hopefully getting some of the pee out of his jeans.

“Dick!” Eddie yelled, despite the fact that it’s exactly what he wanted Steve to do. However, Steve was probably not expecting Eddie to push him in the water, too, but Eddie had to make it look believable.

"Hey!" Steve yelled when he reemerged. Eddie couldn't help but laugh. They were both drenched by the time they made it to the trail.

“What were you two doing?” Robin asked, eyebrows up.

“Boy talk. Top secret,” Steve said casually as they put their shoes back on. Not making out. Obviously.

Back on the trail, Steve tapped Eddie on the shoulder after a few minutes of walking in silence.

“You okay?”

“I’m good. Promise.”

“Alright. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“You know you can just say ‘let me know if you’re going to pee your pants again.’ I won't be offended.”

“That would be rude, Eddie.”

“And you're never rude.”

“Of course not.”

Steve smiled and put his hand back on Eddie’s shoulder, letting it rest there. “I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious, Munson. You had me worried.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I just… I don’t like seeing you in pain. Or embarrassed. I mean, you’re cute when you blush and all, but I’d prefer you not embarrassed.”

Eddie was definitely blushing again. And not because he was wearing pants he’d just accidentally peed in.

“Thank you, Steve,” Eddie said, making rare real, genuine eye contact and not hiding his true feelings behind sarcasm and insults.

“Anytime, buddy.”

Buddy. Buddy? Eddie was so confused. He was wet, confused, and totally in love with Steve Harrington. Who just called him buddy. It was going to be a long trip.

Chapter Text

All of them were in desperate need of a shower when they finally finished the hike. Of course, Eddie more so than the rest, but he couldn’t tell them that.

“I call first shower!” Robin declared as they trudged in through the door, Eddie and Steve less sopping wet after the forty-five-minute hike back to the cabin, but both still very much not dry.

“Me and Eddie literally fell into a waterfall! That’s not fair!”

“Yeah, but you’re boys.”

Steve put his hands on his hips. “Which means what exactly?”

“Uh, you’re gross already,” Robin said, like it was obvious, half her body already in the bathroom door’s threshold.

“I’m after Robin!” Nancy said next.

“This is so not fair!” Steve yelled as Robin closed the door. He turned to Eddie. “Come on. Let’s get out of these gross clothes since we’re apparently last in line.”

Steve’s clothes were objectively less gross, but Eddie didn’t want to voice that thought. When they got into the bedroom, Steve shut the door and immediately stripped out of his shorts and shirt. “Hey, uh,” Eddie started to say, turning away from Steve to take off his shirt first, “there isn’t a laundry machine here, is there?”

“No, shit, I’m sorry. Do you need more pants?”

Eddie was glad Steve couldn’t see his face as he searched through his bag for a clean pair of boxers and jeans. “No. I’m fine on clothes. I was just wondering.” The wet jeans he was still wearing were also just his favorite pair. But that wasn’t the most crucial thing in the world.

“I have garbage bags if you want to put your jeans somewhere and wash them when we get back. And anything else you want to put in there.”

‘Anything else’ probably referred to his slightly pissed in jeans and boxers from the drive down that he’d stashed in the bottom of his backpack. “Uh, sure, yeah.” Once fully dressed in clothes that weren’t covered in river water and/or pee, he turned around to see Steve standing there in a white T-shirt and tight, light wash jeans.

“Oh, and don’t worry about the blankets and stuff if you have an accident tonight. I have a plan for that,” Steve said as he put on a belt.

The casual nature of Steve saying that was something Eddie was not used to. “Okay,” is all Eddie said. He could’ve tried to argue that he wouldn’t have an accident on their last night, that it didn’t happen every night like Steve probably thought, or that he wasn’t a kid and didn’t need Steve looking out for him like that. But he didn’t. Because with Steve, it was just different. Once the belt was on, Steve pulled out a garbage bag from his backpack and handed it over to Eddie, who deposited both pairs of jeans and boxers into it. Even with the casual nature of it, he was still blushing profusely.

The girls thankfully didn’t take very long showers, which was good, because Eddie needed to pee again by the time it was his turn (Steve let him go third, the saint).

“So, what’s for dinner?” Robin asked once they all settled themselves into the living room. It was barely past four pm, but Steve’s punishment for losing must’ve still been fresh on Robin’s mind.

“Mm. Great question. Hotdogs,” Steve said without hesitation.

“Yes!”

“No!”

Robin and Nancy said at the same time, which made them all laugh.

“But don’t worry, kids, I have a plan to pass the time.” At that, Steve pulled out a bottle of liquor from the cabinets and four shot glasses, and Eddie gulped. He drank beer when he wanted to drink because it was less of a diuretic compared to other liquors he’d had. He’d only gotten seriously plastered off of hard liquor one time, and he barely remembered the night at all. What he did remember was waking up in someone’s back yard completely soaked and involuntarily wetting himself again on the walk home without any warning because he was still so drunk. So, generally speaking, he didn’t really have an interest in hard liquor.

But then Steve was pouring the shots of caramel colored whatever, and all four of them were cheers-ing, and Eddie didn’t know how to say no. So, he took the shot. And then he took another one. And then he took another one. And probably another one after that.

He was drunk by the time Steve was preparing the hotdogs. And of course, hotdogs had to be paired with beer, so he was drinking one of those, too.

“Hey, hot dog boy,” Eddie called as he dried his wet hands on his jeans, just having used the bathroom for the second time in an hour. Steve was tending to the fire outside, a few hotdogs on sticks lined up on top of the cooler and ready to be roasted.

“Yes, Munson?”

“I have a question,” Eddie sat on one of the lawn chairs. Robin and Nancy were by the lake smoking something that Eddie didn’t think Nancy smoked.

“Shoot.”

“Can you remind me to go to the bathroom if I stop going to the bathroom?”

“Huh?”

“Sorry, ‘m drunk. Like, if I don’t go for a while, can you, like, remind me to do that? I’m worried my brain will stop telling me to go if I put more alcohol in it.”

Steve stuck one of the dogs on sticks into the fire and sat in the lawn chair next to Eddie. “Sure, Munson. How often?”

Eddie shrugged. “Just, like, if you don’t see me go for a while. Just be like. Be like, hey, dude, go pee,” oh my God, Eddie was drunk. Drunker than he’d been in a long time. Which was starting to worry him. But he’d be fine. He wasn’t going to be abandoned in a random backyard and forced to sleep outside by Steve. Steve wouldn’t let that happen.

Steve laughed at that. He looked really cute when he did. “Yes, Eddie, I can do that. I kind of already do, do that.”

“Ha-ha. You said do-do.”

“Shut up,” Steve said, laughing and throwing a dog-less stick at him.

The girls came back smelling like weed and they joined them around the fire, each of them having been handed a hotdog on a small paper plate by Steve. Eddie devoured the first one, forgetting how good food tasted when he was this kind of drunk. Steve handed him another without him asking.

“Dude. I love you,” he said as he shoved half of the second one into his mouth.

“The real question is, Eddie, who do you, like, love, love,” Robin asked, one hand in the air trailing some kind of pattern in front of her face that she was observing intensely. Nancy was also observing, mouth open and eyes glassy from the fire smoke. Or alcohol. Or weed. Eddie didn’t know. All he knew was Hotdog and Steve Is Hot. Every other thought was irrelevant.

“What does that mean, Rob?” Steve asked, muffled by the large bite of mostly bun in his mouth.

“Did you forget? It was your dare. Eddie has to call his crush.”

Eddie forgot. Eddie completely forgot. Eddie also didn’t have a crush outside of Steve, and he very well could not call Steve in Steve’s own cabin.

“Oh, yeah! Who’s it gonna be, Munson?”

Eddie tried to shrug casually and choked on beer instead. “Don’t have one. I’m not in high school anymore.”

“Everyone has crushes! Age doesn’t matter!” Nancy argued, still watching Robin wave her hands through the air like she was seeing something Eddie was not.

“Well. I don’t have one.”

“I don’t believe you,” Robin sang.

“Neither do I,” Steve shot back, sipping at his beer.

“Robin,” Eddie asked, standing, “can you come with me to get another beer?”

Robin seemed like she was going to argue before rolling her eyes and following Eddie inside.

“I didn’t want another beer,” she said when they got to the fridge.

“I know. Can you drop the call thing?”

Robin shifted, arms crossed. “Can you admit you have feelings for Steve?”

Eddie let his mouth hang open. “Why would I admit I have feelings for my straight friend?”

“Um, because that man is not straight.”

Eddie squinted. “Yes, he is.”

“Have you asked him?”

“Have you?”

“I don’t need to! He’s my best friend! I know him, and the way he looks at you, Eddie. It’s not the way straight guy’s look at homos. He looks at you like he wants to have children with you, dude.”

Eddie blushed bright red and looked around to make sure no one was listening. “He doesn’t know I’m into dudes, Robin.”

“Or do you just think he doesn’t know?”

Eddie huffed as he remembered what Steve asked him around a month ago.

‘Are you a homosexual?’

Point blank. No way around it. And Eddie just didn’t answer, hoping Steve wouldn’t remember to bring it up again. “Well, have you told Nancy you love her?”

Robin uncrossed her arms and inhaled deeply. “How did you know?”

“Oh, come on.”

“I don’t love her.”

“You like her, then. At least.”

“Maybe.”

“You want to have children with her.”

“Stop it!” Robin, despite what she’d said, opened the fridge and cracked open another beer. “Fine. Okay. You know what, tou-fuckin’-ché.”

“Thank you. We’re a mess.”

“Yes, we are.”

“I’m so glad I know you,” Eddie said. Robin smiled, toothy and drunk. “Now come on, I need another hotdog.”

When they returned to the crisp summer air, Steve was standing by the fire. “Munson!” he called. Eddie shuffled over, and Steve leaned into his ear. “Bathroom?”

Steve was drunk, too, having had more to drink than Eddie did. And he was a genius. Because he’d completely not realized he erally needed to piss. “Oh my God, thank you. Fuck me,” he groaned, making his way back inside and somehow literally leaking on the way there. Steve was a genius. He was a hot, straight, genius.

Unless Robin was right. Which, for the love of God, Eddie wanted so desperately for her to be right.

* * *

Eddie was so drunk it was adorable. Steve wanted to bottle drunk Eddie up and pour him out whenever he needed a laugh. He wanted to do a lot with Eddie, actually.

Which was really fucking him up. Because he was pretty positive he liked girls. And Eddie wasn’t a girl. He was an angel. A stupid, squirming angel. Steve waited until only Eddie could hear him to bring up the the fact that his legs were pressed tightly together where he stood.

“Bathroom?” he whispered into Eddie’s ear when he and Robin returned. Eddie clearly needed to pee. Steve had no idea how Eddie didn’t realize it himself, but he seemed genuinely shocked when Steve suggested it and ran off towards the house.

When he returned, he looked much more relaxed. “Okay?” Steve asked.

“Thanks to you. I literally had to go so bad. Didn’t even realize. Stupid brain,” Eddie said as he sat himself back down. Steve sat too as Robin and Nancy returned to the lake, laughing the whole way down.

“Your brain… it just… doesn’t tell you, sometimes?” Steve asked, the liquor finally letting him ask what he’d wanted to ask for months since he started seeing a lot more of Eddie, and therefore a lot more of Eddie’s issues.

“Mhm. Sometimes. Alcohol makes it worse. Or stress. Or sometimes, like today, in the cave… sometimes it just happens. Like. I didn’t even know until it was too late, you know?”

“Have you been to the doctor about it?”

Eddie sat up straighter in his chair, and Steve immediately regretted asking. “No. I’m fine. It’s not like I’m fucking incontinent or something.”

“I didn’t say you were, Munson—”

“Good, because I’m not, Harrington.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“It’s… sorry. It’s okay. I… I don’t want to go to some doctor just for them to tell me that I have a small bladder like they did the first time.”

“The first time?” Steve asked, hesitantly. Eddie slumped back down.

“Yeah. Like. When I was a kid. When I was, like, ten, maybe? My uncle took me in to see a doctor because I was still wetting the bed, like, every night. Which obviously… hasn’t really improved that much. And it’s not like he was mad, he just wanted to make sure something wasn’t seriously wrong with me.”

“And, there isn’t?”

Eddie shook his head. “Not really. I just have an overactive bladder. And it’s really small. And I’m a really heavy sleeper. It’s just a combination of all of that. Oh my God. Steve. I’m drunk.”

“I know. Is that okay?” Steve was drunk, too, but clearly not nearly as much, and he was worried that it was maybe too much for Eddie to handle.

“Yes. It’s fine. It’s good. Hey, you wanna go swimming?” Eddie asked, standing up and looking out towards the lake.

“Right now?”

“Yeah. Skinny dipping.”

Oh.

Steve wasn’t sure if he could manage that. Thinking about Eddie without his clothes on was one thing, actually seeing him without his clothes on was a whole other beast. “Okay,” he still said, though, because Eddie looked excited. And he was cute when he looked excited.

Steve needed to pull his shit together.

These feelings came out of nowhere. One moment he borderline hated Eddie, and the next he wanted to fucking kiss him. It didn’t make any sense.

The first time he really tried to have a conversation with Eddie that wasn’t actively bullying him, it was outside of the school by the football fields during third period. Eddie was leaning against a fence smoking a cigarette. He didn’t look like someone he wanted to kiss back then, but he also knew that he didn’t deserve the taunts and abuse he’d had for years ever since his Freshman year. He was an easy target for assholes like Steve and Jason because he was emo and peed himself. But Steve didn’t care about all that by that point. Steve remembered walking up to Eddie casually to ask to take a drag, pissed off at Jason at the time and only a few months shy of everything going to shit. As soon as Eddie saw Steve approaching, he ran.

The next time Steve tried to talk to him, it was in the cafeteria. Eddie was eating alone, picking at his tray and listening to music on his Walkman. Steve sat across from him without asking, and Eddie lifted his chin to glance at him once before his eyes grew wide and he shoved his tray at Steve before running away from him again.

By that point, Steve got the message: Eddie had no interest in being around him. But it didn’t stop Steve from trying. The third time he tried, it was after school. Steve had just gotten into a huge fight with Nancy over something stupid and he was pissed off, pacing next to a brick wall and angry enough that without thinking clearly, he punched his hand into the bricks, splitting his skin and causing blood to stream down his arm. He remembered screaming like a wild animal and biting his tongue in the process.

“Are you okay?” Steve had heard Eddie ask from behind him. Steve was cradling his hand against his chest, getting blood on the front of his shirt. He tried not to cry.

“I’m fine, Munson,” he said, face turned away so he didn’t see his eyes fill with hot, painful tears.

Eddie didn’t say anything in response and walked away, but came back a minute later with a handful of paper towels and extended the wad to him. “For the blood.”

“Uh, thanks,” Steve said, holding Eddie’s eye contact for a moment. He nodded, eyes drifting around, and walked away awkwardly.

The next time they interacted, it was more friendly. Well, it wasn’t super friendly, but by that point, Steve had clearly stopped hanging out with all the people who had been fucking with Eddie’s life for three years, and pretty much everyone knew because his popularity status had tanked. There was this stupid pep rally Steve didn’t want to go to, and he was roaming the halls lazily, trying to avoid being scene, when he saw Eddie seemingly doing the same thing. Well, at first, he thought he was just skipping, but then Eddie started running, and not because he saw Steve. Out of curiosity, Steve followed.

He found Eddie hunched over a few feet from the men’s bathroom, hands pressed into his crotch and breath hitching.

“Munson? You okay?”

As soon as Eddie heard Steve’s voice, he was running again. This time towards the locker room. Steve should’ve just let him be, not poke the beast further. But Steve was also painfully aware of what was probably going on considering he’d been the one to coin the name Wetty Eddie in the first place. Which he really did regret. He found Eddie sitting on a bench by the showers, head in his hands.

“Munson?”

His head had whipped up, tears in his eyes. “Please—please leave. Please,” he begged, standing up from the bench and attempting his hide himself from Steve’s view.

“Are you okay?”

“Why do you fucking care.”

“Because you’re crying.”

“You know why I’m crying,” he had choked out. Eddie’s pants were wet. Something Steve hadn’t seen in a few years when the name calling first started. Something he honestly didn’t think he’d see again, assuming it was just a fluke the first time it happened at school. But for some reason at that point, he didn’t feel like calling Eddie names. He felt bad for him, and knew he need help.

“Stay there,” is all Steve had said before walking up to his locker and pulling out a clean pair of sweats he kept for after practice. Eddie didn’t have a locker because he wasn’t in sports. He offered them to Eddie, who was literally cowering in a corner, without a word.

“I don’t need those.”

“You want to stay in pissed in jeans?”

“Fuck you.”

Steve huffed and gestured around. “Clearly, I’m here to help you. So, do you want the pants, or not?”

“Why would you help me?” Eddie asked, tears running down his face as he shuffled uncomfortably.

“Because you look like you need help. Look, I’ll just leave them here, okay?” he told him, setting the sweats down on one of the benches near Eddie and backing away.

Eddie didn’t say anything else, but the next day, the sweats were returned to his locker, folded and washed, with a sticky note that said “Thanks, Harrington.” After that, things between them were pretty civil.

Now, staring at Eddie as he stripped down to nothing, it was a lot more than civil. It was friendship. And probably love. And Steve didn’t know how to handle any of it. But then they were all in the water together, moonlight peeking across the navy sky, and Steve didn’t really care that he didn’t know how to handle it. For a moment, he was content just watching Eddie swimming out into the dark water, laughing loudly into the night.

“Hey, Eddie?” Steve called, stripping off his own clothes in the dark and finding the shore.

“Yeah?” he yelled, head dipping into the water, straightening his curly hair.

“I’m really glad you came.”

Chapter Text

The water felt like taking an ice bath, but Eddie didn’t mind. His stomach was so full of alcohol and hotdogs that he felt like a pool floatie as he stared up into the dark sky, the moonlight streaking across his vision in ribbons of white. Steve was next to him, floating on his back as well. The splashing around and probably flirting that was happening between the girls a few feet away was drowned out with Eddie’s ears in the water.

The serene silence couldn’t last forever. A hand on his forearm jolted him out the peacefulness and he resurfaced to see Nancy beside him in nothing but her bra, water up to the top of her sternum.

“We’re going inside. Want to come?”

“Mm. I’ll wait for Steve.” Steve was still floating.

“Okay. Come on Robin, we need to shower,” she called at Robin, who Eddie was pretty sure wasn’t wearing anything at all, her hair soaked from splashing around.

“Together, or separately?” Eddie whispered with an eyebrow wiggle to Robin as she swam past. She splashed water at him in response.

They disappeared back to the cabin, grabbing piles of clothes and shoes on the way, and it was suddenly just as quiet as it had been when Eddie’s head was underwater.

He felt like he was floating even as he stood, the alcohol clearly still having a strong effect. He needed to sober up before bed. Or maybe he’d just stay up all night. Or maybe he’d just fall asleep in the lake. At least then, no one would know if he woke up drenched.

The thought made Eddie very aware of the current state of his bladder and he decided to find a tree near the shore.

“Ed, come here,” Steve suddenly called.

He turned to see Steve no longer floating and instead sticking just his head out of the water. “What’s up?” Eddie asked, obliging despite his need and swimming towards him.

“I… have a question for you.”

“Okay?” Eddie tried not to let the surprise and probably fear corrupt his voice.

“It’s about… the dare. The dare I gave you, earlier.”

Eddie was glad it was so dark. His face was on fire. “What about it?”

Steve wiped a hand through his hair and water dripped down his face. “Who is it? Who would you have called. If we made you do it.”

All the hotdogs suddenly wanted to make a reappearance. “I—um. I don’t know. No one, I guess.”

“No one?”

“What do you want me to say, Steve?” Eddie crossed his legs under the water.

“I don’t want you to say anything, I’m just curious.”

“Okay, why are you curious?” Eddie felt braver than normal with the alcohol swimming in his blood.

“Because… you’re my friend… and I want to know?

Eddie slapped the water around him. “Yeah. Okay. But I don’t think that’s true.”

“Why else would I ask?” They were pretty far away from each other in the water, and so Steve took a few steps towards Eddie, moonlight gleaming off of his damp, bare chest.

“I don’t know.”

“There’s really no one…?”

Did Steve want Eddie to say him? Maybe he wanted to corner him, make him admit that he did have a crush, and that Steve knew. Maybe he’d been too obvious. Maybe Steve had some secret power and could read minds this whole time.

“No. There’s no one,” he lied.

“Okay.”

“Do you have someone?” Eddie felt brave enough to ask.

Steve didn’t say anything. For a long moment, he just stared, the moonlight not bright enough to illuminate anything but the whites of his eyes, everything else a silhouette. “Yes,” he finally said.

Eddie felt himself blushing. “Oh. Who?”

“It… it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m your friend. I want to know,” Eddie said, using Steve’s own words against him.

He took another step towards Eddie, hair falling in chunks of damp curls against his neck. Eddie became very aware of the fact that he was naked under the blanket of water—that they both were.

“It’s someone who… I can’t have.”

Eddie gulped. His face was on fire. He didn’t know why, but he knew he needed to say it. “Me too.”

“Why?”

“Because of the way the world works.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you were right! I like boys, Steve,” Eddie said, surprising himself, and probably every other living thing around him. Eddie was never drinking again. The admission didn’t make him feel relieved like it had with Robin. It made him feel hallow.

“Huh?”

“Did you hear me?”

“No, I mean, yes, sorry, I heard you, I just…”

Steve didn’t say anything else. His sentence trailed off as they just stood in the water together, a few feet apart, in silence, albeit the crickets and hum of the nearby forrest.

“I’m going to go back in,” Eddie finally said, needing to get as far away from Steve a physically possible before he started crying, or pissing himself, or vomiting.

“Wait!” Steve called as Eddie got out of the water and gathered his clothes. It didn’t make any sense to put his clothes back on considering the state of his bladder, but that was the least of his worries as Steve started after him.

“It’s fine, Harrington, just forget I said anything.”

“Stop, I didn’t mean to not respond I just… it surprised me!” Steve was also putting his clothes back on, trailing after Eddie and hopping on one shoe while he pulled on the other.

“Just forget I said it!”

“I don’t want to forget!” Eddie didn’t stop walking. He trudged towards the dirt road in front of the cabin. “Where are you going?”

“On a walk.”

“It’s the middle of the night!”

“I don’t care.“

“Eddie, stop!” Steve yelled. Tentatively, he did. “I don’t care that you’re gay! I don’t care that Robin is, obviously, why would I care that you are too?”

“Maybe because we’re literally sharing a bed tonight?” He had to cross his legs tightly for a moment, and Steve definitely noticed.

“Eddie, go to the bathroom.”

Eddie locked his jaw and kept walking. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“You told me to tell you what to do?”

“That was before all this!” Eddie said, gesturing around.

“And what is ‘all this’ exactly?”

“You—you pestering me about the dare and—“

“I didn’t pester you—“

“And then ignoring me when I tell you something I’ve told literally one other person, and it’s not even like you didn’t have a right, you did, because we’re sharing a bed—we have shared a bed before too and now you know that I—“

“Munson, you’re going to have an accident.”

Eddie didn’t realize he’d resorted to grabbing himself at some point. He let go quickly and ignored the way his bladder was throbbing. “I’m fine.”

“Why are you so stubborn? Just go pee and then you can finish yelling at me.”

Eddie was not in the mood to be treated like a kid. “I’m fucking fine, Harrington. And I’m not yelling.”

“You kind of are,” Steve grunted. They were at the edge of the dirt road now, both of them stopped. Eddie would’ve kept walking if he wasn’t so desperate. His legs had to be glued together or he was going to lose it, but he refused to give Steve the satisfaction of being obviously on the verge of pissing himself. He was
being stubborn, he knew that, but he just drunkenly came out. Very drunkenly. He was ready to pass out in bed and not wake up for a year.

“Just… don’t tell anyone,” Eddie said after a moment, voice quieter than earlier.

Steve looked somewhat taken aback. “Of course not. Eddie, I don’t care, I—I think I am… um,” he put his hands on his hips and looked around. “I think you’re cool. Who you like doesn’t matter to me”, he finished, matching Eddie’s volume.

Eddie had never wanted to kiss someone more in his life. Which was probably the worst thing that could happen to him. It was hard to tell because his skin was still wet from the lake, but his pants felt increasingly damp. He needed to pee. And soon. But that didn’t matter, because Steve knew, and Steve didn’t care. Not like he was supposed to care. Eddie wasn’t sure how he’d make it through the night without kissing the hell out of Steve.

* * *

Steve should not have taken that last shot.

Normally, when he stole from his parents expensive whiskey collection, he didn’t end up wanting to kiss his friend. His male friend. His male friend who was probably going to pee his pants and if didn’t stop being so damn stubborn, but Steve would still kiss him anyway. And Eddie would probably—maybe not probably—kiss him back?

Steve needed to tell him. He needed to make sure Eddie knew that he was… he was like him, too, at least a little bit. He was pretty sure.

“We should go back in,” Eddie said in response. His left hand was in his jean pocket, probably attempting to hold himself. Steve knew he didn’t have much longer. They needed to get back inside, and fast, but Steve was pretty sure Eddie would rather wet his pants than admit to needing to pee.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They walked back to the cabin a few paces apart, Steve in front of Eddie. By the time they made it to the door, the soft lighting from the single bulb hanging on the front awning illuminated what looked like a golfball sized wet spot on Eddie’s jeans. He opened the door and gestured for Eddie to go first, but he wasn’t moving, legs pressed tightly together.

“You coming?”

“I can’t,” he muttered.

“Can’t what?”

“If I… I can’t move or I might… I’m sorry.” Eddie’s voice sounded like a broken record.

“If only someone had suggested you go earlier,” Steve muttered, shutting the front door. “Come on, just go outside.”

“I’m… It’s already…” Eddie didn’t need to elaborate more, Steve could see the spot growing, streaking down one leg slowly.

“You’re equipped to just… whip it out, you know.”

“Turn around,” Eddie suddenly barked, voice urgent as he crossed his legs tightly.

“Okay, God,” Steve muttered, turning away as Eddie frantically unzipped his pants.

Eddie emptied the rest of himself a few steps away from the front of the cabin, probably unable to hold it long enough to find a more appropriate location. When he heard his zip pulled back up after only thirty seconds, Steve turned to see the damage.

Eddie had obviously had a small accident, but it wasn’t bad. Steve had certainly seen worse.

“Sorry,” he muttered, face bright red.

“Come on, let’s go in.”

Eddie didn’t follow when Steve opened the door.

“The girls… I don’t want them to see… me. Like this.”

Steve sighed. “I’ll distract them, alright?” Even if he was slightly mad that Eddie had ignored him to the point that he nearly completely peed himself, he told Eddie he’d help him keep any accidents hidden from Robin and Nancy, and he wasn’t going to go against his word.

Eddie nodded after a moment, eyes down. And Steve did as he promised and distracted the girls while Eddie ran past them into the bathroom.

They retired to their rooms not long after that, Eddie taking a long shower and going directly to bed.

“I can sleep on the floor, if you want,” Eddie said when Steve closed the door and saw him sitting up, hair wet and pajamas on. Steve shook his head as he crawled in.

“I don’t care that you’re gay, dude,” he reiterated.

“But… but also… I’m pretty drunk and I probably… I probably will…you know.”

“I know that.”

“It doesn’t happen every night.”

“I know that.”

“But tonight, it probably will—“

“Ed, I like you. Exactly how you are. Now go to sleep.”

* * *

It was still dark outside when Eddie woke up. At first he thought that maybe he woke up because he was wet, but when he shifted, he realized that that wasn’t the reason. Steve was cuddling him. His arms were wrapped around Eddie’s waist tightly, his head stuffed into the crook of his neck. Still tipsy, Eddie fell back asleep, feeling safe in his friends warm embrace.

Chapter Text

There were two major problems Steve noticed when he woke up.

One: Eddie had an accident.

And two: Steve was cuddling him.

Like, head buried in his neck, arms wrapped around his torso, cuddling. They must’ve unconsciously gravitated into this position at some point like it was something they’d done a million times. It was comforting, and Steve didn’t want to let go, but the first problem was kind of a pressing matter.

Steve couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up soaking wet. He was probably six, maybe seven. He was never one of the kids that made a habit out of wetting the bed.

But this was different than the one other time Eddie had an accident with Steve next to him (which seriously, why did they keep ending up in the same bed?) It wasn’t nearly as big of an issue that time, since the spot was much smaller and Steve hadn’t been as close in proximity. This time, however, it was like they were right back in the lake with how wet he felt.

The mattress protector did its job, which meant that there was a puddle soaking into both of their pajamas with no where else to go, Steve getting a decent amount of the damage. He hadn’t shifted his body much, not wanting to wake Eddie up yet (and have to stop cuddling him), but he was pretty sure that if they were to stand up, it wouldn’t be clear who had actually had an accident based on how soaked they both were. Although Steve was 99.9% sure Eddie was the culprit.

Eddie’s chest was rising and falling slowly, his breath coming out in soft huffs that Steve was finding very cute, but they needed to get up, preferably before the girls realized what happened.

Steve checked the alarm clock on Eddie’s dresser to find that it was nearly 8 am, much earlier than Steve would typically want to wake up after a night of drinking, but lying in pee wasn’t exactly a comfortable sensation. It must’ve been what woke Steve up. How did Eddie not wake up? He was definitely a deep sleeper, he hadn’t been exaggerating.

Carefully, Steve lifted his head from where it was stuffed against Eddie’s neck. Eddie didn’t move. Steve unwrapped his arms next and slowly sat up, and Eddie still didn’t move. Steve’s shirt was wet at the bottom, as well as his entire right side which had been pressed against Eddie. This wasn’t good.

Eddie still wasn’t waking up despite Steve no longer trying to be careful to not wake him. Steve was going to have to wake him up manually.

“Eddie, hey,” he tried to no avail. He reached a hand out and set it on one of his shoulders, shaking him lightly. Still, nothing.

“Munson, wake up!” he tried, louder than before. At that, Eddie sort of shifted, but was still clearly asleep. Steve shook him harder.

“Dude, we have to get up!”

“Hmmm?” Eddie slurred sleepily.

“We have to get up,” he said, softer now that Eddie was finally waking up.

“Why are you—fuck!” He shot up quickly, looking down at himself. The blankets were bundled around his torso and were also very wet. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. Steve was slightly convinced Eddie may have had more than one accident during the night based on just how wet everything was, but was that even possible? He had had a lot to drink, and alcohol is a diuretic… he’d have to ask one day if that ever happened to him. One day where Eddie wasn’t clearly freaking out.

“It’s okay—“

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he started repeating, pushing the blankets away from him to see the damage. His breathing was picking up, and Steve wanted to reach out and touch him. He wanted to cuddle up to him and hold him again.

“Let’s get up, okay?”

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry—“ Eddie finally looked at Steve, and his eyes widened even more. “Oh my God. Oh my God, you’re—it’s all over you too. Shit, shit.”

Eddie was panicking. Steve hadn’t seen Eddie panic like this before. Sure, he’d seen him panic, because Eddie sometimes got like this after a particularly bad accident, or a more public one, but he’d never been like this. He was starting to hyperventilate, and Steve was being completely useless.

“No, no, it’s okay, I don’t care—“

“I’m so sorry, Steve, I’m so sorry—you’re all wet! Fuck me, fuck, what the hell is wrong with me!” Eddie started hitting his head, and Steve had to intervene, he had to do something.

“Nothing is wrong with you, Ed, hey, hey,” Steve grabbed his hands, sitting on his knees in front of Eddie, not caring that there was still basically a puddle between them. Eddie’s face was red, tears coming out hot and fast, as his breathing got worse and worse. Steve didn’t know what he was doing.

“I shouldn’t have come, I shouldn’t have come, I’m so sorry—I’ll clean it I promise I—“

Steve kissed him.

Steve kissed him until his breathing was slowing down, unable to continue panicking with Steve’s lips on his. For a moment, Eddie didn’t kiss back, but then he did.

It was probably the weirdest kiss he’d ever had considering the circumstances, but it was definitely the best. Eddie’s lips were soft and gentle against his, and Steve had never kissed a boy before, but he was pretty sure he never wanted to stop kissing this boy.

But he did. Because Eddie was his friend who was having a panic attack, and they were both soaked in pee. When Steve opened his eyes, Eddie was looking at him with bright, wide, possibly scared eyes. Steve gulped. Eddie was having a panic attack and he… kissed him?

“I’m sorry.”

“Why did you do that?” Tears were still streaming slowly down his face, his lips pink from where Steve had just kissed him. Steve had just kissed Eddie. Holy shit.

“Because I… wanted to.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Because you were panicking and I thought it might make you stop! And because… I’ve been wanting to do that for months.”

Eddie sat up straighter. Then he shifted slightly and it looked like he discreetly grabbed himself under the blanket. “What do you mean you’ve been wanting to do that for months?”

Steve gulped. Eddie was starting to squirm now, and Steve realized he had to pee again. Considering they both just woke up, it made sense, even if Eddie had clearly already gone during the night at least once. “Do you need—“

“Shhhh, no, stop—what do you mean, Steve?”

“I mean that I… I like you, okay? And I wasn’t sure if I… if that was something I’d like. Kissing you. But I liked it. Like, a lot, so. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I kissed you out of nowhere. That’s not cool.”

Eddie starting rocking his hips back and forth slightly, face still in shock. “I mean yeah but Steve, have you seriously not noticed that I… I like you, too? A lot. Like, a lot a lot. I have for… awhile.”

Steve’s heart was racing. He wanted to kiss him again. “You do?”

“Yes, idiot. Oh my God, so much,” Eddie said, wiping his face as he continued to hold his crotch tightly with his other hand.

“This is… what does this mean for us?” Steve asked after a small beat.

Eddie shrugged. “I have no idea. Shit,” he muttered, suddenly looking down at himself.

“We can finish this conversation after you pee, Ed.”

“I wanna finish it now. This is more important. Whatever this is. I mean, what is this?”

Steve wasn’t sure if it was progress or not that Eddie was okay with the fact that he was probably going to pee himself again in front of Steve. He wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Because he just kissed his friend—who was a boy—and he fucking loved it.

“Can I kiss you again?”

“I’m… I want to, but we’re both really gross right now.”

“I don’t care.”

The corners of Eddie’s mouth rose briefly and he seemingly forgot he needed to pee. “…Then okay.”

Steve leaned in slowly this time, meeting Eddie’s lips softly. It felt like brushing his lips against rose petals, the sweet fragrance of Eddie’s shampoo making him feel as though he were in a garden full of nothing but Eddie. Just Eddie.

It was the second most amazing kiss he’d ever had. Eddie responded to the kiss more this time, letting his lips part and let Steve inside. Eddie put a hand on Steve’s neck and pulled him in tightly, and Steve resisted the urge to straddle Eddie with his legs. His legs that were very damp.

“Steve—“ Eddie suddenly broke off, both of his hands going to his crotch. “Sorry. I should pee, if we want to keep doing this.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, okay… do you want to keep doing this? Like, what is this? Should we talk about what’s happening?”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening!”

“What?”

“You’re kissing me! I mean, Steve Harrington is kissing me. Me? Are you sure you want this?”

“We’ll, technically I’m not kissing you anymore because someone had to stop to put both hands on his dick—“

Eddie pulled him back in, both hands on Steve’s neck this time. Steve gasped slightly into the kiss, not expecting Eddie to do that. He wasn’t expecting any of this, to be fair, but Eddie being so urgent was a surprise. It was almost like they were doing a drug for the first time—at least it was Steve’s first time. And he wanted another hit. He wanted to be completely wasted on Eddie’s lips.

Eddie had to pull away again, however, because he was definitely about to have another accident if he didn’t get up right now. He put the heel of his foot under his crotch and rocked forward slightly. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. We should probably get cleaned up, anyway.”

“Oh my God, you’re completely soaked, Steve.”

“Who cares?”

“I care. I mean, this is disgusting—fuck, I need to piss so bad,” he groaned, rocking his hips into the bed. He gasped quietly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck—“

“Okay, let’s get you up.”

Eddie didn’t move. He just kept grinding himself into his foot, face scrunched up. “Gimme a second.”

A few moments passed, and Eddie didn’t move. “Eddie, just go in the bed.”

He gawked at Steve. “Ew, dude, I’m not doing that!”

“You kind of have already done that.”

Eddie sort of glared at him and then shook his head. “I can make it,” he said, not sounding confident at all. Finally, he slowly swung one leg other the edge of the bed, and Steve was pretty sure he heard a faint hissing noise. “Shit.”

Eddie was wiggling around like crazy, pressing his hands into his crotch and holding on for dear life, bouncing up and down on the bed.

“Eddie—“

“I can make it, just give me a second,” he argued. Steve couldn’t fully tell because his navy sweatpants were so wet already, but he was pretty sure he could see more wetness seeping into the fabric. Eddie groaned loudly and leaned forward. “Okay, fuck. I don’t know if I can make it all the way to the bathroom I’m… I’m really trying but it’s… hard. I drank a whole cup of water before falling asleep last night because of all the drinking and I didn’t want to be hung over and I might… I might go… in my pants. I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

Eddie was rocking back and forth like crazy. “Oh my God, fuck, this is… not how I wanted our first kiss to go, Steve. Not that I ever thought there would be a first—shit, shit, oh no, stop it—kiss to begin with, but.”

“Can you kiss me again?”

“Steve, I need to piss. Like, really bad. If you kiss me again I’m going to pee myself.”

“I can see that, but I just really miss kissing you. And the mattress is protected, so.”

If Eddie stood up and tried to make it to the bathroom, which was highly unlikely anyway, pee would definitely get all over the floor, and it just made more sense logistically for Eddie to finish out his accident on the bed and not cause more damage. He was clearly already having a bit of an accident, even if he was still trying to hold back, he’d obviously leaked a considerable amount.

Steve went to him and gently removed one of his hands from where it was holding himself, kissing the back of it. Eddie was watching him with wide eyes like he was dreaming. He brought Eddie’s hand up to the side of his face and let it rest there while Steve inched closer, their lips only inches apart.

“Okay fine, you can kiss me. I might pee myself but. Yes. Please, please kiss me,” Eddie begged, one hand still on his dick, legs fanning in and out quickly.

Steve obliged with a smile.

The kiss was deeper and more greedy despite how absolutely unsexy the entire ordeal was, but Steve seriously couldn’t complain. It only lasted a probably 30 seconds before Eddie broke it off again.

“Okay, we have to stop—I’m… shit. I can’t hold it anymore, it’s coming out. I’m having an accident. I’m sorry. It’s… I don’t want to get more on you.”

Steve sat back up and Eddie leaned against the pillows, face scrunched up as he began to uncontrollably pee his already wet sweats. Steve averted his eyes and scooted back a bit.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry—“

“You’re very pretty when you blush, you know that?”

Eddie’s mouth gaped open as he continued peeing himself where he sat, hands no longer holding himself, the battle lost. “That’s gross, Steve.”

“Blushing? That’s not gross.”

“Oh my God, you’re covered in my pee.”

“So are you.”

Eddie’s face kind of fell as he looked down at his lap. “Yeah.” Steve could faintly hear the piss hitting the fabric of his pants and the blankets and rubber sheet.

Steve scooted a bit closer. “It’s fine, Eddie. I told you to do this. You’re fine.”

“I’m disgusting, Steve. I couldn’t hold it. Like a kid. I should be able to hold it.”

“Hey, hey,” Steve took one of his hands and rubbed it gently with his thumb, “this isn’t your fault. You can’t beat yourself up for something you can’t help. You drank a lot last night. You’re not disgusting.”

Eddie sniffled. “I’m literally pissing myself right now, it’s kind of hard to not feel disgusting.” He sighed, exhausted, and put his hands on his face. “Why did you kiss me, Steve? I just don’t understand. You could have anyone—well, you could have a lot of people. Why me? Why… this?” Eddie gestured down to himself, to where his sweats were getting wetter, the stream still audible but slowing down. Eddie must’ve really had a lot to drink to piss this much after already having such a large accident only a few hours earlier.

“Do you like me, Eddie?”

“Um, yeah, Steve. Obviously.”

“What if I pooped my pants everyday. Would you still like me then?” Steve asked.

Eddie laughed, and it was a great reprieve from the crying. He shifted himself slightly on the bed and cringed. “I don’t do that.”

“I know. But would you? If I did?”

“Yes, Steve. I would.”

Steve reached one hand out towards Eddie’s chin, tilting it up slightly. In the low morning light, even tear streaked and covered in pee, he was so beautiful. “Look, I don’t know what we’re doing exactly, or how to do any of this… but I like you enough—a lot—that I’m not letting a minor inconvenience take that away from me. Which, this is minor. Seriously. I think this is a lot better than you shitting your pants everyday.”

“I don’t pee my pants every day either—“

“I know,” he dropped his hand to run it through Eddie’s hair, which was an absolute mess. “But even if you did…”

“You like me enough. I get it.”

“Good. Are you… done?”

Eddie nodded slightly, eyes back down at his lap. He pressed lightly on his bladder. “I think. I-I sometimes when I hold it like that it’s hard to tell.”

“Okay. Well. You go shower, I’ll take care of this—“

Eddie reached a hand out to try and stop Steve as he got up. “No, no, I can do it, please don’t—“

Steve brought Eddie’s hand back to his mouth and pressed a kiss. “Let me do this for you, okay? Go shower, I’ll bring you clothes.” Eddie was blushing like crazy as he finally accepted and left the room, his pants and part of his shirt completely drenched.

Steve looked through Eddie’s bag for a pair of clean pants and couldn’t find any, so he grabbed a pair of his own as well as one of Eddie’s favorite shirts and what looked like his last pair of clean boxers. He set them on the counter as Eddie showered, and tried not to think about what he looked like behind that curtain.

Thankfully he managed to get everything cleaned up (he just threw away the blanket and sheets, knowing his parents had a whole cabinet of them and would never notice) and took off and wiped down Eddie’s mattress protector before the girls woke up. He slipped into the bathroom just as he heard their door creak open and Eddie walked back out in Steve’s jeans. They looked good on him.

“Are those Steve’s Levi’s?” he heard Robin ask from behind the closed bathroom door. Shit. He gulped.

“Uh, I, yeah.”

“Did you fuck last night?” she kind of whispered.

Steve heard what sounded like Eddie lightly slapping her shoulder. “No, pervert, I just didn’t pack enough pants.”

“Mhm. You totally fucked.”

“We did not fuck. Go away. It’s too early,” he said through a yawn.

Steve smiled from behind the door and started the shower. He thought about Eddie’s lips on his the whole time.

What the hell were they going to do?

Chapter Text

For some reason, the classroom was completely dark.

Usually, Mrs. Jonson’s algebra classroom was lit up brightly with fluorescents to keep the freshmen awake. But it was nearly pitch black as Eddie sat in his usual chair.

He couldn’t really see much in front of him but the pencil in his hand and the desk. There was no paper on it, just an empty high school wooden desk in a dark room.

But Eddie could feel something warm and wet seeping from his pants legs onto the ground beneath him. He was pissing himself. He tried to get up, to run to the bathroom before anyone noticed, but he couldn’t move. He just had to sit there and feel the piss leaving his useless bladder and ricochet on the white tiled floor as Mrs. Jonson’s lecture drawled out in front of him. Eddie tried to stop it, but it was useless.

It felt like hours before he was done disgracing himself in the middle of class.

“Look,” he heard someone whisper. He turned, but he couldn’t see through the cloak of darkness.

“He pissed himself,” someone else whispered.

“Ah, did Wetty Eddie have another accident?” he heard another voice mock. A voice he knew.

Steve’s voice.

Suddenly the lights were on, and there was a crowd around him. All of his friends. Everyone he knew, grouped around him to gawk at the dark stain and puddle beneath the chair, clear evidence of what happened. He peed himself. In the middle of class. As a freshman. In front of Steve Harrington. Everything went blurry from the tears.

Eddie woke up with a jolt, his breathing escaping in short gasps. A dream. It was a dream. After a moment, he reached one hand down to feel his sheets. He was completely soaked.

He didn’t get up right away, too shaken up from the dream to move. He got that dream every once in awhile, but it had been a long time since the last time he had to relive that moment through his subconscious.

After a few minutes of trying to calm himself down, Eddie peeled off his soaked boxers and gathered the rest of his bedding around them, his body aching from how exhausted he was. He’d wet the bed every night since the cabin trip. It was pretty rare for him to have such a bad streak without a break of waking up dry. The night before, he’d woken up in the middle of the night to wet sheets and spent an hour cleaning up just to fall back asleep and wake up in the morning to another wet bed. He’d pissed himself twice in his sleep in the span of 8 hours.

He nearly fell asleep in the shower, and the only thing keeping him from collapsing onto his unmade bed was the fact that he was seeing Steve today.

They hadn’t talked much since the cabin. In the almost week since they got back, Steve worked at the video store when Eddie was off from the music store, and vice versa. When they did see each other, there were other people around and all they could pass off a long hug goodbye as something totally normal.

So when Steve called Eddie to ask if he’d be busy on Saturday, he cancelled D&D to make sure he’d have the whole day open. Eddie didn’t know what he was planning, but he didn’t care. As long ad he got to see Steve in a setting that wasn’t reliving that day in his dreams.

“Hey,” Steve said casually when Eddie slipped into his car. He had on sunglasses, his hair pushed away from his face, kissed by the midday golden sun.

“Hey, Harrington.”

“Munson.”

They both just kind of stared at each other for a moment. Eddie bit his lip. “So, what are we doing?”

Steve huffed a laugh and turned toward the road. “Like, today? Or, like, in general?”

Eddie laughed softly at himself, face heating up. “Um. Both?”

Steve turned back to him and took off his sunglasses. “Well, I have an idea of what we could do today.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll need to kiss me first before I’ll tell you.”

Eddie’s face was on fucking fire. He felt like he was going to vomit up butterflies. One hand reaching out to Steve’s neck, he pulled him in for a short kiss.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d want to do that again,” Eddie sort of mumbled after they pulled apart.

Steve laughed again. “Are you kidding? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since the cabin.”

There was no way Eddie could blush any more. He was pretty sure his head was on the verge of exploding.

“Me too. Now, I did my part. What are we doing today?”

After a fifteen minute drive, Steve pulled into the small fair that was set up in an outdoor space right outside of Hawkins. There were rides and games and food and a lot of people. It was so sweet of Steve. Eddie was only slightly worried.

It really sucked that everywhere Eddie went, he needed to think about the possibility of his stupid bladder betraying him. In preparation for the worst, he usually brought an extra change of clothes when he went somewhere that he didn’t deem safe, and he was really hoping Steve wouldn’t ask what was in the small black backpack he sat at his feet.

“What do you think, want to split some popcorn and throw up on all the dangerous rides?”

Steve looked nervous, like Eddie would ever reject him.

“This is so nice.”

“It’s nothing—“

“No, it’s not. It’s really nice. Yeah, let’s go do everything you just said. I want to win you a prize.”

On their way into the park, Eddie noticed a table filled with different types of bags, and his heart dropped.

“Sorry, sir, you can’t bring the bag in,” a security guard said with a hand up. Eddie nodded at the man and set down his bag that had nothing else in it but an emergency change of clothes.

He’d just need to pay extra close attention to his bladder. He could not fuck up their first kiss and their first date. If this was even a date?

“So is this a date?” Eddie whispered as Steve got the tickets.

“Uh, I’m paying for your tickets, so I think so.” Unless you don’t want it to be…”

“I definitely want it to be,” he said, blushing again.

“Okay, then it is.”

He wished he could reach out his hand and grab Steve’s as they walked towards the first ride. “Do you think you can handle this?” Steve asked, gesturing to the ride that was a spinning, tilting box. Eddie nodded.

“I love rides.”

“Good,” Steve said with a smile.

The first ride was short and fun, and Eddie loved the exhilaration of feeling like he was flying, but they decided to take a break to play a few games. He was attempting to throw a ring around a bottle when he felt the first pang in his bladder.

There weren’t actually bathrooms, just a line of porta potties by the front entrance that was a good distance away from them.

“We should do the swings next,” Steve said as Eddie lost the game and they walked away prize-less. It wasn’t bad yet. It wasn’t even bad at all. He could do one more ride and be perfectly fine.

But the line to the ride was really long, and by the time they were strapped in and being swung around, their thighs pressed together on the small bench, Eddie needed to pee. Like, in the next thirty minutes, for sure.

When the ride ended, Eddie was about to bring up a trip to the bathroom when Steve declared he was hungry.

“How about corn dogs?” he suggested as they perused the food trucks full of fried things and sweet smelling smoke.

“Mm. Yeah. That sounds good,” Eddie responded, looking around then to see if there happened to be another bathroom hiding somewhere.

“So, two, then?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you listening to me?”

Eddie snapped his head back toward Steve “Yeah. Yeah, sorry.”

“You seem kind of… distracted? Is this too much?”

Eddie shook his head hard. “No! This is… this is great, Steve, I just… I should go to the bathroom soon.”

Steve’s eyes widen slightly. “Oh, duh, sorry, I should’ve asked if you needed it,” he said, forgoing the corn dogs and walking back towards the entrance.

“You don’t need to do that. Ask me, I mean.”

“It wouldn’t hurt, right?”

Eddie shrugged. Having to be reminded to use the bathroom by his… uh, the person he was kissing sometimes was embarrassing. But he’d be lying if he said Steve didn’t have a solid point.

“Yeah. It wouldn’t.”

The line to the porta potties was a lot longer than it had been when they first got to the fair. Eddie crossed his ankles as they stood together, about ten people away from relief. Steve glanced down at his crossed feet. “Are you going to be okay?” he sort of whispered.

“Yeah, yeah. Probably,” he said, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand and yawning. It wasn’t even dark yet, but he was exhausted from the lack of good sleep he’d been getting.

“Okay, well, let me know if that changes.”

Eddie nodded, still rubbing his eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you tired? Because we can go after this if—“

“No, Steve I—I’m having a really good time. Trust me. I just haven’t been sleeping very well,” Eddie said, moving one space up in the queue. His need was definitely getting worse, but he was pretty sure he’d make it without incident.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Eddie blushed and put his hands in his pockets. “Uh. Just. Normal stuff.”

“Like, nightmares?”

“Uh… no. Well. Sort of,” Eddie replied, getting flashes of dream Steve calling Eddie that name. That was so many years ago, it was stupid that his brain decided to start reminding him about it as soon as he and Eddie became… whatever it is they were becoming.

“What kind?”

Eddie really did not want to answer that. “The dreams are fine, Steve. I’ve just… I’ve been having a lot of accidents, this week,” he whispered the last part, face red and skin hot from the embarrassing admission. But he knew telling Steve that would be the fastest way to get him to move on without question.

“Ah, Ed, I’m sorry,” he said. Eddie was right, he stopped asking questions.

Eddie was next in line for the porta potty when he needed to start doing something more than crossing ankles to hold it back. He hated squirming around in public, especially right outside of a toilet, but he knew that if he didn’t bounce on his feet or press his thighs impossibly close together he’d start leaking.

Thankfully, after only a few more minutes, he was next in line and made it without even a single leak.

“All good?” Steve asked when he re-emerged. Eddie noticed his eyes flash quickly down to Eddie’s pants to double check, and he flushed with embarrassment again.

“Yep. Perfect. Now, let me win you a prize.”

“You sure? Because the last guy totally scammed you.”

“You’re worth being scammed.”

Steve was the one to blush, then.

* * *

Once Steve was fed and got a big cup of lemonade, they were ready for more rides.

They went on almost all of them by the time it was dark, and Steve hadn’t used the bathroom when Eddie had, so he was starting to need it, the ache in his bladder not able to be ignored much longer.

“Can we do that one again?” Eddie asked, pointing at the tower that dropped up and down. He looked so excited, eyes bright. Steve could wait until after the ride.

“Yeah, but let’s hit the bathrooms after,” he said, slurping at his lemonade and offering a sip to Eddie, who accepted. After taking a sip, Eddie also shuffled around a bit and pressed a hand lightly against his bladder.

“Good idea, I could pee.”

“Do you need to go now?”

“No, I’m fine. I do need to see your face during that drop again, though.”

Steve shoved him playfully as they got in line. The darker the night became, the more crowds of people showed up, and all of the lines were considerably longer.

Eddie started shifting his weight when they were in the next group after the almost forty minute wait. Steve had to piss, and badly, but he knew his body could wait another hour or so. He’d never had a bathroom emergency as an adult. Eddie, on the other hand…

“Are you sure you can wait?” Steve asked quietly, noting how he was crossing his legs slightly. Not his ankles, his legs, meaning it was getting bad for him.

“Definitely. I’ll be fine,” Eddie said just as the attendant came to collect their tickets and strap them into the ride. The metal bar rested uncomfortably against Steve’s bladder, which was becoming rock hard. Eddie was shaking his legs and he looked like he was dying to grab himself but couldn’t because of the bar. They definitely needed to go straight to the bathrooms after this ride, for both their sake.

The ride was thankfully fairly short, and they were on their way to the bathrooms within ten minutes.

“Shit,” he heard Eddie mutter, and looked up to see why. The porta potty line had more than doubled. It probably tripled. Eddie bounced on the balls of his feet. “I really have to go, now.”

“Yeah, me too,” Steve admitted, although he wasn’t the one starting to do a potty dance. “Ed, do you think you can hold it?”

“I shouldn’t have had more of that lemonade,” he said, not answering to question.

“We can try to find another—“

“This is the only one. Trust me. I pay attention to these things.”

Steve wanted to hold his hand. All of the happiness Eddie had been radiating all night suddenly became full-blown panic. “Okay. Let’s get in line, then.”

Ten minutes into the line and Steve was almost more concerned for himself than he was Eddie. His bladder was starting to hurt, bad. Steve never let it get to this point, he never had to, but he’d drank that lemonade so quickly and hadn’t gone to the bathroom in at least six or more hours. He was really regretting the lemonade, and from the looks of it, so was Eddie.

They were trying to hold a normal conversation, but Eddie was starting to get frantic. “God, I should’ve gone before that last ride, I’m sorry,” he commented when Steve’s work story ended.

“It’s okay. We didn’t think the line would be this long.”

Eddie studied him. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“I don’t usually let it get this bad. But I’ve never… I mean, I would be surprised if this… went south for me.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Eddie said, one hand in his pocket as he bounced on his feet.

“If you want, we can just leave? If you don’t think you can hold it?” Steve offered, although he wasn’t sure how much good that would do. It would take just as long to get to his car, and then another ten minutes to find a gas station or some place to pee.

“The lines not too long, now,” Eddie said, still not answering Steve’s question. It was also a lie, the line was still very long. It had been close to two hours since Eddie last peed, and Steve knew that was a long time for him.

“Oh,” Eddie gasped quietly, unnoticeable if Steve weren’t standing right next to him. Not caring about who could see, Steve reached down and wrapped his fingers in Eddie’s. Eddie squeezed back.

There were only around ten people in front of them when Eddie gasped again and had to let go of Steve’s hand to use it for other reasons. Eddie’s jeans were black, so Steve wasn’t sure how bad it was, but he knew Eddie wouldn’t hold himself unless it was bad.

To his horror, Steve realized he needed to cross his legs for a few moments, his own need only getting worse with Eddie desperately squirming next to him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Eddie asked when he noticed that Steve was showing signs of being desperate, too.

“Are you?”

“No,” he replied honestly, not missing a beat.

“No as in we have time but it will be close, or no as in we should get out of line now?” Steve whispered in his ear, gently placing one hand on the small of his back in a fashion that he hoped was comforting.

“Um…” Eddie shuffled. “I don’t know yet. But I’m… I’ve definitely already gone a little bit.”

“That’s okay. Just tell me when, and we’ll bolt.”

Eddie nodded, but didn’t say anything.

When there were only a few people left in front of them, and Steve was so full he was sure he’d never been so excited to piss in his life, Eddie shoved both hands between his legs and looked down at his jeans.

“Steve,” he whispered.

Steve took one last hopeful glance at the perfectly fine toilet only a few feet away from him and grabbed Eddie’s hand to pull him toward a nearby picnic table

“But you need to—“

“Don’t worry about me. Here, sit,” he said, setting him in front of the empty picnic table.

“What? But Steve, I’m—“

“Just trust me.”

“But I’m—“

“I know you are. Relax. I’ll be right back,” Steve said, grabbing his empty lemonade cup and getting in line for a refill.

“What?” Eddie said again, not relaxing at all, but Steve didn’t have time to explain. He needed to get Eddie sorted out now so he could get himself sorted out. He was close to tears at this point from how bad it hurt to keep everything inside him, and watching Eddie have an accident was not helping.

The line went by quickly, and Steve returned to Eddie with a full cup of lemonade in only a few minutes. Eddie had his head in his hands sitting on the bench of the picnic table, and wasn’t squirming anymore.

“Hey,” Steve said, sitting beside him.

“What the hell, Harrington?” he said, letting go of his face and turning sharply to him, eyes red and wet.

“I’m sorry. I had this idea of what to do if you didn’t make it and I have to piss so bad I’m not thinking straight. Are you okay?”

“I’m… I don’t have to pee anymore. Getting more lemonade was your idea?”

“Yes. Now brace yourself,” Steve said before grabbing the large full cup and ‘accidentally’ knocking it all over Eddie. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, man!”

“Steve!”

Steve picked up the now empty cup from the ground and checked out the damage. His jeans were so dark the preexisting wetness wasn’t that noticeable, but with the lemonade poured onto him, his shirt was also dripping wet. If anyone looked at him, their first thought probably wouldn’t be that he peed himself.

“Let’s go,” Steve said, grabbing his hand again.

“That was so fucking cold,” Eddie said, letting go of Steve’s hand and shaking the excess cubes of ice off himself.

“Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of. You okay?”

“Yeah. It was smart. But maybe warn me next time you pour a gallon of ice cold sugar water on me.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, I just… my brain is swimming in pee,” Steve said, eyeing the long line to the toilets miserably.

“Right, I forgot you had to go. I’m sorry we left the line.”

Really badly. He had to go really, very, extremely badly. “It’s okay. I didn’t want people to see you… you know.”

“Me either. Thank you,” Eddie said, grabbing Steve’s hand again and squeezing it briefly.

“Don’t mention it. Let’s get out of here before you have to pour lemonade all over me.”

Eddie kind of ran in front of Steve to look at his face. “Do you actually think you’re going to…” Eddie subtly gestured to himself.

No, he wasn’t. He knew he wasn’t. But he also knew that if Eddie knew that, he’d just feel worse. “Maybe.”

“Okay, let’s pick up the pace, then.”

On their way out, Eddie grabbed the small backpack he carried around with him and slung it over his shoulders. “Do you mind if I, um… if I change in the car?”

“You brought other clothes?”

Eddie held up his backpack, face red. “Only the one pair, though, so I can wait until we find you somewhere to pee.” Of course Eddie would carry around extra clothes.

Once in the car, it was a lot easier to hold as he sat down. Every time he shifted it felt needles stabbing him in the gut. “Okay, hopefully there’s a gas station nearby.”

“There’s one like, 2 miles that way,” Eddie said, pointing down a short road.

“Cool. You can change first, Ed,” he said when he realized Eddie was sitting on his jacket in wet clothes.

“Um. Okay. Don’t… don’t look.”

Steve nodded and turned his head towards the window. He heard the bag unzip, as well as something else pop open—wipes, maybe?

“Do you always carry around extra clothes?” Steve asked.

“No. Only when I’m, like, not sure what the bathroom situation is.”

“Smart,” Steve commented, pressing one hard down on his dick and hoping Eddie wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m sorry, by the way,” Eddie said quietly as Steve heard him zip his pants back up. “You can look.”

Steve turned back just as Eddie ran a hand through his hair, now wearing normal denim jeans, his shirt still damp from lemonade. “It really wasn’t your fault. You don’t ever have to apologize.”

“I still pissed myself on our first date,” he said, staring down at his hands.

“Hey,” Eddie reached across and tilted his chin back up, forcing him to meet his eyes, “we’re going to go on a lot of dates. I think. I mean, I hope, if you’re—“ suddenly Steve had to double over in pain. “Fuck, ow.”

“Ow? It hurts?”

“Mm. Yeah. I need to piss,” he said, teeth clenching. It was like everything inside of him was a hot ball of pain. It didn’t feel like he needed to pee anymore, it was just pain.

“Want me to drive?”

Steve nodded tightly and painfully pulled himself out of the car.

To his absolute shock, he felt wetness seeping into his boxers. He gasped and clenched himself hard before quickly landing in the passenger seat.

“Steve?” Eddie said from the drivers seat.

“Drive, please,” Steve said, hands still holding himself. This had never happened to him.

“It’s not normal for it to hurt like that, Steve, maybe you should just go.”

“I’m not doing that,” he said quickly. He could feel Eddie glaring at him.

“You know that makes me feel bad, right?”

Shit. Why did Steve say that? That was the last thing Eddie needed to hear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… this is just, new for me.”

“I know, but maybe you should take your own advice. Besides, you wouldn’t be the only person in this car who wet themselves tonight.”

The problem was Steve’s bladder was so full he wasn’t sure he could even do that. The fact that he’d leaked at all was a miracle. “I know. You’re right.”

“Hold on, I think I see the gas station.”

After a short drive, Eddie pulled into the gas station and Steve dared to let go of himself. Nothing happened. Then he started to move, and completely uncontrollably, piss started flowing out of him. “Oh, fuck, what the hell—“ without really thinking clearly at all, Steve took himself out and aimed at the concrete below his open car door.

“Oh!” he heard Eddie exclaim.

Steve should’ve been embarrassed, or worried someone would see as he pissed on the ground outside of his car, but it was dark, the station was empty, and it felt fucking amazing to finally let it out.

“Holy shit, I seriously couldn’t hold it,” he moaned as his stream continued to splatter on to the concrete.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

When he was finally done, his now empty bladder aching below his belt, the shame crept in.

“That wasn’t exactly what I thought you were going to do,” Eddie said when Steve tucked himself back in and closed the door. His face was flushed bright red.

“I’m so sorry, Eddie. I—I just… couldn’t hold it,” he said, truthfully.

That’s when he noticed his jeans. It was dark, but there was what felt like a bowling ball size wet patch on his light wash jeans, completely unmistakable.

“Hey, it’s really fine. I mean. Look who you’re talking to.”

Steve flicked on the car light to get a better look. “Oh my God, I totally wet my pants,” he said, gesturing down.

Eddie looked at Steve’s pants and laughed. “Holy shit, Steve Harrington pissed himself.”

“First time for everything, I guess.”

“I think you need a nickname. Considering. Like… Stinky Steve or something.”

Steve lightly punched Eddie’s arm. “Hey. You know I regret that. So much. I was a fucking terrible person to you back then, and you didn’t deserve that.”

Eddie licked his lips, eyes bouncing around. “Yeah. I know. But… it’s nice to be reminded.”

Steve reached out his hand, and Eddie accepted. “I’ll remind you everyday if I have to. But if it makes you feel better, you can call me whatever evil nick name you want. You get a free pass.”

“Pee-y Steve-y?”

Steve pretended to consider. “Mmm, you could do better.”

“Okay. I’ll brainstorm. Also, I get it,” Eddie said, putting the car in drive.

“Get what?”

“I still like you. Even though you peed your pants on our first date.”

“So did you.”

“Yeah, and that never happens,” Eddie joked, deadpan.

Eddie had to put the car back in park as Steve leaned over and kissed the hell out of him, smiling the whole time.

Chapter Text

The 2 weeks following the cabin trip, Eddie and Steve couldn’t find time to see each outside of hanging out later in the night. When they did hangout, it was usually after 10 pm. Which meant that they only got to see each other for a few hours, because Eddie completely refused to sleep over, no matter how many times Steve told him he didn’t care if it happened.

But of course, Eddie cared. So they spent a few hours with each other, and then Steve drove him home, and went to sleep in his bed cold and alone.

It wasn’t even that Steve was trying to get into his pants—not that he would mind that—he just wanted to spend more time with Eddie. He wanted to wake up with him. He wanted to fucking cuddle.

So when Steve’s parents announced that they would be gone for the entire weekend, Steve had to come up with a plan to get Eddie to stay over.

“I’m thinking about having a party,” Steve said, arm around Eddie as they watched a movie on his couch. His parents had been gone for a few hours, so they didn’t have to hide out in his room and could openly snuggle on the couch for once.

“A party?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah, like, a few people over… maybe as an early birthday celebration?”

Eddie sat up slightly. “Shit, is it your birthday this weekend?”

“It’s on Wednesday.”

“You didn’t say anything!”

“Sorry, I guess I’ve just been distracted.”

Eddie squinted his eyes. “By what?”

Steve ran a hand through Eddie’s hair, turning his head towards him. “By you. And the, you know, sexuality crisis.”

“Right.”

“So, I was wondering if afterwards, you might want to sleep over?”

Eddie kind of stiffened. “Um… Steve, I—“

“It would just be us. No one would know if you… you know.”

Eddie was biting his bottom lip. “I just… I don’t want you to… I mean, your mattress and… and I hated at the cabin when I got you… ugh,” he hurried his face into Steve’s shoulder with a grunt.

“I know. It’s okay. I just thought I’d offer,” Steve said, wrapping his arms around Eddie. He needed to ask the question he’d been wanting to ask for awhile, now, but he was worried that Eddie might freak out. “Ed, can I ask you something?”

Eddie lifted his head. “Oh no.”

“Don’t be scared. It’s not a big deal.”

“To you, or me?”

Steve sighed. “Look, you don’t have to answer—hell, you can interrupt me if you need to, I just want to know if… well. There’s stuff that you could… uh, wear, at night—“

Eddie stood up.

“Ed, wait—“

“Uh-uh, Harrington, no. We’re not having this conversation.”

“Okay. Okay, we don’t have to.”

Eddie was still standing. He ran a hand through his hair. “Good.”

“Are you going to stay standing?”

“Why do you want to know? Why did you ask?” Eddie sounded pissed, exactly how Steve imagined he’d react. Steve sighed again.

“Because I thought that if you had something… you know, like, protection, you wouldn’t leave every time it’s past midnight!”

“You sure you aren’t just tired of dealing with me?” Eddie said, voice rough around the edges, arms crossed. Steve dropped his eyebrows.

“Eddie. Of course not. Come on.”

“I don’t want to wear fucking diapers, Harrington.”

“Okay. You don’t have to.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

Steve stood and took Eddie hands in his, but Eddie wasn’t looking at him. “Munson, I just want you to be comfortable being with me! Being my… you know. Whatever we are. This has nothing to do with me. You know that I like you exactly how you are. But if there was a way to make your life easier, at least when it comes to sleeping over with me, I want to help out in any way I can.”

Eddie looked at him, finally. His eyes were wet. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t… that’s not what you were implying.”

“It wasn’t. But we don’t need to keep talking about this. We can end the conversation here,” Steve said, leading them back to the couch. Eddie sat a few feet away from him, hands in his lap. He wiped at his eyes with his shirt sleeve.

“It’s just… yes. I have worn… them. In the past. Back when I was a kid and everyone thought it would stop. But then it didn’t, and they’re really expensive, Steve. My uncle couldn’t keep spending all that money, and it just made more sense to… not wear them anymore,” Eddie admitted, eyes no where near Steve’s.

Steve put a hand on Eddie’s leg. “Okay, I get that. But if you think you’d want to… try again, I’ll pay for them—“

“No, no Steve, I’m not letting you do that—“

“I’m serious, Eddie, I don’t care—“

“I care, Steve. Please. I… I‘ll think about sleeping over this weekend for your birthday, but I don’t want you buying them for me. Please.”

Steve put his hands up in defense. “I won’t.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

“It’s really not that serious—“

Steve kissed him gently, in his parents living room, because he could. Eddie sighed into the kiss.

“You’re right, it’s not. But still, thank you.”

***

Robin and Nancy came by an hour later to drop off some VHS tapes they were borrowing and stayed for dinner.

“Did you know it’s Steve’s birthday next week?” Eddie whispered to Robin as Nancy and Steve talked in the kitchen.

“Yeah, you didn’t?”

“No. He wants to have people over. Should we, like, help throw him a party? Get decorations and stuff?”

“Yeah, sure! I need to buy him a present. What are you doing later?” she asked.

“Probably doing nothing with Steve. Why?”

“Want to go to the mall?”

When they asked Steve if he wanted to tag along, he thankfully said no, but asked if he could pick Eddie up in a few hours. Eddie agreed, and Robin, Nancy, and him piled into Nancy’s car as the sun started to set.

Eddie was secretly glad to get away from Steve for a few hours. The last thing he expected Steve to randomly bring up was whether or not he’d ever worn fucking diapers. His entire body was hot with a blush for what felt like an hour after their extremely embarrassing conversation, and so spending a few hours shopping in the mall was somehow a much better option.

Eddie didn’t go to the mall very often. Not only was it not really his thing, but there was always a line to the bathrooms, and if it was an emergency, the mall was the last place he wanted to be.

Of course, because of the whole conversation with Steve and Eddie feeling extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed, he forgot to use the bathroom before they left. Which he never, ever did.

But it was fine, because he’d just ask to stop by first thing, and the crisis would be averted.

Only parking took twenty minutes, and by the time they were actually inside of the packed Friday night mall rush, it was an emergency.

“Let’s start upstairs, first,” Nancy suggested, which sucked, because there wasn’t a bathroom upstairs.

He just needed to tell them. And then he’d fine. “Uh, I’ll meet you up there,” Eddie tried to say, walking away from the escalator.

“Wait, no, let’s stick together! I don’t want to lose either of you,” Robin said.

Eddie stuffed his hands in his pockets, and nodded.

He’d just go to one store, and then try again. That wouldn’t be so hard, right?”

Apparently, it was hard, because Nancy ended up buying and trying on clothes, and the line to check out spanned basically the entire store. Eddie was bouncing on the soles of his feet by the time Nancy was next in line to pay.

“Hey, Robin?”

“Mhm?” she hummed, thumbing through a rack of clothes.

“After we’re done here, mind if we stop by the bathroom?”

Robin took a look at him. “Oh, shit, sorry, Eddie. Can you wait until we’re done here?”

Eddie nodded, blushing profusely. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

It took another ten minutes until they were done, and Eddie really needed to piss.

He hadn’t had any daytime accidents since the fair with Steve, and he really was trying to keep that streak going, but as they rode the escalator down, Nancy wielding two new bags of clothes, he wasn’t sure if that was going to work out. He crossed his legs in a way he hoped wasn’t conspicuous.

“Ed. You good?” Robin whispered as they hopped off. He nodded, looking around for the closet bathroom, which he was pretty sure was at the other end of where they currently were.

“Yeah, I just… have to go.”

“Let’s go, then,” Nancy said, leading the way. Eddie kept his head down.

He had to pee so bad. He had to pee so bad all the time, but this getting to the danger zone for sure. And of course, once they got to the bathrooms, there was a line out the door for both the women’s and men’s. He gulped.

“Should we try another one?” Robin asked, biting her lip.

Eddie looked around. “Maybe?”

“Oh, look, a party supply store!” Nancy called, pointing to one of the closer stores to them that was filled with party supplies. Eddie was so desperate he almost forgot about the reason they were even there entirely.

“We can stop in,” he said, for some reason.

“You sure?” Robin asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine. Then we can try and find a shorter line somewhere.”

They only spent 10 minutes in the store, the three of them splitting up to gather decorations for Steve quickly, but Eddie was a fucking idiot for suggesting it at all.

But he wasn’t a kid. And he hadn’t had an accident in over two weeks (which wasn’t that impressive, even for him, but it had been bad lately), and he was not about to have one now. He held himself as he grabbed a roll of streamers.

They left the store with a bag of decorations that Eddie was holding and set out to find the closest bathroom.

“There’s one by the theater,” Robin said, heading that direction.

Eddie nodded and followed, willing his body to hold on for a little while longer. It had probably been over 2 hours since he last peed, maybe more.

The bathroom by the theater thankfully had a slightly shorter line, but Eddie still had to hold himself beneath the plastic bag in front of him to keep himself from watering the floor. Which he was not going to do.

He didn’t need fucking diapers. He was a grown ass man who could hold his pee. He was fine.

He leaked, pretty substantially, and held his breath.

He was not going to have an accident. He was not going to have an accident. He was not going to have an accident.

Another leak escaped, and he was pretty sure he felt a small amount of wetness seeping down one leg.

He got out of line and started bolting.

“Eddie?” Robin called, and ran after him with Nancy behind her.

Eddie was gripping onto himself tightly as he slowed down and backed himself into a corner at the end of a hall where he was alone.

“Eddie? Are you not going to make it?” Robin asked, catching up to him.

He was still holding on—it was honestly shocking that he was—so he shook his head.

“I’m fine, I just… I don’t feel well.”

“Are you sure?” Nancy asked, tentatively.

Eddie was still holding the bag in front of him, and his jeans were dark, but it was definitely possible that they could see him sort of losing it.

“Let’s find you another bathroom, alright? Unless you think you’re going to throw up or something—“

“Yeah, that’s fine, let’s go.”

Eddie had to let go of himself as they walked back into the busy mall (which, what the fuck was wrong with him, he was about to pee his pants, and a crowded mall was the worst possible place to do that in) and made their way towards the food court.

“I think there’s a family bathroom down here. It’s usually empty,” Robin said.

Steve nodded tightly, and a short stream of piss soaked into his boxers. Shit. This was bad. He should not have left that bathroom line. He was going to pee himself.

No. No, he wasn’t. He couldn’t. He didn’t need diapers. He was fine.

The family bathroom had someone inside of it (probably a family) and that was it. Eddie needed to get out of this mall, because he was going to have an accident in the next thirty seconds, and he’d really prefer to do that in a more secluded location.

“I need to get out of here,” he said to the girls before running as fast as he could towards then nearest side exit, pee slowly running down his legs as he did so, despite how hard he was trying to keep it inside of him.

The crisp night air only made his need worse, and he shoved both hands between his legs as he back up against a wall, thankfully in a mostly secluded area outside of the mall.

He had to pee. He had to pee now. He was already peeing, technically, but he still really, really had to pee.

He set the bag of things down on the ground to inspect the damage. There was a pretty big wet spot on his crotch and a few steaks down his legs. He sat down hard on the balls of his feet.

He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to just piss himself out in the open, but he also couldn’t go back inside. Not to mention, his body was going to make that choice for him very, very soon.

Unfortunately, Robin and Nancy caught up to him. Robin crouched down.

“No one’s around. It’s okay.”

Eddie nodded and gulped down the block of tears in his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, Eddie,” Nancy said, standing a few feet back.

“Have I ever told you that I peed my pants in the mall once?”

“What?”

“Yeah, last year. To be fair, I was drugged up by Russians, but.”

“I’m not drugged up by russians.”

“Maybe not, but still. It’s okay.”

Eddie was somehow still holding it back, and it hurt. It hurt badly. “I’m going to piss myself, I’m sorry,” he said when he shifted slightly and without any warning, a light stream started. He could feel it dripping down onto the concrete from where he was still sitting.

“Here, we’ll guard you,” Robin said, grabbing Nancy’s hand and linking their fingers to pull her in front of him. Eddie put his head in his hands as his body continued to disgrace him in front of his friends.

It burned, which he knew was not a good thing. It had been awhile since Eddie held it for that long. He had to sit fully on the ground to make it hurt less, face squeezed together as he felt the wetness soak into the ass of his jeans.

He sniffled wetly when he was done. “Okay. I’m… finished.”

They turned around with empathetic smiles. Or maybe pitiful smiles. Eddie wasn’t sure. He just wanted to go home.

But he couldn’t go home, because Steve was supposed to pick him up. He sighed as he pulled himself up.

“Sorry,” he said, pants completely soaked and bladder throbbing painfully.

“It’s okay!” Nancy said, then checked her watch. “I think Steve is picking you up soon. Are you going to be okay?” Nancy asked. Eddie nodded, shifting on his feet. His pants were already cold against his wet skin.

“Yeah. It’s not like it’ll be the first time he sees me like this,” he admitted.

Robin threw and arm around his shoulder as they walked towards the Maceys he was supposed to be picked up from. Thankfully, it was fully dark outside and no one could see his soaked pants.

Steve pulled up, windows rolled down, right on time. Eddie’s pants were slightly more dry to the touch, by clearly still wet. They girls gave him a brief goodbye and went on their way, and Eddie tried not to cry as he climbed inside of Steve’s car with wet pants, clinging to the tightly closed bag of decorations he set on his lap.

“Hey! Have fun?”

“Mhm,” Eddie said, looking out the window.

“You okay?” Steve asked, and Eddie’s heart dropped.

Steve hadn’t noticed. Eddie was sitting there in wet jeans, and Steve didn’t know. “Yeah. Just tired,” he lied.

“Okay. Well, I can drop you off at home if you want?” Steve suggested.

“Yeah, thank you,” Eddie said, blushing.

He might be able to get away with it. Steve might not notice, drop him off, and wouldn’t think that his… whatever they were… peed himself again like a baby. A baby who needed diapers.

“Okay,” Steve said, and turned the music back up.

10 minutes into the drive, and Eddie suddenly was about to piss himself again.

He knew that didn’t make any sense—he had to wet pants to prove it—but he was pretty sure he was on the verge of completing peeing himself again in Steve’s car, and he didn’t know what to do. He gripped the plastic bag tighter.

When he leaked, it burned like hell, and he gasped.

“Eddie?”

“I’m sorry, I need to—ow, fuck! Pull over!”

Steve pulled over onto the side of the road, and Eddie hauled himself out of the car and took himself out, but there was hardly anything in him, just a tiny, painful stream. Fuck. That wasn’t good.

He set himself back in the car, and Steve flipped on the lights. “Oh, baby, why didn’t you tell me you had to go?” he asked when Eddie sat back down, and Eddie lost it.

He was crying, hard, into his hands, as Steve pulled him towards his chest. “It’s okay, love. It’s okay. It was just an accident, you’re fine.”

“No, no, it… i’m so stupid!”

“No you’re not, baby. You just didn’t feel it soon enough, right?”

Eddie only cried harder. “No. Steve, I… I pissed myself like, 30 minutes ago, but you didn’t notice! And I thought I could get away with it… I’m so stupid!”

Steve only held onto him higher. “Ed, hey, hey… I noticed, baby, I just didn’t want to embarrass you.”

Eddie pulled away. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I just… I know I already embarrassed you with the conversation from earlier today, and I didn’t want to… make it worse.”

Eddie shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. “You’re right, though, Steve. I can’t fucking hold my piss during the day. I can’t hold it at night. If you… if you think it’ll… fuck. I want you to be comfortable with me sleeping over—“

“Eddie, I am! I want you to be comfortable. And if you’re not comfortable with the possibility of getting my bed wet or stained or whatever, that’s why I suggested it to begin with!”

Eddie shivered, legs cold and wet. He sniffled again. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, I… I’m willing to… try. I’m sorry.”

Steve lifted his chin and pressed a soft kiss on his mouth, like he always did when Eddie was upset. “Don’t apologize. You can always change your mind, alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you tell me what happened, baby? I know you already had an accident, but you had to go again so soon after?”

Eddie blushed, deeply. “I think I held it for too long and my body is… mad at me. It happens sometimes.”

“Okay. Well, tell me if you need me to pull over again, alright? How about you come over and shower, and I’ll get you some clean, warm clothes, and we can cuddle? And then I’ll drive you back home whenever you need?”

Eddie shifted uncomfortably. “Or I could… I could just stay over, tonight. If you wanted.”

Steve smiled, and turned off the overhead light. “I would really like that, Eddie,” he said before turning around towards his parents house, one hand linked with Eddie’s.

Chapter Text

Steve pulled up to his house within fifteen minutes, and Eddie was definitely not going to pee himself again on the way in.

Because that would be crazy. He JUST peed. Like, minutes earlier.

He jumped out of the car quickly and hoped Steve didn’t notice that he grabbed himself tightly over his damp jeans. He was not going to pee again in his pants. That was not going to happen.

It had been awhile since he last had an infection. He really did not want Steve to see him with an infection—especially if it was this bad. Infections this bad usually meant a night of sitting on the toilet and changing his pants multiple times. And changing his underwear way more than multiple times.

Steve was at the front door quickly, keys in the slot, and Eddie gripped himself again. It fucking burned. His dick felt like it was leaking lava—oh shit, it was leaking something. Eddie squeezed tighter.

There was no way he even had anything left inside of him. He had to be empty by now. But piss was leaking out of him as he was forced to let go of himself as Steve opened the door for him to slip into.

“Go ahead and get in the shower—Ed?”

Eddie stood very still. Pee was coming out of him slowly, burning like fire, and there was nothing he could do. He stood still as he continued to pee himself. It was only a little bit, probably fifteen seconds worth of a stream, but it managed to soak into his damp pants and drip down one leg. And it was enough for Steve to apparently notice, because he was staring.

“I am so sorry—“ Eddie practically sobbed before he was cut off.

“Oh, baby, what’s going on with you?” he asked gently, one hand going up to his face and wiping a tear like Eddie was in some goddamn romance movie and not pissing his pants for the second time that night. His jeans were clinging to him grossly as he continued to cry.

“I didn’t—I’m sorry—“

“You’re fine, your pants are already wet anyway. What did you mean exactly earlier when you said your body was mad at you? I want to help.”

That made Eddie cry harder. “I—I… I gave myself an infection, probably… like… in my bladder or… urinary tract or something—I don’t know but. It’s happened before. In the past. I’m so sorry, I can go home if you don’t want—“

“What can we do to make you better?” Steve asked. He was holding one of Eddie’s hands, he realized. Eddie wanted to drop dead. How could Steve be so nice to him right now?

“Um—well. I usually just take some ibuprofen and I have to drink… I have to drink a lot of fluids. Like, flush it out of my system.”

“Okay, I think we can handle that—“

“Steve that means—“

“I know, yeah. I can paint the picture.”

Eddie let his head fall heavily against Steve’s shoulder. “I can go home—“

“Let me take care of you. Please? I promise, whatever happens, i’m signing myself up for it.”

“But—“

“No buts.”

“No, Steve—“

“Eddie, I’m serious—“

“Steve, I need to pee again!” Eddie whined, hand going to his crotch again.

“Oh, yeah, go, go.” Eddie ran off towards the bathroom. “This is going to be a long night,” Steve muttered to himself.

* * *

“So what kinds of fluids?” Steve asked from his perch on the bathroom counter. Eddie was standing in front of the mirror brushing his wet hair. He showered for a long time, and his red rimmed eyes gave Steve a good clue into why it was such a long shower.

“Um. I normally just do cranberry juice and a lot of water.”

“Water I have, but I’ll have to go out and get the juice—“

“No, water will be fine—“

“And I have to get… the other thing. We talked about. Unless you’ve… changed your mind.”

Eddie’s cheeks got bright red as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing Steve’s clothes—a fresh pair of boxers and gray sweats with one of Steve’s sleep shirts. He looked cozy. And very, very embarrassed. “Yeah it’s… if you really want to—“

“It’s up to you.”

Eddie looked down at his hands. He crossed his arms against his chest. “If you want me to sleep over tonight… it’s probably the smart thing to do.”

Steve nodded and hopped down. “Then I will be right back,” he said, kissing the top of Eddie’s head and leaving his freshly washed boyfriend—or… whatever they were… in his bathroom. Not before giving him a water bottle to drink.

Thankfully he didn’t run into any familiar faces as he purchased a package of medium size extra absorbent men’s ‘disposable underwear’ and a large jug of cranberry juice from the store. The… protection… was definitely on the pricey side, and Steve understood why someone who had nighttime accidents as often as Eddie wouldn’t purchase these regularly. A rubber sheet was more cost effective. And slightly less shameful, probably.

But Steve also wasn’t short on cash, and he wanted Eddie to be comfortable, especially if he had an infection that was making him pee every fifteen minutes.

When Steve got back, Eddie was still in the bathroom, sitting on the counter like Steve had been doing earlier. His hair was much drier and curling into ringlets, unbrushed. “Hi,” he said when Steve set the bag of items down on the coffee table and made his way over.

“Hi. How’s it going?”

“I haven’t pissed myself since you were gone if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Have you been drinking water?” Steve asked, gesturing to the water bottle sitting next to Eddie, untouched.

“…No.”

“Let’s change that. Come on,” he took Eddie’s hand and let him hop off the counter. He brought them to the couch and pulled out two glasses.

“What are you doing?” Eddie asked when Steve poured two glasses of cranberry juice to the brim.

“Well i’m not going to make you drink alone!”

“Steve, if I drink this whole thing, I’m going to have piss pouring out of my eyes.”

“If you drink the water bottle, maybe it’ll come out of your ears, too!”

“Steve,” Eddie whined.

“Come on, I know you’re uncomfortable,” Steve said, watching as Eddie curled into himself on the couch, face pinched up.

“I… It… It just burns a little bit.”

“A little bit?”

“Mostly when i’m peeing. It’s not too bad, I’m used to it.”

“I’d really rather my boyfriend not be in any pain at all if that’s a possibility. So, drink up,” he said, lifting his own glass and making an effort to cheers it with Eddie. Eddie didn’t pick his up.

“What did you just say?” Eddie asked.

“I said I don’t want you to be in pain—“

“No, you said you don’t want your boyfriend… to be in pain.”

Steve’s ear went hot. “No, I didn’t.”

“You kind of did.”

“No, I… That was an accident.”

“So, I’m not your boyfriend?”

“No! Unless you… want to be?”

Eddie kissed him, causing Steve to spill a drop of cranberry juice on his shirt in the process. “Yes, I want to be, dumbass,” he said when they pulled apart.

“Okay, well, then, as your official boyfriend, please cheers me and drink your juice.”

Eddie obliged, downing to glass and half of the water bottle in a few gulps.

Ten minutes later, he was running to the bathroom. So quickly that Steve barely had time to pause the movie. When he came back, his pants were dry.

“Sorry,” he murmured, snuggling back up to Steve.

“If you say sorry every time you pee, it is going to get very annoying very fast.”

“Sorry—“ Steve covered Eddie’s mouth.

Eddie was working on his second glass of cranberry juice when he suddenly gasped and squeezed himself. “Shit shit shit—“ he was standing in a second, but Steve could see that it was already too late, and his sweats were getting wet with a spot that was rabidly spreading. Eddie was standing in the same spot, both hands gripping his dick tightly.

“I—uh—need a moment—fuck,” he was kind of bouncing on his feet now, and Steve could see it dripping down one leg.

“Let me help you,” he said, grabbing him by the waist as pulling him up until his legs wrapped around Steve’s torso. He was surprisingly light.

“Steve! Stop, i’m peeing!”

“Well would you rather do it in the toilet or on my floor—!”

“I would rather not do it on you!”

Steve dropped him off in front of the toilet and Eddie immediately pulled his pants and boxers down, but it didn’t really matter because it was only a short stream that made it in. The rest was on both of them. Eddie hissed as he finished up.

“Ow, fuck.”

“It still hurts?”

“Yeah.”

He put himself back in and turned to see Steve. And the wet spot on Steve’s shirt.

“Fuck, Steve! This is why you shouldn’t have carried me!”

“You were going to have an accident!”

“I was already having one!”

“Same thing.”

“No, not the same thing. If I was about to pee myself, then, yes, getting me to a toilet—smart! But if there’s already clearly piss coming out of me,” he gestured to his soaked pants, “then it doesn’t make much of a difference.”

Steve put his hands on his hips. “My mom cares a lot about her carpet. I didn’t want any of it to get on it.”

“Oh. Sorry—“

“Uh-uh, stop it. No sorry. Let me get you some more clothes.”

Eddie sighed. “Not much of a point. I’m probably just going to piss in them.” Eddie was clearly getting to the self deprecating part of the night.

“Then i’ll get you some fresh clothes to piss into.”

“Harrington—“

“Wait here. And when you’re dressed again, you’re drinking another cup of juice.”

This cycle went on for the rest of the night. Steve forced liquids down Eddie’s throat and Eddie ran to the bathroom every fifteen minutes. He made it most of the time.

Eddie started to nod off at around midnight, the movie on the TV rolling the credits. Steve needed to wake him up and get him into bed, but he was worried about how the whole disposable underwear conversation was going to go.

“Hey, Ed, baby, wake up,” he tried, shaking his shoulder lightly from where they were sprawled out across Steve. He mumbled something and buried himself deeper.

“Ed, I know you don’t want to pee on me again.”

That got him up. He sat up quickly, grabbed himself, and ran off. Steve turned off the TV and grabbed his plastic bag from the store that was sitting on the floor.

When Eddie re-emerged, he was rubbing his eyes and looked dry. Steve offered his hand and led them to his room.

“So,” Steve said after closing the door.

Eddie sat on his bed. “Please don’t be awkward about this.”

“I’m not going to be awkward!” he said, defensively raining his hands, the bag of diapers going up with them.

“Just hand them over,” Eddie grumbled. Steve obliged happily, glad he didn’t have to fight, and Eddie took the thick package to the bathroom. Steve sat down on his bed and waited.

When Eddie came back, he looked the same. The (second) pair of sweats he was borrowing were loose, and Steve definitely wouldn’t be able to tell that he had something on underneath if he didn’t know.

“Okay. No comments about this. Please,” Eddie said as she crawled into bed. Steve nodded.

“Of course.”

Eddie drained the rest of what Steve was pretty sure was his third water bottle. He’d definitely never seen Eddie drink this much of anything.

He brushed his teeth and washed up quickly, and when he got back to the room, Eddie was back up and racing to the bathroom.

Steve crawled into bed, and when Eddie returned, he wrapped his arms around Steve.

“Thank you, Steve,” he murmured sleepily. Steve turned towards him so they were face to face and wrapped a hand around his waist. Eddie tensed up slightly but relaxed after a moment.

“You’re welcome. Are you feeling any better?”

“It’s burning less, I think,” he said. Steve grabbed onto him tightly. His hand was hovering over his ass, and he was tempted to reach out and feel the padding below the cotton of his sweats. It didn’t turn him on or anything, but he kind of liked the idea of Eddie having an accident and him not even knowing. He knew that thought was weird and dirty and not a super normal thing to find slightly hot. It’s not like Eddie being in pain or embarrassed was hot. It wasn’t. He didn’t get turned on when Eddie had regular accidents. But something about the padding extending as he let go in his sleep, completely unaware—

What the fuck was going on with him. Steve turned away from Eddie before he could think more about this. The last thing Eddie needed to worry about was if him wearing nighttime protection got his boyfriend hard. This was to benefit Eddie. To make him more comfortable. Steve’s thoughts were the opposite of comfortable.

It took him awhile to fall asleep, mostly because his heart was pounding, and when he finally closed his eyes, he dreamt about Eddie.

Eddie waking up soaked. Stripping out of the soiled padding and having to put on another. Eddie rolling on top of him in his sleep and unconsciously and uncontrollably letting go on top of Steve, but neither of them getting wet. Eddie waking up and wiggling around in the bed, about to burst, before Steve leaned over and kissed him so long he pissed himself twice.

Steve’s eyes shot open. His bed was empty.

He pulled himself out of bed and went to track down Eddie, worry over powering the weird ass dreams he was just having that unfortunately gave him a fucking boner.

The bathroom door was cracked open, and he pushed it open without thinking to see Eddie pulling up his sweats over the protection. Or… a new pair of protection, because there was a wet one sitting on the counter.

“Oh my God—“ Eddie said, covering himself even though he was fully clothed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry that was a bad call—“ he said, covering his eyes.

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t close the door all the way and I’m also really sorry that I’m using… another one of these things, I just woke up really wet and I was afraid that it would leak if I went back to sleep—“

“No need to explain, Eddie, they’re for you. Use them however you want,” Steve uncovered his eyes. Eddie was staring at him. Shit, Eddie was staring at his crotch.

“Steve… are you—?”

It was his turn to cover himself. “No!”

“It’s okay if you are—“

“I’m… I…”

“Want me to help you out?”

And that’s how Steve ended up getting his dick sucked against his bathroom wall.

They went back to bed, and Steve prayed to any God listening that he wasn’t suddenly horny for his boyfriends uncontrollable issues. But then he thought about Eddie having accidents during the day, and it didn’t turn him on. He didn’t like the idea of Eddie embarrassed or hurting or being bullied for it. There was just something about sleeping… sleeping while wearing protection… that turned him on. A little bit. Maybe a lot. He needed to sort this out before his brand new boyfriend dumped him for being a freak.

When they woke again later in the morning, they were cuddling. And the sheets were bone dry. Steve couldn’t think too hard about why that was or he might get hard again, so he settled for snuggling closer into his boyfriend and not worrying about waking him up to pee. Which felt really good to do. Eddie deserved to sleep in.

* * *

When Eddie woke up, it was because he was dying for a piss. Usually when that happened, it was a good sign and meant that he didn’t wet the bed, but as he pulled himself off of Steve and stood up, he felt his ass sagging. Fuck. Right. The goddamn diaper. God, Eddie’s life was just a long string of embarrassing moments.

He rushed quickly to the bathroom, desperate to get out of the soaking wet padding and also desperate to relieve his aching bladder. He sat as he pissed, protection a sopping pile by this feet.

How would Steve find this even slightly attractive?

He took a quick shower after stuffing the evidence into the trash. While in the shower, he peed himself without warning, and it still burned like hell. This was a stubborn infection.

Eddie got changed into the same clothes he was wearing, forgoing the extra padding as he made his way back to Steve’s room. He was sitting up in bed.

“Alright?” he asked.

Eddie nodded. “Alright.”

“Good. Cuddle me more?” Eddie smiled and obliged, lying his body on top of Steve’s and letting his hair get fucked up.

“Are you having the party tonight?” Eddie asked.

“I don’t have to. If you’re worried—“

“I’ll be fine. You should. We bought you decorations as a surprise.”

“You know it’s not much of a surprise if you tell me about it.”

“Shit. Yeah. Sorry.”

Steve laughed. “That’s very kind. Then, yeah, I’ll have some people over. And you’re welcome to stay tonight again if you think that this was a good idea?”

Eddie nodded into Steve’s chest. “Unfortunately, me feeling like i’m five again was worth it considering your bed is dry and I got to sleep in. It was… kind of nice.”

Steve squeezed him. “Good. Had any liquids today?”

“Not yet—“

“Alright, up, up, my boyfriend needs some cranberry juice.”

Eddie laughed as he followed Steve down the stairs and drank the entire glass willingly. If he was going to spend all day pissing himself again, he was glad it was with Steve.

At around four, Steve announced that they needed to go to the video store and pick up a few more movies before everyone came over (everyone was the girls and Dustin, but, you know, it was a good group).

“Are you sure you’re good to come along?” Steve asked as Eddie pulled on a pair of Steve’s jeans. He needed to start leaving clothes around Steve’s house.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he said, buttoning them. He hadn’t had an accident since early in the morning, and the infection was starting to clear up.

Still, when he peed one last time before leaving, he saw the protection sitting on the counter and… well, it’s not like this was going to become a habit. He really didn’t like wearing them—it made him feel ridiculous. But he also really did not want to pee himself in public today, and if he left the house, the chances of that happening were really high. So he slipped one on under the jeans that were slightly too big and untucked his shirt to let it hang over the butt.

This was just a one time, I-Have-A-UTI thing and not something Eddie ever wanted to do again. He probably wouldn’t even end up needing it. It was fine. Totally fine.

As they pulled up the the store, Eddie realized that he needed it. He was peeing as he hopped out the car. If he tried to make it to the toilet, he’d have to openly be holding himself to keep it in, and if he didn’t make it, Steve would realize he was wearing protection as soon as it happened. So he tried to act very casual as they entered the store and seem like he wasn’t slowly letting pee out.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” he said, jogging to the back and finally letting him hold his dick to try and make it the rest of the way. He successfully stopped the stream and was able to finish in the toilet. Thankfully, the protection caught everything else and wasn’t very full. It didn’t look suspicious when Eddie looked at himself in the mirror.

“There’s a new release movie in the basement I want to check out,” Steve said when Eddie re-emerged. Steve was waiting outside the old rickety elevator.

“Cool,” Eddie said, hopefully not looking too suspicious. He just needed to make it out of this store and back to Steve’s house and then he’d take it back off. He just needed to hold out until then.

Inside the elevator, Steve surprised him with a kiss, back against the wall. After a moment, he pulled apart and stood straight, ready to exit the elevator.

Only, the door wasn’t opening. Steve pressed one of the buttons, and it still didn’t open.

“Huh. That’s weird.”

“Yeah…”

Steve pressed all of the buttons. Nothing was working. The elevator wasn’t moving.

“Does this happen often?”

“Uh, yeah, well, no, but it’s happened before. Let me see if the phone works. I’ll call Robin, she knows how to fix this old piece of shit,” Steve said, reaching for the phone and hitting the numbers for Robin.

Eddie nodded. And shuffled. He didn’t have to pee yet, but considering the infection and everything he’d had to drink (three bottles of water and two glasses of juice) he knew he didn’t have long until he’d be peeing again.

“Robin, hey, It’s Steve. We’re stuck in the elevator. Yes, at work. Me and Eddie! Can you come save us? Okay. Okay, thank you.” Steve hung up. “She’s on her way, but she’s at least forty minutes away at her aunts.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Eddie…”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry. We’re going to be stuck in here for awhile.”

“I heard you.”

“I just mean that—“

“I know what you mean, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

Because i’m wearing a goddamn diaper. Shit.

Eddie was going to get desperate soon, which meant he’d show signs of being desperate. And then as soon as he inevitably peed himself, it wouldn’t show up on his clothes, and Steve would know that he’s a fucking weirdo who put on a diaper below his jeans. A diaper he’d already used a little bit.

He was so fucked.

Ten minutes into them chatting about nothing, Steve stying to lighten the mood, he got hit with a wave of desperation that screamed ‘get me to a bathroom in the next thirty seconds.’ He crossed his feet where he sat and leaned forward.

“You have to go?” Steve asked, because of course he realized it immediately. Eddie flushed.

“It’s not bad.”

“You shouldn’t hold it in. It’ll only make your infection worse.”

“I’m not peeing myself on purpose,” Eddie said. He tried to grip himself over the padding, but it didn’t help much.

“Robin won’t care. And we can tell her the truth.”

“I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Steve said, then started talking aimlessly about the wallpaper and how much he hated it. Eddie nodded along as a stream of piss painfully made its way into the padding. He was really hoping Steve couldn’t hear it.

“I mean, orange is just… it’s just too bright for an elevator, you know?”

An elevator with carpeted floors and a boy with serious bladder issues sitting on it.

Thankfully, the amount of piss in him was pretty small and he didn’t go for very long, but he had to keep up appearances and seem desperate even after he was done peeing.

That wasn’t difficult twenty minutes later when he was desperate again.

“Seriously, Munson, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

He was standing now, pacing a bit as he tried to keep this new wave of desperation inside him. At this point, Robin would be there soon, and he might actually be able to make it out without Steve figuring out his secret.

A minute later, he was doubling over, and not sure if that was going to work.

“Eddie, baby, please—“

“I can hold it.”

“It’s not about that. I just don’t want you hurting yourself.”

Another painful stream escaped without warning and Eddie hissed.

“Did you—?”

“Just a little,” he said, blushing. A little that wasn’t going to show up on his pants, and if more came out, that was going to become suspicious very quickly.

“What if you just whipped it out—“

“These floors are carpeted, Steve.”

“I’ll clean it! Before anyone notices!”

“No.” That wasn’t a terrible idea, but considering he was wearing protection, it didn’t make any sense. Protection that was getting wetter by the minute. He was leaking so much it was kind of hard to tell if it was even a leak or if he was just fully peeing himself. Still, he held it back and made sure it was coming out slowly, and quietly. He couldn’t hear anything over the low rumbling of the broken elevator.

He bounced on his toes, crossed his legs, sat on his heels (which was not smart, because he was immediately peeing hard when he did), jumped up and down, and thought about a dry dessert. Nothing was working. Even if he didn’t have an infection, regular Eddie would’ve had an accident by now.

“Eddie, I know you’re losing it,” Steve said gently as Eddie involuntarily stilled as a stream hit the padding that he couldn’t cut off.

“I’m fine.”

“Just let it out,” Steve tried, taking Eddie’s hands and pushing them up against the wall, lips centimeters from his. Arousal flipped in his stomach.

Eddie let Steve kiss him deeply, hands up, because Steve was fucking gorgeous, and it was hard to say no. It was also hard to hold back the three bottles worth of piss sloshing around in his bladder, and he knew it was practically over. Piss was slowly leaving his body, a light stream that wet the front of his protection. It was warm and nothing like peeing his pants. He didn’t like doing either, but at least this way, Robin wouldn’t know he’d had an accident. He was having a fucking accident. In Steve’s jeans. And he was doing it secretly. He really hoped it wasn’t going to leak out as he continued to piss himself. It still felt like fire coming out.

He was slowing down when Steve finally pulled apart, and he looked down at Eddie’s pants. His face scrunched up.

“What?”

“Oh, I, I just thought that you… you just went really still and usually that means…”

Eddie started to fake squirm around as the last drops of piss soaked into the padding, starting to go cold. “No. Not yet,” he lied.

“Oh! So… Want to keep kissing?”

Steve was probably just trying to get Eddie to let go, which Eddie had already done. He didn’t mind kissing more, though.

His crotch was sagging in his pants, and it was very uncomfortable. Eddie wasn’t sure if this protection could take any more. Thankfully, Robin showed up and saved the day after only being stuck down there for a little over forty five minutes. The doors opened after she restarted the power, and Eddie ran straight for the bathroom.

He stuck the soaking wet padding deep into the trash and looked at himself in the mirror. There was no way Steve was going to believe he’d made it without a hiccup. Probably stupidly, he cupped a small handful of water from the sink and plopped it onto the inside of his thigh. This way, it looked like he’d leaked a bit, which might be convincing enough.

“You okay?” Steve asked when he sheepishly left the bathroom.

“I made it. Mostly,” he gestured to the small water mark.

“I’m proud of you, Ed, but I’m worried you hurt yourself more.”

Oh. Steve being proud of him for not having an accident when he actually had two separate accidents did not make him feel good. It actually made him feel really shitty.

“I feel good. I promise.”

“Okay. Let’s get home. We’re behind schedule now and people will be coming over in a few hours.”

Eddie nodded and followed Steve to his car, one hand covering the fake spot on his jeans.

“Could we stop by my place first? It would be nice to wear some of my own clothes,” Eddie asked, climbing into the car.

“Yeah, of course. But you look very nice in mine, for the record,” Steve said with a wink. Eddie pushed his shoulders.

How was he going to make it through and entire party without pissing himself, and better yet, how was he going to keep up the lie that he didn’t just have multiple accidents in the elevator? Steve knew him. Knew his limits. Forty minutes with an infection was well over his limit. He’d probably end up running to the bathroom and barely making it after this fifteen minute drive.

This was a fucking mess. Eddie squirmed in the car. Jesus, it was a mess.

Chapter Text

“Shit,” Eddie muttered as Steve pulled up to Eddie’s house.

“What? Have to pee?”

“No—well, yes, but that’s not why I… Wayne is home,” he said, gesturing to his car that was parked outside.

“Should I… stay in here?”

Eddie bit the back of his thumb. “No, it’s fine, it’s hot and I don’t want you wasting gas. He’s just… he can be kind of intense?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Also, me and you are just friends,” Eddie said pointedly.

“Got it. Friends,” he stuck out his hand. Eddie shook it with a laugh.

Eddie unlocked the front door, Steve hovering awkwardly behind him, and let them into the cramped, humid trailer. Wayne was sitting on the couch drinking a beer, the TV on.

“Ed, hey, you didn’t come home last night,” he said, eyes traveling to Steve. He waved meekly. “Who’s this?”

“Yeah, sorry, I tried calling. He’s my friend. I’m staying with him again tonight. I’m just here to grab some stuff.”

Wayne’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, well, I think you should stay home tonight, Ed.”

Steve shuffled awkwardly.

“Wayne—“

“Eddie,” he lowered his voice, “you know the rules. And I don’t know this kid.”

“The rules are stupid. He’s just my friend, Wayne. And I’m not a kid, anymore, can you please stop treating me like i’m still in high school?” Eddie argued, crossing his ankles.

“There are other people sleeping over, not just him. It’s for my birthday,” Steve supplied, trying to ease the tension.

“Well. Happy birthday. Eddie, come to my room,” he ordered, standing and walking towards the room Steve hadn’t been in in the small house. Eddie gave him a sheepish look.

“I’m so sorry—“

“It’s okay. Should I just go?”

“No, it’s fine… he’s just… he means well, really. I promise. I’ll be right back,” Eddie said, giving Steve’s hand a tight squeeze before walking towards the closed door of Wayne’s room.

Steve sat on the couch and twiddled his thumbs. He could hear their voices, but it was too quiet to make out their words.

“You won’t even tell me his name—“ he finally caught Wayne say, his volume up.

“It—his name doesn’t matter!”

“Eddie. Tell me his name.”

There was a pause. Steve stared at the ground.

“Steve. Steve Harrington.”

And then Wayne was throwing the door open and stomping up to Steve, arms crossed. “You’re Steve Harrington?”

“Wayne!” Eddie yelled, running after him.

“Um…. yeah?” Steve said meekly, still sitting, and not sure what to do at all.

“The same Steve Harrington that tormented my kid for years?” Wayne yelled, glaring.

Oh. Steve’s mouth hung open. He snapped it back up.

“Wayne!” Eddie tried again.

Steve put his hands up. “Yeah—yes. Yes, that was me. I did… do that. But I promise I’ve… learned.” Steve was messing this all up. He stood up.

“He’s not like that anymore, Wayne.”

“And how do you know he’s not just pulling some twisted prank on you?”

“Because! I know him!” Eddie yelled, grabbing himself for a moment.

“Yeah, and does he know you?” Wayne asked. Eddie bit his lip. And bounced on his feet.

“Yes.”

“How much does he know?”

What was Wayne getting at? That Eddie liked boys? That he had bladder problems? Because Steve definitely knew about both of those things. And he was fine with both of those things. He needed to speak up before this got any worse.

“I know him, Wayne. Pretty well. And you’re right, I did… a lot of really messed up things. I was awful to him. You have a right not to trust me. If you don’t want him staying at my house, I’d understand,” Steve lamented, even if the words hurt to say.

Wayne looked him over. Then looked at Eddie, who was bending slightly at the waist. “Ed. Go,” he said, head jerking towards the bathroom. Eddie nodded, but didn’t move.

“Sorry. I can’t move without…”

Oh shit. “Munson?” Steve asked. Eddie didn’t look up, both hands on his crotch. “Eddie?”

“I’m sorry. These are your pants,” Eddie groaned, finally standing up and shuffling on his feet rapidly.

“Let me help you,” Steve said.

Eddie nodded tightly, face scrunched up. Steve could see a small wet spot spreading beneath his hands.

Steve grabbed one of his arms and hoisted him around his shoulders, letting Eddie lean on him while still keeping a hand on himself.

Slowly, they walked the short distance to the bathroom. Steve was muttering what he hoped were encouraging words to Eddie, who was loosing all his resolve. They were so close when Eddie stopped just outside of the bathroom and groaned loudly. “Fuck!” he said.

Steve let go of him, assuming there wasn’t much more he could do. Eddie jeans—well, technically Steve’s jeans—were wet on the crotch and down half of his left leg. It wasn’t a big stain considering how often Eddie was flushing his system out. Still, it was enough to warrant getting upset over. Eddie pressed his hands to his face. “You’re okay,” Steve said, putting his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, “Do you want to take a quick shower? I can grab your clothes,” Steve offered.

Eddie nodded and shot a look to Wayne. Right. Wayne was still here. He was watching the ordeal with an expression Steve couldn’t quite place.

“Ed, if you had to go so bad, you should’ve said something,” Wayne said. His voice was oddly gentle.

“I know, I’m sorry… I think I have another infection. I’ve been like this, I’ve been having… accidents, all day yesterday and today. But… Steve’s been helping me out,” Eddie said, wiping a hand across his beat red face.

“Another infection? Oh, Eddie, I’m sorry, kid,” Wayne said, relaxing slightly. “And Steve’s been helping?”

“Yeah.”

“He hasn’t been making fun of you or—“

“Wayne. Please believe me. Steve has changed. He’s… like, too nice about,” he gestured to himself, “all this.”

“I’m not too nice—“

“Just trust me. Please.”

Wayne sighed, then looked at Steve. “If I find out this is some game, if you’re just messing with my kid again, things will not go well for you. Got it?”

Steve gulped. “Got it.”

Wayne looked him over one last time. He looked at Eddie. “Take a shower, kid. Then rest. Okay? Rest up and drink all that crap you’re supposed to drink. And… don’t let him hold it for too long, Steve.”

“Wayne—!”

“I won’t.”

“And, Ed,” he got close to Eddie and whispered something in his ear. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“No, Wayne, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“YES! I’m taking a shower. Goodbye.”

Wayne thankfully just went back to watching TV and left Steve to his own devices. He fled to Eddie’s room in search of clothes. It was weird being in his room without Eddie there. His bed was unmade, and there were clothes thrown around everywhere. It was kind of a mess. It was very Eddie. The whole room smelled like him, too—well, it mostly smelled like weed, but it also smelled like Eddie. Like pine needles and lavender soap. Maybe because he showered so much.

Steve grabbed a pair of jeans and boxers and knocked lightly on the bathroom door once the shower stopped running. Eddie opened the door, towel around his waist, and let Steve in.

“Thanks,” he said, grabbing the clothes. “And, sorry. About all of that.”

“It’s fine. It’s nice to know there’s someone who cares about you as much as Wayne does.”

Eddie shrugged. “Yeah. It’s kind of an intense care, but.”

Steve turned away as Eddie changed into the clothes. “What did he whisper to you, earlier?” Steve sort of whispered.

Eddie groaned. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me—“

“It’s fine. He asked if I needed to bring my ‘special sheet.’”

Steve chuckled. “That’s kind of sweet.”

“Yeah, nothing sweeter than your uncle being worried about your adult bed wetting problems,” Eddie said, blushing as he pulled his shirt on. “Okay, let’s grab some stuff and get out of here before he asks if I need diapers, too.”

* * *

Eddie finally seemed to be doing better by the time the party started.

Party was definitely a stretch considering the number of guests (one of which was a child). Robin was guarding the beer to keep Dustin from sneakily grabbing one.

“You being here is a privilege, Dustin, not a right,” Steve firmly said when they caught Dustin red handed an hour earlier.

“You sound like a dad.”

“You want to keep hanging with the cool kids, you’re not drinking, young man!”

“You are not the cool kids.”

“Hey!”

Eddie denied all attempts to get him to drink anything that wasn’t water and cranberry juice throughout the night. When Nancy saw him taking a swig of the juice, she jokingly asked, “Do you have a UTI or something?”

Eddie just stared at her. “Um.”

“It was just a joke.”

Eddie gulped.

“Wait, do you actually have a UTI?”

“…Yeah.”

“I thought only girls could get those?”

Eddie took another sip. “Nope.”

“Oh. Sorry,” she said awkwardly, leaving Eddie alone in the kitchen.

Steve joined him a moment later and plopped himself on the counter, scooting a ballon out of the way in the process. In hindsight, they probably got too many decorations. The house looked like a 5 year olds dream party. Steve seemed to be enjoying it, though.

“Hey,” he said, pulling Eddie towards him to have him stand between his legs. Eddie looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before he obliged.

“Hey.” Steve was smiling really big. “What?” Eddie asked, laughing.

“Nothing. You’re just really pretty.”

Eddie pushed Steve’s face away from his, rolling his eyes. “You’re so obsessed with me, Harrington,” he teased.

“Yeah. Kind of. I mean, probably always was.”

Eddie glanced around. “You know if you keep talking like this, and holding my waist like this, they’re going to start noticing.”

Steve looked around as well and let go. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

Eddie took a step back. “I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“So… we’re boyfriends,” he said after a pause.

“Yes. We are?”

“Do we want to… eventually… tell people? Or, like, just Robin. Since she’s like us—or she’s like me. I don’t really know what you are,” Eddie rambled.

“Yeah, Eddie, yeah. Eventually… I want her to know. I want everyone to know. But…” he trailed off.

Eddie nodded. “I know, Steve.”

“Robin first. Yeah. She can know.”

“Do you want to tell her soon?”

Steve shrugged. “I can tonight.”

“Well if you need some encouragement,” Eddie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of weed, “I can always smoke you out.”

“Is that why you smell like weed?”

“No, totally unrelated.”

Steve snatched the bag. “We cannot let Dustin get a hold of this.”

“God, no.”

The rest of the kids showed up with Jonathan uninvited at some point, and suddenly Steve’s house was filled with kids, so Eddie collected Robin and Steve to go in the backyard and smoke. Steve watched carefully as he rolled a joint.

“You’re really good at that.”

Eddie licked the paper before wrapping it tightly in a cone shape, fingers sliding back and forth until the weed was pressed together tightly. “Lots of practice,” Eddie responded.

“I bet I could do this,” Robin said.

“Have you ever rolled a joint before?”

“No, but I think I could figure it out.”

Eddie rolled his eyes as he finished up, twisting end of the paper and ripping the access off with his teeth. He grabbed a lighter from his pocket and got to work lighting it. Steve got the first hit once it was going.

He coughed violently. “Holy shit. I haven’t smoked in so long,” he said, passing it back to Eddie, who took a deep, skillful hit.

“You know you can always come to me.”

They smoked the rest of the joint quickly, and Steve and Robin seemed to immediately be feeling it. Eddie’s tolerance was a lot higher, but he still felt good as they sat in the night, bugs and wind humming against the trees in a symphony of life. Okay. Maybe he was feeling it.

“Shit,” Eddie muttered suddenly, feeling under his ass.

“Ed?” Steve asked.

“Did I piss myself?” he asked, feeling his jeans to try and tell. Everything just felt so warm and gooey. “Sometimes when I’m high, it feels like I pissed myself even though I didn’t actually piss myself. Does that happen to you?”

“Sometimes, yeah,” Robin responded.

Steve felt around Eddie’s jeans too. Robin gave them both a look.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked with what might’ve been an eyebrow wiggle.

Steve removed his hand. “No, I don’t think you peed. It’s just the weed.”

“Cool. Oh, I have a UTI,” Eddie blurted at Robin. “It’s making my bladder, like, freak out.”

“How did you get a UTI?” she asked.

“Uh… I think from… holding it for too long. At the mall the other day.”

“Eddie, you know you shouldn’t do that!” Steve said, like a disappointed dad.

“I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“You two act like an old married couple, you know that?” Robin commented, looking back and forth between them.

“We’re not married… but, actually, we are… a couple,” Steve said, surprising Eddie. Coming out wasn’t easy, and he honestly hadn’t expected Steve to do it so quickly. Having a lesbian as your best friend probably helped.

Robin stood up and slapped her knees. “I knew it! I knew you liked him!” she shouted.

“Robin, shush, this is an on the down low kind of thing,” Steve whispered.

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just so excited! I mean, I knew something was going on, but I didn’t think you’d like, full on date. Are you full on dating?” She asked, quieter than before.

“Yes. We’re full on dating,” Eddie answered.

“Oh my God. Steve. You’re totally into dudes, and I totally called it.”

“I don’t know exactly what I’m into, Robin, but I know I’m into Eddie,” Steve said.

“Who is a dude.”

“…Who is a dude.”

Robin sat back down and slapped Steve on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club, man. This is so great. Are you going to tell Nancy?” she asked.

“Um… soon. We wanted you to be the first because, well, you’re gay,” Steve said.

Eddie was about to chime in when his brain helpfully supplied that he needed to find a tree to piss on. NOW. “Be right back,” he said as he ran to the closest tree, undoing his pants. He wasn’t making it inside, and he’d much rather take his dick out in the dark to water a tree than have to walk past a bunch of magical children while wearing wet pants.

“UTI,” he heard Steve say to Robin.

The party started to wind down after they sang happy birthday to a lopsided cake Robin made, and the only people left were the adults by midnight.

“Alright, if you’re too drunk to drive, you can sleep here. Which is all of you,” Steve said to the group, who were lounging around his living room drinking. Nancy was sitting in Robins lap. Jonathan seemed pissed about that.

“I’m not drunk,” Eddie said.

“You’re still staying,” Steve replied, winking at him.

The girls slept in the guest room together, and Jonathan slept on the couch. Eddie didn’t ask if he was sleeping in Steve’s bed, he just kind of assumed. Before going upstairs, Steve grabbed a few cans of beer.

“Who’s that for?” Eddie asked.

“Us. You only turn twenty once. And I want to get drunk with my boyfriend in bed for my birthday. If that’s okay.”

“Your birthday is technically on Wednesday.”

“Shut up, Munson!”

Steve ran the rest of the way up, and Eddie chased after him.

* * *

As Steve washed his hands after using the bathroom, he realized he wasn’t sure where the protection went. It wasn’t on the counter, so he hoped that Eddie had been the one to move it. He did a quick search of the bathroom and finally found it beneath the sink under a towel. The package was a 16 pack. Not that Steve was paying that close attention, but he was pretty sure Eddie had only used two. There were definitely more than two missing.

For a moment he thought maybe one of the kids stole one or two, but then he remembered the elevator. How Eddie had miraculously managed to hold it for almost an hour when he was peeing 4 times an hour or more all day.

Huh. Steve walked into his room to find Eddie lying on his bed, pajamas on.

“Hey. Are you up for drinking a beer?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Let me just use the bathroom first.”

Steve nodded and Eddie ran off. When he came back, Steve couldn’t help but wonder if he’d put on protective already. It made sense, considering they were going to bed eventually. Steve needed to stop thinking about this—it was fucking weird. Eddie got into bed and popped open two cans, handing one to Steve.

“Happy birthday, Harrington,” he said, raising his can.

“Thanks for being here, Munson.”

Steve was still kind of high and definitely drunk, and Eddie was tipsy off of the two beers he drank, when both of them were ready to pass out. Eddie passed out first, head facing down on one of Steve’s pillows, one leg stretched out across the bed. He was snoring very softly in a way that Steve found more endearing than annoying. Steve also realized, as he glanced down at Steve’s sprawled our body, that there was a bit of white sticking up under the band of his sweatpants.

Steve swallowed and tried not to stare. Why did THIS make him hot? It didn’t make any sense. Steve decided to just go to sleep and not think about it too hard right now. He faced away from Eddie. He only glanced back at the white material sticking out one more time.

Steve woke up with a mild hangover and his boyfriend lying practically on top of him. Him having a boyfriend was still hard to wrap his mind around. But with Eddie on him like this, Steve couldn’t believe he thought he was straight this whole time. Although, looking back, nothing about his relationship with Eddie was ever straight. Eddie was right. Steve was totally obsessed with him.

Steve let his hand travel down Eddie’s back, but stopped before his ass. The bit of his protection was still sticking out. He closed his eyes and willed himself back to sleep.

After a few minutes of trying to go back to sleep, Eddie started to stir beneath Steve’s embrace.

“Morning,” he mumbled, smiling up at Steve.

“Morning.”

Before Steve could lean down and kiss him, he froze, his face going slack. He felt the sheets below him, then seemed to remember why they weren’t wet. He sat up and shifted.

“Sorry. I need to… I hate this.”

Steve felt suddenly very uncomfortable with his own feelings of attraction as soon as Eddie said that.

“I’m sorry, Ed, you don’t have to wear them—“

“No, no, it’s… nice. I just hate… feeling like this. I hate feeling disgusting,” he kind of mumbled. Steve reached out a hand.

“You are not disgusting.”

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I mean it,” Steve said. Something deep in his gut pulled him toward Eddie. He got onto his knees on the bed, Eddie sitting with his legs crossed in front of him. Steve leaned forward. “Can I kiss you please?”

“But—“

“To prove to you that I find you incredibly sexy, all the time, including right now,” he continued.

Eddie blinked. Then nodded. Steve kissed him gently, lips moving like Eddie was something delicate. Then he pulled him forward until their chests were nearly touching, sitting up on the bed. Eddie pushed Steve down onto the pillows.

“Wayne would not be happy about what we’re doing right now.”

“What are we doing, Munson?” he challenged, smirking.

Eddie turned pink in the soft morning glow. He kind of tensed again. “I’m sorry, I’ll change, I know you don’t want to do anything with me like this—“

Steve reached up. “Hey, hey, I never said that.”

“You don’t really have to, Steve. It’s just like… common knowledge that this isn’t hot,” he said in reference to the padding that Steve could tell had been wet. Eddie pulled his sweats up to hide the small amount that was sticking out.

“Eddie, I am really not lying when I say that I find you very hot right now.”

“How could you—?”

“Because I—I find you hot all the time, Eddie! The fact that you’re wearing something that kept you comfortable and my bed dry is not going to make me no longer find you hot as hell!”

Eddie just blinked again. “Where did you come from, Steve Harrington?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Because most men aren’t like you.”

“Probably not.” Most men didn’t get hard because their boyfriend was comfortable and dry.

…Was that what turned him on? The fact that Eddie was just… more comfortable like this? Steve knew that Eddie’s biggest insecurity was his accidents, so maybe finding a solution to the problem in a way that benefited both of them… turned him on? Something about the security of the protection made Steve feel good.

He wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, hands tentatively brushing over his ass. Eddie looked at him with wide eyes.

“This okay?” Steve asked.

“Yes,” Eddie said, leaning down to kiss him again.

Eddie got up to change after a few more minutes of sloppily making out and got in the shower. Steve threw himself back onto the pillows.

What was going on with him?

Chapter Text

The infection cleared up within a few days, thankfully, and Eddie was back to his normal self. Steve’s parents came back, and Robin and Eddie were forced to stay secluded in Steve’s room as they ate pizza on the floor late on a Friday night.

“I’m thinking about moving out. I feel like it’s time,” Steve said after taking a bite.

“Oh yeah? Me too,” Robin said.

“Me too,” Eddie concurred. They all kind of looked at each other.

“Huh. Would it be crazy if I suggested we live together?” Steve said tentatively, a piece of crust still in his mouth.

Robin and Eddie looked at each other.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s one of your smarter ideas,” Robin said, “But I don’t know if I want to live with you two if you’re, you know, bumping uglies in the kitchen—“

“We will not do that,” Eddie assured. “And it’s not a terrible idea. Considering we’re definitely old enough to not be living with our parents slash Wayne.”

“I miss Wayne. We should spend some more time together,” Steve said sarcastically.

“Oh, did you meet Wayne?” Robin asked.

“Oh yeah. I’m pretty sure he would’ve killed me if Eddie hadn’t… um… saved me,” Steve said, catching himself from telling Robin that Eddie having and accident is probably what saved him from being banned from Wayne’s residence.

“So… are we… going to live together?” Robin asked.

“I guess so?” Eddie said.

“Oh man, this is going to be insane,” Steve said, taking another bite of pizza and then grossly kissing Robin on the head and Eddie on the mouth.

Robin stayed over because it was late, and it had been almost a week since Eddie stayed over, so he agreed to as well. And made sure to tell Wayne where he was and that Steve was not going to bully him.

Steve woke up in the middle of the night to piss and carefully removed himself from Eddie before he stumbled into his bathroom, not realizing that the light was already on.

He did not expect Robin to be standing in his bathroom looking under the sink. She jumped when she saw him.

“Oh my God,” she squealed, reeling back and hitting her head on a shelf.

“Sorry!” Steve whispered. “Are you… looking for something?” The cabinet door was still open, and Steve could easily spot the protective underwear that was no longer hidden. Shit.

“I—uh. I was looking for tampons, actually. I swear. I didn’t mean to snoop.”

“Oh, yeah, um, I can steal you some from my mom’s bathroom,” Steve said.

Robin shuffled. “I can just forget I saw anything,” she said casually.

Steve sighed and put his face in his hands. Maybe he could lie and say they were for him?

“I know he just had a UTI so… it makes sense,” she continued.

Okay, maybe not. Steve rubbed his eyes.

“Obviously he doesn’t wear them all the time otherwise he wouldn’t… you know. It wouldn’t show up on his pants and I’ve seen my fair share of him in wet pants. So. He probably just needed them while he was sick, right? Which is perfectly understandable. It’s really not a big deal.”

Steve nodded. “I agree.”

“Then we are in agreement. I will never mention this again to either of you,” she said, swiftly walking out of the bathroom and flicking off the lights. “Oh, and if you really could steal me some tampons, that would be great. You know where to find me!”

Steve went back to his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that Robin thought the protection was just for when he was sick considering Eddie was wearing one right now and he was definitely no longer sick.

And if they were going to live together, how was he going to hide this?

His alarm woke him up for work a few hours later. Eddie sat up when he heard the beeping. And then jumped out of bed.

“No, no no no, goddammit!” Eddie was muttering to himself as he ran out of the room. Steve wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but he had a pretty good guess when he heard the shower running.

Eddie came back into the room ten minutes later as Steve was pulling on his uniform. “Everything okay?”

Eddie blushed. “Yeah.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Do you really wanna know?”

“Eds, you know you can tell me anything.”

Eddie looked down. “Well. Good news is I woke up dry for the fourth time this week. Bad news is I wet myself on the way to the bathroom,” he said, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on under his towel.

Steve tried not to blush too thinking about Eddie having an accident in his protection while awake, so close to the bathroom. His neck got hot.

“Am I ever going to meet your parents?” Eddie asked randomly, probably trying to direct the conversation away from the current topic as he dried his hair with the towel, standing in just his boxers.

“My parents?”

“Yeah, I mean, you’ve met Wayne. I feel like it’s pretty crazy that I haven’t met your parents considering how much I come over.”

Steve shrugged. “They aren’t home a lot.”

Eddie sighed. “Yeah. I picked up on that. I mean, if we’re going to be living together, your parents should probably know who I am.”

Steve nodded. And swallowed. It’s not that he didn’t want Eddie to meet his parents—he did. He just didn’t want his parents to meet… Eddie.

Eddie, who was kind of emo and played fantasy roll player games. Eddie, who was recently wanted by the police for murder. Eddie, who unfortunately sometimes had issues getting to the bathroom in time. His parents would find some way to say something bad about him. And Steve really, really did not want them to find out about the last thing. It would wreck Eddie if his parents said something rude and offensive if they happened to see him have an accident.

“Hey, there’s a concert tonight. It’s one of my favorite bands. It’s outside. We should go,” he said, tying his shoe and trying to change the subject.

“Are you trying to change the subject?”

“No, no,” Steve said, eyebrows down, and obviously lying.

Eddie crouched in front of Steve, still in just his boxers. Steve gulped. “Is there a reason you don’t want me meeting your parents, princess?”

Steve pushed Eddie lightly, knocking him off his balance. “You did not just call me princess.”

“If you get to call me baby all the time—“

“I don’t do that all the time—“

“Then I think I should be able to call you princess, princess,” Eddie said, smirking and getting back up, only inches away from Steve’s face.

Steve would be absolutely lying if he said he didn’t like it. “Fine.”

“So?”

Steve sighed. “I—It’s like with Wayne. How you said he was intense. My parents aren’t intense, they’re just… traditional?”

Eddie nodded slowly. “Gotcha. So they wouldn’t really approve of the way I look. And the way I generally exist.”

“Probably not.”

“Or that I’m gay.”

“Probably shouldn’t tell them that one.”

Eddie kissed Steve’s head gently. “Okay. If I do run into them, maybe I can borrow your clothes, make myself look less… me.”

“You’re no stranger to borrowing my clothes.”

“As much as I love stealing your jeans, I don’t think that’s a super normal thing for a boyfriend to do.”

“Don’t forget, you steal my underwear, too,” Steve said, smirking and pulling Eddie towards him by his waist.

“Shut up!”

Eddie was blushing and averting his eyes. Steve kissed him. “I’m kidding. But I was serious about wanting to go to that concert tonight if you want to come?” he asked, kind of swaying with Eddie in an attempt to get him to smile.

“Sure, princess.”

“Okay, baby.”

Eddie laughed, and Steve was late for work.

* * *

Whatever band Steve was really excited to see, Eddie had never heard of. Steve played their tape in the car as he drove them to the outdoor venue, and if definitely wasn’t Eddie’s kind of music, but Steve was so giddy as he talked about them that Eddie couldn’t complain.

Once they parked and had their tickets taken, they made their way to grassy pavilion. It was a pretty big crowd.

“Here good?” Steve asked as they stood around the middle of the hill, the stage in the distance. Eddie nodded and they sat. Most people were either on blankets or on lawn chairs.

“Was I supposed to bring a blanket?” Steve asked, stretching his legs out in front of him on the grass. Eddie shrugged.

“Are we blanket people?”

“Maybe when we’re older we’ll be blanket people.”

Eddie shifted on the grass. Steve talking about the idea of them being older… together… it made his stomach flip. He could still barely believe he was dating Steve. The idea of them staying together… it made Eddie’s chest warm.

“Want a drink?” Steve offered, looking over at the concessions.

“Sure,” Eddie said. There was a bathroom at the entrance to the pavilion he’d already scoped out. One drink would be fine. He’d been basically accident free since he had that infection (not including this morning), so he felt confident in his ability to keep himself in check.

Steve returned in 10 minutes with two large beer cans just as the opener started playing.

The opening band played a short set, and then there was an intermission.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” Eddie said as he finished his beer, standing and stretching his legs. He didn’t have to go that badly, but he didn’t want to miss the band Steve was so excited for.

“Okay!” Steve said as Eddie tried not to bump into or trip over anyone on his way to the top of the hill.

The line was crazy long. Everyone seemed to have the same idea of peeing in between acts. Thankfully, Eddie’s need was just an annoying thing he needed to take care of and not an ‘oh no, I’m going to need new underwear’ moment.

But just before he was about to go into the small building, the band started playing. Eddie cursed under his breath. He didn’t want to miss the band. Steve was so excited to show Eddie his favorite songs.

And he really didn’t need to pee that badly. He was still probably twenty minutes away from relief anyway, and he didn’t want to miss half the set standing in line.

Eddie left the line and got back to Steve, who was standing now. The band was about halfway through the first song. Steve was bopping his head. Eddie joined him and prayed he’d made the right decision.

A few songs in, the beer seemed to hit Eddie’s bladder. It still wasn’t an emergency or anything, but he probably needed to get to the bathroom as soon as the band ended. Or maybe during the encore. Or maybe a song before the encore, just to be safe.

But then the set ended without warning that it would be their last song, and there was no encore. Eddie glanced at the bathroom, ready to make a run for it.

“They’re really good,” Eddie said to Steve, who was finishing his beer.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard them before.”

Eddie squinted. “What?”

“What.”

“Was this not the band you came here for?”

Steve shook his head. “No, there are two openers. They’re on next. I’m gonna hit the bathrooms, can you save our spot? Unless you have to go again, too.” Steve asked.

Eddie’s stomach dropped. If he admitted he didn’t pee to begin with, Steve would be mad at him for holding it longer than necessary. But if he acted like he did have to pee again, Steve would think he needed to piss twice in the span of a little over an hour. Considering he had to ask Steve to stop at a gas station to pee halfway through the drive to the venue, he really didn’t want to hurt his pride anymore tonight. “No, I’m good, go ahead,” he said.

Steve nodded and walked off, and Eddie put his hands on his face. What was wrong with him? Maybe Steve would be back soon, and he’d be able to pee right after him. He did have that whole beer, so him having to piss again wasn’t that unbelievable.

He bounced on his feet a little. That beer was making his thoughts fuzzy and his stomach slosh uncomfortably. Okay. When Steve got back, he’d definitely go and pee. Steve would notice him fidgeting soon enough anyway, and there was no point in lying to him. Steve could read him like a book. Sometimes Steve knew Eddie had to pee before Eddie even knew.

It took Steve almost thirty minutes to get back, and at that point, Eddie made up his mind.

“Okay, now I gotta piss,” he told Steve, bouncing on his feet.

“Okay. I should warn you, the lines pretty long, Ed—“

“I’ll be fine,” he said with a forced smile, making his way back towards the bathrooms.

Steve wasn’t lying. The line was very long. Longer than it was earlier. Because of course it was. Eddie made this way towards the back of the line, wringing his hands together to try and refocus his energy and not freak out.

He’d be fine. It still wasn’t even that bad. His bladder was throbbing, but he’d be fine. He’d hold it.

He’d already pissed himself today. And he didn’t have an infection so there was no excuse. He’d just have to hold it. He was being really stupid.

Eddie knew by now that Steve wouldn’t break up with him because of his… issue, but Eddie was really trying to not get worse. This was supposed to get better the older he got.

In high school, he’d peed his pants in school a total of fifteen times. Only two of those times he was caught. Both times by Steve. Now, fifteen seemed like a pretty low number considering how much time he spent in school. Eddie thought that once he got out of school, his accidents would only get better. It was halfway through the summer, and Eddie felt like they were getting worse.

The line moved up a decent amount by the time the headliner started. Eddie didn’t dare leave the line this time, because he knew he couldn’t wait until the final set was over. He hoped that maybe some of the people in front of him would leave the line, not wanting to miss the show, but unfortunately, no one budged.

There was a kid with his mom towards the front of the line who was clearly close to having an accident. Eddie watched as his mom squeezed his hand and told him he could make it. Someone left the bathroom, and the kid was next. He was fine. The kid made it.

Eddie was a grown ass adult, and his underwear was growing damp.

He wasn’t gonna make it. He knew his body, and he knew what it felt like just before it was all over. He didn’t want to squirm around and make it obvious, and because of that he felt a light stream soak into his boxers and probably show on his jeans. Why didn’t he wear black jeans today? Why didn’t he pack a change of clothes?

God, he was so ridiculous. Most 19 year olds didn’t need to worry about bringing a fucking change of clothes anytime they left the house. Most 19 year olds weren’t pissing themselves in line for the bathroom.

He needed to get out of line. He wasn’t making it. He just needed to hold it for a little while longer so he didn’t piss himself with an audience.

Eddie dashed around the crowds of people until he found a semi secluded area towards the back and sat down in the grass, keeping his knees up in front of him.

He put his head in his hands as he felt himself involuntarily start to wet himself, the leaks turning into a full blown stream, piss soaking into the grass below him and hopefully not spreading too far. He’d done this trick before, and with any luck, his ass would be soaked, but it wouldn’t show anywhere else. And he could tie his jacket around his waist. He could probably make it to the end of the concert without anyone noticing.

He closed his eyes as everyone around him sang along and drank, feeling his ass get wetter and wetter by the second. The relief felt amazing, but it would’ve felt a lot better in a toilet and not in his fucking pants. He should’ve worn black jeans. He should literally always wear black jeans.

Still sitting, he felt his thighs and was relieved that they seemed dry. His stream was dying down as a song ended, and Eddie used the distraction of cheering to sheepishly stand up and assess the damage. It was getting dark, but he could still see a stain on the front of his pants, and his ass was obviously soaked. But his thighs and legs were good. He took his jacket off and tied it around his waist tightly, the sleeves hopefully covering the crotch stain. He couldn’t see his ass, but he could feel the wetness stop just above where the jacket hung down. He was good. He’d succeeded in secretly pissing himself in public, his party trick he could never share at a party.

He walked back to Steve slowly, cringing at how absolutely soaked the denim was against his skin. It was cold now, too, and chaffing with every step.

He decided to wait until after the concert to tell Steve. He didn’t want to ruin his night this early on when he didn’t have to.

“Hey!” he called, too cheerfully for someone secretly soaked in piss.

“Hey! All good?”

Eddie nodded. “So this is the band you’re here to see, right?” he asked.

Steve nodded. “Yep!” Eddie watched as Steve jumped up and down and sang along to some of the lyrics, a smile on his face. Eddie tried to join, but he was so uncomfortable that it was hard to fake being happy.

The concert ended after they played for another forty minutes and one encore, and Steve was sweaty and giddy by the end.

“That guitar riff at the end is not on the record, I think they just added it for the live performance. It was sick. Did you like it?” Steve rambled as they followed the crowd out of the venue and towards Steve’s car, which was parked on a side street.

“Mhm, yeah.”

“I mean, you’re the one who plays guitar, you know more than I do.”

“It was good. Yeah.”

Steve continued to rave about the concert and Eddie tried to subtly feel the ass of his jeans. They were still completely soaked. He sighed to himself. He wasn’t about to get into Steve’s car in soaking wet pants without telling him. He really didn’t want to tell him.

When they were a yard away from the car, Eddie stopped walking. “Um, Steve?”

“Hm? What’s up?” he asked. His smile fell to concern when he saw Eddie’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Eddie shuffled his feet. “Uh… um, I didn’t pee the first time that I said I peed because the band started and I thought it was your band and I didn’t want to miss it. Then the next time I said I peed I also… didn’t,” he rambled, face hot.

“Wait, huh? You haven’t peed yet? Do we need to—”

“Uh. No. I mean. Yes. I did.”

“You peed?”

“Yes.”

“Eddie, I’m not following. Are you saying you need to pee still?

Eddie groaned into his hands. “No, I already did. On myself. I didn’t make it to the bathroom. The line was too long, and I… couldn’t hold it,” he said quietly, looking away from Steve’s eyes.

Steve took a few steps towards him. When Eddie looked up, he was staring at Eddie’s pants, clearly confused. “But you… your pants are dry.”

“Yeah, I—uh—“

“Oh,” Steve said. “Oh.” He said again. “I understand. Um. That’s fine, Eddie.”

Now Eddie was confused. “What?”

Steve got closer and put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “I assumed that you had been… doing this. I noticed a few more were missing than I thought you’d used, so. It’s really not a big deal.”

Eddie moved out of his touch. “What do you think is going on right now, Steve?” he asked, because he was wildly confused about everything Steve was saying.

“I… huh? You were… you were implying that you were wearing… your protection, right—?”

“NO, what, no! No, I,” Eddie pulled Steve around to the side of the car that wasn’t facing the street and took off his jacket. He turned around so Steve could see the obvious stain. “I just sat down when I peed so it wouldn’t get everywhere. I pissed my pants, not… ugh!”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. What the hell were you talking about?”

“Nothing—“

“Why are you—you’re paying attention to how many I’ve… used?” Eddie whispered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and then taking them out when he realized they were slightly wet. Steve knew. Steve knew about the elevator, about Eddie wearing a diaper out in public and then actually needing it. He felt like he was going to throw up.

“No! I mean… technically. Yeah. Okay, yes.”

“Why, Steve?”

Steve leaned against the car. “I don’t know, Eds, I just… I didn’t mean to like, keep tabs on it or anything!”

“It sounds like that’s exactly what you were doing!” Eddie whispered back, then sighed. “Can we do this not so out in the open?” he asked, eyes flashing to all the people walking past towards their own cars.

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve took out his keys and unlocked the car, swinging himself into the front seat. Eddie opened the door, but didn’t sit.

“Uh. My ass is, like, really soaked.”

“Right,” Steve said. He turned around and reached into the back of the dark car. He pulled out a thick towel. “Here. You can sit on this.”

“Why is this in here?” Eddie asked as he folded the towel and sat down gingerly. Steve didn’t keep anything in his car.

“For you.”

Eddie blinked at him. Then slumped down. “Fuck me,” he murmured. Steve sighed.

“Eds, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“With what? Checking to see if I’ve been wearing diapers all day long or keeping a towel in your car just in case your boyfriend can’t make it to the fucking potty in time?”

Steve flicked the light on. Eddie tried to turn his face as far away from him as he could.

“Eddie.” Eddie didn’t look at him. “Please look at me.”

He huffed deeply, and turned. His eyes immediately danced everywhere but Steve’s face.

“Eddie. Baby,” Steve said, gently. Eddie finally made eye contact.

“What?” Eddie asked, or growled. He was pretty sure his plan to try and not ruin his boyfriends night was failing.

“I’m sorry that I was… snooping. Because I was. That’s what I was doing. And I shouldn’t have. What you do with them is your business. I mean that.”

Eddie could feel tears blocking his throat. He tried to swallow them down. “I haven’t been doing that. Wearing them during the day.”

“Okay. I’m sorry I accused you of doing that.”

Eddie wiped at his eyes. “It’s okay.”

“But I’m not sorry about keeping a towel in my car, Eds. I’m just being practical,” he said, sighing.

Eddie nodded, eyes on his lap. “I know.”

Steve gently put a hand on Eddie’s thigh. Eddie swallowed again. “Hey. Are we okay?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. I’m… sorry. For snapping. And for… ruining your night.”

Steve shook his head fast. “You didn’t ruin my night.” He squeezed Eddie’s thigh. Eddie wanted to curl up into a ball.

The drive home was quiet. Steve tried to crack some jokes and talk about the concert, but Eddie was silently crying and shifting constantly because his pants were so uncomfortable and he was having a terrible fucking night. So he wasn’t really in the mood to chat.

Steve drove to his house because Eddie didn’t want Wayne to see him like this. On the way inside the house, he held Eddie’s hand. It made Eddie feel like an asshole.

Steve was the nicest person in the entire fucking world. And Eddie was going to fuck if all up.

How many nights of Eddie coming home in wet pants could Steve take before he called it quits? Steve wanted kids. How was Eddie supposed to explain to their hypothetical kids that daddy wears diapers to bed, too?

Eddie wasn’t the kind of person Steve deserved. He was the kind of person who was supposed to end up alone.

The house was cold, and Eddie’s crotch was burning. He smelled like piss, which meant that Steve could smell it too. He needed to bathe until he drowned.

There were voices in the house. Coming from the kitchen.

“Shit,” Steve muttered.

“What—?”

Two people came around the corner when the door shut. Based on their general appearance, Eddie could assume it was his parents. He suddenly felt very small.

He put his jacket back on before coming in, so his jeans were on full display. They were drier, but obviously still wet. Steve stepped in front of him.

“Steve? Where were you?” his mom asked. She looked very done up and was drinking a glass of wine. His dad was wearing a goddamn sweater vest.

“I told you, mom. A concert. Why are you home early?”

His mom was looking at Eddie. His hands instinctively went to the front of his pants.

“We decided to skip the movie, your father wasn’t feeling well. Who’s this?”

“My friend,” Steve said.

“Did your friend fall in a puddle?” his mom asked, sounding like it was a joke as she looked at Eddie’s pants. This was his worst nightmare.

“Yeah, mom,” he said, dead pan. He turned to Eddie. “Go upstairs, shower. I’ll be up soon,” he said. Eddie nodded and started up the stairs.

“Shower? Here? If it was just a puddle—“

“Mom, please,” he groaned. Eddie made it to the top of the stairs, but hid behind a wall to listen.

“What? Unless something else happened?”

“Why is your friend falling in puddles?” his dad asked, sounding confused.

“I don’t think it was actually a puddle, honey,” his mom replied. Eddie’s heart dropped.

“Mom—“

“Steve, who is this boy?”

“My friend.”

“Did your friend have an accident in his pants?” she sort of whispered. Steve groaned loudly.

“Jesus Christ, mom.”

“He didn’t fall in a puddle?” his dad asked, still confused.

“It was an accident mom, obviously,” Steve said. Eddie’s face felt like it was set on fire.

“Well why is that grown boy having accidents? Is he mentally handicapped?”

“Holy shit mom.”

“Steven, stop swearing—“ he dad said.

“I’m not trying to be rude. He’s not dressed like the other boys you spend time with, I thought maybe you were being a good samaritan or something!” his mom said, sort of laughing. Like any of this was funny.

“He just has issues with incontinence!”

Eddie’s swallowed. His ears were burning.

“Incontinence? This happens frequently?” She still sounded like this was all a joke.

Eddie had heard enough. He ran down the stairs and bolted out into the night.

***

“Eddie!” Steve called, but the front door had already slammed shut. He turned to his mother. “What is wrong with you?”

“Steve, I didn’t know he could hear me,” his mom said. Her tone wasn’t an apology.

“You shouldn’t have said that at all, even if he couldn’t hear you!”

“I didn’t realize this was such a big deal, honey. Am I not allowed to ask questions about the friends my son keeps?” she argued. She probably had a good amount of wine tonight. She seemed to be really enjoying this conversation, like fucking with Steve was a fun game.

“Eddie is a good friend, mom. He matters to me. Can you please, please just try and show a little empathy?”

“Steve, it’s just… unseemly.” She set down her wine glass.

“How on earth is someone having an accident, which is, you know, accidental, unseemly? He didn’t do it on purpose!”

His mom sighed and crossed her arms. “I didn’t realize you’d be offended by this.”

Steve wanted to flip some furniture. “Of course you didn’t. I need to go run after him before he never speaks to me again because my parents are crazy—“

“I didn’t say anything!” his dad yelled from the couch.

“And I’m moving out, by the way!” Steve said right before slamming the door and running down his street.

He could see Eddie at the end of the road, his silhouette illuminated by the street lamps.

“Eddie!” he called. Eddie didn’t stop walking. Steve continued to run. “Eds!”

Eddie started fucking running, too. “What the fuck, Munson, stop running!”

He did not stop running. Steve cursed something unintelligible and sprinted.

Thankfully, Steve was faster, and he caught up to Eddie, who slowed down and was panting heavily.

“Hey!” Steve yelled, completely out of breath, his chest burning. “You made me fucking run, Munson.”

Eddie wiped a hand across his face, chest heaving. “Why… did you… run after me? he panted out.

“Because you ran away?”

“I’m just going to go home,” Eddie said, gulping down air.

“I’m not letting you walk home alone in the dark.”

“Harrington—“

“I’ll walk you home.”

Eddie licked his lips. “And then you’ll walk home alone in the dark?”

“I guess I’ll just have to stay at your house, then.”

Eddie looked at him for a moment, then continued walking. “You’ll have to sneak past Wayne,” he bit, back turned to Steve.

Steve caught up. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Eddie, hey, hey,” he stopped walking and grabbed his hand. Reluctantly, Eddie stopped too.

“What?”

“I am so sorry. About what my mom said. About all of that. This is why I didn’t want you meeting them, Eds. She’s always saying insane shit like that—“

“It’s fine. Steve.”

Steve put his hands on his hips. “Eddie. Please don’t let what she said get to you.”

“What about what you said,” he deadpanned.

“What?”

“That I’m incontinent.”

Steve breathed out heavily. “Eddie, I was just trying to explain it—“

“I’m not incontinent.”

“I know you aren’t! I said you have issues with incontinence!

“Is that not the same thing?” Eddie spread his arms out, and a car drove by. His headlights lit Eddie up. He was crying again. Steve felt sick.

“Eddie—“

“It’s fine, I just… I can control it most of the time, Steve! And now your mom thinks I’m just pissing myself constantly!”

Steve knew it wasn’t constant. It was frequent, but it wasn’t constant. He nodded. “I’m sorry. I’ll tell her I misspoke. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Eddie wiped his face again. “Fucking hell. I need to piss,” he said, marching over to the side of the road and undoing his belt. Steve rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Eddie zipped back up once he was done and started walking down the road, not looking at Steve. “There’s a great example of me not pissing myself constantly,” he said.

“Eddie,” he groaned, “I really am sorry.”

“I just want to shower and go to bed. Can we just talk more about this tomorrow?” he asked, adjusting his pants and cringing.

“Take my pants.”

“What?”

“Take my plants!” Steve started unzipping his pants and pulling off his shoes.

“Why would I do that—?”

“Because this is a long walk and you’ve been sitting in wet pants all night.”

Eddie laughed. “I am very well aware.”

“Trade me.”

“Then you’ll be in wet pants!”

“I deserve to be in wet pants tonight!” Steve yelled, pulling off the legs of his jeans and tossing them onto Eddie.

“Steve! No you don’t,” he said, throwing the pants back.

“Eddie. Give me your pants right now.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“Then I’ll just have to piss in mine.”

Eddie gaped. “What is wrong with you.”

“It’s only fair—“

“—Fine! I’ll give you my pants.”

“Underwear, too—!”

“Absolutely not.”

They traded pants, Eddie threw his wet boxers into someone’s trash, and they walked the rest of the way to Wayne’s mostly in silence.

Steve knew it would be okay. He just had to get Eddie to trust him again. And convince him that he didn’t view him as incontinent.

He climbed into Eddie’s window and changed out of the wet jeans quickly into a pair of Eddie’s sweats he found in a drawer, then crawled into Eddie’s bed.

What the hell happened tonight?

Chapter Text

Eddie couldn’t sleep.

Steve was next to him, a few feet away, snoring very quietly, his mouth hanging open. Eddie had been lying in his bed staring at the ceiling for hours. His alarm clock told him that it was almost 4 in the morning.

He got up to pee again. When he was finished, he grabbed a jacket he knew had a joint in it and went outside. He needed to clear his head.

Steve’s mom was… a character. Eddie was no longer curious about why Steve was such a bully for so long.

He lit the joint and sat down on the grass outside. He was so tired his eyes hurt, but he couldn’t let himself sleep. The last thing he needed right now was to wake up next to Steve in a wet bed.

Eddie needed to try harder. Maybe if he went a few weeks without any accidents, Steve wouldn’t think he was incontinent. Of course, then Eddie would have to figure out how to go a few weeks without having an accident.

He’d tried being on a schedule in the past, and it was annoying, but it worked for the most part. Maybe that’s what he needed to try again. If he pissed every hour on the dot, there was no way he’d have any accidents. Right?

Once the joint was smoked, and Eddie was decently high, he rubbed it against the concrete of the sidewalk to burn it out. When he turned to go inside, Steve was standing in the tailors entrance.

“Jesus H Christ, Harrington!” Eddie said with a gasp, one hand going to his chest and the other going to his dick. Sometimes when he was jump scared his bladder decided to just release itself. Thankfully there wasn’t much inside of him, and it was just a small leak that wet his boxers. Unfortunately, he was only wearing boxers. He let go of himself quickly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, hands up and closing the front door gently. He took a few steps towards Eddie.

“It’s fine,” Eddie said, face getting hot. Steve literally scaring the piss out of him was not a great way to prove his continence.

Thankfully, Steve didn’t comment on it. “What are you doing out here?”

Eddie shrugged and sat back down, subtly feeling the outside of his pale blue boxers to feel if they were wet. They definitely were. Shit.

“I just… couldn’t sleep.”

“Can I join you?” Steve asked. Eddie looked at him for a moment before he nodded. Steve sat down a few feet away from him.

“Why are you awake?” Eddie asked after a moment.

“I woke up and you were gone. Wanted to find you.”

“Oh. I just couldn’t stare at the ceiling any longer.”

Steve nodded. “Is there a reason you can’t sleep?”

Eddie sighed, one hand toying with a piece of damp grass. “Just… I… I wet the bed.”

Steve blinked. “Tonight?”

“No. I mean in general. I’m a chronic bedwetter.”

“Yes. I know this?”

“I know, I know. I just mean… In that sense, I guess, yeah, that’s kinda… incontinence.”

Steve sighed. “Oh, Eds, that’s a whole different thing—“

“I’m just saying that I know I have issues. I mean,” he gestured to the small spot on his boxers. “So at night time, sure, yeah. I’m incontinent, I guess. But during the day—“

“You’re not. I know.” Steve put his hands in his lap. “I only said that because I thought that if I used some medical terminology my mom might be a decent person and understand. But clearly, she’s not. Ed,” he took one of Eddie’s hands, “I really am sorry. About all of it. Sometimes I need to just put a sock in my mouth.”

“Or a boot.”

“Or a boot.”

Eddie smiled, then averted his eyes. “Unless I start pissing myself 24/7, just please… don’t say that I’m incontinent. It… I guess… it’s a touchy subject.”

“I won’t. Promise,” Steve said, squeezing Eddie’s hand.

Even though Steve seemed genuine, Eddie still felt like he needed to prove himself. He needed to make it to the bathroom on time. He needed to go a week without his boyfriend worrying about keeping a towel in his car. He needed to go multiple weeks without bringing a change of clothes with him when he left the house.

“Do you want to try and sleep?” Steve asked.

Eddie looked up at the bright, full moon. “I guess,” he lied. He wasn’t actually going to let himself sleep, but he didn’t want Steve to get suspicious.

They snuck back in quietly. Eddie stripped out of his damp boxers and pulled on another pair, back turned to Steve, who was already in bed.

“Nice butt,” he said.

“Shut up,” Eddie said as he opened the covers up to slip inside. Steve was warm against his side. Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie, and he let him.

“Go to sleep, baby. Please,” Steve whispered after a little while of just listening to the hum of the night.

“I am—“

“I don’t believe you.”

Eddie buried his head into Steve’s chest, hair flopping everywhere. “Steve—“

“Yeah, yeah, you might pee the bed. I know. And it will get on me, and it will suck. But then we’ll clean it up, and my boyfriend won’t be a zombie all day tomorrow. Let your brain rest, Ed. You need it.”

Against his will, Eddie felt tears threatening to spill. He swallowed hard. Then sniffled. “Okay.”

Steve kissed the top of Eddie’s head, letting himself linger there for a moment. “You smell good,” he said. Eddie blushed. He didn’t even shower when they got home, he just wiped himself up with a washcloth, so he wasn’t sure how that was possible.

“I don’t smell like stale piss?”

“No. You smell like weed. And lavender. It’s nice.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He’d never had someone tell him he smelled good. It was really nice to hear. He felt himself drift to sleep quickly, like a wave crashing over him as Steve held him close.

***

The bed was wet when Steve opened his eyes, but what was more concerning was that Wayne was standing in the doorway, arms crossed, staring at them.

“Ah!” Steve accidentally yelled, sitting himself up and trying to cover up his naked chest. This was not good. He hit Eddie’s leg, who was turned away from him and still asleep. The blanket was thankfully covering them, so Wayne wouldn’t be able to see Eddie’s accident.

He sat up groggily when Steve kept hitting him. “Steven, please, God—shit, Wayne!” Eddie sat up too.

“Yeah. Shit, Wayne is right,” Wayne said, eyes dark as he looked between them.

“I can explain this. Really. It’s not what it looks like—“ Eddie tried.

“It looks like you’re sleeping with your ex-bully.”

“No, no! Well. He did sleep here, but it was just because I didn’t want him to walk home alone in the dark. I promise, we didn’t—we’re not!”

“I can go, sir,” Steve said, starting to try and get out of bed. Eddie stopped him with his hand and pulled him back down, giving him a look that said ‘absolutely not.’

Right. Because the bed was wet. And Eddie didn’t want Wayne to realize. He sat back down fully, making sure Eddie’s covers were over both of them. The piss was cold and soaked into the sweats he was borrowing.

“You are not allowed to sleep over again. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir—“ Steve said.

“No! No, Wayne, you need to let this go! This… trying to keep me from having normal teenage experiences! Normal friendships! Every guy my age crashes at their friends houses.”

“You’re not like every guy, Ed,” he sort of whispered, even though Steve was right there.

Eddie buried his face in his palms. “Steve knows I’m gay.”

Wayne shifted. Steve looked back and forth between them, not sure where to put his attention.

“Oh.”

“And he’s fine with it. Because it’s not the 50s anymore—“

“Eddie, it is not a safe world for you. And you know that. You have to be careful. Always. You can’t just… I’m just trying to protect you.” Wayne’s voice was stern. Protective. Scared.

The rule about not having boys over. It was to keep Eddie safe. So he didn’t accidentally let a violent, homophobic man into his kid’s room. Steve’s stomach ached.

“Steve is safe.”

“He used to call you names and—“

Eddie groaned, cutting him off, and pulled the blanket off of them, revealing their clearly wet pants and large wet spot on the sheets. “This is how I know he’s safe, Wayne! I pissed the bed, and he’s been pretending like I hadn’t to not embarrass me in front of you. That’s how I know.” Eddie’s face was bright red. His boxers were soaked. Steve tried to stop the small smile that invaded his lips.

Something about what Eddie just did was insanely hot. Not the piss, just the… confidence? Calling Steve safe? God, Steve was so obsessed with him.

Wayne’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Yeah. So. I need to do my laundry and shower because I pissed myself twice now and still haven’t showered,” he said, standing up.

“Twice?”

“Yeah, I had an accident yesterday. In public. It was great. Now, please, Wayne. Can you let us take care of this?” he asked, arms crossed. He looked so pretty standing there in wet boxers clinging to his skin. Humans were not meant to look pretty in wet boxers, and yet.

Wayne looked at Steve, then nodded to Eddie. “You’re staying home tonight. And we’re talking. Alright?”

“Alright.”

Wayne put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder and finally left the room. Steve let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Wayne was kind of scary, but he wasn’t a bigot. And that was better than the alternative.

“Oh my God,” Eddie groaned when the door shut.

“We need to stop interacting with each others parents.”

“Agreed.” Eddie shuffled. “Sorry I got pee on you.” He shuffled again.

“It’s really okay.”

Eddie nodded. Then crossed his legs for a moment. “I’m going to go pee before I get even more pee on myself. I’ll be right back.”

Steve didn’t really know what to do, sitting in a wet bed. He’d been half asleep the first time it happened, and he was just kind of winging it at the cabin, so he waited until Eddie got back before starting to strip the bed.

Eddie sheepishly smiled, obviously upset but trying to overcome it, as he instructed Steve to give him his pants. Steve’s boxers were also wet on one side.

“Mind if I borrow underwear?”

“Yeah,” Eddie said, tossing him a clean pair after he stripped the top sheet off the bed and put it in a laundry bin. The rubber sheet beneath was wet, and he scrubbed it with a brush and rag. Steve just kind of observed.

“Okay. I’m going to shower. You can after me, if you want,” Eddie said once he was done, kind of solemnly.

“Yeah, sure.”

“I’ll be fast.”

“Okay.”

Steve sat on the edge of Eddie’s unmade bed, avoiding the spot on the protective sheet that was drying.

Eddie was fast, and Steve showered quickly after. When he walked back into Eddie’s room, his bed was made, and he was dressed. He looked embarrassed, but no more than normal.

“I’m going to go home and try to talk to my parents,” Steve said, putting his jeans from yesterday on over Eddie’s boxers.

“Okay,” Eddie said, running a hand through his hair.

“I’ll call you later?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Steve glanced at the door before moving toward Eddie and positioning himself between his legs from where he was sitting. He kissed him gently. “Thanks for letting me crash.”

Eddie nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Steve walked home in silence. He didn’t know what to do about Eddie. He was clearly still upset with Steve—and he had a right to be. Steve messed up.

When he got to his house, he could see his parents sitting in the foyer through the open windows. He opened the door slowly and stood in the doorway. His parents eyes were on him immediately.

“Steven,” his mom greeted, then simply gestured with one hand for him to join them on one of the open chairs.

Steve sat with a sigh. “Hi, mom. Dad.”

His dad nodded, half his attention on a newspaper.

“So about yesterday—“

“You’re moving out?” She interrupted.

“Um. Yeah. I think so.”

“That’s great, son,” his father said, eyes still glued to the paper.

“Alone?” His mom asked.

“No. No, I think I’m going to live with Robin and Eddie.”

“Eddie? Who’s Eddie?” She asked.

“The—he was here last night?”

His mom inhaled softly, then smiled. “Of course.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, actually—“

“Steven, I’ve already apologized for what I said.”

Steve crossed his arms. “Okay, well. All I wanted to say was that he doesn’t actually have issues with incontinence. He’s not incontinent.”

“So, he did fall in a puddle?” His dad suddenly perked up to ask.

“No, no, he did… he did still have an accident. But I just wanted to be clear that he’s not incontinent. Since we’re going to be living together, I thought you should know that I misspoke.”

“So he doesn’t have issues?” his mom asked.

Steve kind of swallowed and bit the inside of his cheek. “He has… they’re not issues. It’s not a problem. But he does have accidents sometimes. Last night wasn’t a one time thing. I just wanted you to know. Because, you’re probably going to see him again so I just really need you to not say anything to him about this when you see him next, okay? And if he happens to have an accident again that you witness, promise me you won’t say anything?” Steve basically begged, cheeks warm from airing out all of Eddie’s dirty laundry to his parents.

But telling them the truth was smart. And he really wanted his parents to like Eddie. He wanted them to see him how he saw him. Being upfront with them was probably the best move.

“Okay, Steven,” his mom said with a nod after a moment, going back to her coffee.

“Thank you, mom.”

***

Eddie’s plan to stop pissing his pants so much was in motion, and it was only slightly frustrating.

Trying to piss every hour was a lot more work than he remembered. Half the time he barely even needed to pee when the clock struck, but he still forced himself to go.

It was easy when it was a slow day at the music store and he only had a few guitars to restring, maybe some stocking to do. He was perfectly on schedule every time.

It became increasingly more difficult when he hung out with Steve after a few days apart. They decided to go to a park to change it up a little, which meant that there wasn’t a bathroom at all. Eddie ran inside the closest 7/11 three rimes before asking to be dropped off at home.

Steve didn’t comment on the frequent bathroom trips, but he did look a tiny bit sad when he asked to be dropped off. Eddie wasn’t mad at Steve. He wasn’t. He was just… butt hurt?

What his mom said sucked, but what Steve said felt like taking a lot of steps backwards.

Eddie was just… sensitive when it came to that specific thing.

A week went by, and Eddie was feeling confident. He hadn’t even needed to change his underwear all week.

Steve came over on Saturday when Wayne was gone. Eddie was trying to teach Steve a few guitar chords and failing miserably. And pissing every hour, which Steve had still not commented on.

“My fingers aren’t made for this,” Steve groaned, strumming badly.

“Oh yeah, what are your fingers made for then, love?”

Steve shoved Eddie slightly with his free hand, and Eddie had to brace himself on his bed to keep from falling off.

“Hey, Ed, there’s this college party I got invited to tomorrow. You should come,” Steve said one Eddie recovered, setting the guitar down as he spoke.

“A college party?”

“Yeah. You ever been to one?”

“No. Not really my scene.”

“Well. It’s free alcohol, and if you don’t come, girls will hit on me all night—“

“—Oh, will they?”

“—So you should probably come.” Eddie leaned forward and kissed him.

“Okay,” Eddie said, smile wide.

The next night, Eddie was drinking bright red koolaid and vodka out of a solo cup. It tasted really terrible; like cotton candy and nail polish remover.

Eddie wasn’t sure what to expect at a college party, but the outcome didn’t surprise him. It was a large house with young 20 something’s dancing and drinking everywhere with scraps of clothing on. Which was probably smart, because Eddie was overheating in his ripped black jeans and graphic t-shirt. If he was more confident he would’ve ripped it off and been shirtless.

Which is what Steve had done. Steve, who was playing some sort of pong game with the person who invited him, had his shirt tucked into the back of his jeans, chest bare and glistening with sweat.

Eddie was enjoying the show, but didn’t really know what to do with himself. It was so hot, and there wasn’t any water, so Eddie drank more of the koolaid to soothe his dry throat. Which was fine, because the hour just started, so he’d just peed and familiarized himself with one of the houses bathrooms.

Half an hour later, he was dancing with Steve and feeling VERY good. His head was getting light and everything Steve was doing was fucking hilarious.

“Eddie, you good?” Steve asked, leaving the crowd of sweaty strangers and leaning up against the wall closest to the punch. He filled up his cup, and Eddie did the same, drinking the sweet liquid quickly.

“Yeah, I’m great!”

Steve cringed when he tried the punch. “Oh, this stuff is so grossly sweet.”

“I think it’s pretty alright,” Eddie said, because it was cooling him down slightly. He took a big sip.

“How much have you had?” Steve asked over the loud music.

“I don’t have to pee, if that’s what you’re asking,” Eddie replied, finishing his drink. He had another twenty minutes to go before he’d need his pee break again.

“No, Ed, I’m asking because this stuff is, like, 50% alcohol!”

Eddie looked at Steve for a moment. “What? But it doesn’t even taste like alcohol.”

“Yeah because it’s loaded with sugar!” Steve was using his discarded shirt to wipe at the sweat on his face. He was kind of swirling in front of Eddie’s eyes.

“Oh, shit. I’m drunk,” Eddie realized, filling up his cup again. Steve looked at him. “What, I’m thirsty!” Eddie said.

Steve smiled and put a hand on Eddie’s hip, then realized what he was doing and moved it to his shoulder. “Well, good! You should let loose!” he surprised Eddie by saying.

Eddie smiled back. “You too!”

“Naw, this stuff is too gross for me.”

“Suit yourself!”

Steve looked at him again. “But, uh, just… be careful, still,” Steve added, which sounded more like him.

Eddie checked his watch. 15 minutes. He’d be fine. He really wasn’t that drunk at all.

Then he was suddenly drunk. A lot drunker than he was when he and Steve were talking. They were dancing again with people who were talking to him (he’s pretty sure he was replying). Then they were making out in an empty room. Then they were dancing again, and Eddie was thirsty again. Everything was sort of mushing together, the lights were dim and he was dizzy and happy.

“It’s almost midnight,” Steve said at some point, into Eddie’s ear, body pressed up against his. Oh my God, he was so hot. Temperature wise, both of them were sweating. But Steve was also just so fucking hot. He wanted to do unspeakable things to him for hours.

Shit. The time. When was the last time Eddie peed? He didn’t have to pee, though, so it must’ve been recently. At eleven. Right? Unless it was ten.

“Want to be on my team for pong?” Steve asked.

Eddie couldn’t remember what he was just thinking about. “Sure,” Eddie responded, having no idea how to play pong. A song he liked was playing. Steve’s hand swiped his lower back.

That was the last thing Eddie remembered happening before his ability to create memories vanished.

***

When Eddie knocked over two cups of water during beer pong with his ass and then called Steve “Miss sassy pants” when he asked if Eddie needed some fresh air, Steve realized he was much drunker than he’d ever seen Eddie before.

Which was mostly entertaining. It was also slightly concerning. But Eddie looked happy and carefree in a way he hadn’t all week, so Steve couldn’t complain.

“That girl wanted to kiss you,” Eddie slurred, one arm hanging onto Steve as they made their way to the front of the house. Steve needed a cigarette.

“What girl?”

“With the black hair.”

“Molly? Naw, she probably just thought I had blow.”

“I wanna kiss you,” Eddie said, putting actual weight on Steve as they made it out of the front door and into the cooler night.

“Probably shouldn’t do that out here,” Steve said, letting go of Eddie and taking out two cigarettes and lighting both. “Here, sober up,” he said, handing Eddie one of the cigarettes.

Eddie took it somewhat clumsily. “Oh, thank you,” he said, impressively french inhaling for now drunk he was. “Wait, ‘m I too drunk?” he slurred. Then dropped the cigarette. The picked it up. “Still lit,” he said with it back in his mouth.

“No, but I think hung over Eddie will be mad at me if I don’t try to sober drunk Eddie up slightly before bed.”

Eddie groaned. “Ugh. Bed. That sounds good. I mean, it doesn’t, because I will definitely wet the bed tonight. Oh shit,” he looked down at his watch. “It’s almost one. I need to pee.”

“Wanna just go outside?” he said, gesturing to the nearby trees that weren’t surrounded by other people.

“No, I don’t actually need to pee. I just need to pee because it’s almost one.”

“Huh?”

“Dossen matter. I’m gonna go inside,” he said, taking the cigarette with him. “Be here when i’m back?” he asked.

“Sure, Eds.”

Eddie was gone for almost twenty minutes when Steve realized he should’ve been back by now. He made his way back into the loud, humid house and searched the downstairs bathroom first, then the upstairs bathroom. He wasn’t in or around either.

He checked outside again, but there was no sign of him.

Finally, Steve checked the pong table, and was absolutely not expecting Eddie to be playing against some random shirtless man.

“Take that!” Eddie yelled. Then grabbed the crotch of his jeans quickly before chasing after a stray ball.

“Eddie!” Steve called.

“Steve! I’m kicking his ass—I can’t remember his name. Do you know his name? Dossen matter, ‘m winning!” he yelled over the music, eyes glazed over.

“Eddie, did you pee?”

“When?”

“That’s what you came inside to do?”

“Ohhhhh, that’s what I was doing,” he said, going back to the table.

“Do you want to… go and do that now?” Steve asked as Eddie threw a ball and impressively made it in.

“Hm?” he asked after cheering for himself.

Steve sighed. “Never mind. Finish your game, then I think we should head back?”

“Sure thing, sassy pants,” Eddie said, kissing Steve on the head aggressively in a way that hopefully didn’t come across as too homosexual.

“Why is that my new nickname?” he whispered to himself, going to get more punch to occupy himself with something.

Steve left Eddie to go piss, and was back at the table in ten minutes. The game thankfully seemed to be over and Eddie was playing with one of the pong balls in his hands, back against a wall, legs crossed.

“Okay, you ready to go? Well, you should pee first—”

“Stevie! Look, look. Magic.” Steve watched as Eddie attempted to do sleight of hand to make the ball disappear, but he dropped it halfway through the trick. “Shit, shit.”

When Eddie came back with the ball, Steve’s stomach dropped.

“Eddie—“

“Wait, lemme try again—“

“Eds, wait,” he tried to grab his hands and pull him away, out of the house, but it was too late.

“I promise I know how to do this trick—“

“Eddie! Look down!”

Eddie looked down. Then crossed his legs tightly. Piss was running down his legs and splashing onto the floor, and nothing Eddie was doing could stop it. Still, he was trying to.

“Fuck, what the fuck!” he yelled, which probably was drawing attention to himself.

Steve didn’t let Eddie protest as he dragged him out of the house, which was thankfully not far, and pulled both of them onto the dark street.

Steve could hear pee dripping onto the concrete beneath them as Eddie still had both hands in between his legs.

“Just let go, Ed—“

Eddie was shaking his head, looking down at himself, and sniffling. Shit. He was not expecting this to happen at all. “I’m so sorry—“ Eddie sobbed, a nearby street lamp clearly illuminating the dark stain spreading down both legs and making a puddle on the ground. It was dripping out of the holes on his knees, soaking into his shoes, and running through his hands in a thick, never ending stream. He was pretty sure never seen Eddie piss this much before.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, wrapping Eddie up in a hug, not knowing what else to do.

“Don’t—don’t step in it!” he cried.

“I’m not.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said again.

“You’re fine. It’s just an accident. You’re okay.”

Steve stepped back when he heard the dripping stop and Eddie’s crying get louder. He put his hands on each shoulder. “Hey. How about I call Robin and convince her to pick us up?”

“I didn’t even realize—“

“I know.”

“I’m so sorry—“

“I’m going to try and call Robin and see if she’ll cash in one of the favors she owes me. Okay? Then I’ll be right back.”

Steve found a phone booth close by and fumbled tipsily through his pockets until he found change.

Thankfully, Robin was willing to get them as long as Steve now owed her another favor. Steve also told her to bring a towel and a plastic bag and was really hoping Eddie wouldn’t burst into tears when he noticed.

Eddie was sitting on the curb, back on the grass behind him, tears streaming down his cheeks silently. When he saw Steve, he groaned. “I’m so sorry—“

Steve sat next to him. “Eddie, I’m serious, stop apologizing.”

Eddie groaned again and put both hands on his face. “I just didn’t even know I had to go at all, and then suddenly there was a fucking gallon of piss pouring out of me! Into my shoes. My shoes, Steven!” He wiped at his tears and shook them off his hands. “Fuck. I peed on my hands, too. I just touched my eyes. I peed on my eyes, Steven. My fucking eyes.”

“I should’ve reminded you.”

Eddie sat up quickly and pointed a finger at Steve. “No. No. That is not your job. Your job is be hot. Not remind your stupid boyfriend to pee.”

“Hey, don’t call my stupid boyfriend stupid.”

“‘m sorry.” Eddie was wiping his hands on the grass. “Is Robin gonna notice?”

Steve looked down at Eddie. He’d positively never seen Eddie this soaked. “Yeah, I think so. I also told her, Ed. Sorry.”

“Issokay. Prolly for the best.” Eddie flopped back down on the grass. “I didn’t know the punch had that much alcohol, Steve. I wouldn’t have drank it. Then I wouldn’t have peed myself. I really didn’t want to pee myself tonight.”

“I know.”

“I don’t ever wanna pee myself.”

“Makes sense.”

“But I do. I do, like, all the time. No. Not ‘ll the time. Because then I would be incongruent.”

“Incontinent.”

“Thas what I said. But I’m not,” he sat up again and tried to stabilize himself. He was looking at Steve, but his eyes were almost going different directions. “But you think I am.”

Steve sighed. “Eddie, I don’t.”

“But you said—“

“I know what I said.” Steve tipped Eddie’s chin up slightly, then pecked his lips. “I was wrong. And you didn’t know what jungle juice is. It’s my fault, I should’ve explained. There was probably moonshine in there for all I know. We’ll probably go blind.”

“I can’t be the blind guy and the guy who’s pees himself. My reputation would be ruined,” Eddie slurred.

“Your reputation is already ruined. With the being wanted for murder and Hell Fire stuff, you know.”

Eddie laughed, genuinely. “Oh, yeah. Hm.”

Robin pulled up, her headlights shining on both of them. And the small puddle a few feet away. Steve helped Eddie up, who almost tumbled over.

“Hey, boys. Need a ride?” Robin called through the rolled down window.

“I really owe you one,” Steve said, opening the backseat door for Steve and thankfully finding a towel on the seat. He led Eddie to sit down on the towel and got into the passenger seat. Eddie didn’t say anything.

“He gonna barf?” Robin asked.

“No!” Eddie yelled. Then cocked his head. “Maybe later. But not in the car! I wouldn’t do that,” he slurred, messing with the lights overhead.

“Stop that, Ed. I don’t know, Robin, but Eddie, if you need to throw up, please tell me and Robin will pull over,” Steve said.

“Or if you need to piss—“ Robin added.

“Or if you need to piss.”

“I won’t need to piss. I literally just pissed,” Eddie muttered.

“I can see that,” Robin said under her breath.

“Huh?” Eddie asked.

“Nothing!” Robin and Steve said at the same time.

After convincing Eddie to put his wet socks and shoes into the plastic bag Robin brought, they entered Steve’s house as quietly as possible. It was almost two in the morning, and his parents were definitely asleep, but Steve wasn’t sure if he could handle his parents seeing Eddie in even wetter pants, so he took every step as quietly as he could manage. Thankfully his room and bathroom were upstairs and secluded.

Steve brought Eddie directly to his bathroom.

“Okay. Shower,” Steve said, handing him a clean towel.

“Are you mad—“

“No, baby, I’m not mad. I’m just tired,” he kissed the top of his head before turning to leave. “I’ll bring you some clothes. You gonna be okay in the shower?”

“Mm. Yeah. I’ve done it before,” he muttered, going to twist on the shower head and slipping slightly, falling against the shower curtain and catching himself on the side of the tub. “Ignore that,” he said, standing back up.

“Sit down in the shower so you don’t fall.”

“Smart,” Eddie said, already pulling off his shirt.

Steve returned with his comfiest pair of sweats and another shirt (Eddie’s got slightly damp from all the sitting down) when the shower shut off. He knocked a few times. Eddie opened the door and let him in wearing just a towel, a sight Steve was starting to see a lot. He didn’t mind.

“Hey,” Eddie said, water still dripping down his skin. His eyes were bloodshot.

“Hey. Clothes,” he said, passing him the pile in his arms.

“Thanks,” Eddie said. He knelt in front of the sink and opened the cabinet, still only wearing a towel. He pulled out the bag of protection, and Steve’s cheeks warmed.

“I can—“ he started to go towards the door.

“I don’t care, Steve,” he murmured, stepping into one of the garments and pulling it up over his hips. Steve looked down. He looked back up as Eddie pulled the sweats up over it. Steve wished there was a bit sticking out again. Eddie pulled on the shirt last.

When he turned to face Steve, Steve was probably bright red.

“Sorry if that made you uncomfortable,” Eddie said, clearing his throat. The fun part of drunk Eddie seemed to be fading quickly and the usual embarrassment was seeping in.

Steve shook his head. “Not in the slightest, baby.”

Eddie looked in the mirror. He lifted his shirt and turned to his side, looking at his ass in the reflection. “Steve, what if it leaks,” he asked, quietly.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“But I’m so drunk, Steve. I’m, like, rotating. Like the world is rotating, you know? There were two of you earlier. Two Steves. It was trippy.”

“What does that have to do with your protection?”

Eddie sat down on the bathroom floor, his legs apparently giving out. “I might wet more than once. And these are nice, but they aren’t the really big ones like at the hospital that can hold a lot, you know?”

Steve nodded. He had no idea, but he nodded. He also had no idea why Eddie knew the quality of hospital diapers. Probably a question for another day.

“Don’t worry about any of that. Let’s just get you to sleep.”

Eddie let Steve carry him to bed when Steve offered. “I’m not a baby, though,” Eddie mumbled into Steve’s neck as he opened his bedroom door.

When Steve set him down on the bed, he brushed a piece of wild hair away from his face. “Do you want me to stop calling you that?” Steve asked. He’d never even thought about that. Steve started calling Eddie baby because he was pretty sure he’d never met anything as incredible as Eddie Munson and he couldn’t help himself. But his boyfriend was also wearing a diaper right now. The nickname might be sensitive.

“No, no, I like it. I was jus’ kiddin. I know you don’ see me like that, princess.” Steve blushed and tucked himself into Eddie’s chest. Eddie lazily played with Steve’s hair.

“Okay. Good night, baby.”

Eddie mumbled goodnight, and he was snoring within 5 minutes. Steve snuggled up closer. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

Chapter Text

Steve woke up to the sounds of vomiting coming from the closed door of his bathroom down the hall. He groggily checked the time. 7 am. He reached across his empty bed to confirm that the person throwing up was indeed his boyfriend. Steve pulled himself out of bed and quietly snuck down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. And grabbed a change of clothes… just in case.

“Eddie?” he whispered through the closed door, knocking lightly.

Eddie groaned in response. Steve took that as a good enough invitation to let himself in. Steve slowly opened the door to find Eddie slumped over the toilet. He flushed the toilet after his eyes connected to Steve’s.

“Hey. Doing okay?”

Eddie groaned again and leaned up against the tub. The gray shirt he was sleeping in had a small amount of red vomit on the front.

“Steve. I’m never drinking again,” he said, pushing his hair out of his face.

“Here. Give me your shirt,” Steve said, grabbing the spare shirt he brought and handing it over to Eddie. Eddie didn’t reach out for it.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay—“

“You don’t know what I’m apologizing for.”

“Throwing up?”

Eddie looked like he was about to respond but had to quickly pull himself back over the toilet as he heaved again. Then Steve saw what Eddie was apologizing for. As he vomited, a puddle was forming beneath the knees of his sweatpants and spilling onto the tile.

“Oh, baby,” Steve muttered, going to hold Eddie’s hair back.

“I’m sorry—this always happens when I throw up,” he managed to say right before having to put his head back inside the toilet. Steve rubbed his back lightly. “It was either throw up on the floor or piss on the floor and it—the thing—it leaked, that’s why it… ugh.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ed.”

Eddie just cried gently in response, head still against the toilet but not actively throwing up anymore. Steve flushed the toilet and leaned Eddie back up.

“Come here, arms up,” he said, grabbing his ruined shirt.

“I’m really sorry Steve—“

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t realize the punch had that much alcohol. Everyone’s made this mistake,” he responded, pulling off the shirt and throwing it into a corner on the floor. Eddie needed to shower again. “Okay. Can you get your pants off, too?” Steve asked, looking down at the now dark blue sweats and small puddle beneath Eddie.

Eddie closed his eyes. “I don’t know if I’m done throwing up though.”

“You should still change, baby.”

“But, Steve, I might…”

“Eddie, I don’t want you staying in wet pants any longer than you need to be.” He grabbed the sweats from the counter but left the underwear. “Do you want… um… to wear boxers, or…”

“Kill me now,” Eddie muttered into the toilet bowl.

“I’m not doing that.”

Eddie slumped even more than he already was. Then he muttered something Steve couldn’t understand into his arm.

“Huh?”

“No boxers.”

Steve nodded and pulled out a pair of Eddie’s protection, folded it inside the sweats, and passed them down. Then he grabbed a towel and instructed Eddie to move away from the front of the toilet so he could soak up his accident.

“I’ll be right back,” Steve said, kissing the top of his head once more.

Steve came back inside the bathroom with some crackers. Eddie was back up against the toilet heaving up nothing but was thankfully changed into the new pants.

“I’m going to wash your clothes—“

“This is so embarrassing.”

Steve sighed. “Not to me. I’ll wash your jeans from yesterday so you can wear them home, too.”

Eddie threw up in response, then gave Steve a thumbs up. Then sat up quickly. “Wait. Yesterday?”

“Yeah?”

“Please tell me I didn’t piss myself yesterday.”

Steve shuffled. “Uh…”

“Oh my God,” Eddie said before throwing up more. “I think I might be dying.”

“Do you remember anything from last night?”

“Yeah. But I don’t remember that.” Eddie hit his head on the toilet seat.

“Ed—“

“Sorry. Sorry. You can leave, Steve. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. This is just payback for when you had to take care of drunk me that one time. Eat a cracker. Drink some water. I’ll be back in a bit,” Steve said while gathering Eddie’s wet and puked on clothing.

When Steve came back into the bathroom, Eddie was in the shower. The sweats were on the ground with the new pair of protection sitting on top of them, slightly stretched out. The padding was a tiny bit yellow. Steve went hot and closed the door.

Eddie came back into Steve’s room after he showered.

“Hey, are you gonna live?”

“Not with my dignity,” Eddie said, rubbing his head.

“Come here,” Steve said, opening his arms and the covers. Eddie crawled in, resting his head on Steve’s chest. “What do you remember?”

Eddie groaned. “I remember drinking way too much of that crap thinking it was mostly just juice… I remember playing games with you… making out with you…. I think at some point I was doing magic… and then I woke up.” Steve rubbed his back.

“Do you want me to tell you what happened?”

“Is it bad?” Eddie sort of muttered, lifting his head to look into Steve’s eyes. Steve shook his head.

“You honestly just kind of… started peeing yourself. I don’t think you realized you had to go.”

“In front of people?”

“Technically, but I really don’t think anyone noticed what was going on. Then we went outside for you to… finish.”

“Oh my God,” Eddie said for probably the fifth time, burying himself deeper into Steve.

“Robin also picked us up so… she saw.”

“That’s nice of her,” Eddie said, eyes drifting closed. “I want to go to sleep forever.”

“You should get some more sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

“Mmm.”

“Are you… uh… ready to sleep right now?” Steve gently asked.

“Huh? Oh,” Eddie lifted the band of his sweats to show Steve the extra padding. “‘M good.”

Steve was on fire. “Okay. Goodnight, Ed.”

“G’night, Steve,” Eddie murmured.

They both fell back asleep quickly, secure in each others arms.

***

Eddie had definitely never had such a bad hangover in his life. Steve dropped him off home when they woke back up, but he had his head right back in the toilet as soon as he stepped foot through the door.

Wayne knocked on the bathroom door after he was in there for thirty minutes emptying the small amount of crackers he was able to get down into the toilet. “Need anything?” he asked.

“Uh…” Eddie looked down at himself. He took the protection off before he left Steve’s because he had another accident in his sleep, and so of course, his jeans had a wet patch the size of a basketball from the throwing up. Eddie hated throwing up. Not only was it just a horrible thing altogether, but it brought back bad memories. Throwing up in the nurses office at school and then needing Wayne to bring him a change of clothes when he was picked up. Puking on a field trip in 3rd grade and having to tie his teachers sweater around his waist. Or the worst one, bad nachos at the state fair in 8th grade.

“Need new underwear?” Wayne asked.

Eddie’s face got hot. He hated that Wayne knew him so well sometimes. “Um. Yeah. And, uh, pants, too.”

“Okay, kid.”

When he returned, Wayne averted his eyes as he handed Eddie the pile of clothes. “Are you sick?” he asked, feeling Eddie’s head.

“I’m just hungover,” he responded, taking off his jeans that were already washed today and turning his back to Wayne to pull on the clean pair of boxers and pants, using a disposable wipe to clean himself up a little.

“You go to a party or something?”

“Yeah. With Steve. Don’t worry, he didn’t bully me. But I drank way too much, totally blacked out.”

Wayne sighed. “Eddie—“

“I know, I know. Stupid move. I really didn’t mean to, I had no idea the punch was, like, half alcohol. I don’t ever drink like that, especially around a shit ton of people. I mean, why would I want to risk it?”

Eddie really hoped Wayne knew what Eddie was implying. Eddie barely drank enough water throughout the day in fear of wetting himself, so drinking copious amounts of alcohol at a party was obviously a recipe for disaster.

“Okay. Well. I know you’re an adult so I can’t expect you to not drink, but… be careful. Do you need anything else?”

Eddie shook his head. “Hey, Wayne… uh, thank you.”

“Of course. Drink some water, bubs, you need to rehydrate,” he said before patting the doorway and leaving Eddie to wallow in peace.

By the next day, Eddie was feeling much more alive and well. Physically, at least.

Mentally, he was exhausted. He had barely managed to go a week. A whole week without pissing himself just to do it multiple times in front of Steve within 24 hours. Eddie decided to forgo the whole pissing every hour thing—it was just so annoying and clearly hadn’t worked.

Ugh. Why couldn’t he just be normal? No one else had to worry about these things. He never expected having a boyfriend would make him feel so bad about himself. When he used to picture his future when he was younger, there was always a boyfriend, but Eddie’s issues were never there. Maybe it was time he just accepted it.

This was his life, and it wasn’t changing. Eddie was either going to spend the rest of his life hating himself, or he was going to have to accept that this part of him wasn’t going anywhere.

***

“Hello? Are you listening to me?” Robin was saying somewhere deep in Steve’s subconscious. He blinked.

“Hm?”

Robin was leaning on the counter of the video store, waving a hand in front of Steve’s face. “I asked if you’re okay?”

Steve nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh, I don’t know, but you’re staring off into space instead of stocking, so I thought I’d ask.”

Steve ran a hand through his hair. “Just… thinking.”

Robin sat herself on the counter. “About Eddie?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “How did you know.”

“Uh, you’re obsessed with him. So what’s going on? What did you do?” she asked.

After scoffing like what Robin said was the most ludicrous thing he’d ever heard, he put his hands on his hips. “How do you know I did something?”

“Educated guess. So. What was it?”

“Nothing. Well. Not nothing. But… have you ever said something that you didn’t really mean but you can’t take it back? Because I said something… and apparently it’s a sensitive subject, and it’s like Eddie’s been… distant. Since it happened.”

A customer came in, so Robin had to lower her voice. “What exactly did you say?”

“I sort of… it’s complicated, but I implied that he was… incontinent.”

Robin cocked her head. “Doesn’t that mean, like, no control over your bladder at all?”

Steve glanced around the store. “Yeah.”

“Which… Eddie… isn’t, right—”

“Eddie has control over his bladder. Most of the time. He’s not incontinent, but now I think he thinks I think he is!”

“Because you said he is—“

“I implied it. Yes.”

Robin hummed and jumped down from the counter to check out the customer. When she returned, her arms were crossed. “I think you might just need to stop saying dumb shit.”

“Wow, thank you.”

“Or piss your pants.”

“Huh?”

“Show Eddie that it’s not a big deal. Everyone does it. Hell, I do it! Not as often as him, but, I’m not exactly known for my bladder control!” Robin exclaimed.

“I can’t just—“ a customer walked in, and Steve dropped was he was saying to smile.

Maybe that wasn’t… the worst idea? He’d done it before, not on purpose, but. It did seem to make Eddie feel slightly better then.

Before he could respond, another customer walked in. Only it wasn’t a regular customer, it was Eddie. He looked a lot better than he had the last time Steve saw him, and he was dressed in his nicest pair of ripped jeans, his hair curling at the ends. Steve smiled at him.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked as Eddie put his hands on the counter.

“I found something,” he said, then pulled out a folded up piece of paper in his pocket. It was a flyer for a 3 bedroom apartment.

“Oh, sweet, where is this?”

“Ten minute walk. I was just walking home from the music store and saw it. I also bought you this,” Eddie reached into another pocket and pulled out a lighter, one of the fancy ones. It was pink and had the words ‘princess’ printed on it.

Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re a dick.”

“Robin, come look at this,” Eddie called to her, holding up the apartment flyer. “I think we should tour it.”

“I like it,” she said, smiling and pulling out a plastic bag for the customer she was helping.

“Cool… I can call the number tomorrow.”

Steve nodded. “Good. How are you feeling?”

Eddie ran a hand across his face, his fingers decorated in rings. “Embarrassed.”

“You shouldn’t be—“

“Steve, thank you, but it doesn’t matter how much you say it, I’m always going to be embarrassed. It’s like, a constant state of being for me.”

Steve sighed. “Okay. You look nice.”

Eddie’s eyes danced across the store. “I just came from work.”

“You still look nice. What are you doing tonight?”

Eddie shifted. “Uh, I promised Wayne I’d watch a movie with him.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Of course.”

“I—uh… I’ll let you get back to work,” Eddie turned to leave, then quickly turned back. “Actually, can I use your bathroom first—“

“Yeah, Ed, of course.”

He ducked sheepishly toward the back.

“You two are so annoying,” Robin mumbled.

“I didn’t do anything?”

“No, it’s annoying that you’re so fucking cute. Living with you two is going to be torture.”

Steve shoved Robin lightly, smiling while he did it.

Chapter Text

The three of them carpooled in Steve’s car to the apartment showing a day later.

The apartment was reasonably priced, a decent size, and not too run down. The three bedrooms were on the smaller side, and there was only one bathroom, but it was probably the best they were going to get.

“What do we think, boys?” Robin asked when the realtor was a far enough distance away. Eddie put his hands in his pockets.

“I like it. It’s close to our jobs,” he said.

“And it’s not too expensive,” Steve added.

Probably because there was one bathroom. Eddie was used to sharing a bathroom with Wayne, but Wayne knew to never lock the door during a shower and to let Eddie go before he needed to. Eddie was pretty sure he couldn’t take a piss while Robin or his boyfriend were showering.

But it would be fine. He’d keep some empty bottles in his room and hope for the best.

“I call this room,” Robin declared, pointing to the largest one.

“Can I take this one?” Eddie asked, gesturing to the bedroom closest to the washing machine.

“So i’m stuck with the carpeted room? Ugh, I hate carpet,” Steve grumbled.

“Probably better you than me,” Eddie muttered, blushing. Note to self: don’t pee your pants in Steve’s room. And buy carpet cleaner just in case that plan fails.

They signed the lease that night, and suddenly Eddie felt very grown up. Not only did he have an apartment now (in two weeks when they could move in), but he had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who truly cared about him. It all felt very grown up.

Maybe to remind themselves that they were still young, the three of them plus Nancy decided to go on a camping trip that weekend. Steve’s family had a nice tent, and it was getting colder at night as the summer wrapped up, so it was the perfect time to go camping.

Eddie was, naturally, nervous for the whole ordeal.

“Ready?” Steve asked as, backpack and tent bag swung onto his back. Eddie tucked the two last remaining protection deep into his backpack and zipped it up. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to tell Steve that he was running out.

“Yep.”

Steve shuffled. “The drive is going to be around three hours.”

“Cool.”

“I was just thinking that… well, if you wanted to take a nap or something—“

“Oh. Gotcha. Um. Yeah, sure, that makes sense.”

Steve was blushing. “It’s just a suggestion—“

“As long as you promise to not make fun of me—“

He blushed even more. “I would never!”

“I know,” Eddie said, pulling one of his protection out. “I’ll be back in a second,” he said, heading toward the bathroom. Wearing them during the day was obviously very embarrassing, but it was the smart thing to do. Even if it made him want to curl up and die, it was a better alternative to cleaning Steve’s car seats (which Eddie had managed to avoid so far).

It was only one night. It would be fine.

***

Eddie was asleep within twenty minutes. Steve kept glancing at him and smiling to himself. He couldn’t help it.

“Gross,” Robin muttered, breaking up the silence. Nancy was also asleep next to her.

“What?”

“You. Being so in love. It’s disgusting.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Homophobic.”

“It’s like watching brothers kiss.”

“Please don’t say that.”

An hour later Eddie was still fast asleep and snoring lightly. And they were sitting in very heavy traffic.

“When do you think this traffic will clear up?” Robin asked, “I need to pee. I’m sure Eddie will need to, too.”

Steve nodded. “I can’t see beyond this curve, so I’m not sure. But I’ll stop as soon as I can.”

Robin nodded and bounced her knee. “Should we wake him up soon?” Robin asked.

“Why?”

“Well doesn’t he… I mean, I mean he might need to pee and he’s asleep so…” she trailed off. Steve was blushing intensely.

“I’ll wake him up when we find somewhere to pee. Wanna listen to new music? You can pick,” Steve said, trying to change the subject.

Robin knew about the bed wetting. At least she implied that she did. And she already knew about the diapers after finding them under Steve’s sink. And if they weren’t careful, she’d probably figure out why Steve wasn’t worried about waking him up.

The traffic thankfully cleared up in less than twenty minutes, and they pulled into the closest gas station. Robin ran out the car muttering about how bad she needed to pee, which woke up Nancy, who went to join her.

“Ed, hey, wake up,” Steve said, nudging his sleepy boyfriend. He didn’t budge. God, he really was a deep sleeper.

“Eddie,” he tried again. “Munson!” he finally yelled.

Eddie shot his eyes open. “Hm? What? What’s happening?” he said, looking around frantically.

“Do you have to—“

Steve’s question was answered when Eddie suddenly gasped and doubled over, both hands going to his crotch.

“Shit!”

“We’re at a gas station, you can make it—“

“I don’t know if I can,” Eddie whined, wiggling around in his seat and biting his lip.

“Yes you can, let’s get out of the car,” Steve tried, getting out of the drivers seat and coming around to Eddie’s side. When he opened the passenger side, Eddie didn’t make an attempt to step out, holding onto himself for dear life.

“Eddie—“

“Steve if I—I can’t, I can’t, I’m already… it’s pointless,” he said.

Steve sighed and ran a hand through Eddie’s hair. “Okay, well just finish up right there and then you can get changed.”

Eddie shook his head. “I don’t want to,” he whined.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t think you would, but it’ll be fine, this is why you’re wearing protection—“

“Not to use it while I’m awake!”

“You don’t really have much of a choice, babe.”

“I know,” he groaned, his hands dropping from his crotch as he likely lost the battle. Eddie’s face went from scrunched up to blushed and relaxed, and Steve was not turned on by this. At all. Totally not turned on in the slightest.

Because that would be inappropriate. Eddie was having an accident, and he was embarrassed, and Steve could not stop looking at how the crotch of his jeans was expanding slightly. He darted his eyes away when he realized that he was getting fucking hard standing there watching his boyfriend piss his pants. Or not his pants. That’s what was making him fucking hard, the fact that he wasn’t peeing his pants at all technically. Steve sat back down in the front seat and stared out the windshield.

“Sorry—“

“Don’t apologize, please,” Steve said, adjusting himself in his jeans and hoping Eddie wouldn’t look at him.

“I was kinda already going when you woke me up—“

Stop talking about it, Eddie. “Hm.”

“But thanks for waking me up,” Eddie said, shifting uncomfortably. “Okay. I’m going to go waddle awkwardly to the bathroom and try very hard to not look like an adult in a wet fucking diaper.” Eddie climbed off his seat.

“Okay,” Steve replied shortly.

“Okay…” Eddie said, somewhat unsure. Shit. Steve was making him feel weird. Steve was feeling weird. Steve WAS weird.

Eddie grabbed his backpack and walked into the gas station, and Steve stared. Eddie was doing a good job of seeming casual, almost like he’d done this exact thing before, but Steve was anything but casual.

The girls got back first, and thankfully Steve was mostly back to normal by then, but he was still extremely confused and upset with himself for finding that hot. It was Eddie’s biggest insecurity, and Steve found it hot?

Well, not the actual wetting part, just the protection part. Eddie being dry and comfortable because Steve helped him. That’s what was hot. Which was just as strange.

Eddie came back wearing the same clothes and climbed in casually, a bag of peanuts in his hands.

“Peanuts?” he offered the car. Robin accepted, and Steve turned on the engine, giving Eddie a look that he hoped translated to ‘are you good?’ Eddie gave him a quick smile.

They made one more stop before finding an available site and parking the car. Everyone unloaded the car quickly.

“The air is so crisp!” Robin gleamed, setting her bag down on a the picnic table and running towards the nearby stream.

“This is nice,” Eddie said, standing next to Steve as he looked around the campsite and tried to find the best place to set up the tent.

“Yeah. It’s a good spot. Want to help with the tent?”

A few minutes into attempting to put the tent up, Steve was laughing to himself as he watched Eddie look at two rods like he had no idea what they were for.

“Eddie… have you been camping before?”

Eddie pursed his lips. “Uh… well. Not technically, no.”

“Oh my God, I’m taking your virginity!”

“You’re what?” Nancy called from her where she was inspecting the fire pit.

“Nothing! He’s doing nothing!” Eddie called, hands on his face.

Steve laughed and took the rods from Eddie. “Here. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

They went on a short walk around the mostly vacant camp site after everything was set up and before it started to get dark. As they sun set, they built up the fire. And Eddie pulled out his acoustic guitar.

“This is cheesy,” Robin said as he started to play a song they could all sing along to.

“Just let it happen, Robin,” Steve said, drinking a beer and swaying to the soft strumming.

They ate and sat around the fire until the stars were as bright as they’d get, then retired to the tent. It was pretty big and could definitely fit all four of them, but that didn’t mean Eddie was excited about having to sleep next to so many people.

He also only had one more left now. He definitely didn’t plan on actually using the first one, and he was so embarrassed about it he had to pull himself together in the gas station bathroom so Steve didn’t realize he’d been crying.

There was a small outhouse nearby that Eddie changed in quickly. He made sure to pack his biggest pair of sweats, and he crawled into his sleeping bag as soon as he got inside the tent. Even though he knew it was pretty unlikely that anyone could possibly notice, his face was on fire.

Steve set up his sleeping bag next to Eddie’s. When Robin and Nancy went to get changed, he leaned in towards him.

“Hey. You’re not going to try and stay up all night, right?” he asked.

“No. I’m too tired for that,” Eddie said, honestly.

“Okay. Well, you know you can always wake me up if anything… happens.”

Eddie’s face got hotter. He snuggled deeper into his sleeping bag. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“And about earlier—“

“We don’t need to talk about that.”

“Ed, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry if I seemed… off, or anything.”

Eddie squinted at him. “Huh?”

“I just—uh. Never mind. I know we’re in separate sleeping bags but we can still cuddle if you want.”

Eddie responded by scooting over and wrapping Steve up in his arms.

Eddie woke up to the morning light and smell of old campfire filtering into the tent. Steve had an arm draped over him. Eddie got up carefully, realizing as he did that he’d wet the bed. Or the sleeping bag? Not that it mattered, no one would know. Except for Steve, who would probably find out somehow.

He stripped and cleaned up the best he could with wipes in the outhouse and prayed that he wouldn’t smell like piss all day.

When he walked back to the campsite, wearing the same sweats but commando, everyone else seemed to be waking up. Steve was pissing on a tree.

“You know you could’ve come in while I was in there,” Eddie said, grabbing an apple and taking a bite. He leaned against the tree next to the one Steve was defacing.

“This is easier. Sleep well?”

Eddie nodded, eyes on the ground as he took another bite. “Mhm.”

“Good. Any hiccups?”

Eddie groaned as he played with the apple stem. “No. All good,” he said as Steve zipped himself back up.

“Good. Alright. Breakfast?”

After eating breakfast they spent the rest of the day playing cards and hiking and splashing Steve with creek water. When the sun started to set, Steve finally suggested they packed up.

“What if… we stayed another night?” Robin said, sitting heavily in her lawn chair and drinking a beer.

Eddie looked at Steve, who shrugged. “I’m off tomorrow,” he said.

“I don’t have to work until late,” Robin added.

“I’d love to stay another night!” Nancy said, leaving Eddie to be the only unheard voice. He swallowed.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, trying to smile and not seem like he was internally panicking.

He was already worried about the drive home without protection, so staying another night was not going to end well. He’d had accidents pretty much every night this week, so he’d likely have another one tonight. With no washing machine. And no shower.

Eddie took a walk towards the creek once it was decided they would leave tomorrow morning to try and clear his head, but it didn’t help much.

The girls were drunk when he got back, and he had to turn down drinks multiple times. Not only was he not in the mood for drinking after the college party incident, but he also did not need to put anymore liquid in his body.

Once everyone winded down, Eddie snuck off to the outhouse first to change into a regular pair of boxers and sweats. Maybe he could wear multiple pairs of boxers so it wouldn’t leak through as much… he definitely packed enough extra pairs…. no, that was dumb.

He’d just stay awake all night.

Robin was very drunk and giggly when he got back to the tent, and Steve and Nancy were eating it up. After awhile they all settled down.

“Goodnight, Ed,” Steve murmured into Eddie’s shoulder.

“Goodnight.”

He didn’t know how to entertain himself. He stayed awake successfully for a few hours, maybe, and pissed again, but he wasn’t sure he could last until the morning. But he needed to try, at least.

He started counting to 100. He made it to 89.

***

Steve woke up to someone muttering fuck multiple times and rustling around in the tent. He was surprised to see that it was Robin cursing and attempting to get out of the tent when he opened his eyes.

“Robin?” Nancy asked, sitting up.

“I need to pee and I can’t get this stupid zipper up! Fuck!”

Steve leaned over and tugged at it, and it gave.

“Thank you, shit, I’m gonna pee myself!” she muttered to herself as he raced toward the outhouse.

“I’ll go make sure she doesn’t fall in,” Nancy said.

Once the girls were gone, Steve looked over to see his boyfriend somehow still asleep despite the noise and morning light. Then he realized that something was wet. Something was wet, and it was coming from Eddie’s sleeping bag.

“Shit,” he whispered, trying to inspect the damage without waking Eddie. There was a small spot on the floor of the tent, and the bottom of Eddie’s sleeping bag was darker than the rest. It wasn’t a small spot, and Steve was confused.

He needed to forget about the confusion for a moment and wake Eddie up before the girls got back.

It took him a few tries, but Eddie eventually stirred awake.

“Hey, baby,” Steve said quietly.

“Hey,” Eddie responded, shifting slightly. He froze, then tugged his sleeping bag back up.

“Nancy and Robin are gone.”

“Okay,” Eddie said, not making any attempt to get up.

Steve stared for a moment. “Baby, you had an accident.”

“I know,” Eddie said, covering his eyes with the back of his hands. “I don’t know what to do, Steve!”

“Let’s start with getting you up—“

“They’re going to notice—“

“I know, I’m sorry—“

The tent zipped back open, and Robin crawled in. Eddie froze even more than he already was frozen. Then he said, “What?”

Robin’s pants were clearly pissed in.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. I drank too much last night,” she said, wading through the tent to find her backpack and grab new clothes. “I’m going to go wash up in the creek—why is the ground wet?”

Eddie just looked down at himself in response. Steve looked between both of them. Then it apparently clicked for Robin.

“Ohhhh. Hey, we’re twins!” she exclaimed, gesturing to her own wet pants. “Want to join me in the creek? Promise I won’t peek.”

Nancy crawled into the tent. “What’s going on in here?” she asked, looking between the two people who clearly had pee on them.

“I—uh, I’m really sorry, guys, I should’ve told you that I… sometimes… um…” Eddie tried to say.

“You wet the bed sometimes? Yeah, that makes sense. Now are you coming to the creek or what?” Robin asked. Eddie nodded tightly.

He pulled himself out of the sleeping bag and Steve got a good look at what was definitely not just a leak from his protection… which meant he didn’t wear it. Huh.

Was he supposed to bring that up? Was that appropriate? He couldn’t just say ‘Hey, I noticed you didn’t wear a diaper last night. What’s up with that?’

“I’ll take care of this,” Steve said, gesturing to the sleeping bag. It was Steve’s, and his plan was definitely to just toss it into the nearest dumpster and wipe up the tent floor with some soap and water.

Eddie was bright red. “I’m sorry—“

“It’s really okay, Munson. Go wash up,” he said with a smile. Eddie grabbed his backpack and followed Robin out.

***

“So… you wet the bed?” Robin decided to start the conversation with as they walked shamefully toward the creek. At least, Eddie was shameful about it. Robin seemed to not give a shit that she clearly didn’t fully make it to the toilet.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Like, regularly?”

Eddie sighed. “Kind of. Yeah.”

“I’m only asking because we’re about to share a laundry machine. I don’t want to get in your way. I’ll make sure not to leave anything in there overnight,” she smiled at him as they reached the rocks. “You know I don’t care, right? I mean, I literally peed myself too.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah it’s just… I do it more frequently.”

“And?” Robin said, starting to take off her pants and dip her toes into the water. “I feel like we’ve been over this. We’re friends—roommates! I like you, Eddie, obviously. This is a non-issue. Now turn around!”

They washed themselves quickly, and Robin borrowed a pair of Eddie’s boxers since she wasn’t planning on staying another night.

“You have an extra pair?” she asked, grabbing them as Eddie closed his eyes, already fully dressed.

“I have, like, five extra pairs, Robin. You know. Just in case I somehow manage to have five accidents on the way home.”

Robin laughed. “Hey, don’t jinx it,” she said, “you never know what could happen.”

That was true. Eddie still had the whole drive home. He rinsed his hands off one last time.

“Alright, let’s get back. Unless you need to use the potty first?” Eddie teased, leaning heavily into sarcasm.

Robin punched his arm. “You’re an asshole.”

“What? I’m just trying to be considerate! You did just pee your pants, you know.”

“So did you!”

“Aw, see, there’s where you’re wrong. I peed my sleeping bag. Very different thing.”

“Steve, Eddie’s bullying me for peeing myself!” Robin called playfully to where Steve was taking down the tent.

“Eddie, knock it off! Sometimes people have accidents, it’s not a big deal,” Steve said, somehow pulling a very serious face and putting a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Sorry. You’re right. Not me though.”

“Oh, no, never you,” Steve said with a wink.

Chapter Text

“Don’t be mad,” Steve opened with.

Eddie was standing in Steve’s brand new door frame. The apartment smelled like fresh paint and mildew.

“What?” he asked tentatively.

Steve sat on his bed. It was the only thing that was truly put together in his new room. “I bought something. For my bed. Just in case you want to sleep in my bed at some point or whatever,” he said, eyes down.

Eddie raised an eyebrows. He uncrossed his arms.

“…Okay?”

“It’s not a big deal it’s just… a sheet. Like yours.”

Eddie nearly giggled. “You bought a rubber sheet? For me?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, Steve that’s… nice. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but if it makes you more comfortable…” he trailed off.

Eddie sat next to Steve on the bed and heard the telltale crinkle he was all too used to. “Is this just a ploy to get me to sleep with you?” Eddie teased.

Steve shoved his arm. “No. Not that I’d say no…”

Eddie blushed. They hadn’t actually had full on…sex yet. They’d done pretty much everything else, but regular, full blown sex was still something they hadn’t done. Steve had never done it with a man, and Eddie had never… done it. But maybe with two beds to chose from…

“Come on, help me set up my bed,” Eddie said, standing and taking Steve’s hand.

A week into living together they didn’t have much furniture, but they had a table, and apparently that was enough for Robin to want to have a dinner party.

“Come on, my mom is begging me to have her over. It can be like a parent meet and greet thing!” she said from her perch on the kitchen counters.

Eddie hadn’t lived with anyone besides Wayne in a very long time. It was all new. But after a week, nothing had gone terribly wrong, and he was starting to feel more comfortable.

Well, he’d wet the bed twice, but both times he just did his laundry early in the morning and no one said anything about the fact that he was doing a load of sheets at 9 am. Robin made him a cup of coffee one of the mornings and passed it over with a smile.

Living with his boyfriend was something to figure out, though. They didn’t sleep in each other’s bed every night (Steve slept in Eddie’s bed one of the nights he had an accident… and Eddie had been making excuses since then to not share a bed). Steve also hadn’t mentioned anything about the protection.

Maybe he knew Eddie was out and just decided that it wasn’t something he wanted Eddie to do anymore? Maybe he finally realized it grossed him out? Eddie wasn’t sure. But Steve didn’t protest when Eddie said he was going to sleep in his own bed three nights in a row.

But besides the two nighttime incidents (which really, Eddie barely counted as incidents considering they probably weren’t going anywhere) he hadn’t had any day time accidents in the new apartment, even with sharing the bathroom with two other people. There had been some close calls, and he did have to resort to peeing in a bottle one time, but besides that, he was good. Underwear damage didn’t count.

“There’s no way it would end well,” Steve was saying when Eddie zoned back in. Eddie was sitting at the table a few feet from them and was barely paying attention to the dinner party debacle.

“Your parents love me, Steve!” Robin exclaimed.

“They don’t love me,” Eddie added.

Steve sighed. “They just need to get to know you, Ed.”

“Exactly! Which is why we should have a family dinner party!” Robin exclaimed.

Eddie was playing with a piece of chipped wood on their busted table. “I’m sure Wayne would want to come. My actual parents, not so much,” he said with a laugh. Then realized that he wasn’t sure if he’d ever actually mentioned his actual parents before. Not even to Steve. He never asked, so he never saw a reason to bring them up.

“… Wait, your parents are alive?” Robin asked quietly.

“Robin!” Steve said, hitting her arm lightly from where he was standing next to the counter.

“It’s fine, Steve,” Eddie said. “Yeah, they’re alive. I think. But I was just making a joke. They wouldn’t come. I mean, I don’t even think I have a number to contact them.”

No one said anything, and Eddie was suddenly regretting saying anything at all. “Sorry. It’s not a big thing. But Wayne would come,” he continued.

After a beat, Robin said, “Then it’s settled. We’re having a family dinner party!”

***

Potato salad was somehow the only thing Eddie knew how to make, and Steve was finding that very amusing. And attractive, for some reason.

“It’s good,” he said as Eddie fed him a bite off a wooden spoon.

“It’s a trailer park delicacy. The key is using slightly expired mayo.”

“Huh?”

“Kidding, princess,” Eddie said, laughing. Steve was pretty sure he was not in fact kidding.

Robin made several desserts and Steve handled the rest. He went with burgers to be safe, but made sure to get every topping possible. His parents were kind of… well. Judgmental. And on edge. Mostly his mom was, and Steve was worried if he forgot the pickled onions she’d think he was a failure (which she already thought as it was).

Robin’s parents arrived first, which was always a delight. They were just as bright and funny as their daughter, and Steve was always a bit jealous when he saw them interact.

Wayne arrived next with a bottle of wine. “This is for the adults!” he said, giving Eddie a kiss on the top of his head that Eddie tried to push off.

“Wayne, we’re all old enough to drink,” he whined.

“Okay, fine. One glass. This place is great!” he said, walking around the small apartment.

“It’s no trailer,” Eddie said.

Wayne sighed. “It’s lonely without you, kid.” Eddie gave him a sad smile. “But I know it was time. I had to let the bird fly from the nest or… however that goes. Oh, potato salad!”

Steve’s parents were last to show up, perfectly on time.

“It’s… quaint,” his mom said, dressed up like it still the 60s. His dad put his glasses on to look around.

“Good job, son. A proper apartment. A bit quaint, but an apartment none the less,” his dad said with a tight smile.

“Yeah, thanks,” Steve replied, showing them to their seats.

The chairs were a bit mismatched, but Steve had a candle lit to try and make it look nicer. It probably didn’t help much.

At first it was kind of awkward, but then the wine was poured, and suddenly his mom was very chatty.

“So, you’re Edward’s father?” she asked Wayne as she cut into her burger patty, forgoing the bun.

Wayne smiled. “It’s Eddie, and no, I’m his uncle. But, you know, same thing.”

“Oh, where are you parents tonight?” she then asked Eddie. Steve set his fork down loudly.

“Mom—“

“I don’t have those. I love your blouse, Mrs. Buckley,” Eddie said, thankfully shifting the conversation away from Steve’s mom.

“Oh, thank you, it was on sale!” Robin’s mom said cheerfully.

“It’s lovely,” Eddie said, then took a careful bite of his burger.

Lovely? When did Eddie get… fancy? And since when did Eddie own a button up shirt? It was still black, and the top three buttons were undone (he looked very good), but it was still a button up shirt.

Oh. Eddie was trying to impress Steve’s parents. Too bad his parents were kind of the worst.

“That’s a shame,” Steve’s mom continued.

“It’s fine, mom.”

“Steven—“

“We went camping recently! Did you know that?” Robin suddenly blurted loudly, probably attempting to fix her dinner party that was quickly going south.

“I heard,” Steve’s dad said, pouring his second glass of wine. Steve saw Eddie take a large sip, too. Steve extended his foot under the table until it touched the top of Eddie’s shoe, and Eddie smiled gently at him.

“Yes, I’m jealous,” Wayne said. “Anything interesting happen?”

“Nope!” Eddie said, blushing.

Eddie probably didn’t have the best time on that trip. He had a bit of an accident on the ride home (he made it, mostly, but Steve did have to bring him a change of boxers… and his jeans did have a small spot), confirming further that he was no longer wearing protection. Not to mention he’d wet the bed and everyone found out, which Steve knew he never wanted to happen. Steve still didn’t know how or if he was supposed to approach the subject of the protection, or lack of.

“Mom, did you know that Eddie plays the guitar?” Steve said, for some reason.

“He’s very good!” Wayne added proudly.

“Oh, that’s nice,” she said, a single potato on her fork.

“I’m really not that—“

“Eddie, yes you are. You literally work at a music store—“ Steve tried to say.

“You work at a video store, that doesn’t mean you make movies!”

“Good point,” Robin said. “But he really is very good.”

Eddie was blushing. Steve could almost see it on his exposed chest.

Steve’s foot was still on top of Eddie’s foot, and he realized his boyfriends leg was bouncing slightly. It could be nerves. Or it could be the other thing.

“Where’s your bathroom?” Robin’s mom asked.

“Down that hall,” her daughter answered.

Eddie glanced at the bathroom for a moment.

“More wine, anyone? We’re almost out,” Wayne offered.

“Oh, we have wine, if you want more!” Robin said, standing.

“I won’t say no,” Steve’s mom replied. Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

They continued to drink, Robin’s mom returned, and Steve’s dad took the bathroom next. Steve kept glancing at Eddie. He was probably being overprotective. Eddie would be fine.

Robin’s dad and his own dad excused themselves to smoke a cigar outside together after Mr. Buckley came back, so at least there were less people waiting to use the bathroom.

But then Robin used the bathroom next, and Eddie was definitely needing it based on the clenching of his fists and his general aura.

He was actually starting to stand as soon as Robin left the bathroom, but just then, Steve’s mom accidentally tipped her wine glass over and it spilled onto Robin’s mom’s white blouse.

“Oh, dear, I’m so sorry, Melissa!” she exclaimed, standing. “Steve, honey, do you have club soda? Come here to the bathroom dear, I’ll get that out before it sets!”

“Oh It’s no problem, really!” Mellisa said.

“I insist. Oh, I’m so clumsy,” she continued, laughing nervously and helping Robin’s mom up.

“Mom, wait—“

“Club soda, Steven!”

And then they were disappearing down the hallway, and Eddie was back to sitting with his eyes shut tight.

“Eddie—“ Wayne and Steve said at the same time. They briefly glanced at each other before returning their attention back to Eddie, who was turning pale. Steve let Wayne take the ropes.

“Are you okay?”

Eddie inhaled quietly, then shook his head very slightly. “I really need to pee. Um. It’s bad,” he said quietly, although everyone at the table already figured that out.

“I’ll go get my mom out—“ Steve started before Eddie grabbed his arm.

“No! It’s… it’s fine, Steve,” he said, but his voice was strained, and his other hand was buried in his crotch.

“Eds, It’s okay—“

“Steve, please, you cannot kick your mom out of the bathroom because I need… ugh!” Eddie locked his jaw.

Steve bit his lip. Eddie had a very reasonable point. If it was anyone else, he’d insist on getting them out, but it was his mom… his mom who had already said some terrible stuff about Eddie and his bladder.

“Bubs, if you’re about to have an accident, I don’t think she’d mind—“ Wayne whispered gently.

Eddie shook his head. “I’m not gonna have an accident. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I can hold it until they’re done.”

Wayne sighed. “Okay.”

Steve stood. “I need to bring my mom some club soda before she has a fit.”

“Please don’t ask her—“ Eddie basically begged.

“I won’t, baby—Eddie. Eddie. Uh. Yep.”

Shit. Steve grabbed a can of club soda quickly. Shit. There was no way to cover that up. Shit shit shit.

***

Eddie leaked for the first time when Robin was in the bathroom, and he was fully planning on taking it next. But then Steve’s mom spilled wine, and Eddie’s ass was getting damp. That’s when he knew he’d hit his limit. He was sitting in a chair at heir table and he knew he was way past his limit.

No amount of holding himself was going to stop the pee that was gushing out of him every few seconds like someone turning the kitchen sink on and off. He was so distracted by the fact that he’d leaked enough to where it was going to start dripping off the chair soon that he barely even registered Steve calling him baby in front of Wayne.

He also didn’t know what to do about the fact that his heart was beating so fast he was pretty sure he was about to have a panic attack. Having accidents at the dinner table gave him flashbacks to his parents. He really didn’t want that. He also really didn’t want to have an accident period, and he didn’t know what to do, because he had lied. He wasn’t going to make it. And everyone knew it.

Wayne continued to eat his dessert as Eddie clenched every muscle in his body. Robin was sending him worried glances every few seconds.

“Did she say something to you?” Wayne asked after a moment.

“Hm?”

“Mrs. Harrington. Did she say something to you? Is that why you’re so against asking her to let you go first?”

Eddie’s breathing was getting dangerously fast. “No.”

“Eddie—“

“It doesn’t matter.”

Eddie was very glad Robin chose to start clearing plates and glasses off the table to give them some privacy.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. Nothing important.”

“Are you sure?”

“I—shit. Yeah,” he said, putting both hands in his lap despite the fact that the leaks were turning into a stream that wasn’t going to stop. Eddie knew when there was no point of return.

“Eddie, I really think you should at least try to make it to the bathroom.”

Just then Eddie heard quiet splattering on the wood floor. He couldn’t get his breathing under control. Wayne looked down at the floor and saw it, too. Eddie knew that sound all too well. Wayne did too.

“No, I… Dad—I—I’m not going to make it—I’m sorry—“

“Okay, up, up, let’s get you to your room, kid,” Wayne said quickly. Eddie only ever called Wayne dad when it was bad. And it was bad. He didn’t know why, but it was really, really bad.

He didn’t protest when Wayne helped him up, because he was hyperventilating and he was peeing himself at the same time, so he just stood and let Wayne lead him to his room.

His vision was getting spotty as Wayne pushed his covers out of the way on his bed. “Here. Sit. You have your sheet on right—?”

Eddie nodded and sat, his body shaking as the legs of his jeans became drenched. He pulled his legs up to his chest and tried his best to muffle a sob with his hands.

“Will you be okay if I go clean up?”

Eddie nodded. “Can—can you, please… I… I want Steve,” he managed to get out. Wayne smiled sadly and cupped one of Eddie’s cheeks for a moment before closing his bedroom door.

Eddie’s chest heaved as he continued to pee himself on his bed. He flopped down on his back when his head couldn’t take it anymore. His breathing was so fast everything was fuzzy and disorienting. He cried into his pillow as he finished having his first day time accident in his new apartment, feeling his pee soak into his sheets and sit on top of the rubber sheet coldly. He could feel his shirt getting wet, but he couldn’t move. All he could do was hyperventilate and cry and embarrass himself again.

***

When Steve finally made it back to the table, he was met with both Robin and Wayne cleaning up what Steve was pretty certain wasn’t spilled water. Robin had the mop out. Shit. And the moms were going to be trailing behind him soon. Steve grabbed a glass of wine and quickly dumped it on the chair just before they left the bathroom.

Robin kind of gave him a look, but started mopping up the wine.

“What happened here?” his mom asked. Robin’s mom now had on a shirt that was wet instead of stained with red wine.

“I knocked over a glass, too. Clumsy,” Wayne lied quickly as he wiped down the chair.

“Where’s Eddie?” Steve asked.

“He wasn’t feeling well. Went to lie down. How about you go check on him?” Wayne said, and Steve got the impression that that wasn’t Wayne’s idea.

“Sure. I think two spilled wine glasses is enough for tonight, we should call the dinner party here. Mom, will you be able to get home safe?”

“Sure, honey,” she replied.

The dads thankfully returned just then and they parted ways quickly. Wayne stayed behind. As soon as the front door shut, Steve went to Eddie’s room and opened the door carefully.

He was met with a curled up, sobbing, and wet Eddie.

“Oh, baby,” he murmured as he sat, avoiding the wet spot on his sheets. He started to rub Eddie’s back, which only caused him to cry harder. “You’re okay.”

Eddie mumbled something that was barely english as he cried.

“Everyone’s gone. It’s just Wayne left. Do you want to take a shower?” he asked softly

“No,” Eddie groaned into his pillow, still shaking with sobs.

Steve had never seen Eddie like this before. Crying over an accident, sure, he’d seen plenty of times, but he’d never seen him sob like this before. The closest thing he could think of was when they kissed for the first time at the cabin after he’d wet the bed, but even then, it was no where near this bad. Eddie looked like he’d just given up.

“Okay. Do you want me to leave?” Steve asked.

“No,” Eddie repeated.

“Okay.”

Steve laid down slowly beside him and pulled him close until his head was resting on his chest. Eddie let out another heart-breaking sob. Steve felt tears soak into his shirt. He kissed the top of Eddie’s head and rubbed his back until finally, probably about 10 minutes later, Eddie stopped shaking and slowly sat up.

His eyes were puffy and red, and his whole face was wet. “Fuck,” he said.

“It’s okay.”

Eddie closed his eyes and wiped at his face, then seemed to realize again that he was wet. “Fuck.”

“I can start the shower for you. Or if you just want to use wipes and go to bed, I’ll get them.”

Eddie wiped his face with his shirt. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.”

Steve sighed and took one of Eddie’s hands. He brought it to his mouth and kissed it gently. “It wasn’t your fault. At all.”

“But I—I was freaking out for no reason.”

“Was it no reason?” Steve asked, dropping Eddie’s hand to push a stray curl away from his boyfriend’s face.

Eddie shook his pretty head. “No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Eddie pulled his legs up to his chest, making himself small. “It was… wetting myself at the dinner table it… brought back some memories. Of my parents. Not good ones.”

Steve’s heart ached in his chest. “I’m so sorry, Eds.”

Eddie sort of laughed to himself, then shook his head. “I wasn’t allowed to be excused during dinner, and sometimes I just couldn’t hold it until I was done. And even after I… they’d make me sit there until they were done eating, too. They used to call me incontinent. They told everyone—family friends, their priest, other parents—that I was completely incontinent. They told them that I wet the bed every night and that I peed at the table and in school and… I was so young. I couldn’t help it. They told me they were going to make me someone else’s problem if I didn’t stop embarrassing them. It was worse back then. I could barely go a day without… anyway, eventually, they kept their promise. They made me someone else’s problem.” He paused. “Shit. I’m sorry. You don’t need to know this.”

Steve was almost certain he was going to be sick. Yep. He was going to be sick. “Eddie—I—“

Steve stood up quickly and ran to the kitchen sink before he threw up all over himself and the floor.

“Steve?” Robin said.

He ignored Robin and Wayne in the living room and gargled his mouth out before going back in.

“I’m so sorry Steve—“ Eddie was saying immediately, crying again.

Steve got down on his knees in front of Eddie, who was still sitting on the bed, and put both hands on his face. “Never. Ever. Apologize to me about this. Please, baby, I… fuck. I didn’t know. I didn’t… I’m sorry. I’m the one who needs to be sorry.”

That’s why it was a touchy subject—Steve saying Eddie struggled with incontinence. Because Eddie’s asshole, worthless, scum parents abandoned their child because they thought he was unlovable. And then Steve went around calling him incontinent after he literally bullied him for years. He was just as bad as them.

“Did you throw up?” Eddie asked.

Steve nodded, still holding Eddie’s face and looking at him like he was the entire world. Because he was. How did Steve not realize for so long that the universe was certainly created from the specks of gold in his eyes?

He wiped a stray tear with him thumb.

“I love you, Eddie,” he said, because he did. And he was tired of keeping it in any longer. “I don’t know how two scum bags made the most perfect human being in the world. You deserve so much love. You deserve everything. How could they possibly do that to you?”

Eddie blinked for a moment. “I love you too, Steve.”

Steve closed his eyes. “You didn’t need to say it back.”

“But I do, idiot. I love you.” Then he laughed. “But my legs are really cold, and I kind of have to go again…. can we continue this really pathetically sappy moment later?”

Steve leaned forward and kissed him gently. “Alright, let’s get you cleaned up.”

Steve was going to spend the rest of his life grasping at Eddie like he was water slipping through his finger tips until finally, hopefully, eternally—he could grab on and never let him go.

***

Eddie took a long shower, and Wayne was still sitting in their undecorated living room when Steve came back from dropping off clothes for Eddie and dealing with his wet clothes and bedding.

“Hi,” he greeted awkwardly. Robin was in her room, so it was just them.

“He okay?” Wayne grunted.

Steve shrugged. “Not great.”

Wayne sighed. “Yeah. It’s, uh, being at the table, I think. That caused that.”

Steve nodded. “He told me.”

“You should’ve seen him at his ninth birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese,” Wayne said, grimacing at whatever that memory was. “Probably for the best you didn’t. Are you feeling okay?”

Steve was confused for a moment before he remembered that he literally threw up in the kitchen sink fifteen minutes ago. “Oh, yeah, that was… don’t worry about me.”

“You sure?”

Steve nodded. “Thanks for covering. With the wine.”

“He’s my kid. That’s what I do. Seems like you’ve picked up the habit.”

Steve sat down, sighing as he did. “It’s kind of becoming second nature.”

“You really care about him,” Wayne said, more of a statement than a question. Steve nodded. “Even after everything you—“

“Mr. Munson—“

“Wayne.”

“Wayne. I do care about him. I… love him. I know I don’t deserve to. But I do. Too much.”

Wayne nodded slowly. “So you are dating my son?”

Steve went hot. He nodded.

“If you ever pull anything like you did in high school, I swear to God young man, you will regret it,” he said, and Steve knew it wasn’t an understatement. Wayne looked ready to kill for Eddie.

“I won’t, sir.”

Wayne stared at him for a moment like he didn’t fully believe him, and then shifted his gaze to Eddie, who sauntered into the room slowly from the bathroom, hair dripping onto the t-shirt and sweats Steve grabbed for him.

Steve smiled at him.

“I’m going to take a shower, too, I think. Thanks for coming over Wayne,” Steve said, giving both of them a respective smile.

***

Eddie sat on the couch next to his uncle and pulled his knees to his chest. He was still shaking a little bit. Wayne pulled him into his side and wrapped an arm around him, and Eddie bit the back of his thumb to keep himself from crying.

“You’re okay, bubs.”

“I’m sorry. I ruined the whole night—“

“You didn’t, kid.”

Eddie sniffled. “What did you tell them?” he asked, hoping Wayne understood that he was referring to the puddle of pee he definitely left behind on the chair he was sitting on.

“Steve spilled some wine. It wasn’t bad.”

“It felt bad,” Eddie muttered, leaning deeper into Wayne’s side.

He hummed. “I’m sorry I left you to go clean up. I know you were panicking.”

Eddie nodded. “It’s okay, Steve helped. He always does.”

Wayne rubbed Eddie’s arm as he squeezed him tighter. “He’s your boyfriend, that’s what he’s for.” Eddie tensed. “Relax, kid. I believe you. He’s… different. And I can tell that he really does care about you.”

“He does,” Eddie said in a small voice.

“But if he does anything to hurt you—“

“I know, I know.”

Wayne pressed a scruffy kiss to Eddie’s head, and this time, he didn’t try to pull away. “Steve’s mom said something to you, didn’t she?” he asked quietly.

After a beat, Eddie nodded against Wayne’s chest.

“Can you tell me what she said?”

Eddie wiped his face before answering. “The night that Steve slept over at the trailer, it was because she’d… she saw that I had an accident and… asked if I was mentally handicapped,” he said quietly.

Wayne sighed heavily through this nose. “What’s her fucking problem? Even if you were, who the hell does she think she is to say that!” he said, voice as sharp as a knife.

“That’s why I didn’t want her to think that I couldn’t make it.”

“But you couldn’t, bubs.”

Eddie swallowed down the tears that tried to climb his throat. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t start. You know you don’t ever need to apologize.”

Eddie turned his head even further into his uncles chest, feeling comforted by the familiar scent of his strong cologne and the smell of old cigarettes. “Thanks for being here, dad.”

“Of course, bubs.”

After Wayne left, Steve re-emerged to the living room to see Eddie sitting on the couch, legs pulled up, eyes read and puffy.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” Eddie replied in a small voice.

“Want to sleep in my bed tonight? I didn’t fully get to cleaning yours—“

Eddie nodded. He was too tired to try and get out of it, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to be held by Steve until he fell asleep.

“Okay. Come here,” Steve said, opening his arms for Eddie to fall into. Steve kissed Eddie’s hair as they hugged.

Eddie fell asleep quickly, exhausted from the long night, his head pounding from the crying. Steve held him tightly. He dreamed about his parents.

***

Steve woke up early in the morning, before the sun had risen, because the bed was wet.

Eddie was still fast asleep, of course. It took Steve a few tries, but Eddie eventually woke up. When he did, he slammed his face into a pillow and started crying.

“Eddie—“

“I’m sorry,” he groaned into the pillow, voice breaking.

Steve rubbed his back. “It’s early. Let me strip the bed and you can just go right back to sleep.”

“No. This is a dream,” Eddie said. Steve blinked in the dark.

“No, it’s not, baby.”

“You’re not real,” he cried.

Steve was very confused. Was Eddie still asleep?

“Hey, feel my face,” Steve brought Eddie’s hand to his cheek. “I’m real.”

Eddie just shook his head. “No, no. No I’m… cold.”

“I know, let’s get up, okay—?”

“Why am I so cold?”

“You wet the bed, sweetheart,” Steve tried.

It seemed like Eddie was half awake, and Steve didn’t know what to do. He seemed scared. And confused.

“No, I didn’t.”

Steve sighed. “I’m going to go get your wipes, okay, and then we can go sleep in your bed.”

Eddie shook his head again. “They’ll be mad.”

“Who, baby?”

“Mmmm… mom. Dad.”

Steve reached a hand out to gently stroke Eddie’s cheek, but he flinched away. “It’s just me.”

“You’re not real!”

Steve sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He needed to get Eddie cleaned up and put back into a restful sleep. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he was pretty sure Eddie was freaking out. He quickly grabbed the wipes from Eddie’s room and a new change of clothes. He also laid a dry blanket over Eddie’s waterproof sheet since the bed wasn’t made and he was too tired to deal with it now.

When he came back into the room, Eddie was face planted into the pillow and asleep again. Steve shook him gently, hoping that he’d be fully awake this time.

“Eds.” He groaned. “You need to clean yourself up.”

“I didn’t do it.”

So much for getting normal, awake Eddie. “Okay, baby, but you still need to wipe yourself down. Can you take off your pants?”

Eddie thankfully obliged, peeling off his wet garments in the dark. Steve averted his eyes. “Good. Now wipe yourself down, okay?” he said, handing Eddie a few wipes.

Eddie did what he was told, but he was clearly not fully there. It was like he was a zombie. Steve figured it didn’t really matter how well he cleaned up, he’d shower in the morning anyway, and helped Eddie get into a new pair of boxers, not bothering with pants.

“Okay, let’s go to your room.”

Eddie, or zombie Eddie, followed Steve, but didn’t say anything. Steve had to guide him a little bit because his eyes were practically closed.

Once in bed, Steve pulled Eddie’s mostly dry comforter over him and tucked him in.

As much as he’d like to cuddle his boyfriend, it reeked of piss in both rooms, and Steve felt very awake now. He went into the living room instead after wiping himself down and changing, realizing that part of his pants got damaged. It was almost 6, so Steve turned on the TV and watched until the sun started to rise.

Eddie appeared, rubbing his eyes, a few hours later. “Steve, I’m confused,” he said when he saw Steve on the couch.

“Hey, Ed.”

“Why did I wake up in my bed? And also, I didn’t wet the bed, but I’m pretty sure I smell like I did.”

Steve tried not to laugh. “So you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

Steve turned the TV off and sat up fully. “I think you were… sleep walking?”

Eddie sat on the couch next to Steve. “Oh, shit. What did I do.”

“Have you slept walked before?”

Eddie nodded and rubbed his eyes again. “Yeah, when I’m like, really stressed or anxious or… it was probably my panic attack from last night. I’m sorry, Steve, did I do anything?”

“Well, you were very adamant that you did not wet the bed, and also that I was not real.”

Eddie put his face in his hands and leaned forward. “Jesus H Christ. I’m guessing I did wet the bed?” Steve nodded. “So that’s why I don’t have to pee that badly, and also why I smell terrible.”

“Yeah”

“Fuck. Okay. I’m going to shower. Unless you want to first?”

“No, go ahead.”

Eddie stood. “Probably for the best. I actually do kind of need the bathroom, and if I have one more accident in the next 48 hours, I think I’ll drop dead,” he groaned as he walked towards the bathroom.

“Hey, Munson?” Steve called. Eddie paused in his tracks.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Steve liked how deeply that made Eddie blush.

“I love you too, Harrington.”

Chapter Text

Eddie was rolling a joint to take out onto their apartments roof when Steve appeared behind him.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” he said, scaring the shit out of Eddie. Well, not literally. Thankfully he’d just peed otherwise he probably would’ve scared something else out.

“Ah! Steve, don’t sneak up on me!”

“Sorry, sorry—“

“I’m serious I’ll… doesn’t matter. What’s up?”

Steve sat down next to him at the table. Robin was working, so it was just the two of them. “Okay, so basically… you know how I have that uncle who lives in Maine?”

“Uh. No.”

“Oh. Well I have this uncle, and he’s very rich. Like, super rich. Anyway, we visit—my family—every couple of years and it’s normally super boring.”

Eddie licked the wrapping paper. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because they always let me bring a friend, and I want to bring you.”

Eddie just sort of stared at Steve. “What?”

“It would just be a few days at the end of the month. He owns a boat! And I’m pretty sure he has a literal bowling alley in his house.”

“Steve, I can’t afford—“

“He will pay for your ticket. It would be free. Seriously,” Steve said. “They won’t let me bring Robin even if I wanted to because she’s a girl, and I would really love it if you came. I know it’s not exactly your scene—“

“Yeah, I don’t think it is.”

Steve and Eddie did not come from the same class. Steve’s house was still one of the biggest houses Eddie had been in. He couldn’t imagine what Steve considered to be super rich.

“We could sneak off and kiss under the full moon and like, be romantic and stuff,” Steve said with his big doe eyes. Eddie huffed.

“Your parents hate me. I really don’t think they’d want me there.”

Steve waved a hand in the air. “They don’t hate you.”

“I’ve never even been on a plane—“ Eddie continued. A giant metal thing with limited bathroom opportunities was not something Eddie ever found appealing.

“Then this is a great opportunity! Just think about it.”

Eddie put the joint in his mouth. “Okay, I will. But right now, I’m going to go smoke this and plan my next D&D session,” he said, opening the window to slip onto the roof.

Wayne asked Eddie to dinner the night after, promising to make chili (not that Eddie needed to be bribed). Wayne wasn’t the best cook, but Eddie didn’t care. He’d take burnt chili with his uncle over most other dinner options.

“I have a question,” Eddie said after a bite of store bought cornbread.

“If it’s about sex, I don’t think I can—“

“No, God, Wayne. It’s not about that.”

“Okay,” he said with his mouth full.

“I just want… advice. About something,” Eddie sighed. “Steve invited me to this family… trip, thing? To Maine? Apparently he has a rich uncle. And I don’t know if I should say yes.”

Wayne scratched his beard. “Okay. Well, can you afford it?”

“That’s the other thing. It would be free. I kind of feel like I’m a charity case or something,” Eddie said, leaning back in his chair.

“Hm. Rich people are weird.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. So I don’t know what to do, because it’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s just… Steve’s parents aren’t exactly big fans of me.”

“His mom would be there?” Eddie nodded, and Wayne inhaled carefully, eyes dimming. “If you want to go on this trip, I’m having a word with Steve’s mom.”

Eddie shook his head. “No. That is not happening .”

“Then you’re not going.”

“You know you can’t actually stop me, right?” Eddie said after swallowing a mouthful of okay-ish chili.

Wayne sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Eddie, what his mom said to you is unacceptable. I don’t want you going on some trip with this woman if she’s… if she isn’t understanding. I mean, what if you have an accident? How would she react?”

Eddie blushed and averted his eyes. “I don’t know.”

“I have a feeling it wouldn’t be well.”

“I’ll just be extra careful—“

“You know that doesn’t always work, bubs. Sometimes things are out of your hands,” he said gently.

Eddie huffed. “Yeah. I know. But it would be cool to not have everything in my life revolve around my fucking bladder, and like, say yes to a free trip because that’s what every normal person would do!”

Wayne’s eyes softened slightly. “I know, kid.” He sighed again. “Okay. If you really want to go, then… I think you should. But that doesn’t mean what that woman said is okay.”

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t even know if I really want to… I just really like Steve. And I don’t want to disappoint him. But, I mean, it does sound nice.”

“You’re going to use protection at least, right?”

Eddie gulped. His face was probably crimson. “W-what?” he stuttered.

“You know, like condoms? I just want you to be safe—“

Ohhhhh. That kind of protection. Not the… other kind. “Oh my God, Wayne! Stop talking! I promise we’re… doing good. In that department. We haven’t even—why am I telling you this?”

“I don’t mind—“

“I do!”

Wayne picked up his half eaten slice of cornbread. “And what about nighttime? Do you have a plan for that?”

Eddie became hot as fire again. “I’ll be fine,” he said, even though he wasn’t sure if that was true.

“Have you been waking up dry?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah,” he lied.

“Okay. Well. Alright. Will you at least let me call his mom—?”

“No—“

“Fine, fine. But if she says or does anything, bubs, you tell me right away, alright?”

Eddie nodded again. “Okay.”

When Eddie got back to the apartment after dinner, Robin and Steve were on the couch watching a movie and drinking sodas.

“Hey! Have fun?” Steve asked, pausing the movie.

Eddie sat down close to his side and leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder. “Mhm. I asked for advice about the… trip.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. He thinks it’s… he said I should go if I really want to.”

Steve smiled. “And do you want to?”

“I mean, yeah, there’s just… I just…” he didn’t want to say what he was going to say in front of Robin, which was something along the lines of ‘what if I pee my pants?’ so he just said, “Yeah. I do.”

Steve kissed his forehead. “Sweet,” he murmured into his hair.

“Oh my God, I’m the permanent third wheel,” Robin groaned. Steve shoved her.

***

The thing was, Steve technically hadn’t asked if he could bring Eddie.

His parents and uncle said he could bring any friend (who wasn’t a girl… haha), but he hadn’t mentioned which ‘friend’ he intended to bring. So when his mom called to go over the plans, he needed to bite the bullet.

“Okay, have you decided who you want to bring? What about that Jason boy you brought last time? He was a sweet boy,” his mom rambled.

“No. No, mom, he’s really not a sweet boy. At all. I, uh, I want to bring Eddie.”

The line was silent for a moment. “Alright,” she said slowly.

“Is that okay?”

She sighed into the phone. “Well. I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“I just mean. Will his… issues…affect the trip?”

Steve wanted to face plant into the wall. “No. Mom, come on.”

“What does ‘come on’ mean?”

“It means that question isn’t appropriate! If he… if there is an incident, or whatever, during the trip, please don’t freak out or say anything—“

“I would not freak out, Steven! But if you’re bringing this Eddie, I need to know that he’ll be… behaved.”

“Behaved? He’s not a dog, mom!”

“He’s also not a child, and yet I’m fairly certain that boy wet his pants at the dinner table last weekend.”

Steve blushed deeply. He thought that they’d covered that up successfully. Apparently, they hadn’t. “Mom, if you have a problem with him, then I won’t bring him.”

She sighed again. “Steven, I don’t have a problem. I’m just worried, as a mother, that something might be wrong, or—“

“Nothing is wrong. Whatever, fine. I’m not bringing him. I’ll just go without a friend. We’re just visiting Bill, anyway.”

“Honey, I want you to have fun—“

“It’s fine, mom.”

She inhaled. “I’m bringing over a casserole and some banana bread tomorrow. We can talk about this then.”

Steve wiped his free hand across his face. “Okay. Sure.”

After hanging up, he pressed his forehead to the wall and groaned. If it was going to be this much trouble, bringing Eddie probably wasn’t a good idea. But also, he really wanted to spend a relaxing weekend hanging out with his boyfriend, eating good food and spoiling him. Why was that so hard?

As promised, his mom knocked on his door at noon the next day holding too much food.

“I’m still cooking for three. Thought you could use a decent meal,” she said, smiling as she set the wrapped food onto the counter.

“Yeah, thanks, mom,” Steve said, running a hand through his hair.

“Was that the door—?” Eddie asked, opening his bedroom and then pausing when he saw who was in his living room. “Oh, Mrs. Harrington. Hello.”

“Hi, Eddie,” she said with a smile.

“Okay, well, thank you, mom,” Steve said, trying to usher her out.

“I heard you’ll be joining us on our trip?” she said, directed to Eddie. He walked the rest of the way into the living room.

“Oh, uh… yeah?”

“Mom—“ Steve tried.

“Wonderful. I was just telling Steven on the phone how excited we are to have one of his friends joining us. Have you been to Maine before?” Eddie shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Steve was fuming on the inside. That is not what his mom had said to him at all.

“Great. Well. I’m excited!” Eddie said, putting on some kind of personality that definitely wasn’t his.

“Wonderful. I’ll leave you boys alone. 2 minutes in the microwave, alright?” she said, pointing to the food.

“Okay, mom.”

She kissed him on the cheek and waved to Eddie before opening the door. When it shut, Eddie started towards the bathroom.

“Thank God she left, I have to pee, and I was not expecting to see your mom in the living room—“ he was saying, holding himself with one hand as he shuffled toward the open bathroom.

Eddie sighed. “Yeah. Same here.”

That night, Eddie and Steve were in Steve’s room putting together a new dresser when, somehow, the door knob fell off, and they couldn’t get the door back open. They were trapped in Steve’s room.

“I swear I’m pushing, It’s not budging!“

“We could just break the door down?”

“We are not breaking the door down, Eddie!”

After twenty minutes of trying everything they could to get the door open, they came to the conclusion that they were stuck, and Robin wasn’t going to be home for another two hours.

“We could climb out of the window,” Eddie said.

“We’re on the third story, that’s not going to work,” Steve said, lying down hard on his bed. Eddie joined him.

“We could call out for help?”

“Or we could just make out until Robin can rescue us,” Steve said, pulling Eddie on top of him and tickling his sides.

Eddie swatted him, but still leaned down to kiss him.

45 minutes into being locked in, Steve could tell Eddie needed to piss. He was clenching his jaw and shaking out his legs every time he stood, and he could barely focus on the game of cards they had going.

Steve wasn’t going to bring it up unless Eddie did, too. Truth be told, he also had to piss, but he could wait an hour. Eddie… probably wouldn’t be able to.

Thirty minutes later, Steve was starting to think Eddie was just not going to say anything despite the fact that he was doing everything to assist his need but literally holding himself. They’d been trapped for an hour and a half, and that was usually close to Eddie’s limit. As Steve turned over the record that was playing, he adjusted his jeans. He definitely needed to go. Unlike Eddie, he hadn’t peed in probably five or six hours, and it was getting uncomfortable.

They played another round of cards, and halfway through, Eddie was openly holding himself. Steve continued to not say anything, knowing that nothing he could do would be helpful. He had no empty bottles or God forbid, even a plant for Eddie to disgrace. He did have a couple towels, though.

“Wanna play another round?” Eddie asked, letting go of himself to shuffle the cards. Steve was truly wondering if Eddie was going to say anything at all, or if he was just going to have an accident without even letting Steve know. Maybe Eddie was comfortable enough with Steve now that he knew he didn’t need to make a big deal out of having an accident, which kind of warmed Steve’s heart.

“Sure,” Steve said, wiggling around a bit. He really did have to pee.

“Do you have to piss?” Eddie asked, eyeing Steve.

Steve wanted to laugh. Eddie was literally holding himself. “Uh. Yeah. But I’ll be fine. Robin should be home in like, twenty minutes. Will you be?” he asked casually.

Eddie shrugged, his cheeks growing pink. “Probably not.”

“Here,” Steve got out a few thick towels from his closet and handed them to Eddie. “You can sit on these. Just in case.”

Eddie nodded. “Thanks,” he said, folding the towels. They continued the game.

After awhile, they decided that reading was a good option to distract them. Steve had a few books, and Eddie picked out the one with the darkest cover. He sat against the door while he read, fanning his legs in and out and shifting around every minute. Steve decided to start pacing. God, it was hurting. He’d kill for an empty bottle.

“Steve,” Eddie said suddenly, book on the ground in favor of squeezing himself with both hands.

“Mhm?” Steve asked, bending at the waist a bit.

“How much longer do you think?”

Steve checked his watch. “The store is closed. She’s probably heading home right now.”

Eddie nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you okay?”

“I just feel bad,” he muttered.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to piss all over your room,” he said, eyes downcast.

Steve sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I might too.” Steve really had to go. He was bouncing on his feet and groaning every time he shifted. “I have to piss so bad,” he kind of muttered, sitting on the heel of his foot.

Eddie nodded. “It looks like you do. You gonna be okay?”

“Are you?”

Eddie let go of himself, and Steve got a decent look at his crotch, which was pretty wet. “What do you think?”

“Well, obviously, this is not your fault, and if you do have an accident, don’t be mad at yourself.”

“Okay, yeah,” Eddie said, grabbing himself again even as the dark stain continued to grow.

“Okay, stupid idea, but I think I’m going to take a nap,” Steve said, holding himself as he climbed into bed. “When I wake up, Robin will be home, and I’ll be able to piss freely.”

“I’d join you, but, well. You know.”

Steve watched as Eddie continued to attempt to hold it even though it was starting to run down his thighs. Eddie picked the book back up and continued reading casually like he wasn’t in the middle of wetting himself.

Steve rolled onto his side. His bladder was aching. He just wanted to stop being in pain.

“Steve? Can I borrow some clothes?” Eddie asked. Steve looked up to see Eddie still attempting to hold back, and definitely not succeeding.

“Of course you can. Then come cuddle me?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there soon,” he replied.

***

Eddie didn’t know why, but he was determined to hold it until Robin got back. Well, he knew why. It was pride. And also the idea that Steve might wet himself before Eddie did was exciting considering it was always the other way around.

But now Steve was asleep, and Eddie wasn’t going to last much longer. He’d basically already wet himself, but he was holding back because he really didn’t want to get it on Steve’s carpet. Stupid carpet. He managed to read a chapter of whatever book he was reading before he was fully peeing himself.

He held it for over two hours. He was pretty impressed with himself. Piss was pouring down his jeans, but he was proud. And at least this time, it really wasn’t his fault.

After thoroughly saturating himself and the towels beneath him (but thankfully not the carpet…maybe it was little bit damp, but it could’ve been worse), he peeled his clothes off and grabbed a pair of Steve’s sweats, then put the wet things in Steve’s hamper. Eddie felt really gross climbing into his bed without showering first, but after holding it for so long, a nap did sound good. He fell asleep quickly.

A few hours later, Eddie woke up to Steve patting his shoulder lightly.

“Hmmgg?” he groaned, shifting around. Then he felt it. Wet sheets.

“You had an—“

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” But as Eddie sat up, he realized he really had to pee again. Which was odd, because he’d had an accident right before going to sleep, and then another while he was asleep. Unless…

Eddie peeled off the covers and turned on the light. Eddie’s pants were wet, but only on one side. Steve, however, was completely drenched.

“Um, Steve… I don’t think this was me.”

Steve looked around, examining the scene. “Oh my God. Wait. I don’t have to piss anymore.”

“I can imagine.”

Steve threw his head back against the pillows. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I wet my bed!” he said, laughing a bit.

“I can’t believe you blamed me!” Eddie responded.

“Well. To be fair…”

“Yeah, yeah. Jesus, this bed is drenched. Where’s Robin? We’ve been in here for like five hours!”

“I don’t know. But I really need to shower. Holy shit, I genuinely can’t believe I did this,” Steve said, getting up from his soaked bed finally. Eddie joined, and as soon as his feet were on solid ground, started wiggling.

“Did you not pee?” Steve asked.

“Nope, I’ve been holding it this whole time.”

“Seriously?”

“No, Steve, I totally pissed myself earlier. I just have to go again. Where the hell is Robin?”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. “You boys finally awake?” asked Robin. Eddie and Steve looked at each other.

“Robin? How long have you been home?” Steve called.

“A few hours—“

“A few—shit, Robin, we’re locked in! The doorknob broke!” Steve continued.

“Ohhh, I was wondering what you were doing in there,” she said.

“Get us out!” Steve yelled, then looked down at himself. His blue sweats were completely soaked. “Well, actually, give us a second.”

Steve did a quick job of changing pants, and Eddie joined, then stripped the bed and shoved all of the wet bedding into his hamper, leaving just the waterproof sheet on top of the mattress.

Robin managed to fix the doorknob and get it open within a few minutes, which was good, because Eddie definitely needed to get to the bathroom.

“Thank you, Robin!” Eddie called as he ran.

Robin looked around inside the room. “So. What happened?”

Steve rubbed his eyes. “We were in there for like 5 hours. With no food, or water, or… bathroom.”

“I see.”

“I need to to do a lot of laundry,” Steve grumbled, going to collect the wild amount of wet items.

Eddie came back a few minutes later with his hair tied up. Steve was in the process of putting his sheets in the washer.

“You okay?” he asked Steve.

Steve nodded. “Peachy.”

“You know, everyone has accidents sometimes—“

Steve shoved him. “Shut up!”

“I just want you to know that I’m not judging you—“

“Wow, that’s so kind of you,” Steve monotoned.

“I just don’t want you to get upset over a wet bed—“ Eddie continued, smiling.

“You’re such an asshole, Eddie.”

“I know. Okay, I’m going to go try and clean your carpet,” he said, “and then take a long shower. Want to join?”

“In the shower?”

“Yes, dumbass.”

Steve smiled. “I’d love that.”

Chapter Text

With Eddie officially going on the trip, there was still one loose end to tie up. And Steve didn’t know how to start that conversation.

A week before they left, he knocked on Eddie’s door to find him playing guitar quietly on his bed. He smiled when Steve walked in.

“Hey. Can I join you?”

“Always room for you, pretty boy,” Eddie said, fingers returning to the chords.

Steve sat next to him on the bed. “Okay, so, we’re leaving in a week.”

“Mhm.”

“And we… should talk about it.”

“It?”

Steve didn’t want to spell it out. Eddie had been doing better with nighttime accidents, it seemed. He’d been doing laundry only a few times a week, and when they shared a bed (usually every other night), there had only been a few mornings in the last month that Steve woke up wet. But still, the possibility of Eddie wetting the bed on this trip wasn’t zero, and Steve needed to ask about the protection even if he really didn’t want to.

“Um. The plan for nighttime accidents, I mean.”

Eddie set his guitar down and averted his eyes. “Right.”

“Whatever you want to do, I’m on board for, but I figured we should talk about it.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, I know. Uh. Honestly, I don’t know. I’m okay with anything.”

“Anything… such as trying your… protection, again?” Steve asked tentatively, hoping his blushing wasn’t obvious.

Eddie shrugged, still not making eye contact. “Yeah. If you’re not… grossed out by it.”

“Grossed out? Why would I be?” Steve asked, confused.

“I just figured since you haven’t brought it up—“

“Wait, I’ve been waiting for you to bring it up, Eddie! You’re the one that stopped wearing them during the camping trip—which is fine, of course—but I assumed you didn’t want to wear them anymore?”

Eddie flopped down onto his bed. “Oh my God… Steve, no, I… I ran out. During the camping trip. And I figured you knew that and just… didn’t want me to keep wearing them because it’s weird or whatever—“

“It’s not!” Steve almost yelled. “Baby, shit, I didn’t even consider that you could’ve been out, I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Eddie asked, sitting back up.

“Because I feel stupid! I should’ve asked instead of just letting you overthink it. And letting myself overthink it.”

Eddie bit the back of his thumb. “I wasn’t overthinking I just—I mean we moved, and honestly, Steve… I really don’t want to wear them every night. It’s just a waste of money. I’m used to doing my laundry and cleaning up, I mean, I’ve been doing it for like, my entire life… but when it comes to going on trips, being in unfamiliar environments and not having my sheet with me, I’m definitely okay with wearing… them.”

Steve sighed. “Okay. Okay, great. That’s all great. Anything you want to do, Eddie, seriously. But for future reference, if you run out, please tell me so I can get more. Even if you run out in a week, it doesn’t matter, but I need to know.”

Eddie hid his face behind his hands for a moment. “You know you don’t have to buy them for me, right?”

“I know. But I will. Unless you don’t want me to?”

“No, no… I… do. And having them for the trip would make it a lot less stressful for me. And probably everyone.”

Steve leaned forward and kissed him. “I’ll buy them tomorrow.”

Eddie smiled shyly. “Okay.”

***

Eddie was officially not a fan of planes.

“Okay, when that light goes on, that means you can roam around—use the bathroom and stuff,” Eddie whispered to him from the middle seat, pointing at something above their heads. They’d literally just taken off, and Eddie’s ears were throbbing and his heart was racing. How was everyone so calm? “Eddie?”

Eddie looked over at him. “Huh?”

“You okay?”

Eddie nodded. “Just… planes. How do these things even work?”

Steve shrugged. “Not sure. But we’re safe, promise. Here, drink some water, you’re looking pale.”

Eddie nodded and accepted the water bottle, his other hand gripping onto his thighs until his knuckles had no color left. After a few sips, he took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Steve pat his leg.

Steve’s parents were in a different section of the plane, thankfully not able to spy on them. Which was good, because Eddie was only fifty percent sure he’d make it off this metal death trap in completely dry pants. Even if he took multiple bathroom breaks, Eddie sometimes wet himself a little when he was scared, and he was definitely not super chill at the moment. Currently, he was pretty sure he was in the clear, but the sips of water he just drank wouldn’t stay in him for long.

Thirty minutes into the flight, the light thing went off, and Eddie immediately went to the planes bathroom. He was not taking any chances.

Steve smiled at him when he sat back down in the aisle seat.

“Fun bathrooms, right?”

“I’ve peed in some pretty insane places, that was nothing,” he replied truthfully.

An hour in, Eddie and Steve were sharing headphones to Steve’s walkman. Steve was kind of falling asleep, so Eddie turned down the music. Which made him sleepy.

And he definitely could not sleep. He did not trust his body enough to not wet himself during even a short nap (God knows he’d made the mistake before). Steve was kind of slumped against Eddie’s shoulder, and it was very sweet, but Eddie needed to get up and use the bathroom again soon.

Right before he was about to wake Steve up to move him, the plane started to shake roughly, like a boat in intense waters, but even worse—and it scared Eddie. A lot.

He didn’t even realize he’d peed a little until Steve woke up and started talking. “Ed? What’s wrong?”

“Did you feel that?” he asked, although no one else seemed to be concerned.

“Oh, yeah, Eddie, that’s just turbulence. It’s normal.”

Great. Eddie peed himself because of something totally normal. Not a lot, thank God, but enough that he was really worried it was going to show up on his jeans, or God forbid, the seat. Thankfully the seats were leather, so at least it could be cleaned. Just before Eddie was about to get up and access the damage in the tiny bathroom, the seatbelt light came back on.

“What’s—why did it go back on?” he whispered to Steve.

“The turbulence, probably. It’ll shut off soon, I’m sure. Why?”

Eddie exhaled slowly. He’d be fine. He did need to pee still, which assured him that he didn’t leak too badly. “Nothing, I’m fine,” he said.

When Steve nodded and leaned over to look out the window, Eddie looked down at his crotch and tried to subtly feel under his ass. It was wet, but with any luck, it would dry by the time they landed. And he’d thankfully worn black jeans.

The light didn’t go back off until nearly half an hour, and Eddie wasn’t the first one to the bathroom, which meant he had to wait even longer. There was also the concern that if he stood up, the seat would be wet. But what choice did he have? He could either stay seated and attempt to hold it until they landed and de boarded, or he could tell Steve what happened.

He crossed his legs, and decided to do the latter. There was no way he’d be able to hold it for that long. He leaned over to Steve and got close to his ear.

“Hey, I’m going to pee but, um… I leaked a little bit earlier, and the seat might be wet,” he whispered to him, face flushed.

Steve nodded. “Okay,” he said, then pulled out a few napkins from his carry on backpack. “I got it.”

Eddie smiled, very embarrassed, and stood slowly. The seat was definitely wet, but Steve acted fast and blotted it quickly.

God, that was so embarrassing.

After peeing, Eddie maneuvered himself in the small bathroom to try and get a look at how bad the spot was. It was thankfully basically unnoticeable unless you were looking for it.

He sat back down on his (now dry) seat and smiled sheepishly at his boyfriend. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “Of course, baby. All good?”

Eddie nodded.

The plane landed an hour later, and thankfully Steve suggested they stop at the bathroom in the airport. Eddie quickly changed out of the jeans he was wearing into another pair of black jeans just to avoid smelling like pee. So literally within the first few minutes of being in Maine, he’d already used another pair of jeans. He packed enough pants for probably ten people, but that was still not great.

They met up with Steve’s parents after, who were dressed up for the airport. Eddie didn’t know that was something people did, and he felt lame in his graphic t-shirt.

Steve’s uncle was, obviously, very gay. He was wearing all white with a striped ascot and a little hat.

“Hello, Harringtons!” he greeted brightly, standing outside of his very expensive looking bright red car. The trunk was already open, waiting for their luggage.

“Hi, Bill,” Steve’s mom said, kissing his cheek. Steve’s dad shook Bill’s hand firmly, and Steve gave him a hug.

“You’re Eddie, I assume?” he asked brightly. Eddie nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Mr—“

“Bill is fine. Alright, who’s hungry?”

They piled into his fancy car and drove twenty minutes to a seafood restaurant on the shore. Eddie felt very out of place. He sat between Steve and Bill at the restaurant, with the parents facing them. He picked at a piece of bread as they chatted.

“So. where did you two meet?” Bill asked Steve.

“Oh, uh, we went to school together. But we didn’t really become friends until after I’d already graduated,” Steve said with a smile.

He decided to forgo all of the bullying and kind of hating each other for years, thing.

“Well I’m glad you could make it, Eddie. It’s always great getting to know my nephews friends,” he said, cutting into his food elegantly.

“Yeah th—thanks for having me. And stuff,” Eddie mumbled lamely, trying his best to smile back. He felt very uncomfortable. He really wished his uncle were here to not make him feel like the poor kid on a fancy trip.

***

Towards the end of their lunch, Eddie’s knees were bouncing under the table. Steve really hoped he’d excuse himself soon without intervention.

Thankfully, ten minutes later as the check arrived, Eddie excused himself and walked toward the bathroom. And of course, Steve’s mom had to comment on it.

“Is he alright, do you think?” she asked him, not caring about the others at the table.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” he deadpanned.

“Don’t be facetious.”

“I’m not.”

“What’s happening?” Bill weighed in.

“Eddie has… issues. With the bathroom.”

“MOM!”

“Oh, that’s perfectly fine, Elizabeth,” Bill said casually, slipping a wad of cash to the waiter. “I’ll be sure to show him where all of the bathrooms in the house are,” he finished with a smile thrown at Steve.

Steve’s mom adjusted her collared blouse. “I just wanted to warn you.”

“No need,” Bill continued, taking a sip of whatever cocktail he’d ordered.

Steve was relieved. Bill had always been generous and kind, but he had a soft spot for his sister. Steve felt a lot better knowing that at least one of his family members wasn’t a bully and could actually have a normal amount of compassion for someone.

The drive to Bill’s house was always gorgeous. Eddie was staring out at the water with wide eyes like he’d never seen the ocean. Maybe he hadn’t, Steve had never asked. When they drove up the hill and down the long road to Bill’s house, Eddie looked almost scared.

“You okay?” Steve whispered.

“This is his… house?”

House was an understatement. Bill lived in a mansion with a ton of land right on the water. It was probably a multi million dollar house. Steve was so used to it that he’d kind of forgotten just how rich Bill was.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Holy shit.”

***

“Alright boys, let me show you to your room. Then we’ll leave you alone and let you do whatever it is young people are doing these days,” Bill said as his butler (his name was Jones, Steve told Eddie. He was a kind, quiet man who had worked for Bill for many years. Eddie had never met a butler before, and couldn’t stop staring) took their bags.

“I just have a backpack, I can carry it…” Eddie said awkwardly when Jones tried to take his bag. He nodded at Eddie and took the others.

“Here it is, Eddie,” Bill said as they walked up a flight of stairs. He pointed to one of the open doors on the hallway. “Steve’s normal room is right next to it, and the bathrooms at the end of the hall there,” Bill said, pointing. Eddie blushed. He had to remind himself that pointing out where the bathrooms are in your home isn’t strange or a targeted attack.

Bill went down stairs after that and Eddie opened the door to his room fully. For a guest room, it was huge and decorated like someone did live in it. If it wasn’t for the immaculately made bed he’d probably think someone did. His mostly black clothing and chunky rings didn’t fit the pastel and gold theme.

“Hey,” Steve said, walking into the room. “Everything good?”

Eddie nodded. “I feel like a fish out of water.”

Steve laughed quietly, then flopped onto Eddie’s bed. “I get it. But Bill is cool, for a super rich guy.”

“Yeah. You didn’t tell me he’s totally gay.”

Steve lowered his eyebrows. “He’s… not?”

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh. “Uh, yes he is Steve.”

“I really don’t think he is.”

Eddie crossed his arms. “Does he have a wife? Girlfriend?”

“Well, no, but—“

“Trust me. He’s queer as a three dollar bill.”

Steve shrugged. “I guess I’ve never… thought about that.”

“Well, you didn’t think you liked boys until, you know, recently, so that makes sense,” Eddie said cheekily. Steve threw one of the decorative pillows at him.

“Don’t get a big head.”

“Why would I? Because I turned Steve Harrington gay—?“

“Hey, hey, we don’t know that. I don’t really,” he shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I know I like boys because I definitely know I like you,” he added quickly.

Eddie closed the door gently before walking over to Steve and pressing his lips to his. “I know. I know, sorry.”

Steve shook his head. “No, it’s fine, I mean… it’s not technically untrue.”

Eddie hummed. “So… what do we do now?”

“We could go downtown. There are a bunch of shops and stuff. It’s really pretty.”

“Sounds great,” Eddie said with a smile.

***

The shops downtown were busy by the time they walked there. There were people all over the streets and pier. Eddie kept glancing at the ocean and smiling to himself every few moments.

“This place up here sells taffy,” Steve said, pointing to a shop across the street.

Steve bought Eddie a small bag of taffy (because after he had his first bite, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, and Steve couldn’t resist). They walked down the pier after that, then went to a record shop and a few more places.

They were in an antique shop when Steve noticed Eddie bouncing on his feet and sort of glancing around. He let it go on for a few minutes before saying anything.

“Need to pee?”

Eddie put down the soap he was smelling. “Oh, uh. A little,” he replied quietly.

“Do you see one in here?”

“No, I’ve already looked,” he replied.

“I can ask someone—“

“I’ll be fine, it’s not bad at all, I can wait until the next shop,” he said with a tight smile.

The next shop was a soft of souvenir shop. With a sign on the check out counter that said ‘no public bathrooms.’

“That’s rude,” Eddie said when Steve pointed it out.

“Yeah, seriously. Want to go to the next shop?”

Eddie nodded. They walked until they found a thrift store full of vintage items that looked big enough to hopefully have a public bathroom. After a quick search around the store, they realized that this store was also lacking someplace to pee.

Eddie was shuffling his feet as he looked through a rack of shirts.

“We can try the next store,” Steve whispered. After a moment, Eddie nodded.

“It is getting… kind of bad,” he said quietly, briefly grabbing at himself, probably unconsciously.

“Alright, let’s go,” Steve said with a smile, praying to anyone that the next store would have a bathroom before it got BAD bad.

The next three stores still didn’t have bathrooms, and the sun was starting to set by the time they tried the last place at the end of the street.

“Fuck,” Eddie mumbled as he read the ‘No public restrooms’ sign on the boutique’s counter. Eddie crossed his ankles.

“Excuse me?” Steve asked the person working at the counter, “Is there anyway we could use your bathroom?” he asked, using the most charm he could muster to save his boyfriend from a public accident.

Eddie was probably glaring at him.

“Read the sign,” the man said, not looking up from his book.

“It’s kind of an emergency—“

“Why is that my problem?” He looked up, then looked at Eddie, then looked back at Steve, his face unchanging.

“Look, man, I can pay—“

“Just use the public bathrooms like everyone else, kid,” he said gruffly.

“Public bathrooms?” Eddie asked, uncrossing his ankles and instead bouncing on his heels.

“Yeah, at the start of the pier.”

Steve sighed. That was the complete opposite direction of where they were. He glanced at Eddie, who was turning red.

“Great,” he muttered to the man and waved Eddie to exit the shop. Once outside, he pulled Eddie in close.

“Can you make it? It’s probably a twenty minute walk from here,” he asked quietly.

Eddie bit his lip. “I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Steve squeezed his hand briefly. “You have nothing to apologize for. Let’s get going, then.”

Ten minutes into the walk, everything seemed to be fine. They were walking quickly, but the crowds were still dense and there were a few crossing lights they had to wait for. Eddie was rubbing his thighs and wringing out his hands whenever they had to stop for a moment, but in terms of desperation, Steve had seen a lot worse.

“You doing alright?” he asked.

Eddie nodded. “Fine. Peachy.”

Steve just nodded, and they continued down the street.

Another five minutes, and Steve was getting slightly worried. Eddie was slowing down a bit, and kept glancing at his pants, which usually meant he was checking to see if any wetness was visible. Which meant he wasn’t completely dry already.

“How are you holding up?” Steve asked.

“I’ve been better,” he grumbled.

Steve just nodded in response again. He wasn’t sure if anything he could say would help. He’d learned that saying things like ‘you can make it,’ or ‘almost there,’ didn’t help much and probably felt a bit patronizing.

Finally, after a few more minutes, he saw the metal structure of the public restrooms. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only ones. There was a short line outside of the men’s side. When Eddie saw it, he groaned. “Shit.”

“You can ask to cut—?”

“I’m not five.”

Steve sighed. “I know. But if you don’t think you can hold it—“

“I didn’t say that,” he snapped back, obviously not in the mood to talk about it.

“It was just a suggestion,” Steve sort of mumbled, because while he understood what Eddie was saying, he was just trying to help. And he’s rather Eddie feel slightly embarrassed about having to ask a stranger to cut in line than walk home in wet pants.

Eddie didn’t respond. He had one hand in his pocket and his ankles crossed tightly. They moved up in line, and there were now only a few people in front of them.

Eddie started sort of swaying forwards and back, his face pinched up. Steve didn’t know how to help. They moved up again, and Eddie had one hand openly holding his dick, which usually meant they were in the splash zone. Steve held his breath, glancing between his desperate boyfriend and the stagnant line every few seconds.

By some miracle, the two people in front of them moved up almost at the same time, and Eddie was next. Which was great news, because Steve could see a thin line starting from the center of the crotch of his jeans and traveling down his left thigh. His pants were dark, but with the setting sun hitting them, it was clear to Steve what was happening.

Eddie was basically vibrating as a urinal finally became available and all but ran up to it. Steve just kind of hovered by the door and pretended to not notice that his dick was already pissing as he pulled himself out.

Once Eddie’s hands were washed, he ducked out of the small building sheepishly. “Sorry,” he mumbled when they were a few feet away, “I was being a dick a second ago.”

“It’s fine, Eddie.”

“I was just freaking out because… I honestly didn’t think i’d make it,” he admitted quietly. Steve decided to not comment on the small visible spot of the front of his pants. Because really, in the grand scheme of Eddie Accidents, that was pretty insignificant.

“Are you hungry? I’m hungry,” Steve said, changing the subject.

“I could eat.”

Steve smiled at him and hooked an arm around his neck as they walked down the pier.

***

They got back to Bill’s house by the time it was fully dark out, both of them full of food and tired from the long day of traveling. Steve’s parents had both retired for the night soon after they got back, as well as Bill.

Eddie joined Steve in his bed, not wanting to have to separate themselves so soon.

“Hey, thanks for inviting me,” he said as he laid on Steve’s chest.

“I wouldn’t want anyone else here,” he responded.

Eddie smiled into Steve’s shirt. “I’ve never really… gone on a trip like this. I mean, maybe when I was younger with my parents, but I don’t really remember.”

Steve stroked his arm. “You never told me about them.”

Eddie tensed.

“You don’t have to, I just didn’t know—“ Steve quickly continued.

“Yeah. I figured I seemed cooler and more mysterious if everyone thought I was an orphan and not just… abandoned,” Eddie said, shrugging.

Steve hummed. “I don’t blame you. But if or when you ever want to tell me, please know that I’m always here to listen,” he said gently, pressing his lips to the top of Eddie’s hair briefly.

He sighed in response. “It’s not a very thrilling story.”

“I don’t care.”

“It’s not even… I mean, I don’t remember it all. I remember some stuff, but I was 8 when I went to live with Wayne. I barely remember what they look like, honestly.”

“Is Wayne your mom or your dad’s sibling?”

“Dad. My last name’s always been Munson,” Eddie replied.

Steve started to run his fingers through Eddie’s hair, hoping it would encourage Eddie to continue.

“How did you end up with him?”

“Uh… my parents weren’t good people. They drank a lot and probably were on drugs half the time. My dad was in and out of jail all the time. And we were really poor, so, they didn’t have much to give. But they tried to be a normal family, at least a little bit. We went to church. We ate dinner together, even if it was microwaved and my mom was so drunk she could barely keep her eyes open. They never should’ve been parents,” Eddie said, the words falling out of him that all of that was a completely normal thing. Steve’s heart was breaking.

“You said… after the dinner party… you said that they used to say they’d make you someone else’s problem…” Steve kind of trailed off.

Eddie shrugged against Steve’s side. “I already told you about the whole… incontinence thing. They were embarrassed by me. I always thought it was just a threat, you know, to get me to stop having accidents. Not that it worked, obviously. But then one night… they didn’t come home. And I tried to take care of myself, but I was 8. Anyway, they didn’t come home for, like, a week or something—I don’t really remember. And then child services found me and I was super dehydrated and stuff, so they took me to the hospital for a night. Then they called Wayne and… that was it.”

Steve swallowed to keep himself from crying. The idea of 8 year old Eddie alone for a week… Steve felt fire in his head. He held onto Eddie tighter.

“Oh, baby,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay—“

“It isn’t.”

Eddie sighed. “Yeah. I know.”

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment, and Eddie drew himself closer to Steve. At first he didn’t think anything of it until he heard soft sniffling.

“Oh, Eds. Hey, hey, it’s okay—“ Steve tried.

Eddie nodded against Steve. “I’m sorry, I know, I just… I haven’t thought about them in a long time,” he said, voice breaking.

Steve held on even tighter. He kissed his head. “I love you, Eddie. I love you so much.”

Eddie only cried harder, and Steve swallowed hard again to keep his own tears down. They didn’t say anything for a long time, and Steve realized that Eddie had cried himself softly to sleep, and Steve’s own exhaustion took over before either of them could think twice.

Chapter Text

Eddie was having a dream, or maybe a memory, of his mother’s face right before he woke up.

When he opened his eyes, the room was dark and cold, and he didn’t remember where he was. Then he shifted his body, and it all came back when he realized that he was still fully clothed, lying on top of Steve’s uncle’s guest bed, and he was wet.

Eddie swallowed as he sat up slowly. Steve was next to him, still asleep, also fully clothed. They weren’t even under the covers. They both must’ve fallen asleep without realizing. Which would’ve been fine for anyone else, but unfortunately, Eddie didn’t get a chance to piss before falling asleep, so naturally, he did it in his sleep. He wanted to ram his head into a wall. What the hell was he supposed to do.

Maybe it was combination of the weird dream, or the accidentally crying himself to sleep, but Eddie felt his breathing pick up. He was in a dark room, he was soaking wet, it wasn’t even his bed, and he didn’t know what the hell to do. He bit the back of his hand, hard, in an attempt to keep himself from hyperventilating, but it wasn’t doing much.

How could he be so stupid to let himself fall asleep without using the bathroom? He never did that. Especially in someone else’s house. Oh God, the mattress. It probably didn’t have a rubber sheet on it to protect it from fully grown adults pissing on it, which meant that Eddie ruined an expensive mattress.

He needed to get out. His breathing was fast, and only getting faster, and Steve was right next to him, still asleep. And Eddie fucking pissed himself. Again.

It was still dark outside. Eddie did his best to carefully crawl out of the bed and make his way to the bathroom without waking Steve, all the while still shoving his mouth against his hands to keep his breathing as quiet as he could manage.

He basically collapsed on the tile of the bathroom floor as he let his body respond to the stress and embarrassment, unable to stop himself from panicking. His vision was practically white as he pulled his legs to his chest and cried. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He was supposed to wear protection. Steve’s family wasn’t supposed to find out that Eddie wet the bed like a fucking child. And he was so pathetic all he could do was cry on the bathroom floor.

***

Falling asleep in jeans was a terrible idea. An idea Steve didn’t remember having, which meant it was probably not intentional. Which explained why the bed was wet. Steve sighed as he sat up and turned to Eddie—only he wasn’t there. He turned the lamp on quickly and looked around the room.

Steve adjusted the back of his jeans, which took some damage, as he stood and went to Eddie’s bedroom next door. It was also empty.

Standing in the hallway, Steve listened carefully for signs of life, and realized he could hear someone breathing quickly in the bathroom at the end of the hall, even though the light wasn’t on. Steve shut his door gently before making his way there.

“Ed?” he asked quietly, knocking lightly.

That only made his breathing heavier. Steve sighed.

“Ed, can you let me in, please?”

Steve tried to open the door, but it wasn’t budging.

“Eddie, it’s okay—“

“It’s not,” he chocked out, muffled and full of tears.

“It is.”

Eddie continued to cry and hyperventilate. Steve needed to calm him down before he woke anyone up. “Baby, please let me in.”

There was a moment of silence (albeit Eddie’s breathing) before the door was unlocked. Steve opened the door slowly to see Eddie sitting back down on the floor, face buried in his knees, his hair collapsing over the legs of his jeans messily. Steve turned the light on and sat down in front of him. “You need to breathe.”

“Trying,” Eddie mumbled in between short inhales.

“Can I touch you?”

After a moment, Eddie nodded. Steve reached over and ran his fingers through Eddie’s messy hair, and Eddie’s breathing started to improve after awhile of Steve gently petting his head.

Finally, after a few more minutes of sitting in silence, Eddie’s breathing was normal again. He looked up at Steve. His eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot, and his cheeks were wet. “Come here,” Steve said, heart breaking at the sight, and opening his arms.

Eddie seemed hesitant for a moment, but eventually fell into Steve’s arms and melted into his touch like he’d been starved of it. Steve continued to stroke his hair. “You’re okay,” he muttered.

“‘M sorry—“

“Shhh. This is my fault, I let us fall asleep.”

“It is not your fault, Steve—“

“Well it’s not yours, either. So I guess it’s no one’s fault.” Eddie sighed deeply into Steve’s shirt. “We need to tell my uncle, though, Ed. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to leave the mattress like that without—“

“It’s fine, Steve. I agree.”

“I can tell him it was me—“

Eddie hit Steve’s arm lightly. “Shut up. No one would believe that.”

“I have done it recently—“

“Yeah, well, I’ve done it more recently. So.”

Steve hugged Eddie tighter. “Are you okay, baby?” he asked.

“I’m fine. I just… I don’t know. Most people aren’t as understanding as you are. In the past, doing this would not have ended well… so I was scared, and I ran. I know I shouldn’t be scared with you, but I don’t know if my brain will ever fully understand that.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. Is there anything I can—“

“Stop being so perfect for, like, one minute, please,” Eddie groaned, and Steve kissed the top of his head.

“Never.”

The damage to the bed was considerable, and also hard to explain, because they’d fallen asleep above the covers, so everything was saturated down to the unprotected mattress. Eddie started quietly crying again as they stripped the bed.

“You can go shower, Ed. I’ll wake up Bill and tell him—“

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to… hide away. I can own up to my own bed wetting.”

Steve nodded. They both changed into sweatpants and left the pile of wet laundry on the bed before making their way down the stairs to the first level, which is where Bill’s room was.

Steve knocked gently on his door. It was almost 6 am, so they had a small amount of time before everyone woke up to take care of the bed. His heart was pounding as Bill opened the door cautiously. He’d seemed understanding before about Eddie’s issues, but Steve was still worried that he’d say something cruel like his mother would.

“Steve?” Bill groaned sleepily. He was wearing a nightgown. Okay, maybe he was gay.

“Hi, Bill. Um…” he trailed off.

“Is there something you need?”

Eddie stepped up next to Steve in the open door frame. “I wet the bed,” he said quickly, face flaring up red. “I know I’m not a child, and I’m a guest in your home, and I am very, very sorry. I can pay for a new—“

“Eddie, slow down,” Bill said with a chuckle, opening the door and gesturing for them to come into his room. His very nice, big, and well decorated room. Okay, he was totally gay. How did Steve miss that?

“I’m so sorry—“ Eddie continued, eyes filling back up with tears.

“Oh stop it. Take a seat,” he said with a dismissive wave toward a nice leather chair. Eddie sat. “Caramel?” Bill asked, turning back around with a small tin of caramels.

“I.. uh… thank you?” Eddie said, taking one tentatively.

“Now,” Bill said, sitting with crossed legs on the small sofa that sat in the living area of his room, which Steve had seen before, but Eddie was probably in complete awe of, “Let’s start over. You had an accident?”

Eddie nodded, his face bright red and the candy sitting in his mouth.

“That isn’t a problem, dear. Thank you for telling me. In the bed in your room, I assume?”

“Uh… actually, um… it was… Steve’s bed,” he responded, eyes on the floor.

“Oh! Alright, then. That’s no issue, either,” he said with a smile, putting a candy in his own mouth. He glanced at Steve, who was sort of just hovering by them. “Really, boys, this is not a big deal at all, there’s no need to be upset. I had a boyfriend who wet the bed almost every night when I was younger, so it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before—“

“Boyfriend?” Steve accidentally blurted.

Bill blinked. “I’m sorry, I assumed you knew…”

“I knew, for the record,” Eddie said, his words jumbled by the candy he was still sucking on.

“Well, of course you knew, gay recognizes gay—“

“What? What is going on right now? How did you know Eddie’s gay?” Steve asked, flabbergasted.

Bill laughed lightly. “For starters, his rings. Also, the hair, no offense—“

“Oh, none taken—“

“Not to mention, he was sleeping in your bed last night. I’m assuming it wasn’t platonic.”

Steve sighed and put his head in his hands. “So you knew? About me and Eddie?”

“I had my… suspicions about you, dear, for some time… your boyfriend here confirmed it when I saw you two together. You’re a very cute couple, by the way.”

“Thanks, Bill,” Eddie said, smiling. His demeanor had completely changed. He was no longer tearing up and was instead smiling brightly. Steve was so confused.

“How did everyone know before I did?” he asked, kind of to himself.

Eddie giggled. “He can be kind of dumb sometimes,” he whispered to Bill, who responded by laughing like a school girl.

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Eddie said before Steve could hit his arm playfully. Steve settled for flipping him off.

“Dick,” Steve murmured lovingly.

“Bill, you said you… you had a boyfriend who… wet the bed?” Eddie asked after a moment of silence, his voice more refrained than before.

“Oh, yes, quite frequently. You know, it’s more common than one might think. And he was older than you. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“Oh, heavens. You’re both so young. You’re still a teenager for Christs sake! No, he was much older, and he was very attractive. But he broke up with me for an ex, the bastard.”

“Oh, wow…” Eddie said quietly.

“Right?“ Bill inhaled, “Well, boys, we can talk more about all this tomorrow, but right now, I need to whip out the old mattress cleaner. And, Eddie, about what you said earlier—wetting the bed doesn’t make you a child. It makes you human. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a little bit human. Alright, shall we?”

Steve caught Eddie’s smile as they exited the large room.

Bill brought up the cleaning supplies and showed Eddie to the laundry room while he and Steve worked on the mattress.

“I like him,” Bill said to Steve as they scrubbed the stain. Steve blushed.

“Yeah, me too.”

“I’m glad you can see past minor things like this,” Bill said with a smile. “I was worried that your mother’s influence would… change you, but you’ve always had a kind heart.”

Steve looked down. “Not always. There was awhile where I… I hung out with some people who sucked. A lot. They were bullies, but they were my only friends, so… I became a bully, too. I bullied Eddie. I honestly can’t believe he forgave me. I don’t deserve him.”

“Don’t say that. People make mistakes. It’s the only way that we learn they are mistakes, eh?”

Steve nodded. “I guess.”

“Can I ask why you bullied him? The bed wetting?”

Steve shook his head. “No, thankfully I didn’t know about that. We… we bullied him because he has accidents during the day as well sometimes. And he was also kind of like a goth nerd.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Yeah. I was a shitty person.”

Bill smiled. “What’s important is that you’re not a shitty person now. I actually think you’re quite the opposite. Now, is this something that might happen again?” he asked, head tilting to the stain on the mattress.

Steve shook his head. “No. He, uh, we have it figured out… he wears…. it’ll be fine. I promise. We fell asleep last night without meaning to, otherwise this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I see. If for whatever reason it does happen, don’t hesitate to come and get me again,” he said with a comforting smile.

Bill went back downstairs once the mattress was bleached, and Eddie showered as Steve sat on the edge of his unmade bed. The mattress was drying, and there was an evident wet spot, but Bill definitely knew what he was doing, so it would dry fine. He was in the middle of organizing his clothes in his suitcase when his mom walked through his door unannounced.

“Mom!” he yelped, sitting up.

“Steven, good morning. I didn’t expect you to be up.”

“Uh… yeah,” Steve replied, praying that his mom would somehow miss the unmade, wet bed and smell of bleach.

“What happened here?” she asked, looking at the bed. Steve gulped. So much for that.

“I forgot to use the bathroom before falling asleep. Sorry,” he lied, knowing that taking the fall was better than admitting that Eddie slept in his bed.

“You… wet the bed?” she asked in what looked like disbelief.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” Steve challenged.

After a moment, she shook her head. “No, Steven, that just doesn’t sound like you.”

“Things happen sometimes. It was just a weird fluke.”

His mom nodded. “Well, let’s hope it stays that way. Otherwise we’ll need to see a doctor. Make sure you clean yourself up. Do I need to tell your uncle?”

“No, mom. He knows,” he grunted, wanting desperately to roll his eyes.

“Alright, then,” she said awkwardly before leaving the room.

Steve flopped back down on the mattress. Even when it’s her own son, she still can’t accept that sometimes people had accidents?

***

Later in the day, Steve’s parents left to go on a boat ride somewhere (whatever that meant. Eddie didn’t understand rich people), leaving Bill and the two of them alone. Which Eddie was actually really excited about.

“You’re like a gay Yoda,” Eddie commented after taking a sip of warm, sweet tea. Bill laughed.

They were in the garden under a big tree having afternoon tea. Which was something rich people did, apparently. The table was rustic and cute, and the tea cups were pastel and clearly well crafted. There were also little cookies and small sandwiches laid about that Eddie wasn’t sure he was supposed to eat.

“I’m glad you think so. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the opportunity to talk to such a young couple. It makes me hopeful for the future,” Bill said with a smile, lifting his cup and taking a drink. Eddie did the same. The tea was amazing, whatever it was. It tasted like honey and flower petals.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know,” Steve commented, taking a cookie and plopping it in his mouth. So they weren’t just for decoration. Good to know.

“It’s pretty obvious, darling,” Bill said, laughing.

“Does my mom know?” Steve asked.

Bill crossed his hands over each other on the table. “I’m not sure. It’s never been brought up. I’m guessing the same goes for you two?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know if or how I’ll ever tell her,” he said quietly.

“My uncle knows,” Eddie chimed in. “He found out when I was pretty young, and it took a little bit of time, but he’s cool. He’s mostly just overprotective of me if anything.”

“And your parents?” Bill asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Same thing. He’s my parent.”

Bill hummed. “My mistake. Well I’m glad you have someone in your life you can rely on.”

Eddie drank more of the tea with a smile.

They had already been talking for quite some time. Bill told them stories about being queer in the sixties and seventies. He talked about old boyfriends, his current boyfriend, and all the best spots in town for queer people to find community. It was really nice.

But they’d been out there for nearly an hour, and Eddie had helped himself to multiple servings of the sweet, probably caffeinated tea, and it was starting to sit heavily in his bladder. His urge to pee came quickly, and he was too wrapped up in the conversation to notice until it was already bad.

He just needed to excuse himself and walk inside. That was easy. He wasn’t embarrassed around Steve or even Bill now.

But Bill kept asking questions Eddie was interested in, and it felt rude to leave the conversation just to take a leak. So he continued to hold it and hoped they’d go back in soon. Bill and Steve would definitely need to pee soon too, right? They’d all been drinking tea.

Eddie shifted around on the metal chair. Steve was wrapped up in the conversation and not paying any attention to Eddie… not that he needed him to. He was perfectly capable of going to the bathroom without needing someone to tell him to do it first.

He was actually about to open his mouth and tell them he’d be right back when Bill turned to him.

“So, Eddie, any future plans?”

Eddie smiled tightly. “Uh, yeah, I… don’t really know. I like music. And D&D, but that’s not much of a career.”

“You’re so young. That’s what being young is all about, figuring out yourself!”

Bill rambled about what he was doing at their age for awhile, and Eddie crossed his legs on the chair. He’d try again in a few minutes.

Steve was listening intently, still unaware of Eddie. It was childish, but Eddie really wished Steve would look over at him and tell him to go pee. If Wayne were here, he’d notice and tell Eddie to go.

God, he was being stupid. He was an adult. He didn’t need his boyfriend or his dad to get him to the bathroom on time.

He shifted again as Steve started talking about his own future. There wasn’t a moment of lull in the conversation where Eddie could butt in. And his urge to pee was already really bad. He needed to go soon, or his body would do it in his pants without room to negotiate.

“Hey—“ Eddie started to say just as Bill gasped.

“I’m so sorry, I just remembered! There’s a new bar downtown that’s run by an old gay couple. I’ll have to take you there tonight! They’re very sweet people.”

Eddie tuned Bill out as he continued talking about the bar. He needed to piss. He really needed to piss. The weight in his bladder was starting to hurt, and he thought about unbuttoning his pants to relieve some pressure… which would probably draw more attention to him. He sat on his hands instead. Shit. He really needed to go.

But he could hold it for a little while longer. He didn’t want to miss anything, anyway. How many opportunities was he going to get to sit down with an older queer person? He couldn’t let his stupid bladder get in the way.

Steve was pouring himself another cup of tea when Eddie felt a leak dribble into his underwear. He pressed his thighs together tightly. He was wearing a lighter denim than normal because three of his jeans were being washed, which was not good. Another leak wet his boxers, and he looked down. Nothing was showing up yet. But now that his body had started to release, it wasn’t going to want to stop. He needed to excuse himself, and fast.

“I’m sorry, uh, can I… is there a bathroom close by?” he blurted loudly, interrupting their conversation. Steve looked at Eddie, probably for the first time in a while, and his face softened when he saw his stiff body and probably bright red face.

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m sorry, Eddie. I should’ve pointed them out. There’s one right through that door on the left,” Bill said gleefully, pointing to a door a good few yards away.

Shit. It wasn’t that far, but Eddie waited too long. He wasn’t sure if he could make it. “Okay, th-thank you,” he said quietly, standing up with his legs pressed tightly together. As he stood, he could feel a light stream hitting his boxers, and he clenched until it stopped. Great. He was definitely going to need new underwear. If he managed to make it without completely pissing himself, which was becoming less likely by the second.

He walked as quickly as he could toward the door, and once he was far enough away from the table, he grabbed the front of his jeans, hoping the slight pressure would ease his need a little.

Eddie considered sitting down and using his heel to help him hold it for a few seconds, but he was still in eyeshot of Bill and Steve, and that was probably the most childish thing he could do. He just pressed his thighs together tightly for a moment before continuing down the grass instead.

Finally, after what felt like hours, he made it to the door to the house in dry pants. His underwear was definitely a different story, however.

Bill said the bathroom was on the left side. Eddie opened the first door on the left and… it was a coat closet. He crossed his legs for a moment, now that he was alone, and jumped up a few times. He needed to pee so bad. And he couldn’t pee in a coat closet. Well, he could. but it would be very rude of him.

The next left door was at the end of the hallway, and Eddie wasn’t that far away at all, but he needed to stop for a moment and wait for the wave of desperation to pass. He crouched down and shoved his heel into his crotch, rocking back and forth for a moment. He could make it. Obviously he could make it. He was a grown ass adult, and—

“Fuck!” he yelped as he felt a warm stream force it’s way out without any warning. He clamped down hard, still crouched down, until it stopped. By that point, the crotch of his jeans was obviously wet, and there was a very small puddle directly below him on the floor when he glanced down.

He needed to get to the bathroom in the next thirty seconds. Maybe less. Shit, he was so stupid! He didn’t need to wait until it got to this point. Very slowly, he stood up, keeping one hand on his now wet crotch and holding on tightly. He felt piss run down his legs as he stood and bent at the waist.

Shit. Was he seriously about to have an accident a few feet away from the bathroom door? He jumped up and down a few times, and took another step. And another stream began, right down his left thigh.

“No, no, no, no!” he muttered, clamping both hands down on his dick. This was so stupid. He was literally ten feet away from relief. Proper, in a toilet, relief.

He bent at the waist again, successfully cutting off the stream. He looked down at himself, legs tightly crossed. His pants were already wet to the point that he’d need to change. Great. Steve was definitely finding out. So was Bill. So was probably the fucking butler.

A thick stream forced its way out through his crossed legs a second later, even with his legs pressed together as tight as they’d go, and spilled down both legs of his jeans, making a loud hissing noise. “Stop it!” Eddie yelled to himself, uselessly. He could feel it running into his shoes. He stopped the stream for a second before it immediately came back, running through his hands and splattering onto the floor.

“Fuck me,” he groaned as the stream continued without slowing down, his legs still crossed like it was doing anything at all.

He was so close to the bathroom. But if he started walking now, he’d just leave a trail behind him and more of a mess to clean up. And it was no use, he was peeing. He was peeing, and no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to stop it. He let go of himself slowly and uncrossed his legs. Piss was pouring out of him, completely unstoppable. He watched as it flowed between his legs and down his jeans, soaking into every inch of denim except the sides. He was having a full blown accident. A few feet from the fucking toilet. He crouched down, put his head in his hands, and closed his eyes. At least in that position, less piss would soak into his socks and shoes. Not that it fucking mattered. Everything was already wet.

His jeans were warm and wet when the stream finally ended, and Eddie opened his eyes. He stood slowly, his jeans sticking to his legs uncomfortably. The puddle beneath him wasn’t necessarily huge, but it wasn’t small, and Eddie swallowed to keep himself from crying.

He had an accident. For no reason. Right by the bathroom door. Fuck. He wanted to go home.

***

“It’s taking him awhile,” Bill said around a bite of a small sandwich. Eddie had been gone for probably over fifteen minutes.

Steve bit his bottom lip. “Yeah. Yeah, uh… it is.” Steve had watched Eddie walk towards the house, and it wasn’t his ‘I need to pee’ walk. It was his ‘I’m already peeing’ walk.

“Do you think he… made it?” Bill asked casually. Thank god Bill was so understanding when it came to Eddie. Steve shrugged.

“Uh… he probably didn’t, honestly.”

“Aw, poor kid,” Bill said solemnly, genuinely upset for him.

“I’ll go check on him,” Steve said, standing and making his way toward the house.

When he opened the door, the hallway was empty.

“Eddie?” he called out.

“Here,” he heard after a moment from the end of the hall.

Eddie didn’t sound like he was crying, which gave Steve hope, until he walked a little bit farther and saw a puddle on the ground. Steve sighed and knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I come in?”

“Mm.”

Steve opened the door slowly to find Eddie sitting on the floor. His jeans were drenched down to the cuffs. It definitely wasn’t a small accident.

“Hey,” Steve said, gently.

“‘M fine, Harrington,” Eddie grumbled in response, not making eye contact.

“Okay. Do you want me to grab you some clothes—“

“No. I can do it,” Eddie replied shortly.

Steve put his hands on his hips. “Eddie, what’s wrong?”

“That’s pretty obvious, Harrington.”

“I know you had an accident, I’m asking why you’re—“

“Ugh,” Eddie groaned, “It wasn’t a fucking accident. I pissed my pants. I’m not a child,” he grumbled, hunching his shoulders down further to the ground.

“What do you mean it wasn’t an accident?”

“I mean that’s a childish fucking term.”

Steve sat down, a good distance away. “Why are you being like this, Eds.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’m always like this.”

“No, usually when you have an… when you piss your pants, you’re not a dick to me when I try and help—“

“I’m not trying to be a dick, Steve, I just… ugh! I was right there. I was literally right there and I couldn’t hold it for five more fucking seconds. I mean, literally five seconds,” Eddie said, his voice breaking at the end. He shook his head. “I’m fine. I need to clean up the hallway,” he finished, standing.

“Let me help—“

“No, Steve, stop it! Stop trying to help me all the time It’s… It’s not fair!”

“Why is it not fair?”

“It’s not fair to you! It’s not fair that I’m always… fucking… God, I hate myself sometimes, Steve,” Eddie mumbled the last bit into his hands, his expression finally changing from pissed off to the usual self depreciating sadness.

“Eddie, hey,” Steve said quietly. He put his hands on Eddie’s shoulders, trying to catch his eyes.

“I could’ve excused myself sooner, but I didn’t want to interrupt, and then I just waited too long and I…” Eddie smacked his forehead with his hands.

“Don’t do that,” Steve said quickly, trying to grab Eddie’s hands.

“I just wish it would stop, Steve,” Eddie mumbled, his throat rough with tears. Eddie leaned forward until his head was resting on Steve’s chest, and Steve wrapped his arms around him.

“I know, baby.”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with this—“

“Eddie, I love you. All of you. All of the time. Please let me love you for who you are—wet pants and all.”

Eddie tensed. “I’m so sorry,” he groaned into Steve’s chest. “I was being a dick, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You’re upset. You have a right to be upset.”

“No I don’t! This was completely preventable! I just didn’t speak up in time and—“

“Do you remember that time when I was driving you to D&D and you had an accident—I mean, you… pissed yourself in the woods?”

“It’s fine, Steve. You can call them accidents. That’s technically the correct definition. But yeah. It was one of the first times I had an accident in front of you when we were, like, kind of friends,” he replied.

Steve stroked Eddie’s back with one hand. “Remember when I told you that you just needed to speak up sooner?”

“Yeah, Steve.”

“Well, I take it back. It doesn’t always work that way with you, and that’s okay. There are going to be times when you have an accident and it isn’t preventable at all. And that’s okay, baby.”

Eddie hugged him tighter. “What if… what if it just gets worse, Steve,” he mumbled after a moment.

Steve let him go so he could see his eyes, which were glassy with tears. “Then we’ll buy you more pants.”

Eddie shoved him lightly. “Shut up.”

“And more underwear—“

“Ugh, Steve! I’m serious!”

“So am I! If it gets worse, we’ll be fine. We’ll figure it out. I’ll gain thirty pounds of muscle so I can fight off anyone who says any shit to you, and we’ll be fine.”

Eddie kissed Steve gently, one hand in his hair. “I’m sorry. I like it when you help. I don’t know why I got so… like that.”

“It’s okay, baby.”

“I need to take these off,” Eddie said, adjusting his wet jeans.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Shit!” Eddie yelped suddenly, looking down.

“… Eddie?”

His eyes were wide, and Steve could tell why. The wet patch on the front of his pants grew even darker as he wet himself again. “Uh… I’m so sorry I… I just peed a little bit without any fucking warning,” he said, rubbing a hand across his face.

“Oh… um… another infection?”

Eddie shook his head. “No… sometimes that happens after I… have a big accident,” he kind of muttered, clearly embarrassed.

“Okay. You should get out of those jeans. I’ll clean the hallway—“

“I can do it—“

“I like helping, Eddie. Seriously. Now go shower,” Steve said with a final kiss to Eddie’s head. Eddie nodded.

Thank God Bill was a good guy.

Chapter Text

After cleaning up the hallway and getting back to Bill about what happened, Steve found Eddie sitting on his bed, biting the skin on the back of his thumb, and staring at the wall. His hair was wet and he was dressed in new clothes.

“Hey,” Steve said, sitting at the edge of the bed.

“Hey,” Eddie replied, the back of his thumb still in his mouth and not looking at Steve.

“Bill wants to talk to you,” Steve said.

Eddie nodded. “Figured.”

“You know he’s not mad—“

“I know. Yeah. It’s fine.”

Eddie didn’t seem like he was in the mood to talk or to think about what just happened, so Steve eased himself towards the front of the bed and let Eddie lay on his chest when he was ready. They stayed like that until there was a soft knock on the door, and Bill entered.

“Hi, boys,” he said with a smile, leaning against the door frame.

“Hi,” Eddie said quietly.

“Mind if I sit?” Bill asked.

Eddie shook his head and finally removed his thumb from his moth. Steve was worried it was going to start bleeding if he didn’t stop stress gnawing on it.

“So,” Bill started, slapping his hands on his knees after he sat on the far edge of the bed, “I just wanted to assure you, Eddie, that I’m not upset with you in the slightest. But I also wanted to say that if you are in need of the restroom, please do not hesitate to ask where one is.”

Eddie, face turning red, nodded without making eye contact. “Sorry,” is all he said.

“It’s alright, Eddie,” Bill said, reaching a hand out to pat Eddie’s leg. “Diurnal enuresis is common when one already suffers from nocturnal enuresis. It’s often not talked about, especially with teenagers, but you truly are not alone.”

“What does that mean?” Steve asked, confused about the big words being thrown around.

“It’s a fancy way of saying I pee my pants. And the bed,” Eddie muttered.

“Yes, often times it goes hand in hand with Overactive Bladder Syndrome. Not to assume that you have that—“

“I do. I mean. I did when I was a kid, so….”

“Yes, well, precisely why there is no need to be upset. Accidents happen,” he said before standing. “Now, I’ll let you two rest, and then we can all go out for drinks tonight? How does that sound?”

Both of them nodded. “Thanks, Bill,” Steve said. Bill nodded toward them and closed the door. Eddie put his head in his hands and groaned.

“So embarrassing,” he muttered. Steve rubbed his back. “I don’t… I don’t want to leave the house, Steve.”

Steve nodded. “You don’t have to—“

“No, I do, Steve. I want to, I just don’t want to piss myself in public, and like… I think I’m so stressed about the possibility of peeing myself that it’s making me so anxious that I keep peeing myself,” he whispered, then continued biting his thumb.

“There’s not going to be skin left if you keep biting your fingers,” Steve said gently.

Eddie dropped his thumb. “Sorry. Bad habit. My dad used to say the same thing.”

Steve’s stomach dropped. “I don’t actually care, Eddie, you can—“

“It’s fine, princess. I’m good,” he said with a forced smile. Steve sighed.

“We don’t have to go out.”

Eddie looked down at his hands that he put in his lap. “I… I’ll be fine. I’ll bring extra clothes.”

Steve nodded. “You can always wear protection, too, just in case,” he offered after a moment, swallowing hard once he said it.

Eddie’s eyes shot up. “I don’t… but… Steve that’s… that’s, like, on a next level of embarrassment…” he muttered.

“Just a suggestion, baby. It might make you more comfortable. Less stressed. Obviously if you don’t want to, don’t.”

Eddie ran a hand through his hair. “I mean. Are you sure you wouldn’t be embarrassed by me?”

Steve shook his head. If anything, it put Steve at risk of accidentally being turned on all night. “Absolutely not. Of course not. Never, Eddie,” he replied quickly, taking one of Eddie’s hands.

“Even if I… end up actually having to… use it?”

“That’s what they’re for. Seriously, there is nothing you could do that would make me embarrassed to be with you. Ever. You’re so hot. You’re so, so hot, it’s ridiculous, and frankly, I’m offended that you think some special underwear would make me not want to jump your bones—“

“Please don’t call it ‘special underwear’,” Eddie groaned.

“Sorry. But seriously. If it makes you more comfortable I… I think that’s kind of hot,” he admitted, truthfully. Then blushed. Why the fuck did he just say that?

Eddie squinted. “You think me being more comfortable is… hot?”

“Uh. Yeah. Yes,” he stuttered out.

“You’re weird, Steve,” Eddie said.

“Yeah. Yeah I am,” he replied, thinking the same thing. He’d have to pull himself together tonight. Eddie could not find out about his… weird thing. Steve could not let that happen.

***

“The bathrooms are at the end of the hall to the right,” Bill whispered to Eddie as soon as they sat down at a table at the restaurant/bar. He flushed as he sat, feeling the padding beneath his jeans shift and remind him even more of how awful he felt. He was already pissed at himself for having an accident at all, especially one that was avoidable, and so having to succumb to Steve’s suggestion made him feel very childish.

He couldn’t help but think about when he’d do the same thing when he was a child, when he first moved in with Wayne and he was wetting himself practically everyday. The stress of losing his family and having to adjust to a completely new life made him basically forget he was ever potty trained. Thankfully it didn’t last long, only a few months, but Wayne had made him wear his nighttime diapers anytime they left the house ‘just in case.’ That was 11 years ago, and Eddie was doing the same exact thing. And he still packed an extra pair of clothes. Just in case. And two pairs of boxers. He could not let Steve’s mom see him have an accident again. He wasn’t sure if he could handle that right now.

Steve was across from him at the table, his parents to his right, and Bill sat to the left of Eddie. Eddie kept his eyes on the menu as they chatted.

Steve’s mom was telling some school story when Eddie felt the first indication that he needed the bathroom. He excused himself quickly without hesitation, even though he barely had to go. He’d rather feel slightly embarrassed by having to use the restroom so soon than end up relying on his protection.

When he got back, there was a drink sitting in front of him. It was some kind of fruity, well decorated drink.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s from my friends over there—Joel and Randy. They’re the owners I told you about,” Bill answered. Eddie looked over to see the very homosexual middle aged couple and smiled.

The gesture was kind, but Eddie had basically stopped drinking since the last time he’d make a fool of himself. But it would be rude to not drink it. He took a cautious sip. It was, unfortunately, delicious.

Steve had the same one and took a long drink, then glanced at Eddie. The look he gave him looked like it meant something along the lines of ‘you don’t have to drink it.’

Eddie gave him a look that he hoped translated to ‘I don’t want to be rude,’ and took another sip of the sweet cocktail.

An hour later, the food arrived, as well as another free drink. Eddie was already slightly tipsy off the first one. As he took his first sip of the new one, he was suddenly overcome with an intense urge to piss that was quickly followed by a leak he barely could get under control. Shit.

He left the table without saying anything and walked quickly to the bathroom, all the while he continued to dribble. He made it to the stall just in time, thankfully, and his protection was still mostly dry. He sighed as he washed his hands. Having sudden, out of nowhere urges like that was pretty rare, and he didn’t understand why his brain was choosing now to forget to send him signals. He didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened had he not worn protection.

The rest of the dinner went by fine, and they paid the check and left. Bill had driven them there, but he’d also had a decent amount of cocktails himself.

“Would anyone object to walking back to my house? It is beautiful tonight,” he asked, smiling.

Everyone was quick to agree, Eddie included. It was only about a 10 minute drive to the restaurant, so the walk couldn’t be that long. And he’d made sure to pee for a third time before leaving.

But then they took some path that went along the ocean, and Eddie realized that what was probably a twenty five minute walk was turning into more of an adventure.

Steve and him were trailing the others a few feet back, and Steve stuck a hand onto Eddie’s back when no one was looking. “Doing okay?” he asked, probably worried about the same thing.

“I’m good,” Eddie said, truthfully. He didn’t need to pee at all.

Ten minutes later, he did. He was wringing out his hands and looking around for another public bathroom when they decided to stop into one of the stores downtown. One of the stores that definitely didn’t have a bathroom. Eddie found a chair in the back and sat down, legs crossed.

“Look at this,” Steve said from where he was scanning a shelf of knick knacks. He was holding up a Jesus shaped spoon. Eddie laughed.

“You should get it.”

Steve looked him over for a second. “How bad is it?” he asked quietly. Eddie huffed. One of these days, he’d successfully need to piss without Steve figuring it out immediately.

“Not bad. I’ll be fine,” he said, believing it. He had to piss, sure, but they were also almost to Bill’s house. And frankly, even Eddie was concerned that he’d already peed three times tonight, so a fourth would definitely make it seem like his bladder was broken.

Eddie was fine when they left the store and continued the walk. He was less fine as they started to climb the hill. A leak wet the front of his protection that he could barely stop without making it obvious. He needed to cross his legs for a moment, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

He could see the house when another leak escaped and he was forced to cross his legs otherwise he’d completely flood his pants, and he really did not want to test whether this protection could handle that. Thankfully, only Steve noticed.

He didn’t say anything, and just took Eddie’s hand. It was the opposite of patronizing, and Eddie smiled to himself despite it all.

They made it to the house, and Bill announced that he’d make more drinks out back in the garden. Steve’s parents immediately agreed to it and followed Bill to the back.

“Yeah, we’ll join you in a little bit!” Steve called, opening the front door for Eddie and rushing inside.

As soon as they were alone, Eddie started dancing in place. “I need to pee,” he muttered, mostly to himself.

“The closest bathroom is down that hall,” Steve said, pointing. And adjusting his pants for some reason.

“Okay—hmngg. I need a minute,” Eddie groaned, sitting down on his heels to stop the stream that started at the mention of a bathroom. It died down in a few seconds, and he quickly dashed to the bathroom before another leak made its way out.

He didn’t bother with closing the door and just pulled himself out as quickly as he could. The relief felt like a triumph, and he closed his eyes as he successfully peed in the toilet like a normal adult. Of course, his protection ended up fairly wet, though. He pulled the damp garment back over his hips and pulled up his jeans, feeling the cold, expanded material like a rock between his legs. When he turned around, Steve was standing just outside the doorway. He turned around like he hadn’t been looking when Eddie saw him.

“You feeling okay?” Eddie asked, because Steve’s face was bright red and it looked like he was starting to sweat.

He adjusted his pants again. “Mhm, yeah,” he mumbled, not making eye contact.

Eddie took a step toward him. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“I just… It’s gross, and embarrassing, and I’m sorry you have to deal with this—“ Eddie couldn’t finish his sentence because suddenly Steve was pushing him up against a wall and kissing him. He sort of squealed.

“Steve, Steve—we’re in the middle of the hallway,” he whispered as he pulled apart. Steve was starting at Eddie like he wanted to swallow him whole.

“You’re right. Upstairs?”

Eddie, blushing, nodded. Whatever got Steve so suddenly hot, he wasn’t complaining. But he did need to change and clean up before they did anything, obviously.

As they climbed the stairs, Steve looked like he was almost palming himself through his jeans. Had he been hard this whole time? Eddie couldn’t imagine what got his boyfriend all hot and bothered after the day he’d had.

Eddie was about to go off to the bathroom when Steve grabbed his hand and pushed himself up against the wall this time so that Eddie was facing him. Eddie was shocked for a moment, but decided he could change in a bit when he saw the way Steve was eyeing his lips.

“This what you want, princess?” Eddie whispered as he took Steve’s hands and pressed them up against the wall. Steve just moaned in response as Eddie teased him by kissing his way down Steve’s neck, his hand a few inches from the hard outline of Steve’s dick, but not touching.

“Please… please,” Steve whined, wiggling his hips against the wall. He looked like he could almost cum, and Eddie was very confused. And intrigued. Eddie let go of him completely and took a step back, and Steve looked like he was about to collapse.

“Ed, I—“

“Bed. Now,” Eddie said. He watched a Steve gulped and followed him into the room.

And shit. Because now he was getting into it, and his own dick was getting hard. It was getting hard in his damp, cold protection. But before he could excuse himself or attempt to say something sexy despite needing to go change out of a literal diaper, Steve was lying down on the bed, eyes wide, shirt already in the process of being removed.

They’d done… this thing before, but never this… intense. Never this risky. Eddie realized early on that Steve liked to be teased and dominated, and Eddie certainly couldn’t resist, but the way Steve was basically panting without even being touched was different than normal. And normally, they didn’t go past the basics. Eddie got the impression that Steve wanted to change that.

Eddie adjusted the lights as Steve continued getting undressed. “Leave the boxers,” Eddie mumbled, making his way over to the end of the bed. “And stop touching yourself.” Steve truly, genuinely, whined at that and let go of himself, his legs spread wide and his dick wetting the fabric of his red boxers with precum. He looked fucking beautiful.

“Please, baby, please—“ he started to beg as Eddie took his time pulling his hair into a bun. God, Steve was melting under his gaze into a whining, desperate mess. Eddie had never seen him like this.

“Shhh,” he said, finally crawling on the bed and positioning himself above Steve. “First, you need to tell me what got you like this.”

Eddie intended that to be hot, but it kind of looked like Steve’s whole brain shut down at that. He averted his eyes and started shaking his head. “Nothing. I don’t know. Nothing,” he said.

“I don’t believe that,” Eddie whispered into his ear, letting his tongue scrape against his jawline.

“No, no, I just… you’re so hot,” he replied, grabbing the sheets of he bed to keep himself from grabbing himself.

“Okay. I’ll ask again later. But before I get you off, I need to… get changed,” he said kind of lamely, not wanting to ruin the magic of whatever was going on, but also not wanting them to go any further and have Steve get turned off by what was under his jeans.

But before he could get up, Steve stopped him. “No. Wait,” he begged, one hand on Eddie’s arm.

“I’m just changing out of… you know. Then I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t.” Steve’s voice was hoarse, like he hadn’t had water in days.

Eddie blinked at him. “Why?”

Steve looked away. “Because you… I want you now. Like. Right now.”

Eddie just sort of stared at him for a moment. He stared at his hot skin, the slight gleam of sweat coating his chest, his dick that was trying to break through the barrier of his tight briefs. Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. Steve had been hard for… minutes. A long time. Since they got back to the house and Eddie almost peed himself. And then proceeded to keep Eddie from going to change out of his protection multiple times.

Eddie gaped, mouth open. “No. No way,” he murmured.

Steve sat up slightly. “What?”

“How long?”

“How long what?”

“How long have you wanted me to fuck you while wearing protection?”

It was bold. Eddie could be wrong. But he had a pretty good feeling he wasn’t.

When Steve started crying, which Eddie was not at all expecting, that kind of confirmed it.

“I’m so sorry!” Steve said, pulling his legs to his chest and moving away from Eddie, eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Huh? No, Steve—“

“I understand completely if you don’t want to be with me anymore because I’m disgusting and it’s wrong—“

“Steve, you’re not disgusting—“

“I’m so, so sorry Eddie, I shouldn’t have done any of this—“

This time, Eddie shut Steve up by pushing him back down onto the bed and kissing him. Steve pulled apart after the initial shock. “Eddie, you don’t have to—“

“Shut up, Steve. Let’s talk later. Let’s do this now,” Eddie said, dipping a hand below the waist band of Steve’s briefs and curving his hand around his dick. Steve moaned immediately at the contact.

“You’re not… you’re not mad?” he said between strokes. Eddie let go of his dick, Steve whined, and Eddie kissed his neck again.

“Do I look mad, princess? Now shut up.”

This was definitely a surprise, but Eddie was horny now, and sure, he didn’t necessarily understand at all why Steve apparently found all this so hot that he almost came in his pants and then started literally crying when he got caught, but Eddie could figure all that out later. Right now, he needed to take care of the boy that was moaning his name under his breath like a goddam prayer.

“Do you want to touch me?” Eddie asked. Steve nodded with his eyes closed.

“Please. Please.”

“Then do it,” Eddie whispered, ripping off his own shirt finally. He realized that the band of his protection was now visible, and he fought back his insecurity as Steve stared. Steve really stared.

“So beautiful,” Steve whispered, gently placing a hand on Eddie’s ass. That helped Eddie feel a little bit better. Steve wanted to do this. He actually, genuinely wanted this.

Eddie put his hand back on Steve’s dick and stroked it once. “You like me like this, hm?”

“Y—yes.”

“Dirty boy,” Eddie mused. “Are you going to come in your pants just from looking at me?”

Steve shook his head. “I won’t. No. I want… Eddie, please, I want… I want you inside me.”

Eddie took half a second to process that information before deciding that, yeah, it was weird, but also, he’d never wanted to do anything more in his life.

Steve found lube somewhere, and five minutes later, Eddie was pushing into Steve for the first time ever. It was life changing, to say the least. Steve didn’t last long at all, and Eddie pulled out as soon as Steve was cumming into his underwear, moaning loudly and shaking beneath Eddie.

“Can I suck your dick?” Steve might as well have begged as soon as Eddie pulled out. Steve stroked him quickly, and Eddie melted, already close.

“Yes, please. Quickly, Steve I’m gonna… I’m gonna!” Eddie moaned as Steve continued moving his hands on Eddie.

“Don’t cum,” Steve said firmly, more dominant than Eddie was used to.

“But I—“

“I know, baby. But I want you in my mouth,” he whispered.

Eddie obliged, and Steve took him in his mouth greedily.

Eddie came within a minute, holding onto Steve’s hair as he slammed his head back.

There was a brief moment where both of them were spent, and neither of them said anything.

“I… uh…” Eddie tried to say.

“I’m so sorry—“

Eddie hit Steve’s chest. “Dude. Do not apologize. That was… holy shit.”

“I don’t have a piss kink, Eddie,” Steve said quickly.

“… Um. Okay. If you do, I’m not mad—”

“I don’t, really. I’m not turned on by you having accidents, or you being upset about it, or wetting the bed—that really has never turned me on. I don’t like seeing you hurt or in pain or embarrassed. I didn’t know until you started wearing… the protection, that I…”

“You like it when I wet the protection?”

Steve nodded, slowly. “Yes. I guess. I like that it… it makes you feel safe, and comfortable. I like that it helps. That I was able to help you.”

Eddie blinked. “I think a piss kink would make more sense.”

“I don’t get it either, Ed… but I… that was… I mean, were you okay with it?”

“Yeah, Steve. I would really much rather you find it hot that I have to wear diapers sometimes than you find it disgusting. Like. That’s way better. That actually makes me feel a lot better about having to wear them.”

Steve turned toward him. “I really didn’t know. When I first suggested them… I didn’t realize this about myself. And I mean it when I say this doesn’t extend to your normal accidents, even when you’re wearing protection.”

Eddie nodded. “I believe you.”

“And it doesn’t have to be this big thing. It could be a one time thing or—“

“Steve, honey, you’re spiraling. It’s okay. We can talk more about this later, but I think we should both probably shower. And maybe do laundry again.”

Steve cringed looking around at the mess they made. “Yeah. Probably.”

After cleaning up and showering (and burying the used protection as deep into the trash as he could manage), they joined the rest of the family outside. Within a few minutes of being out there, however, Eddie got a phone call.

“It’s for me?” he asked Bill to clarify.

“Yes, it’s your uncle.”

Eddie nodded and made his way into the kitchen to pick up the wall phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Ed. How are you?”

Eddie leaned up against the wall. “I’m fine. Why are you calling? Is something wrong?”

“Sheesh, am I’m not allowed to keep tabs on my kid anymore?”

“I’m good, Wayne. I mean,” he sighed, “I’ve been better.”

“Is Maine nice?”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful.”

“Why have you been better?” Wayne asked, and Eddie closed his eyes.

“I… I had a few accidents. But it’s okay. Steve’s uncle is, like, the best. It’s really been okay,” he whispered.

“I’m not being replaced, though, right?”

“Never, Wayne.”

There was a pause. “Well I’m sorry to hear that, Eddie. You know you can always call me to talk about it if you want.”

“I know. Thanks.”

“And uh… hey, listen… there is a reason I called you.”

“Yeah?” Eddie asked. Something wasn’t right. Something in Wayne’s voice wasn’t right.

“I wanted to let you know before you got back so you could prepare—“

“Prepare? Are you sending me to fight in the war?”

“Eddie… it’s your father.”

Eddie’s stomach dropped. He had to grab the phone with both hands to keep it from dropping, too. “What about him?” he asked, dryly.

“He… well. He came back.”

Eddie hung up before he could respond, knowing that whatever came out of his moth next, Wayne didn’t need to hear.

Chapter Text

Steve pulled into the driveway of Wayne’s trailer and put the car in park. Eddie was looking out of the windows trying to see if his dad—no, not his dad… if Al was there. There was no unfamiliar cars, and everything seemed completely normal. Eddie bit his thumb. He did not feel normal about this.

“I can come in with you,” Steve said after a moment of silence.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Eddie responded, still looking around and not at Steve.

Steve put a hand on Eddie’s knee. “Hey. It’ll be alright. And you can call me and I’ll come and pick you up anytime if you need,” he said gently.
Eddie nodded.

When Eddie got the call from Wayne that Al was back… back in Hawkins… he spent the rest of the trip with Steve’s family trying to act normal and not like the world around him was crashing.

Thankfully, the trip ended without anything going terribly wrong (or more terribly wrong than it already had), and Eddie was glad to be home.

But not if Al was there.

Eddie used his own key to open the trailer door as Steve drove away. His heart was racing. When he opened the door, Wayne was sitting on the couch, drinking a beer. He sat up straight when Eddie walked in.

“Oh, Eddie—!“

“Where is he? Is he here?”

“No, no he—“

“Why is he here? Why now?” Eddie was still standing by the door. His heart was pounding so fast.

“Eddie—“

“I don’t want to see him, Wayne. I don’t want to talk to him, I hate him, Wayne, I can’t—“

“Bubs, sit down,” Wayne said loudly, patting the couch cushion next to him.

Eddie rubbed a hand across his face as he sat. Wayne passed him a beer. It was 2pm, but whatever. Drinking with Wayne was a rare opportunity, and Eddie definitely didn’t want to think at the moment.

Eddie took a sip. “Where is he?” he asked again.

Wayne sighed. “I don’t know. Still in town somewhere. He just showed up, Ed, out of nowhere.”

“What does he want?”

Wayne scratched his beard. “He told me he wanted to see his son.”

Eddie swallowed. “And what did you say?”

“I said he doesn’t have a son. Not anymore,” Wayne answered, then finished his beer and cracked open another. “I’m sorry, Ed, I shouldn’t have called you and ruined your trip.”

“You didn’t, Wayne. I ruined it on my own already.”

Wayne stuck an arm out towards Eddie and ran his fingers through the back of Eddie’s hair. “Wanna talk about it?”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s fine. I don’t want to see him,” he repeated.

“You don’t have to. If he comes back, I’ll tell him to fuck off, alright?”

Eddie took a sip, then nodded. “Alright.”

Three hours later, Wayne was rummaging through his cabinets searching for snacks as Eddie sprawled out on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

“Wayne?” Eddie called.

“Yeah?” he said, mouth full of something.

“I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I’m drunk,” he said, giggling to himself.

“Shit. I got my kid drunk? I’m a terrible parent,” Wayne said as he returned with a bag of chips.

“No, you’re not,” Eddie replied under his breath as he reached for a handful of chips.

“Movie?” Wayne asked.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Can I sleep over?” he asked.

Wayne put an arm around Eddie and kissed the top of his head. “Of course. You always can,” he said.

Eddie dozed off during the movie, and Wayne woke him up only twenty minutes in, which Eddie was grateful for, because he needed to piss like hell. They decided to just call it quits and sleep off the alcohol when Eddie returned.

Eddie fell asleep easily in his old bed, which was thankfully still suitable for Eddie to sleep in. Wayne must’ve bought another mattress protector after Eddie moved out, and Eddie was out cold within minutes.

He woke up to the smell of Wayne making breakfast. And wet sheets, but that wasn’t surprising. Wayne cooking, however, was.

Eddie realized as he got up that he didn’t bring a change of clothes, and he didn’t have any clothes stashed at the trailer anymore. Shit.

He gathered up the bedding in a ball on the bed and opened the door to his room.

“Hey,” he said.

Wayne was making bacon on the stove, and he smiled at Eddie and didn’t bat an eye at the fact that he was wearing soaked boxers and a t-shirt that was damp on his back.

“Need some clothes?” Wayne asked.

Eddie blushed. “Sorry. Didn’t think about it before falling asleep.”

“You’re fine, Ed. Watch the bacon, I’ll go grab you something,” he said with a smile.

Eddie nodded and grabbed his bedding to put in the wash, a routine he was very used to. Wayne returned with two pairs of boxers and a pair of sweats. The two pairs of boxers made him blush even harder. “Are you staying longer?” Wayne asked as he handed the pile of clothes over.

“Can I stay a bit longer? I’m… I don’t know. I’m worried that if I leave here he’ll find me or something—“

“Of course you can,” Wayne said, going back to the small kitchen and removing the bacon from the heat. “Eggs?”

“Sure,” Eddie said.

He showered quickly and ate the food gratefully. Wayne’s cooking was almost as rare as Wayne letting Eddie drink with him, and Eddie definitely got the impression that he missed having him around. It made his heart ache in a way he didn’t fully understand. He loved living with Steve and Robin, and it was time for him to move out, but he missed Wayne.

“Do you think he’ll come back here?” Eddie asked once they were done eating.

Wayne inhaled. “I’m not sure. We could go out, if you want. Catch a movie? It’s been awhile since we went to the theater,” he said.

Eddie nodded. “That sounds great.”

The movie was some action movie that didn’t really make any sense, and Eddie missed a decent amount of it because he kept getting up to pee. But peeing four times during a movie was a lot less embarrassing than wetting the seat, something he really never wanted to do again. Two times was definitely good enough for him.

On the drive back, they hit traffic. It was completely standstill traffic, which was rare in their small town. “Must be some sort of accident,” Wayne said.

“I’m sure it’ll clear up soon,” Eddie said, looking out the window.

It didn’t clear up soon. In twenty minutes, they had barely moved a mile. Eddie shifted in his seat. He peed probably an hour ago, and he hadn’t been drinking much of anything, but he was still getting worried. He looked around the back seat.

“What do you need?” Wayne asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Nothing, just bored,” he lied. He was looking for empty bottles, or a container, or anything that would hold his pee just in case, but there was nothing.

Twenty minutes later, Eddie was shifting around in his seat every few minutes. He had to pee. It wasn’t bad, but if the traffic didn’t clear up soon, he’d probably have an emergency on his hands. He bit his thumb. It was broad daylight, so he couldn’t just open the door and piss on the street without people seeing, and he really didn’t want people to see that.

Eddie put a foot under his crotch as they inched up a few feet.

“Are you okay?” is all Wayne asked.

“I’m fine, Wayne,” he said in response. Wayne was probably expecting Eddie to lose it any moment. “I can hold it a bit longer.”

“I don’t know how long we’ll be sitting here. I just want to say that if you can’t hold it, it’s fine.”

Eddie nodded. ”Yeah. I’ll be fine.” It had been such a long time since he’d peed himself in Wayne’s car, and he was really not wanting to break his streak. He crossed his legs tightly.

Eddie bent forward to see if the traffic was by any chance finally clearing, and when he did, he felt a thin, hot stream hit his jeans. He froze and did his best to act like he didn’t just piss himself a little bit. He didn’t want Wayne to think he wasn’t going to make it.

To be fair, Eddie wasn’t sure if he would. He sat on his hands to help himself hold it, but also to feel the seats. They weren’t leather, so the small wet patch had soaked into the upholstery. So much for Wayne not finding out. Nothing was more embarrassing than standing up and leaving a wet patch behind.

The last time he’d had an accident in Wayne’s car was his junior year. Wayne picked him up from D&D, and Eddie was so caught up in the game he didn’t realize he had to pee. It was dark out, so he was able to hide his desperation. When he finally wet himself, he turned the radio up to drown out the sound. Then when Wayne pulled into the trailer, he got up like nothing happened. It wasn’t until they made it to the porch light that Wayne found out Eddie fully pissed on his car seats and didn’t even say anything to him like a child.

Eddie wasn’t going to do that again. But when another stream started that he could barely cut off, he felt piss run down one leg of his jeans. His crotch still looked dry because his legs were pressed together so tightly, but pretty soon, it would be obvious that he wasn’t completely dry.

The traffic finally started to clear up, and Wayne drove past the car accident that held them up.

Eddie didn’t want to think about the word accident. He leaked again as Wayne turned down the street that led to the trailer.

He swore to himself as he felt a thick stream soak into the seat and finally bleed its way up to his crotch. The circle of wetness continued to expand up. Eddie couldn’t hide it at all now.

“Wayne…”

“I know, you’re fine. It’s just an accident.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Don’t hurt yourself, Ed. The seats can be cleaned.”

Something Eddie had already learned the hard way.

The stream was thin, now, but everything Eddie was trying to do wasn’t cutting it off. With any luck, as soon as they pulled into the trailer, he’d be able to hop out and finish pissing his jeans in the grass.

But as they pulled into the trailer, Wayne grunted.

“Eddie, get down,” he said, sternly.

Eddie had both hands in his lap. “Get down?”

“Just do it!”

Eddie hadn’t heard Wayne’s serious voice in awhile, so he didn’t question it and crouched down under the me dashboard in front of the passenger seat as Wayne swung the door open. So much for peeing in the grass.

It was a tight space, and Eddie felt his shirt start to get wet from how he had to position himself.

He was so focused on the fact that he was peeing himself in the weirdest position that he didn’t notice there was another voice outside of the trailer.

“I told you not to come back,” Wayne grunted, and Eddie swallowed.

“He’s my kid, Wayne. I’m allowed to see my kid!”

It was his dad—Al. It was Al’s voice. Hearing his voice made him involuntary start peeing full force into his jeans and into the cars floor. He covered his mouth with his hand. Al couldn’t see him like this. Not like this.

“He ain’t your kid, Al. He hasn’t been your kid for years!”

“So what, you play daddy for a few years and suddenly his real fucking father can’t even see him—?”

“A few years?” Wayne stressed. “It’s been over a decade, you dick.”

Al laughed. “Alright, I get it, you’re mad that I left him with you.”

“You didn’t. Child services left him with me because you were in jail for child abuse, Al!”

“Fuck you, Wayne, you know I was having a hard time—“

“When’s his birthday?” Wayne asked.

There was a moment of silence. “Oh, come on, that shit doesn’t matter.”

“How old is he?”

“Eighteen.”

“He’s nineteen. Do you know his favorite band? Do you know who his friends are? Do you know anything about him at all?” Wayne yelled.

Eddie’s heart was beating so fast. “I know that he’s my kid, not yours.”

As soon as the words left Al’s mouth, Eddie heard the telltale sound of Wayne punching Al in the face.

“Fuck, Wayne!” Al yelled back.

Eddie took a chance and peaked over the dashboard to see Al tackling Wayne to the ground and repeatedly hitting him. He was overpowering Wayne.

Eddie had to do something.

As quietly as he could manage, Eddie opened the door, ran up behind Al, and punched him hard in the face. Al toppled over, and Eddie was about to run when he realized he’d knocked him out. Shit. He didn’t mean to do that.

“Eddie…,” Wayne heaved out, “You okay?”

Eddie was rubbing his hand. It felt like his finger bones were bruised. “Fine. You?”

“I’m fine. Besides the fact that I’m a terrible role model,” Wayne said as he stood over Al’s body.

Eddie shrugged. “I’ve been in enough fights that I don’t think you’re the problem.”

Wayne smiled very briefly, then looked at Al. “He’s out. What do you want to do?”

Eddie shrugged. “I think I’m ready for a family reunion”, Eddie said.”

They managed to haul Al inside and lay him on the couch. Al pulled up a chair to stare at him as Eddie hid in the kitchen.

“Go get changed, Ed. Then we’ll wake him up,” Wayne said, glancing at Eddie’s soaked jeans.

“The car seat—“

“I’ll worry about that later. Get changed before he wakes up.”

Eddie did as he was told and went through Wayne’s clothes until he found an outfit that wasn’t terrible. He put his wet clothes in the wash and cleaned himself up a bit before redressing and joining Wayne by the couch.

After another five minutes of nervous fidgeting as he stared at Al from the kitchen, Al began to wake up. Eddie held his breath as he groaned on the couch, hands reaching up for his bruised face.

“What the hell,” he grunted as he sat up. His eyes caught Wayne. “You knocked me out?”

Wayne was about to respond before Eddie walked out of the kitchen area and stood next to where Wayne was sitting. “No. I did,” he said, arms crossed and trying his best to look nonchalant.

There was a moment of confusion on Al’s face before it softened. “Eddie?”

After a beat, he nodded.

“Holy shit, look at you! Look at your… hair!” Al said, trying to stand up. Eddie took a step back.

Al ran a hand over his face. “I get it, you’re mad.”

Eddie scoffed. “No, you don’t get it,” he said.

“Look, Eddie, I know I haven’t been around, but I’m here now—“

“Why? Why are you here now?”

Al sighed. “Because I saw you all over the news last year. My kid, wanted by the police… I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Eddie laughed. “That was a year ago, Al.”

He nodded. “Well. Are you okay?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because you’re my son.”

“No, I’m not,” Eddie said, arms still crossed. He was trying to be tough, but just looking at Al was making him want to burst into tears and destroy something. He hated how much he looked like Al. He hated it.

“Alright, Eddie. Okay. Just… give me a shot, please? I’m trying, here. Let me buy you dinner.”

Wayne glanced at Eddie. He swallowed. “One dinner. That’s it.”

Al nodded and put on a smile. “Thank you.”

“But Wayne comes,” Eddie added, because he was not about to drive off with Al without his real dad with him.

Al looked annoyed for a moment, but shook it off. “Deal.”

Al drove them to a nearby diner. The drive was so awkward it was making Eddie’s skin crawl, and he spent the entire drive staring out the window and thinking about how he’d already peed himself all over Wayne’s car. This day couldn’t get worse. And yet, Eddie had a bad feeling it was going to.

They snagged a booth in the old diner towards the back. Eddie and Wayne sat on one side together.

“I’ll be right back, I forgot something from the car,” Al said as soon as they sat.

As soon as Al was out of the restaurant, Eddie put his face on the table in front of him and groaned.

“You okay?” Wayne asked, running a had across Eddie’s back.

Eddie just groaned again in response.

“I know, kid. If you need anything, or need to leave, just let me know, alright?”

Eddie nodded, head still on the table.

The waitress came up to them with a pot of coffee. “You boys look like you need this,” she said, pouring them both a cup into the pre-set white mugs.

“Thanks,” Eddie said, taking a sip.

He could see the door to the bathroom at the end of the hall from where he was sitting, and he really was exhausted, so he drank the coffee. Wayne did the same, and thankfully didn’t comment on Eddie’s liquid intake.

“Here we go,” Al said as he sat back in the booth and set a bottle of what looked like whiskey on the counter.

“What’s that?” Eddie asked.

“Family tradition. For every big life achievement, we take a shot out of grandpas whiskey. I’d say my kid graduating is a pretty big accomplishment,” Al said.

“The family tradition is bullshit, Al,” Wayne said, setting down his mug. “When the bottle gets close to empty, they just fill it back up with cheap whiskey—“

“Don’t ruin all the fun, brother!” Al said, then poured a decent amount into Eddie’s coffee mug without asking. Eddie blinked down at the cup. Whiskey and coffee, two diuretics. He didn’t need to pee, but if he drank this, he’d probably not make it to his usual two hour mark of being able to hold it. But that was fine. There was a bathroom right in front of him.

“Cheers, son, to being a Munson with a degree!” Al said as he raised the bottle to cheers with both Wayne and Eddie. Eddie flinched when Al called him son.

Eddie took a sip and grimaced. It was disgusting. Still, being a little bit tipsy during this dinner might make it less unbearable, so Eddie took another big gulp.

“That’s my boy—“

“No, he isn’t,” Wayne interrupted.

Al leaned back on the booth. “Okay, okay… I get it. You’re both pissed at me. You know, my dad left me, too,” Al said, looking at Eddie.

“No, I didn’t know. I barely know anything about you—“

“Hey, do you remember after your baseball games we’d go and get ice cream from that—?“

“I didn’t play baseball,” Eddie interrupted. He played soccer for one season before quitting because he kept wetting his pants on the field. And he was pretty terrible at it, so he didn’t really care.

“What? No, I swear—“

“I played soccer,” Eddie said, even though he didn’t want to give Al the satisfaction. They did used to get ice cream together, but only if Eddie made it through practice with dry shorts. The last day they got ice cream together, Eddie had an accident waiting in line for his vanilla cone, and they never went back. He was eight. Al hit him in the car and made him sleep in his wet shorts because ‘he’d piss them again anyway.’

“Right… right, soccer. I remember,” Al said, then laughed, “you didn’t want to play anymore because there wasn’t a bathroom and you kept pissing your pants, remember?” Al said, hands on the table and expecting Eddie to find this funny as well.

“Yeah, I remember,” he muttered as he took another sip of his burnt coffee and heirloom whiskey.

“You were so sensitive. You’d always cry when I picked you up from practice.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, especially on the days when you’d hit me.”

Wayne winced. “What?” he asked, eyes on Al.

“Hit? Come on, I was disciplining you. Every dad would spank their kid if he won’t stop pissing himself!” Al said.

Eddie nodded. “Right. Like in the middle of the grocery store when you wouldn’t take me to the bathroom, so when I inevitably wet myself, you took off my pants and spanked me in the middle of the aisle—“

“He what?” Wayne nearly yelled.

“Oh come on, we both know you were just doing that for attention,” Al said.

Eddie blood felt like it was boiling. “For attention?” he repeated.

“Of course it was for attention! Eight year old boys don’t go around pissing themselves in public if not for attention!”

Eddie tensed up. He was now nineteen, and he still peed himself in public sometimes. He felt shame and fear wash over him as he took another sip of the coffee. He could feel it starting to warm up his chest, and he liked that feeling. It was grounding him, and he needed to hold onto something before he had a straight up panic attack.

“Right,” Eddie said, not knowing how to respond.

Wayne wasn’t saying anything. Maybe he thought that if he said something, he’d out Eddie as someone who still had accidents. Which Eddie appreciated, but a part of him wanted Wayne to punch Al in the face again.

“You work?” Eddie asked, needing to steer the conversation away from his bladder.

“Construction,” he said.

“Where?”

“About an hour north.”

An hour away. His dad lived an hour away and waited eleven years to see his son again. Eddie’s stomach hurt.

The waitress came by and took their orders. Eddie felt nauseous, so he ordered the soup they had that day. She also refilled his cup of now mostly just coffee. Eddie’s head felt slightly lighter from the whiskey, but also buzzed from the caffeine. He didn’t usually drink caffeine.

Al was doing most of the conversing, talking about what he was up to and bragging about his life, and Eddie didn’t mind. He didn’t want to talk about himself. He knew that if he did, Al would see him for who he really is. Which made his heart hurt even more… he didn’t want Al to know the real him because a part of him still wanted validation from the man who created him.

He needed the bathroom before the food even came. He was on his second cup of coffee and drank probably two shots of whiskey, so it wasn’t a shock to him.

Just as the waitress set down their food, he slipped out of the booth and headed to the bathrooms in the back.

He stopped outside the door when he saw a sign written on notebook paper that clearly read ‘out of order.’ Eddie swallowed. The woman’s restroom seemed to be working fine, but Eddie was not about to get kicked out of this diner for being a pervert. However, he was probably going to kicked out if he did the alternative.

Just thinking about the alternative made his bladder throb. Shit. He shifted on his feet. Maybe he could run outside… in broad daylight… without being seen… that wasn’t happening.

Eddie was stuck. And he couldn’t tell Wayne about it without Al hearing it too. He shifted again before heading back to the table. His soup was sitting there.

Why on earth did he order soup? He’d already had way more to drink than he normally did. But he was starving, so he sat down and picked up his spoon.

Al was eating a burger. “Where’d you go?” he asked.

Eddie swallowed his bite of soup. “Bathroom,” he said truthfully. He hated that Wayne’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Wayne was now under the assumption that Eddie didn’t need to pee, and they were in the clear of avoiding an accident.

Eddie ate half the bowl of soup before he decided putting anything else in his body was a bad idea. He wanted to squirm on the seat, but all that would do is alert Wayne and Al to his problem, and Al could absolutely not know. Eddie casually let one hand fall into his lap and hold himself the best he could over the jeans Wayne let him borrow that were too big on him. It helped a little bit, but Eddie’s need was only growing.

They finished their food quickly, but Al seemed to want to stick around as he motioned for the waitress to pour them more coffee. Eddie didn’t drink any more of it.

“So what are your plans?” Al asked after pouring more whiskey into his mug. “Got a girlfriend?”

Eddie’s heart was racing. He was crossing his ankles underneath the table. “No,” he said.

“That’s fine. Don’t do what I did and have a kid too young,” he added with a smile.

Obviously, he wasn’t going to do that. “Don’t worry, I’m not doing that.”

“You got friends?”

Eddie felt like he was being interrogated. “Yeah, I got friends. I live with my friends.”

“You’re really all grown up, huh?”

Eddie didn’t feel grown up at all as his abdomen throbbed. He needed to piss, and he didn’t know what to do. Maybe he could get them to leave, but Eddie didn’t have faith in his ability to hold it through the car ride.

He was starting to sweat as he sat completely still on the booth. If it was just Wayne, he’d have both hands buried in his crotch at this point.

It had been almost two hours since he last peed (in his pants), and with the amount of liquids in him, he knew he was going to have an accident soon. And he didn’t know what to do.

He needed Al to leave.

He leaked into his underwear, and finally got an idea.

Suddenly, Eddie put a hand on his head and winced. Wayne looked at him with concern.

“What’s wrong, bubs?”

“Ow, shit, my head… I get migraines, Al,” he said, pointedly looking at Wayne and hoping he’d go along with the lie.

Thankfully, Wayne immediately played along. “Oh no, Ed. Alright, we need to get you home—“

“No, I can’t move right now,” he said, closing his eyes and pretending to be in pain. Well, he was in pain, but not because of his head.

“Eddie, you need something?” Al asked.

“Yeah. I…I need you to leave,” he said firmly.

“Leave—?”

“You heard him, Al. We agreed on one dinner, alright.”

Eddie heard Al sigh. “Fine. Eddie, I want to see you again. Maybe you can come up to my house—?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, just… I’m sorry, it’s too loud, I need you to leave,” he said, not realizing what he was agreeing to.

Al dropped some cash on the table. “I’ll call you, alright?” he said. Eddie nodded, and Al placed a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. It made him shiver.

A minute later, Al was in his truck and backing away, and Eddie let the facade go.

“Ed, what’s going on—?”

Then Eddie shoved his hands between his legs and started rocking. He’d already leaked a decent amount.

“Oh, bubs, I thought you already went—?”

“No. Out of order,” he grunted. He was leaking again and could feel it running down one of his legs slowly.

No, no, not here… not in public. This was so pathetic. He could feel his hands getting wet.

“Let’s get up and go outside, Ed,” Wayne suggested, but Eddie didn’t move. He’d pee all over the floor if he stood up, and he didn’t want the entire diner to see a grown man piss himself.
Eddie shook his head.

“I can’t,” he said, feeling his ass get wet as he leaked more and more into his pants.

“You’ll have an accident if you stay here, honey—“

“I’m already having an accident, dad,” he whispered. He couldn’t stop the stream that was coming out of him hard and fast.

Wayne looked down to see piss running down his jeans and pooling on the floor, and Eddie wanted to cry. “Oh. Okay, Eddie. Just let go.”

Twice in the span of five hours. He peed himself twice. In five hours. His mind went blank as he finished pissing himself on the booth. When he was done, he stayed completely still for a moment.

“Eddie,” Wayne said. Eddie didn’t look at him. He was so pathetic. If Al had seen him do this… would he have hit him, like he used to? Or maybe worse? “Eddie,” he heard Wayne say again.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, looking at his bowl of soup and avoiding eye contact. He didn’t want to look down at his pants. The denim was light colored. It would be obvious. He hadn’t had a public accident like this in a long time. He felt like he was going to be sick again.

“Ed, I need you to get up so I can go talk to a worker, alright?” Wayne whispered.

Eddie nodded and slowly stood so he could let Wayne out of the booth. He could feel piss all the way down to his socks. He kept his eyes on the floor as Wayne patted him on he back and went to the counter. There was a puddle under the table. Eddie swallowed and sat back down on the wet seat. He wanted to disappear.

He glanced over at Wayne, who was talking to a woman behind the counter and slipping her some cash. Eddie blushed.

A moment later, Wayne returned and bent down in front of the table. “We’re gonna get this booth cleaned up, alright? Can you do me a favor and call someone to pick us up?” Wayne asked. Eddie nodded without looking. “They said you can use the phone in the back.”

Eddie nodded again and stood slowly. He kept his eyes on the ground as he moved toward the back of the restaurant and prayed that everyone wasn’t staring at him. As promised, there was a phone on the wall near the bathrooms. Eddie dialed Steve’s number.

He answered after a few rings. “Hello?”

Eddie breathed into the phone. “Hey. It’s me.”

“Eddie? What’s wrong?”

Eddie hated that Steve immediately knew something was wrong.

“Um… can you pick me and Wayne up?”

“From where?”

Eddie sighed and gave him the address. “We didn’t drive here,” he said.

“Who did?”

“Al. But I asked him to leave.”

“Okay, I can leave right now and you can explain—“

“Wait!” Eddie said quickly. He took a deep breath. “Can you… can you bring me a change of clothes?” he whispered.

“Of course, baby,” Steve said without hesitation. “Socks and shoes, too?”

“Um. Just socks,” he responded, looking down at himself for the first time. God, it was so obvious what had happened. Eddie swallowed. Everyone in the restaurant knew what happened.

“Okay. I’ll leave now, alright?”

“Thank you, Steve.”

“See you soon,” he said before ending the call. After a moment, Eddie put it back on the wall.

Without looking around, Eddie fled toward the out of order bathroom that was thankfully open. He couldn’t be in public right now. His heart was pounding, and his skin was growing hot and sweaty. He sat down with his back in front of the broken toilet. He was going to have a panic attack.

Eddie wasn’t sure how long he spent on the bathroom floor hyperventilating, but his face was wet with tears when there was a knock on the door.

“It’s Steve.”

“Come in,” Eddie said, his voice barely working.

Steve opened the door slowly. He was holding a bag of clothes, and set it down on the ground to first comfort Eddie.

“Hey,” he said.

“I had a bad day,” Eddie cried.

“Wayne told me what happened.”

Eddie wrapped his arms around his waist. “I’m sorry.”

Steve reached out and ran a hand through Eddie’s hair. “Don’t do that. Come here, get dressed and I’ll take us home,” he said, passing over the bag of clothes.

Eddie nodded and Steve turned around to give him some privacy. The bag also included Eddie’s wipes and, to Eddie’s complete surprise, his protection. He blushed deeply and swallowed. He’d had two accidents today. It made sense.

Eddie put on the pull-up and the sweats Steve packed him, then changed his socks. The bag was left with just a pair of boxers and his wet clothes.

“I’m ready,” Eddie said, holding the bag behind his back. He didn’t want Steve to realize he’d put the protection on.

Steve smiled and squeezed the hand that wasn’t holding the bag, then opened the door.

Wayne was standing by the booth Eddie had peed himself on. The floor was wet, and there was a mop set up beside it.

“Ready?” he asked, smiling at Eddie in the same way Steve was looking at him; with pity.

“Yeah.”

Steve dropped Wayne off at the trailer, and Wayne asked Eddie to come to the door with him. He followed his uncle to the door a few feet behind him, not looking forward to this conversation.

The first thing Wayne did after both of them got to the door was wrap his arms around Eddie. Eddie fell into his arms after a moment gratefully. “You’re okay,” Wayne whispered.

“I… I don’t know what—“

“I know, bubs. You were stressed all day. It’s okay.”

“But… twice, dad—“

Wayne held him tighter. “I know. It was a bad day. I’m so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.”

Wayne let go and looked at Eddie under the yellow porch light. “I know you are, but please don’t be.”

Eddie nodded and wiped the tears that were falling from his eyes with the back of his hand.

“He’s a dick,” Eddie said.

“Yeah, yeah he is. I’m sorry, kid. You deserve so much better than him as a dad—“

“He’s not my dad.”

Wayne smiled. “You’re right. He’s not. Okay, you get home. Get some rest. Don’t work yourself up, alright? It’s not your fault,” Wayne said, then grabbed Eddie’s head to kiss it.

“Thank you, Wayne.”

“It’s my job, kid,” he said, then stuck his key in the door.

Back in the car, Eddie slumped into the passenger seat.

“Hey,” Steve said.

Eddie sighed in response. “Al… he… I hate him,” Eddie said.

“I can’t imagine what you had to go through today. Your body was just responding to the stress of it all. It makes sense.”

Eddie nodded at his lap. “Yeah. I guess Al freaked me out so much I pissed myself twice today, Steve.”

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

Eddie wiped at his face again. “It’s fine. I just need to sleep this whole day off, I think.”

Steve put a hand on Eddie’s thigh. “Home?”

“Home.”

Chapter Text

It had been a busy day at the music store. There were customers flooding in and out, complaining about this or that, all day long. After Al left, Eddie had been throwing himself into work and probably too much weed to try and forget about all of it, but today he was too exhausted to deal with belligerent customers.

When he finally got home, he dropped his keys on their tin tray and immediately plopped himself on the couch.

Steve and Robin were working, so he was alone. All he wanted to do was sleep, anyway, so it didn’t matter. He turned on the TV to try and distract himself, and he knew he couldn’t give in to his heavy eyelids, but before he knew it, he was asleep.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes several hours later was Steve gently petting his hair.

“Mm… hi princess,” he said groggily with a smile.

“Hi, baby. Don’t freak out.”

Eddie furrowed his eyebrows. Don’t freak out—shit. Shit shit shit. He fell asleep on the couch. He sat up quickly and looked down at his jeans to see that they were completely soaked. He swallowed.

“It’s okay—“

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep Steve, I’m so sorry I don’t know what’s wrong with me—“

Steve just continued to run his fingers through Eddie’s hair. “Baby, baby, nothing is wrong with you. You need to take deep breaths.”

The couch was soaked through. Fuck. Fuck! Eddie groaned in frustration and threw his head back.

Eddie finally shifted himself on the couch and felt the cold, wet jeans that were soaked all the way to the knees. The wetness had spread like putting a paper towel on a drop of water. He’d clearly pissed himself hours ago, and his body didn’t even have the decency to wake him up before his boyfriend saw.

“Eds, you know I don’t care—“

“Of course you care,” Eddie snapped before he could control his anger.

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment. “No, I don’t.”

“I ruined the couch, Steve, how could you not care!”

“You didn’t ruin it. We can clean it.”

“You don’t know that!” he snapped again.

“Are you really telling me this is the first time you’ve peed yourself on a couch, Eddie? Because I find that hard to believe.” Steve said it like it was intended as kind of a joke, but it stung like a wasp.

Something twisted itself into a hard ball in Eddie’s stomach. He swallowed. “Fuck you,” he muttered before pushing himself up and slamming himself in his room.

He ripped his wet clothes off and didn’t bother putting new ones on and just crawled into his bed. The thing that was twisting in his stomach was a hot ball of tears, and it was making its way up his throat. He swallowed and swallowed, but he could feel his eyes getting wet. He slammed his head into his pillow.

He knew he was being childish. But what Steve said hurt.

It was about ten minutes until Steve knocked on Eddie’s door. Eddie didn’t say to come in, but he did anyway.

The room was dark, but Eddie felt the bed dip as Steve sat at the edge. “Eddie,” he said. Eddie didn’t respond. “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry.”

The implication that of course Eddie had pissed on couches in the past hurt so much because it was true. He’d wet himself on couches so many times throughout his life he’d lost count.

“I know,” Eddie finally said, muffled by his pillow that was wet with tears. “I’m sorry I said fuck you.”

Steve reached over to continue petting Eddie’s head. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You’re not wrong. I mean, I have.”

“I still shouldn’t have said that, baby.”

Eddie sat up slightly. “I’ll take care of it,” he said, lifting himself up and remembering that he was completely naked from the waist down. He grabbed a pair of boxers and pulled them on, knowing he’d need to shower, but also knowing that these boxers would eventually end up with pee in them anyway.

“Let me help—“

“No, Steve, it’s fine. I know what to do.”

“Teach me, then.”

Eddie cracked his door open, and a triangle of light wedged itself into his room, covering half of Steve’s face in a yellow hue. “For when I inevitably piss myself on another couch?”

Steve’s face fell. “Eddie, I really am sorry—“

“It’s okay Steve. I’m just messing with you.”

Steve sighed and got up. “Okay, where do we start?”

They stripped the cushions that were wet to wash the covers first. Thankfully only one cushion ended up with damage, but the wet spot was large. “To be fair, it has been awhile since I’ve peed on a couch.”

“I’m sorry you broke your streak.”

“It’s alright. Some of the stories are kind of funny, honestly.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Um… well, one time, Wayne was having friends over—this was a few years ago—and I was sitting on the couch waiting for the bathroom to become available, but it was taking forever. I eventually had an accident just because there were so many people there using the bathroom and I didn’t want to interrupt Wayne. Anyways, I wet myself, but all of Wayne’s friends were there, and I didn’t know what to do, so I just grabbed a blanket and threw it over myself and didn’t move until everyone was gone, which took, like, all night… so I ended up peeing myself again at some point, but was just acting like everything was totally fine. Anyway, the couch was soaked, and Wayne wasn’t super happy with me, but that’s when he decided to make sure I got the bathroom first when his friends came by,” Eddie shared as they removed the covers.

“Oh,” Steve said.

“Sorry, I don’t know why—“

“No, no, Eddie. Tell me more. If you want to share, I’m listening.” Steve was smiling.

Eddie sighed and went to the kitchen to grab some supplies. “Let me think. Uh. Okay, once we were visiting family—or, technically just Wayne’s dad’s second wife’s family… I don’t really know. But they had this pristine white couch. I was younger, probably thirteen, and I remember drinking so much lemonade that day. Like, a crazy amount of lemonade. And I was having so much fun listening to everyone talking around me that I didn’t realize I was about to burst, but I just started wetting myself suddenly on the couch. So as I was wetting myself, I brilliantly reached onto the coffee table for the pitcher of lemonade and started to pour myself another glass when the whole thing ‘slipped’ out of my grasp and poured all over me and the couch. Of course, Wayne figured it out pretty quickly that I had an accident, and he definitely told them, so really I just caused more unnecessary damage but… yeah.”

Eddie was spreading baking soda along the wet cushions and wadding up some rags to dab out the piss.

“I recall that lemonade trick working once for me,” Steve said.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, sorry, but you didn’t invent it. I’ve been pouring beverages all over myself—mostly on my pants—since I was old enough to recognize that I was too old to be peeing myself on a regular basis. Oh, god, want to know the worst one?”

“Tell me.”

“I got in trouble in school for some bullshit thing… I think this was two years ago? Maybe less? But I was called into the principal’s office and had to wait on the couch outside. I needed to piss like crazy, and I asked the secretary if I could please pee, but she thought I was trying to get away or something. And I was, like, clearly on the verge of peeing my pants. I was doing everything I could to hold it, but I knew I couldn’t make it. I think I remember telling her that I was about to have an accident, but she didn’t listen. I remember it happening very slowly, and I was so pissed at her for not letting me go that I didn’t even care. I think I told her I started going in my pants, and instead of her thinking that I’d began to have an accident, she thought I was bluffing just to be a dick. So she called Wayne to like, tell on me to him, and of course he ripped her a new one and came to pick me up before I even saw the principal. The secretary was so apologetic to me when Wayne explained that I have and overactive bladder and all of this should’ve been in my files, but I didn’t give a shit that I’d soaked the couch. Wasn’t my fault.”

“Not your fault at all.”

Eddie continued to blot out the piss. “This is weirdly cathartic for me. Talking about it, I mean,” he said.

“Then keep going. Tell me anything you want, baby.”

Eddie licked his lips. “Most of the couch ones are boring but… I mean, I have an endless list of accidents I could go through.”

“I’m listening.”

Eddie thought for a second. “I peed myself on the bus in eighth grade. That was a rough week. Once I peed myself in the middle of a date freshman year. That was embarrassing. Uhh… road-trips? Yeah, not great for avoiding me peeing myself. I pissed myself on a road trip with Wayne twice one time. Literally twice during the same drive. Then he… uh…”

“He what?”

Eddie’s face got hot. He grabbed some dish soap. “He made me wear… protection. This was back when I was still wearing them every night. He made me wear protection on every road trip after that. Probably still would, honestly,” he said with a laugh, “I think I traumatized him with the two accidents. I sat in the front seat at first, but then I moved to the back seat… and then I had to move to the other seat in the back,” Eddie was laughing thinking back to it. “At the time it wasn’t funny… but, like, I had to keep switching seats because I’d peed on all the other ones.”

Steve was laughing too. “Okay that is kind of funny.”

“Now we just let it dry. Where’s Robin?” Eddie asked, deciding he was done with the retelling of some of the worst days of his life.

“In her room,” Steve said.

Eddie dropped his voice. “Was she here when I…”

“We came home together. Sorry, baby.”

Eddie put his head in his hands. “I’m going to go apologize to her,” he said, standing and going to his room to put on more than just boxers.

Eddie knocked on Robin’s door lightly. “Come in!” she called.

“Hey,” Eddie said, leaning against the doorframe. “I—uh. Sorry. About the couch.”

Robin was sitting on her bed reading. “Dude, I don’t care. You were asleep.”

“We’ll I… I promise I won’t fall asleep on our couch ever again. And I’m cleaning it right now, obviously.”

Robin set her book down. “It’s fine, Eddie. Seriously. Don’t sweat it,” she said, smiling.

Eddie couldn’t help but smile back.

***

After the whole peeing on the couch incident, Eddie seemed very uninterested in spending too much time on there. But Steve needed to watch this new horror movie, and Robin was at Nancy’s, and he didn’t want to watch it alone.

“Please, Eds,” he begged as Eddie stood in the kitchen making himself a sandwich. “You can hold my hand when I get scared?”

“What about when I get scared?” Eddie asked, mouth full of the bite he took. He looked down at the ground for a second as he swallowed. “And, Steve… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t exactly react well to being… scared.”

It took Steve a moment to understand what Eddie was talking about, then he sighed through his nose. Right. Eddie tended to pee himself a little lit when he was jump-scared, something Steve had definitely noticed but figured it didn’t need mentioning. “You can always wear a pull-up,” he tried to say casually.

Eddie blushed deeply. Steve realized he’d never actually called them that before, that was just what was labeled on the package. “Or, um… sorry. Protection,” he added with a clearing of his throat.

Eddie, to his surprise, kind of laughed. “It’s okay. I like that more than… you know. Diaper. But are you sure this isn’t just a ploy to get me in a pull-up?”

This time, Steve blushed. “No, baby. It’s just a suggestion.”

“You love suggestions.”

“I love suggestions that make you comfortable, yes.”

Eddie took another bite, then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it,” he said, moth full.

Steve smiled and kissed his cheek.

***

The movie was, admittedly, a lot more frightening than Eddie thought it would be.

He was curled up in Steve’s lap, one hand on Steve’s thigh that kept squeezing every time something terrifying happened. Which was often.

But only forty minutes into the movie, he needed to ask Steve to pause it so he could pee. They’d been drinking soda with their popcorn, which wasn’t a smart idea for Eddie’s bladder toward the end of the day, but he was trying really hard to listen to Steve’s encouragement instead of the insecurity he constantly battled in his head.

Ten minutes after he got back, there was a jump scare so unexpected he finally leaked piss into his protection. It was barely anything at all, but it was better than a wet spot on his underwear. He blushed deeply and sort of buried himself in Steve’s sweater.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Mhm.”

Another twenty minutes, and Eddie needed to pee again. But it had barely been thirty minutes since he’d last gone (that soda was tearing through his bladder), and he didn’t want to make Steve pause the movie again. He could hold it until the end.

Only it was apparently a long movie, because another ten minutes later and the plot didn’t seem to be slowing down. Neither were the jump scares.

Eddie felt a leak hit the padding as he practically jumped in Steve’s lap. Steve giggled to himself, unbothered.

“You scared?” he asked Eddie.

“No!” he said, even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to last much longer without wetting himself if these jump scares didn’t stop.

And they didn’t. The next time Eddie was scared, the leak was basically a stream.

And that stream wasn’t slowing down. Eddie bit his thumb.

For some reason, he wasn’t getting up. He should’ve been getting up and running to the bathroom—but it was the climax of the movie, and he didn’t want to miss it. Plus, he was comfy in Steve’s arms, and he knew his protection would hold all of it.

So, even though it was out of his control still, he didn’t fight it when his body started to fully release itself into his pull-up. He just snuggled up with Steve even more and kept on watching the movie. It was nice. Eddie usually had to miss chunks of every movie he watched.

He was so engrossed in the story he didn’t even notice himself finish up, but he did leak a little bit one more time toward the end of the movie.

Once the credits rolled, Steve started to sit up.

“That was pretty good, right?”

“Yeah!” Eddie was blushing. He needed to sit up and sort himself out without Steve realizing.

“You need the bathroom before I go in there?” Steve asked, like he always did. Eddie shook his head. “You sure?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Eddie flopped back down when Steve shut himself in the bathroom. He snuck a hand down to feel the outside of his sweats. The padding was bulging a bit, but it wasn’t completely soaked. Eddie sighed to himself.

He thought he’d feel a lot worse about this, but he honestly didn’t. It’s not like he’d pissed his pants. This was different.

When Steve got out, he walked over to where Eddie was lying on his back on the couch and stood above his head. “Hey.”

“Hey. Okay, I need to change,” Eddie said, feeling brave. He didn’t care if Steve knew.

“The jump scares?”

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep himself casual.

“Oh, well, good,” Steve leaned down and kissed Eddie’s forehead, then his lips. “That’s what they’re for.”

Eddie blushed. “I’m going to shower. Want to join?”

Steve smiled. “Always.”

Chapter Text

5 times Eddie pees himself, and 1 time he really doesn’t.

1.

Eddie took the backseat on the drive back because he knew he was going to pee his pants. Robin sat in the front next to Steve as Eddie shifted slightly in the back of the car. His ass was already wet.

They were driving back from the store, and Eddie was an idiot who didn’t want to slow his friends down by needing to use the grocery store’s bathroom, so he didn’t say anything as they walked back to Steve’s car.

Only, by the time they’d gotten to it, Eddie realized he was probably going to have an accident before they got home. And he just… didn’t say anything.

It was dark outside, and Steve and Robin hadn’t noticed his slight squirming on the seat or the hand cemented in his wet crotch.

He still had to piss despite his pants and the seat already being wet. They were only ten minutes from home, but Eddie was so mad at himself for not saying anything that he felt the need to lie even further. Not knowing what to do, he closed his eyes.

Ten minutes later, when they pulled up, Eddie had finished his accident.

“Oh, shit,” he heard Steve mutter from the front seat once the car was shut off.

“What?” he heard Robin ask.

“Eddie fell asleep,” Steve whispered.

Eddie cringed internally.

“Did he have an accident?” Robin asked quietly.

“I think so. Here, you go inside. I’ll wake him up.”

“Okay,” Robin whispered back, opening the car door and shutting it gently. Eddie heard Steve sigh.

“Eddie? Baby?” Steve said, shaking one of his knees lightly.

Eddie opened his eyes. Steve was smiling at him in the dark car. “Hi,” Eddie said, trying to make himself sound groggy.

“You fell asleep.”

Eddie nodded, then looked down. “I peed myself,” he said, sitting up fully.

“That’s okay.”

It was not okay. He was lying to Steve. “I’m really sorry.”

Steve pat his knee. “Not your fault, sweetheart.”

Eddie nodded lightly. Right.

2.

Eddie was fucked. He had an hour left of his shift, and he was sitting in wet pants.

A customer was talking to him over the counter for such a long time he started peeing himself. Thankfully the counters were tall, and she couldn’t see. He tried to hold it, but there was no use. He had an accident. At work. The worst part was, he didn’t pack extra clothes that day. It had been months since he’d had even a close call at work, so ending up in completely soaked pants was not expected.

It took forever for the woman to leave, but she was thankfully the only person in the store. Eddie sighed as the door chimed closed. He looked down at the small puddle he was standing in. Great.

“This is Steve,” Steve answered on the third ring.

“It’s Ed. What are you doing?”

“Just sitting at home. Why?”

Eddie shut his eyes. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Can you… bring me a change of clothes. To work.”

“Aw, baby. An accident?” Steve asked.

“Yeah,” he said honestly.

“Of course I can. Socks and shoes?”

“Yes, please.”

“Boxers or pull-up?”

“Boxers are fine,” he said, face red.

“Okay, I’ll leave in a minute.”

“Thank you, Steve.”

Steve pulled up not too long after with a bag of Eddie clothes.

“You okay?” Steve asked as Eddie stood up, displaying his very wet jeans.

“Could be better,” he said, taking the bag to the bathroom.

He emerged redressed after using his wipes to clean himself up after a few minutes.

“What happened?” Steve asked from where he was standing by the counter. Next to the small puddle on the floor. Eddie grabbed cleaning supplies.

“This woman was talking to me forever.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Kinda sucks, but, whatever,” Eddie said as he cleaned the floor.

“Will you get in trouble with your boss?”

Eddie shrugged. “He knows. About me. He’s seen… I mean. I’ve pissed myself at work before.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

Eddie shrugged again. “Kind of an inevitable thing with me.”

Steve tucked a piece of Eddie’s hair away. “Want me to hangout until your shift ends?”

Eddie smiled. “Yes, please.”

3.

“I’m not mad, Eddie, I’m just confused!” Steve said as he chopped up an onion.

“It sounds like you’re mad—!”

“No, no, I’m not, Eds, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to celebrate our anniversary.”

“Our six month anniversary,” Eddie emphasized with crossed arms.

“People celebrate six month anniversaries, Eddie.”

Eddie crossed his legs and took another sip of his beer that was sitting on the kitchen counter. “But are we those kinds of people?”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know! I just mean… what would we even do?”

“I don’t know, be romantic and in love or whatever?” Steve said as he put the chopped onion in the pan.

Out of no where, while Steve was facing away, Eddie randomly started peeing himself. He just barely managed to keep himself from gasping when it started to happen. He didn’t even realize he had to pee. He had been drinking beer, to be fair, but still. He’d been too wrapped up in conversation apparently to notice before it was literally coming out of him uncontrollably.

“Unless you don’t love me,” Steve continued, still facing away.

“Of course I love you, idiot. If you want to do something, we’ll do something,” he lamented, only halfway paying attention to his boyfriend as piss continued to pour out of him onto the floor. The stove sizzling seemed to drown out the sound, mostly. God, he needed to say something.

“I think we should,” Steve said, finally turning back around. His eyes glued onto Eddie’s pants. “Uh… Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“Did you… are you having an accident?”

“No,” Eddie said as he clearly peed his pants.

Steve stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing, and Eddie cracked a small smile. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“So you just spilled a drink, then?”

“Yep.”

“In your pants.”

“Yeah, duh,” Eddie said, then looked down for the first time and cringed. “Sorry. Didn’t realize I had to go until I was… going,” he said truthfully, his cheeks warming up.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Dinner will be ready soonish, go ahead and get cleaned up.”

Eddie smiled. “Thanks.”

“Of course,” Steve said, turning back to the food like nothing happened at all.

4.

Somehow, one night in the middle of December, Eddie, Robin, and Steve ended up trapped at Wayne’s trailer due to an unexpected snow storm.

Robin went to lie down in Eddie’s room after they ate dinner just to rest because her head hurt, but was fast asleep an hour later. No one wanted to move her.

“You can sleep on the couch, Steve,” Wayne said when everyone else started nodding off.

“Wayne…” Eddie opened with. He’d been trying to figure out how to broach the subject since Robin stole his bed.

“I know, bubs. You can sleep in my bed.”

“I can just sleep on the floor—“

“I’m not making my kid sleep on the cold, uncomfortable floor when I have a perfectly big bed to sleep in,” Wayne said, yawning halfway through the sentence.

“But your bed isn’t… uh… protected. Like mine is,” Eddie kind of whispered, even though Steve obviously knew this.

“We can set an alarm!” Wayne offered. Eddie blushed.

“It might not work,” he admitted. He’d been having a lot of nighttime accidents since the weather got colder for whatever reason.

“I’m not scared of a little piss, kid,” Wayne said, hands in the air as he turned toward his room. He paused briefly and turned back. “You don’t have any nighttime accidents do you, Steve—?”

“Wayne! No, he doesn’t!” Eddie said, embarrassed that that was a question Wayne thought needed to be asked. Wayne shrugged defensively and continued to his room.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s hand. “You gonna be okay?” he asked sleepily. Eddie nodded.

“I just feel bad.”

“You might not have an accident, who knows.”

Eddie sighed. “You have more faith in my bladder than it deserves,” he said, finally following Wayne to his room. “Sleep well,” he said.

The morning came quickly, and Eddie was woken up by Wayne shaking him.

“Bubs, time to get up,” he was saying. The room was barely light.

“Hm?” he groaned, sitting up slightly. Then registering the wet boxers and soaked bed beneath him. “Ugh,” he groaned as he flopped back down. “Had an accident,” he said into the pillow. “Sorry.”

“I know, Eds,” Wayne was saying, standing up and starting to pull the sheets off his side. Eddie got up and did the same.

He gathered all the bedding and took it to the wash, then got in the shower. When he got out, Steve was awake on the couch. Eddie sat next to him.

“Morning. Sleep alright?” Steve asked. Eddie shrugged. “I’m guessing you didn’t just feel like taking a morning shower…?” Eddie shook his head.

“No,” he said with a sigh. Then he remembered Wayne’s mattress, and stood quickly. “I need to clean Wayne’s bed,” he said, heading to the kitchen for supplies.

“Need help?”

“No, don’t worry about me.”

“Okay, let me know if you change your mind,” Steve said as he laid back down.

5.

“I have to pee,” Eddie groaned, hands in his crotch as he jumped up and down in the snow.

“I know, baby,” Steve said from ahead of him.

What started as a walk through the snow turned into a snowball fight, which then turned into them somehow getting lost in the forest that was covered in snow.

They kind of knew where they were, but they were still far from their apartment, and Eddie was so cold his shitty holding capabilities were even worse.

Eddie groaned as his bladder spasmed.

“Try to hold it until we’re closer. You’ll freeze your dick off if you pee now—it’s too cold,” Steve said, and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“That’s not really in my control,” he responded.

“I said try,” Steve called. Eddie huffed and sped walked towards Steve.

Eddie leaked into his boxers and relished in the warmth for a moment before it immediately froze. “Oh God,” he groaned. “I’m gonna wet myself.”

“Hold on, the apartment is only ten minutes away.”

“Since when can I hold it ten minutes, Steven?” Eddie called, one hand firmly grasping his dick.

“I feel like I shouldn’t answer that,” he replied.

“Yeah, probably not.”

He was leaking frequently into his pants by the time their apartment was in view. “How are you holding up?” Steve asked, even though Eddie knew he could see the growing wet spot.

“My dick is freezing off.”

“That’s why I told you to hold it!”

“I’m not exactly doing this on purpose!”

“I assumed that much.”

They were only a few feet away when Eddie started fully peeing himself. He crouched down onto the snow as it happened and sighed in relief. The warmth temporarily unfroze his crotch.

“Run inside as soon as I get the door open so you don’t freeze to death,” Steve called to Eddie, having noticed the crouched position Eddie often fell into when he had accidents.

“I’m very warm at the moment.”

“I can imagine. Done yet?”

Eddie nodded after a moment, stood up to give the grand reveal of his very wet pants, and ran inside after Steve.

Robin was sitting on the couch. Eddie blushed.

“Hey, Rob,” he said awkwardly as he removed his hat and coat.

“Hey boys. Fall down?” Robin asked Eddie.

“Totally. This is definitely not pee,” Eddie joked.

“Go shower before your dick actually freezes off,” Steve said as he removed his own coat.

“Too late, it’s already gone. I’m never peeing my pants again,” Eddie grumbled as he went toward the bathroom.

“Good plan,” Steve said as he laughed and joined Robin on the couch.

6.

The sun melted away most of the snow a week later, and Eddie and Steve decided to get lunch outside at a local cafe where there was a fire pit. They were sitting at a table waiting for their food when Eddie accidentally managed to spill the entire large pitcher of water all over his lap.

“Shit!” he yelled when it slipped. Water was pouring down his crotch onto the ground.

“Baby, you didn’t say anything!” Steve said as he looked down at the damage.

“What do you mean?” Eddie asked as he put the now empty pitcher back and stood up. His pants were soaked down to the bottom. He sighed.

“You didn’t say you had to pee,” Steve said.

Eddie dropped his eyebrows. “You literally just saw me drop that,” he said as he sat back down on the wet chair. Thankfully he had experience with sitting in wet pants for prolonged periods of time.

“I know, but you didn’t tell me you’d had an accident before trying to cover it up.”

Eddie blinked. “I didn’t have an accident,” he said.

“Okay. Right,” he replied.

“No, Steve, I really didn’t!”

“It’s not a big deal, Eddie—“

“I know it’s not, because I literally just spilled water on myself! Nothing else!”

Steve squinted his eyes. “Do you want me to go grab your spare set of clothes from the car?”

“No, because this is literally just water!” he said as he gestured to the stain that definitely looked like he’d peed himself. But for once, he really, genuinely hadn’t.

“Okay! Whatever you say! I just don’t want you sitting in wet pants.”

“Wet with water!”

“Okay, okay, Eddie! I believe you!” Steve said with his hands up.

“I don’t think you do! I think you think I had an accident!”

Steve shrugged. “If you say you didn’t, then you didn’t!”

“I didn’t!”

“Okay!”

The waiter brought their food out a moment later. Eddie cleared his throat. “I-uh. I spilled the whole thing of water on myself,” he told the woman.

“I apologize, sir, i’ll bring you another pitcher,” she said with a smile.

They dug into their food, and Eddie almost forgot about the whole thing. Almost. When it was time to leave, however, he was quickly reminded when Steve laid down the designated ‘Eddie had an accident’ towel on the passenger seat.

Eddie took it off. “This really is just water, Steve,” he said as he sat.

“Eddie, I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed about this, this is, like, the third time you’ve wet yourself this week—!”

Eddie scoffed. “Didn’t realize you were keeping track!”

Steve turned the car on. “I’m not. I’m just trying to say that I know you’re embarrassed because it was a public accident, but you don’t need to be!”

“Oh my God, Steve! Do I smell like piss?” Eddie asked.

“Uh… no. You smell fine, baby.”

“I’m not asking because I’m insecure, I’m asking to prove to you that for once, I really did just spill some water!”

Steve blinked. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, Steven!”

“Well, i’m sorry, but sometimes you joke around and say you didn’t have an accident when you clearly did, and I just thought this was one of those times!”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not. My pants have no piss in them right now. I swear.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Just drive before I do actually piss myself, please.”

“See, when you make jokes like that—!”

“That wasn’t a joke, I haven’t pissed in, like, two hours,” Eddie groaned.

“Oh. Okay. I’m going,” Steve said as he backed out.

And if Eddie leaked a few times before getting to the bathroom, Steve didn’t need to know. He deserved one successful coverup story.

Chapter Text

Eddie traced his finger across the dusty shelves of the general store, a few paces behind Steve.

They were just stopping in to get some household items, but Eddie’s eyes caught the shelf he knew held the adult protection as they passed it.

He was running low. And he didn’t exactly know how to tell Steve that. Obviously, he could just blurt it out and get it over with, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready for even that small feat. But he couldn’t just not say anything again. He didn’t want to end up in another camping situation.

He was considering opening his mouth and just getting it over with before he saw a familiar face at the end of the aisle.

Jason.

Eddie immediately turned the other direction, but it was too late.

“Munson? Harrington? Wow, it’s been awhile,” Jason loudly called.

“Jason. Hi,” Steve said with a meek hand wave, then turned toward Eddie.

“Last time I saw Munson you were… oh yeah, crashing my graduation party and pissing yourself,” he said with a smirk.

Eddie locked his jaw. “Yeah, great catching up,” he said, smiling back, hands shoved in his pockets. He didn’t want to provoke him more.

“I heard you two are living together. That can’t be true, right, Harrington? This is Wetty Eddie we’re talking about—“

“Cut it out, Jason,” Steve grunted, but Eddie could tell he was seething on the inside.

“Let’s just go—“ Eddie tried to say.

“I didn’t even realize we were in your section, Munson,” Jason interrupted, hand pointing toward the shelf closest to him.

The shelf that had the adult diapers on it. Eddie felt heat travel quickly to his face.

Jason was making a joke that he didn’t know wasn’t a joke. Eddie felt like he was fourteen again.

“Grow up, man,” Steve continued. He kind of sounded like the old Steve—the jock Steve who had no problem with bullying Eddie.

“I’m just messing around with him. What, you don’t think he can take it?”

Eddie could take it. He’d taken a lot worse. But right now, he was more worried about the sudden pain that shot up through his abdomen.

Shit. Eddie needed to piss. Of course he didn’t realize he needed to piss until his number one high school bully was standing right in front of him. But he didn’t have time to piss, and he definitely couldn’t let Jason figure it out.

“Just leave us alone,” Eddie said, arms crossed.

“Aw, ‘us.’ I go off to university for half a year and Steve Harrington becomes best friends with Wetty Eddie the freak,” Jason said, still smirking.

“Let’s go—“ Eddie tried saying to Steve.

But he was interrupted by Steve punching Jason in the face.

Steve didn’t hide the pain it obviously caused and clutched his hand, and before he could even turn back, Jason was already pinning him up again a shelf.

“Seriously, Harrington? You actually give that much of a shit about this freak—?”

Jason had Steve in a choke hold. His face was turning red.

“You’re pathetic, Jason,” Steve spat, then attempted to hit him again.

“Hey!” called the woman at the cash register. “Cut it out before I call the cops!”

Jason whipped his head toward her, then released Steve with a smile. “Sorry, ma’am. Just messing around,” he said charmingly.

The woman said something back that Eddie didn’t pay attention to because he walked right out of the store without Steve, and without a word.

He started his walk back toward the apartment. Steve caught up pretty quickly.

“Eddie! Hey, Eds!” he called as he ran toward Eddie, who had his hands in his pockets and head down.

“Hi,” Eddie said as he continued to walk.

“Eddie, I’m sorry—“

“It’s fine.”

“You’re mad,” Steve stated, then stopped walking.

Eddie didn’t stop.

“Eddie, come on. Please, can we talk for a moment?”

“Can we walk while we do it?” he called.

Steve jogged up to him. “Sure. Yeah.”

Eddie took a moment to press his thighs together as he waited for Steve to be by his side. The walk was only another fifteen minutes. He’d be fine.

“I’m sorry. I let my anger get the best of me—“

“It’s okay,” Eddie responded.

“I shouldn’t have hit him.”

“You were protecting me. It’s fine,” Eddie said.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, stopping again.

“Please, stop stopping,” Eddie said. He was pretty sure he’d make it home, but only if they kept walking.

“I still shouldn’t have hit him,” Steve repeated, catching up.

“Maybe. There’s better ways to get revenge,” Eddie responded. Of course he wanted Jason to get hit in the face by his boyfriend, but what good did it do besides piss him off even more?

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay,” Eddie responded. “I’m just… trying to be the bigger man, I guess.”

Just then, he felt a leak wet his boxers. He gulped. Shit.

“God, you’re fast,” Steve said, slightly out of breath and still holding his knuckles.

Eddie didn’t say anything.

Wetty Eddie was on the verge of wetting his pants. What a surprise.

A few minutes later, he felt a short stream soak into the fabric of his jeans. He didn’t look down, afraid of what he’d find. Steve was a few feet behind him, so he probably hadn’t noticed. Eddie wanted to keep if that way.

Except the small amount of relief was apparently enough to make his body let another leak soak into his pants. Shit. He could see their apartment building from where they were, he just needed to make it a few more minutes.

“I’m sorry he called you that,” Steve said, breaking their silence.

“It’s fine.”

“I’d do anything to go back and punch myself in the face for… for calling you that.”

“I know.” Eddie snuck a hand down to grab himself for a moment.

“He’s truly pathetic. I mean, who does he think he is?”

“Someone who doesn’t piss himself all the time,” Eddie grunted, thighs somehow pressed tightly together as he walked.

Steve looked at him for a moment.

“You have to pee,” he said, like it was an epiphany.

Eddie nodded sheepishly. “We’re almost home.”

“Can you make it?”

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know. I think... maybe not.”

“Let’s hurry, then,” Steve said, grabbing his hand for a moment. Eddie nodded, and they both sped walked the rest of the way to the apartment.

Steve opened the door as Eddie bounced beside him. “Fuck me,” he whined.

“Almost there,” Steve said as he got the door open.

Eddie raced in and went straight to the bathroom, only the door was shut, and the shower was running.

“Shit,” he groaned, one hand on his crotch.

“Oh, shit,” Steve said when he noticed. He went over to the door and knocked. “Hey, Robin? Will you be out soon?” he asked.

“Yeah, give me a few minutes!” she called back.

Eddie wasn’t sure if he had a few minutes. He sat down on his heels in front of the bathroom door. Eddie could feel the dampness of his underwear on his dick. There was a spot the size of an orange on the center of his jeans.

“Sorry, baby,” Steve said, joining him on the ground.

“I… shit,” he muttered as he leaked again. He felt it run down his ass and soak into the back of his jeans.

“Can you wait?” Steve whispered.

Eddie bit his lip. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m… ugh.” Another leak.

“Can I do anything?”

“Uh,” Eddie glanced at his room. “There’s an empty bottle. Under my bed.”

“Why? Wait. Right. On it,” Steve said, quickly scrambling to Eddie’s room.

Eddie stood back up so that he could cross his legs. If Jason hadn’t shown up, he could’ve pissed at the store and he wouldn’t be standing in his kitchen jumping up and down moments away from an accident.

Steve returned with an empty water bottle a minute later, but he was a minute too late.

Piss started pouring out of Eddie all at once. It was running down his jeans and soaking into his socks in a thick stream. He uncrossed his legs slowly as he peed. Steve stood a few feet away with the bottle. Eddie groaned into his hands as he heard it splatter on the kitchen floor loudly, creating a small puddle around his feet. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

“Not your fault,” Steve said, coming up to Eddie and pressing a kiss to his forehead. Eddie’s eyes were on the ground.

A second later, the bathroom door opened.

“I’m done,” Robin said, hair in a towel. Her smile dropped immediately. “Oh, Eddie, shit. I’m so sorry.” Eddie was still pissing his pants.

Eddie shook his head and swallowed hard. “It’s fine. Sorry about… the floor,” he said once the stream finally ended.

“You’re okay. Go shower,” Steve said, already grabbing a wad of paper towels to clean the floor.

“Don’t clean it—“

“Don’t even try, Eds. I’ll bring you some clothes, alright?”

Eddie nodded very slightly.

“I’m really sorry, Eddie—“ Robin said again.

“It’s really not your fault. You didn’t piss my pants.” Eddie chuckled, even though he felt like curling up into a ball and crying. “Okay I’m… I’m gonna shower.”

Steve brought him a pair of sweats as well as new socks after his long shower. Tucked into the sweats were a pair of boxers, as well as a pull-up. Eddie stuffed the pull-up in the back of the bathroom cabinet. He didn’t want to be reminded of Wetty Eddie more than he already had been.

Steve and Robin were on the couch when he walked out. It was always slightly awkward after Eddie had an accident, especially if it was in front of anyone besides Wayne or Steve.

“Hey,” Eddie said, hovering by the couch.

“Hey,” Steve replied, matching Eddie’s smile. “You look pretty.”

Eddie blushed and tucked his face away.

“Ew. Ew. Gross,” Robin said.

“Sorry again about—“

“It wasn’t your fault,” Steve said. He was using his serious voice.

“It was mine,” Robin said.

“No, it wasn’t. It was Jason’s. Speaking of which, Eds. You’re right, punching him isn’t revenge. But I think I have an idea of what is,” Steve said.

Eddie raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

***

With some light stalking, Robin found out that Jason was seeing a movie with a few of his high school friends at the mall that weekend.

Steve’s pockets were stuffed with water pills as they walked through the mall, following a good distance behind Jason as soon as they spotted him. They bought tickets to a kids movie and tucked themselves behind a pillar a good distance away from where Jason was getting concessions.

Thankfully, Jason purchased a large soda from the concession stand, and Robin was up. Flipping her hair slightly, she walked toward the group of boys.

She distracted Jason easily with a few compliments on his new mustache. Jason seemed to be interested despite everything, which was gross, but that worked to their favor as Steve carefully emptied three pills into his drink.

He ran back to where Eddie was hiding once the deed was done. “Three packets? Is that even safe?”

“Yeah, I read the directions. It’s fine.” Steve shrugged. “Probably.”

“If you gave me three water pills, I seriously don’t want to know what would happen,” Eddie whispered. Steve chuckled involuntarily and had to quickly cover his mouth.

Jason and his friends went into their designated theater, and the three of them waited.

“Okay. Step two,” Steve said, standing up straight from behind their hiding spot.

They had already pre-crafted a fake ‘out of order’ sign to put on the men’s restroom. They waited thirty minutes before applying it (and made sure to tell any person trying to use the restroom that the sign was wrong), and twenty minutes later, their target appeared.

Steve had to cover his mouth to keep himself from cracking up again. Jason was clearly extremely desperate to piss.

“Dammit,” Jason muttered to himself while looking at the sign. The three of them were semi hiding behind a trash can around the corner.

Jason grunted loudly and started towards the exit of the theater. Steve and Eddie looked at each other, then carefully followed with Robin trailing a foot behind. Thankfully Jason was too stupid to even try and open the bathroom door.

Jason practically ran out of the theater into the main part of the mall. The escalators were close by, and Jason decided to go up the escalators to try and find a bathroom upstairs. Eddie laughed as they entered the mall. “There aren’t any bathrooms up there,” he said.

“Perfect,” Steve said with a smile.

They followed close by, hidden by the crowds, and watched as Jason searched the upper floor to no avail. After about ten minutes, he started back down the escalator.

Finally, he found a bathroom, but there was a line.

“Do you actually think this is going to work?” Robin asked as they stood by a food stand to hide from him.

“I don’t know. But either way, we’re fucking with Jason, and he’s not having a good time,” Steve responded. “It’s worth it—“

Just then, Jason gasped.

Steve’s eyes widened. He was wetting himself. Jason was actually wetting himself. While in line for the bathroom.

“Holy shit,” Steve said. “Come on,” he motioned them.

***

Eddie almost felt bad. There were so many people watching this grown man pee his pants—something Eddie knew from experience was the most humiliating thing ever. Even if that grown man was the same man who bullied him relentlessly, Eddie was burning with a blush at the second hand embarrassment. Is this how everyone felt when he had accidents? He didn’t like it. But he didn’t like Jason more, and giving him a taste of his own medicine bypassed all moral conflicts Eddie felt toward the situation.

“Oh no, what happened?” Steve asked loudly as they came up to a still pissing Jason.

Jason looked up for the first time. His face was bright red. He looked between the three of them quickly.

“Did you do this, freak?” Jason yelled, aimed toward Eddie.

“Did I pee your pants? No. I didn’t.”

“Fuck you. You idiots did something. You did something!” he yelled.

Jason had his hands by his sides clenched into fists as he stood in his growing puddle. Everyone around them was either looking at him with sympathy or disgust. Or a mix of both. The line continued the move. People were just stepping around the man who’d just completely peed his pants in the middle of the mall.

There was a camera flash. It was Robin. “Oh, this is going to be a great picture of you, Jason,” she said as the polaroid printed out.

“Give me that! Now!” Jason lunged toward Robin, who raised the picture above her head. Eddie snagged it and circled to the other side of Jason.

“Okay. I’ll give it to you,” Eddie said.

Jason, with rage in his eyes, extended his hand. “Hand it over, freak. You’ll fucking regret this.”

“I will. On one condition. Apologize.”

Jason scoffed. “For what?”

“Take a wild guess, asshole,” Steve said.

“Are you forgetting that Harrington used to mess with you too?” Jason said, sounding desperate to get out of this with some scrap of dignity.

People were still watching. It was definitely a spectacle. Some people were pretending not to watch, but everyone in the general area was completely aware that this grown man had an accident in his pants.

“What’s it going to be, Jason? Should I make copies and send this out, or…?” Eddie continued.

Jason snarled. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

Jason looked around and seemed to notice people watching. He gulped as he got closer to Eddie.

“Fine. Whatever. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “For… calling you names, or whatever.”

“What kind of names?”

Jason locked his jaw and looked around again with his eyes. “Wetty Eddie,” he said quietly.

“What was that?” Eddie mocked by tapping one ear.

“Wetty Eddie,” he said, louder.

“And why did you call me that?”

“Because you… you pissed yourself,” he finally said, looking at the ground.

“Ohhh… kind of like you just did?”

“Just give me the picture, you freak!”

“That’s not my name.”

Jason inhaled slowly. “Give me the picture, Munson.”

“Still not my name.”

Jason sighed through his nose slowly. “Eddie. Can I have the picture.”

“Can you have the picture… what?” Eddie asked, enjoying this probably too much.

“Jesus. Please. Please, Eddie, can I have the picture?”

Eddie smirked. He extended the picture towards him, which Jason snagged quickly. “Good boy. Now clean yourself up,” Eddie said quickly before walking back to Steve and Robin. Jason didn’t say anything back.

“Holy shit, Ed—!” Robin started to say as they walked swiftly away.

“Just keep walking,” Eddie said quickly, heading to the exit.

“I don’t think he’s going to do anything, Ed, I think you broke him!” Steve said, smiling big.

“I know, I just really have to pee,” Eddie whispered. “Seeing someone piss themselves didn’t exactly help.”

Steve laughed and threw his arm around Eddie. “Let’s go home.”

“Agreed,” Robin said.

“Bathroom first,” Eddie added.

“Bathroom first,” Robin and Steve agreed at the same time.

Chapter Text

The last thing Eddie was expecting the two days before his birthday was a call from Al.

“Eddie, you there?” his fathers voice sounded through the speaker. Eddie leaned again the wall.

“What? What do you want?”

Al laughed. “I’m not allowed to call my son on his birthday?”

“My birthday is in two days.”

There was silence for a moment. “I know, I meant… you know, early birthday!”

“Okay.”

More silence. “I have something I want to give you.”

Like what, more trauma? “I don’t want anything.”

“How about a car?”

Eddie nearly laughed. “What?”

“My old truck. I got it fixed up. I wanted to give it to you.”

Eddie swallowed. “I don’t need it.”

“Just because you don’t need something doesn’t mean you can’t not want it.”

That sentence barely made any sense, but Eddie had already stopped listening anyway. Of course having a car would be nice. But not from him. Eddie didn’t want anything from him.

“I don’t want it,” he said firmly.

There was silence on the other end for a moment. “Just come take a look at it, Ed,” his dad—Al, finally said.

Eddie was very tempted to just hang up the phone, but if he was being completely honest with himself, having his own car would make his life a lot easier. He wouldn’t have to rely on Wayne and Steve so much, which would definitely make him feel like less of a constant burden.

“When?” Eddie asked shortly.

“How about tomorrow?”

Eddie stared at the peeling wallpaper of his apartment. “I need to go,” he said quickly before hanging up immediately. He sighed when the phone clicked against the wall and rested his forehead against the door.

The walk to Wayne’s wasn’t too far from his apartment, and he left without bothering to call his uncle first. He knew Wayne wasn’t at work at this time, and he needed a long walk to clear his head anyway.

Forty minutes later Eddie was knocking on the trailer door.

For a long moment, there was no answer. Then, carefully, Wayne opened the door until just his face was sticking out. “Eddie?”

Eddie lowered his eyebrows. “Were you expecting someone else?”

“No. No, but I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know, but I need you,” Eddie said, shuffling his feet. Wayne still hadn’t opened the door to let him in, which was starting to make him feel like an unwelcomed guest. “Do you want me to leave?”

Wayne shook his head quickly, but Eddie caught his eyes flashing behind him into the trailer quickly. “Of course not, Eddie. Come in,” he said, finally opening the door fully. He was wearing nothing but boxers and a white tank. “What’s going on?”

Eddie set his bag down and was about to sit when he remembered he needed to pee. “Al called me,” he said, then went towards the bathroom.

“Shit, Al—?” he kind of muttered. “Wait, where are you going?” he suddenly asked.

Eddie’s hand was on the bathroom doorknob. “Bathroom?”

“I—uh… you can’t!” Wayne kind of squealed.

Eddie crossed his legs. “What?”

“It’s clogged. The toilet. What do you mean Al called you?”

“What do you mean it’s clogged?” Eddie replied. He needed to piss. Really bad. “I’ll explain after I pee,” he said, twisting the doorknob.

But before he could get the door open, Wayne closed it quickly. “It’s clogged, Eddie! You’ll have to… figure something else out!”

Eddie’s mouth was slightly gaping open. “Wayne. What is going on. Are you trying to get me to pee myself?”

Wayne rolled his eyes. “Of course not—“

“Then why won’t you let me piss in the clogged toilet? Because it’s either that, or I’m going outside. Or in my pants. I’m not kidding, I don’t have time for this,” Eddie groaned as he felt a leak start to threaten its way out. He crossed his legs even tighter, but it didn’t do much. The leak was definitely pretty substantial considering how long it took to cut it off, and Eddie could see a small wet patch starting to form on his jeans.

Wayne must’ve noticed too, because his body relaxed slightly and he opened the bathroom door fully.

Eddie was not expecting to see a half naked lady on the other side of the door. After embarrassingly gasping, Eddie quickly used his hands to cover the spot on his jeans the best he could.

“Um, Eddie, this is Lindsay. We’ve been seeding each other—“

“Can we please do this after I pee?” Eddie quietly pleaded with his uncle. He was seriously about to fully piss himself if he didn’t go in the next few seconds. Thankfully Wayne must’ve gotten the message and quickly escorted the woman out of the bathroom.

Wayne closed the bathroom door just as Eddie started fully going in his pants, but he thankfully was able to get himself situated before it got bad.

His mind felt a lot clearer as he washed his hands but he was really not looking forward to the conversation he was about to have with his uncle. Of course Wayne had had girlfriends in the past, but it had been a few years since Eddie had seen him with a woman.

With his back against the wall, he was able to see the damage done to his pants. He would probably need to borrow Wayne’s clothes again if he wanted to be comfortable. And if he wanted to have some scrap of dignity left in front of Wayne’s apparent new girlfriend.

There was a knock on the door just before Eddie was about to exit and awkwardly raid his uncles underwear drawer. He opened to find Wayne on the other end, now dressed in jeans, and holding a pile of folded up clothes in his hands. Eddie sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“Uh huh. Get dressed quick, we gotta talk,” he said as he shut the door.

Eddie rolled his eyes for no one to see as he got to work on changing out of his wet boxers and damp jeans and putting on what he was pretty sure were sweatpants and boxers in his size. They weren’t his, though, which meant Wayne bought clothes just for Eddie to have spares at the trailer too. He blushed as she saw himself in the mirror, wearing a completely different pair of pants. He might as well have just said ‘Hi, Lindsay, I’m Eddie and my uncle has to keep spare clothes at his house for me just in case I pee myself!’

He opened the door slowly to see Wayne and Lindsay, now both properly dressed, sitting on the couch staring at him. “Hi.”

“Hey, Eddie, sit. I’m really sorry, kid, I shouldn’t have kept you from the bathroom,” Wayne said kind of quietly, even though Lindsay could definitely hear him. Eddie adverted his eyes.

“It’s fine, Wayne. Sorry I busted in on you.”

“Don’t worry, Ed, you’re always welcome. It’s my fault for telling Lindsay to hide in the bathroom.”

Eddie looked at Lindsay for the first proper time since sitting down. She looked about Wayne’s age and had long, straw colored hair and thick makeup on. She kind of smiled meekly at him.

“Sorry, Eddie,” she said.

Eddie shook his head. “Don’t worry. If you’re going to date my uncle you should know what you’re signing up for,” he said, blushing so hot he felt like he needed to rub his face.

Wayne explained how they met (a bar), and how long they’d been seeing each other (a month), as Eddie sat and listened.

“Well, I’m really happy for you both, but can we get back to Al’s call?” Eddie asked once it felt appropriate.

Wayne’s face changed. “I almost forgot! Please, Eddie, yes. Do you want Lindsay to leave?” he asked.

Eddie shook his head. “It’s fine. Like I said, she needs to know what she’s getting herself into.” He huffed out a laugh before continuing. “He wants to give me his old truck as a birthday present.”

“Oh. Wow,” Wayne said. He sounded almost dejected. “That’s great!” he said a second later.

“It is? But it’s Al—?”

“Yes, yeah, but he owes you one. He owes you a lot more than just one.”

“I don’t want him to repay me,” Eddie grumbled towards the ground.

“I know you don’t. But I also know how badly you want a car.”

“You’re just tired of driving me around,” Eddie commented with a snide smile.

Wayne laughed. “That too. But do whatever feels best for you, bubs.”

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and blushed at the nickname. “I don’t know! He offered to have me take a look at it. Tomorrow.”

“Do you want me to come with?” Wayne asked. Eddie nodded lightly.

“I would kind of need a ride… but Steve can come, too.”

Wayne nodded. “Sure. We can make a little birthday road-trip out of it for you!”

Eddie’s throat felt tight at the suggestion of a road trip, but nodded. “Yeah.”

***

“Are you sure she wasn’t a prostitute?” Steve asked from his spot at the table. He had a jar of trail mix in front of him he was throwing into his mouth.

“I’m pretty sure. Anyway, do you want to come?” Eddie asked.

“Of course, baby. Sounds fun.”

“Al isn’t very fun.”

“Not the Al part,” Steve said with his mouth full. “The road-trip part.”

Eddie sat himself down on one of the kitchen counters. “I haven’t been on a road trip with Wayne in years.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Especially if you wear protection. Just in case,” Steve said, reading Eddie’s mind. Of course Eddie was worried about his bladder, because he always was.

Eddie blushed. “Oh, earlier I basically pissed myself in front of Lindsay when we met,” he admitted.

Steve didn’t have any sort of reaction. “I figured.”

Eddie straightened up. “What do you mean you figured?” he asked loudly.

“You’re wearing different pants, babe,” he said.

Eddie looked down. “Oh, right.”

They left for the trip the next morning after Eddie left a voicemail on Al’s recorder asking for his address. As soon as they got the address, they packed up the car and started off.

“Did you pee?” Wayne had quietly asked just before they left the trailer.

“No, Wayne,” Eddie lied.

That wasn’t a question that needed to be asked anymore. The answer was always going to be yes. And, also, Eddie was wearing protection under his jeans because he really didn’t feel like risking anything.

“Is that sarcasm?”

“No, Wayne,” Eddie had droned with a smile.

***

“Okay, take a left up here to get to the falls,” Eddie said to Wayne as he drove, map spread over his lap.

Al’s house wasn’t far enough for it to be a proper road trip without stops along the way, so they decided to extend it by stopping anywhere that looked interesting. Thankfully there was a beautiful waterfall lookout off the main highway that only required a short hike to get to.

A short hike with no public bathrooms, apparently. Once they got to the top of the cliff to where the lookout was, Eddie was hoping for a bathroom or even a porta potty, but there was nothing. He bounced on his feet. He didn’t need to go that badly, but for fucks sake, they’d just left the house. He’d hold it.

“Need to pee?” Wayne suddenly asked Eddie as Steve took pictures of the waterfall on Robin’s camera.

“A little,” Eddie admitted.

“We can stop somewhere right after this?” he suggested.

Eddie nodded. He wasn’t going to fight his uncle wanting to keep him in dry pants, even if he was wearing a little bit more than just regular pants. But Wayne didn’t ever need to find that out.

They stopped at a diner fifteen minutes later, and Eddie peed before coming back to the table Wayne and Steve chose.

“Hey,” Steve said brightly and he scooted down on the booth so Eddie could join. The diner reminded him of the one he’d went to with Al. He didn’t want to think about that day.

He ordered waffles because it was the day before his birthday and why not, and Wayne and Steve were happy to listen to him ramble about D&D for thirty minutes.

They stopped at a thrift store next and Eddie went straight for the women’s jeans.

“They’re tighter. It’s cool,” Eddie defended when Steve gave him a look.

Steve followed him to the dressing room after Wayne left to get coffees. Eddie almost forgot about what he had on under his jeans until he started taking them off. He blushed brightly and avoided looking at Steve.

“I know you don’t believe it, but you really do look super hot right now.”

Eddie started to yank on the jeans and wiggle them up over his thankfully completely dry pull-up. “You’re just a freak, Steve,” Eddie teased.

“Maybe. But that doesn’t mean i’m wrong,” he replied as he very obviously stared at Eddie’s ass in the tight, black jeans. “Those look good.”

“They need some rips,” Eddie murmured as he checked himself out in the mirror. The jeans were tight, but he still couldn’t tell he had on anything other than boxers.

After buying the jeans, they walked to the cafe Wayne ran off to and caught him just as the coffees he ordered were ready. Eddie drank his gladly. He needed to keep himself awake. He only brought one other pull-up with him just in case.

Thirty minutes later, he needed to pee again, and they were in the middle of no where.

“If you see a bush, pull over,” Eddie told Wayne as he drove. Eddie wasn’t afraid to pee on the side of the road, but he’d prefer a little privacy.

“Okay,” he responded easily without question.

Eddie was embarrassed to ask after only 30 minutes, but he drank an entire large coffee. He was asking for it.

Thankfully they came upon more lines of trees not too long after.

“Don’t get lost out there,” Wayne said and Eddie climbed out of the car.

“I’ll come with, I gotta go too,” Steve said, even though that didn’t seem likely.

As they walked into the thick maze of trees, Eddie bumped Steve’s shoulders. “You just wanted to stare at my butt again, didn’t you?”

Steve shoved him off. “No, I wanted to to make sure my boyfriend doesn’t get murdered by mythical creatures again. But now that you mention it—“

Steve started to tickle Eddie’s sides just as he found the perfect tree to piss on, which unfortunately meant that his body was a little too eager to release.

Eddie laughed before he could articulate that he was going to pee himself, but Steve must’ve realized when Eddie started to undo his pants. “Move!” Eddie finally choked out and he pulled down jeans and protection. “You dick,” he huffed. His protection was definitely not bone dry now.

“Sorry,” Steve said, laughing.

They had already been messing about in the area for over two hours, and they said they’d get to Al’s before sunset, so they decided to drive the remaining distance straight to Al’s.

Eddie realized as they got closer that he really didn’t want to have a pull-up on while talking to his dad. The idea of him finding out was terrifying, more than enough to make him want to take it off. But he wasn’t sure how exactly he was going to manage that. He didn’t want to use Al’s bathroom. He didn’t want to open the door to that discussion.

Before he had time to decide what to do, Wayne was shutting off the car engine.

“You ready?” he asked, looking at Eddie.

He nodded. “I guess.”

“We can leave whenever you want,” Wayne continued.

“Okay.” Eddie turned to the backseat. Steve gave him a smile. “Let’s go.”

Al lived in a rundown apartment building downtown. Eddie shuffled up the door, face on fire and heart beating out of his chest. He didn’t want to do this.

Al answered as soon as Wayne knocked. He looked at Eddie first, then at the others. “Ed, hey, come in. Wayne. I didn’t know you’d be coming.”

“Get used to it, Al. This is Steve, Eddie’s roommate,” Wayne introduced. Steve gave a wave that Al acknowledged with a nod, then stood aside to let them in.

His apartment was dark and smelled like cigarettes.

“Sit down wherever,” he said. Eddie stayed standing near the door. He didn’t exactly want to spend more time inside Al’s house than necessary.

“Anyone want a beer?” Al asked.

“Sure,” Wayne grunted as he shoved some stuff out of the way on the couch so he could sit. Eddie sat next to him after a moment.

“Ed? Steve?”

“I’m alright,” Steve said, sitting on a dusty chair.

“Me too,” Eddie added.

“Really? When I was your age, I never said no to a beer,” Al said as he opened his old fridge and dug around for two bottles.

Eddie rolled his eyes toward Steve, who smiled a tiny bit.

When Al returned, he sat in a chair opposite Steve and handed Wayne the beer. “Promise I didn’t poison it.”

Wayne opened it and drank without saying anything. God, Eddie was pretty thirsty. When was the last time he’d had any water?

“So how do you two know each other?” Al asked Steve.

“School,” he said simply.

Al hummed. “Wanna see the truck?”

Eddie shrugged. “Sure.”

The truck was parked in the back of the complex and was definitely a piece of shit, but it was a piece of shit that ran. “What do you think?” Al asked as Eddie turned on the key. Al was leaning in through the passenger side.

“It’s nice.”

“Well, it’s yours—“

“Al, I don’t want to take a car from you,” Eddie said truthfully.

Al looked behind him at Wayne and Steve. “Mind if I get a minute alone with my kid?” he asked.

Wayne looked at Eddie, who gave a small nod, and Al climbed into the truck and closed the door. Eddie ran his hands over the leather steering wheel.

“Look. Eddie. My old man gave me a truck when I was about your age. Didn’t mean nothing. It’s just what a father does for his kid.”

Eddie didn’t look at him. He shifted on his seat. Did he need to piss? He couldn’t tell. He just felt hot and sweaty. And nervous. God, he was so nervous sitting next to Al, nothing in the air but room temperature air blasting from the dusty vents of the old truck. “I don’t want to take it, Al.”

“Why not?”

“Because you… because… I don’t need to give you a reason,” he muttered.

Al touched his arm, and he flinched. “Eddie, kid. You act like I’m going to hit you.”

Eddie’s eyes flickered over him. “Yeah, it’s almost like you used to hit me,” he said.

Al laughed and took a swig of his beer. “God, you’re so sensitive. Just like your mom.”

Eddie’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “That’s not a bad thing.”

“Not if you ever want to become a man,” Al grunted.

Eddie’s heart was racing. “Where is she? Mom? Where is she?” Eddie asked without really even thinking.

He wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to know. Al looked at him for a moment. “Jail. I think. Last I checked.”

“Which one?”

“Hernandez. A few miles north of here.”

Eddie looked straight ahead through the smeared windshield. He nodded.

A few miles away. His mom. He looked over at Wayne and Steve. His mom was only a few miles away.

Eddie suddenly felt a pang in his lower abdomen and shifted. Shit. He did need to piss. It probably wasn’t bad. But still, he suddenly felt the need to get far away from Al.

“So, what, I’m just supposed to drive away in this truck? And then what?”

“And then I figured you wouldn’t have an excuse to not visit me out here.”

Eddie shifted. “Yeah, exactly. That’s why I don’t want it.”

Al groaned. “Eddie, come on. I’m trying to make an effort here,” he said.

“You did make an effort. For eight years, you made an effort. And then you decided you couldn’t handle me anymore, and you left me with someone else,” Eddie muttered.

“That isn’t true. Your mother was—“

“I don’t want excuses, Al. Like I don’t want a car. I don’t want you to have something to hold over me for the rest of my life,” he said.

Al didn’t say anything for a moment. “I was just trying to prove to you that I care.”

“You’re going to need to do more than this to prove that,” Eddie said.

Al threw his hands up. “What else am I supposed to do, kid?”

Eddie looked at him for a second before deciding that he really, really didn’t want to spend the day before his birthday explaining to his dad everything he’d ever done wrong. Eddie opened the car door and swung himself out. “Goodbye, Al,” he said.

“Eddie, wait!”

Eddie shut the door. “Let’s go,” he said to Wayne and Steve, who were just awkwardly observing from a few feet away.

“Eddie, come on!” Al called once he got the passenger door open.

Eddie didn’t respond, he just kept walking. He could hear Al’s footsteps behind him.

“He wants to leave, Al,” Wayne said.

“He’s just being a pussy,” Al said with a laugh.

Eddie flinched, but didn’t turn back around. He continued toward Wayne’s car.

“What did you say?” Steve demanded.

“Leave it, Steve,” he called back.

“You heard. He’s being a little pussy.”

“Fuck you,” Steve unfortunately responded. He was standing his ground. Eddie swallowed.

“Steve, let’s go,” Eddie said.

“Fuck you too, faggot,” Al mumbled back to Steve.

For a brief moment, Eddie felt like he was about to throw up.

“The fuck did you just say?” Wayne was yelling at the same time that Steve was charging up to Al, looking like he was ready to hit him. Great.

“Stop! Both of you!” Eddie yelled. He just wanted to leave. It seemed like Steve and Wayne now wanted to fight, and Eddie wasn’t sure how to deescalate the situation.

“Apologize. Right now,” Wayne said, one hand grasping at Al’s shirt. Al pushed him off.

“Wow, you’re all a bunch of pussies—“

Al was cut off by Steve punching him.

“Steve, Wayne! Stop it!” Eddie yelled. When Al’s head came back up, there was blood on his lip, and he was gearing up to tackle Steve into the dirt. Which he did.

“Knock it off, Al!” Wayne yelled at his brother, who was shoving Steve’s face into the ground. Wayne tried to pull Al off, but he was bigger than him.

“Stop it! All of you!” Eddie tried to yell again.

They weren’t stopping. Eddie shifted on his feet, then got an idea. “We need to leave. Now! I need to… go,” he said, really emphasizing the ‘go.’ Nothing got Wayne and Steve moving faster than a bathroom emergency.

It worked, and both Wayne and Steve disconnected themselves from Al and turned their attention back to Eddie. Eddie kind of played it up by bouncing on his feet.

“We should do this again soon,” Al grumbled to the three of them as they got up.

“Go to hell, Al,” Wayne called as he brushed himself off and got into the drivers seat. The other boys followed, and Eddie put his head in his hands as they drove away, not looking back. What a great visit.

The car was silent for the first few minutes.

“There’s a gas station up here,” Wayne said.

Eddie slumped in his seat. “I lied. I was just trying to get you two to stop fighting each other like kids, Jesus.” Technically, he did need to pee, but he was tired, and his brain was filled with useless anxiety, and it wasn’t bad at all.

Wayne sighed. “I’m sorry, bubs. I just… I couldn’t let him call you two those… names.”

Eddie didn’t say anything and let his head rest on the window. He was too tired. He felt his eyes flutter close as Wayne drove.

“Where to now?” Steve asked after another minute.

“Hernandez jail. It’s a few miles away,” Eddie said before he could stop himself.

“A jail? Why—?” Al started.

“I’m going to take a nap,” Eddie cut him off by saying. He handed Steve the map to do directions and closed his eyes. He needed a minute of complete stillness.

***

Eddie woke up to Wayne gently shoving his shoulder.

“Mmm?” he groaned.

“We’re here,” Wayne said. Eddie looked up to see a big gray jail in the middle of no where. A jail that might hold his mom. “You wanna tell me what we’re doing here?” Wayne asked.

“My mom,” Eddie said, then shifted. The pressure in his bladder was definitely getting worse, but on the bright side, he didn’t wet himself in his sleep during his twenty minute nap, which was never a promise.

“What?”

“Al said my mom was here. I wanted to see if that’s true.” Also, he needed to use the jail’s bathroom.

“Woah, really?” Steve chimed in. Eddie nodded.

“Come on,” he said with a yawn, opening his door.

The jail smelled like hand sanitizer and mold. Eddie slowly walked up to the counter after doing a quick scan and not noticing any obvious bathrooms.

“Hi,” he said to the man behind the covered counter, “I’m wondering if you have someone by the name of Angelica Munson here?”

The man looked at Eddie for a moment before lifting up a stack of paperwork. He flipped through it for awhile. “Yes,” he finally answered. “You here to visit?”

“Can I use the bathroom?” he asked instead of answering the question.

“Only bathroom is through there,” he said pointing to a closed door. “And only way through there is if you’re visiting an inmate.”

Eddie swallowed. He didn’t actually want to see his mom at all, he just wanted to know if she really was there. He wanted to know if Al had been telling the truth, and he had.

“Can’t you make an exception—?“ Eddie tried.

“No.”

Eddie shuffled. “Thanks,” he said before turning around back to Wayne and Steve.

“You don’t want to see her?” Steve asked as they went back to the car.

“I don’t think she’d want to see me,” he replied.

Wayne didn’t say anything, and they went back to the car. Eddie just wanted to go back to sleep, but he knew his bladder would release as soon as he was out, which he definitely didn’t want. He didn’t really want to do anything.

“Can we just go home?” Eddie asked once everyone was in the car.

“Do you need to stop first?” Wayne asked.

Eddie closed his eyes. “No,” he said, because he just couldn’t will himself to care. He’d just hold it until they got home. He was tired.

Eddie didn’t even realize he was about to fall asleep until it was too late.

***

Thirty minutes later, Eddie was snoring, and Wayne was still driving.

“Should we stop?” Steve asked, knowing that Eddie, for all he knew, may have already had an accident without Wayne knowing. Wayne glanced at him.

“I don’t know. He looks so peaceful. But we probably should.”

Five minutes later, Eddie started to stir awake.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Steve teased. Eddie rubbed his eyes and turned back to Steve. He smiled briefly before his entire body froze and he very subtly glanced down.

“Morning Ed. We can stop right up here for you to pee,” Wayne said.

Eddie didn’t say anything, but slowly turned his body back to the front. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“Don’t you have to go—?”

“No,” Eddie said.

Wayne’s eyes connected to Steve’s in the review mirror for a second. “Did you go in your sleep?” Wayne asked very quietly after a moment.

Eddie was still rubbing his eyes, and Steve realized that it was because he was crying a bit. Oh. He probably did have an accident.

“No,” Eddie said, and Steve wasn’t sure if it was a lie or not.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” Eddie said, then closed his eyes again. He was breaking Steve’s heart.

The rest of the drive was quiet, and they pulled
into Eddie and Steve’s apartment within a few minutes.

“Go ahead, Steve,” Wayne said as he put the truck into park. Steve nodded. Eddie still had his eyes closed and his head against the window glass.

Steve hopped out without saying anything and went inside their apartment. He sighed as he tossed his keys on the side table by the door, then decided to go draw Eddie a bath. He probably needed some alone time, and some warm water to soak in.

***

As soon as the car turned off, Eddie shifted on the passenger seat but didn’t make a move to get out. Then he heard Wayne ask Steve to leave, and he felt like crying again. He swallowed tightly. His mouth was so dry, he’d barely even had anything to drink all day.

“Hey,” Wayne started out when the door shut, and put a hand on Eddie’s knee. “You okay?”

Eddie nodded. “Fine. I just wanna go to bed.”

Wayne sighed. “Okay. Eddie, I’m sorry today didn’t go how you wanted.”

“I don’t know how I even wanted it to go, Wayne,” Eddie said, then wiped his nose on his sleeve. His eyes were fucking burning from trying to keep them dry.

“I’m sorry about the fight—“

“Whatever.”

Wayne looked out the window. “Okay. Alright. I’m sorry, Ed, really. I don’t know what came over me, it’s just… it’s just Al. It’s what he did to you, kid. I see red.”

Eddie shifted again. He was so uncomfortable, he needed to get out of this conversation.

“I know, Wayne. He’s your brother.”

There was another moment of silence. Wayne inhaled deeply. “Look, I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but I need to know if my seat’s wet,” Wayne finally said.

Eddie felt tears climb his throat again. “No,” he said firmly, but couldn’t help the tears from spilling out of his eyes. Wayne looked at him closely.

“Then why are you crying, bubs?”

Eddie sniffled and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Did something happen?”

Eddie felt like he was going to drown in snot, but he just couldn’t pull himself together in front of his uncle. “I’m sorry.”

“Sweetheart, hey, breathe. Why are you sorry?” Wayne said softly, pressing a firm hand on Eddie’s back.

“I… I fell asleep,” Eddie basically sobbed.

“That’s okay, bubs, you didn’t have an accident—“

“I did,” he cried softly, trying to wipe the tears from his face and failing because they just wouldn’t stop falling.

“What do you mean? You look dry, kid—“

“I know,” Eddie whispered.

There was a moment of silence, then Wayne sighed. “Oh,” he breathed. “Oh. Okay.”

Eddie started to cry harder, because it was true, he was a fucking pussy, and he was sitting in his uncles’ car in a wet fucking pull-up because he fell asleep for thirty minutes. Wayne rubbed his back.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie choked.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not my business, Eds. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pried—“

“I know it’s embarrassing, dad, but please just treat me like I’m normal for a second. I make myself feel like shit all on my own enough as is.”

Wayne’s hand stopped. “Eddie, shit, of course. It’s not embarrassing—I just… I’m surprised! I didn’t know that you were… that it had gotten that bad again that you’d need to wear… you know… I mean, during the day—“

“It’s not all the time, Wayne, Jesus. Just like… a road-trip. Or if I’m sleeping over somewhere. It’s not—I’m not like fully wearing diapers all the time—“

“Okay, okay! Yeah, okay, that… that makes sense, kid. And even if you were wearing them all the time, you know that of course I would support you—“

“I’m not, dad, stop,” he grunted. “It’s not a big deal.”

“You’re right. It’s not,” he agreed. “Does Steve know?”

Eddie nodded before speaking towards his feet. “It was his idea.”

Wayne clapped Eddie’s back. “I know I wasn’t too sure at first, but he’s a keeper.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said with a smile.

“Okay, go inside and get comfortable, Eds. You still coming over for dinner tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Oh, and feel free to bring Lindsay, if you want,” Eddie said and he started to open the door. He really did need to get out of the soaked garment he was wearing. It was a miracle it hadn’t leaked, honestly.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Wayne, I want a redo,” he said. “I love you,” he added.

Wayne smiled, then turned the engine back on. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

Chapter Text

It was clear to Steve that there was something very off about Eddie for the rest of the night.

Steve couldn’t blame him. He’d known what to expect of Al from everything he’d been told, but he definitely didn’t expect himself to end up in a physical altercation with him because Al called him that word. He would love to say that the only reason he joined Wayne in fighting him was because of how he was talking to Eddie, but that wouldn’t be true. Steve had been called that word before, because he went to high school in the 80s, but it had never been true before. Now it was true.

Not to mention the fact that Eddie’s mom was in jail, something Steve had absolutely no idea of. He never thought it was appropriate to ask about his mom. But since the jail visit, Steve understood completely why Eddie had become so quiet and distant.

“I’m going to bed,” Eddie said almost immediately after getting out of the bath Steve drew him. His hair was wet and dripping down his shoulders, and his eyes were red.

“Want me to come cuddle you?” Steve asked.

Eddie nodded and went to Steve’s room. Steve followed Eddie into bed, stripping out of his jeans and shirt.

“Smells like you,” Eddie muttered into Steve’s blankets as he crawled in next to him. Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie and snuggled closer.

“Now it’ll smell like you,” he murmured into the top of Eddie’s wet hair. He smelled like almond butter shampoo.

“Mm,” Eddie murmured back, eyes already closed.

He was asleep quickly. Steve continued to cuddle him while he slept, since it was only nine and he wasn’t tired himself.

Steve ended up falling asleep an hour later, but was woken up by Eddie not too long after. Eddie was shaking him awake slightly.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Steve asked, rubbing his eyes. His first thought was that Eddie had wet the bed, but the sheets felt completely dry to him.

“I feel weird,” Eddie said.

Steve turned on a lamp to get a better look at his boyfriend. Eddie looked paler than normal and had sweat lining his hair line. Steve felt his head, which was burning up.

“I think you have a fever,” he said, sitting up. Eddie flopped back down.

“But tomorrow’s my birthday,” Eddie groaned, putting his face in his pillow.

“I know, baby. Do you know what’s wrong?”

Eddie responded by suddenly sitting up very quickly. “Shit,” he muttered to himself.

“What is it?”

“I… uh… I don’t know the last time I had water. Probably yesterday.”

“Yesterday?!” Steve yelled.

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s probably a UTI. Sometimes I get a fever when I have a infection,” he said.

“An infection? Again? How do you know?”

Eddie lifted the covers to reveal a wet spot on his boxers and the sheets below. “This just happened without any warning, and it burned, so, yeah. Probably a UTI.”

“I’m so sorry, Eds. I’ll go grab you some water. Want me to bring you some clothes?”

“It’s fine, I can do it,” he said, but when he went to stand, seemed like he was about to fall over.

“Lay down, baby. I’ll be right back, okay?” Steve said, pulling on pants and heading to the kitchen for water and cranberry juice, which he’d bought just in case Eddie got another UTI.

Steve grabbed Eddie some clothes (and a pull-up, always wanting to give that as an option in circumstances like this one), and returned with a glass of water and a bottle of juice.

Eddie changed quickly while Steve redid the sheets, and he was happy with Eddie’s decision to put on the protection instead of just boxers. He then made sure Eddie drank all of the fluids, and refilled his water glass once it was empty.

“Thank you, Steve,” Eddie said once he was comfortable and hydrated.

“Of course,” Steve looked at the alarm clock on his night stand, which read 12:00 am, “happy birthday, baby.” Steve kissed Eddie gently, which Eddie hummed into, his eyes closed again.

They both drifted off within minutes.

***

When Eddie woke up the morning of his 20th birthday, he was so sweaty he thought he’d wet himself. But when he felt around his sheets, he remembered he was wearing protection, which meant that his fever must’ve broken in his sleep. But based on how saturated his protection felt, and how much everything was burning, he had a feeling his UTI would be sticking around.

He leaned over and drank the rest of the water on his nightstand, which was when he noticed that Steve was gone.

He was about to get up and take care of his soaked garment when the door opened, and in walked Steve and Robin with a tray of breakfast food singing happy birthday.

It was sweet, and he loved Robin, but Eddie’s crotch was burning and he could tell he clearly had no control over bladder today, and he really didn’t want to be around anyone in that state.

“This looks great,” Eddie said when they finished singing and presented him with the food. And the large glass of cranberry juice.

“Sorry you’re sick,” Robin said with a frown, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Eddie took a bite of toast. “It’s just a UTI,” he said, washing the bread down with the juice and just going ahead and chugging the entire glass.

“Still. I’ve had UTIs before, they suck,” Robin rebated.

Eddie couldn’t disagree there. “Good news is I have experience with having an infection on my birthday. I’m pretty sure I had one on my… 13th birthday? Yeah. That wasn’t fun.”

“What happened?” Steve asked.

Eddie almost snorted toast through his nose. “Do you really wanna know?”

“Uh, duh,” Robin said, stealing a strawberry off Eddie’s platter.

“Only if you wanna share,” Steve added, finally sitting down next to Eddie and cuddling up to his side. He brushed a few pieces of Eddie’s hair away from the front of his face.

Eddie wiped his face on a napkin and shifted a tiny bit, which reminded him of the wet padding beneath his ass. It was dangerously wet and Eddie knew that the cranberry juice and water he just drank was going to end up somewhere soon, and he wasn’t sure this pull-up would be able to handle it.

“Uh,” he said, contemplating whether or not he should get up and change before telling the story. Steve and Robin were looking at him expectantly. “I basically just hung out with Gareth. And a couple other kids around the trailer park. But, yeah, I had an infection and basically just kept pissing myself in my jeans, but there was snow on the ground and we were playing outside for so long that I kept lying and saying my pants were wet because I fell in the snow.”

Eddie looked up from his tray of food. “Anyway, that’s a pretty classic preteen Eddie story. Clearly wetting myself and then lying and saying I didn’t,” he said.

“You still do that—“ Steve commented.

Eddie swatted him lightly. “Not as often.”

Preteen Eddie would never believe how many people he had in his life who not only fully supported, but continued to love Eddie with his issue and all.

Suddenly, Eddie felt himself start to release a painful stream of piss. But Eddie could feel it not soaking into the protection and just sort of sitting on top. A second later, it was soaking into his pajama pants, and then into the sheets. Eddie set down the fork he’d been using for the eggs and stayed still.

It felt impossible to cover up the amount of pain Eddie was in as piss continued to leak out of him painfully slow. It was sharp, like pissing out needles, and it was soaking into his sheets slowly.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked when Eddie couldn’t hide the pain on his face.

“Yeah… just… uh,” the covers were still on him, so they couldn’t see the accident he was having. “I’m fine.”

“Does something hurt?”

“It’s nothing,” Eddie said as piss continued the slowly leak out of the sides and top of his protection, almost like he was wearing nothing at all.

“I forgot I need to call my mom, I’ll see you guys in a bit, alright?” Robin suddenly said, getting off of the bed and heading out of the room. Eddie could tell it was probably an excuse or a lie, but he was grateful for it.

As soon as Robin closed the door with a smile, Eddie lifted the sheets around his crotch. “Fuck me,” he groaned.

“What happened?” Steve asked.

“Take a wild guess,” Eddie said and he inspected the damage now that it felt like his bladder was completely empty. His sweats and the sheets around him were soaked just as much as if he’d peed himself without the pull-up on, which felt more inflated and drenched than it had ever felt before in between his legs.

“I’m so sorry, we shouldn’t have burst in—“

“Steve, it’s fine, really.”

Steve nodded. “Want me to leave?”

Eddie moved the tray of half eaten food. “Uh,” he looked down at himself again. “Maybe. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said before quickly leaving the room.

Eddie shifted when the door shut and slowly pulled off the sheets. He decided to just peel off the soaked pull-up in bed, considering how much of a mess it was already. He did his best to dry himself off with the dry parts of the sheets and wadded everything together in a big pile in the center.

He threw on a pair of loose boxers and grabbed the garbage liner in Steve’s trash to throw the garment into, then tied it. Begrudgingly, Eddie took the wet things to the washer. Eddie really wished the washer wasn’t just placed randomly in their small apartment hallway in perfect view of their living space, which Robin was occupying. She was watching TV and pretending to not notice that Eddie was clearly putting Steve’s bedding into the wash.

Once he started the cycle, Eddie walked quickly to the shower and washed his body until his skin was red. He tried to pee, but it just hurt.

He wrapped a towel around his body and walked to his room as fast as he could manage without looking suspicious. He really didn’t want to start pissing all over the place on his birthday, but he didn’t want to have to be wearing a diaper on his birthday, either. There wasn’t a good middle ground.

Eddie went to his dresser and pulled out the bottom drawer, where he kept his pull-ups. But after a quick search, he couldn’t find any. He looked again, this time thoroughly, and there was nothing.

Shit. Had he used all of them?

Eddie pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, then went to find Steve.

Steve was in his room, remaking his bed.

“Sorry, I didn’t make your bed,” Eddie said as he entered the room.

“It’s your birthday, Eddie, you don’t have to make my bed,” he said.

Eddie leaned against the wall. “Uh…”

“Yeah?” Steve sat on his bed.

Eddie looked at the ground. “I’m sorta—shit,”Eddie stopped speaking when he felt hot lava leak run down his sweats. He sighed and looked down at the telltale wet streak on the inside of the thigh of his gray sweats. “Okay, well, I was going to say that I ran out of my protection, but that’s pretty obvious,” he said, straightening back up. The leak wasn’t too awful, but it did fucking hurt.

“Oh, shit, you should get back in bed,” Steve said. “I’ll go out and get some more for you right now, alright?”

Eddie nodded at his feet, embarrassed. He didn’t want to spend his birthday like this.

After Eddie changed, Steve led him to bed and gave him a few towels to lay on, then he left for the store. Eddie just stared at the wall and tried to keep himself awake, but ultimately failed.

***

A few hours later, it was almost time to leave for the trailer, and Eddie wasn’t doing much better. He spent most of the afternoon lying in bed and only getting up to change his pull-up every few hours. Despite how much fluid he’d been drinking and how much he’d been resting, he still had very little control over his bladder, and it was still burning badly to piss. It was humiliating and painful.

“Do you want to cancel?” Steve asked once they were done watching a movie snuggled on the couch together. Eddie shifted.

“No, It’s okay. I mean if I weren’t wearing…,” Eddie glanced up at where Robin had headphones on in the kitchen, “you know, I’d probably cancel, but I think I can handle it.”

Steve nodded and moved a piece of Eddie’s hair from his face. “Okay.”

Eddie was about to say something else when he felt a very strong urge to piss, something he hadn’t really felt all day. He leaned forward and instinctively grabbed onto his crotch.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked.

Eddie didn’t reply and walked as quickly as he could to the bathroom. He managed to get in front of the toilet right in time, but when he tried to piss, nothing came out. “Oh come on,” he mumbled, trying and failing again to piss.

Eddie sighed and sat down. He’d piss eventually.

Before dating Steve, anytime Eddie had an infection as a teenager he’d have to deal with it without protection. That meant a lot of sitting himself on the toilet and just waiting for his stupid broken bladder to release. He’d sleep on piles of towels and would still end up soaking every pair of pants he’d put on.

Finally, his stream started, but it was slow and painful and didn’t give him any relief.

After another agonizing few minutes, Eddie pulled his protection up over his hips and went back out.

“This infection sucks,” he grumbled as he curled back up to Steve on the couch.

“Everything okay?”

Eddie sighed again into the fabric of Steve’s shirt. “I need a drink. That isn’t cranberry juice.”

***

Within thirty minutes of being at the trailer, Eddie had managed to drink two beers and was starting on a third.

“You should drink some more cranberry juice, babe,” Steve suggested. They were in Eddie’s old room just to get a CD, but they’d been taking their time. Eddie was running his fingers across the wooden panels of the trailer’s walls as Steve lounged on the bed.

Eddie nodded. “This beer is like half water,” he said.

“True. But still.”

Eddie sat on the bed. He glanced at the door, and then back at Steve. “Hey… can I meet you out there?” he asked.

“You kicking me out?”

Eddie pulled his backpack onto the bed. “I… uh. My control… bladder control… is like… gone. So. I need to change again. I figured I could just do it here.” Eddie was looking at the backpack shyly.

Steve’s face got hot. “Oh, gotcha, makes sense. I’ll see you in a bit,” Steve said with a quick cheek peck, then left Eddie’s room and joined Wayne, Robin, and Lindsay, who just arrived, in the living room.

The trailer was covered in old decorations Wayne must’ve been reusing for years, and everyone was sitting around the couch. Steve joined awkwardly.

“Where’s the other one?” Wayne asked, smiling at Steve.

“Passed out. He already drank too much.”

There was a knock on the door, and Robin excitedly got up to answer it. Nancy walked in, wearing a long brown skirt and boots, and holding a six pack of something.

“Where’s the birthday boy?” she asked as she hugged Robin.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out!” Wayne said.

A second later, Eddie emerged at the other end of the trailer from his room. “Nancy!”

Steve felt bad that Eddie felt the need to hide that he was sick, but he understood why. He watched as Nancy hugged him tightly and offered one of the drinks, which he accepted.

It got chaotic pretty quickly even with just the few of them in such a small space. Eddie sat down next to Steve on the couch with a slice of pizza as everyone else waited for theirs. “You okay?” Steve asked.

Eddie shrugged. “Besides the fact that I have no control over my bladder, I think I’m fine.”

Steve squeezed Eddie’s thigh. “Please let me know if you need anything,” Steve said. Eddie nodded.

“It’s just… embarrassing.”

“I know. But only you and I know. Don’t worry about anyone else.”

Eddie nodded again, not looking at Steve. He looked up a second later to see Wayne sitting down next to him with a plate of pizza. “Happy birthday, Ed,” Wayne said as he took a bite.

Eddie scooted closer to his uncle and leaned his head on his shoulder. Wayne wrapped an arm around Eddie and pulled him in closer as he ate his slice of pizza.

Lindsay sat down next to Wayne a few minutes later, and Eddie sat back up.

“What, you don’t want your old man giving you a hug anymore? Too old?” Wayne said.

“I think I was supposed to grow out of that awhile ago,” Eddie said, to which Wayne responded by punching him in the arm. “Hey!”

“I missed 8 years with you. So I get 8 extra years of hugging you,” he grunted, then tried to pull Eddie toward to kiss him on the head, which Eddie tried to squirm away from. He failed, and suddenly Wayne was tickling his sides aggressively while Eddie yelped.

“Stop—stop!” he yelled, but he was laughing. “I’m gonna pee my pants!” he finally got out.

“Cheater,” Wayne said, but put his hands up.

Eddie pulled down his shirt, which had ridden up. “How is that cheating?”

“That’s always your excuse.”

“Do you want me to piss all over your couch?” Eddie said as he stood and made his way to the bathroom.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Eddie came back and punched Wayne’s arm in response, and Wayne looked like he was about to fight back before Eddie screamed and ran the rest of the way to the bathroom. Steve wasn’t sure if it was a lie, and he just needed to change. But he went to the bathroom and not into his room, which made Steve think that he did have to pee, which was a good sign. That meant he was gaining back some control, and hopefully getting back to normal.

***

When Eddie left the room, the teenagers—or, technically they weren’t teens anymore, they were young adults—in Wayne’s trailer all congregated into the kitchen. That left Wayne alone on his couch with Lindsay. He kind of cleared his throat.

“So, what do you think of him?” Wayne asked kind of quietly. He wasn’t sure why he felt nervous, but it had been awhile since he’d introduced a woman he was seeing to his kid. Even if his kid wasn’t exactly a kid anymore.

“He’s great, Wayne. You did a good job. I can’t imagine it was easy,” Lindsay said with a smile and a swig of her beer.

“Eh. He was only a shithead half the time,” Wayne said.

“I bet. But I know it’s not easy for parents of kids with disabilities.”

Wayne kind of swallowed his beer wrong. “What are you talking about?” he asked after clearing his throat, genuinely confused.

Lindsay readjusted herself. “I’m sorry, Wayne, I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“You didn’t, it’s just… disability?”

Wayne hadn’t necessarily told Lindsay much of the details about Eddie. He probably mentioned here and there that Eddie had accidents when it pertained to a specific story, and she saw Eddie almost pee himself the other day as well as joke around about it a few minutes ago, but it wasn’t like Wayne had hung all of Eddie’s dirty laundry out to dry. Literally.

“I saw the incontinence product he has on a minute ago when his shirt came up. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, it’s just my sister’s kid is disabled and he wears the same stuff,” Lindsay said quickly, and Wayne felt bad for making her rethink her words, but he was just confused.

Incontinence product? Was Eddie lying the other day when he said he wasn’t wearing them full time? He’d told Wayne he was only wearing them on long car rides and sleepovers… so why would he be wearing one now?

Wayne suddenly felt very lost. He knew eventually Eddie would stop telling him everything, but if his kid felt like he needed to hide something like this from his dad… was Wayne even doing his job? Sure, Eddie was growing up, but the doctors always told Wayne that his bladder would strengthen over time, not become weaker.

“Yeah, right, yeah. Sorry, Lindsay, I just didn’t realize that you… knew,” Wayne said quietly, even though he himself didn’t know and it felt dirty to be gossiping about something like this.

“He’s a really great guy, Wayne,” Lindsay said, placing her hand on top of Wayne’s. Wayne smiled tightly and cast a glance at the bathroom door.

***

Eddie sighed as he tied up the completely drenched pull-up and stuck it as far back into the bathrooms trash as he could. He’d need to get to his old room to grab another one without being suspicious about it. He already felt like he was being suspicious.

He pulled his jeans back up over his now commando hips and washed his hands for a long time. He still felt like ass. He didn’t think he had a fever, but his entire body was aching at this point, and the alcohol probably wasn’t helping. It certainly wasn’t helping his bladder. He’d managed to completely go through an entire pull-up in an hour. He only brought three, thinking it would be ridiculous for him to need more than that, but now Eddie was starting to rethink that. He only had one left. Shit.

Whatever pull-ups Steve bought weren’t the usual brand. They were thinner, and probably cheaper. They couldn’t hold up like the regular ones Steve bought, which hardly leaked, even at night. These, however… Eddie was getting worried.

But it was his birthday, and he was surrounded by people who loved him, so he was also getting drunk.

When he left the bathroom, he immediately went to his old bedroom to change into his remaining protection, then searched for Steve. He found Steve leaning against the fridge talking to Nancy.

“Hey, I need to borrow you,” he said.

“Yes sir, birthday boy,” Steve responded, and followed Eddie past the kitchen and into Wayne’s room, where he’d never been before. They stepped just inside the doors threshold.

“Okay, so, problem,” Eddie started, kind of whispering, “I only have one pull-up left and we’ve only been here for an hour.”

“Oh, shit. I can run home?” Steve offered.

Eddie shook his head. “No, no, it’s okay, I just need help with reminding me to pee. Maybe every thirty minutes?”

Steve frowned. “Are you not getting better?”

“I just don’t want to risk anything,” he said, making Steve worry.

“I can remind you. Are you going to let Wayne know?”

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t want him to worry.”

Steve just nodded. “I know.”

Eddie squeezed his arm gently then tugged him back into the kitchen, where they rejoined the group.

“Eddie, you wanna do the cake?” Wayne shouted from the living room.

“Yeah!” Eddie responded, smiling even though he was in pain. He just needed to get through the next few hours. He could manage that.

He survived the whole cake ordeal, and by the time that was over, Steve was reminding him to use the bathroom. Not that it mattered much, he couldn’t get anything out except for a few painful drops. Once it was fully nightfall, Wayne suggested a fire out back and encouraged Eddie to bring his guitar, which he couldn’t say no to.

Once the fire was roaring, Eddie played some soft background music while everyone else chattered. It was nice. He could pick up on bits and pieces of the conversations, but he also got to let his fingers find the next beautiful melody. It was tranquil.

But Eddie had had a pretty decent amount to drink, so of course, he was leaking heavily into his pull-up. It still felt completely uncontrollable, and Eddie was getting worried for himself. Usually after a day of pumping himself with liquids, the infection would at least improve.

With the way his body was reacting, Eddie knew that he was just basically… incontinent. At least for the time being. It made his stomach clench. He spent so much energy trying to defend himself and prove that he wasn’t incontinent—he was normal. He just had a small bladder. It was fine.

He didn’t feel fine.

Another thirty minutes passed quickly, and Steve nudged Eddie to go inside, but he just shook his head. There was no use. He knew they wasn’t anything in his bladder to piss out because his protection was basically full. Which wasn’t good, but Eddie didn’t know what to do. Taking it off and leaving himself in just boxers wouldn’t make a difference, he’d still continue to pee himself all night.

Eddie zipped up his jacket, leaned back in his chair, and started listening in on Wayne’s conversation. He was fucked either way. His choices were to sit on the toilet for the rest of the night, have Steve bring him more pull-ups, or just piss himself freely. All of them sounded like shit.

Worst of all, it started snowing hard enough that there was no way Steve was going to go all the way back to the apartment. The roads were already icy, adding fresh snow would only make things worse.

The fire started to burn out from the snow, so they all went back inside and sat themselves around the living room. Eddie stood as close to the living room as he could while still technically being on the kitchen tile.

After a few minutes of standing around and leaking heavily the whole time, Eddie decided to just go to the bathroom.

The pull-up had actually leaked a tiny bit onto his jeans already, so if was definitely trashed. Eddie sat on the toilet until he felt himself release a stream, then pulled up his jeans and silently went to his backpack in his old room.

He brought a few pairs of boxers, which he’d probably end up needing. He put on a fresh pair and pulled his jeans back on, then went back out to where everyone was chatting.

Eddie knew he was going to end up peeing himself. That was obviously going to happen. But what other choice did he have? He had no protection, and no control of his bladder.

His heart was pounding, and he could feel anxiety swelling in his gut. Should warn everyone before it happened? What would he even say? ‘Hey, by the way everyone, I ran out of diapers so I’m probably just gonna piss myself at some point?’ Eddie leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Want another beer, Ed?” Wayne asked from the couch.

Eddie shook his head. If anything, he needed to be drinking water or cranberry juice, not more alcohol.

A minute later he was back in the bathroom just in case he could squeeze anything out, but it was a bust. When he exited, Wayne was on the other side of the door.

“Ah!” Eddie squeaked.

“Sorry, Ed,” Wayne whispered.

“It’s fine,” Eddie said, then tried to squeeze by.

“Hang on, I wanna talk to you,” Wayne said, motioning for Eddie to go back into the bathroom. Eddie glanced at the group, who were contently chatting in the living space, before following.

“What’s up?” Eddie asked with his arms crossed.

Wayne sat on the closed toilet lid, and Eddie realized that his eyes were slightly glazed over.
“I just wanted to check in with you,” he said with an unconvincing smile.

“Why?”

Wayne shrugged. “Just to make sure you’re, you know. You’re good. And everything’s good,” Wayne said, slightly slurring a few vowels here and there.

“I’m good, Wayne,” Eddie said.

Wayne nodded. “Right. Good. Well, okay. Alright, then,” Wayne said, then looked away.

Eddie shuffled on his feet. “What is this about, Wayne?” he asked.

Wayne sighed lightly. “I know you were lying the other night. It’s fine that you lied, Ed, I get it—but I just wanted to be honest with you and let you know that I know.”

Eddie blinked. “What? How much did you have to drink?” Eddie exclaimed.

Suddenly, he felt a sliver of warmth trickle down his inner thigh, and he inhaled tightly. He closed his eyes and waited for the leak to stop. When it did, he opened his eyes to see Wayne staring at him.

They were in a bathroom. How was Eddie supposed to explain that?

“Um—“

“Sorry,” Eddie interrupted.

“What happened, bubs?”

“I don’t know. Sorry.”

Wayne just kind of looked confused. “So you’re not… you have on just a pair of boxers tonight?”

Eddie’s face was so hot. “Yes, Wayne, Jesus Christ what are you—what else would I be wearing,” Eddie kind of mumbled, then looked down and realized he probably needed to change. But what was the point? This wasn’t just going to magically stop. He needed a solution. And a new pair of pants, probably. He wasn’t sure if he could cover it up from all the others.

“Help me,” Eddie kind of whispered, then started to shimmy his jeans off.

“Did you bring an extra pair?”

Eddie nodded to the floor, and Wayne left quickly. He came back with the pair of jeans Eddie packed as well as a pair of boxers.

“I’ll be out there,” Wayne said as he handed it over.

“Thanks,” Eddie mumbled.

After cleaning up and changing, Eddie rejoined the group. Steve sat down next to him.

“You okay?” he asked.

Eddie nodded. Then shook his head. “No.”

“Can I do anything?” Steve asked.

Eddie shook his head again. “I don’t know.”

Steve looked down at his watch. “It’s late. Do you want to leave?”

After a moment, Eddie nodded, not making eye contact still. Steve looked up to try and find Wayne, then left Eddie to go and whisper something in his ear. Eddie wasn’t sure what Steve was saying, but got a pretty good idea when Wayne suddenly announced that it was late, and everyone should leave.

As this happened, Eddie hid in the bathroom. He sat on the toilet and tried to piss as he heard everyone give their goodbyes. Once the last person left, the door shut, and there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“It’s Steve.”

“Come in,” Eddie called, and the door clicked open after a second. Eddie kind of shielded his crotch from view as Steve joined him in the bathroom.

“You didn’t wanna say goodbye?” Steve asked.

“No. I figured they’ll just think I had an accident or something.”

“Did you?”

Eddie shook his head no. “Not yet. I’m sure I will before we get home. I still feel like I can’t even… I don’t even feel it,” Eddie groaned.

Steve nodded. “I’m really sorry, Ed.”

“I should’ve brought more protection,” Eddie said.

“I can go home and grab it—“

“It’s okay, Steve. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s okay, I’m fine in here.”

“Yell if you need me, alright?” Steve said before going toward the door. Eddie sighed when the door shut and stared down into the toilet bowl. His body was completely disobeying him.

When he finally got out of the bathroom, Wayne was sitting on the couch as Steve looked like he was gathering his things. Wayne kind of motioned for Eddie to sit, which is when Eddie noticed that the couch had one of Eddie’s old waterproof pads he had growing up. He sat without commenting on it and folded his arms around himself. It was freezing.

“Eddie, are you alright?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Are you sure, because all of your friends just left without you even saying goodbye to them.”

“Thanks, I noticed,” Eddie huffed and leaned back against the couch.

“Hell is going on?”

Eddie rubbed his eyes. “It’s not a big deal, I just have another infection.”

Wayne didn’t say anything for a moment. “A bladder infection?”

“Yeah—“

“Well then what are you doing drinking beer? You gotta be drinking water, Eddie, not cheap beer—“

“It’s not my fault you got the cheap stuff—“

“Eddie, if you have an infection so bad that you’re locking yourself in the bathroom all night and peeing all over the place, you should be in bed resting, not having a party!” Wayne yelled.

“I haven’t been peeing all over the place!” Eddie yelled back. He shot a look to Steve, who looked like he wanted to be recording this conversation on Robin’s camera.

“You’re right, I’m sorry, I just needed to get that out. Now you, Steve, get him a glass of water, and you two are going to bed,” Wayne said sternly.

“I’m twenty, Wayne, you can’t make me go to sleep—“

“Are you driving home? Because both of you were drinking, and even then, I don’t think you’d be able to get back without soaking Steve’s passenger seat. So. Come on, Eddie,” Wayne reached a hand out and felt Eddie’s forehead. “You’re burning up and basically shivering, bubs. Go lay down. I don’t want this getting any worse,” he said, then pat Eddie’s back and stood.

Eddie realized the moment before he stood that he’d leaked a little bit onto the navy colored pad. When he stood, he could see a small wet mark on the center. Wayne definitely saw it, but he didn’t say anything as he led Eddie to his room.

Wayne let Eddie get ready for bed, but came back a few times to deliver him some things (wipes, a few changes of clothes, and a much bigger mat Wayne used to put on his bed when he was younger. Eddie stripped out of everything but his boxers and just accepted the fact that he was going to uncontrollably pee everywhere until this stupid infection went away.

Wayne forced Steve to sleep on the couch, which Eddie was fine with all things considered, and Eddie fell asleep shortly after he finished his glass of water.

Hopefully he’d feel fine in the morning.

Chapter Text

Once Eddie was situated in bed, Wayne went out to the living room. Steve was sitting up on the edge of the couch. He smiled meekly.

“Hey,” Wayne said, then sat next to him. “If you’re feeling fine to drive, you can go ahead and go home, kid. Get some rest. I got him,” Wayne said.

Steve nodded. “I work tomorrow morning, so I should. Thanks,” he said, standing and stretching.

Wayne nodded, and they both stood. “Look, uh, before you go,” Wayne said in a lower voice, “do you know what kind of, uh, product… Eddie uses?” Wayne asked as casually as he could manage.

When Eddie was little, Wayne would buy the bed wetting stuff made for kids. Adult stuff wasn’t his territory, and he didn’t know where to start.

Thankfully, Steve had the answer readily available and wrote down the name of the brand on a sticky note for Wayne. “Uh. Size medium,” Steve said awkwardly. Wayne smiled and hit Steve’s arm lightly.

“Alright. Drive safe. I’ll have Eddie call you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Wayne,” Steve said with a smile, then left the trailer and closed the door quickly.

Wayne sighed as the door shut and looked down at the note. He was happy to buy them for his kid, he just wished it was something his kid was comfortable still talking to him about.

Wayne almost had a heartache walking into his room, having completely forgotten Lindsay was in his bedroom.

“Lindsay, hi, sorry,” he said, going over to his dresser to change into new clothes.

“I can leave—“

“Don’t be stupid. Who else is gonna keep me warm tonight?” Wayne said, climbing into bed with her.

“Eddie okay?” she asked after Wayne kissed her.

He sighed. “Another infection. It ain’t his fault obviously. He’s gotten them since he was a kid,” Wayne explained.

“Poor thing. What kinda infection?”

“Bladder. That’s his—I mean. That’s Eddie for you. If something’s wrong, it’s probably related to his bladder,” Wayne admitted. This was a lot more than he usually explained to someone he was dating, but Lindsay made him feel safe to talk about it.

“Yeah, you’ve told me a bit about him in the past…about him having accidents.”

Wayne nodded. “Yeah. Probably didn’t help that I drove him out to see my crazy brother yesterday—his dad. I mean. His blood dad.”

Lindsay put a hand on Wayne’s leg. “It’s pretty obvious who his real dad is,” she said with a smile. Wayne smiled back.

“Seeing Al always shakes him up. I’m not surprised he got himself sick because of it,” Wayne said, getting under the covers. He needed to wake up early to go and buy his kid some pull ups before he drenched all the spare sheets Wayne had.

“Goodnight, Wayne,” Lindsay said, reaching for the lamp.

“Night,” Wayne said with a yawn as he set his alarm.

***

Eddie woke up to the sound of a door slamming shut. It took him a few seconds to reorient himself and remember where he was. He was then reminded of the pain in his entire body, including his aching stomach and bladder. He was also completely drenched, and freezing cold. He sat up slowly. His head was aching.

Reluctantly, Eddie pulled on comfy, dry pants and gathered all of the wet sheets he’d fallen asleep on into a big pile, then opened his old bedroom door and started off to the washer.

He did not expect to see Lindsay, in pajamas, making coffee. He gasped and almost dropped his pile of wet sheets.

“Oh, sorry, Eddie, I didn’t mean to startle you!” she said with wide eyes.

“Yeah, uh… fine,” Eddie said quickly as he cleared his throat and went quickly to the washer. Once he got his load started, he walked quickly back to his room.

“Want a cup?” Lindsay offered as he tried to silently shuffle by. She was holding a pot of coffee with a smile.

“Oh, no, I’ll piss myself if I do that,” he said… for some reason? Why did he just say that?

Lindsay laughed. “I’d still drink coffee if it made me piss myself a little bit.”

Eddie kind of laughed. “Yeah, well, it’s not always a little bit. If you couldn’t tell by the huge pile of sheets I obviously pissed all over,” he said awkwardly.

Lindsay sat down at the table with her coffee and laughed. “I thought you just spilled a drink on them!” she said with a wink, taking a sip.

Eddie couldn’t help but laugh, too. “Oh, right, duh. I forgot I totally just spilled some water.” He glanced at the coffee. It did smell good.

“Get a cup, sugar. Blame me if it makes you pee,” she said, still smiling big.

Something about her energy was really comforting. “Uh. Okay,” he said, and went to pour himself a cup. “I don’t like… this isn’t… I just have an infection right now. That’s why I’m…,” Eddie just kind of gestured to himself.

“That’s why you wet the bed?”

“Uh, no, well… yes, but I do that… normally,” he said, then took a sip of the rich coffee.

That made Lindsay laugh. “I wish people were more like you—more honest, you know?”

Eddie looked down. “I’m not usually super… honest… I guess… about my issues. I mean. Besides with Wayne and Steve I try to keep it under wraps.”

“Makes sense. You don’t gotta do that with me, though,” she said, and Eddie believed it. “I think you’re really great. No matter if you’re open about it or not.”

Eddie’s face was warm, but he smiled brightly. “Thanks.”

Wayne came home not too much later holding a plastic grocery bag. He kind of hid it behind his back when he saw the two of them at the table, and Eddie got a good idea as to what was in the bag. His face got hot.

“Ed, hey, how are you feeling?” Wayne asked, coming up to Eddie and feeling his forehead.

“Fine. I think my fever broke,” he answered, hoping the blush creeping up his cheeks wasn’t obvious.

“Okay, good,” Wayne said, then gave Lindsay a kiss on the cheek. “You two doing alright?”

“Just drinking coffee,” Lindsay said, then got up to pour Wayne a cup. When her back was turned, Wayne offered Eddie the bag.

Eddie accepted it and went to his room to change quickly. When he opened the bag, he was surprised to see the same pull up brand Steve usually bought. He really didn’t want to know how that happened.

Once he was wearing more than just boxers and sweats, he rejoined the two of them and returned to his cup of coffee that he could now drink without fear of pissing on his seat.

“You should be drinking water, Eds,” Wayne said gently when Eddie went to get more coffee.

“I will,” he said, going to get a glass of water as well. He knew he needed to get rid of this infection, but he’d been drinking fluids for days. He was getting really tired of it all.

“Did you take care of the bed?” Wayne asked quietly.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Sheets are in the wash. I’m going to call Steve,” he said after swallowing a gulp of water. Wayne smiled quickly and went back to the sports section of the paper he was reading.

Steve answered after a few rings. “Hey, Eddie.”

“Hey.”

“Feeling any better?”

“A little bit.”

“Good,” Steve sighed into the phone. “Wayne playing doctor?”

“Yeah, but… It’s not too bad.”

“Okay. Well, hey, Nancy stayed over last night, and we made plans to hangout tonight… kind of like a double date? What do you say?”

“Wait… does this mean Robin and Nancy are officially official?” Eddie suddenly realized.

“I think so,” Steve said.

Eddie resisted to urge to squeal. “I gotta see this. Okay, I’m gonna head over soon, alright?”

“See you soon.”

After hanging up, Eddie took a long shower and scrubbed himself raw. He stayed under the spray longer than necessary, just letting his skin get hot. He hadn’t had any moments of intense urgency all morning, so he was really hoping his infection was going away.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Wayne asked as Eddie packed up his things. The weather had warmed up over night, so he was just going to walk back home.

“Yeah, Wayne, I promise. Haven’t had an accident all morning,” he said quietly, even though Lindsay was in the other room.

Wayne pat his shoulder. “Okay, kid. But hey… I just want you to know that you can talk to me, if you need to, about anything at all, okay?”

Eddie rubbed his eyes. “Wayne, I didn’t tell you about… you know, wearing protection sometimes… because you didn’t need to know! But I’m glad you know. Now,” he said.

Wayne sighed lightly and put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Me too. You gonna keep some here?”

Eddie nodded. His face was burning again. “Yeah.”

“Okay, good. I love you, bubs. Happy birthday,” Wayne said, wrapping Eddie in a hug.

“Love you too, dad.”

***

Robin and Nancy being openly romantic towards each other was definitely a new thing. Obviously they’d been hooking up—everyone knew that—but Eddie wasn’t sure if they’d ever be open (at least to an extent). It was really nice to see.

“Okay, okay, here’s the rules,” Robin rambled as she organized the ‘couples game’ she’d bought for them to play. Nancy had one hand resting on Robins thigh. It made Eddie smile.

“So I just pick a card?” Steve asked once the rules were explained.

“Yes. Then we have to mutually agree who gets the card. Ready?”

They all nodded, and Robin went first. “Okay… who’s the most likely to end up drunk calling their ex in the middle of the night?” she said, reading the card.

“Does it count if Steve drunk calls me all the time?” Nancy asked.

Steve nodded. “I do do that.”

Robin shrugged. “Sure.” She handed the card to Steve, who whooped.

“Okay, you go, Steve.”

The game went on like that for awhile. Midway through, Robin pulled a card out that immediately made her burst out laughing. She stopped herself suddenly, however, and pretended to not glance at Eddie. “Okay, um… I promise this is real… the person who peed their pants last gets the card,” she said, not looking up from the card.

Everyone kind of giggled at that. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“I did pee myself on the camping trip. That was pretty recent,” Robin said quickly, before Eddie could say anything.

“I technically peed the bed, like, a few weeks ago?” Steve said, referring to when they were locked in Steve’s room. And he totally blamed it on Eddie.

“Bed wetting doesn’t count,” Eddie said.

“Says who?” asked Robin.

“Says the person who literally wets the bed,” Eddie replied with his head cocked.

“Fair enough,” she muttered back.

“I personally don’t think I’ve peed myself as an adult,” Nancy said quietly with a little hand raise.

“Wow. You want a trophy?” Robin joked, then bumped into Nancy with her shoulder. Nancy just ignored her.

Steve hummed. “Okay, then it’s been, like, 6 months for me. If we’re not counting bed wetting,” Steve said, and Eddie was reminded of Steve not being able to make it to that gas station on their first date.

“Alright, Eddie. Can you beat that?” Robin asked.

Eddie just rolled his eyes again and grabbed the card. “You’re all mean. And for the record, I’m getting over a UTI right now, so technically I did piss myself last night, but if we’re talking, like, a full on accident… I think the last time was when Robin was in the bathroom a few weeks ago and I couldn’t hold it,” Eddie said, trying to force his eyes to not wander all over the room.

“A couple of weeks ago is still the winner. I think it’s safe to say you get this card,” Robin said, handing Eddie the card.

The game continued on for a little while longer. Eddie had to excuse himself at some point to use the bathroom, and he still managed to keep himself dry, which shouldn’t have felt like an accomplishment, but with how bad this infection was, it did.

“We wanted to take a walk. What do you think?” Nancy said once they wrapped up the game.

“Sounds good,” Steve said with a nod.

“I’m gonna change,” Robin said. “Wanna help me pick out an outfit?” she called to Eddie right before she disappeared into her room.

“Hell yeah,” Eddie said, and followed Robin in.

After trying on at least four different outfits, Robin settled on a long dress with a t-shirt over it.

“You should try it on,” Robin said, which snapped Eddie out of his trance.

“Huh?”

“The skirt,” Robin said, looking down at Eddie’s hands, which had been absentmindedly running his fingers over the fabric of a long, black skirt for several minutes.

“What? No,” Eddie said, removing his fingers from the fabric.

“Why not?” Robin challenged.

“Because I’m a dude.”

“With long hair. Wearing eyeliner.”

Eddie pretended to be offended. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying you’re not comfortable in your masculinity,” Robin said easily. Eddie squinted.

Steve was arm deep into a bag of pretzels when Eddie walked out of Robins room wearing a skirt. His mouth involuntarily gaped for a few moments.

“Hey,” Eddie said to Steve immediately.

“Hey,” Steve said, swallowing a half chewed pretzel.

“I’m wearing a skirt.”

“I noticed,” Steve said, putting his hands on Eddie’s waist. “I wish it was shorter,” he whispered.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah—“

“Hello?” Robin interrupted.

Nancy cleared her throat. “Ready for the walk?”

***

Steve grabbed a bottle of wine before they left, and passed it around the group as they walked in a small pack through the neighborhood.

It was dark outside, and the street lights weren’t very illuminating, so Eddie felt comfortable with wearing the skirt. Still, he was a little on edge.

Especially only thirty minutes into the walk when he suddenly had to piss like crazy. He didn’t want anyone to be aware of that, of course, so he did his best to hide the fact that he was definitely having an emergency. He didn’t want to make a scene right after playing that game and telling all of his closest friends that he hadn’t had an accident in weeks… which was barely even true.

Not to mention, he was just wearing a tight pair of boxers under Robin’s skirt, having forgone the extra protection in fear that it was would too obvious under the skirt. Considering how tight Eddie’s jeans usually were, that logic didn’t even make sense, and Eddie was definitely regretting the decision to not wear a pull up.

Steve was up front with Nancy chatting while Robin was hoarding the bottle of wine in the middle. Eddie was trailing behind.

Ten minutes later, he was slowly leaking down his legs as he walked. He could feel the pee running down his legs and soaking into his black socks and shoes, but it was so dark outside, no one could see the tiny trail he was definitely leaving. He needed to just stop and whip himself out, or crouch down, or something before he completely soaked himself—but that meant drawing attention and immediately letting everyone know that he was about to pee himself.

“Let’s go down to the lake,” Robin suggested as they made it to the end of a sidewalk, which everyone agreed to. They walked down toward the dark water that was a small walk away. Steve slowed down until he was caught up to Eddie and smiled at him brightly, illuminated just by Nancy’s distant flashlight and the light of the half moon.

“You okay?” Steve asked after a moment.

Eddie really wanted to just tell him the truth, but then he’d have to go back and change, as well as tell Robin that he’d peed her skirt. Although, Eddie had never actually worn a skirt before, and so he wasn’t sure if it would even show up. He was hoping it wouldn’t.

“Good!” Eddie replied. He really wanted to hold himself, but his cock was dripping every few seconds through his underwear, and he knew there wouldn’t be much of a point. He was already having an accident. A really slow, public one. Eddie was disappointed in himself for doing this again—this stupid thing he’d been doing his whole life where he had accidents and just didn’t say anything and waited for other people to figure it out.

Even Wayne had called this habit of his childish in the past. It was what Eddie would do when he first started living with Wayne full time. He’d have accidents at home and even in school that he would just ignore and wait for an adult to say something to him. Or another kid to rat him out.

He did that on his ninth birthday party at Chuck E. cheese, only a year into living with Wayne. During cake and pizza, he peed himself at the table (because he had unrestricted access to soda), and he didn’t say anything for at least an hour and just waited for Wayne to find out. He also didn’t pack a spare set of clothes, so he had to wear a pair of lost and found shorts that were definitely designed for girls.

And he was still doing the same thing eleven years later. Walking was an easy way to get away with it, though, especially at night, and especially over grass. He could totally get away with it.

An urge came that made Eddie’s whole body cringe for a moment, but he didn’t try and grab himself and just let the leak happen, which turned into a hot stream. He could feel piss pooling into his shoes. It was burning a little bit still, so he was at least relieved to know that this was probably just his infection still acting up and not just his regular bladder.

Steve grabbed Eddie’s hand at some point as they walked, and Eddie was full on having an accident. He blushed as they slowed down their pace at the edge of the water. Pee was still trickling down his legs very slowly even after he was done, and his underwear was cooling uncomfortably.

Robin sat on a bench by the water, and Steve joined her a few moments later. There wasn’t room for anyone else, so Nancy sat on Robin’s lap. And then suddenly Eddie was the only one left standing, with droplets of pee running down his legs and boxers that were totally drenched. If he did sit down, it would soak onto the skirt. He didn’t want that.

“Are you really not gonna sit on my lap?” Steve teased him after a few minutes. He pat his thighs in emphasis.

“I’m good standing,” Eddie replied, smiling and hoping Steve wouldn’t push.

“But you’d look so cute on my lap—“

“Stop trying to take our thing,” Robin groaned.

Steve reached out for Eddie’s hand, and before Eddie could stop him or catch his balance, Eddie was plopped right on top of Steve’s lap.

Eddie froze up immediately, and for a second, so did Steve. Then Steve relaxed completely and wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, pulling him in closer. As Robin and Nancy chatted, Steve pulled Eddie even closer to whisper in his ear.

“Do you still need to pee, or are you done?” he asked. Eddie’s face was on fire.

He shook his head. “Done. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t know.”

Eddie nodded instead of saying anything. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he stay sitting on Steve, even though he was clearly wet enough that it soaked through to Steve’s pants? Oh god, Steve’s pants… the girls were going to know what happened. They’d probably assume Eddie peed himself directly on top of Steve—he wouldn’t do that! And Robins skirt… Eddie was fucked.

“You’re fine,” Steve whispered. Eddie’s body was still tensed up. “Want to go home? The girl don’t have to know,” Steve suggested.

Eddie was cold. He nodded.

“We’re gonna head back, alright?” Steve said.

“Okay! Be safe!” Robin said with a smile, happily snuggled into her girlfriends side.

Steve got up quickly and immediately folded his hacked across his arm to cover his lap. Eddie waved bye quickly and caught up to Steve.

“I’m so sorry—“ Eddie started to say.

“Baby, you have a UTI, you have nothing to apologize for! And I’m the one who dragged you onto my lap, so, you can’t blame yourself that I found out your secret,” Steve said.

Eddie stopped in his tracks. “Secret?”

“Were you planning on telling me?” Steve asked.

Eddie kicked a rock lightly. “No.”

“Exactly.”

Eddie didn’t say anything for a long time and just kept on walking. Something about Steve’s energy was making him want to mess with him really badly. Steve had a right to call him out for having an accident and not saying anything, but Eddie knew one specific thing that he could always hold over Steve’s head.

Steve liked it when Eddie wet himself if he was wearing a pull-up. That was a fact. It turned him on.

Eddie didn’t need to fully understand Steve’s fetish to want to drive Steve absolutely crazy for him. Eddie felt safe with Steve, always, and having a boyfriend with a fetish for diapers was better than having a boyfriend who didn’t find him attractive because of a medical devices he chose to use. Slightly weird? Sure. Harmful? Not really.

So when Eddie and Steve got home, he took a shower very quickly and didn’t piss. When he got out, he pulled in a pull up and tied his towel around his waist.

“What do I tell Robin?” Eddie asked Steve. Eddie was holding out Robin’s damp skirt as he leaned against the wall, wearing just his towel.

“Eds, she won’t care, baby. It wasn’t your fault,” he answered easily. Damn, Steve was too perfect sometimes.

“I’m gonna go drink some water,” Eddie said, filling up a glass in the kitchen. “I need to kick this infection,” he said after a gulp.

“Good idea,” Steve said as he searched for the TV remote.

Eddie sat down at the table and crossed his legs carefully. “Did you like me in a skirt?” he asked teasingly.

Steve looked up from his search. “I did. Yeah.”

Eddie smiled and took another few sips. “Sorry I got you wet,” he said, realizing Steve had changed.

“Sorry I found out your secret,” Steve said.

Eddie hummed and got up to put some real clothes on. In his room, he looked in the mirror with the towel dropped.

He still couldn’t see the appeal of it. When he looked in the mirror wearing an adult diaper, all he could feel was embarrassment and disgust.

But Steve didn’t see him like that.

Eddie pulled on shorts and a tshirt, then joined Steve on the couch.

They played video games for a few minutes when Eddie realized that they might not have the house to themselves for much longer, and if Eddie was going to try and have some fun with Steve, it needed to start soon.

Good thing he had to pee.

Eddie bounced a little bit as they played. Then crossed his legs. Then started fanning them in and out.

“I can pause it, Eddie, go pee—“

“I can hold it, it’s fine—“

“That’s how you end up with infections—“

“Steve, you know that I just peed. I’m just really hydrated, that’s all,” Eddie argued, one hand going to try to get a grip on his dick.

Steve didn’t say anything. Ten minutes later, Eddie was pretty desperate. “Wanna go get something sweet, like ice cream?” Eddie suddenly asked.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows. “Right now?”

“Yeah! We can do a drive through,” Eddie suggested.

Steve shrugged. “Okay,” he said, standing and stretching. “I’m gonna pee, wanna go first?” he asked.

Eddie shook his head. “I’ll go after,” he said with a smile. Steve kind of gave him a look, and when he disappeared, Eddie crossed his legs.

Okay, holding his pee wasn’t the best idea, especially in this state, because he couldn’t exactly hold his pee very long to begin with. But it was too late now—the game was in motion. Now all Eddie needed to do was pee himself and watch his boyfriend go nuts for it.

“All right, all yours,” Steve said as he exit the bathroom. Eddie shook his head.

“No need,” he said, going for the door.

“Eddie—“

“What?”

Steve crossed his arms. “I… uh. Nothing, I guess,” he said, following after Eddie closely.

Steve drove them to the closest ice cream place that had a drive through while Eddie wiggled on the passenger seat.

“Can I ask you a question?” Steve said as they waited for their order.

“Mhm,” Eddie said, hoping he didn’t sound scared.

“Are you wearing protection right now?” he asked.

Eddie looked away. “Why?”

“Because if not, you’re cleaning the seat if you have an accident. You had opportunities to go,” he said.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You know, for a guy with a weird pee related fetish, you really don’t act like you have a pee related fetish.”

Steve turned bright red instantly. “What? I—I… what does that have to do with this?” Steve finally got out.

I’m response, Eddie lowered the band of his shorts to reveal the white garment underneath. Steve gulped just as the waiter brought out their ice creams to the car.
Steve was gripping his cone so hard the entire drive back Eddie was worried he was going to crack it.

Eddie shifted on the seat and groaned.

“Are you gonna make it?” Steve quietly asked.

Eddie had both hands buried in his crotch, his ice cream cup abandoned. “Is this turning you on?” Eddie asked in response.

“Um… is it okay if I say yes?” Steve said quietly, which made Eddie laugh, which made him also dribble.

“Shit,” he muttered, trying to stop the stream. “Yes. It’s perfect that you find his hot. Because otherwise, I’d just be having an accident for no good reason. But if you’re into it, then this is some weird kinky thing—“

“We don’t have to do it if you think it’s weird—“ Steve tried to interject.

“Princess, if I found it weird, I wouldn’t be putting myself through this,” Eddie moaned out. He had to lean forward for a second, but the damn was bursting.

“I’m gonna pee,” he said after a moment of a slow stream soaking into the front of the padding. Eddie really was absolutely bursting.

“Want me to pull over—?”

“It’s up to you,” Eddie moaned, grabbing himself as tightly as he could. “Fuck. I’m gonna wet myself,” he said, meaning it. He wasn’t even playing it up, he genuinely was about to completely soak himself.

He managed to hold on until Steve pulled up to their apartment. “Do you want to try and make it inside?” Steve asked. He was so flustered.

Eddie nodded, and Steve got out to help Eddie out of the car. Thankfully, Robin and Nancy were still out, because as soon as Eddie was inside, he was peeing full force into his pants. He kept his back against the door and stared at the floor.

He expecting relief, or even arousal for turning his boyfriend on, but for some reason, it made him start to panic. He started hyperventilating as he stared down at himself and watched the material expand beneath his clothes. He couldn’t stop it if he tried. Even on purpose, it was still a fucking accident that he couldn’t control.

“Eddie?” Steve asked, but Eddie didn’t look up.

He was peeing too much, too fast, and these pull up’s weren’t the better brand. It was going to leak. He covered his mouth as he felt it break open, and piss started pouring down all over his jeans and the floor.

Eddie inhaled quickly. Steve went to touch Eddie’s arm, and he froze. “I don’t… I’m sorry, Steve—“

“Baby, shh. I’m not gonna touch you anywhere you don’t want, I promise. You’re having an accident, and it’s making you panic. I’m just here to make sure you’re okay,” Steve said lowly.

Eddie shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Why was this happening? He did this on purpose—this is exactly what he wanted to happen.

Eddie didn’t even realize he’d moved further away from the door until it creaked open and hit him in the side, and suddenly Robin and Nancy were walking in on a soaking wet Eddie who was hyperventilating over a puddle on their living room floor.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry—“ Robin immediately started saying, which just made Eddie panic more.

“Come on, Eds, let’s go to the bathroom,” Steve said quickly, holding onto Eddie’s shoulders. Eddie nodded, not looking at the girls, and let Steve walk him to the bathroom. He inhaled a sob when he realized exactly what they walked in on—Eddie, wearing a soaking wet diaper that leaked so much there was a puddle left. Then he remembered the skirt.

“I peed Robin’s skirt,” Eddie sobbed as soon as the bathroom door was shut.

Steve sighed. “I’m sorry, Eddie, this is all my fault—“

“It really isn’t, Steve,” Eddie said, still trying to regulate his breathing. He was trying desperately to keep himself from crying too much. He didn’t want to end up making himself feel any worse by crying too hard, but he wasn’t sure if he could calm himself down.

“You need to shower,” Steve said gently, going to turn the water on. “Do you want me to stay?”

Eddie shook his head no. He did, but he knew it was pathetic to need Steve with him considering the mess he’d left in the living room. “I’m sorry—“

Steve kissed Eddie’s lips gently. “You’re amazing. Thank you for that. We can talk more after you get dry and comfortable, okay?” Steve said softly.

Eddie nodded and wrapped his arms around himself as Steve exited the bathroom, leaving Eddie alone in the steaming room. Eddie stripped quickly and stuffed the saturated garment into the trash. His shorts were completely soaked, and so were his socks.

Eddie was going to burn that stupid card he won.

***

Steve exited the bathroom to find Robin and Nancy already trying to clean up the puddle Eddie left.

“Sorry,” he whispered to them.

“You know you don’t have to apologize. Neither does Eddie,” Robin said.

“If he asks, I cleaned this up, okay?” Steve said, knowing that it would not be well received if Eddie knew the girls cleaned up his pee.

“He okay?” Nancy asked.

Steve shrugged. “Yeah. I think so. I think it’s just hard for him, sometimes. It can be a lot. Even if it’s something he’s used to, and I’m used to… it’s still really hard on him,” Steve said honestly.

“He went through a lot. With the bullying. I saw it all,” Robin said quietly.

Steve nodded. “Yeah, I did some of it.”

Robin sighed gently. “It’s not his fault. It’s so stupid that society has made it that he can’t… that no one like him can feel accepted,” she said towards her feet.

Nancy nodded. “It’s weird… back in high school, I knew that Eddie was the kid that peed himself a few times or whatever, but I always thought that it was somehow his fault… like he still deserved to carry around the shame and fear that came with something so unimportant. I didn’t even know him,” she said quietly, spraying the ground with cleaner.

Steve looked between the two of them. He could talk about Eddie’s strength and ability to overcome for hours, and he was glad to see some other people appreciating him like he did. “You guys are good friends,” he said with a smile before he grabbed a towel to help dry the floor.

Once the floor was totally clean, Steve went to go fetch Eddie some clothes to place in the bathroom, as well as take out his soaked shorts and his socks to wash them with Robin’s skirt while he waited.

Eddie was dressed and had his hair brushed when he found Steve lying on his bed reading a book.

“Hey,” Steve said gently when the door cracked open.

“Hi,” Eddie said, closing the door behind him. His eyes were red. Slowly, he walked to Steve’s bed and crawled up to his side.

“How was your shower?”

“Did a great job of washing off my piss, thank you,” he said, then sighed. “I’m so sorry, Steve, I was trying to be… to be hot, for you, and I made it into a huge fucking mess—literally.”

“Eddie, that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me,” Steve brought up one of Eddie’s hands to kiss, “but you don’t need to do something like that for me, ever.”

“I thought I’d like it.”

Steve caressed Eddie’s hand. “Baby, you’ve been through a lot. Your whole life, you’ve been through a lot… people have wronged you, and they’ve hurt you, and they did these things because of something you have no control over. It makes perfect sense for your body and mind to react like that considering everything you’ve been through. Eddie, your accidents don’t always have to be written off and ignored. It’s okay to let the things that happened in the past affect you in the present. It’s okay,” Steve said with his arms wrapped tightly around Eddie, like he was going anywhere.

Steve heard sniffling after a moment. “Oh, shit, Eddie, I didn’t mean for you to cry—“

“Shut up, that was the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me. It was also really gay and lame. But it was mostly really, really nice,” Eddie said, holding back tears.

Steve brushed hair from his forehead. “Do you wanna talk about it? Like you have before?” Steve asked.

Eddie didn’t need clarification on what it meant. He nodded, barely, and laid his head back down on Steve’s chest.

“Um… I don’t know why I reacted like that, but… maybe it was the fact that that specific thing… overflowing a… you know, it’s happened to me before. When I was a kid. But, like, a kid that was too old to be wearing diapers. Anyway, it happened a few times. In public. Where i’d have an accident like, waiting in line for the bathroom, and I’d think it was fine, then suddenly the nighttime underwear I’d been wearing to bed for years was clearly getting too small for me and there was pee all over me.”

Steve groaned. “That sounds terrible. I’m so sorry.”

Eddie shrugged. “It’s fine, Steve, it was a long time ago—“

“Baby,” Steve whispered.

Eddie breathed in deeply. “Did I ever tell you about camp?”

“No,” Steve said.

“Oh God. One year, Wayne thought putting me in an overnight summer camp would be a good idea. It wasn’t.”

Steve laughed and encouraged Eddie to keep telling him as many stories as it took him to get tired, and eventually fall asleep curled up into Steve’s arms, safe and warm.

Eddie was fast asleep before Steve, and Steve fell asleep listening to his quiet breathing. Eddie was so peaceful in his sleep. The world didn’t treat him like dirt for being different in his sleep. Steve made sure to keep him warm while he dreamt.

Chapter Text

That night, Steve couldn’t sleep.

He nicked his neck with his cheap razor blade and winced, his eyes starting to glaze over from exhaustion. He stared at himself in the mirror for longer than necessary as he applied toilet paper to the cut.

His mom was definitely going to say something about the cut.

Steve just didn’t understand certain aspects of his parents. He understood his privilege in the world because of the resources his parents provided him, but he also never actually felt loved by them, and nothing he ever did could make himself interesting enough for them. The rest of his family weren’t much different.

Every few years, a few of his aunts and uncles got together for a little family reunion. This year, it was going to be hosted by Steve’s mom and dad. The same weekend as his and Eddie’s 6 month anniversary (which Eddie still thought was dumb to celebrate, but Steve was going to celebrate anyway).

Steve was excited to see his cousins, and Bill of course, sure, but he also didn’t want to pretend like he was the same person they last saw. He’d changed. A lot. He had a boyfriend. Who he liked a lot. And he wanted his cousins to like Eddie, too.

So Steve was going to have to pretend to be his parents’ perfect son while also trying to introduce them to Eddie without it being weird.

Steve was zapped back to reality when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Steve?” it was Eddie.

He opened the door to find Eddie with his hands buried in his crotch.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m shaving.”

“At 2am?”

“What are you doing?”

“Trying not to pee my pants.”

Steve had already stepped aside, and the toilet was clearly available. “Obviously, go pee.”

Eddie did as he was told. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bust in on you like that,” he said as he relieved himself.

“I feel like we’re way past peeing in front of each other, Ed,” Steve said, checking on his neck to see if the bleeding stopped.

Eddie flushed and tucked himself back in. “Well, I didn’t know what you were doing in here in the middle of the night all alone,” Eddie said, making eye contact with Steve in the mirror.

“Shaving. Poorly,” Steve pointed to his cut. “My mom is always telling me to shave when I see her,” he said.

Eddie crossed his arms. “You nervous about the family thing?”

Steve shook his head and turned around so he no longer was facing the mirror. “Naw. I just wish it wasn’t this weekend. I want to hang out with you.”

“Oh yeah?” Eddie muttered, shimmying up to Steve slightly.

“Yeah,” Steve nodded as Eddie kissed him.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Eddie said softly against his lips.

“Are you still going to come for a little bit?”

Eddie looked like he didn’t want to answer. “Well, I’m not missing out on seeing Bill,” he said. Steve nodded.

“Are you feeling better? From earlier?” Steve asked. Eddie looked away.

“Just… embarrassed.”

Steve kissed him. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. I promise. Okay. My face is smooth enough, let’s go back to bed,” Steve murmured against Eddie’s neck.

***

Saturday was a very busy day for Steve.

First thing in the morning, he had to get dressed to pick up bagels for the entire family.

“You look like you’re going to church,” Eddie said from Steve’s bed.

Steve finished doing the top button of his blue dress shirt. “I feel like I am, too,” he said. He hated dressing like this. Too business casual. But his mom liked him in kakis.

“Remember, no pants with rips when you come over,” Steve said, to which Eddie put his hands up defensively.

“Can I borrow a pair of yours?”

“Yes, but only if you actually return them to me this time.”

“We live together, Steve, it’s not like they’re going very far.”

Steve was late delivering the bagels, which was clearly annoying his mother, and he totally forgot his great aunt Amy’s name, who was two hours early. So things were off to bad start.

After setting up and kissing a few cheeks, Steve was back in his car ready to pick Eddie up. He had an hour until he was expected back.

When Steve picked Eddie up, he was wearing pants with rips in them.

“Eddie—“

He immediately held up his backpack. “I packed your kakis, don’t worry. Want to go on an adventure?”

Because he wanted to surprise Steve, Eddie insisted on driving even though Steve was pretty sure he didn’t even technically have a license.

The drive thankfully wasn’t too long, and Steve recognized the back roads immediately.

“You’re taking me to the fair, aren’t you?”

Eddie pulled into a parking space. “I was going to do that, yes. Because it’s our 6 month anniversary, and even if I think it’s dumb, you don’t. And I don’t think you’re dumb. So, what do you say? Wanna try to win me a prize this time?” Eddie asked. Steve smiled.

The fair was only weekends with the weather still being unreliable, and it was a lot less crowded than the summer was thankfully. There were barely any lines to anything.

Eddie paid for some tickets, and they went straight to the hot chocolate stand, because it wasn’t warm enough for lemonade. After ordering their drinks, they went to the ferris wheel, which was the closest thing that had no line at all.

“You gonna kiss me on top?” Steve asked teasingly as Eddie sipped his small drink.

Eddie smiled into his plastic lid. “If you’re good.”

By the time Steve was finished with his drink, they were being boarded into the small box. The seats were hard and cold as Steve sat down, Eddie across from him.

“I wish we could stay longer. Sorry my whole family thing is happening,” Steve said, looking over the small fair as the ride took them higher.

“It’s okay, Steve. I’m excited to meet some more of them.” Eddie said.

Steve smiled.

They went around twice before the giant wheel started to make strange noises. Just as they were at the very top, the ride suddenly stopped, a lot harsher than what was normal.

“Uh,” Steve mumbled, leaning over the cart to see if the person running it had stopped the ride. But the man was frantically pressing buttons and had a phone pressed between his left shoulder and ear.

“That’s not good,” Eddie said, leaning over as well.

Steve sat back against his seat and took a look at Eddie’s body language. “Hopefully we’re not up here for long,” he said. “My mom will kill me if I’m late.”

“Ride’s down. We’re calling someone to come fix it. Hang tight!” the operator yelled up after a few minutes.

There were only a few other couples on the ride, and most of the carts were fairly empty.

“Shit,” Eddie mumbled.

“You okay?”

He crossed his legs and nodded. “Depends on how quickly the guy comes and fixes this thing,” he said.

“Why, something wrong?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “No,” he said, looking out over the fair ground again.

Twenty minutes later, they were still stuck, and Eddie was wiggling on his seat. Steve was watching his watch.

“My mom is gonna be so mad,” he mumbled.

“I have to piss,” Eddie said, like it wasn’t obvious.

“You can always use my empty cup,” Steve said, holding up his empty hot chocolate cup.

“That’s a last resort, Steven.”

“Then what’s the first resort?”

Eddie pointed to the portable bathrooms, which were a decent trek away from the ferris wheel. Steve looked down to the operators who were working on the ride.

“How much longer?” Steve called down. The man held up ten fingers. Steve turned back to Eddie. “Can you hold it ten minutes?”

“My bladder doesn’t have a timer,” Eddie responded. He had one hand buried deeply in his crotch.

“Well thankfully there’s no one in the cart below us” Steve said. There was a pause.

“I’m not going to piss myself.”

“You just said you can’t hold it ten minutes.”

“No, I said my bladder doesn’t have a timer,” Eddie groaned, then switched the hand that was holding his crotch.

Eddie definitely didn’t look like he was going to be able to hold it much longer, but he’d proved Steve wrong in the past.

“How does this always happen to me? First the elevator, now this,” Eddie kind of mumbled when Steve didn’t respond verbally.

“On the bright side, you didn’t have an accident in the elevator, so you never know,” Steve said, trying to be helpful.

Eddie’s already blushed face grew redder, and he turned his head away. “I did, Steve,” he said quietly after a moment. “I did have an accident in that elevator.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to grow red. He opened his mouth to respond, then closed it quickly, not sure what to say. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Eddie was implying, and Steve didn’t know how to describe the way he was feeling. “Oh,” is all he said.

“And unfortunately, I didn’t come prepared today,” Eddie continued, readjusting the hands in his lap again and rocking on the metal seat. He looked at Steve for a moment before starting to laugh lightly.

“What?” Steve asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you horny.”

Steve was still blushing. “I’m not!”

“Mhm.”

“I’m really not,” Steve said again, even though it maybe was a lie.

He’d definitely considered the possibility that Eddie had been wearing protection that day, but Steve was never going to ask. He didn’t expect to suddenly be brought back to that elevator—to kissing Eddie while he—shit. He needed to stop thinking about it.

“Okay, give me your cup, Steve,” Eddie suddenly said, leaning forward on his seat. Steve handed over his empty cup quickly as Eddie was unbuttoning his pants.

And then, of course, just as Eddie was situated, the ride started moving again.

“Shit!” Eddie squealed, and Steve could see why. As he was peeing, quite forcefully, into the tiny cup, the ride moving made him lose his grip on the cup, and it clattered onto the metal floor.

Steve had to cover his mouth to keep himself from laughing as Eddie attempted to reach down and grab the cup while trying to get his pissing under control, which wasn’t happening, so piss was soaking into one side of his pants quickly.

“Stop laughing.“

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Do you need help—?”

“No!” he whispered.

He managed to get the cup into position to finish peeing into it, and the part of his pants he managed to pee on wasn’t around the crotch, so at least it really did look like something was just spilled.

“Steve,” Eddie groaned as their cart was the next one to be unloaded, and Eddie still had his dick out. Quickly, Steve stripped off his jacket and threw it over Eddie’s lap.

“Sorry about that, boys,” the operator said as their cart clanged into the exit platform.

“No problem, weathers nice,” Steve said, standing slowly and making a show of stretching to try and stall a little.

Thankfully Eddie didn’t need much more time, and he stood up just after Steve, holding the jacket in front of himself. He put the lid to the coffee cup back on carefully.

“Okay, we need to hurry,” Steve said as they finally got off of the ride. Eddie tossed the cup in the trash and hurried after Steve.

Eddie changed into the pants he brought as Steve drove, and they made it to Steve’s house only ten minutes late. Still, it was late.

Steve looked over at Eddie, who was wearing one of Steve’s pairs of kakis. With his black button up shirt. He looked like he’d gotten dressed in the dark. “How do I look?” he asked when Steve continued to stare.

“Good. Good. I mean, weird, but nice.”

“I look weird?”

Steve shrugged. “You don’t usually wear tan pants. Especially without any rips.”

Eddie bit his lip and glanced out the window. “Yeah. There’s a reason for that,” he said, and Steve could pick up what he was implying. But Eddie knew where the bathrooms were in Steve’s house. He’d be fine.

***

The house was filled with pure chaos when Steve opened the front door, Eddie trailing behind him. Steve was immediately bombarded with hugs from several different older women as Eddie hovered awkwardly behind him.

Eddie scanned around the house quickly. There were a decent number of people, none of which Eddie recognized. Besides Steve’s mom, who he made eye contact with and immediately looked away on instinct. Shit. He needed her to like him.

After a few minutes, she walked over. “Eddie, hello, it’s good to see you,” she said delicately, then turned to Steve, who had just been freed by a woman with fuzzy white hair in a red sweater. “Steve. You’re late,” she said with a smile.

Steve smiled. “Sorry. Got into traffic. Be right back,” he said, then turned to Eddie and cocked his head to the kitchen, where there were tons of refreshments sitting out.

Steve got a soda, and offered one to Eddie, but Eddie was not about to drink a soda while wearing these pants in this setting. He did, however, eat some veggies from a store bought platter.

Steve introduced him to what felt like a million people until they finally found Bill. Bill immediately stood when he caught eye of them, and wrapped both of them up in an individual hug.

“It’s good to see you, boys. Here, follow me,” he said, then led them down a hallway toward the stairs that led to the basement. He went down to the basement as they stayed upstairs and came back with a large, blue wine bottle. “It was a gift from the couple I introduced you to.”

Steve took it graciously. “Wow, that’s so nice.”

“Come on, let’s toast,” Bill said with a smile, and he led them back into the dining room to grab some glasses.

Eddie drank the wine with a smile, but obviously, drinking alcohol was never a good idea for him unless he was planning on accepting his fate. He needed to not accept his fate in these pants.

Two respectful glasses later, Bill let them go, and Eddie left Steve’s side to go to the bathroom. He went to one of the downstairs ones, which was empty, and did his best to avoid all of Steve’s random relatives.

He found Steve five minutes after exiting the bathroom talking to his mom near the kitchen. Eddie hovered for a moment, then turned to the wall and inspected it like there was something to see besides weird brown paint.

“Eds,” Steve called when he noticed him.

Hands in his khaki pockets, Eddie walked up to Steve. His mom gave him a once over, but was smiling.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in pants without rips!” she gleamed.

Eddie managed to not drop his respectful smile. “They’re Steve’s. I still need to invest in some hole-less pants,” he said.

“I see,” she said slowly, looking between the two.

For a moment, Eddie was worried that they’d somehow done something too gay and she’d caught onto them, but then realized what she had maybe been implying when she glanced at his khakis again.

“I didn’t have an—Um. I only borrowed Steve’s pants because I wanted to look nice. Not because… of any other reason,” Eddie said, not making eye contact with anyone.

“Mm,” is all Steve’s mom said with a smile, then waved over to someone across the room and politely excused herself, leaving Steve and Eddie alone.

“That was embarrassing,” Eddie mumbled. “I don’t even know if she was implying I’d needed to change because of that,” he finished.

“Well. Technically, you did get pee on your last pair of pants.”

“Sure, but I was always going to change into the pants that I brought with me.”

“But you carry extra pants around all the time,” Steve teased.

Eddie crossed his arms. “That’s not helping.”

“Sorry, baby,” he said softly, “I don’t know if she was implying that. I don’t… I don’t understand her.” Steve was solemnly looking over at his mom as she talked to another relative.

“It’s fine.”

Steve sighed through his nose, but turned his head when someone caught his eye.

“Steve!” someone around their age called, then came over to Steve and hugged him roughly. He resembled Steve a bit in his features.

“Hey, Brad,” Steve said with a smile, then gestured to Eddie. “This is Eddie. My roommate,” he said quickly without making eye contact. Eddie waved.

“Hey,” he said.

“We’re his cousins,” Brad said.

“We?” Steve asked.

Another man, a little bit older probably, appeared from behind Brad. He also hugged Steve. Based on their looks, Eddie could assume the two were brothers.

“Stevie, come here!” the man said, slightly knocking Steve backward.

“Oh, woah, hey, Matt,” Steve said. His face told Eddie that seeing him was likely a surprise.

“It’s been so long! Last time I saw you, you were drooling over every girl you saw and definitely shorter,” Matt said, then took off his hat and ran a hand over his slighting receding hair. Steve just kind of laughed awkwardly.

They ended up all sitting together in a corner of the living room, most of them drinking. Eddie wasn’t, but he did have a small plate of food he was quietly snacking on while the cousins caught up. From what Eddie gathered, it seemed like Matt was Brad’s older brother, and they were Steve’s mom’s sister’s kids. He was pretty sure. For the most part, he was being ignored, which he was fine with.

“Where’s your girlfriend, Stevie?” Matt asked at some point. Eddie swallowed the bit of baby carrot he had in his mouth.

Steve ran a hand through his hair. “Not doing girls right now,” he said, which made Eddie’s stomach flip.

“Oh yeah?” Matt said. He looked at Eddie. “What about you? You’re quiet.”

Eddie shrugged. “I’m not that quiet,” is all he said.

“Eddie isn’t quiet,” Steve added.

Matt nodded slowly. “Okay. You joining the family, then? Is that why you’re here?”

Eddie shook his head. “Just… hanging out,” he said, feeling guilty suddenly for his presence.

“He’s a family friend,” Steve said, which wasn’t true.

Eddie excused himself to go use the bathroom, which took him a long time to navigate to with the influx of people. He was definitely ready to go home. Maybe he could ask Wayne for a ride.

“Are you leaving?” Bill said, startling Eddie slightly. He hadn’t noticed Bill was standing there.

“Oh, hi, no. Not yet,” he said, then continued towards the bathroom.

“Aunt Missy is in that one. I’d suggest using the upstairs one,” Bill said, following Eddie’s eye-line to the bathroom. Eddie blushed.

“Thanks,” he said, then went on his way to the stairs.

The upstairs was quieter, but the bathroom was also being used. Eddie sighed through his nose. He could wait for a bit.

Eddie rejoined the group and smiled at Steve slightly, who turned his body toward Eddie as he sat.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

Eddie nodded. “Just feel out of place.”

“Do you want to leave?” Steve asked, which just made Eddie feel bad. He didn’t want to leave if Steve wanted him there.

“No, it’s fine,” he said.

“Do you need the bathroom?” he asked slightly quieter.

“I’m okay,” he responded.

“Are you sure—“

“I’m going to step outside,” Eddie said suddenly, then stood and walked out of the house without interruption.

He needed air.

Of course, five minutes into being outside, Matt joined Eddie and lit a cigarette. Eddie had been the only one outside, and it had been peaceful, but now it was all ruined.

“Steve hasn’t mentioned you before,” Matt said after taking a drag.

“Same to you,” Eddie offered.

Matt kind of chuckled. “Alright. Is Stevie seeing a girl he’s not telling us about? He’s acting different.”

“No,” Eddie answered shortly.

“No girl? That’s hard to believe—“

“Well, believe it.”

“What about that Robin chick—?”

“Aren’t you like, twenty seven? Why do you fucking care so much?” Eddie snapped.

Matt took a step back. “I knew you had some fire in you,” he said, smiling as he held the cigarette up to his lips.

“Fuck do you mean?”

“I thought you were a fruit cake, but maybe I was wrong,” he said.

Eddie wanted to punch him in the face, but locked his jaw instead and went back toward the back door.

“What, you can’t take it?” he called. Eddie stuffed his hands in his pockets and kept his chin down.

He knew how people like Matt worked. He’d been bullied enough over the years to learn how to keep himself out of trouble when he needed to.

Once instead, Eddie went straight up to Steve and tried to make himself look invisible.

“Hey, I’m gonna leave—“

“What? Why?” Steve asked, standing.

“This is a family thing, and—“

“And you’re my family, Eddie,” Steve said gently, his expression soft.

Eddie sucked on his bottom lip. “But your actual family doesn’t know that, Steve. Right now I’m just some fruit cake you drag along.”

Steve frowned. “Who said that? Did Matt say that?” he asked, louder than they’d been.

Eddie sighed. “Steve, It’s fine,” he said quickly.

“I’m going to go talk to him,” he grunted, and Eddie couldn’t stop him without making a scene. He followed as quietly as he could.

“Matt? What the fuck, man,” Steve called out into the yard to where Matt was still smoking.

“What’s the matter, Stevie? Did your boyfriend tell on me?”

Eddies heart stopped. Steve’s footsteps did, too. “What did you just say?” Steve asked.

“I asked if your boyfriend told on me. I think I hurt his feelings,” Matt repeated.

Steve took a small step. “Why’d you call him that?”

Matt laughed. “Man, you really can’t take a joke anymore! I was just calling you two homos, that’s all.”

Eddie swallowed. He could step in. He could fix this. “We’re not,” he said, which didn’t feel very convincing. Steve looked back at him briefly, then rolled his eyes towards the sky.

“Okay. You know what. This is ridiculous,” Steve muttered. He gestured to Eddie. “Eddie is my boyfriend, Matt, and if you have a problem with that, I don’t really give a shit, because you’re not ten anymore, okay? So stop acting like it.”

Matt’s mouth hung for a moment. “You’re fucking with me.”

“No, I’m not. Let’s go, Eds,” Steve said, turning away from his cousin.

“You gonna tell your mom?” Matt called.

Steve stopped again. “Keep your mouth shut to her, Matt,” he said slowly.

“Oh yeah? Why should I? The Steve Harrington I knew isn’t some fag with a loser boyfriend,” Matt said.

“The fuck did you just say—!” Steve yelled before plowing his body into Matt’s side.

“Fuck, Steve, come on,” Eddie groaned, going to try and separate the two of them.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the family to catch on, and soon Bill and some other man were pulling the two of them apart. But it took Steve’s mom to finally break them up.

“What is your problem, Steven?” she yelled, brushing him off aggressively. Steve didn’t say anything. “You three boys, inside. Now,” she ordered once everything had calmed down.

Steve’s mom forced all three of them to sit on the couch together.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked all of them.

“It’s fine, mom—“

“Stevie couldn’t take a joke, Aunt Kaitlyn,” Matt interrupted.

Eddie shifted and became suddenly very aware of his bladder again. Shit. He was supposed to pee a while ago. Bad timing. Worst timing.

“What are you talking about?” Steve’s mom asked.

“Nothing, mom,” Steve said.

Everyone in the house was pretending to not be paying attention to whatever was happening. What even was happening? Eddie didn’t even do anything.

“You gotta tell her, Stevie,” Matt droned.

Steve stilled.

Shit. This was going to become really bad.

“Tell me what?”

Kaitlyn Harrington was not a woman who seemed like she would be ready and willing to accept that her son is dating a dude, especially considering the specific dude he’s dating, and Eddie was getting really worried that Matt was about to out Steve in front of his whole family. So, Eddie did what he did best. He had a bathroom emergency.

“Uh, I’m sorry—“ he interrupted before Matt could say anything else. “I need to go to the bathroom,” Eddie said, thighs squeezed tightly together. He definitely had to pee, but there was no way he’d do this normally if he wasn’t trying to cause a distraction.

Steve looked him over quickly. “Go ahead, Eddie—“

“Hold on—“ Kaitlyn interrupted.

Eddie swallowed. “I’m sorry, I really need to—“ he started to say before just getting up and walking quickly out of the room. Steve got up, too.

“Steve, stay here,” Eddie heard Kaitlyn say as he waded through all of the furniture. This was humiliating.

“Steve!” he heard her yell one last time before turning down the hall and going to grab the door handle. Which was still locked. Shit.

Steve was behind him when he turned around. “Hey—“

“Steve, he’s going to tell her,” Eddie said quietly.

Eddie had been outed at such a young age. It took a lot of hard work to get himself out from under that hell, and he didn’t want Steve to go through the same thing.

“What do I do,” Steve asked under his breath.

“Lie. I don’t know. Lie our way out. If it happens—“

“This is all my fault—“

“It’s going to be okay,” Eddie said gently, and squeezed Steve’s hand. He glanced at the still closed bathroom.

“Oh, shit, you have to pee—“ Steve realized.

“I was playing it up to get out of there before he… said anything.”

“That’s so romantic,” Steve said, making a joke obviously. But his face was saying something different. He was scared.

“We can lie,” Eddie repeated.

“Steven.”

Eddie looked up to see Steve’s mom standing behind Steve, arms crossed.

“Mom,” he said easily.

“What are you two doing?” she asked, gesturing between them.

“Waiting… uh, for the bathroom,” Eddie said awkwardly.

“There’s another upstairs,” she said.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go check. That one.”

“I’ll come too—“ Steve tried.

“Come back and sit down, Steve,” she said sternly.

“Uh. Okay,” he said quietly.

Eddie rushed up the stairs. This wasn’t good. For once, his bladder wasn’t his biggest problem, though, which was a nice change of pace.

The upstairs bathroom was also occupied, but the person inside was finished just as Eddie got there. Bill walked out and almost hit Eddie with the door.

“Woah, Eddie!” he said.

“Bill! I need your help,” Eddie rushed out.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Matt. Your… nephew? I think he’s going to tell your sister about us. About me and Steve,” Eddie said quietly.

Bills face fell. “Christ,” he muttered, and Eddie followed him down the stairs. He was halfway down the stairs when he remembered he was supposed to pee up there. Shit. He didn’t have time, now.

Bill and Eddie walked in on a very quiet, scattered living room. Most of the family had moved on into the kitchen area, thankfully no longer invested. Steve was on the couch, his head in his hands. Kaitlyn was staring at him. Matt was staring at him, too.

“What’s wrong here?” Bill asked.

Steve raised his head.

Kaitlyn turned towards them, and locked her eyes on Eddie. “Is it true, then?” she asked.

Eddie gulped. “What?”

“Kaitlyn, what’s going on?” Bill repeated, louder this time.

“Is what true?” Eddie asked.

“You’re a homosexual,” she said.

Eddie looked at Steve. Steve had his head back in his hands.

“What?”

“That’s what Matt wanted to tell me. That you’re a homosexual?”

Eddie swallowed. “I’m not,” he said.

“Kaitlyn, for God’s sake, you can’t be serious,” Bill said, hands on his hips.

A wave of desperation hit Eddie, and he bent forward slightly. He definitely should’ve peed. Steve caught his eye. God, why did he not pee when he had the chance?

“I have the right to know if my son is friends with a homosexual,” she said, her face serious.

“Your son is friends with me, Kaitlyn, he’s already friends with a homosexual,” Bill said loudly from where he was sitting on the couch.

Kaitlyn’s face twisted up. “William,” she said very lowly.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know,” Bill said, adjusting his blazer. “Stop harassing this young man, Kaitlyn. Please.”

“This is not an appropriate conversation,” Kaitlyn said, waving her hand around. “And it doesn’t concern you, Bill.”

“This is ridiculous, mom!” Steve suddenly yelled, still sitting down on the opposite couch.

Eddie crossed his legs. He needed to get out of this situation before he pissed himself. Steve glanced at him again.

“Steven, just tell me if it’s true,” Steve’s mom said.

“It is,” Eddie said quickly. “I’ll leave,” he rushed out, then went straight to the door. If he stayed any longer, he would definitely have an accident.

“Eddie, don’t,” Steve said gently, following him.

Eddie shook his head tightly and hoped Steve understood what he meant. He needed out of the house. Or to a bathroom. Steve looked at Eddie’s pressed together legs.

“You are a homosexual?” Kaitlyn clarified, her face unusually twisted up. She was staying put in the living room, her arms crossed tightly across her chest as she stared at the two of them.

“Come on, Eds,” Steve said quickly, ignoring his mom and going to grab his arm.

“Where are you going?” his mom demanded.

“The bathroom,” Steve said, and Eddie’s cheeks became hot.

“He just went,” she said.

“No, he didn’t,” Steve said, lightly tugging Eddie down towards the hallway that led to the bathroom. The bathroom that, based on which way the lock was facing, was still being occupied.

Fuck. Steve glanced at the stairs. “Upstairs,” he said.

Eddie bit his bottom lip and let one hand reach down and squeeze himself for a moment. “I don’t think I can make it,” he whispered. He was already dribbling into his underwear. Getting all the way upstairs without pissing at least a little bit on their carpet was out of the question.

“Eds,” Steve said softly, clearly not sure what to do. Eddie’s heart fell into his stomach. He was fucking everything up.

Steve wiped a hand across his face. “No. This is just. This is so dumb,” he said, then stormed back into the living room suddenly. Eddie sat down on the heel of his foot and prayed to God that whoever was in the downstairs bathroom got their shit together before it was too late. But he could still hear Steve.

“You win, Mom. Eddie is gay. And also, he’s my boyfriend. So. Yeah. Happy, Matt?”

Eddie swallowed. Woah. Steve just came out. To everyone. As Eddie was literally seconds away from wetting his pants, of fucking course.

There was no immediate response from his mom, and then Eddie could guess the response was silence after a few more seconds passed. He heard his mom sigh. “I’m leaving,” Steve said quietly.

He appeared in front of Eddie, who was still on the floor, hands in his damp crotch. Steve helped him up by his arms, leaving his hands cemented in his crotch.

“Back door,” Steve whispered, leading Eddie through the back hallway.

Steve went to grab the door handle, then shut it tightly behind them. As soon as the cold air hit him, he needed to cross his legs tightly and stand in place for a moment.

“Shit, Steve,” Eddie said, not sure what else to say.

“I know. Fuck,” he muttered, hands in his hair.

“She didn’t say anything?”

Steve shook his head, then looked at Eddie. “Let’s get you to a bathroom,” he said.

Eddie didn’t say anything about the fact that he wasn’t going to make it to another bathroom and followed Steve through the yard and out towards the street.

As soon as they got out of the gates fence, Eddie dropped to the ground. His stomach was cramping from trying to hold it, and the dam was absolutely bursting.

“Baby? You okay?” Steve asked.

“I just need a minute,” he said as he crouched and slowly continued to pee involuntary.

“Okay,” Steve said.

“I can’t believe you just came out,” Eddie said. He was trying to pee softly into the fabric of Steve’s stupid khaki pants, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to make it even to Steve’s car. But that didn’t mean he wanted to immediately admit to Steve that he was having an accident right where he was.

“I know. Neither can I.”

“How do you feel?”

“Weird.” Steve looked at Eddie for a moment. “Baby, are you having an accident?”

Eddie looked down at himself, then nodded slowly. He could hear the sound of his stream hissing against the thick fabric, so of course Steve could hear it too. He let himself fully sit on the curb now that Steve knew, and Steve sat down next to Eddie, a few feet away, and reached out his hand. Eddie ducked his head, but placed his own hand over Steve’s. “I’m sorry,” he said, not even sure exactly what he was referring to. The stream of pee running down the curb, visible even with the sky getting dark, was probably one of the things.

“It’s okay.”

“I should’ve gone earlier,” he said.

“Yeah. And I shouldn’t have egged Matt on. Shit,” he said, then sighed through his nose. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

There was a door slam, and both of them jumped.

“My car, let’s go,” Steve said quietly, which managed to cut off Eddie’s remaining stream suddenly, totally plugging him up. He took that as a win considering the circumstances.

They both stood quickly. “Do you think Wayne will let us crash at the trailer tonight? I’m worried my mom will come looking for me,” Steve asked.

“Yeah, probably,” Eddie said, looking down at his drenched legs as they walked. The fabric was heavy now that it was soaked.

They got in the car and started off to Wayne’s trailer. Eddie shifted on the thick Emergency Eddie Accident Towel under his ass as Steve drove.

“You okay?” Steve asked.

“I should be asking you that,” Eddie said.

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment and stared forward. “I don’t know how to feel.”

They pulled into the dirt drive way, and Eddie knocked on the door as he bounced on his toes. It wasn’t very cold out, but the wet fabric on his legs was making him shiver.

Thankfully, Wayne answered the door.

“Bubs?” he said, looking him over.

“We have a situation. Can we stay here tonight?” Eddie asked urgently.
Wayne glanced at Steve and nodded. “Course. Lindsay’s here, though,” he said, and Eddie flushed. Of course Lindsay was going to see Eddie, once again, in wet pants.

“What’s going on?” Wayne’s asked as he let them in and shut the door.

“Steve just kind of… came out. To his family,” Eddie said when Steve didn’t take the initiative to speak.

Lindsay was on the couch. Eddie shifted on his feet.

“Oh. Okay. Okay. It didn’t go well?”

Steve just shook his head. “I’m worried they’ll come to our apartment. Looking for me.”

Wayne nodded. “Of course. You’re welcome to stay here. As long as there’s no funny business between you two.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Dad, stop. Look at me right now.”

“I’m just saying—“

“Mind if I take a shower? I had an accident earlier. Obviously,” Eddie huffed.

“Yes, Ed. But why are wearing khakis?”

Eddie looked down. “I wanted to impress Steve’s mom.”

“Well, just put your wet things in your hamper. I’ll wash them tomorrow morning,” Wayne said.
Before Eddie could interrupt that there was no guarantee he’d need to do a morning wash in the first place, Steve interrupted, “Don’t forget about the jeans and underwear from earlier today in your bag—”

Eddie turned toward the bathroom. “I’m showering! Goodbye!”

Chapter Text

Eddie woke up on his stomach, his nose stuffed into one of Steve’s shoulder blades. It didn’t take him long to register that his bladder was aching for release, and that his boxers were thankfully dry.

He got up quickly and rushed to the bathroom, only half awake and aware of his surroundings. He’d almost forgotten about what happened the night before, and that he was at Wayne’s trailer.

After peeing he saw Wayne’s door cracked open. He was probably at work already. Eddie was only slightly disappointed that he wouldn’t get to spend the morning with him.

Eddie started making a quick breakfast while he waited for Steve to wake up, which didn’t take long.

“I’m worried about going home,” Steve said as he ate his toast, eyes still sleepy.

Eddie nodded. “I understand.”

“I’m not ready to talk to them.”

“You don’t have to be, Steve.”

“How did you do it? How did you get Wayne to be so cool about it with you?”

Eddie shrugged softly. “I was outed before high school. It didn’t take long for Wayne to catch on and… it took time. But eventually he realized that I can’t change this part about myself as much as I can’t change everything else out of my control.”

Steve sighed. “My mom likes being in control.”

There was a knock on the door just as Eddie was about to respond. It made him jump. And pee himself a little bit, which was really annoying considering he woke up dry.

Eddie didn’t stand up, so Steve got the door. Eddie was expecting the worst, so seeing Bill on the other side was a relief.

“Bill, hey,” Steve said, opening the door.

“Hi, boys,” he said, acknowledging both of them.

“What are you doing here?” Steve asked.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I went to your apartment and the girl—Robin? She said you were here.”

Steve nodded tightly. “I’m… I don’t know, Bill. I guess I’m hiding. I’m not ready to face what I did. I can’t talk to her. Not yet.”

Bill nodded. “I understand. I tried to talk to her, but…” he trailed off.

“It’s okay. This is my fight.”

Bill pat Steve’s shoulder. “I don’t know how long it’ll take her to find this trailer,” he said.

“We can go somewhere else,” Eddie suggested, still sitting because he was pretty sure there was an obvious wet streak on the gray sweat pants Wayne bought for spare Eddie clothes at the trailer.

“Yeah. Maybe,” Steve said sadly.

Bill left shortly after that, and after some heavy reassurance from the both of them that they were okay.

“We could go to the cabin. Just for the night,” Steve suggested. He was pacing.

“I’m okay with anything,” Eddie responded.

“I’m sorry, this is so pathetic—“

“It’s not pathetic. You were backed into a corner, and you weren’t ready to come out.”

“Neither were you, but you turned out okay.”

Eddie laughed. “Okay, princess, careful. You weren’t there. I definitely wasn’t okay. I had to switch school districts.”

“Sorry,” Steve said quietly.

Eddie shrugged. “It was for the best. I got a clean slate. I went from being the kid that still pissed his pants in junior high to the dude that still pissed his pants in high school. And it only took a few months.”

“At least in high school you only had, what, a handful of accidents? Could’ve been worse.”

“Could’ve been worse? I was bullied for years because of one incident! And you didn’t even know about all of the other ones—“

“The other ones?” Steve questioned.

Eddie adjusted himself on the chair. “Yeah, obviously. After that first one… I got good at hiding it. Why do you think I always wore black to school? I kept spare clothes in my locker and backpack… obviously I didn’t make it through school without peeing myself a few times.”

“A few times?”

“Okay, more than a few times.”

“In class?”

Eddie shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Can we focus on what we’re doing right now and not on how many times I pissed myself in school?”

Steve nodded and sat down at the table. “Right. My parents would never think to find me at their cabin. I could stay there, just for tonight and then… I’ll be ready. Tomorrow.”

Eddie nodded. “Okay. I’m okay with that.”

Steve smiled a tiny bit. “Let’s go, then.”

Eddie stood up, then realized that the wet spot on his sweats wasn’t visible enough to warrant changing before leaving. “Let’s go.”

***

Eddie started squirming an hour into the drive, but Steve wasn’t going to say anything unless Eddie did.

“When? In class?” Steve asked randomly, watching Eddie’s leg bounce.

“Huh?”

“When did you… you know, hide peeing yourself in class?”

Eddie kind of squinted at him. “Why?”

Steve shrugged. That was a good question. He wasn’t exactly sure, he just… kind of wanted to know. To his knowledge, Eddie only had that one big public accident—the one that lead to all the name calling and bullying. After that, Steve saw him wet himself one time in the school lockers, but that was it.

“I mean, nothing like, nothing huge. Obviously I wouldn’t be able to cover up a really big puddle or something. And I usually just ditched when I had an accident, honestly. I’d leave through the bathroom window,” Eddie said.

Steve nodded. “What about in the classes we had together?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, actually. One time I peed myself at, like, the very beginning of class, but thankfully I was able to hold it so it wasn’t very much and it didn’t get on the floor. But my pants were soaked and I could barely sit still. The entire class I was so scared that you were going to notice, but, no one did.”

Steve swallowed, eyes on road. He wished he remembered what day Eddie was talking about. “What did you do?”

“Uh… waited until everyone in the class left, then fully pissed myself all over the floor while profusely apologizing to our teacher. Thankfully she didn’t have a class the next period, so she locked the door and waited until the halls were empty before sending me to the nurses,” he explained, then crossed his ankles.

“Hm.” Steve was getting hard. Why was Steve getting hard. He thought that only happened with the protection? Not Eddie getting humiliated… although, no one found out about that incident. “Were you embarrassed?” Steve said.

“What? Uh. Not really, I guess. The only person who found out about that one was the nurse, and Nina and I went way back, so.”

Eddie was still bouncing his knee with his ankles crossed.

Steve had to manually swallow his spit. “I can pull over,” he said. They were surrounded by forest, so it would have to be a pee on the side of the road thing.

“If you want,” Eddie said.

“What do you mean ‘if I want?’”

“You tell me, you’re the one who’s hard.”

Steve’s face lit on fire. Dammit. “I… I’m not sure why.”

Eddie put a hand on the inside of Steve’s thigh, just inches away from the bulge in his jeans. “That’s okay. I don’t mind,” he said softly.

Steve just kept his eyes on the road.

“Hand me the towel,” Eddie said after a moment, eyes shifting quickly to the back seat.

Steve obliged and grabbed Eddie’s emergency car towel, which Eddie folded perfectly and lifted up his hips to sit on top of.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked.

“Just in case,” Eddie whispered, and Steve wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Was Eddie just genuinely worried he was going to have an accident, or was he… flirting with Steve? Did this count as flirting?

Ten minutes later, Steve’s dick was thankfully back to being normal, and Eddie was still bouncing his leg, but he looked completely dry. He was still wearing the light gray sweat pants—a color which he absolutely never wore outside of the house usually.

Another twenty minutes, and Steve was getting worried that Eddie was going to get another infection if he kept on holding it like he was.

“Baby, don’t hurt yourself,” Steve said, taking a long and hard look to see that Eddie still looked perfectly dry. Was he wearing protection this whole time?

“I’m not,” Eddie said, not looking at Steve. He was also not shifting nearly as much. “Can you pull over soon?”

“I can pull over now—“

“No, it’s fine, just whenever,” Eddie said, seemingly not worried.

Steve couldn’t help but look at his pants again. Still light gray. What was Eddie up to?

He pulled over ten minutes later when he found a good spot to. As soon as he parked, Eddie casually opened the door and stood up.

And Steve stared.

The entire ass of Eddie’s sweats, and the towel, were completely drenched. He’d already had an accident.

Steve immediately felt himself harden back up. Shit. Eddie was still turned away from Steve, stretching, and letting Steve get a good look at just how much Eddie had obviously peed himself.

Eddie faced Steve, a small smile on his lips, and Steve stared at his basically completely dry crotch. Besides his very inner thighs, Eddie’s crotch looked dry. Steve gulped and gently pressed a hand to his dick.

“You…” Steve started to say.

Suddenly, Eddie crouched onto the ground outside of the opened car door. “Had a little bit of an accident, yeah. Oops,” he said. Then Steve heard the sound of what must’ve been the rest of Eddie’s bladder releasing onto the ground beneath him. “And now I’m having another one. Sorry. Couldn’t hold it,” he said softly. “I peed a while ago, but I didn’t want to say anything,” he continued, piss still audibly dripping onto the road.

Steve tried so, so hard not to cum in his jeans, but he ultimately failed as he watched Eddie continue to soak the ass of his sweats, crouching on the ground. Steve turned completely red as he looked sheepishly down at himself and came, one hard over his jeans. He barely even touched himself the entire time.

Eddie was giggling to himself as he closed the door and sat back down on the towel.

“I—“

“Are you gonna drive?” Eddie interrupted, clearly happy with himself. And still wearing soaked pants.

“Y-yeah,” Steve said quickly, adjusting himself and facing the road.

“I told you, Steve. I got good at keeping them hidden,” Eddie said softly, and Steve just nodded, eyes glued to the road.

***

They pulled into the cabin twenty minutes later, which Eddie was thankful for considering the state of his pants. For once, though, he really didn’t care at all that he’d peed himself. It was on purpose. It was… nice.

Steve shut off the engine. “I’m sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, adjusting his own pants for a different reason.

“Don’t apologize. I liked that, Steve,” Eddie said, crossing his legs, because he obviously had to piss again after holding it like that.

“I don’t know why—“

“It’s not a big deal,” Eddie said.

“Okay,” he responded softly.

As they walked into the cabin, Eddie realized he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the bathroom. He crossed his legs tightly. Dammit. The cold fabric against his dick was not helping his bladder stay in control. A stream started resoaking his boxers.

Even after pissing himself on purpose to get his boyfriend off, he still had to be reminded that at the end of the day, his bladder was still his worst enemy.

He couldn’t move himself without fully pissing himself, he knew that. Steve was opening up the cabin door as Eddie stayed frozen, piss soaking into his already very damp sweats. By the time the door was open, Eddie was done pissing himself. He blushed as he uncrossed his legs and followed Steve inside.

Steve didn’t say anything about the fact that Eddie rewet his pants, this time not on purpose, but when Eddie asked if he wanted to shower, Steve nodded his head quickly.

“Yes, please,” he responded with a smile.

Chapter Text

It was already dinner time when Eddie and Steve managed to get settled down in the cabin. They had to shower and bag up clothes already, which took a moment, but by 7, they were eating cold sandwiches that were thrown together with just a few ingredients.

Steve finished his sandwich and got up from the table to flip open a tall, wooden cabinet. He grabbed a bottle of something and brought it down.

“We should drink,” Steve said, holding up the bottle.

Eddie swallowed his bite. “Drink that?”

“It’s my dad’s, and it’s expensive, and I’m pissed,” Steve said.

“If you want to, we can, but also, if you wanna talk about—“

“I don’t want to talk about it. I want to pretend it didn’t happened,” Steve said, the last part being thrown away as he looked around for two small glasses. He poured a few fingers of whiskey and set one in front of Eddie.

“That’s not gonna work forever. Trust me,” Eddie said.

Steve took his first sip then grimaced. “I know. But can we just pretend for one more day that it will?” he said. His hair was sweeping into his eyes as it dried from the shower.

Eddie lifted his glass and took a sip. “Oh, god, this is awful.”

“It’s horrible.”

Steve took another large gulp.

Eddie took another sip. “I mean, It’s kind of nice. In the way that gasoline smells good.”

Steve sort of nodded then finally sat down next to Eddie. He put his head against Eddie’s shoulder. “This feels so weird.”

“Coming out is weird,” Eddie emphasized, one hand going up to Steve’s hair to get his fingers on his scalp.

“When is it going to feel normal?”

“Not by only the second day,” Eddie said softly as he took another sip and let it sit in his mouth for a moment longer. “Okay, I understand why this is expensive. It’s kind of delicious,” he said, then cleared his throat before speaking again. “But I’m going to go put a pull-up on before this hits my bladder,” Eddie said as he stood. He could already feel it warming up his chest, and he knew what liquor did to him. “You want one?” Eddie decided to joke, one hand still in Steve’s hair as he stood next to him.

“Sure,” Steve said, to Eddie’s surprise.

Eddie just sort of laughed that off and turned to go find his backpack. “Right.”

“Why not?”

Eddie turned back and squinted at Steve. “Actually?”

Steve shrugged. “I’ve never… I don’t think I’ve ever worn one before. Like. As an adult.”

“And you want to?” Eddie asked, slightly confused.

Steve shrugged. His cheeks were pink, and he was obviously embarrassed about asking. “I guess?”

Eddie smiled into a laugh. “Whatever you want, Princess,” he said, then went and grabbed two pull-ups instead of just one. Thankfully he was pretty positive he’d packed an unreasonable amount.

Eddie handed Steve one of the folded up garments and then started to strip off his shorts and boxers. After making sure it was situated on his body, he put his shorts back on over the protection and pulled his shirt back down. He sat and tied his hair up while watching Steve struggle.

Steve was doing the same thing Eddie had just done, but much slower, and seemingly, was much more embarrassed about it based on his red face.

“You don’t have to do this—“ Eddie started to say as he watched Steve struggle to figure out which side was the back or front.

“No one is making me do this, I promise,” Steve said as he finally put his feet in the holes and started to shimmy it up his hips. “Are you sure this is okay?” Steve asked.

Eddie nodded as he sipped his whiskey. “This is fine,” he said honestly. His opinion about protection—pull-ups, whatever they were—had changed significantly in the months he’d been utilizing them again. They were becoming more of a tool, and less of a punishment for his weakness. They kept his pants dry, and Eddie liked knowing that if he did have an accident, there wouldn’t be so much cleanup, or so much embarrassment. So seeing his boyfriend, who had a completely normal functioning bladder, wearing his diapers, was pretty funny.

“Okay. I did it,” Steve said after finally getting his sweats and boxers over the protection.

“Good job, babe,” Eddie said.

Steve sat back down and kind of wiggled his hips. “This feels strange.”

“These aren’t even that big. There are way bigger ones.”

Steve nodded, then giggled to himself. “Thanks for… for letting me wear one. I won’t use it, or anything, I just wanted to—“

“Oh, you’re using it,” Eddie interrupted, which is when he became conscious of the fact that his thoughts were already getting clouded by the strong liquor.

Steve stared at him for a moment, his face pink again. “Okay,” he said.

Eddie sank the rest of his glass. “More?” he asked Steve, looking down at his glass, which was almost gone.

Steve drank his and nodded furiously.

Okay, him and Steve were definitely having some fun.

It didn’t take long for Steve to become a giggly mess, or for Eddie to definitely leak a little bit when Steve made him laugh.

“Shit,” he said instinctively when it happened, but crossed his legs tightly and cut the stream off. “I’m going to pee,” he said to Steve before standing and making his way down the hallway to the bathroom.

He was getting drunk quickly. He felt like he was the perfect amount of drunk as he walked to the bathroom. Apparently, not quickly enough, because a tiny leak started wetting the front of his pull up just as he got there.

Eddie sat down to piss the tiny amount he even had in his bladder. But his pull-up was barely wet, and he didn’t need to change anything. It was kind of amazing. He washed his hands quickly before he went back out to Steve, who had now migrated to the couch.

“All good?” Steve asked.

Eddie smiled as he curled up into Steve’s side. “This whiskey is amazing,” he said.

“It’s pretty good,” Steve said, which seemed to remind him of his glass on the coffee table. He drank a decent amount. “I’m not going to be saying that tomorrow morning.”

Eddie nodded. “Me neither.”

“So what did you mean, earlier? You’re not gonna let me piss?” Steve asked suddenly.

Eddie shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

Steve was blushing again. “But you just got to pee.”

“Yeah, I’m the one who actually has accidents. This isn’t about me,” Eddie responded.

Steve nodded. “Okay. So… you want me to piss myself?”

Eddie shrugged again. “I guess.”

Steve smiled a little tiny bit. “Weirdo,” he said.

They turned a movie on eventually, and Eddie got hit with a huge wave of intoxication. He was not used to the quick effects of hard liquor.

Eddie got up to pee halfway through and sort of wobbled to the bathroom. He pissed perfectly fine, then realized on the way back that Steve had to need the bathroom by now.

“Do you need to piss?” Eddie asked as he sat down.

Steve shrugged. “A bit, yeah.”

“How long can you hold it?”

Steve furrowed his brows. “I don’t know. Definitely a bit longer.”

“I bet you’ll need to piss before I do,” Eddie said.

“That’s not fair. You’ve already peed twice.”

“Exactly. You haven’t peed at all, and we’ve had the same amount to drink, and I’ve already had to piss twice. You’re up next.”

Steve looked at him. “You trying to have a holding competition with me?”

“Why not? Scared you’ll lose?”

“I don’t think I’ll lose,” Steve said quickly.

Eddie crossed his arms. “You’re a dick.”

Thirty minutes later, they were making out lazily on the couch while the movie credits played when Eddie started squirming around on top of Steve.

“Eddie, you shouldn’t hold it. You’ll get an infection,” Steve said after opening his eyes.

“Hm?” Eddie hummed, eyes still closed.

“You’re squirming,” Steve whispered as he squeezed Eddie’s hips playfully.

“Oh. I need to smoke, can we smoke?” Eddie asked, changing the subject and getting off of Steve.

“Pot?”

“Yes, pot,” Eddie said, finding his jacket and pulling out a joint. “You coming?” he asked after tucking it behind his ear.

“Sure,” Steve said.

They walked down to the lake, Eddie a few paces ahead of Steve. Eddie sat down on a patch of grass and looked ahead until Steve joined him. He started to light the joint as Steve sat.

***

After smoking the joint, Steve got unbelievably high. He was lying on his back and staring up at the stars, Eddie by his side.

“I have to piss,” Steve laughed out.

“I can’t even feel my bladder,” Eddie said, laughing along. “Normally that would worry me.”

“But not now?”

“No.”

“Hm,” Steve hummed, shifting his legs. The feeling of the unfamiliar padding between his legs wasn’t becoming any more normal, but it wasn’t bad.

“How long can you hold it?” Eddie asked Steve suddenly.

Steve had no idea. “How am I supposed to know?”

“See? Exactly! God, I hate when people ask me that. Like, how would I know? I’m the last person to know.”

Steve giggled. “You’re tipsy.”

“How do you know.”

“Because I know you.”

Then they were drunkenly making out again. Until Eddie had to pull away and shove a hand between his legs. “Oh, there it is.”

“There what is?”

“My need to pee,” Eddie responded as he sat up and wiggled his hips.

“Do you need to go inside?”

“No, it’s good for me to hold it sometimes, Steve,” he said, still squirming.

Steve shifted. It was starting to hurt a bit. “Well I definitely need to piss.”

“I bet. You haven’t peed in forever.”

Steve thought back. It had been about 6 or 7 hours. “Good thing i’m protected, then.”

“Yeah, right,” Eddie said with a laugh.

“What do you mean?”

Eddie looked at him. “Obviously it wouldn’t be able to hold, like, all of it,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because you have way more piss inside of you than it can handle.”

“How do you know?”

Eddie looked at Steve like he was dumb. “Babe, these leak sometimes when I wet them, and my bladder is a lot smaller than yours. Like. A lot.”

“You’re saying if I do pee myself fully, it’ll leak?” Steve asked.

“Definitely. Your bladder is huge compared to mine. You would need a much bigger…. diaper, or whatever, to hold everything. Pull-ups usually work for me because I never have much pee in me anyway,” Eddie explained. “Why, you gonna pee yourself?”

Steve shrugged. “I guess eventually, yeah. What about you?”

Eddie looked away. “I’m too high to hold it,” he said, “hard liquor goes straight through me.”

“Thought we were having a holding contest?”

“We are. I’m just probably going to lose.”

“Wait, how can you be too high to hold it? You smoke all the time.”

“Yeah, by myself, usually,” Eddie said, eyes on the nearby dirt. “Okay, let’s go in. I’m getting cold,” Eddie said suddenly before standing and offering a hand down to Steve.

And okay, it was getting to the point where Steve would definitely comfortably piss usually, but he tried to ignore that as they walked back to the cabin together.

“This place brings back memories,” Eddie said as he slumped into the couch.

Steve cracked open a beer. He was thirsty, and getting tired of waiting for his bladder to burst. He needed to speed up the process before his boyfriend gave himself another UTI from trying to hold it.

“Want one?” Steve offered, assuming Eddie would say no. But Eddie nodded toward the beer in Steve’s hand.

Steve shrugged to himself before walking back over and handing the beer over. Maybe Eddie wanted to speed things up too. Maybe he was ready to admit defeat.

After both beers were drained, Eddie was rocking back and forth slightly.

“Baby, just go pee,” Steve said. Watching Eddie squirm around like that just made his need worse.

“Sorry. I’ll sit still,” Eddie said in response, then crossed his legs tightly.

Obviously Eddie wasn’t going to be listening to Steve and his body, but Eddie was drunk. He couldn’t expect Eddie to be completely rational all the time.

Steve was also drunk, and also not rational, so he decided to do something that was not rational and just piss himself. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to actually get to that point, and Eddie was on the verge of losing it. Also, he was wearing a pull-up. There was no shame.

“Oh shit,” he said, faking desperation and shoving a hand onto his crotch.

“Steve?”

“I just pissed a little,” he lied, then stood up.

“You did?” Eddie questioned.

“Yeah, I’m gonna… piss myself, I think,” he said. He tried to relax and let go, but he was having trouble.

Eddie stilled. “Does this mean I win?”

Steve realized the issue with his plan right there. As ready as he was to just give up and piss himself, he was also not ready to let Eddie win. Then he realized that Eddie was sitting completely still.

“Hold on, are you peeing right now?”

Eddie flushed bright red. “That’s not fair.”

“Are you?”

Eddie stretched his legs out in front of him slowly. “Maybe.”

“Then no, I still win.”

“I thought you were going!” Eddie argued.

Steve couldn’t help thinking about how Eddie was probably still peeing himself into his protection as he whined at Steve, and it was making him harden up in the pull-up. It was a new sensation, for sure.

“I was! But I stopped!” Steve said, which was a lie again. He hadn’t pissed at all.

Eddie adjusted himself. “Shit. I’m soaking this thing.”

“You brought more, right?”

Eddie nodded and seemed to finally finish peeing. “Yeah.”

“Did it leak?” Steve asked.

Eddie shook his head. “No.”

“See? I don’t think it will leak for me, either.”

Eddie blinked once. “Okay, then prove it.”

Steve bit his bottom lip. “Okay. I’m trying,” he said, which wasn’t totally a lie, but now that he was semi hard, and he definitely couldn’t do it.

“Just relax,” Eddie said softly.

Steve nodded. He closed his eyes.

“You should spread your legs apart, maybe,” Eddie suggested. He was sitting crisscrossed now on the couch.

Steve nodded and did as he was told. He felt a wave of desperation wash over him, but instead of suppressing it, he tried to allow himself release. He could feel it at the tip of his member, but it still wasn’t coming out.

“I can’t, I just can’t. My body won’t let me pee myself.”

“What a terrible problem to have,” Eddie said sarcastically.

Steve rolled his eyes. “I mean it!”

Eddie sighed. “What if we tried doing one of things that usually helps me relax,” Eddie suggested, “like, kissing?”

Steve smiled. “Sure.”

A few minutes into kissing, Steve had fully forgotten about his need to piss until it came back to him very suddenly and strongly. He reacted by not tightening up, and instead tried to let it out. He jumped slightly when he actually started pissing.

“Oh,” he said when he managed to let out a small stream. It soaked into the padding quickly, and Steve blushed when he realized he could hear it. Could Eddie hear it too?

Eddie was clearly about to say something when the phone rang. Steve jumped slightly and closed back up completely.

“Who’s that?” Eddie asked.

“I don’t know,” Steve responded. He didn’t have a good feeling about the answer.

Steve got up quickly and walked to the wall the phone was plastered on. After another aggressive ring, he picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Steven.”

Ice ran down his back. His mother.

He didn’t say anything.

“I know you’re there, Steven. We have an alarm system,” she said.

“I… am.”

Steve turned to Eddie with his face probably white as a ghost.

“We need to speak.”

“Yeah.”

“Tomorrow night. We’ll meet at a restaurant to avoid any misbehavior. Bring Eddie,” she said, clearly very calculated.

Steve swallowed. “Okay,” he said quietly.

After a moment, she sighed. “It’ll be okay,” she said finally, then hung up.

Steve placed the phone down, and realized that he was literally pissing himself.

It was a tiny stream. It was barely even noticeable. Steve didn’t try and cut it off.

“Was that your mom?” Eddie asked.

Steve rubbed his face and nodded. He relaxed more, and the stream became stronger. “She wants to meet. Tomorrow. With you.”

Eddie nodded. “Okay.”

“She said… she said ‘It’ll be okay.’ Do you believe that?” he asked while he continued to release a slow stream into the protection.

Eddie nodded. “I do.” He put his head to one side. “Steve are you…?”

Steve was suddenly very hot in the face. “I, uh, yeah,” he said. “I just let myself relax,” he said.

Eddie giggled. “Man. I would kill to have your bladder,” he said.

Steve was about to respond when he realized that his stream was really picking up. It was picking up fast enough that it was starting to fill the pull-up faster than Steve was worried it could hold. That was proven when he felt the side of one leg expand just enough to let a large leak soak into his sweats. “Shit,” he swore as he looked down at himself.

“What?” Eddie asked before the spot started to grow.

Steve tried to stop on instinct, but realized he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get himself to stop peeing. “I can’t stop,” he said.

“That’s okay,” Eddie said. He looked like he wanted to laugh, though.

The leak was turning into his entire of pair of sweats becoming completely demolished by piss as he just stood there, unable to stop at all. The pull-up was completely useless at this point, and Steve could feel it soaking into his socks and forming a puddle on the hardwood.

“I really want to say I was right,” Eddie said, looking down at the mess Steve was making.

“Okay, you were right.”

Eddie uncrossed his legs. “You done yet?”

“I don’t think I ever will be,” he said as he relaxed. It felt great.

Eddie laughed, which made Steve laugh.

“Oh, shit,” Eddie suddenly exclaimed as he leaned forward on the couch. “Okay, let’s get changed before I make mine leak, too,” he said.

“There’s no way you have to piss again.”

Eddie rolled his eyes and stood.

Steve was finally done pissing himself, and the floor had a large puddle beneath his feet. He couldn’t help but cringe at how uncomfortable he was. “This is the worst feeling,” he said as he adjusted himself for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I know,” Eddie grumbled.

After getting dressed and cleaning up, they sat on the floor in front of the fire, still drunk but worn out. Steve was worn out, at least.
Eddie had his knees pulled to his chest as he watched the flames.

“Why do they want me at the dinner?” Eddie asked.

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t have to go.”

“No, I do, Steve.” Eddie stared at him for a moment. “It’s too late. They know about us.”

Steve nodded slowly. “I promise I’ll make sure nothing happens.”

“I’ll behave,” Eddie said.

Steve laughed lightly. Then he noticed the small wet spot on the center of Eddie’s shorts.

“Baby, do you need to pee?” Steve asked.

Eddie shifted slightly and shrugged. “Probably.”

Steve didn’t say anything. As long as Eddie wore protection to bed, they’d be alright. Steve put his head on Eddie’s shoulder. They’d be alright.

Chapter Text

“Hey, I, uh… I only have one left,” Eddie said as he got into the car parked outside of the cabin.

“One left of what?” Steve asked as he did the same.

Eddie held up the white, folded up garment he pulled from his bag.

“Why aren’t you wearing it?” Steve asked.

Eddie blushed. “What if I have an emergency later and I need it?”

Steve squinted. “I can just stop somewhere on the way and buy more. No sweat.”

“Okay. But. It’s not like I need to wear them, Steve,” Eddie grumbled without really thinking.

“I didn’t say you did,” Steve said softly as he finally started the car.

Eddie sighed. “I know. Sorry.” He put the pull-up back in his bag. He wore them on road trips when he wanted to. It wasn’t a requirement. Steve knew that. Eddie knew Steve knew that.

Why was Eddie feeling so insecure about this suddenly?

Because of that morning, probably.

After waking up in the morning from having incredible drunk sex, most people would have a headache and some nausea. Eddie had all that as well as a huge rock of wet, spongy material between his legs when he woke up. Also, the legs of the pull-up had leaked slightly onto his boxers, but thankfully not the sheets, so it was an even bigger mess to clean up, and a lovely reminder of how fucked up his body was.

It just was so endless. Everyday he avoided accidents all day long just to wake up the next day and avoid more accidents. Even after a fun night he barely remembered, he woke up in a soaked pull-up still smelling like urine and feeling like shit.

Now, an hour into the drive, Eddie was definitely feeling stupid for not putting the protection on, just in case. His need to pee came on super suddenly. He clenched his hands. He’d needed to speak up soon.

“Here, there’s a store coming up. We can stop and get you more protection,” Steve thankfully said as he pointed to a sign.

“Great,” Eddie said, thankful for the chance to pee. And maybe put the pull-up on… just in case. Ugh. He hated when Steve was right.

The small pharmaceutical store was backroadsy, but it had a bathroom, so Eddie didn’t mind. It looked like it was probably one of the only stores in the small town.

“I’m going to pee,” Eddie said as they walked through the entrance.

“Copy that,” Steve said, already searching for the aisle he needed.

It took the same amount of time for both of them to complete their tasks, and Eddie found Steve by the entrance of the store holding a plastic bag.

“Ready?”

Eddie nodded.

Back in the car, Steve slung the bag into Eddie’s lap.

He took the package out. When he saw the design, his heart sank. They were adult diapers. Like, with the tabs. They were long, super thick, adult diapers. Eddie swallowed.

“Steve.”

“Are those okay? It’s all they had.”

Eddie sighed. “These are just… Steve, these are not… pull-ups.”

“I know, that’s what I thought. I’m sorry. Should we go somewhere else?”

“No, I just… I don’t want to waste them but… I don’t want to wear these.”

Steve nodded, slowly. “Okay. So. Wait. You won’t wear them because they have tabs?”

Eddie blushed. “Well, yeah, but also they are completely different—“

“Pretty similar, too.”

Eddie squeezed the sides of the package and stared back down at the unfolded picture of a diaper. “This is so stupid.”

“I know I messed up buying those, I get that now—“

“No, no. It’s stupid that I… I care about this. Eddie opened the package. He pulled out one of the diapers and unfolded it. Then sighed. “Be honest. Does this make you horny?” he asked.

“Not necessarily in this context,” Steve said with a small smile and blush on his cheeks.

“That’s understandable.” Eddie sighed. “This is stupid. I’m 20!” he yelled, not at Steve.

“You’re just choosing to use them because they help you. Like a wheelchair helps someone who can’t walk.”

“That’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not, but it’s similar.”

Eddie set down the diaper. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad. I know they’re not actually that different from pull-ups.”

Steve nodded after a moment.

“We’ll get you some pull-ups when we can, then. But. We should get going. The dinner starts in 3 hours and we’re still over an hour away,” Steve said.

Eddie nodded and put the diapers in the back seat. He didn’t want them to go to waste, but the idea of wearing one of them in public made Eddie’s stomach sink so deep he was worried it was gonna fall out.

***

Eddie was wiggling around in the passenger seat when they pulled into the apartment. To be fair, they both ended up getting sodas when they got back in town.

“Go run inside,” Steve said as soon as he began to park.

Eddie opened the door quickly. Steve followed behind with their stuff at a much slower pace and found Eddie in the bathroom with the door open washing his hands while wearing just a pull-up with his boxers around his ankles. Steve blushed and closed the front door quickly. He hadn’t realized Eddie had been wearing it.

“Hey. Can I borrow a pair of pants with no rips?” Eddie asked, softly crossing one leg over the other when he realized his shirt didn’t completely cover up the protection.

“Sure,” Steve said without a beat.

While Steve went to his room and got settled, Eddie was pacing around in just the boxers he’d put on. He was also drinking a beer.

“Eddie?” Steve asked when he came out.

“Hm?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just… I’m worried.”

“About?”

“It’s nothing.”

“You sure? Because I’m thinking you’re probably worried you’re gonna have an accident. In front of my family.”

Eddie shrugged as he paced. “Maybe.”

“Are you not going to wear the pull up?” Steve asked quietly.

He shrugged. “But they might notice.”

“Maybe. But they probably won’t, baby. The beer probably isn’t helping, either way.”

Eddie looked down at the beer in his hand. “You’re right. I’m just nervous.” He handed it to Steve.

“Yeah. Me too.”

“I know you are. Sorry. I don’t mean to make this about me.”

“You’re fine. Just put some pants on before we leave,” Steve said, and tried to laugh. It wasn’t genuine.

They got dressed quickly and got in the car in a timely fashion, but there was a car wreck on the highway that led to traffic, and parking was a nightmare, and they were of course running late, so naturally, Eddie and his tiny, nervous bladder, was acting up. He was somehow already desperate to pee by the time they got to the restaurant.

“I, uh. I need to pee,” Eddie finally admitted after several minutes of squirming and Steve successfully parallel parking the car.

“I know. We’ll do that first thing.”

“What if your parents see me go?”

“Eddie, you excusing yourself to the bathroom in front of my family is okay. And very necessary. I promise.”

Eddie nodded and got out of the car, then froze for a moment when he suddenly started leaking heavily. He pressed his thighs together. Oh no. He really had to go. Like, now. But he had to make it to the restaurant. He had to.

As they started the walk to the restaurant at the end of the block, Eddie was beyond desperate. He had been overdoing it on liquids the last couple of days and letting himself get away with too many accidents. Therefore, his body did not want to hold it at all despite his intentions. If he wasn’t wearing a pull-up, he’d be panicking at the realization of an impending accident. There wasn’t a way around it; he wasn’t making it to a bathroom.

Not even that far from the car, he started leaking into the pull-up again. He wanted to sit down on his heels to try and stop. But then Steve would know. Shit. The stream wasn’t stopping.

The protection he had on was supposed to be for the dinner, not the walk to the dinner! This was not supposed to happen.

But it was happening. He couldn’t stop peeing now that he’d started. His body was completely done holding it.

And he just kept on walking as normally as he could.

“Ready?” Steve asked as they stood outside the door to the restaurant.

“Yep,” Eddie said.

“Alright. Let’s hit the bathroom.”

Eddie blushed. His pull-up was completely soaked. He pulled his shirt down again and followed Steve to the bathroom he didn’t need to use anymore.

Forty minutes later, Steve moved a piece of food around on his plate as Eddie shifted around slightly on his chair, the wet garnet protruding between his legs like a constant reminder of his immediate failure.

Steve’s parents had barely looked at Eddie, thankfully. They had managed to get through ordering food and waiting for it without saying anything of significance to each other. Eddie was starting to think they never would.

***

Steve felt like his entire body was on fire.

His parents were just eating and chatting about superficial things like two days ago he hasn’t come out to them and blown up his life.

Eddie was sweating more than usual. Something was up with him, but he wasn’t sure what. Steve felt like crap. Every bite he took sat heavily in his stomach.

“Steven,” Kaitlyn said with a straight face. Steve gulped. “We need to talk about your… situation.”

Finally. Steve nodded. Eddie looked at him. Steve to look back at him for support, but he didn’t.

“Okay.”

She set down her fork. “The two of you, living together… it’s not right.”

“None of this is right to you,” Steve snapped.

The restaurant chattered.

“You’re right,” she said.

“So. What? You can’t force me to live somewhere else,” Steve said.

His mom looked toward Eddie. “And your… uncle, wasn’t it? He’s okay with this?”

“He’s fine with it,” Eddie said, sort of quietly. “He’s known for a lot time.”

She blinked, then looked at her husband. “I don’t know if I can do this—“

“Mom, mom, what are you—“ Steve tried to say, but she was kind of becoming erratic. She interrupted him.

“This is just too much. This boy has been corrupting my son—“ she said.

“Corrupting?” Steve yelled.

“I haven’t—“ Eddie tried to say.

“Shut your mouth,” Steve’s mother said very sternly. Eddie flinched at her voice.

Steve could see it on Eddie’s face. He tuned everything out. It made sense. They were yelling. People could see them, and they were sitting around at the table, yelling.

Eddie was completely freezing up. Shit.

“Don’t yell at him. Please,” Steve begged, lowly.

More yelling. Eddie was clinging so hard to the table cloth Steve was pretty sure he accidentally ripped it.

He looked at Steve.

“You’re in no position to tell me what to do—“

“I need to use the restroom,” Eddie said as loudly as it seemed he could manage. The bickering died as Eddie escaped from his chair and walked quickly to the back of the building.

“I should go after him,” Steve instinctively said when Eddie got himself deep into the restaurant. Steve wasn’t sure why he even needed to excuse himself, which worried him the most.

“Sit back down, there’s nothing you can do if he wet his pants on the way there,” his mom ordered, very loudly.

“Mom!” Steve yelled before he could stop himself. He wanted to yell more, he wanted to scream ‘why would you say that?,’ he wanted to throw his hands against the table—but his mother’s eyes shifted in the way that always made his stomach sink.

Steve sat, slowly. His parents were sitting, and Steve realized all of the faces around them at their respective tables seemed to be subtly paying attention.

They went back to their food after Steve sat.

Steve was beyond embarrassed that they’d already caused such a scene, and his stomach was turning from what his mom said. What she said so loudly, so publicly. It was humiliating for Eddie.

“He’ll be fine. It’s not like you have to change him. Not yet, anyway,” Steve’s father decided to finally add with a meek laugh, and Steve stilled completely for a moment.

“That’s not…don’t say stuff like that—“

“It’s a joke, Steven—“

“It was inappropriate—“

“Come on, it’s just an old joke. It’s not like he’s actually in diapers.”

Steve swallowed so quickly he almost choked. How was he supposed to respond to that? How did that even come out of his father’s mouth? It was the worst thing he could’ve put out there into the realm of possibility’s.

The only victory in the situation was that Eddie wasn’t there to hear it. Dammit. Why did his dad have to say that?

“You can’t say things like that,” Steve said slowly, finally. He wasn’t sure what else to say. But he needed to defend Eddie. He needed to say something.

“Steve,” his mom said, lowly. A threat.

“Mom, It’s inappropriate. So… so what if he did? Why would it even matter to you since you’ve already decided you hate him. You decided you hate me, too, I suppose.” He muttered the last part.

Steve wasn’t sure what he was saying. He didn’t know how to protect Eddie’s secret while also protecting Eddie from the idea that it was wrong to wear protection.

“We do not hate you. But, now that you’ve caused this scene, we need to leave,” his mother said.

Steve frowned. “It wasn’t me,” he said, then stood and pushed his chair in. He needed to go find Eddie, anyway.

“You’re coming with us.”

“No.”

“Yes, Steven. Go find Eddie and bring him here. I’m not letting you out of my sight. We’ll finish our talk at home.” It was an order, not a request. Cash was already on the table. After a moment, Steve nodded toward the ground lamely, like an obedient son, then turned to the restrooms.

***

Eddie stared down at his soaked pull up that sagged onto the bathroom floor, then sighed as he slowly tugged it back up over his hips. It was probably better to have protection on than none at all, even if it was already used. Considering he’d managed to have an accident already, he didn’t feel confident going commando.

“Eddie?” Steve called suddenly.

Eddie exited the stall and went quickly to the sinks. “Sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay. We’re, uh. They’re forcing us to leave. To go to my house… their house. Like, now.”

Eddie nodded lightly. Great.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked.

Eddie nodded again, and Steve forced a smile.

Hopefully ‘are you okay’ didn’t translate to ‘is your pull up dry,’ because the answer to that was a very hard no.

The drive to the Harrington’s was awkward. Steve followed his parent’s car closely. Eddie kept glancing at the package of diapers in the back seat. He needed to get the wet pull up off soon. He’d already been sitting in it for too long.

He just needed to say it. Spit it out. Then Steve would know, and he’d help figure it out before it turned into a rash. Or worse, it leaked.

“Uh,” Eddie said, breaking up the silence. Steve had been staring at the road with a death grip on his steering wheel the whole time.

“Hm?” he grunted back.

This was the worst time for Eddie to admit he’d wet himself. Tensions were still so high.

Thunder rolled through the sky. Eddie swallowed. “I, uh,” he shifted. The wet pull-up shifted grossly with him. He needed to change out of it. He needed to tell Steve that.

“What’s wrong?”

Steve sounded frustrated. “Nothing’s wrong,” Eddie said instantly.

“What were you saying, then? Do you need to pee?”

“I don’t need to pee,” Eddie said quickly. He kind of did, but it wasn’t urgent.

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment. “Eddie, just tell me what’s going on so I can help you.”

Help. Eddie always needed help. He can’t keep his pants dry. He pees the bed. He panics. He cries.

“Nothing, Steve. Sorry,” Eddie said.

Steve sighed. “Okay.”

After pulling into the driveway, Steve sighed. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in there, Eds.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want them to get into your head.”

Eddie nodded. “They won’t.”

Steve sighed again. “We’ll make this quick. I’m not letting them treat me like a kid anymore. My life is my life… and if they want to cut me out of theirs, then so be it.”

Steve was out of the car before Eddie could even register what Steve had even said.

***

Steve’s mom and dad were sitting in the living room waiting for them. For a moment, Steve stood by the entrance. Eddie followed closely behind.

“Come sit. Please.”

Steve didn’t, but he walked fully into the living room and faced his parents.

“What are we doing here?” he demanded. “What else do you need to say to me that you didn’t say at the restaurant?”

His mom looked at his dad for a moment, then straightened up taller. Thunder clapped again, and the light drizzle outside became a heavier torrent.

“We need to discuss your place. In this family.”

Steve swallowed. “Then why is Eddie here?”

“To give you a choice,” she said.

“What?”

“Sit, please.”

“No.”

His father sighed. “Steven, please don’t make this any more difficult for your mother than this has to be.”

He wanted to laugh. “Difficult for her? For her?”

“Yes, Steven, watching your son succumb to sin is not an easy thing,” she snarked.

“It’s not sin.”

“Of course it is. Homosexuality is a sin,” his mom said.

“But… it… it shouldn’t matter, mom! All that should matter is that I love him—“

“Steven, we are willing to look beyond this… momentary slip… if you chose to move back home, and to cut off all contact with Munson,” his father interrupted, loudly.

Steve felt like he couldn’t breathe. “What?” He glanced at Eddie, who was standing a good distance away, eyes wide.

“You’ll have our full support back. However, choose to continue with this silly little game you’re playing, and we will no longer be your family.”

“What?” Steve heard himself repeating, unable to believe what he was hearing.

He knew whatever his parents had to say wouldn’t be good, but he wasn’t expecting them to go this far.

“Your trust fund, your car, your college tuition money… all of it will be taken away. We need you to understand the gravity of this decision,” his dad emphasized.

“You can’t be serious?” Eddie suddenly chimed in.

“Eds, don’t—“ Steve tried.

“He’s your son. How could you do this to him?”

“Watch yourself, young man,” Steve’s dad said.

“No, this is ridiculous!” Eddie continued.

“What’s ridiculous is my son throwing away his entire life for the likes of you!” his mother shouted at Eddie, standing up.

Steve sidestepped in front of him. “Don’t fucking yell at him. You don’t know anything about him!”

“Don’t speak to your mother that way!” his dad shouted back.

“I thought she wasn’t my mother anymore. Wasn’t that the whole point of this house call?”

“The point of this house call was for you to make the right decision,” his father said, still sitting.

“Well I’ve made my decision. Come on Eddie, let’s go,” Steve said without missing a beat. It wasn’t a hard choice. He would never take that deal.

“Steve? Wait, hold on—“ Eddie tried to introject.

“Eddie, I’ve already decided. Let’s go.”

“Your keys, then, Steven,” his dad said, extending a hand. Steve glanced outside. It was still pouring. It was a long walk back home.

“Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

He didn’t. Steve pulled his keys from his pocket, and handed them to his dad. He closed his fist.

His parents didn’t say another word as Steve lead Eddie out of his childhood home.

***

They walked home in the pouring rain in silence. Eddie didn’t say a word until Steve finally did, 10 minutes into the walk. Water had completely soaked their clothes already.

“It’s fucking freezing.”

Eddie agreed. “We can call a cab.”

“No, I need to… I need to think.”

Eddie didn’t know what to say.

He was cold, but he was thankful for the rain. It was starting to get his light colored pants wet, which was good, because he wasn’t going to be able to hold his pee much longer. He could just piss on the grass, sure, but when he thought about pulling down his soaked pull-up… exposing that… he couldn’t handle the embarrassment.

Not that peeing himself was a better option, but at least if the rain soaked them completely, no one would know.

The silence, the rain, and the walk lagged on, and Eddie eventually felt sprouts of warmth blooming and pooling against the already wet and bloated fabric of his protection. He blushed. Steve was going to see it, if it sagged, or if it leaked. The rain was heavy, but not enough to cover it up. Not with his track record.

Steve wasn’t looking when it finally happened. Eddie felt himself completely start to wet as he walked. He looked down sheepishly to watch as his stupid pull-up finally started to break and piss soaked the inside of his thighs and started to travel down his legs. Eddie didn’t know the last time he’d actually made it to a toilet. This morning? Jesus christ, he was a mess. Why was he having so many accidents?

He blushed deeply as it ran down his right leg, but Steve wasn’t even looking.

They were finally home not long after pee had soaked into his light colored pants, clearly darker than the rest of his slightly damp pants. The rain was lighter. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him what had happened. Not to mention the soaked, saggy bulge around his groin that was completely over saturated.

Steve unlocked the door and let Eddie in first. He kind of hovered in the living room.

“Steve… I’m so sorry this happened. I feel like It’s all my fault.”

Steve shook his head as he unzipped his soaked jacket and took off his shoes. Eddie did the same, happy to end up with boots that didn’t get peed on. Small victories.

“This is not your fault. Oh, Ed. Shit. Your pull-up leaked.”

Eddie’s face was hot. Yeah. Only because he’d wet himself twice. “It’s fine—“

“Fuck!” Steve suddenly yelled, “the protection! In the back seat of my car!”

Eddie swallowed. Shit. Steve’s parents would find them. “Oh.”

Steve sighed and looked down at the ground. “This isn’t fair. They can’t know.”

Eddie shifted a little bit. “Know about my… protection?” he said, suddenly insecure.

“Just because they don’t understand. They… fuck, Eds, I need to get them back before they find them.”

“Why?”

Steve looked distraught. “Baby, my family talks. It’ll will spread. Everyone will know—“

“And you’re embarrassed.”

“No! No, Eddie, It’s just because I don’t want you to be embarrassed.”

Eddie was so cold. “I need to shower.” He went to the bathroom. He heard Steve sigh behind the door and tried not to cry as warm water stung his irritated, red skin.

***

Eddie jolted awake.

The room was pitch black, but he could feel Steve’s body pressed up next to him.

He could also feel piss cooling between his legs and soaking into his boxers. He groaned softly as he shifted himself up.

It must’ve woken Steve, because he flipped his lamp on and shifted up on the bed, too.

Eddie hastily ripped off his soaked top sheet. One of the corners got stuck. Eddie tried to pull it and ended up smacking himself in the face. “Ow!”

“Eddie, let me help you,” Steve said sleepily, running a hand across his face. He was wearing sweat pants and a shirt that had also clearly gotten damp.

“It’s fine,” he said shortly as he tried again and successfully tore the sheets off his bed. “Just go sleep in your room.”

“Let me help you—“

“I said it’s fine!” he snapped, then dropped the pile of wet things and pressed the back of his hands to his eyes. “Ugh! Steven, you’re such an idiot,” Eddie groaned.

He paused. “What did I do?”

“How could you… you gave away your entire life… for me? For this?” Eddie gestured to the boxers that were sticking wetly to him.

Steve’s face dropped. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, Steve, I just can’t believe you would trade your car, a lifetime of financial support, your education, your entire family—for me. For some… some fucking stoner, loser, bed wetter. I mean, fuck, I don’t fucking understand you!”

Steve pulled off the shirt that had Eddie’s piss on the button cuff. “Are you forgetting that you’re my stoner, loser, bed wetting boyfriend? Who I’m kind of fucking in love with?”

“Well you shouldn’t be. Because now you have nothing. And it’s all because of me,” Eddie said, then grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on.

“I don’t have nothing. I have you.”

“And no car—“

“I don’t need a car.”

“Everyone needs a car!”

“Shh, Eds, we’re gonna wake Robin. Let’s just go to my room and sleep, and we can talk about this tomorrow.”

“No.”

“Where are you going, then?” Steve asked.

“Out. I don’t know,” Eddie said as he pulled jeans over his wet boxers. He already had a rash forming from yesterday, and he couldn’t be bothered to care. He just needed to get out of Steve’s space before he yelled at him anymore than he already had. He knew he wasn’t in the right. Steve didn’t deserve this, especially not now.

But Eddie still just couldn’t wrap his head around trading money, a mom, and a dad for him. For the likes of him. Eddie’s own family didn’t even want him. Why did Steve?

“Eddie, please, I don’t know what to say,” Steve said softly as Eddie exited his room.

“Don’t wash my sheets. I’ll deal with it later.”

“Eddie!”

Eddie grabbed his keys. “I’ll go make sure your parents don’t find my diapers. Don’t worry, I’m great at breaking into cars,” he mumbled as he opened the door.

“Eds. Please, just wait until morning—“

“This is my problem. I’ll handle it.”

And then Eddie was rushing into the night as the sun just started to rise. This was ridiculous. It was barely morning.

It wasn’t a short walk. Eddie thought about walking past Wayne’s first. Then he could change into actually clean underwear. Maybe grab a few pull ups…

Fuck. When did he become so dependent on those fucking things?

The sun was starting to streak the sky orange as the Eddie walked down the path to Wayne’s trailer.

And then he heard a truck turn onto the dirt road. Eddie looked up from his hood to see a truck he recognized.

Al. It was Al’s truck, and he was driving right towards Eddie.

For a second Eddie thought maybe his dad was finally going to finish the job he started so many years ago.

But then the truck started to slow down, and Eddie realized that he was about to be alone with his dad, and he had no where to run

Chapter Text

Al rolled down the passenger window of his old truck.

“Eddie? What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you that.”

Al shut off his truck, and silence stretched out as far as the beginning of a bright blue sunrise. “I’m doing a pickup downtown for work.”

Eddie nodded. “Okay.”

“I’m glad I ran into you.”

Eddie shuffled. It was chilly, and his boxers were wet. Why didn’t he change his boxers? What if Al could tell they were wet, or god forbid, smell it on him? Eddie was always so worried he smelled like piss, and right now, he definitely did.

“Why.”

“I wanted to see how you are.”

“I’m fine. I need to go,” he said, trying to casually walk towards the trailer.

“Eddie, hold on—“

“I’m busy, Al.”

“Eddie, I wanted to tell you that I heard from Hernandez. Your Mom’s getting out. Thought you should know.”

Eddie stopped in his tracks. “What? When?”

“Few weeks. Thought you might want to drive up with me to get her?” Al asked gruffly.

Eddie’s face felt drained of blood. “I… I don’t… I don’t know.”

Al nodded. “She misses you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because you’re her son, Eddie.”

“I haven’t seen her since I was eight.”

Al nodded again, but Eddie could tell he was getting on Al’s nerves, and he became very aware that he was alone. And Al might get violent. Fear suddenly weighed heavily in his gut.

“She’s your mother. You have to respect her.”

Eddie’s eyes fell to the dirt quickly. He wanted to run away but he felt like his limbs were too solid to move.

“No, I don’t.”

Al’s truck door creaked open loudly, and Eddie jumped backwards. A spurt of piss suddenly warmed the inside of his right thigh, and he froze and turned around. No, no, no.

Al laughed. Did he see? “Calm down, Ed. You nearly jumped out of your skin.”

Eddie looked down at his pants. No wet spot. He was fine.

“I need to go,” he said quietly, hands by his side. His stomach was still doing flips.

“Not until you promise me you’ll come see your mother,” Al said sternly, getting closer. Al put his hand on Eddie’s shoulder and turned him towards him.

Eddie took a step back. Al was going to be able to smell it on him. He was too close.

“No! I’m not promising—“

There was a sharp smack on the left side of his face. From a rough, familiar hand.

For a moment, Eddie felt like the air had been sucked out of him. Then he felt like he was eight again.

“Try that again, Eddie. Will you come up to see your mother?” came Al’s voice. Deep. Familiar. Terrifying.

Eddie nodded, slowly. “Yes, sir.” His eyes were on the ground. A moment passed. He watched Al’s footsteps trudge back to his truck. The door creaked again.

“Then I’ll see you in a few weeks,” he said before turning the engine back on.

Al drove very quickly down the dirt road away from Eddie, and dust flew up into his face, and into his nose.

His eyes were growing blurry as he stared down at the dirt and rocks below him. Tears climbed his throat. He felt numb.

Eddie didn’t even realize until he started walking that he’d wet himself. Significantly more than before. Enough that it showed on his pants, now. Did Al see? Shit.

No, if Al saw him piss himself, Eddie would’ve gotten worse than a slap. He knew that. Which meant that Al hadn’t seen. Thank god.

But he still hit him.

Al hit him.

Eddie climbed the stairs to the trailer and searched his pockets for his keys just to realize that he’d somehow managed to leave without them. He chocked on a sob. Wayne’s car wasn’t here. He needed to change his clothes. He was wet and gross. His skin itched. He knocked on the trailer door just in case.

Thank God he did, because Lindsay opened the door after a moment of silence.

“Eddie?” she asked, surprise on her face. She was in pajamas.

“Hi—hi Lindsay. My dad—Wayne, is he home?” he asked tentatively.

“He just left to grab some smokes from the store. Here, come in, you must be cold.” She ushered him in. Eddie sniffled as she closed the door behind him. “What happened?”

“I’m fine.”

“Did someone hit you?” she asked, eyes on his left jaw line.

“Does it look bad?”

“It’s bruising. Please tell me it wasn’t Steve who hit you?” she asked quietly.

“No! No, it wasn’t. It was…” Eddie didn’t want to tell the truth. Lindsay would tell Wayne, and then Wayne would be worried, and then Steve would be worried, and then… and then he’d never see his mom, and Al would come back. And the next time Al came back, he’d hit harder. “It was some homeless guy. He tried to jump me,” he lied.

“Oh my God, Eddie! You poor thing! Did he get anything?”

“A few bucks. I’m fine, really,” he said. Then he remembered the state of his jeans and boxers. “But I need to change,” Eddie whispered embarrassingly. Eddie was thankful at least she was at the trailer. It was embarrassing, yeah, but if he’d been locked out, he would’ve been screwed.

Lindsay’s eyes sort of traveled over Eddie for a split second. She smiled sympathetically. “Of course,” she said.

Eddie nodded and went to his room. He shut the door and started to strip out of his clothes. His entire crotch was red and irritated. He touched part of the inflamed skin and winced. The best thing for him to do would probably be wear loose boxers, but he’d been having so many accidents…

He crouched beneath his bed and reached into the guitar case he’d stuck a few pull-ups into, but it was empty. He checked again. Nothing.

Shit. What did Wayne do with his protection?

He pulled on a shirt and sweats and left his room, hoping his dad was home already. He wasn’t.

“Um… do you know when Wayne will be home?”

Lindsay was making coffee in the small kitchen. It was barely light out. “I don’t hun, sorry. Why? There something I can help you with?”

Eddie blushed. “Uh. My… uh. Never mind.” He turned.

“Wait. Check under the bathroom sink. If that’s what you’re trying to ask,” Lindsay said with a small smile.

Eddie blushed even deeper. “It… yeah. Thanks,” he said quickly, retreating to the bathroom.

So Lindsay obviously knew about the pull-ups. Great. Wayne had a big mouth apparently.

He turned the shower on hot and got in before looking for them. The hot water stung his inflamed skin and the bruise forming on his face, but he needed to stay focused. He couldn’t get caught up in the feeling of his father’s callused fingers on the high part of his cheek bone. He couldn’t think about the way it made his body fail him on command. He needed to get dressed, and get to the Harrington’s.

Thankfully his protection was indeed moved to under the sink, and Eddie pulled a pair out and slipped it on without looking any further at the inflamed skin he was going to end up irritating more. He would deal with that later.

“I need to get going. I was just stopping here to change,” he said to Lindsay when he exited the bathroom.

She nodded, mug in hand. “Sure.”

“Tell Wayne I’ll call him soon?”

“Eddie, you sure you’re okay?”

He nodded. “Yep. Thanks, Lindsay,” he said as he opened the door and fled quickly back out and down the dirt path.

He walked with his head down and hands tucked away. The entire walk there, he felt his father’s hand on his face. He felt the sting of the slap.

He let himself be hit. He let himself be vulnerable. He wet himself in fear of his dad’s hands on him.

Steve’s car was still parked out front of the large house. Eddie put his hood on as he waltzed up to the back on the car and started to try and jimmy the lock.

The package was sitting on the back seat. Steve’s parents hadn’t found it yet. Eddie carefully tried the lock. The bobby pin he swiped from Wayne’s was bending badly and wasn’t long enough, but after a few minutes of jabbing it, he finally got the lock to click.

“Yes,” he muttered to himself as he carefully pulled the door open.

Then he heard the sirens.

***

“Robin, I need to borrow your car,” Steve said with a knock on her bedroom door as soon as she was awake for the day. Robin had her phone pressed to one ear, Nancy no doubt on the other line. Steve knew she had the day off.

“What happened to your car?” she asked with furrowed brows.

“My parents took it.”

“What?”

“Yeah, they cut me off last night,” he said simply. He was probably still in denial. Or maybe just too worried about Eddie to think about anything else.

“They cut you off?”

“They made me chose between them or Eddie.”

“You’re kidding. And you chose Eddie?”

“Of course I chose Eddie!” he said with his hands in his hips.

“Yeah, yeah, obviously. Why do you need my car?”

“Eddie’s missing. And I need to get to work.”

“He’s missing?”

“He woke up in the middle of the night because he… he’s stubborn, and can’t accept that I love him more than anything, but we just got in a stupid fight, and he left. He didn’t even change out of his boxers he’d had an accident in,” he added, even though it wasn’t necessary. But he was worried about Eddie getting a rash, or getting cold. He was clearly out of it when he left. And Robin knew Eddie wet the bed. It wasn’t a secret anymore. Not to mention the fact that Steve had been washing Eddie’s bedding all morning.

“Boys are gross,” Robin said, clearly trying to make a joke.

“It worries me.”

Robin sighed. “Yeah. Me too. That’s not like him.”

“Yeah. Keys?” She threw them to him. “Thanks, I owe you.”

“I’ll add it to the list!” she called as Steve grabbed a few items (a change of underwear and clean towel for Robins car… just in case) and left.

He checked the trailer, but Wayne wasn’t home, and there was no sign of Eddie anywhere. Then he drove past his parent’s house, where his car was still parked out front. He drove close enough to see if the package of diapers was there. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

So Eddie must’ve gotten them. Good.

Maybe he just had a shift at the music store Steve didn’t know about? Maybe he was at Wayne’s sleeping and missed Steve’s knock?

He would be fine. Steve was sure.

***

“Hands in the air!” Eddie pulled himself out of Steve’s car and put his hands up.

“I—I’m not—“

“Is this your car?”

“No, but It’s my… my friends,” Eddie said, panic surging through his body. He couldn’t tell the two cops stood in front of him that this was his boyfriend’s car. “I left something inside.”

“Put your hands behind your back,” one of the cops said, reaching for his handcuffs.

“Wait, no, this car belongs to Steve Harrington! He told me to break in—“

“This car belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, and they were the ones who called about a delinquent trying to break into their car,” the cop said as he cuffed Eddie.

Eddie’s heart was pounding out of his chest.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Wayne was lighting a cigarette, cursing at himself under his breath for breaking his commitment to stop smoking so many packs a week, when Lindsay suddenly opened the front door to the trailer, eyes wide, and held out the phone.

Wayne swung open his truck’s door and walked quickly to the door.

“Sweetie, it’s Eddie—!“

Wayne dropped the cigarette and ran the rest of the way. “What?”

Lindsay didn’t say anything, but pressed the phone into Wayne’s hands. He didn’t even bother shutting to door as he dragged himself closer to the phone.

“Who is this?”

“Wayne, this is Sheriff Jim Hopper. We have Eddie in custody downtown.”

“The hell do you mean?” Wayne said quickly.

“He broke into a car. He’s in the holding cell right now. Look, I’m handing the phone over, alright—?”

“Wait!”

“… Dad?”

“Jesus christ, Eddie, what’s going on?”

Wayne heard him breathing heavily. “Steve’s parents—they cut him off. They took his car. I tried to get into the car to get something I’d left this morning, and his parents called the cops on me.”

“Shit. Eddie. What was so important you’d break in?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does, Eddie, hell, I don’t know what we’re dealing with here! I don’t know what charges you’re up against! Was it booze, or pot, or something worse—?”

“Dad, stop, it was my protection,” Eddie practically whispered.

Wayne sighed quickly through his nose. “Shit.”

“It was stupid—“

“I’m going to fix this, sweetheart, okay?”

Eddie was still breathing heavily. “Okay.”

“Are you going to be alright? They have a bathroom, right—?”

“I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Wayne suddenly thought of something that made his stomach drop. What if Eddie had been wearing a pull up already when he’d been arrested? What if they made him strip?

“Eddie, did they make you take off your clothes?”

“Not yet,” Eddie whispered.

“Bubs, are you wearing protection?”

“…Yes.”

Wayne’s breathed in deeply. “Okay, okay, I’m going to fix this. It’s going to be okay.”

“I have to go,” he said quickly. “Hopper wants the phone—“

“I love you—!“

“Munson, I’d try to get the charges dropped first, okay?” the sheriff suddenly said.

“Hopper, he can’t go to jail,” Wayne said lowly. “He can’t.”

“Get the charges dropped, alright?” is all Hopper said before the line disconnected.

Wayne was in shock for a moment. Lindsay touched his arm.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I need to go,” Wayne said quickly.

It was about time he paid a visit to the Harringtons’.

***

Wayne banged his fist so hard on the Harrington’s fancy door it burned his fingers, but he didn’t care.

Eddie could take care of himself, he was an adult. But he was in jail. And Wayne was going to make sure he wouldn’t be in a stupid holding cell for long, but Wayne kept picturing him siting all alone, and it was making him see red.

Kaitlyn Harrington finally answered, dressed in a robe. Wayne had almost forgotten how early he’d gotten the call from the sheriff.

“Excuse me—“ she started to say, but Wayne pushed his way through the door and made his way inside. Steve’s father was on a couch in the connected living room.

“You wanna tell me why my son is in a holding cell downtown right now?” he demanded loudly between the two of them.

Kaitlyn crossed her arms. “Hello, Wayne. Because he was breaking into our car, and was on our property—“

“What exactly is your problem with Eddie?” Wayne cut her off, loudly.

“I don’t have a problem with your son—“

“Really? Because he’s sitting in a jail right now because of you.”

“Not because of us. He broke into our car—“

Wayne was fuming. “Yes, and we all know why he did!”

That seemed to perk up Steve’s father. Wayne couldn’t remember his name. He certainly didn’t care to ask now.

“He was breaking into our car, what did you expect us to do?” he demanded, finally standing to join them in the foyer.

“The car belonged to Steve up until yesterday, and considering what you’ve said to Eddie, can you blame him for not wanting you to know what he’d left in there?” Wayne asked.

Kaitlyn scoffed. “What have we said to him exactly?”

“You said he was handicapped. The day you met him,” Wayne said quickly.

“Well. Isn’t he?” she sort of scoffed back. “What adult man is still wearing those things… those diapers—?”

The word sounded like it was poison on her tongue. It pissed Wayne off.

“Yeah, he wets the bed! Something your son don’t have a problem with, so I don’t get why you do!” Wayne yelled, completely fed up by these two grown adults acting like such children at the thought of an adult using an incontinence product.

“He wets his pants, too,” she added, ever so helpfully.

Wayne rolled his eyes. “Yes, he does. And so he deserves to serve time? Because he has accidents? What is the problem with you!” he yelled, his hands still in fists even as they were across his chest. “Listen to me. He’s queer… he’s a homosexual. You know this. And you’re right, he wets himself, so he wears protection sometimes. Because he’s disabled. And you put him in jail. Don’t you realize he’s not going to survive going to jail, even for a short time, much less prison—do you understand the position you’ve put my kid in? They’ll kill him in there, and you know it!” he yelled. He had to hold himself back from pushing Steve’s father up against the wall and punching him in his square face. He sighed deeply instead. “They’ll kill him.”

That shut both of them up for a moment. Steve’s mom, to her credit, looked uncomfortable with Wayne’s admission.

“He’s not going to prison,” she said.

He rolled his eyes. “So you’ll drop the charges? Great. Get on the phone and do it.”

The two parents exchanged a look. “I don’t want your son near Steve,” she continued, ignoring his request.

“That’s not something you get to control anymore. You think I was thrilled when I found out they were seeing each other? After everything Steve did to Eddie—“

“What are you talking about?” Mr. Harrington interjected.

“You seriously don’t know that he bullied Eddie? For years?”

He shook his head.

“Well, Christ. Of course you don’t. Now you know. You don’t like my kid because he pees his pants? Fine. I don’t like your kid because he was a stuck up, big headed bully. I see where he got that from now.” Wayne loved Steve nowadays, and he’d forgiven him long ago, but he wasn’t done making these rich, abusive assholes feel bad.

Kaitlyn spoke again, her tone unchanged. “You’re acting like that’s the only thing about Eddie that he would be bullied for. He plays that horrible game, everyone knows, and he listens to devil worship music, and he—“

“No, God, he’s just… he’s artistic! And creative! He’s not a cookie cutter version of humanity like you, and so you sent him to jail for it.”

“He put himself there.”

Wayne didn’t know what else to say. How else could he sway these people that his child was someone they could… love? That his child was worth saving?

Wayne knew prison. Eddie would be a gump. Wayne wasn’t going to let that happen.

“He’s been like this his whole life, okay? The wetting, and the bed wetting, all of it. His parents—my brother, his real dad—he used to beat the living shit out of Eddie when he was a kid because of his accidents. That does something to a child. That… changes the way a kids brain develops. His accidents aren’t his fault. He hates them. It’s embarrassing—“ Wayne put his hands on his face and wiped his beard. He looked at both of them. He lowered his voice.

“When he was 11 years old, he wet himself on a school field trip. The kids were… ruthless. They broke a rib. That night, I found Eddie locked in the bathroom with a box cutter in his hand, and a stream of blood running down his right arm. At 11 years old.”

Silence filled the large house. Wayne continued.

“Him being queer is also not his fault. He couldn’t help falling in love with your son. Why would anyone chose a life so complicated, so dangerous? But you… you two allowing my kid to be subjected to jail… you putting that target on his back… that is entirely your fault.”

They finally exchanged a look, for a long time.

“We’ll drop the charges,” Kaitlyn finally said.

Wayne felt like he could breathe again “Great. Where’s the phone?”

Chapter Text

If Eddie were to ever end up in jail, it should’ve been while he was dealing drugs in high school.

But Eddie hadn’t dealt drugs in years. He was staying out of trouble. He was keeping to himself. He was trying to live a normal life.

So how the hell did he end up in a holding cell?

… And where the hell was the toilet? Jail cells were supposed to have toilets, right? Even if it was just a holding cell in the downtown station… it had been hours since he’d been dropped off. How were criminals supposed to pee?

Hopper re-entered the room with a small water bottle after being gone awhile. He passed it through the thick bars. Eddie stood to accept it, but didn’t open the lid.

“Thanks. Hey, what happens if the charges aren’t dropped in time?” Eddie asked when Hopper was situated in his chair.

“Then we’ll have to book you overnight,” he said, eyes barely lifting from his paperwork.

Booking overnight. Which meant stripping out of his clothes and changing into some kind of uniform. Eddie wasn’t sure what the policy was on wearing protection in jail, but he didn’t think it would go over well if he stripped his jeans off and he had a fucking diaper on underneath.

Not to mention the sleeping. Eddie couldn’t fall asleep, ever. What if his roommate woke up to the smell of piss on his sheets and beat the life out of him? What if slept on the top bunk and he wet himself as well as the inmate who murdered his wife and four children beneath him? He was going to pee all over some mob boss, and then him and everyone he loves was going to be fucked.

Worst of all, what if the other inmates found out he was gay, and decided to start passing him around? He wasn’t stupid. He knew what happened to fags like him in jail.

Eddie breathed through his nose. Jail wasn’t an option. He had to figure this out.

He also had to pee. Just a little bit, since he hadn’t had a drop of water since he’d been arrested, so he’d be fine for a while.

After another 30 minutes of watching the clock tick, and listening to Hopper sift through paper work as he scratched his beard incessantly, the phone rang again.

“Hopper. Yeah. Okay… go ahead…. that’s right. Your name, please? Okay. Yeah. You too…. thanks.” He hung up. “Okay, Munson. You’re out.”

Eddie stood. “Seriously? Just like that?”

“Just like that. They aren’t pressing charges, so, no reason to keep you,” Hopper said casually as he went over to the door of the holding cell and stuck a key in the lock. “We’ll get you your stuff back and you can wait in the office for your uncle.”

Eddie felt instantly relieved when Hopper opened the door of the large metal cage.

“Thanks,” he said quietly as he followed Hopper back over to where they took his things and information.

It took a few minutes to get his few items, which were just his wallet and a messed up bobby pin. Hopper directed him to sit on a cushioned bench close to his desk while he waited for Wayne to pick him up.

Wayne took twenty minutes. Which was twenty minutes Eddie wasted trying to decide whether or not he should find the bathroom. All the while he was sipping water and shifting every few minutes. He was about to finally bite the bullet and ask Hopper where it was when he saw Wayne opening the front door.

Eddie felt even more relieved to see his uncle, and Wayne’s face softened significantly when he spotted Eddie on the bench. Eddie stood quickly and walked up to him after an officer gave him a nod of approval. Wayne put his arms around Eddie quickly, then pulled back and looked at his face.

“What happened?” he asked.

Eddie had completely forgotten about the small bruise on his face. The bruise he got from Al.

“I… well—some guy—it doesn’t matter, Wayne,” he muttered, then swallowed hard. He messed that up. By the look on Wayne’s face, he knew he definitely messed that up.

“Eddie—“

“Dad, can we not right now—?”

“Wayne!” Hopper interrupted loudly, a hand outstretched to shake his uncles’. Eddie took a step back.

Wayne shook the chief’s hand with a smile, then shot a look over to Eddie. His eyes softened for a second as they looked Eddie over.

Eddie realized he’d accidentally crossed his legs at some point because his urge to pee was definitely getting worse. Shit. He uncrossed them slowly as Hopper continued.

“Thanks for coming down, Wayne.”

“Of course. I’m so sorry about this mix up, Hopper, really. Eddie’s a good kid,” Wayne said. Eddie blushed. He was twenty, and he’d just been arrested for technically trying to break into a car. So he wasn’t sure how much of that was true.

Hopper nodded. “I’m just glad it got resolved.” Hopper put a hand on his shoulder. “Keep out of trouble, Eddie. I don’t want to see you down here under these circumstances again. Okay?” Eddie nodded.

“Yes. Sir. Yeah.”

Hopper pat his shoulder again. “Okay. Come over and sign a few things, Wayne, and you’ll be set.”

Wayne nodded and followed Hopper over to a desk. Eddie shuffled his feet.

It was a few minutes until Wayne returned. “Can we go?” Eddie said immediately. He was really sick of the place. He felt like he was going to have a panic attack if he had to stay any longer.

“Yeah, but, Eds…” Wayne trailed off. His eyebrows shot up.

“What?” Eddie played dumb. He knew Wayne knew he needed to piss, but he just wanted to be home.

“Eds, I don’t want you to have an accident in the car,” Wayne said quietly.

Eddie groaned softly. “I won’t, I’m fine. I really just need to get out of here, Wayne.”

Wayne didn’t say anything for a second, then sighed softly. “Okay, if you’re sure you can hold it—“

“I can hold it, please, let’s just go,” he muttered, one hand already one the door handle.

***

Eddie was shifting around non stop as they sat at a red light, one hand resting on his thigh, close enough for him to grab himself. Just in case. “Could this light be any longer?” Eddie groaned.

Wayne wanted to say I told you so, but that would be mean, and his kid was probably going to wet himself soon, so he didn’t want to make him feel any worse than he already did.

But speaking of that, he also needed to address the package in the back seat that Wayne threw a towel over after leaving the Harrington’s.

“Eddie, the Harrington’s gave me your… things. You know,” Wayne said. He cleared his throat. He needed a cigarette. Why did he say ‘things’?

“Huh?” Eddie said. He was still fidgeting.

“Backseat,” Wayne said.

The light finally turned green. He put his eyes back on the road, but watched in the corner of his eye as Eddie reached into the backseat and lifted the towel to see the package of diapers.

Eddie immediately put the towel back over them. “Fuck,” he said, seemingly to himself.

“It’s not a big deal—“

“They know, Wayne! Steve’s parents know I wear fucking—ugh! And those aren’t even the ones I wear, dad! I wear pull-ups,” he lifted the band of the one he had on under his pants to prove the point. “Not those. Steve bought those because it was all the store had! I’ve never even worn those! And now Steve’s parents think I wear… God, this sucks.”

Wayne didn’t know what to say.

“And you told Lindsay about them, too! Thanks for that,” Eddie continued sarcastically.

Wayne shot him a confused look.

“Hey, no, no, I didn’t, Eddie. She… she saw, sweetheart, on your birthday… your shirt lifted up and she… saw,” Wayne explained, slightly awkwardly.

Eddie shifted. “Oh.”

“She doesn’t care, bubs, I promise—“

“It’s fine.”

Wayne kept his eyes on the road.

“Okay. My house is closer, if you can’t make it to yours?” Wayne suggested.

“No, I can,” he said stubbornly. He was leaning forward slightly. “It’s not like the seats would get wet, anyway,” he kind of mumbled.

“You know it’s not a problem if they did. But I don’t want you wetting yourself when there’s no good reason to—“

“There’s never a good reason to wet myself,” Eddie groaned.

“Okay, sorry, didn’t mean that.”

They drove in silence for a few more minutes. They were only a few streets away
when Eddie started fully holding himself as he potty danced in his seat as best as he could.

“Shit,” he muttered to himself as he probably leaked. Wayne could kind of hear what sounded like Eddie losing it, but he was honestly trying to tune it out. Wayne pulled into his son’s apartment.

“Here, Eddie.”

Eddie was leaning forward completely, hiding his face. “Okay, I’m going,” he said quietly.

It looked like he was going, definitely… in his pants, but Wayne waited until he regained his composure to say anything else. Eddie sat up finally after a minute.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes, I just need to pee so bad,” he said, opening his door finally, ready to make a run for it. Wayne wanted to shake his head, because obviously.

“Okay, Eds, I’m calling you later!” Wayne yelled.

“Thanks for picking me up from jail!” Eddie yelled back through Wayne’s rolled down window, one hand on his crotch as he dashed to his apartment.

Wayne shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Eddie ran the rest of the way. Wayne sighed as he rolled up his window and put his truck into drive. He looked over his shoulder as he rejoined the street, and got a glance of the backseat.

Shit. The diapers. Clearly, Eddie wasn’t ready for those if he left them behind. Or maybe he just was too worried about soiling his pants to remember to grab them.

Wayne covered them back up. He’d give them back to his kid another day, when they represented something less stressful and embarrassing. Wayne didn’t know everything about protection, but he knew that Eddie’s pull-ups have leaked before. At least, he was pretty sure. So these diapers looked like they might be helpful. But Wayne didn’t know how to say that.

Wayne still had no idea how to approach Eddie and protection anymore. He had no idea how to ask his son if he was actually wearing them 24/7, and he wasn’t even sure if he’d get an honest answer. He knew he was wearing one now, and Wayne didn’t know why exactly. He wasn’t sure if Eddie was comfortable sharing this part of himself. It made him feel helpless. Wayne felt like he needed to know if things were getting worse for him, or if he was becoming dependent on them. He didn’t know how to talk to him about it at all.

Finally, Wayne lit a cigarette.

***

Steve was shoving a recently un-frozen burrito into his mouth when the door opened and Eddie basically collapsed against the door with one hand gripping his dick.

“Eddie! Where the hell have you been? What happened to your cheek?”

Eddie looked like he was about 30 seconds away from flooding his pants, but what was more concerning was that his cheek looked like he’d been hit.

“Jail,” Eddie groaned.

Steve set his burrito down. “What?”

“Your parents called the cops on me for trying to break into your car this morning. Which, they saw the diapers, by the way. So, great.”

“What!?”

“Wayne didn’t tell you?” Eddie was bending at the waist but pulled his hands off his crotch.

“No, he didn’t—baby, you’re gonna have an accident.”

Eddie shook his head. “I already am,” he sighed, kind of straightening up, “sorry.”

Steve waited for the wet spot to show, but there wasn’t a wet spot… meaning that Eddie was wearing protection. And wetting it… right in front of him. Steve almost choked on a bite as he watched bliss wash over Eddie’s face as he stood in the living room and wet himself. Steve’s face was hot.

“It’s… fine, baby. But, wait—my parents called the cops on you?” Steve finally managed, quietly. Eddie’s face looked relaxed, and his feet were slightly spread.

“Yeah. They arrested me. But your parents dropped the charges after a few hours. And after Wayne went to their house,” Eddie said, obviously still having an accident based on how slack his body looked.

“Fuck, Eddie, I’m so sorry—“

“It’s done,” he said, finally moving from where he’d been frozen and heading toward the bathroom.

Steve followed. “I should go over there and talk to them—“

“How are you going to get there?” Eddie said as he pulled his shirt off. Steve closed both of them inside the bathroom, knowing that Robin was in her room. “You don’t have a car,” Eddie finished.

“I’ll walk, I don’t care. This is—this is bullshit—Whoa, Munson! Jesus Christ!” Steve accidentally yelled as soon as Eddie pulled down his pants.

Eddie had the wet pull-up and his jeans pulled down, and his crotch was exposed. His bright red, obviously extremely irritated crotch.

He had a serious diaper rash.

Eddie looked down and winced. “Oh. Shit. That got worse,” he said as he continued stripping out of his wet protection and jeans.

“Baby, you have a rash.”

“Yeah, I know, Steve.”

“Eddie, we need to take care of this. I’m going to go buy you cream right now,” Steve said. He needed to buy Eddie more pull-ups, anyway.

“Wait, Steve, you’re gonna walk there?”

Steve rubbed his face. Right. He didn’t have a car anymore, and the store Steve needed to go to was not walkable. “Shit.” He looked Eddie over now that he was fully nude.

The skin around his crotch and ass was so red it looked like it had been burned. “Eds… I think you might need to take a break from the pull-ups, just for a while.”

Eddie looked down. “Yeah. I know. But… then I’ll wet the bed. And probably have accidents during the day.”

Steve shrugged. “That’s better than the skin on your dick falling off, baby. It looks really bad.”

Eddie’s face was almost as red as his rash. “Sorry. This is fucking embarrassing.”

“No, it isn’t, Ed—“

“Yes, it is. And It’s my fault! For wearing them so much now! I’ve just… I’ve had so many accidents recently, Steve, and I just… it just got so bad.” Eddie started to choke on his words. The embarrassment, being arrested, the rash—it was all too much. He started crying only a few seconds before it turned into him hyperventilating.

“Shit, Eds…”

“I haven’t… peed… in a… toilet since fucking…. yesterday!” Eddie sobbed in between wrecked, fast breathes. Steve put his hands on either side of Eddie’s arms.

“Okay, Eddie, you need to breathe.”

“I… don’t… want… to,” he said, still hyperventilating.

“Well you kind of need to, baby. Look, Eds. You were just arrested, babe, you can’t expect your body to be at its best,” Steve tried. He wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was, but he knew Eddie was hurting very deeply. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for it. The only reason Eddie was so stressed out to begin with was because of his parents. “Can you try and breathe with me?”

Eddie tried, but he was crying too much for it to matter. “S… s… sorry,” he choked out.

Steve wrapped his arms around him and held his naked chest tightly. He couldn’t help but look at the rash again, which spread across most of his ass and even onto his thigh. “It’s okay, baby. Oh, God, Eddie… I’m so sorry. We need to get this rash sorted out right now, okay. But the whole thing with my parents—“

“Not your… fault.”

“I’m sorry that they know about the pull-ups.”

Eddie shook his head. His breathing was evening out better. “Not pull-ups.”

“Shit. Right.”

“Diapers. God. I shouldn’t be afraid of the word. I have a fucking diaper rash right now.”

Steve sighed. “Yeah, you kind of do.”

Eddie looked at him for a second before that made him laugh very lightly. “Dick.”

“Loser.”

Eddie smirked. Then winced. “This shit burns,” he said, looking between his legs.

“I know. Shower. I’ll go figure out how to get some stuff for you. But, Eddie, seriously, this is only going to get worse if you keep… uh…” Steve trailed off, realizing that this conversation wasn’t exactly a typical one.

“If I keep what?”

“You just… you should change immediately if you wet yourself even a little, okay? Wet fabric will, It’ll just irritate it. And you shouldn’t wear protection for a few days—“

Eddie was blushing. “Yeah, I got it.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. I’ll… be right back, then.” He grabbed Eddie’s used pull-up to dispose of in the bigger bin on his way out as Eddie started the shower.

Steve considered asking to borrow Robin’s car again, but ultimately decided to just call Wayne. He’d know what to do.

He answered on the fourth ring.

“Hello?”

“Wayne? It’s Steve.”

“Steve? What’s going on?”

“Um, Eddie needs something, and I don’t exactly have a car to go get it.”

“What does Eddie need?”

Steve leaned against the wall and lowered his voice. “Rash cream. Uh, he has a diaper rash. It’s really bad.”

“Shit. You’re kidding. Why didn’t he say anything?”

Steve didn’t know how to answer that. “I would get it myself, but—“

“No car, right. I’ll go pick some up. Be right over. Thanks, Steve.”

Wayne hung up, and Steve went to grab Eddie a change of clothes.

After a long shower, Eddie exited the bathroom with a towel on his head and a pair of boxers on. Just before Steve said anything, there was a knock.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh, uh, Wayne.”

“Wayne?” Eddie asked as he went to open the door.

Steve decided to let Wayne and the cream he brought tell Eddie what he needed to know.

“Wayne, what are you doing here?” Steve heard him say as he let his uncle in.

Wayne had a paper bag with him. “Rash cream.”

“Oh. Um. Thanks, dad.”

“No problem. Do you need anything else?” Eddie shook his head. “Okay. You should’ve told me you had a rash, I would’ve stopped somewhere.”

“I had to pee.”

“Right. Did you make it?”

Eddie shook his head again. “No. It’s fine.”

Wayne sighed lightly. “Okay. I love you, bubs,” Wayne said softly, and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I love you too.”

“Use that cream.”

“I will.”

Then the door was closed again, and Wayne was gone. Eddie opened the package and showed it to Steve. It was baby rash cream. “I’m guessing you called him?”

“Sorry.”

“No. I was going to say thank you,” Eddie said gently, still looking the product over.

“Do you want help?”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s okay. I’ll be right back.”

He returned a few minutes later, clearly uncomfortable. He sat next to Steve on the couch. He was wearing sweats, now.

“Okay?” Steve asked.

Eddie shifted. “My boxers are sticking to my skin, and everything burns.”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t even had a second to ask if you’re okay? After being arrested?”

Eddie shrugged. “At least they didn’t book me. But it wasn’t… great. I don’t know.”

“I’m so sorry. If you’d been booked, it would’ve been all my fault!”

“No, it wasn’t, Steve—“

“You could’ve wet the bed Eddie, and someone may have hurt you—“

“I know, Steve, trust me. I literally… ugh. I literally peed myself earlier because I was so freaked out about being in that stupid cell that I just wanted to leave! It’s all I could think about. Me pissing the bed and then being beaten to death because of it.”

“Jesus, Eddie.” Steve sighed.

Eddie pressed his hands against his eyes. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Steve reached an arm around Eddie’s shoulder and pulled him closer. “You don’t need to be sorry. Hey, do you wanna watch a movie? Order take out?”

Eddie shrugged. “If you want.”

“Whatever you want,” Steve said as he snuggled Eddie closer.

They watched a movie they owned, but Eddie was out of it and seemed super dissociated. He didn’t eat very much. When the movie ended, his eyes were barely open.

“You should sleep,” Steve said gently, petting his thigh.

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”

“Come here,” Steve said, then lifted Eddie swiftly onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist. He carefully lifted both of them off the couch, Eddie’s legs wrapped around him.

Steve carried Eddie to the bathroom and set him in front of the toilet. He grabbed Eddie’s toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it as Eddie peed. Steve glanced at Eddie’s crotch, which was still red and raw, but had a layer of white cream on it that he’d recently re-applied.

Steve leaned against the door frame and watched as Eddie brush his teeth. His black hair was falling in front of his face. It was messy, and beautiful.

When he was done, Steve held his hand and walked them to Steve’s room. He pulled the covers back for Eddie and climbed in behind him.

“You don’t have to stay,” Eddie said quietly after they had comfortably wrapped themselves up together. The sun was still up. Steve wasn’t tired at all.

“I’ll say until you fall asleep,” he whispered.

Steve did. He stayed until Eddie’s breathing was evened out, then carefully slipped out of the room.

He had some things he needed to take care of.

***

Steve’s head was pounding by the time he made it to his parent’s house. He lifted his cold knuckles to the door frame, then inhaled, and knocked.

His father answered the door after a moment.

“Steven, what are you doing here?”

“Eddie was arrested.”

“Yes. The charges were dropped.”

Steve shuffled his feet. “I want to speak to mom.”

“She’s busy.”

“No, Dad—!”

“Steven, please. This isn’t going to fix itself overnight. It’s going to take time.”

Steve wasn’t sure what he meant. He wasn’t sure what exactly his dad meant by ‘it.’ Their relationship? Their family?

“He could’ve been killed,” is all Steve said. It was all he could think about. His boyfriend, beaten to death by some real, dangerous criminals, all because of him—

“Steven?” his mother suddenly asked, coming up to the doorframe. His dad stepped aside.

Steve pushed his way inside, past his startled mom. “If he had been hurt, I never would’ve forgiven you, do you understand that?” he yelled.

His mom was in her dressing robe. She seemed… off. “The charges were dropped, Steven. We just wanted to teach him a lesson—“ she tried to say, but Steve cut her off.

“No, you wanted to embarrass him! You wanted to punish him for being with me! Well guess what, mom, you can’t punish my boyfriend for making me gay, because it’s not his fault! It’s not his fault that I’m like this, okay! I’ve always been like this. I always will be. So, you can’t punish my boyfriend for the rest of my life to get back at me. Just… just punish me, please. Leave him alone.”

“Wayne was already here, Steve. He already… we already went through this!” Kaitlyn yelled.

Steve crossed his arms. “Not with me you didn’t.”

She sighed. There was a pause.

“Fine. Come sit down,” she said, gesturing for them to sit around the day room table.

Steve sat on the wooden chair. His parents followed suit. “Okay,” his mom said, “what else?”

Steve sat up slightly. He wasn’t sure. “Why?” he asked. “Why do you hate him so much?”

Kaitlyn shook her head. “I’ve already told you. I don’t hate him, Steven. We never said we hated the boy.”

“But you embarrass him. On purpose. You talk about him behind his back. You literally had him arrested because he needed to get something out of the car that you know he needed! What else am I supposed to think?”

They both looked immensely uncomfortable. Steve was uncomfortable, too, but usually his mother was better at hiding it.

“We didn’t think… I didn’t think calling the police would get so… I didn’t think about what would happen to him in there,” she said.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Right, of course not. You thought sending my gay boyfriend who wets the bed to jail would have no consequences on him.”

“Does he really… every night…?” his dad suddenly asked. His dad was usually quiet in family quarrels.

“Uh. I mean, no, but… it happens a lot. Especially if he’s stressed.”

“I see. So, he would’ve been in danger. If he’d had an accident, in bed… the other inmates, maybe even the guards, they would’ve been trouble for him,” his dad said.

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah. Yes, exactly.”

“His uncle… he said he’s always been like this?” his dad continued.

He had to assume he meant the wetting. Steve nodded. “Yeah. I… I think so. When we were younger, I used to be awful to him. Freshman year, he had an accident in class… it was bad. I made up this stupid nickname that caught on… Eddie was bullied for a long time. I never put a hand on him or anything, but… words hurt. I hurt him,” Steve said honestly, not looking in his dad’s eyes.

“He’s forgiven you, though, right?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Thankfully. But still. I was cruel to him for something he had absolutely no control over.”

“Hm,” his dead hummed.

His mother wasn’t looking at either of them, so Steve continued.

“You know he’s brilliant, right? Not, like, school—but art. He has perfect pitch. He can pick up almost any instrument and start playing it. He can play any song just by hearing it. He can draw. He can write stories… he’s an amazing performer, and storyteller. I mean—he’s a nerd, don’t get me wrong—but he’s talented. And smart. And passionate. And he cares about people. He cares about doing the right thing. He’s loyal, and he…. he’s so much more than what you think he is, mom.”

She made eye contact with her son. Slowly, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’m sorry, Steven. I should not have called the authorities on him. That was wrong.”

Steve felt his whole body relax. It was a start. “Thank you.”

“Your car keys are hanging in the kitchen,” she added. “Take it back.”

Steve sighed through his nose. “No. I’m good,” he said.

“What?” his mom squeaked.

“I know you were trying to teach me a lesson by taking away my car, but it was never mine. It’s yours. And… I’m an adult, now. So. No. You’re not going to get the satisfaction of being able to control me, or my boyfriend, again. Alright?” They both looked shocked. Steve nodded. “Alright.”

With that, he left, and set out on his walk home. His parents didn’t stop him. He walked past his car with a rock in his stomach.

At least the passenger seat and back seat of his car had been peed on (by a certain someone) anyway, so really, the jokes on them. He never fully figured out how to get the stains out, especially not in the backseat where Eddie had completely soaked the seat at some point. So there, mom, and dad. Enjoy the piss car.

Steve could buy another car. He had savings. He could survive without his parents. He didn’t need them.

Eddie had been asleep for a few hours by the time Steve got home. He was snoring very quietly every few seconds in Steve’s bed. Steve lifted the blankets gently to check and see if he’d wet himself, but the sheets were dry, so he started to shake him awake.

“Hey, baby, can you get up and go pee?” he asked gently when Eddie finally had his eyes open.

“Mm? Oh, mhm,” he groaned, but got up when he felt the need to piss and sleepily ran to the bathroom.

Steve stripped and got under the covers.
When Eddie returned, he immediately wrapped himself around Steve like a koala. Steve sighed into his smell, feeling warm, and complete.

“Love you,” Eddie mumbled, barely audible.

Steve kissed his temple. “You have no idea,” Steve whispered back.

Chapter Text

Steve woke up to a bright room, and not to his alarm clock, which was blinking zeros at him. He glanced out of the window to see rain on the panel.

Shit. It must’ve stormed. He’d overslept because the power must’ve went out in the night at some point.

Also, the bed was definitely very damp, and Eddie was fast asleep. He must’ve wet awhile ago. He sat himself up and shook Eddie’s side.

“Baby, gotta get up,” he mumbled while his other hand fumbled with his lamp, but it wasn’t turning on. Right, no power. “Baby.”

Eddie stirred. “Mm.”

“Up, come on. Sorry, but I can’t let you lay in wet clothes any longer.”

Eddie finally opened his eyes and sat up. “Fuck.”

“Take your pants off.”

“You coming onto me?”

“No, I think we’re both late for work,” Steve sighed.

Eddie stood. “Oh, fuck.” He checked his watch as he put it on. “Oh, fuck, I’m so late.”

“What time is it?”

“Fucking almost noon!” Eddie yelled, then bent over to grab the jeans he’d left on the floor the night before and started to put them on.

“Eddie, you peed the bed,” Steve said.

Eddie looked down and dropped his jeans. His boxers were soaked and clinging to his thighs. “Right. Shit, I don’t have time to shower—“

“You can use your wipes.”

“And I have to walk.”

“Fuck, me too,” Steve sighed. He technically wasn’t late for work, yet. But he was pretty sure he would be. He was done stripping the bed, at least. He took his own damp boxers off. “How’s your rash?”

Eddie was carefully wiping his thighs. “Painful. And stupid.”

“Throw me the wipes?” Steve asked.

Eddie blushed, but did as he was told. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, baby, I need to be here to wake you up.”

“Why?”

“Your rash, so it doesn’t get worse. You’ll sleep forever without me here. When you’re wet, at least it wakes me up.”

“But then I’m just going to keep peeing on you every night.”

“Isn’t that our regular?”

Eddie was still blushing as he put his cream on carefully. He’d pulled his hair back. “Sorry.”

“I’m just messing with you. I’m going to go flip the stupid fuse box. See if I can get our power back.”

Eddie nodded as Steve took the bedding with him.

Thankfully the power hummed back to life after Steve crawled up to the attic to switch all of the buttons on and off.

When he got down, he went to start the washer, but there was already clothes that smelled like they’d been in there for at least a day. They’d definitely need to be rewashed. Steve sighed as he put more detergent in.

Robin exited her room at the same time. “Oh no, did I forget about my laundry?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just… I need to go to work.”

“I’ll wash your sheets, or, you know, Eddie’s sheets. I’m home all day.”

Steve tried to put on a smile. “Can you drive us, too?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Thank you, Rob.”

Steve put his uniform on and they all piled into Robins car. Eddie was wearing dark dress pants with his work shirt and a belt, and was staring out of the window absently as Robin drove.

“You boys gonna get in trouble for being late?”

“Probably,” Eddie said quietly.

Steve shrugged. “No, you know everyone loves me there.”

***

As soon as Eddie walked through the door, his boss pointed at him and then pointed at the back room. He swallowed and walked back with him quickly.

“You’re four hours late.”

“I know. My alarm didn’t go off. I messed up.”

His boss sighed. “Just go get out there. I’m not covering for you again, Eddie.”

“Yes, sir, I understand,” he said quickly.

Besides that hiccup, the rest of his shift was fine. It was busy, but it kept his mind off of everything that had happened the day before.

But of course during his walk home, he got hit with an urge to piss that came so suddenly he was leaking into his boxers immediately. He swore as he had to dash off into the woods to finish on a tree, and not out in the open, but by then the damage to his underwear and work pants was already done. There was a wet patch down half of his left leg. Which meant he needed to wash his stupid work pants now.

Steve was watching tv when he unlocked their door. He turned the volume down.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” Eddie sighed. He had been hoping he’d be able to get away with changing without anyone noticing.

“What happened?”

Eddie just shook his head. “Nothing. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

Eddie set his keys down. He’d had a long day. Or week. Or life. Whatever. “I just pissed myself, Steve, you don’t need to interrogate me.”

Steve frowned. “I wasn’t trying to.”

Eddie went to the kitchen and grabbed a drink from the fridge. He wasn’t trying to fight with Steve. “You’re right. Sorry. I just… it was just an accident. My fault. Stupid.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. Well. Gareth called you.”

Eddie’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“Yeah, I said you’d call him back when you got home—“

Eddie was already dialing Gareth’s number. He hadn’t heard from him since his birthday, which they barely even spoke on the phone then. When Gareth moved away, Eddie used to be worried about never making another friend. Instead, they’d both ended up neglecting each others friendships for other people who weren’t over a 2 hour drive away.

He answered quickly. “Hello?”

“Gare, it’s Ed!”

“Eddie! Oh man, thanks for calling back!”

“Yeah, sure, what’s up, buddy?” Eddie asked as he dragged the phone chord into his room as pulled off his wet things.

“Look, I know it’s last minute, but I found out my great aunt died—“

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry—“

“It’s all good, I never met her! Point is, I’m driving through town tonight for the funeral, and I was wondering if I could crash at yours?”

“Could you? Gareth, you could move in, buddy!” Eddie exclaimed, briefly overcome with excitement and jumping over the prospect of being able to see his old best friend again.

He loved his friends now, but he did miss the old days of Hellfire. Gareth’s friendship especially. He was truly the only straight man who Eddie ever felt actually comfortable and safe around. Gareth didn’t care that Eddie was gay, or that—

Wait. Shit. Gareth knew Eddie was gay….but Eddie was pretty sure he’d been putting off telling Gareth that he had a boyfriend.

And that his boyfriend was Steve.

No biggie. It’s not like Steve used to torment Eddie in school or anything.

“Hey. You up for a one shot?” Gareth asked.

Eddie gasped. “You DM-ing?”

“Fuck yeah, Munson! Your roommates in?”

“Uh.” Shit. Steve was terrible at D&D. Also, Gareth hates him. “Yeah!”

“Stellar!”

They hung up the phone after setting up the details. Eddie came back out into the living room with new boxers on.

“Hey, so… can Gareth stay the night tonight? He’s got a funeral tomorrow.”

“Oh, shit, yeah, of course, is he okay?”

“Yeah. He never met her. How would you feel about playing a one shot tonight?”

“A what?”

“A… okay, remember how I DM’d a one shot for you and Robin that one time?”

“Duh. I was an Elf.”

“Yes, you were. That. But I’d be playing with you instead.”

“Ohh… so… comic con in our kitchen?”

Eddie giggled. “Ass hole.”

Robin was easily convinced to play, but Eddie still had to handle the hard part: convincing Gareth that Steve isn’t a horrible person.

Gareth moved after their freshman year. He was there for all of Steve’s bad stuff, but not any of his good. There was a whole lot more good these days.

Gareth rolled up in his beat up car almost on time (for him) and started shouting at Eddie through a rolled down window.

“Oh, jesus,” Eddie heard Robin mutter as she set up snacks on their table.

“My lord!” Eddie screamed as he ran to embrace his friend.

“My lady!” Gareth responded, accepting his hug.

“You smell like an old lady,” Eddie said as he pulled away. Gareth had grown out his facial hair a bit, and he was more muscle than bone these days. He looked healthy.

“That’s my aunt Helen. Lots of older women around me right now. Okay! Introduce me to your court!”

Eddie swallowed and looked back at his front door briefly. “Right, so, yeah, uh… a couple things.”

“Uh oh, what were you lying about?”

Eddie sighed. “Okay, so, my roommate, Steve… he’s also my boyfriend.”

Gareth slapped his arm and smiled. “Atta boy!”

“Right…. but his last name is also Harrington.”

“Come again?”

“He’s Steve Harrington.”

“Your boyfriend is Steve Harrington.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you live with him. Here.”

“That’s… correct.”

There was a pause. “Okay. Well. I’m gonna need a drink. Steve Harrington! I need a word!”

***

“Steve Harrington, I need a word!” Gareth yelled from behind the front door.

Steve almost choked on the gulp of water in his mouth.

Gareth opened the door. Steve hadn’t seen him in years, but he hadn’t changed much. His hair was floppier, maybe.

“Um, hey, Gareth, it’s been awhile,” he said as he cleared his throat.

“You guys have beer?” he asked.

Steve nodded and tossed him one from the fridge. “Okay. So. You publicly shamed and humiliated my best friend a few years ago. That wasn’t cool.” He cracked the can open and sipped at the overflowing foam.

“That wasn’t cool Steve, he’s right,” Robin added in from where she was standing in the kitchen, super unhelpfully.

“I—okay, guys, I know it wasn’t! It was super, super, really not cool of me!”

“Gareth—“ Eddie tried to butt in.

“No, let him,” Steve said.

Gareth sighed. “See, now you’re like… cool about it? This is… It’s jus weird. I mean. Who makes fun of a kid for peeing himself in class?”

“Me. I did. Super messed up of me.”

“Stop agreeing with me!”

“Gareth, he’s different now. He doesn’t make fun of me for pissing myself anymore, trust me,” Eddie said with a blush on his cheeks. The last part was quieter, and made Steve want to blush too.

Steve wasn’t sure why Eddie admitted that, but it got both of them to shut up, so maybe that was the reason.

“This is great. Keep going,” Robin said.

“How about we just sit and drink some beer, okay? And get along?” Eddie asked.

Steve kind of eyed Gareth, who kind of nodded.

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

Two beers in they finally started the D&D game thing. Steve was sitting around the table with big cards up covering everyone’s faces and sheets. He could still see Eddie’s foot tapping, though.

***

“Nat 20,” Eddie said loudly as he crossed one leg under himself on the chair.

“You pass easily,” Gareth says in his deep, menacing Dungeon Master voice. Eddie smiled to himself a little bit as he picked his dice back up. He’d missed Gareth and playing D&D with him. It made him feel like a kid again.

Maybe because he was so comfortable, he suddenly pissed a little bit, but the desperation that came washed away quickly as the leak was absorbed into his pull-up—

Wait. Fuck. Eddie was drinking alcohol, and apparently that made him completely forget that he wasn’t wearing a diaper right now at all. He glanced down at his crotch. He could see a little bit of wetness on the center of his jeans. Shit. He was supposed to change right away… but that would mean making everyone stop everything.

Hopefully it would dry before he had to get up, or before the game took a pause. Everyone seemed to be very invested, even Steve.

He’d be fine. He barely even had to pee. He could feel his bladder sitting uncomfortably under his jeans, but that leak only happened because he was comfortable and forgot he wasn’t wearing any padding like he’d been doing recently every time he drank. God, he really was becoming too dependent on them. And now his underwear was wet, which meant his rash was going to get worse.

“Granditide Millsweed The 3rd? It’s your turn.”

Eddie looked up at his friend and smiled at the absurd name he’d given this random character. “Right. I, uh, I’ll move 30 feet and attack the troll with my crossbow.”

“Give me a roll.”

Eddie rolled a 7, and the troll blocked his attack. He stuck a hand onto his crotch to feel the wetness.

a minute after he did, a little more definitely came out. Shit. Was he having an accident right now? No, he barely even had to pee. I mean. Obviously he should just go pee, but now the wet stain would be visible. He plugged himself back up, but now the seat was also wet below him, meaning his whole ass would be soaked. That took a lot longer to air dry…

Of course he could just tell his friends that he needed the bathroom, and that he’d already went a little bit and needed to change, but that would mean showing his friend he hadn’t seen in years that his peeing problems were very much still a thing. Gareth knew him when he was a kid. He’d seen Eddie pee himself plenty of times—so Eddie wasn’t sure why he was so scared.

He was 20, now. Not 10. Maybe that’s why.

Another ten minutes went by without Eddie leaking anymore. He still felt like he didn’t even need to pee that badly. His body must’ve just gotten so used to letting go when he drank, wearing those stupid pull-ups all the time.

Then Eddie rolled another very crucial nat 20, and he jumped up slightly in his chair. Which made his bladder decide to just release a decent amount into his pants.

Eddie immediately sat back down and kind of turned inward. His pants were for sure wet, now. And the only thing keeping that secret was the table and the blockers set up between each other. His jeans were uncomfortably wet, and his rash was burning.

If Eddie wanted to get away with this, he needed to stop letting anything else out. He was definitely wet enough. He needed to keep himself from finishing this accident. He cemented one hand in his crotch.

***

It wasn’t until Steve was opening his third beer that he realized they’d been playing D&D for almost three straight hours, and no one, including Eddie, had gotten up to pee.

Steve tried to casually look under the table and adjust his sock, just to see if Eddie was showing any more signs of needing to pee. Instead he saw evidence that Eddie had already peed himself a decent amount.

“Eddie,” Steve said immediately without thinking. He was just concerned about his rash, but didn’t think that by loudly saying his name like that, he may have just exposed the fact that he’d had an accident.

“What’s wrong?” Gareth said, immediately concerned.

“Nothing, he kicked me,” Steve said. Eddie looked pale. He obviously knew that Steve knew, now. He shifted on the seat. “We should take a break, don’t you think?” Steve continued.

Gareth looked at his watch. “Oh, shit, yeah, I was supposed to schedule in a pee break. Eddie, do you want to go first?” Gareth asked.

Eddie’s cheeks were gaining color rapidly. “Oh—uh, no, you can go ahead—“

“Hey, no fair, ladies first,” Robin said, pushing herself from the table and quickly going to the bathroom.

Shit. So much for that plan. He was hoping Gareth would go first since Eddie was clearly embarrassed about having an accident in front of him.

“You don’t have to piss?” Gareth asked Eddie, clearly surprised.

“Uh. Yes. I do, kinda,” he said.

“Then why…” Gareth trailed off after it seemingly dawned on him that Eddie may have already… gone. “Shit, Ed, you didn’t have an accident, did you?”

Eddie looked at Steve for a moment. His eyes were watery. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Oh, shit, Eddie,” Gareth said sadly

“Do you still have to go?” Steve asked. Eddie nodded. “That’s fine. You can go after Robin,” he said.

The bathroom door opened just then, and Eddie quickly stood and dashed into the bathroom. Robin looked at him, then at the table. “What happened?”

“He already had an accident. I’m going to grab him clothes,” Steve said quickly as he walked to Eddie’s room.

“Oh.”

“Should I… help clean this?” Steve heard Gareth ask Robin from the kitchen as Steve grabbed a pair of boxers and sweats.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get it,” Steve said as he walked back. He knocked lightly on the bathroom door. Eddie opened the door, a few tears now falling down his face, and took the clothes. He’d already taken off his wet things.

“Thanks.”

“Of course. Need anything else?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Steve said softly, letting Eddie close the door.
He grabbed paper towels from the kitchen and some cleaning supplies. The chair had a small puddle pooling in the center, but at least nothing had dripped off the sides.

“I feel like this is my fault,” Gareth said from his spot at the table.

Steve shook his head. “It’s not. None of us realized how long we’d been playing—“

“It’s no one’s fault but mine,” Eddie said, opening the bathroom door, now wearing light colored sweats. “I was just embarrassed. Sorry, Gareth.”

Gareth laughed. “I don’t know why! I’ve probably seen you piss yourself more than anyone else!”

“Yeah, back when I was… younger.”

“Not that much younger.”

“Hey.”

“I’m saying you shouldn’t be embarrassed, Ed, seriously! Peeing yourself in your own home is not embarrassing! Peeing yourself on that field trip to the mall—twice? That was embarrassing!”

Eddie looked offended. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone about the second one!”

Gareth put his hands up. “Sorry. Point is, this isn’t embarrassing!”

“You peed yourself twice on the same field trip?” Steve teased Eddie with a smile.

He rolled his eyes. “Yes. Once while we were ice skating.”

“It got into the skates—“ Gareth added.

“The rented skates mind you—“

“—and all over the ice,” Gareth continued.

“Do you remember that little girl who looked at me and screamed?”

“I do, yes, which brings me to the point, how is this embarrassing?”

Eddie shrugged. “I’m 20, now. And I still… obviously, I still have accidents.”

“Eddie, I hate to break it to you, but I really didn’t think me moving away would make you stop pissing yourself—“

Eddie shoved him lightly. “Fuck off, man.”

“Hey, I’m just being honest! I’ve known you since we were 8, dude. You should never, ever, be embarrassed about peeing yourself around me. You know I’ve never cared. Now do we wanna finish this one shot, or what?”

Eddie nodded, legs crossed over the chair. “I do, because then we’re smoking this!” Eddie pulled a thick joint out from behind his ear.

“Fuck yes we are!” Gareth screamed.

Steve shook his head at Robin. It was like having two Eddie’s.

“Okay I have to ask, how old were you? On the field trip?” Robin asked them.

Eddie covered his eyes with his hands. “Too old.”

“Like, 13,” Gareth said.

Robin winced. “Oh, yeah, that’s rough.”

“This is why I told you to never tell anyone this—“

“Wait, how do you get pee off ice?” Steve asked.

“You don’t. It freezes. They had to get the zamboni out,” Gareth answered.

“Oh, no,” Robin winced.

“You guys are killing me right now,” Eddie said as he slid down the chair.

“Okay, enough about the ice pee incident! I think I’ve proven my point that you peeing yourself in your own home around all of your friends is pretty low on the tandem pole for you. No offense.”

Eddie shrugged. “Honestly, you did make me feel less embarrassed about this. But now I can’t stop thinking about the ice pee incident. I’m gonna have nightmares about it tonight.”

“Hopefully dry nightmares,” Gareth said with a smile.

Eddie pushed Gareth off his chair.

***

“Tonight was awesome,” Gareth said as he sat on Eddie’s bed. “You sure I’m good taking your bed?”

“Yes, absolutely. Steve wants me to sleep with him. Not like, sleep—“

“Yeah, I got you. He loves you or whatever.”

“Something like that,” Eddie said with a smile. “You can take the protective sheet off of you want, if it’s too noisy—“

“Naw, reminds me of sleepovers at the trailer,” Gareth said, jumping to intentionally make the sheet squeak beneath him.

“Those were the days.”

“Yeah, miss it. You should come up and visit me sometime. I could introduce you to my friends. I’ll even let you put a rubber sheet over my bed.”

“That sounds nice. I’d like that. Especially the rubber sheet part. Your dad was pissed at me that time I did stain your mattress—“

“Well, I don’t live with my dad anymore.”

“Right. I forgot. We’re old now. Just let me know when, Gare, and I’ll come up.”

Gareth smiled. “Sweet. We got a deal.”

Chapter Text

When he was a kid, he used to hold his grandmothers frosted plates up to the light of the window and pretend he was looking into a new land that didn’t really exist.

Eddie thought for a moment that he was looking through his grandmothers frosted, crystal plates as he blinked his eyes because the memory was there, but it was filtered through fogged up glass.

But his mother and father were standing in front of him, arguing. He remembered the arguing the best. He hated that his dreams were filled with the arguing. It was always about him.

“He’s four. He should know how to piss in a toilet.”

“I’ve tried to get him to, Albert, you don’t think I’ve fucking tried?”

His mom was smoking a cigarette. She smoked a lot.

“His teachers say—“

“I know what they’ve been saying.”

“He’s four, and he’s not fucking toilet trained. He’s afraid of going to the bathroom. This is your fucking fault, you know that?”

She flicked ash into the tray. The memory got foggy again.

But then there was a hand on his small shoulder.

“Edward?” he asked, looking up.

“Come here. Let’s go to the bathroom.”

Eddie shook his head. He tried to look at his uncle, but his face was scratched out. “I don’t need to go.”

“That’s okay, Eddie, I just want to show you something.”

Uncle Edward took his hand.

He looked back at his parents, but they were gone. He was alone with Edward.

The glass plate shattered.

***

Steve woke up because Eddie was pressed against him and squirming nonstop, but also kind of groaning quietly. Steve tried to go back to sleep before he remembered that Eddie probably needed to pee, and he wasn’t wearing protection.

Steve hit his torso lightly. “Eddie, up, pee.”

Eddie continued squirming, still dead asleep. God. How did Eddie sleep this hard? He needed to be studied by someone with a big degree in like… urinary stuff.

“Eddie, baby,” he tried again. Eddie still wasn’t waking up.

He was, however, suddenly pissing hard and fast onto Steve’s leg. “Oh, shit, Eddie!”

Hot pee was soaking into the bed rapidly. Steve moved out of the way and flicked the lamp on and glanced at his alarm clock. It was 4 in the morning.

God. Nights like these, he was thankful that Eddie had started to wear protection most nights.

When he was in a pull-up, this didn’t happen. He would just piss in his pants quietly underneath his lose boxers. A small bit of the pull-up stuck out every night. Steve liked to rest his hand above the pull-up as they cuddled, his hand tucked beneath the band of his boxers.

And no one would know until the morning if he’d had an accident. It was perfect. And kind of hot.

But Steve couldn’t remember the last time Eddie had a dry night, and without protection, it was hard. He’d been wetting the bed every night for at least a couple weeks.

But Eddie’s rash was so bad, so he couldn’t wear padding all the time, and now their bed was soaked. Steve sighed.

Finally, Eddie sat up, slowly. His eyes were barely open.

“Baby, you’re peeing.”

He looked down. “I don’t want to go!” he suddenly yelled.

“Eddie?”

“No, no, no—“ he muttered.

“Eddie, what’s going on, what’s wrong?” Steve said, getting back on the bed and lifting Eddie up slightly so he could see his face.

Eddies eyes finally opened fully, and he shoved both hands against his dick. “I’m peeing,” he said quietly.

“Yeah. Can you make it?”

Eddie shook his head. “No. I’m almost done. I think. I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“You’re fine, it happens,” Steve shifted out of the way slightly. He could hear piss hitting the mattress protection quietly. “Did you have a nightmare?” he asked.

Eddie shook his head. “No, why?”

Steve kind of shrugged. “You were just kind of saying weird stuff. Something about not wanting to go. And then you just said no a lot.”

Eddie shrugged. “It was just a dream.”

“About what?”

Eddie shifted his hips on the wet bed. Steve wasn’t sure if he was still peeing. “My grandma’s plates.”

Steve didn’t know how to to respond to that. “Oh. Okay. Do you wanna talk about it?”

Eddie shook his head. The only light in the room was the burning blue sky of the rising sun. “God. I fucking hate not wearing protection.”

Steve felt his cheeks burn just thinking about Eddie in his pull-ups. “I know. I can go get you more tomorrow if you think your rash has cleared up.”

“It’s better, I guess.”

Steve shifted off the bed. He got himself wet, so he took his pants off. “Alright, good. Then we don’t have to keep doing laundry,” he said with a smile.

Eddie frowned. “There’s still laundry from yesterday I need to do.”

“Right. But we have clean sheets in the dryer for right now.”

“Yeah. But I pissed my work pants on the way home yesterday, and then my jeans last night, and now the bed again.”

“And that’s fine. I’ll wash it all with your sheets. Okay?”

“You don’t have to, Steve.”

“I know I don’t. I want to.”

There was a pause. “Okay. Well. I’m going to shower,” he said quietly, finally standing. He took off the wet sheets and mattress protector. Steve helped Eddie pile together the wet things, which included Eddie’s boxers, shirt, and a pillow case somehow.

Steve took the pile. “Be back in a second.”

After loading the new wet items, Steve got the clean sheets from the dryer. He needed to hand wash the mattress protector, so he set it aside. He was yawning the entire time. Having interrupted sleep every night for a few days was definitely already getting to him.

Gareth was still passed out in Eddie’s bed, so moving rooms wasn’t an option. Which meant more laundry in the middle of the night. Great.

When he got back to the room, Eddie was completely naked and sitting on the side of the stripped bed.

“Let’s make the bed, okay?” Steve said.

Eddie nodded, but didn’t make eye contact. He was probably exhausted. Just like Steve was.

God, he only had a few hours left until he had to leave for work.

They made the bed quickly and both fell asleep before Steve could even think about sleeping.

***

Eddie didn’t dream again, thankfully.

But he did wake up in Steve’s bed totally fucking soaked again. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the bright room. It was almost noon. He’d overslept. Thankfully, he didn’t need to work today.

It took him way too long to realize that the bed didn’t feel right. He was wet, but it was too damp, almost like there wasn’t a mattress protector on the bed.

He sat up slowly and took off the blanket.

His accident wasn’t large, but Eddie definitely just pissed right onto Steve’s mattress.

“Fuck.”

Eddie stripped Steve’s bed and stared at the spot on the center of the bed. Jesus. It had been awhile since he’d pissed himself on someone else’s mattress.

That stupid dream. It had to be that stupid dream. His dad, and his mom…