The following morning Conan woke up to strange movement coming from down below. As his eyes came to focus he looked to see he was naked and Ran was getting ready to put a new diaper on him. In his surprise, Conan went to sit up. He was met by a sharp pain in his abdomen that sent him reeling back onto his pillow. "AAahhh," he groaned.
Ran dropped the diaper and scooted up to Conan's side. "Conan! Sorry, I was trying not to wake you up. Just lay still."
"What time is it?" Conan asked, seeing the dim light coming through his window.
"It's morning, my teacher told me I have to come in for a test today. Professor Agasa agreed to look after you until I'm out," she said.
Conan closed his eyes again, he was too tired for all this. After last night's incident with Mouri he didn't go back downstairs all night, not even to get Ran to help him use the toilet. He discovered that between the painkillers and the age advancing drugs he was on, all he had to do was not go and nature would take its toll on whatever underwear he was wearing. When Ran came up to change him once more before bed she'd brought a glass of water, allowing him to take Haibara's medicine that usually knocked him out for over 10 hours.
He laid still, his body tired but his mind fully aware that Ran was changing him. He hated to admit it but he was used to it now, it was almost comforting to see first hand how good a mother his girlfriend would make. He shuddered at the realization and hoped that, whatever happened, he wouldn't develop an Oedipus complex.
Ran secured the tapes on Conan's fresh diaper. "Here, I brought your medicine and some breakfast for before we go," she said.
"K…" Conan said tiredly, not wanting to have to get out of bed. He was in pain, sure, but he'd rather try and sleep through it.
Conan's eyes popped back open as his head was lifted and placed on to Ran's lap. "I made some oatmeal, open up," she said, pushing a spoon toward Conan's mouth.
"I can feed myself," he said meekly.
"No time, I'm running late and I still need to drop you off. Say 'ahhh.'"
Conan said no such thing but he opened his mouth anyway. Ran fed him several large spoonfuls then gave him some water in a sippy cup along with his pill. Conan wanted to protest but he slipped in and out of consciousness, the medicine he took the night before working to relax him and numb him.
Ran hated to wake him and rush him like this but she knew Mouri wouldn't be able to take care of the boy in this state. She also knew Conan would hate being around his friend Haibara like this, regardless of Haibara having gone through the same sickness. Ran fitted the boy in some thick, loud waterproof snow pants to help him hide his diaper better.
She looked down, Conan was out cold again. She picked the boy up, holding his padded butt with one arm and letting him rest his head on her shoulder, and started off down the street to The Professor's house.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Conan woke to a pain in his gut. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room, finding it unfamiliar. He remembered back to that morning with Ran and deduced it must be The Professor's guest room. Still, he had no idea of how he got there. He figured Ran must have carried him all the way here while he was sleeping. It made him nostalgic for his first childhood, when he'd fall asleep on the car ride home and his parents would carry him to his bed. He smiled warmly and snugged up in his bed.
But the stomach pain came back and he remembered the accident he'd had yesterday morning. He wouldn't let that happen again, especially not if The Professor would have to clean him up.
Conan rolled out of bed and onto his feet, a luxury he was not afforded at Ran's house with his futon. He looked down and saw the pants Ran had dressed him in, bulky and loud. He pressed his thighs together a little, noticing his padding was thick and a little wet. He silently thanked Ran for the extra diaper camouflage.
When he left the guest room he saw Haibara sitting on the couch watching a documentary. "Awake already, Conan?" she asked sarcastically.
"Just needed a little nap," he quipped back through a yawn. He wasn't sure how long he was out but he knew it must be afternoon by now. "Where's The Professor?" he asked.
"He had to go out for a minute, a client was having some issues with one of his inventions," she answered. "He should have been back by now but you never know what's going to distract that old man."
Conan cursed under his breath. He was relying on The Professor to help him use the restroom and get changed. He formed a new plan. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" he asked. If he could stall the shower and the bath for long enough then The Professor would be home by the time he finished.
Haibara smiled slyly at Conan, knowing exactly why he needed a shower. This didn't get past Conan's vigilant gaze.
"Don't act so smug! I bet you needed one this morning too," he shot back.
She blushed. She may have graduated to bedwetting pull-ups but she still couldn't completely make it through the night. "Go take a shower, what do I care," she said, going back to her show.
Conan smiled to himself, her reaction told him he was right. Conan waddled into the bathroom and went to take off his pants, to no avail. The waistband of the snow pants hugged tight around his hips. Trying to slide them past the swollen bulge to a point where they'd fall the rest of the way proved too difficult for Conan. To make matters worse, every time Conan bent over to slide them down he felt his stomach trying to push out its contents.
He surveyed the bathroom for any tools he could use to help but, this being the guest bathroom, it was absent of anything besides rounded soap bottles and decorative towels. The anxiety of what may happen became self perpetuating as the worry started to reach his stomach. He tried planting himself against the wall and using friction but found the waterproof material on the snow pants was too smooth to catch at all.
Conan's heart started raising as he felt his control slipping somewhat. The day before he'd waited too long and pooped his pants right in front of Ran. If he was gonna make it out of this clean he'd have to act fast.
Taking a deep breath, he opened the door quietly and poked his head out. He planned to sneak to a closet or the kitchen and find something to push his pants down but instead he was met by Haibara waiting outside, her arms folded and smugly grinning at him.
"Looking for fresh towels?" she asked sarcastically.
He knew he was caught, so Conan stepped out of the bathroom. "I need...uh-" he started, his voice breaking under Haibara's gaze.
Haibara sighed, this was no fun. She wanted to tease him and have him tease back but she remembered how the medicine had made her feel at its peak. Conan, numbed by painkillers, was able to suppress it better but she knew he was having trouble thinking and feeling straight. "Turn around," she said, copying the dignities Professor Agasa had given her.
Conan obeyed, happy not to have to explain further. He was going to ask Haibara to close her eyes but just then another push come from his gut. He just needed her to hurry.
Haibara pulled the boy's pants down in one quick swoop and, before she had even risen all the way up, Conan was making for the bathroom. "Thanks!" he shouted as he closed the door.
She giggled. She may have been in the same situation as him the week prior but at least he hadn't seen her.
Immediately upon shuffling into the bathroom with his pants around his ankles, Conan grabbed the front of his diaper and ripped it away. He sat on the toilet and gave a great sigh of relief at having made it just in the knick of time.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Haibara went back to her documentary. When it ended about an hour later and she still hadn't heard from Conan she became worried. She walked down the hall and put her ear to the bathroom door; the shower had stopped. She tried calling through the door, "Everything okay in there?"
"I'm fine!" Conan yelled back. He was sitting on the toilet wearing just his t-shirt. After the water in the shower got too cold he'd resigned himself to rest in the bathroom for as long as possible. "Is The Professor back yet?" he asked.
"No, it's just us," Haibara answered. "If you need anything I can help, there's no need for you to spend all day in the bathroom," she called through the door.
"No, it's okay," Conan called back.
"No it's not!" Haibara shouted angrily. She didn't have much patience for children, especially this one. She took a deep breath and decided to try a new strategy. "Look, we need to do some tests before Ran's school lets out. Open the door so we can just get it over with."
After a few seconds she heard a click and the door opened. Conan came out holding a towel around his waist with one hand and his pants in the other. He kept his gaze on the floor and quietly said, "I'm sorry…"
"Look, when you think about it I'm the one who made the drug, I did this to you. It's part of my job to help you manage the symptoms. So don't apologize," Haibara said, trying to cover her sympathy with a false anger. "Now come on, let's hurry up," she said as she grabbed the pants from Conan's hand and made her way to the living room.
"So what are you on now? Diapers, right?" she asked, grabbing the daypack by the door that Ran had packed for Conan.
"Yeah...since late yesterday," Conan answered. It felt awkward to say but since Haibara was basically the expert/ cause of his "condition" he figured he should be honest.
Haibara laid a blanket out on the couch and patted it, signaling for Conan to come lie on it. "Do we have to do it out here?" Conan asked nervously.
"Well I'm not tall enough to do it on a bed and my abdomen still hurts too much to lean down and do it on the floor," she responded.
Conan bashfully approach the couch and sat on the blanket, still clutching his towel to maintain his privacy for as long as possible.
"Alright, lay back," Haibara said while pulling out a folded white diaper and some baby powder.
Conan obeyed. From his position on the couch he watched as Haibara unfolded the diaper and examined it, seemingly not knowing which way was up or down. "Have you done this before?" he asked.
Haibara gave a nervous smile. "Once, in high school. We practiced on a baby doll," she admitted. Conan sighed and stared at the ceiling.
"Alright, ready?" she asked.
"Mhmm," Conan nodded, not really ready at all. He shut his eyes tight as Haibara moved his hand away from the towel and pulled itl out from under him.
"Since you just took a shower I don't think I need to wipe you down…" she muttered, mostly to herself.
"Like hell I'd let you anyway!" Conan shot at her.
Haibara was about to insult him by mentioning the size of his childlike 'manhood' but she caught herself. 'He's just having an episode,' she thought. 'Don't make it worse.'
"I'd be very careful about what you say to me right now," she warned him instead.
Conan covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, it's just…"
"Don't talk, I'm trying to concentrate," Haibara said, trying to save her friend the embarrassment. She grabbed Conan's bare legs and, one at a time, lifted them to line up the diaper.
It's then that she realized she hadn't gone to the bathroom since starting her documentary, and she was starting to feel it. Having successfully stayed dry all of yesterday she had opted out of pull-ups this morning. She fidgeted uncomfortably but decided to finish changing Conan first.
"Alright, on the count of 3 I need you to try and lift your butt for a couple of seconds," she said. Conan nodded in acknowledgement.
"1, 2, 3," she counted. Conan thrusted toward the air and let out an audible gasp at the pain. Haibara slid the diaper under him just in time as he collapsed back onto it.
"Sorry," Haibara said, genuinely knowing how much that must have hurt since she'd experienced the same symptom.
The pain, if nothing else, made the social aspect of the change more manageable for Conan. As he gritted his teeth, Haibara began applying baby powder to his private region. When she tipped the bottle, however, she hadn't expected quite as much to come out and it sent a cloud all over Conan's privates and into the air, the powder particles settling on the boy. She looked at Conan apologetically only to see he didn't seem to notice, he was too busy dealing with his hurt stomach.
Haibara taped up Conan as best she could, carefully and deliberately placing each tape on the landing zone. She placed the last one on and admired her work. It wasn't perfect but she thought she did alright. Her eyes turned to the bigger picture, seeing Conan laying on the couch in just a t-shirt and diaper. 'Adorable,' she thought, a gentle smile forming on her lips.
"Are you finished?" Conan asked, opening his eyes.
Haibara regained herself and forced the smile away. "Yeah, now just the pants," she said.
As she was about the put them on him she heard a knock at the door. Conan froze and looked at Haibara with dread. "Relax," she said. "The old man just forgot his house key, I noticed it sitting on the counter earlier."
As Haibara made her way to the door Conan pushed himself upright and wrapped the part of the blanket he wasn't sitting on around his waist. He couldn't move himself to see the door from where he sat but he heard it click open.
"Hello, Haibara!" the visitors said in unison. Conan's heart began pounding in his chest, he knew those voices. It was The Detective Boys: Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta. Conan lifted the blanket and glanced under it for a second, lamenting that Haibara hadn't just put some pants on him before she answered the door. He re-covered himself.
Haibara froze for a second herself. School must have just gotten out and she realized just how much she'd lost track of the time. She regained her composure and said "Hey, what brings you guys around?"
"You haven't been at school since last week," Genta said.
"We wanted to check on you," Mitsuhiko said.
"And Conan didn't show up today or yesterday, either," Ayumi added.
Haibara thought fast, "Thanks for your concern, but I got a bit of a bug and I think I passed it on to Conan," she said, inching the door closed. "Now we wouldn't want to pass it on to you as well, so..."
"We?" Mitsuhiko asked. "Is Conan here too?"
'Damn,' Haibara thought. Conan had trained The Detective Boys too well to let a slip of the tongue like that get past them. "Yeah, but he's napping on the couch right now," she said, smiling apologetically.
"Can we see him real quick?" Ayumi asked. "We've been worried, we promise not to wake him."
"And can I use your toilet before we go?" Genta asked, shifting uncomfortably.
Seeing Genta needing to go reminded her of her own growing urge to pee. She sighed, it couldn't be helped. She opened the door and gestured inside, hoping Conan had overheard and covered himself properly.
Genta pushed past them all and ran for the bathroom. The other 3 rounded the couch to see Conan curled up under a blanket sleeping, his head resting on the arm of the couch. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko smiled at him, then at Haibara. Then Ayumi got a strange look on her face.
"What's that smell?" she asked, moving her head to sniff around.
"I think it's the baby powder," Mitsuhiko said, pointing to the bottle still laying on the floor. Haibara kicked herself for not putting it away.
"What's that doing out?" Ayumi asked.
"Skin care!" Haibara exclaimed, too loud and too quickly.
"Shhhhh!" both the children said in unison.
Just then a wave of urgency coursed through her. She needed a bathroom, stat, but she also couldn't leave poor Conan alone with these two. If they lifted up that blanket he'd be completely exposed. She held herself through her skirt with both hands and dropped on the couch next to Conan, using the cushioning underneath her to help hold it in.
"Are you okay?" Mitsuhiko asked.
"Just a little tired," Haibara fibbed, squirming in her seat.
Conan felt her land on the couch next to him and felt her uneasy movements. 'Does she need a bathroom?' he thought. He didn't worry too much, however, because he'd assumed she was still in pull-ups.
"Genta's sure taking a while, I hope he didn't get sick as well," Ayumi said.
"I hope not, too," Haibara said, somewhat earnestly since she wanted nothing more than for him to finish so the children could leave.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Mitsuhiko said, taking his backpack off and searching through it on the floor. "Teacher gave me these worksheets for you. We were also gonna stop by Conan's and give him his, can you make sure he gets them?" He pulled a small stack of paper from his bag and handed it to Haibara.
Haibara lifted her hand to grab the papers but found undamming herself difficult. Still, she didn't want to be too obvious so she took the papers with dignity and set them beside her. A small spurt of urine escaped into her underwear and she threw her hands back onto her lap.
Just then the bathroom door came up and Genta exited. "Sorry it took so long," he called to them.
"Don't mention it," Haibara said as the other two children put their fingers to their lips in a shushing motion. Genta joined the group and saw Conan sleeping. He mouthed, "Sorry!"
"Anyway, I think you guys should leave before we get you sick," Haibara said. She was being rude but she really needed them to leave.
The Detective Boys nodded and made for the door.
"Get plenty of rest," Ayumi said.
"Thanks for letting me use your restroom," Genta said.
"Tell Conan we said 'Hi'," Mitsuhiko said.
The three waved goodbye to Haibara and helped themselves out, Mitsuhiko closing the door behind him.
Haibara jumped off the couch but found the shift in her balance didn't help matters.
Conan opened his eyes. "Are they gone?" he asked in a whisper. Then he saw Haibara standing by the couch with her legs crossed over her hands, shaking in desperation.
"Just go if you have to go," Conan said, uncovering himself and his diaper and standing up next to Haibara. "Who am I to judge?"
"I'm - not - wearing - protection," Haibara said through grit teeth.
Conan watched with worry as she moved deliberately away from the couch and toward the restroom. About halfway there she stopped in her tracks. Liquid started trickling out from under her skirt and down the side of her legs. Conan didn't say anything, having wet himself many times in the past week he knew the best thing to do was to just let it happen.
Haibara covered her face with her hands as the pee soaked into her socks and started leaving a wet spot on the carpet. 'Why didn't I wear a pull-up? Why didn't I go to the bathroom when I knew I needed to? Why now, in front of Conan?' she chastised herself. She started to cry and she helplessly surrendered to peeing in her skirt.
Conan waited for the last of the urine to stop running down Haibara's legs before he approached her. It took nearly half a minute, which was a testament to how much her bladder capacity had improved compared to his. But by the time she was finished peeing she was sobbing into her hands.
Conan appreciated how gentle Haibara was when she put his diaper on, so he decided to comfort her in return. He approached the crying girl and said, "Come on, it couldn't be helped."
"Yes it could have!" Haibara sobbed, angry at herself for letting this happen.
Conan flinched. 'Is that what I'm like when I have an accident?' he thought. But he pushed past it. "Let's get cleaned up, you'll feel better when you're all dry."
Haibara nodded, she knew he was right. As she started toward her room, however, the door opened and Mitsuhiko entered. Conan, in nothing but his shirt and diaper, and Haibara, in nothing but her soiled skirt, froze.
"Sorry, we got halfway down the street when I realized I forgot my…" he started before his eyes fell on Conan and Haibara. "...backpack…"
They stared at each other for a second, Mitsuhiko processing the information and Conan and Haibara like a deer in headlights. Conan moved first, however, and covered the front of his diaper by pulling down his t-shirt. Haibara took his lead and ran to her bedroom crying, hands covering her eyes.
Mitsuhiko dropped to his knees and bowed his head to the floor. "I'm sorry!" he said. "I should have knocked!"
Conan sighed. "Get up, it's alright," he said, taking his hands off his shirt and letting his diaper be exposed. He figured there was no use in hiding it now.
Mitsuhiko rose but averted his gaze. "Get your bag and head out before you end up sick like us," he said sternly.
"Got it," Mitsuhiko said, stumbling to his backpack. He didn't know what kind of disease Conan and Haibara had but he knew he absolutely did not want to get it too.
"Oh, and not one word about Haibara to Genta or Ayumi. Got it?" Conan said.
"Got it," Mitsuhiko nodded, his backpack in hand and making a beeline for the door.
"Oh and one more thing," Conan said. Mitsuhiko stopped.
"Thanks for bringing me my homework," he said.
"No problem," he said, rushing out the door. Before he closed it he peeked his head back inside and said, "Oh, and Conan? Get well soon, we miss playing detective with you." He closed the door.
Conan smiled. Maybe his empathy for Haibara had overridden the emotional turmoil he usually felt because of the pills. Or, he considered, he was becoming immune to embarrassment. He'd been carrying it with him constantly, afterall.
He approached Haibara's door and called through it, "Do you need any help?"
"I'm fine! I'll come out when I'm ready!" she called back, clearly still distraught from the accident.
Conan shrugged and looked down at his lower half, diapered but pantsless. He also saw he was a little wet already, despite not getting any warning he had to pee. This concerned him but he chalked it up to all the excitement from the last 10 minutes, he just must have not noticed.
He walked back to the couch and flopped back into his seat. He saw his snow pants on the ground but knew trying to put them on himself was a futile action. Instead, he covered himself with a blanket and turned on some cartoons.