The day felt empty without Archie’s best friend by his side. School didn’t feel all that bad when he had someone to crack jokes or share snacks with, but without his cougar in crime, the whole day felt so slow and…lonely. 
	When the end of the day bell rang, instead of racing to pack up and running out of class, Archie dejectedly took his time putting away his backpack. No need to rush with no best buddy waiting on you.
	“Archie?” He turned to his teacher, who stood over him holding an ominous packet of papers. “You’re friends with Cain, right?”
	“Yeah…”
	“Could you take him today’s homework? And send him my regards, I hope he’s feeling better soon.”
	Archie’s tail started to wag. “Ok!” He accepted the homework with more glee than any normal student would. Not the best package to deliver, but it gave him an excuse to see his best friend again!
	He couldn’t help but run the whole way from school to Cain’s house. He had a whole day’s worth of stories and goofs waiting to unload on his feline friend, this reunion required the utmost urgency! Upon reaching his door, the golden retriever restrained himself from excitedly smashing the doorbell in and waited with that typical open mouth happy puppy pant. His tail started to wag at the sound of steps walking up to the door.
	“Archie!” Cain’s mother happily greeted him at the door.
	“Hi Mrs. Clifton, is Ca-” Archie was interrupted by a dramatic throaty ‘rooaaaarrrr’. A little black cougar kitten suddenly pounced from behind Cain’s mother, making Archie jump. He held up a toy dinosaur, baring his teeth while making the associated sound effects. “Hi Cale.” Archie chuckled at Cain’s silly little brother.
	“I’m a t-rex! Rooaaarrrr!”
	“Cale!” His mother scolded, “How could you scare Archie like that?” Cale only giggled mischievously and skittered back in the house. 
	“Is Cain home?”
	“Yes, he’s in his room.” She stepped aside to let the retriever in. “He’s been through a lot since this morning, he’ll be so happy to see you.”
	Archie’s ears drooped. A lot? What’s ‘a lot?’ “Is…Cain Ok?”
	“He’s fine, probably just a little tired but…you should see for yourself.”
	Archie shuddered on that note. How could he be ‘fine’ but also been through ‘a lot?’ He took nervous steps up the stairs to Cain’s room. He hesitated before knocking on his door, hoping the warm feline he knew and loved was still the same in there. “Cain?”
	“…Archie?” A quiet voice answered.
	“Y-yeah.” That voice didn’t sound like his usual chipper friend. Oh no, what happened to him?
	“Come in.”
	Archie’s paw shook twisting the knob, his heartbeat starting to quicken. Please, just let his friend be ok… As he slowly opened the door, he first noticed Cane’s familiar blue eyes peering back at him from his bed. Hmm, he doesn’t look bad, maybe a little sleepy, but he’s A-Ok! Archie’s tail started wagging again, a smile growing across on his face. He confidently pushed open his door. “Hi Ca-.”
	On the other end of Cain’s bed, his right footpaw was wrapped in a thick white cast, a jarring contrast from his jet-black fur. It rested upon an icepack, which itself was elevated on a stack of pillows. A pair of crutches leaned on the desk next to him. “Hi Archie.” Cane replied, a smile and just a hint of excitement breaking through his sleepy daze. 
	“What happened to your foot?!”
	“Oh that…” He leaned up, slowly lifting and pivoting his legs off the pillows and to the side of his bed so he sat up. He kept his casted foot hovering just above the floor. “I twisted my ankle running downstairs last night.” He recounted slightly embarrassed. 
	“Did it hurt?” Archie plopped himself on the bed next to him, making them both bounce.
	“Ow!” Cain held the side of his cast, his ankle didn’t appreciate being jostled around.
	“Sorry!” Archie flinched feeling pain for him.
	“It’s Ok, and yeah…it really hurt a lot. I think it hurt more than anything I’ve ever felt before.”
	“Even more then the time you fell off your bike going down the hill?”
	“Way more than that. The doctor even gave me medicine ‘cause it still kinda hurts.”
	“Jeez…” Archie looked at the cast feeling guilty. His friend was hurting but he could do little to help, if only he had something to make it better…oh! “Hey Cain, I got you something!” He took off his bookbag and started digging through it.
	“Really?” His ears perked up.
	“Ta-da!” Archie revealed a bag of chips he saved from lunch. Those chips were one of the few things the school served that the pair considered edible, and he couldn’t let his friend miss out on them. 
	Cain gasped. “Thank you Archie!” He leaned over and threw his arms around his puppy pal. “Ow, ow, ow!” He seized from the pain shooting through his ankle from just those little movements.
	“No! Don’t move so much!” Archie held his arms up, afraid of breaking his friend any further.
	“Ow, it’s f-fine, ow.” Cain awkwardly grabbed on to and pushed off Archie attempting to sit back up without disturbing his ankle again. “Sorry…” He sighed frustrated upon righting himself, can’t even hug.
	“Oh, and I got you…this.” Archie pulled out the packet he was to deliver.
	“Homework?” Cain asked sounding defeated.
	“Yeah…sorry.” Cain’s frown shattered his heart. “Our teacher asked me to bring it to you, and she said she hopes you feel better.”
	“Oh, thanks.” He said flatly.
	Way to make a bad day worse. “Hey do you wanna…” Archie wanted to suggest something fun to cheer him up, like playing in their backyard, or going bike riding, or even going downstairs to play video games, but…can’t do that with one foot. 
	“Wanna what?”
	“Never mind…”
	“Archie?” Cain’s mother called while coming up the stairs.
	“Yes Mrs. Clifton?”
	She appeared in the door frame. Cale peeked his head from behind her, holding his toy and making growling sounds. “I just realized there’s nothing in here to cook for dinner! Do you mind watching Cain while I go to the supermarket?”
	“Archie doesn’t have to watch me Mom.” Cain protested.
	“Just to be safe, you still aren’t used to those crutches yet.”
	“I can do that!” Archie accepted enthusiastically. Pretty much a typical hangout for them, except now he was his dear friend’s caretaker. He’ll be the best at getting him juice, and making sure his pillow’s fluffed, and all those other things that go on in those medical dramas, but with no sponge bath…hopefully.
	“Great, thank you! Cain do you want me to bring you downstairs? You boys could play games and have some snacks while I’m gone.”
	“No, I can do it myself.” Cain reached for his crutches.
	“You can go downstairs with those?” Archie asked.
	“Yeah.” Cain huffed as he hoisted himself up and attempted to balance the crutches under his armpits. The shaking crutches didn’t look very secure to Archie. 
	“No Cain, you don’t have enough practice with them! Look, you’re already about to fall!” His mother rushed to him with her arms out.
	“N-no, I can- woah!” He attempted to step out but lost balance on his uneven crutches. He fell back on Archie, and the two rolled back flat out on the bed. “Sorry Archie, are you Ok?”
	“I’m Ok. Is your ankle Ok?”
	“Uhhhhh, I guess it is.” Well, as Ok as a twisted ankle could be.
	“Mommy, Cain died!” Cale exclaimed pointing dramatically at the two motionless boys.
	“No, he didn’t sweetie,” His mother sighed looking over the two. “But he will if he’s not careful.” She kneeled to scoop up her elder son.
	“Hey, wait, wait!” Cain’s cries went ignored. He founded himself being cradled koala style in his mother’s arms.
	“Hold on to my shoulders—Archie can you get his crutches for me?”
	“Ok!” Archie grabbed the crutches and joined the conga line downstairs. Cain, with his chin above his mother’s shoulder did his best not to make eye contact with his friend behind them during this short humiliating trip. She finally settled her red-faced son down on the living room couch with an exhale. “Wow Mrs. Clifton, you’re really strong!”
	“You have to be around here.” She took a moment to stretch her back. 
	“Can I get a ride next?” Cale bounced excited for his turn up the stairs.
“Maybe when I get back sweetie. Archie, feel free to have any snacks you want, and my cellphone number is on the desk, call me if anything happens. Do you want me to bring back something for you?”
	“No, I’m good Mrs. Clifton.”
	“Alright, I’ll be back as fast as I can. Cain, please be careful and listen to Archie.” Cain’s mother grabbed her keys, grabbed Cale’s paw, and headed for the front door.
	“But Mommy, I wanna play with Archie!” Cale cried while being pulled away.
	“Archie’s gonna have his hands full for a while, you can play when we get back.” She said, before finally leaving the house.
“Sooooo…” Archie turned to Cain, his tail starting to wag. “What do you wanna do now?”
	“I dunno, watch TV I guess.” Cain shrugged.
	Archie tilted his head at his friend’s melancholy. “What’s wrong? You need juice? Or your couch cushion fluffed?” 
	“No.” Dang, those were the only doctor-y things Archie knew how to do. “I wish I could walk again so my mom would stop treating me like a baby, and we could go outside could do fun stuff…and I wish my foot would stop hurting.” He ended in a saddened almost whining tone.
	“Ummm…” Archie knew not even a doctor could perform a miracle like that. But, Cain’s cast, just so casually hanging off the couch like that, looked out of place. “I think I can help.”
	“You can?” Archie ran off to their dining room and carried in a chair. “Huh?” He then ran upstairs and returned moments later with pillows and the icepack, his tongue hanging out as he panted. He arranged the stack like it was on Cain’s bed. “Ohhhhh.”
	Archie kneeled and grabbed ahold of Cain’s casted footpaw. “Ow, hey!”
	“Sorry, sorry!” Archie threw his paws up. “I was trying to get your foot on top.”
	“I can still lift it.” Cain said with a hint of annoyance. He winced as he slowly raised his casted foot up and over the stack, and he settled it down on the ice pack with a sigh.
	“Does it feel better?”
	“A little bit…thanks Archie.”
	The softness in his voice and the grateful smile on his face brought a warm feeling in Archie, he truly helped his friend. “Do you want any snacks?”
	“No, I’ll eat the chips you brought…oh, I left them upstairs.”
	“I’ll get ‘em!”
	“No, no, it’s Ok!” Alas, Archie was already halfway up the stairs. And he returned, tail wagging with chips acquired. “Thanks…”
	“Do you want something to drink?”
	“No-”
	“Oh wait, I think you left a juice box on your desk too, I’ll get it!”
	“Archie wait!” But he was gone again, that slippery dog. He came back with not just one, but several juice box cartons cradled in his arm.
	“You had a bunch of empty ones. I found a full one, but it’s kinda hot so I’m gonna get a cold one from the fridge.”
	“No Archie, I’m fine!” Cain said a bit louder than he meant to. 
	 “So you don’t want the juice?”
	“No…” Cain said with a bit of guilt in his voice.
	“Oh…Ok. I’m gonna throw out the empty ones.” Cain sighed watching his friend zip around once more. When Archie returned to take his place on the couch, he had two juice cartons, and handed one out to his friend. “Here you go.”
	“But I said I didn’t want one…” Cain begrudgingly accepted the carton.
	“Just in case you want it later. Your ankle can’t heal while thirsty.”
	“Is that true?”
	“I dunno,” Archie said while gingerly popping the straw in the box. “It sounds true.”
	Cain briefly pouted at the box as if conflicted, before moving to break the straw off. But just as he did, the box fell out of his paws onto the floor. He made awkward attempts to reach down for it but couldn’t quite reach it with his foot up. Archie came to the rescue and picked it up within one fell swoop, an action once so easy to Cain. “Thanks.”
	“Mh-hmm!” Archie nodded chipperly while taking a nice long sip. With his thirst satisfied, he picked up the TV remote. “What do you want to watch? I think the new Wonder Wulf is on…Cain?” His friend held a sulking expression while glancing over at his cast.
	“Sorry that my stupid ankle is making you run around…”
	“Hey! Your ankle’s not stupid, it’s still healing.”
	“It’s taking too long.”
“It’s trying it’s best! And I don’t mind running around, remember what kind of dog I am? It’s my job to retrieve stuff!” Archie let his tongue hang out as he smiled, proud of making that connection.
“It’s still not fair you have to do so much.” Cain mumbled. 
Oh, his poor friend. He could really use something to cheer him up. Looking at that bare cast gave Archie an idea. “Hey, I should sign your cast! You got any markers?”
	Cain’s eyes lit up. “Yeah!” His smile quickly faded to a guilty shyness. “…They’re upstairs on my desk.”
	“I’ll get ‘em.” Archie took the great trek upstairs again and returned with a pack of markers.
	Cain frowned watching him pant. “You’re out of breath…”
	“Nah, dogs always breath like this.” He got his knees by Cain’s makeshift footrest, and popped off the top to a green marker, his favorite color. He very gently tapped Cain’s cast with the tip. “Does this hurt?”
	“No.”
	Confident he couldn’t possibly cause any more damage, he started to scribble out his name. It was a lot harder to write on the rough, uneven surface of the cast than he thought, but he still managed to make it look cool, with little stars and funny faces surrounding it. “Done!” 
	“Can I see?”
	“Wait I want to add some other stuff.” 
	“What are you drawing?” A suspicious Cain leaned in to take a closer look.
	“Nothing…” Archie couldn’t hold back a giggle and moved to cover up his work.
	“Lemme see it!” Cain prodded Archie’s side with his uninjured footpaw.
	“Ow! You’re gonna make me mess up!” Archie grabbed hold of his friend’s foot and launched his tickle retaliation. 
	“Aah! H-hey!” Cain writhed in place as much as his elevated foot allowed. “St-st-op!” He stuttered around giggles. He reached over and hurled a throw pillow at the viscous attack dog, but that soft and fluffy offense only awaked a monster. 
Archie with an evil smile spun around on his knees, and trapped Cain’s leg under his armpit as he doubled down on his tickle attack. “Sta-ha-ha-haawwwp!” Cain yelled, laughing out loud. “Pleeee-he-he-heaseee!” Unfortunately, those pleas fell on floppy sadist ears. Archie stuck his tongue out while adding just a tiny bit of claw for those deep tickles. “Aaaaah! I’m gonna pee my pants, I’m gonna pee my pants!”
Uh-oh, that was certainly the urgent panicky kind of shriek, and not the ‘haha not really’ funny kind. Archie immediately released his captor’s foot and whipped around to check if he was still dry and in one piece. 
Cain trembled, both paws in his crotch as those last few breathless laughs passed through him. “Are you Ok?” Archie asked cautiously, hoping he didn’t break him.
“I’m…I’m fine. My feet are just really ticklish.” He looked away with an embarrassed smile.
Archie squinted at his friend’s shorts. Dry, but he kept suspiciously tight paws down there. “Do you have to pee?”
“No!” Cain whipped his paws out from his crotch. “I just…said that to make you stop.”
Archie looked at him sideways, that blush and subtle tremble said otherwise. “You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure!” Cain snapped. “Ugh, you sound like my mom!” 
“Sorry…” Archie mumbled as he sat on the couch. “Just trying to help.” 
“I can go to the bathroom by myself.”
“Really? But how do you undo the zipper? And hold your wiener?”
“I…I don’t know. My dad helped me the first time when we got back from the hospital this morning, and I haven’t gone since then…but I’ll figure it out when I need to go.”
“Since this morning? Jeez, you’ve been holding it for a really long time.”
“It’s fine, I have a big bladder.”
Archie doubted that, given their misadventure over winter break. Plus, with all those empty juice cartons from earlier, Cain had to be on verge of bursting. “…You sure you don’t have to go?” He asked gently.
“I said I’m fine!”
“Ok, ok!” Archie picked up the remote and turned on the TV, hoping to change the topic before his friend bites his head off. “What do you want to watch?” 
“Uhhh, is Wonder Wuff still on?” As Cain turned to the TV, his cast came into his field of view, all its new decorations catching his eye. “Hey! Did you draw a bunch of butts and ding-dongs on my foot?!”
Archie burst into a quick laugh. “Yeah, I did!” Cain landed a flurry of playful punches on his arm. “Ow, ow! No fair, I can’t fight back!” Archie scooted to the end of the couch.
Cain nearly flopped over trying to reach him. “My ankle’s hurt, but the rest of me isn’t!” Archie giggled watching Cain paw at the air, oh-so close to landing another hit on him. “Git ova here!” He rasped.
“Ok, you asked for it!” Archie launched, grabbing his friend’s arms. Despite Cain’s welcome, Archie took it easy on him as they wrestled, making sure not to jolt or tilt him too much and disturb his resting foot. Suffice to say, the retriever took a mild beating as he tried to focus on defending himself from a barrage of slaps and jabs. But when he saw a clear opportunity to poke at that unguarded kitty tummy, he went for it. “Yah!” Archie let out a war cry as he sent two fingers into his belly.
Cain mewled and flinched much harder than Archie expected, his casted foot even momentarily popped off its rest. He immediately stuffed his paws between his thighs, and leaned into it, almost curling himself into a ball. 
“Sorry, sorry!” Archie put an arm around his shoulder and leaned in to see his face. Cain shook in his grasp, his eyes were clenched shut as if he were straining. “Are you Ok?” He nodded. “Does your ankle hurt?”
“A little.” Cain barely muttered out.
“I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have poked you there.”
Cain finally leaned back up with an exhale but kept his paws tightly pressed between his thighs. “It’s Ok, I hit you first.” Archie kept a worried eye on him. “What?” Cain pulled his paws free, a light pink on his face.
“Nothing…”
“Quick, change the channel! We’re missing Wonder Wulf!”
Archie did as requested, but for the first time in his life he couldn’t keep his attention on his favorite cartoon. Every so often he glanced over to find his friend squirming in place, his uninjured leg rapidly kicking out, or trying to subtly hold himself through his pockets. Not to mention the occasional pained scowl, and Archie swore he could pick up the faintest sound of a whine. This must’ve been that nagging concern his own parents felt when he was little, constantly needing to check up on their shy or overconfident son for a potty break. Only now was the added guilt of making it worse, that knock out stomach poke most certainly didn’t help. 
By the time the end credits were rolling, Cain’s could no longer keep his need hidden. He roughly grinded his thighs together and rocked in place. His arms crossed against his chest, tightly holding his own elbows to keep from grabbing at his own nethers again. “Cain…” Archie started sympathetically.
He flinched at realizing his embarrassing display was being watched. He turned to Archie with a look of defeat. “Ok…I kinda have to pee.”
“Kinda?”
“Ok, I really have to go.”
“Do you want me to help?”
“No, I can go by myself.”
“Are you sure?” Archie watched on uneasy as Cain got his crutches in position.
“Why do you keep asking that?” Cain crossed his legs, with his casted foot going over the other, and pulled himself up on shaky crutches. He grunted while squeezing his thighs tighter, it was a struggle to balance himself and keep his bladder shut. Archie could smell a disaster about to happen. He got up and stood close, ready to catch a falling feline. 
“No! I…g-got it!” Cain sputtered between huffs. He got the crutches under his armpits but his bladder pained him too much to stand up straight. With his legs still crossed, he attempted to step out, but just like earlier he lost his balance and started to fall back. 
“I got you!” Only this this time, Cain’s golden savior was prepared and caught him by the shoulders. 
“Aah!” Cain shouted and took deep breaths. He let the crutches fall to the floor, shaking hard in Archie’s embrace, and shoving his paws back to his crotch.
“What happened?!” Archie felt his own heart starting to race with that upset.
“I-I almost peed!” He whined.
Archie sighed, exasperated by this stubborn kitty. He gently settled his poor companion back on the couch, where he promptly lurched back and forth, pained whines continuing to escape. “Cain, let me walk you to the bathroom!” 
“No! It’ll be…weird!” Cain blushed, on the edge of tears.
“But you’ve watched me pee before, you even…held it.” Archie started to form a blush of his own.
“That was an emergency!”
“This is an emergency!”
“Um…” Cain whined, bouncing in place, desperately considering his options. “Can you call my mom?”
“Your mom?”
“Maybe she’s driving back, I could hold it a few minutes until she gets here.”
“Your mom holding your wiener is less weird?!” Archie felt offended at that assertion. His mom is pretty much a girl, and he’s his best friend!
“She doesn’t have to hold it for me!”
“You think it’s less weird for her to watch!?”
“Archie, call her please!”
“Ok, ok!” Archie ran over to the phone and dialed the number his mom left for him. He felt bad watching Cain bounce and squirm while the phone rang. He could easily help end his suffering…
“Hello?”
“Hi Mrs. Clifton.”
“Oh Archie, is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.” It didn’t feel right saying that with his friend twisting in pain on the couch. “We were just wondering, how long until you get back?”
“Maybe about an hour, there’s so much traffic in town, I just got to the supermarket.”
“Oh…” Archie felt his heart drop.
“You sure everything’s fine? Do you need me to come back?”
Archie briefly considered if it was worth riling up Cain’s mother just so he could pee, and with all the traffic, he won’t be able to hold it that long anyway. Nope, better just to take this into his own paws…maybe even literally. “No, it’s just ‘cause Cain’s hungry.”
“Can you get him a few more snacks? I’ll try to be done as fast as I can.”
“Ok, I will.”
“Thank you Archie, you’re an angel!”
This ‘angel’ was now tasked with breaking the bad news. “What did she say?” Cain asked, a spark of hope let him pause his squirms.
“She said she’ll take an hour…”
“What!? No!” Cain curled back into a desperate rocking ball, groaning against the bursting pressure. 
“What about your dad?”
“He’s at work! Mmmff! I’m gonna pee my pants because of my stupid ankle!” He sobbed.
“You won’t if you just let me help!”
“B-but, it’s gonna be so weird!”
“So? We do weird stuff all the time! Like last winter when you did that…thing for me. It was really weird, but then we laughed about it and kept having fun afterwards. Remember?”
Cain released one paw to wipe away his tears. “Yeah…” He sniffed and chuckled briefly at the memory. “It was kinda funny.”
“And I still owe you for it! So, if I help you now, I’ll just be repaying you for a favor, nothing weird!”
Cain looked away, considering his options once more while his knees shook. He looked back up at Archie with vulnerable quivering eyes. “You promise you’re not gonna laugh or tell anyone?”
“I promise. You never told anyone what happened to me, it’s only fair.”
Cain gulped and timidly held up a paw. “Can you…can you help me get up?” He asked, looking away.
“Sure.” Archie smiled brightly. He grabbed hold of his friend’s paw and pulled him up on one foot. 
“Ah!” Cain hunched over, holding on to Archie for support.
“Sorry!” Archie wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him from falling. “Too fast?”
“No, I’m fine.”
	“Uh, you ready to go?” Cain was still slightly hunched and shaking.
	“Yeah, I’m ready.”
	“Ok, hold on.” Archie guided Cain’s paw to grab on to his shoulder. It took a few awkward shaky steps to get coordinated, but eventually they got in sync. Every time Archie took a step, Cain took a jittery cross-legged hop forward, and again, and again, and again. Slowly but surely, hip by hip, in each other’s embrace, they made progress. 
	“Can we go faster Archie?” Cain asked with a shaky voice. He tightened his hold on his crotch. “It’s about to…come out.”
	“Ok.” Archie quickened his pace and hoped for the best, but Cain did a good job at hopping along. In a less urgent scenario, they’d probably laugh together at how the silly kitty was relegated to a dancing pogo stick. And if everything goes well, they might be able to laugh about this pretty soon. 
	As they finally turned into the bathroom, Cain grunted on those last few hops up to the toilet. He breathed heavily, his bladder seemed to sense it’s salvation was so close. “You got it?” Archie asked.
	“Yeah…” Cain released his crotch to quickly lift his shirt and tuck it under his chin. “Don’t look…”
	Archie stiffened and felt a warmth on his cheeks as the bathroom wall suddenly became very interesting. To his right-side Cain jittered and shuffled, his breathing becoming more and more panicked. He kept grinding hard into his physical support dog with his desperate moves. “…Do you need help?” Archie asked cautiously.
	“No!” Cain answered back in a not-very-calm voice. The distressed whines bordering pained moans didn’t help his case much either. Archie couldn’t help but steal a peek at the calamity. His poor friend struggled with button and zipper on his shorts using only one paw.
	“I could try-”
	“No!” Cain whipped his arm back around from Archie’s shoulders and attacked both paws. Hunched over and jittering intently, he looked dangerously off balance.
	“Be careful!” Archie moved behind him to hold him just above his hips. Instantly that warm bashful hue lit his face again. It did feel a little weird to hold his friend in such an intimate way, maybe this is what Cain meant. His could feel the urgent need in every little movement, and the subtle start of a bulging bladder on the tips of his paw fingers. Not to mention the clear view of the toilet just over his shoulder…
	“Ngnnn!” It took only a few seconds for Cain to undo his pants button and zipper, and only half a second to thrust his shorts down just enough to expose his dampened briefs. His pained moans and groans reached a crescendo in the mere seconds it took to whip his leaking boyhood out of his underwear and just barely managed to aim it at the toilet before the leak turned into violent torrent. 
	Cain couldn’t hold back a moan, this time out of pleasure. All of his shame washed away with the contents of his bladder. His vision was still blurred by residual tears, compounded by his relief induced half lidded eyes. Thus, those strong waves of absolute euphoria became his most prominent sense, it made him melt into Archie’s embrace with only a few spasms of relief giving signs of life. His golden friend-turned-back support couldn’t look away no matter how much his conscience screamed at him to. His cheeks burned, memories of last winter flooded his mind, that beautiful relief he felt. He knew Cain was having the time of his life from how powerful that stream is.
	Meanwhile, heavy breathing in Cain’s ear knocked him out of his dreamy state. He mustered the strength to turn his head and saw a pair of big green hypnotized eyes…watching his exposed boyhood at work. A heavy visceral jab of embarrassment landed in his gut. “S-stop looking!” He landed one paw across Archie’s eyes.
	The sudden transition to black world came as a surprise Archie was unprepared for. He recoiled back, momentarily releasing his friend. “Archie, Archie, Archie!” Cain cried as he started to feel himself fall backwards.
	“Oh sorry!” Archie stepped forward, catching Cain by his sides just as Cain simultaneously reached back and grabbed his shoulders, his head colliding with Archie’s chest. However, with Cain’s ‘firehose’ unsecured in this awkward position, a shaky jet of urine collided with the outside porcelain of the toilet and sprayed in all directions, dousing his savior’s foot. “Eugh!” A noise of pure disgust escaped from between the squeamish retriever’s teeth. He involuntarily grabbed his friend’s uncut member and properly aimed it in the toilet.
	At the feeling of his tender parts being so roughly seized, Cain tensed, his back arched. “Wha-what are you doing!” He rasped in a high-pitched screech, cheeks burning hot.
“You were peeing on me!” Archie responded equally as flustered. “I-I had to do something!” 
Cain took a deep breath and grunted as he put his stream to a pause, reducing it to a light drip. He tightened his grip on Archie and hopped on his one foot, attempting fervently to stand himself back up. With each hop the intertwined pair jolted roughly, forcing a sharp squeal out of Cain as it shook Archie’s grip on his length. “Stop, stop!” Archie pleaded, both because this was incredibly awkward, but also Cain’s footpaw kept splashing back in his own hazardous urine pool. “You’re gonna slip!”
Cain gave up on his attempts. He could feel the warm liquid under his foot and knew that yet again his thoughtful friend was right. His whole body started shaking, his bladder couldn’t take this ‘pause’ much longer. But, he just couldn’t let loose again with his best friend holding him.
“Cain?” Archie looked down to see his friend’s face. His teeth were grit, hot panicked breaths forced out between them, his face contorted in that tell-tale look of desperate strain as he tried to go against his body’s needs. “Let it out!”
The pain, the embarrassment of it all, of having to concede his independence was too much. With a throaty exhale, Cain’s stream shot out again. He leaned his head back on Archie’s chest as the second round of relief quickly overwhelmed him. Looking up, he cringed to see that, yep, Archie kept watch of his stream going strong. But of course, he had to aim for him, he was only being a good friend. 
Archie glanced down to check up on his cougar pal, and the pair briefly met eyes. Cain flinched and looked away. Archie tried to be supportive and smiled shyly. “See? Doesn’t this feel better?”
“This is the worse day of my life…” Cain mumbled and shut his eyes. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could disappear from this moment.
	“At least you’re not stuck to a pole right now.” True, but Cain felt that a twisted ankle wasn’t the best trade off. “And at least you’re with me and not some weirdo…or a girl.” 
That was enough to prod the smallest grateful smile out of Cain. “Yeah…”
For a while, there was nothing but the sound of a constant stream breaking the surface of the toilet water. “You’re really peeing a lot…” Archie commented.
“I’m almost done.” Cain quivered at the pleasant emptiness increasing with every second, and also at the reminder that he was still being watched. But as he said, his stream thinned out and naturally trickled to a stop.
“Finished?”
“Yep.” He sighed, feeling like he could float. However, that peace didn’t last long. “Aaaah!” He moaned and squirmed as Archie gave his boyhood a vigorous shake. 
“I gotta shake the drops off!” Archie giggled. “Remember when you did this to me?” Feeling vengeful and just a hint of naughty curiosity, Archie gave it another shake.
“Yes! Aaaaah, stoooop!” Cain was left breathless and with a subtle tingle after that experience. “You liar!” He exclaimed while Archie helped him stand back up straight. “You are some kind of weirdo!”
“You did it to me first, so we’re both weird!”
“At least my wiener didn’t get all stiff like yours did!”
A shiver went through Archie. “Y-you remember that?”
“Yeah, you weirdo!” Cain chuckled. Now up right on one foot, he tucked his length back into his briefs and tried his best to ignore the wetness in the fabric. All the commotion of the past few minutes caused his shorts to shimmy down to his knees. It took a strange combination of bending by his knees and his waist to reach them. As he did, he brushed up against something strange… “Archie…something poked my butt.”
There was a hesitation and a gulp. “R-really? W-wonder what that was.”
Cain looked back to face a beet-red Archie, who just coincidentally happened to tug his shirt down over his crotch. Cain grew wide eyed before breaking into a laugh. “It happened again!”
“N-no it didn’t.”
“Yes it did!”
“Nuh-uh!”
“Then let me see it!”
“W-why do you wanna s-see my w-wiener, w-weirdo?” Archie stammered a retort.
“Ewww, it touched my butt too…” Cain buttoned up and re-zipped his shorts. Some small pee specks, but otherwise nice and dry. Archie reached in front of him to flush the toilet and lower the lid. He nudged Cain to turn around. “Huh?”
“We stepped in your pee, we can’t walk back out with wet feet.”
“Oh yeah…” He felt another blush come on as Archie sat him on the toilet. “Sorry.”
“It’s Ok,” Archie rolled himself a wad of toilet paper. “You did the same thing for me.” He pumped a squirt of hand soap and sat on the side of the bathtub as he began to scrub his footpaws. 
“You didn’t pee on me though…” Cain recounted, rolling his own toilet paper.
“It was still pretty gross, but that’s what friends are for! Doing gross and weird stuff for each other.”
“Sometimes I think you make stuff up.” Cain flinched at the first swipe of his sensitive footpaw. “But I think you’re right this time.”
“I’m always right!” Archie responded in a playful smug tone. A moment of silence passed between the two before he spoke up again. “Cain…can I ask a weird question?”
Cain’s ear twitched. “Uh, Ok.” It’s not like anything he might say could possibly make the day weirder.
“Did it…f-feel good when I…t-touched your wiener?”
Cain was proven wrong. “What?” He said choking back chuckles.
“Never mind!” He turned a shade of crimson and went back to intently scrubbing his foot.
Cain felt bad enough putting Archie through so much today, the least he could do was answer him honestly. “It…kinda felt good. But mostly just kinda weird…and tickly.” Archie froze listening to the answer. “…Is that why your wiener got all hard when I touched it last winter? Because it felt good?”
“U-uh…u-um…y-ye-”
“Wait that can’t be it,” Cain continued. “’Cause I didn’t touch yours but it still got all hard earlier…does being around pee make that happen to you? Is it the smell?”
“I-I…I dunno…” He mumbled sadly, he was helpless to the whims of his own body. “I guess I’m just a weirdo like you said.”
“No you’re not!” Cain exclaimed. “You’re the nicest, coolest, best-est friend anyone could ever have! Ever since you got here you’ve been getting stuff for me and helping me walk even when I was being a jerk to you.”
“You weren’t being a jerk.” Archie said, finally looking back up.
“Yes I was, I yelled at you and kept being dumb about needing help. But even when I peed on you, you never got mad at me.”
“Your foot’s hurting, and you can’t walk, I’d be grumpy too. And I really missed you at school today, I’m glad we got to hang out even if it’s just getting you juice or getting beat up on the couch.”
Cain laughed. “I still kicked your butt with only one foot!”
“You got lucky! Just wait ‘til I hurt my foot too!”
The pair laughed. Perhaps, this wasn’t Cain’s worse day after all. “Thanks for being my friend Archie.”
“Thanks for being my friend, even though I’m so weird.”
“It’s Ok, I’m weird too.” Cain felt all warm inside, and frankly too far away from his favorite person in the world. “…I wish I could get up and give you a hug.”
“Even if you could, there’s still a lot of pee on the floor.”
“Oh…” Cain was still marooned on his toilet island. 
“I’ll get the mop.” Cain pouted as his best friend was forced to clean up after him again. He waited patiently as his surrounding yellow sea became smaller and much more pleasant smelling with each swipe of the mop. Archie’s been so thoughtful and caring, it really felt like Cain was with a more fun version of his mom. But his best friend shouldn’t have to always watch out for him like this, they should be having fun together. When his ankle heals, he’ll have to make it up to him.
“You’re the best Archie.” Cain commented as his own self-produced puddle had finally disappeared. He held his arms up. Archie smiled down at him, his tail wagging. He helped Cain to stand back up before the best friends embraced in a long giggly bearhug.