"Pip, are you sure?" His father asked.
"Once you go, you can never come back," His sister warned. Pip shrugged and climbed into the ship, buckling up before gearing it into action.
He was escaping tonight, and he was never coming back. Gunning the engine, Pip pulled his mother's hat firmly over his head, watching the dead landscape disappear as he broke through the thin atmosphere.
Pip looks up at the stars, swinging his feet back and forth. He loved this planet, really he did, the humanoids were kind and the atmosphere was refreshing but sometimes he truly missed his home galaxy. He had never been accepted there and never understood why. He was normal by their standards, nothing special, if a bit more lucky than most. Pip sighed. He did not miss the people, he missed the planet. He missed beautiful black skies and yellow land. The smell of death and decay comforted him; it reminded him that his tormentors would get what they deserved. He missed what could have been saved if the people had caught on faster. Pip knew he had no reason to miss his home planet, people were kinder here, they did not discriminate, but perhaps that was because they did not know he was from a different planet, a different galaxy.
That would all change tonight.
"Pip?" Token asked from behind him. "Everyone's here, are you ready?"
"Yes," He smiled up at his boyfriend. "I think I am." Token smiled kindly at him and helped him to his feet. He had been suspicious when this handsome humanoid had asked for his hand, but did not resist much. Token was kind, rich, good looking and had quickly won his heart. He had never regretted his decision to come to this planet. They walked down the stone staircase together, close as they could get.
Their fingers intertwined and Pip smiled. He could only hope Token would still love him when this was over. Their friends sat on the couch, mulling around and making conversation. Tweek smiled brightly at him from Craig's lap, waving slightly. Kyle looked up at him and grinned. "Hey Pip, I was starting to think you ditched us." Stan leaned back in the cushion and threw an arm around Kyle's shoulders, tugging him down into his arms. Clyde laughed and pressed a kiss into Damien's cheek.
"I told you he was coming." He teased the antichrist. Damien smirked and shrugged, ruffling Clyde's hair lovingly. Kenny and Butters waited patiently, intertwined so well that Pip couldn't tell where one started and the other ended. Token led him to an empty seat and sat down, motioning for him to do the same. Pip remained standing up, twiddling his thumbs.
"I called you all here today, because I have something important to tell you." Pip began softly. His friends looked at each other and blinked.
"What is it?" Tweek asked nervously.
Damien looked suspicious and drew Clyde farther away from the blonde. Token looked as if his worst fears were coming true.
"You're not moving, are you?" He asked nervously, feeling his heart begin to break. Pip gave him a reassuring smile and shook his head.
"No."
Token relaxed slightly and nodded for him to continue.
"I wasn't entirely truthful when I said I moved here from the north." Pip said, rubbing his arms.
Tweek smiled. "Well, that's no problem then! Where are you from?"
Pip let out a shaky breath. "I'm not from here…from this country or from this planet, hell, not even this galaxy." They froze.
"Pip, what are you talking about?" Clyde asked wonderingly. Pip turned to the window and looked out, admiring the beautiful moons. They only had one where he came from.
"I'm from a different planet, from a galaxy far away." He began, quoting his favorite movie.
"Where?" Kyle questioned, breaking out of Stan's hold to stand up, as if Pip was going to grow three heads and devour his friends.
"Earth."
Everyone gasped. "I didn't think that planet could support life anymore." Damien said to himself, rubbing his chin. "We haven't got anyone from Earth in a long time, mostly Irkens now." He rambled. "Now that I think about it, I should go talk to God later. He and I were supposed to negotiate about the plague I put upon them. Clyde, remind me to text Zim later and have him schedule a meeting." Pip waited patiently for his friends to finish letting out their disbelief.
"It can support life, just not very well. There are colonies scattered about, the few children that are born are usually blind or deaf or mute, sometimes all three, disease and famine are main factors, mental disorders are common and our main colony was wiped out by a psycho. The only good thing about it is that humans have evolved into the very animals they tried to get rid of. Cockroaches. The average human life expectancy is 120 to 160 years. It may not seem very long to you, but for humans it's basically hell. They live in a wasteland unable to die, sick and hungry but still living." Pip explained, not looking at the boys. "I'm glad that world is dying, I'm glad they're dying."
"But if you lived there for so long, you would have some serious defects, the symptoms you described." Kyle said suspiciously.
Pip smiled bitterly. "I can't hear out my left ear, I have a weak immune system and-" He lifted up his shirt, revealing sharp, jutting ribs. "I don't retain weight." Token hissed and Tweek looked concerned, ears pressed flat against his head. Stan's dog ear twitched.
"I read about Earth." Stan said despondently, "did you know male and male relationships weren't truly accepted until 2046?"
"Really? Why? That's so stupid." Clyde said angrily, pressing closer to Damien. Kenny shrugged and buried his face in Butters' neck, huffing angrily, muttering about stupid humans.
"Most Humans are stupid." He responded. "Not like our Pip here."
The human brightened. "Our Pip?" He said, hardly daring to breathe. "You don't care I'm a human?"
"Of course we care." Craig exclaimed. "You can't just forget something like that; have you even thought about what the change in atmosphere might do to your lungs, how about your diet? We don't eat meat here and your body needs protein, how are you getting the nutrients you need anyways Pip?"
Pip smiled and wiped his eyes. "Humans bred out the need for meat products eons ago," He promised. "What animals that were alive were poisoned."
Token stared at Pip, shocked. His instincts were conflicted. On one hand, they told him to protect Pip, that he was his Pip either way, human or Alterainean. On the other hand, his primal instincts told him Pip could pass along traits his children couldn't survive with; a weaker immune system, birth defects, and slowly, Token pushed the later away. Pip was Pip, Human Pip was his Pip. He stood up and made his way to the human, eyes focused on the hat he always insisted on wearing. He had respected Pip's privacy and never tried to remove it, but now…now he needed to know. The blonde seemed to know what was happening and accepted it when large, dark hands pulled away his only form of disguise. The room fell silent as the friends stared at nothing.
"He doesn't have ears" Clyde murmured, eyes wide with shock. Tweek squeaked and tugged on his right ear, making sure they were still there. Damien didn't have ears either, he had horns that curled from his temples upwards and for once he felt completely normal.
"I don't like it!" The antichrist said finally. Pip's eyes began to water as everyone whipped their heads to stare at Damien. He crossed his arms and leaned back into the plush chair. "Compared to Pip, I'll look normal and unthreatening. I'm the antichrist. I'm not supposed to be out-weirded." He complained. Clyde grinned stupidly and lunged forward, tackling the dark haired boy to the ground. His chubby fingers curled around ram's horns and he pressed a searing kiss to his black lips.
"I love you." He whispered. "You'll always be a wonderful freak to me." Damien smirked and wrapped an arm around Clyde's waist.
"That's all I need." Damien swore, kissing him back. Tweek still looked surprised, but Pip was sure he wasn't bothered by it. Kyle and Stan seemed okay now that they knew Pip wasn't going to die because of their atmosphere and Craig didn't look like he cared in the first place. Kenny gave him a thumb up and grinned.
"I've never done it with an alien before." He offered, winking. Butters rolled his eyes before slapping him across the face.
"If you flirt with Pip, I'll kill you." Butters promised.
Kenny grinned and kissed him lightly, nipping at his nose before pulling away. "You're all the man I need, little rabbit." He said mischievously. Butters laughed throatily.
"Come here you silly monkey." He said fondly.
Pip looked up at Token hopefully. "This," He motioned towards his long blonde hair. "Doesn't bother you?"
"Your hair?" Token asked, pretending to be confused. Pip smiled and punched him lightly.
"No, dummy, my humanity." Token nodded slowly.
"Not really, I mean, I'm a little bit worried about the underweight thing, but I'm sure a couple of dinners at my house will fix you right up. What about your ear? Does it hurt?"
Pip shook his head, smiling. "No, it's like getting bad radio reception, sometimes I get something, other times it's static, but most of the time it's nothing at all. I'm actually one of the lucky ones. Some babies are born deaf, dumb and blind, sometimes they're missing limbs to top it off, and I'm actually very healthy, thank you for asking."
Token hesitated and wrung the hat between his fingers. The material was coarse and dull, a sharp contrast to Pip's hair. "Do you miss Earth?" He asked finally.
"Do I miss being bullied, you mean? Do I miss a planet with people so stupid and greedy they poisoned themselves? No. Earth was dying, Token, her children killed her, they murdered her and her people. Innocent plants, innocent animals are gone forever just because they kept putting off dealing with it." Pip looked him straight in the eye. "I'm human, Token, I can never change that, I got off that planted while I was still alive and I don't regret it. I escaped so I could survive, but now, now I'm living Token, I will never go back, even if you kick me out, I would rather live on the streets and eat garbage than go back to that hell-hole."
Token nodded and pulled Pip into a hug, bending down to whisper in his ear. "It's a good thing you don't have to go back then, huh?" He questioned. Pip squealed and hugged him tighter, burrowing into a warm chest. The others cheered and clapped, Kenny letting out a whistle of appreciation before being silenced by a laughing Butters.
"I love you Token." Pip mumbled happily. "I love you so much." He dropped his head on top of a warm shoulder and sighed peacefully. He had been hated and tolerated on Earth and here he was loved and trusted, with actual friends who cared about his opinion and a boyfriend who loved him even after finding out he was an entirely different species. Pip pinched his elbow softly and smiled at the small burst of pain. He wasn't dreaming.
"I love you, too, Pip." Token laughed, kissing his head lightly. Pip smelled like mint and fire, a scent he probably carried from Earth. He paused, a question ticking at the back of his mind. "Pip, how did you get here, anyways?"
"Spaceship."
"Where is it?"
Pip yawned. "Rotting in my backyard. Why?"
Token smiled and sniffed Pip's hair again. "What say you and I go down there tomorrow night and destroy it, the old fashioned Earth way, hammers, axes, the whole shebang and turn that piece of scrap metal into a tool shed? We need more room for the gardeners' to keep their manure anyway; it'll just save me money. Money that I'm going to put into buying a summer house on Vulcan, the farthest planet from Earth possible that can support our breathing." Pip laughed and tangled his fingers in Token's hair.
"You don't have to." He said sleepily.
"But I want to. Besides, you might not go back to Earth, but I need to make sure you don't have a chance at leaving me." Pip looked deep into his eyes and saw he wasn't kidding. Token actually thought Pip would leave him.
"I would never leave you, Token," He promised. "I had to travel through two different galaxies to find you and I'm not letting you go." Token laughed and twirled him around, unaware that the others had left for dinner. He kissed Pip again and again, smirking as a thought occurred.
"Hey Pip?"
"Yeah, Token?"
"I just realized something."
"What?" Token pulled his close and looked deep into his eyes, smiling serenely. He had all he ever wanted in this one little extraterrestrial, a little human that had stolen his heart.
"Baby, you're out of this world."
