"So sorry," he whispered, brushing his fingers across the smooth green skin of the alien's forehead. He slid his hands under the limp body and lifted him gently, Zim's head lolling against Dib's arm as he did so. He carried the alien back to his own house, taking him up to his bedroom and laying him on the bed. He gathered a dry cloth and cleaned the blood from the Irken's head gently, then set a pillow under it and crossed his arms.
"Sorry, I didn't think I'd hit you that hard," he said to Zim's unconscious form. "I was just playing anyways." He turned and opened the curtains of his room to let in the moonlight, then clicked on a soft light and closed the door. He sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.
"You know, we haven't fought this hard in awhile. Why is that?" He glanced over at Zim's still form. "Remember back in skool? We used to fight all the time.. then what happened? We grew up, I guess. You're not much of an invader you know.."
He rose again and paced over to his bookshelf, glancing over the titles absently.
"I've gone too soft on you, and now look what happened. I'd never have knocked you out before. Too much friendliness recently, I think." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, turning to the bed and resuming his seat on the edge, laying a hand over Zim's.
"It's been what.. three years now? Three years since we became friends.. and what has become of it?" He waited for an answer, then continued on. "I'll tell you what. You've gone human. Become weak. And I… I gave up my dream for you, alien." He laid back on the bed and folded his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"Paranormal Investigator.. puh, so much for that! Well, I guess I did find what I wanted.. I just never got to prove it. That's alright though.. I'm content with college right now. Who knows what I will end up doing when I get out though. Hey, you awake yet?" He glanced over at Zim and frowned, returning his gaze to the ceiling before he spoke again.
"I suppose.. you have been a hell of a friend though. After Gaz.. after she… I don't know what I would have done, you know?" He sighed and shifted to his side, propping his head against his palm, staring at Zim. He tried not to remember Gaz these days. How he had found her in the closet, swinging from the coat bar, legs up together so as not to reach the ground. Like a sick jacket, just hanging there. Waiting to be worn.
"I think it's taken a burden off dad too, you know? He was worried about me.. But I had you to talk to, so I think that really helped ease his mind. I appreciate it too, you know?" Dib smiled sadly and reached over to poke the pale green cheek, sighing when he gleaned no response. He sat up.
"Come on, how long it is going to take you to wake up? Weak alien.." he scoffed playfully, rising and crossing the room to the window. He gazed out at the stars thoughtfully.
"Do you miss Irk? I mean really, being away not only from your home but your entire planet.. What homesickness must that cause? I would miss Earth.. and my home. And my species."
He glanced back at Zim and frowned, biting his lip a moment as a serious look entered his eye. Then he shook his head and returned his gaze to the sky.
"I would never be so selfish.." he whispered, then, "How about a video game? I could use some entertainment.."
He clicked on his TV and picked up a controller, starting up the game system and scrolling through the titles.
"I love oldskool games. The good stuff, you know? From when they were so naive about technology. Mario, Dead Space, Fallout.." He searched through the older ones and smiled.
"Ah, Legend of Zelda. I managed to find them all, and for this system, too. The PS12 is such a good system.." Dib continued to babble on about games and technology as he played the ancient game 'Twilight Princess'.
Finally, after an hour or so, he turned it off and stood, stretching his lanky limbs and yawning.
"I'm getting tired Zim." No response. He sighed.
"But I suppose I have to stay awake to make sure you don't choke on yourself or something.." He crossed his arms and cast about the room for something to keep himself awake, then decided on a snack. Propping the alien's head up a bit, he nodded with satisfaction and quit to the kitchen to prepare something. His father was awake, tinkering with some odd thing at the table.
"Hello son," he said, not looking up.
"Hi dad, how's going?"
"Fairly well, fairly well. How are you?"
Dib poured himself a glass of juice and smiled. "Alright, thanks."
No more was passed between them, as usual. Dib finished making his sandwich and grabbed his drink and hiked back upstairs. Nothing had changed.
"Want some?" he asked, sitting next to the bed on the floor and sipping his drink. He ate in silence, listening to the crickets outside, singing about the weather. When finished, he stacked the plate and glass neatly on the table nearest the door and set to pacing, eyes locked on the floor, mouth moving.
"Remember that once at Skool, when you stole everyone's organs? That was.. disgusting. Really. Disturbing, yet so… you. How could you have been so stupid?" He chuckled, folding his hands behind his back as he paced slowly.
"And that other time, when that Irken came to kill you. What was her name..? Tak. And Mimi. Right, remember them? That was an interesting experience. Completely unexpected, you know?" He paused to pick up a picture frame. It was of him back in elementary Skool on a class field trip. Science museum; one of the few trips he had enjoyed. He stood in the back with the taller kids, Zim in front making such a face that he now laughed.
"Ah, remember this?" he asked, turning the photo towards the unmoving alien. "Yeah," he said as he set it back down, brushing the dust off. "That was fun. Your face.." he chuckled more and set to pacing about the room. He opened a drawer and shuffled about his neatly-organized clothing, looking for something he already knew wasn't there.
"Hmm," he mused, closing the now-scrambled drawer and sliding open another. He reached under the sweaters and pulled out a black box. "Ah."
Dib set the box on the bed and took a seat next to it, then rose and stepped over to the window and peered out at the night.
"0h look, I think I saw an owl! Wow, I didn't think there were any left in the world," he grinned out into the empty darkness.
"Hey, you really should get going back to your place.." The boy turned and smiled at Zim, rubbing the back of his neck and resuming his seat next to the box. He brushed some lint off it and clicked open the locks, then stood and moved to examine some books again. Pulling one down, he leaned against the wall next to the bookshelf and turned through the pages absently, scanning pictures of antique technology.
"Remind me to show you this old car when you wake up, okay?" He glanced up at the alien and smiled, hollowly amused with the lack of response. "Ah.." He returned the book to the shelf, being sure it was placed exactly where he had drawn it from and then setting about arranging the clothing he had previously messed up.
"There," he commented, straightening to look at the neat drawer and closing it. Dib sat on the bed again and opened the box. He stared into it with a fixed smile.
"Hey, remember that time when GIR released all those birds at that pet shop? He was a funny little bot.. I do miss him, don't you?"
Dib lifted the box's content and looked it over, testing the weight in his hand and running a finger over the smooth metallic finish.
"And the time he wanted to go to the pool with me. I laughed so much that day, ah.. Your face."
He smiled and reached over, touching Zim's hand. The cold of the alien's skin chilled him to the bone, though he was already numbing as it were. He curled his fingers under the stiff hand, sharing one last moment before raising the gun and tilting his head against it.
"I've already won, Zim. I can see it in your eyes.."
He fell to the bed not a moment after saying the words, falling beside the dead Irken and they grew steadily colder together.