Zim slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times until his vision, hazy from sleep, cleared.
He wiggled a little to stretch his limbs, careful not to disturb the sleeping human who had him in a warm embrace.
The Irken could not resist a small smile as he looked at his boyfriend's face, his eyes tracing over the human's dark eyelashes, down to the stubble on his cheeks and the blissful expression on his face as he slumbered. The Dib always looked happy when he was with Zim. Whether it was the way his eyes sparkled intensely as they worked side by side on projects in the Irken's base, the soft smiles he always had when they sat together, or the worshipful gaze he gave Zim when he ran his hands over the Irken's smooth green skin and leaned in to press kisses along the alien's body. It gave Zim no small amount of satisfaction to know he was the only one who could evoke such feelings in the earthling.
The Irken closed his eyes again, trying to drift back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come to him. He felt wide awake. So he settled for watching his human, warm and secure in his grasp.
He could hear a few sounds of life on the main floor. A dish clattered, the tap ran, the floors squeaked under someone's weight. Zim didn't think much of it, the alarm clock to his left read 5:47 AM which was not unusual for Gaz to be up and making coffee after a gaming all-nighter.
Their clothes were scattered around the room, wildly thrown off during last night's activities. Zim suppressed a laugh seeing his leggings hanging from the ceiling light.
He was gazing into space, thinking about the latest project the two had undertaken, when the door opened.
"Son! Where did you put the-"
The Professor stopped, staring at Zim. It was impossible to tell the expression on his face with his large goggles obscuring his eyes and his lab coat covering his mouth. But given how he froze abruptly, he appeared surprised.
The feeling was mutual. The Irken's body went rigid, his antenna standing straight up in alarm. He felt so exposed, his contacts and wig lying somewhere on the floor, his body naked under the blue sheets.
Dib hadn't moved a muscle, obliviously sleeping through his father's arrival.
"Ah... my apologies... I didn't... um... excuse me." The man said quietly before he turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Zim heard footsteps descending the stairs, but it didn't give him any solace. Dib's father had seen him undisguised. Dib's father was a very intelligent and well connected man.
Flashes of scenes flitted across his mind, images of cold sterile labs, of operating tables and metal instruments, of stone-faced scientists slicing him open.
He shuddered. He couldn't just lay there and wait for the scientist to take action.
Zim slipped out of bed, his human still resting peacefully.
He grabbed the first item of clothing he found and slipped it on. It was Dib's shirt, and it was rather large on him. It showed some shoulder at the collar but it was long enough to fall past his hips and give him some modesty. Good enough.
He forced his breathing to slow as he made his way down the steps to the kitchen. He wouldn't be afraid, he was ZIM!
Professor Membrane was sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in one hand, the local newspaper in front of him. But he wasn't drinking or reading, he stared straight ahead, deep in thought.
He looked up a moment after Zim entered the room.
Zim pulled at the shirt neck, adjusting it to cover his shoulder. The other side slipped and exposed his other shoulder. The Irken mentally scolded himself, this was no way to dress in front of a Taller, and he doubted it was the way to dress in front of your human boyfriend's father.
The Professor cleared his throat, startling Zim a little.
"I should have knocked, shouldn't I? Sometimes I forget Dib's an adult now, with his own life... Anyway, where are my manners this morning? Professor Membrane, good to meet you..." he extended a gloved hand to shake.
"I am Zim!" He took the man's hand and gave him a firm handshake; he knew this human custom.
"Take a seat, please! Can I get you anything, coffee? Tea? I'm afraid I can't find the Super Sugar! One of my recent inventions, you know! Taste just like sugar without any of the negative health effects or addiction! Gaz or Dib must misplaced it. Went to ask Gaz first but she's sound asleep too. These kids, always love their sleep even though it's already-," the professor glanced at his watch and his dark brows rose in surprise. "What? Not even six yet? The solar environment cycle at the labs must be on the fritz again. Sure you don't want anything?"
"No thanks," Zim felt unsettled. He didn't know what to make of Dib's father.
There was an awkward moment of silence. Zim wasn't sure what to say. What if the human didn't think to kidnap and experiment on him, but would realize what a good idea it was when Zim asked him if that was his intention?
The Irken jumped a little in anticipation as the human shifted in his chair. But instead of grabbing Zim or reaching for a weapon, the human moved his hands to his face.
And removed his goggles.
And pushed down his collar, so it rested under his chin.
Zim stared.
He knew that human family units shared physical similarities between members, but it was eerie to see it with someone he knew so well. The Professor's amber eyes were darker than Dib's, but shone with as much intelligence. He had wrinkles around his eyes and his features were sharper with age. Zim felt like he was getting a glimpse of what his boyfriend would like in thirty years or so.
The Irken looked away, trying to force down the heat in his cheeks. Focus! He yelled internally. It would not do to let his guard down because of the handsome not-Dib human.
The Professor gave him a gentle smile and Zim felt his stomach flip a little.
"There we are. I've been told I'm less intimidating without half my face obscured."
Zim nodded after a moment, still flustered and confused but his fear was ebbing. The man hadn't made any move to capture him or interrogate him about his species.
"I suppose I owe my son an apology... never believed him when he talked about aliens, but it seems I've been greatly mistaken."
The Irken bit his lip, he had to ask. He couldn't let the question go unanswered.
"Do you plan to study me?" He asked, keeping his voice level. He would not show fear.
The man just shook his head softly. "No, I think it's best I leave that area of research to my son." He shot Zim a wink and the Irken was sure his face was blushing a deep shade of blue.
"Thank you," said Zim, relieved. He certainly wasn't in the habit of being polite to humans, but he knew it was important to have the man's approval.
"I should be thanking you!" The Professor replied cheerfully. "Although I don't seen him much nowadays, when I do I can tell how happy my son is. That's because of you, isn't it?"
"Yes," Zim grinned. "That's because of Zim!"
"Good, good," the man took another gulp of coffee. "Well, I should get back to the labs. It was good to meet you, Zim."
"Good to meet you too," he replied.
They exchanged another handshake and the man departed. Zim was left standing at the kitchen table.
He took a deep breath, relaxing his tense muscles as he exhaled. He hadn't ever planned to reveal himself to Dib's father, but now that it happened, he was kind of glad.
Zim tiptoed back upstairs and slipped into the warm bed with his human again.
He looked at the Dib's face for a long moment before snuggling close, resting his head under the human's chin.
Dib mumbled something sleepily and wrapped his arms around the Irken, pulling him closer against his body.
"Dib?"
"Yeah?" He said, voice husky from sleep.
"I just had a talk with your parental unit."
"'Kay," he murmured, still mostly in dreamland.
"He knows I'm an alien now."
"'Kay."
"Zim thinks he's rather attractive."
A few moments passed until the human's sleepy mind parsed the meaning of Zim's words.
He shot up, eyes wide.
"What?!"