Eyes narrowed, he watched the alien. Years of watching and fighting had trained both of them to understand every tiny move the other made. At first, their battles were simply unavoidable. The other was in the way of their goal. They had to be destroyed.
But they couldn't. Both were perfectly matched in every way and something would always stop them from killing each other. In time it became something to just pass the days. Soon it became an obsession, something that couldn't be broken. Even if given the opportunity, neither could deliver the final blow to the other because then the game would end.
Now Dib's heart beat faster around the alien. They owned each other. They could read the other like a book and sometimes had to ask the other what they themselves were feeling simply because they were too focused on the other to know.
The game was a sweet poison. It couldn't be taken away or they would be destroyed. They needed it and so they needed each other. All outside forces were only given attention if it dealt directly with their little game.
In the end, both Zim and Dib knew it would kill them, but they couldn't stop. They needed it and each other.
