A/N: Oh gosh... Stay away from the 'White Rabbit', man. That song messes with your head. The idea for this fic came to me while listening to 'White Rabbit'. I mean Dil needs some love too, right? Very G-rated light slashy fluff crack. The dot dot dots are Izzy talking, and the ammount of time that passes while Dil listens. Only Dil can hear him. I actually wrote dialog for Izzy too but I wanted to portray this as more Dil talking to his imaginary friend. Therefore I can't make him seem too real.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dil or Izzy or the Pickles' house or any of the Rugrats or All Grown up Stuffs.

~Catching Dreams~

It was the dead of night, a time when most people were sleeping in bed, surrounded by loved ones. It was like liquid pure relaxation and it oozed from every inch of the darkness. Dil never understood the common connotation that all things dark were to be feared. The best things in life were in the dark. The stars were in the dark, sleep was in the dark, and fireworks were in the dark. Darkness was a creature of illusion, unlike light which blasts away every little disguise and shadow, shows everything for what it's supposed to be. But that's the problem with "supposed to be"s and other creations of reality, they don't show what matters. Sometimes you can tell more about something when it's disguised than when it's bleached white.

Dil came up to the roof of his house at night. It was a good vantage point. He could see for blocks on end. The roof was the best spot to see the dreams trying to escape the houses below. Someday he'd catch one in a jar. It'd be a good one, like a day at the beach or a birthday. He'd play it over and over again. Tommy and his friends wouldn't get to see it thought. Dreams can only be seen under starlight, and they almost always slept indoors.

Tonight was another dream watching night. Dil and his bestest most favorite imaginary alien friend Izzy even dragged a little card table up with them and set up an office with papers for recording observation and tinfoil just encase any of the dreams were hostile. The tinfoil was Izzy's idea. He was always a little paranoid.

"Hey Izz, look. You see that?" Dil pointed one of his pudgy fingers at their neighbor's tree. "It must be a warhorse or something. It moved so fast I could only see a blur!"

. . .

"No, Izz, I really saw it." Dil sighed. Sometimes Izzy didn't have enough faith in him. It wasn't his fault though. Things were pretty rough where he was from. He had to be a little bit cautious to survive. Still Dil always trusted anything Izzy told him.

He didn't even know that you could catch dreams until Izzy gave him one. It was a good one, making cookies with grandma, in an airtight pickle jar. He hadn't watched it yet of course. He was afraid he wouldn't know how to get it back in the jar.

"Izz, sorry this is taking so long, but I'm going to catch you one even if it kills me." Dil put a hand over his heart and took a deep bow from the waist.

. . .

"Because you got one for me!" Dil shook his head and laughed, "Besides, you're my best bud, I wanna make you happy."

. . .

"No I don't feel obligated, I want to! I wanna see you smile, with your big... carnivorous... teeth." One of his hands found it's way up to Izzy's imaginary shoulder.

. . .

"Yeah, I totally love you man. So I'm going to catch you a dream." He turned from his friend to scribble a little note about the dream he thought he saw, then began to make his tinfoil hat just encase. Izzy seemed fully content with this. He didn't say anything for the longest time. It was strange though because he was usually so fussy. Always had to get the last word in.

"Okay Izz, I'll bite. What's wrong now?" Dil placed the hat down and turned to his friend to find him laying on his back. It took a minute but Dil realized he was still breathing and sat beside him.

Dil looked up at the stars, "You thinking about home?"

. . .

"Well if you miss them so much why don't you visit?" He laughed heartily and gave Izzy a little punch in the arm.

. . .

"Yeah, I'll miss you." Dil quieted and looked up at the stars, trying to guess which one was Izzy's sun. "But it's not like we've never been apart before, right? And you'll come right back... with souvenirs?"

. . .

"You'll miss me too much?" Dil asked and looked away shyly, "Really? I mean, no one really misses me. They miss Tommy or Spike or Mom and Dad. I'm more of a 'small doses' kinda guy apparently."

. . .

"I hear things. No one in particular." He tucked his arms behind his head for a pillow, "Don't change the subject, man. When the mother ship calls, you answer it. I'll deal without you somehow."

. . .

"Izzy! Do you really think I'd just replace you like that? Where am I going to find another imaginary alien? You guys aren't every where you know?" Dil stood abruptly and went back to his desk. Izzy was his favorite person in the world. Why couldn't he see that?

. . .

"Gee, possessive much? I love you too, big guy." Dil patted at the arm that had just wrapped around his shoulders. He kept looking straight ahead.

. . .

"I really love you, okay? Didn't I tell you that?" Dil sighed and brushed at his hair. "I guess I wasn't clear enough for you. I thought you knew. I like you. I like-like you. I love you, Izz! You're the best imaginary alien friend a guy could ask for, but you're so much more than that."

. . .

"Yeah, yeah, I know Izz. Let's just get back to looking for dreams."