"Heat"
'Chapter Two'
Zim swallowed the lump in his throat, his hands grabbing at his antennae and yanking hard as he tried to wake himself up from this nightmare.
This wasn't happening.
It wasn't!
Zim made an unintelligible noise ending in a snarl.
Of all the times Dib had decided to infiltrate his security he had to pick now.
Of all the weeks!
There was no way to get through the security.
No way to shove the human out of the lab.
He was stuck in here with him.
Stuck for an entire week.
Zim folded his arm trying to will up his patience as he tapped his foot. This was a most unfortunate situation and there was no way to get out of it. He didn't have anything to even restrain himself either, that aside, he didn't really trust the human enough. He didn't really want to restrain himself to something or put himself in one of the tubes for fear Dib wouldn't let him out.
Ugh.
This was just awful all around.
He had no ideas to make it better.
"Dib!" Zim snapped into the darkness.
Crash.
"Shit!" Zim heard more movement, "Uh. I came here to—uh, damn it." More shuffling.
Zim arched a non-existent brow causing one eye to appear larger than the other and he continued to glare at the space in front of him. "What are you doing stupid human?" His tone was still harsh, a biting edge to it because he was going to have to explain everything to Dib and he really wasn't looking forward to that anymore than he was looking forward to being stuck down in his lab for the entire week.
"I'm stuck."
"Stuck?"
"Uh, yeah." Crash. "Can you…?"
"Help?" Zim responded flatly, letting out a sigh and trying to push his anger aside for the moment.
"Yeah. Help." Dib didn't sound too happy about asking.
In any other mood Zim would have held that above the human's head, he would have gloated and provoked more pleas out of him. But, right now he didn't feel like it and they really didn't have the time. It was probably only two hours to midnight. The feelings of need were gradual at first, but as the week drew on they'd get worse. Things would be bearable if only strained the first day or two before he did fear the worst was going to come from this situation.
"Fine, fine." Zim grumbled stalking into the darkness, his large eyes slowly adjusting as he neared a mess of metal objects. His antennae were perked on end as he picked out little noises and sounds to get him to where the human was.
Dib's soft honey-colored eyes regarded the Irken as he came into view, embarrassed with himself for failing at his attempt at stealth. "Over here." He murmured after a moment, still stuck against the metal object he had fell into when he tripped over the mess on Zim's floor.
Stupid messy alien.
It was all his fault he got stuck.
Zim eyed the human the moment almost contemplating shoving him into a goo-tube but then thought better of it. That wouldn't keep himself out, he knew that. They just had to endure and maybe the bit of idle conversation would keep him at a normal level. Zim frowned to himself, trying to make himself believe his own thoughts but he really didn't. "Stupid." He murmured half to himself, half to Dib.
"I'm not stupid." Dib snapped, "If your stupid lab was cleaned up I wouldn't have gotten stuck!"
Zim wasn't in the mood to bicker. Instead he set to the task of untangling Dib from the mess and somehow he got himself actually stuck to the wall. Once the crisis was averted the alien stepped back and regarded the human with hard red eyes.
Dib adjusted his coat, dusting himself off and kicking the scraps on the ground for good measure. Then he brought his eyes to the angry alien and he wasn't entirely sure why there was such rage on Zim's face. Normally he'd be upset, sure, sometimes they'd fight or something and he'd go home with a few bruises. But, Zim looked royally pissed and Dib hadn't really done anything yet. "What?" He finally asked as he adjusted his glasses.
"Do you even know what you've done?!" Zim finally yelled.
Dib swallowed thickly, somehow not thinking this was the usual banter about taking over the world. "…no." He said meekly glancing here and there before he decided to try and push a normal conversation between them. Dib grinned trying to act like his usual self, "Did I spoil one of your alien plans?"
Zim kept his frown, clearly not amused, and clearly not taking the usual bait.
This was serious.
"Of all the times you had to sneak in here you useless worm!" Zim hissed, his antennae pulled back in a hostile fashion, his fists clenched.
Dib braced himself against the wall, "What's wrong with you? I always sneak in here!"
As sad as it was, it was a normal occurrence. Their roles as enemies seemed more like friends playing tricks than enemies out for blood. But the look in Zim's eyes now and the tone he used – well, Dib was re-thinking the friend thing.
"I hate you!" Zim grabbed up a square piece of metal from the floor and threw it at Dib's annoying big head.
Dib couldn't see very well in the dark and didn't have time to duck – the metal thing smashed into his head and bounced off leaving a nice gash in its wake. "Ow!" Dib yelped as he cupped his forehead with one hand glaring angrily at Zim, "What the hell is your problem?" He nearly whined, his pitch higher than normal because he hadn't been expecting the thing to hit him and it really fucking hurt.
Oddly, that didn't make Zim feel any better.
Stupid human.
Zim stalked away from him, too upset for words as he paced back into the lighted part of his lab, leaving Dib alone against the wall in the dark.
Dib mumbled a curse to himself, pulling his hand away from his head and noticing the blood as it shone dark in the meager light in his corner. Dib thought he needed to just go home. Whatever was wrong with Zim wasn't going to be fixed by him staying and he didn't feel like becoming the alien's punching bag.
Just as Dib pushed off the wall to follow the alien he finally noticed the shiny silver metallic that coated the high wall. "Huh." He momentarily forgot the throbbing in his head as he craned his neck to view the substance. Tentatively he touched the wall, his fingers tingling from the contact but it was smooth almost soft like silk.
Strange.
"Hey Zim." He called behind him, "What's this silver stuff?"
"A security device." He said almost tiredly.
Dib didn't question why Zim had told him so easily, normally he said it was an Irken secret or something and wouldn't give up the information.
…something was going on.
Dib's brows furrowed and he stepped over the pile on the floor towards the bulk of the lab where he saw Zim's silhouette. "What for?" He was going to make a poke about how it couldn't be all that great because he has snuck in, but he decided he'd save the name-calling until Zim was in a better mood.
"To keep me in."
In?
Dib didn't get it. "Wait, what?"
Zim glared at the computers in front of them, they weren't on but he almost looked like he was reading something – or maybe just remembering something. After a few tense moments he sank himself into the chair at the console looking no less comfortable than he did when he was standing. "It's exactly what I just said or has your hearing gone out?"
"I heard you." Dib grumbled, "Why is what I'm asking." And you know it. But he didn't finish his statement, instead tucked his hands in his pockets.
"You remember when I take a week off school."
"Yeah." Dib shrugged, "To do your usual plotting or whatever. Or, to contact your Tallest you said."
Zim knew Dib wouldn't forget the little details; the boy was obsessed with chasing him. However, him taking his lie at face value was a good thing, until now, when he had to explain it and tell him it was a lie.
There was no other way.
He kept scrambling for an idea, a stray thought, anything to help him figure out what he should do but he came up blank. There was no getting Dib out of here and he may as well tell the human exactly what to expect.
Zim's cheeks tinged purple slightly at the thought of himself in the coming days. How embarrassing this was going to be and he couldn't do anything to stop it. "Well, I lied."
"Lied?" That wasn't uncommon, but why would he lie about that? Plotting and Tallest seemed plausible, what else could it be?
Zim continued not to look at the human instead staring hard at his own reflection in the blank computer monitors. "You don't know too much about my species."
"I know some." Dib countered.
Zim ignored him, "You really shouldn't be here."
"That's what you keep saying." Dib rolled his eyes, reaching up to feel his head again, "What is this big secret of yours? You turn into a monster or something? Hey, do you have any bandages? My head keeps bleeding."
"Yes." Zim said flatly.
Dib kept that confused look on his face.
Yes to the bandages or yes to the monster thing?
Or…
Yes to both?
Dib was about to ask when the alien instead walked right past him into the lab where the operating tables were. Dib didn't like that part of the lab and stayed firmly where he was, by the elevator as if he could use that to escape.
Zim glanced over his shoulder, "C'mere." He said impatiently, waving his hand for the human to follow.
Dib glanced to the elevator; not aware yet that he couldn't even use it if he wanted to. With a reluctant sigh he started after the alien.
"Get up there." He gestured to the metal table as he started to rummage through the boxes under it.
"I—"
Zim glared over his shoulder, "If I wanted to dissect you I would have done it already." He said hotly, "Get on the table, or keep bleeding until your brain falls out, I don't care."
Dib weighed his options before he finally hoisted himself up on the table, his gangly legs over the side of it, his feet brushing the floor.
Zim found the box he was looking for and stood back to his usual height – which was about five inches shorter than Dib. His clawed hands picked out a swab of blue cloth and a small vial of green liquid.
Dib eyed him warily trying not to fidget. "It's not that bad actually." He said a bit nervously.
"Shut up." Zim snapped, opening the vial and dabbing some of the ooze on the small blue cloth. Zim didn't look at Dib as he stared at his wound, dabbing it with the cold fluid and ignoring the human's hiss of discomfort.
This was weird.
Why was Zim patching him up?
The fluid felt strange, sticky and cold but it didn't burn like he thought it would. He kept as still as he could, sneaking glances of the alien. He hadn't really seen him so close up before, not without them fighting or wrestling or something. His eyes roamed over his concentrated expression, to the high cheek bones, the smooth curve of his jaw and rounded face. His skin didn't have any blemishes, none that Dib could see; where Dib had a few scars on his face but they were small and not really too noticeable. Dib had an urge to touch Zim's face if only to feel the texture of it, to figure out if it felt as smooth as it looked.
…for science of course; just research, nothing more.
"Done." Zim said flatly tossing the used swap in the trash bin and closing the box, his single word breaking Dib's thought process.
Dib reached up to feel his wound but found that it was smooth and didn't hurt at all. "Wow."
"Yes," Zim murmured, "Irken healing technology is much better than that of inferior humans."
His insult lacked its usual triumphant tone so Dib decided not to respond.
It felt strange between them.
Forced.
Tension was so thick it was almost suffocating but Dib had no idea why.
"What did you mean before?" He started, "Do you really turn into a monster or something?"
Zim had replaced the box under the table, once again standing but this time opposite of Dib. He was leaning against the shiny wall, his red eyes staring off into the corners of the lab. He felt the human's eyes on him, "Sort of."
"Sort of?" Dib swallowed thickly trying to dismiss the heavy air with a nervous laugh, "C'mon Zim, you're freaking me out here."
Zim finally turned his eyes on Dib, "I'll tell you but it won't matter."
"What won't?"
"You can't get out."
Dib slid off the table, feeling on edge. "What? Was this a trap?" His usual paranoia finally reared its head.
"A trap?" Zim scoffed, and Dib pushed aside his paranoia as logic shone through. "I don't want you here!"
"Then—"
"I told you." Zim snapped, pushing away from the wall, "I designed this to keep me in. I can't get out, so neither can you, not for a whole week."
"But," Dib couldn't hide his curiosity despite his want to test Zim's statement, his mind trying to figure out ways to get out – but he had no idea what that silver substance was, and if it could keep Zim inside it surely could keep him inside. "Why?"
Zim growled in the back of his throat feeling frustrated, "Irkens suffer through this cycle." His cheeks flushed but he forced himself to go on, trying to speak in a calm tone to dismiss any embarrassment he might be feeling. He really didn't want to be telling Dib these things, but the human had to know what was going to happen over the next few days, he had to understand why the alien would act like he would. "It's close to what animals on this planet experience called 'heat'."
Dib drank in the information like a sponge; his ears acute to paranormal facts, especially those on aliens – however, when Zim mentioned 'heat' his brain sort of came to a halt and he had trouble getting over it.
The green-skinned creature turned towards the bulk of his lab, trying to ignore the dumbfounded look on Dib's face. "…only worse."
"Worse?!" Dib found himself asking, his tone nearly cracking. "What? How worse?" He asked quickly; still trying to digest everything.
Heat.
Heat meant female, didn't it?
Only female animals experienced that.
Before Zim could answer Dib cut in again, "Wait—you're female?!"
"Gah!" Zim growled, smacking Dib hard across the face – the human not expecting it yelped in pain shooting a glare at the alien. "I'm not a female stupid Earth thing! Just shut up and pay attention!"
Dib frowned but decided to ignore the hurt in his cheek and remained quiet. His curiosity won over his want to snap back at Zim; his body leaning against the table in a placid manner in hopes the Irken would continue.
Zim continued to glare hard at the other male, his hands tucked behind his back almost in a grave pose. "I don't want to get into my anatomy with you, it doesn't matter. I'm telling you I will go through this change, so that's good enough." He waved his hand dismissing any further questions Dib might want to ask, "The point of this is for me to get pregnant."
Dib quirked a brow.
"I'm not female!" Zim nearly screamed and Dib masked his skeptical expression. "It's what every Irken goes through, every year, once a week. I've always locked myself down here for that week and I set up precautions so I wouldn't get out and try and…and…" Zim made a face, "Mate with the disgusting species of your planet."
But this time…
This time he wasn't stuck here alone.
Zim noted the look of understanding in Dib's eyes, "So now you know how horrible this situation is." Zim's face darkened, "I don't want to mate with you. I don't want to touch you." He hissed in a hostile tone, "Keep that in your big head got it?"
"Like I want to touch you either." Dib snapped back.
"Psh." Zim waved his hand again, his arrogance seen in his expression. "You should be so lucky as to touch Zim's perfect body."
"Yeah right." Dib rolled his eyes.
"Silence!" The Irken yelled before he continued, "Because of this horrid cycle I will want to mate with you. It's not a conscious decision; it's just what I'm going to want to do." He tried to keep his tone level, precise. "This is why I need you to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Me?" Dib scoffed, "How am I going to keep you away if you really want something?"
Zim was stronger than Dib and that aside, this was his lab, he knew all the ins and outs where Dib didn't.
"Hm." Zim contemplated a moment, "I'll disarm my Pak legs. That's the best I can do."
"The best you can do?"
Zim shrugged, "I'm not making myself defenseless to you. I don't trust you."
"I don't trust you either."
"Good." Zim looked to his computers, "I'll disarm my Pak. You're just going to have to keep alert. I don't sleep, and I don't need to eat."
Dib had a look of panic on his face, "I can't stay up for a whole week! I have to eat!"
"Learn how to eat and run then."
Dib ran a hand through his hair, "This is insane."
"You shouldn't have broken in here." Zim murmured as he walked away from the human, towards his computers, rummaging under the cabinets for his tools. It'd be easy to remove the legs from his Pak without damaging anything. It would give Dib and himself an even playing field. He knew he wouldn't be in the proper mind state to actually re-activate his legs and even further away from actually finding a weapon and using it.
Zim would only really have on thing on his mind once he became frenzied.
However, the frenzy wouldn't hit until about three days, maybe two depending.
They had some time, and in that time Dib would have to sleep as much as he wanted and eat and do whatever other human needs he needed to do so he would be able to avoid the alien.
Dib looked to Zim as the alien disconnected his Pak and started to work on it, zapping it with something that looked like a ball point pen.
God…
What did he get himself into?
--
A/N:
Another chapter down. Thanks so much for all the reviews so far. Someone asked how old they were. Zim is old; he's an alien, so he's older than Dib no matter. However, Dib is about 16/17-ish. That aside, please leave a review if you'd like to see what happens. Sorry for not much happening this chapter, it's mere plot development. Thanks for reading!