A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! Glad people are enjoying my story, I'm loving writing it :3

3DPhantom - I had no deliberate intention of making him like Nny, I dunno I just write how Zim is in my head haha! Really interesting suggestions about GIR, thank you. I think maybe he wouldn't have the vital parts that GIR came without? I had mostly planned already what was going to happen, but I will have a think on it.

Chapter 3

The next morning Dib woke feeling like a new person. He still felt a bit light headed and nauseous, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from going to school. He was eager to see Zim to try to get a better understanding of what was going on, though he wasn't exactly sure if the alien would bother going at all after what he'd learnt last night. There certainly didn't seem any reason for Zim to keep attending.

When he made it into the classroom Zim hadn't arrived yet, and his optimism fell. Dib sat on the edge of his seat, fiddling nervously with his pen as his class mates slowly filled up the room. He was just about to give up hoping when Zim finally slunk in through the door, the last person to arrive. He couldn't stop a small grin a breaking out on his face. Zim just glared at him mildly, uncertain why the Dib was smiling at him like a loon and turned to take his seat. Dib ignored the scowl and opened his books as the teacher began the lesson, still smiling.

As per usual the lesson was abysmal, and all Dib could do was think of things he wanted to ask Zim at break time. He caught himself staring at Zim a couple of times, though Zim seemed to be either oblivious or refusing to look back at him. It was just so bizarre for Dib to see him looking so human after all these years. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Looking at the boy now he was so embarrassed he hadn't realised it was Zim yesterday, though it was amazing what a pair of ears and a nose could do. He must have been so out of it.

At long last break time arrived and when everyone got up to file out of the classroom and into the yard he walked up to follow alongside Zim, trying to act casual. Zim tried to ignore the boy, but he was secretly pleased the Dib had made the first move.

"How come you made yourself a new disguise?" Dib eventually asked, trying to pick an easy question to break the ice with. They walked over to a quiet corner of the playground and sat on a low wall under the shade of a tree.

"My other one was awful, I couldn't bear to face the humans with it any longer." Zim shuddered as he looked at the other teens hanging around the place, vile creatures. He wondered why he didn't look at the Dib in the same way though. Certainly he was not smelly and repulsive like the other human beasts - he just seemed to be a species all of his own. Perhaps he was some sort of advanced human sub species.

"Well I always knew it was awful but I'm pretty sure no one else noticed." Dib chuckled, interrupting Zim's musings. "I wasn't sure if you'd come in to school today. Why do you even bother any more, what's the point?"

"What else can I do?" Zim replied despondently. In truth he wasn't really sure why he still came back. But it was all that he knew, and it was better than being alone. Marginally.

"Well... not that I want you to of course, but I sorta thought you would take over the Earth now that your pak isn't damaged any more. Surely it'd be a cinch for you now." Dib tried to keep the fear out of his voice - he was dreading the response.

"You just don't get it do you." Zim sighed in exasperation. "My leaders tried to have me killed. They wouldn't care that I'm fixed, they just want rid of me. I was never sent here to conquer Earth. Why would they want this filthy planet or its idiotic people? This place is useless to the Irken Empire and light years from anywhere else they control. They just sent me off to the furthest corner of the universe they could manage so they would never have to look at me again. It wasn't a mission, it was banishment." Zim hung his head, his temper dissipating into grief. "I'm in total disgrace. My own people hate me. So you can stop worrying about your pathetic planet and leave me alone like everyone else." He whispered.

Dib was quite shocked by Zim's emotional response. Of course he was relieved to hear that the Earth was safe, but Zim's words resonated with him. Zim was just as alone and unwanted as he was.

Zim expected Dib to get up and leave straight away now that he had heard his home was safe, but to his great surprise he didn't.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise." Dib said gently. He found himself fighting the urge to put his arms around the alien to comfort him – such an instinctive human response – but he had to remember Zim wasn't human and he didn't know how he would react. Zim hated his species, and Dib had had a taste of how dangerous he could be. "It might not help, but I do know what that feels like. Well the part about not being wanted anyway. I've been alone my whole life - everyone I've ever met hates me for being some crazy paranormal obsessed freak, and that includes my own father and sister. The only person who probably ever gave two shits about me was my mum, and she died when I was a toddler. I've never had anyone to turn to, not ever."

Zim finally looked up and met Dib's eyes at that. He hadn't drawn those parallels between them before, and it took him by surprise. It felt… nice, that Dib really did understand. It was Dib's turn to break the gaze this time, feeling suddenly self-conscious at how honest he'd been. He cleared his throat from the lump that was forming there.

"This is the worst feeling ever." Zim looked away timidly. He didn't know what he was supposed to say in response. Irken's didn't have families and they were usually quite solitary beings due to the inhibitors. But the Tallest were the closest thing he had to family, and he knew how much their betrayal hurt.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did turn your inhibitor back on to be honest." Dib mumbled, "I wonder if I would have done that if I could." Zim looked up.

"You think that I should?" He asked, genuinely seeking the boy's advice.

"No, I'm not saying you should. There are lots of reasons you shouldn't. For starters I don't hate you any more." Dib smirked.

"You'd be the first," Zim grumbled. He thought about it for a bit as the information sank in. "You really don't?"

"No of course not. I mean you're not trying to kill me or destroy my home for one thing. But this is nice, just being able to talk. I've never been able to talk to anyone about personal things before, let alone someone who feels the same way. To tell the truth I've not hated you for a while any way. Sure you were annoying, but hate is a strong word." Dib mused, surprised at his own honesty. He just couldn't seem to stop talking today.

"Wow." Zim smiled, just a little. The Dib was more complex than he had ever thought.

"You know I'm sure your leaders wouldn't hate you any more if they could see you now. Isn't there anything you could do to prove yourself to them?"

"They would never give me the chance." Zim shook his head wearily, "They've stop taking my calls and they'd probably just shoot me on sight if they saw my ship approaching. Besides, they wouldn't think much of me like this with my inhibitor deactivated. Look at me, I'm useless. A perfect example of why we have them. Maybe I should turn it back on." Dib's face fell at that.

"What is it that's stopping you then?" Dib asked, unable to hide the dejection in his voice. Zim shrugged listlessly.

"Partly I guess because if I turn it back on I will probably go straight back to the Tallest, regardless of knowing they will almost definitely kill me. I also know that once it's back on there's no way I'll ever turn it back off again. Ugh." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "These damned emotions just make me question everything, it makes every decision a nightmare. I just feel so unsure about everything."

Dib saw his window of opportunity. "You know, emotions aren't always bad. They can make you feel on top of the world at the best of times. The good ones are worth enduring the bad. I know I've had a lot of shit in my life, but I still think I'd rather take that then just feeling numb all the time."

"I don't think I've felt much of the good ones yet. Though the fear is more potent, and that adrenaline is a pretty good rush. Though maybe only in hindsight." Zim admitted. "Though this feeling now, this… talking," Zim air quoted the word, "this feels… decent." Dib smiled at that.

"Yeah, it does feel good." He deliberately said the word Zim had been unable to say, smirking slightly to himself. They sat in companionable silence for a time.

"Dib, would you… help me?" Zim asked reluctantly.

"Huh?" He hadn't expected that.

"To understand these emotions. I'd like to know what the good ones feel like - it only seems logical that I fully analyse the situation I'm in before coming to such a final conclusion. And… I don't think I'd want to try leaving the inhibitor off if I don't have… someone. Being alone doesn't feel good any more, I think I would go crazy." Zim explained shiftily, fiddling with his hands as he waited for Dib's response.

Dib smiled, relieved that Zim seemed willing to try leaving the inhibitor off, and pretty excited that Zim was kind of asking to be his friend. "Yeah I will. I thought you didn't like me though, you do hate humans after all." Dib probed. He knew he was fishing but he'd given Zim the pleasure of knowing there was one person who didn't hate him and he really wanted to hear those words himself.

"You are…" Zim thought carefully, "Less stupid than all the other humans." Dib's face fell. Well, he deserved that he supposed. Zim noticed the crestfallen look on Dibs face and felt a little guilty, so he tried again. "You're not like the others at all." That shouldn't been as much of a compliment as it was, but it was good enough.

"Thanks, I guess." Dib smiled softly. This was going to be interesting, he just hoped he knew what he was getting himself into and didn't end up regretting it later.

"I still think there must be something you could do that would prove yourself to your leaders, something that would earn your peoples respect. You've got the brains to do it now, and I could help." He thought about how he had spent most of his childhood trying to prove himself to his own people without any luck. Maybe he could help someone else with more success.

"Like what?" Zim sulked grumpily.

"I don't know. Don't be so defeatist, there's your first lesson. You're letting your bad feelings get in the way too much. You know you're smart enough to do anything you want now."

"But how do you stop feeling bad?" Zim whined. "What do you do when the humans make you feel bad?"

"Well, sometimes you can't stop it. You just have to learn to deal with it and keep going, because otherwise it'll consume you." Dib looked at him sorrowfully, and Zim just stared back intently. The Dib was much stronger than he'd ever given him credit for. From where he sat it seemed an impossible mountain to climb, but maybe if a human could do it so could he.

"Look, you want to be an invader right? And you want to be respected by your people, so how can you prove you can be a great invader?"

"How do I know? I don't even have a planet to conquer, or my people to witness it so how can I do anything?" Zim snapped petulantly.

"Ugh you're still stubborn as hell." Dib rubbed his eyes tiredly, this wasn't helping his headache. "Just think about it. What if you could design some sort of weapon or like the ultimate plan that would conquer any planet or something like that. Something that was so cool they'd have to notice you. You could send it to them."

"Mmm, design a super weapon… that sounds kinda fun…" Zim tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Not a bad plan Dib-human. It would have to be pretty amazing though, the Tallest have a lot of weapons from a lot of different planets."

"My dad has an insane amount inventions. Not many people know, but he's been commissioned by the government to create all kinds of radical weapons. I only know cause I've hacked into his personal computer at my house. He thinks I'm not interested or smart enough to get past his security." Dib smirked. "They've never made most of it, but the blue prints are for some really extreme stuff - this world is obsessed with having super weapons to defend itself. I know it's probably not as impressive as Irken machinery, but maybe if you could take inspiration from how different it is, and combine the two you could come up with something new."

"How intriguing. And you'd give me access to this information?" Zim pondered, looking for the catch.

"I'll get you into my dad's computer on one condition. Earth stays safe. You have to promise you'll never use whatever you build on my planet or my people. I'm not helping you just so you can kill me." Dib looked at him sternly.

"Pff, done. I already told you I have no interest in this stupid spinning ball of filth. Any idiot could conquer this miserable rock." His eyes widened as he realised the words that had slipped from his mouth.

"Except for you of course…" Dib almost didn't dare say it, but in the end he couldn't help himself. He waited anxiously for Zim's reaction as the moment hung in the air. He saw Zim's lips wobble, and that was enough to have them both falling about laughing.

"I'm sorry, you walked into that one." Dib said well naturedly, surprised and relieved that Zim didn't seem to be so uptight any more. "It's nice to see you laugh though – you know, in a none-maniacal way."

"Yeah, that felt good. I think that was my first taste of a good emotion. Thank you." Zim smiled. Even if it had been a slight he could blame all that on his faulty pak, there was no need to take it seriously. "Why do you want to help me so much anyway? What's in this for you?"

"Because… I'm lonely too remember." Dib said simply, looking down at his feet sheepishly. Zim felt the strangest feeling at those words, and the shy way they were spoken. It was like something was fluttering around in his squeedly-spooch, tickling his insides. He was about to ask what that meant when Dib started talking again.

"If you like you can come over to my house after school and I'll get you into his private lab in our basement. You should be able to get everything you need from there, and he won't be home tonight - he's away at some big job." Dib couldn't believe he was actually inviting Zim over to his home – if his younger self could see him now he would have had a heart failure.

"Ok, deal." Zim nodded his approval with a slightly menacing smile, and as if on cue the bell rang for lessons to resume. His smile fell into a scowl. First they had to endure another whole day of school.

What felt like years later the end of the day came, and kids started to pile out of the school. Dib waited eagerly on the front steps outside, glancing up at the darkening sky. Those clouds looked very foreboding, so he wished Zim would hurry up or they were going to get drenched. At least he had had the foresight to wear his trusty old trench coat today. He scanned the front doors again and spotted Zim hovering there, looking very uneasy. He sighed and got up, walking over to him.

"Well, are you coming?" Dib looked at him impatiently, "It's going to rain soon."

"Exactly," Zim looked at him worriedly, biting his lip. "I'm scared of the rain, it hurts." If he was completely honest right now he was more than just scared, he was terrified. Before he had had just enough fear of it for self-preservations sake, but now it felt totally irrational.

"I thought you wore that paste stuff to protect yourself?" Dib asked, his voice softening a little when he realised how scared Zim was.

"Guess I forgot, my mind is like jello at the moment." Zim hung his head in shame. Dib smiled, finding it cute despite himself.

"You're acting so human." He chuckled. "All the more reason to be quick then, we can't stay here." He grabbed Zim's arm and tugged him away from the shelter of the school, hurrying him down the street.

They were only halfway there when they heard a distant rumble of thunder, and the first heavy droplets started to hit the pavement. Zim let out a high pitched shriek as one landed close to him, jumping closer to Dib and nearly tripping him up.

"Careful Zim!" Dib yelled in frustration. "It's not much further come on."

But the drops were getting more frequent and they began to hit Zim's vulnerable skin. He cried out as they struck him, feeling like acid as they sizzled on his poor Irken flesh. His eyes watered with the pain and he threw himself against the Dib, the boy being the closest form of shelter.

Dib stopped in astonishment at the Irken's actions. He could feel Zim trembling against him as the alien buried his face into the boy's side, clinging to him in panic and digging his claws in painfully. Dib quickly slipped his trench coat off and draped it as best he could around Zim, and ushered him onwards. It was useless trying to get Zim to understand he was only slowing them down by walking so close - the poor alien was in such a frantic state. At least he was able to shelter him from the worst of the downpour and soon enough they reached Dib's front door.

Zim cautiously peeked out from under the trench coat as he realised they were now inside. Dib took the drenched article off him and hung it up to dry, completely soaked through himself. Zim's body steamed with the drying liquid as the alien continued to tremble, looking very sorry for himself. He had managed to stay mostly dry, but it still hurt like hell.

"Your planet is so cold and wet." He shivered sulkily. Dib went to grab a towel before passing it to Zim, who took it curiously.

"You can use that to dry up. I'm going to have to go and change, I'm soaked. You can sit on the sofa or whatever, I'll only be a minute." Dib turned to go up to his room, leaving Zim alone.

Zim bundled himself up into the fluffy towel. It was warm and dry, and smelt like the Dib. He looked briefly around the living space before setting himself down on the sofa. It hadn't changed at all since he was last here. He rolled up a sleeve to look closely at his skin, inspecting it for damage. There didn't seem to be any wounds, but it stung viciously. He knew it wouldn't have made any sense for it to be suddenly more damaging now than before. The inhibitor must have also taken the edge off the feeling of pain, so it hurt a lot worse. He rubbed at it with the towel to sooth the sensation.

Zim was still huddled up in the towel looking miserable when Dib returned. "Does it still hurt?" He asked worriedly, having not seen Zim so affected by pain before. The alien nodded within the bundle.

"My inhibitor used to filter some of the pain out too. Just enough to help a soldier's endurance. I've never felt real pain before."

"Wow, I never thought of that before. No wonder you didn't want to walk here, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you." Dib looked at his feet guiltily.

"It's ok, I didn't want to be stuck at that horrible place anyway. I feel mostly ok now." He emerged from the towel and stood, wobbling a little, to join Dib.

"Ready to check out my dad's lab then?" Zim nodded resolutely. Dib led them down some stairs, and tapped the passcode into the keypad on the door to let them in.

"He never changes the code," Dib explained, "He has no idea I've even been in here. He's so arrogant the thought never even occurred to him that I would do such a thing." He smiled bitterly as he turned the lights on, and headed over to the main computer.

"Just be careful you don't move anything, I don't want him to work it out." He looked pointedly at Zim who had just been reaching out to touch something interesting. Zim scowled back and retracted his hand. Dib beckoned him over before beginning the process of hacking into the computer. After a few minutes of typing a smug smile spread across Dib's face, and he moved so that Zim could sit in front of the computer.

"Impressive Dib-human." Zim noted as he took the seat. His eyes widened as he scanned through the first blue prints. There was so many of them, and so much more impressive than he had expected. "Wow, these are filthy." Zim smirked excitedly. "Your father has extraordinary capabilities for a human." A mechanical arm extended from his pak to plug into the console and he began downloading all the plans. Dib grimaced as Zim praised his dad.

"Being smart isn't everything that's important." Dib huffed resentfully. "He's still a lousy parent."

"Irkens don't need parents." Zim said distractedly, his eyes eagerly tracking the progress bar on the screen. It wasn't long until it pinged with a completion sound. "Besides you turned out fine without his help." The compliment slipped from Zim's mouth without him even realising it, and Dib's glower softened.

"It remains to be seen whether any of this human technology will be compatible with Irken weaponry, but it is most intriguing." Zim stood, the arm slipping back into his pak. Dib noted how for a moment Zim seemed like his old self again, a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Great, well we should go. The less time we spend down here the better." Dib led them back up into the living room.

Zim's face soon turned sombre again. In truth he wasn't sure what would happen next. He no longer needed to be at Dib's house, but he found himself not wanting to leave just yet. The previous night after he had taken Dib home had been quite traumatic, spending the whole night alone with no purpose and nothing to do except dwell on his rampant emotions. For some reason being with the Dib made him feel less of the bad feelings, and having someone to talk to distracted him from his troubles. So Zim just stood there awkwardly, not wanting to ask if he could stay but not wanting to leave.

Dib noticed that Zim was acting strangely. He didn't make for the door like he had expected, and he suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious. He didn't want Zim to leave yet, but at the same time he'd never had a guest of his own over to his house. He didn't quite know what he was supposed to do. He smiled as an idea struck him. Offering refreshments was what people did! He was sure he'd seen that on TV.

"Hey… can I get you something to eat?" He began nervously, "Or... can you even eat any human food?" Dib quickly realised the flaw to his plan, his face falling.

"I can eat some things. GIR did a good job of testing various foods on me." He rolled his eyes at that. "Mostly the things you count as junk food are good. Your sugary substances aren't so dissimilar from ours. Just not waffles. Not ever." He shuddered - the thought of them still made him feel sick.

"Oh okay. Great, I keep a stash of snacks in my room. I have to keep them secret or Gaz will murder me for not sharing. Would you like some?" Dib smiled hopefully.

"Sure, I could eat." Now that he thought of it he hadn't eaten since before this ordeal had begun - he'd been feeling much too stressed to even feel hungry. His tummy grumbled in response, and Dib chuckled.

"Come on, this way." Dib led them upstairs and to his room. "Sorry about the mess," He said awkwardly as he opened the door, quickly grabbing some of the clothes on the floor and throwing them into his wardrobe.

His room hadn't really changed much. It was still darkly decorated with paranormal posters and artefacts, but also littered with bits of machinery and random inventions Dib had created in his boredom. He pulled a box out from his cupboards and opened it up to reveal a plethora of snacks. "What do you like best?" Dib asked as he rummaged through the goodies.

"Mmm… got any of those chewy round flat things?" Zim asked hopefully.

"Huh? You mean cookies?" He passed a packet over and Zim took it gleefully. He held one up to briefly inspect it suspiciously before taking a bite. "Like it?"

"Mmm yes, very good!" Zim eagerly shoving more into his mouth. Dib took some crisps for himself and went over to sit on his bed, and was pleased when Zim followed him.

"So… what do you want to do now?" Dib asked awkwardly.

Zim glanced at the narrow window as the rain lashed against it. "Well I can't go anywhere until it stops raining." He answered between mouthfuls. Zim was grateful for the solid excuse not to leave just yet, and secretly hoped the rain wouldn't stop. Dib however felt a little disheartened. Had that been the only reason Zim didn't want to leave and he was reading too much into it?

"I've never really had spare time before." Zim shrugged. "I just used to spend all my time experimenting with things that could help with the mission. I never did anything just for myself." Everything used to be so simple, he almost missed it. "What do you do? When you're… lonely?" Zim ventured.

"Well…" For some reason Dib didn't want to let on that he still had Tak's ship just yet, and saying 'observing you' would just sound creepy. What else did he do? "I read a bit, sometimes I watch TV. Oh, we could watch a film?"

Zim scoffed. "Human TV is stupid."

"Hey, you might like it now that you're… you know. Changed." Dib stumbled, trying not to say something like emotional or sensitive. Zim glared at him.

"Fine, but when I find it stupid it'll only prove me right." Zim huffed as Dib began shuffling through his DVDs.

"I'm sure I can find something to interest you. Maybe something a bit dark. A lot of films are dumb, I'll admit that. But you just have to know which ones are the good ones." His hand landed on 'Donnie Darko'. It was complex, surreal and thought provoking, so hopefully it prove that some human culture had some quality, and wasn't all chick flicks and talent shows.

He slotted the disc into his computer before climbing back onto his bed, grabbing the duvet and getting snuggled up. Zim remained perched at the edge with his now empty cookie wrapper, unsure what he was supposed to do as the film started up.

"Don't you want to get comfy?" Dib prompted him. He moved the pillows so that they were the wrong way on the bed, leaning against the wall instead of the headboard so that they could face the screen directly and have a bit more space. He set a pillow out next to him and patted it for Zim. "You might as well, it's quite a long film."

Zim frowned uncertainly. It did look comfy, and he was still cold. So reluctantly he moved to join Dib under the covers, settling back against the pillow the boy had propped up for him. He felt a wave of peace wash over him as he relaxed into the cosiness. Nothing in his base felt this safe and comfortable, everything there was just about practicality.

The old him would have despised wasting time like this – he couldn't help but think that he should be working on his new plan. But mostly he found he just didn't care. He was comfortable for now and that was making him feel good. It was all evidence in favour of the inhibitor of course. Emotions lead to procrastination. Contentment was another of the feelings that was erased, so that Irkens never felt satisfied with what they had. It was what motivated them to constantly work harder and always want more. Such a simple emotion, but he'd never known bliss like it.

He tried to focus his thoughts on the film. The story was surprisingly complicated, and he quickly found himself enjoying it – curse the Dib for being right. He caught himself feeling incredibly sad at the end when the boy had sacrificed himself for the good of the people around him, and the fact that the girl he'd liked would never know he'd given his live to save hers. He wondered about that. Any soldier would give their life in a heartbeat for their Tallest or the good of their mission, but this was different. This was…. what was it?

"Why?" Zim's voice cracked, more choked up than he realised. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "Why was he so happy to give his life for them? For her?"

"Because he loved her Zim. And his family. He was happy to die because he knew he was saving the ones he loved." Dib knew Zim would struggle with the concept of love, and he blushed slightly at having to explain it.

"With Irkens that's not how love is. We love our Tallest, we love snacks, we love victory. We don't have relationships or families." Zim explained robotically, and Dib looked at him sadly.

"Only because you're all stripped of your emotions. I'm sure you would if you weren't so altered. Love of things like snacks and success are different, more like enjoyment than passion. And love of your Tallest is more like loyalty and respect. Not that you don't get all of those things as well from loving someone the way I mean. There's just… more to it." Dib watched as Zim thought on all he'd said.

"I don't know if I'd know what it would feel like then. How would I know?" Zim looked confused.

"Well… I don't really know. I'm kind of in the same boat, I've never been in love. Heck I'm not even sure if I love my dad or my sister, I don't really have any reason to. I think it's just when someone makes you feel entirely happy, comfortable and safe. Someone you know you could always rely on, and would do anything for. I guess you just know it when you feel it." Dib smiled wistfully, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

Zim pouted. That wasn't entirely helpful. He felt comfortable and safe now, and he'd wanted to stay with the Dib, but did he feel happy? He wasn't sure. He churned it over in his mind. The rain hammered at the window even now, casting shimmering shadows across the dimly lit room.

"It's still pretty early. Shall I put something else on?" Zim nodded absent-mindedly, still trying to process his thoughts and identify his elusive feelings as Dib got up to put another disc in.

He didn't even notice what Dib had put on, still lost in his thoughts when he felt his eyelids beginning to droop. The comfy bed and the way the human's body heat made it so toasty under the sheets were so reassuring and so unlike his base that he just couldn't help beginning to drift off. Irkens didn't usually need to sleep much, but these new emotions were so exhausting. His body was overwhelmed with chemicals that it had never had to deal with before, and it made him feel queasy.

Dib was also drifting slightly until he felt something brush against him. He blinked back awake, looking down to see that Zim had slumped slightly against him as he had fallen asleep. It was adorable, his head just resting on Dib's shoulder as his breathing deepened. It was pretty early to go to bed, but there was no way he was going to disturb Zim now.

He carefully shifted so that he could rest his own head on top of Zim's. For a moment he was surprised to feel the alien's smooth skin rather than hair, but then he remembered the disguise was just holographic. He could slightly feel the delicate antenna resting under his cheek, and was careful not to lean against them too hard. It wasn't long until he too was slipping off into sleep.

A/N: Woo feels :D So Dib and Zim finally got a bit of fluff! I really wasn't sure what film to have them watch, I guess it wasn't meant to be too important as long as there was some part that would get Zim thinking. I couldn't think of one that fit really well without being cheesy, and Donnie Darko is one of my all time favourites, so it'll do. Thanks for reading!