Chapter Six.

"Dib, you were so keen to delight your ocular organs with the sight of Zim, that you ran all the way here from Hi Skool?"

Dib nearly fell in the doorway as it was opened by the puzzled and undisguised Irken, he was still panting and felt sweaty but he didn't feel awkward as he moved past Zim, just relieved to be safe. He walked over to the couch and dropped himself on it, leaning back and tilting his head back as he took long steadying breaths now, eyes closed.

"Its Mary!" Squealed a familiar voice that made Dib open his eyes moments before the robot landed on his stomach. The air was knocked out of him and he couldn't stop Gir from cuddling his chest and humming.

Dib looked over at Zim about to ask for help, but instead he saw something in the aliens green face that looked a lot like jealousy, but it was gone in a blink, replaced by one of annoyance. What, did Gir never hug Zim or something? Thought Dib, confused as he patted the robot on the head and asked him to get off.

"Okay Mary!" Squealed Gir, sitting up and shifting so he was now sat on Dib's legs instead. "Mary came to see Mastah! Gir is so happy he's gonna go tell Mr Piggy!" With that, Gir launched himself off of Dib's long legs and landed at a run, quickly leaving the room and making it seem almost deathly quiet in his sudden absence.

"He never changes," sighed Dib, shifting and sitting up.

"He's a robot." Replied Zim, almost coldly as he continued to watch the kitchen door where Gir had disappeared. Dib fidgeted slightly and coughed, breaking Zim's glare and making the alien look at him. "So why are you here?"

"I..." Dib opened his mouth to explain but felt himself unable to suddenly. Was Zim aware of the rumours going around about them? Did he really want to bring it to his attention? There was an uneasy friendship going on between them it seemed, he didn't want to make it suddenly awkward. But Zim would find out most of it if he went to Skool tomorrow.

"I was kicked out of Math class." Sighed Dib, leaning back on the sofa. Zim frowned at him and moved to sit on the sofa next to him, enough space between them that he could face Dib and curl one leg up underneath him, comfortably.

"You got kicked out of class?"

"Yeah," nodded Dib, unable to stop himself from smirking with the petty pleasure of it. "For answering the question on the blackboard, despite the fact I was half asleep. I even pointed out a mistake."

"Why does Dib wait until the one day I'm not there to humiliate the Bubbles teacher?" Exclaimed Zim, throwing his hands up in the air and making Dib chuckle, despite himself.

"Yeah well, it got me sent out of class." He admitted with a shrug, the smile fading from his lips. "Then one of the wrestling team was bored in the corridor and wanted a 'Dib punching bag.'"

Not the whole truth but close enough.

Zim narrowed his eyes at Dib, the metal legs half extending slowly from his PAK and framing him menacingly, "who did this to you, my friend Dib?" Asked the Irken in a low tone. It was scary, but something about it made Dib want to cheer and return to Hi Skool with Zim, march right up to Jeremy and Crony One and Two, and beat the living daylights out of them. He had little doubt that Zim would enjoy it.

"I'm not really your friend Zim, I'm your enemy," pointed out Dib with a slight smile. "And I ran away. They didn't do anything more than try to grab the front of my coat."

The metal legs twitched slightly, seeming to flex in time with Zim's claws as he edged closer to the human. Dib leaned his head back slightly, but held his ground, keeping his amber eyes locked on the ruby orbs in front of him.

"There was an old Earth saying we learned of at Hi Skool," said Zim in that same low tone, a menacing smile crossing his lips. "'Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.' On Irk we have a very similar saying but it doesn't translate well. You are both my friend and my enemy. This makes you very special to me, Dib."

Dib swallowed hard as he felt colour rising quickly in his cheeks, his heart was racing again but it felt like he could barely breath. Zim was only inches away from him, his face so close he could feel the aliens breath on his cheeks, even smell the sweetness of his last snack. The moment seemed to hold, seeming to last forever as they both sat there...

"BATH TIME!"

The scream from Gir was all the warning they got as the tension between them broke and they turned, just in time to catch a face full of -what Dib could only assume- was Irken equivalent of shower water. Gir had a long purple hose and he was swinging it around while green goo was sprayed everywhere, thick enough to wobble and gather in clumps, liquid enough to drip off of the ceiling, Dib noticed.

"GIR!" Shouted Zim, turning his fury on his robotic companion. Dib got up to help disarm the little maniac but it still took them both a whole five minutes before the hose was shut off and Gir had been distracted by something shiny.

"So what is this stuff?" Asked Dib as he removed his sodden trench coat and shook out it, globs of green goo flying off it to land with the piles of it on the floor.

"Its is a combination of Irken bathing fluids and earth water." Explained Zim as he looked around in dismay at the living room, "at least it is simple to clean up and doesn't stain."

"Water?" Repeated Dib, hanging his coat up by the front door -an area somehow missed, along with the large TV.

"Yes," nodded Zim simply, looking from Dib to the mess and back as he explained. "After some experimentation, I discovered it was the heavy amount of pollution that is present in Earth rain and most bodies of water. It is that, that causes Zim's skin to burn."

"Ah, so pure water is okay on you?" Asked Dib curious.

"Yes, hence the compound I made, but it must be pure water and nothing else." Explained Zim, still looking at the piles of mess with a grimace, "we should be able to get most of it up with a broom. There's a drain in the floor in the kitchen."

"That's new," shrugged Dib, flowing Zim into the kitchen and taking the offered broom. "But I'm guessing it helps clean up whatever mess Gir makes in the here."

"Exactly." Sighed Zim as we both turned and set to work on the mess. It took nearly half an hour before the gooey cleaning fluids had been piled up on top of the drain, slowly dripping threw and diminishing.

"Well, that was interesting," sighed Dib, still feeling tired and sweaty from running. "Damned I could do with a shower," he said with a grimace as he caught a whiff of himself. Looking over at Zim he shrugged, "I'll head home and get showered and changed, then come back and find out what this plan is that you want my help with."

Zim raised an eyebrow, his ruby eyes shifting shape as he did, "why go home? Isn't Zim's base clean enough for you to bathe yourself?" He had been putting the brooms away and was now giving Dib a curious frown.

Dib blinked in shock at the suggestion and shrugged, "I guess it never occurred to me really." He admitted honestly, "its not like I'm used to this 'friendship' thing really. But what about my clothes?"

"You can either borrow some of mine," suggested Zim then stopped himself and chuckled at his own mistake. "No, that's a bad idea. No I'd best replicate the ones your wearing now, easiest way."

"You can replicate clothes?"

"Yes, and most food stuffs." Admitted the Irken with a pleased smile, seeming glad that he could surprise the human with Irken technology still. "Come on down to the lab, there's a shower down there too."

Without looking, Zim headed for the lift and Dib rolled his eyes before following behind the Irken. Zim was so arrogant that he didn't even doubt that Dib would follow him, thought Dib sardonically, but its not like he was wrong. I just hope all that has happened, means he won't turn around and shoot me with something because he can.

"Been a while since I was down here," admitted Dib casually, looking around as they stepped off of the lift together. It had changed only slightly, and today was in fetching shades of purple and pink once more. There were still the mysterious glowing tubes of goo, the other tubes, pipes and cables that ran everywhere, and random collections of technology around the place, some of it resting on tables, half built.

"Here we are," said Zim, stopping by a wall with a large complicated looking machine on it. "This replicates what is placed inside this compartment here. It can do anything from food to clothes to machine parts, if they aren't too complex."

"That sounds amazing!" Gaped Dib in wonder, reaching out a hand to touch the machine but stopping and pulling it back. "What are its limitations?"

"Did I say it had limitations?" Asked Zim with a curl of his lip, close to a sneer but he was enjoying himself too much to look annoyed.

"Well obviously it does," countered Dib with a cocky smirk of his own. "Otherwise you'd use it to make almost anything you wanted, and lots of it."

"Clever deduction, Dib-friend," replied the Irken with a flick of his antenna and turning his attention to the machine. "It is limited in size. It can only make what will fit in the input compartment, if I enlarged the compartment, it wouldn't be able to successfully scan and replicate the item. There would be flaws."

"Are there larger one's in other places?" Dib couldn't help himself and he touched the machine, running his hand reverentially over the cool metal surface as he gazed at the control panel. "I mean, if it had a larger matter supply and more complex scanner array then it makes sense that-"

Dib stopped talking as Zim started to laugh. It wasn't a manic laugh or a pitying chuckle, it was a real laugh that was made from genuine humour. And the effect it had on Dib was to make his face flush and something flip-flop in his stomach, but it also made him smile, a soft smile that he tried to hide from Zim by turning to look at the machine again.

Zim started to calm down into chuckles, wiping a bright blue tear from his eyes before finishing with a sigh. "It does amaze even the great Zim, with the speed at which you will ask questions and jump to conclusions. You assess and assimilate so much faster than you used to."

"Well I'm not a kid anymore," shrugged Dib, keeping his red hot cheeks turned away from Zim, already knowing that the alien would be smirking. It wasn't like he'd ever actually received a compliment before. "You know, it just seems like the most logical thing really. If its limited by the input compartment, then it must be because of a combination between the scanner and the materials needed, since something isn't made from nothing."

"To answer your question, there are no bigger ones." Said Zim, stepping closer and leaning on the machine so he could see Dib's face once again, his ruby eyes almost glowing with enjoyment. "There had been attempts in the past, but no one could work out the correct algorithms to ensure the machine worked properly. There would always be problems no matter what Irkens tried it, and trust me when I say they tried everything they could think of."

"I can imagine," nodded Dib, still marvelling at the device. "If only I could get a good look inside and at the software... What?"

Zim had been staring at him with a strange look on his face, it had seemed almost foreign on the aliens features, so much that Dib thought he'd misread it. But it looked very much like longing, surely he was mistaken, he dismissed the thought. They were obsessed with each other, but only to the degree of fighting tooth and claw, even if there did seem to be a kind of friendship growing between them now. It wasn't like there was anything else about him that Zim held an interest in.

"Nothing," said Zim at last, pushing away from the machine. "The bathing room is threw that door there, I trust you can work it out. When you are undressed, hand the clothes out to me and I will replicate some new ones. I'll leave them inside the cleaning room for you, once you are done."

"Wait, your going to come in while I'm showering?" Asked Dib, both alarmed and embarrassed.

"It is of little worry Dib-friend," dismissed Zim with the wave of a claw. "There is a screen to prevent me seeing your flesh."

Dib just rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the cleaning room, as Zim called it. The door slid open as he stepped up to it and he looked around inside it before stepping in. It was so similar to a normal bathroom that Dib almost felt disappointed, it only lacked a toilet. There was a shower cubicle and a large tub set into the floor with ugly taps over-hanging its edge.

"Alright, do you have any towels? Or soap?" Asked Dib, turning around in the middle of the room and seeing Zim standing in the doorway, that same strange look in his eyes for a moment before he blinked, and it was gone again.

"Towels are over there. Soap will be in the shower or its the smaller tap on the bath." Instructed the Irken, pointing, "your welcome to have a bath, but it takes a while to fill the tub and I doubt you want to hang around in here all day."

"Hey, I might enjoy spending a long time in the tub," taunted Dib, hands on his hips.

"Doubtful, unless you've had a particularly disgusting experience during your day, or you need to ease a damaged muscle." Replied Zim with that same casual tone he'd been using for the last five minutes. At the look on Dib's face, he chuckled again while his antenna flicked idly, his words coming out in an almost sweeten tone, "remember Dib, I said we were a lot alike and that is the approach that I have to bathing."

Dib seemed to think a moment but shrugged and dismissed it with a wave, "fine whatever, your right. I just want to be clean by this point. Now get out and I'll pass you my clothes."

Zim remained where he was, folding his arms over his chest and watching Dib with an arrogant smile.

"Zim, out please." Ordered Dib, trying not to snap but the Irken was teasing him with the chance to be clean, and denying him privacy.

Finally Zim started to turn around, his body turning but his eyes lingered as long as they could on Dib until the door closed and blocked the view.

Well that was weird, mused Dib, turning his attention to the room and giving it a careful examination before he moved over to a low bench with towels on the far end. Boots off, t-shirt off, jeans and socks off, Dib hesitated as he reached for the waistband of his boxers. Grabbing one of the towels, he shook it out and was glad to see that it would cover him decently, before he wrapped it around his waist and wiggled out of his underwear. Securing the towel in place, he gathered his neatly folded clothes and -still feeling insecure- he moved to the door.

"Zim?" He called as the door moved open.

"Hm?" Replied the Irken, looking up from a bench near by, his antenna twitching forwards in surprise. "Clothes yes, just leave them on that chair by the door. I'll be there in a moment."

"Sure? I could use the replicater myself." He suggested but Zim waved a hand at him, dismissing the idea, giving some distracted excuse about 'better to be safe than sorry'. Dib shrugged to himself, trying to squash down the paranoia that he was deep in an enemies base with only a towel for protection. Sudden images of dissection tables fluttered threw his mind but he dismissed them and turned his attention to the shower.

Ten minutes later and Dib was almost groaning with contentment while leaning forwards with his hands braced against the shower wall. Sure it was the weird green goo from upstairs, but there were temperature gauges and he had it set quite high, and the speed setting was high enough, it was coming with enough force to soothe his muscles.

There wasn't a full length plastic screen to cover him in the shower, but he judged that by Zim's height the plastic screen would run from shoulder to knee on his shorter figure. For Dib, being a whole seven inches taller than the green skinned alien, it went from mid-chest to mid-shin. He still felt exposed, but there didn't seem to be that edge of tension in him.

The door did open at one point and Dib scooped up his glasses from where he'd hung them on the shower screen, holding them over his eyes enough to see that Zim did indeed come in and leave a fresh pile of clothes on the bench before retreating out. He'd not even looked over at Dib, just dropped the clothes on the bench and headed back out straight away.

It was just so weird, it was almost surreal, Dib mused as he finished soaping his body. He would never have pictured doing something like this last month, although he thought wistfully, he might have wished for something close. Maybe not with Zim -but it wasn't a hard truth to admit to himself that he'd never had any other people with which to form this kind of relationship. The odd peace between them wasn't exactly a truce or stoppage of there usual brawling, but until Zim had explained this plan of his, it seemed he wasn't ready to punch Dib in the face any time soon.

But worst of all, Dib found himself enjoying this.

Sure, he would probably end up provoking a fight between them both soon, for no other reason than he enjoyed fighting the Irken but even then, he had an idea that Zim would agree to the contest. They were alike in that they both enjoyed fighting, it was what seemed to keep them going almost; a thought which made him grimace as he turned the strange green flow off.

Shaking his head to himself, he reached up and wrung some of the water from his hair. It was still kept short except for the scythe like lock at the front, he wrung it out and it snapped back into position again.

Reaching for the towel, Dib nearly jumped out of his skin as he spotted Gir standing there and silently looking up at him.

"What ya doin'?" Asked the little robot curiously, tilting its head on one side.

"Hi Gir," he said, a little nervously. He was never sure what Gir would do next really, while he could sometimes handle the little guy for a few weeks by distracting him with a toy or something, Gir would then flip-flop and have no interest in the toy's Dib would bring him. Instead the little thing would suddenly decided to attach itself to Mister Piggy and he'd have to bring food for it, to keep the robot distracted. "I'm getting out of the shower. What are you doing?"

"Watching."

"Err, okay. How about you go out and tell Zim that I'll be out in a minute?" Asked Dib hopefully, as he remained behind the screen and grabbed the towel off of the hook by the shower and started to dry himself off quickly.

"Nah, Gir wants to make sure Mary gets dressed without falling over." The robot broke out into a happy smile and started to dance around on the spot, looking like it was doing a war dance. "Mastha keeps talking about falling things! Gir wants to make sure Mary don't go falling off things. It would make Mastha sad. So so SAD!" That that last word, Gir burst into tears and fled the room, leaving Dib still standing in the shower with the towel wrapped around himself and blinking in confusion.

Hey, just a small note. I've been getting a few comments about my grammar and I'd like to say, I really am doing my best. Its not like I'm dyslexic or anything, but I didn't have a proper education when it came to English at school. My GCSE tutor thought it would be more useful to focus on Shakespeare for three years, not instead try to teach me about Verbs and sentence structure :/ So, its not really an excuse, I'm a lot better than a I used to be, but sometimes mistakes get made. Thank you.