Zim let out a breath of relief, finally free of that planet he so despised.

"Alright, now that THAT'S over with, I can pinpoint the Massive's coordinates, and set a straight course. It most we are looking at maybe…a few Earth months. Nothing to scoff at, really, considering it took six of them to get here from Earth."

Gold eyes had been glued to the slowly receding planet, but then Dib's head snapped forward. "Months? Wow. That's….long." A very long time to spend with someone who he'd just kissed. And nearly been killed by. Actually, it was a long time for Dib to spend with anybody. At least he was doing it with someone interesting. Slowly, he nodded.

"Okay…" A final glance towards his planet and though he planned on seeing it again someday, hopefully when it was safe…Dib said goodbye in his head to all of the people in his life and the humdrum rut it had become.

"Well, I don't know about you, Space-Boy, but I'm not run on a magical thing-y on my back. I will die without proper sustenance and before you say anything, yes it's pitiful and yes, humans are pathetic and weak."

"Well just as long as you can admit it."Zim sighed as he fiddled with the control board. "How long can you go? A month? We can maybe swing by Foodcourtia; it isn't too far off course. It wouldn't be a gargantuan waste of time. And I could pick some things out for myself, as well." Zim said with a bit of delight. He had lived on his snack reserve and earth food, alone. It would be nice to have something with sustenance. Although he had his PAK to keep him going, his body still needed the nutrients, just not so much as his human counterpart.

"I'm sure there will be something there that you can eat." He peeked over his shoulder at the boy. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too torn up about leaving his planet behind. Zim had figured it would have hit home when he finally saw his planet recede into darkness, and yet he seemed more focused on Zim and…well…food.

Then again, he wasn't aware that it was going to be the last time he was going to see Earth.

"Umm. A month? In Earth time? No. Humans can last about…a week at most. And even though I'm one of those people that often forget to eat, I don't really relish the idea of going a full week. Three days maybe." Dib replied, shifting awkwardly under the irken, wondering where he should put his hands at and settled with letting them hang by his sides.

Foodcourtia sounded really interesting. But, then again any planet sounded interesting. A chance to see new lifeforms. "I brought some chips which I can eat for a few days. And water. Which just so you know is also mandatory for humans. Hey…didn't you spend a lot of time on Earth? How do you not know this stuff?"

"The actual function of you humans didn't particularly interest me." Zim mumbled. "I was more focused on your planet's defenses and how human's interacted with the planet. Everything else was sort of…a moot point." Although this wasn't entirely true; humans were a bit more complicated than Zim had first assumed, and most of his findings were educated guesses based off his observations. Most of which he had found out later were wrong. But the human didn't need to know this, of course.

"A week? How did you humans not use up all of Earth's resources?" Zim grumbled and fiddled with some of the controls. "Well, if I push it I can maybe get us there within the week. We can stock up on supplies for the rest of the trip."

He peeked over at the human once more, who looked about as awkward as Zim felt. "In the meantime, we'll just have to….wait." He said with a small shrug.

Huh. Made some sort of sense, Dib decided. "Well, we have farms and people who work around the clock in factories to create food. Plus, it's not like the entire world actually gets to eat. There are people who go hungry all the time." He set his jaw. It was a fact of life. Not one that he enjoyed thinking about.

Outside the window, space loomed before them. It was dark and ominous. Filled with vast mysteries and Dib had a tight knot in his stomach. This was his life's dream happening right before his eyes. Zim was so casual about it. The irken probably went into space all the time. It was common. "Just wait, huh? Okay. I can do that." Maybe.

Zim shifted uncomfortably in his spot. This was about the time that he would sit in silence and reflect on his past years, maybe sleep just for the heck of it.

But the fact that he now shared the cabin with another creature made things…less comfortable. It didn't help the matter that Zim was sitting on its lap. He cleared his throat and shifted to face the human, sitting sideways across his lap.
"We might as well make something useful of this time. So if you have any pressing questions that need answering, now would be the time."

Gah. Stop moving, Dib mentally yelled, nostrils flaring and throat cramping. "Uh." His mind remained blank for a few second which kind of freaked him out. His mind was never blank. It was always filled to the brim with so many questions that it sometimes got annoying and gave him a head ache.

Thankfully, a whole flood hit him and his lips popped open nearly audibly and they began to spill; "Why exactly were you on earth? What are your people like? Will they accept me? How much training have you had? What is your home planet like?"

Those were the 'professional' questions he had. "Why did you kiss me back? Do you kiss on your planet?" Treat it like an experiment. This isn't personal at all. Then most important… "Married. Why are you willing to do this? Is marriage a huge deal on Irk like it is on Earth? Or do you already have like a wife? Are you guys polygamous?" He took a deep breath and relaxed a tiny bit now that some of them were out.

"Sorry. You don't have to answer all of those. Sometimes that happens. They hate me at Skool cause I always raise my hand and blurt out a thousand questions at once." I also talk too much, Dib mentally tacked on.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa!" Zim waved a hand in front of Dib's face before pressing the pads of his gloved talons to the noisy creature's mouth. "Stop talking for a second, Dib-worm, and I might answer your endless questions."

He was he thinking when he mentioned questions? He should have known better by now. Zim took a deep breath, pressing his hands together.

"Well, first of all. I came to Earth to learn about it and its inhabitants. To learn about weaknesses or potential strengths that might come in between us Irkens and the downfall of your planet. We are fighters, us Irkens; we strive to be known as the best and to rule without question. Power is the only thing that is universally recognized, and we plan to use that to our advantage. As some say on Earth, 'it is better to be feared than loved'. That rule is widely recognized, as it turns out."

The Irken's hands moved through the air as he talked. He paused to think for a moment, trying to figure out the best possible way to answer. "My home planet is perfect; we've utilized the space given to us by nature without flaw. Most of what happens on Irk, happens within its crust. Underground—which was where I spent most of my life training, to answer that question. Then when I was finally ready to emerge, I was then subject to even more training. And some vacation time on foodcourtia, but only briefly before starting my work on this mission."

Another pause.

"Will they accept you? Mmm…well. No. Not really. But you have Zim to protect you, so you don't need to worry." His feelers straightened out behind him as he approached the less tasteful questions.

"Union isn't something that happens often on Irk. We have more important things to worry about, and since we do not reproduce biologically—there is really no need to find a mate. It's a relief; no pressure of trying to impress your peers, when you COULD be impressing the Tallest!" He gleamed a bit at the mention of his leaders.

"But if it does happen, the union is encoded in our PAKs; it would become a part of us—who we are." He pointed to the small pod on his back. The thought wasn't exactly preferable to Zim; he was perfect the way he was, and didn't need any tempering. He clicked his tongue before moving on.

"Kissing isn't something foreign to Irkens, though it isn't our default means of expressing affecting, which rarely happens as it is. So why did I kiss you back? Instinct. We were in the heat of the moment and I was still running off of adrenaline." He cleared his throat, thinking back on it. That was the case, and that was what he was going to keep telling himself.

"There was hardly any logic in it at all. I guess the question I should be asking YOU is: why did you kiss me in the first place?"

Dib soaked up all the new information like a sponge, storing it for later and licking his lips like he'd just had a big meal. It was the best feeling in the world; to have your curiosity satiated. Only by the end of Zim's speech a flush had taken satisfaction's place, turning his ears and cheeks red.

Dib ran a hand down the back of his neck and shrugged, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He had even more questions now but, there was one directed at him. Dib wasn't so good at answering.

"Y-You were choking me. It was the only thing I could think to do…" Plus, Zim's eyes were so dark and filled with mysteries. There'd been something heated in his belly, exploding between heart beats in his ears and the shattered remains of sanity had drawn him closer and closer. It was as if they'd been leading up to that moment ever since he'd laid eyes on the green creature in the clear box of death.

Dib cleared his throat and shifted again. "So…if a union is so rare…why are you doing this?" All of his embarrassment sunk to the bottom and that curiosity rose up again. Instinct said that he might not like the answer. But, he had to know.

"I know I'll do anything to save my planet. And don't get me wrong, I'm very, very grateful. If it works, hell I'll be in your debt forever…but, you could've just left me back there. You don't have to do any of this…"

Zim nodded. It was an admirable, if not stupid, attempt at survival in the heat of battle. Zim could appreciate any means given in order to thrive; he wasn't afraid to admit he'd handed out some 'cheap shots' in his time as a soldier. You do what you need to in order to stay alive.

But he didn't have time to dwell on the matter, as the human was spewing out even more questions. Zim sighed a little and leaned his head back in thought. Why was he doing this? He wasn't quite sure. He had to give a small shrug, a near mimic of the one received from the human.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. Call it a whim, I suppose. I figure…there might be more to gain from saving you alone than from turning your whole planet into some sort of snack manufacturing planet." Though it was hard to imagine.

But he had to sit back a moment and think about the sheer honesty of the statement he had just given. It was something he had believed from the moment they first talked to each other. He glanced back up at him now; filled to the brim with excitement and an eagerness that showed on his face and in his bright golden eyes. Those burning, passionate eyes…
"Is that all?" He asked with a tinge of apprehension.

Dib couldn't help but stare right back, frozen with Zim's statement. It somehow felt like a huge deal. Maybe it was because right after he'd said it the alien looked contemplative. Dib felt honored for some reason and it almost kept him silent. Almost. "I…I think so. For now."

Brown eyes flitted to the window and then back at Zim before resting finally on the moon as they floated past it. Incredible. It was. Something he'd wanted to see since he'd known what the moon was. And yet, he still had to fight to keep his gaze from straying back to Zim. Insane.

"What about you? Any questions for me?" Dib asked. He didn't really expect there to be any. But, it seemed polite.

Zim's antennae perked up at the prompt. There was little he could learn from the human that he hadn't already learned in his time on Earth. But it would be a lie to say that there were a few things that he wasn't curious about.

"There is one thing. At first I assumed your willingness to come with me was all in loyalty to your planet. But now that I have you here with me, and seeing the eagerness plainly painted on your strange face—I bet it's safe to say that the assumption isn't completely true." He cocked his head a bit as he stared at the human, trying to read his expression.

"So I guess what I want to know is; why are you really doing this?"

Dib was taken aback, eyes growing wide behind his glasses. He hadn't expected that. Was it really so easy to see? Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath before responding. "I do want to save my planet, Zim…" It wasn't a lie. Earth was his home and he cared about the life there, as naïve as they were.

"But, I would be lying if I said there wasn't…other reasons for my wanting to come. If Earth weren't in danger, I would've went anyway. Assuming you'd asked me still." He added quickly.

"I've wanted to see space for so long now. Ever since I was 4. Ever since I could look up at the night and see the fading light and my dad told me about stars. Plus, I guess this is another way of avoiding…" the inevitable? Responsibility? Life? The one thing that made him shoot upright in bed, soaked in sweat and near to tears because it scared him so badly? "becoming my dad."

Zim nodded a bit, figuring that was as good an answer as any, although he didn't quite understand the bit about his father. Why wouldn't he want to become one of the most feared individuals on his planet? He certainly had the potential.

"Your father is a very big influence on your planet. Why would you not want the same for yourself? Power is glory; why would you turn that up for…..this" He motioned to the space outside of the window, endless and foreboding.

"Heh." Dib laughed bitterly, or at least tried to. It came out breathy sounding and his hand suddenly couldn't keep still so he shoved them in his pockets. The fabric was cool and comforting. Why had he never worn this before? But, he knew why he hadn't. The same reason for everything. But, how to explain that? He stared out where Zim had motioned, out the window, endless and fascinating.

"I'm in love with this." Dib jerked his chin at the darkness. "Space was science, a kind of science at least. And science was all that was acceptable in my house. I used to fight it. Dreamed of doing other things…" Things like solving mysteries. Forbidden things like the paranormal. Ghosts and goblins…aliens. "But, eventually it was too much and I started following in my dad's foot steps. Science was okay. I'm good at it. Very good. So good that it's boring. But, there was space and my dad approved so I worked on that."

Hours spent staring through a telescope, mapping and naming every single star he could find. Sometimes he came up with stories for them. Dib also liked nebulas and black holes. The idea of space was endless. All of it new and yet it was billions of years old. Space was filled with possibilities.

"When I get old enough, I'm supposed to take over the Empire. Over Membrane Enterprises." His voice sounded far away and flat. Dib was okay with that.

"I have to step into dad's shoes and make sure everything runs smoothly. Become tall and foreboding and blind and boring and so busy with discovering worthless things that I don't even have the time to go home and make dinner and have it with my kids. I'll forget what it's like to be young and curious. I won't ask questions but, rethink the old ones. I'll be encased permanently in white, put up in marble statues. I'll be a god. But, at the price of my humanity. No more dreaming. No more Dib."

Dib came to with his hand pressed against the window's surface, he gulped and snatched his hand away. He'd gone off again. Talking and talking. He needed to stop doing that. Maybe he should invest in some duct tape or something.