In a blink of an eye, four years passed for the two like that. Although they both regularly entered into the Battle Arena Zim never had his student take part in the more advanced battles. Much to Dib's protest, the Irken's mind was set in stone."You're too flabby. Once you take your training seriously, maybe Zim will be inclined to allow you to progress from smeet to a somewhat decent opponent."

As the months dragged on from year to year, the ex-Elite's attitude fueled something deep inside the human- rivalry. The more Zim shot him down, the more Dib trained in order to please him. It didn't take long however, for the human to realize how incredibly difficult that would be, however- seeing as Zim was rarely pleased with anything that didn't directly involve his own amazingness, and almost never gave complements for the human's drastic improvements.

Then there was Dwicky… The human longed to have a one on one conversation with the only other human he'd ever known but that proved difficult when Zim never allowed them to be alone in a room together, if they ever got to see each other at all. It sometimes infuriated Dib- having one of his own kind so close to him, yet just out of reach. He didn't understand why Zim forbade any contact with him. He seemed incredibly nice despite the circumstances… always smiling at Dib whenever they saw each other.

He even tried to talk to him if Blin and Zim were engaged in one of their business meetings. (Which meant that Blin would call Zim to his office and discuss a new opponent for him to fight in the Arena, to which Zim would become infuriated and often led to him either throwing something at the taller Irken or proceeding to choke him out.) Whatever small talk the two humans did manage to muster was all too soon interrupted by Zim grabbing Dib by his hair and dragging out to the room. It was in these moments Dib was furious with the Irken the most, training him until he could no longer stand to take out his own frustrations.

As much as Dib hated to admit it, the more furious Zim was, the better the training would become. The rage he felt for Red and Purple as well as Blin and Dwicky fueled his desire to be the most powerful two contestants within the arena in order to gain their freedom, although Dib highly doubted that if it were under any other circumstance Zim would go out of his way to train him.

Which led the human to be weary of the alien. It was near impossible to gage the Irken's true motives most days. Dib had become accustomed to the Irkens saying one thing, but meaning something completely different and he could usually tell when that happened. But with Zim, nothing made sense. He would say something so outrageous that it seemed like it was a joke- but the look on his face was anything but. He could constantly rant and rage about how he'd kill Red and Purple who had become the new Tallest of Irk (which Dib understood completely), going into great detail about the process… but what unnerved him was when he said the same about Dwicky. Dwicky (as far as Dib knew) had done nothing to the ex-Elite to receive the same sick, twisted fantasies Zim had about the Tallest. If someone who had done absolutely nothing to him was on his long list of victims whom would receive the wrath of Zim, how did he truly feel about the human..? Zim often threatened the teenager when he was upset, but rarely ever acted out on it- and even when he did it was nothing similar to what he'd say he'd do.

Zim had been true to his word when he said he'd give Dib his own room, but it was an add-on to his own. Dib didn't mind however, he was just glad to have some sort of privacy for the first time in fourteen years. Having a bed of his own was one of the greatest things he'd ever experienced, actually sleeping at night instead of lying awake on the cold floor. There were some nights however, when he would be in a light sleep and awoken to a smaller form crawling into bed with him. The first time this had happened, he nearly had a heart attack- never expecting someone else to share his bed with him. It didn't take long for him to realize the first night this had happened that it was Zim. He'd asked the Irken why he had done that, and the only reply was a drowsy smack on the face before Zim curled up into his back, falling asleep almost instantly.

Dib couldn't help it sometimes- turning around to face the smaller male and pull him close to his chest, resting his chin on his head before he too fell asleep. But each time this happened, the human would never wake up with the green male in his bed and sometimes began to wonder if he was going insane. Whenever he'd asked him why he would randomly come in his room at night, Zim was dismissive and vague. The common excuses being "Zim never slept with you. You're head is so big that it's feeding you lies.", "It was cold and Zim's blanket wasn't enough", "You're snoring became far too annoying to ignore so I came in there to suffocate you with a pillow", and Dib's personal favorite, "Earth-monkeys like yourself need a companion at night or their brains will explode.". But no matter what the excuse was, on those cold, quiet nights Dib would be awoken to the smaller crawling into his bed and falling asleep in his arms.

The quiet is what Dib suspected to be the cause of the Zims strange behavior. He often walked in on the Irken sitting completely still at his chair, the room almost ominously silent. In the quiet, Zim seemed as if he were dead- eyes never blinking and void of any emotion, chest barely rising and falling as he breathed, and his body never moving an inch as he just sat… losing himself in the silence.

The human learned after the first time he'd witnessed this to never forcibly pull him out of this state. He'd shaken the Irken- fearing the worst and his intentions pure, but as he placed his hands on his bony shoulders Zim let out a shriek, PAK legs emerging and stabbing anything near him. Luckily for Dib, he'd stumbled back and fell, just barely making it out of the way in time. Those metallic limbs did come into contact with him, and sometimes he looked at that scar on his chest when his thoughts came back to Zim.

Zim soon snapped out of his daze and looked on the human in confusion and then attended the wound. He said nothing to Dib about what was going through his mind, and when Dib tried to push him into telling him the Irken became furious and sent the teen out to do training for the rest of the evening.

Whenever he saw Zim in that state after, Dib was hesitant and slow to approach him. He spoke to him calmly, yet his voice was slightly raised to coax him out of the terrifying trance. He slowly made his way to Zim and waited- and when he saw his antenna twitch on recognition to his voice, Dib would gently place his hands on his shoulders and give him a small shake. Zim would quickly snap out of if and avoid the human for the rest of the day, and those nights he found his way into the teen's room and crawled into his bed- basking in his warmth.

On his eighteenth birthday Zim had taken him into the city to have his annual checkup, and gave him his long dreaded shot. It wasn't that Dib didn't want to live an outrageously long time, in fact he was terrified of dying… but he was even more terrified of needles. He thanked his old master for this, as Blin would often inject the human with a burning liquid when he'd seriously misbehaved and it would send Dib into convulsions- his blood feeling as if it were on fire. He'd only had the displeasure of experiencing this twice, but the fear had been scorched into his memory.

It seemed that after his eighteenth year of being alive, Dib's life... would change forever.

Dib walked with Zim after he won his most recent match at the Arena. The Irken walked with a scowl, hatred dripping from his lips like venom. " 'Oh Zim~! To pay for your upgrades I'm going to make you fight three Floorcousions and a Inka Beast!' HA!" Zim growled and shook his head, stomping towards the Upgrade Hall- clearly pissed off at the barely taller Irken. "How dare he make Zim do his dirty work so he can make monies!? That's none of Zim's concern!"

"You get the money I make from the battles I fight in..." Dib said with a small pout. "I don't get any of it..."

"That's because you're an idiot and can't spend monies wisely! Zim uses your to pay for your stupid human needs!" Zim hissed through clenched teeth. "I, on the other hand, use the monies wisely." He said with an arrogant huff, striding past other participants and rich floozies as he made his way towards Blin.

"There you are." Blin said with an annoyed sigh. "We haven't got all day." He grabbed the smaller male by the arm and dragged him towards one of the booths, leaving Dib and Dwicky to their own devices.

Dib watched as Zim was pulled away, heart racing slightly as he realized he was alone with the other human. Clearing his throat, he looked up at him- shocked to see him smiling at him.

"Well hello there~" Dwicky nearly purred, waving his hand in a greeting. "I don't think we ever properly introduced myself. I'm Dwicky!"

Dib blushed slightly at Dwicky's friendly attitude, never having anyone be nice twoards him before. "Uh... yeah..." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm... Dib."

"Oh I know! Master Blin talks about you all the time!" He smiled brightly, oustretching his hand. Dib looked at it in slight confusion. "You shake it." Dwicky said softly.

The teen slowly reached out, jumping a bit as the older male gave him a firm handshake. "There! Now we know each other!"

"Yeah... wait? Blin talks about me?" Dib asked in disbelief. Surely it couldn't be anything good...

"Oh yes! I'll tell you, he's quite mad about Zim stealing you away from him... He says he just, grabbed you up and hoisted you away!"

"No... Blin made a deal with Zim that if Zim gave him his service, Blin would give him whatever he wanted... He walked in on Blin erm... correcting me and Zim... wasn't happy." Dib explained, looking off as he remembered that day. "He didn't steal me... I... belong to Zim... Well... not really. He doesn't see me as a Skalvus- more like a rival. He's usually... tolerant of me." He nodded to himself and looked back up at Dwicky.

Dwicky nodded in understanding, smile never faultering. "No matter the case, he clearly wasn't happy to lose you."

Yeah... I'm sure he was pissed. Dib thought to himself bitterly. "Why do you always smile?" He asked rather abrubtly, cocking a curious brow towards the other. "I mean... being Blin's Skalvus must be miserbale since he's so upset about losing me."

"Oh no! Master Blin is quite kind! He gives me food, a bed, a roof over my head." He chuckled at the rhyme, placing his hands behind his back. "He's the best~"

"Really..?" Dib asked in disbelief. "That's... good... I guess..." He looked around awkwardly. "So... um... were you... always a Skalvus...?"

Dwicky hummed. "No. I used to be a teacher... but I owed someone a lot of money after I did something... questionable and he sold me to the human trafficers."

Dib gave him a sympathetic look, thinking about how awful it must have been to live a normal, human life and then suddenly torn from it. "What did you do..?"

"I can't remember." Dwicky gave another chuckle, shruging his shoulders. "They injected stuff into my arm and I forgot a lot about my past."

Just as Dib was about to open his mouth and respond, Zim's familar cry of outrage erupted from the booth. "You worthless, idiot, ugly pig!" Dib looked up towards the Irkens, eyes widening slightly as Zim marched over to him, grabbing him by the boistorous lock atop of his head and yanked him out of the building.

Dib hissed in pain, desperately trying to pry the golved hand away from his scalp. "Ow- OW! Zim! Let go!" In one fluid fluid motion, the back of Zim's hand collided with his cheek before he could even begin to question him.

"You hold your tongue..." Zim growled, pulling him towards his voot. "We're going home... and when we get there... I'm going to rip your tongue out..."

Dib was shoved into his room, stumbling past the door way as Zim's firm hands pushed him inside, locking the door behind them. "I gave you specific instructions to never associate with that... that Dwicky!"

"What the fuck is your problem Zim!?" The human shouted, glaring at the Irken with hate. "I didn't do anything! He shook my hand and we talked about... You don't even need to know what we talked about! It's none of your business! What is it with you hating him!? What has he ever done to you!? You don't know anything about humans! Let alone feelings!"

Zim let out a sarcastic laugh and waved the boy off. "Oh yes- because you know so much about your pathetic race." His eyes closed as he smirked crept across his jade lips. "I know what he's after Dib-Slave, and I'm sorry to tell you that there is no way you could ever- satisfy him."

Dib's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he glared hard at the Irken. "What are you talking about?"

Zim snickered and shrugged his shoulders casually. "My point made." Fuschia eyes locked on to hazel as the smaller male continued. "What Zim is saying is, you know nothing about your disgusting hyooman mating rituals. Especially that of the same sex."

The human's cheeks flared scarlet when the Irken mentioned sex. Dib knew about mating, but he did not know how to go about the act in the slightest- but he would never let the smug bastard before him know that. Instead, the boy returned the other's smirk and leaned up against the wall behind him- arms crossed over his chest as he stared into the other's ruby orbs. "Oh~ And how do you know that I don't?" Total bluff- but Dib was willing to risk it.

The Irken's smirk quickly disappeared as it was replaced with a scowl. "Because you have the face of a virgin hyooman. Zim is not an idiot."

Dib mentally deadpanned at the observation from the other. Was it really that obvious?

The boy quickly blocked out the thought and continued on with the charade. "I don't have to have it to know how it works."

The green male opened his mouth to insult the other, but he quickly shut it as an idea formed in his head- it was so easy to call the child on his bluff so why not have fun with it?

A wicked smile crept upon Zim's face, exposing his zipper-like teeth as he slowly walked up to the Dib. "Oh~ Do you now?" A slender hand slowly reached out until it made contact with the human's chest and slyly tugged on the hem of the other's shirt. Leaning up to Dib's ear a serpentine tongue flicked across the rim as Zim spoke. "If you know so much, show me."

Red once again found the boy's face at the crude gesture, his skin tingling at the foreign feel of the other's tongue. "W-why would I do that?" He asked nervously.

Chuckling, the Irken ran his gloved hand under the other's shirt as he helped himself to the exposed flesh. "If you're so interested in the matter, why not experiment with Zim, hmm?"

Unconsciously, the human shuddered under the ex-Elite's hand as it slightly grazed over one of his sensitive nubs. Dib tried to retort to the offer, but failed as a soft whimper escaped through his lips.

Black stalks twitched with need as the sound of the other's sound and caused the Irken to take in a shaky breath. All coherent thoughts left the Irken as he moved his head away from the boy's ear in favor of hovering just millimeters away from Dib's pale lips. "You're so infuriating..." Zim whispered huskily, causing his lips to brush against Dib's after every word.

Dib's hands flew up to Zim's arms as he let out another pathetic whimper. He tried to back up, but once his back hit the wall the human let out a strangled gasp.

Ignoring the movement, Zim slammed his lips against the other's in a forceful kiss, thrusting his tongue deep into Dib's sweet cavern. Slender hands flew out from the boy's shirt and found home on the other's shoulders as he slammed Dib up against the wall with what little room that was left.

The human had no time to respond when a serpentine tongue forced its way into his mouth, drawing out a confused moan from the boy. With shaky hands Dib tried to push the other away from him but only succeeded in falling further into the smaller form.

Zim growled in frustration at the other's pushing and pulled away. Fuschia eyes narrowed in determination as he threw the human to the floor in one fluid movement and before the boy could react, he was on him again- lips on lips as he tugged at the raven hair.

Unable to control himself from the siege of pleasure, Dib let out a low moan as he allowed the other to explore his mouth. Unconsciously Dib slowly draped his arms around Zim's neck and drew the other closer, allowing those lithe hands to once again roam over the smooth, pale skin of his chest. This is nuts…! The human thought to himself. Why is this happening…? Much to his surprise, the Irken pulled away.

"Zim-"

"Shut up…" Zim breathed out as if he were trying to sound mincing, but the tone in his voice was anything but that. Slowly, he pulled the rubber gloves off of his hands, tossing them in a random direction. "You… are the most infuriating, ugly, idiotic pig smelly I've ever had the displeasure of meeting…" He hissed, talons raking down his chest leaving a red trail in their wake. He lowered his face down towards Dib's, serpentine tongue flicking out across his neck as he growled. "You make Zim furious…" He bit down on the tender flesh, licking the copper liquid off of his lips and watched the crimson blood roll down the human's neck. "You make my squeedily-spooch burn whenever you look at me… every time you touch me…" He licked the wound as if he were attempting to soothe the hurt. "What are you doing to Zim Dib-human…?" Zim said, his voice barely above a whisper as he rested his head on the teen's shoulder.

A shudder rippled through Dib's body as he felt the soft skin of Zim's hands run up his chest, eyes fluttering shut as he raked his dull nails across the Irken's back. He winced when the green male's talons effortlessly dug into his skin, and a small cry when he bit down on his neck, drawing blood. "W-what… are you talking about Zim..? I didn't do-" His eyes widened as Zim's touch became- dare he say, gentle? Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around Zim's waist and rested his hands on the small of his back, gently nudging Zim's cheek with his own despite himself.

Why was this happening? What was this that was happening? Just moments before they were at each other's throats as they threw insults back and forth, purely disgusted with each others actions. So why….

Why does this feel so god damned good..?

Dib placed chaste kisses along the Irken's jawline, causing his slender frame to tense then shudder. "I… should be the one asking you that…" Dib muttered against the crook of his neck before he kissed it again, suckling on a random patch of skin ever so slightly, gauging Zim's reaction. Taking his quiet moan as a sign to continue, Dib's hands slowly lowered until they found the hem of Zim's tight pants. Gods they were so fucking tight. The human felt something stir inside of him as he thought of all the times Zim had worn them while wearing his own shirts when he was feeling lazy on a particular day, the fabric hugging every curve while Dib's shirt hung down to his knees, often exposing one of those, soft, delectable shoulders. Moaning against his neck, Dib slid his hands down the back of his pants, cupping both cheeks in his palms and giving them a firm squeeze. Is this what the humans call arousal..? Dib thought to himself, his groin feeling as if it were on fire.

As much as he tried, Zim couldn't help but let out a shaky breath and shudder as the human's rough lips found his skin. As much as he wanted, no intelligible words could be formed in his now clouded mind. He closed his eyes and focused on those soft suckles and nips, arching his neck with a moan to give the human better access too keep doing whatever in the seven hells he was doing- loving the slight sting of the saliva that formed on his neck. Oh how he craved for more… His eyes snapped open as he felt the rough calluses on Dib's palms snake their way down to his ass, a violent shudder rippling through his body as he buried his face into the crook of the human's neck, curling his fists in the fabric of his shirt. "Nnng…. D-Dib-thing…"

The human quickly silenced him by giving him another firm squeeze before letting his hands roam over foreign territory, growling against his neck then nipping at it harshly, pleased by the strangled gasps and mewls coming from the Irken in his arms. With some effort, he managed to stand to his feet using the wall behind them to slid upwards- not once moving his hands away from Zim. I'll be damned if I stop now... Dib stumbled over to the bed and sat down, forcing Zim to straddle his waist as he continued to rub his hands all over soft, jade skin.

Zim chirped as Dib picked him up and sat him down in his lap. Before he could regain any composure, those hands started to move again, causing him to cling desperately to the human's shirt as his hips seemed to rock on their own in response to each rub and squeeze. He began to wonder if the Dib-Creature knew he was bluffing before- calling him out on it now as those hands worked him into this state of... he didn't know what this was and he wasn't about to question it, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let this smeet figure out that he, the Almighty Zim! - had absolutely no experience in this sort of thing as well.

Growling, Zim grabbed a fistfull of ebony hair and yanked back, glaring into the swirling pool of amber that stared right back as they glistened in the dim light of the room, cheeks flushed red and his hands momentarily stopping in their onslaught. Zim didn't know which one of them closed the distance between their lips- he didn't care. He once again let his mind and body melt against Dib's as they fell back onto the bed, friction quickly building between the two as the kiss became heated. Their tongues moved against the other, sloppily at first but soon enough they moved in unison. Curiously Dib suckled on the serpentine appendage that coiled around his tongue, hands now resting on Zim's hips.

Zim gave a quick groan and bucked his hips, no longer able to ignore throbbing the bulge beneath him. Another shudder erupted through his slender frame, hips gyrating against Dib's to gain more of that sweet, sweet friction. The human must have been pleased with the movement as he let out a muffled moan as well, rolling his hips upwards to meet Zim's. Zim dug his talons into Dib's shoulders, drawing out each thrust in a slow yet rough manner- each movement drawing moans from the two bodies entangled within each other.

"Fuck Zim…" Dib said breathlessly, throwing his head back into the pillows as he savored that sinful feeling stirring in his groin. His grip on Zim's hips tightened, hot pants spewing past his lips as he stared up at the ceiling.

The other's breathless pants only drove the Irken to go further, tearing off the human's shirt and tossing it behind him. He stared down at his naked chest, taking the time to study two odd nubs protruding from either side. Hesitantly, he ran his fingers over them, briefly glancing up at the teen to see if it satisfied him.

"Ah~ Fuuuck~"

It did.