Chapter Eleven: Lover

"Don't tell me you're about to fuck all over my ship," an annoyed voice called from the doorway Dib had left open. Chills went up Dib's spine and he tensed at the sound of Gaz's voice. Completely the opposite though, Zim seemed relieved and welcome to Gaz appearing. Dib tried to read the mystery behind the blood-red eyes and only saw his own reflection.

"How did you know I was here?" Dib asked, hate edging his words. Zim looked at him in surprise at the harshness of his voice, but gazed curiously at Gaz, waiting for the answer.

"The exact way you knew where Zim was," Gaz answered, stepping aside and letting Gir roll into the room. He stopped rolling and gazed blankly about the room for a moment before noticing Zim.

"Queeny!" Gir shrieked and ran to him, tackling him to the ground. "I missed-ed you!" Strangely, tears came pouring out of the robots eyes as he hugged Zim lovingly.

"Gir…" Zim sighed, petting Gir's head. When Gir didn't stop crying or let go of Zim, he started getting agitated. "Gir! I just saw you an hour ago!" Gir stared up blankly before smiling, all signs of tears vanishing.

"Oh yeah," He chirped, letting go and going over to sit at Gaz's feet.

During the whole ordeal Dib watched Gaz's face carefully, and if he looked close, very close…she was smiling. But what was encouraging the action? Seeing Dib and Zim? Probably not since she was the one to split them up. Gir? She never used to smile, even with Gir around. What was it? "Dib, I hope you're not too attached to those men you intruded my ship with," Gaz said offhandedly, looking at her nails.

"W-why?" Dib asked shakily, almost too afraid to know.

"They're in my prison, most likely getting tortured," She said uncaringly.

"What!" Dib exclaimed, "How could you!"

"Dib," Gaz sighed, "I don't see how this could possibly be surprising to you."

"Yeah," Zim said, deciding to join in, "She's always been this ruthless."

Dib sighed harshly. "How did this happen, Gaz? It's like just a few months ago we were at Zim's house playing video games without a care in the world… Now the Earth is in danger of being blown up and Zim's…well, alright now. But you're Queen of Earth and the Irkens and god knows what else…" Dib lost his steam and quit talking, but everyone knew what he meant.

Zim stared at the floor, unsure what to say. Gaz glared at the wall in silence, while Gir latched on to Gaz's leg, not making any noise. For a while, Dib thought no body would say anything, but Gaz titled her head down slightly, looking a bit sad. "Shit happens," She said wisely, Dib and Zim nodded solemnly.

"Aww! Mary got an ouchy!" Gir said, pointing at the burned flesh on Dib's leg. Dib grimaced and touched the wound gingerly, it hurt more now that Gir reminded him it was there.

"Sorry," Zim said softly, rubbing Dib's other, uninjured thigh.

"It's okay, Zim," Dib assured, bringing Zim a little closer. Gir showed up by his side and started ripping his pants where the wound was. Dib and Zim watched as Gir dressed it expertly, smiling and humming the doom song all the while. Dib seriously wondered where Gir learned to do these things.

Dib chanced a glance over at Gaz and was shocked to see her smiling wide enough that it was completely obvious that she was making a happy expression. What was weird was that she was smiling and holding her stomach in her hands. Dib noticed that her belly was bulging a little, which was so different from her usual stick figure. Dib figured she found out the hard way how much Irken's really enjoyed snacks.

"Please, Gaz," Dib started to beg, "Please don't keep my men in prison."

Gaz seemed to contemplate his plea. She looked at her belly, then at Dib and then Zim, then Gir. She sighed. "They're not in prison, Dib," Gaz told him.

"Where then?" Dib asked, knowing Gaz wouldn't just set them free, they had to be imprisoned and somewhere on the ship.

"…They're not even here now…I would guess by now they're back on Earth," Gaz said, staring hard at the wall again.

"What? …you wouldn't…" Dib said in denial, "They wouldn't just leave me here…"

"They did, Dib," Gaz said, "Because my men were shooting at them." That figured, why waste time on torture when you could just shoot at them…Dib realized that his only ride home had just been chased away. "Don't worry though, they all made it out alive," Gaz assured, even though no one asked.

Dib felt guilty that he hadn't even thought of the other's safety, but then he remembered that he didn't care and the guilt went away. He didn't care much about anything anymore. But he did care about the sympathy and pain etched in Zim's face, his lethargic movements dragging him down as though he'd never slept before. He care about the emptiness in Gaz's voice, her blank expression, the way she also didn't care about anything. He wondered if she even chased off his team or if they turned tail on their own without her doing a thing. Did she even care if Dib went through with his mission and killed her now?

"Enjoying being Queen, Gaz?" Dib asked not unkindly, but honestly wanting to know. Gaz seemed about to bark a retort at him, but heard the same emptiness in his voice that had been in hers. Gaz stared at the wall for a minute before answering.

"It's…tiring…" Gaz said quietly. She seemed sad and empty as she said this, Dib didn't blame her. Being the leader always looked so good, but when you got it…it just didn't seem right anymore. Maybe Gaz was finally seeing that? Dib looked back to Zim and saw the sleepy heaviness in his eyes before Zim yawned. Gir curled up in Zim's lap and fell asleep, which wasn't a surprise, he was always changing his mood randomly.

Dib worked to shift Zim so he was leaning on Dib's shoulder and let him doze peacefully. He wondered how Zim even got on the ship, and how he got better. What happened to Zim while he was elsewhere? Dib was overcome with curiosity. Why did Zim give in to Jack? Out of loneliness? Boredom? Curiosity? Why, dammit?

"Well…don't you look worried," Gaz teased, eyeing Dib. Dib looked over at her and smiled.

"I'm glad I have someone to worry over," Dib said happily. Gaz gazed at Gir and sighed. She seemed even sadder now at Dib's words. He felt a little guilty, he didn't mean to make Gaz sad. He tried to tell himself that he didn't care and shouldn't feel guilty, but he did care. Dib looked at his sister, really looked. She looked tired, and she slouched slightly. Her hair was a little more drab than lately, a shade darker. She had a few lines to her face now, from the stress of ruling so many empires. She also had new clothes. She had a high-collared vest that ended partway down her ribs. Under that she had her usual striped-gray shirt, but it was cut so that it didn't go past the vest. Covering her belly was fishnet that actually hid her slight bulge, Dib had barely been able to spot it earlier. On her hips, just barely keeping from sliding down further, was a plain black skirt with two gray, metal plates held onto the fabric somehow. And, of course, she had skinny jeans on under the skirt. Dib was surprised to see that she was wearing high heels. They had about an inch of platform, giving her some power in the height based world. As Dib glanced back up at Gaz's face he also spotted a leather chocker around her neck, just visible past the high collar of her vest.

All in all, Dib thought Gaz looked pretty good for how desolate she seemed. She seemed older, too old to be sixteen… "So…what happened?" Dib asked quietly.

Gaz threw him a dangerous look, one that said she didn't want to talk about anything. But this was too important to let slide, and she knew it. "I thought we agreed already, shit happened," Gaz said gruffly.

"True," Dib admitted, "But I want to know what shit." Gaz blushed ever so slightly, it was barely a change in her pale color, but Dib saw it. What the hell could have happened to make Gaz embarrassed? Dib was getting damn tired of not knowing what went on while he wasn't there.

"Dib…there were some…requirements that needed to be filled for me to be Queen of anything," Gaz told him, Dib stared her down until she told him exactly what these requirements were. "Fine. But I'm only telling you because you're my brother…. Dib…I'm pregnant."

At first Dib was marveling at how he actually got Gaz to give him information, but at the word 'pregnant'…his heart nearly stopped. "What?" He asked. Gaz looked down and hide her face behind her hair. "How?" Gaz didn't say anything, merely held her bulging belly carefully. Dib didn't see how she was showing like this, surely it had only been a couple of weeks, that wasn't enough time. "Who did this?" Dib asked, starting to get angry.

Dib's near yelling started to rouse Zim. "Mmm, what?" He asked drousily.

"Gaz's pregnant!" Dib yelled. As surprised and angry as Dib was, Zim was completely calm, if not a little bit surprised.

"I figured she would be," Zim mumbled, still waking up. Gir screamed and ran over to hug Gaz's leg again. She looked down at Gir and seemed to cheer up a little.

"What? Why? What the hell is going on here?" Dib asked angrily, about to explode with shock and disgust.

"I figure it was either carry or die," Zim said, "Die, or at least do something humiliating enough that you'd want to die…" Zim looked and the floor and slid his hand into Dib's. "The only way Irkens justify setting a human free is if they're experimentally carrying the smeet of another species." Zim's calmness spread into Dib some and he started thinking clearly. Gaz did this because she had to survive.

"So…is he right Gaz? You're only pregnant because you had to?" Dib asked, gazing up a Gaz, she nodded. Dib breathed a little easier. At least this wasn't the result of her falling in love with some dangerous alien, which would be bad. Dib looked down at the hand being held in his and felt guilty. Maybe it would be better if Gaz had fallen in love…then she could feel the same way Dib did with Zim. "Who's is it?" Dib asked.

"No one," Gaz said defensively, backing away slightly. She seemed afraid to say who it was.

"Um…okay," Dib said, he figured Zim could tell him later anyway. Dib let the room fall to silence. Gaz stayed where she was, with Gir on her leg loyally. Dib wondered what would be next, what could possibly go wrong now? Maybe it was over now…that they were finally through with all the pain and that they could just go home and everything could be okay again.

Loud, shrieking sirens went off and red lights in the halls flashed. No, it wasn't over. Whatever force there was controlling the world was saying now that it was far from over. Gaz finally came out of her strange mood and turned to Dib and Zim, looking much more in control of herself than earlier. "You two stay in here," Gaz ordered and whisked out of the room, taking Gir with her, and slammed the door shut. Dib heard locks sliding into place.

"Great," Dib groaned. He got to his feet and tried to open the door, it was locked tight, too tight for him to open. He stayed at the door for a moment, trying to make it open by staring at it, before he realized he should make the most of his time locked in a little room with the love of his life.

"So what were you up to?" Zim asked, Dib turned around to see Zim standing up and playing with the gun Dib had dropped to the floor. As much as that picture turned Dib on, it was never a good idea to let Zim have firearms, especially in such a small, not to mention locked, room.

"Oh you know, joined a gang, killed some people, slept with women, the usual," Dib said casually, carefully taking hold of the gun, and easing it away from Zim. "What about you?"

"Well…I think I almost died a whole lot," Zim said, squinting with remembering what went on, "Had a lot of hallucination, slept with Jack…that's pretty much it."

A pang of jealousy racked Dib at the mention of Jack, but he forced his mind to not think about it. After all, he cheated too. "So…where's everyone else? Skoodge, Inx, Mau," Dib asked, he had no idea where Mau was, he knew where Skoodge was, and knew Inx was probably with Skoodge, but he wondered if Zim knew where they were.

"Um…I dunno," Zim said absently. "I think Mau is with Jack…he probably murdered a bunch of girls by now." Dib gave a questioning glance at that, but Zim just shrugged.

"Well that's nice to know..." Dib mumbled.

"Just saying..." Zim said uncaringly. He didn't care about those silly women that Jack kept around.

"Well...Skoodge is on Earth, he's got his own ship," Dib said, trying not to think about that one thing.

"Mm," Zim said, acknologing Dib's words, but obviously not caring.

"How the hell did you and Jack have sex?" Dib said, finally exploding, he just couldn't grasp the concept. "I mean, if it was anyone else, sure. You're sexy and everything, but I mean...Jack! How the hell did that happen!" Zim looked down and blushed a dark green. obviously he was incredibly embarrassed about it and normally Dib would have left him alone about it, but this time, he just couldn't let it slide...this was Jack! Zim sighed deeply and sat next to Dib on the bed.

"Well...he..." Zim looked away and got a lot quieter, "he...seduced me..." Dib waited for Zim to say 'just kidding' or start laughing, but he didn't, he was serious.

Dib burst out laughing, despite the tension. "He seduced you? How the hell does anyone seduce you, Zim?" Dib asked.

"SHUTUP!" Zim yelled. He turned even darker green and wouldn't look at Dib.

"S-sorry," Dib mumbled and did his best to stop laughing. When he was calmer and more in control of himself he asked, "Okay, Zim, how exactly did Jack seduce you?"

Zim kept looking away for a while, but soon regained the ability to speak. "Blood...and beer..." Zim mumbled.

"Blood?" Dib asked, not understanding what Zim meant. Zim blushed again.

"Like...did you know that Jack can't die?" Zim asked. Dib shook his head.

"And that turns you on?" Dib asked. He didn't know how he could top that.

"Not exactly, no..." Zim said, "More like...he got me drunk and cut himself open and...my Irken senses love bloodshed, so..."

"Oh." Dib got the basic picture now. Zim only slept with Jack because he let Zim bloody him up. Dib still felt jealous, though, because they'd had something that Dib couldn't have, Jack had touched Zim's Irken side, his instinctual side, and that was something Dib couldn't do. "I'm sorry..." Dib mumbled almost inaudibly, thinking Zim wouldn't hear him. But his antenna twitched and his head shot up, all signs of embarrassment gone.

"Why would you be sorry?" Zim asked. "You didn't do anything..."

Dib looked into Zim's eyes and saw sweet innocence, so unlike the bloodthirsty Irken Dib knew he could be. "Because...I can't give you that release like Jack can...I'd die if you ripped me open, but Jack can take it...he can be ripped open...or anything you want to do," Dib winced at that thought, he hadn't thought of exactly what kind of bloodshed Zim meant. "So...I'm sorry I'm not good enough like that..."

Dib had sort of expected Zim to do something so violent, but the slap across his face stung more than he thought it would. Dib pressed a hand to his face and turned to Zim, whose antennae angrily stood erect. "Jack could never be better than the Dib," Zim said firmly. "No one ever could." Zim leaned in and kissed Dib deeply and passionately, there wasn't a touch of anger in the kiss, it was sweet and loving. But when Zim pulled away, his brow was still furrowed in anger. "I've never hurt you, Dib, and I never would...I love you...and when we mate...we don't need blood, we don't need anything. It's too good for bloodshed." Zim looked off into space, trying to figure out how to explain it all. "Bloodshed and being drunk were the only reasons I would ever mate with Jack...and I would never do it again...I hate that man...he's really creepy..." Zim finished his little speech and brought his legs up on the bed and curled up next to Dib.

Dib played with Zim's antennae absent-mindedly and thought about all of that. So bloodshed was a small thing. It didn't matter... "So...I'm better in bed than Jack?" Dib asked vainly. He was so insecure...

"So much better," Zim said immediately. Dib grinned, tonight just kept getting better.

"Was I better than your various women?" Zim asked uncaringly, playing with Dib's zipper, like he'd done once so long ago back at their house.

"Oh yeah," Dib confirmed, even though they both knew Zim was better than any woman, though they never blatantly said it. The mood was much more relaxed now, and Dib leaned back on the bed, propping himself up with one elbow while his other hand remained playing with Zim's antennae. Zim purred softly, completely relaxed and at ease again. Life was finally getting better for the both of them now.

...

Life was turning into hell. She finally let her guard down, she admitted her pregnancy, she got yelled at. And now her ship's been invaded again, twice in one day. Gaz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Since when did everyone want to be around her. she glanced down at the new prisoner. She couldn't believe who it was, the one person she'd thought would be on her side of this.

"So, why again did you think it was good to invade my ship, Tak?" Gaz asked again.

"Because," Tak spat in that oh-so-annoying accent of hers, "If anyone's going to lead the Irkens, it should be an Irken, not some human bitch like you." Gaz had to admit, Take had guts...and a pretty damn good reason for it. But her idiotically blunt way of planning bothered Gaz. Yes, it was way better than Zim's plans, but she still failed horribly.

Gaz judged the sincerity of Tak's hate in her sneer. "Why are you really here?" Gaz asked, surprising the Irken kneeling before her.

"Hm, you're smarter than I anticipated, care to explain why you're the only human with any intelligence at all?" Tak asked snidely.

"Not really." Tak frowned. "Now. What is your mission here?" Gaz asked again more roughly.

"What do you think it is?" Tak grinned cruelly and Gaz knew the only way she'd get information from her would be to rip her pak apart. But an idea occurred, a memory from long ago. Gaz pulled out a high-powered plasma-ray gun. It was small and looked like a simply human gun, but inside was hidden a powerful, lethal force. She pointed it directly at Tak's head. Tak only looked slightly surprised, she'd expected as much from someone like Gaz.

"Zim?" Gaz asked in an echo of a voice. Tak's grin widened and grew malicious. Gaz could see a hundred years worth of hate and planning. She nearly got what she wanted too. She had been caught a few corridors away from where Zim was. Revenge. Cold and calculating, Gaz had felt it before and knew how Tak felt just now. So close, she would find a way to reach that sweet relief of accomplishing the vengeful act.

But she wouldn't. As excellent a soldier Tak was, she wouldn't allow her to take Zim away, too much depended on the little idiot.

"You can't stop me," Tak taunted, "After all these years…I will succeed!" Tak yelled.

The sirens went off again, yet another intruder. "God dammit," She cursed under her breath. Tak started laughing maniacally, pushing Gaz further. Suddenly, she'd had enough, Tak's laughter and the sirens combined was just too much.

For a moment, everything was white. The walls where white, the floor was white, the noise was white, Tak's blood was white…. It was peaceful…the way Gaz hadn't felt peace in a long time. But then everything went back to normal, back to the hell life had become. The walls were back to their grungy red, the floors were dirt brown, the cries of the siren still crying, and Tak's blood was a dark, menacing green. Gaz stared at Tak's body, crumpled and broken in a heap, blood running down her face and forming a dark puddle on the floor. It was splattered on the wall and on Gaz's gun, and even on Gaz.

A second after the shot was fired, someone yelled loudly.

…

He watched his true love fall against the ground, the terrifying grin still hanging on her lips. Her antenna hung limp against her head, and her purple eyes dulled. He couldn't take it, he couldn't stand to see her this way, so disheveled with blood staining her usually spotless uniform. An angry, grief filled scream tore from his lungs as he ran past Gaz and held his lovely in his arms.

Gaz seemed thoroughly confused by this. She seemed empty with dark green flecks dotting her face and hair. "Skoodge?" Gaz whispered in wonder at him. He ignored her and kept tending to Tak. She could still live if he hurried and took her to the ship quickly enough.

…

Hm. Gaz never would have imagined them together. Skoodge and Tak…. She wondered what all that was about. She thought about chasing Skoodge down and locking them both in confinement, but eh, too much effort. She'd rather deal with the newest intruder first.

She easily strode down the hall, not bothering to wipe the blood off her face. She found her guards stationed even closer to Zim. On the same hallway no less. Gaz could see Zim's door only a few yards away. She scowled and made a mental note to up the security.

She made her way to the center of the guard and looked down on the young human male. What was today anyway? Remember the past day?

…

Zim and Dib jumped when the heard it. A loud shot fired somewhere nearby. Dib shrank back a bit. "What do you think that was about?" Dib asked nervously. Zim's antennae perked up, straining to hear more noise. Almost immediately after the shot there was a horrible scream. Zim wondered what the hell was going on.

"I don't know…" Zim said honestly. He curled back into Dib's lap. "And I really don't care…"

"B-But…What if that was Gaz?" Dib asked so innocently, something Zim was seeing in Dib more often now than a year ago, hell, six months ago.

"What is it was? Dib, the sister is a grown up, she can handle herself," Zim reminded him. But Dib only seemed to deflate more at that.

"She's only sixteen…" Dib mumbled.

"So? What age is adult on earth?" Zim asked, peering up at Dib observationally.

"Eighteen," Dib answered quickly, "…again Zim, how long were you on Earth?"

"S-shutup!" Zim snapped before thinking over the age. "So Dib recently became of adult age?"

"I guess…I turned eighteen last summer before we got together," Dib said, absently playing with Zim's hands. Zim made thinking noises as he pondered that over. Humans were so very different from Irkens, definitely. Irkens were no longer considered smeets after basic training. Other than that, there wasn't really a division among individuals other than rank. Humans thought more about age than intelligence, which wasn't a very good move on their part. "Anyway…what was that you were telling me before?" Dib asked lazily, dragging Zim out of his thoughts.

"Oh yeah," Zim mumbled. "We do have a sort of bonding like marriage among Irkens. But it's more like a collaboration of two strategically superior minds. The Control Brains decide who gets their DNA bonded. The Irkens have a sample of DNA taken and mixed together to be added to the birthing machine to create even more Irkens with superior minds."

"Wow…" Dib breathed out. Zim looked up at Dib's face, the face that was always thinking about something, the face Zim was always thinking about. "So…what happens after they're bonded?" Dib asked curiously, those warm eyes sparked with interest glancing back to Zim again. Zim's chest heated up at the attention those eyes gave; it was small attention, yes, but nonetheless…

"Nothing really…they continue to go about their lives, doing missions, serving the Tallest, you know," Zim said, not thinking about his words.

"And that's it?" Dib asked, seeming to be shocked. Zim felt confused, why was the Dib so shocked, Zim assumed he already knew a lot of Irken culture, enough that this shouldn't surprise him anyway. Zim nodded, signifying that there was nothing left to explain about the mundane act of bonding in Irken culture. A lot of worthy soldiers were chosen all the time. Not Zim of course…but that was because he was above it all, yes. "Zim, don't you see anything wrong with that?"

"Wrong with what?" Zim asked, observing Dib's confused expression, it was shocked and surprised and maybe a little angry. After hearing Zim's words, it grew angrier. Dib sighed and got up, leaving a disappointed Zim with nothing warm to curl up to.

"Your race is really cold-blooded, you know that?" Dib asked rhetorically. Zim felt a little bit of pride at actually recognizing that it was rhetorical.

"So is yours," Zim commented, remembering some of the vulgar things he'd learned on Earth. He had to admit, Irken culture was a lot more gruesome and Dib was probably right in being aggravated at it, but Zim felt strangely defensive of his home. It was home after all, the place he'd defended for so many years, the place he served and gave up his whole self to. Dib was on Earth for what, a fraction of the time Zim had devoted to Irk.

"Yeah, but to be with someone just for…for…DNA mixing and then separating!" Dib said loudly. "There's no dating or mixing or socializing. And you see nothing wrong with that!" Zim straightened himself on the bed and watched Dib start to pace. His antennae perked rod-straight defensively.

"You're race has drawbacks too, Dib," Zim said, somewhat seething, the memories of the way the used to fight for years coming back to him. "Your ignorance for one!"

"Ignorant!" Dib raved. "If anyone's ignorant it's you Irkens!"

"No one believed you when clear evidence was right in front of them! I'd call that pretty damn ignorant!" Zim yelled.

"You kill and destroy randomly! And a sixteen year old girl is leading you!" Dib yelled, trying to make sense of their yelling.

"Your race has way too many leaders and you fight amongst yourselves!" Zim yelled, standing up, fists balled and ready.

"Your race is hated by everyone and hates everyone!" Dib countered.

"You're race is deemed stupid and defenseless and even the weakest in the universe doesn't want to bother with you!" Zim screamed.

"You're race deemed you a defect and sent you to death without telling you, as a joke!" Dib yelled, going over the edge.

"You're race deemed you insane and ignores your intelligence, because they wish you would die!" Zim yelled back. Both of them stopped yelling and looked at each other. Dib's face was flushed red with anger and yelling too much. Zim's antennae were hanging over his face aggressively, and his cheeks had gone a dark green.

"We're both kinda stupid…" Dib admitted.

"…you were stupid first…" Zim mumbled quietly, looking away from Dib. Dib just laughed and floated closer to Zim.

"Why did I ever defend such a stupid race like Earth?" Dib asked, again rhetorically.

"Why did I ever want to serve the Tallest…?" Zim asked, imitating this 'rhetoric' style.

Dib laughed and looped his arms around Zim's waist, circling him in warmth yet again. Zim grinned and gripped Dib's arms, pulling him closer. "I win," Zim whispered.

"Oh really?" Dib asked. "And what is it you win?"

"You."

"You didn't have to compete for that."

"But I did anyway."

"…true."

"Dibbers?"

"Yeah?"

"Marry me."

…

…

…

…

A/N

I am ssoooooooo evil! Muahahahaha. Don't worry though, it's Thanksgiving! Or Thanksgiving break anyway :) ….foooood. So I'll have lots of time to update sooner than normal!

:) Thanks for all your loving (: I don't love you back…..just kidding, I really do…in a more platonic way ;)

Oh and, as karma loves me, I'm starting to get sick….yeah. Damn kids…and their vile GERMS!

Love you ^-^ Read and Review