Sleep...
Sleep was a merciful way to spend a few hours in oblivion, where there were no worries, no loneliness and no worry.
Thankfully, his nightmares were few and far between, so most of the time, Dib was able to get several hours of proper rest. That also meant those hours weren't spent waiting uselessly for his companion's return.
Weeks passed.
Months.
It was strange, the time went by without him really noticing. And yet, he could tell exactly how long Zim had been gone. Down to the very day.
Every day, Dib would return to his cure, repeat the experiment, make sure there wasn't a mistake. He did it until he ran out of blood samples from Zim.
That was about three weeks after the earliest possible return date the alien had given him.
Nine months.
Nine miserable months and, while the human had somehow managed to endure them, suddenly, each passing hour felt like an eternity. With each passing moment, his fear grew. Zim had said it would take roughly four months to get back to irk. Four months to get back. And whatever event they were having shouldn't take longer than a few days.
Zim was late.
And the later he was, the bigger the possibility grew that something had happened. Something bad.
Of course, Dib was well-aware that there was also a chance that the alien would simply stay on his home planet. Not because of some horrible disaster, but simply because he might have been offered a better job. Something more becoming than a measly base on a backwater planet filled with filth and chemicals.
Maybe...
Maybe...
But he had no way to know.
All he could do was wait.
Spend his days training, cleaning, avoiding Gir, trying to keep the base in a mostly clean and repaired state, despite the destruction the little robot caused. It kept him busy somewhat, but never enough not to worry.
Another week went by.
And another.
The tries to keep himself - his mind most of all – busy turned hollow and useless quickly. Yet he continued his routines day after day, knowing that stopping them would result in him ceasing to function as well.
Giving up on hoping Zim would return, though, was becoming more and more of an option.
Groaning, Dib rolled out of bed, raking a hand through his unruly hair and debating on how to start yet another miserable day. Figuring it didn't matter much, he first went to shower before fetching himself some of the last packages of instant ramen for breakfast. Even his food supplies were starting to run low and the human honestly had no idea what to do when he ran out of things to make meals with.
Shaking his head to clear away those thoughts, he watched as his noodles soaked in hot, pink water – the substance was artificial, made for Irkens – but perfectly digestible for him.
Just when his breakfast seemed about done, there was a blaring noise and Dib jumped violently, startled at the unexpected sound.
It was an alarm of some sorts, coming from the base's computer. Not that it interacted with him more than absolutely necessary.
"Computer, what's-"
"Proximity breach by two unknown vessels. Security codes for hangar have been bypassed. Touch down in three minutes."
"What do you mean 'unknown vessels'?"
It was almost as if he could HEAR the computer roll its eyes at him and he frowned, anxiety quickly creating a heavy, hot twist in his middle. "Can't you tell who they are at all?"
"No. They are irken ships. There is no information about the pilots."
Dib swallowed. It might be Zim.
It could be somebody else, too. But he forced himself to stay as calm as possible, not wanting to receive a shot of sedatives in a situation like this. Taking slow, even breaths, he tried to decide whether he should go hide himself or go to the hangar to see just who was coming.
No matter how scared he was, he wanted – needed – to see, to know what was going on. So with a painfully tight knot in his middle, he ran up to the hangar, glad to see that nobody and nothing had arrived yet. It gave him enough time to hide himself.
Dib did so behind some metal crates, crouching low and doing his damnedest to keep his breathing and heart rate low enough to not invoke his wristband's mechanism.
Once more, he jumped, when a low creaking reached his ears, the hatch of the hangar opening slowly to allow an impressive ship inside, closely followed by a smaller, much more familiar ship right behind it. It was Zim's voot cruiser.
Still... there was no reason to relax yet, even if all he wanted to do was run right up to the voot and see if Zim was there and alright. But he stayed put, peeking around the corner to watch what was happening.
Both ships lowered almost entirely silently, as irken ships seemed to do, and then, for a moment, there was no sound at all. Even Dib held his breath, caught between giddy, hopeful excitement and crippling fear, the combination not really all too pleasant on his strained mind.
The larger ship's hatch gave a low hiss, cracking open slowly and the human tried to make himself even smaller, lowering himself to hands and knees, only barely daring to lean forward enough to see.
Finally, the hatch was open and then a familiar pattern of pink and green appeared, slim figure raising up from the seat and honey-colored eyes widened. It took another moment to make really, really sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.
That it wasn't just ANY irken.
But it wasn't.
It was Zim.
Dib was up and running before he even realized he had moved at all. "Zim!" He could hear his voice cracking even with that single syllable, but there was no helping the deafening, blinding, numbing wave of relief crashing over him, wetting his eyes and tightening his throat.
Immediately, the green head shot up, magenta meeting honey and then, both were moving. Fast.
Suddenly, Dib had both his arms full with irken, delicate, wiry body wrapping around his own like a clawed vine, sharp little nails digging into his skin through the fabric, even while slender thighs clung to his waist.
The momentum of the impact threw them both off balance and with a muffled grunt, Dib landed on his rear ungracefully, Zim straddling him awkwardly but obviously having no intentions to let go.
Neither of them cared about the ungentle little crash.
Not at all.
All that mattered was the familiarity of the touch, the scent, the sound of each other's' names...
Just barely, the human managed to muffle a dry sob, pulling the smaller body even closer to his own.
"Zim...! Zim... I..."
A little shift and the human lost his balance, falling onto his back and pulling the smaller male with him, not that Zim was complaining. On the contrary. Three-fingered hands shot up, cupping wet, human cheeks and both froze when their eyes met.
"Y... you're late..."
"Stupid human! Zim's never late! I'm just on time!" Green lips spread into a toothy grin and Dib couldn't help the laughter that bubbled from his lips. It was soon joined by the alien's laugh and they both shook with mirth for several moments.
Then, as soon as it had started, their laughter calmed and ended in a simultaneous sigh.
Their foreheads touched and the taller male could feel the tremble in leather-clad hands, shaking just like his own and he had to swallow. "Zim..."
A wet gasp was his only answer and human eyes widened when they spotted tears in Zim's own eyes, hands immediately reaching up to wipe them away.
The alien shuddered."Zim... Zim missed you, stupid filthy, useless, weak human..." Again, three-fingered hands tightened their hold on his face and then Zim was nuzzling at him, foreheads gently bumping against each other, closed lips ghosting over smooth, moist skin, cheeks brushing together...
It was an odd show of affection, but Dib returned each little gesture equally, feeling a comforting sense of calm settle over them like a blanket.
Zim was back.
He was back and he was alive and he seemed uninjured and...
It was as if the entire tension of months and months of being alone and worried melted away in each little caress and touch and it made the world around him spin. The one thing that always kept him steady, though, was right there with him once more, providing a sense of familiarity and safety that he had craved since the very moment Zim had left.
Human fingers caressed along high cheekbones, to the back of the alien's head, and Zim shivered again, large eyes sliding close with a tiny gasp.
"I missed you too, Spaceboy... very, very much..."
Again, their faces pushed closer, nuzzling and simply moving in for more of that warm contact. More and more and with a little shift of head, green lips found pink ones and they kissed, slow, soft, barely a brush of lips against lips and yet, it caused both of them to shiver with the spark of heat the contact caused.
There was a sudden flash of pain and Dib jerked, startled by the feel of teeth and the sudden burst of coppery taste filling his mouth.
The alien had bit him.
"Zimmm...!" It wasn't that painful, really, just surprising and the human blinked heavy eyes up at his companion. Zim just grinned.
"Zim told you I'd make you pay for the burn in my mouth."
A moment of dumbfounded silence followed, before Dib had to chuckle, shaking his head at the wonderful sense of intimacy surrounding them, their usual banter simply happening naturally, and he reached up to brush away the lingering tears from his cheeks and eyes,
"That you did... what took you so long, though?"
The silence that followed was surprisingly heavy, awkward, and honey-colored eyes searched vivid, magenta orbs for an answer. "Zim...?"
"Nothing. There was a mix-up and it cost me precious time. But to make up for it, Zim received an amazing new ship! And more time to finish the mission!" Something was strange about the way the alien said it, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
Not that he really cared to investigate much further right now, far too happy and relieved that Zim was back at all.
Once more, his arms moved to circle around the slim, cool body seated on top of his own, pulling him closer and burying his face in a pink-clad shoulder, deeply inhaling the sweet, otherworldly scent.
Thin arms went to return the hug immediately and they shared another long moment in silence. Only then did the smaller male pull back, straightening to sit up and take a look around. "The base looks well enough."
"What did you expect?" He pushed himself up on his elbows, watching the alien closely, only now having the mind to look for any changes or injuries. But he looked smooth and perfect as ever.
"Honestly? To come back to a pile of rubble and ashes. You're useless and Gir is a walking destruction machine. Where is that thing, anyway?"
"Away, buying himself food. The next city is miles away, so it takes him blissfully long." Dib chuckled at the alien's amused snort, feeling his stomach muscles protest at the unfamiliar exercise. "Makes one wonder how he even manages to find his way back here time and time again.
Zim just gave a sigh and a shrug, probably having asked himself that questions hundreds of times before.
Slowly, they pushed themselves off the ground to stand up, the human lightly dusting off his rear where he had crash-landed onto the ground before. He paused in mid-swipe, however, when he noticed the alien staring at him in a strange way. It almost seemed as if he was startled.
"Zim...?"
"Zim leaves for not even one year and you go and... and... just WHEN did you decide to become so irk-damned TALL?!" The last word was accompanied by an accusing finger pointed up at him. "Stupid humans! Growing like stupid weeds!
Looking down at himself in mild confusion, Dib figured he might have had a little growth spurt during the last few months, his clothes admittedly a little shorter than when Zim had left. But this had been at the very, very bottom of his worries and so he only gave Zim an apologetic smile and shrug.
He knew size was a big, literally big, issue for Irkens, but really... he had no control whatsoever over how much or how fast he grew. Besides, for him, it didn't make any difference whether he was now over a head taller than his companion.
"It's not like I just decided to grow while you were away just to annoy you." He offered softly.
Despite his try to placate the other, Zim still looked annoyed, though it was less directed at Dib in person than at the situation itself. "Just don't go and do more growing or I'll have to shorten you to a more... appropriate size." The accompanying, scissoring gesture of two-fingered hands was none-too-encouraging and Dib nodded with a chuckle.
"I'll try to stay this size."
"Yes, you'd better, Dib-thing. So..." the alien stretched a little, working out little kinks in his muscles that had built during his trip. "Did I miss anything down here?"
There was a moment where Dib just wanted to wave the question off with a 'no', but then he stopped himself. "Yes... yes you did miss something. You DID miss SOMETHING!" One large eye squinted while the alien's head tilted to the side in a mix of curiosity and annoyance at the sudden, awfully bright and wide grin on the human's face.
"And just what... did I miss?"
It was as if all the pride and relief he had denied himself to feel came crashing right back over him, now that he could tell Zim about his discovery.
"I found a cure!"