Dib stretched and woke up, conveniently when they were approaching a sun so it was nearly light in their space ship. And for a few seconds he had a moment of déjà vu of lying in bed on a Sunday morning, with birds chirping and the cursed sun to greet him before it passed and he sat up with a groan.
His stomach rumbled and he pushed to his feet, ducking into their 'pantry' area, picking up some left overs from their last trip, some really delicious berries and popping them into his mouth, turning to lean against the side of the doorway. Zim was lying nearly face down in the blankets. He could tell from the sound of the pak's hum that the dork wasn't really deep into a recharge. It wouldn't be long before he was up and as loud as usual.
Zim smacked his lips as he awoke, his arms stretching out to grasp at the human, only to turn up short. He patted the space next to him before opening his eyes and looking around. He sat up on his elbows, his belly to the still-warm sleeping area and looked over to see Dib standing there.
"No wonder it's so cold." He grumbled, laying back down and burying himself in the covers. Zim hated a lot of things, but more than anything he hated mornings. The nearby sun didn't help at all. "Come back to bed." His muffled voice was too groggy to sound very commanding, yet.
Dib popped another berry in his mouth, smirking. "I was hungry. You be quiet." He protested, not moving an inch. Of course he wanted to crawl back into bed, but part of it was just getting Zim annoyed. It was fun to do. Getting him all worked up and turning light pink, fists clenched and angry eyes. And it was even funner to get rid of it too, usually by kissing him. Dib felt too pleased with himself, crushing a berry between his teeth.
Zim moved the blankets so that a glaring magenta orb could peer out at the smug human. Ah, so he was playing this game, was he? Well Zim could play right back.
"Do not tell Zim what to do, not get back in here before my appendages fall off from the cold."
Dib swallowed the last of his fruit, licking his lips before flopping back down in the giant nest of blankets with a groan. His skin was popping up with goosebumps because of how chilly the spaceship was as he turned to Zim. "There. Happy?"
"No." Zim stated simply. He threw the blankets over the both of them and nestled into Dib's, now chilled, skin. "Now I am."
Dib scoffed a bit as the blankets went over his head and smothered his face. But, he couldn't really complain as warm Irken laid all over him. "Hah. Well, that's…great." All of a sudden, his brow furrowed at yesterday's events wormed their way back into his brain. Dib stared up at the fabric, it might've been some sort of shawl they'd gotten from a trading planet, small pinpricks of light breaking way through the seams.
"Zim…how long until we get to Earth?"
"Mmm.." zim hummed thoughtfully. "A month, or less." He opened his eyes, staring forward at nothing in particular. "We have time, Dib-thing. Do not fret."
Dib's internal voice hissed, 'Easy for him to say. His species isn't on the verge of extinction.' But, on the outside, he merely nodded. Now that the proverbial sun was up and reality was setting in, Dib was having a moment of numbness. He wasn't as angry as he had been. He wasn't ready to break down at any second. Nor was he exactly filled with adoration for the one in his arms. Right now, he just was so tired. But, he felt restless.
A month. What was he going to do for a whole month? Human time didn't really exist out here, but it was hard to not think in those ways when you had your whole life. So technically, it would take .0023490898 or some other ridiculous number of a lightyear to get them to Earth. But, a month was an easier way of thinking.
Zim felt the distance between them, though they were skin against skin in the voice of space. He felt Dib's heart beat under his head; nestled in his ribcage, guarded from Zim in more ways than in just flesh and bone. The invader looked up at Dib, his eyes scanning over the human's far away stare, his dark lashes skimming the fabric of the blanket as he blinked. With a resigned sigh, Zim pulled himself up, causing a tent to form around him before he pulled the blanket off.
"What shall we do?"
The human pushed his glasses, miraculously still intact after all this time, further up the bridge of his nose and tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "Huh. I don't know." A quick glance around the ship showed how cluttered it was with all the trinkets they had managed to gather in their travels. Bottles of different beverages, discarded but, Dib refused to throw them away because they were wonderful and from other planets.
Little wires, machines and broken parts from flea markets. Chemicals, and incredible fabrics, that were currently wrapped around them. Some were scarves, big enough to act as blankets, real blankets and huge knitted coats designed for creatures with more arms than Dib had. He'd even managed to find a new trench coat for himself. It was pretty bad ass, actually. Long, flowy and very warm. The hood went over the top of his face in case of sandstorm or when he was trying to hide an expression from Zim.
"I uh, suppose we could decide what all I'm taking with me? You can probably keep most of it." Since he wouldn't really be needing it. "And if I come back, well you can keep it all safe."
Zim waved a hand, looking over his shoulder at nothing in particular. He didn't want all this junk; he had no use for it. The only reason they had it was because of Dib. Most of this stuff Zim was able to make off with, but only because he knew the human would appreciate them. "What am I supposed to do with this stuff until I find you?" He asked, finally, not looking back towards him.
Dib ran a hand down the back of his neck, and shrugged. "I don't know. You could just…throw it away I guess?" But, for some reason his manic need to keep everything rebelled at that thought. Get rid of trophies of his travels? Of stepping foot on alien worlds? How else would he prove to himself that it wasn't just a dream. "Or…I can just take it with me." And it would probably collect dust in his room because he'd most likely be dead.
No. Don't think like that.
Dib shoved to his feet and collected his clothing, pulling it on and settling in the co-pilot's chair where he'd been the night before. Outside the ship's circular shield, stars flew by quicker than he could process. He pressed a hand against the window. He would miss this, too.
Zim mimicked the human, getting up and dressed before making his way to the pilot's seat, though he decided to stand. He felt restless, as he often did upon the ship. It seemed to be getting worse, however, now that he knew they had such limited time together.
Dib's brows furrowed as his suggestion was sufficiently ignored and the silence droned on. With a huff, he began shuffling through all their things only to stop not even ten minutes later because it was just that painful. So, for those next couple of hours, he just stared out at space while Zim pretended to fly the ship.
Hours seemed to drone on forever in their awkward silences, but once they were gone, they seem too soon to have passed. But Zim kept trying, because persistence was written out in each strand of the Irken's DNA. Or was it stubbornness.
"Who will explore space with me?"
"I don't know. You can explore it on your own, can't you? You're a mighty Irken solider. Why do you need a pathetic human to come along with you? I'm just slowing you down." It wouldn't work. It was all a ploy of the irken's to make him feel guilty, never mind that it was working. In response to Zim's frustrated groan, he got up and locked himself in the storage part of their ship.
It was kind of hard to avoid someone who you shared less than fourteen square feet with, though Dib did his best. It was either that or suffer in such overwhelming agony that he was caught between punching something and crying. Neither was an option. So, during the 'day hours', he hid and kept himself busy with useless things so that Zim wouldn't ask him stupid questions or try to convince him to stay.
But, during the 'night' they laid together, bodies intertwined, whispering endearments and grasping at their last hours till earth loomed over them.
It infuriated the Irken, but he took what he could get. During the day he would pass by where he knew Dib was hiding and mumble things to try and coax him out. Most of the time he got nothing in return. It was as if he only existed during their time in bed.
