Dib Is Sick

by PAT THE KITSUNE

Confined to his bed, Dib finds comfort in the one being he never expected to be there for him. When his condition takes a turn for the worse, however, he must come to terms with his feelings for his old foe in order to defeat this new foe inside him. ZADR

38. Chapter 38

Dib Is Sick Chapter 38: Nightmare

Zim: Sassafrass002

Dib: Me

Beta: Sassafrass002

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Enjoy~ =3

Opening his eyes slightly to watch Dib as he slept, Zim couldn't help but smile a bit at having Dib clinging to his uniform top. His mind still racing, he felt unable to drop off as quickly as the other. Before long, however, he finally felt himself drifting off to sleep with the human pressed close to him for warmth.

Letting out a small whine, Dib shifted in his sleep a bit and shivered. "Mmmm...Mom..." He murmured, tightening his hold on Zim's shirt.

Zim frowned in his sleep from all the shifting. "Mm...Mmm?" He peeked his eyes half open at Dib for a short moment before shuffling up nearer to him to get comfortable again.

Tugging at the covers in his sleep, Dib pulled them over his head as though to hide. "Mom...Mommy..." He let out a small whimper.

Opening his eyes fully at hearing that, Zim rubbed the top of his head, blinking sleepily and pushing himself up a little to pull at the covers. "...Dib?" He said, trying to get the other to come out from his hiding place.

His body shivering even more underneath them, Dib clung to the covers tightly. "Mom?...Mom!" he began to scream in his sleep, in the midst of a nightmare.

Zim gave him a shake. "Dib!" He pulled at the covers again but harder, struggling but managing to pull them away before grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him lightly. "Dib, wake up!" He said, still not able to wake him as he looked down at him worriedly, lightly rubbing his hands on Dib's arms.

Letting out a small sob just to open his eyes a few moments later, Dib pulled away from Zim at the shaking before becoming still and staring up at Zim with tears welling in his eyes. "H-Huh? Wh-Where am I?" He said, feeling rather disoriented in that moment.

Zim stared back at him a bit confused. "Uh...In your room with Zim, remember?" He shook his head, looking down at him calmly before he wiped away Dib's tears with his thumbs in an attempt to calm the other. "...I think you were having a nightmare or something." He said as he finished wiping as much moisture from Dib's eyes as he could.

"Oh..." Dib hugged the covers tightly again, sniffling a bit. "I saw my mom...She was in the hospital again..." He said after several moment of silence had passed between the two.

"Oh..." Zim shifted his eyes to the side for a moment before looking back at him and running a hand down the side of Dib's arm. "So...What happened?...In the dream, I mean." He said, not wanting to pry too much into Dib's past.

Starting to tear up again, Dib pulled his knees to his chest before hiding his face in them. "I'd rather not talk about it." His voice came out strained.

Staring at him for a moment before nodding his head, Zim then moved up nearer to him, giving him a peck on the forehead and gently stroking the top of his head.

Needing that closeness and comfort for just a little while, Dib moved in closer so he could wrap his arms around Zim's waist and cry into the other's chest.

Hugging him tightly and rubbing his hand on his back soothingly, Zim pulled Dib up onto his lap. " It's okay. It was just a dream." He said, trying to calm the boy down.

Dib could only shake his head at those words however. "But it wasn't just a dream! It all really happened! She died in a hospital, and I'll never see her again!" He hid his face in Zim's neck.

Rubbing a hand on his hair again, Zim fell silent for a moment. "...I'm sorry...About what happened to her, and to you...But...You won't die in a hospital, Dib." He tried to reassure the other of that as he was certain Dib was just afraid of going to one himself still.

Dib choked back a sob. "Y-You don't know that for sure! She did! They told us they could save her, but they didn't! They just let her die and didn't even let us say goodbye to her!" He exclaimed all too suddenly, throwing Zim a bit off guard.

Unsure of what to say to the other for a moment, Zim kissed his cheek as he hugged him in tightly again with one arm while still stroking his hair with his other hand. "I would never let that happen to you, Dib...And like I said, I wouldn't leave you alone...Not even for a single second." He promised, not wanting the other to change his mind about going.

Lifting his head to look up at Zim through tear-filled eyes, Dib's eyes grew wide when he realized that his vision was suddenly blurring again.

Putting a hand to his face and wiping away some of his tears, Zim stared down at him, face looking puzzled suddenly as Dib's eyes widened. "You okay?" He asked when he noticed Dib beginning to lose color in his face.

The color and outline of Zim's body becoming lost in a mess of visual snow, Dib's breathing suddenly grew shallower and shallower the more his vision worsened. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, he then felt himself losing his balance and falling off to one side.

Jumping a bit, Zim's own eyes widened as he leaned over him and rubbed the sides of Dib's arms, looking down at him scared, his voice sounding panicky now. "Dib?!...Ugh!...Come on! Don't do this to me again!" He tried to bring the other out it.

His body shaking, Dib curled in on himself at the small touch. "St-Stop! It hurts!" he said before bringing his hands up to his mouth and coughing into them uncontrollably.

Pulling his hands away quickly, unsure of what he should do now, Zim watched him worriedly, scratching at the back of his hand nervously as he knew he couldn't comfort Dib without hurting him in the process.

Until next time~