Behind The Tube Glass

By alien freak And Xmimi89eR

story may contain gore/blood/violence/strong language

rating: T

ZaDr/ZaDf

I like this chapter :D!

English is my second language, my apologies if there are any mistakes.

disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim.

SAVE THE FOLLOWING CHANGES?

EXAMINATION ROOM:

-LIGHTS: 40%

-TEMPERATURE: 15C

COMPUTER ROOM:

-LIGHTS: 60%

-TEMPERATURE: 20C

Y/N

YOUR CHANGES HAVE BEEN SAVED.

Dib sighed as the room started getting warmer, but not warm enough for bacteria to grow; he made the lights a little brighter in the exa-room, and lowered the lights in the main computer room. It took him around fifteen minutes to figure it out.

The boy was laying against the tube bottom, the irken top body was on his thighs with a towel on him, after Dib was finished with the rooms, he finally got the chance to realize that an alien was unconscious in his lap, and that made him freeze for a second; since the irken was asleep he could easily take a close look at him.

Zim's body seemed light and was skinny with no fat at all, his limbs were tall and thin, and he had no hair. His skin was smooth with no human features, his claws did seem sharp from a close look, his PAK was made of some strong metal, yet it seemed not heavy for a device that held so much inside, it was also deeply broken in the middle.

his antennae kept twitching now and then, Dib for some reason didn't dare to touch them as they looked sensitive and may wake up the irken.

He could also feel the heat from the PAK as it hummed and glowed, he had to keep the alien on his chest for better access to the PAK wires, but couldn't just lay him on the floor and thought the best idea was to put him aside the tube, yet the irken shifted and almost fell to his face, so Dib had to lay him in his lap as he worked.

The alien shifted, his PAK stopped humming, Zim let out a noise from the back of his throat as he started waking up again; Dib heard something click inside the PAK.

"nnnh- ow..." he sat in knees, hands on his face as he rapped his eyes. Dib froze in place as the alien started to move and wake up, his hands on the air, eyes wide and following everything the alien did. when Zim was finally off of his lap, he lowered his hands as he kept watching,

Zim also lowered his hands and put them on his lap as he sat down, one eye open, then he opened the other one with a blink, he squeezed his eyes shut again then opened them wide, he gazed at the human boy.

Dib blinked, a weird silence fell the room, the irken didn't move, "Zim?" He asked after he felt chills ran through his body at the alien blank expressions,

"Hm?" Antenna twitched at his name,

"Are you... okay?" It seemed he's going to use that sentence a lot,

Zim blinked again, "huh?-" he then realized that everything wasn't greenish as it was in the tube, he remembered getting out! Both antennae rose high as he scanned the area, it was much warmer and brighter than he remembers, the wires remained on his PAK, but seemed to be long enough for him to walk a little around the room; he also could taste his vomit in the back of his throat, it made him want to throw up again.

"I'm out?" He asked, not to Dib, and not to anyone, but he received an answer anyway, "urm, yeah you are..." said Dib, as he shifted in his spot, the alien didn't seem to have bad attempts towards him, for now.

"HAH! No more f- f- floating!" He shouted, that only made him taste more vomit.

"...can you walk?" Asked Dib, looking at Zim's crossed legs,

"What do you m- m- mean?" Zim lowered his head to the right, then started getting up to prove that he could, but just like before he failed as he fell in his back, he yelped in pain as the ground hit his PAK,

Dib got up and tried awkwardly to help the alien but he hesitated at the last second and let the irken fall, he looked at anything but the injured irken in front of him, he helped him before when he was unconscious.

There was no way he's going to touch him now that he's awake, something told him the alien will yell at him and tell him not to touch him, and Dib didn't want to get a scar from those claws.

To stop his hands from leaning forward, he played with them in his lap, but felt bad as he heard the irken whimper in pain again,

"Do- do you need..." what? Help? Of course, he needed help, what kind of question is that? But he was afraid of helping...

Zim eventually stops, he just laid there, looking at the ceiling,

"M- maybe it was a bad idea to get-" Dib started but Zim cut him off, "it is not,"

"I'd rather lay here paralyzed than go back to that tube." He said, still not moving.

"You're-... you're paralyzed now?"

"Eh? No i just can't walk-" he noticed how pity he sounded and tried fixing his mistake, "i mean- no... i'm just laying here, the floor is neat...yeah," a weak smile formed on his face, Dib's expressions went from worrying to a smirk on his face, he couldn't hold his laugh at how stubborn the alien was.

"W- what are you laughing at?, stop it!" Zim yelled, but that didn't stop Dib, the boy laughed for a few more seconds then finally got himself under control, "i'm sure the floor is neat," he mocked him, "the room is cold but the floor should be freezing," he drew a finger on the metal floor, it WAS freezing!

"Shut up dirt-beast!" Dib held his laugh again at the insult, but the smirk never left. "I'm sure you want something warm to wear," he thought of what he could actually give the alien as clothes rather than his uniform, but shrugged it off for the sake of the mock, "but you don't seem to want any help."

The irken shot him a hard glare, "an invader needs no one!" Zim yelled, he could feel his shoulder starts freezing,

"I didn't say you need someone, i said you need help-" Zim yet again cut him, "i don't need help!"

"Well then, the warm towels are over there..." he pointed far away on the table, where more towels were laying; he folded his arms as he made himself comfy on the floor, Dib wasn't mad, but wanted to see what the irken will do.

Zim let a 'hmph!' before trying once again to stand, he will prove to the human that he was Zim! And Zim is strong enough to walk! He was no smeet!

"I don't think that's a goo-" Dib said, he shifted to his knees in case the irken fell,

Zim took a harsh and a fast step forward but immediately regretted it as pain ran through him, his legs collapsed then crossed in an unhealthy way making him fall yet again on his face, he shut his eyes as he waited for the pain from the fall to hit, but it didn't, the irken opened his eyes one after the other, he blinked, then noticed the hands on his chest and shoulder, the human held him, he saved him from the stupid and humiliating fall.

"Un- unhand me human!" Zim demanded as he struggled from the strong, yet soft hold.

Dib shifted the irken into a sitting position, and even after letting go, the alien kept moving his claws on the air, eyes shut, he looked like an angry cat, his eyes snapped open as he leaned his head down and vomited more, it wasn't much, not like before; Zim could feel his spooch demanding food even though his body doesn't need it.

The irken held his stomach tight as he whined more, "fine..." he choked in his words, "i don't like the floor... give me the towel..." he said and shot Dib another glare with narrowed eyes.

Dib didn't hesitate as he stood up and got to the table, he held a big towel then made his way back to the sick alien; he leaned forward close and put the towel on Zim's back, it only covered his shoulders as the wires were still attached to his PAK. Zim noticed this, "unplug the w- w- w- wire off..." he kept looking at the floor since Dib stood up,

"but you need-"

"I have enough saved p- p- power..." he coughed and shivered, "I can stay unplugged for a few h- h- hours..." his words shaking, neither his body.

"o- oh," the boy said, and tried remembering how to unplug it safely as he got closer to the alien's back, the electric wire was thick and had few buttons on it, Dib could actually see electricity runs through it, he shut it down first then pressed the button to unplug it, the wire fell to the floor as Dib didn't expect it to be too heavy.

as soon as Zim felt it unplug he shifted the towel over his back and on his head, but that didn't stop his spooch pain nor did it help his legs,

"you're gonna stay here?" asked Dib as he watched the alien shake, "the main room is much warmer."

Zim didn't answer for a moment, then he hid his face on his knees, "it's none of your business..." he finally said, voice muffled, he hugged himself and the towel tighter, his harsh breath fill the silence.

Dib stared at him, damn the alien is so headstrong! he slightly shrugged to himself then looked back at the chair, it was right next to him so he shifted to grab his paperwork and pen, the boy was too lazy to get up and get his laptop, but decided to write without it.

he put the papers on his thighs and leaned forward, he held the pen and started shaking it as he read.

the irken peaked at the human boy as he started to write his answers, he stops every now and then to think then start writing again, Zim watched in silence, he could see his antennae that laid on his face move every now and then with every noise the pen makes on the papers,

his breath became slightly better, but he still can't feel his legs, and the vomit taste was stuck on his throat, he swallowed in an attempt to make the filthy taste go away, but his mouth was dry as he didn't drink anything for almost a year, and the harsh coughs scratched his throat, his PAK was still hot as it was using the energy it saved, it wasn't much, but the freezing air said otherwise.

Dib could feel eyes on him, but he ignored it, he had to fill the papers, and it's not like he had anything better to do, he tossed the completed papers aside, and worked on the two left. Zim's gaze went from the boy then to the papers on the floor, he forced a cold arm from underneath the towel and snatched one of the papers, and read it,

what he could get from it was something about personal information, it contained a name that was Dib membrane a date of 'birth' some other things he didn't get, then a telephone number, he gazed at the number then decided to save it in his memory drive,

"what are those?" he asked the boy, but didn't sound that interested in knowing, "it's my paperwork, because I'm new here and also because I took my father's place, and since he is 'the most famous scientist and almost the ruler of the planet with his devices' I had to fill a LOT of papers,"

"your father was the l- l- leader of this planet?" his eyes were wide as he tried to put things together,

"what? no I didn't mean it like that," maybe his choices of words weren't the best, "my father was the biggest scientist, yes; and he had a lot of control over people as he creates devices, and he also has a generator that gives the.. whole... earth..." his words died as he realized something, "...power..." he looked from the papers to the irken, his father did look like a ruler of earth, and now his father was dead, which means he is now the one in control, he guessed no one has ever noticed, and they probably never will.

Zim's eyes were wide, his mouth hang open as he looked at the human boy,

"you're just getting things wrong, Zim, I'm no-"

"you're the heir!" Zim said loud, a surprised tone in his voice, "I'm talking to the next ruler of planet earth?!"

"I am the heir but not the way you-"

"-but you're a smeet!" he pointed out, Dib was confused for a moment then realized the insult, "I'm not a kid! I'm twenty years old!" he yelled back, "and i heard you say you were seventeen in your stupid irken years, I'm much older,"

"first of all, IRK IS NOT STUPID! s- s- second, I'm more than one hundred years old here! and I'm pretty sure I'm older than any human, including you." Zim pointed an accusing finger at the boy, then he agreed with himself by nodding,

"well, if you're older, I don't see you becoming the 'ruler' of your planet," Dib folded his arms, satisfied with his reply as he saw the alien's accusing finger twitch,

"w- well, at less my people doesn't choose their leaders based on their age!" Zim tried yelling back even though he didn't get what he said,

Dib was about to fire back, but curiosity made him think twice, "how do you choose your leaders?" his voice was calm, but still sounded angry,

"on height!" he said proudly, "I'm taller than most irkens, but not as tall to be a leader, but I shall one day.." he tried stopping his voice from shaking,

"your people... choose their leader based on height only? you mean your leaders are just taller than anybody else?" even though he thinks those 'irkens' are intelligent and have advanced technology, this one fact made them look STUPID!

"uh-huh, that's right, neat huh?" Zim smirked, he knew he was tall, and his people respected him, even the tallest likes him!

Dib blinked, he was glad he didn't mention his height, he was taller than the alien, and the irken said he was taller than most of his people, this made Dib consume that irkens were short compared to humans.

He decided not to continue arguing as he felt the yelling over something like this was childish.

Dib went back to his papers.

999999

It took the boy few hours to fill the paperwork, he could feel his back hurt as he leaned back and sighed, he gazed at the ceiling for a moment, then realized how quiet the irken was. He looked back at Zim, who looked like he was sleeping, he shifted closer.

"Zim?..." he whispered, for his surprise Zim actually lifted his head up, and peeked at him, his eyes were half close, "...what?" His voice muffled, Dib leaned away as he heard the reply, the alien looked tired and sleepy,

"You- um, still have power left?" Dib asked, locking his gaze with Zim,

Zim looked back at him for a few seconds, then leaned his face back at his knees, he shook his head slightly with effort.

"Do you want me to attach the electric wire back?" He knew he had to sooner or later,

Zim shook his head again, he realized that his knees also hurt,

"But... you have too," Dib said the obvious, the alien was too hard to understand.

Zim stayed still for a moment, "i don' w'nt to..." he said, "it's cold..." talking took too much energy, he fought the urge to lay down in the sake of staying away from the cold floor.

"I told you the main room is much warmer, but you're too stubborn to let me help you." Dib said, but not with anger, he actually sounded worried.

Zim shook his head again a little harder, "i- don' need yo'r h'lp..." he coughed, then shifted his body to his knees, his palms facing the floor, and tried crawling on hands and knees to what he thought was the right way, it wasn't.

Dib was about to tell him that but the irken fell back to the floor, his attempt to prove himself has failed, he let out a whimper, "st'pid legs!..." he screamed but it came out quieter than it should.

He hugged his chest as he couldn't get back to his sitting position again, the floor was too cold, he had to put so much effort not letting his sensitive antennae touch it, but he failed, and whimpered again.

The sight was impressive if not sad, Dib sighed, he walked just a few steps before he was standing right above the alien, he sat so he was face to face with him, "are you done?" He said, it wasn't actually a question.

Zim looked at him with half closed eyes, his vision was blurred, and the human's voice was muffled, he was too tired to move or speak, he felt lightheaded, and at the edge of falling unconscious, but he made sure to do one last thing before he's out; Zim nodded, it was weak and he wondered if the human even saw it.

Dib waited for an answer or if the alien had fallen asleep, but eventually saw the nod, he gazed at the alien for a second, Zim looked like he already was sleeping but Dib could see him blink slowly, he didn't know if he could still see him.

It was too strange, just the thought of it, the whole situation, the weird chats they had and everything. It was too familiar, yet they only know each other for a few days, everything was strange.

The boy leaned down, he slid his hand above Zim's overheated PAK, and the other hand under his thighs, then rest his head against his chest. He made sure to take the towel with him just above the alien.

Zim felt his body rise up, if he was in his right mind and had the energy, he would have screamed and stabbed the human in the face, but even he needed help right now, of course, he'll never admit it.

He now was between the boys arms, against his chest; the human was... warm, and much better than the floor, he wanted to see where they were going, but his sight failed him, and decided to close his eyes.

A weird sound caught his attention, it was inside the human's warm chest, it was slow, yet even.

Zim shifted his hand a little to put it right where the sound was coming, he could feel it as well, bumping inside.

If he was right, then this should be the boy's heart. The humans hearts were much slower, and that made it sound like a lullaby.

Dib started walking towards the door, he thought the alien was unconscious but the grab on his clothes made him freeze for a second, looked down at Zim, the alien's eyes were closed, and his expression were natural, but he seemed still awake as his breath were uneven.

He tightened his grip at the irken, and made his way to the main room.

In the computer room, the air was much warmer, and it was brighter, the computers around hummed much louder than the other rooms.

Dib looked around, wondering where he should put the alien, the room was covered in machines and computers, and in the middle was a long table that had papers, folders, chemistry equipment, and a lot of junk; it was also probably cold since it was made of hard metal.

His eyes then landed on the main chair, he could put the alien in there! Satisfied, he walked towards it, trying not to slip because of the pens on the floor.

He made it to the far end of the room where the chair was, shifting the alien, he tried to get him away from his chest, but his grab was strong, strangely strong for someone who's almost unconscious, he put his weight on one leg as he almost fell to his face, "Zim, let go..." he tried losing the hand grip off of him, but it only got stronger; no, Zim wont let go of his new heat source.

Dib sight in defeat, and decided to set down with the irken in his lap, he shifted him up towards his neck, and moved his legs close to him, then put the towel above him, when he was sure the alien was not going to fall, he moved one arm away to type on the keyboard, he commanded the computer to give him another electric source wire, and to his relief, a drawer opened and a wire popped out, it was much thinner than the previous one, but that's all he had for now.

He grabbed the wire and leaned it towards the irken PAK, he had to shift his other hand around to blog the whole thing, it attached with a click, but before activating it, Dib had to lower the power that gets to the PAK, he didn't want to burn it, or worst, get those sharp PAK legs out, they'll stab him, even if Zim was unconscious.

He changed the power from 100% to 60%, then leaned back to turn on the wire. When he did, he heard the PAK let out a hiss, it clicked, then started humming quietly. Zim shifted slightly in his lap, then he felt his body gets heavy, and his breath were even; it was a sign to let Dib know he was finally sleeping.

Dib now was trapped underneath the irken, he wasn't heavy, but he didn't seem to be waking up or letting go of his shirt, now that he was in his lap, Dib realized how tiny he was, the thought was weird, but he can't deny that Zim was slightly cute as he crawled against him.

Dib closed his eyes then looked up to the ceiling, he wont be able to move for a while, but it wasn't that big problem, he also was tried after finishing his papers, and thought maybe he can get a nap as well.

He wasn't that sleepy, but it was better than doing nothing, the boy shifted and leaned more against the chair, he closed his eyes and let darkness invade his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

A nap shall be good.

END OF CHAPTER SIX!!

Alien freak: this chapter was my favorite so far, i really enjoyed writing it even though it's quite short, they are still not THAT 'friends' but they shall be soon enough :D

I hope you enjoyed reading as much as i did!

This was alien freak signing off.