Arm: ::cackles evilly for a few minutes before she realizes she has to introduce the fic:: Oh, sorry… I was in a bout of evil ideas…

Arm: ::cackles evilly for a few minutes before she realizes she has to introduce the fic:: Oh, sorry… I was in a bout of evil ideas…

Leg: Anyway, Arm and I are still drawing from personal experiences from our friend, but we're detaching ourselves farther and farther from what happened in real life. Because it's getting hard on us to do so, without truly getting into what we want to do, or becoming increasingly sappy where the fic should be angsty as hell.

Arm: Well, lesse… Oh, the romance is evident now, but we aren't going to completely get into any make out scenes or whatever… ::hears some of you groan:: Oh, shut up. I couldn't do that to Dib right now. He and Zim are still trying to figure everything out. They really aren't together yet anyway… If you ignore the fact that they've hugged, and nearly kissed… Oi, let us stop. We're getting talkative again… So, anyway, we don't own them. Got it?

Abuse: Chapter Three: Third Person POV

Zim looked over at Dib, who had stationed himself in front of one of Zim's computers a little over an hour ago. Dib seemed to have gotten over what had happened to him today, but he still looked upset over it. Zim noticed that Dib was smiling more and more at whatever he was reading. He finally got interested and walked over to Dib.

"What are you reading?" Zim asked in a soft voice, so as not to scare Dib.

No matter how hard Zim had tried not to scare Dib, he still jumped at Zim's voice. "A fanfic about a show I like," Dib answered once he got over his little panic attack. His mother used to ask him the same thing when he would be on the computer when she got home. Usually afterward she would do something to him, though. He shivered at the memories, but shrugged it off. Zim wouldn't mean to do any harm to him now.

Zim nodded. He understood what fanfiction was because he had run across some a few times as well. "Which show?" Zim asked, interested.

"Gundam Wing," Dib replied. "Though, this fic is huge. I'll finish it later...I've been trying to finish it for weeks now, but with my mom being home more and more often, you can understand why I haven't finished it," Dib admitted with little difficulty. He could feel that Zim was reading over his shoulder, and couldn't help smiling to himself. He had never thought that Zim could be so caring, and it being towards him was something strange enough.

"I've read this one," Zim mused to himself as he read over the title. "Where are you at in it?" Zim asked.

"About halfway through chapter nine," Dib replied shakily, surprised that Zim had actually read the same fic was he was trying to read.

"You're right, it will take you forever to finish it," Zim mumbled to himself. "Dib, I have a question," Zim began as Dib turned to face him in Zim's computer chair.

"Yes?"

"You never really were going to come here today, were you?"

Dib's eyes widened at that. It was true that he hadn't actually planned on coming over here, but he felt like he had to, in order to get away from his family. He couldn't lie to Zim, not now, not after all the nice things he had done for him that afternoon. "No, I wasn't. I didn't think you'd really expect me to come over. Of course, I came over anyways because of what happened at the house, but..." Dib stopped, he didn't know if he should say anymore.

"You never really meant to, right?" Zim said, getting somewhat depressed like.

"No, I meant to," Dib replied. "It's was while I was walking away from my house, I thought that I should keep my promise and come over here. And you know what, Zim, I'm really glad I did this time. I would have done something stupid if I hadn't." Dib breathed in and waited for Zim to ask the next question.

"Like killing yourself, perhaps?" Dib looked over at Zim in shock. "I wouldn't put it past you, after what you had described as daily occurrences in your house to me. I'm grateful that you came here before deciding to do that. I could have never imagined all of that. You really need to get away from your family, Dib," Zim continued as he moved closer to Dib.

"I know I should, but I just can't. Where would I go?" Dib asked sadly as he turned back to the fic and tried to read. He felt Zim's arms around him again, and leaned into Zim. "I know I should go home now and hope that my mom won't kill me when I walk in the door, but I just can't bring myself to face her again," Dib continued in a barely audible whisper.

"I'm going with you when you do go back," Zim stated, holding Dib closer to him. "She won't try to do anything to you, as long as I'm there. I'll even spend the night, if I have to. I'm not going to let her hurt you more than she already has, and that's a promise."

"Do you really mean that?" Dib asked as Zim let go of him. Dib got up from the computer chair and stood in front of him, so that he could see Zim's eyes when he answered.

"Of course I mean it. Dib, I never want to see you like that again. You don't deserve to feel all of that pain. Now, do you want to stay here, because it's getting late, or are you going to go home now?" Zim asked, trying to sound as caring as he felt right now.

Dib could see that Zim wasn't just saying that he meant it, and hugged Zim in response. "I'm not leaving unless you want me to go home," Dib whispered into Zim's shoulder. "You're the only person I will listen to right now, and you're the only one who cares about me enough to listen to me. I've tried telling Gaz about how my mother treated me, but she doesn't listen..."

Zim growled lightly at that. How could Gaz not listen to Dib? He was her brother! She was supposed to know when he needed her! "How could she not listen? How?!" Zim nearly shrieked.

Zim could hear Dib sniff, and suddenly realized that Dib was crying again. What did he do wrong this time? What? "She doesn't listen because mother has taught her to believe that the way she's treating me is right. That my mother is teaching me by beating me up all the time. My sister was away that time when my mother got arrested, being at our aunt's house for the week. If she had been there and saw what my mother did to me, then she would believe me," Dib explained.

"Haven't you tried proving to her that what your mother is doing is wrong?" Zim asked as he looked into Dib's eyes. Dib blinked at first, then nodded his head in response. "And she still doesn't listen?" Again, another nod. "Well, I'm glad I feel nothing for her."

"Earlier you said that you had your mind on someone from the moment you arrived here on earth.... Who was that?" Dib asked, knowing full well that he probably already knew.

Zim just blinked and tried to look away from Dib. He couldn't do that though, when Dib looked up at him like that. Zim could feel his cheeks get warm as he blushed lightly. "I thought you would have figured it out by now," Zim whispered, his antennae falling into his eyes. He had taken his disguise off since they moved down to his lab.

Dib brushed Zim's antennae out of his eyes, causing Zim to shudder slightly. "I know I should have, and I'm most likely right, but I still want to hear it from you before I jump to conclusions," Dib stated.

"Isn't it kind of obvious?"

"And you're asking me, when I was asking you in the first place?"

Zim sighed. "Well, you, Dib. Why would I suddenly be acting so protective of you, not wanting you to get hurt? I don't really know exactly what I feel for you, Dib, but I've never felt like this before," Zim answered.

Dib nodded his head again and continued to stay latched onto Zim, resting his head on Zim's shoulder. "I'm glad you feel that way about me," Dib stated lightly, smiling slightly.

Zim smiled himself, but then frowned. Tomorrow was a skool day. They were going to have to go to skool, and face Dib's mother. He didn't want Dib to see her again so soon. He wrapped his arms around Dib and held him in place until Dib moved out from his arms.

"Zim, what are we going to do about tomorrow?" Dib asked fearfully.

Zim looked around for something to help him out. He was still thinking of how he was going to keep Mrs. C from getting to Dib. "You could just stay here, while I go to skool." Zim suggested weakly.

Dib shook his head. "My mother would find out where I was, through you. She already suspects that we're together, even though we never really been close enough to one another until just now," Dib told him, a small blush creeping slowly across his face.

Zim thought harder. "I can't just let you go to skool and see her, though. Who knows what she'll try to do to you?" Zim mused out loud to himself.

"She wouldn't try to touch me unless I was alone with her in a room, Zim. So maybe if you stay with me the whole skool day, she won't do anything to me," Dib suggested.

"But what are we going to do when we go home? You can't come to my house, but you can't go to yours either, because of your mother. Where would you go?"

Dib sighed at that. "I was thinking that I would actually go home with Gaz, when she left skool, so that I wouldn't be in the house alone with mom. Though, my sister is probably angry at me as well, so I don't think that's a good idea."

"No, you're sister won't be angry at you. She'll be glad to see that you're alright, but then she'll explode on you," Zim said with a small smile.

"Yeah, she would, wouldn't she?" He walked over to the small radio on the table and turned it on. He searched for the right station. He needed to hear the song he dubbed as his. Sighing, Dib gave up, figuring he was never going to find his song while searching for it. He needed the CD.

"It's getting late, Dib, don't you think you might need some rest after what happened to you today?" Zim asked, concerned that Dib might be more exhausted than he was letting on.

"I'm fine, Zim, I'm not tired at all," Dib stated, but a yawn escaped his lips just shortly afterwards. This caused Zim to shake his head in amusement. It was so like Dib to say something like that.

"C'mon, you can sleep in my bed," Zim ordered lightly, taking hold of Dib's hand and dragging him up to the surface level of his base.

"You have a bed?" Dib asked in disbelief as he followed Zim.

"I don't use it, Dib. I usually sleep downstairs in my lab," Zim replied. As he was walking into the elevator, he tripped over Gir.

"There you are, Master! I was looking all over for you!" Gir shrieked excitedly as he jumped onto Zim's back.

Dib chuckled as Zim mumbled something about Gir being scatter-brained and got off of the floor. "I've been down here with Dib nearly most of the day, Gir, where else would I be?" Zim asked as he dusted himself off.

"Awww, has Master finally admitted his feelings for Dib?" Gir asked as he walked with Zim. Dib blushed lightly as Zim tried not to kill the little android.

"You could say that, Gir," Zim answered as he looked over to Dib.

"Oh…. Well, I'm going to play around in the lab for a little bit, kay?"

"Don't touch or destroy anything important, Gir!" Zim ordered as the doors to the elevator finally closed around him and Dib. Zim sighed exasperatedly from the little encounter with Gir.

"Is he always like that?" Dib asked once they were out of earshot of Gir.

Zim gave him a half-hearted glare. "Always is putting it lightly," was all he had to say, as they waited to make it to the surface level. Dib just nodded in understanding.

The two walked in comfortable silence. Dib really was exhausted. He needed to sleep. Sleep wasn't something that came to him easily, either. Dib didn't even seem to notice that Zim was holding onto his hand, or the fact that he was squeezing Zim's for dear life. He didn't want to go to sleep, though. He wanted to stay up with Zim.

Zim seemed to sense his thoughts, however, and just shook his head. "You need your rest, Dib," was all he said. He motioned to a rarely used room. "Well, this is my bedroom. Nothing special, really."

"'Night, Zim," Dib said as he walked into the room. He looked around. It looked like a normal teenage boy bedroom.

"'Night Dib. Oh, and if you need anything, just ask. I should be up most of the night," Zim explained.

"Okay." Dib nodded and watched Zim leave. He hoped that he wasn't more of a hassle than he thought he was. Dib really didn't want to do this to Zim. Climbing into the rarely used bed, Dib hoped that for one night, he could sleep easy.

He had no such luck.

Only an hour into an uneasy sleep, Dib began to toss more than usual. He mumbled things as he slept.

"You are so pathetic! No son of mine will be a fairy!"

"You are so stupid! I mean, c'mon, Dib, you're sister could do a better job on this! I want you to go straight back to that skool of yours and retake this test until you get an A… And if you don't, I'll personally make sure you stay off line."

"You little son of a bitch! Get back here!" The pain. Oh, god, the pain. His back was in complete agony.

Mom! Mom, please stop! What did I do? What did I do to deserve—No! Get back, Mom! Don't! Please! No!

"You're going to pay, Dib, for ruining this family! How dare you call yourself one of us! It's a good thing your sister isn't home, she doesn't have to see this."

Stop it, Mother! Stop it! Just, please! Don't hurt me anymore! My back. It hurts enough already...

"Oh, the pain of the broken china, which, may I add, you broke, is too much for you to bare, son?"

Mother, please! Listen to reason! Ow—Please, mother, stop! PLEASE!

Dib woke up with a start, breathing heavily and sweating. He needed to control himself. That last please, he knew he shouted that out loud. It was how he woke up every time he relived that memory in his sleep.

Dib rubbed his left arm, trying to calm himself. That moment was long gone. It was never going to happen again. Then why did he have to relive it like that? In a form of a nightmare. It was horrible. He had to deal with that same nightmare again and again, night after night.

After he felt he was relaxed enough, Dib placed his head back on the pillow, then panicked. He realized he wasn't at home. His half-awake brain told him he was at Zim's house, and that he was safe. Safe. He had never felt that way, all his life. Not until now, and that thought was enough to make himself trust his sub-conscious and go back to sleep.

It wasn't long until he started tossing and turning again.

"Look at him! The boy with the big head!"

"I bet he's gay! I mean, just look at how thin he is! He has to be!"

"I heard that his whole family hates him, especially his mother."

"Hey, paranormal shit boy, get over here! I've got something to show you!"

Stop it, please. Just shut up. All of you. I can't stand this much longer.

"You know why you don't have any friends? It's because you're a fag. You hear me?"

"Heh, next thing you know, he'll be wearing dresses!"

Leave me alone! All I want is to be respected.

"Respect? Do you know how to respect? No, you never knew how to. I have given you more respect, Dib, than I should."

Quiet, mother! Just shut up! You have never respected me! What do you know about respect?

"I know you just didn't say that to me like that, Dib. C'mere, give me your hand."

No!

"Give me your hand goddamnit!"

Let go of me! Let GO! Just leave me alone, Mom. Leave me alone! I don't need this shit from you!

"It seems as though I have raised a problem child. No problem. That is easily remedied…"

No! Don't come near me! Don't you even touch me! I'm leaving, and there's no way you're going to stop me! I hate my life, mother! And you know why, you're the cause of it! I have no reason to live here, if you don't want me here!

"Then just go, Dib. It's just one less mouth to feed."

Fine! …What? Mother, what are you—No! Get back! Please! Stay away! Leave me alone! Please…just…oh, god, leave me alone. I want to be left alone. Alone, you hear? A-lone!

"Dib, Dib, wake up," Zim said quietly as he tried to lightly shake Dib awake. He had walked in to check on the human when he noticed how much he was tossing and turning, not to mention mumbling to himself.

"Just leave me alone…" Dib continued to mumble to himself, his face crinkled in anguish.

"No, Dib, I can't leave you. I won't leave you. Ever. Please, just wake up," Zim continued. He had never dealt with this situation before, but he somehow thought that talking to Dib as he slept would somehow ease him.

You won't…leave me?

"Dib, I could never do such a thing to you, not when you need me the most. Just wake up. Please."

The last please had done it. Dib warily opened his eyes and discovered to find himself in Zim's arms. He didn't even need to ask Zim what was going on. He knew he was having a nightmare again. Suddenly, Dib burst into a new wave of tears and cried into Zim's shirt. It was just too much.

Zim didn't need to ask to understand how bad Dib's nightmare had been. He just hoped that he could do something, to get Dib to stop feeling all of this pain. "Shhh. It's okay now," Zim said to Dib in a quiet voice, one he didn't even recognize.

Oh, god, where should he start? The teasing? Or the abuse? It didn't matter to Dib anymore; he just mumbled incoherent sentences into Zim's shirt as he cried harder than he had earlier that day. He just didn't want to deal with it anymore. It was so horrible. All the times his mother abused him, the teasing he had to go through because people thought he was weird.

And Zim was there, the whole time, listening and trying to understand as best as he could, while silently vowing that he would get his vengeance on Dib's mother, if it was the last thing he did. That woman had caused more pain and anguish of Dib than anyone else in existence had. She didn't deserve to live. How could Gaz have been oblivious to her own brother's pain? Even he had noticed it, to some degree.

"Zim…Promise me. Promise me you'll never do anything like those people. Don't ever turn on me, please." The completely desperate tone Dib had in his voice killed Zim.

Zim kissed Dib. He couldn't help it. He had to. "I would never do such a thing to you. Now, get some sleep…"

Dib looked up at him with wide eyes. "Zim, could you…could you stay here?" he forced himself to ask. "I…I'd feel safer if you would."

Zim nodded in understanding. He climbed into the bed with Dib, and hoped that this would help Dib get to sleep. This was something he'd have to get used to, he told himself. Dib was holding onto him for dear life. There was no way he was going to be going anywhere for a while.

"Thank you," Dib said finally with a small blush. He felt a whole lot safer with Zim's body pressed up against his like it was, and was able to fall asleep without being reminded of any past events.

Arm: ::sniffs:: See what 7th Heaven does to you! It makes you get really sad ideas! Especially if you watched that episode that aired October 1, 2001… That episode was indescribable.

Leg: ::shakes her head:: She didn't even finish the fic entirely though! Damn! Oh well. Tell us what you think. It would make us very happy. ^_^

Arm: ::wipes her eyes:: Damnit, I was near tears. Well, yeah, reviews would be highly appreciated right now.