Love is Weird, But It Makes You Feel All Warm and Tingly Inside!!
1 Chapter 3- Raking the Carpet
By: Kichara
Hey organizms! It's 5 in the morning, and I just couldn't wait to start writing again, so here I am. Damn, I got 11 reviews within 24 hours of having this story up. That like makes me a friggin' demi-God of writing!! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I was so happy to see them I printed them out, reading and re-reading them like they were some really good lemon (^^), and was so hyper I couldn't sit still all day! And since I was wearing all black and lots of silver jewelry, I'm sure I scared more than one person. Oh well, I think over-happy goth's/punk peoples are cool! Like Tenna! Qwik note: I hadda little thingy in my first chapter dedicated to one of Jhonen-sama's very cool chars, Devi, but nobody's caught it yet. ( Ohhh, well. Aaaaanyway, I must go to write my fic now cuz I'M REALLY FRIGGIN COOOOOOOOOOL!!!! Yeah, that's right! *laughs insanely and falls out of her chair*
Zim's eyes opened, fixing on an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked, unsure of where he was, and then the corner of his eye caught hold of Dib. The alien sat up, studying his ex-nemesis, who was sitting in a chair by the bed. He was asleep, sliding down in the chair with his arms on the covers, head resting on them. Zim blinked to see him so close, a warm feeling growing in his gut as he remembered what had happened. 'He took care of me.'
It was still dark outside, but the faintest hints of morning were fading in and out of the sky, as Zim could see through the bedroom's window. He glanced at the glowing digital clock on the night stand, reading that it was 5:42 and was surprised to see it was Sunday. 'I've been here for THAT long?' Also on the little table was a bowl and pitcher filled with water, some damp washcloths, a box of opened wheat thins and a couple of browning apple cores. The teenage alien pushed the covers down to the bottom of the bed, tossing his long legs off and standing up. He walked over to the other side of the piece of furniture, where Dib was eased against, and carefully put one arm under the boy's legs, the other behind his back, and lifted him up and set him gently down on the empty bed, taking off the other's glasses and placing them on the nightstand. Dib murmered, a slight smile curling at his lips, and Zim felt his chest tighten at the sight as he pulled the blanket up to Dib's slim shoulders. He stood up straight, arms folding and frowning slightly as he tried to dismiss the sudden wave of emotion that had washed over him.
The alien stood for a long moment, looking almost stern, and then his eyes traveled back to Dib, who still had the ghost of a smile on his face. Zim sighed in defeat, turning away. As he looked around for his clothes, his mind went over the other boy occupying the room, who had also been the only thing occupying his mind for endless weeks now. The reason why he'd collapsed on Friday probably had to do with the fact that it was hard to remember when he'd gotten a decent amount of sleep. All he seemed to do lately was stay up late, staring blankly at the huge computer screens of his lab, or wandering the streets at ungodly hours.
Zim entered the small bathroom, where he found his clothes hanging up on the shower bar. They felt a bit stiff, but were dry, at least. He wriggled into the jeans, but stopped at his torn shirt, looking down at the gauze that was still wrapped around his toned chest. He pulled off the tape, unraveling the bandage and tossing it into the bathroom waste basket. The long cut was beginning to heal, scabbing up, and Zim decided to go without the shirt, as it would only agitate the wound, so he tucked it into the waistband of his jeans.
Looking at the cut reminded him of Friday, which in turn reminded him of Dib. Not that much didn't anymore. He growled softly, irritated at himself for a reason he was still having trouble placing. He walked back into the bedroom, eyes automatically reaching the boy, and decided to go elsewhere, as being in the same room with the sole occupier of his thoughts wasn't helping to clear his mind at all.
He padded past the bed, quietly opening the door and shutting it behind him, going down the stairs and into the tiny kitchen. The young man sighed, closing his eyes, then opened them as they burned his eyelids. Remembering that he'd had his contacts in for two days, he took them out, placing them on the counter top. He almost hesitated at the idea of looking normal (for him), but took into account that Dib had been taking care of him for two days, and hadn't done anything in an effort to expose Zim. 'I can trust him.' Zim realized, lips lifting up in a little smile. It felt good to know that.
Remembering that Dib had taken care of him for that long made Zim feel the need to do something in return, but he frowned, unsure of what he should do. The fact that he was in a kitchen and that it was morning suddenly hit him, and the idea of making Dib breakfast came to mind. He opened a cupboard, peeking inside to see a small stack of plates and some glasses. He frowned slightly, going to open the next cupboard, but found it empty. Leaving both open, he moved on until he found the cabinet full of different boxes and cans, going over them thoughtfully as he read their contents. 'Sliced carrots, Ramen, Frosted Flakes, Baked Beans, Corn muffins…don't humans eat that for breakfast?' He pulled out the box in question, studying the golden pastries on the front. "Hmmm…"
Dib rolled over, almost falling out of the narrow bed as he did so. As his arm and hip slid off the edge he let out a little yelp and rolled back so he wouldn't tumble to the floor, succeeding in getting tangled up in the sheets and falling out of the bed anyway. Grumbling, he detangled himself from the sheets, tossing the balled up bedding onto the now stripped piece of furniture. Thoroughly irritated, he stalked towards the bathroom and the shower that he felt he desparetely needed at that point, as he felt quite grundgy and tired. As he tossed his clothes into the dirty laundry corner, his groggy ming clicked suddenly. Zim. But…
He quickly looked around the room for the alien in question, then deflated as he found no trace of him. //He must have gone home.// He realized, a cloud of depression falling overhead at the thought of being left alone by the person he'd said to now be his friend. He'd hoped for them to at least accomplish THAT, since Dib knew there was no chance he'd ever get the chance to love Zim like he wanted to. Not that their friendship was looking all that great at the moment anyway. He stepped into the shower and slid the cloudy glass door shut behind him, reaching out to press the On button. A soft clank sounded behind the tile wall and then the water came pouring out, icy coldness hitting Dib. "Oh crap!" He yelped, quickly moving out of the water's path to wait for it to warm up. The cold had woken up the young man though, getting the intelligent gears working in his head, and as he scrubbed vigorously at his skin, a sudden thought struck him motionless.
//I fell asleep in the chair by the bed, but I woke up IN it….Did Zim…put me there?// The thought made Dib toss the soap back into it's dish, rinse off quickly, and jump out of the shower, intent on going to find Zim. He felt sure that by Zim putting him into bed meant he didn't hate him, at least. And that was all Dib needed right now to get him going.
Dib grabbed the towel hanging on the rack, quickly rubbing his body dry and half sprinted to his dresser. There, he grabbed the first clothes he saw, tossing them on, and plucked his glasses off the nightstand , a burning sensation tickling his chest when he remembered they'd been on him when he'd fallen asleep in the chair. He opened the door, hurried down the steps, taking several of them two at a time and was almost to the front door…when he got to the kitchen doorway. The young man stopped, staring inside.
Zim was bent over, closely inspecting a small muffin pan that had six… 'somethings' in it. His bottom lip was pushed out in a thoughtful pout, one eye narrowed, with his antennae twitching slightly as he studied them. Dib burst out laughing, noticing how cute Zim looked right then. The alien quickly stood up straight, eyes wide as he saw Dib in the kitchen doorway. A sweet laugh was leaving him and filling the room, and he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black wife beater, with his hair wet and falling down in a wilder mess than usual.
//He's beautiful.// The alien thought suddenly, and a crimson color grew below his eyes as he silently scolded himself for the automatic thought.
Time stopped for a second in Dib's mind as Zim stood up, his rose eyes wide as he stared at Dib. He wasn't wearing his shirt, although he had on those damned tight balck jeans. The alien's mouth dropped slightly and a slight blush spread across his face. Dib blinked, heart beat quickening at the sight of the georgous Irken. //Oh my God…//
Then Zim blinked, placing his hands on his hips as he regarded Dib with a stern look. "What's so funny, human?"
The laugh that had paused at Dib's observation of the other faded into a smile and he walked more into the kitchen. "Nothing. You just looked funny, that's all." He indicated to the muffin pan. " What are those?"
Zim was about to retort at the idea of 'looking funny', but instead the blush that had started to fade started up again, distracting him from that. He directed his attention to the piece of metal with it's six lumpy tenants. "Um…corn muffins?"
Dib came closer, bending over to look at the deformed pastries, which were a funny yellow color with splotches of white scattered across the surface. "What's the white stuff?"
"Um, flour. The mixture didn't look 'golden brown', so I added flour to it."
"They're supposed to be golden brown when you cook them, not before then." Dibs' smile grew and he stood up, noticing that all the cabinets were open. "Well, it's the thought that counts, right? Thanks Zim." Zim's blush grew a little more, his face turning a lovely fushia now.
Dib reached over, shutting one of the cabinets left open by Zim's search for breakfast. The alien saw what he was doing and went to help, going to the other side of the room to shut the cabinets there. Dib finished with his side first, and turned to look at Zim again, who was facing the other way, one arm up to shut the cabinet door. The boy's honey colored eyes quickly noticed the muscles of the alien's back, defined by the motion of having his arm up, and he held his breath unintentionally. As he stared at the lean muscles, his eyes noticed the two indentions along Zim's spine, where his Irken pack would have attached to. Zim lowered his arm, causing the defined muscles to ripple slightly, and he turned, surprised to see Dib gaping at his slightly. "What?"
Dib blinked, rapidly searching his creativity for an answer. "I, um, just noticed where your Irken pack goes." He blinked again, eyebrows furrowing slightly in thought and realization. "Wait a second, it's been a while since you last wore that thing, hasn't it?"
Zim's eyes widened slightly and he looked down at the floor. "I know. I…haven't needed it." He said quietly. "I made coffee too, you know." He added, more to the linoleum than to Dib.
Dib frowned slightly, then went to take out the only two mugs he owned, one saying, 'I'll Rise But I Won't Shine,' while the other proclaimed, 'Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, You've Gotta Eat It Up Before It Goes Stale,' asking Zim if he drank coffee.
"Yes."
Dib walked over to the coffee machine, which was on the counter by Zim, and filled up the cups while his companion continued to stare at the floor. Being closer, Dib could see the look on Zim's face, which was a mixture of agitation and what looked like pain. "Zim?" He asked tentatively, unsure.
The other lifted his head, almost looking surprised at seeing Dib so close, staring intently at him. "What is it?"
"Is something wrong?" Dib placed both cups on opposite sides of the little table in the center of the room, sitting down and motioning to the other chair, which Zim took. He picked up the cup of black coffee, taking a sip and then peered almost passionately at the mug that was gripped in his hands, avoiding Dib's eyes.
"Zim?"
"Yes." The alien looked up, seeming unsure and Dib bit his lip, racking his brains for something to say.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
A long pause filled the kitchen, and then Zim continued, quietly. "I'm not allowed to go back home."
Dib blinked, startled. "What?"
"A couple of months ago, I received a call from the Tallest's telling me that I was nothing but a disgrace to the Irken empire. They said they'd only sent me to Earth in the first place to get rid of me." He sighed, sounding tired. "I can't fit in there and I can't fit in here. Stupid." He took a long draught from the coffee, swallowing half of it.
Dib watched him, silently digesting this information as he watched his old enemy toss back the coffee into his mouth and shake his head, seemingly tired. //He didn't even have to take over Earth. They were just… playing around with him.// Unexpected anger caused his hand to curl up tightly into a fist and Zim looked at the other in surprise.
"Dib-human?"
"I'm sorry, Zim."
Zim's automatic defense kicked in, and he forced out, "I- I don't need your pity, stinking Earth monkey! I'm fine, do you really think that- that…" Dib's eyes quietly bore into his, looking a little sad and Zim bit his lip, eyes going back to his coffee cup as he near-whispered. "Thank you."
Dib waited for a second before saying, "I'm glad we decided to become friends.", and watching Zim intently, finally taking a sip of coffee.
The green-skinned boy nodded, finishing off the cup and twirling it on the table for a minute before finally answering. "Me too."
Dib polished off the black coffee, pushing his chair back and standing up to put it in the semi-full sink. Zim went to do the same, and their eyes suddenly made contact as he did so. Neither said anything, and slowly, unconsiously, the ex-rivals titled towards each other, becoming closer, then…
*CRACK, BANG*
"Masteeeer!! I found youuuu!!!" The two quickly turned to see GIR as he ran in through the doorway, took a bounding leap and landed on the table, taking another to pounce Zim, little arms wrapping around his neck as he squealed happily. "I looked eeeeeverywhere for you, in the library, and school, and the ice cream shop, and Mexico, and the music store, but you weren't there!" He pushed back the head of his dog outfit, which was quite battered after GIR's travelings, and continued babbling to the Irken. "But you've been here all this time!! And you guys are half dressed and all close and stuff!!" The gears seemed to be turning as he tilted his head to side. "Did you guys have seeeeex?!!! DIDYOUDIDYOUDIDYOUDIDYOUUUUUUU?!!!!!!!!!!!"
Both boys simultaneously turned a bright crimson and Zim detached the robot from himself, tossing the giggling thing to the ground as he yelled. "NO!!!!"
"Reaaaaally??" the demented SIR unit sat up, looking tremendously disapointed. " Too bad."
Dib looked up from the robot to Zim, meeting his ruby eyes, and felt his blush burn even brighter. "Um…"
"IS THERE ANYWAY THAT WE MIGHT ASSIST YOU IN THE DE-GERMING OF YOUR LIVING QUARTERS?!!" Zim asked loudly, his face as red as Dib's as he desperately tried to change the subject.
Dib looked infinitely grateful as he responded to Zim's outburst. "Um, yeah, actually. I've got to keep the apartment clean in case the land lady comes by to check on it."
"GIR!" Zim said, still loudly, to the robot, who had found Zim's "muffins" and was happily crunching down on one. He cocked his head to the side as he looked at his master, a big grin plastered on his face. "UNSOIL THE EATING DEVICES IN THE SINK WHILE I AID DIB-HUMAN IN THE TIDYING OF HIS DWELLING!"
"Ooookay!" GIR finished the muffin, smacking his lips together loudly as he grabbed a chair and shoved it to the sink. He clambered up in it, put the plug into the drain, and added plenty of dishsoap and water. While he was preoccupied with the chore, Dib and Zim moved out of the kitchen to the living room.
Dib began straightening up the magazine's that were strewn across the coffee table. Zim picked up the miscellaneous dishes that were around the room, leaving for a second the dump them into the sink. There, GIR was humming the Power Rangers theme song, and he happily proclaimed his title as Aquaman to Zim as his companion dumped the dishes into the sink, then headed back to the living room.
"Dosen't your floor need cleaning?" Zim asked Dib, noticing as he did that the boy's cheeks were pale again and taking note of his own cooled face.
"Yeah, wait a second." Dib went to a small closet in the corner, rummaging through it for a moment, and pulled out...
"A rake?" Zim blinked in confusion.
"Yeah, it's shag carpeting. Too tough for vaccums to survive it. " He said, handing the gardening tool to Zim, who eyed it thoughtfully. "Oh, and you gotta make sure to rake it this way, not that way, so it stands up straight and looks cleaner." He said, motioning with his hands, then went back to straightening up while Zim got started.
Several minutes passed in silence, except for GIR, who was uttering musical sounds in the form of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and Brittany Spears. Zim pushed aside the couch to rake underneath it and stopped, studying the carpet closely. "Is that pink?"
"It's the original carpet color, kind of a mix between green and pink. It comes out as a sorta puce color, don't you think?"
They finished together, and Dib put the rake back in the closet. The boys went back to the kitchen, where GIR was sitting on the table lously eating another muffin.
"All done!" He announced, kicking his short legs and waving at the sink. "I put the dishes away and everything! Can we go home now?"
"Fine GIR." Zim popped in his contacts, which were still on the counter, then headed upstairs to get his combat boots and gloves. Dib smiled as he realized that Zim hadn't been in his disguise at all, totally open for Dib to take advantage of that. //Does he trust me?//
"Zim, do you want to borrow a shirt?" He called out, moving to the foot of the stairs. "Y'know, since yours is ripped?" He started up the stairs.
Zim was sitting on Dib's bed, lacing up his boots. "It would be appreciated." He answered, watching as the human opened a dresser drawer. Dib sifted through what was left of his clothes, realizing how much he REALLY needed to do laundry. He finally pulled out a plain blue T-shirt, mindgul of Zim's healing cut, which he tossed to Zim.
Zim caught the piece of clothing easily, his claw-like fingers gripping the fabric. He quickly pulled it over his head, and tugged on his specially made fighter's gloves that Dib had tucked into his boots before. The alien stood up, smoothing his antennae back into his hair and studied Dib for a long moment. An awkward minute of silence passed, until it was broken by a bang and squeal of joy from downstairs.
"GIR!" Zim yelled out, receiving a tirade of giggles in response as he walked out of the room and down the stairs, Dib close behind. They found GIR in the kitchen, bouncing from one chair to the other as he cheerfully sang Godsmack. He looked up as the two came in, squealing happily as he announced. " I'm playin' musical chairs!!"
"GIR, cease your destructive behavior!" Zim commanded, grabbing a hold of the robot's antennae as reached mid-leap.
"Are we gonna go home now?" The deranged SIR unit chirped, swinging his legs.
"Yes, we're going home." Zim growled, irritated, and let the robot drop to the linoleum. He turned to Dib and blinked, suddenly unsure of himself. "Um, Dib-human…thank you."
Dib blushed for the umpteenth time that morning. "You're welcome. I'll uh, see you in school tommorow." He fidgeted, pulling some lint off his tank top.
As Zim was trying to come up with a response, GIR grabbed the muffin pan and sped out of the room, calling out, "Beat you home, master!!" The voice was followed by a loud crack and a round of insane cackling.
"Thank you again. I shall see you tommorow." Zim said in one breath, then ran after his disfunctional SIR unit, calling out. "GIR! At least put the rest of your costume back on!"
Dib walked to the front door, which had been left open and had two GIR- shaped holes in it, obviously where he'd made his entrance and exit. Dib bent to pick up the pieces of broken wood, shttuing the door with a grimace. "The land lady's gonna kill me…" He noticed a white object under the potted plant in the hall and frowned as he realized it was a dinner plate.
The boy groaned as he headed for the kitchen sink to rewash the plate, which had little bits of black soil clinging to it. He also made a mental note to look around carefully for the rest of the dishes that had been 'put away' by GIR.
*~*~*
WAHAHAHAAAA!!! I'M FINISHED!!!! Geez, I worked my ass off to get this thing done, and it wasn't easy,since I'm busy as hell with school work and what not(Prom, Art club, Stupid people, Graduation, blehhhh….), so you'd all better appreciate this, damnitt!! …Please? I really love all the reviews, getting them makes me all hyper and stuff. *hands out sporks to all her reviewers* Thanks go out to my best friend Lindsey, who's my helper and fellow brainstormer. I'd also like to thank Pantera, sporks and the makers of Tootsie pops, for without them, my life could not continue on in a semi- sane sorta way and get my stories written. And thanks to my friend Claudia, who got me a Dib pin. YAY! I like to talk to my little Dib, it helps me keep my sanity (although many disagree). More dank you's go to SwEeTiNsAnItY, who gave me a toaster. She's so neat-o! *cuddles toaster* Check out her story in my Favorite stories, it's awesome, the spork commands you! Obey the spork!
Oh, another note, I've made the BIG decision to end this story in an NC-17 sorta way (which is a big step for me. I haven't written any lemons before), so any encouraging remarks are helpful so I can get the guts to do so. Anyhoo, enough of my rambling. ^^ Bye!
*Oh yeah, and the quote, "Life is like a box of chocolates, You've gotta eat it up before it goes stale.", was actually made up my ME (Wahaahaahaa, check out my creative wordplay), so…well, I dunno. I just wanted to stick that in here somewhere. ^^ No steal or Kichara beat you. ^^
1 Chapter 3- Raking the Carpet
By: Kichara
Hey organizms! It's 5 in the morning, and I just couldn't wait to start writing again, so here I am. Damn, I got 11 reviews within 24 hours of having this story up. That like makes me a friggin' demi-God of writing!! Thank you so much for all the reviews! I was so happy to see them I printed them out, reading and re-reading them like they were some really good lemon (^^), and was so hyper I couldn't sit still all day! And since I was wearing all black and lots of silver jewelry, I'm sure I scared more than one person. Oh well, I think over-happy goth's/punk peoples are cool! Like Tenna! Qwik note: I hadda little thingy in my first chapter dedicated to one of Jhonen-sama's very cool chars, Devi, but nobody's caught it yet. ( Ohhh, well. Aaaaanyway, I must go to write my fic now cuz I'M REALLY FRIGGIN COOOOOOOOOOL!!!! Yeah, that's right! *laughs insanely and falls out of her chair*
Zim's eyes opened, fixing on an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked, unsure of where he was, and then the corner of his eye caught hold of Dib. The alien sat up, studying his ex-nemesis, who was sitting in a chair by the bed. He was asleep, sliding down in the chair with his arms on the covers, head resting on them. Zim blinked to see him so close, a warm feeling growing in his gut as he remembered what had happened. 'He took care of me.'
It was still dark outside, but the faintest hints of morning were fading in and out of the sky, as Zim could see through the bedroom's window. He glanced at the glowing digital clock on the night stand, reading that it was 5:42 and was surprised to see it was Sunday. 'I've been here for THAT long?' Also on the little table was a bowl and pitcher filled with water, some damp washcloths, a box of opened wheat thins and a couple of browning apple cores. The teenage alien pushed the covers down to the bottom of the bed, tossing his long legs off and standing up. He walked over to the other side of the piece of furniture, where Dib was eased against, and carefully put one arm under the boy's legs, the other behind his back, and lifted him up and set him gently down on the empty bed, taking off the other's glasses and placing them on the nightstand. Dib murmered, a slight smile curling at his lips, and Zim felt his chest tighten at the sight as he pulled the blanket up to Dib's slim shoulders. He stood up straight, arms folding and frowning slightly as he tried to dismiss the sudden wave of emotion that had washed over him.
The alien stood for a long moment, looking almost stern, and then his eyes traveled back to Dib, who still had the ghost of a smile on his face. Zim sighed in defeat, turning away. As he looked around for his clothes, his mind went over the other boy occupying the room, who had also been the only thing occupying his mind for endless weeks now. The reason why he'd collapsed on Friday probably had to do with the fact that it was hard to remember when he'd gotten a decent amount of sleep. All he seemed to do lately was stay up late, staring blankly at the huge computer screens of his lab, or wandering the streets at ungodly hours.
Zim entered the small bathroom, where he found his clothes hanging up on the shower bar. They felt a bit stiff, but were dry, at least. He wriggled into the jeans, but stopped at his torn shirt, looking down at the gauze that was still wrapped around his toned chest. He pulled off the tape, unraveling the bandage and tossing it into the bathroom waste basket. The long cut was beginning to heal, scabbing up, and Zim decided to go without the shirt, as it would only agitate the wound, so he tucked it into the waistband of his jeans.
Looking at the cut reminded him of Friday, which in turn reminded him of Dib. Not that much didn't anymore. He growled softly, irritated at himself for a reason he was still having trouble placing. He walked back into the bedroom, eyes automatically reaching the boy, and decided to go elsewhere, as being in the same room with the sole occupier of his thoughts wasn't helping to clear his mind at all.
He padded past the bed, quietly opening the door and shutting it behind him, going down the stairs and into the tiny kitchen. The young man sighed, closing his eyes, then opened them as they burned his eyelids. Remembering that he'd had his contacts in for two days, he took them out, placing them on the counter top. He almost hesitated at the idea of looking normal (for him), but took into account that Dib had been taking care of him for two days, and hadn't done anything in an effort to expose Zim. 'I can trust him.' Zim realized, lips lifting up in a little smile. It felt good to know that.
Remembering that Dib had taken care of him for that long made Zim feel the need to do something in return, but he frowned, unsure of what he should do. The fact that he was in a kitchen and that it was morning suddenly hit him, and the idea of making Dib breakfast came to mind. He opened a cupboard, peeking inside to see a small stack of plates and some glasses. He frowned slightly, going to open the next cupboard, but found it empty. Leaving both open, he moved on until he found the cabinet full of different boxes and cans, going over them thoughtfully as he read their contents. 'Sliced carrots, Ramen, Frosted Flakes, Baked Beans, Corn muffins…don't humans eat that for breakfast?' He pulled out the box in question, studying the golden pastries on the front. "Hmmm…"
Dib rolled over, almost falling out of the narrow bed as he did so. As his arm and hip slid off the edge he let out a little yelp and rolled back so he wouldn't tumble to the floor, succeeding in getting tangled up in the sheets and falling out of the bed anyway. Grumbling, he detangled himself from the sheets, tossing the balled up bedding onto the now stripped piece of furniture. Thoroughly irritated, he stalked towards the bathroom and the shower that he felt he desparetely needed at that point, as he felt quite grundgy and tired. As he tossed his clothes into the dirty laundry corner, his groggy ming clicked suddenly. Zim. But…
He quickly looked around the room for the alien in question, then deflated as he found no trace of him. //He must have gone home.// He realized, a cloud of depression falling overhead at the thought of being left alone by the person he'd said to now be his friend. He'd hoped for them to at least accomplish THAT, since Dib knew there was no chance he'd ever get the chance to love Zim like he wanted to. Not that their friendship was looking all that great at the moment anyway. He stepped into the shower and slid the cloudy glass door shut behind him, reaching out to press the On button. A soft clank sounded behind the tile wall and then the water came pouring out, icy coldness hitting Dib. "Oh crap!" He yelped, quickly moving out of the water's path to wait for it to warm up. The cold had woken up the young man though, getting the intelligent gears working in his head, and as he scrubbed vigorously at his skin, a sudden thought struck him motionless.
//I fell asleep in the chair by the bed, but I woke up IN it….Did Zim…put me there?// The thought made Dib toss the soap back into it's dish, rinse off quickly, and jump out of the shower, intent on going to find Zim. He felt sure that by Zim putting him into bed meant he didn't hate him, at least. And that was all Dib needed right now to get him going.
Dib grabbed the towel hanging on the rack, quickly rubbing his body dry and half sprinted to his dresser. There, he grabbed the first clothes he saw, tossing them on, and plucked his glasses off the nightstand , a burning sensation tickling his chest when he remembered they'd been on him when he'd fallen asleep in the chair. He opened the door, hurried down the steps, taking several of them two at a time and was almost to the front door…when he got to the kitchen doorway. The young man stopped, staring inside.
Zim was bent over, closely inspecting a small muffin pan that had six… 'somethings' in it. His bottom lip was pushed out in a thoughtful pout, one eye narrowed, with his antennae twitching slightly as he studied them. Dib burst out laughing, noticing how cute Zim looked right then. The alien quickly stood up straight, eyes wide as he saw Dib in the kitchen doorway. A sweet laugh was leaving him and filling the room, and he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a black wife beater, with his hair wet and falling down in a wilder mess than usual.
//He's beautiful.// The alien thought suddenly, and a crimson color grew below his eyes as he silently scolded himself for the automatic thought.
Time stopped for a second in Dib's mind as Zim stood up, his rose eyes wide as he stared at Dib. He wasn't wearing his shirt, although he had on those damned tight balck jeans. The alien's mouth dropped slightly and a slight blush spread across his face. Dib blinked, heart beat quickening at the sight of the georgous Irken. //Oh my God…//
Then Zim blinked, placing his hands on his hips as he regarded Dib with a stern look. "What's so funny, human?"
The laugh that had paused at Dib's observation of the other faded into a smile and he walked more into the kitchen. "Nothing. You just looked funny, that's all." He indicated to the muffin pan. " What are those?"
Zim was about to retort at the idea of 'looking funny', but instead the blush that had started to fade started up again, distracting him from that. He directed his attention to the piece of metal with it's six lumpy tenants. "Um…corn muffins?"
Dib came closer, bending over to look at the deformed pastries, which were a funny yellow color with splotches of white scattered across the surface. "What's the white stuff?"
"Um, flour. The mixture didn't look 'golden brown', so I added flour to it."
"They're supposed to be golden brown when you cook them, not before then." Dibs' smile grew and he stood up, noticing that all the cabinets were open. "Well, it's the thought that counts, right? Thanks Zim." Zim's blush grew a little more, his face turning a lovely fushia now.
Dib reached over, shutting one of the cabinets left open by Zim's search for breakfast. The alien saw what he was doing and went to help, going to the other side of the room to shut the cabinets there. Dib finished with his side first, and turned to look at Zim again, who was facing the other way, one arm up to shut the cabinet door. The boy's honey colored eyes quickly noticed the muscles of the alien's back, defined by the motion of having his arm up, and he held his breath unintentionally. As he stared at the lean muscles, his eyes noticed the two indentions along Zim's spine, where his Irken pack would have attached to. Zim lowered his arm, causing the defined muscles to ripple slightly, and he turned, surprised to see Dib gaping at his slightly. "What?"
Dib blinked, rapidly searching his creativity for an answer. "I, um, just noticed where your Irken pack goes." He blinked again, eyebrows furrowing slightly in thought and realization. "Wait a second, it's been a while since you last wore that thing, hasn't it?"
Zim's eyes widened slightly and he looked down at the floor. "I know. I…haven't needed it." He said quietly. "I made coffee too, you know." He added, more to the linoleum than to Dib.
Dib frowned slightly, then went to take out the only two mugs he owned, one saying, 'I'll Rise But I Won't Shine,' while the other proclaimed, 'Life is Like a Box of Chocolates, You've Gotta Eat It Up Before It Goes Stale,' asking Zim if he drank coffee.
"Yes."
Dib walked over to the coffee machine, which was on the counter by Zim, and filled up the cups while his companion continued to stare at the floor. Being closer, Dib could see the look on Zim's face, which was a mixture of agitation and what looked like pain. "Zim?" He asked tentatively, unsure.
The other lifted his head, almost looking surprised at seeing Dib so close, staring intently at him. "What is it?"
"Is something wrong?" Dib placed both cups on opposite sides of the little table in the center of the room, sitting down and motioning to the other chair, which Zim took. He picked up the cup of black coffee, taking a sip and then peered almost passionately at the mug that was gripped in his hands, avoiding Dib's eyes.
"Zim?"
"Yes." The alien looked up, seeming unsure and Dib bit his lip, racking his brains for something to say.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
A long pause filled the kitchen, and then Zim continued, quietly. "I'm not allowed to go back home."
Dib blinked, startled. "What?"
"A couple of months ago, I received a call from the Tallest's telling me that I was nothing but a disgrace to the Irken empire. They said they'd only sent me to Earth in the first place to get rid of me." He sighed, sounding tired. "I can't fit in there and I can't fit in here. Stupid." He took a long draught from the coffee, swallowing half of it.
Dib watched him, silently digesting this information as he watched his old enemy toss back the coffee into his mouth and shake his head, seemingly tired. //He didn't even have to take over Earth. They were just… playing around with him.// Unexpected anger caused his hand to curl up tightly into a fist and Zim looked at the other in surprise.
"Dib-human?"
"I'm sorry, Zim."
Zim's automatic defense kicked in, and he forced out, "I- I don't need your pity, stinking Earth monkey! I'm fine, do you really think that- that…" Dib's eyes quietly bore into his, looking a little sad and Zim bit his lip, eyes going back to his coffee cup as he near-whispered. "Thank you."
Dib waited for a second before saying, "I'm glad we decided to become friends.", and watching Zim intently, finally taking a sip of coffee.
The green-skinned boy nodded, finishing off the cup and twirling it on the table for a minute before finally answering. "Me too."
Dib polished off the black coffee, pushing his chair back and standing up to put it in the semi-full sink. Zim went to do the same, and their eyes suddenly made contact as he did so. Neither said anything, and slowly, unconsiously, the ex-rivals titled towards each other, becoming closer, then…
*CRACK, BANG*
"Masteeeer!! I found youuuu!!!" The two quickly turned to see GIR as he ran in through the doorway, took a bounding leap and landed on the table, taking another to pounce Zim, little arms wrapping around his neck as he squealed happily. "I looked eeeeeverywhere for you, in the library, and school, and the ice cream shop, and Mexico, and the music store, but you weren't there!" He pushed back the head of his dog outfit, which was quite battered after GIR's travelings, and continued babbling to the Irken. "But you've been here all this time!! And you guys are half dressed and all close and stuff!!" The gears seemed to be turning as he tilted his head to side. "Did you guys have seeeeex?!!! DIDYOUDIDYOUDIDYOUDIDYOUUUUUUU?!!!!!!!!!!!"
Both boys simultaneously turned a bright crimson and Zim detached the robot from himself, tossing the giggling thing to the ground as he yelled. "NO!!!!"
"Reaaaaally??" the demented SIR unit sat up, looking tremendously disapointed. " Too bad."
Dib looked up from the robot to Zim, meeting his ruby eyes, and felt his blush burn even brighter. "Um…"
"IS THERE ANYWAY THAT WE MIGHT ASSIST YOU IN THE DE-GERMING OF YOUR LIVING QUARTERS?!!" Zim asked loudly, his face as red as Dib's as he desperately tried to change the subject.
Dib looked infinitely grateful as he responded to Zim's outburst. "Um, yeah, actually. I've got to keep the apartment clean in case the land lady comes by to check on it."
"GIR!" Zim said, still loudly, to the robot, who had found Zim's "muffins" and was happily crunching down on one. He cocked his head to the side as he looked at his master, a big grin plastered on his face. "UNSOIL THE EATING DEVICES IN THE SINK WHILE I AID DIB-HUMAN IN THE TIDYING OF HIS DWELLING!"
"Ooookay!" GIR finished the muffin, smacking his lips together loudly as he grabbed a chair and shoved it to the sink. He clambered up in it, put the plug into the drain, and added plenty of dishsoap and water. While he was preoccupied with the chore, Dib and Zim moved out of the kitchen to the living room.
Dib began straightening up the magazine's that were strewn across the coffee table. Zim picked up the miscellaneous dishes that were around the room, leaving for a second the dump them into the sink. There, GIR was humming the Power Rangers theme song, and he happily proclaimed his title as Aquaman to Zim as his companion dumped the dishes into the sink, then headed back to the living room.
"Dosen't your floor need cleaning?" Zim asked Dib, noticing as he did that the boy's cheeks were pale again and taking note of his own cooled face.
"Yeah, wait a second." Dib went to a small closet in the corner, rummaging through it for a moment, and pulled out...
"A rake?" Zim blinked in confusion.
"Yeah, it's shag carpeting. Too tough for vaccums to survive it. " He said, handing the gardening tool to Zim, who eyed it thoughtfully. "Oh, and you gotta make sure to rake it this way, not that way, so it stands up straight and looks cleaner." He said, motioning with his hands, then went back to straightening up while Zim got started.
Several minutes passed in silence, except for GIR, who was uttering musical sounds in the form of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", and Brittany Spears. Zim pushed aside the couch to rake underneath it and stopped, studying the carpet closely. "Is that pink?"
"It's the original carpet color, kind of a mix between green and pink. It comes out as a sorta puce color, don't you think?"
They finished together, and Dib put the rake back in the closet. The boys went back to the kitchen, where GIR was sitting on the table lously eating another muffin.
"All done!" He announced, kicking his short legs and waving at the sink. "I put the dishes away and everything! Can we go home now?"
"Fine GIR." Zim popped in his contacts, which were still on the counter, then headed upstairs to get his combat boots and gloves. Dib smiled as he realized that Zim hadn't been in his disguise at all, totally open for Dib to take advantage of that. //Does he trust me?//
"Zim, do you want to borrow a shirt?" He called out, moving to the foot of the stairs. "Y'know, since yours is ripped?" He started up the stairs.
Zim was sitting on Dib's bed, lacing up his boots. "It would be appreciated." He answered, watching as the human opened a dresser drawer. Dib sifted through what was left of his clothes, realizing how much he REALLY needed to do laundry. He finally pulled out a plain blue T-shirt, mindgul of Zim's healing cut, which he tossed to Zim.
Zim caught the piece of clothing easily, his claw-like fingers gripping the fabric. He quickly pulled it over his head, and tugged on his specially made fighter's gloves that Dib had tucked into his boots before. The alien stood up, smoothing his antennae back into his hair and studied Dib for a long moment. An awkward minute of silence passed, until it was broken by a bang and squeal of joy from downstairs.
"GIR!" Zim yelled out, receiving a tirade of giggles in response as he walked out of the room and down the stairs, Dib close behind. They found GIR in the kitchen, bouncing from one chair to the other as he cheerfully sang Godsmack. He looked up as the two came in, squealing happily as he announced. " I'm playin' musical chairs!!"
"GIR, cease your destructive behavior!" Zim commanded, grabbing a hold of the robot's antennae as reached mid-leap.
"Are we gonna go home now?" The deranged SIR unit chirped, swinging his legs.
"Yes, we're going home." Zim growled, irritated, and let the robot drop to the linoleum. He turned to Dib and blinked, suddenly unsure of himself. "Um, Dib-human…thank you."
Dib blushed for the umpteenth time that morning. "You're welcome. I'll uh, see you in school tommorow." He fidgeted, pulling some lint off his tank top.
As Zim was trying to come up with a response, GIR grabbed the muffin pan and sped out of the room, calling out, "Beat you home, master!!" The voice was followed by a loud crack and a round of insane cackling.
"Thank you again. I shall see you tommorow." Zim said in one breath, then ran after his disfunctional SIR unit, calling out. "GIR! At least put the rest of your costume back on!"
Dib walked to the front door, which had been left open and had two GIR- shaped holes in it, obviously where he'd made his entrance and exit. Dib bent to pick up the pieces of broken wood, shttuing the door with a grimace. "The land lady's gonna kill me…" He noticed a white object under the potted plant in the hall and frowned as he realized it was a dinner plate.
The boy groaned as he headed for the kitchen sink to rewash the plate, which had little bits of black soil clinging to it. He also made a mental note to look around carefully for the rest of the dishes that had been 'put away' by GIR.
*~*~*
WAHAHAHAAAA!!! I'M FINISHED!!!! Geez, I worked my ass off to get this thing done, and it wasn't easy,since I'm busy as hell with school work and what not(Prom, Art club, Stupid people, Graduation, blehhhh….), so you'd all better appreciate this, damnitt!! …Please? I really love all the reviews, getting them makes me all hyper and stuff. *hands out sporks to all her reviewers* Thanks go out to my best friend Lindsey, who's my helper and fellow brainstormer. I'd also like to thank Pantera, sporks and the makers of Tootsie pops, for without them, my life could not continue on in a semi- sane sorta way and get my stories written. And thanks to my friend Claudia, who got me a Dib pin. YAY! I like to talk to my little Dib, it helps me keep my sanity (although many disagree). More dank you's go to SwEeTiNsAnItY, who gave me a toaster. She's so neat-o! *cuddles toaster* Check out her story in my Favorite stories, it's awesome, the spork commands you! Obey the spork!
Oh, another note, I've made the BIG decision to end this story in an NC-17 sorta way (which is a big step for me. I haven't written any lemons before), so any encouraging remarks are helpful so I can get the guts to do so. Anyhoo, enough of my rambling. ^^ Bye!
*Oh yeah, and the quote, "Life is like a box of chocolates, You've gotta eat it up before it goes stale.", was actually made up my ME (Wahaahaahaa, check out my creative wordplay), so…well, I dunno. I just wanted to stick that in here somewhere. ^^ No steal or Kichara beat you. ^^