Zim continued to growl and mumble as he went back to fixing his old friend
up. He picked up the little tube Dib had dropped and continued to apply
the stuff. He was almost done when Rin squeezed her already closed eyes
shut more and sucked in a pained breath. Zim jumped up, startled, and
looked down at her worriedly.
Rin frowned and opened her eyes slightly and managed to mumble, "You jerk. That stings."
Forced healing can take a lot out of a person. Zim collected himself and grinned down at her. She was probably in more pain than she was letting out, but her warrior training allowed her to control herself. He sat down on the edge of the couch by her stomach and helped her sit up some.
She shut her eyes for a second to fend off the wave of dizziness that took her, then re-opened them and smiled happily at Zim.
"My, you have changed. You're possibly more handsome than I remember."
His grin grew larger, along with his ever-inflatable ego.
"And you appear to be more susceptible to injury than I remember. How did you get in such bad health?"
She looked at herself, as if noticing her injuries for the first time.
"I'm not as good at landing as I am at fighting, I suppose."
Zim stared at her for a moment, looking for an answer to the question he hadn't asked yet.
"What are you doing here, Rin? Why would you risk being caught seen with me? Don't you know-"
"Yes. I know what your leaders did to you. And it doesn't matter. Sure, it might sting a little, but you have made yourself a home here, all by yourself."
She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but he turned away from her, ashamed.
"That's not what I asked. Why are YOU here? My own planet despises me. You should be running away from me in fear."
Rin was utterly shocked at Zim's loss of characteristic confidence. She stood up quickly and marched over to him, kneeling down in front of his face.
"Now you look, Zim, do you remember the story I told you years ago?"
Zim brushed the story away as irrelevant, but she continued.
"Korter and Zana, two citizens from my planet, were sent into exhile millennia ago. Their stupidity and irresponsibility was, in one instance, unforgivable."
Zim scoffed at the comparison of the two idiots to him.
"Do you know where they were sent, Zim? Hm? You now SIT on THEIR LAND. You walk with their children. The people of Earth are the descendents of a great race of aliens that they know nothing about."
"Well," Zim laughed, "Earth must be the hot spot for the idiots of the universe, huh?"
Rin scowled at him, standing back up.
"I suppose so, if you can't see the meaning in my words."
Zim sighed and stood up as well, walking over to his window.
"Yes yes, I understand. Even stupid people can do great things. Wonderful. But you're evading my question!"
He walked back over to Rin, waiting for a straight answer. When she just looked at him, he became frustrated.
"What?? You're not as STUPID as I am, so a simple question shouldn't BOGGLE YOUR PRETTY LITTLE MIND! What is some one as beautiful as you doing ON THE SAME PLANET AS ME?? And don't lie and say, "Oh Zimmy, I was just in the neighborhood, so I decided to-" Bah! Go on, spit it out! What's a little more embarrassment for ZIM, right?? He can handle it, he's a FRIGGIN' MORON!!"
Zim stopped shouting and fumed for a moment, acknowledging the fact that he had just screamed at his only friend.
"That's no way to talk to someone that cares about you, Zim. They might just forget they love you and leave you here to rot in your own self-pity."
That statement alone passed straight into Zim's 'ear', wiggled around a bit, and then jumped ship, leaving him as clueless as he started. Rin rolled her eyes, deciding that Zim needed a more direct answer. She snatched Zim's confused face and pulled it towards her own, pressing her lips against his as gently as possible.
Rin pulled away a moment later to see if Zim had gotten it yet. Apparently he had. His eyes were so wide and unfocussed that they threatened to release his contacts, and his lower jaw was twitching spastically.
"Dummy."
"Muffins are done! COME AND GET 'EM!!!!"
Zim was used to Gir's random shouts, but Rin was not, so she spun around and whipped out her tiny laser from her belt, pointing it at the little android. Zim woke from his happy daze just in time to stop Gir from being blown to pieces.
"Gir, come here."
Gir slowly sauntered in, thinking he would be yelled at for being so rude to the guest. He brought his colorful muffins along as a peace offering. He walked over to the couch and stopped a safe distance from his master, who was helping Rin off of his lap and back onto the couch.
"Rin, I would like you to meet my S.I.R unit, Gir," he chuckled.
Rin turned to the tiny bot she almost decimated, and smiled apologetically at it.
"I apologize, Gir, you startled me. I have heard a lot about you, actually, and should have been prepared for your, uh, enthusiasm."
Gir put his plate of food on the floor and attacked Rin in a hug. She had to stop herself from yelping in pain as he pressed against her wounds. She smiled and patted his little head instead. Zim frowned at his android and told him to calm down, which he did, and handed out his snacks.
Rin looked at the thing Gir had just handed her and looked at Zim questioningly. Gir shoved a few into his own mouth as Zim tried to explain.
"It's called a muffin; a human snack food full of yummy goodness. About the only thing that the humans are good at is creating delicious foodstuffs. Oh, and the wrapper-thingy is not edible."
His mouth twitched in amusement as she located the 'wrapper-thingy' and attempted to remove it from the edible part. She watched Zim as he showed her how, and then copied him, smiling proudly at her new knowledge.
The two spent the rest of the evening catching up, sharing memories, and Zim explaining what he knew of Earthlings to her. After a while, Zim commanded his computer to create a bed for Rin to sleep on, and surprisingly, it listened to him. A small, comfortable bed rose up from the floor next to the couch.
"Zim, does this planet have the necessary equipment to fix the propulsion system of my ship?"
Zim thought it over and regretfully said that he wasn't sure.
"Hmm.Do you think that the Dib-boy would know? He is a human, after all," Rin suggested.
Zim was still ticked off at Dib for embarrassing him, and he really didn't want Rin to leave, but he also didn't want to trap her here. He replied huffily that he would ask him in the morning.
She was satisfied with this and lay down on her bed. Soon she was fast asleep. Zim also lay down on his couch, but did not sleep. He stayed awake for most of the night watching Rin. He didn't admit it out loud, but he had missed her, and missed having someone logical to talk to. Although, he was slightly distraught at how calm and at peace he felt with her. He hadn't yelled at all since, well, since Dib left, actually. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath, and watched her mouth move every once in a while, uttering nonsensical things; he smiled as he remembered that she was a horrible sleep-talker. Soon, his eyes began to feel the pull of sleep, and slowly let it consume him.
Rin frowned and opened her eyes slightly and managed to mumble, "You jerk. That stings."
Forced healing can take a lot out of a person. Zim collected himself and grinned down at her. She was probably in more pain than she was letting out, but her warrior training allowed her to control herself. He sat down on the edge of the couch by her stomach and helped her sit up some.
She shut her eyes for a second to fend off the wave of dizziness that took her, then re-opened them and smiled happily at Zim.
"My, you have changed. You're possibly more handsome than I remember."
His grin grew larger, along with his ever-inflatable ego.
"And you appear to be more susceptible to injury than I remember. How did you get in such bad health?"
She looked at herself, as if noticing her injuries for the first time.
"I'm not as good at landing as I am at fighting, I suppose."
Zim stared at her for a moment, looking for an answer to the question he hadn't asked yet.
"What are you doing here, Rin? Why would you risk being caught seen with me? Don't you know-"
"Yes. I know what your leaders did to you. And it doesn't matter. Sure, it might sting a little, but you have made yourself a home here, all by yourself."
She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but he turned away from her, ashamed.
"That's not what I asked. Why are YOU here? My own planet despises me. You should be running away from me in fear."
Rin was utterly shocked at Zim's loss of characteristic confidence. She stood up quickly and marched over to him, kneeling down in front of his face.
"Now you look, Zim, do you remember the story I told you years ago?"
Zim brushed the story away as irrelevant, but she continued.
"Korter and Zana, two citizens from my planet, were sent into exhile millennia ago. Their stupidity and irresponsibility was, in one instance, unforgivable."
Zim scoffed at the comparison of the two idiots to him.
"Do you know where they were sent, Zim? Hm? You now SIT on THEIR LAND. You walk with their children. The people of Earth are the descendents of a great race of aliens that they know nothing about."
"Well," Zim laughed, "Earth must be the hot spot for the idiots of the universe, huh?"
Rin scowled at him, standing back up.
"I suppose so, if you can't see the meaning in my words."
Zim sighed and stood up as well, walking over to his window.
"Yes yes, I understand. Even stupid people can do great things. Wonderful. But you're evading my question!"
He walked back over to Rin, waiting for a straight answer. When she just looked at him, he became frustrated.
"What?? You're not as STUPID as I am, so a simple question shouldn't BOGGLE YOUR PRETTY LITTLE MIND! What is some one as beautiful as you doing ON THE SAME PLANET AS ME?? And don't lie and say, "Oh Zimmy, I was just in the neighborhood, so I decided to-" Bah! Go on, spit it out! What's a little more embarrassment for ZIM, right?? He can handle it, he's a FRIGGIN' MORON!!"
Zim stopped shouting and fumed for a moment, acknowledging the fact that he had just screamed at his only friend.
"That's no way to talk to someone that cares about you, Zim. They might just forget they love you and leave you here to rot in your own self-pity."
That statement alone passed straight into Zim's 'ear', wiggled around a bit, and then jumped ship, leaving him as clueless as he started. Rin rolled her eyes, deciding that Zim needed a more direct answer. She snatched Zim's confused face and pulled it towards her own, pressing her lips against his as gently as possible.
Rin pulled away a moment later to see if Zim had gotten it yet. Apparently he had. His eyes were so wide and unfocussed that they threatened to release his contacts, and his lower jaw was twitching spastically.
"Dummy."
"Muffins are done! COME AND GET 'EM!!!!"
Zim was used to Gir's random shouts, but Rin was not, so she spun around and whipped out her tiny laser from her belt, pointing it at the little android. Zim woke from his happy daze just in time to stop Gir from being blown to pieces.
"Gir, come here."
Gir slowly sauntered in, thinking he would be yelled at for being so rude to the guest. He brought his colorful muffins along as a peace offering. He walked over to the couch and stopped a safe distance from his master, who was helping Rin off of his lap and back onto the couch.
"Rin, I would like you to meet my S.I.R unit, Gir," he chuckled.
Rin turned to the tiny bot she almost decimated, and smiled apologetically at it.
"I apologize, Gir, you startled me. I have heard a lot about you, actually, and should have been prepared for your, uh, enthusiasm."
Gir put his plate of food on the floor and attacked Rin in a hug. She had to stop herself from yelping in pain as he pressed against her wounds. She smiled and patted his little head instead. Zim frowned at his android and told him to calm down, which he did, and handed out his snacks.
Rin looked at the thing Gir had just handed her and looked at Zim questioningly. Gir shoved a few into his own mouth as Zim tried to explain.
"It's called a muffin; a human snack food full of yummy goodness. About the only thing that the humans are good at is creating delicious foodstuffs. Oh, and the wrapper-thingy is not edible."
His mouth twitched in amusement as she located the 'wrapper-thingy' and attempted to remove it from the edible part. She watched Zim as he showed her how, and then copied him, smiling proudly at her new knowledge.
The two spent the rest of the evening catching up, sharing memories, and Zim explaining what he knew of Earthlings to her. After a while, Zim commanded his computer to create a bed for Rin to sleep on, and surprisingly, it listened to him. A small, comfortable bed rose up from the floor next to the couch.
"Zim, does this planet have the necessary equipment to fix the propulsion system of my ship?"
Zim thought it over and regretfully said that he wasn't sure.
"Hmm.Do you think that the Dib-boy would know? He is a human, after all," Rin suggested.
Zim was still ticked off at Dib for embarrassing him, and he really didn't want Rin to leave, but he also didn't want to trap her here. He replied huffily that he would ask him in the morning.
She was satisfied with this and lay down on her bed. Soon she was fast asleep. Zim also lay down on his couch, but did not sleep. He stayed awake for most of the night watching Rin. He didn't admit it out loud, but he had missed her, and missed having someone logical to talk to. Although, he was slightly distraught at how calm and at peace he felt with her. He hadn't yelled at all since, well, since Dib left, actually. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath, and watched her mouth move every once in a while, uttering nonsensical things; he smiled as he remembered that she was a horrible sleep-talker. Soon, his eyes began to feel the pull of sleep, and slowly let it consume him.