(yah...finally...another chapter...I'd like to give special thanks to Circus freak92-I AM GIR...for all the reviews and the much needed ancouragement...anyway I hope everyone enjoys)

Dib finally broke away from the hug and at the moment was watching Zim from the corner of his eyes. They had both moved closer to the fire and Zim seemed to be half staring at the ever dieing flames, his claw like hands clinging to Dib's coat.

"Um...how are you feeling?" Dib asked trying to sound casual.

Zim turned his head towards him and half smiled before attempting an answer "I...I...A..ACHOOO!"

Dib jumped back a bit, startled by Zim's forceful sneeze.

"You don't sound too good" He replied with more concern in his voice than he had intended "Maybe you should...I don't know...rest"

"Rest?" Zim questioned

"Yeah...you know...get comfortable, maybe go to sleep" he suggested with a shrug

"I do not understand friend Dib" Zim responded honestly.

"Here" Dib said reaching over towards Zim's wig.

Zim jerked back for a moment and then closed his eyes seemingly awaiting some sort of pain. Instead he felt the hair on his head being slowly drawn away and a burden lifted as his two antenna freely emerged. He opened one eye at a time before brushing his antenna lightly with his hand and smiling.

"Better" Dib asked and Zim nodded

Dib smiled momentarily before shifting his gaze to the other side of the cave 'It's getting late' he thought with a sigh 'If we're not found soon then...'

"OOWW" Dib yelled as he felt someone jerk at his hair "ZIM WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ?"

Zim jumped back from Dib, looking hurt and scared. Dib noticed the look and after rubbing his head some more, he responded again in a quieter and calmer voice.

"Zim, I didn't mean to yell" he said "That just really hurt...why'd you do that?"

"I...I thought you would want to be comfortable" Zim answered "I do not understand why this has caused you pain"

Dib paused 'Doesn't Zim understand" he asked himself

"Zim" Dib addressed him "Your hair was a wig but mine...well it's real"

"Whys that?" Zim asked his face scrunched up in confusion

"I'm human" Dib replied plainly.

"Human?" Zim asked "And I am not?"

"Well...no" Dib stated starting to feel uncomfortable, though he wasn't sure why, "You're a...um...Irken"

"Irk..en"Zim repeated slowly, while cocking his head to the side. His antenna rose some and Dib found him to look slightly amusing while still wearing the contacts.

"That's right" Dib nodded managing to keep his face calm "An alien"

"Oh" Zim said, looking sad and disappointed, his antenna lowered.

"Is...something wrong?" Dib asked concerned and curious.

Zim slowly brought his hand up to his face feeling his soft smooth green skin. His hand hesitantly went towards his eyes but jerked as he felt the lenses.

"It's okay Zim" Dib said watching curiously "Those are just your contacts. It's just another part of your disguise"

Zim blinked over at Dib a few times before attempting to remove his lenses which he found surprisingly easy. It was once again a relief to remove the unneeded material.

He blinked a few times before looking over at Dib who was staring at him with curiosity. Zim got on his hands and knees and began crawling closer to Dib...He leaned in close and stared intently into the boys eyes.

Dib, feeling slightly uncomfortable, was still unable to bring himself to push the confused Irken away. Though now their faces were mere inches apart and he could feel Zim's breath on his face.

Dibs eyes darted to the other side of the room trying to break away from Zims stare but he always found himself looking back into the crimson red orbs of Zims eyes. Wide and searching, Dib had never gotten to look at Zim's eyes this close before, he could almost see the faint glow they were emitting.

Slowly Zim reached over to touch Dib's face, his gloved hand tracing the side of his cheek. Dib froze at the unfamiliar feeling, he wasn't use to having someone touch him like that, and his heart instinctively jumped. He felt heat rise somewhere in his belly and his face grew warm, his breathing shallow.

Zim quirked a curious eyebrow at Dibs behavior, one of his antenna also rising in a similar gesture, before returning his attention back to the boy's eyes. He slowly withdrew his hand, the tips of his pointed fingers lingering for a moment on the boy's pale skin before reaching towards his glasses. Dib didn't attempt to stop Zim, for reasons he didn't understand, and he allowed him to slowly remove them.

Dib felt the glasses slip off his face and the cold air they had shielded now stung his eyes. He winced slightly but froze again as he saw Zim's expression.

It was at first the same confused yet curious look he had been giving him, but suddenly a small satisfied smile crept onto his face as he pulled away from him.

"We are the same" Zim stated with a nod

Dib stared intently at Zim for a moment, though his vision was blurry, and then he looked down at his glasses which were placed beside Zim's contacts. A smile slowly appeared on his face as well.

"Yeah.." Dib answered thoughtfully "I guess we are"

Dib reached for his glasses and looked to Zim "If you don't mind though I think I'll wear these for awhile" Dib said not wanting to explain that he needed them to see and further confuse or upset Zim...'Wait...when did I start caring about upsetting Zim' Dib thought 'This is just too weird...and why is he still staring at me like that...'

"A...AACHOO" Zim sneezed loudly again then coughed several times.

Dib looked around, then he looked up...they could have already gotten out if Zim's pak hadn't been damaged in the fall...then again he doubted Zim would have helped him...and now...he didn't know what to do.

(okay that's it for chapter 2...thank you and good night )