Behind The Tube Glass

By alien freak And Xmimi89eR

story may contain gore/blood/violence/strong language

rating: T

ZaDr/ZaDf


This chapter is short but sweet, kinda wanted both of them to you know, start falling *giggles*

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

disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim.


ANALYZING...

PAK ALERT!

CONTAINS: UNKNOWN

RESULTS: POISON

TAKING ACTION.

999999

The next morning, Dib brought coffee as usual, not to drink it this time, but to analyze it; see what it actually contains, is it the reason why all this is happening? If no, then he truly would be lost.

He also got donuts with him to keep the alien away, he needed to find something and he didn't have time for chats, plus, he really didn't want the alien to know much about this, it's just... in case-...

The little robot came running to him as entered the lab, jumping to try and snatch the bag from him, the boy leaned down and handed it to him, Gir screamed loudly which made Zim hiss at him, then ran to the chair where Zim was laying in and working on some piece of his ship; he put it on the chair beside him so he could get a donut before Gir eats it all.

Dib sighed and walked to the exa-room, the lights went on as he got inside, putting his pack on the table and his coffee, then he zipped the pack open to get out his laptop- though he didn't need it that much since there was already a huge computer in the room, but he was much comfortable working in the small laptop.

He got out his tools and turned on both computers and his equipments. Taking the cup, he put it in a thin tube, then used a dropper to drop a small amount of it in the flat surface of the microscope, he let the tool scan it before he took off his glasses and wore the blue goggles then the lab coat.

Shifting in his seat, he leaned down to look through the microscope lenses, trying to see if there was something unfamiliar in it.

After a quick look, he gazed away at his pack, The boy opened it and grabbed a bottle of coffee he made at home, a coffee he was sure was safe, then made the computer scan it as well.

From a screen to another, then from paper to the small notes, Dib kept writing anything that might be out of place, but it was hard, he couldn't seem to find anything, nothing, the coffee was safe, it was only coffee.

Right?

"You look like a zombie, Diblet," Zim's voice broke the silence, he walked to the boy who flinched and almost drop what he was holding,

"...What did you just call me?" He didn't know if he meant the 'zombie' or the 'Diblet' comment, maybe both.

Zim just ignored him and leaned to take a look at the computer, "what are you doing?" He asked as he drew his hand to the boy's face to take his goggles off, placing them on top of his head, "i don't like those, use your glasses," he huffed.

Dib knew that, he knew Zim hated this whole 'looking like a scientist' thing, and because he looked like his father, the irken seems to freaking HATE it if not fear it. He sighed and got his glasses that hanged from his lab coat collar, and stared at the alien.

"Did you need anything?" He murmured, not feeling much to talk,

Zim stepped closer, "no, I don't. You just seem... off." He narrowed his magenta eyes, hands behind his back.

The human teen stared blankly at him then frowned, "i... don't know myself what I'm doing, i'm just trying to find something- make sure of something," he looked back at his papers, his handwriting was so bad especially that he was almost out of his mind while writing it, he'll need a translator to read it later, "it's important, so I didn't have time to talk with you," looking back at Zim, he couldn't hide the tiredness in his face.

"You've been working for hours!" Zim snapped while folding his arms, looking like a pissed child.

"Hours?..." he looked slightly stunned, now that's why his back hurt so much, he wondered how his father kept working for days-

"Yes, around four hours or maybe five," Zim shrugged, then went to sit on the table beside the human's laptop, "i'll watch you then, i got bored from my voot," well, not exactly... he really just wanted to chat with the boy; but hell, he'll never admit that.

"Alright, you can sit and-... watch me," Dib stared for a second then went to try another liquid and maybe use a better microscope lenses. He could see Zim's legs moving back and forth, his hands played with the clothes fabric, eyes staring at him.

"Is that coffee?" Zim didn't like the lack of speaking, it was too quiet for him,

"Yeah," Dib answered, not looking from the computer,

"Why are you analyzing it?"

"Because..." he typed some more then looked at the irken, staring for a moment before speaking, "...hey, you did taste it, right?" He suddenly asked,

"Hmm, yeah, it lacks a lot of sugar, or else i would've liked it," he shrugged,

"I like it that way..." Dib murmured, "did it taste-... weird...?"

Zim stared at him without a word for a moment, raising an eyebrow, "no?..." he narrowed his eyes.

The boy frowned, "you said you would know if anything is poisoned,"

"My PAK does," he pointed behind him,

They both got quiet, Zim watching as the human kept turning from a screen to the other, writing whatever comes to his mind then scratch it. Dib suddenly stopped while holding the remains of the coffee he made, he looked from it to the alien who seems drowned in his thoughts.

"Hey, Zim..." he locked his gaze, "i wanna test something..." his voice was flat,

"Eh-? Test what?" Zim snapped out of his thoughts,

"I want you to drink this,"

The irken glared hard at him, narrowing his eyes even more, "why would i drink that??"

"You drank it before-"

"I did, and I didn't like it, i don't want to try it again."

"I made this myself, it's not poisoned," he pushed the conversation,

"Maybe it's not, but why should i drink it?"

"I want to test something."

Zim's antennae were flat against his head, he didn't like the way the human was looking at him.

But he trusts him, right? The human proved himself once- no, twice...

"Ugh, fine!" Zim snapped as he snatched the bottle from the boy's hand, he glared at it, then at Dib, grabbing it so hard that the bottle surface let out crushing noises-

Finally, he sighed and took a small sip from it, keeping it in his mouth without swallowing, making his tongue analyze it; nothing, the coffee wasn't poisoned, but it lacked a lot of sugar- did the boy even bothered to put any??

"I still don't like it." Zim huffed after swallowing, it gave him a slight shiver in his spine, how could Dib drink it like that was beyond him.

"Is it like last time?" Dib asked, already holding his pen,

"Yeah, I guess,"

Dib frowned even more, he turned to sketch something then stared at the other simple, the one he brought from the shop, his eyes traveled to the irken, who was still recovering from the taste,

Zim's gaze went to the boy when he felt eyes on him, "what?" He snapped,

"If i told you what i'm doing might save me from dying, would you try one last time to taste something?" He knew the irken would refuse if he just asked, he may even walk out of the room, so he told him half of the truth,

"Dying?" Zim's face held confusion and maybe even worried,

"Kinda,"

"What does coffee has to do with dying?"

Dib stayed quiet for a second, "i think i'm being poisoned, it's taking a toll on my health," he said then turned around, no longer facing the alien.

"And you think coffee is the reason?"

"I think Dale is the reason." He didn't know if he should feel bad for accusing the man, but he was so suspicious, acting too weird around him,

Zim paled at the name, even though he doesn't know the man, the fact that he wants to see what's inside the lab so badly as if he knew the alien was inside, scared Zim so much.

It was Zim's turn to look away, he gave it a second thought, swallowing, he turned back to find that Dib was staring at him,

"Please...?" Dib begged,

the irken sighed again, the boy was just too miserable.

He drew his hand to face the human, moving his fingers in a 'give me' motion, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

Dib lighted up and quickly gave the alien the cup, who snatched it angrily from him, he then played with his hands anxiously, waiting.

The cup was half full, the coffee in it was moving left to right as Zim shock it slowly, he gave a final hard stare at the sweating human then took another small sip, again, leaving it inside his mouth before swallowing, making his tongue send the taste to his PAK, but nothing, he couldn't taste anything.

He stayed like that for a second, almost giving up and swallowing it before his PAK gave him a shock alert, he spatted the liquid out of his mouth to the floor, standing on his legs as he wept his lips and mouth, coughing the remains inside, the cup in his hand fell to the ground.

Dib jumped from his seat, "Zim??" Well, he didn't know if that was good or bad.

Zim held his hand in the human's face, he straightened himself, still having the alert flashing in his PAK, he slowly turned to glare at the boy, his expressions dark as if Dib made that on purpose, but he wasn't mad at the human, no.

"It's poisoned." He said flatly.

The boy licked his lips before his mind did a double-take. His face became pale, eyes wide, his chest hurt as if something grabbed his heart tightly. Backing away, his legs made him fall at the chair, hands on his head,

"This can't be true..." he murmured, feeling as if his world was falling apart.

"Wait-" Zim started, he also had to think twice, "You're poisoned??" He couldn't hide the shook in his voice,

The grip in his hair became tight, he stood up fast and started pacing around the table, his body shaking, everything was quiet, only his heart that was racing inside of his chest, it was already hard to breathe.

Zim watched, unmoving from his spot, the sight was familiar, it was almost the same reaction the human boy did when he first came here, when he discovered that there was an alien; it ended up with him losing consciousness.

And Zim could tell Dib would by the way his legs were moving.

Hot tears gathered in his wide eyes, he wanted to act like an adult, someone to be calm and think straight, he always thinks like an adult, find a logical choice, be someone responsible, someone everyone wanted him to be, someone he'd been trying to be for years- but he proved himself wrong as he kept murmuring nonsenses under his breath, he probably looked insane; it was getting blurry.

The irken had to do something, he didn't know if humans would die if they kept pacing like that or- or maybe the boy would fall and, who knows, break his neck? His head? Die? so he used the easiest way, the only thought he had right now, he called for his name, "Dib," his legs start walking slowly to the panicking human, but the boy didn't seem to hear him, so he called louder, "Dib, listen!"

The human stopped at the shout, slowly moving his gaze from the floor to the blurry face before him, his hands were making weird shapes as they tried to calm him.

Watery eyes met with the irken's ruby ones, making Zim take aback, Dib's face was too emotional, too pitiful to even look at, Zim swallowed, forgetting what he was about to say, he never comfort anyone- he sounded as if he cared- Of course not, he just wants the boy alive so he would get out. That was his program side talking; telling and screaming at him for caring-

But losing consciousness has nothing to do with any of this...

His lips twitching, "look, you're not going to die," he said slowly, knowing the human properly can't hear him right, so he walked closer, raising his hands in the air, and giving a small smile.

"You're going to be okay..."

Dib shook his head, "wh- what am I supposed to do?..." he choked in his words, looking back at the ground, "i'm going to die just like dad did...!" He felt as it was too late, too late to do anything, too late for him, the thought made his legs finally give up, slipping at the floor, hands grabbed the table as he leaned and sat down on the metallic wall, still shaking, "my head hurt so much..."

Th irken pit his lips, a habit he got from the boy, his antennae twitching at the harsh sobs, not knowing what to do, he did watch TV with Gir, did see how humans comfort each other which is something he never saw before, but he did feel it-

He DID feel down, and Dib DID try to help him, to comfort him; and surprisingly, it worked.

Maybe he should do the same, yes, his program won't say anything if he wants to be even, to repay someone- right? He couldn't care at that moment.

Slowly, he sat down a foot away from the human before crawling to him, feeling awkward but yet, it felt right. When he was in front of Dib, his spooch burned- not because of the coffee, but at how familiar this was, the feeling of losing, being weak, knowing that everything is out of hand, that he can't do more, can't fix what happened.

Before stopping, he found himself in the boy's lap, arms slid around the human's torso, grabbing the hoodie from behind; something he did days ago in the same room, when he was shot.

Without hesitation, Dib leaned to the alien and hugged him back, so tight, feeling his tears fall at the irken's back. Zim flinched but quickly recovered, burying his face in the human's chest, his warmth was so welcoming, so calming. He could feel the other's shaking body start to calm, but his heart was still bumping, making the lullaby uneven, so Zim squeezed his hands and grabbed the clothes tighter on the human's back, he wanted the lullaby to be normal, he wanted Dib to be okay.

And he knew that Dib lacks attention.

"You're not going to die, human." He whispered, trying to act cool, that he was not worried, that he didn't care; but his tone proved otherwise.

"...how can you be so sure...?"

Zim drew back, holding the boy's shoulders, making him look eye to eye at him, he stared blankly, still stubbornly trying to deny his true intentions, "because Zim's always sure." He mocked him, using the 3rd person instead of the 1st; it made him sound funny.

Staring into big ruby eyes, drowning in their color, at how they reflect everything around them, how they could show the irken's true feelings, he could lie but his eyes can't. The small comment in the 3rd person made Dib laugh, his cheeks hurt from his tears but the small laugh and smile cheered his heart, it really did, and he appreciated it.

His hands held tighter to the alien's back as he laughed, feeling more tears run down, after a moment he got himself under control and stared with a sad smile at Zim, it's then when it hit him- He knew his face was red from crying, but he knew it got much redder.

The irken's face was so close, so pure and blank if not worried, Zim was smiling but frowned when Dib stopped laughing. The human boy was staring blankly, feeling his heart jump, butterflies in his stomach, just realizing his hands were in the alien's hips,

He can't believe this... he was falling, falling for an alien!

Immediately, Dib turned around, avoiding eye contact and hoping Zim won't question the blush on his face. When the other seemed like he was waiting for something, Dib finally found his voice, "thank you... i really hope this won't end like this, i have to find a way to fix it,"

"We,"

"Huh?"

"We will find a way." Zim said with determination,

Dib's face lighted up, he felt a smile sneak to his lips, he hugged Zim again tightly, "You're the best, you know," he laughed slightly, some happy tears gathered in his tired eyes, an urge to hold the irken forever danced in his head.

Zim let out a squee at the sudden tight grip, but he welcomed it eventually, resting his head in the human's chest, finally able to listen to the lullaby as it played inside, his antennae uncontrollably rose up to touch randomly everything around them, including the boy's face, he also had to smile; how couldn't he?

Their position was too comfortable neither of them wanted to move, or talk.

He felt too happy, even with the shock he got, the small fact that Zim- his friend, was here, he was here for him, to help him and comfort him, it was too good to be true. He knew this thought would be too pathetic in anybody else's mind, but for him, someone who had no one by his side, this was so great. Just the small hug made all his doubts flee, making him forget what he was doing, forget that he was probably dying slowly. He did hug the irken before, but now he was down- broken, and it felt so good to have someone.

Now that he had this comfort, he didn't know if he could live without it anymore.

Both of them were calm, And Dib proved it as he fell asleep, inhaling slowly, he was too tired to do anything right now, his body was drained physically and mentally.

Shifting slightly, he tried to calm his spooch, it was dancing inside of his body, giving him weird sensations, making his face go hot-

He could also hear the program while it argued with him, but right now he didn't want to listen to anything but the boy's heart lullaby, it made him want to sleep.

Without bothering to plug himself, Zim found that his eyelids became so heavy, it was just so warm, so comfortable and safe,

Safe...

But before he gives it second thoughts, his sight blurred and darkened, feeling his body melt in the human's lap, he fell asleep.

In a deep sleep.


END OF CHAPTER SIXTEEN!

Alien freak: how sweet huh? We needed them to be together but they have a lot of things going on, but don't worry, they'll get a time :)

I don't wanna say this again, but we're not going to put any lemon chapters. Though there will be kisses and cuddles don't worry! We're gonna make them KISS!!

"Laughs"!

Let's thank Mary for this sweetheart chapter!

This was alien freak, signing off.