A/N: I accidentally copied the wrong text into the last chapter, so if you read it soon after I put it up and it didn't involve the pizza delivery, it was a copy of chapter 21, not the proper chapter 22. Sorry, it's fixed now! Also, this is as far as this fic gets into the T rating.

"Dib."

"Hmm?"

"Diiiiiib."

"What?" Dib shifted his butt to keep it from getting cold on the lab floor and looked up from the robot kitten he was adjusting the screws on. Zim had slid off his chair, kicking aside the scattered wrappers from a Halloween candy sale he'd insisted on going to. (They were lucky they weren't banned for life when Zim had ripped open a bag of gummy worms before they'd even been paid for. He had thrown a fit when the employees had started yelling at him for it, nearly giving one of them a black eye. Dib wasn't sure if it was a mood swing or just Zim being Zim, half the time.)

"Dib." Zim climbed up on Dib's lap then picked up the kitten and tossed it into the air. It gave an annoyed 'mrrryew!' and stalked away into the hallway. Dib reached out for it, but Zim had firmly settled his knees on top of Dib's legs. Dib glared at him as it disappeared around the corner.

"Hey, Dad said he wanted these on the market by next month, so I need to get this one fin-mmph!" Zim had grabbed his cheeks, smushing them together and forcing Dib to make fish-lips.

"Quiet, Dib-let." Diblet. Okay. Usually he just tacked on an insult or an adjective, but that one almost sounded like a pet name.

"Mm?" Dib scanned over Zim. He was slightly flushed, but didn't seem to be out of the ordinary otherwise-

He pulled Dib into a kiss. Dib's eyes widened for a moment, before they fell shut as he concentrated on the hot breath in his mouth and how Zim's lips felt against his own. Zim let his hands slip, falling to Dib's shoulders and holding them tightly. He leaned closer as if he could engulf Dib if they pressed close enough, the hard curve of his stomach between them.

Dib dropped the screwdriver he was holding, fingers settling on Zim's hips. It felt like it had been ages. They didn't kiss often- it was fun, but Zim usually didn't like it going on too long because his tongue always needed to recover from the saliva. It was more exploratory, trying to find out what each other liked, which parts were sensitive, and how long each of them could go without air. (Dib could go for about two minutes, and Zim some indeterminate amount longer, something he was quite proud of. Stupid Pak that could filter things for him.)

Having Zim start a kiss was a bit of a surprise. Usually, he showed affection in other ways, but this one was wholly human and Zim initiating was certainly nice. His long tongue ran over Dib's lips like he was tasting him, and Dib nibbled on Zim's lower lip in response, digging his fingers into the base of Zim's spine as he did. Zim bucked his hips, giving a groan before pulling back to lick his lips. Pink blood dotted the top of his tongue before it darted back into his mouth, and his antennae were low as he surveyed Dib.

"Well?"

"Well what? You started it." Dib moved a hand up to pet the base of the right antenna, and Zim shuddered at the sensation.

"Well, did you enjoy that?"

"Yeah, of course I did. I've enjoyed it most of the times, except that one where you tried to choke me and didn't realize I was trying to tap out because Gir was playing rap music, and your nails started digging in, and-"

"Yes, yes, I remember!" Zim snapped, and Dib pressed his fingers into the almost rubbery bottom of the antennae he was stroking to try and calm him down. In response, Zim smacked his hand. "Not now, I'm asking you a question."

"Why did you start a kiss anyway? I thought you liked cuddling better." Dib raised an eyebrow. "I'm not complaining, just curious."

Zim crossed his arms. Dib noted with some amusement that he was now big enough that his arms settled on top of his stomach when he did that. "Can't I do whatever I want? You liked it, no?"

"Yeah, I did. If you kiss and I kiss back, you're golden. You know if it gets too much I'll end it by just jabbing you really hard."

Zim rubbed his lower left side upon being reminded of their 'safe action'. "Alright. Alright, good." He shifted again. "It's moving."

Dib set a hand on Zim's stomach. "Oh, wow." It really was- it was like bugs had crawled inside of Zim's skin, almost. He hadn't felt it during the kiss, a little too distracted. "Feeling tired again?"

Zim slid off Dib's lap like he was being poured out of a cup, pooling on the floor and staring up at Dib with the back of his head settled on Dib's thighs. "No. Hot."

"Hot?" Dib laid a hand on Zim's forehead. He was a little sweaty, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the fever he'd had a few weeks ago.

"I just… just..." He growled in frustration, tugging at his antennae. "I don't know! It's like it's trying to control me but won't give any directions! Just tell me what you want!" He jabbed his stomach.

"Maybe it wants you to give me another kiss." The side of Dib's mouth quirked up into a smirk. Zim looked up at him, before grabbing Dib's shirt and hauling himself up with it, tugging Dib down at the same time so their faces met in the middle. Zim's lips smashed against Dib's, legs moving to straddle his sides so their bodies were squished together. Dib felt like a teddy bear Zim was about to squeeze the stuffing out of, and then Zim shoved his tongue into his mouth and his train of thought derailed immediately.

"Mmmph!" That one was new. Dib's fingers had been loosely floating over Zim's lower back, and he gripped the fabric at the bottom of Zim's shirt like it was a lifeline. Zim's tongue was like a snake, poking at the inside of Dib's cheeks before trying to move down his throat.

Dib's eyes popped open, seeing Zim's squeezed shut and his cheeks dotted with a flush. He could feel the tongue crammed into his mouth, probably five times longer than any human one and just as thick, and realized he couldn't breathe. "Mmmph!" He tugged on Zim's shirt, but Zim pressed their lips together harder, not realizing that Dib's flush was starting to darken. "Zmmm-"

Zim squeezed his legs together a little on Dib's sides. Dib could feel it tickling the inside of his throat, and his vision was starting to go fuzzy until he made a fist and banged on the side of Zim's Pak. Zim gasped into his mouth, jolting and pulling his head back. His tongue came with him, sliding over Dib's flat one and he yelped again when it was smoking slightly. "Gah!"

"What the hell was that for?"

Zim left his tongue out of his mouth for a few moments to let it stop the sizzling so he could speak. "It was in that movie that Gir kept watching- isn't that just another type of kissing? The movie people did it, and it seemed disgusting but it's you , and you liked the first one!"

Dib had no idea if the red on his own cheeks were due to still recovering from mild suffocation or because somewhere deep down he'd actually liked that. "You could have warned me first!" He smacked his lips, trying to swallow through his suddenly-dry throat.

"I asked if you liked it before. You said yes." Zim raised an eyebrow.

"...Okay. Fair enough." Dib rubbed the outside of his throat. "But for future reference, ask before you try to choke me out, will you?"

"Fine, fine, Zim will get permission next time." Zim waved his hand, and Dib noticed that he was shivering slightly. He also was still squishing Dib's sides with his legs, keeping them pressed together.

"Wait, are you cold now?"

"No."

"You are." Dib set a hand on Zim's cheek- the sweat on it had begun to dry, and his skin had an odd, almost dry texture. "I'm going to go get a blanket." He moved to stand up, but Zim clung to him. "Come on, I'm trying to help!"

"I'm coming with you," Zim declared. "I know where the best blankets are, so you will be the vehicle to get me there."

"And by best, you mean-"

"The ones Gir hasn't touched recently."

"Gotchya." Dib tried to get up again and managed to do it properly this time, even with Zim clinging to him like a particularly pregnant koala. His legs stayed tight around Dib's torso, and his arms had encircled Dib's neck. Dib set an arm underneath him to help keep him up, and Zim's cheek plopped down on his shoulder.

"Down the hall, take the second left. And then… eeh, I'll know it when I see it."

Dib started walking, hearing skittering and a mewling yelp from somewhere far in front of him.

Eh, he could get the cat back later. Right now he had a date with some fleece and an alien who was feeling into human affection at the moment. Zim snuggled against him, and Dib smiled to himself, even as he swallowed past the strange feeling in his throat.

It was weird, but he didn't want anything else.

A/N: Again, if you want to see all the fanart, check out the ao3 version of the fic (the art for specific chapters is embedded there and the rest is linked) but this one had two I really wanted to share. Just delete the spaces and replace the dot and slash with periods and /. It's annoying how much ffnet hates links.

shadowofthelamp dot tumblr dot com slash post / 188057534791 / lovelycoris-submitted-the-phrase -a-particularly

shadowofthelamp dot tumblr dot com slash post/ 188057822846 /definitelynotanalien-submitted-that-entire-last