(A/n: Here's a flash into some recent memories.)

Next Chapter: In The Mood

They were driving home from a job interview, and Dib was excited and seemed to be confident. It was a job working at a hospital, the psychiatric ward, and it just seemed a good start for him. He applied for becoming the hospital's psychologist, (there were none, mostly crazed nurses and psychiatrists that had a thing for drugging kids up.) for he knew quite a lot about mental illnesses, eating disorders, and was good with kids, cause, quite frankly, Dib was young as well at twenty-three. Dib had always thought about helping out young adolescents, and he knew what it was like to be called crazy. Zim scoffed at the idea of helping out "sniveling little worm babies," as he put it. But inside, Zim knew it was important to him, so he came along. But then again, Zim found any chance he could to be with Dib.

There was a comfortable silence between them, except for the radio softly playing some Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of Dib's favorite songs. The Sky is Crying. He softly hummed along to it, then something came to him.

"Hey, what do you think of meeting my friends, tonight? And Johnny, I think you'll like him."

"Umm... no. Zim doesn't think so." He made 'little sicky noises' to show Dib his disgust.

"Yeah, well I haven't seen anybody for a month. And well... they wanted to meet you too."

Zim sighed, "Is it my fault you haven't seen them?"

"No... I just thought.."

"And when exactly were you gonna tell me this?" Zim's eyes narrowed at the thought. "I didn't know you had made plans, and that Zim was involved with this 'meeting'."

"Look, it would mean a lot to me for you to meet my friends, and Johnny... well he helped me realize..." He stopped, and went on. "Anyway, I wanted everybody to meet my Zim." He said with a certain delight.

Zim rolled his eyes. "Zim belongs to no one.." He muttered. Dib heard it, but went on.

"And well, Johnny already knows your... well he likes the paranormal too." Dib coughed nervously and set his eyes to the road.

Seconds rolled by. Then... BOOM!

"You told HIM I WAS AN ALIEN!!" Zim roared incredulously. Dib flinched, just about slamming into another car, but hit the brake just in time. Angry honks came his way.

"Damn it Zim... calm your ass! Everything's fine!" He took Zim's hand and gently stroked it, knowing how it calmed him down. "Its not like I haven't told people before and well..." Zim wasn't sated, in fact, he was even angrier, violently snatching away his hand from Dib.

"That has nothing to do with it, and You KNOW IT!! They never believed you, anyway." Said Zim triumphantly.

Dib sighed harshly, "Look all I meant was that we can trust Johnny, ok? He's a good friend of mine."

"We? Zim knows nothing of this 'we'!" Zim scoffed. "You seem to trust him so much, why not just be with him!" Zim asked. Dib looked at the road blankly, his eyes scattered, hurt and betrayed.

"How can you say that? You... do you have any idea... how much.." you mean to me?

Silence filled up the car. Zim frustrated at his own stupidity, sighed.

"Dib, you know I didn't mean that. I'm just... you know, me." He said softly, inwardly chastising himself, he couldn't believe how stupid he could be sometimes.

Zim leaned over and kissed Dib's cheek softly. "...And you know me."

Dib smiled. "I do."

Zim decided to relent a little. "Anyway, this whole idea seems... odd. Anybody else going to be there... and exactly where are we meeting?"

"Oh... Krista, Tee, Johnny, Asher and Cameron. And," Dib laughed knowingly. "Johnny and Krista finally got together... he-he I knew it." Zim ignored Dib's latter comment.

"Ok... where?"

"I was thinking, our place?"

"What?!" Dib flinched slightly.

"Zim..."

"No, no, NO!! That place only has room for one human, YOU!"

"Yeah, I guess... I mean, your house is weird anyway." He grinned widely.

"No it's not! It's perfectly normal. Zim IS normal! And you live there TOO!!"

Dib laughed immediately at that outburst. Zim just rolled his eyes and turned to look out the window.

"I wonder when you're going to tell those Swollen Eyeball people that you're through with them...!" Zim said testily.

Dib grunted. "Soon, ok? I just need a little more time so I can reassure them.."

"Of what? That I'm really gone?!" Dib bit his lower lip. "That I really left your smelly planet without a trace!"

"Soon, alright?!" Dib's patience was wearing thin.

Zim scowled. "You know, I wanted to do something for... ahh forget it!"

Dib looked at Zim oddly, and pulled the car into the driveway. "What are you talking about?"

Then all of a sudden, his eyes widened. "Oh shit, Zim, I forgot I'm so sorry, I-..."

He was cut off curtly by the sound of Zim opening the car-door, walking angrily into the house.

"Happy anniversary indeed." Zim growled. "The one time Zim remembers a stupid human tradition... stupid Dib forgets..." He barked, talking to himself. Zim sighed irritably.

Dib walked in, worn out, as he put his keys on the coffee table. "Look Zim, I've been so preoccupied lately, I haven't really been thinking of us..." Oh, that sounded worse. "I.. I mean, it's just that..."

"No, just stop! I don't need to hear anymore. I had plans for us tonight, but its just not gonna happen. I'll meet your little friends." Zim smiled weakly. Dib frowned.

"I'm gonna take a walk. Be back soon, I guess."

"Ok..." Dib said sadly.

A half-hour later.

Zim walked in, and saw Dib lying on the couch. Music was blaring. Glenn Miller's 'In the Mood'. Zim knew how much Dib loved Miller, it was a quirk he liked about Dib, though he would never say it aloud.

Dib got up and had a bottle of whiskey in hand. "He-hey Ziiiiim..." He garbled, lazily drawing out Zim's name. "Daaaaance with meeeeee!!" He got closer, throwing the empty bottle on the floor. Zim could smell the alcohol heavily in the air.

Zim sighed, "Dib, you're drunk." Then an evil idea. He got the camera and turned it on.

"Hey Dib... say hi to the camera!!" Zim smirked.

Dib grinned stupidly, poking the camera, "Hiiiiiii..."

Zim settled the camera down and took Dib's hand, but he stumbled and fell, Zim tumbling straight on top of him.

Dib giggled and gave Zim an awkward Eskimo kiss. Zim's left eye twitched and Dib slurred and laughed hysterically.

Zim got up, pulling Dib up gawkily, Dib's eyes settled intensely on Zim.

Zim rolled his eyes, but before he could get out of Dib's grasp...

Pennsylvania 6-5000 started.

The pace quickened and Dib started swinging around and twirling Zim excitedly. Zim finally gave in and laughed along with Dib, and he... was happy. He was having fun.

Fun. Such a foreign word. In the past, fun meant total destruction and chaos.

But now, fun was Dib, and him, together.

The last song played. Moonlight Serenade.

Dib suddenly wrapped his arms around Zim, whispering sweet nothings, accidentally pushing off Zim's wig, stroking his antennas like he would with silk, Zim whimpering slightly, frustrated cause he knew Dib would probably pass out soon.

"I'm s-sorry." Dib garbled, and Zim nodded, purring now as Dib broadened his strokes.

Zim was caught between pleasure and knowing that Dib was trying to be serious.

Dib stopped, looking at Zim with a pleading, almost tempting look.

"Its--"

Dib's eyes rolled back and he became limp in Zim's arms.

"Ok."

Swirls...

"Your parental unit was beautiful..." Zim sighed as he looked upon the old, worn picture. Dib giggled at Zim's reference to his mom as a 'parental unit'.

"Yeah, her name was Mariko, isn't that a gorgeous name? Its Japanese... she was really fond of the culture, as was her parents."

Zim looked at Dib, and smiled warmly. "Zim likes it." Because youlike it.

"Everything was so good before she left us... dad stayed home a lot more, mom.. she..." always loved us.. "We always had fun.." together.

Zim eyed the picture of Dib's mother, with her pale violet eyes and beautiful raven hair, her smile warm and demure, yet her eyes shone with a certain sophistication and strength. Zim lightly traced the photo with his gloved hand, fingering over her features.

He looked at Dib. "Mariko... that's a good name." He said simply, and Dib smiled.

"My mom always told us she couldn't wait to have grandchildren, but she could wait for us to grow up.." He laughed, and Zim looked at him in confusion.

"What?" Zim lowered the camera, placing it to look at the assorted pictures.

Dib sighed. "Nothing, it just means, she wanted us to enjoy being young, but she wanted us to grow up too so.." Dib paused. "She loved kids.. I guess."

"Does Dib want little worm babies too?" Zim teased. Dib playfully hit him in the shoulder.

"Yes... why?"

"I don't know I mean..." I've never really thought about it.. "I think it would be.." nice. "different. What do you think?"

"Us?! Having kids?!" Dib eyed Zim strangely.

Zim burst into laughter. "No!!" Actually, I wonder if we could...

Dib looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but then smiled. "Yeah, stupid, huh?"

Zim stopped laughing. "Yeah..." not really.

"Well, if we decide to or something, adopt or..." you could? "yeah, I want to name one of them after my mother."

"Yeah... that sounds.." amazing... "amazing."

Dib looked at Zim carefully, wondering if he had temporarily gone insane, or if he had heard correctly. Either way, it came to the same conclusion.

"Really?"

"Yeah.."

Swirls...