Author's Note: "Bedtime" is meant to imply ZaDF and not ZaDR.
What Do You Mean?
"True," Zita acknowledged thoughtfully. "But then, Dib's always interested in aliens and Bigfoot and all that crazy stuff."
"Yes, yes, that is crazy," Zim grinned sheepishly, "especially aliens."
He then took on a more serious tone. "But he does always follow his squeed—heart, and that is something you—we humans consider admirable, yes?"
"Yeah, but not when his heart's leading him to craziness," she said. "But I see where you're coming from."
Zim froze as Zita walked away, and his eyes shot upward and scanned the sky in bewilderment. 'You mean Irk is visible from Earth?'
Bedtime
In a moonlit bedroom, Dib had just fallen asleep for the night.
In a monitor-lit control room several blocks away, Zim was sitting down to one of his favorite hobbies.
"Computer, bring up the live feed of Dib's bedroom."
A window popped up on the screen and Zim focused on the slumbering child. An evil smile spread across the invader's face at the thought of his hidden camera having gone unnoticed for so many months.
"Now what secrets do you have for Zim tonight?" He falsely crooned, turning up the volume.
As if on cue, the boy began to whisper in his sleep. "Zim…"
"Yes, Dib-stink," Zim answered with a small chuckle.
"Zim…"
"Yes, yes, pig-smelly, go on," the Irken twitched in anticipation. But he was unprepared for what Dib said next.
"Don't go."
Zim blinked, and then sat unmoving for quite some time, staring blankly at the screen. He was certain he had heard correctly…But Dib was just having a dream. Surely he didn't mean everything he said, right?
He watched motionlessly as Dib wrapped his arms around air and the human's expression softened. Those two haunting words echoed in Zim's mind again and again. Don't go. And no matter how much he wanted to, for the rest of the night Zim did not.