"No Dib stink I don't need your help!" He rasped, trying for the third time to get to his feet.
He wobbled, and fell forward again. Dib grabbed his arm to prevent a fall. Zim let out a frustrated groaned and wondered how long before he got his voice back. He had no control over his legs either, which had grown weak from almost a year of inactivity. He activated his pak legs, and used them as crutches, pushing Dib away from him. His pak legs were weak too, but stronger than his flesh one.
He staggered to the cockpit, and dropped heavily into the pilot's chair.
"Zim what are you doing? You're not going to drive? You just got out of a coma!"
"Shut your speak hole," Zim said in annoyance.
Dib climbed into the cockpit next to Zim, and leaned against the glass. It was a tight fit, the cockpit really wasn't built for two, but there was no way Dib was letting Zim out of his sight he was worried that he wasn't fully recovered.
Zim said nothing as Dib sat on the floor next to him, and began flicking controls. The silence was a little awkward. Before Zim and left, he had ignored Dib for months. Now they'd both shown so much emotion around the people they'd always put on a brave face around. Dib had saved Zim, but he wasn't sure he had wanted to be saved. He didn't really know where they stood at the moment. Zim broke the silence.
"Dib, you idiot thing, you didn't turn off the runners broadcast."
"What?"
"This" Zim sighed flicking a switch "sends out a frequency that can be detected by other ships. Your idiot brain thing never turned it off!"
"Oh. That reminds me actually I need to send Gaz a message"
"Why?" He demanded
"We're meeting her."
"Fine" he handed Dib the phone "this line is fine just use that."
Dib texted Gaz New coordinates to meet seeing as their last place probably wasn't such a good idea anymore.
"Position compromised. . Zim is awake" he texted.
The cockpit was silent again as Zim plotted the coordinates, and set the spittle runner to auto pilot.
"How do you feel?" Dib asked anxiously.
"Perfect. Zim has never felt better." He lied.
The room was quiet again. It felt like minutes before Zim finally cleared his throat and groggily demanded;
"Why-why" he repeated in frustration, trying in vain to force out his weak voice "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Why did you come to get me?"
Dib had to think about that. Curiosity? Adventure? Truthfully he was worried and he had missed him. He'd missed him. His heart missed a beat. He'd missed him.
"I don't know." He said quietly "aren't you glad?"
"I'm glad you didn't... get us killed."
Zim was glad, in fact he was ecstatic to see Dib, relieved he'd not been killed on his mindless rescue, proud that he'd managed to do it and annoyed at being held prisoner in the first place. There were so many difficult emotions running rampant through his small body and he was finding it difficult to process them all.
"I risked my life for you and you're glad I didn't get is killed? If I hadn't come to get you, you would have died."
"I didn't ask you to! Zim was fine!"
"Fine? You were just coma!"
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were!"
There was a brief silence. Zim looked away from dibs intense glare.
"Zim needs a few days to recollect himself." He rasped. It was almost an apology.
"Fine"
Dib climbed back out of the cockpit and dumped himself into him on the bed.
/0\\
And so for the next couple of days Zim sat in the pilot's seat reading through the files on him Dib had stolen. When he wasn't reading, he was hungrily eating from a bag of sweets, or walking back and forth along the length of the ship trying to strengthen his legs. He didn't sleep and he didn't speak to dib, who watched him like a hawk.
Zim read as much as he possibly could, and it broke his heart. He had known his mission to earth had been a lie, but to see it written down was so much more painful. He read up on the experiments too, and every report filed since he'd left irk. By the end of two days he had read more than he could take.
He could remember barely anything about before they had stripped him of his rank and thrown him in a test tube. He didn't remember dib rescuing him, and he didn't remember how he'd gotten here. He glanced at Dib who was lying in the small bed sleeping. He'd almost managed to stay awake for the full two days to keep an eye on Zim. Almost.
A surge of emotions welled up inside him. He wasn't sure what they meant, fear, anger, joy, relief, comfort? How was it that Dib always gave him comfort? Zim had tried to detach himself form everyone, and yet that stupid human still managed to make him feel emotions. Disgusting.
After some thought, he shakily got to his feet and limped over to the bed. He sat on the edge and looked at dibs face. He looked so peaceful, so real. He looked down to the humans odd looking hands and wondered what they felt like. He reached out with his fingers and stroked his hand gently before grabbing it and shaking him awake.
"Earth boy" he hissed "wake!"
"Mmmmmmwha?" Dib mumbled pushing himself up to his Elbows.
Zim was blurry. Dibs eyes we're unfocused from sleep and he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"Zim?" He reached out until his hand found the fabric of Zim's borrowed clothes. They were warm and soft.
"Zim has decided to reconsider your offer Dib human, and he accepts." Zim's voice was stronger now though not fully recovered.
"What offer?" Dib said staring at the blur that was Zim.
"The alliance. Zim will become your ally on certain terms. Firstly, Zim drives the ship."
"Oh c'mon" Dib groaned, too asleep to argue "fine"
"Good. And secondly," he yawned, he was so tired, it had been a bad idea to stay up so long "you will obey Zim's orders."
"Not if I don't think they're reasonable."
"Zim is always reasonable"
"Not always"
"Liar," Zim was also too tired to argue "now move over,"
He had so quickly abandoned the conversation that Dib was taken aback, it was so unusual for Zim to compromise, especially so quickly.
The truth was that Zim was frightened. He couldn't afford to be alone, and despite everything, Dib was really the only creature in the universe that he could trust. He needed him.
Zim slid under the sheets next to him, and turned onto his side. Dib was left with his back against the wall and Zim's pak digging uncomfortably into his chest. The bed was small and they were pressed together like sardines.
It was only a few seconds before Zim's breathing slowed and he fell into a long awaited sleep. Dib however lay there suddenly wide awake and very aware of Zim's warm skin pressed up against his. His heart beat a little faster as he lay stock still. Hours seemed to pass before he even began to feel sleepy. He felt his whole body slowly relax as His eyelids fell heavily over his drowsy eyes, and his head nodded forward. Zim's skin smelled faintly of the gel and formaldehyde he'd been kept in, but mostly it just smelled warmth and sweetness and Zim.
/0\\\\
Three fully armed Irken elite soldiers burst into the spittle runner shouting orders in Irken.
"Seize him!" The tallest one said.
The two smaller ones rushed forward and grabbed Zim's arms, dragging him from the tiny bed.
"No!" Zim screamed in Irken, his eyes wide with fear.
Dib could do nothing but watch as Zim was dragged from the bed and onto the floor. His legs felt like lead and he couldn't move or even speak. The Irken soldiers pulled out guns and aimed them at Zim's head.
"Fire."
"No!"
Dib sat up sharply in bed, covered in sweat. He threw his arms protectively around Zim's shivering figure. He was sitting up in the bed too. Dib breathed heavily for a few seconds before realising they were alone. It was a nightmare.
Zim had sat up seconds before Dib. He'd had a nightmare too, but more importantly;
"Zim is cold" a shiver shook through his body.
It was true, Zim's skin was freezing, but his pak was burning up. That's not good. Dib's quickly let go of him.
"do you feel ill?" dib asked climbing over His legs, he jumping out of the bed.
"c-cold,"
"Hang on Zim" He said grabbing the first aid box, and rummaging through it.
"I think it's an Irken fever."
Zim Sat shivering in the bed, pulling the blankets up to his chin. He was very pale and his antennae shook violently atop his head.
"Here, you have to keep warm" Dib said grabbing his clothes from a drawer and throwing them at Zim.
He pulled them around him in a sort of nest. Dib sat on the bed next to him, and put his hand on Zim's forehead. Not good. Zim was dangerously cold. If he didn't warm up soon-
Zim's hand shot out of the nest and grabbed dibs wrist.
"You are warm Dib thing," he mumbled quietly, clutching at the humans warm hands.
"Here" Dib held out a small pink tablet "this should help"
Zim dutifully took it from him and swallowed it.
"I'm going to make you some warm syrup now" Dib said making to get up.
"Don't, I'm cold," Zim said feebly.
"This will help Zim, let go." He said gently prying his fingers from his hand.
"Promise you'll come back" Zim murmured.
"I'm not going anywhere" Dib assured him.
The little alien settled back into the nest of blankets and clothes. He wasn't himself, but fevers often caused Irkens to become delirious and childlike. It was a malfunction in their paks that tampered with their personality chip, and if it wasn't treated properly they could suffer from permanent personality loss. Dib was worried. Unsettling butterflies flew helter-skelter in his stomach. He couldn't let him become like that. He couldn't lose his Zim.
He hurried over to the counter and grabbed the hotplate, plugging it in. He set a small collapsible pot on it and filled it with sugar and a small amount of distilled water, just enough so the solution wasn't saturated. Dib had discovered through reading, that Irkens could consume water in small amounts provided it was distilled and untainted. When the sugar had dissolved, he poured it into a small cup, switched off the hotplate and brought the syrup over to Zim.
"Sit up" he ordered.
When Zim didn't respond, Dib dug his hands into the blankets, and pulled the small Irken up. He moaned.
"Drink this" Dib said handing him the cup.
Zim clutched it in his hands and brought it up to his lips. He took a small sip. "I can't" he moaned.
"Yes you can, c'mon drink it" Dib pushed it up to Zim's lips "please Zim"
This time Zim made a valiant effort. He drank about three quarters before choking a little.
"Noo" Zim moaned as Dib pushed the cup up to his lips one last time.
"Come on Zim, after this there's no more I promise"
Zim slurped down the last of it and grabbed Dib around the middle.
"Stay you're so warm."
"Alright let me just put the cup do-"
"No stay!"
"Ok Zim!" He lowered the cup to the floor and climbed into the bed next to him. Body heat was actually a good idea seeing as he needed zim to warm up quickly. Irkens heal so fast that Zim would probably be ok by the 'morning'. Time was easily lost in space. He lay flat and Zim snuggled into his side, his arms wrapping around his torso.
Dib didn't sleep. He lay there riddled with worry and guilt. He wasn't sure why but when their skin made contact it sent butterflies through him and he didn't want Zim to let go. But eventually he did.
Hours later when Zim woke, he sat up slowly, untangling himself from the human, and swinging his legs over the edge.
"How do you feel?" Dib asked, his voice full of concern.
"Zim is fine!" He snapped.
Dib sighed in relief. He certainly seemed back to normal.
"Let me check your temperature" Dib said reaching his hand toward Zim's for head. He swatted him away.
"Don't touch me earth boy"
"I just have to check!" He said, quickly brushing his fingers against Zim's forehead. Zim snapped his teeth at him, and Dib pulled back quickly. His temperature seemed normal, and he was acting normal too. Thank God. The fever had probably been the last of his body's healing process, hopefully now he would be ok.
Zim jumped out of the bed and walked over to the cockpit leaving Dib in the bed.
/0\\\\\\\
The small Irken forest was dark and windy and alive. Small critters screamed into the night sky as a bright comet flew closer, crashing into the Forrest floor. After several minutes the general alarm settled, and the alien creatures went back to screaming about sex and territory. The small comet lay in a burnt patch of foliage, and after a minute it began to hiss. A small door opened in the side, and it became clear that this comet was in fact an Irken escape pod. A dark figure shakily got out, and began the long and dangerous track back to civilization, muttering angrily as it went, about the bid creature and revenge.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own iz or its characters but you already know that.
Sorry about this one, how the hell was I supposed to follow the previous chapter?
I just moved up for college and im starting next week (im so excited)
If you liked it or if you hated it, review!
Mia out~