Behold! Another crappy filler chapter? Hopefully I'll be able to pick this back up soon.
Sorry for disappearing though. I am super busy, plus I need to get back to work on my own original stuff, no matter how much I love this couple. :P
I'll be updating randomly. I promise not to totally abandon anything without warning, but my fics may become subject to going on hold for a month or so at random. Sorry. Too much to do and not enough time. By spring to summer, I'll try to maybe have some stuff stockpiled and get back to posting everyday for a while, can't promise anything now though.
And to each and every one of my reviewers, I offer cookies made of love... Or chocolate chips. *shrugs* Thank you all though! I can never get enough feedback. ^_^ Let me know what you think!
~•~
It would take less then ten minutes to reach the invader's base. By the fifth, only half-way, Dib was seriously concerned.
Zim was completely leaned against the car door, the side of his forehead pressed against the window. He had turned a paler shade of green, and was absolutely glimmering with sweat and his uniform was damp with it, the red fabric darkened and clinging to his form even more then usual. Either it was Dib's imagination, or the extra-terrestrial's breaths were slowly getting quicker and shallower too. Zim looked wretchedly, agonizingly ill beyond a doubt.
The earthling had kept quiet, staring out his own window, until now that he'd looked over and more fully analyzed the irken just now. Now he had to say SOMETHING. He was getting very worried.
"Zim?"
Zim didn't hear him, or if he did, he didn't respond. That alone set off warning bells for the earthling.
"Hey! Zim?"
The Irken glanced up tiredly, face in a sick grimace. He cleared his throat and sat up a little more, eyes almost squinting, body slightly rigid, like someone waking up from deep sleep.
"D-Dib-human?"
"Yeah?" The boy leaned a little closer, completely uneased by all the endless symptoms his former enemy was showing, though a little more calm then before since Zim could at least still talk to him sensibly... Or it seemed like he could, so far.
"Tell the driver slave he must pull over somewhere and let us out."
Dib paused.
"We're not at your base yet."
"Zim knows... I-it is much to hot... We must find a building... With 'air conditioning.'... Very soon, or... Or Zim is going to vomit." Zim's voice was moany with a tip of urgency as he spoke.
Dib's eyes widened. The Irken was basically admitting that he couldn't take any more. Zim never admitted to 'weakness' unless something really was seriously, horribly, TRULY wrong.
Slowly, the boy nodded.
"Alright. I'll find us some place to stop at." Dib assured the other, and Zim lay back against the door with a shaky breath, leaving things to Dib while he rested his eyes half closed.
Looking out his window, Dib hurriedly scanned the area for street signs and landmarks, trying to figure out where they were. He knew many routes to Zim's base, and thought this one looked at least slightly familiar.
There were huge, ugly old apartments and businesses on either side of them now, but if one turned to the right up ahead, Dib was pretty sure there were a series of 'cute', small shops down that street; selling trinkets and candies, and being generally the kind of place that the girls at school talked about and met up at. Expensive yet charming it was, with shop staff who tended to be old cranky people who yelled at children, telling them not to touch anything. Well, seemed good enough, and it was definitely the closest option.
It WOULD have been perfect 'accidental date' material... But Dib wasn't much for tea-parties, and elegance, and shiny little beads, and he didn't believe Zim was either.
Dib got the driver's attention by tapping the back the man's seat's headrest, and bluntly told him the change in plans and where to let them off. Zim just kept sitting as he was, putting a good level of faith in the boy to get them somewhere decent- soon.
When the car turned the corner and stopped, Dib handed the driver his pay, unbuckled himself, and then had to help Zim, who was fumbling and growling at his own 'primitive earth restraints' his hands clumsily missing the button he was supposed to push and slipping from squeezing the whole seatbelt mechanism so hard with frustration.
The human got out on the left side of the cab, and walked around to the sidewalk. Zim had to put an enormous amount of effort into pushing his door open with a grunt, and climbing unsteadily out to then lean on his door and rest again, before he could begrudgingly close it.
Dib bit his lip. Poor Zim. The boy really hoped it was just the heat and nothing worse. What if he was sick? Could his immune system handle an earth virus?
The alien conqueror wobbled as the taxi pulled away, looking downright miserable, giving Dib a 'you better have a plan or I will eat you alive' expression. Dib gulped.
"Com'on. Right in here." The boy waved towards the entrance of the nearest shop, just a few steps down the sidewalk.
Dib barely managed to remind himself in time not to touch the alien; he had reached out, finding it only natural to offer Zim a light pull or something to lean on with his current state, but quickly withdrew when the invader twitched and jerked away with a defensive snarl.
"Sorry." Guiltily, Dib let his offered hand fall back to his side, looked away and scratched the back of his neck, before walking ahead to at least hold the door open for his 'lover'. Zim glared and shuffled alongside him and into the chosen building, murmuring out a garbled chant of "Stupidstupidstupidstupidstup id-"
Raising an eyebrow in cautious amusement, Dib wondered who exactly Zim was talking about, as he followed him in.
The extra terrestrial was still scowling at nothing in particular when he walked into the small, friendly looking, coffee and cakes shop that Dib had chosen at random.
After just standing blankly and hunched over for a minute, Zim finally took a deep, slow breath, and straitened his shoulders from their slumped position. There was air conditioning here. It was wonderfully cool, so much so that he felt he might go into shock. Nice and cold. Safety! Relief! The human had pulled through for him well!
With a grin, Dib watched in surprise as the invader seemed to completely un-wither within a few seconds.
Zim briefly stared up at the fans on the ceiling, wondering what would have happened if Dib hadn't been there to help. The human was indeed very valuable to have around.
That miserable earth's sun had HURT! Oh how painful it was! And he was saved! Saved by the Dib-Dib!
"Feeling better?" Asked a certain smiling, black-haired, big-headed earthling, who had just walked up beside the alien. Zim looked over at Dib, appearing very pleased, and nodding resolutely. In response Dib swelled with an almost twisted sort of pride.
He was doing good. If he could please Zim, Zim would grow to enjoy his company. That was something he wanted, something that would definitely help build a relationship. He could work with that bit of foundation.
"Yesss... Zim feels much better!" Purred the irken, tilting his chin up to look down his non-existent nose at the inferior world. Apparently the alien conqueror was indeed okay now. But then Zim frowned suddenly with a thought. "How long can we stay here without being kicked out for littering?"
"Uhhh... Oh, You mean loitering?"
Dib smirked, but Zim just glared and growled at the human for daring to correct him.
"I dunno. Maybe up to an hour, if we buy something..." Dib pulled his bundled up trench-coat out from under his arm and turned it around until he'd found the pockets.
"I have... Almost five dollars left from after paying the taxi guy. We can probably buy something..." Dib glanced up at the menu and prices board up behind the counter and made a face of near horror. "Something... very small... and plain."
Quite recovered from his heat-sickness, Zim waved a hand dismissively and managed a haughty smile.
"Save your monies, Zim will pay for the junky junk things."
Dib's mouth nearly dropped open when Zim pulled a considerable wad of hundreds out of his pocket as casually as ever to count them out.
Dib's dad was rich, probably the most well-known man on the face of the planet, and Dib could usually get how ever much money he wanted just by asking- but his father was rarely there to ask, and he found himself doing a lot of odd jobs to pay for what he needed just in order to live- like food. His dad didn't do the best job of keeping the fridge stocked.
How the heck did Zim get all that money? He could buy the whole restaurant and Dib barely had enough on him to offer the alien a nice drink!
Well great, now the poor boy felt like shit... So much for taking Zim out for their first semi-date... Dib was pretty sure the guy was supposed to pay, which meant he'd just been pretty much emasculated.
"Where did you get all that!?"
Zim looked up almost surprised at the question, as the two shuffled into the ordering line.
"Lots of ways." He began vaguely and Dib suspiciously narrowed his eyes. This was ZIM talking, after all.
"One of the first things an invader does on a planet they are to conquer, is to build a means of manufacturing the needed currency."
Oh, duh, made sense.
"-I also find plenty in the wallets of dead hobos."
Dib stared, but had to refrain from asking something like 'Do you often go looking for dead hobos?' Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, he told himself he probably didn't want to know. Zim caught Dib's expression and grinned maniacly.
When they got up to the counter, Zim rudely demanded two enormous slices of the most decorative, expensive cake on the menu, and a cup of melted caramel with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Dib was surprised that no objections were raised to Zim's choice of 'drink'.
When Zim asked what disgusting, smelly earth beverage Dib wanted to drink, the boy looked away almost bashfully and asked for a very cheap, small coffee. Only his father had ever taken food orders and paid for dinner for the Membrane family- once a year. Being used to having to do everything for himself, Dib felt awkward, like he shouldn't be expecting so much of Zim, especially when he currently didn't have cash on him to return the favor. Awkwardly, the boy scratched at his arm, and fixed his eyes down at the dark-brown wood floor.
Zim stared incredulously and asked what Dib had said, as if he hadn't heard right, and Dib repeated what drink he'd asked for, looking up to see the invader giving him a 'you are an IDIOT' look that made him feel even more awkward.
Completely disregarding the boy's request, Zim got him something expensive, exotic looking, and chuck full of fudge-sauce, caramel, cream, and whatever the heck else.
They were told by a frighteningly caffeine-high, twenty year old cashier woman, to pick a table and wait for their order number to be called.
Zim was all too happy to march like a little nazi to a table in the corner, right under a fan, yelling at Dib to follow him, which the boy did, with no resistance.
Zim thumped himself into his seat and leaned back into it with a sigh of relaxation, putting his feet up on the table rudely yet importantly. Dib draped his jacket over the back of his own chair before sitting down and smiling across the table at the other.
For a couple of seconds, both parties were silent. Apparently Dib didn't care for that.
"Soooo..." Dib began, drumming his fingertips against the table. Seemed like a good time to start a random conversation.
Zim looked up in a business-like manner, opening one of his resting closed eyes, arms behind his head, feet still up on the table. "Yes?"
"You're okay now right? You seemed to get really sick or something."
"Of course I'm fine!" The irken exclaimed in his usual preening tone of arrogance, making a face that said he was surprised and offended by the inquiry.
"Zim is a mighty irken invader! A little heat is no threat to me! I am Zim!"
"So then, that WAS just from the heat, not, the... touching?" Biting his lip, Dib turned to face the window instead of the invader.
Dib was almost sure that the touching had at least been the ignition for Zim's random spell of faintness, but it would offer him a feeling of security or closure if he could know that the reason Zim got quite so badly off, was more from the temperature. He didn't want to have been the only one to cause all that. And he certainly didn't want that to be Zim's natural reaction to being touched, or he would NEVER be able to be intimate with his gorgeous little alien.
The taunting temptation from that perfect alien body would be AWFUL...
Zim rolled his eyes and made a 'Psh...' noise of dismissal.
That stupid earth monkey just had to bring that up again, didn't he? For some reason the mention of it offended Zim, but he masked it well.
He had no... weakness... Not to anything so stupid... He just didn't understand the tingles and feelings he got from it. His instincts screamed at him to be terrified, and he hated the lack of control. It just wasn't a good mixture altogether.
He just had to deny it all though. He had to insist he was more then fine.
"Nonsense! After five years Zim has almost gotten used to you grabbing at me trying to feel up my amazing body."
Zim grinned and flicked his fake hair back girlishly while Dib blushed at the mental images, mouth falling open slightly.
"I do not grab at you and-"
"Yes you do."
"N-no I don't!"
"Do to." The irken was grinning madly. Despite his innocent mindedness towards affection and reproduction and anything related to those, Zim still knew a couple things- like the fact that some of the ways Dib interacted with him, or some things he said, could be taken as suggestive- and were therefor hilarious... For some reason.
For that matter, it was amusing just to watch Dib flounder in embarrassment.
"And you LIKE it-"
"Zim knock it off, I've never grabbed at you like that,"
"You ran your hand up the inside of my thigh once..." The irken started to give an unnerving mix of chuckles and giggling, while Dib stuttered, facial expression going into shock. That bit... Wasn't even completely true. The problem was, it was very likely that it was also far from being completely false. Dib had gotten rather touchy in non-violent ways once or twice, during their most recent fights and wrestling matches, or just, when stalking Zim and trying to annoy him... And doing 'field research' on the extra-terrestrial. So he knew that sadly, it WAS possible.
It had been quite a while since any of that had happened though.
"I absolutely DID NOT do anything like that! Ever! And I would think I'd remember something like that..."
"Why, do you often think about doing such things?"
"I DIDN'T DO THAT!"
"Maybe not... But you DID try to grind hips during that fight with the Mortis-thing and my mutant vermin."
Could the earthling's face get any redder? No.
Dib threw his hands up, let his head tip back and slapped both palms down to rub his temples with a groan, in a show of maximum frustration and embarrassment.
"I did NOT!"
Zim just kept laughing. For some reason he enjoyed making Dib's cheeks go red.
"You sound just like my sister." Grumbled Dib, defensive and crossing his arms as he looked out the window.
At that last sentence, Zim calmed down slowly, cocked his head and raised his eyebrows.
"Why would you say that?"
"Because she was giving me trouble this morning too... Arguing... And... Stuff... I guess...About... You... Never mind..." The boy answered vaguely. With a heavy sigh, and a shrug of his shoulders, Dib dropped the subject and Zim let it fall.
Glancing at the counter, Dib guessed they'd probably have a few more minutes left until they'd get their orders. Zim had practically demanded two whole cakes after all. It was going to take a little while. They weren't the only people there either.
'And certainly not the only COUPLE.' Dib thought, pointedly noticing several other teens who appeared to have taken dates here. It made him feel out of place for some reason, to see boys and girls getting along so normally and boringly. All around him were paired male-female humans, and there he sat with a more or less gender-neutral alien, his former enemy, bent on conquering humanity and enslaving or killing Dib's whole species. They kind of stood out.
Zim just sat there, starting to lean back so the front legs of his chair came up off the floor, his feet still on the table to make up for that support while the back legs held all his weight, as Dib huddled back into his chair a bit more, clearing his throat subconsciously.
"You said you wanted me to come over to your base today,"
It was Dib starting the conversation again, the earthling's brown-red-gold eyes looking at Zim through his large, round glasses.
Zim had almost let that slip out of mind somehow. It had been a spur-of-the-moment invitation, and now it seemed like a bad idea. There were things that could go wrong, and even more things that Dib might find out about that Zim just didn't want him to know, not now, maybe not ever.
But he also didn't want to spend another long night alone, unable to sleep but with nothing to do, and no one to talk to.
"Did I say that? Yes, I suppose I did..." He murmured, brow furrowing just a tat as he scratched at the table with one claw, sitting back down normally.
"What are you thinking we'll, I mean, what should we do, while we're over there?" The human cocked his head in casual curiosity.
"I dunno." Unconcerned, the extra-terrestrial shrugged.
"Watch TV or whatever Zim supposes. And at some point YOU will have to go to sleep, since you humans need to recharge every night. Zim doesn't need sleep but... That IS how you'll be spending some time, being a human, I guess."
"W-wait..." Dib made a face of confusion.
"You mean, you're expecting me to stay overnight? Like- a sleepover?"
Dib was surprised, to say the least, and it wasn't a particularly bad or good surprise. It was just... Surprise. The human wasn't sure what to make of it.
The irken shrugged again.
"Well I assumed so. Zim doesn't know, how long were YOU planning on staying?"
"I... I don't know. My dad's never set any sort of curfew... It IS a Saturday tomorrow so I wouldn't have to be worrying about school the next day after all, but still!"
"Why would staying at Zim's overnight be such a big deal anyway?" The irken wondered aloud, still trying to scratch his name into the surface of the table with one of his claws.
"Well, humans don't normally sleep over at other's houses except for something special, like a party. And not long ago you would never have let me in and out of there alive, so, I guess it seems strange to me."
Zim finally stopped etching at the table to examine his sharp little talons currently hidden inside his black rubber gloves.
"As long as Dib does not go sneaking around down in the base, breaking things, or taking Zim's stuff, you probably won't have to worry about Zim killing you. Just stay up in the 'house.' and away from the base without my supervision."
With a nervous chuckle, Dib nodded.
In a few more minutes, their order number was called.
The two ate in relative silence, Zim with his mouth too full of his surgery treats to get a sound out, and Dib watching him in his usual curiosity.
Apparently the irken hadn't eaten in a while, or at least, he acted like it. In the time Dib had mouse-nibbled away a few spoons of cake, and taken several sips of his coffee, Zim had finished the entire thing of his own, and was licking out his glass of caramel, in between jealous glances at Dib's food.
After a moment he asked the blunt, popular question;
"You gunna eat that?"
"Eh, not all of it. I'm not that hungry."
Dib cut off the rest of what he thought he'd eat with a white, plastic fork, and watched in mildly sickened amusement as Zim shoved the rest into his mouth with his gloved hands.
The alien's behavior was surprising. Normally Zim was such a finicky eater. Dib wondered if he just really liked the cake, or if something was... Wrong, in some way, to have him so ravenous.
Zim had decided to pick up his plate and lick it clean, having nothing better to do- and no manners- while Dib finished his own food.
However Dib found it a little hard to focus on eating.
Zim's tongue... Was so... Alien.
Dark fleshy red, completely smooth and slimy looking, lacking all the little bumps of a human or other mammalian tongue. It had slight ridges down the length of it and the irken had such insane control of the muscle as he swirled it around to catch every little crumb, and slide along the edges of his plate meticulously. It could practically be considered another limb it was so prehensile. It seemed like it could reach out pretty far from Zim's mouth too...
Dib involuntarily licked his own lips, face warming up, cheeks going cherry-red yet again.
...
He'd never kissed anyone before...
...
Field research on alien tongues anyone? No? No one in favor of that?... Where were crazy head-voices when you needed them? Yep, he was insane...
Clearing his throat, flustered, Dib forced himself to look away while Zim slammed his plate down to lick out his clear glass cup that had held caramel before.
Of course, when the alien started making loud, bored, sucking noises Dib had to glance up again.
Lick, lick, lick, swirl, tongue moving like a funny, pointed-ended red snake...
Dib swallowed thickly and looked away yet again, just as Zim finally noticed him. Without removing his tongue from the glass, Zim murmured a barely comprehensible something, that sounded like;
"Dib u shmell funnah agan. Ur keep gibing off hohmone shmell tings 'round Zhim..." The irken finally pulled his 'red snake/prehensile limb thing' back into his mouth and smacked his dark green lips, satisfied that he'd gotten all the sugar he possibly could off both plate and cup. Dib was still watching him entranced, dazedly trying to make sense of the previous jumbled sentence.
"Huh?"
Setting his glass down, Zim looked right at the boy, leaned across the top of the table, and poked him in the chest.
"Why do you keep giving off those hormones?"
"I, Hormones? What, I am?"
"Hmmm, yes, and it smells like... Sweat."
Dib averted his gaze, not really interested in answering, but Zim continued poking him.
"Why are you giving off hormones?"
"I-I don't know! It's completely subconscious.
"Hmm, I see..."
Zim leaned back into his own chair, and Dib drummed his fingers on the table before getting up. "Should we try to get going back to your base again now?"
Frowning when he thought about it, Zim sighed.
"Hmm, Zim thinks... No, its too hot!... Zim does not want to sit here though. It's just... Too far... With the heat."
"Well... We can't stay here much longer..."
When Dib glanced up, the cashier was looking right at the two of them, with an expression that asked impatiently if they were going to buy something, or if she could stop pretending to be so happy and friendly.
Zim frowned, the corners of his lips twitching downwards in a grimace, at the thought of baring with another five minute ride in a searing hot, smelly taxi.
"Maybe we could walk down the street a bit, and find a different shop that we can just, hang out in?"
If what they were in was a little more of a coffee shop, and a little less of a restaurant, Dib would've been happy enough to hang around and find a means of amusement on his laptop. As it was, the place still looked cute as ever, but it was notably less friendly.
The irken perked right up, slamming a fist down on the table in enthusiastic decision.
"VERY WELL! Let's go!"
And just like that the irken had leapt up and started walking out.
Dib made a series of little, 'wuh, oh, a-oh!' noises, before trotting after him.
Upon cheerfully kicking open the doors and marching outside, Zim once again felt the heat hit him in a wave, and nearly toppled right over in the shock of it. This was even worse then that day he'd had to sell candies! He could never remember the planet being so hot before...
"You alright?"
Rushing over, Dib half extended one arm, but hesitated. Zim waved him off again while he righted himself.
"Of course, of course, let's just, hurry and find, another shelter, or something, QUICKLY HUMAN!"
Losing his sympathy after that dismissal, Dib murmured something about having to decide everywhere they went so far, only to be interrupted by a startling, rapturous squeal of glee that, for several seconds, Dib was sure couldn't possibly have come from the alien conqueror. But it had.
Zim had run on just one or two shops ahead to press his face against the glass and look in at a display of... Beads and charms?
Dib took several seconds to wrap his mind around that while Zim pointed Into the store with a look of sheer jubilation.
Well, Zim liked pink things, his minions all looked like plushies, so when he thought about it, Dib supposed shiny beads weren't too odd of a fetish for the 'unfeeling irken conqueror.' Besides, a military race like the irken's had probably never HEARD of such a thing as 'precious stones'.
The next thing he knew, the human was being ordered to follow as Zim ran inside the store and went strait for a bucket full of fragile looking glass bits, laughing his signature creepy laugh.
Aside from the irken being yelled at for touching everything, and Dib getting bored and searching for ANYTHING that might resemble an amulet with magical powers, not too much worth talking about happened in the next half hour...
Except for clouds pulling in to cover the sun, and Zim eventually getting kicked out when he nearly broke a glass angel statue.
The invader was most thoroughly cheerful when he exited the store with a heavy bag chuck full of random, sparkly, polished things, as well as flat-out feminine JEWLRY, which Dib was having a very hard time not teasing him over, and the two found the temperature MUCH more bearable.
Zim did NOT like the roar of distant thunder though.
Staring up at the sky stupidly, Zim frowned, eyes searching over the grey-black sky, before turning to his new minion.
"Dib-thing? That noise means a storm is coming yes?"
"Uhm, yeah, it definitely looks like it."
"With rain-water-ness?"
"Yeah... That's kinda... Part of the definition of a storm Zim."
Dib smiled nervously while Zim furrowed his brow in anxiousness.
"We must get to Zim's base quickly. Let us find another yellow car! TAXI-THING!"
"What time is it?"
"Eh, what? Why?"
Dib pointed towards a buss stop just a block or so away.
"I think it's right around four thirty. There's a bus that comes by here. We can get dropped off at the stop by your cul-de-sac."
"My what?"
"Where you live Zim."
"Oh... Very well then. FOLLOW ZIM HUMAN!"
Of course the alien charged ahead to claim the bench, and with an oddly fond sigh, Dib followed.
He was enjoying today, having a better time then he'd had in a long time, and Zim seemed to be happy as well. Dib found himself smiling. He couldn't remember having felt this happy in a long time...