Chapter 11

Zim's eyes fluttered open to the feel of humid air passing in soft bursts over his antennae, his vision clouded by a waking haze as his ocular implants adjusted to the sudden flood of light.
Bitter tastes from the previous day lingered in his mouth; sticking his tongue out in disgust, the little alien silently cursed the stinking human for his 'experiments'.
Lifting his heavy head off of the strangely solid cushion, he wondered where said human was.
A tired groan from beneath him answered his question.

'Oh, that's right.'

Shifting slightly to allow the Dib-stink space to stretch out his outrageously long limbs, Zim noted how collected his thoughts had become since been taken in the Dib-stinks pod. Before he could think about it in more detail however, a deep raspy voice broke through.

"G'morning. How're ya feelin'?"Dib grunted, rubbing the back of his head in the hopes of kick-starting his brain. Sleep had been so wonderful, and mornings just were not his thing.
"How do you expect me to feel Dib-beast? After your rough treatment in the previous rotation, I'm surprised my Pak is still functioning."
"Sorry Zim, it had to be done. And don't say it like that!"
"Like what, Pig-filth? Zim is only saying it's just down to how amazing Zim is that I survived being pinned down by you. How dare you shove strange things into my glorious mouth and prick Zim, the memory sickens me. I am sickened!"
"Just stop! Stop saying it like that, it's too suggestive!"
"And just what would I be suggesting exactly, hmm? Tell Zim!"
"Just... Just stop talking, please. I beg you. It's too early for this…"

Zim's antennae rose at the little phrase slipped into The Dib's whinings. Very rarely had The Dib begged him, if ever. Sitting up and cocking his head to look down his chin at the being beneath him, a small smile ghosted across his mouth. With Dib's current height, he felt a small sense of dominance return to it's rightful place in his deflated ego, and it felt good. He had power over a taller, yes, he quite liked that.

"Fine stink-bug, Zim will grant you your beggings. But just this once! And keep your filthy Earth needles and thermoos away from me in the future. You will not be forgiven next time."

Collapsing back down into his pillow, Dib rubbed his face in desperation with a sigh. Would it always be this tiring when dealing with him? He'd almost forgotten how draining speaking to Zim could really be. Sure it was good that he was almost back to 'normal' and all, the submissive Zim was an uncomforting mix of cute and wrong, but why did he have to deal with this shit so early in the morning?

"Yeah, whatever you say, Zim. It's a Thermos, by the way. Honestly, for an advanced alien species, you can be such a pussy when it comes to blood tests. I'm pretty sure I expected your species to be a little more... hardened than you seem to be?"
"Stop smirking, you dirty filth-bug! The great and superior Zim is no cat! I am Zim! And I just don't like a disgusting human having several samples of my awesome DNA. Especially when that human is you, you vil- Urgh!"

Propping himself up on his elbows, Dib watched Zim double over on top of him, his face contorting out of concern. He knew what was happening now, how much the 'little guy' was fighting inside, it was quite admirable, really. He'd managed to prize out the information from Zim on day six but just knowing didn't make it any easier to watch.
Apparently Zim was refusing the impulses of alien heat and it hurt... a lot. Perhaps in the past he would have gotten a kick out of seeing his rivals face in such pain, to see him so vulnerable would have overjoyed his kid self, Dib knew.
But now it was different.

'Zim needs me.'

"They're back already?"
"Mmmhmm, it is greatly… discomforting…"
"Want me to help?"
"Your job is to serve me, human. So yes, help Zim."
"Okay, okay. Come here."

Reaching out to the two long black stalks that violently vibrated atop of the small green head, Dib looked back on his recent time with Zim.

A fortnight had passed since the rather surprising reunion in the forest and things had pretty much settled into routine now. Zim's presence in the Membrane household was immediately accepted and his care slipped into all of their usual routines just as easily. They even seemed happier now than before in Dib's eyes, if only slightly. There was someone to focus on, a strange and completely unique character who needed all of their help to get by. It's really strange what can pull a family together, he thought.
In fact, Zim appeared to be the only one concerned about just how naturally he had fitted in to his enemy's pod, repeatedly looking between each member as if to find some hint of an evil plot in their faces. The confused look he gave, like a stray dog wondering just when it was going to get hit by the hand who reached out to pet it, often sent both Dib and Gaz into minor chuckling fits at the dinner table, with professor Membrane patting his head with smiling eyes.
It was almost like Zim had forcefully stitched their tattered family ties back together in those two short weeks.

'It took a long-lost, sick extraterrestrial to make us act like normal family, fucking figures' Dib thought with a smile, looking down softly at the green head on his chest.

Meanwhile, as Zim focused on the warm rough digits running over his sensitive feelers and soothing the painful urges tearing up his insides, he became aware of just how comforting this little ritual of theirs had become.
He'd try to escape out of the den of The Dib, to escape from the lurching of desires that sprung up whenever the taller approached, only to be caught by one of the other two pod members lurking down the stairway. If caught by the eerily nice Gaz, he would be picked up and taken to the couch to be forcefully subdued by the Dib-sisters 'petting'. Why she enjoyed it so much was beyond Zim, but he certainly didn't enjoy the look on her face as she caught him. Like a cat finding its favourite toy once more. Creepy.
If caught by the parental unit, he would be poked and prodded relentlessly with the human muttering about how 'fascinating' whatever new reaction he discovered, he also having a particular focus on his feelers. Why were they so interesting to these filth-creatures? Zim honestly didn't get it.
Either way it would end with The Dib spotting the situation and coming to the rescue (after a bit of mocking, of course), only to be carried back up to the very room he'd tried to crawl from. A pointless endeavour for Zim, he knew, but he had to try.
Then would come the on pour of questions and the tests, the endless curiosity of the worm-baby was exhausting to say the least. The constant digging into Zim's knowledge about himself, his species, his planet, space, everything the freak could think of, really. That would obviously be followed by petty arguments and little bickerings which soon caused Zim to forget to fully suppress his natural impulses which caused the pain which led to the soothing which led to the reliance on the pig-filth for the rest of the rotation.
A cycle of never-ending embarrassment for Zim, a cycle that he could do nothing to stop.

Not that he wasn't the tiniest bit appreciative of this strange situation. After all those years of struggling through it alone to come out mutilated and drained, it was pretty nice having someone to cater to his every need.
Sure, independence was only natural for the best of the irken race, to live among the masses and live day-to-day lives were the signs of a common... commoner. But to be fed, dressed, massaged, put to bed, talked to, and pampered like a precious prince/pet wasn't all bad. Only the top humans were given this treatment he knew, and he accepted the treatment with a little reluctance.
But how the little smeet rival that took every opportunity to expose or hurt Zim had morphed into this almost maternal man, he would never know.
Even the little sibling Gaz had taken up some of his care duties, though The Dib seemed to dislike this, suspecting her actions were apparently just a cover to steal chances at hearing him purr again apparently. Why the Blorch anyone would desire to hear such a shameful sound without the desire to humiliate was seriously confusing, but most of what this pod did was seriously confusing anyway.

For Dib, the only thing truly strange about the arrangement that really struck him was how not strange it felt. While the lack of physical fighting was odd, the verbal banter just seemed to slip right back into its preserved place.
He was pleasantly surprised at how well his family was acting around Zim, everyone chipping in with Zim's care when needed. They fed him while they ate, they carried him wherever the decided to go and held small conversations whenever Zim's 'condition' allowed.
And when the heat intensified and a distraction was required to calm his unwanted desires, Dib practically jumped at the chance to be the man for the job. He'd even taken all of his 'vacation' days off work just to do it. Not that he really needed to work anyway.
He had made it obvious to his father and his colleagues that his intelligence rivalled their own on multiple occasions, even casually pointing out their calculation errors in passing, and they made it perfectly clear that no-one (excluding his father) appreciated it in turn. But the continuous repeating of experiments, the repeated use of the same formulas and the crowds of snobs that surrounded him every time he made a little breakthrough drove him insane.
Well, slightly more insane than before.

He found being a scientist in his fathers lab so utterly boring without a certain alien to focus on that he just couldn't bring himself to continue it. At least by being a doctor, he could help humanity while meeting interesting people. Perhaps he would even meet an alien abductee or fellow paranormal investigator, who knows?
But now, as he watched the little 'Planet Destroyer' melt into his chest emitting pleased purrs, he was certain. No job could ever beat being a paranormal investigator. Doctors could find a new cure the next day, scientists like his father made breakthroughs every week, but how many of them would be the first to meet others from outer space, where whole galaxies of discoveries waited to be made?
Like, who knew Zim's race were like a feline/reptile mix behaviour-wise? No-one but himself and Gaz.
There would be no other thrill that could take its place.
Falling back into his pillows but not stopping the movement of his hand, he hoisted Zim further up his chest to hug him close, his movement quickly reciprocated with the smaller frame opening up to allow more contact. A little trick he'd learnt, if he made Zim feel captured in his arms, he'd melt into a purring puddle of green mush. Why Dib enjoyed seeing his ex-arch rival is such a state, he hadn't a clue but it was almost cute. Like a sleepy green kitten, who could resist really?

And this was a secret not even Gaz would know.

To him, the whole matter seemed slightly less complicated when thinking logically.
A being needed help, he had the ability to help, that being just happened to be a long lost alien nemesis called Zim (who just happened to be set on the complete annihilation of the Earth and everything Dib knew and loved). It was the only natural option to help him back on his feet. Simple.

Real simple.

Well, he couldn't complain anyway. Zim had no say in being brought back to his house and he hadn't tried to destroy any major civilisation since then. In fact, he hadn't even broken anything at all on purpose since he'd arrived (The tumbler wasn't his fault, everyone agreed. The explosion from the downstairs lab had been pretty loud… Although all cups were soon replaced with plastic kiddie cups, just in case). And apart from the sneaking about, he'd practically been on his best behaviour!

…As far as Dib knew.

Over the past week, Dib had been jolted awake in the dead of the night, drenched in a thick coat of sticky sweat with his heart pounding like crazy. He could sleep with the sheets off in his thinnest night shorts and the result would remain unchanged. And the most mystifying part was that the most likely villain was sound asleep next to him, curled into himself like the little cat he seemed to be now-a-days.

This was truly strange.

And things were just about to get a whole lot stranger.

Authors note *Edited*:
Hiya guys! I'd just like to start this off with a…
OHMYFUCKINGGODIAMSOUTTERLYSORRYFORMYLATENESSNESSIDIDNOTMEANITBUTIAMSOSORRYTHEREWASNTANYTHINGICOULDDOBUTISTILLAMVERYSORRYYOUGUYSDONTDESERVETHISBUTPLEASEDONTLEAVEME!

Erhem. Now that is out of the way, I'll explain. Remember my authors note in chapter two (I think)? That I said I had irregular access to internet and my computer and it would be erratic posting schedules? Well, this is what I meant. It's not that my wifi goes down or I don't have it for a weekend or two, I meant this. I go weeks without my computer and internet depending on when I can get to it which is not my choice, I tell you. It's horrid, I have nothing to do but write notes for this…
But I am still incredibly sorry and I thank all my amazing followers, favouriters and reviewers (New and previous) for keeping my motivation up. That's why I've used the last two hours writing this and posting it at 00:47 when I have to work tomorrow. The internet gets cut in twenty minutes so I'll post this quick and write more tomorrow but hang in there with me please. It'll be so worth it I promise!

Edit: Hiya, managed to slip round to my computer late again (00:26) so I thought I'd edit ch.11 a bit more. Okay, here's my proper explanation of why I can't post (Because you lovely loyal readers deserve to know, even if you don't care). I do not have internet access on my computer at my main house so I can't post but I do have it on my phone meaning I can still read reviews (It was absolutely heartbreaking but weirdly pleasant to read your reviews asking for more) but I can't post or edit anything. The house I go to (And move my desktop computer so I can write) for internet, I can only go to for two days every two weeks. However, due to family disputes and work issues, I left the house and my computer to return home and I wasn't allowed over to collect my computer for a while. I got my computer back now though, and I bought a memory stick so I can take my story to one of my friends houses and upload since I'm still in the midst of disputes. So I can now write a bit now, but as things are a bit hectic at the moment I might not be posting as frequently for which I am so so sorry.
Please don't worry though, I am not ignoring you wonderful people, I will keep posting chapters (It'll just be a bit random when I do), and this story will not ever be discontinued (Hey, I promised, right?). So please have faith in me, and keep reviewing because honesty it does keep me going about my day knowing how my story makes people feel. You guys make me smile, I'd struggle without it now.
So please forgive me, and please please please stick with me!

(Oh, and did I fool ya with the experiments bit? ;P Yup, it was a physical exam Zim was complaining about! The taste thing was Dib looking at Zim's tounge and throat with the ice-lollie wood stick thingy, that's all it was, honest! I had fun righting that, I felt a bit like Dib there!)

Love you guys, you have no idea how much! =3