"What's your favorite color?" Dib wondered, feeling like it was vitally important that he know the answer and also thinking he should probably pull away before their lips brushed one more time or he'd…do something bad.
It was an odd thing to ask at such a time, but then again Zim didn't know much about how these intimate situations worked, so how could he say. He allowed his eyes to close for just a moment as he tried to remember any color that wasn't a golden brown.
"Zim is not partial to just one color," Zim answered as his eyes opened again. He sighed a bit and pulled away from Dib, just an inch. "I love the color of the Massive ship—pink. I love the colors of fire and the color of the sky over Irk. There are many colors that hold significance to me, so choosing one would be pointless."
Dib half smiled, thinking about that. "Heh. Mine is blue." It had been since he was a little kid, running around with his diaper and magnifying glass held close. Usually in his mouth. It was just one of those things. It made him happy and was pleasing to his eyes. Although green was coming in at a close second right about now.
"Blue isn't bad," Zim mused. Definitely not the most mesmerizing or impressive color out there. Then again, Zim wasn't impressed by a whole lot that wasn't himself.
"What about…your earliest childhood memory? Oh, um smeethood…memory? Or just earliest memory. Yeah, let's go with that." Wow. He was just suave today wasn't he? It was no wonder he reeled in such a fantastic creature.
A side of the alien's brow raised at the human's effort at phrasing. Although Zim understood what he was trying to say, the effort put into the wording still tickled him.
"Well, being hatched, of course. Don't human's remember their hatching day?"
Hatched? So from…eggs? That was pretty weird and awesome. Dib tried not to let his curiosity show too much. It had scared some people off in the past. Not that he'd cared all that much. Nope. Not at all. "Um. No. Actually, most humans don't start developing memories until a couple years after their birth. Or at least that's when the part of the brain that controls Long-term memory grows. And we aren't hatched." There was a smear of pink blood across the alien's cheek. Dib wanted to wipe it away but, he couldn't do that with spit or with water and he thought that just trying to rub it off wouldn't be very effective.
"Fascinating," Zim breathed. "I mean, of course this only further proves that Irkens are superior, but I have to admit that it is interesting. In a primitive sort of way." He had researched a bit on the human biology and how they ticked, but to say that they weren't elaborate and complex creatures would be a lie. They were made of intricate organs that all worked together in symphony to keep the human alive. But it was just something that added weakness; if one organ failed and couldn't be repaired, that was it. Game over for the lowly human.
"Yes, you humans are birthed, aren't you." The idea wasn't completely nonsensical to Zim; he had heard of many mammals across the galaxy that reproduced in the same manner. Though to think that even semi-competent creatures such as humans didn't come up with a better method made Zim chortle.
"That's a shame." He scoffed. "There are so many benefits to mass-producing. No need to worry about the mother carrying the young, and the process that often leaves the carrier weak and defenseless. You humans are almost begging to be conquered." Zim chanced a peek at the human, and knew instantly that he probably shouldn't have made such a statement. It seemed he was still partial to his race and planet, regardless.
The Irken cleared his throat before quickly bringing the subject back. "And what about you? What do you remember in your smeethood, as you called it?"
Dib shook his head, raising an eyebrow slyly. "There are all kinds of things wrong with what you just said. However, because I am in such a good mood… I am willing to overlook it. Be grateful. Um," Leaning back, he thought back to his very first memory. It was hard though when his mind was now buzzing with the idea of mass producing Irkens. That was…incredible. How did they do it? What was the process? How many Irkens did they have now? Did they used to be birthed naturally? Or hatched, rather.
"It isn't a happy one really. It's not sad either I guess." Dib grumbled, looking at the nebula. "I was six. And we were staying at this old hotel because my dad had a science convention not too far away. And when I say old, I mean old. It had been there for nearly three centuries. Three hundred years…" Dib marveled, remembering the faint dusty smell. The feel of the floor creaking under his feet. And a faint chill in the air. Something wasn't right with this place. But, that was exciting and it hadn't scared him. There'd been…something there.
"We'd settled down for bed finally and dad was out really fast. Gaz went next and I couldn't sleep. I remember crawling out of bed and getting a little plastic cup of water and…turning around and seeing something…a person. Not someone I knew. But, they were tall, with skin I could see through. They stared down at me and me up at them…I could smell saw dust and copper all around him." The teen's brows furrowed as he remembered.
"It only lasted for a few seconds. I have no idea what it was. Or why it was there. Or why…I wasn't afraid of him…my first memory was of something that science can't really explain." Dib chuckled softly, reaching over and grabbing his glasses back from the alien's claws, slipping them on and blinking everything into focus again. "I knew I should do something about it. Tell my dad. Or someone. But, no one really listened. So..I figured I should just keep quiet when these things happened to me."
Zim blinked a few times, his antennae perking up at the command to 'be grateful', fighting the urge to let out a small growl at being told what to do. But he let it pass as he listened to Dib's story.
"This…thing that you saw…is that what you call a ghost?" Zim had been listening, rather surprisingly, to Dib when he spoke about these things. At first they bored him nearly to tears, but the more the human enthused about them, the more interesting they got. It showed a bit more about how the human race viewed the afterlife. And while it was nothing Zim believed in, himself, it was still fascinating to think about what awaited them after death.
It was never anything Irkens dwelled on. They didn't fear death, or at least were taught not to. They were always taught to greet death with wide arms; to never fear what await them on the battle field. Of course, that never stopped Zim from trying to avoid it. It had got him this far, so how could anybody complain.
"The thing you'd been chasing down for eighteen years?" Zim thought about it some more. "It doesn't sound very impressive."
"See, that's the thing, Zim. I don't know what it was. It might've been a ghost and…what do you mean? What have I been chasing down?" Dib replied, brows drawn together in confusion. What was the alien talking about now?
"You are always talking about finding ghosts and whatnot." Zim reminded him. "Finding ghosts and uncovering their mystery?" Zim waved a hand through the air. "All this nonsense about what lies on the other side. You know, what you tend to babble on about for hours on end."
"I-I do…?" Dib had known he'd talked about this stuff before. It was fascinating…but, hours? Maybe it was unconscious. Every time he'd spoken about it on Earth he'd been ridiculed and mocked. So, eventually he'd kept his mouth closed because even his father didn't like it when he talked about it. Maybe now that he could talk about it, it was just flooding out. "Huh. I guess. And it's not just ghosts…it's monsters and strange occurrences and aliens." Dib said pointedly in Zim's direction.
Zim rolled his eyes, the pink orbs of light floating in the endless magenta quivering as he did , it still made him think. Dib had been miserable on his planet because he wasn't able to pursue these things. And while he was in space with an unfamiliar alien life form, how was he going to cope with not being able to pursue these things on Irk? Was being around aliens going to be enough? "Well, I don't think we have those things on Irk." Zim admitted slowly. "But being with Zim should prove to be stimulating enough, I assure you."
Both eyebrows raised this time and Dib couldn't help but, laugh. It must be the teenager in him that couldn't not snicker at such a sentence. "Oh um. I'm sure, Zim. I've never felt more alive than I have now. I mean, running through food courtia…it was dangerous and freaking brilliant." A smile lit his face. "Yanno before you got shot."
Dib still felt a bit sick thinking about it. The fear that stuck in his throat. But, he hadn't had time to even think about anything but, grabbing the alien and running for both their lives. "Besides I have the entire Universe now. I'm sure there are even crazier things out here than there was back on earth."
"You have no idea," Zim breathed, feeling a tad relieved. "But it is good that you would say so; I don't need you regretting this decision and making things harder." His eyes narrowed and he scowled at his reflection in the window. He really did look terrible. The Nebula was finally out of view now, and they were faced again with an unspectacular eyeful of nothing. Of promising emptiness, and Zim was tired of it already. He wanted to be on the massive, and his impatience was already starting to nibble at the corners of his mind. "Speaking of regrets," Zim started hesitantly. "Your father, what do you think will become of him with you gone?"
Dib hadn't even realized that they'd passed it, in the middle of all their talking. Still he was certain it wouldn't be the last one he would see so wasn't all that depressed. However, he suddenly felt a bit…uneasy at Zim's question. "I…I don't know. I mean I'm assuming he'll either think you kidnapped me or that I went with you willingly." No one would know that he was saving them. His own family wouldn't be there, just down the hall anymore. They were galaxies away. It felt a bit yawning to consider that everything he'd ever known…well, he was kind of saying goodbye to it.
A slight panic attack wanted to rise up, make him realize how huge this was; how he was giving up everything for people who kind of ignored him and hated him, how he was marrying an alien who he hardly knew, throwing himself into the unknown…But, he shoved it down. Dib was an expert at tamping down emotions. There would be time to freak out later. Much later.
"I'm sure he'll freak out at first. I am the heir after all and his son. He'll search for me, send out reports, posters, my face will be everywhere for maybe…half a year or so. But, everyone will move on." He shrugged, gnawing on the inside of his cheek. "Dad will get over it. Eventually." He knew that dad cared for him and loved Dib in his own way. But, the grieving period would be short and soon Dib would be another bad feeling, memory to suppress behind theories and inventions.
Zim cataloged the information for later analysis, not wanting to brood on anything at the moment, lest he let his mind wander to the pain in his leg, which was slowly making itself known again. Gritting his teeth to bite back the throbbing.
But Dib, as usual, was compliant enough to provide a distraction, and he did it well. Questions and stories were tossed back and forth through the air between them, which was still thick with the scent of blood and sweat, but it was slowly becoming more bearable. There was no telling how much time was passing as the pair talked into the vast darkness of space, their words being the only thing in the entire universe aside from the constant glow of distant stars, and the slight promise of a far off planet.