They left the room behind, the room where he'd lost his virginity, descending down through the crowded Massive and back to where they'd first come aboard, stopping for a bit to grab some food to take with them. There was some slight deliberation as to what ship to take. Zim wanted his precious voot cruiser.
But, eventually Dib won the alien over to more room and a bigger ship so that they could carry more and not be cramped together. It was dark red, with windows that looked to be tinted purple on the outside but, seemed pretty normal from the inside. It was big enough to stand up in fully.
They could lay down and have a decent amount of food and other items in the cargo hold.
It's official name was the spittle sprinter 786 but, Dib immediately christened it 'the ladybug' because that was kind of what it looked like. Although, as the days and weeks passed it would become 'home'.
Of course Zim wouldn't ever let the fact that his Voot was still on the massive go, but he would secretly be glad for the extra room. Especially in the 'nights', while they both slept. They had the room to sprawl out if they so chose to, but they were usually huddled in one spot, clutching at each other for warmth.
For a while Zim wouldn't tell Dib where he was taking them, but Dib's incessant questioning finally broke him, and informed his human that they were on the path to Vort. The Empire's main recourse for all things science and technology.
Zim told him this in hopes that Dib wouldn't get too worked up, which was of course too much to ask of the lanky teen. He buzzed in his seat for the whole trip, spouting questions that Zim could hardly keep up with.
Zim hadn't been to Vort since his little mishap, and had sworn never to return. But when he saw the planet nearing, he blessed its presence. For one, he was glad for something to keep Dib distracted, but then for the way Dib's face lit up at all the possibilities before them. It made Zim's chest feel too tight for his organs, and he had to hold his breath in order to keep from saying something stupid.
The lights from the cities that covered the planet shone so bright the pair could see them from a week's travel away. It was almost like a star in itself, rather than a planet. When they finally landed, the lights were even more brilliant up close. The cities seemed to be alive with machinery, and almost seemed to inhabit no organic life at all, aside from the vegetation that they were so keen to keep around.
But of course, all the life was behind the scenes; inside the buildings and labs making the machinery and all things bubbling and grinding and whirring. Zim beamed proudly at his mate as they ventured from place to place, talking Dib's ear off (to return the favor, of course) about his time here on Vort. All of which Dib already knew, but the human was all too happy to hear about it again. Not to mention that it was interesting how Zim's stories seemed to differ from the memories he held, but he humored the green twerp.
They spent a couple 'days' on Vort. The suns, for there were two of them, stayed in the sunset position for most of their time there. But, it was never enough for Dib. He soaked up everything like a sponge, trying his best to learn at least a few Vortian words.
Their history was beautiful, peaceful (which was something he was unfamiliar with) at least until the Irkens arrived and he wasn't sure how he felt knowing that Zim was alive during those wars and most likely participated. But, the technology was enough to leave him practically swooning, spending hours, bent over a table, studying every single aspect of it. And then he would spend another hour bent over it as Zim took him and vice versa.
He never got to see a prison (and there were many) but, Dib was sure he was okay with that. There probably wasn't much he could do for them and even though Zim assured him it was decent and almost luxurious in the confinements of the jails, he still had his doubts.
They left Vort just when the suns were finally going down. The sky was a mixture of purple and green, but still just as bright because of the lights everywhere. Dib watched the planet disappear in the distance.
They visited other planets too, not quite as extravagant as Vort but, none the less Dib was salivating with excitement. He would often stay up until Zim finally was the one to pull him to 'bed' aka a little makeshift mattress that was almost kind of a nest now made out of old clothing, blankets, foam and whatever other soft things they'd managed to get their hands on.
That was another thing; Zim. As Dib learned about the universe, he learned about Zim.
Although, much of the alien was in his head now, there was more. There were the little habits, the way he talked, his emotions…the way he looked when he slept and came and was angry. Dib had almost as much fun, figuring out what Zim tasted like between his legs as he did learning what kinds of soda he liked best.
They landed in the middle of a field. The plants were blue. And they had to wear small oxygen masks. They were here for supplies on a planet called, Jyukiqanaka. Which even though Zim kept trying to say it for Dib, he still could never pronounce it right. They trekked across a few steep hills and walked almost straight into what could be called a market place.
And it had everything strange and odd. Stuff lifted right from Dib's dreams and nightmares; giants selling weapons like medieval looking swords and laser guns, tiny glowing things in vials, potions, eyeballs, bones on strings, fortunes to be told, music to be heard from the most amazing instruments that could only be played by someone with at least 6 tentacles, jewels and crystals, knick knacks, toys that floated in mid air, all sorts of wires and metal, food (some that smelled scrumptious and some nauseating).
Creatures of a million races, colors, sizes all moseyed about, speaking in a hundred languages. Some he recognized thanks to the information from Zim's pak and others a jumbled mess. People moved out of Zim's way, recognizing his Irken form. They stayed away from Dib too since, he was obviously with him.
Of course a lot of the times they were chased off these planets because of Zim's big they'd end up back in their ship and Zim would bestow upon Dib something he had nabbed, seeing as how he had never had the money for the things Dib ogled at. Sticky fingers seemed to be a bad habit for Zim, but even though Dib would chastise him, he'd almost always reward him right after.
They had a collection of 'souvenirs' from their planets, all stacked up and put away neatly at the back of the ship. At one stop Zim had to get Dib a knife to shave with; the dark whiskers that were growing had begun to rub little rashes into the Irken's green skin.
The first time Dib shaved, Zim couldn't stop laughing for a solid minute. Dib only grumbled and had to wait for his face to heal. But he eventually got the hang of it, and while he wanted to try out different styles of facial hair, Zim wouldn't allow it. He was a teen, still after all, and the hair on his face was still a bit patchy. It would be a few more years yet before he could have an impressive beard, much to the delight of Zim.
At one stop Dib tried some of the native food, something that smelled good but was a sickly orange color, and Zim had to drag his ass back to the Ladybug and take care of him. He was sick and off his feet for a good couple of days, Zim only leaving his side to get him something to drink. He talked his ear off while the human rested, and vice versa.
Dib got his earful of 'I told you so's and 'if you had just listened to me's, but once he was well again, he gave Zim a kiss hard enough to cut the Irken's lips on his own serrated teeth. And that's when Dib realized that Zim got needy after a few days lacking their usual passions. In a lot of ways, they really were like newlyweds.
They ate together, slept together, talked, fought and laughed together. They became very, very close and Dib was in awe at how much Zim had come to mean to him. It might've been the chip in his neck, but it was also the knowledge that if Zim died he would be destroyed, worthless. He didn't even notice how protective he'd become until the time for fighting came.
A whole group of no-good assholes had trapped them in a corner, spouting slurs (irken scum), giving them no choice but to fight their way out. Maybe once upon a time, Dib would've been a bit frightened but, now he could decently hold his own thanks to Zim and the irken's training in his mind. He knew what to expect.
Except that after finishing off one of the smaller ones, he turned to see Zim in the clutches of the leader's claws, struggling like a worm on a hook. A worm that was yelling and flailing,a thousand curses spewing from his mouth. Dib saw red, beating his adversary to a pulp, until they were surrounded by the unconscious (maybe dead) bodies of their foe. They escaped with minor injuries, covered in someone else's blood.
They flew into a nebula, spent hours just floating inside the giant gas cloud and Dib felt he could die happy. There were times when he missed Earth. Dib missed the grass, pizza, the sky. He missed being able to watch tv and open his laptop and have instant access to the world. He missed his angry sister, and his father.
But, soon it would pass, usually because he was distracted with Zim's tounge or his yells or a new planet.
With each new destination, the closer they grew, Zim felt a knot forming in his spooch.
And it grew each time Dib got that look, that aching faraway look that he got. And Zim didn't even have to ask what that look meant because he knew.
Dib longed for home and Zim knew it. He let Dib talk for hours about Earth, even though Zim had been there and hated every second of it. But if Zim had never gone to Earth and heard the way Dib talked about it, he could've loved the sound of it.
The way Dib sighed and sat back after he got all worked up about something, after he got done ranting about how his family would go to this pizza spot that his sister loved, and sometimes his dad would tell them stories or make funny faces at them and had to be reminded that they weren't three anymore. His hands flailing and his smile growing so wide that it seemed like the dimples in his cheeks would begin to tear. He would sigh and sit back in his seat and Zim's spooch would lurch up into his throat and he would force himself to swallow it back down.