HI. HI GUYS. HI. HIIII. Sorry I vanished into thin air like that, I know, I know, but the thing is a lot fo big family issues came up. Gravestone-sized family issues. Not to mention I also proposed to my long time girlfriend-now-fiancée and everything so that happened.
Anyway, my plan for this has changed. I'm going to update this once a week and leave Let Me Help You to update later, mostly because I'm finding it hard to write and find the time to do so, so by focusing on just one at a time should help me get back to finishing these stories up.
Right, now that's out the way. TIME FOR SOME STORY. ENJOY.
Zim was looking through things in the kitchen. He was hungry and since the sky outside still looked rather dark and threatening he didn't feel like risking going outside through the possible rain to get home.
However, this was just a cover. In reality he didn't want to leave until he found out what was wrong with Gaz, why she was so mad at him.
Not that he would admit this of course.
And while this was bothering him he couldn't help but wonder what Dib was going to do. Dib could come home at any moment and find him here, scrabbling about in his kitchen trying to find something edible to eat. Even in all the years he'd been here, he had yet to really find a way to get used to the Earth food. Not that he couldn't digest it, no no, that was fine now, he just couldn't stand to eat the stuff. Human food was absolutely disgusting.
He blamed Dib for this. It was Dib's fault somehow, it always was. Him and his big stupid head with it's rubbish. Zim frowned at the very thought of him. If he'd hurt Gaz somehow...
Wait, why should Zim care if Dib-stink had hurt Gaz? It wasn't like Gaz meant anything to Zim.
And yet, the very thought made him feel sick, like he had not just a duty but a desire to care for Gaz. She was somehow important to him, to all of this, to the loss of his memory, his new height. She was now at the core of his life and yet it infuriated him because he couldn't remember WHY.
He had half a mind to storm up there and start demanding answers and honestly he was pretty close to doing so. After all, he usually found that he got what he wanted when he went about demanding things of other people.
But something inside him, a very male sense, told him to leave the female alone for a while until she wasn't so full of rage. That and this was Gaz, if he annoyed her she was likely to remove his head from his shoulders without a second thought.
Zim decided it wasn't worth looking for food here and decided to just boil some water and maybe make something he could drink. Dib foolishly believed that all water hurt the irken, this was wrong. It was the acids that the humans pumped into the atmosphere that hurt him, not the water itself. If he boiled and purified it, it became drinkable.
Although the moment he turned on the tap, a voice suddenly barked across the kitchen. "ZIM! Quit stealing my water!"
The alien turned his head to see Dib standing there at the opening of the kitchen, pointing a finger threateningly. He dropped the carrier bag he'd been holding and darted forward to try and tackle the alien from the sink, however, Zim simply stepped back and allowed his nemesis to go flying onto the floor.
"Heh, that was pretty funny." Zim added as he grinned down at a now groaning Dib.
Dib picked himself up quickly, obviously he was used to being thrown around, and went to shout at Zim summore. However he stopped and blinked in surprise. Zim acted the same, after all, now they were actually on the same eye level.
It was kind of bizarre, to go from one day being a good head size smaller than someone to standing nose-to-nose.
Zim recovered first and growled, remembering Gaz suddenly and deciding to take his inner confusion and anger out on Dib. He shoved him hard, inside marvelling at his ability to do so, and loudly demanded, "What have you done to Gaz?"
"What have I done?" Dib responded quickly. "What did you do? You were the one who seemed to have made her go crazy!"
"I didn't do anything, and even if I did know I obviously don't know now because I forgot everything!" Zim shouted back, his voice filled with the confusion he felt inside.
Dib scratched his head at this. "... wait, that doesn't make sense." he shook his head and decided to move on. "Look, whatever, all I know is that when I got sick you two started hanging out all the time. I think she, well, I think she really likes you."
At this, the human shuddered while Zim raised an antennae slowly. "She likes me?"
"Yeah, like, like-likes you." Dib stuck his tongue out at this. "Ugh, I hate that stupid phrase."
"I have no idea what any of this means, stupid Dib-monkey." Zim shook a fist at his enemy. "Explain to Zim!"
Dib seemed rather lost at this point, that or perhaps he just hated the idea of explaining human affection to an alien monster whom he despised. He groaned in annoyance before trudging over to a chair and drawing it out, sitting at his kitchen table. "Alright Zim, sit down, I'm going to explain this once so listen up."
Zim seriously doubted that Dib could ever explain anything just once. The boy could talk for years if left to it.
"Alright... well, while you and Gaz hung out she obviously grew close to you, I dunno how, but you've bonded over something and now she cares about you, though I've no idea if you care about her." Dib shot a sharp look to the alien. "Do you care for her?"
This question was more loaded than Dib probably realised. He wanted to answer, but found that only his mouth opened and no sound came out. Gaz meant... something to him, something deep and ingrained in his body that he couldn't remove. Something he didn't want to remove.
He'd never felt like this about anyone, even his Tallest. He decided to just wipe his mind and see what came out.
"I care for her." The words didn't so much come out of his mouth as they did go running out.
Dib seemed shocked by this, however, he looked to one side in thought. "Yeah... I know you do... no one goes risking their lives like you did without feeling something."
"I risked my life for her? How?" Zim quickly asked back, eager to find out anything that happened in the large blank space in his mind.
"Oh, erm," Dib looked to one side and tapped two fingers together nervously, "Well, she got mad at and went to visit you to make sure you were okay."
Zim cocked his head slightly. "Why would she do that?"
"Not important." The human quickly hand-waved the question. "Thing is that we had a really bad storm and she went out in it, I called you and told you about it and you went out to go find her and keep her safe."
Now THIS was amazing, at least to Zim. He had never gone out of his way to help anyone do anything... ever! And yet he'd walked out into a storm, one of the top five things he hated most about earth, just to make sure Gaz was okay? That was... wow. However, the moment he thought about it, the moment he knew he'd do it again for Gaz if it was needed.
Yes, he really did like her...
"And now she's mad that you don't remember any of it." Dib finished with a shrug. "I guess she feels like she's lost you as a friend, or more." He paused, as if weighing something on his mind before looking to the table. "I... should probably help you two make up over this."
"I thought humans were highly protective of their fellow meat-spawn." Zim replied with a hiss. "Besides, why would you ever help me?"
"Believe me, Zim, I owe you one. And the faster I pay it off the faster I can stop feeling like you'd use it to make me do something horrible." The boy replied as he hopped off the chair. "Is there any way we can give you your memories back?"
"Only through another system restore, and I might lose more memories in the process." Zim replied quickly. "Also if you think I'm letting your grubby human hands on my PAK-"
"Right, right." Dib again hand waved Zim's statement away. "Gotcha. That window is out..." The boy leaned onto the kitchen counter, thinking slowly, one hand tapping on his chin. He then began to whisper to himself, "No PAK meddling... no records of observation..." He suddenly clicked his fingers. "Got it! You just need to show Gaz that you still care for her, memories or not!"
"Ah ha!" Zim replied with a matching grin. "For once, and only once, Dib-creature, I agree with that statement." There was a long and awkward pause before Zim slowly asked. "... how do you do that?"
"I dunno, you were the one who spent loads of time with her!" Dib quickly replied.
"You're her brood-spawn! You should know!" Zim instantly barked back.
"Hey I wasn't the one who got all touchy-feely with her than got stupidly struck by lightning!" The young man responded with a poke to the chest.
"Well I'm not some big headed mud-beast!" The alien responded with an equally tough poke to the chest.
"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP DOWN THERE!" The sound of an angry Gaz shook the home and caused both the boys to cower.
Dib gulped quietly then turned to Zim. "Lets plan this in the lab."
Rubbishy ending, but don't worry, this fic is getting written and the next chapter should be more fun. It's really quite touching and I think a rather fitting end to the story. So is the next chapter the last one? Very likely.
Anyway, references!I can't remember if any are in there. If there are, YOU TELL ME. MWAHAHA.
Right, laters kiddos!