"What is it called?" A voice, too faint and far away to be of any concern.
"I don't know. I think.. I think his name is Zim." His name, yes, that was his name, spoken from a familiar tone. Who is that? Not his language. Too much effort to listen. He slid back to the soft pull of the darkness. Rest, it whispered, all will still be there when you awaken. Very well.
Dib closed the door quietly behind him as he stepped from the room and glanced longingly at the shower as he passed.
Gaz handed him a warm coffee mug and crossed her arms, looking down the hall at the closed door.
"I don't feel good about this."
"I know, I'm sorry." Dib held the mug between his hands, breathing in the coffee smell. "I had nowhere else."
She sighed. "I told you to stay safe."
"I am."
She shot him a look and then waved dismissively.
"Get dressed. I think the dryer is done."
Dib set his mug on the counter reluctantly and went into the garage to fetch his and the alien's clothes. He changed in the bathroom and started to hang up Gaz's robe but thought better and tossed it into the laundry basket.
She stood leaned against the door frame to the spare room, staring hard at the alien. Dib stepped around her and set Zim's folded clothing on the bedside table. He'd placed Zim under a heated blanket after stripping him and wrapping the bullet graze on his shoulder. It didn't seem serious but he supposed he would find out when the alien woke up. There was nothing he could do for the burns. It seemed absurd but he thought perhaps the rainwater was the culprit. It was the only thing that made sense in the situation.
"Well, do I have to feed it?"
Dib sat in a plush armchair next to the bed and shook his head.
"I don't know. I haven't ever seen him eat."
"Okay." She turned and left. A moment later he heard the cabinets open.
Dib sat back and watched the resting alien, deep in thought. His thoughts gradually morphed to dreams as he drifted off.
A scream woke him with a start. He sat up straight. How long had he been asleep? Dib looked at the empty bed and missing clothes and got to his feet quickly.
Gaz stood trapped in the hall between Zim and the kitchen, holding a plastic cooking spoon out in front of her with both hands.
Zim hissed at her, advancing tensely.
"Hey, stop!" Dib stepped up behind him from the hallway. The alien whirled around and took a swipe at him like a startled cat. Dib side-stepped it and glared. Zim backed away from him into the living room, effectively avoiding Gaz as well. He sat on the couch silently, staring at the floor but watching Dib from the corner of his eye.
Gaz sighed and straightened, lowering the spoon. Dib looked at her a long moment before bursting out in laughter. Both Zim and Gaz looked at him in alarm.
"What? What?" she crossed her arms defensively.
"A fucking.. plastic spoon," Dib managed, gasping.
She tossed it on the counter and ruffled her dark hair angrily.
"Yeah, well, it snuck up on me and, you know, that's all I fucking had, okay!" She stomped back into the kitchen and resumed cooking, banging a pot lid and bowls loudly.
Dib got himself under control and swiped at tears before he looked at Zim, who quickly looked away again. The man crossed the living room and sat down on the floor across from him.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
Zim didn't respond, looking away at the window. Daylight was slowly filtering in through the blinds as the world outside awoke.
"Food," Gaz reappeared and handed Dib a bowl. He accepted it gratefully. She placed one in front of Zim and then sat at the far end of the couch with her's. Zim leaned to peer at the soup, then sat back again. Dib lowered his spoon, frowning.
"What do you eat?" he asked. Zim didn't reply, just looked away to the window again. Dib resumed eating quietly. He had to stifle a yawn several times, realizing he hadn't slept in.. how long? Does being unconscious count?
When Gaz finished, she took her bowl to the kitchen and stole away to her bedroom. She returned not long after dressed in a grey business suit, purse in hand.
"State inspection this week, have to be in early," she explained, taking her keys off the little hook by the kitchen. "You can stay here today," she said, speaking to Dib but glancing at Zim as she said it. "I'll be home around four."
Dib nodded and stood, stretching.
"I think I'll try to get some sleep."
"Yeah, okay. Just.. be safe." Gaz glanced at the alien again before leaving. Dib took his bowl to the sink and listened to the garage door open and close before returning to the living room.
"You can stay here, if you want. It's safe."
Zim didn't stir, but turned his head to watch the human as he went down the hall to the spare bedroom. Dib eased himself onto the bed on top of the blankets, everything aching. The simple act of laying down was bliss. He was asleep in moments.
The Irken sat in silence for awhile before looking into the bowl again. He got up and carried it to the sink. The photos on the wall caught his attention as he stepped from the kitchen and he stopped to look. The human female, Gaz, looked only vaguely like Dib and nearly nothing like their father. Dib on the other hand looked very much like his father, though he wasn't in any of the photos. Humans had such strange reproductive habits. From what Zim had gathered during his time on Earth, a human male and female mated with each other based on comparisons in pheromones and bodily chemicals, creating an infant human inside the female. She carried it like a parasite for several months and then the tiny human clawed its way out of her. Such a barbaric way of reproducing. Irkens didn't have such family structure. They were all created from a genetic copy code and grew inside incubation pods until strong enough to survive on the outside. They were fitted with PAKs and set to work. He supposed all Irkens were siblings, in a way, though they had no such societal affiliations. Irkens were created for specific jobs, and emotional ties had no place in their functions.
Zim didn't see a matriarch figure in any of the photos and wondered about Gaz and Dib's mother. Moving back into the living room, he gazed around the brightening space. He could easily leave under his disguise, but where would he go? His base was most certainly overrun by humans by now and with his security in override there would be no barriers to stop them. He sighed. Tak. Why had his leaders felt the need to send her? Sure, he had been captured but he had also escaped, and his base would not have been compromised without the human coming around. Of course, he would not have escaped death without the human, too, so he could not entirely lay blame. Such complications. Such a damn fine mess, as he'd heard somewhere on Earth.
He looked towards the bedroom. Such a damn fine mess.