A/N: Thanks again for the lovely reviews everyone! Sagapaga: I haven't seen Equilibrium so I will be sure to check it out :3

Chapter 4

Zim was woken the next morning by the early dawn light filtering in through the window. No natural light ever reached into the depths of his base, so he hadn't the foggiest idea where he was or what was going on. It was probably the longest he'd ever slept for in his life, and he wasn't used to this groggy feeling that was clouding his mind. He slowly became aware that his head was resting against something warm. Something that was rising and falling ever so softly…

Zim flinched away with sudden realisation that whatever 'it' was, it was alive. He scrambled across the bed, nearly falling off the other side. Breathing heavily in panic, Zim's eyes scanned his surroundings frantically trying to make sense of things. His tension eased however as the morning light illuminated the sleeping figure next to him, and he recognised it was just the Dib. That brought it all back to him - how embarrassing. How had he ended up with his head lying on the human's chest like that? 'One day of living with emotions and I wake up in a human's bed,' He thought to himself in disbelief.

Despite the alien's fussing Dib continued to sleep on, his rhythmic inhalation and exhalation the only sounds in the room. Zim relaxed to the mantra and settled back down on the bed. He didn't know whether to wake the boy or not. He felt fully rested and wide awake, but he knew humans needed their sleep a lot more than Irkens did. So he sat and watched the Dib for a time, watching his chest rise and fall peacefully. Zim felt ashamed that he'd been so needy as to stay here all night, but still he couldn't hide the warmth he felt at Dib's acceptance of him.

He frowned slightly as a splash of colour on Dib's skin caught his eye. Where the boy's t-shirt had ridden up revealing some of his torso, a nasty looking bruise protruded. Zim stared at the deep blues and purples of it uncomprehendingly. He wondered what the boy had done to get that shiner - clumsy fool. His skin was so pale and translucent, so unlike his own and so much more delicate. Human skin told such a tale of their lives, lacking as they were the superior healing tools that Irken's possessed.

Zim continued to study the boy, taking advantage of his unconsciousness. He found he really did like the dark tuft of hair on Dibs head, and fought the urge to ruffle it. And then he noticed a strange pattern on the boy's upper arm. He had almost missed it the marks were so faded, but a small patch of the skin was marred with neat little lines. Some kind of battle wound? They looked a bit too orderly for that. Had he been experimented on? The boy didn't usually wear short sleeves to school he realised, so they had never shown before. He wondered what they were and whether he kept them deliberately hidden.

Unfortunately Dib chose that moment as Zim was leaning over him to get a closer look at the strange pattern to stir and open his eyes. He quickly realised what Zim had seen and grabbed the duvet, sitting up and away from Zim a little. Zim looked abashed at having been caught staring at the Dib, and the human was blushing profusely at what the alien had clearly seen. He knew the Irken wouldn't understand what it was, and hoped he would let it be.

"What is that?" Zim asked shamelessly. Dib rolled his eyes - he should have known better.

"It's nothing. What are you doing staring at me while I'm asleep?" Dib tried to quickly steer the conversation away.

"Just observing." Zim shrugged, he had no good excuse. "I was bored. How did you do that?" Dib sighed at Zim's persistence.

"What's it to you? It's private okay." Dib tugged on his sleeve, trying to make it longer. What had he worn this damned top?

"I don't understand what you're getting so upset about." Zim frowned. "You now on Irk we are quite proud of our battle scars. But human skin is so frail, it damages so easily. Was it cause you had a stupid accident and you're embarrassed?" Zim smirked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Dib muttered – let him think what he wanted. Zim snorted.

"Knew it. Stupid humans." His smug smile fell a bit as he realised how dejected Dib looked, and he suddenly felt quite sheepish. "Um, yeah. Sorry that I fell asleep on you." Dib's expression softened at that.

"Don't worry about it. It was kinda…" Nice? Dib blushed. He'd never shared a bed with any one before, it was strange – but not unpleasant. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, not really in the mood. "Look it's really early, I'm gonna get some more sleep. You can do whatever you want." He rolled back over so that he was facing away from Zim, without waiting for a response.

Zim felt strange. He could tell he had upset the boy but he still wasn't sure why. What was he meant to do now? It was several hours until they would be heading into school. Did Dib want him to leave? He didn't think there was much point, and he didn't really want to. Man he hated guilt.

Zim burrowed back under the covers, and wriggled as close to the Dib's back as he could without touching him.

"Sorry Dib." He mumbled into the sheets so quietly he wasn't sure if the boy would hear. Unbeknownst to Zim Dib smiled softly at the words, silently forgiving him.

Later that morning found the pair walking into school together – a strange feeling for the both of them. Unfortunately for Dib it didn't go unnoticed.

"Look Dib's got a new boyfriiiiend!" The same girl from his class that had teased him previously called out as they walked past. Her name was Tara, and as per usual she was hanging out with a gang of huge looking jocks at the front of the school. They all snickered jubilantly at her quick wits. "Hope you're not breaking Zim's heart!" They all wooped and cheered as Dib gritted his teeth and picked up the pace. Zim merely eyed them warily, finding it strange to hear his name mentioned.

"Why is it bad that they think we are friends?" Zim asked Dib after they had gone inside and out of sight of the teens. "I thought friends were seen as a good thing here." Dib tried not to read too much in to Zim's phrasing.

"Umm… they're teasing us for being more than just friends." Dib explained awkwardly. Why did he have to be the one to tell Zim all these things? The alien did have a habit for picking up on the embarrassing topics.

"More?" Zim looked at him curiously, prompting him to elaborate.

"Ugggh you don't know anything!" Dib complained, rubbing his eyes in exasperation. "More, as in if you're my boyfriend we would be in a relationship. You know? Like in love." Dib looked away to hide his red cheeks. Zim just frowned.

"I thought being in a relationship gave students a good social standing too?" Zim didn't really care what any of the humans thought of him, only what Dib thought for some reason. Dib just stared at him, a new thought crossing his mind.

"Are you even…. Male?" He asked clumsily. "Your species has genders right?" He couldn't believe he might have to have the sex talk with the alien - how humiliating.

Zim scowled. "Yes I am 'male' as you humans call it Dib-stink." He hissed. "There might not be that much distinction between our genders any more granted, but we don't really have any use for them anymore. We have evolved beyond that." Zim looked smug, sticking his nose in the air. Dib eyed him in incredulity.

"What do you mean you have no use for genders? Don't you need them to… you know. Reproduce." He said awkwardly.

"No, our kind hasn't physically given birth to offspring in many thousands of years. What a stupid design. So many of your kind die in childbirth, and it puts the carrier out of action for most of the gestation. No, we don't have time for that. We have developed a much more efficient and elegant method - every Irken is grown in a lab. We are not defined by our gender, we are simply a unit - a soldier." Zim explained with such disdain. Humans were so archaic.

"Wow. Sometimes I forget how alien you are Zim." Dib pondered what that really meant about Zim's anatomy, but quickly shook the thought from his head. He definitely shouldn't be thinking about that.

"Don't call me that here." Zim shushed him. "For all these students know Zim is gone, never to return."

"No one here cares. I feel stupid calling you Red, why did you pick such a dumb name?" Dib complained, but Zim ignored him, still hung up on his unanswered question.

"Explain to me why our being in a relationship is 'not cool'?" Zim prompted impatiently.

"Firstly, we're not in a relationship so don't say that!" Dib growled, glancing quickly about himself to check no one was listening, "Look, on Earth a relationship is usually between a man and a woman, because that's what's required to… you know. Reproduce." Dib cringed, this was so hard to explain to an alien. "Sometimes it's not though, and a lot of people don't care, but some don't like it. Especially in school where anyone who's a tiny bit different is just a walking target to get picked on."

"How imbecilic." Zim stated. Case in point - humans are prehistoric.

"God knows what they'd say if they knew you were an entirely different species… I'd probably get arrested. Or sectioned." Dib mused. He shook his head clear of those thoughts too. "We should get to class."

"Indeed. See you at lunchtime, boyfriend." Zim wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Dib, mischievously playing with his newly learnt word. Dib turned bright red and dove into the classroom to escape his teasing, looking hastily around to check that no one had overheard.

The day passed in a bit of a daze for Zim. He still felt a bit groggy for having slept so much, like his head was filled with cotton wool. He just couldn't stop thinking about all the things he and Dib had talked about, and how he had spent the night sleeping beside him.

All the talk about human relationships had got him thinking. Did Irkens ever have them? He wasn't even sure. He'd barely ever seen any of his actual home planet. Irk was only really for the tall, rich and powerful. He was just a soldier, a drone, and no one like him ever had time for companionship let alone the opportunity. The only example he could think of was his Tallest, but their shared leadership wasn't through choice and in all honesty he didn't know if they even liked each other. Sharing wasn't Irken nature.

He wondered if anyone on Irk had ever tried turning off their inhibitors to attempt a relationship – it certainly couldn't be done otherwise. Possibly it was a rare privilege. Perhaps it was even a taboo - he'd certainly never heard of it. Now that he thought about it he couldn't believe he knew so little about his own people. Perhaps as a soldier this sort of knowledge was hardwired out of his pak.

He thought again about how nice it had felt to sleep beside the Dib last night, and wondered if that was what a relationship might be like. He didn't know much of what it consisted of - mainly he thought it was a lot of touching. He'd seen the love struck teens holding hands around the school, constantly fondling and pressing their faces together a lot. It didn't look like fun but these humans seemed to desire it more than anything, and it made him curious to know what it would feel like.

He was turning so native. He shook his head in disgust at himself.

The lunch bell rang shrilly and everyone rushed for the door. Zim's first thought was to find the Dib as they hadn't been in the same lesson, but he was starting to get worried that he was being too clingy. He shouldn't be so dependent on the boy, how had that happened anyway?

So he decided to head straight to the lunch room without trying to find the boy first. He got his revolting meal, took an empty seat and pretended to eat his food. Dib was nowhere to be seen. He thought nothing of it at first, but the more time passed the stranger it felt. He found himself anxiously watching the door, jumping every time it opened only to reveal some other repulsive youth. He took a deep breath and told himself to calm down. Dib wasn't his responsibility and he didn't depend on him, so why did it matter?

Telling himself this didn't last much longer however and he soon found himself getting up to go look for the boy, unable to bear the agitation any more. Something in his gut just didn't feel right. A quick check around the usual classrooms and his locker proved fruitless, so Zim headed outside. After a quick glance he saw nothing and was about to turn back in when a distant sound stopped him in his tracks.

It was the sound of a few kids jeering and laughing, coming from a secluded spot around the back of the school. Zim headed there cautiously, a horrible feeling growing in his belly. As he grew closer he could make out the words, spoken bitterly by a deep male voice he didn't recognise.

"Where's your lover boy now huh? Doesn't care about you enough to come and rescue you does he!" Zim's blood ran cold, a sourness rising in his throat. "Awww nothing to say? Gonna go cut yourself about it?" The voice continued, and Zim braced himself to turn the corner, knowing full well who he was going to see but terrified at just what he was going to be faced with. He took a deep breath, stilling his quaking body.

What he saw hit him with a wave of dizziness, like icy claws plunged into his belly. Dib lay curled up tightly on the floor, arms doing their best to protect his head as the surrounding teens kicked and punched at him. They were the jocks from earlier - five of them in total - and all baying for Dib's blood.

Zim felt himself snap at the sight. He thought he would be paralysed by fear, but what happened instead was quite unexpected. He felt himself overflow with a burning rage driven by fear, hatred and…so many unidentified feelings. He had felt anger and hatred before, but never had they been so fuelled by passion.

He felt blinded by it as the emotions roared through his body, and before he knew what he was doing his spider legs had ripped from his pak with terrifying speed. It was all so sudden and Zim moved so fast that the kids didn't stand a chance. He dove over Dib's cowering body protectively and began slashing wildly at his attackers, not bothering to stop and look at what damage he was doing.

It wasn't until he felt a slight tugging on his sleeve that Zim came to. He looked down towards the pull to see Dib's bruised and bloodied face looking up at him with concern. The boy's mouth opened, but he was speechless to what had happened. Zim looked around him, not entirely sure what was going on. Five bodies lay sprawled around him, in varying states of ruin. Blood pooled around them. Had he done that? The memory was foggy.

"Zim, y-you have to get out of here. They'll lock you up for this…" Dib managed to find his voice as he heard people approaching. They had probably heard the screams.

"Wha…" Zim couldn't get his head to work properly. He could feel his body beginning to tremble again. "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me, just get out of here!" Dib gave Zim as hard a push as he could manage, which was fairly weak given his own state. One of the fallen teens gave a groan, and it seemed to be enough to spur Zim into action. Aided by his spider limbs he swiftly disappeared up and over the wall and out of school grounds.

Dib gave a sigh of relief, and promptly passed out.

Zim had hurried home as fast as his metallic legs could carry him, scurrying straight down into the deepest corner of his base. He shook with an uncontrollable dread – it had all just gotten too much. The fear of those horrible kids, of how much damage they'd done to his Dib, of how much damage he'd done to them.

It wasn't like he hadn't killed before, in fact it was a pretty instinctive reaction for an Irken. Perhaps that was why it affected him so much. It had brought back all those cruel and violent murders he'd committed in the past in the name of the Irken empire, only this time he didn't have the protection of the inhibitor to filter out the horror of it all.

It wasn't that he cared about whether those vile humans lived or died. It was more the fear of what Dib had last said to him. 'They'll lock you up for this!' It echoed endlessly around his head. The humans were going to track him down, they would be furious with what he'd done and they'd want revenge. And then they'd imprison him, and it wouldn't be long until they discovered he wasn't human at all. And then the experiments and the dissections would begin, until he was nothing but scraps left on display for all of humankind to come and poke fun at. His head whirled dizzily. It was the only possible outcome of this scenario - he truly was doomed.

The only time these scenes relented from his mind were when they were replaced with images of the Dib's beaten body. He had looked so broken and they had hit him so hard - surely he must have died by now. Oh why hadn't he taken Dib with him? How low was he that he had fled and left the helpless boy alone in that state? But even now he couldn't muster the sanity to go back for him. The fear kept him crippled inside his own head.

And that was how Dib had found the poor alien, hours later. He clambered down into the base with some difficulty, wincing at the pain it caused him to move but frustrated at how slow it was making him. He had discharged himself from the hospital, much against the Doctors advice. He had been desperate to check on Zim, and besides he wanted to slip away before the police could question him a second time. The first he had managed to feign being much more out of it than he really had been, and they had soon given up without much effort. His injuries weren't too serious. They told him he had been very lucky, though it didn't help his case considering the state the other boys were in. He was sure the police would be looking for him, but they'd never find him down here.

"Zim?" Dib called anxiously into the dimly lit room. He could just make out the alien curled up tight, hiding under the console. His whole body was trembling, and his eyes were wide and manic. He didn't respond, so Dib cautiously approached him, until he was sat right in front of the Irken. "Zim?" He repeated softly. Finally huge, deep crimson eyes twitched, meeting Dib's gaze.

"D-Dib?" Zim's tiny voice scratched, his throat tight.

"Yeah it's just me." Dib replied softly.

"How are you here?" Zim's voice was uncomprehending. He gazed at Dib's bruised face.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were…. hurt," He managed to stop himself from saying dead.

"Well… I was, but not that badly. Not thanks to you. Is that what you were so worried about?"

"The humans… they'll find me, they'll get me!" His voice cracked in panic.

"Of course they won't Zim! How would they know you're here?" Dib sighed wearily. He'd never expected to find Zim quite so distraught, he needed to get through to him. He snuggled into the small space under the console next to him, and carefully put his arm around the Irken holding the skinny body against his own. Zim didn't resist, not comprehending much except for a pleasant warmth wrapping around him.

"All they've got on you is fake details and a fake human disguise. They'll never find you, really." Dib rubbed Zim's back in a soothing motion underneath his pak, attempting to ease his trembling.

"Did I kill them?" Zim whispered, barely audible. Dib was surprised at his question.

"No, they're not dead. Not yet anyway." Dib shivered at the memory of their wounds, remembering all too well how close he'd come to the same fate just a couple of days ago. It was a stark reminder of dangerous Zim could be, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. "A couple of them are in a critical state, but they're all in the hospital. The doctors will do everything they can." Zim shuddered, not saying anything.

"Look, no one is going to miss those nasty thugs. Most of them don't even have any family that give a shit about them. A lot less people will get beat up now – you've probably saved more lives than you've taken. I know you saved me, and I can't thank you enough for that." Dib said tenderly. He was genuinely moved that Zim had reacted so passionately to protect him, even if it had been terrifying.

"I'm s-sorry I left you behind." Zim whimpered into his sleeve. "I…. I don't know what's wrong with me." Dib's heart ached to see the once proud Irken reduced to this, it was like he was in a trance.

"Don't be silly, it was the right thing to do. I told you to go." Without thinking Dib placed a gentle kiss on the Irken's forehead. He moved his hand that had been stroking Zim's back up to stroke the top of his head instead, running it across the sleek green skin and gently along the delicate antenna. "I owe my life to you Zim." He whispered against the aliens head, resting his cheek there as he continued to caress the Irken softly.

It was the first thing that seemed to work to still the Irken's quivering, and he soon felt Zim relax into him. Dib continued the stroking for a while longer, closing his eyes as the motion relaxed him too. Zim's skin felt so unusual. It wasn't exactly scaly, but it wasn't quite smooth either. Yet it still felt silky and pleasant under his own bruised skin, its coolness soothing to his pain. The antenna were fascinating too, he'd often wondered what they felt like. They seemed so fragile under his touch so he took care to be gentle. He could have sworn they quivered as his fingertips brushed along them. Dib couldn't help but notice how much he was enjoying the feeling of being so close to the Irken, but he'd worry about that later.

Suddenly Zim began to move, pulling away just enough so that he could turn and face Dib in the cramped space, their faces close. His mind felt clearer now, and it made him aware of where Dib was touching him.

"What are you doing?" He looked at the boy incredulously.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Dib's hand froze, confused and stunned by Zim's sudden lucidity. "I was just comforting you, it seemed like you were having a panic attack." He withdrew his hand apprehensively. Zim brushed his antenna back self-consciously, feeling embarrassed. They felt strange and tingly after being touched.

"It's not somewhere we usually touch on each other. They're extremely sensitive and easily damaged. They're just…. Private." Zim's cheeks darkened. He'd never blushed before, he hadn't even known that he could.

"I… I…" Dib was completely speechless. "It just seemed to be relaxing you, I thought you liked it." The thought had never even crossed his mind, but of course he had no idea about Irken physiology. He thought back to the other guilty thoughts he'd had on a similar matter earlier that day, and he clasped his hands together nervously and stared at his feet, his cheek turning crimson. He'd let himself get carried away in the moment.

In truth Zim wasn't sure what to think. He didn't really know if Irkens ever touched each other's antenna. It seemed such a personal thing, but that was what had his blood rushing so fast. It had felt good that was for sure, and he liked that it was Dib that had touched them – he didn't think he'd have let anyone else handle them. It moved him how tender the boy had been with them. He felt guilty as he saw Dib fiddle nervously, he could tell he had humiliated him.

"I just wanted to check you were okay," Dib mumbled as he moved to get up, but much to his surprise Zim grabbed him back down.

"I did like it…" Zim begrudgingly admitted, not letting go of Dib's arm. He couldn't make sense of the emotions he was feeling right now, but they were definitely better than the raging anxiety he'd felt before Dib had rescued him from it. "Please don't go. I feel… safer when you're here."

Dib's gaze softened. "You are safe Zim. And I won't let anything happen to you. I'll stay as long as you want me to." Their eyes met, and both felt a spark of butterflies in their bellies.

"What is this feeling?" Zim asked dazedly, not really needing to ask if the Dib knew what he meant.

"I'm not sure…" Dib muttered, feeling an incredibly strong impulse to lean in towards the alien. Zim watched mystified as the humans face grew closer, but he didn't back away. He thought he knew what was going to happen – he'd seen it in the playground or on TV often enough, and he wanted to know what it felt like.

Dib's heart raced as his lips finally brushed against Zim's, elated that the Irken didn't flinch away as he had expected. Slowly he moved his lips against the aliens, growing a bit in confidence and spurred on by adrenaline.

Zim felt his pulse quickening as Dib's lips gently embraced his own. He didn't know what to make of the situation but the feeling it evoked in him was intoxicating – he'd never felt anything like it. The boy's lips were so delicate and soft, he couldn't believe anything could feel so good as this moment.

After what seemed like an age and yet no time at all he felt the sensation end, as the Dib pulled back. His cheeks were redder than he'd ever seen, and the boy seemed unable to meet his eyes.

"I can't believe I just did that…" Dib muttered. Zim just stared at him dumbfounded. It wasn't exactly what he'd expected the boy to say, but then he didn't really even understand what it was that had just happened. Dib coughed self-consciously, but flinched at the pain it caused him to do so, swearing.

"Let me treat your wounds, I can do better than those stupid human doctors." Zim said, feeling a bit more confident at the concept of being useful.

"Ok," Dib agreed as he clambered awkwardly out from the tight space under the console, grateful for the distraction from what had just happened. "I think the painkillers they gave me have worn off." He winced as he straightened up after being cramped in such a small space, clutching at his ribs. The pain seemed more prominent now that he had stopped worrying about Zim.

Zim watched tensely as he followed out from his hiding place. Seeing Dib hurt felt almost as painful as if the injuries were his, perhaps even worse - not that that made any sense to him, but nothing seemed to these days. He wrapped a supportive arm around the boy and began guiding him towards the medical bay. Despite his shorter height the Irken was stronger than he looked, and was able to support much of Dib's weight as he hobbled onwards.

They made the journey in silence save for the odd gasp of pain from Dib. Once they reached the room Zim helped the boy to lie down on the table in the centre of the room, and set devices to come to life and begin analysing the human's wounds.

"You have several lacerations and a couple of cracked ribs, but otherwise you're fine." Zim's voice eventually broke the tense silence.

"The doctors did tell me that Zim, I told you I went to hospital." Sometimes it irked him how incapable Zim thought the human race was, even if it was true most of the time. Zim narrowed his eyes at him.

"They clearly did nothing to fix you though did they." He shot back defiantly. "Remove your top, my machines can fix the cuts and broken ribs."

Dib tried to raise his arms to take his top off but cried out at the pain it caused his ribs. Zim sighed and approached the table where Dib lay. He grabbed a tool that hung from the ceiling and used it to cut away the boys top, revealing his pale chest underneath. Zim's eyes widened at the colours that now decorated it – much more than that one he had noticed before. He gulped nervously.

"I don't think I can do anything for the bruises…" Zim muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from how bad they were.

"It's ok, it's nothing I haven't dealt with before." Dib said absent-mindedly, feeling a bit exposed lying half naked in front of Zim. Zim shook himself back into action and grabbed another tool, and used it to start sealing the cuts that broke the skin over the worst bruises.

"So… this has happened to you before?" Zim probed as he worked.

"Occasionally," Dib muttered, wishing he hadn't opened his big mouth. "Never this bad though. It was nothing I couldn't handle." He winced at the feeling of his broken skin being knitted back together. It wasn't exactly painful, more like a hot strange tugging sensation.

Zim's hand shook with a wave of anger, and he had to pause a moment before continuing. A couple of the worst cuts had been stitched up, and the sight of it made him gag. So primitive.

"I'm going to have to remove these stitches first. It's going to hurt… I don't feel sure enough to use Irken painkillers on you, they could hurt you worse." Zim shot him an apologetic glance.

"It's fine, just do it." Dib closed his eyes and braced himself. He winced as Zim began pulling them out, his head swimming dizzily at the pain. He did his best to stop his face showing how much it was hurting him – he could tell how deftly Zim worked and appreciated he was being as gentle as possible.

Another thought came back into Zim's head, and though he knew it wasn't great timing he couldn't stop himself from asking. "I overheard something those creatures said to you… about cutting yourself." His eyes flicked briefly up to the marks on Dib's arm. "Is that what those scars are from?" He didn't think Dib was going to answer at first and he began to worry, knowing how upset Dib had gotten last time he probed him about it. The boy turned his head away from him, refusing to meet his eyes.

"If I tell you, will you promise to not bring it up again?" Dib's voice was very quiet but intense.

"Yes, I promise." Zim nodded sincerely. Dib was quiet a while longer as he mulled it over.

"It's something some humans do sometimes, when they're depressed." Dib struggled to find the right words. "It sort of makes you feel better."

"What is depressed?" Zim asked cluelessly. Dib scrunched his face up in frustration. He needed to stop forgetting that Zim didn't know these things.

"It's when you feel really down. So bad that it's hard to function normally, if at all. Sometimes you feel like you would rather be dead than feel so bad." Dib cringed at his own words. Zim hung his head, finding it hard to think about Dib feeling that way.

"How can causing yourself more pain make you feel better?" He asked disbelievingly.

"It's really hard to explain, but it can make you feel good. It makes our bodies release a chemical which feels good, to help deal with the pain. Ugh I suck at this. Just take my word for it ok? I know it's not a sensible thing to do, that's why I don't do it any more. I learnt the hard way."

"How did you?" Zim was still a bit confused, but he let it slide. Dib paused for a while before answering.

"Do you remember that day in school a few years ago… they had to take me to hospital? We hadn't been at High School long." Zim nodded. It wasn't something he'd recalled for some time, but he remembered now the ambulance that took the boy away. At the time he hadn't cared or thought anything of it, he'd been too busy dealing with the change of schools himself.

"It was because I hated it so much. I'd thought everything was going to change now that we were getting older and I thought starting a new school would be a fresh a start. But when we got there and everything was just worse I lost it a bit. I began to think that that was it, I was gonna spend the rest of my life alone and hated, and I couldn't bear it. I went too far, and some kid found me in the bathroom in a state. If he hadn't come across me I probably would have died. Anyway, that's how everyone at school knows what I did." Dib scrunched his eyes tight shut, refusing to cry. There was silence for a time, and after a bit Dib moved his head back to look at the Irken.

Zim was hunched over his body, the tool in his hand forgotten as he sat perfectly still, his eyes half shut and glazed over. His insides felt like they had been twisted into knots at the thought of Dib being miserable enough to try and take his own life.

"Promise…" Zim's voice shook, his throat clenching.

"What?" Dib asked confused.

"Promise you'll never hurt yourself again." Zim looked up and met the boy's eyes, and the intensity of his look was frightening.

"I won't Zim. I already told you, I don't do that any more." Zim dropped his gaze, his hands trembling. Dib noticed this and reached one of his own out to clasp Zim's free hand. His pale fingers wrapped around Zim's three clawed hand. "Besides, I'm not alone any more." He managed a small smile and Zim returned it shakily.

The small act did much to quell Zim's doubts, and he continued on fixing Dib's wounds. When he got to the boys ribs he paused – he had been putting this part off.

"This is going to hurt." He looked at him with concern.

"Yeah I figured it would." Dib frowned in exasperation.

"A lot worse than pulling out the stitches." Zim added.

"It's gotta be done though right?" Dib was starting to look worried, and Zim simply nodded.

After programming the device Zim moved to hold the boy down as another tool dropped from the ceiling. Dib shifted uneasily under the Irken's surprisingly strong grip, each clawed hand pressing down on either of his shoulders. The device moved of its own volition towards Dib's chest, making it seem even more menacing.

"You can't move ok?" He flinched as it clamped around the area that was broken but managed a small nod. He instinctively reached up to grab Zim's wrist, seeking some sort of comfort.

Dib cried out as he felt the device start to work, squeezing Zim's arm desperately. The sensation was sort of similar to the one he felt when Zim was healing his cuts, except for how excruciating it was. He could physically feel his bones joining back together. After a tense few minutes it was done, though it felt much longer to Dib. His grip went slack and his arm fell back down to his side as he breathed in deeply. Every breath burnt his chest, but already he could tell the pain was nowhere near as acute as it had been before.

He looked up at Zim through half lidded eyes, exhausted. "Please… can I just sleep now?" He panted.

"Of course," Zim thought about it a moment. "I don't really have a bed here though, where I rest isn't exactly comfortable like yours. This table can't be restful either. Shall I take you home?" He asked the last part reluctantly.

"No, I don't know if the police will look for me at my house. Please, can I just stay here?" The boy was practically nodding off already.

"Well, there's always the sofa I suppose. It's probably the most comfortable thing in my whole base." Dib just nodded weakly, not really caring.

Zim scooped the boy into his arms and carried him towards the lift and up into the house part of his base. He set him down carefully on the sofa before stepping back in thought, trying to work out what was missing. He clicked his fingers in realisation and wandered off. Dib swore he had only blinked when Zim stood back before him holding a blanket and some cushions.

"I had the computer construct these quick, I didn't have anything else similar to what you have. I hope they'll do." Zim held them out uncertainly. He'd never had to provide for a human before.

"Thanks Zim," Dib took them sleepily and made himself snug.

"Do you need food or anything?" Zim procrastinated, not sure what move to make next.

"No I'm too tired to even think about eating, I just need to sleep." Dib strained his eyes back open to realise that Zim was still standing there looking awkward, and he felt his heart skip a beat. "Did you want to… join me?" Dib was almost too afraid to ask in case he had misread the situation. But his words put a delighted smile on Zim's face, and they had barely left his mouth before the Irken sprang in beside him, squishing his sore body.

"Ugh, jeez Zim be careful!" Dib wriggled over, making room. At least they were both skinny. "Can't you take those damn boots and gloves off, they're cold! It's not normal to wear them in bed."

"Well I don't have a bed," Zim complained sulkily, but obediently tugged both off. He hardly ever took them off except briefly to wash, so it felt quite strange but not unpleasant he quickly realised. He enjoyed being able to feel the texture of things with his claw-like fingers, something that had never even occurred to him before. Without thinking he ran them along the Dibs arm, feeling the texture of his skin.

He only realised what he was doing when Dib made a small happy sound, smiling though his eyes had already fallen shut. The boys breathing grew deep and it was clear he was already fast asleep. Zim's face fell a little. He'd wanted to ask Dib about the lip pressing incident, but now he'd have to wait. He found however he was quite tired himself, it had been another stressful day after all.

He shuffled about on the small sliver of sofa that was his, trying to get comfortable. He felt an arm slip around his waist and his squeedly-spooch flipped giddily at the touch. Dib pulled the Irken closer against him so that he was neatly spooned around him, and Zim melted into the warmth of Dib's body. Dib nuzzled his face into the crook of Zim's neck, his breath tickling the skin there.

"Thank you Zim," He mumbled against the Irken's neck. Zim wasn't sure what he was thanking him for, but he felt sure Dib was doing all this in his sleep so he didn't ask.

The Irken part of him wanted to hate all of this silly touching with the human, but his emotions just wouldn't allow it. The intimacy of this moment was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He felt that same contented bliss wash over him, and his eyes slipped closed.

A/N: Blimey I hope that chapter wasn't too heavy. I need to stop getting so carried away. I have no plans for this to be a slash fic btw. It wasn't in my original plan at all but it just sort of happened. I'm sorry if my description of depression was crumby, I do take it seriously.

It's possibly a bit sooner than I anticipated but I just couldn't resist putting their first kiss in. I hope it doesn't feel like they are suddenly moving too fast, but I was feeling *cough*impatient*cough* the moment! And I definitely think they deserved some fluffy moments after all that angst. Also I know the whole antenna stroking thing isn't exactly original, but I just love it so much X3

P.S. Homophobes beware, Zim will kick the shit out of you ;)