Dib woke up to the feeling of antennae thwacking at his forehead. He grumbled, squeezing his partner tightly and ducking his head to bury his face against their throat. "Ugh, five more minutes..."
Still, even though he dodged the antennae thwacking, he could still feel his partner nuzzle their face against the top of his head, peppering him with little kisses.
He wasn't going to get any more sleep like this.
With a groan, he sat up and stretched, yawning loudly. His shirt rode up, and a clawed finger poked at his exposed belly, his partner giggling. He frowned, playfully smacking their hand away.
Zim just smiled up at him, pleased with himself. "Good morning, Dib-K'nemi," he purred, leaning up and nuzzling Dib's cheek.
"Good morning to you...little roach," Dib said, nuzzling him back before placing a hand behind Zim's head and bringing him closer, into a sweet kiss. He could feel Zim smile against his lips, returning the kiss and nuzzling his face against Dib's nose.
Dib's other hand rubbed lazy circles on Zim's lower back…at least until his stomach growled loudly, making them both flinch. Zim pulled out of the kiss, poking Dib's stomach right at one of his ticklish spots.
"Computer, breakfast for my human!" he ordered.
"Please," Dib added, wanting to avoid the AI grumbling at them.
For now, he was staying in Zim's base, specifically in the bedroom that Zim had made for him. As a sign of good faith, he had let Zim choose where they would stay...and if they would even stay in the same place.
And Dib had to admit that he was already beginning to think of the base as almost as much of a home as with his dad and sister. Plus, there were lots of benefits to being at Zim's...
A tube dropped from the ceiling, dropping a bowl into his lap. He quickly grabbed the bowl and held it up as the tube then dispensed sugar cereal and milk, to avoid it splashing him as it had in the past. Another tube dropped down to deliver the same breakfast for Zim.
As they ate, Zim leaned over and against Dib's side. "I heard that Chunk will be returning to school shortly," he said.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, he'll be wearing a sling on his arm, but his recovery has actually been swift." A smirk twitched on Zim's face. "And his memory of what happened to him is…fuzzy."
Dib's head whipped around, and he gave Zim a look. "What did you do."
"Nothing!" Zim insisted. "It is perfectly normal to bring gifts and speak with humans who are injured and ill, is it not?"
Dib narrowed his eyes into a suspicious glare, and Zim sighed.
"Fine. The 'speaking' may have involved some threatening to keep his stupid mouth shut. It didn't even take much—he is still terrified of me."
"Yeah, him and most of the school," Dib muttered. "I thought you would have wanted him to spread the word to everyone about how scary and dangerous you are."
Zim plucked at the sleeve of Dib's UFO pajamas. "Not to the authorities," he said. "You pulled me away because you didn't want us to get in trouble, yes?"
"Partly," Dib said. "I really did think that you were going to kill him for a minute, and that was a big part, too…"
"Yes, well, he's going to live," Zim said. "He won't confess anything if he knows what's good for him…and he should leave you alone."
Dib probably shouldn't have been so happy to hear that last bit. But it still felt good to be…protected. And while it wasn't fun having a majority of his classmates be even more wary of him, he wasn't going to complain about the lack of bullies.
"If you can keep yourself from picking any more fights, they might actually let us walk at graduation," Dib said, polishing off his cereal.
"Bah," Zim said as the Computer took the bowl from Dib. "Both of us are more intelligent than everyone on this planet put together. Do we really need pieces of paper that say we completed basic education?"
"Yes, if we ever want to go to college or get a good job on Earth," Div countered. He rolled out of bed and began to get changed. Zim turned to face the other wall, giving him a little privacy. "And we are coming back to Earth." The statement was a fact, not a question.
Zim sighed. "Yes, yes, we'll return. …unless we find a planet that you agree would make for a much superior home."
"I doubt it," Dib said…before saying, "Okay, yeah, there's a chance of that. But I at least want time to think before I make a big decision like that." He pulled on his shirt and tapped Zim's shoulder, prompting him to turn around. "Besides, if I don't at least try college, Dad'll kill me."
"He won't be able to if we leave forever," Zim said with a grin.
True, but…Dib shook his head. "Maybe in a few years, though," he said. "Maybe we can leave and not come back…but right now, my family is here, and there are still things I want to discover here!"
"Of course," Zim sighed, standing up and brushing his claws through Dib's hair, scratching at his scalp. "…your hair is a mess."
"You always say that," Dib said with a smile, heading to the bathroom. Zim trailed behind him, not trying to be stealthy.
Dib picked up his brush and made a show of brushing his hair badly, making it go in different directions. After the fourth stroke, Zim rose up on his PAK legs and snatched the brush away from him. "You always do it awfully," he half-scolded. "Guess I'll have to do it myself."
"Oh, no," Dib said. He couldn't even fake feeling bad about it. Zim rose a little higher, positioning himself behind Dib's head before running the brush through his hair.
Dib sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing for a bit. It felt pretty good when Zim did this, and whenever he found a tangle, he would use his claws to gently tease it out. …at least he did now, after Dib told him off once for just trying to yank on the brush even harder to get the knots out.
While Zim did that, he started brushing his teeth. It didn't take long for Zim to brush Dib's hair to his satisfaction, and he kissed the top of his head before lowering himself back to the floor.
Dib finished brushing his teeth and cleaning his face, while Zim groomed his antennae with his hands beside him. Once they were both ready, they left Dib's room and began heading for the elevator.
"Computer, any new reports?" Zim said.
"None," they responded. "Well, aside from GIR's paint spill in the living room…which I am still cleaning out of the carpet."
"Yes, excellent work!" Zim said, to which the Computer grunted. "Now, to the hanger!"
"Please," Dib added. The elevator began to move, dropping them off in the hanger—a large room that contained Zim's Voot Cruiser and a few machines and tools to perform upkeep on it.
Though right now, it was more cluttered than usual, with a lot of extra tools and machines lying around. The Voot was also less pristine than usual, with panels open, a few grease stains covering it, and sticky notes in various colors scattered all over it.
"I'm going to make sure all of your human life-support thingies actually get power," Zim said, arranging tools on a table near the Voot and looking into one of the open panels. "Could you pass me tools when I ask?"
"Sure," Dib said. There was plenty of internal work to be done in the Voot, but he was too big to fit in most spaces. They had at least improved and expanded the cockpit to be more comfortable for both of them, but there was still a lot of work to be done. "I'm going to work on the air filter."
He sat at a table nearby, with the half-finished air filter, and other projects, waiting for him. "Do we really need another one?" Zim asked.
"If we're going to keep expanding the ship, I'd like at least one for every section," Dib said.
"Yes…that's fair." Zim grabbed a tool and dove into the Voot, half of his body vanishing into it. Dib started to work on the filter—a mix of human technology, spare Voot parts, and a few pieces scavenged from his Spittle Runner.
With Zim's help, it was surprisingly easy to disable Tak's AI so that they could take what they needed.
But enough reminiscing, he told himself as he started to work on the inside. This part would require delicate work and a lot of focus.
The two of them didn't work in silence whenever they weren't needing to focus too hard on something delicate or sensitive. So, as soon as he finished with the most delicate parts, Dib asked Zim about what he thought of the documentary on aliens last night.
Zim ranted that it was stupid, something that Dib agreed with. Honestly, the quality of paranormal shows they let on the air lately…maybe his efforts of showing evidence were rebuked on the networks because they were too good to allow on their cheesy shows.
The two of them laughed again about some of the 'facts' that had been presented. After a while, though, Zim grunted, shifting around before pulling one arm out of the Voot.
"Pass me the quiz'ot," Zim said, holding out his hand.
Dib looked over the selection of tools, all unlabeled. "I…don't know which one that is."
Zim groaned, pulling himself out of the inner workings and marching over, snatching up a tool with three converging prongs at the end. "This is a quiz'ot," he said, shaking it at Dib and pressing a button to make the prongs open and close. "It grabs delicate pieces that are too small to be handled otherwise, or is used to move wires."
"Ah," Dib said as Zim shoved himself back into the ship and began to rummage around. "I'd probably be able to help with this more if these were labeled, you know!"
"But then how will you learn?" Zim said. "This way, you should know the names and functions of every tool we need by the time we leave."
"Mhmm," Dib said, turning to his device and tightening a few screws. "I'm pretty sure you just enjoy showing that you know things I don't."
Zim laughed, and Dib rolled his eyes. Still, there was a smile on his face as he continued to tinker. They cracked a few jokes about the 'documentary'…and began ranting about other shows they had watched.
They worked through the rest of the morning. Zim finished rewiring the engine, declaring that some of Dib's new parts had power, and that the Voot would be more energy-efficient. Dib had finished the air filter, and had gotten started on taking apart an old engine, sorting the parts into different piles.
Zim asked him for a few more tools, and he was able to remember and hand off about three-quarters of what Zim was looking for. Zim looked smugly pleased about that.
Now, they sat at the edge of the hanger, looking over their work. They'd get up and eat lunch eventually, but right now, it felt too nice to lean against each other.
"Where will we go first?" Dib asked, wrapping an arm around Zim's shoulders.
"The closest fueling station," Zim answered. "We'll need to stock up on fuel and snacks. After that, there are quite a few nebulae I think you'll be interested in…and some planets outside of Irken territory."
"Do you think that'll cause any trouble?" Dib asked. "You being Irken, I mean."
Zim waved off the concern. "Many will be too scared to do anything about it. Or they'll see me…doing things with you and realize that I'm…" He shook his head. "Anyway. I can handle myself, you don't need to worry."
"Isn't it my job to worry, though?" Dib said, kissing the base of his antenna. "My Ssnemi."
"Yes…I suppose it is, for now," Zim admitted begrudgingly, nuzzling Dib before pulling back. "But! Just you wait until we're out there, Dib," he continued with a wicked grin. "I'll have the advantage there, and when I win the fight, I'll claim my rightful place as your K'nemi!"
Dib grinned. "I'd just like to see you try."
"Zim doesn't try," Zim said. "Zim succeeds, and you know it." He shifted over, sitting on Dib's lap and smirking up at him.
Dib smirked back, bending to kiss Zim on the lips. Zim grabbed onto the front of Dib's shirt, holding him firmly in place to deepen the kiss. His arms wrapped around Zim to hold him close.
Things weren't perfect, he knew. With the two of them, it would probably never be. But as long as he had Zim, he knew he had a purpose…and right now, that purpose was to find ways that they would both be happy.
As sappy as it was, he hoped that Zim felt the same way.
Zim nibbled on his bottom lip, snapping him out of his thoughts. All that mattered right now was Zim.
