Their trip in space really was turning into one adventure after another, and Dib couldn't be more thrilled about it.
After stopping the space vampires (which wasn't the term they used for themselves, but it was pretty much vampirism), there was exploring the ruins of an ancient planet to try and find why it's people had disappeared, finding the hideout of a band of galactic thieves (which they'd been paid well for doing), and even searching for a rare plant to be used in medicine…though being told their planet was covered in many species of giant carnivorous plant would have been very nice to know beforehand.
Not everything was perfect, of course, with Zim at times becoming impatient and choosing to use a more destructive method to solve whatever problem they were asked to tackle. That one village was really not pleased to lose their historic building to a fire in Zim's idea to get rid of the giant spider population…
And sometimes Dib was the one getting them chased off. He was seen as an oddity, and some aliens really didn't appreciate him asking nosy questions…or taking photos or samples to study later.
But overall, after a little less than two months spent in space, Dib had to say he felt pretty happy.
Their names were now known in quite a few solar systems, which gave Dib a thrill of pride whenever he thought of it or Zim boasted about it. Even if that happened to be because they'd been banned from one of the planets there, Dib could live with that!
Zim raged whenever they learned they were banned from someplace, grumbling and cursing for hours…but then, by the next day, if not sooner, he was completely calm. Able to shrug off the ejection and whatever events had led to it.
When they were together, there was a chance they'd run into somebody that had heard about them! Though whether it was good or bad things they'd heard could be…up in the air. But there was fortunately enough 'good' that they were hired for a few odd jobs and cases.
Which why it was only a little surprising when someone left a message on their ship's communication device, which they found after coming back from a shopping trip at an asteroid food bazaar.
They immediately dropped their debate about where the best chocolate was made…and began to bicker about whether they should play the message. "It's suspicious," Zim said. "How did they find us?"
"They might answer that if we actually play the message," Dib pointed out.
"It could be a trap! With some sort of…virus that will infect the ship and take over it!"
Dib sighed. "So, have the computer scan it while we put food away, and we'll play it if it comes back safe."
Zim frowned, mulling over it. He went over to the console and pressed a few buttons. "Very well, but if it doesn't come back as one hundred percent clean, we're deleting it at once!"
"Fair enough." Dib carried the bags to the pantry and started to shove food in. Zim brushed up against him and organized everything he was putting on the shelves. There was still space left over when they finished, but it was full enough to last them a week or two if GIR didn't break into the food stores again.
Speaking of which, Dib went into the cockpit, where GIR was playing a handheld game. He handed him a lollipop. "Thanks for watching the ship," he said, patting GIR's head. GIR beamed at him, making a shrill noise and shoving the lollipop into his mouth.
"Now, then," Zim said, standing by the communicating area of the control panel. Dib walked over and rested his chin on Zim's shoulder to look at the results with him, wrapping his arms around his waist. "It…appears to be harmless…"
"So, we should play it and figure out what it's about," Dib said.
"Still suspicious."
"If we don't play it, you'll always wonder later what it could have been about…" Dib hummed right next to Zim's antennae. That was more true for him than Zim, but he peppered Zim's cheek with a few kisses to enhance his point.
"Bah, fine, we'll sit and listen," Zim said. Dib scooped him up under his arms and plopped them both back into the closest chair. Zim pressed some buttons on the panel, and the intergalactic equivalent of a voicemail popped up on their screen.
The newest file began to play, though only a few looming, shadowy figures were visible. "Zim and Dib," the leading one said. Zim flinched and clung to Dib's arm. "We've heard about some of your exploits…from leading a snarlbeast away from Rodentia, to retrieving the lost gem of Coltzan. When we saw your ship flying through the Groceria system, we figured we were close enough to contact you."
There was a slight pause, and a faint cough in the background. "…It seems you aren't available at the moment, though. Anyway, we have a mission that could use your skills.
"Attached to this message is a set of coordinates. They'll guide you to a bar at the edges of the system, where we can meet to discuss this, preferably this evening."
One of the figures shifted, a faint whispering could be heard. "What? Oh, good point. For confidentiality, we can't tell you what our members look like, and we can't tell them who you are!"
Zim and Dib gave each other skeptical looks. The mysterious figure continued, "So, you'll need to use a code phrase! Like, erm…"
The main figure turned to the slender one, and there was more whispering. "Okay, sounds good! If someone asks if you're 'new to rocks', you'll say, 'Yes, just rolled in'!"
Zim and Dib gave each other another flat look, with bigger frowns. "…anyway! This mission is very important to us! Please come! BYE!" With that, they ended the message.
"…well," Zim said, looking at a smaller screen. "They did send the coordinates. And I doubt it's an ambush, because most people who try those are a little more…"
"Put-together?"
"Yeah, sure." Zim clicked his tongue and leaned back against Dib. "Is it worth it to go, though? They seemed a bit, well…not well-prepared."
"Eh, they probably just felt rushed," Dib said. "Phone calls are always awkward, and they probably didn't have time to think long if they wanted to ping our ship before we were out of general range." Ships were of course able to communicate over longer distances, but each usually required a specific code outside a certain range—reducing the amount of 'wrong number' calls while letting ships nearby still communicate in cases they might need to.
"Tsk. Awkward for you, maybe. Zim's calls go perfectly."
"…I would like to know who they are and why they want to talk to us," Dib said. "Especially since we don't have any jobs lined up right now. Plus, nothing says we have to accept whatever mission they want us to do."
"And if it's a trap?" Zim said, looking up at him. "Not that I think it'll be. But…"
"Then we'll have an incredibly epic fight, take them all out, and run back to the ship for a getaway," Dib said. "You can tease me for walking into the trap, and I'll compliment your mighty battle prowess…" He poked Zim's side.
Zim giggled, kicking his feet. "And then we'll make out as though in a particularly cheesy action movie?"
"You know it." Dib rubbed his head, Zim nuzzling into his palm. "So, what do you think?"
"…oh, fine, you've talked me into it," Zim sighed. He turned so that he and Dib were pressed chest-to-chest. "They won't expect us to be there for another few hours, though, now will they?"
Before Dib could respond, Zim's lips were pressed against his. And after that, he couldn't think of any better response than to melt into the kiss, hands pressing against Zim's back.
The rest of the day passed without incident, though they did get barked at to take off already so that other ships could park at the bazaar's edge. So they drifted through the system as their hands drifted over each other.
But now, evening was approaching. They swung by a space vendor and picked up a light dinner of roasted alien kebabs (with Zim choosing the "dessert" option that was just balls of dough sprinkled with sugar), then headed towards the coordinates they had been sent.
It led them to nearly the edge of the Groceria system, where there was a large planet at least twice Earth's size, green with a few splotches of glittering purple. It was also surrounded by a dazzling ring that seemed to glitter with light.
Dib stared at it with wide eyes, drinking it all in. In a few moments, though, he realized Zim was angling the ship more towards the ring than the planet itself. "Shouldn't we be headed down there?" he asked, pointing at it.
"Ah, no," Zim said, grabbing Dib's wrist and moving it so that he was instead pointing at a part of the planet's rings. "The bar is over there, actually. I think most of the restaurants and trading centers and other 'tourist-y' spots are also scattered along the ring."
"Woah, really?" Dib leaned over to get a better look, practically pressing up against the windshield. Now that he was looking for it, he was better able to spot a few metal buildings sprinkled amid the natural rock and ice of the ring. "That's so cool…"
Zim laughed and shook his head at him, so Dib turned and made a face at him…but quickly went back to staring out at the new wonder.
It didn't take long for Zim to land amid a small patch of other ships outside one metallic building gleaming with neon colors. They passed through a forcefield on the way, and a scan showed the artificial atmosphere inside was breathable for Dib.
"Well, this is the place," he said. "Now, we just need to become presentable."
"Presentable?" Din looked down at himself. New shirt, pants he'd only worn one other day, no stains on his coat…he sniffed himself, but he was fine, he'd showered last night.
"No, you're fine," Zim assured him. "I just need to add something to my own outfit." He walked to the bedroom.
Dib rose an eyebrow and followed behind. Zim was the more presentable of them, always with clean clothes, and today wearing a glittery pink blouse. "What? Why?"
"Well, if they're so determined to be all mysterious, I'm going to be, too!" Zim declared. He went over to the closet and rooted through it until he found what he was looking for—a purple cloak with pink trimming along the edge.
He shrugged it on, clipping the star-shaped clasp at his neck and pulling up his hood. His face was now shadowed, though Dib could still make out his gleaming magenta eyes.
"Ooh, nice," Dib said, giving him a thumbs-up. He started to dig through the closet himself until Zim coughed, tapping his shoulder. He looked over to see Zim holding a gray cloak—plain, but perfectly mysterious-looking.
"Thanks," Dib said, taking the cloak and kissing Zim's knuckles. He slipped his cloak on over his trenchcoat, pulling his hood up as the two of them walked back to the cockpit. At Zim's fussing, Dib also checked that he had a weapon (a knife) bolstered at his hip.
"GIR!" Zim yelled…only for there to be no response. He sighed. "He left already, didn't he?"
"Yep." Dib picked up the piece of paper resting up against the cockpit window. It was a drawing of GIR dancing, surrounded by musical notes. "At least he left a note this time, though."
Zim sighed and typed a quick message on the device on his wrist. "Ugh. As long as he comes back on time and doesn't get us arrested, fine." He pressed the sequence of buttons to open up the cockpit. The two stepped out, Zim closed the ship and ramped up the security systems…and they headed into the bar itself.
It resembled what Dib would see of saloons in old westerns—a long bar along one wall with some barstools, wooden tables and chairs scattered around the room, and a jukebox in one corner. There was even a set of little swinging doors leading into another room.
That was where any similarities to Earth stopped, though. The bartender was an alien who seemed to be mostly made of tentacles, the patrons were obviously all aliens, and there was some kind of rave party happening in that other room. Probably with GIR right in the middle of it.
They headed over to the bar and took two seats. Zim ordered sodas for the both of them, while Dib took the chance to scan the area. There were only a few other patrons in at the moment, most seeming to be taking a break from the party in the other room.
As they nursed their drinks, and Dib chatted with the bartender about what sort of aliens they'd seen here, a floating cone alien bobbed up to them.
"Hey, nice cloaks!" he said. "Are you on some kind of secret mission?"
"If we were, we wouldn't tell you," Zim said.
"Right, right. …new to rocks?"
Zim opened his mouth…then closed it and turned to Dib. "It sounds stupid. You wanted this, you say the thing."
"No, just rolled in," Dib told the floating cone.
"Oooh, goodie!" The cone turned and wobbled back and forth…oh, he was gesturing for them to follow. "We got a table in a private area. No one can bother us there."
"Hmm." Zim exchanged a look with Dib, but they grabbed their half-full glasses and followed behind the cone. He took them around a corner opposite the partying area, where there were a few more empty tables, and where the lighting was a bit dimmer.
There were only two other people there—a brown-skinned alien with three heads that towered over them all, and a figure somewhere between Dib and Zim's heights wearing a purple cloak that completely hid them in shadow, aside from their glowing blue eyes.
The cone alien flew right over to them, taking an empty seat. Dib and Zim followed, taking the last few seats across from the others. Dib shifted, suddenly feeling like he was in an interview.
"So," the hooded figure said. "You must be the two our leader thinks can handle our current predicament."
"Was that the person who did most of the talking in that message?" Dib said. Feeling stuffy, he pulled his hood off, ignoring the way the aliens squinted at him. "The cryptic one with shadowy figures?"
"Honestly, what's the point of filming yourselves as shadows?" Zim said, casually shrugging off his own hood. "Just turn off the camera if you don't—"
He was cut off by the hooded figure slamming her fist into the table. "That's an Irken!" she snapped, pointing at Zim. "Guys, it's a setup!"
Immediately the group went into a panic. The three-headed alien was looking in every direction for an escape until all six of their eyes were spinning, and the floating cone starting screaming and flying around in circles.
"No, wait, it's not!" Dib shouted, trying to calm the chaos.
He wasn't able to argue his point, though, as the hooded figure suddenly pulled out a glowing blue dagger and rushed right towards Zim, jumping over the table and spilling all the drinks. Zim, fortunately, was able to jump out of the way in plenty of time, his PAK legs shooting out to lift him above the others. He even brandished two legs threateningly as weapons.
"Try that again, and you'll be skewered!" he yelled. The other aliens just panicked more at that.
"Zim, no, that is NOT helping!" Dib yelled at him.
"Well, then you do something to fix this!" Zim snapped at him.
"Fine!" Dib whirled around to the other three. "Look, just stop, and I can explain everything!"
"Enor, bend!" the cloaked alien shouted. The three-headed alien brevity stopped panicking and bent their waist slightly. The cloaked alien jumped up, ran across their back, then jumped off their shoulders and right at Zim.
"No!" Dib yelled, jumping up and grabbing the hem of her robes. She faltered a little, and Zim moved, but she still crashed into his PAK legs and sent them both tumbling to the ground, knocking a table over.
The hooded alien kicked Dib away, rolling and jumping back onto her feet. "Now, to end this," she growled, whispering something under her breath as she approached Zim with the knife held over her head. Dib could feel the shimmer of magic in the air.
"STOP!" Dib shouted. He ran forward and tried to shove her aside, but her magic made her intangible…and also let her suddenly blink forward, until she was right in front of Zim.
Panicked, Dib slid forward the last few feet, pushing past (mostly through) her and colliding with Zim. He immediately clung to him with both arms, his back facing the hooded assailant and completely blocking her from attacking his partner.
Seconds later, a weapon from Zim's PAK perched on his shoulder. As soon as it appeared, Zim fired a burst of electricity at the hooded alien, who had paused in the middle of raising her knife, and sent her flying back several feet. She landed at the feet of her partners.
With the immediate danger gone, Dib stopped clinging so tightly to Zim, though he still knelt between him and the others, and let his hands rest on Zim's shoulders. "You alright?" he asked.
Zim slowly nodded…And then his eyes narrowed at Dib. "Did you just try to shield me?" he asked.
"…I panicked?" Dib said with a shrug.
Zim started lightly hitting his shoulder, not nearly enough to even hurt, but enough to make a point. "You…stupid sack of meat!" he yelled. "You know I can heal faster and better than you can! What would I do if you got yourself hurt trying that, huh!?"
"I don't know!" Dib said. "I told you, I panicked!"
"Well, make your panic response into either getting behind me or pulling out a weapon, not turning yourself into a meat shield!" Zim yelled. His head snapped up, and he glared at the other three, turning to face them with PAK legs out. To Dib, he said, "Let me take care of this."
They both braced themselves for the next attack, but…the others were just staring at them with wide eyes. "…wow!" the floating cone said. "Ixane, you're really sure this is an Irken?"
"What else could it be?" the hooded figure—apparently Ixane—responded.
"It could be a shapeshifter! Or a bodysnatcher!" The cone said, bouncing up and down. "I think that's more likely than being an Irken."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zim growled, narrowing his eyes.
"Well…" Ixane waved her blade…not threateningly, but still gesturing between Zim and Dib. "Quite frankly, I couldn't imagine an Irken ever being upset about another species sacrificing itself for them."
Zim bristled up, growling at her. "I am Irken," he hissed. "And Dib is mine. I will not let you hurt him, and I will not let you imply that I am somehow lesser for it!"
Her eyes widened, and she held up her hands in defense. "It's not a bad thing, of course not! Right, Enor, Shlooktapooxis?"
The three-headed alien nodded. The cone (probably Shloonktapooxis) bobbed up and down. "Look," the one who was probably Enor said. "We…may have acted rashly."
"Yes, you did!" Dib snapped.
"But we just—we've been through a lot, and we really need someone to hire to do something very important! Can we, perhaps …start over?" Enor beckoned them over to the table, and all of them sat down with varying levels of reluctance, Zim and Ixane in particular still eyeing each other suspiciously.
"Enor," Ixane hissed. "Even if he's not a direct threat, he's still Irken."
"Ah, well…" one of Enor's heads looked nervously to the side, another staring Zim up and down. "Wait…you said your name is Zim, right?" Enor said, pointing at him. Zim nodded. "Oh, I remember you! Sort of. We were in the labs on Vort together for a few months. Remember?"
Zim narrowed his eyes, looking him up and down. "…vaguely. I interacted more with the Vortians."
"Yeah, I remember that, too. But…I think we might be able to trust you with this," Enor said.
"Seriously?" Ixane said, narrowing one eye at him. Enor leaned over, one of his heads muttering something. Her eyes widened, and she looked Zim up and down. "…I see. I suppose it's worth a shot."
"Excuse me?" Zim said, crossing his arms. "We've agreed to nothing. You haven't even told us who you're the supposed to be!"
"We are THE RESISTY!" Shloonktapooxis said dramatically.
"A few members, anyway," said Ixane. "We fight against the Irken Empire, and we have a mission that requires some considerable skill…skills like yours."
"Against the Empire?" Zim said. The three nodded. "No. Come, Dib, let's find something else to do." He stood up.
"We haven't even heard what the mission is yet," Dib pointed out.
"Don't bother," Ixane sighed. "Even if he's…different, I can't expect an Irken to be anything but loyal to the Empire."
Zim froze in place, snapping back to face her with frightening speed. "Excuse me?"
"That's the reason you're leaving, isn't it?" she said. "Your loyalty is so ingrained that you won't even hear about a chance to go against them."
"It has nothing to do with loyalty!" Zim snapped. "If I was loyal to them, I would have turned myself in for my defects, for even considering the things I've done! I'm against opposing the Empire because it's IMPOSSIBLE to win against them!"
Ixane glared at him. "The only way we can truly fail is by rolling over and letting them win!"
"No!" Zim slammed his fist on the table. "You don't get it, you fool! Standing up to them will only get you obliterated for your audacity!"
"Zim," Dib said, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to ground him.
With that, Zim took a deep breath and settled for glaring at the others. Ixane glared right back. "We've already lost everything to the Empire," she said. "I'm not giving up. I'm not throwing away the sacrifices it took to get us this far. And if you don't want to help, we'll find someone else who will!"
"…would it help that the mission doesn't involve fighting?" Shloonktapooxis offered.
"How so?" Dib asked, rubbing a circle on Zim's upper back. Zim was still in a glaring match with Ixane.
"Planet Meekrob has been fending off their invasion very well," Enor said. "But several Irken ships now surround the planet, and from the outside, there appears to be a stalemate. We'd love for the Meekrob to join in our fight, but we can't contact them due to the blockade."
"So." Ixane placed a large device on the table. "Someone needs to get this encrypted communication device to their leaders."
"And how would that not involve fighting the blockade of ships?" Zim questioned, squinting at it suspiciously.
"It'll be a stealth mission!" Shloonktapooxis said.
"We've made a few…attempts to break through the barricade, but it's no good," Enor said. "So…we would try a direct approach and lure some ships from the rest. Another group, possibly you, would then sneak through the ones left, drop off the device, then sneak back out."
"Why don't you just use another one of your ships and split into two groups?" Dib asked.
"…we have our reasons," Ixane said.
"They only have the one ship," Zim guessed.
Ixane glared at him. "Well, we certainly don't have as many as the Armada does," she said. "Plus, not many of our members are…renowned for stealth." She glanced at Shloonktapooxis.
Zim crossed his arms and glared at them. "So. We'd have to get through an Irken barricade, which is in and of itself a suicide mission. Then drop off a device to a race that would be hostile to me, and potentially my human. And then we'd come back through the barricade, which at that point is sure to have the full number of ships. Did I get everything?"
"…yeah…" Enor said, each head looking a various shade of uncomfortable.
"…can we have a bit of time to think about this?" Dib said. Zim turned to give him a sharp look.
"Yeah! Sure! The war's not going anywhere!" Ixane said with a forced laugh. "Take all the time you need!"
"Um. Here's the contact code for our…one of our ships," Enor said, holding out a datapad for them. Dib jotted the information down in his notebook, while Zim just frowned at it. "…could you let us know sooner rather than later about your decision?"
"Oh, I can tell you what our decision is right now," Zim growled. "And a detailed description of what would really happen if you really tried to put this foolish plan in motion."
Dib placed his other hand on Zim's other shoulder and began to massage them. "Let's just think about it first, okay?" he said.
Zim grumbled, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders. Dib leaned over to kiss him just under his antennae, and his grumbling became a little quieter, his cheeks turning a shade of blue.
Ixane coughed. "Is this part of your 'thinking' process, or…?"
Zim snorted, jumping to his feet and grabbing Dib's hand. "None of your beeswax," he declared. "Come, Dib! We have better to do." He hugged the hood of his cloak back up and marched out the door, all but dragging Dib behind him.
Once they were outside, though, Dib was able to get back in step with Zim, entwining their fingers together. "You okay there, space bug?" he asked.
All he got in response was a hiss. "Quiet, Urth-monkey," Zim growled. "Save your words for later…"
"Yikes," Dib said, and promptly closed his mouth when Zim gave him a look.
It didn't take them long to make it back to their ship. Once they were inside, and the cockpit window had closed, Zim screeched, tearing off his cloak and throwing it at Dib's head. Once Dib was able to pull it off, he was greeted to the sight of Zim angrily pacing in circles around him.
"What were you thinking, making that stupid, foolish request to 'think about it'!?" Zim yelled—not directly at Dib, but clearly meant for him. "What is there to even think about, you worms-for-brains ape!?"
"…whether or not we go through with it?" Dib said, slipping past Zim and into the bedroom.
Zim just marched right after him. "And the answer is NO. No, no, we are not going on this pointless suicide mission!"
"It's not pointless, and it's not—"
"Yes, it is!" Zim said. "They can't win this, and getting involved would be a death sentence for us!"
Dib crossed his arms. "This is huge, though, Zim! We could help save a whole planet, and from the Empire!"
"That's the impossible part!" Zim snapped. "No one can win against them! That's why we're not doing it!"
"Has anyone even tried to fight back?" Dib said. "Most places I've been to just kind of…give up whenever the Empire goes to conquer them."
"Because they aren't fools," Zim hissed. "If they didn't surrender, the Empire would attack them and pressure them until they either gave in, or there was nothing left of them!"
"Or maybe, if everyone actually stood up for themselves, the Empire wouldn't be such a big, impossible threat!"
"Oh, you…are IMPOSSIBLE!" Zim shouted. "I don't know why I ever bother listening to this insanity you spout!"
Dib's eyelid twitched, and he glared at Zim, lip curling back. "…take that back."
Zim growled, crossing his arms. "I would if you ceased insisting on even considering such a suicidal quest!"
"I am NOT crazy, and you know it!" Dib shouted, grabbing Zim's shirt.
"Well, you're not acting like it!" Zim shouted back, gripping Dib's wrists in turn.
They leaned forward, foreheads pressed together as they glared each other right in the eyes…and it was Dib who cried out, surging forward to tackle Zim to the ground. They both screamed at each other, wrestling and rolling over the floor of the cockpit. It was a pitiful slapfight for them, but with no small amount of anger for them both.
Only when they heard the entrance open did they freeze in place, Dib's arm locked in Zim's mouth as the human pinned him down. They exchanged a glance, and Dib rolled off of Zim, pulling them both to their feet and hopping back, closer to the weapons stash. Zim brought out his PAK legs, dropping into a battle stance.
GIR stepped inside, several bands of glowing beads wrapped around his neck, and carrying a neon-pink drink in his hand. He tilted his head at them as the entrance closed and locked again. "Whatchu doin'?"
Dib and Zim both immediately relaxed. "…nothing," Dib said. "We were…discussing the meeting we had."
"Yes, about how we're not doing what they asked of us," Zim said, sending Dib a sharp look over his shoulder.
Dib faked a laugh. "And how we're going to think about it before making that choice."
Zim faked an even louder, more forced laugh. "No. You go 'sleep' on it, as you say, and come back to me when you've come to the right answer."
"…fine!" Dib said. "I'll get ready for bed." Better than just starting the fight all over again.
"Good night," Zim said sharply. He eyed GIR's drink. "Does that have sugar?"
"Mhmm!"
"Gimme!" Zim snatched the drink and downed it in one gulp. Dib headed into the back to take a shower. It felt relaxing, helped his heart calm down after the fight…though he still felt anger brewing in him.
Still, once he had brushed his teeth and was in his pajamas, he peeked into the cockpit to see Zim sitting there, angrily scratching a notebook with a crayon. "I'm going to bed," he said.
"Have fun." Zim didn't even look up.
Dib blinked. Usually, Zim would eagerly trail in behind him, ready to curl up together in bed. He must have really angered Zim, and knowing that stung as much as getting snubbed did.
"…I love you," Dib said, blowing a kiss at him. Zim hummed, his antennae at least twitching a little in response. Dib sighed and slipped into the bedroom.
"I heard fighting," Tak's AI said from the corner. "Have you finally killed Zim yet?"
"No, shut up." Dib tossed the box over it before it could make any kind of rebuttal. He checked on GIR, now 'sleeping' in his recharging station while hugging a stuffed pig, before climbing into bed and turning off the lights.
He rolled around, bundling himself in a tight cocoon of blankets, and closed his eyes.
…he couldn't fall asleep. Usually this wouldn't be too bad, because either Zim could coax him into it, or they could make out until he finally felt tired, but those weren't options right now. So, he just closed his eyes and tried to let his mind drift, bobbing in and out of a fitful half-sleep.
Hours slipped by, and it was pretty close to midnight when the door opened. Dib nearly rolled over to look, but when he couldn't hear Zim approaching, he resisted the urge. He wasn't sure why Zim was hesitating, but he didn't want to keep him away.
After a few seconds of waiting, though, he heard Zim's boots quietly click against the floor. Zim hesitated again at the very edge of the bed for a few more seconds before kicking his boots off and sitting next to Dib.
With a sigh, he laid beside him, curling up against Dib's back. "…I can tell you're awake," he whispered.
Dib sighed, rolling over to face him. "No hiding anything from you, is there?"
"M-mm." Zim shook his head, then pressed his face against Dib's sternum. "I love you, too."
"I know. Thank you." Dib kissed his forehead. "…are you still mad at me?"
"A little," Zim said. "…we can't do it, Dib. I can't let you."
"And why not, exactly? I know you keep saying they'll win, but…" Dib bit his lip, looking for the right words. "Why are you…mad about even thinking about it?"
"…I could lose you," Zim whispered, grabbing Dib's hand and giving it a small squeeze. "I can't risk that, Dib."
"Oh." Dib felt like his heart was being squeezed, and got a little choked up. "I…damn it." He squeezed Zim's hand back and nuzzled the crook of his neck. "I hadn't…I didn't think…"
"Hmph. Obviously." Zim said. "…of course, I don't want to die on some impossible mission, either, but my chances of survival would be higher. You, though, it's…too risky."
"You're not going alone." Dib clung to Zim's top with his free hand, tightly squeezing his hand with the other.
Zim snorted at that. "No kidding. I have no interest in flinging myself towards their little…cause."
He fiddled with Dib's hair. "You, though…so eager about it. Ignoring all of Zim's warnings. Why?"
Dib fidgeted. "…wouldn't it be the right thing to do? Helping free a planet from an evil Empire, maybe giving a rebellion a foothold to use against them?"
"Ah. You want to be a hero. Add Meekrob to the list of planets you're the protector of," Zim said. Dib's cheeks and ears turned pink. "What would be next? Protector of a whole galaxy?"
"…shut up," Dib mumbled, pulling his hand back from Zim's. He still remained curled up close to him, though.
"As lofty as your goals may be, I'm not going to let you turn yourself into a martyr for them," Zim continued. "I'm afraid you'll have to find contentment with being a living hero on a smaller scale than that."
Dib grumbled wordlessly, shoving his face into a pillow in an effort to muffle Zim's voice. Zim stroked his hair.
"Nothing to say?"
"'m tired," Dib grunted.
"Never stopped you before," Zim joked. Dib playfully swatted at him with one hand, and he laughed. "Okay, okay…I'll let you get your required sleep. For real, now."
He buried his fingers deep in Dib's hair, claws scratching against his scalp. Dib sighed and immediately melted at the touch, pulling from his pillow and instead nestling his face against Zim.
Zim began to quietly hum, the sound vibrating through Dib. Dib closed his eyes, and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep.