It took some time, but months after taking control of the world, Zim was certain he had rooted out the rebellion in Dib's hometown to the point that they weren't a threat. His palace had just recently finished construction, but there was still another building he thought Dib may like to stay in…for sentimental reasons.
Which was why he traveled with Dib in the Voot to the old Membrane household, offering Dib the chance to stay. If he wanted. Zim could move the building into the palace, or build a new palace around the building, he wasn't too picky.
Once they landed in the driveway, Dib hesitated, clinging onto Zim's waist. Zim leaned over, nudging his side. "Go on," he said. "It's all yours, now…whatever you choose to do with it."
Dib nodded, took a deep breath, and climbed out of the Voot. He tensed up a little, but relaxed when Zim held his hand and walked with him to the front door.
The lights were off, of course, and there was a thin layer of dust inside. Zim also remembered there being more books and other small things littered in the living room that were now missing…though the furniture was still left. The Membranes must have left this place in a hurry, but since then, it seemed no one had entered, aside from perhaps a looter or two.
Dib immediately headed upstairs, walking towards his bedroom in a daze. Zim stayed in the living room, frowning and making a list of what needed to be done to make this place livable again. A deep-cleaning, to start with—
His human let out a surprised sound, and Zim snapped his gaze to him in alarm. Dib seemed fine, just standing in the open door of his bedroom and staring in surprise. When nothing happened, Zim slowly relaxed.
"…everything's gone," Dib said, still staring in and leaning against the doorframe.
Zim blinked, ascending the stairs to stand next to Dib and see what he was talking about. It was immediately obvious that the room had been stripped clean…maybe not of everything, but enough that it had lost a lot of its old Dib-ness. There were no pictures or posters on the walls, no pieces of technology scattered in organized piles, no notes piled on top of the desk…
It was now just a plain bedroom in dark colors, and with dust building up in a few places.
"Maybe they…got rid of everything," Dib said after a few more moments. Zim glanced up and saw that his expression was…not quite neutral. Resigned, maybe? "After they realized I was gone, I mean. They wouldn't have cared about any of it, so…"
"…perhaps we can search the storage units for it?" Zim offered.
"I guess," Dib said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Dad took all of my paranormal stuff straight to the landfill himself, though."
"Even if he did, he probably overlooked something," Zim said. "We both know he's terrible about seeing what's right in front of him." That got a small chuckle out of Dib, even if it was a dry one.
At Dib's suggestion, they checked out the garage…though there really wasn't much left in there. Dib muttered about things being thrown out, but Zim suspected that thieves and looters were just as likely.
Still, they found a few old pieces of technology they had used in their battles long ago, covered in dust and forgotten in a corner. Dib even found a toolbox filled with a part or two from Tak's old ship, though the ship itself was gone...Zim had stolen it back for Dib a few weeks into his victory, as a celebratory gift.
They cleared the garage of the few odds and ends that were left that Dib wanted to keep for nostalgia's sake. After that, Dib had gone to search through the attic and other rooms…and Zim headed into the basement lab.
Membrane was at least smart enough to take whatever he could from the lab when he fled. But that didn't stop Zim from gutting the rest of it. The technology was almost impressive, and he could at least keep any humans from trying to use it against him.
He even took the time to go through the files. Some caught his interest, but most he set aside to read later…or just to keep them away from anyone else.
Interestingly enough, Zim had also found some files in the lab with Dib's name on them. He had quickly skimmed through them, then snapped them shut and tucked them away, hidden with the equipment he was taking with them.
He didn't mention them to Dib, and hadn't brought up them, or the lab or house in general, ever since that day. Dib had put a few things he found in the very corners of his room (in the palace), but otherwise seemed content to not bring up the house himself.
Fine by Zim. He knew the living arrangements he made for Dib were far superior, anyway.
Zim had ultimately decided to leave the house mostly intact, though with some security around it, and after completely gutting the entire thing of any useful technology. It would make an excellent trap—a rebel or runaway might hide there, looking for something to be used against him, only to be captured by the robots he had stored there.
One or two humans had been caught before word seemed to spread, and everyone left the place alone. After a few months, it was falling into disrepair from the neglect, and fixing it was low on Zim's list of priorities.
And so, he was rather surprised when he was notified that a human had been captured there and was being transported to him.
"Huh." He slurped on his soda. "Very interesting…"
Still, not enough for him to turn away from coding a new series of robots. Better at tending sugarcane fields, and with even more weapons than the series before them! He was so absorbed in it that he continued working for a few minutes more after being notified that the prisoner was successfully brought to the palace.
Eventually, though, he stretched in his throne, pressing a few buttons to order the prisoner be brought in. He hoped that it was some big, important rebel…someone he could use as leverage. Though that group got up in arms whenever he took anyone prisoner.
A metal box was soon dropped before his throne's dais. "GIR!" The small robot hopped to attention, running forward and pressing buttons on the box's front.
With a loud beep and the hiss of hydraulics, the front opened up…revealing a human child inside, tightly bound in metal restraints. Zim's brows shot up in surprise, his antennae perking straight up with interest.
The child growled as soon as he saw Zim. "You!" he said. "You might have won for now, but it won't be forever. I'll stop you! I'll always stop you, you space monster!"
Zim's brows would have shot up even further if there was any more room for them to do so. That voice, the black hair with one strand sticking straight up…it was familiar and undeniable. But also impossible.
"…Dib?" he said slowly, still in disbelief.
The human…the twelve-year-old Dib continued to glower at him. "That's right! You can never get rid of me forever, Zim!"
"How are you…?" Zim blinked, confused. But still, he couldn't help but lean forward, curiously inspecting Dib. "How are you so…young?"
Dib scoffed. "Why would I tell you anything?"
So stubborn and angry…Zim was growing more intrigued. He stood up and strode over to Dib, pacing a circle around the container. Now, how did he convince Dib to do things before his brilliant plan swayed the human over…?
"Would you please answer my questions?" he tried. Dib—his Dib had told him politeness worked on most humans. Something about honey and vinegar.
"Never!" Dib said. He squirmed and struggled, but wasn't making any progress when it came to escaping.
"Not even if I let you out of the transport cell for it?" Zim offered in a sing-song tone.
Dib paused, briefly, and gave him a scrutinizing look. "…why would I ever trust your word?"
"Because I always honored our end of our brief truces!" Zim puffed out his chest with a hint of pride. "That, and you're not exactly in a position to be asking for much."
Dib growled at him, struggling a little more. Zim paced around him again, looking him up and down. Every action just confirmed that he was a younger Dib, that this wasn't a trick of some kind.
Behind the cell, and out of Dib's sight, he pulled a tablet out of his PAK and looked at the security feed of Dib's rooms. His Dib was lounging on the couch and watching some movie on the screen, the same age as always, his tracking chip confirmed that was exactly where he was…so he hadn't been taken and de-aged somehow.
Not that anyone could sneak his Dib away from him ever again!
But still, that only eliminated a few possible explanations. He frowned in thought and paced back to the front of the box. Just when he was starting to put an idea together, Dib groaned and slumped forward.
"Okay, fine," he groaned. "I was chasing you through space in my ship, somehow traveled forward in time, and crashed into this horrible, awful future. Now let me out of this thing, you space bug."
…that confirmed what Zim had just been suspecting. He sniffed at the insult, but reached over to the side of the cell and pressed a few buttons. The tentacles coiled around Dib relaxed, dropping him to the floor of the cell.
Dib stumbled on his feet…and then immediately leapt forward in an attempt to attack Zim.
Zim quickly grabbed his wrists before he could punch him, lifting them up above Dib's head. Dib again began to struggle, and attempted to kick Zim's ankles at the same time. Zim just smirked, tilting his head and watching. This was…very, very interesting.
"GIR!" he barked, the little robot running up to him. "Take this Dib to Dib's rooms. And watch him very carefully—he's more…antagonistic than the Dib we're used to." At the same time, he used his free hand to latch a metal cuff onto one of Dib's wrists.
As soon as Zim let go, the cuff activated, spreading over Dib's hands and wrists and binding them together in front of him. GIR reached up and grabbed one of Dib's arms…and the human pulled back, giving Zim an offended look.
"Your liar!" he said. "What was all that about honoring your end!? You said you'd let me go if I told you!"
Zim clicked his tongue. "I said I'd let you out of this cell," he corrected, patting the side of the metal box. "Nothing about 'letting you go'."
Dib's jaw dropped…and he began to sputter, face turning bright red. GIR took the opportunity to grab onto his wrist again and tug him forward. Dib stumbled on his feet, turning his head to glare at Zim as he was tugged away.
"You'll pay for this!" he shouted. "All of it! I'll make you pay!" He may have continued to shout at Zim, but he was pulled out of the room before he could.
Zim smirked, returning to his throne and using the controls to have the cell taken away and decontaminated. He went through the motions of remotely resetting the trap that had been sprung…but really, he was thinking about this latest, and very interesting, development.
Dib's day wasn't too crazy so far. He had worked a little on designing a better camera in his own personal lab, but once he'd gotten bored with that, he had started to lounge on the couch instead, watching old horror movies and thumbing through an alien novel Zim had gotten him…some cheesy romance, except the culture it was from had way more types of romance than humans did. It was fascinating to see it through this lens…and he was actually taking notes with little post-it notes he stuck inside the book.
Yes, it was looking to be a pretty straightforward, lazy day in…up until GIR ran inside, dragging a human kid in behind him with his wrists cuffed in some metal band.
Dib immediately sat up straight, snapping his book shut and gesturing for the screen to pause his movie. "What's going on?"
"Master said to bring him here!" GIR chirped, dragging the kid over—literally dragging, because he was trying to go as limp as a ragdoll and also pull free of GIR's grip. GIR really didn't seem to notice, pulling him up onto the couch and patting his side.
"Why would Zim—?" Dib was about to ask…only to blink, staring at the kid for a few seconds, having to adjust his glasses. But it didn't look like a trick of his eyes—it was a younger version of him.
His younger self finally yanked free from GIR, kicking the robot off of the couch. "Hah!" He whirled around…and jumped back when he saw Dib, arms flying up in a defensive position as he glared suspiciously at Dib.
"Who are you!?" the younger Dib snapped, gaze flicking around the room. "W-What's Zim got planned for me, huh?"
Dib blinked, still a bit shocked. "I'm…you. A future version of you."
The younger Dib squinted at him, looking him up and down. "…prove it," he said. "Zim already tricked me once with a 'future Dib', I'm not falling for that one again!"
Dib frowned a little. "Give me your wrists for a second," he said. His younger self kept giving him a skeptical look, but held up his bound wrists. Dib took a few seconds to examine them, pressing a few buttons along the front until there was a loud 'click' before they unlatched and fell off.
The younger Dib quickly snatched his hands back, rubbing his wrists. "There, see?" Dib said. "I helped you. Is that good proof?"
"It's a start," the younger Dib begrudgingly gave him. "…why is your hair longer, though? What's with the collar and that?" He pointed accusingly at the Invader symbol on Dib's shirt. "And, and how exactly did Zim catch you!?"
"It's longer because I like it that way," (And so did Zim), "These are…from Zim. And about being captured, it's…it's a long story." Dib reached up, self-consciously fiddling with his collar. "How'd you get here, anyway?"
"It's a long story," his younger self echoed snarkily. "Anyway, I'm still not convinced you're not some trick from Zim."
Dib frowned, leaning back and thinking. "…our first brush with the paranormal was when we were just born, in our earliest memories," he said. "We were abducted by aliens who seemed to be experimenting on us to create some genius super human. Zim doesn't know about that, does he?" He was sure he'd actually mentioned it to Zim at some point, but eh, his younger self didn't know that.
His past self's eyes widened…and then he shot forward, latching onto Dib. "You are a real Dib!" he said excitedly. He pulled back just as quickly, eyes darting around the room as he jumped off the couch and onto his feet.
"Zim made a mistake, putting us in the same room," he declared. "With us working together, there's no way he'll be able to keep us in his clutches!"
"Um." Dib stood up, slowly shifting to stand between his past self and the door. His younger self didn't seem worried about that…but Dib wasn't sure how to explain the whole situation.
"C'mon!" his past self grabbed onto his wrist and started to tug him forward to the door. "You've gotta have at least one escape route in mind, right? Let's go!"
"Um…" Dib tried to pulled away, but man his young self had a tight grip. He wasn't really succeeding in forcing him forward, though.
"We need to get out before Zim gets here!" past Dib said, now grabbing Dib with both hands to try and pull him. "We can escape together, why aren't you moving?"
"…we don't need to escape," Dib said slowly. He struggled to think of how he could properly explain it to himself. "I'm not a prisoner here. You probably aren't, either, or Zim would have sent you to the actual dungeons."
"Wuh…buh…" past Dib sputtered, looked around the room, then looked at his future with a bewildered expression. "We've been captured by ZIM! How can you say we're not prisoners!?"
Dib gestured around himself. "Do you really think Zim would treat prisoners this nicely?"
"He would if it was to trick them!" past Dib said. "It doesn't matter how gilded the cage is—if you're being held against your will, then you're a prisoner! Of ZIM! We do need to escape!"
Dib frowned, looking away and rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm…not here against my will."
His past self opened and closed his mouth a few times. "…WHAT!?"
"I'm not here against my will," Dib started to explain. "I chose to—"
His past self jumped up to slap him across the face, and he reared back, biting his tongue before he ended up cursing. He took a step back, holding his stinging cheek and scowling at the younger Dib. "…what was that for!?"
"To snap you out of…whatever mind control Zim used on you!" he said. "It had to have worked, please tell me it worked!"
"I'm not mind controlled!" Dib said at him, voice straining with the effort to not just snap at his younger self. "I chose to be here! We don't need to worry about Zim, because he's—"
His younger self jolted forward, about to hit him again, but Dib quickly shifted out of the way this time. "Quit that!"
The other Dib glowered at him before turning on his heel. "If you won't let me help you, I'll escape by myself and go find someone else to help me take down that space tyrant!" He started to march towards the door.
…any doors that opened for Dib would probably open for his younger self, too. Maybe him seeing that would convince him he wasn't in danger. But he didn't want him to just go wandering off—Zim was trusting him to watch him, and what if his past self stumbled into something that got him hurt?
He stepped forward, about to persuade his alternate back, as the young Dib pressed his hand to the scan pad. He seemed a little surprised when it flashed green, the door readily sliding open for him.
Both Dibs were definitely surprised to see Zim standing in the doorway, though, his hand just about to press the external scan pad.
Zim blinked, antennae flicking as he stared down at the younger Dib in surprise. "…trying to escape?" he asked teasingly.
The young Dib tried to run past him, but Zim used an arm to block his path, pushing him back into the room. "Not yet. I have something to discuss with both of you." His attention flicked up to Dib, and he grinned when the door slid closed behind him.
He started to move forward, but the younger Dib quickly got in his way and glared at him. "No," he said sternly. "I don't know what you did to me to make me forget how horrible you are, but I won't let you do it anymore!"
Zim tilted his head, slightly confused. "What I did?" Then, he seemed to realize something, and a wicked grin spread on his face. "Oh, it is true I did something. Aren't you even a little curious about what it is?"
Past Dib hesitated, but then vigorously shook his head. "I don't care what it is, and I'm not going to let you do it!"
"You paused…I know you're curious." Zim shifted to the left, making the younger Dib move to the side to block him. As soon as he moved, Zim bolted straight forward, stopping right in front of Dib. The past Dib cried out in frustration and concern.
Dib himself had concerns…not for himself, but for how the past version of him would react to whatever Zim was about to do. "Um, Zim, maybe—"
He was cut off by Zim grabbing his shoulders, pulling him down, and smashing their lips together in a kiss.
Dib jolted in surprise. It wasn't the first time Zim had kissed him on the lips, but him doing so was pretty rare, as he was more prone to peppering kisses everywhere else on his face and neck…
But once the surprise wore off, he melted into the kiss, returning the pressure. Zim's kiss became a little less forceful, and he lingered there for several seconds before slowly pulling back…though he kept his arms wrapped around Dib, who had slid until he was being dipped over the couch.
Seconds after the kiss ended, the other Dib in the room let out a wordless, piercing screech.
Zim pretended to ignore him, but Dib could see his lips twitch up into an amused smile. "That's just the start!" Zim said in a sing-song tone. "There's so much more I've got planned for you, Dib-thing…" He started peppering kisses all along Dib's neck, teeth grazing against the spot where he knew Dib was ticklish.
"Stop it!" Dib said with a laugh, playfully swatting back at Zim. "That tickles, you jerk!"
"Never!" Zim cackled, peppering another few kisses there, even blowing a raspberry there to make Dib burst into laughter.
His younger self made a quiet, distressed noise, and Dib placed a hand on Zim's cheek, pushing him back a little. "No, really, stop," he said seriously. "I think you're going to give the other me an aneurysm if you don't."
That made Zim stop, gently dropping Dib onto the couch and looking over at the younger human. His eyes were wide, his face was pale…and he started shaking as soon as Zim made eye contact with him.
Zim twitched, about to move forward, but past Dib shook his head, taking several quick steps back. "Stay AWAY!" he yelled. "You're horrible! I won't let you do anything like that to me, you space monster!"
"…I wasn't planning to," Zim said, blinking. "Look, smaller Dib—"
Past Dib took a few more steps back, grabbing a plastic toy GIR had left and brandishing it as a makeshift weapon. Zim chuckled, shaking his head.
Dib stood up, placing a hand on Zim's shoulder before moving past him and over to his past self. The other Dib tensed up in response, holding the toy a little higher.
"What, are you planning on dragging me over to him!? Turn me into another…another mind-slave plaything for Zim!? Well I'm not going to let you!"
"I'm not going to do that," Dib promised. "It's going to be alright, I promise. Just put the toy down."
"No!" past Dib snapped. "It's not alright! Nothing's alright here, and I don't think I'll be alright after seeing that! I—"
Dib one else down to reach his level, then slowly wrapped his arms around his younger self, squeezing him in a tight hug. Cooldown hugs from Zim and GIR usually worked on him if he was worked up about something…it would probably work on his younger self, too. Though Dib was the only person he wouldn't lash out at when receiving a hug (hopefully).
His kid self was as stiff as a board at first. But as soon as Dib rubbed on his back, he practically melted against Dib, dropping his makeshift weapon and clinging onto his coat.
"I promise it'll be okay," Dib told him, continuing to rub circles on his back. "…and I promise that I'll explain everything later."
His past self mumbled something under his breath, face buried against Dib's chest. Dib continued to hold him, but looked over his shoulder at Zim.
"…what is the plan here, exactly?" he asked. "Though I guess this happened suddenly enough you don't have a plan. But please tell me you have a plan to come up with a plan." He was already trying to remember everything he knew about time travel (most of it fictional) and how they might be able to reverse the trip for his younger self…
"Oh, I already have a plan," Zim said, beaming. "And it's quite a brilliant one, too!" Past Dib tensed up again, and squirmed to free himself from the hug…though he stayed close to Dib.
Seeing he had both of their attention, Zim continued. "Let's keep him!"
"What!?" the young Dib screeched, looking confused, angry, and scared.
"What!?" Dib said, confused but not yet upset. "Why?"
"Why not? Look at him!" Zim said. "He's like…like one of the Urth-cat babies that puffs up and bears its toothless mouth when it's mad."
"…Did you just compare me to a kitten?" past Dib said, glaring and scowling at Zim.
Zim cooed, beaming at him. "Adorable!"
"And I'm not?" Dib said half-jokingly as his past self sputtered, practically spitting mad (not helping his case against not being like a kitten).
"You can be adorable, too," Zim said, tapping a claw gently against his nose playfully. "…and not bad-looking, after you finally grew into your head." Dib smiled, wrinkling his nose and making Zim laugh.
His younger self made exaggerated gagging sounds. Dib turned to look at him, and he quickly stopped…though maybe that was just because he had successfully stopped the interaction between the Dib and Zim. Now, he turned to Zim, glaring angrily again. "You can't just keep me here!"
"Really? Again, why not?" Zim asked.
Dib waved to get Zim's attention. "I don't think it would be a good idea," he pointed out, making Zim frown in disappointment. "I mean, think about it! Keeping someone from the not-so-distant past here in this time will probably cause some sort of…time-travel ripple effect. What if keeping my past self from returning erased me, this version of me," he gestured to himself, "From existence?"
"Yes, exactly!" the younger Dib said.
"Hmm. Well, do you remember time-traveling to the future, meeting your future self, and then seeing me kiss your future self?" Zim said.
"…no. No, I do not." Dib frowned. "I would remember that. Unless I ended up with another concussion from this misadventure…"
"Since you don't remember it," Zim continued. "It's probably likely that the two of you are from different points in time…in different timelines."
"Uuuugh," the younger Dib said. "I'm stuck in another part of the multiverse? …at least there shouldn't be so many Zims this time…"
"Trust me, the effects from time alteration happen pretty quickly," Zim said. "If something were to happen because of it, it would have already happened."
"Can you guarantee that?" Dib asked.
"Absolutely." Zim took his hands in his own, giving them a squeeze. "I wouldn't do this if there was any risk of losing you." When the younger Dib started making gagging sounds, he nodded towards him and said, "And your 'other's' comment just now confirmed that there are plenty of timelines out there…and that isn't the first time they've slipped between them."
The other Dib stopped gagging, freezing in place. "…ah, man, I did just imply that."
"Any other concerns?" Zim asked lightly.
"Hey!" the younger Dib snapped. "How about that I don't actually want to be here!? And that he have no idea how to care for a human!?"
Zim gasped. "Excuse you, tiny one, but I've been caring for this Dib for years." He wrapped his arms around Dib. "I know what I'm doing, naturally."
"Well, I still don't want to be here!" young Dib snapped. "I hate you!"
"…and how are you going to get back to your own time?" Zim asked, smirking a little.
The past Dib opened and closed his mouth a few times. "…shut up!" he said. "I'll just…do the thing I did to get here, in reverse! Flying the other way around the sun!"
"You're going to go near the sun, in that old death trap of yours!?" Zim said, antennae perking up in alarm. "The heat shields in that thing are so old you're lucky you survived the first attempt at that. You're not going anywhere near your star in that thing…which I've already found and stored away."
The younger Dib growled a little. "Well…I'll get out of here and fight against you!" He snapped. "Then, once you're stopped, I'll figure out some way to get back home!"
Zim crossed his arms. "First, I'm not going to let you just run off after you've made it clear it's to fight me," he said. "Second, it's dangerous out there. You'll be much safer if you're kept here."
The younger Dib looked to Dib for support, but Dib just frowned and nodded. "It's true," he said. "There's too many ways for you to get hurt out there." What if he ran into some disgruntled human who took their anger out on him…or who would try to hurt him to get to Zim? "At least here, you're safe."
"Well, it…it's his fault things are so dangerous in the first place!" past Dib snapped, pointing accusingly at Zim.
"Enough," Zim said, looming forward. "Unless you can prove you have a way of getting back to your time safely, you're staying right here."
Dib placed a hand on his shoulder to pull him back a little when his younger self flinched back. Zim relaxed a little…and GIR suddenly cheered. They glanced over and saw he had been snacking on popcorn as he watched their conversation.
"Woo! Two Dibs!" he cheered. "Wait…Dib." He pointed at Dib. "Dib." He pointed at the younger one. "Dib Dib?" He pointed at both.
"See? You confused your minion, you can't have me here," past Dib tried to argue.
"He'll be fine," Dib assured.
"Of course he will! Plus, there's plenty of other things we can call you to tell the difference between you two!" Zim said cheerfully. "Dib-Two, Young Dib, Diblet, Dibling, Lil' Dib…"
"Or Past Dib," Dib chimed in without really thinking.
Past Dib gave him a reproachful look. "Is this seriously what you're focusing on right now!?"
"Uh, right," Dib said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That is…definitely, probably not the topic to focus on right now."
"True, though I do like the ring of 'Past Dib'," Zim said. "But it is getting close to your foodening hour…any preferences for supper?"
"Not really," Dib said, shrugging and looking to his other self.
"A cyanide pill?" Past Dib said dryly.
Zim scowled at him, walking close and flicking his nose. "Ow!" Past Dib said, flinching back.
"Not funny," Zim said. "I don't want you to make light of harming yourself!"
"Geez, it was a joke, you jerk," Past Dib huffed, rubbing his nose. "Whatever. I don't want to eat your food anyway."
"I'll even let you pick what dinner is if it'll make you eat," Zim said in more of a sing-song tone.
Past Dib narrowed his eyes, as though trying to pick out any tricks. Zim just smiled, waiting for his answer.
"Master, can we have burritos?" GIR said, waving at Zim. "A million burritos!"
"No, GIR," Zim said sternly. "The Dib gets to choose what we'll have for dinner tonight."
"Aww." GIR pouted...and then turned and gave the older Dib puppy-dog eyes. Dib huffed a little with laughter, doing his best to hide his smile behind his hand.
"...you know what?" Past Dib said, smirking a little. "A burrito does sound good."
"Very well," Zim said. "GIR! Come help me with the ingredients, if you want a burrito of your own."
"YAAAY!" GIR said, jumping to his feet and running into the kitchen, quickly followed by Zim...leaving the two Dibs alone in the living room.
Dib turned to his past self…who was still wearing a smirk. "You're plotting something, aren't you?" he guessed.
"What? No, no way! How would you know?" Past Dib said. Dib just rose an eyebrow, and his younger self looked away, a bit abashed. "Yeah, yeah, same face, same expressions. But even if I was 'plotting' something, I wouldn't tell you. You'd just confess it all to the enemy."
Dib frowned. But he couldn't deny that he would warn Zim if his alternate self was planning something against him. And he knew that if he tried convincing his past self that he didn't need to see Zim as the enemy, it'd probably just lead to an argument.
So, the two of them sat in awkward silence, Past Dib not-so-sneakily glancing at the door…at least until Dib had an idea. He rose a hand, waving at the screen to turn it back on, and noting that his past self's interest was piqued when he recognized the image on screen, a character about to press a hot wire into vials of blood.
"I was in the middle of a movie, but I can start it again…or restart it," Dib offered. "We also have a few ghost-hunting shows recorded."
"I want to watch this," Past Dib said, nodding at the screen. "…but only because I haven't seen it in a while!"
"Whatever you say," Dib said, gesturing at the screen to resume the movie. His past self stood and watched…and when one vial of blood started screaming, he begrudgingly sat next to Dib on the couch.
Dib still kept an eye on him, though, to ensure he wouldn't suddenly do something drastic.
They hadn't gotten much further into the movie by the time Zim came out, carrying a large tray with a pile of burritos on it, which he set on the coffee table. GIR followed him out of the kitchen, hugging a huge burrito of his own and hopping up on the couch to sit next to Dib.
"That should be enough to satisfy both your appetites," Zim said, looking pleased with himself.
Past Dib snatched up a burrito, scrutinizing the golden-brown tortilla for a few moments. He then tore into it with his teeth, ripping out a large bite...and frowned as he chewed, narrowing his eyes at the inside. "What...kind of burrito is this supposed to be?"
"Cheesy rice!" Zim said. "With some peppers and a little bit of sour cream."
"Ooh," Dib said, grabbing a burrito of his own and biting into it. It tasted pretty good...though he noticed his younger self was still pouting a little.
"It's just rice?" Past Dib said, taking a smaller bite.
"With cheese, peppers, and sour cream," Zim pointed out again.
"I was hoping for…" Past Dib's voice trailed off with a sigh. He flopped back onto the couch. "Never mind."
Dib watched him for a moment, but his attention seemed to have all gone back to the movie. He shrugged, turning his own attention to the movie and eating his dinner. Zim came up behind him, resting his arms on the back of the couch and his chin on top of Dib's head.
Because he was so close, Dib could hear Zim's communicator beeping with an alert. Zim sighed, looked at it, and swiped it away. But just as he did so, it buzzed again…and again.
"Sounds like something important," Dib commented, tilting his head back.
"Ugh, kind of." Zim sighed, kissing Dib's forehead. "I should address it, though. Don't cause any trouble." He turned to look at Past Dib. "That goes for you, too."
Past Dib sneered at him, backing away. "You can't tell me what to do!"
Zim huffed in amusement, then headed for the door. Past Dib tensed up, looking ready to run for it, so Dib quickly flicked the volume of the TV up a notch. Conveniently, it was right when one of the characters began screaming.
That caught his younger self's attention, and by the time he looked away from the movie, Zim had left and the door was closed. He still eyed the exit, but after glancing at Dib and GIR, hunched down and kept watching the movie.
They polished off the rest of the burritos, Dib even handing GIR another one when he gave him some puppy eyes. The little robot had quickly mowed through his own, which seemed to have contained peanut butter, based on the smears around his lips.
Dib took a second to grab some chocolate from the kitchen, tossing one to his younger self and eating one himself. They continued watching the movie, even GIR sitting and quietly observing…
…the credits started to roll, and Zim still wasn't back yet.
"Hmm," Dib said, glancing at the door with a frown. For being something only 'kind of' important, it was taking Zim a while. He was tempted to leave, even just to see for himself what he was up to, but…
He glanced back over at his younger self. Without the movie to distract him, his gaze was now flicking all over the room, looking for potential routes of escape.
Dib bit his lip—but fortunately, just then, the door opened. All of their attention snapped to Zim.
"Ugh," Zim said, his eyes pinched closed as he rubbed the side of his head. He stumbled over to the couch, plopping beside Dib. Dib turned to face him, and Zim gripped his shoulders, shoved his face against Dib's chest, and started to scream into it in frustration.
Past Dib flinched back, but Dib just wrapped one arm around Zim's lower back, using his free hand to pat Zim's shoulder. He wasn't often this stressed, but this seemed to help when he was.
After a minute of uninterrupted screaming, Zim's voice quieted down, and he stopped with a sigh. "Better now?" Dib asked.
"Much," Zim mumbled, nuzzling into his chest.
"What…was that supposed to be?" Past Dib said, looking confused and a bit annoyed.
Zim lifted his head, giving Past Dib a reproachful look, one that made the younger human tense up. "It would have been nice to know," he groaned, "that a past version of me landed here alongside you."
"Yeah, well, I'm not really interested in helping you out, ever!" Past Dib snapped at him. "…which includes letting you know there was another Zim running around who you could work with."
"Hmm. Fair enough, I suppose," Zim muttered, seeming to surprise the younger human.
Dib glanced at the doorway, half-expecting another Zim to come barging in. "So…assuming you were just talking to him…is he still hanging somewhere around the palace?" That didn't quite explain Zim's frustration, though…
Past Dib groaned, throwing his head back. "Ugh, of course they teamed up! And now we have to deal with two of him!"
"Mm, no, he already left, actually," Zim said, waving them both off. "We might have worked together, but we ended up getting into an argument about…" He paused, gaze shifting to Dib for a moment before he continued. "Things. I decided we wouldn't work well together, and he stormed out."
"…you really expect us to believe you wouldn't get along with another version of yourself?" Past Dib said suspiciously.
"It was quite a big argument," Zim said, flopping against Dib's torso.
"And there's no guarantee that two versions of someone will get along," Dib pointed out, gesturing between himself and his alternate.
Past Dib sputtered. "That's…that's different! You're fine when you aren't acting like an evil alien is the best thing in your life! That's just…I can't accept that!"
"Well, I ran into a similar deal breaker with my 'other'," Zim said. Before either Dib could ask what that was about, he looked at his wrist. "Oh, my, it's late! Aren't you both tired?"
Past Dib looked around for a clock, then narrowed his eyes at it. "…it's not late," he said. "Has the sun even set yet?"
"Yeah, it's really not that late," Dib said. Definitely still evening, even if it was late evening.
"Yes, well, sleeping is important for your feeble human health!" Zim said. He stood up and started shooting them into the bedroom. "And Dib, I'm sure you'd like to show your living arrangements off to your younger self!"
Dib looked him in the eyes, and Zim shot him a shaky grin. He didn't want to talk about whatever the argument was, at least not at this moment. And he was trying to divert both Dibs' attention to something else.
"…alright," Dib said with a sigh, letting himself be all but pushed into his bedroom. Past Dib snapped his head up to look at him, and Zim took the opportunity to push him into the room, too.
"Good night!" Zim called just as the bedroom door closed.
It wasn't locked, but Past Dib didn't know that. He screeched and looked panicked, and Dib quickly pulled him into another hug to try and calm him down. It didn't work as well this time, his past self clawing at his back and kicking at him, trying to pull away.
"Hey. Hey. We're not trapped," Dib tried to assure him. "We're not trapped. Just relax, and I'll show you."
"How can I relax until you show me!?" Past Dib snapped.
"I just need to know you're not going to go running off when I open the door, okay?" Dib said. Past Dib glared at him, muttering something under his breath, but he wasn't panicking. Good enough.
Dib let go and walked to the door, pressing his hand against the panel to open it up. Zim was moving around the living room, cleaning up, and stopped to wave at Dib. Dib waved back, then closed the door and turned back to face his younger self. "See?"
"Hmph." Past Dib turned away, crossing his arms…and then began to look around the room. "…you just…got all this from Zim?"
"Pretty nice, right?" Dib said with a grin.
His past self scoffed. "Yeah, if you like being a pet in a gilded cage."
Dib grit his teeth, fighting the urge to wince. That cut deep, but he couldn't let Past Dib know that. Still, his alternate was giving him a knowing look. He had always been a perceptive one.
Dib stood up and started to head for the bathroom. "Well, I'm going to get comfortable and relax," he declared. "…aren't you curious about what's in here?"
"Not particularly," Past Dib grumbled…but he still walked in to peek inside. He seemed a bit surprised at the size of the bathroom. He started to wander through it, pacing the walls and looking for some escape opportunity.
Dib brushed his teeth, then started to wash his face, keeping an eye on his past self, who was now investigating the toilet. "The sewer is guarded," he said offhandedly. "Too easy of a way for someone to sneak in, otherwise."
Past Dib sighed, walking over to him. "Computer," Dib said. "Can I get another toothbrush?"
A tiny robotic claw dropped a second toothbrush next to Dib's own. Dib picked it up and held it over to his past self, who reluctantly took it and started to brush his teeth while Dib combed out his hair. They finished at about the same time, and Dib passed the comb to his younger self.
He tried to wave it away. "C'mon, I can see the knots in your hair," Dib said.
"You can?" his past self said, patting at his scalp.
"Not really, but I'd say you just admitted to having them," Dib said, twirling the comb.
"…shoot," his past self muttered, crossing his arms.
Dib placed a hand on his shoulder, nudging him over towards the tub. He sat on its side and started to comb through the younger Dib's hair, trying to be as careful as possible as he searched for knots.
"Ow!" past Dib said, flinching as Dib pulled the comb through a knot.
"Sorry, sorry!" He tried to carefully work the knot out with his fingers before brushing the comb through it again, a little more easily this time. "I'm not really the best at handling knots…"
"So how does your hair look better?" past Dib said, pouting a little.
"Brushing it on the regular helps a lot," Dib said, carefully teasing out another knot before brushing through it. "And if I have trouble, I can always ask…"
His voice trailed off as he thought about how describing Zim brushing his hair…probably wouldn't be a reassuring image to his other.
Past Dib turned around, giving him a disgusted look. "If you say you have Zim help you, I'm going to hurl."
Dib quickly snapped his mouth shut. "…well, using more shampoo more frequently also turned out to help," he said to change the topic. Past Dib huffed and gave him a look, seeing right through the deflection…but he turned back around, crossing his arms and letting Dib continue to comb his hair.
It took a few minutes, but soon, Dib was confident that his younger self's hair was knot-free. He headed back to his bedroom, over to his closet. "Let's see…you'll need something to wear for pajamas," he mused aloud. "Mine won't fit you."
"I can just wear what I have on," Past Dib said, gesturing to himself.
"That doesn't sound very comfortable." After a little digging, Dib pulled out a blue t-shirt with Mothman printed on the front, tossing it to his past self. "Here," he said. "It'll be big on you, but I think that'll work as nightwear for now."
His past self gave him a bit of a look…but then he saw what was printed on the shirt, and his expression lightened. He glanced up at Dib, then stepped back into the bathroom, presumably to change.
In the meantime, Dib got changed into his favorite pair of pajamas, then laid in bed and pulled a book out of his nightstand. He grabbed a second one, then fiddled with the disk on the wall until the light was nice and dim, perfect for relaxing and reading.
His past self came in not long after. The shirt was large enough that he was able to wear it as a short nightgown. He dumped his clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed, and started to move towards the door.
"Nope," Dib said, reaching out and scruffing him by the back of his shirt before he could get very far.
Past Dib sighed, turning back and climbing onto the bed. Dib handed him the second book he had grabbed—one full of ghost stories, some of which he was positive would be new to his younger self. Past Dib grumbled, but took the book and started to read.
Time passed, but eventually, the book slid out of his younger self's hands. He was yawning, barely able to keep his eyes open.
Dib reached over, taking off his glasses and setting them (and his book) on the nightstand. "The bed's big enough for both of us to share," he said. He set his own glasses and book aside, then twisted the dial again until the lights were off.
"No," Past Dib mumbled, shaking his head. "Can't sleep. Not now."
"You're exhausted. Time travel must be tiring." Dib laid down and pulled his younger self with him, wrapping an arm around him in what he hoped was a comforting gestured.
"I can't…can't let my guard down," Past Dib said, shifting closer and clinging to Dib's shirt. He was shaking.
"Hey, it's alright," Dib said, running his fingers through his younger self's hair. He was slowly beginning to relax. "It's alright, you're going to be okay."
"Not with that monster around," Past Dib muttered into Dib's chest, clinging even more tightly. "Can't trust him."
"Shh. He hasn't hurt me…" For a few years, at least. "…and he's not going to hurt you. Even if he did, I wouldn't let him, promise."
His younger self grunted, still keeping his face buried. But Dib continued to rub gentle circles on his back and rub his scalp, humming a quiet tune he liked. His past self's grip loosened as he drifted into sleep, though his arms were still tightly wrapped around Dib's torso.
Dib let out a sigh of relief. The younger him seemed to be sleeping fine…maybe it would be the right thing, to keep him here…
Zim silently stalked in a few minutes later, crawling onto the bed and peering over Dib's shoulder. "Asleep?" he whispered, to which Dib nodded. "Good…good job."
He kissed Dib's cheek and laid behind him, shuffling forward until his front was pressed against Dib's back. He wrapped his arms around both Dibs…though they weren't long enough to fully enclose the two of them. Still, he sighed and let his hand rest on the younger Dib's back, with his Dib's shoulder acting as a pillow.
Dib already felt himself relaxing…and he only continued to loosen up as Zim began to knead on his upper back. With a yawn, he closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep, his arms still wrapped around his younger self.
To be clear! Zim does NOT feel the same towards both Dibs. He feels more...protective and parental towards the younger Dib, if anything. Not that Past Dib would feel any better about that.
