Zim scanned the room as his blurry vision slowly returned to normal. Dib was gone.
Zim was used to Dib acting weird but this seemed unordinary, even for him. He decided he needed answers. He wasn't going to let Dib get away with whatever this was. Zim slowly stood up and headed outside into the woods to look for Dib.
Zim walked for a while until he finally found Dib, sitting alone under a tree by a lake.
Zim hesitated, thinking Dib might have gone somewhere with water for this very reason. He was just waiting for Zim to follow him so he could use his weakness against him.
Zim stood a good few feet away from Dib before saying anything.
"Dib!"
Dib snapped to look behind him. "Zim!? What are you doing here!? Are you following me?!"
"You're acting weirder than usual and I demand to know why! What are you planning, human?!"
Dib groaned, putting his face in his hands. He was really hoping Zim was too stupid to notice. "It's that obvious huh?"
Zim's expression turned curious, usually, he'd like seeing Dib sad but this felt…different.
"You wouldn't get it anyway," Dub started. "You're a respected alien soldier. You wouldn't understand what it's like to feel like an outcast by your whole species."
Zim's eyes went wide. Dib…respected him? No, that can't be right. But Zim decided to play along.
"Um, yeah that's right! I am the best invader there ever was!" Dib ignored him, his face buried in his arms.
With some hesitation, Zim decided to sit next to him. The truth was he knew exactly how that felt. He slowly reached out to gently lay a gloved claw on Dib's shoulder. He wasn't sure why but, it felt right.
Dib lifted his head slightly to look at Zim, in a mix of fear, confusion, and something else he couldn't quite identify.
"Do you humans usually change color when you're sad?" Zim questioned. Dib realized he was blushing, only making him more embarrassed. He quickly sat up and Zim pulled his hand away in surprise.
"You know…" Dib started nervously. "Nobody's here, you don't have to wear that ridiculous disguise anymore."
"Nice try human," Zim sneered. "I'm not letting you try and sneak any pictures of me."
"I promise I don't have any cameras on me," Dib said. He took off his jacket and emptied all his pockets. "See?"
Zim was skeptical. He rummaged through what little of Dib's stuff had fallen out to make sure. When he couldn't find anything, he agreed. "Fine. It's getting uncomfortable anyway."
Dib watched in awe as Zim removed his wig and contacts. His antennae popping up and his eyes blinking open to reveal those beautiful bright pink orbs.
'Wow…he really is so much better looking like this' Dib thought to himself.
Zim stared back in confusion when suddenly, he felt Dib's lips collide with his own.
He couldn't move. What could he do? This was the last thing he expected.
Dib was lost in how smooth Zim's lips were, as well as the slight tingling sensation due to coming in contact with the moisture from Dib's lips.
When Dib finally pulled away, he was met with large fluorescent pink eyes staring back at him in a mix of confusion, surprise, and horror.
"Oh god…" Dib muttered when he realized what he had done.
"W- WHAT WAS THAT?" Zim shrieked.
"I DON'T KNOW I just-" Dib put his head in his hands again. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you," he finally admitted. "I think I….I think I like you?" He retched when he felt the words slip out, even though he knew deep down it was true. It felt almost good to get it out.
Zim continued to stare at Dib, that same expression on his face. "Like me? We're enemies! You're supposed to hate me!"
"I know!" Dib cried out. "I'm so confused but I think somehow my obsession with you turned into… infatuation…" he felt dirty just saying the words.
Zim blinked in surprise. Then his expression turned into a sly grin. "So..what exactly do you like about Zim?" he asked tauntingly, as he slowly began to crawl towards Dib.
Dib's face became even more red, and his eyes went wide. "I- um-" he struggled to get any words out.
"I…think your eyes are really…pretty?" he said finally.
"What else?" Zim persisted.
"Um..your…skin is really smooth…and your hands are interesting."
Zim turned to look at his gloved claw. "My hands?"
Dib nodded. "I think it's fascinating how different they are from mine."
Zim never gave this much thought. To Dib's surprise, he went to hold one of Dib's hands to compare how different they were. Zim's 3 claws had a hard time working between Dib's 5 fingers, but he found a way.
Dib stared in awe.
"Hm, they are pretty different," Zim said. "What else?"
Dib gulped. "Your antennae are interesting," he said. "I've always wondered what they're for."
Zim looked up at his antennae. "We use them for hearing, smelling, and scenting," he explained
"Scenting?"
"Claiming something as ours."
Dib didn't know why but that made his heart flip. If they were dating would Zim scent him? He had to find out.
Zim interrupted his thoughts. "Anything else?"
"I mean, honestly it's pretty much everything," Dib explained. "I just find you fascinating."
"Zim…finds you fascinating too.." Zim admitted, his face turned a slight purple. Dib made a mental note to document that later.
They sat awkwardly for a while. Not knowing where to go from here.
"I would like to..try the mouth-touching thing again," Zim finally said.
Dib's face went red again. "You…really?"
Zim nodded.
Slowly, they began to move towards each other. Dib placed a hand on Zim's cheek, and they kissed again. It was softer this time, both of them really having a chance to take in the moment. Zim's skin started to sizzle slightly, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Does this hurt?" asked Dib, pulling away for a second.
"It feels…tingly," Zim responded. "But not entirely unpleasant."
Dib smiled at Zim.
"You know…" Zim started to say. "What you said earlier…about me being a respected invader?"
Dib's face turned confused.
"My Tallests…they lied to me," Zim explained. He wasn't sure why he was telling Dib this, it just felt right. Something about their relationship shifted.
"What?" Dib asked, with a touch of surprise.
Zim looked away. "They wanted to get rid of me…because I'm…I'm considered defective," there it was. He had struggled to admit it for the longest time but deep down Zim couldn't deny he was considered a defect.
"Defective?" Dib questioned.
Zim nodded. "Irkens are supposed to be perfect soldiers who are only loyal to our Tallests," he explained. "We aren't supposed to have these…feelings."
Dib's expression turned from confusion to surprise and intrigue as Zim continued.
"I deliberately went against my programming," Zim continued to explain. "I was programmed to be a food service drone, but I went against it to pursue becoming an invader anyway."
Dib was struggling to wrap his head around all of this. "So you can't even decide what you want to do with your life?" he asked. "You're basically just…mindless robots?" He thought back to the time he stole Zim's pak. He remembered Zim saying something about how his entire being was programmed into it. Everything started to make sense now.
"So being defective means…your pak doesn't work like it should, and as a result you're more independent?" Dib asked.
"Heh, you catch on faster than I thought," Zim said with a slight smile.
Dib stood up. "That's ridiculous, Zim," he stated firmly. "You should be able to do what you want with your life! And having feelings isn't a bad thing! It makes you unique."
Zim stared up at Dib in awe. "You know…I don't think I want to destroy you anymore."
Dib was shocked. "R- really?"
"You get me," Zim continued. "Also I enjoy the mouth-touching thing."
Dib blushed. "It's called kissing, Zim."
Zim laughed. "I hope to do the kissing more in the future," he stood up to meet Dib's eye level.
"I think I'd like that," Dib replied, taking Zim's hands.
They moved in to kiss again, this time with more passion and urgency. Dib tried pushing back to get a feel for Zim's tongue, causing them to fall back onto the grass.
Dib stared down at Zim with hazy eyes. "I need you," he said in between breaths.
Zim blushed, then looked up at Dib with a smirk. "Would you still be interested in exploring Zim's anatomy?"
