Who Knows What the Future Holds?

by Rielle001

Summary:

Dib and Zim have been friends for a couple years. Both of them have graduated from high skool and are figuring out what to do now that they are both adults. (Well, Dib is legally an adult and of course Zim is way older in human years but probably around the same maturity? I don't know)

I also don't know how long this will be and it definitely isn't finished.

I will be constantly adding tags to this bugger

Notes:

I had an idea while reading a bunch of other fics and decided to start writing my own. I haven't written a fic for about... 6-ish years? so yeah, I'm out of practice. If y'all have any notes for me, that'd be great. I hope that you guys enjoy and my motivation for this continues.

Chapter 1

Right when he had thought that his headache couldn’t possibly get worse, Dib’s vision fuzzed to the point where he genuinely couldn’t see anymore. He groaned softly under his breath as he took his glasses off and set them down on his desk before rubbing his forehead, pushing against his skull in an attempt to remedy the pain. Today was NOT going well. It had been over one hundred degrees for the past four days, and his summer allergies had decided to shimmy their way back into his life. 

Dib grumbled angrily as he forced himself up from his desk, wobbling slightly as his vision went sideways.  He slowly dragged himself over to his bed before flopping down onto it. There was no way he could do anything productive with this horrendous migraine of his. 

It seemed like the universe was laughing at him. He was THIS close to finally finishing the project he needed to finish for college admissions when his headache evolved into the pain that it was. With an aggravated sigh, Dib screwed his eyes shut as tightly as physically possible and curled up on himself. It hurt to think. 

After what felt like hours, the pain subsided. Dib rubbed his forehead again as he let himself relax. He wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of his afternoon since he obviously couldn’t resume work on his project. With a soft sigh, he sat up and glanced at his clock.

“Really? It’s only six? I could swear it was later…” Dib let his eyes slip shut for a second as he relished being free from his migraine. As if on cue, there were a couple methodical taps on his window. Before he could even think about standing up, he watched the window slide open and his ex-nemesis slip into his room. 

As soon as Zim’s feet hit the ground, his PAK legs retreated, allowing him to meander over to Dib’s desk without issue. 

“Still haven’t finished that stupid project I see.”

Dib rolled his eyes.

“It’s almost done, and it’s not stupid.”

Zim shot him a look, his magenta eyes glinting in the sunlight still coming through the window. 

“Of COURSE it’s stupid. It’s for… what do you humans call it… col-egg? Whatever. You’ll be leaving.” 

Dib couldn’t help the amused smile that spread on his face at Zim’s poor pronunciation, but as he watched Zim speak, he noticed how his antennae were pinned back and how Zim was glaring angrily into his soul. With a sigh, he stood up from his bed and walked over to his desk to look down at his near-perfect project. He couldn’t help but notice how Zim stood immensely stiff next to him. 

“Yeah… I’ll be leaving…” Even as Dib said it he could feel Zim look off to the side. There was a tense silence that left Dib fidgety. 

“It’s not like I’ll completely disappear. You know that you can contact me whenever you want.” He glanced over to see Zim standing with his arms crossed and his head turned away. His antennae were still pinned against his head. Dib sighed and leaned into Zim’s line of sight, attempting to read his expression. It was rare that Zim avoided eye contact like this. Dib sighed and straightened, crossing his own arms as he watched Zim stand in silence. 

“What’s on your mind, Spaceboy?” Zim’s antennae twitched slightly at the question and nickname. He sighed angrily as he finally turned to look at Dib again, forcing himself to look into the dumb human’s eyes. Dib watched his expression thoughtfully, hoping that he would get a response. Zim continued to stand in silence, unable to keep eye contact for that long. As soon as he looked away a second time he allowed his stiff stance to subside, leaving him a little droopy. Dib watched with quiet interest as he tried to read the situation. 

“It’s just– do you really have to go? I–” There was a long pause as Zim allowed his claw to tap against his arm. Dib was surprised at this reaction. He wasn’t used to seeing Zim this dejected and fidgety, it was against his nature. Or at least, his Invader nature. Zim had been drifting away from who he used to be, even if he hadn’t realized it. Dib sighed as he hesitantly reached out to put a hand on Zim’s shoulder. Zim tensed at the contact but didn’t pull away.

“Well, if I want to be able to contribute to society and actually get a good job, then I should get a degree. And I can’t really do that without going to college. Yeah, there’s online classes, but none of them have the field I want to go into.” Dib let his hand fall back down to his side as he looked away. “This is the next step I need to take.” He glanced back over at Zim to see him avoiding eye contact again, his arms wrapped around his abdomen like he was feeling sick. Dib sighed for the hundredth time that day as he watched Zim stand there next to him.

He really didn’t know what to do when Zim wasn’t yelling at or making fun of him. Of course, they haven’t been enemies for a couple years at this point, but this was still new to him. It didn’t help that he hardly knew how to comfort another human, so really, how would he comfort an Irken? Dib flinched when he heard Zim sniffle. Did he really hear that right? He leaned into Zim’s line of sight again only for his eyes to widen in surprise at Zim’s expression.

“Woah, hey, what’s wrong?” Dib put his hands on Zim’s shoulders and turned Zim towards himself so that he could look directly at him. Zim was… holding back tears? That couldn’t be right. Zim grumbled angrily as he shoved the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to hold the emotions back. Dib felt so lost and confused as he watched all this happen in front of him. Zim took a couple long minutes to calm himself down before letting his hands fall down to his sides. Dib searched his magenta eyes for anything that could tell him what was happening. 

“I don’t…” Zim swallowed around the lump in his throat, avoiding eye contact again. His voice was so soft and weak, and so… unlike him. Dib frowned as he tilted his head, still watching Zim’s expression. He didn’t even realize that he still had his hands on Zim’s shoulders, or the fact that his thumbs were rubbing gentle circles into his skin. Zim made direct eye contact again, his voice so soft Dib could barely hear it.

“I don’t want you to go…” 

Dib wilted after hearing those words, feeling lost. He saw the sincerity in Zim’s eyes and glanced away. How was he supposed to respond to that? It wasn’t like he could just drop his college plans and just… stay. What would he even do with himself? His future mounted on him getting a degree and a decent job that he actually enjoyed so he could leave his childhood home and live on his own. That’s what he had been planning since middle skool. That’s what he had been planning since… forever. But– Looking at how distraught Zim was… how distraught his friend and ex-nemesis was… is that what he still wanted? Did he still want to go all the way across the country to study what had been his passion for as long as he could remember? The thought of dropping his dream scared him. But then again, he thought about what would happen if he did go. If he did get his degree and find a job and move out. Where would he move to? Where would he spend what he thought could potentially be the rest of his life? What if that place wasn’t here in his hometown? Where Zim was? He hadn’t noticed that his hands had fallen to hang at his sides, or how Zim stood just a little too close as he watched the gears in Dib’s head turn. Dib slowly looked back over at his nearly complete project that he needed to finish and turn in to his dream college. He continued to think over what-if’s and the pros and cons of everything. It took a long time before Dib made eye contact with Zim again.

“What would you do if I left?” He didn’t realize he had asked until he heard it come out of his mouth. Zim paused at the question, his antennae flat against his head as he averted his gaze for the hundredth time. The silence was loud.

“I don’t know.” They both looked at the ground as they thought about the situation. Zim hardly noticed his claws dig into his palm as he stared at the ground, fighting with his emotions. He was surprised at himself for the way he was acting. Is it really this big of a deal that the human was leaving? Yeah, they were friends now, but… should he really care this much? He wasn’t sure. There was a long moment of silence between them before Dib sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was then that he realized he hadn’t put his glasses back on yet. He reached over and grabbed them off of his desk, absentmindedly rubbing the lenses with his shirt before putting them back on his face. Dib glanced over at Zim again, taking in his expression and stance and trying to decipher it. 

“This is really affecting you, isn’t it?” Zim glanced over at Dib before nodding ever so slightly.

“I don’t know why. It’s just…” Zim sighed and shook his head as he crossed his arms again. “I don’t want to be left with only GIR for that long.” Dib snickered softly as he tilted his head, watching the alien he had become friends with. 

“Of course, no other reason.” Zim shot him another look and grumbled angrily under his breath before putting his hands on his hips.

“You should be glad I even care at all, Dib-Stink.” Dib rolled his eyes and smiled softly as he watched the Irken. He looked into his dark, magenta eyes and couldn’t help but be infatuated with them. He didn’t know what it was about them that intrigued him as much as they did, but he so often found himself lost in them. He let out a deep breath before glancing away.

“I guess I should… It’s odd coming from you though.” Zim narrowed his eyes and snarled at him.

“Nothing about Zim is odd.” Dib couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head as Zim crossed his arms and turned his head away with a huff. 

“Everything about you is odd. But I guess that just makes you more fun to be around.” Zim glanced at him again, searching his expression for a moment before relaxing slightly. 

“If I’m so ‘fun to be around’ then why do you insist on leaving?” Zim’s voice had a sheen of anger. Dib sighed as he glanced away.

“I already told you why… It’s what I need to do…” Zim watched him for a couple more seconds before speaking again, this time softer.

“You don’t sound as convinced as earlier.”

Dib continued to avoid eye contact as he thought about that. It’s true. He wasn’t as convinced. He knew plenty of people that found the life they hoped for without going to college, but– it felt so necessary. At least… until Zim appeared in his room and made him doubt. Dib glanced back over at his project again. All of the work he had poured into it to make it perfect… was that all for nothing? He reached over and picked it up, skimming through it silently. The longer he looked at it, the more dread he felt. Was this really what he wanted? Dib took a deep breath before setting his project back down on his desk, his fingers lingering over the paper.

“I don’t know. I- I can’t make a decision this big right now.” Zim hummed softly in response with a slight nod, his antennae raising ever so slightly. 

“Well… standing here is no fun.” Dib smiled softly as he looked into Zim’s eyes, glad to be thinking about something else.

“Okay. You have any ideas for what IS fun, Spaceboy?” Zim scoffed and rolled his eyes before smirking. 

“Obviously. The great Zim ALWAYS has ideas.” Before Dib could respond, Zim grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him over to the open window. Dib quickly wrapped an arm around Zim’s shoulders as Zim’s PAK legs emerged once more, allowing them to skitter out of the window and up the side of the house like a spider. When they got to the roof, Dib let go of Zim and smiled up at the sky. Of course, there was too much light pollution to see anything actually interesting, but the evening air was starting to set in, and the sun was starting to set. Dib sighed happily as he laid down against the shingles, watching the clouds drift through the air. Soon, Zim was at his side, watching the clouds with him. Dib allowed his eyes to drift over to Zim, watching him instead of the clouds. He marveled at how Zim’s antennae stood up to smell the wind, and how his magenta eyes glinted in the receding sunset. Dib smiled softly to himself as he relaxed and looked back up at the clouds, watching it get darker as the sun left the sky. 

Chapter 2: Gamer Girl

Summary:

Hey look, Gaz is here too!

“AAAHAHAHAHA!!! ZIM HAS WON YOUR PATHETIC EARTH GAME! BOW! BOW DOWN TO THE ALMIGHTY ZIIIMMM!”

“You only won because I ran out of ammo-”

“SiiLEEENNNCEE! IT WAS ONLY PURE LUCK THAT HAS ALLOWED YOU TO WIN BEFORE ME! MY SUPERIOR IRKEN MIGHT IS THE REASON WHY I HAVE ACHIEVED THIS VICTORY! AAAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!”

Gaz rolled her eyes and shook her head, she knew that arguing with Zim was pointless and a waste of time. 

“Whatever. It was a dumb game anyways.”

Zim continued to snicker to himself, pulling his legs up onto the couch where he was sitting. Dib had been busy when Zim had showed up at the Membrane’s house, but Zim didn’t mind waiting; Gaz was interesting enough to hang out with in Dib’s absence. 

Once Zim had finally calmed down, he turned to look at Gaz, watching as she stared boredly at the tv. He tilted his head and glanced at the screen himself, finally noticing that she had been methodically scrolling through all the games she had. He was silent for a minute or so before he finally spoke up.

“I don’t think I actually know what your favorite game is.”

Gaz glanced over at him, one of her eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t think you cared.”

Zim shrugged as he set his controller down.

“Meh. These human games are all the same to me.”

Gaz’s eyes narrowed, but she quickly scrolled over to her favorite game and started it.

“This one is single player, so…”

Zim shrugged again.

“I don’t mind. One victory is enough for now.”

Gaz scoffed and rolled her eyes at that. It wasn’t long before the game opened up, and she began playing, completely immersing herself into it. Zim watched with slight intrigue as Gaz played, not understanding exactly what was going on, but allowing himself to enjoy it nonetheless. He sat in silence, simply observing how Gaz put her full effort into this game, and how she reacted to events within it. He liked to watch how the humans did things. He, of course, would never admit to it, but he had been increasingly interested in how the human brain worked. He had even started taking GIR out on walks, (in his dog costume, because normal, stinky humans walked their dogs) and allowed himself to closely observe what the humans around him did and what they talked about. He was learning a lot about these pathetic Earth beings. They were extraordinarily stupid and behind on technology and many other things, but the one thing he had found fascinating about them was their relationships with their smelly peers. They had many different kinds of “friends”, normal friends, best friends, boy friends, girl friends (he wasn’t sure why they felt the need to tell everyone that their friend was a boy or girl, he assumed there was something he was missing, but he didn’t really care to find out at this point). Zim found relationships between sib-lings (such a weird word) to be especially interesting. Irkens did not have so-called sib-lings. He did know that Dib and Gaz were sib-lings, so he used them to try to understand this dynamic better. Or, at least, to TRY to understand. He was starting to realize that the Membrane sib-lings were fairly… odd compared to other sib-lings he had found. They seemed to despise each other completely, and yet, they did not leave. Zim couldn’t quite make sense of it.

Zim was startled out of his thinking process when he heard a door close upstairs. He quickly glanced over to the stairs, seeing Dib walking down them.

“I’m assuming you are finally done with whatever dumb thing you were doing, Dib-Stink?”

Dib rolled his eyes as he walked over to the couch, standing behind the empty space between Zim and Gaz.

“Yeah, my project is done.”

Zim straightened at that, turning his whole body to allow him to watch Dib better.

“Oh?”

Dib sighed as he watched Gaz play her game, she didn’t really care much that Dib was there.

“Yeah. I decided to go ahead and turn it in then see what happens.”

Zim stared at Dib as the silence stretched between the three of them. Dib tore his gaze from the TV to look at Zim, realizing suddenly that he still had his disguise on.

“Aren’t you going to take that off? You constantly talk about how uncomfortable it is.”

Zim tilted his head before humming in agreement.

“I was not sure if someone else would be here or not. But, if you are sure that no one will see me without my ingenious disguise, then yes, I will take it off.”

Dib shook his head and allowed a smile to creep onto his face. He watched Zim pull off his wig and pull out his contacts, finally able to see those bright magenta eyes. He knew that Zim hated those contacts more than anything, so he was surprised that Zim had been in his living room for that long with his disguise still on. Usually, it’s off as soon as Zim walks through the door, but Dib decided to just let it go as he looked back at the TV screen, watching Gaz play her game. It really wasn’t long before Dib’s gaze shifted back to Zim without his disguise. He had found himself staring at the alien’s antennae more and more often recently, which was only slightly concerning. He liked to think that he did it simply because Zim is an alien and of course everything about him would be something to document, but a small part of him knew that there was… another reason. Dib has always fought back the urge to stare at Zim for too long, knowing that he simply could NOT be caught doing so. He didn’t want to try to explain why he was staring so intently at his ex-nemesis. Unfortunately for him, Zim was currently staring directly at Dib, a non-existent eyebrow raised as he watched Dib stare at him. Dib flinched and stood up rod-straight as he focused on staring directly forward, pretending to be watching Gaz play her game. Crap. He was caught. He stiffened on instinct once more as he heard Zim snickering, slowly dragging his gaze over to the alien and watching him snicker as his face burned red with embarrassment.

“What?” Dib’s throat was dry as he attempted to suppress his fidgeting. Zim grinned, his zipper-like teeth glinting slightly in the light from the TV. Dib fought hard not to look away, trying very hard to seem like he didn’t care about anything going on. Zim crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Dib.

“I know that I am amazing, but I did not know that you thought the same.”

Gaz paused her game immediately, turning towards the two boys to watch what was happening. She had only caught what Zim had just said, and knew that she HAD to know what was going on. 

Dib bristled at Zim’s words, noticing that he also had Gaz’s attention as well. 

“Wh- I- NO.”

Zim snickered and shook his head.

“You’re ugly when you lie Dib.”

Dib growled at that.

“Whatever. At least my skin isn’t green.”

Zim shot up to stand on the couch right in front of Dib, grabbing the collar of his jacket and snarling at him.

“My skin is PERFECT. Unlike you HUMANS and your ICKY, SWEATY SELVES!”

Gaz watched as the boys continued to bicker, finding this whole situation uncharacteristically entertaining. She watched as they subconsciously leaned closer to each other, their faces inches away. Gaz smirked and put her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her chin on her hand.

“You two are so cute together.”

Both Dib and Zim went stock-still, slowly turning their heads to stare at Gaz in shock. Gaz smirked, amused that she got the exact reaction she wanted. Dib and Zim then slowly looked back at each other, Zim quickly letting go of Dib’s collar. Dib recovered quickly, turning towards Gaz and pointing an accusing finger in her direction.

“WHY DID YOU SAY THAT?!?”

Dib’s face was bright red with embarrassment again, his whole body shaking. Gaz continued to smirk and shrugged unabashedly. 

“It’s true.”

Dib covered his face with his hands and slid against the back of the couch to sit down on the ground, muttering to himself under his breath. Gaz glanced over at Zim to see that he was still standing in his spot on the couch, simply looking at his hands as the gears in his head turned in overdrive. Gaz giggled softly to herself as she watched Zim stand in silence.

“You alright, Zim?”

Zim glanced over at Gaz and made eye contact for a couple seconds before looking back down at his hands. It took a couple more seconds before he was able to speak.

“What… exactly… did you mean?”

Gaz tilted her head, a proud smirk on her face.

“I was mostly making fun of you two, if I’m being completely honest.”

Zim looked at Gaz again and slowly sat down on the couch again, his hands resting in his lap.

“Mostly?”

Gaz hummed softly at that.

“Well, yes… Mostly. I knew your reactions would be funny, which is why I said it in the first place. But, honestly, you two are the only ones that actually get each other, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you two ever got together.”

Zim stared intently into Gaz’s eyes, still connecting the dots in his head. Gaz’ smirk shifted into a more relaxed smile as she waited for Zim to finally realize what she was saying. She knew he had figured it out when his magenta eyes widened and his antennae twitched, lowering slowly as he started to fidget. It was so weird to see Zim act this way, but Gaz enjoyed the fact that he was like this because of something she said. She was also acutely aware of the fact that Dib had been silent for a couple minutes at this point. Gaz sighed and shook her head.

“You two are so easy to embarrass.”

Before they could respond, Gaz stood up from the couch, stretching a little before turning and walking towards the stairs. 

“I’m going to bed early, don’t have too much fun while I’m gone…”

Dib shot up from his spot behind the couch and glared up at Gaz, his face still aggressively red.

“GAZ! NO!”

Dib groaned and shoved his face into his hands as Gaz cackled in response before disappearing into her room, leaving the two boys to their own devices. It took a while for Dib to calm down enough to let his hands fall to his sides, the silence in the room stretched for an uncomfortably long time. 

-

Zim and Dib were still ignoring each other, sitting on opposite sides of the couch. They stayed in silence for several minutes before Zim finally spoke up.

“So… you uh-... finished your project?”

Dib glanced over at Zim for the first time in a while and nodded slowly, finally allowing himself to relax.

“Yeah, I did.” Zim hummed softly and nodded, still curled up on himself slightly in his spot on the couch.

“So… you said you were going to see what happened after turning it in?”

Dib nodded and turned his body so he could look at Zim easier, noticing how Zim was looking into his eyes.

“Right. I think… if they like it and accept me, I will go. But… if they decide that they don’t…” He watched Zim’s magenta eyes for a couple seconds before speaking again. “Then I’ll stay here.”

Zim perked up ever so slightly at this information, slowly sitting up straighter and turning his body so he could look at Dib better. They shared eye contact for a while before Zim nodded again.

“Okay.”

Dib felt a smile creep onto his face.

“Okay.”

There was silence for a while longer as they each watched the other. Zim cleared his throat before looking off to the side and speaking once more.

“Your sister is weird.”

Dib snorted and smiled wider as his cheeks burned ever so slightly in embarrassment.

“She is. I don’t know what compelled her to say THAT, but… she probably just said it to get a reaction out of us.”

Dib avoided eye contact, but Zim watched his expression intently. He noticed the way Dib fidgeted and how his face turned slightly pink. He was starting to see Dib in this way a lot more often recently, which confused him. What had changed for Dib to be acting like this instead of how he had been acting for all of the years that they had known each other? He figured that he’d find out at some point, but he could ignore it for now.

“It’s getting late, Dib-Stink.”

Dib looked back over at Zim.

“Yeah? That hasn’t stopped you before.”

Zim shrugged.

“GIR has probably destroyed something in the base. I should go check on him.”

Dib rose an eyebrow.

“Alright then. I guess I should go to bed then.”

Zim nodded and stood from the couch, reaching for his disguise and putting it back on. Dib felt something inside him wilt when he could no longer see Zim’s magenta eyes and antennae.

“Good night, Dib.”

Dib watched as Zim walked towards the front door and opened it before stopping at the threshold. Dib tilted his head as he watched Zim stand there for a couple seconds before looking over his shoulder at Dib.

“See you tomorrow?”

Dib blinked in surprise.

“Sure. Come over whenever.”

Zim nodded, and then left, leaving Dib in the living room on his own.

Notes:

What will happen next? Will Dib get accepted by his dream college? Or will they reject him? Only time will tell

Chapter 3: Clear Skies

Summary:

Dib got his answer through an email.

Zim watched as Dib paced nervously around his room. 

 

“What’s got you so worked up THIS time, Dib-human?”

 

Dib momentarily paused his pacing as he glanced at Zim and then over at his laptop.

 

“They haven’t responded yet and it’s making me anxious .”

 

Zim hummed softly in response as Dib resumed his pacing. Well, of course they have not responded yet, Dib. You turned in that project yesterday. As much as Zim wanted to voice his thoughts, he knew that it would only heighten Dib’s anxiety (which he thought was pathetic, but Dib was human, afterall). 

 

“Do you want to do something instead of wearing tracks into your carpet?” 

 

Dib groaned and rubbed at his face before turning to face Zim.

 

“You know this is all I can think about, right? This is ex tremely important and the rest of my life hinges on this ONE decision. And I’m not the one making it! It’s out of my hands entirely!”

 

Zim watched lazily as Dib continued to ramble, watching as his body started to tremble and his breathing quickened. We really need to figure out how to handle your anxiety, Dib-monkey.  

 

Before Dib could hyperventilate any further, he heard his laptop chime, causing his entire body to freeze. Zim glanced over at Dib’s laptop, both of them slowly walking over to his desk, leaning forward to inspect the screen.

 

Dib had a new email. A new email from his dream college. 

 

Dib immediately sat down in his desk chair and opened the email, leaving Zim to rest an arm on the back of the chair as he watched the screen over his shoulder. They both read the email at the same time.

Admissions Office

[Staff member’s name]

 

Dear Dib Membrane,

 

I hope that this email finds you well. On behalf of the admissions committee at [school], I would like to thank you for your application as well as the hard work you have put into your project. We appreciate your interest in pursuing your academic goals with us.

 

I regret to inform you that, after careful and thorough consideration, we are unable to offer you admission to [school] for the upcoming academic year. The decision-making process was exceptionally challenging, as we received a large number of applications from exceptionally qualified candidates. Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate all deserving applicants, and, unfortunately, your application did not align with our highly competitive selection criteria.

 

We understand that this news may be disappointing, especially considering your strong academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, and notable accomplishments. Please remember that college admissions are a highly competitive process, and difficult decisions must be made to ensure the best fit for our institution.

 

We want to assure you that this decision is not a reflection of your worth or potential. The selection process is highly subjective and based on a variety of factors, including academic qualifications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and the overall competitiveness of the applicant pool. While you were not selected this time, we encourage you to pursue your academic goals with determination and consider alternative institutions where your unique talents and aspirations will thrive. 

 

At [school], we recognize the potential of all applicants, and we encourage you to explore other educational opportunities that align with your academic and personal aspirations. There are numerous exceptional institutions that may offer the environment and opportunities you seek for your higher education journey.

 

We appreciate your understanding and sincerely hope that you will find the right path to pursue your academic and career goals. We wish you every success as you embark on this next chapter of your educational journey. Should you require any further guidance or have any questions, please feel free to contact our admissions office for assistance. 

 

Thank you once again for considering [school]. We appreciate your interest and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

 

Sincerely, 

[staff member’s name]

The two of them stared blankly at the screen. Did that really just happen? Zim looked down at Dib to try to read his expression, only to be met with nothing. The light was glinting off of his glasses in such a way that they hid his eyes from view. Zim glanced back at Dib’s laptop for a couple seconds before leaning in so he could close the tab, and in turn, the laptop. He then carefully turned Dib’s chair away from the desk, allowing him to stand directly in front of Dib. He stood there for a moment before sighing and gently pulling Dib’s glasses off, putting them down on the desk, finally allowing him to see the human’s full expression. It seemed like he was still in denial. Zim thought for a moment as he stared into Dib’s eyes, not completely sure how to handle this situation.

 

“I do not see why they rejected you, Dib. You had the best grades in every skool you were in.”

 

The silence was deafening. Zim shifted his weight between his feet and crossed his arms as he tried to think of something comforting to say. He knew that Dib was devastated, but he had no idea how to make him feel better. 

 

“I can not understand why they would decide that you did not fit their ‘criteria’,” he pronounced it extremely poorly, “I know for a fact that you made your… not stupid admissions project as perfect as you could.” Zim glanced down at the floor, thinking hard about what to say that would be comforting . “I could send an angry email or two.” 

 

That sentence is what finally broke Dib’s silence, a soft, shaky scoff as a response.

 

“No-... I- I don’t need you to do that…” 

 

Dib’s voice was uncharacteristically weak, it made Zim uncomfortable. He watched the human for a couple more seconds before clearing his throat and speaking again.

 

“Well… what do you need me to do?”

 

There was another long bout of silence. Zim watched Dib’s eyes closely, despite how fidgety he was feeling.

 

“Could-... could you… stay here? For a bit?”

 

Zim wilted slightly as Dib made eye contact with him, still shaken by the weakness in Dib’s usually confident voice. The only thing Zim could do was nod as his antennae twitched against his head. The silence was starting to get to him, as well as the oppressive energy in the room. Dib pulled his legs up to his chest as he continued to sit in his desk chair, burying his forehead into his knees. Zim looked around the room to try to distract himself from the distressing sight in front of him, but nothing could shake the feeling that told him he had to do something. He grumbled softly to himself as he juggled a couple ideas in his head, analyzing the repercussions from each action. It wasn’t until he heard Dib’s pitiful attempts to hold in his sobs that Zim actually acted on one of his ideas. With a sigh, he stepped closer to Dib, gently prying his arms away from his legs and moving them to wrap around his torso. He honestly didn’t know what compelled him to do this, but he had watched enough of GIR’s movies to know that this did SOMETHING for humans. Dib froze as he felt Zim wrap his own arms around Dib’s shoulders, resting his chin on Dib’s head. Zim huffed softly to himself as his instincts screamed at him to push Dib away and pretend this never happened, but once he felt Dib relax in his embrace and hug back , he felt a little better about himself.

 

Dib quickly cracked under the pressure of his emotions and finally allowed himself to release the well of tears that had been fighting to be free this whole time. He was momentarily surprised to feel Zim hesitantly rub his shoulder blade with his gloved claws, but it was quickly replaced with his anger, his sadness, his confusion, his despair. He knew there was a chance that he would be rejected, but he hadn’t thought he actually would . He hadn’t prepared himself for the disappointment and anguish he felt at that moment. The shock had numbed him at first, hitting as soon as he had read the words “I regret”. But now that the shock had dissolved, he was left with a pain he hadn’t felt before. He felt weak for reacting this way to a college rejection letter, he was better than this! And yet, it really had been a big deal for him. College was a big deal. The only thing keeping him from completely falling apart at this very moment was Zim soothingly rubbing his shoulder blade. He had never experienced this side of him before. He was surprised Zim was even capable of being soothing in the first place. Dib didn’t realize his sobs had diminished until Zim gently pulled away from the hug, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

 

“Are you better now?”

 

Zim’s voice was soft, and hesitant, like he wasn’t sure his actions were working,

 

“Mhmm…” Dib glanced up into Zim’s eyes for a couple seconds before looking away, still not letting go of Zim. “I-... thank you… That did help.” Zim looked slightly relieved at his words.

 

“Of course it did. The almighty Zim knows eXACTLY how to help.”

 

Dib snickered softly at his words, still recovering from his emotional distress. He didn’t realize that he was still hugging Zim, and, honestly, he didn’t hate it.

 

“You laugh, but you know I am right.” 

 

Zim grinned, his zipper teeth glinting slightly in the dim light of Dib’s bedroom. This was the Zim that Dib was most used to, not the gentle, caring one he had seen just earlier.

 

“Fine, whatever, you’re right.”

 

There was a calmer silence that fell over the two of them as they remained in this odd embrace. It wasn’t until Dib leaned back into the hug that Zim realized he still had his arms around Dib’s shoulders, which caused him to freeze, feeling uncomfortable again. He didn’t enjoy prolonged contact, much less contact in the first place. Dib felt him freeze and sighed before pulling away from the hug, letting his hands fall into his lap. He was surprised by the momentary loss he felt but quickly pushed it down. Zim cleared his throat as he quickly retracted his arms, gripping at his wrist behind his back. 

 

“Thank you… for the hug. You really didn’t have to do that…”

 

Zim glanced over at Dib, one of his antennae rising slightly in surprise.

 

“Of course I did. You were having… emotions . And that’s how the humans in the dumb movies help their emotional peers.”

 

Dib stared at him for a couple seconds before smiling.

 

“You hugged me… because you saw it in a movie? ”

 

Zim growled, his antennae only slightly pinned back.

 

“ Yes. Would you rather I stand here and laugh while you leak your eye-juice everywhere?”

 

Dib couldn’t help but snort at Zim’s choice of words.

 

“ Eye-juice?”

 

Zim growled again and turned his head away as Dib started laughing to himself about “eye-juice”. What he didn’t notice was the slight smile on Zim’s face. Zim was glad that he had been able to help resolve the situation, despite how uncomfortable it made him in the moment. And, despite the fact that he would never admit it, the hug almost felt… nice. He quickly shook the thought out of his head before turning to look at Dib again.

 

“I’m bored. Leaving now would be unsatisfactory.”

 

Dib recovered from his laughing fit and looked into Zim’s eyes, what was he insinuating? Zim glanced at the alarm clock on Dib’s nightstand, seeing that it was getting later. He hummed softly as he thought of something to do. He then turned and glanced out of the window into the night sky, noticing how clear it was at that moment. Dib followed his gaze before looking back at him. Zim continued to look out the window for a while longer before looking back at Dib.

 

“I doubt that college you wanted to go to could take you to see the stars.”

 

Dib shot up out of his chair as soon as he registered what Zim was offering, a sparkle in his eyes.

 

“You- Really? I-”

 

Dib was at a loss for words, which gave Zim an odd sense of pride.

 

“Really. Just don’t make a mess of my ship.”

 

Dib practically exploded out of excitement, rambling to himself under his breath as he thought of all of the possibilities. Then, out of nowhere, Dib stepped closer to Zim and quickly wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him close and holding him tight as a string of appreciative words jumbled out of his mouth. Zim stiffened at the contact, his eyes wide in surprise as he watched Dib. He genuinely didn’t know how to react. Once Dib let go, Zim just stood in the middle of Dib’s room with his hands flexed slightly at his sides, his whole body stock-still. It was only then that Dib actually realized what he just did and forced himself to calm down. 

 

“Oh- I- uh-... sorry… Didn’t mean to hug you…”

 

Zim forced himself to relax and nodded. There was silence for a beat too long before Zim marched over to the window and pulled it open, quickly slipping out of it before leaning back into the frame to look at Dib.

 

“Come over to my base as soon as you’re ready to go. Bring stuff for… a couple days?”

Dib’s excitement reignited at Zim’s words, and he nodded happily before running around his room to grab things. Zim sighed and used his PAK legs to climb over the roofs of all of the houses around him so he could quickly get to his base. Why did I think this would be a good idea?

Notes:

Yes, I did stare at a college rejection letter and rewrite it in a google doc because my brain cannot handle professional writing styles and words. And yes, I was too lazy to come up with a name for 1: the admissions staff member, or 2: the actual college itself.
Anyways, they're gonna go see space! oooo

Chapter 4: How Endearing

Summary:

They're in SPACE!

Notes:

Sorry this update (as well as the last one) was a tad late. It's midnight and I need to be sleeping, especially since I've been so upsettingly dizzy all evening. (every time I ever so slightly stood straighter I lost my vision and almost fell, it was great)

Anyways, if you haven't noticed already the update goal is every two days, but it's already getting slippery.

Enjoy this chapter!

Zim had just finished making sure the Voot was up to his standards when the computer alerted him that Dib had appeared at his front door. He was mildly surprised that he didn’t just walk in, but he shrugged it off. 

 

Once he finally made it to his door, Zim opened it to find Dib standing on his front step, a backpack slung over his shoulder and his briefcase in his hand. He was practically vibrating with excitement. A small smile creeped onto Zim’s face as he stepped to the side, letting Dib in.

 

“Zim is going to have to look through everything you decided to bring, Dib-human. I need to make sure you brought everything you need.”

 

Dib was only surprised for a couple seconds before he nodded in understanding. Zim led Dib down through his base towards the hangar that held the Voot Cruiser, making sure that the human was actually behind him the whole time and not getting distracted. 

 

Once they made it to the hangar, Zim motioned towards an empty table.

 

“Go ahead and empty your bag there, I will look through it.”

 

Dib nodded in understanding and emptied his backpack onto the table, setting it down on the ground once everything had come out of it. He had brought enough clothes for three days, two cameras, a handful of protein bars, and a sketchbook. Zim glanced through the items before glancing over at Dib.

 

“Did you really bring nothing to clean yourself with? Zim does not want to be stuck with you when you are smelly.”

 

Dib smiled nervously as he double-checked his bag, finding it still completely empty.

 

“Oops?”

 

Zim sighed loudly and rolled his eyes before walking off. Dib watched him go, looking back down at his items once Zim had left the room. He mentally scolded himself for forgetting to grab anything that would help him stay even a little clean. It wasn’t long before Zim reappeared in Dib’s peripheral, holding a pile of various wipes and sprays. Dib rose an eyebrow at him as Zim dumped everything onto the table next to Dib’s stuff. He noticed Dib’s expression and rolled his eyes.

 

“Did you really expect me to have nothing? You must underestimate how disGUSTING GIR can get.”

 

Dib couldn’t argue with that. 

 

Once he had re-packed his bag, ( Zim had commanded that he put EVERY thing he brought out into his bag as well ) he slung it back over his shoulder. Dib turned to face Zim fully, glancing behind him to look at the Voot.

 

“I know you are excited, Dib-stink, but Zim must make DOUBLEY sure that we have enough supplies before we can leave.”

 

Dib nodded in understanding.

 

“Can I put my stuff in the Voot, at least?”

 

Zim narrowed his eyes for a moment to think that request over before nodding. Dib smiled with growing excitement as he approached the Voot, taking in every detail. Zim had appeared at his side solely so he could open the windshield and let Dib step in, watching him as he put his backpack and briefcase down before hopping back out. The two of them looked at each other for a second too long before Dib glanced away and spoke up.

 

“Thank you… for this.”

 

Zim tilted his head before smiling.

 

“Of course! The almighty Zim is the best, after all.”

 

Dib snickered at that. 

-

 

Once Zim had decided that they had everything they needed, he instructed Dib to wait in the Voot while he checked in on GIR. He wanted to make sure that the rambunctious robot knew that they were leaving, and promised to watch the base while causing as little trouble as he could. 

 

Dib fought the urge to touch EVERY button within the Voot Cruiser as he waited for Zim to return. He quickly took this as an opportunity to memorize every nook and cranny, noticing the new things that Zim had added or modified since he’d last seen the inside of the Voot. One of the biggest changes was the addition of another seat. Had Zim been planning on taking him on a trip through space? If so, for how long? He took a mental note to ask Zim these questions later. 

 

Something else caught Dib’s eye. He took a couple steps towards one of the walls, noticing how a patch of said wall looked ever so slightly lighter than the rest. He reached forward and placed his hand on it, giving it a gentle push. To his surprise, the wall opened. There was a small room behind this wall, a small room that had enough space to step into. There was a pile of fluffy looking blankets and pillows almost haphazardly strewn around right in the middle. What is this for? Last I checked, Irkens didn’t really need to sleep . Also… How did I not notice that the Voot was bigger? Is it bigger? There were so many questions flitting through Dib’s mind, questions that covered the sound of Zim’s footsteps approaching until he was standing right next to Dib.

 

“What are you doing, Dib-monkey?”

 

Dib flinched and whipped around to look at Zim, who was staring at him with narrowed eyes. 

 

“Oh, um… I noticed that the wall was ever so slightly lighter right here and my curiosity got to me,” he confessed nervously.

 

Zim hummed in response before reaching behind Dib and pressing on the wall again, closing the room off. They stared at each other for a moment before Dib cleared his throat.

 

“So… are we ready to go now?”

 

Zim nodded and pivoted on his heel so he could walk over to the pilot’s seat. He reached up and pulled the windshield back down before pressing a button to open the hangar.

 

“You might want to sit down, Dib.”

 

Dib quickly did as he was told and sat in the second seat. He quickly noticed that there weren’t any seatbelts, which made his anxiety spike.

 

“Hey, Zim? There aren’t any seatbelts…”

 

Zim glanced over, looking at Dib, then his chair, then back at Dib.

 

“Well, you better hold on then.”

 

Dib’s eyes widened. He barely had any time to grab onto the sides of his chair before Zim started the Voot and raced up into the sky, grinning wildly.

 

It felt like forever that Dib was pressed into the back of his seat, watching through squinted eyes as they broke through the atmosphere. Once they had finally escaped from Earth’s gravity, Dib slumped against his seat, finally able to breathe. Zim smiled over at him.

 

“You will get used to that feeling.”

 

Dib shot him an angry look as he took deep breaths to calm his heart.

 

“Can you at least put a seatbelt on MY seat?”

 

Zim pretended to think very hard about that question, his silence stretching uncomfortably long. Once he saw Dib’s horrified expression, he snickered and nodded. 

 

“Fine. Zim knows that your pathetic human body cannot perform as well as my own.”

 

Dib sighed and rolled his eyes before forcing himself to look out into the vast emptiness of space. He slowly stood up from his seat, stepping closer to the dashboard and leaning in towards the glass. There were so many stars. He could see the Sun the best, avoiding looking at it directly since it was still so close in relation to all the other stars. He noticed that they hadn’t left the Solar system yet, and allowed himself to stare at the planets he had been watching through telescopes his whole life. 

 

“These planets are kind of boring, honestly. There are so many others that are much better than these.”

 

Dib rolled his eyes.

 

“Yeah, I know there are ‘better’ planets, but these are the ones I’ve learned about my whole life. I was seven when I made the telescope I first saw Jupiter with.”

 

Zim glanced over at him with slight intrigue. He knew Jupiter was far away ( in Earth’s standards ) and that a telescope that developed ( again, in Earth’s standards ) was not easily accessible. He knew Dib was smart, but maybe he underestimated him.

 

“Are there any of these planets you need to see before we see the better ones?”

 

Dib took a couple moments to think about that offer. 

 

“Pluto.”

 

Zim raised an eyebrow. 

 

“I do not remember that one being in the list of planets you stink-humans learn at skool.”

 

Dib sighed and sat back down in his chair.

 

“Yeah, we apparently decided that Pluto no longer fit the title of ‘planet’ about twenty years ago.”

 

Zim watched him as he spoke, noticing the slight sadness in his voice.

 

“So… you want to see it?”

 

Dib nodded and smiled.

 

“Please.”

 

Zim glanced over at one of his screens on the dashboard, pressing a couple buttons before he found what he was looking for. Once he pinpointed where in the Solar system Pluto resided, he pushed the Voot towards it.

As soon as Pluto came into view, Dib leaned forward in his chair, taking the sight in.

 

“It’s even prettier than I imagined…”

 

Zim continued to push the Voot closer before slowing it to a stop a good distance away. Once Zim took his hands off of the controls, Dib stood from his seat and walked over to his backpack. He rummaged around in it before grabbing one of his cameras and walking back over to the front of the Voot. Zim watched in silence as Dib took a couple pictures of Pluto, trying to get them as perfect as he could. Zim stayed silent as he let Dib have his moment. He found it extraordinarily interesting how enamored Dib was with such a small and barren planet and wondered just how much the human would react to the other planets Zim had in mind.

 

Dib lowered his camera and looked fondly at the dwarf planet before combing through the pictures he had taken. Zim stood from his seat and walked over to Dib. leaning over his shoulder to look at the pictures that the human had gotten. They were actually surprisingly good. Zim watched as Dib turned his camera off and gently put it back into his backpack before following him back to their seats. The two of them watched Pluto in silence for a while longer before Zim spoke up.

 

“What do you like so much about Pluto?”

 

Dib smiled softly.

 

“So many things… but I think my favorite, as well as many other humans’ favorites, is that it looks like Pluto has a heart on it.”

 

Zim tilted his head as he looked at Pluto again. Dib chuckled softly as he pulled a small notepad and pencil out of his pocket, before drawing a heart and then pointing out the exact part of Pluto that looked like it. It wasn’t long before Zim finally saw it and he hummed softly in approval.

 

“You humans and your simplicity. Liking a planet because it ‘looks like it has a heart’.”

 

Dib rolled his eyes.

 

“It’s called pattern recognition and endearment. Don’t be surprised when you learn that humans can get emotionally attached to anything .”

 

Zim shook his head in amusement as he grabbed the controls again, starting to steer away from Pluto.

 

“Getting ‘emotionally attached’ is what makes your species so weak.”

 

Dib narrowed his eyes at that, crossing his arms.

 

“You really don’t get attached to anything? ”

 

Zim huffed as if he was insulted.

 

“To get attached is to be distracted. To be distracted is what causes mistakes. Mistakes lead to losses. Which means to get attached, is to be weak.”

 

Dib stared at Zim in silence, mulling over what he just said.

 

“You didn’t answer my question. Not directly.”

 

Zim glared at him from the corner of his eyes.

 

“Irkens do not get attached. It was bred out centuries, maybe even millennia ago.”

 

Dib didn’t respond. He thought about Zim’s words as he watched space whiz past the Voot. He was surprised he didn’t feel any pressure, but quickly wrote it off.

 

After a minute or two of silence, Dib spoke back up.

 

“Have you not… gotten attached to GIR at all?”

 

Zim stiffened. 

 

Dib glanced back out the window, wondering if he maybe crossed a boundary asking that question.

 

“You don-”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Dib glanced back over at Zim, noticing the increasingly conflicted look on his face. He waited patiently for Zim to continue, if he had anything else to say. But after nearly a minute of silence, Dib allowed the subject to pass.

 

“So, where are we going?”

 

Zim seemed to relax slightly now that the topic had changed.

 

“Zim is taking you to a system I think you will find very… enticing? It is definitely a step up from your system.”

 

Dib rolled his eyes but allowed himself to keep an open mind. 

 

“Well, I hope it’s as good as you say.”

 

Zim smirked.

 

“It will be.”

Notes:

If anyone has any ideas for system/planet names or alien species they'd like to see PLEASE tell me. My brain can only come up with so much at a time >-<

Chapter 5: Artistic Pastimes

Summary:

What do you even do during space travel?

Notes:

I apologize that this update came out so late, I've been busy physically and mentally for the last couple days. (I've been getting ready to leave for college in a week and I still don't know how I feel about it quite yet, so updating is gonna be weird for a tad)

I hope that this satisfies y'all's hunger for now. I promise I will continue this when I can.
Enjoy!

Space travel was a lot more boring than Dib had ever imagined. Ever-set on the planets, star systems, aliens, nebulas, etc. that he hoped to see, he had failed to account for the time it took to actually get anywhere. Space was BIG. And empty. He was quick to find out that there was genuinely nothing of interest in his little corner of the vast expanse of space, save for a few asteroids every now and again.

 

Dib glanced over at Zim again, who was leaning against the back of his chair as he stared out of the Voot’s windshield into the blackness of space. Dib noticed the blank look in Zim’s eyes and leaned towards him slightly, realizing that Zim’s entire expression was vacant. He reached forward, waving a hand in front of Zim’s eyes, getting no response. 

 

“Uhhh, Zim? You good?”

 

Zim seemed to snap back into his normal self at the sound of Dib’s voice and quickly glanced over at him, sitting up straight. There was an awkward silence for a couple seconds as Zim checked the information showing on his dashboard.

 

“Okay, what was that?”

 

Zim looked over at him with an unimpressed expression.

 

“Of course your inferior race would be so unfit for space travel. Unlike you Hyoomans,” he said the word like it was an insult, which Dib still didn’t enjoy, “the amazingness of Irken technology has allowed us to divert our consciousness into our PAKs, making space travel much easier to handle. You really think the almighty Zim would be AWAKE for all of this nothing?” He motioned towards the emptiness on the other side of the windshield. “I would say I was surprised, but that would be a lie, and Zim does not lie.”

 

Dib sighed. He wanted to point out the fact that Zim lied constantly , but knew that would only result in Zim yelling at him. He was slightly disappointed in himself for not even considering the fact that Zim was basically half asleep as he piloted the Voot, it really did make sense. He hated the fact that he had to be fully conscious for this trip, getting more bored by the minute.

 

“Doesn’t this thing have an autopilot?”

 

Zim scoffed.

 

“Of COURSE it does! But, Zim does not like to use it. Too many things can happen if you do not constantly watch.”

 

Dib rolled his eyes and rubbed at his face with his hands, pulling his glasses off to rub at his eyes as well. He didn’t notice Zim watching him out of the corner of his ruby-colored eyes.

 

“Why do you ask, Dib-human?”

 

Dib glanced up at Zim, slowly putting his glasses back on to actually see him. His gaze shifted to the empty window before going back to Zim.

 

“Dunno… I’m bored.”

 

Zim’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he watched Dib. With a sigh, he turned back towards the controls and turned on the autopilot, turning his chair so he could look directly at Dib, who was staring at him in confusion.

 

“I thought you just said you didn’t-”

 

“Never mind what Zim said.” Dib rose an eyebrow at the interruption but waited for Zim to continue with whatever he was planning next. Zim crossed his arms. “The Dib says he is bored, so, what will you do?” Dib continued to stare dubiously at him, so entirely lost on what Zim was planning, if he was planning anything in the first place. Was Zim trying to trick him? No, he hadn’t done something like that since they had become friends. What was going on?

 

Dib realized that Zim was expecting a response.

 

“Uh, well… I have… a sketchbook I could draw in?” They sat in silence for an uncomfortably long time. “I guess I just thought that you would be more… here … when we started all this.”

 

Zim tilted his head as one of his antennae twitched forward.

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

Dib sighed heavily. Sometimes he found Zim’s empty-headedness endearing or entertaining, but at times like this, he found that it was more annoying than anything. He couldn’t say anything without having to figure out how to explain his thought process. It took a lot out of him.

 

“Whatever. You can go back to your brain-dead piloting or somethin’. I don’t care enough about it right now.”

 

With that, Dib stood from his chair and meandered over to his backpack, fishing out his sketchbook and pencil before sitting on the ground against the wall. Zim watched incredulously as Dib started sketching something out and erasing it all in frustration. He didn’t move from his chair for a long while before he decided to slowly approach Dib, hesitantly sitting down next to him to watch the human sketch extremely heavy-handed, leaving dark pencil marks that took way too much effort to erase fully.

 

As Zim watched, Dib slowly calmed down, allowing himself to sketch with a lighter hand. The two sat in silence, Dib focusing solely on his sketch, and Zim finally allowing himself to glance away from the paper and up at Dib’s face. He watched as Dib chewed slightly on his lower lip in concentration, watched as his eyebrow scrunched slightly when he erased something he didn’t like, watched as he paused every now and then to take in the whole sketch and decide what to do next. Zim had never noticed all these little details before. These little details that he now committed to memory, however unintentional that was.

 

Zim glanced down at Dib’s sketch and flinched slightly as he realized what he was looking at. It was a rough sketch of the Voot Cruiser speeding through space, an indiscernible ringed-planet in the background. As he looked closer at the Voot, he realized that Dib had drawn mini versions of the two of them sitting in the front, just like they had been earlier, except for the fact that they both had gigantic smiles on their faces. Zim turned his head to look up at Dib, who looked sheepishly down at his own drawing, seeming to only just now realize what had come out of his head and onto the paper.

 

“I- sorry- I can get rid of i-”

 

Zim snatched the sketchbook out of Dib’s hands and shielded it from him, his antennae pinned back, but only slightly. Dib stared at Zim with wide eyes, wondering what in the world just happened.

 

“There is no need for that Dib-human.”

 

Zim’s voice was slightly softer than normal, which Dib caught onto immediately. 

 

“Why?”

 

Zim paused, staring at Dib for a moment before glancing back down at Dib’s drawing, taking in every detail. He didn’t respond for a long time, wondering to himself what he was even doing.

 

“The almighty Zim has decided that this drawing is acceptable and will be keeping it indefinitely.”

 

Dib gawked at him. What? Wait, does he like my drawing? It’s not even good! Zim stared down at Dib’s drawing, gently running his claws against the paper as he soaked in each pencil mark. Zim had never felt whatever he was feeling right now. He had no words to describe it or any experience to relate it to. He wasn’t sure how much he enjoyed this feeling. All he knew is that he needed to keep this drawing… forever if he could.

 

Zim stood up a little too quickly, sketchbook in hand. He walked over to the opposite wall, tilting his head at it for a second before nodding. He then looked down at the sketchbook in his hands and noticed the line of perforation and very gently and cautiously tore the sheet out of the sketchbook, making sure not to rip the paper in any way. Once it was free from the sketchbook, he reached into his PAK before procuring what looked to be some sort of thumb tack. He then placed the paper against the ( metal ) wall of the Voot and pushed the thumb tack through it and the wall with minimal effort. Zim took a step back to admire his work ( mostly admiring Dib’s drawing ) before pivoting on his heel and turning back towards Dib, a proud grin on his face. 

 

Dib watched this whole thing with a confused and wide-eyed stare. He didn’t remember the last time anyone liked his art, let alone acknowledge it in the first place. For his drawing to be thumb tacked to the wall was a whole new level of surprise for him. 

 

Dib stood from his spot on the metal floor and walked over to stand next to Zim, who was still grinning from ear-to-nonexistent-ear. He stared at his drawing affixed to the wall before turning to finally look at Zim, whose grin was becoming a little hesitant as he awaited Dib’s response. 

 

Dib cleared his throat.

 

“Do you really like it that much?”

 

Zim tilted his head, his grin fading ever so slightly.

 

“Ehh… yes? Why is this a surprise to you, Dib-monkey?”

 

Dib glanced at his drawing, still on the wall.

 

“It’s just-... no one else seems to like my drawings, so I just assumed they were all bad.”

 

Zim’s grin had disappeared entirely as he watched Dib speak. Had the human really not gotten ANY sort of praise at all? He knew the rest of his idiotic race amassed all of Dib’s discoveries and accomplishments to insanity, but he failed to realize that the disdain they all had for him went even deeper than just claims of aliens and spookies. He had thought that the Dib had at least ONE human that acknowledged him in some fashion, but that thought had very quickly been proved wrong. 

 

Dib realized that he was being stared at and looked back down at Zim, who was watching him carefully. It made him only a little uncomfortable.

 

“What?”

 

Zim blinked and stood up straight, staring at the drawing again before turning his whole body to look up at Dib.

 

“Zim likes your drawing and requires another.”

 

Dib was only allowed to stare at the little alien in shock for a couple seconds before his sketchbook and pencil were shoved into his hands and he was pushed back to the ground where he had sat earlier. Zim plopped back into his spot next to Dib, this time leaning closer to watch him draw better.

 

“Well get on with it then!”

-

 

“I think my brain will melt out of my ears if I try to draw again, Zim. I’ve got nothing else to draw.”

 

Zim stood in front of his new art wall, about a dozen drawings stuck to the metal surface. They were arranged in a way that let Zim stare at that first drawing the easiest before allowing himself to look at all of the new drawings he had forced Dib to draw. He was content— for now. 

 

“Yes, yes, I will get more drawings from you at some point, Dib-human.”

 

Dib sighed and stood from his spot on the ground, bracing his hands on his lower back as he stretched backwards, several pops resounding from his aching spine. Zim flinched at the sound and spun around to stare at Dib with wide eyes. Dib raised an eyebrow at him before popping each knuckle individually, then twisting his wrists until they popped, and finally reaching up and cracking his neck as well. The loud crackling sound caused Zim to rush forward and inspect the human’s neck.

 

“WHAT WAS THAT? IS THE DIB INJURED?!?”

 

Dib paused his joint-popping and felt a grin split across his face.

 

“I’m fine, I promise, my joints just need help relaxing.”

 

With that, he slowly rolled his wrist, feeling and hearing the small crackly noises coming from it with each movement of his hand. Zim was stiff as a board now, his antennae pinned as flat against his skull as physically possible.

 

“Please stop doing that…”

 

Dib hummed softly as he let his hand hang back down at his side, watching Zim’s expression with an amused smile.

 

“Sorry about that.”

 

Zim shuddered as he finally let himself relax.

 

“What can Zim do to make that never happen again?”

 

Dib snorted softly and shook his head, his smile still present.

 

“It’s normal, I promise. I mean, I can be a little more crackly than others sometimes-”

 

Zim slapped his hand over Dib’s mouth, his antennae pinned back and his eyes narrowed angrily.

 

“No more ‘crackle-ing’.”

 

Dib stared at him for a moment before shrugging, Zim removing his hand. There was silence for a moment before Dib shifted his weight from one foot to the other, immediately feeling his hip “thunk” with the movement. 

 

Zim’s antennae whipped forward and he cringed at the sound. Dib frowned at the way his hip felt after that and sighed.

 

“Sorry, hold on.”

 

Zim watched in horror as Dib sat down on the ground, crossed his legs, and then pushed his knee down against the ground, leaning away from where he was pushing. He flinched hard at the loud pop he heard after. Dib sighed heavily in relief once he got his hip to pop and stood back up, shifting his weight between his feet tentatively before nodding to himself.

 

“All better.”

 

Dib looked at Zim and had to stifle a snicker at his horrified expression, forcing himself to only smile softly.

 

“For the hundredth time, I promise I’m okay.”

 

Zim was silent for a long time before he managed to recover enough to cross his arms and glare angrily up at Dib.

 

“I TOLD you no MORE!”

 

Dib chuckled softly and shrugged.

 

“I had to with that last one, my hip was starting to hurt.”

 

Zim grumbled under his breath about humans and their joints . Dib was about to respond when they both heard a ping from the dashboard. They both returned to their seats, Zim focusing on the information he was getting from the ship, and Dib staring out of the window. His eyes locked onto the binary star system laid out in front of them, his mind going blank instantaneously.

 

“Where are we?”

 

Dib tore his gaze away from the system to look at Zim, awaiting an answer.

 

Zim glanced over at him and smirked.

 

“This, Dib-human, is the Vamkreus System.”

Notes:

If y'all can figure out why I named the system that I will grant you a star ⭐ ;]

Chapter 6: Touchdown

Summary:

ooo planet

Notes:

Hey! I sincerely apologize for the SUPER late update, as well as the fact that it is -half- as long as my updates usually are. I've been so distracted with packing up for college that I don't end up thinking about this until nearly midnight. (silly since it's 12:08am right now :D )

I don't want to promise anything, but I do want the next chapter to be a longer one, as in more than my normal 2000 words. I feel like I need to tweak my writing style so I can get more descriptions and thoughts rather than dialogue and actions, so I'm staring down other people's fics to try to absorb it all.

Anyways, I will say that I will be driving cross-country to get dropped off at college in four days (it will be a two day drive) so maaaybe I can use the time I will have NOT driving to write more of this. After I move in I might change to a three-updates-per-week kinda thing but ONLY if I can actually commit to it. We'll see.

OKAY BYE

Dib glanced at Zim as he registered what the alien just said. 

 

“Wait, does the ‘kreus’ part of that have anything to do with the one in Latin?” He knew it was a far-fetched idea since this star system was SO far away from the Solar System. He didn’t see how any space-language would even know about Latin, let alone use it in their own languages.

 

Zim thought for a couple seconds, digging through his PAK’s databases to figure out what the human just asked. Dib was about to change the subject when Zim interjected.

 

“Surprisingly, yes.” 

 

Dib really wanted to know how Latin had been introduced to whatever alien language was used to name this star system. Did they get it from Earth? Did Earth get it from them? … He took a moment to shake off the onslaught of questions this brought on. He then glanced at the star system in question before speaking again.

 

“So… If I’m understanding the roots correctly, the ‘Vam’ has to do with… vampires?” He looked over at Zim, who tilted his head as he stared at the two stars sitting in the middle of the system.

 

“Zim does believe so. Well, these binary stars are an example of… what do you humans call it? A vampire star system? Where one star feeds on the other?” Dib took a moment to study the binary stars and noticed with much excitement that, yes, that was a vampire star in action. “I do not know WHY the name aligns so well with your Earth-terms, so do not ask, Dib-stink.”

 

Dib stared at the binary stars in silence. He had obviously never seen a vampire star, other than the horrendously low-quality pictures that the Earth’s astronomers had been able to snag despite all of them being so far away. Being able to see one right in front of his eyes, let alone one that was actively feeding, was incredible.

 

Dib’s silence was very obviously making Zim increasingly uncomfortable. The alien knew that this was a sight to behold, at least for a lowly human, but he had seen so many vampire stars in his time. Of course, this WAS a decent specimen… He looked through the Voot Cruiser’s windshield at the sight before them. The star that was doing the vampirism was already noticeably bigger than its victim counterpart, as well as already being blue. Both of these factors led him to believe that this binary star system would not last much longer, seeing that the victim star was already showing signs of going supernova.

 

“I’m glad you took me here before it all blew up.” He glanced over at Dib, who had apparently come to the same conclusion he had.

 

“Yes, yes, I am the best.” 

 

Dib sighed and rolled his eyes, still unable to look away from the display in front of him. He pressed his hand against the windshield as he finally tore his eyes off of the stars and towards the planets in the system.

 

“Do you think we could go take a look at maybe one of these planets?” He looked over at Zim, noticing the tell-tale look on his face that meant he was weighing his options. “Do any of them have an atmosphere I can breathe?” Zim crossed his arms and rolled his eyes—something that he had most likely picked up on Earth since Irkens didn’t have pupils, and in turn made the action meaningless.

 

“Do you really think that oxygen is only on Earth? It is an extraordinarily common element.”

 

“Yeah, but- does the atmosphere have enough oxygen? Does it have an acid that will kill me as soon as I come into contact with the air? Doe-”

 

“Zim will not allow anything to happen to you.” Dib was caught off guard with that statement. Yeah, they were friends now, but it was still a shock when Zim said anything like this—which he didn’t do often. “You should already know that since I first laid eyes on you, your death has been mine to decide.”

 

As much as he wanted to be creeped out by that sentiment, Dib found it oddly comforting. Well, I guess I won’t be dying today if everything goes well enough. He looked back at the planets before speaking again.

 

“You didn’t answer my question.”

 

…

 

“Oh yes! The almighty Zim will take you to ‘look at a planet.’” Dib quickly retreated to his seat as soon as he saw Zim reaching towards the controls, not wanting to risk getting his head busted open or something like it. He watched through the windshield as the alien steered through the Vamkreus system, apparently already having a specific planet in mind.

 

Each planet had its own defining features: rings, multiple moons, bright colors, and big puffy clouds. It was a small star system, despite the binary stars in the middle. Maybe it was a good thing there were only four planets here, since one of these stars was teetering on the edge of going supernova. Dib quickly realized which planet they were heading towards, and took mental note of what it looked like. It was the one with the rings. The surface seemed to be some mix of purple and blue, as well as the surface mostly being land. He hoped that the more translucent colors he was thinking were the planet’s equivalent of water would be safe for him; he already had the urge to touch it. The longer he stared at the planet’s appearance, the more he wanted to know about it in general. He glazed over at Zim, who was concentrated on the controls.

 

“What is the name of this planet?” Zim blinked and glanced over at Dib before smiling. 

 

“You would not be able to pronounce it even if I told you.”

 

Dib gawked at him.

 

“But the name of the star system literally had LATIN in it! Are you just trying to distract me so you don’t have to tell me?”

 

Zim snickered and shook his head as he continued to steer towards the planet.

 

“Fine, Dib-monkey, but do not expect to be able to pronounce it.”

 

Dib watched Zim expectantly for his answer only to stiffen as he heard what was apparently the planet’s name. The sound that had come out of the alien’s mouth was so… alien… it made his skin feel weird as he tried to register the sound as a word. Zim just gave him a smug smirk.

 

“Zim TOLD you that you would not be able to pronounce it, but the Dib just had to know. You just needed even more knowledge to stuff into that giant head of yours.”

 

Dib groaned angrily at that.

 

“My head is not big…”

 

“Whatever, Dib-human. We are just about to land anyway.”

 

Dib perked up, looking out of the window and down at the surface of the planet with the incomprehensible name. The ground seemed to be covered with a thin layer of purple foliage, and what seemed to be a mountain range in the distance. He watched as the Voot lowered farther and farther down before touching down on the foreign soil. Dib fought the urge to push himself out of the ship as soon as they made contact, which he was soon relieved about once he noticed Zim taking a few diagnostics on the chemical makeup of the atmosphere they would be stepping out into.

 

After a couple minutes, Zim smiled and turned the Voot off, letting the windshield open on its own.

 

“Alright, Dib, let us look at this planet.”