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When Dib woke up he knew he was in trouble. He couldn't move, limbs immobilized by thick metal bands. Panic kicked his heart into high gear—as if in response a little alarm nearby went off and it was nothing like a human hospital. Instantly he became aware that he was likely deep in the bowels of the enemy's base, somewhere in the medical wing.
"You’re awake. Good, I was getting bored." Zim's voice grew louder as he came nearer. Dib observed him out of the corner of his eye, the shape of him nearby as the irken checked a few things on the monitors. “Everything seems to be normal. Except for the part where you thought you could make a fool out of Zim! Maybe next time you wont make the same mistake, hmm?”
The human scoffed and tested his binds again before giving up deciding to save his energy; he meant to say something smarmy, something mocking but what came out was, “that wasn't supposed to happen.”
“What wasn't?” Zim's antenna lifted curiously.
“The explosion--the spelldrive must have been corrupted. It was making weird noises before it malfunctioned.” Dib’s brows furrowed. Why was he offering up information so freely? A shiver of panic ran down his spine.
Zim leaned over him, to check his eyes, observing the normal movements of his pupils before finally noticing how the human's irises flickered around nervously, “Well clearly. You’re in my secret base now, perfectly helpless. All because your little plot to destroy me failed.” Dib mumbled something, The invader's antenna twitched, “eh?“
Dib made a face like he’d tasted something sour, before he spat, “Wasn't trying to destroy you.”
Zim scowled, pointed a claw into the humans stupid stink face, “You’re lying! What else would you be trying to do?” Dib scowled, and mumbled again. The irken grabbed Dib by his collar and barked, “Speak up! What were you doing, worm?” The silly human squirmed and strained his muscles against his bindings but it did nothing but make him sweaty and red faced. Zim growled at the sight, “Tell me!”
Against his will, the words spilled from his lips, “It was a truth spell! I wanted to use it to get information out of you.”
Zim considered that, he still eyed the teen with obvious suspicion, “What kind of information?”
“Anything. Everything. I don't know. I was going to ask you about your latest evil plot but I have a whole list of questions.” Dib scowled as his thoughts left his mouth without his permission. Zim let him go and began to pace around his chair. The investigator tried not to make the comparison of a shark circling prey.
“Oh really? Where are these questions? A physical list? Or one you have stored in that massive head of yours?”
“B-both.” Dib began squirming again, scowling at the head comment. “In my j-journal and in my mind.” Zim grabbed his hair at the scalp and yanked, bending Dib's neck back, the human yelped, “hey!”
The irken ignored him, looking into Dib's eyes again now that he’d taken him off guard. He liked to think he could tell when Dib was lying, after all these years but the human had always been tricky, manipulative. He’d underestimated Dib too many times in the past. And the human's eerie eyes flickered between his own, nervous, contemptuous, “Where is this journal?”
Dib swallowed and answered despite the way everything else in him was screaming 'nonono', “In my bag.”
Zim let him go with a quiet noise and approached the counter where he’d tossed the humans stuff without much thought earlier. Then he’d rather forgotten that it existed at all. Sloppy. But he grabbed it now and unzipped all pockets before upending the bag onto the countertop. Out spilled all manner of human junk; the familiar brick of a laptop, a camcorder, granola bars, pens, a lighter, pocket knives, random cords and wires, a book on bigfoot, loose papers, cash, coins, stray gum sticks, a syringe full of who knew what and the black covered journal. Zim snatched it up, noting the well worn nature before recklessly flipping through the pages.
Meanwhile Dib was growing a bit frantic as his journal was rifled through. He had to get out of here. He had to escape before the enemy truly realized the massive advantage he suddenly had. The alien's paranoia would likely not let him fully believe Dib to be so vulnerable but he was also smart enough to put things together sooner rather than later. He tried once again to wriggle one of his wrists from the binds. It only succeeded in starting to shred the top layer of his skin.
Zim hmm'ed as he took in Dib's terrible hand writing, the scrawled nonsensical words across the pages, flipping through what could be mistaken as the ramblings of a madman until he found what appeared to be a list of questions. Just as Dib had said. He turned back to his prey to see him trying fruitlessly to slip free. he held the journal up and stalked back towards him, "Why would you tell me about this, hmm?" he demanded, one eye narrowing, the other widening with his suspicion, "what is your goal?"
Dib quit his thrashing to focus on the biggest threat as it focused back on him. He sneered at the irken, "I told you! I wanted to force you to tell the truth, answer my questions—so I used a stupid knock-off, second hand spell drive and now," Dib bit down on his tongue. Zim stared at him, head tilted in that vaguely predatory way, inhuman eyes studying him.
Dib considered biting his own tongue completely off. There were ways of regrowing or reattaching it afterall—and it had to be better than this, this dread, this fear of the unknown and yet knowing whats coming—but he waited. For now. Zim's antenna twitched and then he did something weird; he leaned forward and those same weird antenna brushed over him, searchingly. Dib froze as it happened, too fascinated and confused to react. And then it was over, Zim stepping back with a frown. he couldn't smell anything obviously wrong. "Computer! Scan the Dib for foreign substances!"
Despite everything, Dib fumed, a storm cloud brewing, "You don't believe me!"
"SCANNING…" The computer complied.
Zim rolled his eyes a habit he'd picked up from the very human in front of him, "I am being a scientist. Confirming your words means ruling out other possibilities. Besides, I was there, stink-brain." He reached over and pulled out the weird contraption from where he'd been examining it—the thing was clearly busted, no longer glowing ethereally. He'd poked and prodded at it, despite a lingering sense of dread but had been unable to activate it the way he'd seen Dib do.
"My spelldrive!" The investigator declared, fingers flexing. "Let me out of here, Zim!"
Zim huffed before he walked over to his computer and touched the screen to read the AI's findings. Dib was dehydrated, over-caffeinated, and malnourished but seemed free of anything truly mind altering. No truth serum was untraceable and they often came alongside other obvious side effects. He eyed the human who was glaring at him, stiffly in his binds. That was a point for Dib messing with him somehow. But, Zim didn't understand a lot of the magic on this planet—knowing 'magic' to be advanced science. Yet much of what was on earth mystified him with its ability to defy what he knew should be possible. He picked up the journal and sensed rather than saw Dib start to struggle again. So stubborn. He flipped to the page with all the questions and squinted as he tried to decipher what may as well have been code—"Irk your handwriting is terrible."
"So is yours." Dib said truthfully.
Zim ignored that and instead spun on the Dib with a evil grin. The human shrunk back into the seat, gritting his teeth. "Let's test this spell theory together, hmm?" Zim cooed, waving the journal in front of Dib's face. "The way you wanted… Let's start nice and easy. What is your name?"
It was like a compulsion. Dib tensed his jaw, determined to keep his silence but the words left him before he even really thought them, "Dib Feebly Membrane or some people know me as Agent Mothman."
Zim blinked. "Huh." For some reason, despite the prior evidence he was surprised by the easy response. He could clearly see any color draining from Dib's face. The unease seemed genuine. And though he had known about Dib's silly agent code name, the man's middle name was a surprise. The next question on the list was 'are you an alien?' which Zim guessed would be filmed using the human's camera as evidence. He moved on to the next one, 'what planet do you come from?'—no, the next one then, 'how old are you?' Zim knew that already, next, 'what is an invader actually supposed to do?' Zim scowled. Tallest, these questions sucked. He skimmed the list, searching for any that stood out--
Oh, now this was juicy. "'What is your greatest fear', Dib-thing?'" Zim leered, thinking of his infuriating audacity.
The human's heart rate climbed as he squirmed, face screwing up as he fought the compulsion but it did not matter. "B-being alone."
Silence followed the confession. They looked at each other. Dib's face had regained the blood, turning his cheeks ruddy pink. Zim observed with faint curiosity. He circled the human again to observe him, "Not death, not Zim's wrath, not the end of the world, not clowns, or zombies, or rouge waves?"
"No. We're miles away from the ocean."
Zim grabbed his collar again, "They're massive, Dib! they swallow entire ships!" The irken shook him to get it through his skull.
"Yeah! Yep! You're right." Dib groaned as his brain was jostled around.
The irken huffed and let him go. "Your fear is stupid."
Dib scowled, trying to hide the fact that his hands were shaking by clenching them into fists. He hadn't known the answer to the question before his lips had spilled the deepest of truths. Something he'd denied to himself over and over again. He was a loner, a lone wolf-- had to be. He had no friends, no colleges who respected him, his peers treated him like dirt, crowds turned on him, strangers on the street single him out, even his own family sometimes seemed like they hated him or would prefer if he was someone else entirely. The closest, most stable relationship he had was with his worst enemy.
"W-why? Why is it stupid to be afraid to be alone?" Dib demanded, voice cracking.
Zim wasn't the one under the truth spell so he had no excuse other than that he was a blabber mouth to begin with. As it was he had no reason to lie, no other motive than to make Dib see how ridiculous his worst fear was. "Because your life is mine. As is your death. So long as Zim exists you will never be alone. Stupid." He likely meant it to seem threatening, but it came out like a promise. A vow. It shook Dib to his core. Dib's eyes had gone very wide, even larger than usual behind his spectacles. They were focused on him now--but Zim was already moving on, unaware or uncaring of Dib's ongoing crisis.
"Now am I your worst fear?" The irken asked.
"N-no." Dib whispered.
Zim glared, stomped his foot. "Do you even fear me at all?"
Dib looked away, avoiding his gaze. "Yes."
The alien perked up, "Well that's something at least." He consoled himself. "What about the almighty Zim frightens you, Dib-Thing?"
Dib shut his eyes entirely as the words spilled like blood from his lips, as he knew them in his soul, "I'm afraid of the thing on your back--of what else it holds besides you--I'm terrified of your empire crushing my planet, of your blind loyalty to them--I'm scared of your recklessness, your unhinged, almost suicidal tendencies, your ruthlessness and bloodlust--your power you have over humanity, over me--your advanced technology and how you use it, your intelligence that you hardly put to good use--of the way you disappear sometimes, of never seeing you again, of not knowing everything about you--I'm terrified of your thighs and hips and eyes, your lips, your teeth and tongue and—oh please, please, Zim shut me up—" Dib gasped for air, shaking all over, straining in his binds. He was buried under miserable, devastating truth. Truths he would never have chosen to speak aloud, words that he felt in his soul and yet, he couldn't bear to examine for longer than two seconds.
Zim slapped his hand over Dib's mouth, wide-eyed and flushed himself. His mind raced. Much of that little barrage was…unexpected. Unsettling. Confusing. Intriguing...But that all paled in comparison to Dib outright begging to be silenced by the end. It was all around a very...interesting result. One he had to think on before he could proceed.
Zim cleared his throat. Dib flinched. Zim removed his hand from the human's mouth and lightly patted his head, "There, there, earthboy."
Dib stiffened, face darkening. His antenna twitched and years of learning the human had him quickly stepping backwards just in time for Dib to lunge, snapping his jaws and practically growling with rage. He eyed the human's barred teeth. They were not so impressive from afar but he'd been on the receiving end of the bite force his enemy could unleash and knew it wise to stay back until the danger abated.
The human boy snarled and spat and cursed, thrashing uselessly in his binds. It was something to behold. All that fiery anger, muscles and tendons, flashing eyes and teeth barred like a weapon. He could also scent the faint tang of fresh human blood on the air. The idiot was hurting himself, with all this struggling. Despite knowing the answer, Zim asked, "If I let you out would you attack me?"
"I'd tackle you to the ground and punch you until you fell unconscious or stopped me." Dib said without hesitation.
Zim scowled, "Rude. Fine. You can stay there for a bit longer and answer some more questions." Jaw clenched, Dib looked down at the floor. his ears were pink. The invader circled him again, "Do you have any hidden cameras in my base?"
"Yes." Came the resigned response. Dib knew that this was it, this was the part where this mistake was going to be used against him in their battle.
Zim pointed, "Ah ha! I knew it! Where are they, you sneaky little worm?"
The investigator groaned and without his permission he was speaking, "Two up in the living room, one in the kitchen, one in the main conference chamber, one in your lab," He choked out. It had taken months to plant those cameras and now all that work was going to be for nothing.
Zim grumbled and glared up at the ceiling. "I had my system scan for cameras a thousand times and yet--!" He realized he would need to search for them manually. Or…better yet. He turned back to Dib and asked, "Where exactly are your creepy little bugs, Dib?"
Oh no. No, no no! Dib thought frantically,--he had to stop himself from sabtaoging his best current advantage--"The first one of them is in the l-aah! Uhh guh—"
Zim spun to see that the stupid human had bitten his tongue--badly enough that his mouth had filled with blood. Dib was leaning forward and letting it drip onto the floor rather than get all over his shirt. The red splattered across the alloy, sickening in the immediate scent as it took over the room. Irk why did humans need to stink so much. Blood was so potent. It was impossible to ignore. "You fool!" Zim scolded, reached out and grabbed Dib's jaw to force his mouth open so he could see the damage for himself. It was difficult to see past the gore but the human's tongue still seemed in tact. It was already starting to swell up. It looked very painful. Good. Utter moron. "Computer, clean up this mess."
Dib gurgled and thrashed, glaring at Zim. Zim ignored him and stomped over to the supply cabinet and quickly grabbed out a roll of gauze and irken military grade healing spray. He spun back to the human who was watching him, eyes large and mouth so very red.
"This is going to sting a lot." He warned, though not without some measure of satisfaction. Dib leaned away but Zim was quick, grabbing him by the hair and then the jaw—prying it open and doing his best to ignore the way blood and saliva was getting everywhere. Filthy disgusting little worm. Despite Dib being no help, he managed to spray the medicine into his open mouth. Every brush of cool air on the wound was agony and the foreign material had him jolting at the fresh wave but within seconds, he opened his tear coated eyes in shock as the pain all but vanished. Zim didn't let him close his mouth though, even as drool began to drip down his chin, observing with eerie patience as the wound closed up fully.
Dib gurgled and Zim let him go. Dib spat the mixture of bloody saliva and healing spray at Zim. The irken shrieked and jerked backwards but didn't quite move fast enough this time to avoid the attack. Instead of getting his eye as Dib had intended, it splattered the alien's bottom lip, chin and neck and slid down under his collar. Zim shuddered and wiped frantically at himself with the gauze he had been planning to use on Dib. This would need cleansing chalk, for sure. But first, he turned to the little brat and scowled, fists clenched, "You're disgusting. "
The horrible dirt child grinned with bloody teeth, "Thanks. now, let me out of here, Zim. You can ask me questions without the restraints. My feet and hands are starting to go numb. " He hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. It came out whiny enough that he cringed at the sound of his own voice.
The Irken pretended to consider it before saying with smug satisfaction, "But you're so much prettier when you're at my mercy." Dib sputtered, he choked on his own spit--he went a bit cross-eyed and wrinkly as he struggled, face bright red. Zim tapped his foot impatiently, watching him dry drown on his own bodily fluids. "Way to prove me wrong." While Dib remembered how to do the whole breathing thing, Zim casually grabbed one of the many guns he kept lying around and pointed it lazily at the human. "Alright, computer, release the human from the medical chair."
The restraints snapped open. Dib was up like a rocket. But instead of attacking immediately as Zim had expected, he turned tail and ran. Quietly astounded, Zim watched it happen--before he lifted the gun and shot a pink laser near the human's feet. The Dib yelped and began employing some dodge and weave tactics so that was an improvement. "Where do you think you're going?!" He screamed.
"I don't know! Away!" Dib yelled back.
Zim growled and began the chase. "I still have your trash, human!"
Dib cursed as he remembered the journal, his laptop, his camera…the rest was replaceable but…he would have to circle back. There were too many important secrets to allow to fall into the hands of his enemy. So he skidded to a halt and waited until Zim had stalked closer before he ducked around a pillar and booked it back to his stuff.
Zim rolled his eyes. His spider legs exploded from the pak's casing and carried him across the distance. Dib frantically stuffed his necessities into his bag and zipped it. He yelped when he saw how close Zim was and ducked under the nearest table before tossing it behind him to try and put a barrier between them. The metal against metal made a terrible racket that had Zim's antenna cringing against his scalp. But he easily clambered over the obstacle. Dib was already running again.
With a sigh, Zim quickly aimed his weapon—fired. He had meant it as another warning shot but Dib changed directions at the last second into the blast and the laser-beam caught his calf. He yelped and tumbled to the ground, immediately curling protectively around the injury.
Furious, Zim threw the gun to the side. "Let me see it." He demanded, storming over.
Dib started to crawl away. Zim put his foot on the human's back and pressed down just enough to stop him moving. Dib cursed him and tried to wriggle away without success. His pak legs helped him keep the boy in place while he leaned down and lifted the tattered denim pant leg to see the damage. As suspected it had just barely seared into the flesh—cauterizing the wound so there was luckily no blood but the injury was bright red. But, it was fixable, healable. It could have been a lot worse.
"Stupid human." He grumbled. "Will you stay here while I get the healing spray?"
Dib's voice was weird and echoy as he mumbled into the metal floor, "No. I'll try to escape again."
Zim scowled and dragged the boy back over to the medical chairs and the healing spray. Dib sputtered, kicked at him. And actually got him in the face with the heel of his boot. Zim hissed, eye starting to swell shut; he grabbed both of Dib's ankles firmly. "Why are you being so difficult?" There was an odd desperation to the boy that was unusual.
Dib yelled, "Because I'm under a truth spell! I'm scared of what you'll find out! What you'll use against me!" Then he looked sick.
Zim nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, an understandable concern. But, you had planned on doing the same thing to Zim."
Dib looked away, "Yeah well. You're an evil alien jerk hellbent on taking over my planet so....Needs must."
"Hmm, true." Zim concurred. Then he sprayed Dib's wound. The human yelped and jerked in his grip, trying to pull away from the pain. Zim observed as the laser wound became shiny and white like an old scar--before he gave the human a stern glare, "You need to get better at dodging."
Limp and sweaty, lying on the ground with Zim's claws around his ankles, Dib pouted, "You're the one that shot me."
One of the irken's antenna lifted, but he ignored the words even if they were true. It had been an accident but he wasn't going to tell Dib that. Instead he examined the Dib for further damage. The invader waited until his breathing had evened out before striking-- "Just what are you so scared of me finding out, little human?"
And he got to see the panic as it reared back up again, Dib's whole body stiffening--but his hands were suddenly up muffling himself, the syllables swallowed by his palms. Zim pounced. Climbing Dib's lanky frame, grabbing at his hands and wrenching them apart, revealing the man's parted, panting lips, his heaving chest pressed against Zim's. Dib's glasses were askew, pupils blown wide despite the very visible fear that painted his expression. His whole body shook beneath Zim as he invaded the human's personal space, their bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. Their faces were very close when Zim asked again, low and dangerous, "What are you so scared of Zim knowing?"
In Zim's mind he's searching out secret plans, looking for plots to be foiled, for assassination schemes to disrupt and ploys to be unraveled—for enmity, for more of the same game they've been playing for years, looping on and on without cease, only growing bolder, more intense, more familiar—more all consuming.
Dib gasped and shook his head frantically, clenching his eyes shut as he bared his soul, "I'm scared of you knowing that I can't stop thinking about you, you've eaten my entire life and I don't even care anymore—I'm scared of you knowing that you could do anything to me and I'll keep coming back—I'm scared of you knowing how much you've effected me, my dreams, my future. That there is no future anymore without you in it. And I'm fucking—terrified of you leaving me—of losing this—I'm scared of you knowing how much I—" He was choking on the words, so exposed and vulnerable that he couldn't have stopped the tears. His lips still spelled out the last part soundless. Somewhere a cricket chirped. Despite his fear, Dib dared to peek at the irken who hadn't moved or said anything yet--Zim stared at him, eyes huge and glimmering. Dib could see himself in them. In Zim's eyes, he could see the entire universe. Still he spilled more of his soul, helpless and enthralled, "Zim, I'm so scared because you're everything and I'm so—I'm so lost without you—" Carefully, Zim leaned down until their foreheads touched and Dib finally shut himself up by pressing their mouths together.
Zim jolted, like he'd been struck by lightning but he didn't pull away. After a moment of astonishment, he pressed closer, did his best to imitate all the hundreds of kisses he'd seen on TV and he finally understood why it was the music rang out like a victory march on screen when one happened.It was far from 'perfect' but it was pure emotion, echoing between them, pulses dancing where they touched. They could have kissed for minutes or hours for all that time mattered.
When Zim came back to himself he found that he was no longer clutching Dib's wrists to keep him there. Their fingers had interlocked in an mutual iron-grip, like they were holding onto one another in a storm.
Zim struggled to speak truth sometimes--afraid of looking at reality for too long lest it blind him--with his lips buzzing and the human flushed and awed beneath him, it came to him easily, "Fear no longer, Dib. You are Zim's."
Dib gaped at him like he was shocked, his brows furrowed like he was uncertain. But, then the human licked his lips—and somehow they were kissing again. Dib's blood spreading across his tongue; his saliva in his mouth and somehow it didn't disgust him the way it had just minutes ago. In fact, Zim's mind was, for once, blissfully blank, laser focused the way he rarely was able to—on the pure sensations as they washed over him. It was okay, it was better than okay. It was enlightening, it was miraculous.
When the human had to breathe, they separated. Zim looked down to see Dib grinning almost manically like he'd won one of their battles. Zim couldn't help but grin in turn. He nibbled on the other's chin, decided he didn't mind the weird stubble and cooed, "Do you like that idea? Being mine?"
Dib's chest heaved with repressed laughter as he raised a hand to fix his glasses. The paranormal investigator thought about it for a moment before saying, "Well, if I'm yours, then that makes you mine. That's only fair. Equality or whatever." There was a long moment of quiet. Dib's eyes shot open, "Wait. That felt normal--the spell!" Dib struggled to sit up and Zim did the same. "Ask me something." He demanded.
Zim tapped his chin, then gestured at the human's cranium, "Why is your head so big?"
Dib's hopeful expression transformed into a glare. "Yep, it's broken." He wasn't compelled to answer, thank god. He didn't want to know the truth of that actually.
Distractedly Zim tilted his head, eyeing the human's mouth; they were swollen and red like he'd been punched. A slight cut on the top lip from Zim's teeth, "What is?"
"The truth spell, genius! The spell is gone—but what could have broken it? What could we have um...?" He went very still as a thought occurred to him. It was ridiculous but, what other explanation was there? He stared at Zim's lips and wondered. Dib cleared his throat and looked back up at Zim who was already watching him.
The alien gestured with no small amount of impatience, "Well, you clearly have a theory. Go on."
Dib shook his head, as if to clear it, "Look, um, it's really stupid."
Zim snorted, "I'd be surprised if it wasn't."
Warning given, Dib spoke quickly, "There's this human idea about magic, from like folklore and fairy tales that says that most spells can be broken by um, by true love's kiss." Even saying it, he wanted to melt into the floor and disappear.
Zim blinked at him for a moment, uncomprehending. "True…love's kiss?" He thought about it for a moment before he asked a bit incredulous, "You're fixed now because we pressed our mouths together?"
Dib could have explained that the kiss was the mechanism of delivery of the cure while the most important part was the sheer power of love that most magic couldn't hold up under the strength of. But, his face was still on fire and Zim wasn't freaking out about any of this. Yet. So he swallowed and lied, because he could do that now, "Yup. That's my theory."
The cogs visibly churned in Zim's brain as he calculated; squinting at the human while Dib felt a drop of sweat run down his neck. Zim nodded, as he came to his conclusion, "You're right. That's stupid."
Dib didn't let his disappointment show, because he wasn't sure what else he had been expecting. He swallowed his heart down and told himself that magic didn't lie even when people usually did. If it really was true love's first kiss that had broken the spell--he side eyed the irken, chest aching, "Y-yeah. Really stupid."
A long moment of silence passed between them. Then suddenly Zim was in his space again, antenna falling over the human's forehead, tangling in his hair, the entire universe in his gaze, "Is this cure...permanent?"
Dib's breath caught in his lungs at the closeness, the sensation that was so alien it sent spiraling thrills through his entire body. It was in him to lie but instead he said, "I don't know. It was a knock off spelldrive that I got at a suspiciously large discount, so..."
That was enough for Zim, who practically climbed into his lap to bring them flush again, "Shady. You're lucky I'm here to take care of you."
"Sh-shut up. You're the reason I get hurt all the time, you jerk." For a brief moment, Dib tried to act unaffected but lost the battle quickly and cleanly, hands coming up to hold onto Zim, wherever he could reach. Familiar and new all at once under his palms--touching without violence.
The alien melted into the touch like he was starving for it; held on like he would never let go; "Only Zim can hurt you." He kissed Dib's nose, his cheeks, his lips, "and Zim will heal you."
Dib's heart thudded like it wanted to escape out of his chest and flee. He had no idea how this had happened—how it had all gone so off the rails. He should probably be running from this, from the sheer intensity of being at the center of Zim's attention, but the truth was, was that he was right where he wanted to be. So, he held on tight and replied with all honesty, "Right back at you, you lizard."
Like magnets drawn together they were kissing again and nothing else mattered for just a little while.