HOME | DD

Description
Kicking the door open Dib stormed away from Zim's trailer. He could hear Zim yelling at him as he walked away but he didn’t care. He’d made it about 100 feet before he stopped; his heart thundering in his chest. Turning around he pointed at Zim and yelled back. “I LOVE YOU ZIM GREEN SKIN AND ALL! BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO’LL YOU’LL BE COME IF YOU GO THROUGH WITH THIS!” and before Zim could respond Dib turned and left, stomping to his car before slamming the door and gunning the engine; before driving away. He made it as far as the first traffic light before he started crying.
.

.

.
1 WEEK LATER
.

.

.
Desperately Dib clutched his phone as he listened to the electronic ringtone. A moment later he groaned as it went to voice mail and Zim's voice echoed in his ear. “Hey you’ve reached me; Zim. Leave a message.” Sighing Dib spoke. “Zim…….it’s me…….again. Can we talk………please? I…….I miss you. Please…….just……….call me. ok?” Hanging up his phone Dib groaned as he dropped back onto his bed. How many times had he called Zim? How many messages had he left the green boy? Sighing he closed his eyes and did his best to think of something, anything else. Instead his mind kept coming back to Zim. A few days after he’d stormed out of Zim's trailer he’d gone back, he’d tried to apologize to Zim, to make him understand the fear that bubbled in his stomach at the thought of Zim going through with this treatment. That had resulted in Zim yelling at him again, he’d even thrown things at Dib who had yelled back and in the end had made him storm off once again; only to burst into tears the moment he was away from his ex. Sighing again Dib slowly sat up and slowly pulled on his clothes for the day. Making his way downstairs Dib dropped himself down into his chair and glared at the toasts that sat on the plate in front of him. After several minutes of not eating Dib glanced at Gaz as she spoke. “You trying to make the toast burst into flames again?” It was a light joke; but it did the trick making Dib crack his first smile in 7 days.
.

.

.
Eating a slice of toast Dib remained silent as he ate. Next to him he felt Gaz shift. “This is getting ridiculous. Just go over and talk to him.” Dib sighed. “I tried that. We yelled at each other again.” Gaz rolled her eyes. “Then don't yell next time.” Dib glared at her. “It’s not that simple.” Gaz glared right back at him. “Yes it is. You two were in love. Go to him; remind him that you love him, have sex, hold hands, see a movie; do whatever it takes but Dib….” Dib watched as his sister stood up and leaned in so their faces were inches apart. “Get back together with him. Cause if you stay this sad all the time; I’m going to kick your ass. Got it?” She didn’t wait for him to respond instead grabbing her backpack and walked out of the house. Sighing again Dib ate the rest of his toast before grabbing his back and went to his car. The drive to school was short; as he pulled into a parking spot he felt his phone ring. His grabbed at the devise like a drowning man grabbing at a lifejacket. Flicking the phone open he rolled his eyes and closed his phone as he found not Zim's number but keef’s displayed on the phone’s display. Rolling his eyes; what was with keef? In the last week keef had called him half a dozen times, each time being met with a hang up and his messages deleted. A second later however he jerked and nearly had a heart attack as someone knocked on the passenger window of his car.
.

.

.
Before he could react keef had opened the door and had dropped himself down into the passenger seat. “Hey sexy. I know you’ve been ignoring my calls and deleting my messages so thought we should talk face to face.” Dib glared at him. “get out keef.” But keef just smiled. “What is your deal Dibby?” Dib felt his hand curl into a fist at the use of keef’s nickname for him; but if keef noticed his anger he ignored it. “I mean, you used to be cool. And then………you changed. What happened?” Dib growled at him. “I didn’t change. You cheated on me.” keef rolled his eyes. “we never said we were exclusive.” Dib yelled and did his best to beat keef to death with a text book from the back seat. When this proved useless he shouted. “YOU THINK JUST CAUSE WE DON'T CUDDLE AFTER WE FUCK WE WEARN’T TOGETHER?!” keef’s face went slightly red as he nervously looked around to see if anyone had heard. Dib felt his temper flare again. “WHAT? DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT YOU LIKE BEING BALLS DEEP INSIDE ANOTHER GUY!?” Again keef looked around trying to see if anyone was listening; but Dib continued yelling. “YOU WANNA GET BACK TOGETHER?! WHY WOULD I WANT TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH YOU?! YOU’RE SELFISH, A JERK, AND WORST OF ALL YOU CAN'T STAND THAT YOU LIKE TO FUCK OTHER GUYS!”
.

.

.
keef’s face went red. As Dib opened his mouth to shout more keef lunged forward and covered his mouth. “would you shut up?! Do you want everyone in the school to kn-ARG!” keef screamed and recoiled as Dib bit down on his hand; hard enough to draw blood. “JESUS CHIRST DIB!” a second later Dib lashed out; his fist colliding with the side of keef’s head knocking the red haired boy out of the car. Grabbing his phone Dib got out of his car, slammed the door and moved over to keef so he could glare down at him. a second later he leaned down and their lips connected; a split second after his phone made a small clicking sound as he took a photo graph of him and keef kissing. Breaking the kiss he stood up and glared down at keef. “let me make one thing perfectly clear to you Keef. If you talk to me, if you call me, if you try to sleep with me again, I will send this picture to everyone in the school and they will know your dirty little secret. Understand?” he didn’t let keef answer instead reaching over keef’s body and closing the open car door before locking the car and walking away, leaving keef sprawled on the ground.
.

.

.
Class was just as boring as usual; teachers droning on about a subject they barely understood, mentally praying the students they were teaching wouldn’t ask questions. Literally the most boring day in the entire history of school. When the bell for lunch range Dib bolted from his seat as was out of the class room and halfway down the hall before anyone else had moved. He barely paid attention to what he grabbed to eat, a sandwich and some kind of fruit. Dropping himself down in his favorite lunch spot Dib flicked open his phone desperately praying that Zim had called him. Instead he let out a groan as he found that not only had Zim not returned his messages but that no one had called his phone in days. Slamming his phone shut Dib moved to eat and had been about to take his first bite when the sounds from a nearby crowd grabbed his attention. “Awww he so cute.” “It looks sick.” “Who’s dog is this?” leaning over slightly so he could see better Dib's eyes widened slightly. “Gir?” instantly the dog’s head snapped in his direction. Dib watched as gir pushed his way through the crowd before charging up to him and lumping into his lap; sending Dib's food flying.
.

.

.
Glaring down at the little dog Dib spoke. “I was eat that.” The dog just cocked it head at him before rolling onto his back exposing his belly. Sighing Dib looked around. A lot of students were looking at him. Sighing again Dib grabbed gir by the collar. “Come on. I’ll take you back.” Scooping gir up in his arms Dib could not help but smile as the dog buried its face against his chest and seemed to snuggle into the hold; as Dib carried him to his car before dropping him down in the passenger seat. Getting into his own seat Dib started the car and a short while later was driving down the road. The sky had shifted now, no long blue but a pale overcast color that made him pray that it didn’t storm. Pulling up to the circus Dib felt his eyes widen as he found someone had posted a large paper sign on a nearby wall; the words, LEAVING SOON, had been printed in red. Sighing Dib closed his eyes and mentally prayed Zim was at his trailer. Scooping gir up Dib wrapped the little dog in his coat before exiting the car and making his way through the circus towards Zim's trailer. As he neared the trailer he could hear Zim's voice. “Gir? Gir?! Where are you gir?”
.

.

.
He could see Zim now, frantically searching for gir. Clearing his throat Dib watched as Zim looked up and saw him carrying the missing Gir. Instantly Zim raced over and pulled gir into a hug. “GIR! Don't ever do that again!” Dib shifted a bit uncomfortable as Zim turned to look at him. “Thank you……thank you so much for finding him.” Dib shook his head. “he found me. he showed up at skool during lunch.” Zim looked down at gir who wagged his tail and barked. After a moment of silence Dib spoke. “i……I’ve been trying to talk to you.” Zim continued to look down at gir. “I know…….I’ve been ignoring your calls.” Dib felt his heart clench. “oh………ok then.” An awkward silence spread between them. After several minutes Dib spoke. “Well……..i guess I should go back to skool.” Turning to leave Dib froze as he felt Zim grab hold of his coat sleeve. “You……..you could stay here. It looks like it might storm soon.” Looking up at the sky Dib sighed as indeed the clouds above him had become dark and angry. Turning he watched as Zim scooped gir up in his arms before heading back to his trailer. Making up his mind Dib slowly followed Zim, closing the door to the trailer behind him. Taking a seat at Zim's table Dib could not help but feel a little awkward. After a moment he spoke. “Can……can we talk?” Zim sat down on his couch and looked at Dib. “yes…….I think we should. You go first.”
.

.

.
Dib sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. “I’m…….sorry. I’m sorry I got mad and made you angry with me. I just………” he sighed and looked up at Zim. Why was this so difficult? Taking another deep breath he continued. “I’m scared to lose you Zim. I’ve never cared about anyone else, like I care about you. I want us to be together; I need us to be together. I’m a wreck without you. And I’m scared…….that if you go through with this; if you become human……..you’ll leave me, cause you’ll realize there are a lot of people who are better than me. And if that happened…………if I lost you……..I don't know what I would do.” After a moment Zim looked at him. “Rule #3.” Dib cocked his head. “Huh?” Zim shrugged. “I’m using rule #3. You’ll say I love you; whenever I ask.” A weak smile covered Dib's face. “I love you Zim.” Zim smiled and sat down in the chair across the table from him. “Now it’s my turn to talk.” Zim remained silent for several moments before speaking. “I know……I know you find my appearance interesting. But others don't. I’ve been called a freak, a monster, and an alien for as long as I can remember. Even when I wear my bandages I look like I’m the invisible man. This…….this experiment is the one shot I have at having a normal life. At being able to walk around town without my bandages or eat in a nice restaurant without being stared at like a freak.”
.

.

.
Dib nodded. “I understand that……..but having a normal life is not as easy as you think it is. You’d probably have to find a new job, start going to school, and a whole mess of other stuff that will make you want to tear your hair out.” Zim sighed. “I know…….but…….I could handle it; all of it……….cause………cause I’d have you with me.” Dib felt a faint blush cover his face as Zim spoke. Slowly he reached over the table and touched Zim's hand; pulling their hands together before winding their fingers together. “Ok Zim……….I’ll support you. I’ll always support you. But you have to promise me something.” Zim nodded. “Ok……what?” Dib pulled Zim's other hand into his own. “If at any time you have even the slightest doubt that this is what you want…..you’ll stop. You won’t go through with this.” Zim nodded. “Ok. I promise.” Dib smiled weakly at him. “Good. This is not something that can be undone. So I want you to be over 9000% sure this is what you want.” Zim raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you just make a dragon ball Z reference?” they both laughed.
.

.

.
THE NEXT DAY
.

.

.
Dib watched as Zim shifted nervously in his seat. All around them scientists, nurses and doctors scurried about their jobs. Dib felt his heart clench as a nurse dressed in a white gown stopped in front of them. “are you Zim?” Zim nodded nervously. “Yes.” The nurse smiled down at him. “Doctor membrane is ready for you. If you’ll just follow me.” Zim looked to Dib. “Can…..can Dib come with me?” the nurse shook her head. “I’m sorry. But I can only allow you to be in the room when then procedure starts.” Zim gulped and looked again at Dib who leaned in and pulled him into a hug. “You’ll be fine. Just remember what we said. Ok?” Zim nodded. “Over 9000% sure.” Dib nodded and smiled. “Good.” He watched as Zim stood up and followed the nurse, vanishing behind a pair of swinging double doors.
.

.

.
ZIMS’ POV
.

.

.
Nervously he followed the nurse who led him through a maze of hallways and doors until he found himself in a room. In front of him a small examination table had been set up. Above the table a machine hung down from the ceiling. The machine ha several mechanical arms sprouting out, each one filled with a strange glowing chemical. After a moment the nurse turned to him. “if you’ll kindly strip down, we can begin.” A moment later he was alone in the room. Nervously he pulled off his shirt. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Next came his pants, but he paused when all he had left was his underwear. He shivered as the cool air washed over his skin. Deciding to leave then he knocked on the door. “Ok……I’m ready.” The nurse opened the door a moment later; a pleasant smile covering her face. “If you’ll just hop up onto the table we can begin. Doctor membrane will be in shortly and he’ll explain exactly what is going to happen and then we can start. Ok?” Zim nodded and did as he had been asked, sitting down on the examination table. He watched as again the nurse left leaving him alone with the machine. He could not help but feel his eyes drift over it. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie. A mechanical arm with a single red ‘eye’ and dozens of smaller arms each tipped with a needle. He was so caught up in looking at the machine that he flinched and jumped when the door opened again. Again he shivered; it felt like somehow the air had gotten colder and he could not help but be aware og how alone he felt at the moment.
.

.

.
He’d met Dib's dad before; When Zim would stay for dinner, or spend the night he’d seen the odd man. “Hello Zim.” Zim smiled weakly. “Hello.” He watched as membrane sat down on a small chair. “Ok so here’s how this will work. First we’ll put you to sleep with some anesthesia. After that this machine….” Membrane gestured to the mechanical arm hanging from the ceiling. “Will begin injecting your body with a small genophage which will alter the cells in your body and trick them into producing healthy human cells instead of the mutated ones they produce now. Does that make sense?” Zim nodded but could not help but feel slightly…….hurt by what membrane had said. His cells where healthy……they were just green. He opened his mouth to speak; but was cut off as membrane stood up and walked out of the room leaving him alone again. Nervously he pulled his legs against his chest. His whole body was shaking and he felt like he was going to explode. His eyes jerked from side to side and his thoughts began to race. Suddenly he was on his feet. He grabbed at the doorknob but struggled to grab it; his hands were shaking so badly. The air in the room was even colder now, making him gasp for air as though he were suffocating. Flinging the door open he began to run. He could hear the nurse calling to him but he ignored her. He didn’t care that he was only wearing his underwear; or that everyone he ran past cold see his skin. He just didn’t care. This was all wrong; this was not how he wanted to become human. He was so cold. Did he even want to be become human anymore?
.

.

.
That thought made his mind reel. He searched for them; all the reasons he had or could could have thought of to become human…..he couldn’t find any all he could think about was Dib, and what Dib had made him promise. He shoved a doctor out of his way as he ran, not even feeling sorry as the doctor hit the floor. He tore through the hallways searching for the hallway he’d been led down before. He flashed past doctors and nurses; some of them moved to stop him but most of him just stared as he ran past them. his entire body felt cold, so much so that he shivered, until he found the hallway the nurse had led him down when they had left the waiting room. He burst through the door to the waiting room like a hurricane, making Dib flinch and nearly jump out of his seat. Running towards Dib, Zim watched as the boy’s eyes widened and his mouth opened to speak. He flung himself at Dib, feeling Dib’s arms wrap around his body which was shaking and trembling. He buried his face in Dib's chest, only then did he begin to sob and cry. After several moments he spoke, “take….me…..home. Please……I just……….wanna go home.”
.

.

.
LATER
.

.

.
Slowly Zim's eyes opened. He was in Dib's car. Slowly he sat up and looked over at Dib who glanced at him when he saw Zim was awake. “Sleep well?” Zim slowly looked around. “What…..what happened.” Dib chuckled. “You freaked out at my dad’s lab, ran through the hallways in only your underwear and begged me to take you home.” Zim slowly nodded; yes he remembered that.” Dib continued to speak. “After that you just fell asleep in the car; probably crashed from the adrenaline surge you must have been feeling.” Zim nodded and looked down at his feet. “I’m….sorry.” Dib shook his head. “Don’t be. Oh and I had a nurse bring me your clothes. They’re in the back seat.” Shivering again Zim reached back and grabbed hold of his clothes before undoing his seatbelt and awkwardly getting dressed. As he pulled on his shirt Dib spoke. “So……what happened?” Zim sighed and rested his head against the window. “I don't know. I just……the room was cold, I felt so……alone, your dad said my cells weren’t healthy, and………and I just couldn't do it.” as they came to a stoplight Dib reached over and pulled Zim’s hand into his own. “There’s no rush to do this Zim. It’s not like this cure is milk and there’s an expiration date. It’ll always be there if you want it.” Zim nodded. “ok.” After a moment his stomach rumbled loudly.
.

.

.
Dib chuckled. “Wanna get something to eat? Bloaties pizza is right around the corner.” Zim nodded. “Yeah……food would be great.” As they pulled into the parking lot Dib angled the car towards the drive through; but Zim shook his head. “No…..I wanna go inside and eat.” Dib looked at him. “Are you sure? You don't have your-” but Zim cut him off; sounding a bit more forceful. “I want to go inside and eat.” Pulling into a parking space Zim felt his heart speed up as Dib moved to leave the car. Taking a deep breath Zim did his best to stay relaxed as he slowly got out of the car and closed the door. A second later he jumped as he felt Dib's fingers work their way into his hand; while Dib spoke. “Just remember, no one else’s gaze matters. They can't really see YOU, only I can. Ok? Just pretend the people aren’t there.” Zim nodded and slowly allowed Dib to guide him into the restaurant. He could feel people staring at him as they walked up to the counter; the cashier a young girl in her teens smiled at them. “Welcome to bloaties and I take your order?” Dib nodded. “2 slices of Hawaiian for me, Zim what do you want?” his voice shook slightly as he spoke. “Um…..2 slices of pepperoni please.” Handing over the money Zim nervously shifted from side to side as he felt people staring at him. He did his best to ignore the stars, instead focusing on Dib who turned and smiled at him. a moment later Dib pulled him into a kiss; not a long one, but just enough to make his point. “I love you Zim.” Zim smiled nervously. “I love you to Dib.”