violet eclipse

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim or it's characters.

Chapter 18,

"Dib?" Zim asked.

"Uh, huh?" Dib said and Zim twistes his lip a little.

"I know that we have dinner with your father tonight. But do we have to rush with the cleaning?" Zim asked and Dib blinked at him.

"What do you mean?" Dib asked and Zim shrugged.

"We are heading to the locker rooms to clean them. So do we have to rush the work so that we don't keep your father waiting?" Zim said and Dib sensed how nervous Zim was.

"No. No, we don't have to rush. In fact, we will probably have to wait on dad for a while." Dib said and Zim sighed gratefully.

"I still don't understand what your father wants with me." Zim said and Dib shrugged.

"I'm sure he'll talk about it when we see him, Zim. Don't worry though, it won't be bad. Dad wouldn't wait if it was bad." Dib said and Zim smiled.

"Alright, then. A sudden yet positive meeting with your father. I think I can handle that." Zim said and Dib smiled back.

"Good, but can you handle home cooking? Gaz will probably cook something, but if not then I need to make dinner." Dib said and Zim smirked a little.

"You can cook?" Zim said and Dib elbowed him playfully.

"Yes, I cook. Gaz plays video games all the time and yes, dad's monitor has arma, but it can't do everything. Once it had a loose wire and it gave us baked beans everyday for a week. So I took home ec. and watched a couple of cooking shows. Granted, I am no Julia Child, but I can make a different meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Dib said and Zim grinned and scoffed quietly.

"Ok, I can fake enjoyment for an hour." Zim said and Dib chuckled.

"I wonder how many girls have thought that." Dib said and Zim blinked and he was about to question him, but they heard someone else in the hall.

"Why, hello boys. Don't we look peachy today?" Don said as Otto followed uo the rear, which Dib found humorous.

"Thanks, Don. Are you ok?" Dib said and Dib blinked.

"I'm feeling super." Don said and Zim smiled.

"Of course you are." Zim said and Don glanced at Zim uncomfortably, but kept smiling.

"Thank you, Zim. Now, Dib, why did you ask if I was ok?" Don asked and Dib shrugged.

"I thought that I saw you limping. It made me worried that you had a bad blitz." Dib said and Zim gasped.

"I know this word! The other team attack the players then get the quarterback in the sack." Zim said and Don blushed.

"You mean 'sack the quarterback', green dude." Otto said.

"Oh, I'm sure you do that well." Zim said and Otto blushed.

"Yeah, Zim's right. After all, you have more tackles then anyone else on the team." Dib said and Otto smiled.

"I'll always protect my teammate." Otto said and he patted Don's shoulder.

"Especially from other idiotic males trying to push Don over the edge." Otto said, glaring at the boys.

"Makes sense. Although, unless there is something else you need to discuss, we really should get to work." Dib said stiffly, not appreciating the way Otto looked at Zim.

"Well, we left practice and we didn't see you guys anywhere. We wondered where you were." Don happily said.

"Oh, we were at my house watching movies and lost track of time." Zim said quickly and Don nodded, slightly relieved.

"Well, maybe you should focus on the time." Otto said and Dib pointed at his watch.

"Today we did, but thank you for the advice." Dib said and Zim gently tugged the back of Dib's arm.

"I'm sure your greatful, huh Otto?" Don said using his shoulder to subtly hold his partner back. Odd how both Otto and Dib were typically harmless; but when protecting someone they cared about they pump out their chests and roar like any primitive beast.

"Zim is bored!" Zim shouted and he grabbed Dib's wrist and pulled Dib away which surprised the jocks. Once inside the locker rooms, Zim pushed Dib against the wall and glared at him.

"What are you doing?" Dib asked and Zim scoffed.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? The other day you specifically told me not to mess with Don and now you mess with Don and Otto? Seriously?" Zim asked and Dib blinked.

"Oh yeah, take their side. I mean It's not like they were testing us to see if we saw them making out or anything." Dib said and Zim rolled his eyes.

"Who cares, you were acting like you were gonna fight with them." Zim said and Dib looked away.

"I could have taken them. Or at least Otto, because Don didn't have the fighting spirit this time."

Dib said and Zim squeezed Dib's arms, and refused to blush at Dib's muscles.

"Exactly, this time he wasn't fighting, but what about tomorrow or even during the eclipse or the art show? He pushed a girl down the stairs for a library book. Imagine what he would do to people who try and out him and his sexual partner?" Zim said and Dib took a small breath.

"Ok, first of all, people don't normally say 'sexual partner'. They say 'girlfriend' for women, 'boyfriend' for men, 'lover' if there is no relationship or finally 'husband' and 'wife' if they are married. And if you have to say 'partner' then don't add 'sexual', ok?" Dib said and Zim groaned in annoyance.

"But they have a sexual relationship." Zim said and Dib shrugged.

"We shouldn't know that. In fact, we should never know about a person's sexual ways unless you have been with that person." Dib said and Zim sighed.

"What is the second point?" Zim asked.

"Second of all, I simply asked if Don was ok. But even if they punish me, it's not your concern. I can take it." Dib said and Zim's eyes widened with worry.

"I don't want them to hurt you." Zim said and Dib stared at Zim for a moment.

I want to believe him, but how can I? Zim was sent here to destroy the world and all humans. Although he did dreamed of his invasion and came running to me. BUT, that doesn't mean that his opinion or mission has changed. But... But, I...

"Zim, it's nice of you to say that, and I'm glad for it. But face the facts, I don't need you to lie to make me feel better." Dib said, adding his flawless, except to Zim, fake smile.

"I'm strong so just forget it, ok." Dib said and Zim pushed harder on Dib's arms.

"What if I don't want to forget?" Zim asked and Dib sighed, sick of Zim's display. Dib reached under Zim's arms, easily picked him off the ground and held the alien at arms length.

"When you leave earth you will forget." Dib said to Zim who kept twisting his shoulders. Dib put Zim down, walked over to the bench and sat down. Zim looked at Dib, and recognized the sadness associated with the feeling of loss.

"You'll forget about earth, about skool, Don and Otto... You'll... You'll forget about me." Dib said and Zim blinked at him.

"How can I forget you? We had so many battles, I don't even know where to begin." Zim said, sitting next to Dib.

"You will forget me, Zim. Memory is fickle, even when your brain is advanced. I don't think I've told you this before, but I have memories of being taken up into an alien spaceship when I was a baby." Dib said and Zim nodded as he listened.

"That explains a lot. Although I may have heard part of this when you told someone else." Zim said and Dib rubbed his hands together.

"Yeah. I remember the weightlessness, the heat in my head, the cold metal table and stuff like that. All this I can remember." Dib paused to take a shakey breath, even though Zim could only see half of Dib's face, he could still see his eyes getting glossy.

"But, I've basically forgotten my mom." Dib said and he sadly glanced at Zim with a pathetic smile.

"I mean, sure, I remember stories about her. How her and dad met at college, the fight she had with her mother about the color of her wedding dress, her obsessions with vampires. But again, these are stories. I'm forgetting things that I should remember. The sound of her voice, her laugh, the book she read to me at night, her apparently wild behavior, and the type of perfume she loved to wear. When I picture mom in my head, I remember her eating dinner, but she has her hand over her the mouth to cover her mouth. If I am correct, this is when she had her best friend over and we had ribs. Mom was trying to wipe her mouth, but her friend kept making her laugh which caused a bigger mess." Dib said with a small smile, but a big fat tear escaped both of his eyes.

"You know, I don't know why some memories are up and ready and others are beyond our reach. But mom always wanted her children to stand up for what they believe in. And I don't believe that you should pretend to care about someone when you really hate them." Dib said as he stared at his hands and Zim lowered his gaze.

"Dib why do the humans kiss?"

"Normally because it feels good and they have feelings for the person they are kissing."

"Are you mad at me for kissing you?"

"No, I'm not. It's all Gaz's fault anyways because she gave you the wrong information. You weren't kissing me because you wanted to. You only kissed me because you felt like you had to."

"What if I don't want to forget?"

"When you leave earth, you will forget. You'll forget about earth, about skool, Don and Otto... You'll forget about me."

Zim tilted his head a little to get a better view of Dib's face. Dib had closed his eyes at this point, sealing them so no more tears would fall.

"And I don't believe that you should pretend to came about someone, when you really hate them."

Suddenly it became clear to Zim that Dib wasn't responding to Zim's efforts because Dib is secretly broken. Why should Dib put his heart on the line knowing that it will be crushed into a fine powder. If someone was going to make the first offical step in the romantic direction, it had to be Zim. With a loving heart, Zim placed one of his hands on Dib's. When Dib looked at Zim, Zim used his free hand to gently wipe Dib's tears away; then Zim held Dib by the back of the neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Dib felt more intoxicated then surprised at this kiss, so he gladly kissed Zim back. Dib put his arms around Zim and pulled him closer. Zim put his, now free, hand on Dib's forearm gently, enjoying the muscle underneath. Soon tongue was added to the mix, arousing Dib and makkng the spot between Zim's legs heat up. Zim knew that he wanted more, but he also knew that they didn't have time. Zim slowly pulled away and stared at Dib's lustful eyes.

"I kissed you, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I wanted to kiss you because I care about you. And I swear that I will never, ever forget you." Zim said and Dib blinked at an odd sensation in his chest.