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knotsoangelic · 7 hours

Text

How things change

Style; Oneshot

Word count; unknown

Pairing; Zadf/Zadqp/Zadr

Media; Invader Zim

Genre; Fluff/Silly

Fic is under the cut. :) this didn’t take me very long, but yk. not used to posting fanfics on here. so. enjoy lmao

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“You’re still doing this??”

The sudden voice coming from the far end of the Lab made Zim nearly jump out of his skin. He shot his gaze at the doorway of the lab and blinked a couple times under the light red hue of the monitor in front of him. He narrowed his eyes in immediate distrust.

“How did you get in here?” He asked.

Dib didn’t answer at first, instead trailing his gaze to the monitor. He furrowed his brow. “It’s been years, Zim. I know how garbage your security is.”

All the Irken could do was give a haughty scoff, pushing himself out of his seat and aggressively approaching the human. “It’s superior to anything humans could come up with and you know it,” He stopped in front of Dib, a noticeable 3 inches shorter than him. “Now get out. Im not interested in entertaining whatever shenanigans you have for Zim today.”

Dib’s gaze trailed down to the other. For a few seconds he just stared, narrowing his eyes. But then he relented his gaze, sighing in defeat. “My bad for wondering how the space idiot was doing, considering how long he’s been gone. What gives, anyway? It’s weird not seeing you on campus.”

Zim folded his arms behind his back and glared at the human. “You don’t need to know, Dib.”

“Considering I gotta keep you in check, even after five years, yes. I do need to know.” He gestured to the monitor in exasperation. “Don’t you think this is a bit much? They haven’t answered you in years. Let it go, Zim.”

Instead of giving a response, Zim decided on shoving Dib. It wasn’t rough enough to knock him to the ground, but enough to earn a soft ‘oof’ from the human. “Irkens don’t give up, Dib.” He turned from him and paced back over to the monitor. “They’ll answer. I know they will. They have to.”

Zim wasn’t looking at him, but Dibs expression went from incredulous to somewhat sad in an instant. He, too, was looking at the monitor, and after a few beats of silence, sighed again, this time in frustration.

“If they haven’t answered you in the however-many-years you’ve been trying to call them, they’re not answering, Zim.” Dib kept his annoyance in his tone at bay as well as he feasibly could, instead trying a more pleading tone. “Why is this so important to you anyway? What even happened to conquering the planet?”

Something briefly flashed in Zims eyes, before quickly melting into anger. He turned to face the human, snarling. “It’s still my top priority to take over this planet, filthy pest. You don’t deserve to know the inner workings of my plans. Now get out before I skewer you.”

Dib narrowed his eyes, weighing his options of staying just to piss Zim off or leaving a potentially unstable bomb here to fester. His initial choice was the latter, but after careful consideration, he chose the former. He knew Zim like the back of his hand at this point. It’s been five miserable years since the irken got to earth, and Dib would like to think he knows Zim well enough by now. If anyone could deal with him it was Dib.

He was past trying to stop Zim. He knew how his people saw him. He knew no giant armada would come back to earth. He knew, according to Zims “almighty” leaders, that he was no more than trash that was taken out. He watched this alien break down. He watched him struggle. He knew he wouldn’t actually take over Earth, if he could. After all, where would he go afterwards?

Not to mention Dib was taller than him now. Not by a whole lot, but enough. Dib recalled his initial reaction to the human growing as soon as it started. Pure bewilderment, mixed with a touch of jealousy and a whole lot of rage.

So, Dib simply laughed.

It certainly wasn’t what Zim was expecting. His antennae fell back a bit in confusion. As quick as they did though, his annoyance came back twice as fast. “What on Irk are you laughing at?! I will! I’ll puncture your nasty human organs!” He inches closer to Dib while he threatened, but the human wouldn’t stop laughing.

“Enough! Your sniveling disgusts Zim!” The Irken almost pleaded. Whether he intended to or not, Zim’s antennae fell back again, and he shrunk in on himself. It was only then that Dibs laughter started to die down, and he sighed, letting his gaze focus on Zim again.

“I know you don’t have any plans for earth. You’re too busy ringing up your leaders. You can’t lie to me anymore. I’m immune.” Another sigh, though Dibs smile definitely fell. “Eh….Zim?”

It was like Zim was staring off into space, antennae still uncharacteristically pressed flush back, at almost a 90 degree angle. After a solid minute of zoning out, the Irken suddenly sighed, plopping to the floor and hugging his knees to his chest. For just a second he wanted to pretend Dib wasn’t there, he wanted to sulk in isolation. Unfortunately, Dib didn’t get the hint.

“Uh. I’m sorry.” He said awkwardly. Dib shifted from one foot to the other. “Yknow, uh. I wasn’t even laughing at your threat. I kinda got carried away by memory lane outta nowhere.” He knelt close to Zims level when the other didn’t so much as acknowledge him. “Uhhhh…Zim?”

Faint grumbling muffled through limbs. Dib blinked. “Didn’t catch that.”

A very clear groan. “Don’t you know what ‘go away’ means? Go. Away.” Zim finally spoke clearer, looking up only to say this before burying his face in his knees again.

Dib blinked again, though this time out of pure confusion. He had seen Zims breakdowns, he had seen his grandiosity, he had seen his hurt and rage. All of it. But this was new. And in regards to Zim, Dib didn’t like new.

He noted how the Irkens antennae where flush against his head, like if dog ears where pinned back in fear or submissiveness. In that moment of comparing Zim to a dog, he had to fight back the very human urge to pet.

“I’m not going away, I’ve already said that. Last time I let you sulk in solitude, you were gone for weeks at a time.” Dib internally questioned why he had the urge to check on his enemy in the first place back then, but he didn’t give himself an answer. “I can compromise by not talking though. Startingggg, now.” He scooted closer to Zim until he was sitting next to him, leaning back and sighing. He let his weight rest on the palms of his hands as he stared at the ceiling. He thought he heard a light chitter from the other, but he ignored it. If Zims antennae could get any flatter against his skull, they would.

With the lab now silent and fairly dark, all that was left was the very slight buzzing of the monitor. Zim found without the idiots voice to keep his thoughts from spilling around in his head, he was left with the noise. The awful noise. The metaphorical but equally real noise.

He hated the noise.

Zim sighed again, quieter this time, before swiftly standing and pacing back over to the monitor. He ignored the other as he stared curiously, mulling over whether to try the call again or shut the screen off. After a few moments of working his jaw, he opted for the latter, seating himself in the chair and instead burying his head in his arms at the control panel.

Dib stared. This was going nowhere, wasn’t it? Years and years of trying to convince this dumbass of the obvious, and still. Or did he know, and just refuse to admit it to himself? Dib couldn’t decide which option was more likely. He shifted to face him, biting his tongue. “Silence sucks. I’m done shutting up.”

Zim barely peeled his head up from his arms to glare at the human. “You’re an idiot. I don’t want any more idiot ramblings.”

“Takes one to know one,” Dib shot back half heartedly. “Least you shut the screen off. I really thought you were gonna try again.”

Zim scowled to himself as he turned to bury his head in his arms again. He didn’t even give a proper retort back, just groaned and let his antennae fall slack.

“Cant you see it’s a good thing? Well, not them being horrible leaders or whatever. But think of what you could do. It sucks that they don’t care but they don’t care about ANYTHING that you do. Which means you can do absolutely anything you want.” Dib pauses for a second, “Well, except take over the planet. Obviously. But everything else is free game! Isn’t that a good thing?”

Zim shuffled in his seat slightly, finally looking up from his arms and giving Dib an unreadable expression. Was that confusion? Hurt? Apathy? Dib honestly couldn’t tell. But he left his arms open in offering of his propositions anyway.

“And I mean….I know it isn’t much, but you still have me, right?”

Zims first instinct was to grimace in disgust. He looked away, contemplating, not answering Dib immediately. But then he looked at him again and watched as a cheesy, toothy grin plastered the young adults face. That unreadable expression was back on Zims face. “Yeah. I do.”

The words came out solemnly, making Dib relax his outstretched arms. His smile also faded, but it returned a few seconds later, and he stood, confidently pacing to where Zim was sitting and kneeling ever so slightly to meet his eye level.

“I don’t know about you but I think it’s cool when there’s at least ONE person who knows what it’s all like. Or, at the very least, can understand it.” Dib leaned on the control panel. “I know you can’t deny that. I know cause you seek that kind of validation from me all the time.”

Zims head shot up and he glared, almost resembling a pout. But his antennae still lay flat against his head. “You wish someone as amazing as me did such a thing.”

Dibs smile didnt falter once. “Uh-huh.”

For some reason, the way Dib uttered that confirmation made Zim’s antennae twitch. He looked away, feigning confidence as he fidgeted with his uniform. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Human.”

Rolling his eyes, Dib allowed himself to lean off the control panel and closer to the Irken. “But you do though,” He quipped. “Remember when you begged me to give you a compliment in exchange for that soda? A compliment. Not even, like, one of my organs or something.”

Zims face was turning a different color, and he was afraid it was starting to become noticeable. “Stop it.”

“Or that time you were confused as to why I wasn’t COMPLETELY ENTHRALLED about being in a simulation where we live together.”

“Shut up.”

“Or that time you built some planet-ending machine and got mad when I wasn’t jumping for joy at the idea of you showing it off-“

“Shut UP, Dib!” Zim suddenly shot up, angry. His face was painted bright pink. His antennae still lay flat against his head. “Those where all things DUE to me or threats! Nothing else!”

“Then why are the threats empty? Or why are the requests for praise so desperate?” Dib smirked, not once faltering. Their faces were oddly close together. “I mean surely you would’ve been happy to follow through with all of those threats if they were actually threats.”

Zim couldn’t break Dibs gaze and it was eating him alive. He gulped, seeking from within himself any kind of plausible answer, but found nothing, instead finding himself staring dumbly at the equally dumb human in front of him. He felt as his antennae started to vibrate, and he shrunk in on himself again, only breaking Dibs gaze when he was seated once more. Dib gave an airy laugh.

“Yeah. I thought so. But hey, the feelings reciprocated, so I don’t care really.” He found himself staring at the Irkens antennae again, noting how far back they were positioned still. “I mean I gave you what you wanted and you gave me what I wanted…sort of. So evens even, right?” Dib knelt further and Zims eyes shot to his again. “Yknow. We don’t really have to be enemies anymore. Especially if there’s no plan for me to stop anyway.”

Zim narrowed his eyes. “Why would I ally with a disgusting human?”

“Fair point. Counter argument; who else do you have to ally with, space boy?”

Zim opened his mouth to retort, but came up empty, settling for clenching his fists and snarling. “I hate you.”

“Mmhm.” Dib dully acknowledged, “Is that why your antennae are positioned where they are? Or is that another coincidence?”

Said antennae twitched. Zim just looked away.

“I mean, I’ve never seen you so passive before. Body-language wise, anyway.” Dib shrugged. “Usually when an animals ears are back like that it means fear or submissiveness.”

This got the Irkens antennae to shoot right back up again. He glared daggers at Dib. “Like I would ever be subservient to you!”

“I said submissive, not subservient. Dumbass.”

Back down they go. Zim growled. “Do you enjoy being a nuisance to every living creature that breathes?”

“I kinda do actually,” Dib said with a smirk. He was getting under Zims skin. It was his favorite pastime. “Gives me reason to keep living. I’ve grown to liking living out of spite of others actually.” Dib stretched, cracking his knuckles as his arms hyperextended. “It’s even more fun when the person in question fucking LOATHES you.”

Zim glared at first, but then his expression softened into that unreadable expression again. This caught Dib off guard and his smirk fell, drawing attention to the Irken. Zim was looking at his gloved hand, mindlessly flexing his thumb claw in indecipherable thought. Dibs eyes trailed back to his antennae; flat, but tense. He couldn’t resist the urges anymore. With a mild amount of hesitance, Dib reached his hand up, letting it rest in an oddly gentle way on the top of Zims head. The other tensed at the touch, but didn’t move. “I mean, bickering is bickering. Spite is spite. At the end of the day it’s just….fun. Nothing else.”

Dib was surprised that his hand wasn’t immediately smacked away, but he was equally surprised at the noises the Irken emitted when he gave him gentle pats. He watched as the others antennae started to relax, cocking an eyebrow at the otherworldly trills and chitters Zim produced. Dib stifled a laugh at the sight, especially when he felt the alien pressing his head further into his hand, like a cat.

Dib shifted his gaze to look Zim in the eyes, about to make a snarky remark, but held his tongue when he saw the Irkens eyes were closed. At the sound of movement, Zim cracked a magneta-colored eye open to look back at Dib.

“Usually when someone goes for the head, it’s to kill.” Zim said neutrally. “Taller irkens aren’t especially known for giving out head pats to their shorter kin.”

This time, Dib allowed himself to airily laugh. “Thanks, captain obvious.” A sharp pain went up his hand. “Ow, what the fuck, Zim?! That hurt!” The human withdrew his bitten hand in an instant, scowling.

It was Zims turn to crack a smile, and it seemed oddly genuine. “That’s what would happen if they tried.”

Dib furrowed his brow. “Thanks for the info, I guess.” He let venom lace his last few words in that sentence, raising his hand experimentally to pet him again, only stopping when Zim ducked from his hand.

“If we’re doing this whole….’alliance’ thing, it’s on my terms and my terms alone. You have no power here, nasty human.” He narrowed his eyes at Dib. “You go too far, you get bitten. Or smacked. Whichever one I feel like doing that day.” Dibs hand fell back to his side.

“Man, you really are just like a cat.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I guess I agree to your stupid terms.”

“Good.” Zim smiled deviously. He stood up quickly, knocking Dib back onto his rear. Zim stood above him, still grinning maniacally. “For starters, get out of my lab. You’re making it smell bad in here.”

#iz #invader zim #zadf #zadr #zadqp #fanfiction #oneshot #iz oneshot #zadf oneshot #zadr oneshot #zadqp oneshot #writing #iz fanfiction #knotsoart #idk how to utilize tumblr format for writing i’ve never posted fic here before. forgive me #fluff #hurt/comfort #soft

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