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Dib was sitting on his usual spot on his flat rooftop, eyes closed and body laying still, relaxed. His laptop, heavy-duty and thick gray, was sitting at his side. On the screen were various math equations, green-on-black spinning radars with numbers rolling down the side – only comprehended by him, only needed by him. His notebook was sitting beside it, equally as forgotten for now. He was lost now in his own little world, large purple headphones stuck on his ears and blaring music for a much needed break. In the opposite house’s window was Zim, staring up and out with too-large binoculars, observing.
“GIR!”
The small robot waddled toward him, mumbling about how he missed his TV show. No matter, he would get it back soon enough.
“What’s the big-headed boy doooooing, master?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, Gir. He must be up to some big plan to reveal to save his pathetic human race from the threat of ZIM!” Zim knew, however, this was not true. Dib had given up long ago and accepted how stupid his whole entire planet was. Dib was done chasing Zim, though he still took meticulous notes on the Irken race.
Zim handed the binoculars to his robot assistant and opened the window. “Take care of the base while I’m gone. I have much to do.”
Just like that, his PAK whirred and the spider-legs came out. Gripping the windowsill, Zim hopped out and let his PAK legs suspend him between the sides of the two houses. He climbed up them, something he learned to do well after being chased by Dib through the city many times when Dib was just a child. An adult by Irken standards, Zim did not grow. But now Dib was a late teenager, tall and lanky and everything Zim was jealous of. He could not let that ruin his mission.
When he reached the top of the two buildings, the legs that were still on his own base kicked off and propelled him onto the flat rooftop of Dib’s house. He scuttled over to the boy, who did not notice him coming. His eyes were still closed, and Zim briefly thought something was wrong. The Irken hung over top of Dib, inches from his face. He had no disguise on; he found it no longer necessary because Dib was no longer a threat.
“Dib-stink?”
One poke to his face with a gloved claw and Dib had flickered his eyes open. He removed his headphones and kept his head glued to the roof.
“Zim? What are you doing here?”
“Zim could ask you the same question, earth creature.”
Lightly slapping the alien aside, Dib sat up and stretched. The tiny invader narrowed his eyes, finding the stretch an almost mockery; his short limbs outmatched by Dib’s long and thin human arms and legs. He scoffed, crossing his arms and standing up on his own feet.
“I was just taking a break. I’m mapping out constellations and planets.”
“Conste…llations?”
Zim cocked his head, popping out one hip and made a confused whine. He always did that when he was upset that he didn’t understand something, he was a very whiney creature. Dib grabbed a tiny arm and pulled Zim down to sit beside him. The tiny alien landed with a thud, but he was not hurt. Dib took the arm he was holding and pointed to a formation of stars in the sky with both of their hands.
“See? That group of stars there is a constellation. It’s called Orion.”
“What’s so special about it? Zim does not see the use for such petty knowledge.”
“Well, they’re mostly mythological. Orion was a hunter in Greek mythology, and that cluster is named after him.”
“That seems so pointless,” Zim turned away, pulling his hand with it.
“I just like them because they’re pretty.”
Zim turned back slowly. Humans truly were such fascinating creatures; he had never heard a cluster of flaming gasses referred to as ‘beautiful’ before. He looked back up, right at Orion. Maybe someday he would see the beauty that Dib sees, too.
His staring was interrupted by a shiver. Zim was hyper-sensitive to cold, something he learned in his first winter here on Earth. He did not like it, and though Dib was only in a light t-shirt he found himself freezing in his Irken uniform. Dib took sympathy and pulled his former enemy into his lap. He took his coat, which was discarded beside him earlier that evening, and wrapped it around himself first and then around Zim.
“Ehn? Dib-filth, what are you doing to Zim?”
Dib didn’t reply, and just let the Irken squirm for a few moments before finally settling down. It accomplished what he wanted, effectively warming up Zim. Body heat was the best way to warm up an Irken, Dib had taken note of this when he found Zim desperately clutching to their skool-mates the first day the temperatures began to drop.
Even though Zim knew that Gir had probably managed to break at least half of the equipment in his base by now, Zim settled down and curled up against Dib. He could repair the base tomorrow; for now he would stay here with his human companion and look at the sky. It really was beautiful.