Dibbrane: Zim shows Dib his lab and ship for the first time
Zim knew that they’d mostly gotten over the hump. Dib had punched Tak halfway to Vort to prove that he still cared about Zim, and any remaining secrets were dissolving like flimsy cloth under laser fire.
Still. Still, even after everything, even as he cradled his egg-filled middle, his chest was thump-thump-thumping faster than it should have as they passed the gnomes to the front entrance of the base.
“So this was where you and Twix...?”
“Mhm. Not always, we fought all over the city, but often it was around here.” Zim rapped his knuckles against the doorframe as Dib had to stoop slightly to enter behind him. “The house was a custom model, but the basic tech to make it was issued to every invader.” The word still had a sting in his mouth, like biting thorns.
“How did it work? You didn’t build it all, I can’t imagine- this place isn’t that big, but-”
“I’ll have to show you sometime if I can dig up the blueprints, but you draw the outside and the inside is filled as accurately as possible from data pulled in from the airwaves allow.”
“Really? Neat!” Dib poked the couch. “It all feels real.”
‘It is real.” Zim made his way over to the trash can, drumming his fingers on his abdomen before deciding against it. He didn’t want to get stuck on Dib’s first visit. Instead, he looked up. “Computer, open the couch entrance.”
Zim waved his hand as he stepped onto the elevator, Dib practically suctioning himself to his side. “Just take us down to the lab.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” The floor dropped, and Dib wobbled for a moment before stabilizing himself.
“Oh, so this is how you get down to the basement.” Dib watched the floors go by. “I didn’t see anything that could be stairs, since the upper level’s pretty small.”
“Right.” Zim’s fingers tightened on his coat- he’d left it on out of habit, even though it was starting to become quite snug.
“Hey.” When Zim turned, Dib had knelt down on one knee. “I- I know this is a lot to deal with. But we agreed no more lies, alright? As long as you’re honest with me, you don’t have to be scared of wh-aaaaaaat is that?” Dib’s eyes widened as the elevator opened out into the cavernous main room of the subterranean lab.
“That, Dib-mate, is my lab.” A smile broke over Zim’s cheeks as he turned on his heel to march down towards the computer. He could hear the little squeak of Dib’s boots as he scurried to follow him, easily catching up as his strides were twice the size of Zim’s.
“This stuff looks ages ahead of what we have back at- geez, no wonder you had so many ideas, it must have been like working in the stone age!” Dib caressed one of the consoles. Zim chuckled.
“Well, it was worth it to work with you. Besides, Earth and Irk divulged eons ago considering they were so far apart and Earth doesn’t have interplanetary influence- even if it was a bit old, it was still new to me.”
Dib started randomly pressing buttons just to see what they did, and Zim had known him long enough to tell that he was awed even behind his goggles and collar. “Can we just stay down here for a month? I want to stay down here for a month.”
“We can come back whenever you want.” Zim leaned against Dib’s hip, and Dib took it as a cue to scoop Zim up to set on his shoulder, the way they had done so often at work. “This is all yours too now.”
Dib let out a little squeal, bouncing on his heels and looking more like the excitable child Zim had met ages ago than the man in his thirties he was now. “Dad’s never seen anything like any of this- can you imagine? Whenever we figure out how to spin it, it’ll be ‘Dib Membrane: The one who discovered alien tech.’ I’ll finally have something that’s mine- that’s ours.”
Zim swallowed, glancing away, but Dib nudged him with the side of his head. “I... I won’t do it if we can’t figure out how to keep you safe. Even if we just introduce this stuff to the lab slowly as our own inventions, it’ll still be something, but your safety and the safety of the kids comes first. I can’t imagine how scary it’s been, waiting for the other shoe to drop for twenty years.”
Zim looked down at Dib, concern shining through what Zim could see of his goggles, and his antennae twitched before pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"I’m just glad it’s over now. And I can show you my ship.”
I am, once again, feeling bad for keeping all the discord content on discord. Especially with the new Dibbrane au. Guys, it’s *so* good. We love it so much
Have Zim dealing with the shocking revelation that his dumbass, oblivious Dib is in a room full of Dibs who all know he’s an alien.
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Shadow: “Are you telling me I went twenty years and this is going to be how he finds out?”
