"...I think I might feel the same way..?"

Zim blushed as he looked at the grass underneath their feet.

"I mean, you've been very nice to Zim... nicer than most people, actually. And all the time that we've spent together really means a lot to me. You've helped me feel a little more comfortable being myself, truly. So, I guess I've developed 'romantic' feelings for you as well."

Dib let out a sigh of relief at his words.

"Oh, thank God. I was so scared that you wouldn't like me back," he said chuckling nervously. "Besides that, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go on a date to... let's say the fair? Around four pm tomorrow?"

Zim shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The boys walked and talked as they made their way to the base. The atmosphere was way less suffocating than before now that they confessed. There weren't any secrets lingering in the air or unanswered questions. Just pure joy. Eventually, they made it to the Irken's base.

"Alright, bye Zim! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Mhm!"

Zim leaned against the door as he closed it, sliding onto the floor. He couldn't control the heat that had rushed to his face ever since they... wow. It was weird to think that Dib cared about him that much, despite everything that had happened in their lives.

Not too long ago, they were enemies. The sheer thought of having any positive feelings toward the human would've made him sick to his squeedilyspooch. And, even when they did become friends, there were still conflicts that arose. Like the argument after he had... harmed those guys. Sure, they made up, but it still happened.

Or the time when they had talked about past crushes. Zim had made an insensitive comment about Erik, which caused Dib to leave without a word. That made Zim think for a little.

Did Dib still like Erik? Did he like him more than Zim? No... that couldn't be true, right?

But at the same time, it did kind of make sense. Erik was human, something he was not. Of course Dib would prefer someone of his own species. Plus, when he described the boy's appearance he had this look in his eyes, one of admiration.

Was Zim just a replacement? Would he matter if Erik was still alive?

Did Dib not care about him at all?

He shook his head trying to erase the horrible thoughts, but they kept coming back. Each one would progressively get worse, making him question his own self-worth and feelings. His emotions started building up until he felt as if he couldn't breath. His head was pounding, and tears were starting to form in his eyes, despite his efforts to stop them. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid, feeling anything for anyone, because in the end he would just get hurt.

It happened with his Tallest, and it was bound to happen with Dib too.

"Master? Are yous okay?" Gir asked as he waddled towards him.

Zim nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm fine. Just... a little worried." Gir sat down next to him and stared at him, ready to listen to whatever he had to say.

"It's just, Dib confessed his feelings to me-"

"Yay! I knew it!!!"

"-and I don't know if he meant it or not. I mean, he had someone in the past, and I'm not sure if I live up to the expectations he has for me." He chuckled somberly. "I don't know why I'm even telling you this, I doubt you understand what I'm saying."

"But I do understand!" Gir stood up swiftly. "I understand that master is hurting! And I wanna help youz!" He remembered how Dib would comfort the alien, and hugged him. Then, he ran into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of his favorite candy, fundip, and brought it to him.

"It gonna be okay! Mary loves you! You guys gonna get married, and have a family, and be the next Tallest!"

Zim giggled lightly. "Thanks, Gir. But I'm not so sure about that last one, right now I want nothing to do with the empire. Those stuck-up jerks..."

"Yeah! Jerks!" Gir stuck his tongue out. "They're meanies! Like angry burritos!"

"Mhm, like angry burritos..."

Gir giggled and put on his disguise. "Imma go fight a monkey now! Bye!" And with that he walked past Zim, opened the door, and left.

Zim smiled to himself. Even if Dib really didn't love him, at least Gir still had his back. It felt nice knowing that someone in the world cared about him, even if it was just his robotic servant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day went slow for both Zim and Dib, who were waiting eagerly for it to pass. The next morning would be the beginning of a new experience, a new chapter of their lives, and there was no way that they would miss it for the world.

Questions were lingering in the air, most of them being about the outcome of the date. Would it turn out okay? Or would something horrible happen?

Thirteen hours passed, and it soon became time to find out.

Zim's heart was beating like a drum as he looked over at the outfit he had placed on the couch. He was going for a more casual look, since they were going to spend their time at the fair, so he had picked a magenta hoodie that was pink at the sleeves. Lines were perfectly placed on them, making it look a lot like his invader tunic.

Clearly, he had a style.

Right next to the hoodie was a little, black choker. At first, he wasn't going to buy it, but the store he was at was having a sale. And, of course, he couldn't turn down cheaper prices. So, he bought it, naturally.

The rest of his outfit consisted of his regular leggings, boots, and disguise, which he had grown quite fond of over the years. Especially now that his own species had thrown him out like garbage.

When he wore the disguise, people liked him better. Maybe Irkens didn't accept him, but humans did. Sure, some had a twisted way of showing it, like Torque, for example. But in the end of the day, they accepted that Zim was 'human'. Nobody saw him as less of a person for his height or emotions. They saw him as one of them.

Of course, it wasn't like he wanted to be a human either. They were way too flawed, even more so than Irkens. All he wanted was for people to care about him, not because of his species, height, or whatever. No, he wanted them to care because he was Zim. Did that make sense? Maybe not, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like it was going to happen anytime soon.

He put on the outfit that he so carefully put together and checked himself in the mirror. First, he looked at his front, then his back, and the sides, but he couldn't form an opinion.

"Gir!" He shouted for his companion. "Come over here and tell me how I look!"

The small robot rolled into the room from outside and squinted his eyes at Zim, before circling around him in deep thought. After a few seconds, he walked in front of him and jumped around, expressing a happy mood.

"You look great!! Mary gonna luv your clothes, master!!!"

Zim placed his hands on his hips, staring at the mirror once again, this time with a prideful expression.

"Well, of course I do! I am Zim!" He said proudly. But he knew he would need much more convincing before he actually believed any of that.

A loud knock was heard at the door, and Zim knew that his time of vacillation was over. In a little while, he was going to have to tempt fate and hope that everything plays out well. Because if not, things weren't going to get pretty. The little storm of problems he was dealing with would evolve into a hurricane of neverending self-doubt and bad memories, with nobody left to help him back on his feet after the end of it.

This wasn't just any normal date, it was a date with destiny.

And if he wanted to make it out alive, he was going to have to play his cards right.

Zim took a deep breath and approached the door, unlocking it ever so slowly. He had a bad case of the jitters for no apparent reason, other than the fact that he was afraid of what the human would think of him. After all, it was their first date, and he needed to show Dib that he was going to be committed to their relationship.

That is, if everything did work out.

The door unlocked leaving Zim to do the last step... opening it. His heart was beating so fast that it could beat Usain Bolt in a race as he answered the door, finally.

"Hey, Zim! Are you ready?"

Dib was wearing a tiny black bowtie on top of his regular blue shirt. Other than that, he wore the same outfit that he did everyday, the only other difference being his combat boots which he hadn't worn in a while.

"Eh, yes! Zim is very ready!" He said confidently as he walked out of the house. Gir followed close behind him, excitement painting his features.

"Aww, you guys are so cute! Imma go take a picture, k?" Gir ran back inside, causing Zim to push Dib away from the house and towards the car in a hurried manner. Once they sat down, he let out a breath of relief.

"If he took that picture, he would never shut up about it," he explained to a very confused Dib. "Let's go to that 'fair' now. Zim's very excited to see it!"

Upon arriving there, Zim admired the size of the place. It stretched across acres and acres of land, filled with entertainment and sugary foods. The rides ranged from kiddie coasters to death traps that flung you hundreds of feet up in the air, and at the center of it all was a massive ferris wheel.

"Holy Irk! This place is bigger than the moon of Xanith!" He exclaimed in both awe and pure joy. Dib couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.

"Yup! In fact, it's so large that it's impossible to ride everything in one day!"

"Really?" Zim gave him a look of determination. "We'll have to disprove that theory! Come along, Dib-stink!"

He took him by the hand, interlocking their fingers, and dragged the blushing human to the entrance of the fairgrounds. They showed the tickets that were previously bought to the security guard, and were granted access to all of the rides.

"So, what's first?" Dib asked with a playful grin. Just seeing Zim smile genuinely made his day.

The Irken spun around looking at everything in the vicinity, before staring at a particular one. "What about that one?" He asked pointing to it.

The ride was shaped like the UFOs seen in the old 90's movies, and it looked large enough to fit about 40 people. Hence the giant line that had formed in front of it.

"You mean the Gravitron?" Dib took another look at it. "You sure? This is your first ride, and that seems a little intense."

Zim gave him an offended look. "Are you saying that I'm not brave enough for this ride? Because I'll have you know that I've been to the deepest, darkest parts of space, and that thing looks pathetic compared to them! I'll show you how brave Zim can be!" And with that he started speed walking to the line with Dib following close behind.

"Wait, that's not what I meant!" He said, cursing at himself internally. He just had to ruin everything, didn't he? "I'm just saying, this ride can get a little intense, that's all."

"We'll see about that."

After waiting for a few minutes, it was finally their turn to enter the ride. Zim was the first to get into position, smirking at Dib.

"Let's see what you humans  think is intense," he said, straightening himself out. Dib shrugged and waited for the ride to start. When it did, everything was moving slowly. Zim gave him a look of disappointment, before he was pushed back onto the sliding wall due to the number of G-forces. His old smug look was replaced by a shocked one, as the ride spun them around and around without a hint of mercy.

"Not so pathetic, now, is it?" Dib teased as he started climbing up the wall, relaxing once he got to the top. He looked much more calm than the other, since he had ridden the Gravitron many times, and he had a basic understanding of how it worked.

"How are you even doing that?!" Zim yelled as he tried copying his actions, but to no avail. Each time he would get close to the top, Dib would gently push him down, erasing all of his progress. To say it was annoying would be an understatement. "Stop it!" He commanded the human.

"Or what?"

He had a point.

"Or... I'll use my superior Irken senses to stop the ride!"

"You're an alien, Zim, not a psychic," he said, laughing smugly. "But go ahead, try it!"

Zim shut his eyes tight, and pretended to concentrate on something before the ride came to an abrupt stop. Dib was unprepared and ended up falling face-first onto the ground with a shocked and confused expression, slowly getting up after recovering from the pain.

"Did you-?"

"No?"

Zim looked around and shrugged. "I guess I'm just that amazing."

The boys left the Gravitron and made their way down the main area of the fair, where a multitude of stands selling sugary foods were found. There was everything, from fried butter to mountainous sundaes that were guaranteed to give you diabetes in a single bite. To Zim, the whole place seemed like wonderland, but there was one thing that he found interesting in particular.

"Dib, what's that?" He asked, pointing to a colorful food stand that specialized in a certain cloud candy.

"Cotton candy. It's basically pure sugar," the human responded simply. He noticed how Zim was staring at it, and felt the need to do something for him. "I can buy it for you if you want."

"Really?" Zim gave him a look that tugged on his heart strings mercilessly. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course! I mean, we are on a date afterall, it would be rude not to!" He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to suppress the urge to spoil him with millions of other gifts. Afterall, he had the money for it, so self-control was a must in that situation. Otherwise, they would need to rent a new car to fit everything that was bought for him.

After receiving the cotton candy, Zim immediately tried a piece of it, not expecting it to be as sweet as it was. Instantly, his antennae rose up in the air, causing his wig to raise a little in his excitement.

"Holy Irk, this is delicious! How did I go without this all of my life?!"

He ate more of it, feeling the same sense of happiness he had felt from the first bite, until eventually, it was gone.

"You really liked it, huh?" Dib commented while chuckling. "I'm glad, that thing was overpriced."

He turned his attention to the sky which was starting to darken, little by little. In about five hours, the firework show would start, and he didn't want to miss it. Truth was, he had a plan that he wanted to put in motion around that time, and it needed to be at the right moment. Otherwise, it would end in failure.

"So, what do you want to ride next?" Dib asked Zim, letting him take the reins.

"How about the 'crazy house?'"

He pointed towards a large fun house with clip art of clowns painted on it. A large sign was placed in the front that read:

'Crazy Bob's Fun House-

Can you make it out alive?'

It was an odd marketing tactic, but there was a lot of people in line, so it worked, somehow.

Dib nodded, and they started making their way towards it. However, along the way, they noticed a serious problem.

To get to the fun house, they would have to cross a wide bridge that was above the bumper boats ride. It wasn't that bad, except...

Each boat had a water gun attached to it, which could turn in any direction. And unfortunately, 99% of the riders would shoot at unsuspecting people just trying to cross to the other side of the fair. Even running wouldn't help, since the bridge was really long.

"Are you serious?!" Zim yelled in frustration once he noticed the predicament that they were in. "How dare these unsalted fries think that they can shoot whoever they want with the danger liquid! They would be punished for that on Irk!"

Dib shrugged.

"People are just like that. I guess they forget that people can be allergic to water, or aliens in this case." He took off his trench coat and held it out to Zim. "Here, take off your jacket and put mine on. It's tougher, so you won't get touched by any water."

Zim obeyed and traded jackets with him. Then, they braced themselves and walked across the bridge together. Dib made sure to shield the Irken a little, just in case he was a main target amongst everyone. And after a while, they finally made it to the end.

They swapped jackets and walked to the entrance of the fun house, which wasn't as full as before, but if anything, that was beneficial to them.

"Alright, are you ready?" Dib asked him eagerly. "Because I'm going to race you, and I'm not stopping until I get to the end. You're on your own."

Zim nodded and looked forward at the house, matching his excitement. He was going to win for sure.

The ride attendant unlocked the gate blocking off the fun house, and the race begun.

Dib was first to take the lead, as he darted through the first three sets of obstacles with ease. Then, he ran up an uneven staircase and arrived in the dark area, where he was passed by Zim, since Irkens had night vision.

"Looks like you don't stand a chance against me!" He taunted as he unleashed his pak legs, luckily out of sight, and disappeared into the darkness.

The human wasn't impressed, and despite being far behind, he still tried his best to finish first. It might have taken a little longer, but eventually he managed to move on to the next room, the mirror maze. And fortunately for him, Zim was stuck there too.

Everywhere he went, Zim could see himself fail endlessly at escaping the maze over and over again. But it wasn't his fault, since there was smoke everywhere thanks to the little machine in the corner. Every time that he thought he was a step ahead, he would bump into a mirror, proving that he was still far behind.

It didn't help that he could hear Dib run outside, finally free from the nefarious grasp of the 'fun house'. The only beneficial thing about that was that he didn't have to rush anymore. So, he took a deep breath, and used his head for once.

Quite literally.

He used his antennae to listen to the sounds of the people outside the attraction, and he managed to locate the exit after a few minutes of intense hearing.

"Took you long enough," Dib said snarkily, returning the attitude that the other had given him earlier. "I'm sure you already know that I won."

"Yeah, Zim heard. You're lucky that I let you win."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yup." Zim crossed his arms with a proud expression on his face. "I figured that if you got to the end first, then I could just listen for your sounds and follow them. It's a very smart move."

"Very."

Dib checked his watch again and figured that they had about four more hours to kill. So, they rode a few other rides, mostly being your average fair attractions like the zipper or the swinging boat ride. The time they spent together was absolutely enjoyable, especially for Dib who had a lot of fun seeing Zim's reactions to all the new things he did. He just wanted to see the Irken happy for once, after all the things that had happened to him.

But then, it was finally nine o'clock.

Dib grabbed Zim by the hand and lead him to a nice secluded spot on a small hill away from all of the tourists that were pushed against them, and sat on the soft grass with the other following immediately after.

"What are we doing here?" Zim asked quizzically. There was no food stand or ride in sight, just the grass and the night sky shimmering above them.

"You'll see."

Dib turned to look at the sky, causing the Irken to as well, out of curiosity. And then it happened.

In an instant, hundreds of tiny rockets darted into the air exploding into beautiful displays of colored light above them. They illuminated the sky, painting it in hues of green, magenta, blue, and yellow like an artist fueled by passion. Then, they would fade away, leaving no trace behind as if they weren't ever there.

The sequence would repeat over and over with different colors, shapes, and locations, and Zim couldn't get enough of it.

The way that the stars complimented the fireworks, blending with them in perfect harmony, reminded him about his days on Irk as a smeet, when everything was far more simpler.

He remembered admiring the galaxy, Tareish, as they called it, in complete awe, knowing that one day he was going to have the chance to explore it all. At the time, his main priority, his goal, was to be an invader. It felt like an easy task, despite the harsh training he had to endure only a month after being hatched, and he had all of the determination that he needed.

Of course, it didn't work out, but it was still fun to feel his childhood innocence again, even if it was just through a memory.

"So, what do you think?" Dib asked him as the radiant show soon started to end. "Did you like it?"

"Zim loved it, actually." He looked back up at the sky, as if the fairground workers would get the hint and start it up again, but they didn't.

"You know, you humans aren't as bad as I thought. You're not barbarians, just stupid, incredibly stupid compared to Irkens... but thank you."

"Thank you?" Dib gave him a puzzled look. "What for?"

"For showing me the light show, duh. It brought me back to a better time, back when I was a smeet. And you also brought me here, where I got to ride all of those death traps and eat the cotton of candy. It means a lot to Zim." He blushed, avoiding eye-contact for being that open with the human. Dib was just as surprised as he was.

"Okay, who are you and where is the real Zim?" He joked before the Irken gave him an unimpressed look, causing him to chuckle.

"Oh man, who would've that that I'd be hanging out with my worst enemy on a date? Younger me would freak out if he knew."

Zim nodded, agreeing with him. "Same with me."

Then, there was silence as they both gazed at the stars, twinkling like diamonds in the night sky. But it wasn't uncomfortable by any means. No, at that time they forgot everything that was wrong with their lives momentarily, and started living in the moment.

They were an unlikely pair, yes it was true. An alien and a human, mortal enemies since the beginning. But at the same time, it felt so right. Both were outcasts in their societies, thrown out because of their differences from the others. It was fate that brought them together on the same planet at the same time stargazing right next to each other in peace.

"Hey, Zim?"

The alien acknowledged Dib, but said nothing, letting him continue what he was going to say.

"I'm going to be honest with you, I wish things were like this all of the time."

There was silence once again, before Zim spoke up.

"Me too."

It was two simple words, yet they helped Dib gain the confidence he needed to continue as he inched slightly closer to the other boy, ready to risk everything for the sake of happiness.

"I know I've already said this before at skool, but I really do have feelings for you. I honestly don't know how I would feel if you weren't by my side like how you are now, because you make me feel a way that nobody else does."

Their faces were only inches apart.

"Ironic, right? It turns out that my worst enemy is really the person I trust the most."

He slowly reached for the other's hand, interlocking their fingers together and caressing his cheek. Zim felt heat rush to his face, and Dib wasn't any different.

"I wish you understood how important you really are to me."

And with his heart beating fast, Dib leaned closer to the Irken's face and took his lips in his own.