Angst requested by honeyandlattes

Blood painted the dirty streets of the empty city. It was once a place buzzing with liveliness, but now, it was merely a shell of its former self.

There was a virus going around. One that transformed people into flesh-craving monsters, which survivors nicknamed zombies since they were so alike. They were nearly indestructible, since the virus would clot up their blood, making a thick layer of skin form on them. The only way to kill them, was to shoot them in the head. And, it wasn't even guaranteed that any damage would be done.

You'd just have to risk it.

Former enemies Dib and Zim were currently inside one of the many abandoned buildings in the city, raiding it for weapons and food. Months had passed since the start of the apocalypse, but to them, it seemed like years. Dib, now 21 years old, and Zim had started dating before the end of the world. And now, they depended on each other to survive.

The two were currently looking at another shelf, trying to find better upgrades to their weapons. Dib had found an AK-47 earlier, which wasn't bad, but there was still room for improvement. Meanwhile, Zim only had a pistol. Some debris had damaged his pak during the start of the apocalypse, so he didn't have any access to his weapons. Not even his pak legs. So, he had to resort to using human artillary.

"Find anything yet?" Asked Dib from across the building. Zim shook his head.

"Nope, not yet." He sighed. "How long do you think we can stay here before they find us?" He looked towards the barricade they had made in front of the door.

"Probably 10 more minutes. Better make the most of it, right?" Dib continued searching through the shelves, this time a little faster.

Just then, there was a loud bang, followed with pained groans.

"Shit." He looked at Zim. "We need to go... NOW."

The pair ran up the stairs of the tall building until they reached the roof. Then, they stood there, figuring out their next course of action. The zombies had taken down the barricade, so they needed to think fast.

"Zim, can you operate your pak legs?" Dib asked him nervously. The alien closed his eyes for a few seconds before hissing in pain.

"No, it won't let me."

Dib nodded and looked around for anything to use. He spotted a nearby building which had stairs leading down from the roof.

"Alright, our only option is to go there," he stated, pointing towards it. "So on the count of three, we're going to jump." He held Zim's hand in his own.

"Ready?" The Irken nodded.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"Jump!"

They hopped from one roof to the other and ran down the staircase located next to it.

"Thank God we made it out alive," Dib mumbled.

"Not for long." Zim pointed towards a horde of zombies slowly approaching them. "Come on Dib-stink, we need to get moving!"

The couple ran as fast as they could to get away, and all seemed to be going well. In fact, they were getting really close to their safe space. But then...

Dib tripped.

Time started to slow down for the two of them. The zombies seemed to be approaching them much faster than before until they were inches away from him. Zim ran towards Dib and tried helping him up to the best of his ability. But it was too late, because they were already attempting to attack him.

"Dib!" He yelled.

There wasn't much time, he needed help immediately. Zim tried shooting one of the zombies, but he was out of ammo.

"Damnit!"

He was running out of options, so he did the only thing he knew to do.

Zim activated his pak legs.

The pain was excruciating, but he would do anything to help his boyfriend. He didn't want to watch him die.

He managed to tear him apart from the zombies, and they continued to run. Dib regained his strength, and used his good arm to fire at the horde until there was nothing left. Then, they rested next to an empty truck.

"Dib! Please tell me you're okay."

The human pointed towards his shoulder.

The fabric was ripped off, revealing a bloody bite wound. The blood around it was slowly starting to clot up. Zim put his hands over his mouth.

"I only have five minutes until I become one of them," Dib said wearily. He was getting really tired, but he refused to give in. If he fell asleep, that would be the last time he would be able to do that. And all he wanted to do for now was to speak to his lover.

"Please don't go Dib! I don't know what to do without you," Zim pleaded. Pink tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Gir was already gone, this would only add to his grief.

"You'll make it, I'm sure you will." Dib smiled. "What you did back there... thank you. I know that must've hurt a lot. Since, y'know, that thing is attached to your back," he said, chuckling lightly before going into a coughing fit.

Zim winced.

"Three more minutes..." he muttered. Then, he looked at the alien. "Zim, I need you to do something important."

"I'll do anything for you."

Dib smiled faintly.

"Then, I need you to shoot me." He handed him his gun.

"Wait... I don't understand," Zim spoke as he shakingly took it. "You want me to kill you...?"

"Precisely." Dib sighed. "I don't want to turn into one of those things and hurt innocent people. And, I don't want to hurt you," he said, looking down at the ground.

"There's got to be a different way! I'm sure we can find something to heal you! I..." he felt hot tears fall down his face.

"I don't want to lose you too."

The Irken couldn't contain himself any longer, and started sobbing.

"We were so close to being happy together! So close! Curse this stupid world!" His antennae fell limp against his head. Then he sighed. Only two minutes were left, and Dib was starting to look even more tired.

"Do you...promise that you'll wait for me on the other side?" He asked defeatedly. Dib nodded.

"I'll wait forever if I have to."

He pulled the alien in for one last kiss, which made him cry even harder. The two made the most of it, but eventually had to part to catch their breath. Then, Zim shakily held the gun out in front of him, pointing it towards Dib. The human smiled.

"I love you, Zim."

*Bang!*

....

"I love you too."

The Irken stared at Dib's lifeless body. He felt absolutely terrible.

"What do I do now...?" He muttered to himself.

Dib was gone.

He looked at his surroundings. The zombies would return any minute now. But, he didn't want to die by their filthy hands. He glanced at Dib again.

Then, he sighed.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered as he ripped his pak off of his body. Pink blood flowed out of his wound, but he didn't care. Instead, all he did was wrap his arms around his dead boyfriend in front of him, and close his eyes.

Now, they would be together forever.