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Dib listens to a lot of music, so by extension, Zim listens to a lot of music.
He listened to it when they walked home and sometimes Dib would hand Zim an earbud and walk slower so they could listen to it at the same time. He’d send Zim internet links over social media sites to songs, he’d invite Zim to listen to songs at the same time through an app. Whenever Zim came over, Dib put on music, and he kept it on when he fell asleep so Zim could listen to it while he played the animal village game on the tiny computer thing Dib let him have.
So Zim listened to a lot of the music Dib likes, just because it’s always playing when he’s with him.
He was pretty familiar with what Dib listened to, and occasionally, when he wanted to see the Dib, he’d listen to a handful of the songs he’d picked up.
He’d think about listening to them with Dib in his room, Dib’s hand gently running up and down one of Zim’s antennas as he laid in Dib’s lap, chin resting on his leg.
If he ever asked, Zim would never admit that he does that though.
(If Zim were transparent about his feelings for the human, about the extent of them, he’d never hear the end of it.)
Some of the songs have specific memories attached to them, and Zim likes to put the songs on loop and think about them as the lyrics play over and over.
He does this now, searching for the song in the green music playing app whose name he can never remember, putting it on repeat as he sinks into the couch cushions and wishes his Dib was there.
Mistakes Like This begins and Zim gets lost in thought. One evening, not too long ago, Zim got several texts in a row from Db Asking him to go to his house.
‘DON’T USE THE FRONT DOOR!!!’ one said, followed by an emoticon of two eyes‘CLIMB IN THRU THE WINDOW OR SMTH’
So Zim did, clambering in through the window with his pak legs, loud and clumsy.
Dib looked over at Zim from his desk, spinning around in his chair grinning when he saw Zim there.
“Oh good, it’s you,” Dib greeted standing up from his chair.
“Who else would be coming in through your window?” Zim asked, struggling to get tear his foot away from the window.
Dib didn’t answer, just shook his head and walked over to Zim.
“What was soimportant that Zim needed to come over immediately?” he asked, looking up at Dib with folded arms.
“My dad’s having some kind of science event, there’s a lot of people downstairs that I don’t want to talk to,” Dib shrugged, he seemed slightly embarrassed, “I just got bored.”
“Mhm, but what do you need Zim for?”
“I just wanted someone to talk to while I avoid my dad’s coworkers.”
“While you hide from adults in your room?” Zim corrected, shuffling a little closer to Dib.
“Yes, essentially,”
"And you just want to 'talk' to me, correct?"
"Absolutely correct, I'd never dream of doing anything else," Dib replied sarcastically, picking Zim up and pressing his lips to Zim’s immidately after he finished saying the sentence.
Zim twisted his arms around Dib’s neck, scratching his hands gently down Dib’s scalp, combing his fingers through his hair.
Dib was gently massaging the base of one of Zim’s antennas, making Zim shudder and arch closer to Dib.
At some point, Dib bit down on Zim’s bottom lip, and Zim’s breath hitched and his claws dug deeper into Dib’s skin than he intended.
Dib hissed, pulling away for a second.
“Sorry,” Zim apologized softly, voice breathy.
“Don’t be, it’s fine,” Dib dismissed, kissing Zim again.
They continued like that, Zim kept leaving deep scratches where he could reach along Dib’s back because every time he sank his nails in Dib would make a little whine sound and it made Zim dizzy.
He slipped his tongue into Dib’s mouth at some point, brushing it up against the sides of his cheeks and the entrance of his throat. Zim felt Dib tremble, heard his soft moan muffled by Zim’s mouth.
Zim felt like his organs were on fire, everything was hot and urgent.
The music continued playing in the background, but Zim wasn’t really paying attention to the lyrics, he was more paying attention to how Dib was squirming underneath him.
Wanna give back the things that I plan to take And I hope you won't care But all your makeup's running And I'm walking you home And my dick takes over And I'm thinking bout your lips
Zim’s eyes widened, and he looked over at the computer as if it had answers for him.
“What?”
“I just wasn’t expecting this song to take a turn like that,”
“You didn’t expect them to say dick?”
“No, not really.”
Dib laughed, his chest shook against Zim’s, he smiled down at him.
“It gets you the first time you hear it,”
Zim sighs, and leans back into Dib’s neck again, biting gently.
Dib’s breath stutters, and he freezes up against Zim before pulling him closer and pushing into Zim.
Zim kisses the bite mark he just left, and moves over to continue the cycle.
He thinks he could get used to this.
He thinks he’s already used to it as Dib whimpers from underneath him.
But we're too damn sober For mistakes like this.
After Zim had gotten tired of that song, after he found his mind beginning to drift off, he clicked another one, going through the same cycle.
Touch-tone Telephone started, and zim tapped his foot in time with it.
Zim had first heard this song while he was staying over at Dib’s house, for no particular reason, while they were following the standard sleepover routine.
(Which consisted of Dib using his phone or laptop while Zim laid on him and played the animal village game.)
“Alright,” Dib said suddenly, “I’m going to play you one of my most favorite songs in the world.”
“Oh?” Zim asked, not looking up from the DS device thing.
“Yes, it’s extremely important to me and I need you to listen to it.” Dib gently slid out from under Zim, but it still dislodged Zim enough for him to frown after Dib as he got up.
“Very well, Zim will allow it,” he mumbled, glaring at a bunny who taunted him about his outfit. “This bunny is sassing me, I will refuse to give it any more fish I catch.”
“What, in Animal Crossing?”
“Yes! This insufferable rabbit isn’t treating Zim with the respect I deserve! She’ll learn her lesson when I-”
“Okay I need you to shut up, I love you but you have to stop talking because listening to this song for the first time is a religious experience,” Dib explained, raising his hands to silence Zim.
Dib was very generous with his usage of ‘I love you,’ and he had said it several times by now, but Zim still found his guard being let down whenever Dib used it.
His head lowered onto the blankets underneath him, trying to hide the patches of heat that had
“Okay, I really don’t-”
“Shh, shut up, just listen,” Dib shushed, putting a finger over Zim’s mouth.
Zim sighed, looking up at Dib skeptically, but he remained silent anyway.
Dib started the song, sitting back down on the bed next to Zim, shuffling so he was closer to him.
The song began, and Zim surprisingly was not entirely disgusted by it. He kicked his feet back and forth in the air, antennas swishing idly.
I try to call you every day I'm rehearsing what to say When the truth comes out (Of my very own mouth) I've been working on a unified theory If I make it through tonight everybody's gonna hear me out 'Cause I'm the right one On my touch-tone, touch-tone telephone I'm the only one On your A.M., A.M. radio.
“It does remind me of you,” Zim murmured, nodding his head from side to side gently to the beat of the song.
“I know, isn’t it great?” Dib asked as he swayed on the bed and grinned.
“The angry emotion in the singer’s voice makes me think of you,” Zim continued, glancing over at Dib.
“Are you calling me angsty Spaceboy?”
“That’s exactly what’s happening,”
Dib moved his head along to the song, looking up from his phone over at Zim.
“You’re not wrong,”
“I know,”
Dib smiled at him briefly, genuine endearment flashed in his eyes, and then he dropped his head back into the pillow.
Zim flushed and looked away, focusing on the device in his hands.
“It’s a good song though, I enjoy it.” he mumbled.
“I knew you’d like it, you’re smart and have good taste, and I love you for that,” Dib replied, swiping something on his phone.
Zim buried his face into the blankets, antennas folding against his head, he felt the blush on his cheeks get worse.
“Of course I have good taste, I came up with it myself,” he dismissed, focusing all his attention on the round animals that inhabited his virtual village as the chorus played again.
Zim’s face got hot as he remembered that night, and he grumbled as a wave of affection washed over him. He reached a tired hand toward the mobile phone device, stopping the song and selecting a different one, then shoved his face back into the couch cushions.
Location started to play, Zim’s antennas dipped in tune with it.
Zim and Dib were at lunch, sitting on the ground outside, hands intertwined together, a pair of earbuds split between them.
Dib groaned, hitting his head against the brick wall behind him.
“You shouldn’t do that,” Zim advised, slightly sarcastic, “your human skulls are shockingly fragile.”
“I don’t want to go to class,” Dib whined, ignoring Zim.
“Then don’t go, you skip all the time.” Zim suggested, not completely invested in Dib’s problem.
“I already got detention for that this month, I can’t skip again.”
“You humans and your detentions and permanent records, they’re all just empty threats. You should skip class and walk home early with Zim,”
“I can’t” Dib sighed, running his thumb over Zim’s hand, “I have a Spanish test.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard for you,” Zim replied aside, half distracted. He was playing the Mario car game and was very focused on beating Dib’s score.
“I don’t understand direct object pronouns,”
Zim hummed, swerving chaotically into three other cars and knocking himself into fourth place.
“Zim,” Dib pleaded, nudging him with his elbow.
“What?”
“I have a Spanish test next period, say something nice to me,”
Zim hurled a green shell haphazardly at the putrid toad man in front of him.
“You have pretty eyes,” he told Dib without looking up, and he hoped the casual context would take some of the obvious admiration in his voice. “They’re very expressive, although they’re comically giant to fit your huge head,”
Dib was silent, and as Zim finished the race he looked up at him.
Dib was staring at Zim, previously mentioned eyes wide and glassy, adoration obvious in them.
“When you give me genuine compliments I feel like I get heart palpitations,” Dib stated the sincerity and bluntness of it caught Zim off guard.
“Yes yes Dib-thing, Zim knows he is very overwhelming,” he leaned his head on Dib’s shoulder and squeezed his hand, “but you should go take your Spanish test.”
Dib groaned again, but then detached his hand from Zim’s and stood up.
“Alright, I guess I should,”
“Yes, that’s what I said,” Dib tugged his backpack on and smiled at Zim one last time before he went to class.
“Bye Bug, I’ll see you later,”
“See you ‘around’ Dib-stink.” Zim waved, turning back to his phone.
He hummed the song again as Dib left, and it remained stuck in Zim’s head for the rest of the day.
Send me your location, let's Focus on communicating 'Cause I just need the time and place to come through (place to come through) Send me your location Let's ride the vibrations I don't need nothing else but you (do not need nothing else but you)
“I don’t need your love anymore Dib thing, this little dog woman loves me,” Zim teased as he conversed with the girl dog mayor.
He was over at Dib’s house, and it was late. The room was dark, save for the light coming from Dib’s phone, the glow of the sticky stars on the ceiling, and the low brightness shining from Zim’s DS device. Zim was laying across Dib’s stomach, enjoying the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the warmth radiating from him. He could stay like this for forever.
“Isabel? Isabel loves everyone,” Dib argued, Zim could tell from the way he was moving his fingers on his phone that he was playing the Mario car game, “me on the other hand, I hate everyone. My love is very exclusive, it’s just you,”
“But can you help me run my village of animals?” Zim asked, looking over at Dib for a second.
Dib laughed, shaking Zim on his chest.
“I can’t, I guess this is it for us.”
The song filled the silence with its upbeat melody, and Zim hummed along quietly to it, flicking his antenna.
“I’m glad I introduced you to Animal Crossing,” Dib spoke eventually, rubbing Zim’s back.
“Me too, running the lives of these tiny animals is very cathartic for me,” Zim admitted, running around in circles in the square.
“I also like how the only two games you know are Mario Kart and Animal Crossing,” Dib commented, he had put his phone down and had taken his glasses off.
“The only two games you need to know,”
“Mhm,” Dib hummed, he was starting to get sleepy, his breathing was slowing down, Zim could feel them getting deeper.
“Goodnight Dib thing,” Zim murmured, gently squeezing his arm.
Dib didn’t answer beyond a soft rumble from his throat, Zim felt it reverberate in his chest.
Zim settled his head on his folded arms, antenna drooping as he started to relax.
Irkens don’t sleep, and Zim is no exception, but he does like it when the Dib sleeps and he’s able to just lay on top of him or curled against his chest quietly for hours on end. Dib falls asleep soon after that, stomach and chest moving underneath Zim, the gentle, constant movements soothed Zim, and he let his eyes droop close.
Go down and take me up to heaven Oh, how I live just to be next to you I need you here with me forever I live for you to love me La la la la la love me, love me, love me, love me Love me like it’s prom night.
How Zim had started the playlist was Dib had mentioned something the other day as they were walking home about Gaz’s girlfriend making a playlist for her, and how he wished someone would do that for him. Which gave Zim the idea, since he and Dib were boyfriends now.
He got right to work, adding all the songs he thought about Dib to, all the songs that reminded him of Dib, any song he thought Dib would like.
He poured his heart into it, going into an isolated state where he got so focused on the playlist that even ignored Dib for a little while.
Zim put deep thought into every single song on the playlist, he needed everything to be perfect for Dib. He wanted Dib to see the playlist and be stunned speechless, he wanted Dib to be overcome with joy and gratitude and sweep Zim off of his feet in a passionate kiss.
Zim thought about that a lot while he worked on it.
Finally, it was finished, and after much turmoil he had named it ‘Dib-love’ with some of those heart cartoon images after the name.
One afternoon as the two of them prepared to walk home together, Zim decided impulsively when he saw Dib laugh that it was time to show Dib the playlist. That is, to show Dib his heart served on a platter.
“I made you a playlist,” Zim announced, holding out his phone at an arm’s length away from Dib.
“You- what?” Dib stuttered, blinking at Zim in shock.
"I made you a playlist, on that green music app, and I think it’s amazing and suits you well and you will listen to it.” Zim demanded, he waved the phone in his hand.
“You made me a playlist?” Dib asked, he sounded unbearably lovey.
“Yes,” Zim grumbled through gritted teeth.
“You realize you don’t have to give me your phone right? Just make it public?”
“Do you want the playlist or not!?” he snapped.
“I want it!” Dib defended, grabbing the phone, “I want it.”
He scrolled through the songs, smiling wider as he went.
“There’s songs on there that make me think of you, that I think you’ll like, that I like…” Zim trailed off, looking pointedly at the floor.
“Wow, so it’s really the full package then?” Dib asked, there was a barely hidden undercurrent of genuine affection under the teasing tone.
“Yes, Zim is an expert multitasker.”
Dib looked at the phone, smiling fondly, then looked back up at Zim.
“There’s a lot of Lemon Demon on here,”
“I know,” Dib breathed out a short laugh, it was more of a scoff, and took a steady step closer to Zim.
“I really do love you,”
“I know,”
Dib hugged Zim tightly, squeezing his arms around Zim, warm body pressed again Zim.
“I love you too,” he muttered, voice muffled by Dib’s shirt.
“You’re such a nerd,” Dib teased, hand warm on Zim’s neck.
Zim just grumbled again and squeezed Dib tighter.
“Alright, nerd, let’s go home and listen to this sick ass playlist you made,” Dib laughed, hugging Zim one more time before letting him go.
“It is sick ass, you’ll see,” “C’mon lizard, let’s go,” Dib prompted, leading Zim off to his house, pulling him by the hand.
Zim tried not to let how happy he was show, how proud of himself he was, tried to limit the skip in his step. The longer he held Dib’s hand, though, the harder it was to keep a straight face.
That song Peach ran through Zim head again, and he felt his insides squeeze with affection, hot on his face, it made his head spin and his legs weak.
You are my peach, you are my plum You are my earth, you are my sun I love your fingers, I love your toes The back of your head, the tip of your nose,