Truthseeking

Breakfast

Turning back to his food, the three all ate in near perfect silence, other than the scrape of utensils on other plates, and the low hum of foodio doing something else near them.

"So, " Gaz spoke up, breaking through the silence.

The two boys looked over to her, listening.

"What happened to him? " Gaz finished, gesturing her utensil to Zim.

The alien froze, and Dib just stared, not quite sure how to explain.

"Uhm, we got into a fight. " Dib inquired hesitantly, lightly nodding to himself when he saw Zim relax slightly.

Gaz raised a brow, but didn't push, seeming to read the room.

Silence filled the room once more, though this time slightly less comfortable.

Gaz finished her plate, and after putting it out for foodio to clean, she retreated back to her bedroom.

The awkwardness lifted, ever so slightly more comfortable for some reason that Dib couldn't grasp.

He turned to Zim, staring as his gaze stayed on the waffles in front of him.

He realised then, just how badly the water burned him, his face was covered in burns, as well as any other parts of his skin that were visible.

And his antenna, they were wrapped to the edge in bandages, and Dib took a guess that those were probably one of the most sensitive parts of his body.

Said antenna suddenly made a twitch, and he realised the alien was staring back at him, and with an embarrassed expression, he turned his gaze away.

"S-so, how's…How are you feeling? " Dib inquired quickly, eyes still locked on his plate, the unfinished pancake staring back at him.

Zim didn't reply for a moment, presumably thinking.

"Zim is fine " The alien spoke, staring off in no particular direction, for what Dib could tell.

"Are you sure? Your uh.. Burns, they look… painful. " He tried, gesturing to him with his utensil.

His antenna twitched for a moment before he answered.

"Er, Zim's burns are.. irritating, but nothing an irken cannot handle. " Zim vowed, with an unreadable expression, that made him guess that Zim was looking at him.

Dib thought for a few minutes, he didn't think he had anything like burn cream, he had more bandages, but he'd take a guess that Zim didn't enjoy having things on his face, as he only had a single bandage near his eye.

"Well, I don't have any burn cream, or anything like that… But we could go and get some, I think I have some spare money. " Dib offered, glancing at Zim.

"Wait- do you have your disguise? " He suddenly blurted, realising that he hadn't seen him come back with it.

The alien's antenna perked, and he paused, much to Dib's horror, it didn't seem like he did.

Zim shaking his head lightly confirmed his fears.

With a sigh, he got up, gesturing for him to follow.

The alien complied, curiously squinting an eye at him.

They reached his room, where Dib began to scramble through his closet.

"Dib-thing? What are you doing? " Zim asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"You don't have your disguise, and I don't trust you enough to leave you alone at my house- or yours, so I'm going to give you a temporary disguise so we can find your other one." He answered, while picking out a bright pink sweater.

"Zim is not wearing your filthy human clothing! " He screamed, offended as he kicked the sweater away.

Dib roller his eyes as he reached for the sweater, placing it beside him.

"Well would you rather be discovered as an alien, or be in my 'filthy human clothing' ? " Dib shot back, reaching for a similar coloured cap.

Zim let out hiss, crossing his arms and glaring as Dib picked out some pants, along with a pair of sunglasses, and a mask.

He stood up, laid the clothing items on his bed, then looked to the alien beside him.

"This is what you're wearing, do you want me to leave while you… change..? " Dib stated, gesturing to the clothing.

Zim rolled his eyes as he examined the items.

"I do not care if your inferior human body is here or not " Zim insulted as he pulled the sweater on, looking at it with an annoyed expression.

Dib just sort of stood there, unsure of what to do.

He didn't seem to care, though, as he continued to slip the clothing on,

He paused after putting the sunglasses on, staring in a small hand mirror close by, his expression looking more than annoyed.

Zim then faced the human, his teeth beard as he stood out, mask and cap still laying on the bed.

"This is so stupid. " The alien mumbled with a low growl.

"Better than nothing. " Dib pointed out, smirking at his frustration.

"Shut up! " Zim demanded, antenna flat on his head.

Dib found himself chuckling, before he finally gathered himself and spoke.

"Alright, alright. We should get going now. " He gestured to the door as he pulled his bag on his shoulder.

Zim took a step forward, seemingly ready to leave.