Dib stopped in front of Zim and his base, observing as the alien stood and Dib guessed, listening.
Following suit, he eyed the house, looking for any sign of GIR or his creations, messes.
He didn't fully understand why they were being so cautious, but he guessed that they'd never be truly sure if the little robot would come running to them with an edible taco, or some sort of poisonous object.
A few moments passed, the two observing the green base in a concentrated silence.
"He didn't blow up the base, and it doesn't look damaged either…" Zim mumbled with a nod.
The human nodded in response, turning to face him, as if to push the idea to head inside.
He watched as the irken stepped towards the door, following behind as he took a deep breath.
Zim swung open the door, pausing at the sight that laid inside.
Dib grimaced as he looked over his shoulder, saying the house was a mess was an understatement, there were various items scattered on the floor, along with a few food items that he wasn't entirely sure were edible, and just the absolute opposite from clean.
The strong smell of soap and waffles attacked his senses, and Dib found himself already feeling nauseous.
The alien seemed to feel the same about the situation, judging by the sour, unapproving expression that grew on his face.
"HI MASTER!!! " GIR excitedly squealed, earning a hiss from Zim as they both jumped back in surprise, where had the robot even come from?
"GIR! What is this filth? " Zim demanded, pointing an angry finger to the insides of the base.
"I was playin! " the robot poked its tongue out in an uncaring gesture, smiling at his master.
Zim dragged his hand across his face with a growl, annoyance basically radiating from his figure.
GIR poked his head up, spotting the human.
"HI MARRY!!! " GIR squealed again in greeting, waving at him.
Dib just gave a polite wave in response, feeling that informing the robot that Mary was in fact, not his name, would be a waste of time.
Zim let out a grunt, looking back into the base.
"Let's just get this over with. " The irken sighed, stepping into the base with a silent gesture that he should follow.
Carefully, he stepped into the house, careful to avoid all the muck and mess.
He paused at one of the items, a toy car, it prompted him to glance at the other items.
Most of them were toys of sorts, cars, stuffed animals, figures, just about anything I a kid would have.
"You buy GIR toys? " Dib mused, finding the fact that the alien had a soft spot for GIR sweet.
Zim froze, before whipping around to him with an embarrassed expression.
"No! Zim does not spend such moneys on these- er, toys! GIR stole them all! Yes! " Zim clarified through what Dib could tell was a giant lie.
"Uh huh" The human grinned, continuing to follow Zim as he marched to the kitchen.
Upon stepping into the kitchen, he was surprised at the lack of mess, other than a few waffles randomly thrown about, it was actually quite clean.
Zim didn't acknowledge this, simply grabbing hold of a broom, after a bit of looking, he found another one and handed it to him.
"You are to clean with Zim. " The irken said forcefully, dragging him into the lounge room.
Dib groaned, but didn't argue as he scouted the room in more detail than before.
"Where do I start..? " The human hesitantly asked, standing awkwardly with the broom.
Zim hummed in thought, glancing around the room, before pointing to one side of it.
"You will clean that side of filth, I will clean this side. " He gestured Dib to the left side of the room, which he noted was a bit dirtier than the opposing side.
Holding back a complaint, he stumbled over to his side of the room, and began to brush and clean the mess.
Zim was finished in a little shy of ten minutes, which earned Dib the teasing of having taken an extra five minutes.
Though Dib had noted how Zim seemed a little irritated, he guessed from the, still present burns.
"My side was dirtier than yours! " He pointed out in a playful argument.
"Lies! We both had the same amount of filth! " Zim barked back.
"Nuh uh! " Dib countered shortly.
"Yeah-eh! " The irken spat.
"Irk! Let's just move onto the kitchen! " Zim shouted before Dib could, making the human roll his eyes in slight amusement.
"Yeah alright " Dib complied, following him into the kitchen.
Dib looked to Zim expectantly, his mind distantly realising that they hadn't spotted the robot since their entry.
"Wait, where's GIR? " He inquired, hesitating for a moment.
Zim paused, eyes making a swift search around the space.
"Er, probably out playing with a filthy earth animal, " The alien spoke without concern before adding, " I don't hear him destroying things so it's not our problem. "
Dib nodded, taking notice how the base was practically silent other than their conversation.
"Alright, well what side are you cleaning? " The human asked with a gesture.
A few hours of cleaning later, the whole base was spotless, Dib was amazed at how clean they'd got it, it basically sparkled.
If it wasn't for the weird colours and house design, it probably would've looked straight out of a TV show.
His train of thought was interrupted by a sigh of relief from Zim, who was now laying on the couch looking exhausted.
The sight made Dib recall the burn cream he had gotten hours prior.
"Oh, here. Put this on your burns, it'll help" The human offered the small container to Zim, who, after a few moments, took the container.
"Eh- okay. Zim demands privacy! Go away while I apply this burn cream. " Zim ushered with a dismissive gesture.
Dib nodded, leaving to sit in the kitchen while he waited.
Sitting down on a chair, the human decided to check his phone, realising it was probably getting late.
He bit back a small gasp when he saw the time.
9 : 28 PM
"How is it 9 already? " Dib mumbled under his breath, shaking his head at the time they'd spent.
Glancing around, he realised he didn't really want to go home, maybe they could just stay here for the night.
He'd brought his laptop and phone, so it's not like he'd risk missing messages or anything.
He debated staying at the aliens house, before being interrupted by the latter walking in, as to silently announce he was finished.
"Is it working? " Dib asked, eyeing Zim, he noticed that he'd taken off the contacts and wig.
"It is better than before " Zim shrugged and sat in a seat across the table.
A sort of awkward silence creeped in the air, neither really knowing what to say.
"So, it's pretty late. I was thinking maybe we should just sleep here for the night. " Dib began after taking a deep breath, glancing at the phone that laid still beside him.
"Yes, of course! Zims base is much superior. " Zim agreed with confidence, nodding with perked antennae.
"Uh huh, " The human mused, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"So, do I just sleep on the couch? " He glanced at Zim with a gesture to said couch.
The irken hummed for a few moments, before his antennae bounced and he gave a nod.
"Yes, Zims base does not have any of your… human resting chambers. " He informed.
Dib nodded in response, though he wasn't really tired enough to sleep yet.
"Do you wanna watch a movie? I brought my laptop. " The human offered, searching his backpack before pulling out the device.
"Why would Zim want to watch the pitiful media you humans call entertainment? " Zim mocked, looking at him with a sceptical expression.
"Well what else are we gonna do then? " He asked blankly, raising a brow.
The alien pouted with a growl, looking at him with annoyance.
"Fine " Zim complied, following him onto the couch.
Once they were both settled, Dib opened his laptop and went to Netflix.
"What do you want to watch? " He asked, glancing at Zim.
Zim eyed the screen, his antennae flicking for a moment before he paused.
"That one! " The irken pointed at a fantasy looking movie that Dib, admittedly, was curious about too.
Nodding, he clicked on the movie Zim had chosen, both of them paying attention to the screen.
And as the movie progressed, slowly, he found himself drifting into a peaceful sleep.