VINDICATION

Chapter 39: A Tall Order

******This chapter is dedicated to Mekare for the reviewy-goodness of reviewy doom.

*****************UBER-SPECIAL NOTE: I did a sketch of Dib from my story, so if you'd like to take a look, here's the link (you'll probably have to cut and paste...sorry): http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/21606462/

Dib stirred late in the morning, sighing when he saw that Zim was still curled up beside him. He stroked Zim’s face gently, smiling at him when the Irken opened his eyes.

“Hey.”

Zim yawned, then stretched. “Good morning.”

“I was thinking…”

Zim quirked his antennae. “What about?”

“Well...I was wondering…once you’ve conquered Earth, are you just going to settle in here?”

Zim sighed sadly. “I don’t know. I miss…I miss the fleet. My fellow Irkens…I miss being a part of that.” His antennae drooped as he uttered another sad sigh, closing his eyes.

Sensing the Irken’s sorrow, Dib pulled him close and stroked the back of his neck. “I understand.” He held Zim close, gently running his fingers over the smooth antennae. “So when can you go back?”

“I can’t.” Zim murmured, burying his face in Dib’s chest. This was one of the rare occasions where he truly felt abandoned, and it saddened him greatly. And sadness…it made him weak. He hated it. “If the Tallest were to hear of me leaving Earth…if they heard that I had succeeded…I have no doubt that they would try to kill me. Especially since I am almost the same height as them now.”

“You’re a threat to their power.”

“Exactly. If I leave this planet and am seen by any of my fellow Irkens, questions will start being asked…it will eventually get back to the Tallests…and when they see me, they will almost definitely kill me.”

“But why couldn’t you be a Tallest?”

Zim’s eyes popped open and he lifted his head, blinking at Dib for a moment before frowning.

“What are you saying? That I should try to usurp the leadership?”

Dib grinned. “Why not? Tallest Zim has a nice ring to it.”

A devious grin began to creep across Zim’s face. “Yes…yes, it does…” The grin suddenly faded. “But it would be impossible to pull off. I don’t have the resources to go up against the Armada.”

“I’d say an entire planet of slaves is a good start.”

“And what would I use them for?” Zim was surprised by the fact that he was actually starting to contemplate the idea. The Tallests had been cruel to him for far too long…it would be cathartic to see them suffer.

Dib smiled, stroking Zim’s side. “Well, you said you’d have to go up against the Armada. With a planet full of slaves that have access to rockets and space shuttles, you wouldn’t have to. You can send them all up as decoys.”

Zim considered this for a long time, then leaned forward and kissed Dib softly, stroking his serpentine tongue over the human’s lips and then slipping it into his mouth, caressing Dib’s tongue with his own.

Utterly shocked by the gesture, Dib forgot what to do for a few seconds. But when Zim’s tongue slid into his mouth, he responded with a soft moan, wrapping his arms around the Irken’s body and meeting the kiss eagerly.

Uttering a low growl, Zim pushed the human onto his back and climbed on top of him, pulling away just enough so that they were nose-to-nose.

“I think it’s time we started to make our demands, human.”