Dib's breath hitched in his throat as he ducked to the side in a jerking motion that strained his already tired leg muscles, and he was barely straightening up and panting when a boot swung right into his path and knocked his legs out from under him. He fell onto his side with a grunt of pain, but soon climbed to his feet again.

His adversary grinned at him, ruby eyes alight in the dark of the alley; he had lost his disguise but wasn't bothering to find it. No one could see them back here, after all.

The cocky expression drove Dib to swing his fist at him, but Zim easily darted to the side before returning and slamming his shoulder into him, shoving him against a nearby building that made up one of the walls of the alley.

Dib slid down the wall for a few inches before recovering and standing up, glaring at the smaller male, shaking occasionally as he fought exhaustion. A trickle of blood ran down from a gash in his forehead, but he ignored it, focusing on his enemy.

"Give up yet?" Zim asked, looking bored as he wiped his claws off on his pant leg.

"Never," Dib growled, pushing himself off of the wall and trying to tackle the irken. Zim jumped back and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He fell back against the wall and collapsed to the ground, wrapping his arms around himself and feeling like he would black out from the pain.

"Your stubbornness will get you nowhere." Zim walked toward him, using the tip of his boot to lift Dib's chin and look at his face. He scoffed. "Pathetic human."

"I hate you," Dib muttered, spitting blood out of his mouth.

Zim got onto his knees in front of him, staring at him with morbid fascination, brushing a claw across his face to collect some of the blood. Dib flinched as the sharp digit touched him, tempted to bite it. Zim pulled his hand back and examined the blood before licking it and grinning. The taste of his enemy's blood excited him like nothing else.

Dib tried to punch him, but Zim grabbed his wrist and twisted it, popping the carpals out of place. The teenager yelped in pain, yanking it back and trying to push them back together.

"So weak. I don't know why you continue fighting me when you know you're going to lose." Zim drew in closer, watching Dib intently, before taking his glasses off with one hand, the other hand sliding up to his temple and digging the claws in, drawing blood. He smirked at the anger and determination he saw burning in those amber eyes. They were connected by hate; he could see it every time the boy looked at him. But it seemed to run deeper than that. There was both possession and obsession in that gaze. And he felt the same. Whenever he saw his enemy, he wanted to claim him with his claws, draw blood, hurt him however he could.

He leaned in closer, eyes locked with Dib's, just daring him to look away first and admit defeat. Dib defiantly glared back at him, refusing to give in. The human's tenacity was definitely admirable; Zim had to give him that. Most creatures would have looked away from his intense stare. But yet Dib insisted on testing who was the most dominant. Strangely, Zim found that he liked the challenge.

The tension stretched, both waiting for the other to make a move, but when neither did, Zim slid his hand a little further up Dib's head, sliding his claws in deeper, smirking at the responding, pained groan. Other than that, though, the human showed no signs of pain.

Dib tried to lean back, uncomfortable with the irken so close. He could feel his dry breath on his face and was wondering why he wasn't shrieking at him or trying to attack him.

"You nervous?" Zim hissed; he could see the discomfort in the human's face but wasn't sure why he looked like that.

"Of course not," Dib replied. He put a hand on the ground and tried to push himself to his feet, but Zim pushed him back down again.

The irken noticed a bit of blood leaking from the corner of Dib's mouth and leaned in, tongue flicking out to taste. The salty liquid burned against his tongue, but the taste was addicting and he eagerly went back for more.

"Stop that!" Dib shouted, shoving Zim's face back, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Liking how flustered that simple gesture had made the boy, Zim decided to take it further, pressing his mouth completely against the other's, eyes slipping shut as he tasted the delicious blood in his mouth.

Dib's first reaction was to struggle, but when he tossed his head, the claws in his temple dug in more, so he quickly got still. After a moment, he realized this wasn't so bad. He hesitantly let a hand drift up Zim's back and neck before pulling his head closer, tasting his own blood on the alien tongue that swept temptingly around his. His eyelids lowered as he gazed at the other's aggressive expression. It was clear that this wasn't out of affection, but a fierce possessiveness. The set of Zim's antennae, far forward, the tips almost touching his hair, was a further display of dominance.

O-oh God… Dib found himself thinking as his eyes shut all the way and he put his other arm around the irken. Why do I like this…? For some reason, he liked submitting like this. He responded cautiously, trying to fit the other's strangely soft lips against his, before Zim pulled back and stood up, wiping his mouth off and then kicking Dib in the side.

"Disgusting human," he muttered, swiping his disguise off of the ground, wiping it off, and carefully putting it on.

"Stupid alien," Dib replied instinctively, forcing himself to his feet and spitting to clear his mouth of yet more blood and Zim's lingering, unusually sweet taste. He wiped his clothes off and glared at his enemy. "Why did you do that, anyway?"

"Do what?"

"Kiss me, you idiot."

"Oh, that." Zim shrugged. "No reason. Other than to see you submit like the inferior worm that you are."

Seizing this chance to make fun of him, Dib said, "What, do you like me or something?"

"Of course not," Zim scoffed.

"Because around here, you're only supposed to kiss someone if you like them. A lot."

"I wasn't kissing you. I was proving my superiority."

"With your mouth? …And your tongue?"

"Shut up."

"Because I highly doubt you did it just to taste me or whatever."

"Actually, I do enjoy the taste of your blood."

Dib rolled his eyes. "You're so stupid."

"Well you're ugly," Zim retorted, crossing his arms and looking proud of himself for coming up with such an amazing insult.

"Wow, like I haven't heard that one before." Dib rolled his eyes again and said, "I'm going home." After a moment, he realized everything was blurry and sighed; Zim had taken his glasses earlier. "Give me my glasses."

Zim looked at the glasses in his hand, just now remembering he had taken them. He smirked and backed away, holding them behind his back. "And what will you do for me in return for them?"

"Just give me my glasses."

"The ocular enhancers come with a price, Dib-thing."

"What price?"

"I'm up for hassling."

In no mood to argue with him, Dib made a grab for them, but Zim leapt back, holding them up. He even elevated himself on his PAK legs so the taller boy couldn't reach them.

"Come on, Zim!" Dib shouted, getting annoyed.

Enjoying this, Zim darted around him a few times on the legs before settling down again and tripping Dib, laughing when he hit the ground. "Come on, human," he teased. "Work for it!"

Frustrated, Dib got up, managed to grab Zim's collar, and yanked him forward into a surprise kiss. It shocked Zim enough that Dib was able to snatch his glasses away and put them on. He let go of the dumbfounded irken. "Don't look so surprised. You obviously like me, so you shouldn't mind." With that, he turned around to head home. He really needed to take care of his injuries from the fight.

When Zim recovered, he grabbed a rock and threw it at the boy, yelling, "I don't like you!" It hit him in the back of the head.

Dib jumped and rubbed the spot where it had hit, but didn't say anything, continuing his walk. He definitely had a lot to think about. Sure, Zim has done many unexpected things in the past… but that was definitely the most unexpected. The irken had almost seemed to enjoy the earlier kiss… and as much as he tried to deny it, he had liked it too. He shook his head and sighed. There was definitely something wrong with him.

Eventually, Zim made his way home too, disgruntled at the outcome of the battle. He would have loved to deal several more injuries, or at least collect some of his own… he was completely uninjured from this. He thought scars were a sign of strength, so he regretted having none to show today. And though he would never admit it, he liked being marked by his foe.

But no, he had become distracted with the disgusting creature's unexplainable appeal. He refused to find him attractive, though he did appreciate the tallness… but something about his eyes, and the way he was so defiant despite being helpless… he had liked it. And he had done the only thing he could think of to do. He told himself it was a dominant gesture, but he couldn't stop thinking about how much he had liked it. The human had responded easily to him, and it had felt so right…

He growled a little, shaking his head to clear these thoughts. It had no meaning. He had acted on instinct and it wasn't going to happen again. He was an irken Invader, and Dib was his enemy. There were no feelings of 'like' as Dib had called it… Zim hated him. Well, maybe hate was a strong word. Dislike was a better one. Regardless, he found his enemy quite annoying and would never like him.

Despite all these reassurances though, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Curse that human. Curse him and all his… Dib-ness.

Resigning himself to figure this out in the morning, Zim forced himself to stop his inner debating when he finally reached his house and went inside, tossing his disguise carelessly aside. He was never doing anything that stupid again.