dib yawned, rubbing his eyes and getting up out of bed to get ready for work. he always had full day shifts, a small perk of gaz owning the shop. he showered, got dressed, ate then brushed his teeth and grabbed his small pack which contained his phone, wallet, small sketchbook, pencil case, emergency numbers and pepper spray- you never know.
"gir im leaving ok" zim had already left for work at about 9 (it's about 11) since he didn't want to be late for the start of his shift at 10 and it took him about an hour to get to the mall, whereas dib started at like 1030 or 11 at the latest. his manager didnt really care, as long as he showed up to work. he parked, turning off his car and grabbing his bag to walk into the mall.
"hey babe" he kissed zim's forehead, taking his place behind the register next to zim. he noticed the irken's eye bags were worse then ever and his eyes were a darker red than they normally were. he made a mental note to ask him about it. eventually they had their break.
"wanna get pretzel bites?" he nodded, taking dib's hand. he was also quieter than his normal talkative self. dib lead the shorter male to the pretzel stand, buying a bucket for them to share, getting the cinnamon ones he knew zim loved. once he had grabbed the bucket and found a table for them he took zim's hand.
"hey babe is everything ok? you don't seem like your usual self" he stopped when he noticed tears flowing down zim's face. he wiped them quickly, not wanting to show weakness (crying is a sign of weakness and inferiority on irk) he took the smaller boys hand, rubbing his thumb across the top.
"zim what's going on what happened? Please talk to me.." zim took a deep breath and spoke.
"the almighty tallest have told me to never return to irk. they told me the real reason they sent me to earth was because they hated me and couldn't stand my presence." he finished, starting to cry again. dib knew they should take a day.
"zim darling wait here for a bit ok i'll be right-" zim grabbed his hand.
"c-can i go with you? i do not wish to be alone.." he nodded, taking them back to the store they worked at.
"hey kelsey, me and zim are gonna take tomorrow off- oh hey gaz." she nodded in his direction, not letting go of kelseys hand. kelsey nodded, barely paying attention. they were engrossed in something gaz was showing them.
"ok then. cmon babe lets just go- kelsey zim and i are gonna head home now ok" she nodded, gaz also nodding. he took zim's hand, leading them out to the parking lot and his car. they got in and he started the car, driving them home to gir. once he had shut the door, zim went to the couch and curled into a ball. dib put him on his lap, holding the irken close while he sobbed.
"IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?" G.I.R shrieked, having heard zim crying. dib nodded, putting a finger to his lips to tell g.i.r to use his inside voice.
"sorry sir" he went off probably to eat more pudding. or shoot another pug into space. [if you know you know] dim rubbed zim's back, hoping to calm the upset irken. he laid back on the couch, leaning against the armrest with zim curled up on his chest. zim wiped his eyes, yawning and falling asleep due to exhaustion and from crying. dib kisses his forehead and pulled a blanket over them.
