UNDER THE NEEDLE
"OW!"
Dib smirked cruelly. "Baby."
"Baby?! Human, I've endured levels of pain your that would shatter your feeble mind! Torments beyond your comprehension, agonies that would leave you begging for some simple, slight hint of-GAAAH!!"
"Heh heh." The chuckle was decidedly unpleasant. Dib's chest rumbled with it, momentarily distracting Zim from the discomfort. His lavender eyes couldn't help but lock onto the smooth, pale skin as it rose and fell, over and over.
Unfortunately for him, it couldn't last long. "GRAH! Be careful with that thing! Human filth..."
"Zim, behave. It's not her fault you can't take a little poking."
"Why is it your miserable species derives so much pleasure from others' pain?" The glare Zim shot Dib should've fried him where he stood. It didn't, though, so Zim was left no recourse but to prod the gauze bandage covering the right side of the human's bare chest.
"OW! Zim!!"
The alien smirked. "You were saying something about my tolerance for pain, stinkbeast?"
Dib rubbed gingerly at the gauze. "Sadist."
"Masochist." The human didn't have to look to know the alien was grinning in triumph.
"Thanks for keeping him occupied. The less bitching that's directed at me, the better for all involved." The dark-haired girl leaned over Zim's prone form one last time, wiped down his chest with a damp napkin, and spread a clear gel over it.
"That's it?" The alien blinked up at her.
"Guess it's time to show 'em off. Your turn first, Zim." Dib gave him a sly wink. Zim just rolled his eyes and sat up, revealing his bare chest. The smooth green was now broken on the right side by a small tattoo, depicting Dib's first pair of Alien Sleep Cuffs encircling a heart. Dib's jaw dropped, his mouth hanging open while he stared. When almost a minute had gone by with no response, Zim reached up, grabbed the edge of Dib's bandage, and pulled. Hard.
"YAAH!! ZIM!"
Another in an endless line of smirks. "It was your turn to show and tell." Then his eyes dropped from Dib's face to his chest, where a tattooed nametag now read 'Hi! My name is: Stinkbeast'.
Zim stared. Dib stared some more. And in unison they chorused, "I can't believe you actually did that!"
The tattooist grinned from the corner where she watched the two go on and on about how stupid they were for doing that, knowing all the while how much the gestures meant to them both. A laugh escaped her, almost involuntarily. "Ain't love grand?"
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