Disclaimer: I don't own any copyrighted material included in this fan fiction. Please read, enjoy, and review.
Warning: Light mature context.
A/N: This is a oneshot. I'm not sure of what pairing this is so I guess it's whatever pairing you want it to be. Zim x Anyone in short.
Marriage /'mar-ij/ noun- 1: the institution whereby two people (men and women, men and men, women and women, ect.) are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family. 2:an intimate or close union.
That's the thing we call 'marriage' as defined by the Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary here on Earth.
Believe it or not, there are some similarities about Earth's and Irk's views about marriage but these aren't without their differences, either.
Probably, the most notable difference is the Irkens didn't really use the word 'marriage.' It's not that they didn't have the word in their culture; it was just that it was…dieing or, basically, fading away.
The word 'marriage' in Irken society was like a petal on a wilted flower. It was loosing all of its beauty and meaning as it rot with death slowly approaching. It hopelessly clings onto a stem by a few dieing fibers that will one day give in and brake. Now, leaving the petal to fall into oblivion with on one to remember it.
But even through the Irkens' were loosing a simple word, that doesn't mean they were completely ignorant to the concepts of 'marriage.'
On the contrary, there was even a committee (all members were selected by the Tallest, of course) called I.O.C.O.S.R. (Irken Official Council Of Selective Reproduction) or the C.S.R. for short.
This group's sole duty was to make sure that the next generation was as skilled, clever, and intelligent as possible.
Their main tool was the use of A.R.O.G.T. (Arranged Reproduction Of Genetic Traits) but most called it the arr. Some called these 'marriages' but hardly anyone would say this in public.
The whole purpose of an arr was to ensure that only the best genetics were used in the forming of children.
For example, if one Irken was an expert in weapons technology and another was exceptionally skilled in armed combat, then these two would be assigned to be in an arr together by orders of the C.S.R. in the hopes that their desirable traits would be passed down to their offspring.
Irkens who really don't have any advantageous hereditary traits could still be assigned an arr, but these children will probably be later used for the under class work force. Others were just not called on at all.
These offspring will probably be the only connection that the parents would ever have.
This is pretty sad considering that Irken children rarely ever met either one of their parents.
In the Irken Empire, children are taken away from their mothers at birth and it's pretty impossible to look up who your parents were because the government considers that to be 'classified information' (plus, no Irkens really gave any thought as to were they came from).
You see there aren't really any commitments in an Irken arr.
When you're in an arr with some one, you aren't expected to sleep only with that person, live with that person, or even like that person. Basically, on one cared what you both did as long as you met your reproduction quota (yes, there is a quota).
There is something like a divorce in the Irken Empire but most Irken divorces were due to the fact that on partner proved to be sterile and, sense that arr couldn't perform its duty, they would be separated with the fertile one being reassigned to someone else.
Spouse abuse wasn't a big problem in the Irken Empire by any means. For the Irkens, being a warrior species by the nature of the universe, initially respond to most problems with a solution of violence.
If one Irken partner were to ever be hit or yelled at by the other, then he or she would probably respond to it instantly in a way that results in one or both of them dead.
Growing up with this system, couldn't you believe that (the great and powerful) Zim would be confused here on Earth?
Earth, where not only was abusing your spouse was looked down on by society but also could be considered a punishable offence.
To add to that, humans also have a choice of whom they get to mate with but, of course, that's probably why the human race is so pathetic and worm-like. They have no discipline. An Irken would never make a decision based off of something like love or any other nonsenseNo, for an Irken invader everything he did had to be in the benefit of the Empire.
Love.
This was a thing that confused Zim most of all.
He always over heard the popular girls talking in the cafeteria at skool about finding their true love or someone they want to spend the rest of their lives with, and frankly, none of it really made any sense. Especially when the same girls that would be seen in the hallways kissing same boy, brag in the cafeteria that this was the 'one', and then be seen screaming and/or crying in the hallways several weeks later at the same boy (in that order).
Zim couldn't understand if love was a uniting or dividing force.
Humans did seen to untie in the name of love for something or someone (Santa Clause is a pretty good example).
But at the same time, humans did terrible things in the name of love. Irk didn't have these 'crimes of passion' that the humans did. Love was what made humans disobedient, stupid, and unpredictable. Love was what made the humans weak and soft ("Like my squid made of blueberry jelly!" as Gir would put it) so why did they cling to it? Love was the key that unlocked all these weak, brainless, and confusing emotions that made the humans…so…un-Irken-like.
This was pretty sad, too. The human race MIGHT have had a great invader species if they didn't let such insignificant things impact their lives.
What was it about love that seemed to empower some humans and destroy others?
Maybe, all the humans were just afraid of being lonely. Being with someone to whom not 'until death do you part' could be a sufficient way to keep from being alone. And the, they could have worm human babies so there would be no way any of them could get lonely.
Zim understood loneliness.
He had never been in an arr before but he couldn't blame the council for failing to find a mate worthy of him.
Still…even when he lived on Irk, he was still lonely and it had only gotten worst. In Foodcourtia, there was nothing but food-slinging-stupid-monkeys who annoyed Zim to no end. Even now, here on Earth, Zim was not just the only one of his species but also the only alien around.
There was absolutly no one here to talk to incamparision to the few that would listen to him before.
Who could he talk to here? He wouldn't dare mention these feelings to the Tallest during one of their (extremly rare) transmissions to him. There was no point in talking to Gir. Zim would probably have a more intelligent and less enfureating conversation with Gir's jelly squid then with the actual robot.
It was the loneliness that drove Zim to…mayde…not reallt but…kinda… think that the humans may have something with this love…thing.
Zim hated himself for feeling this way.
Even if he were in love with someone, which he wasn't, he couldn't follow through with it.
It was srict Irken war policy that he didn't fratranize with any of the soon to be Irken slaves. He couldn't and wouldn't do anything to endanger his mission. Not until the planet was conquered and claimed for the Irken Empire.
After the armada came to a planet, then the Irken invaders could always choose concubins.
But, and this is a big but, concubins were supposed to be shared between invaders.
This thought made Zim feel extremly sick. He couldn't stand the thought of sharing his someone (not that he had a someone, Zim will kill anyone who says otherwise) with someone else, not even with on of his own.
As an invader, Zim wasn't supposed to feel anything. Maybe joy from conquering a planet but nothing else.
No pity, no mercy, no saddness, no kindness…
No love…not even to a special person.
He could only feel loneliness even if the Empire proclaimed he wasn't sopposed to.