Zim's house had never looked as intimidating as it did that night. Tonight was the night that would make or break their two year relationship. Zim would either turn away the ring and presumably turn away Dib forever or he would accept the ring with open arms and their relationship would be taken to the next level.

Dib found himself breathing deep, sucking the air in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. His face was flushed and he hadn't even knocked on the damn door yet. He stared up at that odd door, clutching his bag tighter than he'd thought possible. All he had to do was knock. Then he'd be face to face with his beloved. And he'd be able to propose.

Just do it. Don't over think this, dumbass.

With a shaky hand, Dib hesitantly knocked on the Irken's door. He held his breath, hearing footsteps hurrying towards the door. Wait. Hurrying? Dib exhaled in an annoyed way as the door was ripped open.

"I'M NAKED!" Gir shouted loudly, waving like a madman. He was dressed in his dog's costume, so Dib didn't even know why he was shouting that he was naked. Either way, he didn't care.

He shoved Gir out of his way, walking into the home base of his sweetie. He glanced around, but didn't see the Irken anywhere. He sighed again, only this time it was a disappointed sigh. He had really hoped that he'd be able to embrace him when he opened the door, declaring that he had a very important question to ask him. This was, of course, despite the obvious fact that Dib couldn't touch Zim without his permission.

A guy can dream. . . .

"Where's Zim?" he asked in an extremely annoyed voice, looking down at Gir, who was standing extremely close to him. Dib frowned deeply, stepping to the side. Gir let out a little screech, banging his fists into the top of his head a couple of times. Then he stood perfectly still.

"You gots a big head!" Gir announced loudly, pointing dramatically at Dib's head. Dib narrowed his eyes fiercely, but blushed nonetheless. He touched the side of his head.

"I do not!" he declared angrily, although his voice came out a little too high and sounded more defensive than angry. Gir let out a screeching laugh and dropped to the floor. He started rolling around.

"Gir! Leave the Dib-human alone!" came that familiar shout as Zim walked out of the kitchen. He glared evilly down at the robot in dog's clothes and pointed towards the other room.

"Aw. . . ." Gir whined, getting up off the floor. With his head hung low, he walked out of the room. He glanced back, but Zim just pointed away again. He whined, but left the two of them alone.

We're alone. Shit.

Dib felt his face flushing red as he looked at his sweetheart. Zim wasn't wearing his disguise, standing there with his hands on his hips. He wasn't looking directly at Dib, as though he was thinking about something else. That too was a little disappointing. But Dib wasn't all too worried. The only thing he could think about was the two velvet boxes in his bag and that he was going to be proposing tonight. To the very creature standing in front of him.

Zim shifted his weight from one hip to the other. His antennae bounced innocently as he did. He looked directly at the human before him. He wasn't smiling, but then again, the Irken never smiled unless he was up to something. Or he was going to ask for a Gimme. He looked at him with his usual one eye opened wide and the other narrowed. Those pink orbs never looked so intimidating as they did then.

"So. . . .Dib-human. . ." Zim started, twirling one hand in the air, glancing away for a second. If Dib didn't know better, Zim was trying to figure out what to say. He looked directly at Dib again, his stare piercing through Dib's soul. He swallowed hard, gripping at his bag. "ZIM was. . . wond—"

"Wait! Zim! I have something I wanted to ask!" Dib exclaimed, waving a hand in the air to stop Zim from talking.

Oh, shit. . .I probably shouldn't have done that.

Zim's eyes widened as he stopped talking. The hand that had been twirling casually in the air tightened into a fist. A violent twitch went up Zim's body from the tips of his antennae all the way down to his feet. Then those pinkish orbs narrowed fiercely down to points as it proceed that a filthy human had just interrupted him to say something. Presumably, something stupid.

Dib suddenly wished he could crawl into a hole and die. In the instant that it took the IRKEN INVADER to process what had just happened, the first time that had ever happened during their two year relationship, Dib knew Zim was not going to accept the ring. And how did Dib know that?

Because Zim was going to kill him. Right then and there.

"How dare you interrupt ZIM! YOU, a filthy, disgusting human! When ZIM is talking! ZIM should kill you!" Zim shouted at the top of his lungs, rage consuming his entire body. He pulled his fist back in order to punch him. Dib knew he would have to do something if he still wanted to have a chance.

He dropped onto one knee as Zim swung the punch at him. The Irken stumbled a little, eyes widening as he realized he'd missed the target. Dib dropped his bag onto the ground and quickly unzipped it. Zim grabbed his hair, pulling him up roughly.

"Think you can ignore ZIM?!" he spat out in a vicious voice that sent a shudder up Dib's spine. He stuttered for words, something that would calm his lover down enough to give him a chance to explain.

"Zim! Wait! I have something for you!" he shouted, waving his hands out in front of him as his sweetie, the love of his life, grabbed at his throat in order to kill him.

For a moment, Zim hesitated. He just stared down at the human with a curious look on his face as though he were wondering what Dib could probably have for him. Then it probably occurred to him that if Dib had gotten him something, he'd be expected to return the gesture. And that just pissed him off all over again.

Dib screamed, grabbing his bag to protect the precious contents as Zim started to beat some 'sense' into him. He screamed all sorts of obscenities in both English and Irken. Dib felt the blows coming fast and hard like they never had before. He prayed that he wouldn't get an Irken weapon.

This isn't right! This isn't normal! Why is Zim acting like this? He never beats me like this!

Just as he was thinking that, the blows stopped coming. He heard Zim's heavy breathing as he let go of him. Dib opened one eye, moving his head enough to look at the Irken. He was standing there, looking away from him, his chest rising and falling quite fast. His eyes weren't narrowed and they didn't even look angry. Those pink orbs looked down at him as though he knew he was being watched.

Dib moved more, sitting up and fixing his jacket. Zim glanced around and gripped his small hands into fists again. The motion caused Dib to flinch, thinking he was going to get smacked again. But, instead, Zim just walked away, swearing under his breath.

"Zim?" he asked, adjusting his glasses and giving Zim a weird look. The Irken paced back and forth around the living room, muttering things under his breath. He glanced over at Dib at the sound of his voice, but didn't respond.

Something was most certainly going on. Zim was acting like a bipolar person. Which, all things considered, Dib had thought he was for the longest time. But now, he was acting even more bipolar than ever. The question was, why?

Maybe he called me over hear for a reason and he just fucked it up.

That actually sounded like a plausible reason, except for one thing. It was Zim. He didn't usually seem to care if he'd fucked something up. He would just shrug it off and continue with what he was doing. That was, after all, how he'd managed to stay confident and optimistic about his mission to destroy the earth. No matter how many times he failed, he was convinced he would succeed the next time.

So it would make sense that after dating Dib for two years, he'd know that Dib didn't care about his over-dramatic ways and horrible temper. Which was the truth. Dib still intended to propose, just perhaps not that night. He didn't want to run the risk of Zim saying no and right now he seemed to be in a bad mood.

Zim looked back over at him. Both eyes were fully open, but they didn't looked shocked. They looked almost nervous. Sort of like they did the first time Zim had asked for a hug.

"Are you okay, Dib-human?" he asked cautiously, gesturing with one hand to where his boyfriend was sitting. He glanced around nervously when he saw the stunned look Dib had given him.

Am I okay? Since when did he care?

"I'm. . . fine. . ." was his answer, his voice sounding both confused and worried. Confused because he couldn't figure out who this Irken was and what he'd done with Zim. And worried because he was seriously worried that Zim had finally lost his mind or smacked his head too many times.

"Good. Now, Dib-human, why did you interrupt ZIM?" Zim replied, giving him the usual one eye fully open and one half shut look. His voice sounded normal, loud and slightly ticked off. And when he put his hands on his hips, he looked normal.

Should I ask him?

Judging by the annoyed tapping of Zim's foot, he knew he'd have to say something. He cleared his throat, getting to his feet. He grabbed his open bag and adjusted his glasses. Then he cleared the few feet between himself and Zim. The Irken tilted his head to one side, giving him a look.

Dib dropped down onto one knee, taking the small box out of the bag. Zim's antennae arched up, making him look a little curious about what that tiny box held. Dib drew in a sharp breath, wondering if he should take Zim's hand. He knew he wanted to, but he also knew it would start another potentially deadly fight.

"Zim, will you to me the honor of becoming my bride?"

He opened the little box, showing the ring to Zim. It glittered in the light, begging to be accepted. Dib felt his heart pounding so hard in his chest that he knew Zim must've seen it. He swallowed extremely hard, looking up at his lover's face. Those pink orbs looked confused as he stared at the beautiful ring.

Oh, god, please don't say no.

There was a long pause of awkward silence between the two. Dib felt his heart pounding and his entire body began to clench up. Zim just stood there as though trying to decide what to say. Every second seemed to last a lifetime. Dib wished he hadn't asked and he wished Zim would just give him an answer. Then Zim opened his mouth. Dib held his breath, his body beginning to tremble.

"Enh?"

Dib's breath came out in a rush of defeat. He let his arms drop to his side, snapping the box shut in the process. He stared up at Zim in disbelief. The Irken just stood there, hands on his hips, with one eye narrowed and the other wide. Dib couldn't believe it, although he knew he probably should have expected it since Zim was an alien.

But, there was his answer. 'Enh'. Zim had no idea what marriage was.

Great. Just fucking great.

Dib got to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't sure how he should explain marriage in a way that Zim would both understand and agree to. If he told him that they would be bound together till death did them part, he might see it as a sort of human imprisonment. Actually, no matter how he explained it, he was sure Zim would be able to put a negative spin on it.

But he had to try. If he didn't, he'd have just wasted his time. And that wasn't Dib's intention. His intention was to get the Irken before him, the love of his life, to say yes. That way they would be engaged, even if they couldn't get married for whatever reason.

"I'm asking you to marry me, Zim," he started, looking down at those pink orbs. They both narrowed in anger and he could just feel Zim getting pissed because he didn't know what was going on. He probably thought it was a trap. Dib looked down at the small velvet box. "It's an Earth tradition between two people that love each other. It's a way to express their feelings for each other. By getting married."

Zim's entire look changed. Instead of looking confused or angry, he looked stunned. Both of his eyes widened and his antennae shot nearly straight up. He stepped back, letting his hands slip off his hips.

"If you take the ring, it means you agree to marry me. And if you wear it, it lets the whole world know you agreed," he continued, opening the box up and showing Zim the ring again. His eyes flicked down to it, then back up to the human's face. "I even bought you a necklace, which you wear around your neck, in case you didn't want to wear the ring on your finger."

Zim looked back down at the ring. He seemed to be considering this new information. Dib held out the box a little so his boyfriend could get a better look at it. He reached out with one hand and touched the ring. Those pink orbs looked up at him.

And then Zim smiled.

That's gotta be a good sign! It has to be!

"So, this means you love ZIM, Dib-human? More than any other thing in the entire universe?" Zim asked, gesturing to the air and giving him a look with one eye narrowed. Dib nodded a few times.

"That's right."

Zim took the ring from the little velvet box. Dib felt his body tighten up. He was almost afraid that Zim would throw it at him or use Irken technology to destroy it. Then he very casually held out his other hand.

"I won't wear it on my finger, but ZIM will wear the necklace. Hand it over, Dib-human," Zim replied, flexing his three fingers to imply that he wanted the necklace right then and there.

Dib wasn't sure what to think, so he just reached into his bag and grabbed the other velvet box out of his bag. He took the necklace out, struggling a little bit to get it free because he was shaking so bad. Then he dropped it in Zim's open hand. The Irken slipped the ring on and fastened the necklace around his neck.

He's wearing the ring. He said yes.

"Now, Dib-human, before you rudely interrupted ZIM, I was asking if you wanted to go to ZIM's room," Zim announced, gesturing off in the general direction of his bedroom.

Dib barely heard him he was in such shock. He stared blankly at the necklace as it swung gently as Zim moved. The ring glinted in the light, gleaming with happiness that it had been accepted. He was officially engaged to Zim, the IRKEN INVADER, after nearly two years of dating. Everything was suddenly going his way. And he couldn't have been happier.

Zim snapped two fingers in front of Dib's face. He jumped about three feet in the air. He stared down at his lover with wide eyes, breathing deeply. Zim gave him an extremely bored look that reminded him of a look he'd given Gir a hundred times.

"To the bedroom of ZIM!" he announced, pointing towards his room. He narrowed his eyes fiercely, which was what got Dib moving.

He followed him absentmindedly, thinking about the wonderful fact that he was now engaged to Zim. The always loud, always erratic, always angry, always strange Irken was his fiancee.

My fiancee. It sounds so wonderful.

When the two reached Zim's bedroom, which Dib had been in only a handful of times, he was instructed to sit on the bed. He nodded, taking a seat. The bed wasn't particularly comfortable because it had barely ever been used. Zim didn't sleep often, especially not in a bed. In fact, Dib was convinced that the only bed Zim slept in was his or this one when Dib was spending the night.

Zim sat down next to him. He glanced at the floor, then looked Dib in the eyes. The stare was so intense that it made Dib nervous. Zim leaned close to him, so close that they were kissing distance from each other. Dib swallowed nervously, wondering why Zim was acting like this. He could understand a Gimme! but not this.

"Gimme More!" Zim cooed out, taking Dib's hand in his. Dib felt that small hand with it's glove on and his body tightened up. He had never actually held that little hand, even though he'd always wanted to.

Dib swallowed hard, squeezing Zim's hand as he cleared the inch or two between them. He pressed his lips against Zim's gently. Once again, he felt the softness of those lips. Zim kissed back, pushing his lips slightly hard against Dib's. The feeling was breathtaking and Dib loved it.

Dib felt Zim grabbing his arm. He pulled him closer to him. Then he chewed on Dib's lower lip to get him to open his mouth. The human did so willingly. He felt the alien tongue moving slowly and passionately over his own. And once again, the feeling was so amazing that he forgot to kiss back for a minute. Then he gripped Zim's hand in his and moved his tongue into his lover's mouth for the second time.

But there was something different about this kiss. As Dib explored the mouth of his lover, he felt Zim moving. He slipped his hand out of Dib's and grabbed his face. He drank him in, pushing his mouth harder over Dib's. He roughly moved his tongue over and under Dib's. He pulled back a little, as though he intended to stop, then he pushed back just as hard. The sensation stunned Dib.

Then Zim moved again. He pushed Dib back a little, literally climbing into his lap. Dib pulled back as the Irken straddled him. He felt Zim's butt on top of his legs, felt his legs pressing against his. Before he could say anything, Zim had him back in a lip lock. He forced his tongue into Dib's mouth roughly. It was a pleasurable rough that only Zim could be.

Dib felt himself being pushed back onto the bed. He instinctively grabbed Zim, wrapping his arms around that tiny waist. He was not pushed away. Zim pulled out of the lip lock and kissed Dib's neck. A small gasp escaped Dib as he felt his lover suck on his neck. He bit down a little, then kissed it again. Dib gripped Zim's back, his mind racing about what was going on.

"Gimme More!" Zim breathed out, running his tongue slowly over Dib's neck. He kissed it in a seductive. Dib felt one of Zim's hand running down his side, towards his pants. He leaned up enough that Dib could see his face. He was smiling an almost wicked smile, those pink orbs half shut in the most seductive way. "Gimme You! "

Gimme You? Does he mean what I think he means?

Zim unbuttoned Dib's pants.


I'll just bet you can't wait for the next chapter now.