ZADR Orange Chapter 126

Warnings: Extreme OOCness

Rating: M for later chapters

Disclaimer: We do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Zim: Notgonnadie

Dib: Me

Enjoy. =3

Blinking when he felt Zim pulling him in close, Dib tilted his head back to glance up at the Irken before poking out his tongue to lick his bottom lip as though to reassure the other that nothing bad would happen if he just left them alone.

Glancing away from them a little and purring slightly as Dib filled his line of vision, Zim nuzzled the boy and closed his eyes.

Smiling again and pressing himself close to Zim, Dib rested comfortably against his chest until Rose returned carrying a tray of food.

"Zim. Dib. I brought you your food." Rose smiled as she set down the hot dog in front of Dib and a container of nachos in front of Zim before taking a seat across from them herself. "Oh, and I wasn't sure what to get you so far as drinks were concerned, so I just purchased a medium-sized lemonade from the place I got Dib's hot dog. I hope you two don't mind sharing." she said, placing two straws down in front of them.

"Mmm Hmm..." Zim mumbled as his only notion that he'd heard her as he stayed closely absorbed in Dib all the while.

Looking over at Rose before smiling, Dib happily took up his hot dog to eat, the smeets inside him kicking for food.

Rose smiled back at him. "So, are you two ready for some more shopping after lunch?" she asked, pulling up her own food once she had passed Zim and Dib their own.

Zim glanced at Dib. "Are you?" he asked, only up for shopping if Dib was up for it himself.

Mouth full, Dib merely nodded his head before swallowing and reaching over to take a sip from the cup of lemonade Rose had brought them.

Rose started digging into her own food. "So, what else are we looking for here? We can shop for more clothes if you want. Or we can look through cribs." she suggested, trying to think of what else Zim and Dib needed, given the limited amount of items they'd bought the other day.

Shrugging, Zim then laughed a little. "Maybe we could find one shaped like a space ship." he nudged Dib a little.

Rose laughed a bit herself. "Well, have you given any thought as to where they'll be sleeping? I mean, are you planning on setting somewhere for them to sleep in your room? Or were you going to have another room set up for them? And will they all be sleeping together or apart in different cribs?" she asked, trying to help them figure out the details of their arrangements.

"Uhh...Probably together...I don't think they'd enjoy being pulled apart after being together for so long...As for where...I guess until we add a room, they should sleep in ours...It'd be easier to take care of them at least."

"Alright then, we'll shop for one extra-large crib to hold all three of them. And how about other supplies? Do you already have an idea for how and what you'll be feeding them? I mean, so far as I can tell, Dib can't exactly...Well...By human standards, he can't nurse them unless you Irkens have some other way of nursing your young different from how humans do so."

"Nurse? Uhh...No...They come from eggs...They get mushy food straight off..."

"And you're sure they'll be able to eat it when they're first born? Technically, Dib's not laying eggs. Perhaps you should have a formula ready just in case."

"Okay...What's a formula?"

"Well...You know...It's like a bottle of milk, except different. It's something you give new born babies when their mothers can't nurse them for some reason."

"Oh..." Zim pretended to get it despite still not entirely understanding.

Rose could see the still confused look on his face. "It's a supplement, Zim. It provides babies with the nutrients necessary for their growth. Does that make more sense?" she asked, trying to simplify her definition some for him.

"Ah, yes, very much so." Zim grinned and nodded.

"I think it would be a good idea to have one ready for them since they probably won't be getting their nutrients from Dib after they're born."

Zim nodded. "Yeah, we'll need that..." he agreed, not wanting to take any chances in the event they really weren't ready for soft foods upon being born.

"Alright then, that means we'll need to buy them bottles too."

"Color coded, of course. Don't want them sharing."

"Of course! Lord knows, the second one of them comes down with a cold or something, they'll all come down with it. Better not to have them sharing one bottle. Any particular colors you want for them? Perhaps something that matches their eyes? I mean, I know we won't know what color their eyes are until after they're born, but I'd say it's a pretty safe bet they'll be close to your own. Either yours or Dib's, that is."

Zim nodded. "Perhaps a pink and a purple and an orangey-yellow one." he suggested, deciding to stick with the two most common Irken eye colors and one that matched Dib's own eyes.

Rose smiled. "I bet you can't wait to see what they'll look like...I mean, I'm sure they'll look like you and Dib, but still. It's just kind of fun to imagine how they'll turn out." she said, having day-dreamed many times about what her own baby would look like.

Zim blushed. "Well...I don't know..." he nuzzled Dib. "I can't seem to picture them..." he admitted, having not been able to give it nearly as much thought as he originally figured he would. To him, the whole thing still felt so surreal, almost like a dream he'd wake up from any moment now.

"Well, I guess it can be kind of hard to imagine when you don't have a concept of what gender they'll be yet. But have you tried imagining them looking like one of you two, only as babies? Children a lot of the time tend to look like how their parents looked when they were children themselves."

"I hope they don't act like us as smeets..."

"Oh, Zim, stop putting yourself down so much. Your smeets are going to turn out just fine. You're both going to be wonderful parents and do a great job raising them. And you'll always have Jack and I to support you two."

Nuzzling Dib, Zim avoided eye contact with Rose. "Yeah..." he said though didn't feel quite as convinced of that himself.

Blinking at Zim momentarily, Dib leaned in to nuzzle him back affectionately, closing his eyes and getting comfortable as he continued to lazily suck on the lemonade Rose had brought them before offering it to Zim for a drink, all the while bringing one of Zim's free hands down to press firmly against the side of his belly where one of the smeets was shifting.

Smiling at him, Zim rubbed the side of his belly gently, refusing the drink, content to just sit there.

Pulling back the lemonade when Zim refused it, Dib then glanced over at the still untouched nachos, sneakily reaching out a hand to steal one before pulling back to snack on his prize happily.

Grinning, Zim laughed a little at Dib.

Smiling also, Rose returned to her food. "So, let's see...So far we've decided your smeets need a stroller, clothes, a crib, bottles...Oh! And what about a changing table?" she said, not knowing any expecting couple that could possibly do without one.

"Ugh." Zim made an ick face. "Do they have to?" he practically whined, shuddering at the prospect of the messes they'd have to clean.

"Oh, come on now. It's not going to be that bad. They're just babies after all."

Zim sighed. "Maybe they'll be more Irken and make less mess." he then said, really hoping that was the case as most Irkens weren't trained in how to care for their own young, the use of Irken PAKs having eliminated the necessity for such primal care techniques.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 126. =3 Until next time~