A/N: Hey, you guys. Sorry this chapter is a few hours later than I promised it would be posted up by. To be perfectly honest, I blacked out shortly after finishing up the chapter last night. XD Figured it'd just be best to make my final tweaks and edits in the morning before work so I'd be at least a little more clear-headed to catching any mistakes I may have missed. In any case though, hope you guys enjoy this next update! :) Consider it an early Valentine's Day upload. ;) As for when I estimate the next chapter to be out by, I'm gonna shoot for the 28th of this month. So until then~3 Many thank as always to all my most recent supporters/watchers/favers/commenters/etc. You guys are great. :)

ZADR Orange Chapter 184

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

Antennas drooping when he saw the all too guilty look on Dib's face in that moment, Zim looked off to one side a little guiltily himself for having thought the other would leave him. "O-Oh... I'm sorry..." he apologized, feeling rather foolish now for how he had reacted to the other's disappearance.

"But it wasn't your fault! I didn't know you'd wake up before I got back! I didn't even think you would notice! But you did, and now you think I hate you because of it!" Dib pulled away from Zim, yanking down on his antennas harshly. "I didn't mean to hurt you! I never meant to hurt you ever!" he exclaimed in a voice shaken with emotion.

"Dib, no no!" Zim sat up rapidly and grabbed hold of him to pull him close. "I-I'm sorry…that I thought you would leave me..." he apologized again, having not meant to make Dib think he didn't trust him.

"I-I just wanted you to feel better about being with me..." Dib sobbed into the Irken's chest, antennae shuddering. "I-I wanted to make you happy." he then sniffled wetly.

Zim smiled sadly at those words. "You make me happy just being here, Dib..." he assured the other, not wanting Dib to think he had to do anything to earn his happiness.

Dib looked away when the other said that. "...It doesn't always seem that way...You want me to go to therapy because you think the old me is still inside me somewhere...But I really don't think it's there anymore! S-So I just wanted to get you something to remind you of the old me...s-something to remind you of the me you fell in love with...You gave up everything for that side of me, but I haven't returned any of it!" he exclaimed, fresh tears beginning to sting at his eyes when he considered how different he was now from how he'd been back when they were still rivals.

"What do you mean?" Zim asked, confused by those words.

Pulling away to stand back up, Dib then slowly made his way across the room to retrieve the bag of items he had picked up on his trip about town. "I wanted...to give you something special...from our past..." he hugged the bag of items close to his chest.

Zim eyed the bag curiously. "Something…special?" he repeated back to the other before tilting his head to one side questioningly.

Nodding his head slowly, Dib took out only a few of the bag's contents, one of which was a small bouquet of red, white, and pink roses, only a few intact now as a good portion of them had been ruined when he had thrown the plastic bag across the room from them, petals missing in various spots now. Another item was a small box of chocolates, and yet another a small box he had placed something special in for Zim.

Zim smiled a little at the sight of the flowers and candy. "Zim loves chocolate..." he said before noticing the box in Dib's hands. "What's that?" he asked, the small box almost resembling the one Dib's engagement ring had come in.

Handing Zim the box to open, Dib watched as the other removed the lid to it so he could pull out what was inside, a small heart-shaped locket on a gold and silver chain, the heart itself being gold with a silver star in the middle. "I-I thought that if I got you something to remember the old me by, you'd feel better about being with the new me more." he said as he watched Zim open up the locket to find two star-shaped frames on either side, one side portraying a fairly old picture of himself as a human still and the other, what looked to be a brand new picture of himself as a hybrid. "I-I had to find a photo booth for the more recent picture, a-and that's why it took me so long to get back..." he said in a quiet voice, certain that if it hadn't been for that, he easily could have returned to the house long before Zim had woken back up.

Looking up at Dib shiny-eyed, Zim blushed and smiled a little. "Thank you, Dib..." he pulled the hybrid close. "I love it." he said, delicately running a single finger over the frames inside the locket.

Leaning in to Zim's warm embrace, Dib's antennae fell back as he found the Irken's chest yet again to sob into lightly, still clutching the bag close to himself. He had made one other stop while he was out, though he was hesitant to tell Zim about it as he wasn't certain how the other would react to knowing.

Smiling and rubbing his back a little, Zim kissed him before moving to put the locket on happily.

Looking back up when Zim pulled away from him to put his new locket on, Dib blinked tearful eyes up at him, still contemplating whether he should tell Zim about his other stop. He had made a stop back at his house to retrieve the older picture for Zim's locket, his father thankfully having been nowhere in sight. On top of that, he had also raided his old room for a few things he had wanted to retrieve for a while now, having come across a few other trinkets during his search, including some old videos of Zim he had taped years ago and a few intact photo albums.

Looking back at him, Zim noticed the bag still in his arms. "What's that?" he asked, noting that it seemed to have more inside of it than just the presents Dib had brought back for him.

"N-Nothing..." Dib lied, refusing to meet Zim's gaze for a few long moments before finally giving in, knowing there would be no point in keeping his whereabouts a secret from the other forever. "J-Just some old videos I recorded a long time ago…a-and a few photo albums...I-I picked them up at my old house while I was grabbing a few fresh pairs of clothes...a-and the older picture of myself for your locket..." he tried to pass it off as no big deal but knew already what the other would no doubt say about that.

Zim looked up at the hybrid worriedly at that information. "You shouldn't have gone there, Dib. The professor is still looking for you…" he said, trying hard not to overreact as the last thing he wanted was for Dib to think he didn't appreciate his present to him.

"But I had to go there! I had to get the picture for your locket! It wouldn't have meant anything if I hadn't gotten it!"

Sighing and nodding a bit at Dib's outburst, Zim hugged him in closely. "You still shouldn't have risked it, Dib..." he said again, not wanting to even think about how things might have turned out if the professor had been there to catch him in the process.

"It was worth it if it was for you..." Dib's voice came out quiet as he nuzzled into Zim.

Zim smiled slightly at those words and the soft nuzzle he received from the other. "I love you." he said in a soft voice just barely above a whisper.

"I love you too...so fucking much..." Dib let out a shaky sigh as he slowly began to calm back down for the first time that day. He just wanted to be with Zim now and that was all.

Smiling and pulling him close, Zim then opened his box of chocolates and licked his lips hungrily.

"I...I wanted to get you something sweet to eat...s-since I know you like sweets so much..." Dib blushed as Zim held him close.

Biting into one, Zim smiled satisfied. "You know me well." he said before helping himself to the rest of it.

"W-Well, I spent a lot of time obsessing over you...b-back when you first started attending school with me..."

Zim nodded, eating another chocolate. "Want one?" he then asked, holding one up for Dib to take.

Staring at the chocolate being offered to him for a few long moments, Dib then hesitantly leaned himself forward to take just a small bite, not wanting to fill up on sweets right before dinner.

Zim smiled and nuzzled into Dib when he accepted it, just happy that this whole ordeal hadn't resulted in Dib completely losing his appetite or him losing his hybrid.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 184. Until next time~