A/N: Hey, you guys! Long time, no see! I know it's been a while since my last update here, but for once, I actually have a GOOD reason for the lack of activity here. For the past couple of months, I've been searching the home market for a new place to live and FINALLY, I managed to find a place that was just perfect for me. A decently-sized two bedroom town home with three bathrooms (2 and a half actually) and LOTS of space to move about in. So aside from all the shit I had to sort out to prepare for that move (which I did over my last days off), I've been working a new job and trying to write during my breaks at work. Not always easy with co-workers constantly peeking over my shoulder, but I manage. To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised I even got this chapter done at all with everything that's been happening as of late, not to mention, I've had my mother out visiting for the past week, which only added on yet another obstacle to getting this chapter uploaded here. So sorry to anybody who's been waiting. It's finally done and ready for posting though, so I hope you all enjoy this quick update. :)

ZADR Orange Chapter 196

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

Upon hearing his mate's tummy voicing its hungry protests, Zim could only smile with mild amusement before nuzzling the hybrid at his arm and purring his agreement steadily. "Lunch sounds good." he concurred, though his thoughts were far less occupied with food in that moment.

Hearing his stomach growl aloud with an ever increasing degree of intensifying impatience, Dib blushed at the continued rumbling. "Okay, scratch that. They're REALLY hungry." he corrected himself, hurrying along with Zim to catch up with Jack and Rose.

Glancing back at the two as Jack fished through his pockets for the keys to the car, Rose smiled as they approached, having immediately picked up on what they were discussing just from witnessing their body language alone. "Well, you two, what would you like for lunch?" she asked, feeling quite a bit hungry herself at this point.

Stopping near the curb to give that question some thought for a moment, Dib then glanced back at Rose with a slightly uncertain look fixed upon his face. "Now that you mention it, I don't really know. There's nothing I'm craving in particular right now, so it doesn't matter to me either way. I'm just hungry. You choose where to eat." he insisted, figuring Rose might have a place in mind for all the planning she'd already put into this outing.

"Me?" Rose pointed to herself before giving it some thought. A smile then slowly crept across her face. "I know the perfect place to eat. How would you guys like to see where Jack works?" she inquired, leaning in towards them with an all too secretive smile on her face. Jack had taken a LONG leave of absence from work to spend as much time with her during this preganancy as he could. But she figured it couldn't hurt to stop in for a change since they hadn't been in for quite a long while now.

Blushing a bit himself, Jack could only let out a nervous laugh at his wife's choice of eating establishments. "Eheh. Oh, I'm sure the boys don't want to go there, Rose." he spoke in a purely sheepish tone.

"Hmm? Well, why not, Jack? It's been such a long time since we've last gone in there, and I would argue that it's the best place in town to get food from, aside from our own kitchen, of course." Rose laughed out loudly, completely dismissing her husband's obvious discomfort.

Jack blushed a further shade of illuminating red, embarrassed by all of his wife's unwarranted praise.

"Wait...You're a cook?" Zim interjected after a few moments longer of continued debate between the two.

"Oh, he's more than just a cook! He's a cooking genious!" Rose launched off into yet another round of acclamations before Jack could even get in a word edgewise, smiling wide all the while. "Every meal you've eaten at our house so far has been made with love by him. Because...To be perfectly honest, I suck in the kitchen." she laughed again, though this time with a note of unease added in.

"Huh, really?" Zim looked between them with a hint of bewilderment evident in his facial features. On his planet, a job in the food service industry was hardly met with such recognition and praise. If anything, more often than not, it was a form of punishment for some grave act of transgression against the empire, and only one step up from execution.

"Well, I hate to toot my own horn, but yes." Jack finally agreed, breaking the interim of silence and deciding not to comment further on his wife's previously-stated lack of cooking abilities.

"Oh, you're just being modest, Jack! " Rose latched onto his arm tightly for the time being. "His cooking is one of my favorite things about him." she then smiled at him ingenuously. "In fact, if it weren't for him working in that restaurant, I never would have met him to begin with! But, since I did, he now gets to make food specially for our baby." she ran a hand gently over her large belly.

Jack grinned wide at his wife's affectionate gesture. "And that's a full time job." he added lightheartedly, returning her smile with the same amount of sincerity he's initially received it with.

Rose nuzzled him lovingly before bringing his hand to her belly and molding it into place over her own. "Well worth the effort though." she said when she registered a tiny flutter of movement coming from within her. "I think our little bundle of joy wants some food from daddy's restaurant now. And I'll bet those three would enjoy a good lunch as well." she then insisted once more, gesturing to Dib's swelling baby bump all the while.

"Well then...Alright. One baby feast coming right up! All aboard the lunch wagon!" Jack announced in surrender, swalling back his earlier reservations and waving a hand towards the car as a sign of his defeat.

Clapping her hands together victoriously when Jack finally agreed to her preferred restaurant of choice, Rose then joined him in the car as Zim and Dib proceeded to get themselves settled into the back seats.

Nestling himselt into the seat next to Zim's, Dib then sighed out contentedly at the prospect of a good lunch, the smeets already seeming to do a handful of acrobatics inside him, as though happily anticipating the meal that was to come. He latched onto the Irken's arm comfortably, leaning into him with his own relieved smile.

Nuzzling him weakly, Zim closed his eyes in preparation for the car ride ahead, glad that the swelling in his face had gone down but striving to keep himself occupied so as to avoid any carsickness that might otherwise occur.

Maneuvering the car out of its parking space, Jack began driving them towards the restaurant he was employed out at, said eating establishment sitting just outside the larger encompassing city and within close proximity to the school Zim and Dib attended. When they finally arrived at the parking lot flanking the building's exterior, Jack then sighed in some relief upon seeing that the place was rather slow at the moment, only a few other cars occupying the spaces made available to paying customers. Pulling into one of the many emptry parking spots right outside the restaurant's front end, he then turned off the ignition to his car before turning in his seat to look back at Zim and Dib. "Well, we're here. Hope you two are ready for a somewhat big lunch." he said as he began climbing out of the vehicle to help Rose up from her seat on the opposite side.

Hearing his own belly grumble out a note of muffled famishment, Zim blushed and went to sit up in his own seat. "Heh...Guess I'm hungry too." he admitted as he followed Jack's lead and helped to rescue Dib from the confines of his seatbelt.

"Well, in that case, I guess I'd better pop on into the back and make us something nice." Jack chuckled as he lead Rose to the door, Zim and Dib following closely behind them so as not to be mistaken as separate customers.

Eying the interior of the restaurant once inside, Dib couldn't help but note just how nice a setting the place had. It was a far cry from what the inside of a fast food restaurant looked like, yet it wasn't so inordinately fancy as to scare off customers dressed in regular street clothes.

One of the employees looked up just as they were entering. "Jack! Buddy! How the heck are you!?" he put down what he was doing for a moment and crossed the room to greet him with a tight embrace, rotating back around after a moment to then face Rose on his other side. "Rose." he addressed her with a wide smile and open arms.

Rose smiled herself and swiftly entered into the encircling bear hug. "Oh, Max! It's so good to see you!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, all the while running delicate hands over her swelling stomach.

Dropping his hands down to coincide with hers, Max pulled away after a moment to take in her all too charming features. "How's that kid of yours?" he then asked with a wink and grin.

Rose sent him her own comical look at the question before responding. "Things are coming along just fine, Max. We just stopped in to grab a bite to eat." she answered casually despite a temporary note of uncertainty tinging her otherwise optimistic reply.

"Oh! Well then, let me just grab you guys a table!" Max finally let go of her and gestured for them to follow him.

Staying close to Dib as they followed behind Jack and Rose from a distance, Zim looked about the place in idle preoccupation as they were lead to a table tucked into the very back of the restaurant and somewhat isolated from all the rest.

"Well, here we are." Max finally announced once he had lead them to a large, round, and sturdy table that could easily seat a party of six or more people. Pulling out a seat for Rose, he then went to retrieve a handful of menus for them to look through.

Taking a seat across from Jack, Dib picked up one of the menus to browse through idly as Zim scooted into the seat nearest to him.

"So, what would you guys like?" Jack asked without hesitation, already rolling up his sleeves so he could take over from there.

"Ummm...Uhh..." Dib bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment, not certain where to even begin as he looked the menu over with certainly were plenty of options to choose from, yet none that really seemed to stick out to him from the rest.

Glancing through the menu himself, Zim's antennae fell beneath his wig at the vast selection of food items. "Ummm...Anything with no meat in it, preferably sweet?" he finally answered, finding it hard to be precise when he could hardly make heads or tails of what the majority of the dishes even were.

Jack smiled patiently at that response. "How about two large slices of French Toast then? The perfect dish to satisfy any sweet tooth." he suggested, already writing it down onto a pad of paper he'd pulled up from the side.

"Ooooh! You'd like that, Zim! I can guarantee it." Rose assured concurrently. "Make that two orders of French Toast." she then handed Jack her menu.

"Alright." Jack took down that order as well before then turning his attention back to Dib.

Continuing to look through the menu for a few moments longer, Dib then paused and lifted his gaze up once he realized they were all waiting on him now. An unwelcome flush of color took over his face at the attention. "U-Ummm...Uh...I-I'll just have...whatever you recommend." he finally stammered out, pushing his menu forward and fidgeting in his seat uneasily. He didn't particularly feel like eating anything sweet in that moment, his sugar cravings having subsided for the time being, much to his relief.

"It's alright, Dib. How about I make you one of our house specials?" Jack offered when he noticed the look of uncertainty present on the hybrid's face.

Looking up at Jack when he suggested that option, Dib merely nodded his head in agreement. "O-Okay..." he said quietly, face still flushed a faint pink despite his best efforts to will the color away.

Handing his and Dib's menus back to Jack, Zim leaned back in his seat to hold and nuzzle Dib soothingly, burying his face into the rich dark strands of hair that concealed the hybrid's antennae and breathing in deeply.

Finding Zim's chest to rest against as Jack headed into the back to start cooking, Dib sighed out silently at the gentle nuzzle. "Mmmm...My feet are killing me..." he murmured tiredly, a penetrating fatigue from the long day of carrying the smeets around finally beginning to set in. He had gotten so used to just sleeping in and not moving for long periods of time that he could hardly imagine what thing would be like come the day of their wedding.

"Hmm...Well when we get home, how about we take a nice warm bath and I give you a foot rub?" Zim offered attentively.

Pulling away a bit to look back up at Zim, Dib blushed a fresh shade of red at the all too generous suggestion. "T-Together?" he asked shyly, not wanting to take one alone.

"Of course." Zim smiled willingly.

"O-Okay..." Dib nodded after a moment more of contemplation, playing with his fingers all the while. Ever since Zim had showed back up at Jack and Rose's house, the other had been using cleansing chalk to clean up with. But on a few rare occasions, he had managed to convince the Irken to join him for a few baths, Zim using some store-bought paste to prevent the water from burning his skin.

"Mm yeah...It'll be so much nicer in cleansing gel." Zim sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"I-Is the bathroom back home even cleaned up yet though?" Dib then asked, recalling how messed up it had been after Zim had been abducted by the two Irken soldiers sent to Earth by the other's former leader. Zim had already been home a few time since taking refuge at Rose and Jack's house, but he himself, on the other hand, was still reluctant to return there. With bad memories of that incident still floating around, he just couldn't bring himself to return to the scene of the attack.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 196. Until next time~