ZADR Orange Chapter 199

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

Recognizing the sudden silence that often signaled a white flag of defeat from Zim, Dib sighed to himself serenely before turning to face the Irken once more. "What, Zim? What did I do NOW? You're clearly upset with me about something." he said, a note of accusation quickly drowning out what remained of his wavering patience.

"What!?" Zim's eyes lifted to meet Dib's in an instant, though the hybrid's probing stare had his protests returning back to a whisper within seconds . "But...I'm not upset with you...I'm just worried about you, is all..." he spoke submissively, though Dib could distinguish a further note of disapproval present in the other's voice.

"Worried? But there's nothing wrong with me..." Dib argued back defensively, drawing in a deep breath to try and camouflage his growing weariness. "...I'm fine..." he then stated firmly despite how his eyelids drooped and his body swayed. Leaning his weight solidly against Zim, he then let out an inadvertent yawn.

"No...You're tired..." Zim reached out to brace him against his arms, his own voice coming through stern with concern now.

"There's nothing wrong with being a little bit tired every now and then. Really, I'm fine..." Dib said again though his posture hardly altered with that statement. Lifting a single hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes, he then forced himself to stay awake despite how badly he wished to just nod off within the other's arms. "Let's just...get what we need to get done done with already, then I'll...take a nap after we get home or something..." he said through clipped tones of increasing exhaustion. Turning to look back at Jack and Rose, he then flashed the couple a deceivingly alert glance, as though to signal his desire to head on back to the car already so they could finish their last errand for the day. For all the effort the two had put into planning this outing, the last thing he wanted was to be the reason it got cut short.

Opening his mouth to protest that statement, Zim stopped himself mid-objection upon hearing the desperation present in Dib's voice. Deciding that there would be no point in dragging this out any longer, he then sighed to himself quietly before merely nodding his head in defeat. "Okay then, Dib..." he conceded though kept just as firm a hold on the other as ever.

Pressing his body flush against Zim's, Dib searched with his antennae for the stalks upon Zim's own head. He was drained to say the very least and let out a small, disgruntled whine when he couldn't locate the appendages beneath the Irken's wig. The other's stiff hair piece was preventing him from obtaining that comfort they both needed right then. As Zim dropped his hands down to rest at his hips supportingly, Dib barely managed to stifle a semi-satisfied chirp. He just couldn't get enough of the other's gentle touches, touches that flooded his senses with excitement as much as they did with contentment and warmth.

"Come on, you two. We'll make this last stop quick." Rose promised as she turned her head to nod back at Jack.

The amazing meal they had just eaten nearly forgotten, Zim focused his gaze solely on Dib now. As the hybrid stilled within his arms, there still lingered an undertone of tension hanging in the air. Dib had always been one to play down how he was truly feeling, and he cursed to himself mentally for having not noticed it any sooner. Holding the teen close to himself as they headed for the exit, Zim then took care to ensure Dib didn't stumble and fall.

Yawning once more as he climbed into the back seat with Zim, Dib's antennae continued to twitch with continued persistence to get under Zim's wig.

"Hang in there, Dib. We're not far from our last stop now." Rose assured with imploring reassurance before turning back to face Jack in the driver's seat next to her.

Starting up the car, Jack wasted no time in pulling out of his parking spot and making his way down the road a bit. Their final destination wasn't far from there, though the ghostly reflection of the two in the back seat had him stepping on the gas just a bit more.

Zim shuddered at the car's movements, leaning himself against Dib again as the road started to make him feel queasy. For the life of him, he couldn't ever imagine getting used to this mode of transportation, its stop and go nature bringing about a taste of sickness to the back of his throat. Settling his eyes on Dib, he then watched as the other clung to his frontside motionlessly, his placid stillness helping him to keep his current sickness at bay.

Driving the car a little ways down the road, it wasn't until they were roughly 5 minutes away from the restaurant that Jack finally slowed to a near stop and pulled into a new parking spot along the main road.

"Alright. We're here." Rose announced, turning in her seat to look back at Zim and Dib. As the two shifted to direct their gazes out the back window, she couldn't help but smile wide at the looks of wonder to cross their faces when they saw what was sitting only a few feet away from them now. Similar to the bridal shop they'd visited earlier that day, they now sat before a quaint little bakery with a vast collection of delicacies tucked neatly behind its display window.

Opening the car door so as to get a closer look, Zim stared through a haze of fading carsickness at the building standing in front of them. "What is it?" he asked curiously, having never encountered anything quite like it before.

"Well...Jack and I thought you two might enjoy getting to sample a few pieces of cake here." Rose answered simply, removing her seat belt so she could simultaneously begin her migration from the car to the sidewalk.

Zim's eyes widened at the mention of cake. "Uhh..." his eyes returned back to Dib's in an instant, really wanting to try some but attempting to act neutral about the offer. "Well, what do you think, Dib?" he asked, feigning a look of indifference.

It was Dib's turn to study the establishment closely now. "W-Well...I am still kind of hungry." he admitted, scooting his way towards the edge of his seat and leaving his food behind for the time being.

Rose smiled at their obvious interest, her own eyes reflecting the excitement she could recall from sampling cakes for her own wedding. "I really think you two will like this place. They specialize in putting together cakes for smaller weddings. And their cakes are just plain delicious!" she boasted eagerly, more than just a little excited to see how they'd like this stage of the wedding planning process. It had certainly been one of her own personal faves at the time of planning hers.

At hearing that remark from Rose, Zim could do little more than submit to his imagination, his tongue darting out from within his mouth to lick at his lips reflexively. From what he knew of Earth confections already, they differed in a way from the snacks found on his own home planet. With some textures being as light as air and flavors more variable than anything he'd ever eaten back on Irk, he could hardly keep from salivating in anticipation of the sweet treats to come.

As they followed Jack and Rose into the small cake shop, Dib couldn't help but pause at the bakery's entrance when the potent scent of vanilla and freshly baked cakes enveloped his senses completely. "Oh wow...It smells amazing in here." he spoke softly, as though raising his voice any louder might disrupt the almost fragile tranquility of such a cozy little confectionery. The interior itself was clean and compact, with a number of multi-tiered cakes displayed behind its counter. Unlike many of the more traditional bakeries he'd visited in his life though, each cake differed from the next, the decorations adorning them varying in design from simple to complex.

Pressing his face to the glass of one of the shop's display cases, Zim licked his lips once more as he ogled the sweets inside with the same preoccupation one might expect to see from a child.

"Oh, hello there!" an employee then greeted them upon stepping out from the store's back kitchen area, her arms currently full with carrying what looked to be a freshly made cake that was in need of frosting and decoration. Putting the cake down, she then smiled at them from her vantage point before approaching the front desk. "How may I help you?" she asked, her voice holding a friendly note of hospitality to it.

Rose smiled back at her warmly. "Ah, yes. Hello. We were just wondering whether our friends here..." she pulled both Zim and Dib up to her side without hesitation. " ...could sample a few pieces of cake for their wedding day. They just got engaged, you see, and we're trying to get a bit of the preparation out of the way now while we can." she explained before then gesturing to Dib's large belly. "You see, she's pregnant, and getting around to do all this stuff is becoming a little bit difficult now." she said before either of the two could say anything themselves.

"Oh, of course! Please. Have a seat and I'll bring out some samples of our top three sellers for weddings." the employee gestured to one of their front tables before heading back into the bakery's storage room.

Zim hardly waited around to be told twice, quickly grabbing hold of Dib's wrist in one fluid motion and pulling him into the chair next to his.

Jack laughed at Zim's all too obvious enthusiasm. "Eager are we, Zim?" he pointed out jovially.

Blushing at Jack's light-hearted observation, Zim could only look away somewhat embarrassed now. "S-Sorry..." he apologized in an uncharacteristically meek voice.

Rose merely shook her head at the apology though. "No, no. Don't apologize, Zim. We WANT you two to enjoy this. It's possibly one of the best parts about preparing for a wedding." she insisted in genial tones of good-natured humor.

"Well, it's definitely going to be Zim's favorite part, at least. And probably the smeets' too." Dib rubbed his belly sluggishly, the smeets already seeming to shift themselves in readiness for what was to come.

Finally exiting the back room after a minute or more of finishing preparations, the employee from before then approached the table confidently with two cleanly cut slices of cake laid out on separate plates for each of them. "Go ahead and try this one first. It's one of our more traditional flavors and likely what you'd see at most other weddings you might attend." she explained as she set the plates down and offered them some utensils. Unsurprisingly, its appearance seemed rather simple at first glance, each vanilla-flavored slice having a blanket of rich vanilla buttercream layered between its interior.

Helping himself to one of the utensils, Zim wasted no time at all in sampling the sweet cake. Despite its simplistic presentation, there could be no denying that the flavor was anything but that. It was more refined in nature, with a subtle hint of almond flavor hidden in its aftertaste.

Cutting into his own piece of cake, Dib brought the flavorful morsel to his mouth for a taste as well. His eyes lit up without fail, the mild sweetness almost instantly sending a wave of pure bliss racing down his spine. "Wow! This is delicious!" he exclaimed with thrilled satisfaction, going in for another bite automatically. "What do you think, Zim?" he then asked, expecting nothing less than the highest of praises from the other.

To say that the cake wasn't exquisite would be an understatement, for sure. But regardless, Zim hung firm to his nonchalance as he licked at the remains of what was left sticking to his dessert fork. "It's alright, I guess." he answered casually, wanting to try more than just the one cake.

The employee sent him an almost challenging smirk in response. "Only 'alright,' eh? Well, how about one of these two samples..." she said, going to retrieve the other two flavors their shop was best known for. Returning to the table with another four pieces of cake, she then set them down with a wink in Zim's direction. "This first one has a vanilla bean filling with a drizzle of white chocolate ganache." she said before then turning her attention to the final cake in front of them. "And this one...is a white sheet cake layered with hazelnut filling on the inside and a coffee-infused frosting on the outside." she said smugly, almost certain they wouldn't be able to turn one of these two down.

"Mmmm...I like the chocolate." Zim finally concluded after sampling a taste of both the cakes in front of him.

Dib, meanwhile, had practically melted in his seat at the taste of them both. They were beyond anything he could have imagined, and his contentment escaped him on a blissful sigh. "They're all so good...But we can only choose one for the day of our wedding, Zim. Since this is kind of the part you're most looking forward to, I'll let you decide which you think we should get. I'm fine with any of them to be honest, so go ahead and choose your favorite." he urged the other to make the final decision.

At hearing those words, Zim couldn't help but wilt a little in his spot. "Are you sure, Dib?" he asked almost guiltily.

Smiling back at him, Dib nodded his head assuringly. "Of course I'm sure, Zim. These are your smeets, after all. Whatever you choose is probably their favorite already. Isn't that right, little smeeties?" he said with quick laugh, rubbing the kicking in his belly delicately. Reaching over to take Zim by one of his hands, he then pressed it to the movement before he could object. "They don't trust mommy so they want their daddy to choose instead." he said with the same composed nature so often displayed by Rose.

Smiling back himself now, Zim couldn't hold back a chuckle of his own for that statement. "Yeah, you'd probably pick a veggie cake for the occasion." he agreed lightheartedly as he trailed his fingers lightly over the bump of his mate's belly. "I like this chocolate and vanilla one." he then said with little to no hesitation.

Grinning at Zim's choice, Dib turned to the waiting employee. "The chocolate and vanilla one sounds great. Much better than the carrot cake I likely would have requested if it had been left up to only me to decide." he laughed jokingly despite the shred of truth Zim had so easily picked up on.

"Alrighty then." the employee gathered up their plates and smiled at them. "Chocolate and vanilla it is." she then pulled out a piece of paper to write down the bakery's phone number. "Please contact us when you've got a day for your wedding set up, and we'll work out the details later about how you want it decorated." she said, handing them the piece of paper.

Taking the slip of paper from her as Zim helped Dib back to his feet, Rose bowed her head towards the employee. "Thank you. We really appreciate this."

"Oh, no trouble at all. Congratulations on your engagement, and we look forward to hearing from you again soon."

Linking his arm with Zim's to lean against him securely, Dib turned his head slightly to glance back at her as well. "Thank you..." he said with an appreciative head nod before returning a weary smile to Zim as they headed out of the store.

Following them back to the car, both Jack and Rose waited for Dib to crawl into the back with Zim before getting in themselves and starting the car up to head home.

"Alright...Now I'm ready to sleep..." Dib said sleepily, his eyelids drifting closed as he curled up in Zim's lap.

A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 199. Until next time~