ZADR Orange Chapter 204

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

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Leaning into Zim when the other pulled him near, Dib's antennae didn't hesitate to take advantage of the Irken's sudden closeness. With the gentlest of lifts, they rose to meet Zim's with a touch of warm acceptance. "...I hope Tak's ship is big enough for all three of them..." he then murmured to himself with a furrow of his brow. For how long it had been since he'd last worked on the vessel in question, he could hardly recall the size of its inner cockpit.

At that, Zim couldn't help but stifle a restrained chuckle. "They're only smeets, Dib. They could probably stay in that ship until they were old enough for your Earth school." he said with a lift of his head from the nape of his mate's neck. Finding Dib's concern over the matter to be rather endearing in that moment, he then beamed a smile back at the hybrid humorously for how maternal his natural instincts were becoming. Ever since the day they'd returned back home to his Earth base, Dib's innate impulse to create an adequate environment for the care of their soon-to-be smeets had kicked itself into overdrive, thus resulting in a rather vast transformation of all their primary living spaces.

Dib could only continue to focus his gaze elsewhere though, as though immersed in a mental deliberation about more than just the spacial availability of Tak's old ship. "I-I guess...Are we planning to have them attend school here on Earth though?" he then asked, uncertain how Zim would feel about allowing them to be educated by a school system they both knew to be inherently flawed. It brought to mind memories of his own struggles with ignorant school teachers and rampant bullying. In fact, when he really thought about it, a majority of what he'd learned in the early years of his childhood had been either self-taught or indirectly so by means of his father's televised programming.

Zim's smile fell away at the unexpected question. "Uhh...Well, I hadn't really thought about it..." he admitted on a trailing note of uncertainty. "What do you think?" he then asked upon recognizing the look of pensive consideration plastered to his mate's face.

Dib pressed his lips together to create a thoughtful frown. "Well...Maybe we could give it a try for like a year or something, just to see how they do in an Earth-based educational establishment. But if they're not learning anything or, worse yet, being bullied in any way whatsoever, then maybe it would be better to home school them instead. I mean...I might be able to teach them a few things...a-and you're pretty smart too, Zim." he mused out loud to himself, as though trying to convince himself of all this more so than he was Zim.

Smiling at the compliment to his intelligence, Zim nodded his head enthusiastically in agreement to that arrangement. "Alright then, Dib-Love. We can do whatever you feel most comfortable with." he concurred, figuring there would be plenty of time for more discussion about the matter later, given they were still years away from crossing that particular bridge. In the meantime though, he only wished to limit Dib's stress to the bare minimum of what lied directly in front of them, namely, a safe delivery of their three smeets when the other finally went into labor.

Resting against Zim in the silence that immediately followed the other's eager compliance, Dib debated for a number of hushed minutes whether to open his sealed eyes again. "...Should we get going then...?" he finally asked after a moment's silence had put him back at ease.

"Yeah...Probably best we not keep them waiting." Zim breathed out on a sigh as he pulled his face away from the nest of jet black hair strands he'd settled his visage into.

Not really wanting to move from that spot but knowing he'd have to in order to retrieve Tak's old space ship, Dib groused out a short-lived whine before getting to his feet reluctantly. He faltered at the sudden elevation but felt Zim step in to steady him in an instant. "Are we walking?" he then questioned , a part of him knowing he was far less stable on his legs now but also sick of constantly having to sit around while Zim saw to the preparations he could only comment on in his condition. If nothing else, he at least wanted to take part in the collection and assembly of the crib in their bedroom.

Staring back at Dib as he considered the other's question, Zim opened his mouth to oppose that idea but then stopped himself before the words could leave his lips. He knew Dib was getting burnt out on constant bed rest and considered what the harm would be in allowing the other to at least walk the distance from his base to Tak's. "We can if you want." he caved in after taking a moment to waive his uncertainties away. Surely they could just fly Tak's ship back if any physical exhaustion caught up to Dib after the ship was retrieved. And doing so would also eliminate an additional trip back to pick up his own ship since flying two ships home at once would likely be impossible.

"I think I would feel better if we did." Dib persisted, having already considered that scenario for himself. It would just be easier for them doing it this way and would spare all involved the additional discomfort of a second meeting if everything went to plan. After all, he could only assume the discontent they'd no doubt be met with upon arriving at Tak's base. That in mind, he headed for the door without further hesitation, grabbing a ridiculously large sweat shirt in the process and securing it to his waist as a temporary fixture to hide the words printed on his pants.

Laughing out loud at Dib's all too cute cover up attempt, Zim leaned in close to him and kissed one of the hybrid's flushed cheeks playfully. "You don't have to cover the words, you know. Nobody pays attention to that sort of stuff." he encouraged frankly.

Unconvinced by the suspect declaration, Dib sent Zim a small scowl in return. "...Nobody except you..." he mumbled in disagreement before pulling away again and fighting the surge of heat he could feel coloring his cheeks pink. He didn't care if nobody paid attention to the words of such clothing. He wasn't about to give Gaz or Tak anymore ammo to use against him during this little outing. Not when they already had enough to poke fun at, given his quickly mushrooming midsection and swelling in certain other areas of his body.

"Oh, Dib. Come on! It's alright!" Zim rushed to catch up with him, looping a single arm around the frame of Dib's shoulders once he had.

Permitting Zim to wrap an arm around him as they headed for Tak's base, Dib otherwise remained silent as they departed the remote cul-de-sac that served as their refuge from the rest of the outside world. He was thankful for the quiet that followed, having found in recent weeks that the smeets were far less likely to shift about inside him when withheld from auditory stimuli. It was hardly a fix for the false contractions though, which came with frequent regularity now and would often catch him off his guard mid-stride. He pressed up to Zim for an extra bit of support, closing his eyes and trying to enjoy the enveloping peace of the other's loving embrace.

As they ventured from their dwelling, Zim smiled all the more when Dib tilted his body inward. For once, he was enjoying the tranquility of their current walk through the local neighborhood district. With summer at its end now and autumn moving in, he couldn't deny there was something to be admired about the dazzling foilage colors and pockets of speckled sunshine. It brought to mind the same cozy pleasure he oftentimes experienced when gazing into his mate's golden-honey eyes. Inching himself closer to invite a further level of contact, Zim lingered in the warmth of what remained of their carefree stroll until finally they arrived at the street that would lead them to Tak's Earth base.

Blinking his eyes back open upon reaching the female Irken's residence, Dib then stopped in his tracks at its forefront and stared at its foreboding perimeter apprehensively. To say the very least, he wasn't thrilled about having to see Tak again, even if it did permit him the opportunity to visit with his sister. He could recall their past interactions together and visibly flinched at the memory of their less-then-amicable exchanges. The thought alone was enough to make his antennae shudder and fall back on his head. The last thing he wanted was to risk yet another fight with the female Irken. So moving himself to the back of Zim's torso, he then nudged the other forward slightly in the hopes he would take the hint and approach the entrance first. "Y-You knock..." he insisted stiffly, all the while clinging to the ex-invader's backside and averting his gaze downwards. Perhaps if he just stayed tight-lipped and hidden, he'd be fortunate enough to have Tak pay him no mind.

With a heavy sigh, Zim yielded to his mate's evasive request. "Okay, okay, Dib. I'll-"

"Dib?" a voice then interrupted the disguised Irken's compliance.

Freezing in his spot, Dib snapped his head up in an instant to stare wide-eyed at the back of Zim's uniform. A sudden chill raced up his spine at the familiarity of that voice and sent him spiraling into a world of paralyzing panic. There could be no denying who the owner was, though he prayed with every ounce of mental willpower in him that they'd go away if he just ignored the direct inquiry. As the rest of the world seemed to slow down all around him, driving out all other sensations but that of his beating heart, Dib swore he could hear nothing else in his antennae but the roar of his own pulse as it spiked to a threshold of intensity he'd only ever experienced one other time in his life.

"Dib...? Is that really...YOU?" the voice spoke again, though this time it hinged on a note of exasperated bewilderment.

Clinging tighter to Zim's backside, Dib fought the urge he had to run away. Surely that would give him away without question, though the alternative to that seemed just as divulging. Regardless, he refused to turn around and face the one standing only a handful of feet away from him. Without so much as a word, he lifted his gaze to the threshold of Tak's front door again. Then, with a boldness he'd moment's ago been incapable of conjuring up, he pushed Zim to one side firmly and advanced towards the door to start knocking at its outer frame. He WOULDN'T turn around, he told himself, even as he waited for one of the female inhabitants to answer his relentless hammering.

After what seemed like an eternity of pounding, the door then finally opened to the less-than-impressed appearance of the female extraterrestrial. She hardly had time to huff out more than a single reprimand before Dib shuffled into the house without comment and headed straight for the lavender-haired girl situated just a few feet behind her.

Standing outside the door, meanwhile, a still stunned Professor Membrane stared wide-eyed into the abode that his son had just ducked into. Another wave of shock then washed over him at the sight of his daughter standing just beyond the doorway. "Gaz!?" he gasped out in breathless astonishment as the burden of what felt like an insurmountably heavy heart suddenly lifted from off of his chest. With hardly so much as another word more, he then rushed to the duo in question and embraced his two children before anyone could object to the sudden advance.

Dib struggled to break away from the man in an instant, still refusing to even so much as face the one they had once referred to as their 'father.' He wouldn't go back to that life, he told himself, nor would he allow Gaz to go either. With his sister still in tow, he then tore himself away from the other's encompassing arms before relocating himself and Gaz to the opposite end of Tak's front living room. "...Get out..." the demand was cold and unyielding in the silence that hung heavy in the atmosphere.

Watching in utter confusion as his children treated him as though he were a virus, Membrane tried again to take another step towards them. "Dib...? Gaz...? What's wrong? I-"

"I SAID 'GET OUT!'" Dib screamed, cutting the other off before he could say anything more.

"Dib?... I don't understand. What's gotten into yo-" the professor tried again only for this time to be halted by Tak stepping out in front of him.

"Haven't you done enough damage already, human?" Tak growled out imperiously, taking a defensive stance between Membrane and the two siblings as she stood at the ready to stab him with her PAK legs if he took even a single step closer to them.

"WAIT!" Zim then jumped between the professor and the others. "H-He doesn't know..." the words left his mouth on a tremble over how quickly things had escalated.

Still in a bit of shock herself over her father's sudden presence there, Gaz wasted no time at all in shaking the disturbance off so she could glance back and forth between the professor and Zim. "He doesn't know WHAT, Zim?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes on Membrane even as he stood down to simply stare back at his kids.

Peering back at the group with an equally perplexed expression on his face, Membrane could do little more than stand stationary in his spot, not knowing what to say or do in this situation as it never occurred to him that his own offspring would be so resistant to his appearance after months of scouring every known avenue he could think of for them.

Nevertheless, Zim stumbled over a justification for his sudden interference on the matter. "I-I...I wiped his memories some time back now...He doesn't remember why you two left him...o-or anything about what happened before then." he admitted, having honestly believed the other would give up his search after a handful of months of turning up nothing. They'd been so careful in keeping Dib hidden all this time, he never imagined the professor would come searching in the same door-to-door manner he'd done at the time Dib had run off on him.

"Wait! Wh-What...?" Membrane snapped his full attention to Zim now, confused by those words as he was quickly losing track of what was going on here. To him, it seemed they all knew something of the circumstances that he himself was entirely unaware of.

"UGH! Don't you think that's something you might have wanted to mention to us sooner, Zim!? There's no way you couldn't have seen this coming doing something as stupid as THAT! What exactly possessed you to do it in the first place anyways?!" Gaz shot Zim a glare of her own now, certain there had to be more to his explanation than what he was telling them.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Dib then interjected before Zim could open his mouth to continue with a clarification as to his motives. He didn't want to hear anymore excuses. "It doesn't matter because it won't make what he said any less real! You KNOW he meant what he said at the time, so what difference does it make whether he remembers it or not!?" Dib spat out his words bitterly, a fresh sting of purely heated tears already burning his eyes with their presence.

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A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 204. Until next time~