Since Mai and Zim were already awake she decided to just start her day a little earlier, made a nice breakfast and tried to sit down with Zim for one last chat before they would leave for the Membrane house
"Here Zim, come eat" She set the plates at the table, huge servings of food on the table. Zim was sitting on the couch trying to recreate Dibs magic tricks. He dropped the cards when she called and came over
"OOO!" He cooed when seeing the spread of food, immediately piling food on the plate set for him. Mai sat across from him and waited for him to get his fill. He was the one who needed to grow, not her
Once he grabbed most of the food and started shoveling it in his mouth did she grab some for herself
"Slow down, you're gonna choke" She warned him. They had plenty of time before they had to leave, after all. Zim actually listened and slowed his eating a bit
"Zim, please try to enjoy your time with Dib while you have it. I know you're mad at him but understand his situation. People are gonna come and go for the rest of your life, you're just gonna have to accept that" She stated, that being her final words on the matter
She needed to wait until Zim was stable enough to come back to Irk so the sooner he got his emotions under control the better. She really liked Earth, but knew they couldn't stay. Zim needed to grow up around other smeet. The sooner they got back, the sooner Zim could start to reclaim all those lost years
Zim acted like he didn't even hear her, still eating away. By now he was the king of denial at such a young age. He had already started to push his memories of Dib to the farthest parts of his mind till he would soon be forgotten. It hurt less that way, and it didn't help how she kept bringing him back up. Couldn't she just let him be happy?
Mai sighed when she realized he wasn't gonna talk and started working on her own food
Soon enough Zim was done, taking his plate to the trash. For some reason, Mai had realized, Zim just threw the plates away and got new ones instead of just washing them. He probably didn't know washing dishes was a thing. These are the things taught in the smeetery, Zim had never learned these things and was so used to doing things his own way. It would take a long time to reteach him how to live
When he opened the trash can to throw the plate away Gir leapt out, covered in garbage
"MASTUR YU FOUN ME!" Gir squealed before pulling Zim into a hug. Zim immediately fought with all his might
"NO GET AWAY YOU'RE FILTHY!" He screamed as he tried to get away but was already being forcibly hugged "HELLLPPPP! COMPUTER! AHHHH!" Mai walked over and separated the two
"Is this your SIR unit? Where has it been all this time?" Mai asked completely confused
"I wus in da trash!"
"Ya we see that, Gir!" Zim yelled trying to dust himself off of all the germs "Zim needs to be sanitized!" He yelled. Mai didn't know what to do with Gir so just put him on the floor. He instantly ran off. She shrugged and took Zim to get yet another bath today. Zim was already pulling his clothes off
"Computer! Burn those clothes, theyre contaminated!" Zim said as he threw his clothes on the floor
"Zim you can just wash them, you don't need to-" Too late, a flamethrower came out of the ceiling burning them. She sighed, taking him to the bath and getting it ready before putting him in
As he sat in the bath he had an idea, grabbing a piece of cleansing 'chalk' which was basically soap and threw it in the tub. The tub quickly filled with bubbles
"I have discovered something!" He cheered as the bubbles quickly rose up over his head. Mai couldnt even see him anymore under them all. Zim was loving it
"Zim! Please sit still!" She huffed before grabbing armfuls of bubbles till she reached him. He looked up at her
"Hey! My creation!" He said upset
"You didn't make bubbles, Zim. We gotta hurry, you need to get to Skool" She said hurrying to clean him off the rest of the way. She'd have to deal with the mountain of bubbles in the bathroom later
She quickly dried him off and grabbed an outfit from his new wardrobe. A dark pink shirt that was absolutely covered in glitter and a lighter pink skirt. She quickly dressed him and grabbed the first shoes she found
"No! Not those, Zim wants the light up ones!" He said, feeling pretty comfortable bossing her around
"Can I get a please?" Zim glared at her, he didn't like that word
"Maybe, if I ever feel like it"
"No Zim, I'm not your servant. You need to be nice"
"You're not?"
"No Zim" Mai said, crossing her arms "I grabbed these shoes. If you don't say please then you get these ones" She said holding up the black flats she grabbed
"But they don't match! Or light up!" Mai couldn't help but laugh at that, he was just too much sometimes
"You're a fashionista now? Haha, you're so cute~" She cooed, patting him on the head "I guess you'll have to manage if you can't say please" She said with a smile, still rubbing his head lovingly
"Ugh, fine! Please!" He grumbled out, crossing his arms
"Good boy" She grabbed him shoes and knelt down, slipping them on or him and tightly velcroing them
Zim felt that warm feeling again, everytime she said that or touched him. He both craved it and didn't want it since it was new and made him feel weak
"Come on, time to go to school" She walked to the door. She looked back at Zim to see him holding his arms up, expecting to be picked up. When he realized she was waiting for him he realized and jumped down, following her
Why did he feel disappointed? He was the almighty Zim! He was fully capable of walking!
It just felt so good to be carried around like something special, to have skin to skin contact which he was so deprived of. He didn't like how he was changing, but also was anticipating the changes at the same time
He went to walk past her but she scooped him up, knowing full well what he wanted and wanting to indulge him in all he had been missing out on
He gasped, not expecting the sudden touch but quickly calmed down. It still felt so weird touching someone and not feeling pain as a result. He let himself sink into the warmth, both from Mai and from inside his spooch
"I love you-" He said without even realizing it. Once he did he jumped a little, covering his mouth
"It's ok, I won't tell if you wont. I love you too" She smiled at him. He looked at her completely shocked. She was…
Zim nodded, doing a 'lips sealed' gesture. She chuckled a bit, carrying him all the way to the Membrane house where the professor was of course waiting for her. She set Zim down in front of Dib, who was also waiting with his dad
"Uhhh…what are you wearing?" Dib of course couldn't help but ask. He was trying to hold his laughter back. He looked like a preschooler
"None of your business, big head" Zim snapped back, taking his leave towards the door
"Hey! My head is not big!" He went after him
"Be nice, Zim!" She called out as the boys left for school. She was then left alone in the living room with Membrane, who looked really nervous for some reason
"Hey…um, I wanted to let you know that the work you did got ruined. Can you do it again?" He asked with a blush which was thankfully hidden by his coat
"Is this a test? You're just trying to see how I did it?" She said obviously skeptical
"N-No it's uh…there was an.. ahem- accident, in my office…all the papers on my desk got ruined, not just yours" He said wishing to just vanish
"Uh huh. No problem, I'll do it again." She said obviously still suspicious
"Thanks, I'm sorry. This isn't a normal thing for me"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Alright time to-" She started heading for the lab but he grabbed her arm
"W-Wait! I…uh…I wanted to ask you if um…" Why was this so hard?! "Maybe if uh…after work, if you're not busy of course if…you know…mmn"
"Sure, I can watch Dib for a bit. Do what you gotta do" She waved him off but he was still holding her arm, holding her there. It was clear now that he was blushing, all of his face was a bright red "No reason to be embarrassed, all parents need help once in a-"
"Go on a date with me!...Please?" He blurted out suddenly. Mai was suddenly frozen. She was looking for more of a one night stand with the human, it had never occurred to her of possibly being romantic with him
"Look, I uh…I should have told you this sooner but I'm moving soon. Somewhere far away. I'd love to but I just don't want to start something I can't finish" She said sadly. She really would love to play with the human more
"I don't mind! I'll take you for as long as I can. I haven't felt like this in so long" He grabbed her hand, holding it "Just one date, or as long as you'll be with me I'll take it, even if it's gonna end" He pleaded, unmistakably knowing he was in love. He was willing to take the heartbreak if just for a taste of that feeling again
Mai didn't know what to say or do. She of course wanted to, and if he was ok it wasnt gonna last long then there wasn't any harm, right?
"Ok, I'll go on a date with you" She smiled. He of course smiled back but she couldn't see behind the coat
"PROFESSOR! WE NEED YOU!" One of the scientists intercommed into his watch. He gave a little chuckle
"Well, duty calls. I'll see you tonight?"
"Yes, I'll see you" She smiled at him, walking with him to the labs. Of course 10 minutes into the work day without him there was chaos
She went to her work station and began setting up when she got a call
"Hello?"
"Hi! Is this Zim's mother?"
"Uh, yes. Who is this?"
"This is the Skool. You need to come pick him up…"
"May I ask why?" She was concerned now
"He just sent 3 boys to the ER…"
…
"I'm on my way"
