Thank God it's finally cold. Now I can keep foods that need to be frozen on the porch. My fridge is broke... I was happy, then I remembered I'm broke.*sigh* enjoy the story.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

As soon as Gaz agreed to Zim's proposition, he leapt up, cackling like a maniac. Gaz wasn't bothered, she knew he was a maniac. Zim nodded farewell, saying he had to go home and research human courtship rituals. Feeling a cold breeze, Gaz shivered and decided it was time to go home.

Holding her books in one arm and unlocking the front door with the other, Gaz rushed in, eager to be in the warmth of her home. She threw her books down on the small table by the door and hung up her dark grey, wool coat. Still shivering, she lit the furnace and looked at the grandfather clock. 3:57. Her father had promised to be home by five for family night.

Eager for time with her father, Gaz decided to start dinner. Usually she would make Dib help her but she was a bit happy she could choose what she wanted since Dib always demanded to put his imput on what should be on the menu. Forty minutes later, the meatloaf was in the oven and she was washing the oatmeal off her hands when her she heard the door close. Drying off her hands on a rag, she went to greet him.

"Hey Dad..." She smiled as she saw her father, "Meatloaf's almost ready."

"Ah, my favorite." He said in a pleased voice, patting her head, "I only have an hour off, so let's go ahead and start... where's your brother?"

Gaz rolled her eyes, "On a date, the jerk."

"Oh, the little Kat girl again?" He rubbed his chin through the collar of him labcoat in thought.

"Tak, Dad. Her name is Tak."

He nodded, thinking, "Hmmm, well we can't have family dinner without him."

"But I already made dinner..." Gaz's heart sank.

"I'm sorry, daughter. If it'll make you feel better I can take some back to the lab and share it with my colleagues." The professor said in his usual cheerful voice.

Gaz nodded, trying not to look dissapointed. She made six sandwiches and placed them in a tin lunchpail, handing it to her father, "Just don't eat it while you're mixing chemicals. We don't want another explosion.

"Haha, you're the funny child." With a quick hug, he left, going back to work, leaving Gaz alone once again.

With a sigh, Gaz began wrapping up the meal in tinfoil and placing it in the fridge for leftovers. Then mososely, she collapsed on the couch, wondering what she could do to pass the night. She didn't have any schoolwork since it was Thanksgiving weekend. And she read all her books. Twice. Finally, she just decided to focus on the fabric on the couch, staring intenly on the floral pattern against the black fabric and the white lace doily draped on the back of it. She wondered if her father had chosen the furniture or if he just randomly bought if from some old lady.

Thinking of her father, the dissapointment sat back in. She only got to see the man a few times a year, and last time she had to miss dinner to return a library book. But Dib told her all about it. Why is it when she missed dinner, her father stayed and ate with Dib, but when it's the other way around, it can't be done?

"Because Dib's his son." Gaz thought, sourly. He wants him to become a scientist, like him and attempts to convince Dib every time they spend together. She was just a daughter. Not heir material. The thought of favortism brought tears to her eyes but she fought them back. Angry, she sat up and threw on her coat and walked out into the snow.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Zim rubbed his head as Gir sang the kissing in a tree song. He had attempted to ask him of what he knew of human relationships and Gir answered by cheering and taunting him.

"Gir!" Zim shouted, finally having all he could take, "That's enough! You listen to those soaps with Mini-moose, you have to know something."

Gir nodded, "First the female and male fall in love and get married, but then she comes home to see him kissing her twin sister. He goes after her and gets lost for months and she marries another male. Then the first male comes back with amnesia..."

"Squeek!" Mini-moose added.

"Oh, good. Zim has no intentions of getting amnesia. And Gaz doesn't have a twin." He sighed in relief before jumping when the doorbell rang. Zim quickly grabbed his disguise and went to answer the door.

He was surprised to see Gaz standing there, shivering. Confused, he raised a naked brow, "Zim did not order you to come here."

"I know." She shoved past him, wanting to be out of the snow, "I just came to make sure you don't do anything stupid, like asking your robot about dating. I want this to hurt Dib, not make him laugh."

The irken scoffed, "Foolish human, Zim knows better to trust Gir's information."

Gir, having followed his master, spoke up, "Yes, you would!"

Gaz smirked and sat down on the redish pink sofa, "Anyways, if we want to be convincing, we need to at least know eachother. Like what's your favorit color?"

Gir, finally noticing Gaz, jumped up in her lap shreiking, "Gazzy! Master, your girlfriend's here!"

Zim rolled his eyes, "I know that, Gir. And she's not my girlfriend she's my fake girlfriend."

"Awww, sounds like love!" Then he started to sing, "Then comes marriage, then a mongoose in a baby carriage."

"Gir, I never want to hear that song ever again!" Gir wilted a bit before Zim continued, answering Gaz's question, "Red. My favorite color is red. It is a very Zimmy color. And I am guessing you like black? You always wear black."

Gaz nodded, "I couldn't stand wearing frilly colors when there are people in other countries being killed and losing their freedom. So I dress for a funeral. There's always somebody being buried. What's your favorite food?"

Gir, having beed moved to sit on the couch instead of Gaz's lap, grew bored and began to sing, "I love you, a bushel and a peck..."

"Waffles. As long as they're made correctly."

"I like italian." ( A/N:Pizza was limited to Italian immigrants before WWII, so Gaz just likes italian)

"A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck..."

"What's your favorite book?" Zim asked, trying to ignore Gir.

"A hug around the neck, a hug around the neck..."

"Edgar Allan Poe."

"And a barrel and heap,a barrel and a heap and a barrel and heap and I'm talking in my sleep."

"I don't read much of earth liturature." Zim scowled with detest.

"Cuz I love you, a bushel and a peck, ya bet your purty neck I do."

"I figured you weren't the reading type." Gaz shrugged.

"Doo dee doo dee doom de doo de doom." Gir began to slip into the doom song, finally making Zim snap.

"Gir!" Zim flexed his fingers, ready to strangle the small SIR unit when he remembered something, "Gir, isn't it time for your show?"

Gir jumped up, screaming, "THE LONE MONKEY!"

He rushed to the radio and turned it on, tuning into the station. The radio radiated the theme music, "A firey hose and a cloud of dust and a hearty cry of High Ho Sliver! The Lone Monkey!"

"Do other planets have books?"

"Of course, the universe isn't filled with iliturate morons."

"Just you?" Gaz smirked.

Gir shushed them, turning the volume up as the narrator's voice came through, "When we last left the Lone Monkey, he was surrounded by the rotten banana gang."

Zim went to the kitchen and motioned for her to follow him, leaving Gir to his program, "He goes into duty mode when his show's interrupted. It always ends bloody."

Gaz nodded and sat down at the table, watching Zim grab a bag from a cabinet. He sat down acrosse from her, and began to eat the powder inside.

"Are you eating sugar?" She asked, raising a brow.

Zim shook his head, "No, this is a snack from Irk. I haven't eaten yet. Do you have a problem with Zim eating his dinner?"

"No, by all means. I don't want my 'boyfriend' starving to death. Then I'd have to date the sasquatch kid to piss Dib off."

Zim glared at her, but only shoved a handful of white powder in his mouth. Swallowing, a thought crossed his mind, "Here, try it."

Gaz looked at the bag he offered her, "What if it does the same thing to me meat does to you?"

"That's what I want to see... unless you're afraid." Zim smirked.

Sniffing is disdain, she grabbed a handful of the food and ate it as Zim had done.

"Hmmm," Gaz mused after swallowing, "It tastes like sugar. Are you sure it's not sugar?"

"I'm positive. See this symbol on the bag? That's the irken symbol. This is rovalakus. It comes from a cane harvested from Irk." Zim explained, taking another bite.

"Sugar comes from a cane too. There are over 20 species of sugar cane on Earth, isn't it possible there are other species of cane on other planets?"

Zim paused, thinking about this, "I suppose... Why are you so concerned with what I'm eating?"

"I'm not. But if it is like sugar, then it would be unhealthy to eat large amounts of it."

"Nonsense, my people eat it all the time."

"And are they short?"

Zim thought about this. Yes, most irkens were short. He was the smallest one until he got to Earth and had a growth spurt. Then he remembered something and retorted with triumph, "The tallest aren't. They're over six feet."

"And they don't eat anything else but that?"

"Well, no. They eat a bunch of stuff." Zim said, remembering they always were doing something food related when he called.

Gaz smirked a bit, knowing she was winning, "And you. You're tall. You only eat that stuff? You told me in the livingroom you like waffles. Maybe what little nourishment waffles have helped your growth spurt."

Zim sat there, shocked at the sense she was making. Wait, she was making him see her sense? The little demon thought she could succeed in making him look foolish, "Zim eats what he pleases!"

"Your leaders are over six feet? And what are you, 5'6? Still shorter than them." Gaz chided, enjoying getting under Zim's skin.

"Oh yeah? At least I'm not as short as you! I bet you're not even five feet. Haha, you're the size of a dirt-child." Zim taunted, "Any shorter you could be the size of a dog-beast!"

Gaz rolled her eyes, "I'm exactly five feet, for your information. And I may be small, but at least I'm smarter."

Zim fumed, getting up and putting the bag back in the cabinet, "You insolent little...THING! Zim is a genious! He knows all! More than any worm-baby could ever know."

He slammed the cabinet door, and began to get eggs and waffle mix, pouring it in a bowl and mixing it as he ranted.

Gaz just listened and smiled as he went on and on about how amazing he was. This went on for fifteen minutes until he sat down with a plate of waffles.

"Of course you're right, Zim. Why else would you just start making waffles unless I wasn't so stupid." She smiled, taunting him.

"...Curse you, Human! Curse you!" Zim pulled of his wig, throwing it across the room so he could tug his atennae. He couldn't believe he walked into her mind tricks.

"I have a name, you know." Gaz's smile dropped. So far he's only called her Human or Dib-sibling. Her own father never called her by her name, she was pretty sure he forgot it. The only one who did call her by her name was Dib, but his annoying voice made her hate the sound.

"I smells waffles!" Gir ran in, wearing a cowboy hat. He jumped on the table, "Do they have soap in em?"

"No, Gir, these are normal waffles, not posionous ones."

"Awwww, but I like soap."

"Except when you need a bath." Zim hissed.

"I guess I should go. Dib may be home soon." Gaz said, pushing in the chair.

Zim looked up from his insane minion, "Gaz-hu, Uh Gaz... Why do you team up with Zim? Do you really hate your sibling?"

Gaz paused in thought, "No, I don't hate him, he's my brother. He knows I love him, but he can still be a real asshole at times."

Zim nodded in understanding, "Your brother certainly is annoying. When do we begin Operation: Cupid's Nightmare?"

Gaz smirked at the name, a bit surprised he knew who cupid was, "Tuesday's Thanksgiving. A perfect chance to introduce my boyfriend to my family. Come by around six."

"A.m or p.m?"

"P.M." Gaz answered, annoyed. Who ate thanksgiving at six in the morning?

"I'll be there." Zim grinned evily.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Don't worry, the story's getting there. Next chapter will have more romance. And more Tak, Mimi, and Gir. I looked up radio shows and the lone ranger was a popular one. I don't think it was a tv show yet. And the song Gir was singing was wrote in 1949, but I really wanted Gir to sing it. Sorry if some things aren't historically accurate, but I'm trying.