Disclaimer: All Invader Zim characters belong to Jhonen Vasquez and no money is being made from their use. All original characters belong to me, and it would just be rude to use them without crediting me.

Glass Dominos

By

Lisa-chu

Chapter Three

I Wonder…

Despite all of the nice thing Zim and Dib had done for her to help her feel a bit more at home, there was still one thing Merit could honestly say she hated about Earth: early mornings. At six in the morning, Gir had bound into her round, jumped on her bed and, consequently, right on her stomach, jarring her out of a semi-peaceful slumber.

"Gir! What the hell!" She cried out as the Sir unit jumped of the bed. She couldn't stay mad, however, as Gir stared up at here with pitiful eyes. "I'm sorry, Gir, but you shouldn't jump on people like that. It really hurts." She sighed, eased herself out of bed, and trudged out of the room and across the hall to her caretaker's room.

"Zim? Are you up? She whispered into the dark bedroom. The room was about as large as her own, but the bed was placed in the middle of the room, so it took up more space. The elder Irken was still sleeping, shirtless, in the middle of the large bad. "Zim, wake up, we have to get to Dib's before school." Merit tiptoed to the side of the bed and placed a clawed hand on Zim's shoulder, planning on shaking him awake. However, he had been a light sleeper and immediately shot up, grabbing her wrist.

"What are you doing, smeet?" He asked, his voice thick with sleep. Merit was trying to get her heart rate down.

"I was trying to wake you up. We have to go to Dib's house for breakfast, remember?" Zim yawned. It wasn't often that he needed sleep, but with getting everything together so it was suitable for taking care of another, not to mention dealing with the Dib-human for hours on end, he simply needed a few seconds to relax. A few seconds turned into a few hours, and then all of a sudden he was being shaken awake by his new charge.

"Of course, of course. Go get dressed, I'll be out in a minute." Smiling, Merit bound out his room, closing the door behind her.

Thankful, he fell back onto his lush pillows, sighing miserably. At this point in life, taking care of the little was probably the least stressful thing on his mind. What was coming up as number one on that list was all this time he was spending with the human. Every morning, he would come over, or Zim would take Merit there, and he would shower her with new little delights such as more clothes or food, or sometimes nothing at all. Just a friendly ear or a shoulder when she was homesick. And since she was Zim's responsibility as well, he was there watching every encounter from the sidelines. He couldn't help but wonder why, when Zim had come to Earth, he had been all dissections and exposure, but when it came to the smeet, he was sweet, almost fatherly. It just didn't seem fair, somehow.

"Humph. The circumstances are hardly the same." He thought out loud, reason finally winning over pathetic emotions. It was with this clear state of mind that he began to dress for the day.

-

Dib was used to being up so early. With no mom to speak of and the Professor usually at work at this hour, it had become his responsibility to make sure Gaz was up, ready, and fed in enough time to make it to school. So making breakfast was no big change to him.

"Why are you making so much?" Gaz asked from her place at the table. Dib turned the burner off and put the eggs and bacon on a plate to cool, hoping Zim and Merit wouldn't take too long to get her.

"We're having company for breakfast from now on, Gaz." The young girl's eye twitched. She didn't really like surprises such as this.

"And does dad know about this?" She asked. Not that their father would really care. He was too busy finding the cure for cancer or whatever he was working so hard on. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's just breakfast, Gaz. Jeeze, it's not like they're living here." This was the reason he didn't tell Gaz a lot of things. She was so negative, particularly when it came to other people. It made him wonder if she planned on living a life of seclusion when she left home.

Dib set the frying pan in the sink, just as the doorbell rang. "Come in!" He called. It seemed appropriate, since Zim obviously had no problem just waltzing into his house. As if on cue, Zim pushed the door opened with a flourish and marched inside, Merit in tow.

"Good morning, Dib!" the smeet chirped merrily as she hugged him. He couldn't help but wonder what had her so happy this early in the morning.

Small talk, on the other hand, was not Zim's forte, and without a word, he sat down at the kitchen table, across from Gaz. The young girl glared menacingly at him as she finished her last fried egg. Still scowling, she rose from the table and stalked out of the kitchen.

"She seemed nice." Merit commented.

"Yeah, about as nice as Satan himself." He mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, breakfast is ready. Feel free to help yourself." She smiled and did just that, eager to try this new human cuisine. Dib sighed and took a seat next to Zim, who was busy staring absently at the Formica tabletop. The human stared at him for a moment, lost in thought as to what could be bothering the little alien so early in the morning.

"Thank you for the food Dib!" Merit snapped him out of his reverie with her pleasant show of gratitude. He simply smiled and nodded, not sure how to respond. Gaz never said 'thank you' when he cooked for her, and it was probably because it had become so common place, almost like his job. But, all the same, it was a bit refreshing to hear it. "Aren't you gonna eat anything, Zim?"

Zim raised his eyes to look at her, and simply shook his head. Okay, know Dib was certain that something was wrong. Usually the question would trigger a long winded, hostile response as to how Earth food was inferior in some way, shape, or form to that of an Irken. But this morning, there was nothing.

"Are you feeling alright, Zim? You're not usually this…quiet." Dib asked. Snapping out of it, Zim narrowed an eye at him before holding his head high and crossing his arms.

"I am fine, Dib-stink. Not that it's any of your business." He replied. The human rolled his eyes, deciding to never again concern himself with Zim's feelings, or lack thereof. Merit watched the interaction with rapt interest.

"Why do you two fight so much? Are you guys in love with each other or something?" The comment was meant to be a joke, but the two young men froze, and Zim's eye began twitching wildly.

"That is the most absurd things-"

"Wow, look at the time!" Dib interjected with an awkward grin on his face. He was desperate to end this conversation before it even began. "We've got to get to school before the bell rings." He rose from his seat, took Merit's plate, and set it in the sink.

"What? But we just got here." She replied, pouting. "Besides, I wanted more eggs."

-

"Computer, any signals from Merit's Pak?" He was getting more and more risky with these endeavors, but he couldn't stop. Making sure she was okay was like a drug to him, and it consumed all of his time. It was only a matter of time before one of his superiors fond out, or even worse, the Tallest.

"Pak belonging to Merit located. No signals detected." The computer whirred its response. The outlook was getting bleaker. A wrecked Voot Runner, no signals coming from her Pak. It could only mean one thing.

"No!" He growled to himself, forcing the thoughts out of his head. Perhaps if he refused to believe that his friend had died, then it wouldn't be true. But the evidence seemed to be glaring him in the face.

"Still letting those little girls get you into trouble?" A voice behind him shook the young Irk out of his reverie. He whipped around and came face to face with the bane of existence. "Really, Zaid, is that how you treat a friend of the family?"

"I would hardly call you a friend, Tak, now what the hell are you doing here?" Zaid rose to his feet, using his body to block the computer screen. Tak smirked and her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to him.

"Relax, rookie." she sneered as she put a clawed hand to his chest, shoving him back down to the plush computer chair. "I've heard all about you, locking yourself up in your room, fiddling away on that computer of yours all day and night." Tak put on a worried façade, which quickly fell way to a sinister smirk. "And now I know."

"You don't know shit!" Zaid shouted at her, attempting to stand by forcing his weight against the clawed hand that rested on his chest. Tak, however, was stronger, and easily held him at bay. She tossed her head back and laughed at his pitiful attempts.

"I wouldn't be so eager to get away from me, if I were you, boy. Who knows what trouble I could get you in to?" She was right. If he just cut off the computer connections and turned his back on her, it would give her the perfect chance to run to the Tallest, which wasn't good, depending on how much she had heard. "Now listen carefully, I could help you find you're precious dodger, but you have to help me."

Zaid's mind was racing. He knew the elder Irken was up to no good, and he had every reason to distrust her. But what about finding Merit and keeping his promise to her?

"What do you want form me?" He asked. Tak had the decency to look shocked.

"Want? Me? No, my precious little smeet, nothing like that. I just want to help you." She paused. "Just give me the coordinates you've got there, and I'll prepare a ship to take us-"

"Wait, us?" The young Irk smacked Tak's hand away from his chest and rose to his feet. "If I do find a way to Merit, I won't be taking you with me, Tak. I put my life on that."

"Oh, but how do you expect the Tallest let you fly off through space by yourself?" She crossed her arms, knowing perfectly well that she was right. Zaid knew it too. He was still a rookie, and until he proved himself to his rulers, he wasn't allowed in space alone. It was there that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"And you've been to these coordinates before?" He asked. Tak smirked and nodded.

"In fact, a dear friend of mine is stationed there." Her smirk fell. It sickened her to call Zim a 'friend', but she would say anything to get this pitiful smeet to play into her hand. "Just let me talk it over with the Tallest, to make sure everything goes smoothly. In the meantime, get ready. You're training starts tomorrow."

"My training?" Zaid questioned. "But I've finished my training already!"

"You pathetic smeet training is nothing compared to what you'll need on that planet. It's a hostile environment in which you'll need the utmost diligence and tactical skill. And for that, you need me. Be ready tomorrow morning, bright and early." With that she turned to leave. Zaid's mind was reeling, but one thing still stood out in his mind. He was going to keep his promise, he was going to find Merit, and Tak was actually going to put her bitchiness on the back-burner long enough to help.

-

"Do you understand, Dib?" Miss Lust, one the meanest advanced algebra teaches ever born, asked, glaring down at the teen. Dib snapped out of his trance at the sound of his teacher's voice, and it was apparent that he was in trouble.

"Um…yes." It came out as more of a question, but thankfully, Miss Lust chose to ignore it and she stalked back to the chalkboard.

"Good, see that you do. Because tomorrow, you'll have a test on everything we've gone over today." The class groaned in annoyance, although it was nothing new. She would catch someone sleeping or staring off into space, reprimand them, and then use it as an excuse to announce the latest test or quiz. It was a vicious cycle.

Dib, however, had slightly better things to think about. Merit's words sill rang clear in his head. Though the prospect of he and Zim being in love with each other was completely laughable, but he couldn't help but think that maybe, some day, something other than hatred would form between them.

He stole a glance at the alien sitting a few seats over from him, dazing off in to space. 'I wouldn't mind a kiss or two, either.'

He blushed at the thought of kissing Zim, but he was also intrigued. He wondered what it would feel like, what it would taste like, to kiss an alien.

Zim was lost in a similar reverie. Love of the Dib-human seemed to be plausible to him, and it would certainly explain these feelings of envy toward Dib's relationship with the smeet. But why now, after so long? After all the chases and backstabbing and nefarious plots, why did the Dib seem so appealing?

The bell rang not long after, and Zim had every intention of leaving, but he froze in his tracks as he looked up and locked eyes with Dib. The human was looking at him strangely, almost a mix of contemplation, anticipation, and…want.

"What do you want, Dib-stink?" He asked, the words coming out more harshly than he intended. It just bothered him to look up and see someone staring at him, especially when that someone was the one who the alien had just been thinking of.

Dib seemed to shake himself out of his trance, cheeks flushed as he shook his head in response.

"Nothing, Zim." He mumbled, brushing past the Irken in a rush to get out of this awkward situation. He couldn't believe he was caught gaping at him like some pathetic school girl. He may as well have been drooling while he was at it. 'Really smooth, Dib.' he chided himself in his head as he walked out of the front doors and toward the middle school, with Zim in tow.

---------

So, hopefully this explains a little more. You know who the mysterious Irken is, and yes, Tak is definitely up to something. Read and review and tell me how you feel.

Ps. Yes, Zaid pronounced 'Zade'is the last of the Oc's. I promise.