[A/N: i specifically tried mango w Tajin to write this lil blurb. Not bad. I'm not Mexican enough imo. But neither is Dib, so have this.

Also remember that this is just a story from an AU, where Dib and Zim are friends. Don't take thing personally.

TW/CW: hanging out, buying lunch, holding stuff/full hands, minor nervousness, eating/feeding, taste descriptions, idk reaction stuff]

The boys needed some hardware for all of their various projects. The stores never seemed to have the kind of stuff that they needed, but Dib remembered that they sometimes had different kinds of metal bits and bobs at the flea market. They had to wait a couple of days for the weekend, but when it came around, the two of them and Gir went over to the local flea market in the morning.

It did turn up some things. They weren't finding every last nut and bolt that they needed, but they did come across some good tools that just needed some cleaning. Additionally, they found some random trinkets and stuff that they really liked to look through; but they did have to drag Gir away from buying up every last bit of it.

It was after noon when the boys started to get hungry. Gir had been buying snacks all morning; as "meal times" for him were just suggested times when he could eat much more at a time. There were a few places to get food at the flea market, and as they were not yet done combing through the different stalls and booths, they decided to stick around and eat something from one of the counters.

Zim was always a picky eater, though. Even before he came to Earth, he had strong aversions to certain foods. It took him a while to be able to properly digest Earthenoid food, but he found that stuff other than meat and the like didn't upset his stomach as much. The easiest way that he found to describe his diet to OTHER humans (which he was, obviously) was what they called "vegan." He wasn't a crazy stickler for it like some other "vegans" were, as he was able to digest stuff like eggs when they were baked into cakes and things. But if he could avoid eating stuff that came from the nasty little critters that trotted around on this planet, then he usually did.

Doing that wasn't easy here. Almost everything on any of the menus that he saw was loaded up with cheese or bacon or both, and he couldn't stand even the smell of either of those things. One of the less disgusting food stands was selling sandwiches, and by the time that he got to it, Zim was already frustrated with trying to find lunch. "You! Sandwich human! Can you make something without your disgusting pig meats on it???" And apparently that was all it took, because he walked away with a soda and a sandwich packed up with vegetables and condiments.

Dib had allowed Zim to find lunch independently so that he could take his time, and went his own way to find something to eat. It actually took him so long that Dib had already collected and eaten his lunch, and even went off to get another snack. He returned to see Zim being too hungry and impatient to sit down before digging in, as he already had a few bites taken out of his sandwich when they met again. "Found something satisfactory??"

"Eh." He swallowed. "It'll do." He took a drink of his soda and noticed that Dib was holding a cup of his own. It was clear, so he could see the juicy golden cubes sitting in it. It wasn't just mango, though: it had some dusty red stuff sprinkled on top of it. "What is that?"

Dib had just put a piece in his mouth as he asked. "Hmm! It's mango with chili seasoning stuff on it. It's pretty good."

Zim did like Earth fruit because of how sweet they usually were, and mangos were among his favorites. "Better than regular mango???"

Dib thought for a second. "I don't know about 'beteerr.' It is different, and good in its own way. Do you wanna try a piece???" He stabbed a cube with the plastic fork and held it out for him.

Zim was surprised at the proposition. He dodged his eyes. "Uhhh…" His hands were full from the food he was holding, so he couldn't take up the fork that was offered. Dib's hands were also full because he was holding the cup with one hand and the fork with the other. "I'm kind of tied up here, Dib."

"That's okay. Just bite it off of the fork!" He smiled and held it up for him.

Zim shrunk his head into his shoulders and felt blush dust his face. It was an intimate thing to have someone feed you, and he had never been fed anything before. He became nervous and wasn't sure how to compose himself. He felt himself sweat, but decided to go for it anyway. He watched it as he slowly inched closer to the mango, but didn't know what to do with his eyes when it fell out of his line of vision. He blinked and looked up at Dib as he gently wedged his teeth into it and pulled it off of the fork. Dib smirked at him when they met eyes because of how cute his awkwardness was.

The mango tastes like mango. That wasn't weird. The flakes that were sprinkled on it did taste completely different. It even felt weird on his tongue, as if he would be able to pick out all of the individual little flakes if he concentrated enough. First of all, it was salty. That flavor was already established as being tasty alongside sweet. The next thing he sensed was a flavor that he could only compare to one of the tastes that was left in his mouth after one of his machines blew up in his face. He guessed that was what "smoky" was supposed to be, but it wasn't exactly very strong compared to the rest of it. Noticeable, but not strong. That was the same flavor 'item' as the cooked pepper that he detected. Out of nowhere, it tasted sour as well. He didn't think that the mango tasted very sour itself, so it had to be part of these flaky things. One thing was certain: this was different from regular mango like Dib said it would be. Zim's eyes were wide when he looked back up at Dib

"What do you think???" He smiled and ate another piece.

Zim didn't really know what words to put to it. He didn't think that it was better than regular mango, but he thought that it would probably be a decent snack if he wanted something that was such a symphonic mix of flavors in a single bite. It was a little overwhelming to vocalize that, and he was still kind of stunned from just being fed this tasty thing by his best friend unprovoked. "It's interesting."

Dib nodded. "I think so too. I don't always have mango with this stuff on it, but it's a nice change of pace. Some people put this stuff on eeeverything."

Zim was captivated by the past minute. He heard and understood what was said, but it was going to a different part of his brain than the one that was currently lit up. Dib could see that Zim was distracted. "You okay???"

Zim felt a nice fuzzy feeling on his nose and the tip of the tongue, and a gentle stingy feeling all up his body. He was kind of stupefied. He locked eyes with Dib again and spoke hopefully. "Can i have another piece???"