Invader Zim Fan Fiction ❯ Smip and Kwe's story ❯ Chapter 15

The return trip to Earth is finally nearing its end as they only have a few hours left before their arrival.

Iif walks into the room and spies the lump of Irkens on the bed before crawling up and cuddling up with the little smeets. Meep, however, doesn't know if he really liked all of this cuddling from his brother and the cold, metal robot; but seeing as his blanket was there to protect him, he didn't make a move.

As the day finally broke over Earth, Dib and Zim were up early, feeling anxious of the arrival of their son and new grandchildren. They hadn't had any communication since the last time, so their natural parental worries were beginning to build.

Upon the ship, Kwe let his family sleep while he sits in front of the communication computer, calling the elder alien. "Zim?.. Are you there?" he asks as his face appears upon Zim's monitor.

Zim turns his head, looking up slowly from where he was positioned at his workbench. Various parts are strewn across the table that he was working on just to keep his mind occupied on other things. His antennae are half alert, an obvious sign that he's been troubled by all of this as well. He rises to walk over to the console, sitting down and lacing his fingers together very slowly.

".. What do you want?"

"Er, yeah.. I was just making sure you weren't going to try attacking me right from the start.. I thought it would be only proper to you and Dib to get to meet the twins and see Smip again before we have our battle.. Perhaps the following day of our arrival?" Kwe is aware that he could not wait long, or he may face the Tallest's wrath.

It sounded like a reasonable request at least, even though Zim would rather slice Kwe's legs off the moment he exited his ship. ".. Fine.. But if you do anything to piss me off until then, there are no promises.. I'm not holding back anymore since you are no longer with smeet."

Dib happens to wander downstairs, since he was trying to get in all the time together with his mate as he could, and notices Kwe on the monitor. ".. Kwe.."

"Ah, Dib!.. We will be arriving in a few hours time. I was just making a truce with Zim for a day when we arrive." Looking back at Zim, Kwe blinks, "Er, no need for aggression, Zim.. I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye," Kwe mentally adds 'seeing as you're so much shorter', "but, for our mates' sake, let's try to get along for now." He pauses a moment before finally delivering the news, "Smip's humanoid organs have already suffered damage do to all of the stress.. I've repaired him, but he cannot be stressed further.. I won't allow it."

Dib and Zim instantly become alert at the alarming news about their son.

The human is first to speak, "Damaged?! Is he all right?? Where is he??"

Zim is upset as well, but it only shows by him clenching his fist, trying to keep his temper in check. "He better be just fine or all negotiations are off!"

Kwe gives a glare to Zim before answering, "Yes, he's fine now. He was malnourished, dehydrated, and he had bleeding in his stomach.. It's repaired now and I've put him on a regiment of Irken vitamins and such. He's in better health than ever before.. Looking after our sons made me neglect to see his slowly deteriorating condition.. He's asleep in the bedroom with the twins now."

Dib is calmed only slightly, but the feeling of anxiousness sets in as he wishes to see their son again soon. He turns to Zim, narrowing his eyes and slapping him hard in the arm. "Dammit, Zim! You see what all of this is doing to him? You have to know how upset Smip is about this fight between you and Kwe! What is he going to do with one of you dead, huh?! And what about the twins??.. Will you suck up your pride for once in your fucking life and listen to us? Why can't we go off for a while to be safe? Kwe doesn't want to kill you, but if you keep being a stubborn asshole, then I just might!"

Kwe watches the argument quietly. ".. Yes, Zim.. Please?... I don't know if Smip would ever forgive me.. as well as the twins not having their grandfather."

Zim yelps from the smack, angrily rubbing his arm and glaring viciously at his lover. True, Dib has a point, but he doesn't have to like it. He looks away, antennae twitching with irritation while he thinks it over again.

The Invader part of him wants nothing more than to stay and defend his pride of his mission, but the parent part of him nags about Smip. If he did kill Kwe, his son would never forgive him, but it wouldn't be much better if Kwe killed him instead.

Dib looks angry as he stares at Zim, waiting for an answer. "WELL??"

Finally, Zim grits his teeth, struggling with every last ounce of his being as he points to Kwe. "You will accept that I am not running away to save myself, but am looking after protecting my family then? BECAUSE ZIM RUNS FROM NO ONE!"

"Well.. You're braver than most then, Zim.. I'm going to go check on my family. We'll be there shortly.. I trust you won't try any dishonorable tricks when we meet again, right?" Kwe says with a serious look to the other Irken.

He has a gut feeling that Zim would have something up his sleeve; poison in the food, toxins in the air.. something.. At least Kwe wouldn't have to worry much about Gir. Zim, on the other hand, would have to contend with Iif on Kwe's side.

Dib looks relieved at last after so long. He speaks up first, "Oh, he won't.. If he knows what's good for him."

Crossing his arms tightly, he shoots Zim a pointed glare that holds some much deeper, secret meaning behind it while the older Irken leans back with widened eyes. Whatever the look means, it's obvious he must know Dib will make good on the threat.

Dib looks back at the monitor, giving a nod, "Thank you, Kwe.. And we'll see you soon."

With this, the transmission cuts and Kwe stands, heading back towards the bedroom to spend more time with his slumbering family.

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The ship flies with great speed through the vastness of space, at last approaching their destination. Kwe is still surprised that Zim hadn't said anything of his ship being taken and sold by him.

Slowly, the much larger ship lands behind Zim's house, right next to his mother's Megadoomer, easily bigger than the robotic unit. As no one had seemed to take much notice in all the previous occurrences, such as the house being partially demolished twice, Kwe wasn't overly concerned with unwanted attention.

He gently shakes Smip's side, "Wake up, Smip.. We are here."

Smip makes a snort as he jerks awake. Diz is jostled by the movement, scrunching up his face and burrowing a little deeper into the warmth of his perch, once more, on his father's chest. It was obvious he took after his Daddy on sleep habits.

Smip grabs around for his glasses, slipping them on at last so he can see clearer. ".. Wha..? We're here?.. We're here?!" He bolts into an upright position, feeling sick from nerves.

As he does so, Diz is catapulted across the room towards Kwe with a 'waaah!'. Violet eyes go wide and Kwe catches his son in mid-air. At all the sudden movement and the loud cry, Meep starts to scrunch his face up, crying himself.

"Sweet Irk, Smip! Be careful!!... It's okay, Diz, Mommy has you," Kwe pets his son softly, hoping he wouldn't start crying as well.

It's quite the opposite as the little smeet begins giggling over the sudden excitement.

Smip literally jumps off the bed to his feet, scared shitless at the cry, thinking at first that he squashed on of their sons, but then realizes he sent Diz flying. He's at Kwe's side in less than a second, freaking out.

"OH MY GOD! IS HE OKAY?! IS HE OKAY?!"

Diz giggles excitedly, now wide awake, and throws up his arms. "Do it again!"

Clutching his heart, Smip drops his head in relief, fighting back the exasperated smile. "Oh, thank god.. N-no.. Let's not give Daddy another heart attack so early in the morning, okay Dizzy?" Now that the well-being of his previously airborne son is addressed, he comes back over to scoop up Meep, rocking him gently. "Shh.. Don't cry, Meep. Everything's okay." He rubs the little back beneath the blanket.

Meep doesn't speak, just slowly calming back down and nodding off once more like the perfect angel he was.

Kwe takes his sleeping son carefully and says softly, "I spoke with your parents earlier, so please do not worry any more. Zim has finally agreed not to fight.. We're going to have a nice day with them, my seeder. Go get cleaned up, my love, our parents are waiting on us." He gives Smip's cheek a soft kiss then looks down at their sons, "Now, Diz, you have to be quiet so you don't wake your brother. We're going to go see your grandparents, okay?" He grins and places a kiss on Diz's cheek before looking back to his mate. "We'll be waiting inside with them. I'm.. in a bit of a hurry to go meet my father face to face after all, you know?"

Smip nods slowly, coming down from his adrenaline rush, "O-okay.. I'll be ready in a minute." He'd love to take a nice shower, but since he hasn't seen his parents in so long, he isn't sure he wants to wait.

Kwe leaves the ship, going inside the house, while Smip readies himself. He washes his face to help himself wake up and brushes his teeth and hair before putting on some clean clothes and slipping on his shoes.

The excitement of seeing his parents again makes his stomach do little flip-flops and he runs out of the ship into the house. "Dad! Pop!"

Dib is holding Diz when Smip walks in and feels his heart soar. Carefully, he hands his grandchild back to Kwe before he takes his son into a firm embrace, their tearful reunion beginning.

Zim, who had been beside Dib, comes over too, waiting quietly before he's suddenly tugged into the little hug huddle and squeezed by his son and mate.

"Oh god, I missed you guys so much.." Happy tears form in Smip's eyes.

Diz, in Kwe's other arm, giggles and tries hard to reach out, wanting in on all the hugging. Meep's just tries to stay hidden around the new people as best he can as he finds Dib at bit scary since he looks so different, but thinks he seems nice at least.

Kwe watches with a gentle smile as he steps closer, waiting for the group hug to stop, but Diz latches onto Zim's arm and hugs him tightly. "Zim.. You should be pleased to see Diz has your eyes."

Zim's antenna perks as he feels little hands gripping him, then turns to see one of his grandchildren hugging onto him. He looks down into the little magenta eyes, so identical to his own, and actually feels a tug on his heartstrings. It reminds him so much of when Smip was a young smeet.

They all let go eventually, though Smip remains rather glued to his father's side for a few more moments.

Dib puts his hands on his son's shoulders, looking the teen over carefully now. The bags under Smip's eyes have almost gone away completely, being much better than they were before, but they seem rather noticeable to Dib.

"How are you feeling? Are you getting enough sleep? Getting enough to eat? Are you taking care of yourself better now?"

Smip nods, "Yeah.. I'm doing better..."

Dib hugs his son once again. The teen still looks thinner than what Dib would have liked, but at least he looks healthy. He can't believe it now, but his son seems to have changed so much after been gone.

Meep almost wets himself at all the hugging, wishing to join in, but far too afraid. Slowly though, he reaching out one little hand that grabs onto Dib's shirt, but quickly lets go as soon as the human makes a movement.

Kwe blinks and looks at his little son doing this. "Don't worry, Meep. We're all here to protect you."

Meep gives a soft smile and slowly comes out of his little cocoon, looking around a bit more.

Smip looks over and smiles at his youngest son, reaching out to caress his face gently. "You never have to be afraid of them, Meep. These are my mommy and daddy, so they'll take good care of you."

"Would you like Dib or Zim to hold you for a bit?" Kwe asks.

The tiny smeet blinks and then gives a small nod of affirmation. Kwe then looks up to the two new grandparents, wondering which one wished to hold Meep.

Diz reaches out, making grabby hands, not wanting to be left out in the attention. Since he's closer to Zim, he reaches for the elder. Zim looks a little unsure at first, actually glancing at Kwe a moment to ask for permission.

Kwe, however, is all too happy to let the other hold little Diz, feeling it good for his son to get to know Zim in case anything should happen. Handing the infant to Zim, Kwe gives a warm, motherly smile, then turns to, looking at Meep before locking eyes with Dib. "Er.. Try not to scare him, Dib. He's never been around a human before."

Meep looks up at the odd creature with wide eyes, lifting a small hand and waving at Dib cutely. ".. I'm.. Meep.." he says shyly.

Dib gives a gentle nod, smiling warmly at his little grandchild, reaching for him carefully. He holds the little bundle close, speaking softly to Meep so he doesn't seem threatening. He smiles, "I know. You probably don't remember, but I saw you when you were just a few days old.. I'm your grandpa Dib."

Smip beams a little with fatherly pride as he looks at their sons. Kwe was also very proud and smiling wide at getting to show off the twins. Zim holds Diz, letting the little smeet cling to the front of his uniform.

Diz looks up, "Are you Daddy's mommy?"

Zim grins some, admiring that this smeet seems very astute, "Yes, I am."

Meep, ever the observant one, reaches up and grabs onto Dib's nose, squeezing it and examining it, his eyes wide with curiosity. Dib blinks in surprise at first when his nose is grabbed, but just chuckles instead.

"So.. What are we going to do today?" Kwe speaks up as he takes Smip's hand into his own.

In all honesty, Dib and Kwe probably both were wishing to just lay around as their rears were sore from too much 'fun' in the previous days.

Smip holds Kwe's hand, squeezing it lovingly, his heart beating a bit fast as he looks to his mate, then his parents; the gravity of their situation looming over his head. "I don't really know.. It's been so long since I've had free time or places to go... I guess, maybe just something quiet."

Dib, managing to pry the little fingers off his nose looks up. "We could go fishing?" he offers.

"Fishing?" Kwe and Zim question in unison, causing them to look at one another with a slight glare.

Meep tucks his hand away and lays there in Dib's arms, deciding that the strange thing on his face shouldn't be touched for whatever reason.

Kwe, having only limited knowledge of Earth, didn't exactly know what 'fishing' was. Zim, on the other hand, was more taken aback by the idea of going hunting for food when they already had all they needed.

Smip tilts his head a little too, "Fishing? Where'd that come from?"

Dib shrugs slightly, "I'm up for quiet too.. I remember this lake nearby that they wanted me to check out for a supposed lake monster. Turns out it was just a weird fish that a bunch of drunken yokels caught later. But, it was quiet enough that it might be nice to spend the day together. The twins have never seen anything on Earth before, so why not show them something nice?"

"What? Like.. in the Earthen wilderness?" Kwe blinks, a twinge of fear running through him seeing as he had never been in such an environment nor has he researched any info on Earth's creatures. "Should I.. borrow my mother's Megadoomer for protection?" He blinks more, looking obviously startled by what was being suggested.

Meep, never out of the loop, senses this and quickly retracts back into his cocoon with a whimper.

Smip shakes his head with a slight chuckle, putting a hand on his mate's shoulder. "Kwe, you're scaring the kids.. But, no, you don't have to bring a Megadoomer. It's really not that bad all, camping like. And it'll be fun for the twins to see some of the outdoors. They've only seen the inside of the ship since they've been born." He looks up at his father. "Well, I'm game at least.. But we'll have to get some clothes for Diz and Meep. There's not exactly a wide range of baby stores out in the universe after all." He reaches over, stroking Meep's head.

Meep smiles slightly even though he still looks nervous.

Kwe also reaches over, petting the meeker of their two sons, then reaches over to give Diz a pet also. "Er.. Okay then.. What does this 'fishing' entail?"....

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As they finally loaded up the car and were on their way, Kwe was still quite confused. "So.. we are.. fishing.. yes?.. Yet.. we have food?.. So.. Am I missing something?"

Zim chimes in with, "Yes, yes, humans are quite complicated with dirty human logic like this. You'll have to get used to it if you're going to deal with Smip. He's shown signs of having inferior human.. stupidness.. at times."

Dib, who is driving, and Smip both turn to Zim in unison, "Hey! He's/I'm not stupid!"

Smip gives a pout, looking at the smeets, who were riding in some custom-made car seats. "You don't think your daddy is stupid, do you?"

The twins, as well as Smip, wear some new disguise contacts. Instead of creating wigs for the twins, Smip opted for little baseball caps to keep the sun off their faces and heads.

Diz shakes his head enthusiastically 'no'.

Little Meep, on the other hand, giggles mischievously, wanting to say 'Yeah! Daddy's stupid!' but nowhere near brave enough to do so, just wiggles a bit.

The car was different then the ship. With every bump, Kwe's, as well as the twins', eyes go wide, wondering if they were going to crash. But Dib seemed to have a decent control over the vehicle and Kwe knew they were only traveling around 45 mph or so. After all, how much damage could they come into at such a slow speed?

The first stop on their little outing was to get some human clothes for the twins. There was no way that Smip, or Kwe, or Dib were going to subject the smeets to Zim's disguise machine. Since the twins were still very small, normal baby clothes would most likely not fit them, as Dib remember having a similar problem with Smip when he was young.

They pull up to the mall, the car piling out to go shopping and Smip suddenly has a sinking feeling. His antennae drop as he looks to his father.

".. You're taking us to the Build-a-Bear, aren't you?.... I remember that place..." He grumbles under his breath as his father looks apologetic.

Kwe walks through the bustling mall with a twin in each arm, wondering if it was some type of dishonor to shop at this place. "Build-a-Bear?.."

Inside the store, row after row were lined with adorable bear clothes as Kwe blinks and looks through them, wondering how this worked exactly.

Smip decides to take command as it’s his sons, not Dib’s or Zim’s, that he’s shopping for and is the only other one that knows how this works. Children run about making stuffed animals and grabbing clothes to dress their creations in, but Smip completely ignores the general chaos as he looks through the 'non-pink' clothing for something that could work. He scans the shelves, grabbing things here and there, holding them up near one of the smeets, and sometimes putting his selection back.

After a good 30 minutes, he has a nice collection in his arms. "These should be okay."

Kwe looks at the selection, obviously disapproving of such garments, but deciding not to speak up about this. Little Meep giggles and pointing at a girly, pink top eagerly.

".. Meep, those are girls' clothes.." Kwe whispers, causing the little one to look very pouty and start to cry, once again pointing at the top. ".. I.. Okay, don't cry, sweetie. We'll get you the shirt."

Smip sees the little pink top, with pictures of cute little bunnies on it, and seems to ponder for a second before pulling it off. He looks at Kwe seriously, "Trust me.. If you saw some of the things I had to choose from when I was little, you'd understand this isn't so bad.."

Dib holds up some little hangers from the other side of the aisle. "Look, they have little fishing outfits," he chuckles.

Smip chuckles too, but shakes his head. "Nah, I think we've about milked this place for all we can. Let's get this stuff and get out of here." Smip idly reaches into his pocket, pulling out the unused cash he stole so many months ago and gives it back to his father. ".. Oh, here, by the way.. And I'm sorry again about taking it."

Dib just pushes it back to Smip, shaking his head. "Go ahead and keep it, it's fine." Dib pays for the clothes, since he has more money, but Smip carries the bags out to the car.

Kwe looks through the clothes idly with one hand as the other holds Meep, handing him the pink shirt that the infant Irken grabs up and hugs tightly like a new blanket. "Heh.. Well, at least they're happy," Kwe says with a grin before he goes to sit back down in the car. "AHH! HOT!" Jumping off the now, very hot leather seats, he glares at Zim. ".. You booby-trapped the car.. DIDN'T YOU?!" he accuses, pointing one finger at Zim.

If Meep had had a hoodie, he would have pulled it over his head in a fashion much like Kenny and pulled it shut. The best he could manage was to duck as far into his cocoon as possible, using the pink shirt to shield his face.

Zim, who was carrying Diz, just grins smugly, completely ignoring the accusation. "Oh yeah, be careful, the seats get hot."

Smip looks over his mate, "Are you okay?.. Yeah, gotta let the car air out a little first... Hey, dad? Can I put your coat on the seat while I get the kids dressed?"

Dib hands over his trench coat, which Smip lays across the seat so the smeets won't be burned and sits them down. Digging through the new clothes, Smip picks out something to dress them in. Meep clings to his new, pink top, so Smip lets him keep it.

"Can I borrow that for a second, kiddo? I just want to get the tags out so they don't poke you."

Meep looks at the shirt, suddenly wondering if it was dangerous and quickly throws it to the floor of the car, looking at it wide-eyed, then touching his own face as if inspecting it for some kind of shirt insects that were left behind.

Kwe continues to glare at Zim for a few more moments, then slowly calms down, deciding that the family's calm reaction was a good sign that this really wasn't a trap, but a simple misunderstanding. ".. er, sorry.." he mutters under his breath to Zim and touches the seat again. Indeed, it was hot, but with the doors open, it was cooling down quickly.

Zim just gives Kwe a soft, "Mmhmm," in response.

Smip picks up the thrown shirt, pulling off the plastic tags and showing Meep since he seems scared of it. "See? Just had to get these little things off. It's not too comfortable with them on." He gathers up the shirt, getting ready to put it on his little son. "Can you be a good boy and put your arms up for me?"

Dib reaches over, taking the opportunity to speed things along by removing the tags from the other clothes.

Meep didn't want the shirt now if it was infested with things that would 'poke him'. He cowers back into his little cocoon at first until Kwe leans over and kisses his forehead.

"Come on, Meep, it's okay." Kwe's voice is soft and loving as he tries to coax their son out.

Slowly, like a butterfly-to-be, Meep squirms his way forward and raises his arms. Kwe simply pulls the little blanket away so his mate can dress the little one.

Smip is careful as he pulls on the shirt over Meep's head, but struggles a little trying to get the tiny arms into the holes since he's never dressed a baby before.

Diz, meanwhile, was starting to feel a bit neglected. He pouts as he watches his little brother. "You're stupid being afraid of everything all the time.."

Smip frowns, shaking a finger to his other son. "Hey, don't call your brother 'stupid'. That's not nice."

Kwe blinks at this as Meep gets his shirt all the way on and looks at his brother, seeming as if he was going to cry.

"Shh.. Come on, Meep. Don't let him call you 'stupid' like that, call him 'stupid' right back. Stick up for yourself." Kwe tickles under little Meep's chin, trying to get him to be a bit braver.

Meep looks over at his brother and points right back, ".. You're stupid!" And as fast as it was said, he was completely enveloped in his blanket once more. This time, more hidden than a groundhog that saw its shadow.

Smip looks up at Kwe, trying to smile at the attempt, because it's still heartwarming. "Well, I was trying to get them not to call each other 'stupid' at all.. but I guess this works too." He picks up the little shorts. "Time for pants. Gotta unwrap you just for a sec." Smip is tender as he pulls the blanket away slightly so he can get to Meep's legs and quickly slips them on, giving Meep a blow on his tummy to tickle him. "All done!"

Little Meep comes close to falling as he tries to wiggle away from his father, but at the tummy blow, he giggles and suddenly finds himself in pants! He looks them over, wiggling some and not caring for them at all.

Kwe just grinned, honestly thinking his youngest son resembled a little girl smeet, but decided not to comment on this.

Diz was growing grumpier, first at the lack of attention and now at being called ‘stupid’; prompted by his own parents no less!

Smip wraps the little one back up nice and snug, giving him a kiss before handing him to Kwe to hold while he finishes with Diz. "Alright Mr. Bad Attitude, it's your turn. Arms up." Smip gets the blue shirt ready, this one definitely more boyish with a print of a dinosaur on the front.

Diz puts his arms up, not resisting like his brother had, but having a sour pout on his face. "I'm not stupid! Meep's stupid! He's scared of everything!"

Smip frowns, wagging a finger again. "Hey, what did I say before about calling your brother 'stupid'? You keep it up and you're going to get a time out. Now, tell your brother you're sorry."

"Time out?.. Out of what?" Kwe questions, never hearing of this punishment. "... Out of.. snacks?.. Starvation?"

Meep looks through his blanket fortress at his big brother, "... I don't really think you're stupid.." He was actually the first one to say something, surprising Kwe a bit.

Diz and Smip both look over, surprised as well.

Smip gives a pleased smile. "Thank you, Meep. That was very nice." He turns back to Diz. "Now, don't you have something to say too?"

While Diz stalls for a few moments, Dib leans over to whisper to Kwe, "A 'time out' is just a punishment where they usually have to sit someplace out of the way and aren't allowed to play or continue what they were doing before."

Diz looks angry about it, glaring at the floor of the car. ".. I don't think you're stupid.."

Smip nods, patting his son on the head. "Thank you. Now, arms up." Diz complies again, getting his shirt on a little more easily, followed by a pair of pants. "Okay, I think we're all set to go now."

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The ride in the car was surprisingly pleasant. The little ones make nice and say cute baby things while the forest passes around them, drawing attention from them all to the beauty of nature; all the more so with the smeets who had never seen such things.

Meep feels more and more comfortable, even uncocooning himself to simply holding his blanket after a while as the warm car speeds down the road to their location.

Smip plays the doting daddy the entire way, making sure the smeets are comfortable, checking if they're hungry or thirsty, giving them little juice drinks and snacks while they travel.

He looks around too, smiling, "Wow, Dad, you're right. It's really nice out here."

It isn’t' too much longer that they pull into a small picnic area to park the car and unload their things. Smip helps get a little area set up for them, then warily at the lake water before turning to the smeets.

"You two promise to be good and not wander away? You have to be careful around water because you don't want to fall in. It could be dangerous since you don't know how to swim." He looks to his mate. ".. We don't know if water burns them either."

Kwe walks out and breathes in the fresh air, gagging and coughing on it. ".. The air.. Something is.. wrong with it.. I don't like it!... I DON'T LIKE IT!" he declares, clearly glaring at the nearby trees, somehow knowing it was their fault.

Looking at the vast amount water so close made Kwe a bit nervous. Was Dib plotting something horrible for Kwe to protect his mate? He was now on guard.

Smip soon gets one quivering bundle of smeet from the reaction and he looks back to his lover. "Kwe, it's okay, really.. You're scaring the kids."

Diz pipes up in protest, "I'm not scared!" but is ignored.

Smip continues, ".. Do you think we should see if they're immune to water or not?.. I don't like the though of maybe hurting them, but it would be better to know."

Diz pipes up again, pushing at his little cap so he can see better. "I'm not scared! I'm not scared at all!"

Meep cuddles tighter and deeper into the blanket, of course. Worried for his brother's safety, he raises a tiny hand, "I.. w-will.."

Kwe blinks at this and smiles, "That's a good boy, Meep. Don't fear being injured, no matter how horrible and scarring it may be.. We really should test both though, just in case one is and one isn't... You should do it, Smip. I know you'd be too freaked out seeing me do it."

Smip just stares at his love, honestly wonder just how clueless Kwe could be with using subtlety around Meep. Dib idly begins to draw his own conclusions as to how Smip got sick before, all of them having Kwe the main factor in it.

Smip looks down, stroking Meep's cheek. "It's okay, kiddo. We're just going to put a little drop on your finger to see. But just a small one."

Diz isn't exactly thrilled by the thought of getting hurt, but he wants to prove his bravery. He raises his little hand. "I'll do it first, Daddy!"

Smip nods and leans over, dipping his hand in to wet it before he very carefully holds his son's finger out and lets a drop splash on the tip. At first, nothing really seems to happen until Diz starts to squirm and whine.

"Owie.. It hurts."

Immediately, Smip wipes Diz's hand with his own dry hand and shirt, cuddling his son close and kissing his booboo. "Shh.. It's okay, Dizzy."

Seeing his brother hurt, Meep's eyes go wide and he's very frightened now as he grips tightly onto his blanket, not wishing to do it now.

Kwe walks over to Diz, giving him a pet and smiles, "I'm proud of you for going first, Diz. You were very brave... It's your turn now, Meep." Seeing Meep is obviously not going to be willing now, Kwe leans in to kiss his little head. "Come on now, prove to me you're as brave as your brother, or are you not?"

Meep whimpers and almost looks like he's going to cry at first, but then bravely shoots out a hand and looks away, obviously terrified.

Maybe Dib could see why Smip had been in so much distress, but Zim didn't see it at all. Kwe was simply doing what should be done by Irken standards and Zim couldn't be more happy to see this as he watched, interested.

Dib leans over, tapping on Zim's PAK, giving a pointed look that Zim obviously understands as he glances around quickly, then lets his PAK open to retrieve some burn ointment and bandages. Dib kneels down at his son's side, offering them.

"Here, this'll help take the sting off."

Smip nods, then realizes his hand is still wet. Not wishing to hurt Diz more than he already did, he looks down at his smeetie son. "Can you hold out your finger for Grandpa Dib to make all better?"

Diz nods, a sad little expression on his face, but lets the human administer the first aid to his blistering fingertip. After a bandaid is wrapped around it, Dib kisses it all better, as well as Smip.

Taking Meep over to the lake's edge, Kwe gathers some water on a stick, then points at the infant's finger. The single large drop slowly gets closer and closer to dripping.

Meep's eyes go huge as the anticipation builds.

DROP.

"AHHH!" Meep screams loudly and flails his hand, causing Kwe to drop the stick and actually jump a bit while he holds the smeet in his arms.

Smip, Dib, Zim, and Diz jump as well from the scream and Smip passes Diz to his father, darting to Meep’s side instantly, his parental concern guiding him. He slaps his wet hand at his clothes, trying to dry it off, but getting frustrated he can't.

Surprisingly, it's Zim that stops him by tapping Smip on the shoulder and pointing. "There's no smoke coming off his finger. I don't think it burned him."

Smip looks up to see, tentatively reaching with his damp finger to scarcely touch it on Meep's hand before pulling away hurriedly.

Meep was frightened at the odd, wet liquid, but it didn't hurt after all. Growing curious, Meep tastes his wet finger and scrunches up his face. "It don't taste good.." he says softly, drying his hand off on his own blanket.

Kwe beams with pride, "You're such a good boy, Meep... Just don't scare us like that again, please?" He chuckles in relief and nuzzles his son.

Smip breathes a sigh of relief, coming forward to kiss Meep's cheek. "Yes.. Daddy can't handle getting scared like that anymore... But I think we'll wait a bit before testing to see if you can eat Earth food."

Diz pouts, clutching his sore, little finger. He didn’t' think that was very fair at all. The ointment was helping at least so it wasn't stinging as badly as it first did.

Smip comes back over, taking Diz back and nuzzling him softly. "Sorry, kiddo. Guess that's just the luck of the draw.. But, you know, Mommy and Grandpa Zim can't go near the water either or they'll get boo boos too."

Now that all the excitement is over, they unpack their things from the car, setting up at a nearby picnic table. Dib and Smip are, by no means, avid fishers, but they have general knowledge of it.

Kwe stands back with Zim, holding the twins in his arms. "... This seems like.. a lot of waiting for little reward," he states suddenly as he watches the two hook worms to cast them into the water and wait.

"Agreed.. There must be a far more efficient way of killing and capturing these.. fish monsters."

Both Kwe and Zim seem to be thinking.

Dib and Smip get the rods ready and turn, waving the others over.

Smip lifts an antenna before leaning over to whisper to his father, ".. They look like they're plotting together.. That's probably not a good sign, Pop.. Actually, I think we should worry about any time they look like they're getting along..."

The two Irkens talk to each other, just out of earshot. At some point, some sort of breakthrough is reached and the two scurry off back to the car, rummaging through it.

Dib watches as well, noticing the proverbial light bulb coming on. ".. Uh oh.. This can't be good.."

Kwe and Zim return, grinning wide; Kwe with both smeets in his arms and Zim with a rather large, explosive device.

"We had an idea!" Zim proudly proclaims as he holds up the bomb with glee.

Both father and son have similar expressions of jaw slackening in surprise when Zim holds up the explosive device. Smip's antennae droop back and Dib's would have too, if he had any.

Dib groans softly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "... Zim.. Okay, I don't even want to know why you had explosives in the car.. But, what are you doing? Put that down and come grab a pole."

"Eh?.. I-in front of kids and grandkids?" Zim blinks and goes wide-eyed at what Dib suggested. "No, no, that is far too inappropriate.. But just watch our fishing technique!" With that, Zim hurls the bomb into the water and cackles in his evil villain way.

Kwe just looks at him at first, then joins in the evil laughter. "The fish will meet their doom!.. DOOOM!"

Zim follows with a "YES! VICTORY FOR ZIM!"

Dib turns several shades of scarlet and even Smip has quite the blush coloring his face. Dib looks pissed, even though he's still embarrassed, "ZI~IIM!"

They can only watch though as the bomb is hurled into the water, as if in slow motion. Dib and Smip react instantly, jumping to their feet to get away from the water's edge. Paternal instincts kick in again as they both bum rush Kwe, each grabbing a smeet and running back a ways for safety. A loud explosion sounds as the lake water shoots up into the air, as well as numerous, very confused, and now very dead, fish.

"Yes! We've succeeded! Look at the fish! Muhahaha!" Both of the Irkens laugh and point towards the fish as the water goes flying... and then comes splashing back down on both of them.

"AHH! RETREAT!"

"THE FISH ARE ATTACKING!"

"RUN!!"

"AHHH!"

They scream various comments as they both smoke and run around in circles then finally head towards the car for protection.

Once again, Dib and Smip look remarkably similar as they watch, completely unamused by their mates' stupidity. Meep pulls his blanket around himself a little tighter in Smip's arms and Diz watches with morbid curiosity from Dib's.

From a stop further away, on the lake itself, is a boat filled with drunken rednecks that hoot and cheer from the display, proudly giving a thumbs up and a three-toothed grin.

Dib is first to speak, ".. Kids, this is why you don't want to listen to your Grandpa Zim's ideas without asking your Daddy or me first.. Because, sadly, he's an idiot.."

Smip adds his own two cents, ".. That goes for any time Mommy has a crazy idea too...."

The lacking of concern for the two Irkens now writhing in pain on the ground and smoking heavily was more than noticeable as little Meep points frantically.

"Mommy's got a booboo! Help him!"

In all honesty, after this show of stupidity, both deserved to melt a bit before being helped. Both Smip and Dib apparently understanding this by their lack of reaction.

Smip turns Meep away slightly, trying to reassure him. "It's okay, kiddo.. Mommy and Grandpa Zim are just learning a lesson on what happens when you don't go fishing the right way. They'll be fine."

Zim comes running, smoke tendrils trailing behind him as he rushes up to Dib, grabbing the lapels of his trench coat. "You rotten, stinking.. DIB!.. GIVE ME THE BURN OINTMENT!!!"

Dib keeps his expression even as he reaches into his pocket, taking his sweet time, and pulls the tube out to dangle in front of Zim's face. Zim snatches it greedily out of his hands, running back off with his prize, though not really in the mind to share it with Kwe.

"Hey! Get back here with that!" Kwe goes running after him, smoking up a storm, until he finally tackles the greedy Zim who had already used the vast majority of the tube of ointment on himself.

Zim tries to keep the ointment far out of reach from the younger Irken, grunting and groaning as they tumble over the ground, small slap fights breaking out here and there, as they wrestle for the tube. Grabbing onto the elder, Kwe tries to rub off some of the ointment from Zim's face onto himself.

Zim lets out a long yell when Kwe grabs his head and rubs their faces against each other. "AH! AH! GET AWAY! YOU SMELL OF FISH BEAST LIQUID!" He slaps wildly, trying to get Kwe off him.

Meanwhile,... Dib and Smip just stand watching on the sidelines with the smeets.

Meep doesn't know what to think as the watches the fight. "Stop them Daddy," he whimpers, unsure of the situation. His little hands cling onto Smip's arm.

Kwe finally wrestles the tube away and squirts the rest of the ointment right on his face, reminding him vaguely of something Smip had done to him just the other day.

Smip lets out a soft sigh and turns to his father. "Maybe we should go break them up now. I think they've learned their lesson."

Dib nods a little as he hands over Diz and approaches the still battling aliens. Zim tries to get the tube back as he keeps burning because of the dampness on his clothes. Dib reaches down, grabbing them both by the back of their uniforms and tugging them up enough for them to get their footing.

Zim starts grabbing at his clothes. "My clothes are burning!!!"

Dib snaps alert as he seems to realize just what his mate is trying to do. "Zim! Whoa! Wait a minute!"

Zim runs back towards the car, stripping wet clothing along the way. Dib runs after him, ripping off his trench coat and chasing the alien down, catching him just as he's about to go completely nude.

"What do you think you're doing?! You can't go streaking like that!"

Kwe had enough brains to wear water resistant clothes, feeling they might come in handy, though his face and hands were still burning. He rubs the creamy substance into his face right in front of his own mate without thinking.

While Dib wrestles with getting a naked Zim wrapped up in a trench coat put back in the car, Smip's eyes are caught by his mate and he flushes lightly, being reminded of a few nights ago. He looks away, clearing his throat to get himself away from the dangerous thoughts.

----------------------------

About 20 minutes later, everyone was piled back in the car looking much more grumpy and/or blistered than they first started.

Smip leans back in his seat, staring out the window. "Well, so much for a calm, family outing together."

Zim pipes up with, "Yes, BUT LOOK AT ALL THE FISH WE CAPTURED!" He opens a bucket that was packed to the brim with fish.

Kwe gives a nod of happiness over this, ".. Why are you two grumpy? That was fairly fun.. I believe the twins would agree with me."

Meep giggles and nods. Though a bit scary and new, the event was enjoyable.

Diz scrunches up his face, finding the fish rather smelly. He had enough of the whole 'fishing' thing to last for eons. Though, it was pretty fun to watch his mommy and grandpa running around screaming like idiots.

Zim idly checks the fish occasionally, making sure they hadn’t escaped or were plotting anything. Noticing the stares from his mate though, he quickly closes the lid after each 'check'.

"The time in this slow, Earth vehicle has been nice and comforting, even if the event in question wasn't what you were expecting.. Correct, Dib?" Kwe notices the grumpy vibe coming from the human's direction.

Dib grumbles under his breath, still moody about his plans going completely downhill.