This is a Father's Day story that is about my favorite Zim characters, Membrane and Dib. Sorry Gaz fans, but this isn't much of a story about her because…well, as much I think she loves her father, she doesn't have that much emotion.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Jhonen Vasquez.
Enjoy!
"Dib, c'mon, you've been looking through those old home movies all day. I want to watch TV." Gaz growled as she stood in front of her brother in their living room. A box of CDs was on the right side, a pile was on the left, and Dib sat in the center of them, looking at the label of each one before placing it into a pile off to the side.
"No way, Gaz, not until I find the movie I'm looking for." Dib replied, shaking his head as he placed a CD into the pile before choosing another one out of the box.
"Dib, you're not going to find it. Just give up." Gaz remarked, grabbing him by the arm and trying to move him away from the pile.
"No!" he suddenly shouted, yanking his arm away fiercely before selecting another one. "I'm not giving up…not until I find that tape."
One of Gaz's narrowed eyes opened just a little bit more, revealing a slit of amber as her brother put yet another CD in the pile. "This is about Father's Day, isn't it?"
"Of course it is!" Dib replied, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Dad has everything, remember? Why would I try and give him something he already has or doesn't need? All I need is to find that disk…the one he always looked for when we were younger that he could never find. If I find it…Dad might be happier again."
"Dib, if a smart adult like Dad couldn't find it, I doubt that a stupid kid like you could find it." Gaz scoffed before walking away, going to her own room to play her GS2 in peace.
Dib watched after her sister before sighing and turning back to his task. Gaz had it easy; Dad didn't think of her as insane, so she didn't need to try and please him. Unfortunately, Dib did, so now he was stuck looking for a home movie that was the proverbial needle in a haystack for him.
The frustrated little boy stood up after the fortieth CD. "This is ridiculous…" he muttered before kicking the box, sending it careening into the couch. Inertia caused some of the CDs to come flying out, one of them smacking Dib in the face when it launched out. "Oww!" he whined, rubbing his nose before picking up the CD case. "Stupid CD…" he grumbled and was about to throw it back into the box when he noticed that it was actually two CD cases stuck together. He raised an eyebrow and, sticking his nails in the minute space between the CDs, managed to pry them apart with a small squelching noise. He looked at the CD that had had its front hidden by the back of the other CD case and read the title with a grin. This was it! This was the CD he had been looking for! He looked at his watch, which said that it was almost 7. That meant he had a while until his father got home, since he worked until 10 on weekends…occasionally.
He cleaned up the pile of CDs, put them away, and waited anxiously on the couch for his father. As soon the Professor arrived home, he was greeted with his son running over to him and yelling, "Dad! Dad! I found it!"
His father blinked at him. "Found what, son?" he inquired in his usual booming, melodramatic voice.
"The disc! The one you've been looking for! I found it!" he exclaimed, holding the disc up. "See?"
Membrane stared at his son for a moment before taking the CD from him and glancing at the title. "Where…where did you find this?" he queried in a surprised tone.
"In the box of other CDs. It was stuck to another one, so I pulled them apart and found it!" Dib answered before asking, "That's the one you were looking for, right?"
"…I don't know." He responded in a rather deadpan voice before saying, "Son, I think it's time you head to bed."
"…Okay…" Dib muttered before slumping his shoulders and heading off to bed, dragging his feet all the way.
Membrane made sure that Dib was gone before popping the disc into the DVD player and settling down on the couch to watch it.
The scene is of a beach with three people in view; one is a little boy of about 6 in black swim trunks, another is a little girl of about 5 in a purple bathing suit, and the last is a young woman in a blue bathing suit.
"Hey Daaaad!" the little boy, obviously Dib, yells, jumping up and down next to a medium sized sand castle. "Look at the sand castle I made! Isn't it great?"
"Yes, it's wonderful, Dib!" comes a cheerful voice from an unseen person; evidently, Membrane himself was the one filming at the time.
The little girl wanders over to the sandcastle, stares at it for a moment, and suddenly kicks it, causing it to crumble.
"Gaaaaz! Why would you do that?" Dib demands. The little girl just shrugs, causing Dib to fold his arms and stick out his bottom lip.
"Gaz, that wasn't very nice of you," the woman chides, stooping down to Gaz's height. "Now please apologize to your brother."
"Yes mom…" mutters Gaz, and she turns to her brother. "I'm sorry Dib…"
"It's okay Gaz, I don't mind that much." He says before revealing a gap toothed smile from apparently recently losing a baby tooth. "Wanna help me build another?"
Gaz just shrugs again before plopping down in the sand and beginning to help Dib build another. The woman chuckles before remarking, "Those kids sometimes…"
"They're a wonderful pair of kids, huh?" the voice says, and the woman nods, her blonde ponytail bouncing.
"They have their flaws sometimes, but yes, they are…" she replies, before commenting, "Mem, I want to stay like this forever."
"Me too…I hope this never ends." The voice agrees, and the woman grins, a mischievous glint in her dark brown eyes. "I'll race you to the water."
"You're on!" comes the reply, and the scene changes to black.
Dib, now dressed in his blue pajamas, snuck down the stairs and not only caught the tail end of the movie but something else; the sight of his father on the couch, his shoulders shaking. "Dad?" he reluctantly called out, walking over to his father. The man fumbled for the remote for a bit before shutting the machine off. "D-Dib…I thought I told you to go to bed." Membrane commented, the sound of his voice another dead giveaway that he had been crying.
"Sorry…I just wanted to tell you Happy Father's Day, that's all." Was the boy's simple reply. As he turned away, his father suddenly called him back before pulling him into a hug. "It's all right…and thank you. This is probably the best father's day gift I've ever gotten." Membrane remarked, causing Dib to smile.
"Even better than that time when we got you those glow in the dark gloves?" he inquired, and Membrane smiled back behind his tall collar. "Even better."
And so the father and son sat on the couch, watching old home movies into the late hours of the morning; they may have not been very close the past few years, but those moments they spent together on that couch made them closer than ever.
END.
This is dedicated to my dad, who always supports my writing, even if he would rather me write actual stories rather than fanfiction.
Hope you enjoyed it, and remember to review, even if it is constructive criticism!