"Honey, the guests are here!"
Dib opened his eyes slowly, and looked at the ceiling. "The nightmare begins…" He said, with the familiar air of someone who has hosted many Thanksgiving parties over the years.
As Dib navigated some annoyingly sharp childrens' toys strewn across the floor, he remembered a time, twenty years ago, when he never would have allowed all of these people into his house. Avoiding a small Lego piece he had come to loathe, he also thought about the sudden end to the Irken Empire's violent expansion, which he had plaid a part in.
He chuckled a bit as he wondered whether or not it was really worth it, if it had made him friends with these people.
He opened the door, and quickly greeted the guests streaming into his house: First came Zim, who proudly called out "First!" as he crossed the threshold. Next came Tak, the official Irken ambassador to Earth, who rolled her eyes as Zim did a little victory lap around the entryway. Next came Skoodge, in a shiny new General's uniform, followed closely by High Admiral Tenn. Dib noted with amusement Zim's sudden fascination with his boots when Tenn came in.
Next, some of the more important guests filed in: Lard Nar, Prime Minister of the Vortian Federation (labeled by some of it's citizens as the 'Federation-y'). The former Tallests, who had long since given the power of the Tall to the elected officials of the Reformed Irken Empire, seemed to think of themselves as just as much in charge as they had during their rule, poking into Dib's closets, and laughing at all of his 'Human stuff'.
Sizz-Lorr, governor of Foodcourtia, made a beeline for the kitchen, probably sensing that the food was still cooking, and wanting to help.
Finally, three Introi entered the room. It was already cramped without the twelve foot long snake-lizards with bug wings and extra arms, but Dib was no less pleased to see them, welcoming Scly, Naida, and little Phoi into his home. He even referred to Scly as 'High Council Member', which he found very funny.
Dib closed the door, knowing that GIR, Minimoose, and MiMi would come in through the doggie-door, like they always did.
He turned towards his home, one goal in mind until he knew dinner was ready: Damage control. He quickly moved through the various rooms the visitors were in: The Tallests had already started pigging out on any snacks they could find. Bad, but not horrible.
Zim was telling Ann about the 'good old days', describing their previous loathing for each other as simple childhood antics. Dib smiled, seeing the 'evil' alien tell his daughter stories Scly walked over to Dib, and asked, "What's Ann short for?"
Dib's smile shrank a few teeth. "Andromeda… Zita wanted a 'special' name for her daughter."
"So that's why you wanted my advice on naming Varr!"
Scly, ever perceptive, had discovered Dib's revenge for Ann's 'special' name: Zita got to name their first kid, but Dib got to name their second one. Dib had asked Scly for a good Introi name, and he had suggested Varr.
Zita wasn't too happy about it, even when Scly had proudly listed a few Introi heroes named Varr.
"Wasn't Andromeda some Greek princess who almost got eaten by a giant lizard?" Scly asked.
"Now you know why I'm so nervous to have you over."
Scly laughed, and Dib walked towards the kitchen. He looked down, and saw Phoi (Scly's son) playing cowboys with Varr. Oddly enough, Phoi had willingly agreed to be the horse.
Dib stepped into the kitchen, and was immediately amazed by Sizz-Lorr, who was single-handedly cooking the forty pounds of food their guests consumed. Zita was sitting in a chair, obviously relieved that Sizz-Lorr liked doing this, and cheering the FryLord on.
He walked over, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Hey, honey. When's dinner going to be ready?"
"With this guy?" Zita said, pointing at Sizz-Lorr, "Ten minutes. Unless you don't mind the second turkey deep-fried." Dib took a closer look at the kitchen, and discovered that Sizz-Lorr had brought his own frying equipment.
Laughing, he left the kitchen, and entered his little library, to check up on the three aliens who found it's contents interesting: Naida (Scly's wife), who was curled up on the armchair with a copy of the Indian Cultural Atlas, High Admiral Tenn, who was just standing in the middle of the room, reading a history textbook and muttering to herself: "A bunch of Mongolian archers on horses attack China and win… Huh…"
A sudden burst of laughter drew Dib's attention to Skoodge, who was reading one of his old comic books.
A thump from the ceiling drew his attention. He climbed up the stairs, and quickly walked into the guest room, almost sure of who was screwing around.
He was right: GIR was hanging on to Minimoose, who was floating around the room like a hot air balloon. MiMi sat on the floor, watching them. Dib was laughing at the tricks GIR was pulling off, until two words from downstairs cut him off: "Dinner's ready!"
He barely had time to get out of the way before GIR flew past him, singing his clothes with his jets. Minimoose floated out of the room in his usual lethargic way, and MiMi, disguised as a cat, slipped between his legs.
Dib walked downstairs, and was greeted with the usual image of his house at Thanksgiving: All the guests were politely sitting at a very long table, in stark contrast to the mess they had left around them.
Dib started to walk towards his seat, when the doorbell rang. He quickly looked over the guests: No one was missing (even Keef, who always managed to sneak in).
He walked to the door, very confused, trying to figure out who it was: The postal service was closed, his other human friends celebrated Thanksgiving with their own families, and the F.B.I. never came on holidays…
He opened the door, and saw the last person in the world he'd expect to be there: Professor Membrane.
Dib and his father hadn't spoken to each other in months, mostly because of Dib's insistence on the existence of aliens. His father had told him, on no uncertain terms, that he needed to grow up.
"Dad… Um, I wasn't expecting you…"
"Yes, I didn't expect to be here myself… Listen, Dib…I'm sorry about that fight we had… You are allowed to have your own…opinions. I don't care that much about it, and I'm more concerned about being a good father. And grandfather, though I still don't know why you named him 'Varr'."
Dib smiled, "It's a long story. I'll explain it over dinner. It's good to have you over." He gave the Professor a hug, and tried to ignore the soft 'Aww's coming from the dinning room.
"So," He said, leading his father into the house, "Are you still taking those heart pills?"
The Professor smiled, which was surprisingly easy to see, even under the lab coat, and said, "Dib, I'm a scientist. I can't be having heart attacks whenever something amazing happens."
"Well, that's good: You're in for a surprise."
He lead the Professor around the corner, and steadied him when he stiffened from shock.
Every single alien in the room was beaming at him, helping Dib with his shining triumph, his final victory against his father's stubbornness.
For a few long seconds nothing happened, until Scly broke the ice. "Good evening, Professor! Would you like to carve the turkey?"
Author's Notes: Yes, I put Dib and Zita together. It just seemed right.
Scly, Naida, and Phoi are some of my characters, who star in Analysis and The HAIR awards (though Phoi doesn't exist yet, and Scly and Naida aren't married).