Dib took a deep breath, clicking the top snap of his lab coat nervously. He usually didn't wear it to work since he tended to work more in tech, but he wanted to try and stay on Dad's good side today. He'd actually threatened to cut Dib off his part of the bank account once when he'd been up for 40 straight hours, and his schedule said he'd been at work for about 14 now. That had been nerve-wracking- and kind of sad. Dib had been up for longer and had never snapped at anyone besides Zim. (Well, he thought. His memory got a bit fuzzy after hour 30 most of the time.)

Zim had been about to take Gir on a walk when he'd left. He'd given Dib a dismissive wave and told him he would have to bring his bags in himself. Jerk. They'd had a good battle with Makio the dragon-slaying plumber earlier on the console Zim had almost certainly stolen from a neighbor, and Dib had beaten Zim pretty thoroughly. That might be why he'd been kind of pissy, actually…

Right. Back to the present. Dib headed up to the front door. Honestly, it was worth it working there if only because the guards always let him in right away now. A few of them had called him 'professor', though, so it was probably them thinking he was Dad, but it was the thought that counted. Dib headed up the stairs, practicing his speech to himself.

"Okay, Dad, I know you were talking about branching me out to different branches of science, and it kind of happened on accident, but- no, no, that's dumb. Hey, Dad, you know Zim? Well, he was an idiot alien like usual, and- ugh, no. So, Dad, you know you you wanted me to help with that genetics project? Well, I took the initiative and you're going to be a grandpa." Dib sighed, tugging a hand through his hair. "Grandpa… geez. Better save that. Would the kid even be a Membrane? It's not like Zim has a real last name, but we're not married or anything anyways."

Absently, he wondered if he and Zim would both wear suits if they were to get married or if Zim would wear a dress. Zim had worn a dress to prom, but it had looked like a slightly longer version of his uniform so that wasn't the best judge. Meh. It wasn't worth the hassle anyways. It would just be a pain to do the paperwork.

"Okay. Just need to… walk right in there, go talk to him, and tell him I'm moving out and that I'm going to be staying with Zim. If that goes good I can bring up the kid." He leaned against the railing, looking down. He'd climbed about five flights- running around so much made the stairs easy. He remembered chasing Gaz around on these very stairs when they were little enough that Dad brought them to work, but now but they were half-derelict due to the number of elevators in the building.

Dust gathered in the corners, and a thin film coated the tiny windows on the doors. If he didn't know there was a bustling lab behind them, he'd think he was back in one of his old favorite haunted houses. The fact that a month ago at work he'd been chasing after the ghosts of a few dozen mice, whose intelligence had been enhanced enough to have unfinished business that qualified them for ghosthood, didn't help dispel the illusion either. For a place so focused on 'a better everything', they sure needed to focus on getting a better janitor. Dib straightened up, taking one more breath before walking over to the door and pushing it open.

Dad had a whole level of the lab to himself- part of it was where he filmed his show, but most of it was where he tinkered with personal projects that he didn't trust anyone else to not break. Dib had only ever learned what a handful of them were.

When he pushed the door to the 'LAB OF THE MAINBRANE' open, the figure inside turned, goggles practically glinting in the light. "Ah, there you are, son! You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah, I made an appointment yesterday morning." Dib said, drumming his fingers against his hip. The lab coat felt stuffy, and he undid the top snap. "I was thinking of… moving out."

"Moving out? Oh, right, you're an adult now! 19, right?"

"Still 18, Dad."

"Of course, of course! I suppose I should have expected this. Independence is certainly something to strive for." His tone was light. "But what of your sister? She still needs a guardian for when I'm busy."

"Gaz can take care of herself. She makes her own food most of the time, and she's turning eighteen in a few months. Besides, you still come home, and she has my number if she needs anything."

"Was there a reason for this?" Membrane turned his back to Dib, and sparks light up his silhouette. Dib swallowed.

"Okay, so, you know Zim?"

"Your boyfriend? What about him? I've told you, you should get him to come work here, he has a real talent!"

Dib sighed. "He's an alien, which I've said a million times but you probably won't believe no matter what at this point. Just because we're together doesn't mean I want him to have access to the labs, he still hasn't really made up for the bracelet thing. I don't want him getting any Earth-conquering ideas if he pokes around in here."

"I don't know why you continue to insist on this, even after you've clearly gotten over your silly little feud-" Membrane started without turning around, and Dib folded his arms, fingers digging into the fabric of the lab coat.

"He's having a kid."

"Oh." Membrane turned back around to stare at Dib through his goggles. There was a moment's pause, during which the uncomfortable crawling of his skin went so deep Dib was pretty sure every cell in his body fried itself before rebooting. "Is it yours?"

"Yeah."

"Ah. Well, congratulations, new life is exciting! You are a bit young, but he certainly seems capable if a bit eccentric. Are you two making it through cloning?"

Dib's iron grip on his own arms relaxed a bit. "No, he's having it the normal way."

"There is no normal way, only the common way and the scientific one!" Membrane clapped a hand on Dib's shoulder. "Taking responsibility, that's my boy!"

Dib straightened up a little. "I was going to ask… is there any way I could start bringing work home? I want to- er, make sure he's okay, so I'll be rooming with him for a while."

Membrane narrowed his eyes. "You aren't trying to slide out of doing your job, are you? I know how you can get with him. You remember what I-"

Dib swallowed. "No, this way Zim can help. He's good at that sort of thing, you know that. I was considering switching to the biology sector soon anyways, I can just finish up work on the firefighter bot and whatever else is left before doing that. Zim does lots of experiments with animals, we can figure out something and just bring back progress every few days or something."

Membrane stroked his chin. "Hm. As long as you still get results, I suppose I don't see why not."

Dib grinned. "Thank you! I promise I won't let you down." He tugged open the top of the coat, allowing himself to breathe. "Besides, this way I can work at my own pace. I did better when I was just fiddling with stuff at home in high school, you know?"

"That's why I insisted you come here in the first place." Membrane brushed a hand through Dib's hair. "Of course you're talented, you were just wasting it on foolish little fantasies before."

Dib's heart twisted, like it was being wrung out like a towel. "They weren't fantasies. I'm literally dating an alien right now."

"That's not a nice term to use, you know."

Dib stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling the lint gathered in the fabric lining and rolling it between his fingers like a worry stone. "I'll get whatever I need from Simmons. I'll still have my phone if you need me."

"That sounds just fine." He clapped Dib on the back hard enough to almost make him stumble. "Do send me pictures, I'll want to see my grandchild!"

"Yeah… I will." Dib said, head swiveling to try and figure what had just started whistling behind him. When he turned back, a folder of notes the size of his head had been shoved at him.

"These were the notes I had taken while you were an infant. Some of it may not apply since it was specifically about cloning, but you might find it useful."

Dib pulled out a random sheet. "Ideal neurological stimulation?"

"That was finding out what would be the best way to keep you entertained while learning the most."

Dib hugged the folder. "Thanks. This will definitely help." He paused for a beat. "Wait. Did you just have this in your office?"

"The bottom two drawers are the files I kept in case I ever decided to make more children. I didn't want them to get lost."

"Oh. Okay." He couldn't imagine having more younger siblings. Gaz was definitely enough. Although a younger brother could have been cool…

"I'll… see you later, then."

"Tell me how it goes!" Membrane nodded at him, and the way the top of the coat wrinkled, Dib thought he was smiling. It was always hard to tell.

When he hurried down the stairs, though, it was with a slightly lighter chest and paperwork he actually wanted to go through.