The day Zim had been preparing for was finally here. Oh, of course most of his time was spent just being with Dib, and getting both of them prepared for their coming journey, but he had spent some of his free time over the weeks preparing for just this moment.
He'd gone searching for the perfect items, he'd practiced baking until he could make the perfect dessert, and he had even decorated his base—okay, so he had actually just let GIR go wild with the decorations. But it still resulted in a decorated base, and he was ready for Christmas!
His goals were twofold—to ensure Dib had a great holiday, and to show off to Professor Membrane. He'd prove he was good to Dib, and far better than Membrane had been or would ever be!
"Zim, what are you planning?" Dib asked.
"Nothing!" Zim said, gathering some of their presents from under the tree and placing them into a cardboard box. Some were left to be opened later with his minions, and he checked to make sure he had grabbed the right presents.
"You have an evil grin, and I hear you chuckling. You're up to something," Dib said.
Zim slid the box over to him. "Alright, so I'm plotting to be victorious at this human holiday," he said. "There's nothing malicious about that, is there?"
"No," Dib said. "But Zim, you don't need to worry about being the best here. Just try to enjoy yourself."
"I will," Zim said, and meant it. He was genuinely looking forward to this…even if it was partially due to the chance to show up a human, he was also looking forward to spending the holiday with Dib.
He headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a two-liter bottle of red soda Dib had supposedly needed to physically fight through crowds to get to, and a desert he'd hidden under an opaque white dome. The soda he carried over and placed in the box, while he carried the dessert in his hands. It was too delicate for him to risk jostling it around.
"Ready to go?" he asked Dib. He pulled on his disguise and zipped up the purple hoodie with moose horns his partner had gotten him.
"Ready," Dib said with a nod, tightly wrapping the scarf Zim had made him around his neck and mouth, pulling up the hood of his winter coat before picking up the cardboard box. Zim opened the door, and they stepped outside into the cold and snow.
Zim thought the temperature now was comfortable, though he could have done without the polluted frozen water. But to humans, the freezing weather was unbearable, hence why he got Dib a scarf and added the hoodie to his disguise. It also helped keep an extra layer between him and the snow.
They crunched their way through the thick snow, Zim taking the time to admire the shining lights and decorations that had been set out. It was Christmas Eve, so everyone celebrating had gotten set up, and with it being a winter evening, every light glittered brightly against the dark to light their path.
It didn't take them long to arrive at Dib's old street, where each house shone with thousands of lights, flashing in specific patterns, begging for attention. The Membrane household only had one string of flashing lights hung around it, sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the brightly lit neighboring houses. "Huh," Zim said. "Knowing your father's…personality, I would have thought the house would stand out a little more."
Dib shrugged. "Christmas was never really a big deal for us. Especially since he would always kind of…panic at the sight of anything Santa-related. Even before you made that evil Santa."
"Huh." Zim filed that information away for later as Dib stepped up and rang the doorbell.
They were left standing for a minute or so before Gaz came and opened the door. "Hey, you two actually came," she said, grinning.
"Yep! I brought some holiday-edition Poop Cola," Dib said, holding up the liter bottle. "Zim brought some dessert, but he hasn't let me see it yet."
"It's a surprise," Zim said with a grin, a gleam in his eyes.
"Apparently," Dib said with a playful roll of his eyes.
"Well, you know where the fridge is," Gaz said, stepping aside and holding the door open for them to come in. They entered, heading into the kitchen and tucking their offering into the fridge before going back into the living room.
It was as sparsely decorated as the outside, Zim noted. There was a decorated pine tree in one corner, but looking close enough told him that it was actually a hologram of a tree. Dib headed over and slid their presents underneath it, beside the other few presents that were sitting there.
The two of them sat down as Gaz headed upstairs, soon coming back down with Membrane in tow. His expression brightened when he saw Dib. "Son! Glad you could make it."
"It's not far of a walk," Dib said.
"Still, I'm glad you were able to make time to come," Membrane said. "Now, are you prepared to face that jolly fat man if he dares show his face around here?"
Dib nodded, and Zim just shrugged a little…as did Gaz. "Excellent! I have a control room set up in my lab," Membrane declared, leading the way into the kitchen, and then through the door leading to the basement lab.
The setup there was actually fairly impressive. Numerous computer monitors had been set up on a desk to show satellite images from around the globe. A radar was on one screen, and others appeared to show either connections to people at other corners of the world, or software to fire various kinds of weapons.
There were also four chairs set down there, one for each of them. Membrane sat in the middle of the monitors, and they all took a seat behind him. "Now, we still haven't figured out exactly where Santa has been hiding…or if he'll make a return this year," he said. "So, we have eyes everywhere on the globe, especially in the densely populated areas he seems to target."
He gestured to the screens showing their weapons options. "We have missiles, though the city-wide shields still haven't received enough funding, so we'll just have to hope the ammunition we have is enough to drive him away. Oh, but we do have a new laser system that just passed beta testing…"
Zim listened, but more out of curiosity. He was fairly certain that his Santa suit wouldn't make it here this year, not that he would tell Membrane. He wouldn't be believed if he explained Santa was actually hiding in the depths of space, or that he had lured it a few galaxies away, or that he had his own defense system set in place to drive Santa out when he entered the solar system.
Let them prepare their defenses. Even if Santa didn't come, there were still far worse things out in the universe, even if they weren't focused on the Urth…yet.
He shuddered, tapping his claws against the shell of his PAK. It was fine. He and the Urth were invisible to them, he assured himself. It didn't completely destroy his anxiety, but it was at least enough to push it away for now.
"…So, I suppose if you want to do something else down here, you can," Membrane finished. "As long as you can keep an eye out for him and be ready to fight back the second he appears, that is!" He laughed, reaching over to a machine and pressing the large green button.
Four cups of tea were poured, and he turned to give one to everyone. Gaz took a few sips, then pulled out her handheld game and started to play, her tea set off to the side. Membrane had his full attention on the monitors, eyes peeled wide. Dib was also watching, taking a small sip of tea and frowning slightly.
Zim sipped at the warm beverage and grimaced. It was bitter...way too bitter. And he could tell the caffeine in this cup was at a high concentration.
Dib glanced over, then reached over behind his father to grab a stir stick and packets of sugar, which he handed to Zim. "Thanks," Zim said, tearing them open and pouring in all the packets at once. Dib smiled, adding just a packet of honey to his before taking another sip.
And so…they quietly waited. Gaz played her game with occasional glances up, and about an hour in, Dib pulled out his laptop, typing away at it as he worked on something. Zim, meanwhile, took notes on Urth's current defense system…when he wasn't busy admiring the focused expression on Dib's face.
Membrane remained focused completely on Santa watch, his fingers always hovering just above the 'trigger' (the keyboard code that would set off the defenses). Whenever he heard a yawn, he'd pass whoever it was another cup of tea, going through quite a few cups himself. A little after midnight, though, he stopped giving out tea, suggesting that they let the caffeine currently in their system run out.
That didn't stop him from making one last giant mug for himself, though.
The whole night, as Zim anticipated, nothing happened on any of the monitors. At five in the morning, when a sunrise appeared on one screen, Membrane turned to face them all.
"Why don't you all head upstairs and get some rest?" he suggested. "We'll all want plenty of energy for our family celebration, after all!"
"What about you?" Dib asked as he stood up.
Membrane turned back to the monitors. "While previous data suggests he should have arrived by now, there's still a chance he could appear," he said. "I'll keep watching for a few more hours."
Gaz stepped forward and hugged him before heading upstairs. Dib paused, patted his father's shoulder, then turned to follow her. Zim left right after him—he didn't need rest, but he did not want to be left alone in the same room as the professor.
He followed Dib to his old bedroom—stripped bare by the two of them, but at least there was a bed waiting for them. Dib yawned, collapsing onto his mattress and wrapping himself in blankets. Zim reached forward to pluck the glasses off of his nose, carefully setting them aside. "Thanks…" Dib mumbled.
Zim smiled, patting his head. He removed his wig and contact lenses, setting them beside Dib's glasses, then slipped under the covers to lay beside Dib. The human had already fallen asleep by the time Zim curled up to him. Zim smiled fondly, ruffling his hair before wrapping his arms around him.
Dib was dead to the world for hours, only stirring again around noon. Even then, he seemed half-asleep, mumbling and trying to pepper kisses over Zim's face and neck. Zim did his best to stifle his giggling, to avoid waking Dib, but he eventually started quietly chirping.
Even that barely roused Dib, and it took him several more minutes to really wake up, blinking blearily at Zim. "…is it still morning?"
"Barely."
"Good morning, then." Dib pecked his lips. "…Merry Christmas."
"Happy Jingly," Zim said, kissing him back. They lay there for a few more minutes, enjoying basking in each other's warmth, but eventually, Dib sighed and started to crawl out of bed, grabbing his glasses. Zim took a few moments to carefully set his contacts and wig in place before following Dib downstairs and to the kitchen.
Gaz was already sitting there, eating a bowl of chocolate cereal and drinking a glass of the holiday soda. "Did you leave us any?" Dib asked.
She jabbed a thumb at the cabinet, where he grabbed the box of cereal and poured two bowls. Zim grabbed milk from the fridge and poured it on Dib's cereal, while he added (regular) soda to his own, and they both dug into their late breakfast.
"Have you seen Dad?" Dib asked between mouthfuls.
"Nope," Gaz said. "Pretty sure he's still in the basement."
Dib sighed. "You don't think he's going to try and hide from Christmas down there, do you?"
"No," Gaz said. "Even if he does, we can get down there and make him accept his presents." Dib and Zim both nodded.
They had all finished their breakfast (or perhaps lunch) and were piled on the couch, watching a holiday special, when Professor Membrane emerged. "Good afternoon!" he called. "I can say with certainty that the chances of Santa appearing this year are now significantly small!"
"Yay," Gaz said dryly.
"Did you all get enough rest for today?" he asked as he stepped into the living room.
"Think so," Dib answered. "And we already ate."
"Ah, fantastic! Just give me a few minutes, and then we can all exchange our gifts." Membrane headed back into the kitchen, fixing himself some toast…and another cup of tea, though it smelled a little different to Zim, even from here. Perhaps one that wasn't quite as strong as from last night.
It didn't take long for Membrane to finish off his meal. He came back into the room, looked at the full couch, and then went over to the armchair in the corner. He lifted it with ease, carrying it over to set it next to the couch, slightly at an angle so that he could face them. "Now, we should distribute these gifts before we start opening any," he said, grabbing the pile under the holographic tree and setting it in front of them all.
Gaz flicked off the TV, and they all started sorting through the pile, handing gifts to each other. Zim received one large gift bag from Dib, and one wrapped in black wrapping paper from Gaz. He handed Dib a gift wrapped in sparkly purple wrapping paper, and his human also received a gift bag from Gaz and a cylinder covered in atom-patterned wrapping paper from his father-unit.
Zim turned and gave a gift bag to Gaz, and Dib handed her a gift also covered with purple wrapping paper…though the wrapping was messy, and lots of extra tape stuck up from it. She also got a wrapped rectangle from her father.
The siblings also handed a present each to the professor—one a lump covered merrily with wrapping paper, the other a gift bag. There were no other presents left in the pile, leaving Zim and Membrane staring at each other for a few long, quiet seconds.
"Oh, sorry," Zim said, flashing a fake smile at Membrane. "I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I only got gifts for your children." And he hoped Membrane felt well and truly snubbed because of it.
"Oh, that's quite alright," Membrane said with a light laugh. "I'm afraid I didn't grab you a present either!"
Zim grit his teeth. A mutual snubbing? Fine. He'd still earn his superiority when Membrane saw he'd gotten much better gifts for the Membrane siblings.
"So…how are we doing this?" Dib asked, fiddling with the wrapping paper of one of his gifts. "Should we just all open them at once, or…?"
"I think the youngest should go first," Membrane said, "Then the next oldest, and so on. Gazlene?"
She nodded and tore into Dib's gift first. The wrapping paper peeled away to reveal some gamer headphones…complete with plastic cat ears perched on top. She gave Dib a look, pointing at the ears on the box. "Really?"
"They light up purple," Dib said. "…I thought they were kind of cute."
Gaz huffed, but there was a small smile on her face. She set the box aside with a small pat on top, moving on to the next gift from her father. It appeared to be a collection of puzzle games, and Membrane rambled a bit about how they were designed to improve various brain functions.
She seemed pretty happy with that gift, too, setting it on top of Dib's with a smile. Next was Zim's…and Zim started to fidget as she opened it, unable to contain the wide grin spreading across his face.
Gaz reached into the gift bag…and pulled out a huge box with the Vampire Piggy Hunter logo plastered on it. Her eyes widened as she looked over it, and she held it up to show it off. "The collector's set of the original trilogy?" she said. "With the piggy figurine included? These have been sold out for months!"
"And it took a lot of searching to find that one," Zim said, still grinning. "It's hard to beat the originals though, isn't it?"
Gaz nodded, setting it with her other gifts. "Now," Membrane said, gesturing to Dib…and then glancing at Zim. "Hmm. Actually, which of you is younger?"
Zim nodded towards Dib, and Dib rifled through his gifts, carefully inspecting each one and even shaking them a little. He finally decided on Zim's, poking at the wrapped present. "Too heavy to be a book, unless it's a hardcover, too big to be a tape," he said as he tore through the paper to reveal…a box.
He opened that up to peer at the contents, gasping in delight as he dug through them. There was a tape recorder for him to note observations with, with plenty of blank cassettes. There were two new cameras, one for photos and one for videos. Zim had also included empty jars for him to store samples in, a small notepad with a ghost on it, and a few pens. He had even included a vial of holy water, just in case.
"Zim, this is—thank you!" Dib leaned over to give Zim a quick peck on the cheek. "I love it!" Gaz made an exaggerated gagging sound, sticking out her tongue.
Membrane cleared his throat. "Son, I…believe you still have more to open." Oh, did Zim detect a trace of discomfort in his voice and posture? He fought back a smirk.
Dib blushed and reached into Gaz's gift bag next. He pulled out a metal rectangle with two metal prongs sticking out and two buttons on the side—one yellow and one red.
He curiously pushed them. The yellow button made electricity spark between the prongs with a loud crackle, and the red made a sharp blade suddenly shoot out from between the prongs. "A taser and a knife?"
"You need something to defend yourself with, don't you?" she said. "And I built it myself, so you'd better take good care of it."
Dib nodded, pressing the button again the sheath the blade. "I will." He gingerly set it beside Zim's gift.
There was just one present left, which he tore into to uncover a new telescope, which he carefully turned over in his hands. "Dad, did you…build this?"
"Of course!" Membrane said. "Using some of the best materials I could find, of course. You may be able to even get a glimpse of Mars the next time you go stargazing!"
"Heh." Dib's lips twitched into a smirk, as did Zim's, but neither commented that Dib would see sights much, much further out, and far more impressive than just Mars. "Thanks, Dad."
The telescope was set aside, and all eyes turned to Zim. Zim, of course, tore into Dib's present first. Inside he found a sketchbook covered in stars, a container of pencils, a ball of glittery purple yarn, a dessert cookbook, and a Floopsy Bloops Schmoopsy puzzle.
He held all of it close to his chest, looking up at Dib. Dib smiled, fidgeting and rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you, Dib," Zim said. "This is wonderful."
Dib's smile widened, and Gaz rolled her eyes. "Can we please just keep going, you dorks?" she said.
"Fine," Zim said, carefully setting his gifts back into his bag before unwrapping Gaz's. It was a giant box of chocolates, with some cards taped on top. Zim realized they were for games he had seen Gaz play in the past, but not tried himself…like 'Dewdew Valley'.
"Some of those are co-op. Once you actually figure those out, we'll have to play together sometime," she told him.
"Thank you," Zim said, giving her a small nod of acknowledgment.
Gaz shifted her attention to Membrane. "That just leaves you, Dad."
"Right!" Membrane picked up both gifts and hummed, trying to decide which to open first. He eventually settled on Dib's gift, carefully peeling back the messy wrapping paper to reveal…a clear plastic mug. On the side, it had white markings to indicate volume (similar to a chemical beaker), and it also said 'caffeine', complete with an image of the molecular structure of said molecule. The inside had been stuffed full of a variety of teabags.
He carefully held the mug and smiled at Dib. "This is very thoughtful, son. Thank you."
Dib responded with a nod, and Membrane started to pull items out of Gaz's gift bag. There were quite a few containers filled with blue pens, which he seemed very pleased with. He seemed more pleased when he pulled out a new set of chemical beakers and a few glass jars with organisms preserved in formaldehyde. "Thank you, daughter. I think I should be able to put all of these to good use," he said. Gaz just nodded in acknowledgment.
"Well!" Membrane cleared his throat. "Now that we've exchanged gifts, I suppose we should all spend the day together."
"…like…by building snow goons?" Dib suggested.
"Er…yes. Those are similar to snowmen, right?" Membrane said.
"Sort of, just more monstrous-looking. I usually made snow aliens."
"Aww, how come I never saw those?" Zim asked.
Dib shrugged. "Meh, I mostly stopped when I was pretty young, and the few I did make, I kept a little more hidden. I got sick of…" He paused, glanced at his dad for a second, then shrugged again. "I just stopped."
Zim blinked, and his grin widened. He leaned against Dib's side, hooking his arm around his partner's. "Zim would love to see how you create these snow aliens!" he declared.
"Well, I think that depends on whether anyone else wants to go out right now," Dib said, though he was still grinning at Zim.
"Of course we'd like to join you!" Membrane declared. "Right, daughter?"
"Yeah, sure," Gaz said. "I get to pick the next activity, though, right?" Membrane nodded in confirmation, and she gave a thumbs-up.
Dib's grin widened just a hair, and he headed for the front door, Zim right on his heels. As Dib pulled on his boots, he helped fasten the scarf snugly around Dib's neck. He pulled on his hoodie, glancing at the other humans, who were pulling on thick scarves, and in Gaz's case, a beanie with a skull on it. Membrane put on a pair of earmuffs, and he offered another to Dib, who accepted them. Zim made a mental note to get some of those for Dib later.
With everyone ready, they stepped outside. Dib took charge, scooping up bits of snow and crushing them between his gloved fingers to figure out their quality…at least, that's what he told the others. He eventually found a patch of the white stuff that wasn't too powdery, which he said would be best for building.
He patted some snow into a ball, then started rolling it along the ground to gather more snow. Zim paused, watching him, before tugging his sleeves up to cover his hands and rolling up his own large snowball alongside Dib. A glance over his shoulder told him that Membrane and Gaz were working together on another one, Membrane quizzing his daughter on her knowledge about precipitation.
After a few minutes, Dib stopped, standing up and wiping sweat off of his brow as he looked over his snowball, which was a little shorter than his knees. "Zim can make it bigger," Zim offered, rolling up with his own large lump of snow.
Dib chuckled. "Well…maybe we can make one a little bit bigger, since we'd need to lift the other two. Want yours to be the base?"
"Ooh!" Zim grinned and continued to roll his snowball in circles around Dib, returning when it was several inches wider and taller. "How's this?"
"Looks perfect," Dib told him with a smile, then patted his snowball. "Then this can be the torso, and…" He turned to wave at Gaz and Membrane, slowly making their way over with a slightly smaller snowball. "That looks like just the right size to be the head!"
Together (mostly with Membrane doing the heavy lifting), they got the snowballs stacked on top of each other. Membrane furrowed his brow at the tower of snow. "I…fail to see how a snow alien is any different than a snowman," he said.
"Well, this one isn't finished yet," Dib said. "We'll need some sticks, and some big stones to complete it!"
"Got it," Gaz said, shuffling over to the driveway. Zim made a beeline for the tree near Dib's window, and Membrane joined Dib in searching at the base of the tree. Zim glanced over his shoulder, then reached up and snapped off a couple of branches, turning and presenting them to Dib with a wide grin.
"…thanks, Zim," Dib said. "Let's not damage the tree any further, though, okay?"
He started digging around in the snow until he unearthed a few sticks of his own. They headed back over to the tower of snow, where Gaz was waiting with two large stones that she had likely plucked from the side of the driveway. "Oh, those are perfect!" Dib declared.
With their materials gathered, he placed the stones at the front of the head to act as huge eyes. He stuck two smaller sticks on top to act as antennae, and placed longer sticks on the torso, with twiggy parts stretched forward like claws reaching out. Dib took a step back, placing his hands on his hips and nodding in approval.
"That's a pretty good snow alien, I'd say," he declared, glancing back at the others. Zim also nodded in approval, seeing some resemblance to Irkens in the pile of snow. Membrane still seemed a bit dubious, but Gaz was also nodding in approval as she rubbed her hands together for warmth.
"Want to make another?" Dib asked everyone.
"One per year is enough for me," Gaz said. "I like not having all my fingers frozen off."
"We can make another later," Membrane said diplomatically. "For now, why don't we all go inside and warm up? The snow will still be here for a few more days."
Dib shivered and agreed, and the whole group headed inside. It took the humans several minutes to remove all of their winter gear, by which time Zim had claimed a prime spot at the center of the couch, along with the large blanket that had been waiting there.
Of course, once Dib came over, he shared part of the blanket and snuggled up to him. He even raised his temperature a few degrees—which would consume a tiny amount of energy to help his human warm up faster.
Dib sighed, wrapping his arms around Zim and pressing his chin against the top of Zim's head. Totally worth it.
"Hey, lovebirds," Gaz said. "None of us want to watch you do that, so how about you get a room?"
"Gazlene…" Membrane sighed. Dib lifted his head to look at Gaz, spitefully giving Zim a long kiss on the cheek without breaking eye contact with her. Gaz gagged, then tossed a game controller at his forehead, making Dib flinch back.
"Alright. I only have so many four-player games, so do we want to do the racing game or the one with party minigames?" she said, holding up cases for the two games in question.
"I can just sit out and watch if you'd rather do a three-player one," Dib said, placing his controller in Zim's hands.
Zim looked up at him, squinting one eye. "You don't want to play?"
"He's just backing out because he's terrible at gaming," Gaz said.
Dib glared at her. "I'm not that bad! I just…like doing other things more, that's all!"
"Oh, yeah? So why don't you prove it?" she said, waving the cases at him. "Racing or party minigames?"
"Racing!" Dib said, stretching out his foot to nudge another control toward himself, snatching it off of the ground. Gaz smirked, getting off the couch to slide the game into the console and grab her own controller. Membrane was already holding one of his own.
Gaz navigated through the menus until she selected a Grand Prix race, leaving them all to select their characters. Zim, of course, picked the biggest and toughest-looking one, the villain of the franchise this game was from. Gaz was busy selecting vehicles to optimize her character's speed and acceleration. Dib just flicked through the characters before deciding on a ghost. Membrane, meanwhile, just chose the default character and car.
Zim snickered a little, privately. He doubted Membrane knew what he was doing…Dib and Gaz would be the real challenges here.
He licked his lips, leaning forward (as did Gaz) as the first race began to start. He gripped the controller, finger hovering just above the acceleration button—
And the race began!
As Zim thought, Membrane took a while to master the controls, taking last place in the first few races. Gaz, meanwhile, navigated each course well, with Zim right on her tail.
Dib…well, he quickly got a hold of the controls, but he was still a far distance behind Zim and Gaz.
In the end, Gaz pulled far ahead of them all to take points, and the gap between her and Zim was as wide as the gap between Zim and Membrane. Dib took third, not very far behind Zim's score, but he still shot his sister a look.
"I haven't played in a while, that doesn't count," he argued.
"Fine, then." Gaz held up the party game. "I haven't touched this one in months, and I could probably still trounce you all in it."
Dib (and Zim) of course accepted the challenge, and Gaz swapped out the games. About halfway through, Membrane stepped out whenever it wasn't his turn, working on something in the kitchen…designing the dinner his robot would be creating, if his words could be believed.
In the end, even with Zim and Dib forming an alliance, Gaz won this game, as well, wearing a smug smirk. Dib grumbled and pouted, but Zim lifted his mood by peppering some kisses on his cheek (to Gaz's disgust).
There was a loud ding from the kitchen. "Ah, Foodio must have just finished the appetizers," Membrane said, standing up. "Which means dinner should be ready shortly. Perhaps I should ensure everything goes smoothly…" With that, he headed into the kitchen.
After a few moments, both siblings got up, heading upstairs to wash their hands before heading into the kitchen. Zim trailed along behind them, taking a seat next to Dib. Membrane was working on the robot sitting in the corner, and already in the center of the table, there was a platter of warm biscuits, and next to them, a small carton of honey butter that made Dib's eyes light up. Zim narrowed his eyes at the container as Dib spread a generous amount over a biscuit.
"You should try some, Zim," Dib told him, passing him the honey butter. "It's really good."
"Hmm." Zim took his time spreading some over a biscuit. But really, he was focused on memorizing what the container looked like, and what brand it was. If it pleased Dib so much, he would be able to find some of it himself.
He finished and set the tub back at the center of the table, taking a bite out of the biscuit. Mmm. That was actually pretty good. He might have to find some of this just for him to eat.
"Alright, everyone!" Membrane said. "Foodio 5000 has finished preparing a feast for us. Prepare your hungry bellies for…supper!"
The robot next to him cried out, a flash of light appearing in its chest cavity, teleporting the food into place on the table. Zim hummed, mildly impressed with the technology, and joined everyone in looking over the spread.
In the center was a large pizza covered with pepperoni and sausage, a bowl of steaming baked beans, another bowl of mixed fruit, and a container with green and red gelatin squares. Gaz licked her lips, reaching forward and being the first to grab a slice of pizza once Membrane took his seat.
"…there's just meat lover's pizza?" Dib said, raising an eyebrow. "Dad. Zim can't eat meat."
"Oh…my mistake," Membrane said, brow furrowing. "I can program in a vegetarian pizza, but that might take a while to prepare."
"No, no, it's fine," Zim said, waving off the concern. If he did this right, he would appear unflappable in the onslaught of Membrane's snubbing…or forgetfulness. Either way, he would come out looking better. "There's still plenty here I can eat."
He took a little bit of fruit, helping himself to a generous amount of the gelatin squares and glancing over at what Dib had gotten. Dib had a slice of pizza, a little bit of everything else…and yet another biscuit covered with honey butter.
"You're sure that's enough?" Dib asked Zim, looking mildly concerned.
"Of course, of course," Zim said, smiling at him. "I'm comfortable with this. And you know I cannot eat those beans, anyway." He gave a real shudder at the thought.
Dib nodded and dug into his meal, Zim doing the same. The meal was quiet…though Membrane did manage to get a conversation started by asking his children about how school had been going before the break.
Gaz, fortunately, picked up the slack there. And when Dib just mumbled that things were 'fine', she shifted the subject of the conversation to mechanics, describing her plans for a new guard doll. The other three offered some advice and suggestions, and the topic carried them through the rest of dinner.
"Now, I thought about having Foodio make us dessert as well, but Gaz mentioned you brought something?" Membrane said as he put away the few leftovers there were.
Zim hopped out of his seat and darted to the fridge, grabbing his covered dessert and carrying it over to the table. "For dessert, I brought a Yule Log cake," he said, smirking with pride. "I've heard it's a traditional dessert in some areas."
He whipped the cover off of his dish, his smirking widening when he heard impressed noises from the Membrane siblings. It had taken him a while to perfect this recipe, but the results were worth it.
The cake was a chocolate one, rolled up into a log shape with some fluffy, white frosting. The outside was covered with a chocolate ganache, with lines etched into it with a fork to make it look like a log. He'd even sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on top to make it look as though it was snowed on and added a few mint leaves on and around it for an extra touch.
He was handed a knife, and he carefully sawed a slice from the end of the log, giving it to Dib first. He then gave one to Gaz, one to Membrane, and then finally, a slice to himself. It would barely be noticeable, but he had cut Membrane's slice a centimeter thinner than everyone else's.
Dib took a large bite…and beamed. "Zim, it's so good!" he said, taking another bite.
"I know," Zim said smugly, taking a bite. "I'm glad you like it so much."
Though he mainly watched Dib, he also glanced at the others to see their reactions. Both Gaz and even Membrane were enjoying his dessert, and Zim took another quick bite to keep himself from crowing about his victory.
Still, he resolved to gloat about it to his Dib later.
Everyone polished off their slice of cake, and even came back for seconds, so about half the cake was left when they were all full. Zim covered the cake back up and tucked it into the fridge before joining the others at the table.
Membrane started to stand up. "I think I'll put on a kettle of peppermint tea," he said. "Unless anyone would prefer something else?"
Everyone said they were fine, and so Membrane began boiling some water. He sorted through the tea bags Dib had given him until he found a peppermint one, plucking it out of the pile. Dib smiled a little bit at that.
Soon, they each had a cup of tea, Membrane pouring his into his new mug. They ended up migrating back into the living room, taking their seats. Gaz grabbed a controller and smirked at the others. "Anyone up for a rematch?"
"You're on," Zim said, grabbing another controller and grinning. "This time, you're going down!" He grabbed another and shoved it into Dib's hands. "Dib, be my lackey again."
"Fine…" Dib took it, rolling his eyes, but he couldn't hide his smile.
The four of them played around round of the party game, sipping at their tea. They swore they had Gaz beat, but in the final minutes of the game, she made several swift moves that snatched their points away, transferring them to her character instead.
Dib and Zim complained and fought back, but there was too little time, and Gaz ended up winning. She turned to them, sticking out her tongue tauntingly.
"Zim demands a rematch!" Zim shouted.
Professor Membrane cleared his throat. "Actually…it's now past eight o'clock. While you might not feel tired, I strongly suggest you get some rest now to properly reset your Circadian rhythms to a healthy pattern." He reached over to pat both of his children on the head.
"Fine," Gaz said. "I'm showering first!" With that, she headed upstairs.
"Aw, man," Dib groaned, flopping back against the couch. Zim smirked, flopping back onto Dib's torso to knock the breath out of him. Dib wheezed, scowled at him…and then grinned playfully, grabbing Zim's sides, fingers drumming up and down in search of his ticklish spot.
There was a cough from the armchair, and both froze, looking up at the still-present Professor Membrane.
Dib blushed, pulling his hands away from Zim. Zim pouted, but sat up a little straighter and scooted off of Dib's lap…though he remained pressed up against his side.
"So," Membrane said. "You both seem…close."
Dib nodded. "And happy," Zim added. Membrane shot him a look for that before returning his attention to Dib.
"What will you be doing after graduation?" he asked. Dib froze up. "If you're interested, I've printed out a few university listings that might interest you. I strongly encourage you to take a science major, of course, but some offer anthropology or mythology as optional courses."
"…thanks, Dad," Dib said. "But I'm…not going to university right away."
Membrane blinked, stunned. "Are you sure? Education is important, and it will—"
"Open up opportunities I might not have had," Dib finished, clearly used to this speech. "Nothing says that I can't go later. But what I really want to do after I finish school is travel." He fidgeted, seeming to bite his tongue before bringing up space.
"…travel where, exactly?" Membrane said. "It's a big world out there, son, and you should at least know where you're going to be headed."
"I'm not traveling to get somewhere specific, Dad," Dib argued. "I want to travel to see what's out there. To make new discoveries, to find out how different people think."
He held up a hand. "Before you bring up costs—I do have the savings to get started. And I have plenty of skills, I can take jobs to earn the money I need along the way."
"…and if you run into unscrupulous people, far from home?"
"I've met plenty of 'unscrupulous people' close to home," Dib said bluntly. "…but really, I can handle myself. And I won't be going alone." He reached over to take Zim's hand.
Membrane's eyes snapped to Zim and narrowed. "…I see. You'll still be in contact with Gaz and me, correct? And you can let us know where you are?"
"I'll do my best to stay in contact," Dib said. "And I…will tell you about things I see and places I go…as long as you don't call me crazy."
Membrane chuckled, and Dib forced a grin. Zim could tell he had been serious about that, but apparently, Membrane couldn't. He gave Dib's hand a gentle squeeze, intending it as a comforting gesture.
"I suppose I can't stop you once you've put your mind to something," Membrane said, then sighed. "I suppose you took after me in that way. Just…if you need anything, anything at all, let me know."
"…thanks, Dad," Dib said, tension rolling off of his shoulders.
Fortunately (in Zim's opinion), Gaz stepped out of the bathroom just then. Dib jumped to his feet and headed upstairs, which unfortunately left just Zim and Membrane sitting downstairs.
He heard Gaz and Dib bidding each other good night, then Gaz shouting good night to her father (and Membrane responding) before heading into her room…and he and Membrane stared at each other.
"Where exactly will you be taking my son?" Membrane asked. "To your homeland?"
Zim quickly shook his head. "Of course not! They…eh, they wouldn't be happy, learning about me and Dib…"
"Oh." Membrane frowned, for a second looking at Zim with…sympathy? That was probably just his imagination.
"No, Dib and I…we're planning on visiting nearby areas, though, where we're more likely to be accepted," Zim said carefully. "…and Dib will be able to learn a lot about the stars while we're out there." Oh, he was nailing this telling half-truths thing!
Membrane perked up. "There must be quite a few people studying astronomy there, then?"
"Eh…yeah, sure," Zim said with a shrug. Close enough, really.
Membrane kept asking him questions about their travel plans, which Zim had to answer carefully, but without looking so careful that he was making up the answers. The professor had questions about how they would travel ("A 'Voot'?" "A popular…car line from my home."), what weather they could expect ("Anything you can imagine. Don't worry, I have everything we need."), what they'd eat ("Depends on where we are. I know where we can find food safe for Dib, of course."), and anything else he could think of.
Thankfully, Dib eventually emerged from his shower. Zim, who was starting to feel a bit more uncomfortable with the interrogation, mumbled something that might have been 'good night' to the professor before running upstairs. Dib, like Gaz, but his father good night from upstairs before heading into his room, Zim right behind him.
As soon as the door was closed, Zim wrapped his arms around Dib. "I don't think he suspects a thing about my…identity, or where we're going," he said. "But talking to him is tiring."
"I know," Dib said, patting his shoulder. "Believe me, I know."
"You're sure you don't want to tell him anything? Not even for the look on his face?"
"It's very tempting," Dib said. "But…I really don't want to land in an asylum before we leave." He grimaced at the thought. "There's a chance Dad might not do that again, but there's an equally good chance he'll do it again to 'help' me." He rolled his eyes as he rolled into bed.
Zim took off his wig and contacts, lying beside Dib, who didn't seem tired at all. He started to comb his fingers through his human's hair. "I won't let them take you away," he whispered, kissing his forehead. "If they try, I'll steal you away forever. Hide in the stars, where you'll be safe from them all."
"Mmm." Dib smiled, nuzzling up against Zim's throat. "Don't do that if I'm not actually in danger, though, 'kay?" He peppered kisses along Zim's skin.
"Fine," Zim said, chittering when Dib's lips brushed against a particularly sensitive spot. "...when will you want to leave?"
Dib hummed again. "There's still so much to prepare."
"And if we're not ready, we can delay a bit more until we are, no pressure," Zim said. "But other than preparing…is there anything you want to do here before we leave?"
Dib thought about it, then laughed weakly. "Maybe it's silly, but I'd like to graduate," he said. "I mean, it's not going to mean much out there, but…"
"That doesn't make it less important to you," Zim said, rubbing the back of Dib's head. "I understand. It would be nice to officially and successfully break away from that place."
Dib nodded. "…I want to be here for Gaz's birthday, too. But that comes before graduation, anyway. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know."
"You'd better." Zim chuckled as Dib curled up against his chest, his fingers exploring up and down Zim's back. "Silly little human…you're not tired at all, are you?"
"Nope," Dib said, kissing Zim's chest, right under his throat. "Can we make out?"
Zim hummed, pretending to think about it, even if they both knew what the answer was going to be. After letting that pause stretch enough for dramatic effect, he shifted down, letting himself be swallowed up by the blankets and kissing Dib on the lips.
"Merry Jingly," he whispered when they separated for Dib to breathe.
Dib snickered, shifting down to join Zim in being completely enveloped by the blankets. "Back at you," he said. "Love you, space bug."
The two of them met in another kiss. They continued until Dib ran out of energy and finally fell asleep, snoring and cuddling up to Zim. Zim, in response, wrapped his arms around Dib, holding him close before he also closed his eyes and joined him in sleep.