Author's note: The song"Where you belong" by Kari Kimmel is so gorgeous & fits Rei & Chad so perfectly in my storylines that I decided to give them a proper send off using it. I wrote this chapter while listening to it on repeat! If you watch The Fosters on ABC Family, you've probably heard it. If not, check it out on Youtube!

This is a future fic, so it's an AU obviously. Not Crystal Tokyo future though. It's just a few years ahead in the modern time. Enjoy!

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Rei gently dabbed some sweat off of her forehead with a handkerchief, careful not to smudge her makeup as she walked through the crowd on the expansive campus, occasionally hugging a classmate or smiling at guests. She was now 18 years old, a few inches taller & more mature looking than she was when she came to this school as a child. There was a good reason for that. Today was T*A* Academy for Girls' graduation day. Looking around, she looked for the familiar faces of her friends that are supposed to be meeting her after the evening ceremony. Being that T*A was a private Catholic school; the commencement ceremony was not the traditional Japanese one.

The day was broken up into two parts. The Morning Prayer service, followed by the awards ceremony breakfast was for the parents and graduates only, so Rei's grandpa was the only one there. Her father didnt show up, not the she expected him to, but he did send her a bouquet of flowers with a diamond & ruby bracelet as a graduation present. Rei was pleasantly surprised to win awards for Second Honors in Religion & the Future Star-Creative student award. Although she followed the Shinto religion & was a Miko, she thoroughly enjoyed learning about different faiths & worked hard on her studies while in school. The Creative award is a student board award that the graduating class votes on. It was given to Rei because of her passion for volunteering time & organizing (or controlling, depending on who you ask) school events. The culture fest where she premiered her original music in concert was a highlight for her & the school.

The evening ceremony where the diplomas were presented was outdoors on the campus grounds to accommodate for extra guests of the graduates. After the speeches & walk across the stage, the graduates tossed up their hats & dispersed to find their loved ones to celebrate.

Rei's guest list were a small but meaningful group; her grandfather, the Scouts that are her best friends, Mamoru, Greg & of course, her fiancé Chad. Andrew was going to come but the arcade owner had an emergency & was out of town tonight, so he had to stay behind to work. To make it up to her, he was closing the arcade early so they could have a private party for Rei later.

Stopping to take off her robe, she folded it over her arm & sighed grateful for the early June evening breeze that cooled her sweating skin. Her choice of attire was not her usual style but it was the required dress for graduation. The school board preferred a conservative style of dress for young ladies being that they were a faith based school, so it took her a while to find the right dress because the stores she usually shopped in were trendier. Rei ended up going to a bridal boutique & finding a dress on clearance; a long plain white a-line dress with sleeves. The frumpy frock was on sale & that's all that mattered. At first she didn't care because she was wearing her robe over it but Lita & Mina insisted upon fixing up the dress for her to make it more youthful. They cut the top of it into a strapless dress & added the white lace cap sleeves & open back after taking out the tulle underskirt. To make it more Rei-like, they sewed on a red rose decal on the rutched side to give the dress some more character. Rei burst into tears the day of graduation when they brought it over for her. It was a true Cinderella moment.

Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder, she smiled & turned around to immediately hug the tall, not so shaggy haired looking man known as Chad.

"Congratulations beautiful! You looked amazing walking across the stage" Chad said with a proud smile. He wore a dark gray casual business suit & slicked his hair back into a ponytail to look more mature for the occasion. Rei frowned slightly as she looked him over. She had to be here early to get ready for the ceremony so she didn't see how anyone looked beforehand. Seeing her unhappy look, Chad raised an eyebrow. "It's the suit isn't it? Grandpa insisted I dressed up", he explained as he pulled down one the shirt cuffs that rode up his arm.

Rei shook her head. "The suit I can live with. But this…" Rei paused as she pulled out the ponytail holder & ran her fingers through his hair from the scalp up, messing up his hair into his usual style. "…has to go! I love you just the way you are". She gave him a sweet kiss before pulling back to admire her handy work. "This is the man I'm marrying!"

Chad smiled, grateful that Rei was the type who loved him for all his faults & redeeming qualities. "Thanks babe. This I can get used to though" Chad said gesturing towards the dress.

"Uh uh, no way! I love the dress because of what Lita & Mina did to fix it, but I most certainly won't be wearing a whipped cream dress when we get married. It's not my color. I only wore this because it was mandatory as you can see" Rei told him as she nodded her head towards the endless sea of white dresses & gowns on the lawn. "When we go to city hall, I'll probably just wear a nice party dress or something".

At the mention of city hall, Chad took a step back. "City hall? You don't want a real wedding? Like cake, dancing & all those other…dresses & things?" He may not be wedding savvy but he knew girls liked to have big parties & costume changes.

Rei thought for a moment as they started walking towards the stands then shook her head. "No it's fine. Maybe back in the day when we were who we used to be, I would have. Now we can't afford to. I don't want my father to pay for it, I certainly don't want my grandpa to go broke over it & we really don't have a lot of people to invite. It doesn't matter about the party or clothes. I just want to be with you. I figured we could go to city hall & go out to a restaurant. That seems the most logical given that I'm about to start university & we don't have much money to spare".

Chad stopped their walk & pulled her in front of him. "After all we've been through; I think we deserve the chance to celebrate our moment. Just hear me out" he said seeing her about to interject. "My parents want to pay for the wedding. It came up in conversation this week when I was telling them about your graduation. It doesn't have to be expensive. We can have the ceremony & reception at the shrine, so that's free. All we have to really take care of is food, entertainment, our clothes & the honeymoon". Rei couldn't help but notice he emphasized the last word.

Smirking up at him, Rei hugged his arm & looked him in the eye. "Why do I have the feeling you're thinking more about the after wedding festivities than the actual ceremony?"

Blushing a bit, Chad pretended to be nervous & shifted on his feet. "Come on Rei! How much longer do you think sneaking to my room & running back to yours before grandpa wakes up will work?" The former knight laughed wildly as he ducked a fist meant to silence him in case anyone they knew heard them. "I'm kidding! Though I admit, it's an added bonus. Once we're married & we renovate the house to make my room bigger, it won't be a problem. Then we can save your room for the kids"

Now it was Rei's turn to blush & look incredulous. "Kids?! Whoa whoa", the princess said holding up her hands in a stop motion. "Slow down there. I literally graduated high school 10 minutes ago. Let's get past the wedding & college before we start changing diapers. I want to enjoy ourselves as a couple first. We didn't get that the first time around."

Chad nodded in agreement. "That's true. It was a bit of a whirlwind. And I was only half serious, you know. I know you want to finish school & establish yourself first. I'm almost running the daily shrine work now & doing some side work teaching martial arts, so I'm all set. Whenever you're ready to change things, I'm there. Ok?"

Rei smiled & shed a small tear hearing his words & held Chad's hand to her cheek after he reached up to wipe it away. The past 3 years with him was full of more love & life than she had in her 17 years previously & in the lifetime before. Rei missed what they had previously in their first lifetime, but having him back with her memories made her whole again & she savored every day. They weren't perfect by any means. They argued (mainly due to Rei's stubbornness but she was working on it), they made up, they were different yet the same but at the end of the day, they were right where they were meant to be. This is where they belonged, together. Standing on her tippy toes, she kissed him gently & looked into his perfect blue eyes.

"I'm so lucky to have you. Now let's get going! We have to find our friends & get to that party!" Rei grabbed his hand & they started back towards the stands to find the group now that the crowd was thinning out. "By the way, if you were still half serious about the kids part, we'll have plenty of practice being an aunt & uncle in a few months".

Chad's eyebrows came together trying to figure out what she meant. Someone they knew was pregnant? Then it clicked, Usagi & Mamoru got married rather quickly a few weeks ago after her own graduation in a large but hastily thrown together wedding. That explains why she was eating everything in sight…well…more than usual!

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Don't freak out, they will have their wedding! This was just the intro to that part.

I don't know how Catholic schools in Japan have their commencement ceremonies, so I modeled it from mine from Junior high. We had a morning mass & awards ceremony breakfast where the 7th graders served us (& yes, I actually did get second honors in religion. I was shocked!) & that night we had the walk in church where we got our diplomas. It was awesome! To think that was 14 years ago, I graduated high school 10 years ago & next month, I have another college graduation. Damn I'm old! LOL. White was not my color either. I'm wearing a gray & black dress with gray ankle boots to my ceremony next month. Yeah I know, boots in the summer? Whatever, they were on sale & they're cute!

Happy graduation to those graduating in May & June! Enjoy this special time in your life!