I own nothing. Rugrats/all grown up is owned by Nickelodeon. This is a simple fan project and nothing more. Enjoy!
It was a quiet day in the pickles resident. Grandpa was sleeping in the recliner, Stu was working on a new invention (the reptar multi use device casing), Dede was filing bills, and tommy (now 19) was completing online college work and looking for apartment deals. It was time tommy started looking out for himself, seeing how he wasn't a baby and to not be such a waste of space (which nobody else in the home thought he was). Part of this was likely because of dil. He had been accepted onto a tv show (practical jokers insane) and had all the money he needed to start his own life. Tommy was the smarter and more responsible brother and yet his little brother got the big break. It gave him a need to make something of himself, kind of like with his dad and uncle. He was close to finishing the semester with summer vacation just around the corner. While he had huge plans with his friends, he still signed up 2 summer school classes, mostly out of self spite. It was only two weeks away and he had a free weekend with little to nothing to do. The crippling silence of the room was suddenly broken by sounds of aw and excitement.
"Honey, it'a finally here, IT'S FINALLY HERE!" Stu said from downstairs
Tommy headed down to see what all the commotion was about.
"I got the approval from the investors in Rome, they' re green lighting my idea for mega reptar world." Stu said amazed
"Oh Stu, that's amazing." Dede said with almost the same enthusiasm (the years were worse on her than him)
"They need me, dil, and the whole staff there for the summer, and they said I could bring two people with me." Stu said, still as cheerful as ever
The sudden opportunity hit Tommy. If this worked, he could have the house to himself for the entire summer. It sounds cliché, but tommy had been planning on a personal short film to get into the film school of his dreams (his parents wanted him to pursue engineering first so he could still potentially make a decent living). He needed to make the film about his personal life (which was near impossible with his insane father figures and his less than entertaining mom) and this could be it. He knew the school preferred down to earth stories and nothing to flashy(hence why he wouldn't just make something in Rome) and it was now or never. If his film career was kick started, he would have everything he needed to make movies all over the world(which is why he'd rather stay than go on the trip).
"Uh hey dad, I've actually got some mandatory summer classes I need for auto repair 225, maybe grandpa could go in my place." Tommy finally said
"What, and miss the opportunity of a lifetime like this?" Stu said
"Well I already went to Paris didn't I, and look at grandpa." Tommy said gesturing to the old man snoring n the chair
"Oh come on, he's sleep through the trip like he always does." Stu said
"Yah, but his new medication will keep awake and alert, and besides how much loner can he go on?" Tommy said as grandpa let out a small cough
"Well, I don't know." Stu said rubbing his chin
"Tommy, we can't leave you alone all summer, how care you gonna survive without us?" Dede asked
"I'll be fine mom, I'm a grown adult who can take care of himself." Tommy said
"But what about food, and running water, and heating, and …" Dede rambled
"You have enough from the reptar toys to cover all that, you can just set up to automatically pay the bills from your bank account and I can handle the food with some grocery money." Tommy explained
"But…I… we'll think about it." Dede said as she pulled Stu by the arm into the kitchen
He wasn't sure if he'd done everything right, but Tommy felt like he had a pretty good chance. He'd spent the next few hours writing concept sheets of the specific factors that beat described his life. It was a quarter to 10 so he felt he should get some shut eye. As he slipped his pajamas on, his dad walked in.
"Hey champ." Stu said
"Hi dad, what's up?" Tommy asked as he walked over to his bed
"Well, I talked it over with mom and gramps and they said they'd agree as long as you were okay and safe. That means no more than your friends, no wasting money, no anything like that." Stu explained
"Relax, I'm not gonna blow the house down." Tommy replied
"Are you sure you can't rearrange the courses, you can't bring your computer and do it?" Stu asked
"Sorry dad, but hey, if this works out then we can always go on holidays." Tommy said reassuringly
"Alright then, night Tommy." Stud said
"Goodnight dad." Tommy said back
As stu closed the door, Tommy waited with his ear pressed against the door. He heard his dad close his bedroom door before reacting. Tommy leapt with joy. He was finally gonna make his big start up film the way he wanted, and he had the entire house to himself as a bonus. He was so excited, that he decided to start right away. He created the door open to make sure everyone was in bed before sneaking down to check up on the old basement. Stu has used dil's room for his projects as Dede felt a bigger room meant bigger things to blow up so it hadn't been used in years. This was the perfect place to start up his studio. He had the proper equipment saved up but never a proper place for it all, until now. He planned out the location for everything: where the camera would be, the desktop for editing, the green screen for a certain portion, lighting equipment, and just about everything else needed for his big film. He was down there for a half hour before he had all his plans written down and decided to call it a night. He crept back to his bed and fell asleep with the glowing moon peering in through his blinds.
Tommy woke up the next morning to a surprise, it was quiet. Granted with dil gone the place was a lot less active but this was more than usual quiet. Tommy checked his clock and saw it said 9:30 on it. He hopped out of bed and looked around. Dede wasn't making breakfast, Stu wasn't reading the morning paper, and grandpa wasn't even rambling about modern kids being lazy and thin skinned. He checked and saw the cars were still there but saw skid marks on the road by their drive way. His mystery was solved when he walked back to the counter and found a note.
Dear champ, the plane is leaving 2 hours earlier than we expected and we didn't wanna wake you. Your mom kissed you goodbye and left 2500 dollars in grocery money. Only grocery and Shaw money. We will talk with you every week on your computer but don't hesitate to call if you need us.
Have a good summer son
Tommy set the note down and looked at the empty living room.
"Wow, it's actually all mine, for the whole summer." Tommy thought with a feeling of triumph
He decided to get the audio for his first clip done first before getting in the shower. He headed down to the basement and set up his microphone.
"Testing testing." Tommy said to check the audio
"Hello, my name is Tommy pickles, and this is the story of a man taking an opportunity to achieve what he always wanted to bring to life, like all artists and those of the craft. I'm making this short film to show the everyday events of my life and the creative potential I can bring to your campus. I hope you enjoy my life story and the twists and turns along the way."
Tommy saved the audio file and labeled it "prologue".
"Yah, that looks good." Tommy thought before heading upstairs.
Seeing how it was just him, Tommy undressed in the laundry room to save time before hopping in the shower. When he grabbed the shampoo, he double checked to make sure it wasn't switched out. Apparently his dad had an incident where honey was out in place of his shampoo and he went to work at a lard factory smelling like tea. It was weird but he made sure to check in case his dad ever planned to get back at him, even if it didn't seem in his nature. He grabbed the bar of soap and lathered it before scrubbing his chest and trying to reach the center of his back. It was a mostly normal morning, but with a strong feeling of pride as he was getting a taste of solo living. After 15 minutes, he grabbed a fresh towel and walked out to the living room to watch some tv while he dried off. He sat down and started channel surfing. As he searched, he saw his old play pen out of the corner of his eye. It had been years since he stepped foot in that play pin, but his parents were much too nostalgic to get rid of it. He remembered all the crazy thing his friends did in there(though mostly vague). He remembers talking about potty training, finding chuckle's mom, trying to talk, keeping his dad at home, even the time he wet naked because of spike and talking Phil and lil into joining him and stripping down. It was that last one that particularly stuck out in his mind. This was one of those times long before dil or kimi, back in those days when spike was an active dog for his infant self. They were so young that they had no idea what they were doing was socially unacceptable, but it was so much fun none the less. Of course he got over it but a thought like that still prickled in his mind from time to time.
Tommy then turned back and found nothing really on until he saw some old sitcom.
"It'll be nice to have the place to myself."
"Yah, So you can walk around naked."
"Maybe I can catch up on some films I've been meaning to watch."
"Yah, watching them naked."
"Or just have some champagne."
"While naked."
"Phoebe, just because I'm gonna be alone doesn't mean I'm gonna walk around naked, just because you live alone doesn't mean you walk around naked."
"Yah I do, what do you think I take so long to answer the door."
He then felt that all but his hair was dry. He didn't have a second towel and decided to use the one around his waist as he didn't have to worry about someone walking in. As he took off the towel though, something came flowing back to him. The breeze, the soft cushion against his skin, the exhilaration, the absolute freedom. He dropped his towel and sank into the couch. The fun of nudism came flowing back to him. He felt like a man without rules or a man out of the wild. He spread his legs open and gave a deep sigh. He didn't have to record much else for a few days, why not enjoy this. After all, he was the man of the house now. He decided to watch the episode to see if it gave him any new "ideas".
