Future Plans

Written in response to cottoncandy_bingo prompt: graduation. Takes bits from mostly from Rugrats, but a few from All Grown Up! canon. Ugh, never written for this before and really didn't expect to, but this might end up with a follow up story at some point. Characters are not mine, please enjoy! Comments are awesome.

Chuckie stares at all the people presently amassed in the Pickles house. It's a Graduation Party for the five of them - Tommy, Chuckie, Kimi, Phil and Lil. He's not sure he's ever seen so many people here. There's Tommy's family, of course, including all of the relatives he grew up with just as much as Tommy did - like Grandpa Lou and Lulu, of course. Tommy's talking to them, along with Boris and Minka, about his grades. Aunt Miriam is fussing over the latest baffling choice in Dil's ever-changing wardrobe, asking for an explanation that Chuckie is not entirely sure exists. Didi's off cooing over her brother, Ben's, youngest daughter, and chatting with Elaine. Stu is showing off his latest invention to the Carmichaels, and Susie's around somewhere, too, with her fiancé. Phil and Lil's parents are here, as well as some of their extended family, though Chuckie is less familiar with them. The twins are refereeing the usual sparring matches between their mother and her brother, Freddie, while their father slowly creeps away from what is probably World War 982 on that front. Drew is across the room scowling at Angelica's new boyfriend, whom they all have just met, while Charlotte brags about her daughter's impressive grades now that she's completed her first year of college.

"Dad," Chuckie says, interrupting his father's conversation with his grandparents over Chuckie's own college plans, "I think I need a break. I'll be outside if anyone asks."

Chas nods and goes back to his conversation, waving Kira and her parents (flown in from Japan for the occasion) over to join them.

He slips out the sliding door to the backyard without drawing any notice. He's pretty sure he spent more time out here than he ever did in his own backyard, he thinks, as he perches on the brick wall that divides the patio from the grass.

Spike, old and moving slowly these days, follows him out, comes up to greet him with a hoarse bark, flops down at his feet.

"You needed a break, too, huh?" He asks the old dog, reaching down to scratch his head. It's quiet out here, though it's overcast and threatening to rain, which is the only reason, he's sure, that more people aren't out here instead of crammed into the house. He wonders how long he can stay out here before someone drags him back inside to enjoy the celebration.

But he's not really in a celebratory mood.

He's happy about graduating. High school had hardly been his favorite experience ever, even though he had great friends to share it all with. He's glad that's over, but he's not so happy with the part where this probably means an end to everything. Phil and Lil are enrolling in schools on opposite sides of the country, though Chuckie doubts that arrangement will last long before one of the two transfers. Kimi's spending a year in Japan with her father, studying abroad in the University Kira attended. And Tommy's been accepted literally everywhere he's applied. They'll all be gone.

"There you are," comes a familiar voice from the doorway.

Chuckie turns to see Tommy sliding through the door. "Hey."

"Hey, what're you doing out here? You're missing all the excitement - Dil just squirted milk out of his nose."

"Because we don't see that everyday..."

"Hm. Fair point," Tommy concedes, moving to join him on the divider, sitting close enough that their shoulders touch. "This is so weird, graduating. Just... can you believe we've all been friends for like 17 years? It seems like it was yesterday we were all just little kids out here."

"Yeah," Chuckie agrees. "It is weird."

"Good weird, though," Tommy decides.

"Except for the part where we'll all be split up," he says, though it hadn't been something he'd meant to admit. "None of us have ever really been alone like that before."

Tommy frowns, "You won't be alone, Chuckie. I'll be at State with you - I figured we could work out our schedules together, end up in some of the same classes. And I requested you as a roommate."

"Huh?"

"You... didn't know I was going there, too?" Tommy asks, genuinely surprised that Chuckie didn't know, he thought everyone knew. Chuckie, however, had been pointedly trying not to listen to Tommy's college plans, not wanting to know just how far away his best friend would be.

The State College, a little over two hours away from home, had been Chuckie's final choice. He'd gotten into a few other schools, but he hadn't been willing to go so far from home all alone. That Tommy picked it, too, is surprising. "But, why are you- you picked State? Out of all the schools you got into?"

"Yeah," Tommy shrugs, "I... I didn't really want to go too far away. Not like Phil and Lil and Kimi are all doing - Mom made me apply to most of those places. And, once I heard you were going there, I figured sticking together might not be a bad idea for either of us. State has decent enough programs and I can always transfer somewhere else after I get all the general stuff out of the way, right?"

"Right," Chuckie agrees, surprised that Tommy's reasons aren't that far off from his own. Suddenly, he's feeling a lot less sulky about this whole Graduation thing. Maybe it won't be so bad, he and Tommy at State together. And having Tommy as a roommate would certainly clear up that concern. The other boy may not be the neatest person he's ever met, but at least Chuckie knows him, knows he can live with him, after all the time they've spent together, as opposed to some stranger who might not even like him. Tommy makes him brave, too, always has. That'll be useful with all of the new experiences college life is likely to throw at them. No, this is good. Great, even. "I'm glad you'll be there."

Tommy grins at him, "I'm glad you will, too," he says.

Dil comes rushing out of the house, then, with Ben and Elaine's two sons close on his tail. "Mom's looking for you!" He shouts at Tommy as he dodges an attempted tag, leaping over the divider to roll in the grass.

Tommy gets to his feet, gets out of the way of the pair of eleven year olds before they can make the same jump. "C'mon, Chuckie, let's get outta here."

"You got it," Chuckie agrees, narrowly avoids the jump himself. He follows Tommy back inside, sticks with him as they weave through all the people in search of Tommy's mother. He's feeling much more in the mood all of this now, for the gaggles of people and for the future looming in front of them when the party is over.

It'll be fine as long as they're together, he's sure, it always is.