Ages: Wilbur 10, Techno 8 Tommy 4

X-_-X-x-X-_-X

Wilbur fussed with the collar of his shirt yet again, tugging at it with irritation. There was chuckled from beside him before his mother's hands came down to fix what he'd pulled loose.

"Wilbur, its only going to be for an hour." She reminded him for what felt like the hundreth time, "After that you can undo it, I promise. But, until then lets keep this tidy."

"But, mom-"

"Wil, don't fuss." His father was quick to cut him off, thought he was partly distracted by Tommy on his hip, "We want to get some good photos before you go wild again."

"Its not everyday you graduate fifth grade." His mother added as she patted at his hair.

Inwardly Wilbur huffed to himself as he squirmed in place. He was already anxious as it was to be graduating. The uncomfortable clothes didn't help him feel any better. If he weren't also excited he would probably have refused to even consider joining his classmates at the other end of the auditorium.

As it were, he was giddy about the ceremony itself. It was his first official graduation after all. Fifth grade was officially over and next year he would be going into the big kids school.

He would be a middle schooler, even if it was technically in the same building.

"You aren't nervous are you?" His mother asked as she continued to primp at his hair, turning a few curls this way or that.

"I- I don't think so." Wilbur stammered, his fingers absently tugging at the end of his tie.

The tie had been a gift from his father. He'd insisted the thing, uncomfortable and practically suffocating, made Wil look 'like a gentlemen'. While Wil thought the little whale at the bottom was cute he could honestly say he hated the thing.

Not that he could say that out loud.

"you look nervous." Techno informed him bluntly from their mother's side.

"I'm not" Wilbur tried to insist despite the rise in his pitch, "I-its just, this t-uh, outfit, is uncomfortable. Y-yeah. I'm just uncomfortable."

Their mother laughed his words as she titled her head at him. With a small smile she gave his hair a small tousle before she stood up.

"It wont be for long. I promise." His mother repeated as she stood back up, "I'll be filming the whole thing. I'm not going to miss a second of it."

As she spoke she pulled out a blocky hand held recorder and started to press buttons on the side of it.

"Did you remember to put fresh batteries in?" His father asked peeking over at the thing.

"Of course I did. I'm not incapable of using this thing. Just because its as old as you-"

"Oi!" His father exclaimed with a false gasp and a chuckle, "Well for that now you can take Tommy."

"Wh-" His mother started to question though was quickly cut off as Tommy was, quite literally, tossed into her arms.

Her instinct must have kicked in because she was wrapping him up in her arms in the same motion that their father was taking the recorder from her hand. Tommy giggling his delight at the trade off.

"Ooooh, you played dirty." She stated with a smirk as she gave Tommy a little spin, "Isn't that right, Toms? Daddy plays diiiirty."

Their father laughed with a snort as he gave a short wince.

"Kristiiin, don't teach him that. He already repeats everything." He complained, eyes no longer on the device in hand.

Wilbur looked from their parents down to Techno, now at his side as opposed to their mothers. Techno was looking back at him, same smile on his face that Wilbur wore. Without needing to communicate more both of them looked at their father, Wilbur pointing for good measure, and spoke in almost perfect unison.

"Daddy plays diiiirty"

x-x

"You think he'll keep the tie on?" Phil asked Kristin with a chuckle.

The last they saw of their elder child he was being herded towards the little group of fifth graders that made up his class. There were only three groups and Wilbur's had been the smallest of them. Despite that, that the distance they were at it was hard to see his mop among the others.

Phil would not be surprised if he walked out entirely disheveled across the short stage.

"Oh, it hardly matters. It'll still be Wil in the end and that's what counts." Kristin replied as she handed Tommy his sippy cup.

"It would be nice though. Get a video of him dressed up for a change." Phil stated, though he agreed with his wife's sentiment.

Wilbur was Wilbur and no matter what version of him crossed that stage it would remain true. Would it be nice to see him crisp and clean for the occasion? Yes. Would it be more accurate if he crossed it looked like he just fought a tornado? Also yes.

There were no wrong answers here, but the suspense was making him antsy despite himself.

"If not this year then maybe next." Kristin shrugged easily as if she wasn't also waiting to see the result they'd memorialize on film.

She was busying herself instead with getting Tommy settled in. This was his first outing where he would be expected to sit proper still for the duration.

"why does he have to dress up if he doesn't want to?" Techno asked as he watched from his own seat.

"Sometimes it nice to dress up for important things. He doesn't like it now, but that's also because he's never really had to do it before." Kristin explained as she took her spot and got comfortable, "Who knows. Perhaps in the future he'll find a fancy style he likes and be more willing. Or, maybe he'd decide that fancy is just, not for him and work with nice sweaters or vests instead."

"Or jackets." Phil added as he pointed to his own outfit.

It wasn't 'date night fancy' but instead a tasteful coat covering a basic 'nice' white collared t-shirt. Simple, but effective.

"Exactly. Graduations are celebrations that its nice to put in the extra effort for. Its, like showing respect for the hard work that got you there. Or to the people that helped you there too." Kristin went on, reaching out to pat down a stray curl from Techno's own head.

"so, will I have to dress up to?" Techno asked pointedly, his voice already betraying dread for it.

Kristin paused and looked to Phil at that, a silent talk taking place for a moment.

"We can talk about it when its closer to that time. We can go shopping a bit earlier for it too so you have time to choose what you'd prefer." Kristin offered lightly.

Most likely it would become a hand-me-down situation, but for now it wouldn't hurt to hope that wasn't the case. With any luck things would different for them by then.

X-x

Techno, despite his best efforts to be patient, let out a frustrated huff as he squirmed in his seat. It felt like he'd been stuck there for ages already and he hadn't seen his brother since the ceremony started. Name after name was called as kids walked one by one across the low auditorium stage and Techno barely recognized any of them.

None of them were his brother so he didn't really care.

Beside him Tommy let out an agitated whine of his own as their mother bounced him on her knee. He had been fussing for a while at this point no matter what she tried. Sippy cup, snacks, handing him his stuffy, none of it was enough to curb his current mood.

Techno could understand him on this. Sitting still for so long having to be quiet was no fun at all. Even Techno, who could find being quiet enjoyable given the right setting, could feel the urge to kick his feet and wiggle about in his chair. He didn't, but he wanted to. He had promised to be on his best behavior though.

Tommy didn't seem to either recall or care that he too had promised to behave. A fact made most clear as he let out a louder whine that threatened tears very soon.

"Here, let me take him." Their father offered from their mother's other side.

"You have to keep filming." Their mother protested verbally, though she still allowed Tommy to be taken from her arms.

"You can do it. Just don't hit any buttons and it should remain all set." He insisted with a bit of a laugh at the end.

"Oh 'ha'. I know how to use the recorder, thank you. I meant-"

"I know. But trust me, okay? You have a better angle and we don't want Tommy screaming over the names."

As he spoke their father not only tucked Tommy on his hip mid stand, but grabbed up the baby bag in one go. Apparently he was trying to beat the incoming tears.

"What if you miss him walking across? Its almost his turn."

"I'll be watching from the back long as I can. Worse case we can watch it together later at home. Just wave extra, he wont even notice."

Their father was speaking quicker now as Tommy's whine lifted into the air again. Techno missed whatever was said next as he looked at the stage area. Even squinting he wasn't able to see where Wilbur was. Only a few faces peeking up from the short stair area at the end waiting impatiently for their turn.

He hoped Wilbur would be out soon. He didn't want to keep sitting this hard chair for much longer. He considered crying himself if it would get him out of it too.

X-x-x-x

Wilbur absently tugged at the front of his shirt as the line ahead of him got shorter and shorter. What had, at first, felt like it was taking ages now all the sudden felt like it was going way too fast. The first class was already finished with their walk and his was now over half way through. He was still torn on if he was excited or nervous about walking up those steps himself.

On one hand he didn't want to step up in front of all those strangers. He could well see the bright flashes from so many cameras he didn't know. His own mother would be filming too. He couldn't help but picture himself stumbling across the long stage where the principal and his teachers waited as if for his final judgment.

There would be so much proof if he messed up.

On the other hand he still wanted to cross the stage like the rest of his class. He wanted to get his certificate and officially leave the fifth grade forever. He wanted to peer out into the crowed and wave back at his parents and brothers and show off his becoming a big kid officially. He wanted to flash his biggest smile and be seen in his new whale tie, even if it was uncomfortable.

He...he wanted this.

He wanted his turn.

...He might even be ready for it.

Taking a deep breath Wilbur placed both his feet on the first step to the stage. There was one person ahead of him and then it would be his turn.

He patted down his shirt where he'd been pulling at it, flattening out any wrinkles he might have caused. Re-tucking it as best he could he was at least relieved he hadn't tugged the tie again since his mother fixed it.

Preparing his best smile Wilbur squinted out into the crowd. He wanted to find his family quickly so he would know where to wave to in a moment. His father had roughly told him where they planned to be so it was just a matter of actually spotting them.

When he did finally get eyes on them Wilbur was confused. His father was on his feet. His mother and Techno remained in their seats but….their father, with Tommy technically, wasn't even glancing at the stage as he moved off.

Wil tried to peek higher to see if he could figure out where he was going, but it wasn't much use. There were too many other adults in the room and soon the man was gone from his sight entirely.

The kid ahead of him was called and Wil had to force his feet to walk up to the next step.

He couldn't help but look at the last place he saw his father, shifting anxiously from foot to foot. When his own name was called it took a minute for Wilbur to register it. It had to be said a second time and his classmate behind him gave his back a push.

With a burst of embarrassment Wilbur took his first two steps onto the stage, eyes awkwardly on his feet. However, when he heard his mother's voice give a cheer he couldn't help but look up again. His eyes found her in an instant, helped by the fact that she had stood up for good measure.

He could see the recorder in her hand, shaking as she tried to clap while aiming it at him. Techno was standing beside her, on his chair in order to be visible, and was waving wildly at him.

Wilbur could feel his smile break over his face as he lifted his once heavy hand and waved back.

X-x-x

Kristin's chest filled with fresh pride as she watched once more as her son crossed the stage. He had looked frozen at first and she had worried he wasn't going to finish his walk. However, not a second later after he had looked over at them did his whole mood seem to change.

Out came the smiles, the waving and he strolled over to the principle as if he owned the school himself.

"Kristin, don't wear it out before I get to see it once." Phil complained as he navigated them out of the slowly emptying parking lot.

"It's your own fault. I warned you it was almost his turn~" Kristin teased, though at least turned the recorder off as well.

"I know, and I feel horrible for it. But, Tommy was starting to scream and you know it." Phil defended, though he sounded defeated all the same.

"Well, since it was unavoidable I guess we can let it go. What do you say Wil?" Kristin asked as she looked into the backseat at her eldest.

Wilbur sat with his certificate in his lap as both he and Techno traced over the decorative edges and words. He looked up at her and seemed like he was debating his answer when he gave one of his usual grins.

"Maybe...if we can go to L'manburger."