1A/N: Some people may use what's going on as an excuse to write the novel of a generation. Me? I'm writing extremely sweet and pointless fluff about one of my favorite cartoon couples of all time. This may be very boring to some, but others may love it.
Either way, hope everyone enjoys. Hopefully, it's at least somewhat well-written and enjoyable to read.
Disclaimer: Jimmy Neutron and characters belong to Nickelodeon.
Jimmy appreciated nothing more than the time he was able to spend alone in his lab working on his inventions. Being the smart kid meant no one could relate to him in regards to his love for science. Here, there was no judgement, sneers, or mocking. Just him, Goddard, and science.
He usually liked having Carl and Sheen over, but that was just to show them something groundbreaking, usually, and considering their propensity for being a major factor in his inventions going wrong in the past, he's started to try and distance them from the action, as of late, though he still lets them into the lab. Just not without him being there to tell them exactly what they should do or not do.
Currently, he was working on modifications to his rocket, experimenting with the idea of using a nuclear fuel-cell in place of a hybrid gas-electric system he was using previously. Making this change would allow him to go years, perhaps decades, without worrying about refueling, making trips to outer-space much less time-locked. He was confident in his ability to do it, but getting his hands on the isotopes he would use as fuel would be another story entirely.
There was also another problem: he was going to have to completely gut and redesign his rocket so he could fit a reactor inside of it without damaging the computer system he already designed. He wasn't worried about having to modify the computer, though, since unlike nuclear reactors, they didn't have a chance of spitting out harmful radiation or blowing up if improperly used.
Currently, he was in the stage of having gutted the old fuel system and was trying to remove the onboard computers. Unscrewing them wasn't a problem, but disconnecting the wires was, as they were routed strangely throughout the shell as a way to protect them from coming into contact with the fuel system. It was a tedious combination or removing the physical interfaces they were connected to, as well as the brackets that held them against the pod.
He took a big breath after having completely separated the screen from the cabin.
"Ah, finally. Time for a break."
He got up and walked over to a corner of the lab so he could lean against the wall. The project was big enough that he was using the lower level of the lab, the place reserved for his bigger creations and projects. He'd prefer sitting in his chair in the computer room, but that was currently all the way upstairs, and he felt like moving as little as possible for at least a few minutes.
Goddard came over and graced his owner with a Purple Flurp and a fan for cooling.
"Thanks, boy."
"Bark," the dog responded before panting.
"A few more days and we can hopefully start testing it."
He took one look at what was the rocket but is now a mass of wires, silicon, and steel.
"But first, agony."
He took another sip of Flurp as his watch vibrated. He activated the live camera feed. He threw his head back in exasperation. Cindy was waiting outside of his lab.
"Neutron. You in there?"
He activated the mic on his watch.
"Yeah. Just a second. I'll be right up."
Jimmy turned the mode off and got up, not wanting to let her in, but knew it was in his best interest. He really did not feel like getting insulted or distracted today, but he guessed either was better than her nagging him later on for ghosting her. An annoyed Cindy is always the worst Cindy…unless, of course, she pouted when she did, then she just looked cute to him.
He and Goddard made their way up to the clubhouse, realizing he needed to make himself look a little bit more presentable.
"Eliminate dirt and odor," he said to Vox.
The computer wasted no time in essentially giving him a lightspeed shower to clean off the dirt, oil, and sweat that was on him while he was working. He emerged clean and presented as his usual self.
"Thank you, Vox."
"You're welcome."
He opened the door to meet Cindy.
"Afternoon, Vortex."
"Took you long enough to answer."
Jimmy noticed something immediately. Cindy's typically green top was replaced with a pink one, and her pants were replaced with black ones. She also had pigtails instead of her usual ponytail.
"I didn't even think you still went with that look."
"Of course, I do. A girl can change her look, every now and the, can't she?"
"You're asking the wrong person," he said, backing up and signaling for her to enter.
As they made their way down to the lab, Jimmy was fixated on Cindy's hair. He always liked her ponytail, but the pigtails were just way too cute. Maybe it was on account of her not using them for a while, but they sure looked good on her. He said he didn't want to be distracted, but that just got a lot harder to do.
"So, what're you working on, now?" she asked, dropping any act of hatred and replacing it with genuine curiosity.
"Rocket modifications. I'm switching the fuel system out and converting it to run off of nuclear power."
"Hm. So…where is it?"
They reached the lower level, to Jimmy's "jigsaw puzzle" as he was thinking of calling it.
"I haven't actually built it, yet. I'm still designing it."
"So, no space trips soon, I take it?"
"No. I mean, there are a couple ships I could use, but I just prefer my rocket. Nostalgia, sentimentality, usefulness, gadgets installed, stuff of that nature."
Cindy let a small breath out of her nose as Jimmy got to work revising the design of the reactor. His goal, today, was making sure his calculations were correct and getting a few parts ready. He wished he had the Plutonium-238 isotopes on hand, but they wouldn't serve much purpose, anyway, without the actual reactor being built.
"Any special reason you came over?"
"Can't I just stop by every now and then to hang out?" She took a seat on top of a crate next to the stairs they came down while Jimmy worked at the desk across from her.
"Not when Libby's normally around."
"Well, she wasn't available today, so I decided to see you."
"Gee, thanks for making me the constellation prize when Plan A doesn't work out."
She got up from the crate and approached him.
"Hey, I'm new to this. Give me a break, will ya?" she asked somewhat lovingly, wrapping her kind-of boyfriend in a hug.
They were both still unsure of what they wanted their relationship to be. Yes, they wouldn't mind being boyfriend and girlfriend, but the teasing they'd get from classmates and the watchful eyes coming from their parents did not sound appealing. What they did agree on was not going out with other people, instead treating only the other to trips at the movies or the candy bar or wherever they felt like taking the other person to.
She moved to take a seat on a crate in the corner of the room, now, looking squarely at the rocket.
"You really did a number on that."
"I had to gut it. I need to completely redesign the wiring and computer placement now so nothing will get in the way of the new reactor. Unfortunately, the whole system's going to be bigger than the old fuel system I was using, so this is probably going to get messier than I would like."
"How big is the system?"
"Big enough that the whole underside of the rocket is going to be taken up by it. The reactor's gonna have to be in the front, followed by the steam generator leading to the turbines. Believe me. I've tried to shrink it as much as I could without sacrificing anything important."
She could see the huge mess of wires that were laying in front of everything.
"Well, if you want to reduce the amount of wires you're using, you could try using bigger circuit boards for any onboard computers.
That actually wasn't a bad idea. Similar to how both a PC and smartphone use motherboards as the main hub for where all the components are placed and where the electrical signals are sent, he could use the lower profile of the board to replace the need for wires around certain components. He would have to crunch some numbers to see if it was more economic and reliable, with particular attention on the latter word, as well as having to do some extra sauntering to put the boards together, but it could cut down on the space and possibly improve safety.
"That's actually not a bad idea, Cindy. I'll keep it in mind."
"Of course, it's a good idea, Jimmy, just like all my ideas are."
He leaned down to Goddard.
"I wouldn't go that far," he whispered, chuckling a bit.
About two hours or so passed as Jimmy crunched some numbers and started work on building the components for the reactor while Cindy just did whatever to pass the time, going between listening to music and seeing if she could help in any way, getting the green light a couple times to. However, that really meant nothing more than helping him see if two pieces of piping would fit together, properly. He finished the reactor housing and the steam generator before calling it quits for the day on the whole thing.
He was in the middle of organizing everything when he thought, since neither seemed to be doing anything after this, he would ask her to get some ice cream with him.
"Hey, Cindy?"
"Yeah?"
"Any chance you'd want to go to the Candy Bar after I finish up here?"
She smiled.
"Sure."
He nodded.
"So, are you going to admit you were staring at me, earlier?"
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he responded, a smug look on his face.
"Don't pretend you weren't. That one pipe wasn't meant to be that short."
"Quite the contrary. It would allow for easier installation and could be used almost anywhere it may need it to go. All the others can only be used in one spot."
"Then why did you stop writing or make any sound for about ten seconds a few times."
"I was thinking. Everyone does it."
"Right, except you speak your thoughts out loud. And besides, why would you be looking my way?"
"Because you just happened to be in the direction of a few parts I needed calculations on."
"Try to hide it all you want, but I know you were staring."
"Well, don't you know me, so well?"
"I really think I do. Thanks for noticing."
They both sat at their booth with their milkshakes as Cindy tried to get Jimmy to admit he was distracted around four, five, maybe twelve times he tried finalizing his blueprints. They were in public, and as such weren't ready to give up their rivalry, yet. Not for a long time. However, this time around, they didn't dress their conversations up under the veneer of malice or contempt. They were trying to converse as naturally as they could.
What helped was that there was no one currently present at the Candy Bar, other than Sam, that they knew. They didn't have to argue about nothing, now, but old habits die hard, and both would die before they let either be seen as the superior one when in public.
"Also, about that idea you said you liked from me."
"I never said I'd implement it. I still have to test the reliability and safety of such a design before I can say I'll use it. The last thing I want is a short-circuit interfering with any part of the fuel system."
"That's not the point. The point is that you liked one of my ideas."
"But that argument is worthless if I don't actually implement it. You gave me an idea, but it may not be the best idea."
"You still liked it, though."
"Only until it turns out that I made a terrible mistake listening to you and I blow up, because of it."
"I'm not sure that's the worst thing that could happen."
"Aw, you'd miss me. I know it. Who else would actually be worth insulting instead of me?"
"Hm, let's see. Who are those two bumbling idiots you always hang out with?"
"Wow. Go for the low hanging fruit. You must be desperate if they're the ones you think are worth insulting on a daily basis."
"Consider it guilt-by-association."
Jimmy opened the door to his house, now having a more normal conversation with Cindy.
"I am tempted to try messing around with different water temperatures to see if it makes a difference at all. The good news is that I can easily add a separate cooling unit to the system, if need be."
"Are you sure that's going to do much? When it comes to nuclear reactions, water will evaporate, regardless."
"Which is why I want to run some tests after I know the system works."
About as normal a conversation as the two of them could have.
"Thanks again for letting me come over until the rain passes."
"No problem. Even if my mom and dad were home, they'd probably want you to stay, too."
No, it wasn't lost on them that she lived right across the street. It just happened to start drizzling out, and she wanted the first place of shelter she could get. Being able to spend even more time with him was just considered an added bonus. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself. She could just use the excuse that she didn't have a key on her to get in.
He took a seat on the couch in his living room.
"I'm going to make a calculated assumption that TV is the only thing both of us will be able to agree on."
"Really? No going to the lab?"
"After everything I was doing earlier? Trust me, even geniuses need a break, every now and then."
"Not gonna argue with that."
She took a seat next to him.
The fun part was finding a show or movie they could both agree was worth watching. Cindy wasn't much of a fan of Jet Fusion, and Jimmy did not, under any circumstances, feel like sitting through a VH1 special about her favorite boyband, Out of Sync. They eventually decided to just settle on Criminal Minds. Not their first choice of crime show they'd watch, but it got the job done, well enough, and it was a show both their parents allowed them to watch by themselves. Of course, whether or not they were actually paying attention was something even they couldn't figure out.
Cindy was close to napping, and at one point, Jimmy got up and came back with his shrink ray and a screwdriver, performing general maintenance on it. It wasn't an electric meetup by any means, but both didn't mind it. It was peaceful and both were content to just be in each other's company.
Cindy then moved closer to Jimmy to watch him work, in between trying to watch the TV in front of her. He clearly wasn't interested, so she just went ahead and scrolled through the guide to see if anything else was on, settling on a nature documentary, instead.
Without warning, Jimmy then fired a beam out at the piano in his living room, before immediately firing another one to restore it to normal.
"I take it your bored?"
"Just trying to see if I can adjust it to shrink things down to the size of single-celled organisms. Not much else I'd rather be doing, anyway."
"Listen, if I'm keeping you from doing anything-"
"Trust me, Cindy, you're not. I wouldn't even be in my lab right now if you didn't come over. Like I said, I needed a break."
She nodded to him.
"Would you mind if I took a short nap, then?"
"Go ahead. You don't need to tell me."
"I just didn't want to be rude."
"I don't mind."
As soon as he said that, she rested her head on his shoulders, surprising him. This was contact he wasn't used to before. Any contact that wasn't with hands or even lips was new territory.
He wasn't about to protest, though. It was new, but there was something satisfying and blissful about it, too. He also noticed how she curled herself up next to him, looking even cuter than usual. No way he was about to protest this.
He just spent the next several minutes tweaking and shooting things with the shrink ray, seeing just how small he could make them, before returning them to their normal size. He eventually stopped and started to actually focus on what was on his TV, while absentmindedly playing with a small piece of Cindy's hair as she continued to nap. He was quite content with how this day was going, getting a good chunk of the rocket's new fuel system done, hanging out with a really pretty girl the past few hours, getting a milkshake with her, and now having her comfortable rest against him. Even the rain was working in his favor as the soft sounds of the raindrops hitting the window added a soothing atmosphere. Plus, the open windows meant it would smell good inside, too.
If only it could've stayed that way, but it had to end at some point, and eventually, she woke up. The rain had stopped by this point, and the sun was shining.
"Afternoon, missy."
She yawned and wiper her eyes.
"What time is it?"
"Coming up to 4:30."
She sat back up on the couch.
"I'm gonna have to go, pretty soon."
"Well…" He hopped off the couch. "Thanks for coming over, anyway."
She followed suit, and gave him a quick hug, which he returned. He walked her to the door and opened it for her.
"Any chance we could do this again?"
"Absolutely. Just maybe not for a few days. Don't want anyone getting too suspicious."
She giggled.
"Yeah. Well, see you around, Neutron."
She gave him a peck on the cheek and started her walk across the street.
"See ya, Vortex."
He watched as she made it to her house, and as she made it onto her front porch and opened her door to go in, his parents made it back from whatever big event they went to that day. Jimmy remembered that the Retroville Home and Garden Show was that whole week.
"Hi, sweetie," his mom said. "How was your day, today?"
"It was enjoyable."
A/N: It's been a while since I decided to write a story to publish on here. Like I said, hopefully it wasn't terrible. Had to get back into the swing of things, somehow, and this was a good excuse to.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Stay safe and have a blessed day! See yinz for the next one.
