Author's Note: (Co-posted to my writing journal but friends' locked there). At any rate, here's a nice bit of semi fluff without them kissing. Or capitulating to two seasons' worth of romantic tension by confessing their "feelings".
And the reason Cindy doesn't flat out deny that her weakness is because she's half asleep. Only Jimmy can function well after being awoken five minutes previously.
JN ain't mine.
"Fluffy Too"
Another journey in the hover car and another incident where they wound up partaking of someone's generosity and slept over. Jimmy, after calling everyone's parents, checked on all his friends to ensure they were all right. It was already quite late at night and he yawned, clapping a hand to his mouth thanks to his inherent etiquette. Goddard trotted beside him and scanned the rooms in case something lunged out and attacked, but Jimmy doubted that given their location at the monastery. Of course, you could never be too careful, but even so.
Cindy was the last stop on his rounds because he had hoped by waiting, she'd be asleep and therefore, he'd be exempt from her scorn. She'd already threatened him once today because their stopover prevented her from attending another piano lesson. Jimmy had no desire to engage in another argument with her, especially at this hour. And if she slumbered, he'd escape that possibility, at least momentarily.
Goddard barked softly when he opened the door and he blinked, peering at his mechanical dog curiously. If the dog could smirk, he would have. Focusing his photo receptors to bathe Cindy in a soft glow, he illuminated the sleeping girl, curled up and cradling something gently in her arms. Jimmy charily entered her room and held his breath, wary of rousing her. Chances were, if she was nasty awake, she'd be worse after he awoke her.
"What on earth...?" Jimmy murmured, barely audible, once Cindy was completely within his sight. Bereft of anything else, Cindy clutched an excess pillow to her chest. Her chin barred any attempts to wrestle it away and her hands covered it protectively.
Goddard's screen opened and the blinking green text read, "Think she sleeps with a stuffed animal at home?"
Jimmy blinked, gaping at Cindy's pose and the item in her hands. He brushed his hand across the pillowcase and Cindy instinctively raised her hands to prevent it. No matter where he touched, Cindy would circumvent him. It was rather peculiar and quite curious, if Jimmy had unlimited time to investigate the anomaly without succumbing to his body's needs first.
"Surely someone as emotionally strong as her would not necessitate a security item or its substitute," Jimmy said, gripping and yanking the pillow firmly. Oddly, the harder he yanked, the stronger she held fast. She bared her teeth at him once, too, and sent shivers down his spine.
"Come, boy," he said, yawning again. "We'll solve this mystery and all it entails in the morning."
Cindy awoke in the middle of the night and glanced down, her arms feeling strangely empty. Yet when she lit a candle and searched the room, she didn't find the missing pillow. Sighing, she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and charged down the hall to Jimmy's room where she planned to steal his pillow back.
Sneaking inside, she nearly made it until Goddard barked and she cursed. Jimmy awoke, bleary eyed, and she hefted his second pillow out from under him and darted back out. Goddard barked fiercely and she groaned, whirling around. Jimmy regarded her groggily and she glared at the mutt.
"It's just a stupid pillow. What do you care?" she asked, surly.
"A pillow?" Jimmy said and she hoped that he lacked the ability to process actions like most people did within five minutes of being awoken.
"Yes, Neutron, a pillow," she retorted and retreated from Goddard, growling at her for what he considered an invasion of his master's privacy and theft. She resisted an urge to kick him and instead steadily backed into the wall where she could find her doorknob and give it a swift tug open.
"Cindy," Jimmy said, stretching and stifling a yawn, "why do you sleep with pillows?"
Cindy froze inwardly, but, as usual, masterminded the outward reaction. Glaring at him, she stiffened and scowled at Goddard, looking at her oh-so innocently like he hadn't woken his master and started this in the first place. Clever little robot.
"Because, unlike certain geniuses with big heads who probably have enough padding in there to compensate, I like having a pillow under mine," she snapped and located the doorknob. Jimmy stepped closer, since their rooms were across the hall, and his presence suddenly felt imposing. She leaned backward and hoped that slamming the door in his face would end this.
But she never got the chance, because he prevented her from closing it in the first place.
"Nice try, but I already had a pillow. You're commandeering my second one and you don't need three pillows," he replied smoothly and she mentally swore. Aloud, she held her ground. The illusion was everything. Squaring her chin, she replied in what she hoped would end the subject.
"I need the third to cover my ears because you won't stop talking," she snapped. "How can someone, after being awake only five minutes, talk like that?"
"Cindy," Jimmy said, sighing and rubbing his eyes, "I'm quite weary. If you would mind not bickering with me tonight and simply hand me back my pillow, I would be very obliged."
"You don't need two pillows," Cindy snapped. "Your big head should sufficiently protect you from the shock of laying on the floor."
Groaning, he lightly banged his head against the wall and glanced at her haggardly. He indeed looked like he'd desire nothing more than to sleep and she'd let him sleep...as soon as she garnered his pillow. Then he could sleep all he wanted. And it kind of smelled like the stuff he put in his hair. She suppressed a smile.
"Do you sleep with a stuffed animal at home?" he asked and she tensed. Glaring heatedly at him, she kicked him out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face. Unfortunately, the door couldn't lock and she heard Jimmy on the other side. He wasn't going to let this go. They were both too damn stubborn.
"I'm not a baby," Cindy retorted, which wasn't really an answer at all, but a way to divert the subject slightly.
"I never said you were," Jimmy replied calmly, tiredly. "Vortex, I'm not going to exploit your weakness."
"It's not a weakness!" she snapped. "Go to sleep, Nerd-tron!"
It was a weakness and she knew it. She also knew that if Jimmy betrayed it, she'd be utterly humiliated. She hadn't wanted him to know that she was insecure enough to require a stuffed animal when she crawled into bed or that, bereft of one, she'd hold a pillow. She just needed something to cradle. She wanted to feel like she wasn't alone.
"Can I please have my pillow back?" he asked. "I realize you stole it from me in the first place, and, therefore, I feel I have the right to ask for its return."
"Your head's padding enough," she snapped. "Go to bed!"
"I'm not going anywhere," he said, yawning again. "I'll camp outside your door if I must."
"What's the matter, Neutron? Baby can't sleep without a second pillow? Can't Goddard give you one?" she snapped. The pot calling the kettle black.
"It's the principle of the matter," Jimmy said, eyelids drooping. "Are you that frightened that you cannot sleep at all without holding something?"
"I'm not scared of anything," Cindy scoffed.
"Preposterous. Everyone fears something."
"Not me," she lied and held his pillow tightly. Jimmy opened the door and she gasped, caught in the act. Jimmy smiled weakly and she retreated, knees buckling. It wasn't so much that he'd spotted her as the "principle of the matter", that he'd witnessed her in a vulnerable moment.
"Cindy," Jimmy said tersely, "if you must hold onto something during the night...then you can hold onto me."
Cindy ducked behind the door so he couldn't see her blush. Reluctantly, aware she had an iron grip on his pillow, she wrestled it out of her hands and handed it wordlessly to him. Shutting the door, she whispered a good night and when he reopened the door, she pretended that she'd quickly fallen asleep.
"Cindy," Jimmy said tensely, "I know you're not asleep."
She said nothing and he sighed. Unconsciously, she hugged her excess blanket to her chest.
He wanted her to accept his offer and lend him some peace of mind, but she wouldn't acquiesce. Nonetheless, stubborn, he tucked the pillow under his head and curled up beside her. He felt her eyes widen and she glared at him.
"You have your own room, Neutron. Go sleep in your bed," she snapped.
He wrapped his arms around her despite her objections and when she attempted to push him away, her hands halted on his chest. Sleep was lulling her back into its embrace and, a trifle shocked, Jimmy realized she'd hugged him to her the instant she slipped under. Smiling, he hugged her back and commanded Goddard to stay with them.
Shutting his eyes, he fell back asleep himself.
Cindy awoke in the morning with Jimmy's arms around her and she pinched herself hard. It hurt, so that eliminated one possibility. Befuddled, she contemplated Jimmy's sleeping face and her arms, snuggly wrapped about him. He'd offered himself in place of the pillow and, innately, she accepted it. Because while her defense mechanisms, pride, and instilled "values" prevented her from seeking him out actively, her subconscious knew exactly what she wanted and delivered it to her.
There was no need to wake Jimmy, however. Smiling, she nestled closer into his embrace and rested her head beside his. Retroville could wait for a few hours.
Nonetheless, when Jimmy rose, there was no sign of her. She'd taken care not to reveal her actions when he could dissect them and, instead, returned to her former self after demanding he forget what he learned last night. This led to bafflement at breakfast, but he knew he'd never willingly forget it. He'd only pretend he had.
He dropped her off at her house last and hung back for a final word. She huffed, hands on her hips and back in her usual persona.
"I'm not in the mood, Neutron," she growled, pivoting and heading into the house. He hopped out of the hover car and impeded her. Flinging up his hands, he blocked her entrance and her emerald eyes narrowed.
"If you ever need someone to hold in the middle of the night, Cindy," he said seriously and she pinked.
"I doubt it," she hissed, eyes flashing.
"My pillow is yours any time," he said and she glanced away guiltily.
"Thanks," she whispered and darted inside. One step closer to cracking the shell that was Cindy Vortex. One step and one fluffed device at a time.