Hello all. So one of my favorite cartoons is Jimmy Neutron, and I absolutely LOVE the Jimmy/Cindy pairing. I've read stories about them on here that have made me want to cry. While that's not my intention with this story, I really had an urge to write this specifically with Jimmy and Cindy in mind. So please read and I really hope you enjoy it!

I am completely in love with my girlfriend Cindy Vortex. And as my friends like to remind me every so often, I've been in love with her since I was eleven years old. But it wasn't until our junior year at Retroville High that I actually did something about it.

She had pissed me off to the final straw one day in early January a few days after coming back from Christmas break, insisting very loudly in the school library that she had answered a difficult question on our physics homework correctly. As I tried to remain calm and explain her error, she refused to hear it and even resorted to storming out of the library like a stubborn five year old. I followed after her, sick of her crap and determined not to be the one left hanging. I could tell she wanted to rip her ponytail out when she turned and noticed me. She opened her mouth, most likely about to tell me to go away. That goddamn Cindy Vortex. Never could admit that she was wrong. It wasn't until I had her pinned against the lockers and our tongues were in each other's mouths that I realized we both shared that trait.

Seven years later, and we're still going strong. We've had our ups and downs of course. What couple hasn't? It was particularly difficult during our freshman year of college because we had gone almost two thousand miles from each other. I seriously thought I was going to lose her. Even then I knew she was the absolute love of my life. I don't know what I would have done if I actually had lost her.

I'll be honest and say that at first, our relationship was mostly physical. The lab definitely came in handy for the first few weeks. But when my mom had Cindy over for dinner, I realized I didn't know anything about her apart from her being thick-headed, intelligent, and gorgeous. So the next day, instead of heading straight for the couch, I wanted us to learn more about each other. She was surprised to find out that I began following baseball and soccer. It was something Sheen had gotten me into after he became a fan following the cancellation of Ultralord in the seventh grade. It was also on that day that I discovered my girlfriend's love for Spanish food. So for our official first date, that's exactly what we had for dinner. During the meal, she surprised me by announcing that after all these years, she had kept the pearl I gave her when we were stranded on that island. The one that took me 137 mollusks to find. I didn't think I could have fallen anymore in love with her.

Remembering these two facts gave me the perfect idea for how to go about tonight. It's a night I've been waiting for for so long and hopefully everything goes exactly as planned.

I'm going to ask Cindy to marry me.

I've known for years that I will one day be her husband. We've never talked about marriage before but at this point, I know it's a good a time as any.

Normally, I'm against getting married at a young age. And by young I mean fresh out of high school or having to get married because of an unexpected teen pregnancy. But Cindy and I are far from that. If marriage is defined as two people who love each other with the intention of staying together until death then that's exactly what I want to happen to us. In my opinion, this is an excellent time for us to be getting married. We're recent college graduates who have both been offered great jobs after receiving our degrees and are looking at a bright future ahead of us.

I've gone through the whole protocol. The first thing I did was ask for her mom's blessing. Her dad left the family when she was only four years old. That was something else I learned about her on the day we got to know each other better. I was nervous as to what her mom would say. She was always very friendly towards me, but she could have thought that I'm just as much scum as her ex-husband was. Lucky for me, she gave me her blessing almost immediately after I finished asking.

After graduation, we decided to return home to Retroville. I briefly considered asking her to move in with me but ultimately chose not to. Cindy had been the one to take initiative on that matter. In true Cindy Vortex form, she casually brought it up and quickly had me wrangled into saying yes.

The time I spent planning and putting everything together for the night I popped the question was difficult. It all had to be done after I got off work which was around the same time Cindy did. I couldn't make the necessary phone calls without the risk of her overhearing. That left me to meet with the people helping me in person. All this had to be done while avoiding Cindy's watchful eye. Pretty soon, telling her I was working overtime wasn't fooling her. I knew that if I kept it up she would start thinking the worst and I couldn't allow that to happen.

Tonight has finally arrived though and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've been looking forward to this night for years. Cindy is to meet me at her favorite restaurant. We don't come here to often because it's a little on the pricey side. But if there were ever an occasion to go all out, it's this one. The menu is full of dishes from all over the world including Cindy's personal favorite, Paella, a Spanish rice dish with peas, peppers, and clams. If all goes according to plan, Cindy will open up the correct clam and will be greeted with her pearl engagement ring.

The ring is another story entirely. Anybody who knows about our history with the pearl would be smart enough to realize that instead of a diamond, a pearl would be the gem of choice on her engagement ring. At first, all I had in mind was a pearl with a simple silver band around it. Classic and elegant, just like her. But when I got to the jewelry store, there were dozens of rings like the one I was looking for. I had started to look at the fancier ones just because they piqued my interest. I was at a loss and ended up asking for the assistance of the only person who knew Cindy as much as she knew herself: Libby.

Libby was ecstatic at the news that I was going to ask Cindy to marry me and agreed that I had to get her the perfect ring. So with her help, we selected a beautiful ring that was a few hundred dollars over my predetermined budget. The ring's silver band split into two and crossed right before the pieces met with the pearl in the center. On either side on the split part of the band lay two small diamonds. Libby assured me that Cindy would love it and that was all that mattered to me.

I sat anxiously awaiting Cindy's arrival. I told her to dress nicely and I'm just hoping she followed my instructions. She's never really been one to do what I say, no questions asked. While I wasn't entirely sure how to dress for tonight, the second I mentioned it to Libby, the problem was solved. Black pants with a dress shirt and a vest was her outfit of choice.

I took a couple of calming breaths. I didn't want to keep wiping my sweaty palms on my black slacks, but I felt like I had no other choice. I didn't want to use the cloth napkin before Cindy arrived.

At exactly seven o'clock, I saw her turn the corner and make her way towards me. She looked breathtaking. She had on a short, strapless pale pink dress with a large bow on the left side. The hem of the dress was folded in so it looked kind of poufy at the bottom. Her blonde hair was down and set in soft waves so that it framed her face. She looked gorgeous. As she got closer, I noticed she was wearing heels. Cindy hates high heels.

"You look incredible." She reached the table. I got up, kissed her softly, and held her seat out for her.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself, Neutron."

"You're never going to stop calling me that are you?"

"You know you love it." I chuckled as I sat back down in my own seat. The waiter noticed we were to be served and made his way over.

"Anything to drink sir?" He asked.

"A bottle of your finest champagne please." I answered before Cindy could get a word in. From my peripheral vision, I noticed her raise her eyebrows. The waiter nodded once and left.

"Going all out, aren't we?" Cindy spoke once the waiter was out of earshot. I shrugged.

"It's a special night. I ordered the Paella for you. Hope you don't mind."

"You know me so well." She smiled, and it was that smile that had me internally freaking out. Leapin' Leptons, I'm actually going to propose! I'll be one step closer to making her my wife. If she says yes that is.

Our champagne arrived quickly and I tried to make unsuspicious small talk as the waiter poured it into our glasses.

"How was work?" I asked. Since graduation, Cindy has been working as the assistant to the editor-in-chief to the city's largest publishing company. It's a big change from the young Cindy Vortex, who instead of bossing others around is now working for someone else.

"It was fine. Meeting, deadlines, but that's almost always the case. Thank you." She spoke to the waiter who put her glass down in front of her. "Yours?"

I shrugged.

"Same old, same old." Okay good, I didn't give anything away. She nodded.

"I feel like I'm overdressed."

"No, you're perfect."

"Well, thank you." She blushed. "So are you going to tell me what the hell the special occasion is?"

"Umm." I started and as I look beyond her head, I saw our plates of Paella coming. Gas planets, it's time. The head chef assured me that there would be five clams on Cindy's plate. The plate is shaped like a circle and the clams are placed at a point where, if connected, would form the shape of a star. The tip of the 'star' is where the ring is. The problem was that I have no idea when exactly Cindy is going to pick up the proper clam. Which means I have to ready in a second's notice.

I paid attention to how her eyes lit up when her favorite food was placed in front of her. I also paid attention to how my stomach tightened.

As my own plate was placed in front of me, I picked up my fork, but Cindy stopped me before I could take any further action.

"Wait, I want to make a toast." This was a surprise.

"A toast?"

"Yeah." She picked up her glass. "To us. For beating our stubbornness and pretend hatred towards one another and being together for seven incredibly wonderful years. It's been the best time of my life Jimmy. I love you." She moved her glass towards me.

What in Einstein's name was that all about?

"Same here Cindy. I love you so much." I've got to save all the good stuff for when I officially ask her. We clinked glasses and drank, but I swear I saw a trace of disappointment on her face as she bought the glass to her lips. She avoided my gaze.

After taking a drink, I put down my glass, picked up a fork and started eating. I noticed Cindy do the same.

"So umm, how's Sheen?"

"Good. He's really happy he decided to move to Japan. Last time he called, he said his new video game should be out early next year."

"That's great!" I watched as she picked up the clam closest to her right hand. Even though I knew the ring was far from there, it didn't stop me from holding my breath. She continued eating as I slowly calmed down. I'm getting too anxious. How am I going to react when she finally does see it?

Different conversations floated in and out of our table. Then in the middle of our discussion about Carl's new South American supermodel girlfriend that he met while doing llama studies in Peru, she finally picked up the proper shellfish. Another glass of champagne and three clams later, she chose the correct one. She was in the middle of laughing when she looked down at what has hidden in it. Her mouth became open slightly, obviously in disbelief.

She carefully picked the ring out.

"Jimmy…. What-?" She was speechless. I took this opportunity to get out of my seat, take the ring from in between her fingers, and get down on one knee. I could already see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Cynthia Aurora Vortex, I can clearly recall our childhood together. I thought you were a bully, bad-tempered, and unbelievably frustrating. But I also thought you were the most amazing woman I'd ever met. And I was only ten years old at the time. You and me Cindy, we're… magic. And I hate that I took us so long to discover it. I remember when we took that trip to Mars and you wore that makeup and that spacesuit trying to get me to notice you. But believe me baby, I had. I had for a long time by that point. You mean everything to me Cindy. The pearl I gave you means so much to us. It's been a symbol of our love for each other for over a decade. But I want this one to continue it. I want it to represent the love that I want us to share for the rest of our lives. I've had a lot of accomplishments in my life. But without a doubt my biggest and most important one would be making you my wife. So Cynthia Vortex, will you marry me?"

All was quiet for a few seconds. I didn't dare look away from Cindy but I could tell every head in the restaurant was turned towards us. The only sounds were Cindy's sobs.

"Yes. Yes Jimmy, of course I will marry you!" She had on a smile that reached both ears I looked down and watched as I slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. I stood and as my lips met hers, she swung her arms around my neck, holding me tightly. During our embrace, I heard the cheers and applause of our room full of spectators. Cindy cried on my shoulder.

"I cannot believe you did all this for me." She got out through sobs.

"I love you so much. Nothing but the best would do. Do you like the ring?" She released me.

"No, Neutron. I don't like the pearl engagement ring you clearly spent a lot of money on."

"Always with the sarcasm, right?" She smiled and kissed me.

"Yeah." She held her left hand with her right and admired the ring.

"You knew didn't you? That I was going to propose?" She let go of her hand, smiled, and looked at me.

"I had a feeling. The toast was so that I could try to help you out. But I would not have thought that you would put the ring in the…." She trailed off, grinning. "You really are a genius."

"Took you long enough to realize it." I gazed into her eyes as she did the same.

"And now you'll be my genius forever." She whispered.

"I've always been yours. I was always meant to be your genius." She nodded as new tears began to pool in her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too." And with that, I closed the gap and kissed the woman that went being my rival, to my girlfriend, and now, finally, my fiancé.

I've had that one on my mind for a while…. Well, thanks so much for reading! Please review!