Disclaimer: I don't own Crash Bandicoot
Summary: She had never been interested in the romantic kind of love, always viewing it as something dumb and unnecessary. But everything changed when she met Coco Bandicoot, the sister of her uncle's nemesis.
Pairing: Nina/Coco
Warnings: Yuri, light sadness, possibly OOCness
It's not often I write yuri, which is a shame. But now I can happily say that I wrote one, mainly because I ship this pairing. I actually wrote this pairing before but I wasn't satisfied with the first story (I felt it could have been better), so I deleted it. In my opinion, this story is better than the first.
This takes place after Twinsanity and Nina is OOC in this one (sorry about that). I hope you will enjoy it.
Nina Cortex, the niece of an evil scientist, have never thought that she will one day fall in love – and especially not with another girl. She had never been interested in the romantic kind of love, always viewing it as something dumb and unnecessary. But everything changed when she met Coco Bandicoot, the sister of her uncle's nemesis.
She remembered the first thing she noticed about the bandicoot was her appearance. Before she got to meet them, her uncle had always told her about the mutated animals he had created, mostly mentioning the 'infernal bandicoots' as he referred them as, so she wasn't too surprised when she met them. She found herself paying attention to the female bandicoot. With her orange fur, her bright green eyes, her long and smooth, blonde hair and the fact that she isn't a human, your attention can be easily caught when you look at Coco.
There is only one word that can perfectly describe this creature: beautiful.
But naturally, with her pride in the way, Nina will never admit it.
It wasn't her intention, but she got to stay on N. Sanity island for a while after she, her uncle and Crash defeated the Evil Twins. The reason for this was because her uncle's invention, the one that sent them to the 10th dimension, had sent him to Crash's brain by accident. As a result, Nina had to stay with the bandicoots - it was something Crash had insisted - until Coco finds a way to get Cortex out of her brother's head (she feared that Cortex might do something to Crash's brain while he's in there).
Honestly, Nina didn't mind staying with the bandicoots at all. That meant that she can spend some more time with Coco. Cortex won't be happy if he finds out that she had been hanging out with his enemies, but he didn't need to know that. It was just their little secret.
Nina didn't know why but ever since she met her, it felt like she wanted to be close with Coco...actually she do know why but she won't admit it. It would never happen. Coco is one of the enemies, they're both girls and the other is not even human! What would Cortex even think if they dated? She don't know how he feel about homosexuality, but she do know that he won't be happy about the rest.
Nina is impressed by Coco's intelligence, she really showed her that she's more than just a pretty face. Not even a month have passed before Coco have fixed the Psychetron, with some help from her brothers and Nina, who successfully teleported Cortex out of Crash's head. To everyone's surprise, Cortex was a trembling mess when he finally got out. They all stared as he was laying on the ground in a fetal position, shaking uncontrollable and muttering something incoherently under his breath. His eyes are wide and bloodshot as if he had been crying, and his hair was a horrible mess.
When Cortex realized he was out of Crash's head, he was elated to see he was free...until he saw Crash. Right when he saw the hyperactive bandicoot, the yellow-skinned doctor screamed at the top of his lungs. He got quickly up on his feet and ran away, leaving everybody very confused (and honestly, very worried).
The moment Cortex ran away, Aku Aku, Crunch and Crash followed after him to make sure that the scientist is okay while the girls stayed behind – although considering Cortex's reaction just before, maybe bringing Crash along wasn't a good idea. When Nina made sure they are gone, she glanced at Coco. She thought of something and made her decision. This is her chance.
"Coco, there's something I want to tell you." The other girl looked curiously at her, wondering what she wanted to say. This might be too early for a confession. She hadn't even been with them for a week. But she don't know if she will see her again once she returns to the Academy of Evil, so she decided to take her chance while she still can. The worst thing that could happen is if she gets rejected. "While I was with you and your family, I...I started to feel something for you." Nina confessed slowly. She could feel her cheeks are getting hot. She was blushing. Damn it! She hates how this girl can make her feel like this.
Coco grew more curious. "What do you feel for me?"
Here comes the hardest part. The human girl took a deep breath, then she exhaled before she continued. "I...I l-like you." She cursed herself inwardly for stammering on the word 'like'. "As in...I like-like you." She felt her chest tightened the moment the last part of her sentence left her mouth. She can feel the nervousness engulfing her.
The other girl stared at her in surprise, light blush on her cheeks. There was a silence between them. When the bandicoot didn't say anything, Nina took it as in her feelings wasn't returned. "It's fine if you don't like me that way. It probably wouldn't work anyway." She assured her. Maybe it was for the best. They're supposed to be enemies after all. But she won't deny that it hurts.
"That's not it." Coco spoke a bit quickly. Nina was about to tell her that she doesn't have to spare her feelings until Coco continued talking. "I do like you – you know, like-like you. I just didn't expect this confession from you."
Nina was surprised, her turn to blush. Did Coco like her too and she never noticed it? She must have been really good at hiding it. But then Nina turned skeptical. "Do you mean that or are you just trying to spare my heart?" The human asked her cautiously in a tone that sounded bitter. She won't let herself get leading on and eventually gets her heart broken.
"Of course I mean that. I don't lie about my feelings." The bandicoot assured her. Nina was surprised again, but she choose to believe her. Maybe she didn't have to doubt her – for now. "Does that mean we're a couple?" The bandicoot asked her.
"I guess so." The other girl shrugged, sounding a little uncertain. She have never been in a relationship before, she have no experience in it. Coco simply smiled at her as she grabbed her bionic hand. She could feel the cold metal but she didn't care. Right now, Nina wished that she didn't have those robotic hands. But she choose not to complain about it. She just wanted to enjoy this moment with her new girlfriend.
But that small happiness ended when they both realized something.
What about their families? Cortex would never approve his niece dating one of his enemies, and Coco isn't sure how her own family would react to this. A romantic relationship between two girls is one thing, but Coco doubted they will be that accepting of her dating their nemesis' niece.
(Crash might be an exception, but they both doubted it's the case with the others.)
"What do you think we should do about the others?" Coco asked her girlfriend. Perhaps things would have been easier if they were on the same side.
"They don't have to know." Nina told her, then she glanced at their hands that are still intertwined. Coco nodded slowly. It was for the best. Telling them about their relationship is out of question, and neither of them is willing to give up their new found love for each other. Suddenly, Coco got an idea. "Oh, I know!" She exclaimed, which confused the human. "How about we fake a rivalry between us? That way, no one will get suspicious about us."
Nina grinned at the idea. "I don't say this a lot to other people, but it's a great idea. Oh, and maybe we should insult each other." She added. "You know, to make it seem convincing."
"Good thinking." Coco agreed. When the two girls saw the others are returning, they let quickly go of each other's hands. "We're back." Aku Aku announced, smiling at them when he and the others returned. Followed by him, Crash and Crunch stood by Cortex's sides. The poor scientist was still trembling but he didn't freak out as he did earlier. When he came to his senses, it was time for Nina to return to the Academy of Evil. Saying a quiet goodbye to the bandicoot family, she went with Cortex. But before she left entirely, she sneaked a quick glance at the female bandicoot.
As her uncle is flying her back to the academy with his airship, Nina started to think. While she was with the bandicoots, she hadn't thought that she will get in a relationship with the girl she have fallen for. However, their love isn't without flaws. Their love is considered forbidden, but who have ever said that love is perfect?
In a way, she should thank her uncle. If it weren't for him and his machine that malfunctioned, she wouldn't have spent some time with them and she wouldn't have fallen for Coco. She glanced at Cortex and gave him a small smile. Thank you. After she thanked him mentally, Nina started to think about Coco. Neither of them can be open about their relationship, but it was okay. It was just a small price to pay. It was their own little secret.