I've drifted away from Crash Bandicoot, but I felt bad leaving this story without its proper ending. So here you go!

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Sitting on a bench in a dress, waiting around for someone, was proving to be one of the most uncomfortable things Nina had ever had to do. Every time someone glanced her way, or even passed by, Nina felt like they were judging the scrawny, buck-toothed goth kid with giant metal hands sitting all by her lonesome. She hadn't felt so exposed and vulnerable since she escaped the Academy of Evil.

What made it worse was that it was now five past 1. Coco was late. Nina really wished she hadn't forgotten her phone back at home; Coco might have warned she'd be late, or maybe she'd had to cancel. Maybe she was never intending to come, and this was all a mean joke. But that probably wasn't it… Coco was too nice for that. Except Nina did self-profess to be evil, and they were archenemies, so Coco might make an exception…

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" a beautiful voice called out, prompting Nina to jerk her head in its direction. Coco was jogging toward her, wearing… the same clothes she always did. Should Nina not have dressed up? She looked like an idiot, didn't she…

A little embarrassed, Coco came to a stop a few feet from Nina and said, "Sorry, I'm usually early to things, but Crash got his hand stuck in a pickle jar, and Aku wasn't around to help, so... " She smiled, gesturing at Nina. "Cute dress, by the way."

Nina was now very happy with her choice in clothes.

"I-it's fine, just glad you came," Nina said with a shaky smile, getting to her feet. "What… did you… wanna do?" The pitch of her voice rose with every other word, and her eyes darted this way and that. It sure felt hot out here.

A furry hand clasped Nina's shoulder. "Nina. You okay? You're not sick, are you?"

All Nina seemed capable of for the moment was staring at the hand upon her and stammering. "I - I - I -"

Smiling and shaking her head a little, Coco removed her hand. "I'm hungry. You wanna go eat somewhere?"

Nina nodded furiously.

"Great! Follow me."

[]

It didn't take too long for for the pair to find a small restaurant and get seated. When the waitress arrived and asked about drinks, Nina stuttered "same" after Coco requested some lemonade. When it came time to order food, Nina shouted her order with wide, terrified eyes.

Once the waitress left, Coco spoke. "Nina. You've gotta calm down. I know this is your first date-"

Looking slightly miffed, Nina said, "It - it's not my first!"

"Kindergarten doesn't count."

Nina opened her mouth to respond, then closed it.

"But Nina, look. It's still me, Coco. A few days ago you tied me up and planned to 'torture information' out of me."

Finding it hard to make eye contact, Nina mumbled, "I wouldn't have… really hurt you…"

With a smirk and a roll of her eyes, Coco said, "Hah, I know. Even if you'd actually wanted to, I wouldn't have let you. But my point is, there's no reason to be so nervous, even if we're on a date."

Frowning for a bit, Nina eventually forced herself to look at Coco, who smiled warmly at her. It was easy to say 'don't be nervous', but much harder for Nina to actually stifle the feeling.

"But you… you don't understand!"

"Understand what?"

Gritting her teeth and clenching her fingers, Nina said, "You're so… so… cute! And I'm…" She grimaced. "Looks aren't my strongest asset, to put it mildly."

Coco raised an eyebrow. "What'cha mean?"

How… how was it not obvious? "Like, I mean, I'm a toothpick, first off."

"So?"

Nina paused, mouth opening and closing for a moment. "I, um… but, my teeth-"

"Very cute."

Was this what dying felt like? Nina was pretty sure she was dying. It was so hot in here, how could anyone stand it? Also her heart might have stopped.

"I - you - but -" Scowling, she slammed her metal fists into the table, prompting a few surprised looks thrown their way. "My hands , though!"

Reaching across the table and pressing her small, furry hands against Nina's giant, metal ones, Coco smiled. "I know you might not like them, but they make you no less beautiful. It's hard for me to even imagine you without them. They're just… a part of you. Part of what makes you who you are. Nothing to be ashamed of."

Nina stared at Coco's hands, glared at them, trying to process her complicated emotions. She wished she could feel those soft hands. She wished she were just 'normal.' But then… maybe 'abnormal' was okay, too? Coco seemed to think so. And if she did, maybe other people did too? And maybe… maybe even Nina could learn to stop hating them. For the first time, she felt like that might be something she wanted to try.

"You okay?" Coco asked again, head tilted to the side a bit.

Looking up at her with tears swimming in her eyes, sniffling dramatically, Nina said, "YES!"

She excused herself to the restroom right after, returning once she'd composed herself. The rest of their date proved to be much less emotionally exhausting, and gradually, Nina let herself just… be herself. She laughed and didn't care when she snorted. She messily ate her food with her giant, clumsy hands. She told terrible, niche nerd jokes that Coco didn't get half the time but still chuckled at. For a little while, she just let the rest of the world fade away, so that it was only her and Coco, laughing and eating together, having a wonderful afternoon.

Eventually, it was time to go, and they left the restaurant, coming to a stop near the bench where the date had begun.

"This was really fun, Nina." Coco said, smiling. "You're pretty cool to be around when you're not trying to take over the world."

Smirking, Nina said, "You're not too bad either, Coco, when you're not thwarting my plans." Looking away for a moment, Nina considered whether she should ask what she desperately wanted to ask. "Hey, uh… do you want to, maybe, do this again sometime?"

Coco jutted her lip out, thinking about it. "Hm… I dunno. I think… only under one condition."

Attempting to not look too eager and failing miserably, Nina said, "What?"

Leaning down and forward, getting her face heart-stoppingly close to Nina's, Coco said, "Only if you end this date with a kiss, and promise to do the same for the next one."

Nina's brain overloaded. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-"

Soft lips pressed against Nina's, cutting off her stuttering. Sparks went off in her head as she melted against Coco, barely managing to stay on her feet. When Coco pulled away, it was all too soon, and Nina barely resisted the urge to beg for another.

"See you later!" Coco said, beaming, as she skipped away. Nina watched as she disappeared over a hill, dumbfounded. It was a full minute before she managed to get herself moving toward home.

Coco was great. Why had she hated her before? Oh, right, the 'ruining her evil plans' thing. But that seemed so unimportant now. So trivial. Those plans were doomed to fail anyway, it wasn't as though Nina's heart was ever really in them. But it's what "Uncle Cortex" wanted, so it's what Nina had done, and almost managed to convince herself that she enjoyed.

But maybe… maybe she didn't have to do that anymore. Maybe she could let herself be who she actually wanted to be, instead of who Cortex wanted her to be.

It was something to think about, anyway. Nina had a lot of things to think about now, and she actually loved that fact.

But the fact she loved the most, the one she kept laughing and snorting about, grinning from ear to ear, was this:

Nina was gay for her archenemy, and she couldn't be happier about it.

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There it is, The End! I hope you enjoyed this bit of fluff, I know I did!