Anniversary

(This is the first instalment in the Cortex and Tawna Saga. There are five parts in total; four will be one-shots and the last one will be a full story. These two have become my Crash OTP, and I can't believe there aren't any stories of them yet. Well, it's time for me to change that.)

Summary: Today is Cortex and Tawna's first wedding anniversary, but Tawna isn't feeling very happy about it, since it wasn't the day she was promised. To try and change that, Cortex decides to make this day special and give Tawna the day she wanted.

Pairings: Cortex/Tawna (obviously) and some Crash/Alicia

It was a bright sunny morning on N. Sanity Isle and at the familiar Bandicoots' house, this day was certainly no exception. Down at the main room, the familiar bandicoot hero, Crash was still asleep lying on the couch. Lying beside him was his long time friend and girlfriend, Alicia. Crash's sister, Coco, was asleep up in a room upstairs with Nina Cortex in the extra bed beside her. In the other room, Dr Neo Cortex slowly opened his eyes. He turned around to see his wife, Tawna, sleeping beside him in the double bed and smiled. He got out of the bed, but as he was about to leave the room to go downstairs, he looked on the calendar that hung on the wall to see that he had circled a particular day and looked back at Tawna with a smile.

"Good morning, Tawna." Cortex softly said, gently shaking Tawna to wake her up. Tawna got up, rubbed her eyes, and turned to notice Cortex happily looking at her. Seeing that it was him, Tawna smiled.

"Morning, Cortex. What's going on?" Tawna asked. Cortex looked over at the calendar and then looked back at Tawna; he knew exactly what the day was today.

"Today's a very special day, Tawna. Can you guess what it is?" Cortex asked. Tawna was silent for a few moments to think about it, and then she shook her head. Cortex smiled, knowing that Tawna would have a bit of fun with him. "I thought you might say that, Tawna. Okay, I'll give you a hint." Cortex said, as he came over to sit next to Tawna on the bed. "We've been married for a year now, and because of that, I think we should do something to celebrate that occasion today." Cortex explained. Tawna was surprised, since she understood what Cortex was talking about.

"Cortex, are you trying to tell me that...today is our first wedding anniversary?" Tawna asked. Cortex happily nodded, happy that Tawna caught on. Tawna's expression saddened at the mention of that occasion, and she turned away from Cortex to face the window to look outside. Cortex then started to grow concerned, seeing that Tawna was so upset all of a sudden.

"Tawna? What's wrong?" Cortex asked. Tawna looked back at Cortex to see the worry in his eyes; he didn't like to see her so upset. Tawna sighed and looked back at Cortex.

"I'll be downstairs a little later, Cortex. Right now, I need to be alone." Tawna said. Cortex was confused, but he nodded slowly in understanding. With this, he headed out of the room and, after looking back at Tawna briefly for a moment, closed the door behind him. Downstairs, Crash was confused to see that Cortex was looking down with some worry; it seemed like Cortex had something on his mind.

"What's the problem, Cortex? What's got you so upset? I don't usually see you like this." Crash said. Cortex looked up at Crash to see his smile, and then sighed as he went to explain the problem.

"Today is me and Tawna's first anniversary." Cortex said. Crash started to smile at this.

"Really? That's great, Cortex! Happy Anniversary!" Crash smiled. Cortex smiled softly seeing Crash was happy for him, but that smile rapidly faded as he looked down in sadness.

"Thanks, Crash. But Tawna isn't very happy about it, and I'm not sure why. When I mentioned it to her, she said that she wanted to be alone." Cortex explained. Crash had a bit of thought about it wondering why that was, and then had an idea as he looked back at Cortex.

"Maybe you should talk to Tawna about why she isn't feeling very good about this day. If you can work why Tawna isn't looking forward to it, maybe you'll be able to help her feel better and enjoy the day she gets with you, Cortex." Crash explained. Cortex looked up at Crash, and started to smile at this idea.

"You know, Crash, I think you might be right. Thank you; I'll go talk with Tawna now." Cortex said, and started to head upstairs where he was sure Tawna was still there. As Crash watched him on, Alicia looked on at him with a bright smile.

"Crash, you certainly know how to help Cortex out when he's having hard times, don't you?" Alicia asked. Crash looked over at her returning her smile and explained "I'm just doing what I do best, Alicia. Whenever one of my friends is having troubles, I do what I can to help them." During that time, Cortex had arrived upstairs to talk to Tawna.

"Tawna, are you still up here? I was wondering that if I could find out why you weren't feeling good about this day, I could..." Before Cortex could continue, he was surprised to hear Tawna was crying from inside the room. His worry slowly rising by the minute, Cortex came over to the door, which he quickly noticed was locked, and pressed his ear against it to find out what was upsetting Tawna like this. "Tawna, are you okay? What's wrong?" Cortex asked.

"I'm all right, Cortex. You don't need to worry." Tawna said, doing her best to not be upset when her new husband was involved. Cortex wasn't convinced, however; he knew that there was something that was upsetting Tawna, and he wasn't going to stop until he could work out what the problem was.

"Tawna, I know that there's something about this day that's making you so upset, and I just want to know what it is so I can try to help you. So, do you think you could open the door so I can come in?" Cortex asked, doing his best to remain as calm and gentle to Tawna as he had always been so far; he wanted her to understand what he just wanted to help her through her worries. After a few seconds of silence, considering that Tawna didn't respond during that time, the door opened and Cortex smiled to see that Tawna was standing there, despite seeing that her eyes were very reflective from her tears.

"You can come in, Cortex. I think I'm all right to tell you." Tawna said. Cortex smiled with relief at this, and he came inside the room and he and Tawna both sat down on the bed. Cortex came over to Tawna, and took her hand to let her know that she could tell as long as she was with him; he wouldn't say otherwise to what she had to say.

"Tawna, how come you aren't feeling very good about this day? Wouldn't you look forward to it?" Cortex asked. Tawna slowly nodded in agreement, and then looked down at Cortex.

"Usually, I would, Cortex. But that wasn't the case with my first anniversary with Pinstripe. Keep in mind that I had found out by that time that he wasn't the man I thought he was, so it can be easier to understand." Tawna explained. Cortex smiled and nodded slowly in agreement.

"You can tell me when you're ready, Tawna." Cortex said. Tawna nodded slowly, and she sighed as she was ready to explain everything to Cortex.

"It was about a night prior to the day, and Pinstripe had promised me that he would change and treat me how I deserved to be. Granted, I had already found out what he was like, but I decided to give him another chance. But, I found out that proved to be a huge mistake..." Tawna explained, as she remembered everything that had happened in the span of those few days...

Tawna came back into the house and slowly closed the door behind her; she had been out with her friends to get away from Pinstripe for the time being. As she came up into the bedroom, she was surprised to see that Pinstripe was waiting for her; she thought that he had been out for the night and would have left her here by herself during the night. "Pinstripe? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What does it look like, Tawna? I'm here to give you the treatment that I haven't been giving you for the past few months." Pinstripe explained, with a smile on his face. Tawna's eyebrows narrowed, and she crossed her arms as she looked at Pinstripe; she was aware of what he was really like, and wasn't ready to go back to him.

"Sorry, Pinstripe, but I think you already wasted your opportunity. And I think you should have realised that it's a bit too late to go back now; you should have known that ever since you revealed that you were a criminal." Tawna said, and she looked away from Pinstripe. Pinstripe stood up and walked over to Tawna, to which she avoided eye contact with him.

"Come on, Tawna. You know I didn't mean it when I said that. That was...just a way to avoid having to tell Koala Kong about how I was really enjoying myself with you, and that I would never hide anything from you." Pinstripe explained. Tawna slowly looked back at him; her expression had softened, but she was still a bit insecure of what Pinstripe was telling her.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "What I mean is...when I said that to Koala Kong, and you overheard it, I didn't mean anything by it at all. If Koala Kong found out that I had changed to be with you, he would have done away with me, and you, for good." Pinstripe explained. Tawna turned around to face Pinstripe and looked at him in the eyes; she wanted to know if he was telling her the truth this time.

"So, you were saying that just to protect us? You really aren't a criminal?" Tawna asked. Pinstripe smiled, seeing that Tawna was understanding, and nodded.

"Of course. And I'll tell you what, I'll make it up to you by making our anniversary the best day ever. You will get everything that you deserve, and we'll have a night that you'll never forget." Pinstripe explained. Tawna brightly smiled at this, and she ran over and happily hugged Pinstripe.

"Pinstripe, that sounds wonderful. I'm so sorry I chose to push you away for so long." Tawna said. She felt really happy that she knew that Pinstripe actually wasn't a criminal; he was actually the man she initially believed him to be. The next morning, Tawna woke up and smiled, realising that today was their anniversary.

"Good morning, Pinstripe. Are you ready for today?" Tawna asked, turning to expect to see him there beside her. But, she was surprised to see that he wasn't there. As she came downstairs to look for him, she noticed there was a note on the table. As Tawna picked it up, she looked at it to see what it said.

To Tawna

I'm sorry if I might not be home just yet.

My friend called for me to help him with something important, but I should be back by tonight to take you out somewhere special.

I'm looking forward to this day, like I'm sure you are.

Happy Anniversary, from Pinstripe

Tawna smiled as she looked at the note, and she sat down on the couch to wait for Pinstripe to come back. By that night, Tawna had fallen asleep on the couch when she suddenly heard the door opened and she looked up to see Pinstripe come inside. "Sorry I'm late, Tawna. Things got really busy and I was kept occupied." Pinstripe explained. Tawna sat up and looked at Pinstripe with an expression of immense annoyance.

"I'd like to think so, Pinstripe. If you had known about this special day, you would have been back sooner. Otherwise, I would like to think that you had forgotten, am I right?" Tawna asked. Pinstripe was alarmed by this response, and shook his head.

"Of course not, Tawna. What made you think I would forget?" Pinstripe asked. Tawna stood up and came over to Pinstripe, with that familiar expression of anger at him; it was clear to her that Pinstripe didn't really remember today.

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that you had left me by myself all day, and you didn't seem to recognize what this day was, none other than our first anniversary!" Tawna explained. Pinstripe sighed and shook his head at Tawna.

"Okay, so I forgot. What's the big deal?" Pinstripe asked. Tawna was alarmed at this response, and she grew even more upset at Pinstripe, which he didn't seem to be aware of.

"It's a very big deal, Pinstripe! We were supposed to celebrate our first year of our marriage, but you promptly forgot and don't even care about it at all! What kind of husband are you meant to be if you don't remember a day like this?" Tawna asked, feeling tears build up in her eyes as she lashed out at Pinstripe. Pinstripe was taken back as he listened to her; he didn't expect for her to be this mad at him.

"Tawna..." Pinstripe said, but Tawna immediately cut him short. "No! I don't want to hear it, Pinstripe! You're such an inconsiderate man, and you do a terrible job at being a husband. You can sleep down here tonight, because I don't want to see you in the same room as me!" Tawna shouted. She started sobbing, and ran upstairs slamming the door behind her. Once she got there, she collapsed on the double bed and started to bawl her eyes out; it was supposed to be their special day, but it turned out to be one of the worst days ever.

Cortex had his hand over his mouth, and he was trying not to cry as Tawna started to break down from the memory of that night. Cortex started to brush the tears that dared to fill his eyes away and looked up at Tawna. "Tawna...that is just terrible. Why would Pinstripe do something like that to you, and on such a special day too?" Cortex asked, quietly.

"I don't know, Cortex. I just don't understand it either. But, it made me start to understand how much of an inconsiderate person Pinstripe was, and that he didn't care about me or his marriage at all." Tawna said, and she continued to sob looking away from Cortex. Cortex didn't admit it to Tawna out loud, but he was horrified that Pinstripe would take advantage of Tawna's trust like this, and tear her apart the way he did. As those thoughts started to fill Cortex's mind, they were making him understand how much trauma and hurt Tawna had really been through. She had experienced such horrible times like this and he never realised it until now.

'What kind of person have I been? I've been so oblivious to the pain Tawna had been through, and it took me until now to realise it. I think I'm just as bad as Pinstripe, even if I haven't done the things he's done to Tawna. I was so foolish to think that Tawna was really all right, when in fact she had been through more than I myself could ever understand.' Cortex thought, as tears started to build up in his eyes again. But as he brushed them away, he started to have an idea and he looked over at Tawna. "Tawna, I'm sorry." Cortex said, simply. Tawna looked at him in surprise hearing this; he was apologizing?

"For what?" she asked. "For being so oblivious to what you had been through. I never realised that you have had so much hurt done to you, and it took me until now to understand the trauma you had experienced, everything I couldn't understand. I feel like such a horrible husband to you, because I couldn't be there for you when you needed help most." Cortex explained. He started sobbing, feeling so ashamed of himself for being so oblivious.

"Cortex..." Tawna said, as she started to realize how much the truth was really affecting Cortex. Cortex then looked up at Tawna and took her hand; he wanted to make it up to her for how much he wasn't able to see. "Tawna, I want to make it up to you for not realising everything you had experienced. I want to make this the day that you deserve, and the anniversary you should have had." Cortex said.

"Cortex, it's all right. I guess I'll have to go through another bad first anniversary." Tawna said. Cortex immediately shook his head; he wasn't going to let that happen when she was with him.

"No, Tawna. I'm not going to let you sit by and watch your special day go by without a care. I want you to be happy, and I want you to have the day that you deserved." Cortex explained. Tawna started to smile at this; she couldn't believe that Cortex was doing this much for her just for her to have the day she wanted.

"Cortex, I can't believe that you're really doing this. I don't know what to say to you." Tawna said. Cortex started to smile, hearing Tawna's response.

"I know, Tawna. I know it seems hard for you to hear this after the day you had. But I truly love you, Tawna, and I promise that I'll make this day the one you deserve." Cortex explained. Tawna beamed at this, and she happily kissed Cortex. After she let go, Cortex was staring at her in amazement, but then he started to smile seeing that she was happy again.

"Thank you, Cortex." Tawna said. With this, the two came downstairs to see Crash and the others there. When Crash turned around to see them standing there, he smiled.

"Well, Cortex, how did things so?" Crash asked. Cortex smiled, and looked over at Tawna.

"I want Tawna to have the day that she deserves, and I was wondering if you could get your help with that, Crash. I'll need everyone's help to give Tawna the day she wanted to have." Cortex explained. Crash smiled at this and happily nodded.

"Certainly, Cortex. We'll be glad to help you and Tawna out. I would love to see Tawna happy as well, so I know for sure I'll definitely help you out." Crash responded. Alicia happily hugged Crash, hearing his acceptance to help. Cortex and Tawna beamed as well hearing this; they were glad to have such a great friend like Crash.

"Crash, I don't think I could ever be more grateful for your help. It makes me glad to know that you're always here to help." Cortex responded. Crash smiled and happily shook his head.

"I'm just doing what I do best, Cortex. But, we'll need to be by ourselves to get ready, so why don't you and Tawna spend some time to yourselves?" Crash asked. Cortex and Tawna were surprised, but then they nodded and started to head off through the jungle. Once they were gone, Crash looked back at the others. "All right, guys. We'll need to buckle down if we want to make this special for them. So, why don't we get to work?" Crash asked. The others nodded in agreement, and were ready to go. During this time, Cortex and Tawna were both walking through the jungle together.

"You know, Cortex, it actually feels great to be out here by ourselves. It makes me remember when we were first becoming close, and when we got engaged as well. I don't think I've had such a great time than when I first came here." Tawna explained. Cortex smiled, seeing that Tawna was feeling a lot better; it was what he wanted to see. The two both sat up on the hill and were surprised to see that it was now late in the afternoon. "I didn't notice how fast the time went by." Tawna said.

"I guess that happens a lot, especially when I get to spend my time with you." Cortex said, and took Tawna's hand. Tawna looked down at Cortex to see him smiling, and she happily smiled back. Meanwhile on the N. Sanity Isle shore, Crash smiled as he looked at their hard work; they had completely set up a table and everything so Cortex and Tawna could have a special dinner tonight.

"That looks great, guys. I better go get them now." Crash said, and headed off to find Cortex and Tawna. The two were both sitting on the hill, looking at the setting sun.

"Isn't this wonderful, Tawna?" Cortex asked. "Yeah, it is. But nothing feels more amazing than just spending time with you, Cortex. You certainly changed my life for the better." Tawna responded, looking over at him. Cortex beamed at this, but then the two could suddenly hear Crash behind them and turned around to see him.

"Hey, guys! You can come back now; we're all done. But you'll need to cover your eyes, Tawna. I want it to be a surprise." Crash said. With this, Tawna covered her eyes while Cortex wrapped his arm around hers to lead her back to the house. When they arrived, Crash looked at Tawna.

"You can look now, Tawna." Crash said. When Tawna uncovered her eyes, she was amazed to see the table that the team had set up. "Guys, this is wonderful. You did this all by yourselves?" she asked. Crash happily nodded, and directed his attention over to the two empty seats.

"Now, if the couple could take their seats." Crash said. Cortex and Tawna both came over and sat down in their seats. As they were enjoying their time, Tawna looked over at Cortex. "Cortex, this is wonderful. I'm finding it hard to believe you did this for me." Tawna said. Cortex beamed; this was the day he wanted to give Tawna, and he was certainly glad she loved it. Sometime later, the two were both sitting down on the shore, looking up at the stars.

"So, Tawna, did this turn out to be the day you wanted?" Cortex asked, looking up at her. "Cortex, it turned out better than I could have ever imagined." Tawna responded, brightly smiling.

"I feel so glad to hear that. Happy Anniversary, Tawna." Cortex responded. Tawna beamed at this, and happily hugged him.

"I love you so much, Cortex." Tawna smiled. "I love you too, Tawna, and I always will." Cortex responded. With this, the two happily kissed; this turned out to be the best first anniversary they ever had, and the day Tawna dreamed it to be.