Hey everyone,
Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I know I could have ended the Story Plan part at either the end of Carmelita's meeting with her parents or her meeting with Sly, but the first just seemed beyond too short and the other just too long to make it a proper story plan. I did, however, enjoy writing Carmelita's POV last chapter.
You too? Let me know,

Venquine1990

Three days later
Sly's POV

Bentley and the others had been worried sick when they heard that Carmelita's parents had invited me over for a meeting and Bentley had triple checked the sincerity of the address almost every day since, until I got mad with him and asked him why he was so suspicious of Carmelita after all she had done to help us over the years.
The Turtle had felt sorry, but had told me how he just didn't want to see me behind bars now that we were so close to getting entrance to my family's legacy and while I had – again – felt honored to have a surrogate brother like him, had I made the agreement with the whole team that they could come and watch over me, unguarded.
Panda King and Penelope had been most distrustful of this, telling us they had barely ever – bar the short time that Panda King had eluded himself – gone anywhere without either their fireworks or their mechanics, yet I had told them that Bentley and Murray would protect them and that they could flee with the van if they felt it needed.
The two new members had agreed to these terms and while I feel a little bad for taking my whole team with me while I had told Carmelita I would come unguarded, had I told my team that I would tell her father of their location as I didn't want to arouse anymore reasons for either of the two foxes to be suspicious of me.

By now I have adorned my best outfit and have left my cane with Bentley, the turtle having accepted it with trepidation and telling me he would shoot it my way at the first sign of danger, but I had glared at him and told him not to shoot it my way until I gave a very clear sign of needing it, telling him I didn't accept no for an answer.
I am standing in front of a simple, two story-farm house that has a wooden structure and iron slightly showing itself here and there as a roof, while covered by hundreds and thousands bits of straw and while I am amazed at how simple these people can live seeing the fame of their daughter, do I smile at hearing a voice speak:
"Didn't think you'd come, Cooper." And I turn around, smiling as I see Carmelita seated at her red sports car, her usual outfit and a different necklace having replaced the one that she usually hangs her police badge on when on duty. I open the door of her car for her and offer her my hand as I say: "It would be rude to accept such an invitation."
While in my head I continue: "Especially because this almost feels as if you're introducing your new boyfriend to your mum and dad." But I know this thought will only anger the fox and while she reluctantly takes my hand, do I keep quiet about my thoughts and instead guide her over to her parents' home as she asks:

"No cane, Ringtail?" And while that simple nickname makes a shiver of delight run down my spine, do I keep it from showing and say: "I said I would come unguarded and I came unguarded – although my team didn't exactly agree with that and demanded they be allowed to watch this whole thing take place – need to protect and all that."
The fox seems impressed with my answer and asks: "Where are they then?" To which, as we reach the front porch, shrug and say: "Probably outback, hiding themselves along the fence line and whatnot." At this a small, playful smirk is seen on the fox's face and while I let go off her hand, does she use her other to knock on the door.

A fox as beautiful as the vixen besides me opens the door a minute later and while her eyes are soft forest green whereas her daughter's are brown and the fox looks me over very shortly, making me want to raise an eyebrow were it not for the manners my mother taught me before her passing before she smiles and says:
"Come in, dears." And just this simple use of the plural word has most of my worries already at ease, making me quickly but silently tap my ear-communicator twice as a sign to Bentley that everything is going fine and safe so far, my eyes on my hostess to make sure she doesn't see me do this while she guides us to the living room.
There I meet another fox, this one male and with Carmelita's beautiful brown eyes, but then with a darker brownish shade to his fur, who is seated on a warm purple couch in front of a glass coffee table and who only turns his head my way before he says: "Take a seat, lad. Carmelita, besides me, would you dear?"

And while part of me really wants to have the beautiful fox on my side, do I feel pleased at how sweet the male fox cares for his daughter as I take the purple chair in front of the man, my eyes furtively seeking out my friends through the glass doors that lead to the backyard before I decide to start this talk with honesty and say:
"Sir, before we begin would I like to inform you that my friends are concerned for my safety, seeing the professional differences between your daughter and myself, and that I could not talk them out of hiding in your backyard in order to protect me were anything to go wrong. I did however order them not to make a move unless I signaled them."
The man nods and grumbles: "Already spotted them, laddie. That panda you seem to be working with apparently needs some lessons in stealth." This makes me cringe and say: "I would also like to let you know that Bentley, my turtle friend, ordered me to keep my communicator in my ear and that I was to give signals of safety or distress."
The fox nods, his eyes actually shining with approval and he asks: "And did he ask you to reply this to us as well, lad?" But I shake my head and say: "He's currently cursing me for revealing this. The communicator is in my ear and I can hear him very clearly." And this – to my shock – actually makes the fox before me smirk.

Then the elder female fox walks over and asks: "Do you put anything in your coffee, dear?" But I shake my head and say: "I have sworn coffee off since I was 17, ma'am. A bad experience and I prefer not to let that reoccur – for more than one reason." I end with the awkwardness of my memories sounding through my voice.
The woman giggles at this, while Carmelita raises a single eyebrow at me and while the elder female fox sets the table with three cups of coffee and four shots of – what looks to be – white wine, does she then return to the kitchen, which I note to be accessible from a door build into a side of the wall behind Carmelita's couch.

I then turn back to the two seated on the couch before me and the man before me asks: "So, Cooper was it, right? What – if I may be so rude to ask – has made you decide to increase the members of your team? According to my Carmelita here you always work with only a turtle and a hippo. Brass and Murter, right?"
But I shake my head and answer: "Bentley and Murray, sir. And I am growing my team in numbers because of something I have found to be located on Kaine Island." The fox seems intrigued and Carmelita shocked that I am being this honest and while hoping that I can impress her with my tales, do I continue and say:
"My family has existed since the Ancient Egyptians, Mr. Fox, and all of them were Master Thieves, stealing from other criminals and pulling heists around the world. And – according to sources I have recently discovered – those heists and their rewards are all hidden, deep within an ancient ancestral vault of my family on that very island."
The man seems shocked and even Carmelita has wide eyes as he asks: "A vault filled with treasures and gold dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt? Are you sure of this, lad?" I nod and take the map that I had stolen from Carmelita months ago out of the backpack I had taken with me, laying it open on the coffee table as I say:

"This is the map I was told about by the old friend of my father, Jim McSweeney. It wasn't easy reaching him, but who would ever search for a Cooper Gang member – inside a prison cell." Carmelita looks up from the map with shock, while her father actually laughs and says: "Too true, lad. Old gang or new, no one would do so."
And yet again do I praise McSweeney for all he has done for me since I found him in his cell before I say: "It certainly wasn't easy getting this map as my team had been incomplete at the time, all of us having suffered in different manners due to our last caper with Clock-la, but in the end, we managed to retrieve it nonetheless.
However, when I saw what had actually happened with Kaine Island, how the new owner Dr. M. had changed it into a near inaccessible fortress, did Bentley and I agree that we had to get some team upgrades before we could even make an attempt to get to the vault door, hence our excursions around the world for new comrades."

The fox nods while his wife sets down a warm cup of water for me and a large basket with all kinds of teabags in it and she asks: "Sugar or honey, dear?" But I shake my head and rub a finger over the fur of my chin as I examine the different flavors the dear woman has stalled out for me, smiling as I spot my favorite and ask:
"Are you a fan of Egyptian Melange as well, milady? I must admit I don't find many who can enjoy such a taste." To this the woman seems to light up and says: "Neither can I. I've been trying to get so many of my friends to like the flavor, but the strength of it always puts them off, even if I just let it drench for a few seconds."
At this I nod, having experienced the same with Bentley and Murray for a few weeks and even with my newest team members over the last few weeks and I say: "I know what you mean. I was hoping that either Panda King or Guru could enjoy the flavor, but even they think it the wrong taste for tea – god only knows why."

The fox smiles at me and nods and while I can't help but feel as if I've been here for years, does Carmelita know exactly how to take that feeling away in a second as she asks: "Cooper, I thought the Fiendish Five murdered your parents, so why did you allow the Panda King into your team?" And instantly I tense.
Her parents look at the gorgeous fox in shock and while part of me can understand where she comes from, do I feel only one answer worthy to her question as I answer: "I allowed it, Inspector, because I have – during our last caper – learned enough about Panda King to see past his misdeeds to me and my family and to appreciate his skills."
At this, while the insult is very subtle and deeply masked by my careful tone of voice, does the fox still cringe in recognition of the slight against her and while hoping that this can become a first step in my path to have her by my side, do I still – now openly – give two taps to my communicator, stopping Bentley from muttering about an attack.
The turtle is silenced quite abruptly and even asks: "Are you sure, Sly?" To which I tap the earpiece twice more, hearing the turtle sigh in my ear as I lower my hand again and the male fox says: "My apologies for my daughter, Cooper." But I shake my head and say: "I am as much as fault as she, though in a different manner."

The three foxes around me look confused and I say: "I have come in, accepted your tea and spoken with you as if this were an annual thing, yet I have completely forgotten one vital aspect of this meeting; to ask for your names." The three look shocked and then a pleasant smile appears on the female fox's face as she says:
"Call me Amelia, dear, and this is my husband, Andrew." I nod in acknowledged greeting and this seems to be exactly what Andrew had been waiting for as he stretches his arms out and says: "Well, time to get to the point where we invited you for in the first place, if you ask me. No time like the present as they always say."
Instantly the other side of my communicator turns silent and I tense my muscles, ready to defend myself and hoping I won't have to offend anyone else in this house as I hear the man ask: "Cooper, several times over the past few years now, have you aided my daughter in catching crooks and criminals that are greater than you yourself.
You have risked your hide, your life and – apparently at some points – even your team, yet the end results always were that you escaped justice and that my daughter got to raise in ranks due to the amazing arrests on highly dangerous criminals, on which you and your team usually provided her the required evidence.
My question is, Cooper lad, why? Why would a criminal of your caliber even so much as want to help someone who works on the other side of the law? What is it that drives you to help my daughter like that? Why do you always lure her exactly there were your fallen victims are, evidence required for their arrest and everything?

Why. Do. You. Do. This?" The man ends, putting emphasis on each and every word and making me feel more nervous and more as if I'm at Interpol HQ, questioned for murdering the queen or something similar with every question he throws at me and while I spare a quick glance his daughter's way, do I hear Bentley ask:
"Now, Sly?" But just that one look, that one glance upon her openly curious face, her brown eyes shining with such a strong need to understand as she and her parents look at me, makes me again tap the earpiece twice, making the turtle on the other side groan and mutter: "You have just too much patience, Sly."
But the motion seems to appease the foxes in front of me and while part of me is shouting not to do this, to just tap the earpiece again, make a wise little joke and get out of here with – hopefully – a chance to kiss Carmelita, do the manners I have been taught by my parents before their deaths forbid me from this and do I answer:

"Love." The fox on my left looks shocked at this answer, while the two in front of me now look even more curious than before and I say: "I do it out of love, sir. My family has existed as long as it has because there was always that one person in existence that they were meant for – and your daughter is no exception."
The fox seems cautious and curious at this and while hoping that I didn't screw this up, do I continue and say: "I love your daughter, sir, I will never deny this. I have loved her since I first laid eyes on her and her chasing me, attempting to catch me and shouting at me as I evade her makes my heists and life as a Master Thief all the more fun.
I know I am tormenting her by not allowing myself to be caught, but I have always believed that if I were to do so, I would be locked away without ever getting another chance to see her and that is a faith I wish not to live through. I want to see her, every day of my life, even if it means it can only be so when she attempts to catch me."

By now Carmelita looks absolutely floored with shock, while Amelia has a loving smile on her face and her hands clasped over her heart, yet it is Andrew that makes me feel most certain that this was the right thing to do, as while his curiosity is still there, has the cautiousness disappeared from his gaze and stance and is he actually smirking.
"I thought as much." The man then says, flooring me like I just floored his daughter and while the fox in question jumps up with the shocked gasp of: "Papa!" Does his wife only turn to him in shock and he asks: "Am I right to assume, Heir Cooper, that it was not your idea to switch my daughter for this kidnapped bride-to-be of General Tsao?"
And while I can hear Bentley gulp in returning fear through my earpiece, do I take a deep breath in order to quell the raging fury that has been building up inside of me every time I get reminded of that event and do I answer: "No, Lord Fox, it was not. It also took my friend Bentley a lot of effort to convince me in the first place.
Not to mention I have yet to forgive him for taking such a risk, even if he got me agreed to play along once he had lured your Heiress to the chambers of the kidnapped Heiress in question." The fox nods and then he asks: "And if you were to have played a role in the supposed wedding, would that have made it easier for you to agree?"

But I shake my head, making Carmelita look at me weirdly and I say: "I have yet to have earned your daughter's love, let alone her respect. I wish not to force her into anything she herself does not want. I know I have a long way before she would even be willing to call me by my first name and until then, will I do what I can to keep meeting her."
The man nods and then does something I had not expected – something I had hoped wouldn't happen until I had left the meeting – as he turns to his daughter and asks: "Carmelita, mi querida hija, what is your opinion now that you have heard all of this?" And instantly my own eyes turn wide with the fear for the future.

Carmelita's POV

If there were ever a meeting where nothing went as I had expected it would be the one I am in right here, right now. Cooper hasn't made a single smart remark, he has actually pointed out one of my fatal flaws without really insulting me and he even made an actual confession of love right in front of my own two parents.
The words the ringtail spoke about his feelings for me were unlike any I had expected as I had been expecting the simple, stupid answer of: "It's fun." Instead the ringtail had swooped me right off my feet with his words and had – indirectly – told me that, were it not for his incarceration, he would actually have allowed me to capture him.
Now my papa has asked me what my opinion is on all this, on the fact that Cooper has a family going back all the way to before the birth of Christ, that he has a vault filled with all of his family's gold and treasure and that he has actually been harboring romantic feelings for me since the day we met on top of the Paris Opera House.

Of course there were plenty of times where Cooper has complimented me, flirted with me and made me feel special just by the way he gazes at me, but I had always believed it to be his way of evading capture, a skill he had developed to continue his life of a criminal and had never thought – never dared – to see more than that into it.
Now the Ringtail is gazing at me from across the coffee table, his eyes holding a fear I have never before actually seen in them and I realize with shock that he fears my response to his confession, that he fears for me to break his heart by stating that I hate him, because of his criminal ways and that I hate him for always humiliating me.
Yet, looking into those brown eyes that are a slightly more brass, wild color than my own, do I suddenly feel stupid for having constantly believed that Cooper's only intention was to humiliate me and make my work look like stupid child's play as those eyes and their fear are imploring me not to hurt the creature before me.

They also, again, remind me of how we had talked, laughed and had enjoyed ourselves beyond words the few times we actually got to simple talking, such as when he had stolen the Venus de Walo and when we had been flying in a rigged helicopter in circles over Paris for hours on end without me even noticing this.
Remembering all of those times, when Sly would help me, make me enjoy myself or even make me push myself further and allow for me to develop skills my regular job would have never required otherwise, do I suddenly feel my heart beating with a whole new set of emotions and do I allow for them to lead my body.
I stand up, hating myself for how the pain and fear are now growing in Sly's eyes while trying to keep my inner revelations from showing through my own and slowly, carefully walk over to where the Ringtail is seated, Sly actually cautiously standing up as he sees this and when we are nearly touching nose to nose, do I move.

Move in the only way I know how, move with the speed that I have gained thanks to years of chasing the illustrious raccoon before me and move in the only manner I believe is a proper response to the words of his love that are still ringing through my mind. I move with lightning speed and wrap my arms around him, kissing him full-on.
Instantly I can hear several distant shouts coming from the backyard, most of them sounding like a shocked WHAT, while my mother squeals in utter joy besides me and my father falls back on his couch laughing, but all I can focus on is how amazing those grey-furred lips feel against my own as I kiss the animal of my heart.
Sly seems shocked and stunned for a second, but it doesn't seem to take the raccoon long before he realizes what I have done and instantly do I feel my waist encased in his arms, one of his elbows leaning on his other arm against my lower back as he uses the hand to touch and caress my hair while he responds to my kiss.
The way his lips feel to move against my own feels as divine as all the other times where the Ringtail actually managed to slip in a quick peck before his escape and to have those muscular arms that always climb walls and swing a heavy wooden cane wrapped around my waist makes me feel loved, warmed and safely protected.

Then oxygen again becomes a must and apparently does it seem as if Sly has a slightly longer breath than I do as, upon parting his lips from my own, does he huskily whisper: "Mi amore." And just those two words seal the deal for me, making me know I might as well quit my job as arresting Cooper is just no longer an option.
"Not when I have already captured his heart." Goes through my mind, making me smile softly before Sly steals his usual quick peck on my lips and then releases his hold on me, making me sigh in wanted delight before I decide to reclaim my earlier seat and I return back to sitting on the couch next to my widely smiling father.
In the mean time does Sly again tap the communicator in his ear and does he actually make me laugh as he asks: "Any of you still conscious enough to answer me?" And while my mother quickly slaps a hand over her mouth to silence her giggling does my father lie his head back as he laughs again and does someone apparently answer Cooper.

"Figures." The Ringtail says and then he whispers: "Bentley and Penelope fainted and Guru actually jumped high enough to end up in a tree, while Panda King almost fell face first into the grass." Making me turn away from the glass doors in order to conceal my own laughter and then papa asks: "And Murray?"
To this Cooper taps the piece of fur near his ear, indicating that it's the hippo he's communicating with and then he presses it again, actually making me capable of hearing the rough voice of the Hippo as he says: "Congratulations, Sly. Now all we need is entrance to that Cooper Vault and you have all you ever dreamed off, right buddy?"
And while my mind goes wild with ideas over what could be hidden behind the enclosure of that legendary vault, do I feel that I better keep my job just a little longer, if only to make sure I have my Mercenary apes to help me get Sly to that vault safely and to keep any and all enemies of the Cooper Family away from him.

Good chapter, right?
Well, next chapter will be on the Cooper Heist with the Vault and most of it will again be Carmelita's POV, with some Sly POV and the entrance of some OC characters, just to prepare you for all of the OC Cooper Characters I plan to depict and install into the Cooper Vault as there is over 3 millennia of Cooper history in there.
LOVE IT,

Venquine1990