A/N: As always, this story is continued from the latest chapter of A COOPER CHRISTMAS. In Chapter 5 of the Christmas short story, we found Carmelita and Sly warming up to one another after two years of good behavior from Sly Cooper. The story ended with Sly taking her out on a date and telling her he wanted to see her more often… Now, two months later… Valentine's Day is upon us again.


Chapter -5-
February 15th, 2011

Carmelita opened her eyes and everything slid into focus. Lying on her right side, she was facing her nightstand and an empty bottle of expensive champagne. Adjacent to it was a candle base but the wax was a frozen puddle of sludge around the basin. It had long burned out.

A paw eased out from the covers to rub at her nose; she felt something crumpled against it and plucked the object away from her snout so she could examine it. A red rose petal. It was starting to wither but the moisture of her nose kept it fairly soft during its overnight tryst with her face.

The vixen drew back a corner of the blankets only to realize she wore nothing. Her ears perked and her eyes returned to the bottle on the nightstand. They widened with realization; she started to roll to the left but couldn't… There was a warm body spooning against her back. She felt his warm paw on her hip and reached for it. Carmelita drew the man's paw up from the blanket and examined the gray fur. A slight grin of remembrance illuminated her facial features and her heart began to race. It all came back, now… every sensational detail. Sly Cooper had stayed the night last night and they drank, frolicked and exchanged "Valentine's Day Cards."

Growing up, Carmelita had always wanted to wait until she was married to exchange her 'V-day Card' with a man. But the splendid champagne helped her to make a different decision when in the heat of the moment. It was too late now to worry about last night's decision. She had to think to the future and ponder the repercussions.

Her slight stirring and the moving of Sly's paw caused him to awaken. He nuzzled his nose against the backside of her neck, causing her to shiver. He spoke softly against the backside of her ear. "Should we start planning today or wait until a day we aren't going to be hung-over?"

She contemplated his meaning but couldn't quite figure it out. "What were we planning again?"

"Last night before we fell asleep in each other's arms, you were talking about marriage. You said to make the napkins blue and to hire a DJ for the reception but I'm sure there are other arrangements to make."

She barely remembered the conversation. Only bits and pieces floated around in her head. Carmelita blushed. "We talked about marriage and you thought I was serious?"

"Yes." He scooted back so that she could roll over and face him. Once she flipped over onto her left side, the two lovers locked their gaze. Sly smiled and said, "You put your paws on either side of my face, looked right in my eyes and said, 'I'm serious. Marrying you is the only way I can ensure you're stealing days are over. I'm tired of you stealing my heart. It would make more sense if I just gave it to you instead.' Then you trailed off into a few words that made no sense. After that, you rolled over and I put my arms around you. You said you wanted blue napkins and that we should avoid hiring a band for the reception because a DJ is easier to deal with… then you fell asleep."

She stared at him for a moment, licked her lips in a somewhat apprehensive way then she lifted her paw up and plucked a rose petal from his forehead. "What's up with the flower petals?"

"Forgot that, too, huh?" Sly's smile broadened. "You had a few glasses before the clothes came off. You said you wanted your first time to be perfect, like a fairy tale. So I went out and came back with your list."

Carmelita drew her lower lip between her teeth for a moment then whispered, "I had a list?"

Sly rolled away from her, snatched the list from atop the alarm clock on his side of her bed then he gave it to her. Inspector Fox took a moment to read the contents and cringed. It was her writing but some of the loops were shaky. She could tell she must have been drunk when she wrote it.

"Rose petals," she murmured aloud, reading the first item on the list. "A bucket of them," she added, reading the smaller print adjacent to the main listed item. Next she read, "Fuzzy handcuffs for Sly," followed by, "More Champagne, naughty dice with suggestive ideas on them, bottles of water for the hangover, body massage oils," she trailed off and bit her lip again. "I can't read the rest. I can't believe we actually…"

Sly tilted his head. "Four times."

Her eyes widened again. "W…was I obnoxious or anything?"

"A bit on the loud side," he replied earnestly. "But I certainly didn't mind."

"I was loud?"

"Not at first. I honestly felt bad at first because you looked like you were in pain but… I suppose that passed. I'm really sorry; I didn't think you'd regret it, especially since it was your idea. I just…"

"No, wait." She put her paws on either side of his face, gently cupping his cheeks. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't on my wedding day like I should have done. Maybe it wasn't with my husband. Maybe it wasn't like a fairytale but… I don't regret it. And once I wake up, my head will clear and I'll remember everything just fine. I'm always like this the first few hours of the day if I drink in excess. Just… tell me one thing? How was it for you?"

Sly lifted his paws and took hers into his palms. "Carmelita," he said, almost coming nose to nose with her. "I'll never forget last night. So long as I live, it will be the most amazing night of my life. I don't regret a second of anything that happened. How is your stomach?"

She blinked at the way he changed the subject. "W…my stomach?"

"You handcuffed my wrist to yours and swallowed the key. It was kinda' macho." A grin tugged at the corner of Sly's maw. "Obviously I managed to get both of us out of them without the key, while drunk. It was starting to leave a mark on your wrist so… I picked the lock with one of your bobby pins, afterwards."

Her ears perked and she grinned. "I remember. I bet you a fourth round that you were too tired and drunk to pick a lock, especially since a hair pin makes for a very crappy lock pick."

"And I won that bet," he said with a smile. "Happy Valentine's Day, Carmelita. It's one I'll never forget. Thank you for letting me stay the night."

She paused for a moment, remembering some of the details from after their fourth and final 'round'. "I think I told you that you weren't allowed to leave."

"Yeah, it was a dare. You said you bet I couldn't stay without shackles to keep me put. You said you knew you'd wake up to an empty bed. Well, here I am. At least if I have to have a 'ball and chain', I have the best looking one in France."

"I insist that you do," she told him with a slight grin. Most women hated that term but in consideration that she was a law officer and he was a criminal, the term was comically cute for their situation. "You're going to be cuffed to me for the rest of your life at this point. There's no turning back now." Her grin broadened. "I've got your 'V-Day Card' and you're never getting it back."

"Prison life won't be so bad," he said, using the term as a metaphor for marriage. "I get free TV, a roof over my head, a bed…"

"Three square meals," she told him as if to imply she'd actually try to act like a housewife if necessary. "But you'll have to shower with your cellmate. You okay with that?"

Sly put his paws on her hip and pulled her close until they were flush together at the center of the bed. "I happen to think my cellmate is quite attractive. I think I can manage to live by the terms of my sentence." He brushed his nose against hers again. "What do I get for my good behavior?"

Carmelita broke into silvery peels of laughter. "Good behavior? How was anything about last night good? You've been a naughty man, Sly Cooper."

"But I didn't run this time."

She drew her head back and eyed him. In a slow, drawn out way, she said, "That… that is true. You did stay like a good boy. I admit, I'm impressed that you did." She kissed him softly.

"Valentine's Day doesn't have to be all the way over just yet," Sly said in muffled tones against her lips. "Heck, we can have Valentine's Day every day if you want."

Carmelita tilted her head and eyed him with her right eye for a moment. She lifted a paw, poked him in the nose playfully then began to wiggle down beneath the blankets, disappearing beneath them.

Sly watched the lump lower, moving further down the bed… then his eyes widened and he shuttered. The fur fluffed up on the back of his neck, teeth clamped together and he exhaled through them only to gasp immediately afterwards. Yes, today was going to be just as good of a day as the night before. After all, he recalled that she had the day off work. He reached for her pillow, pulled it over his face then groaned into it. This was better than coffee yet it had the similar effect of making his heart race.


A/N: Okay, so I had to bump up the rating to 'T' for teen. Ah well. It only took FIVE YEARS of Valentine's Day short stories for our heroes to have a romantic night together, right? I know quite a few of you are like, "FINALLY!"

Sorry I made it short. I may make this chapter much longer when I update it to "KitKaramakDOTsofurryDOTcom." It'll be called, "Holiday short series" or something similar. I'm going to put both stories together in chronological order as one large chapter. This will be the grand finale. And it will NOT be safe for children to read.

Thanks again for reading my material! I APPRECIATE IT! You guys mean SO MUCH to me! I love all of you, I really do.