A/N: It's about to get tense up in here. Enjoy and leave a comment.

January had passed and it was now February, February of 1997 to be precise. The holidays were wonderful for the Cooper Gang. Damien finally got his right ear pierced. Although it hurt, the pain quickly subsided and was content with how it looked. He told Sly he wanted to get his other ear pierced next time.

"No problem, Damey, but enjoy the one you have now. The other ear isn't going anywhere." The wisecracking Raccoon said.

The meerkat also received the package his grandmother sent him. He and Sly picked up the package from the local post office. It was a huge package. When he opened it, it had some board games, books, Space Jam soundtrack, and a card that read:

"To Damey,

I hope you love your gift.

Write to me.

Love,

Grandma!"

Damien missed his grandma very much and wanted to hear her voice more often, but he didn't mind writing letters to her, even if it did take a long time to arrive. Still, he couldn't wait until the summer to see her, his friends, the old neighborhood, and maybe his mother.

Damien still did well in school and his friend Basil still helped him with his French. He would sometimes run into Femi in the hallway or the Library and briefly chat with one another or just say hi. Basil would tease the meerkat about his crush and of course Damien would deny it, even though it was true.

The rest of the Cooper Gang still did their thing, Sly would do his own little robberies, Bentley would still be on his laptop, and Murray would either be at the racetrack or watching TV.

Sly, in particular, was happy that the month of February was here because Valentine's Day was coming soon. He had planned a romantic date for his favorite vixen Carmelita and he knew she'd never forget it. Valentine's Day was going to be a bang!

Friday 14th, 1997

Bentley woke up around 9 A.M. He was usually up earlier than that but he wanted to sleep longer. He went straight to his laptop and saw that he received an email and lo and behold it was from his online friend, the "Black Baron".

"Hey there Turtletech75,

I just wanted to say hello and wish you a Happy Valentine's Day! I'll be online later tonight if you want to chat! XXXXOO"

The turtle felt his heart pulsating in his chest after reading the email. It was strange for him to have feelings for someone he had only communicated with online. He knew the user was a female, from Holland, and shared a love of technology like him, but had no clue as to what she looked like or anything else. Bentley never had much success when it came to dating and relationships, the last girlfriend he had was when he was fifteen and it didn't end all well.

The turtle became startled when he heard several knocks on his door.

"Hey Bentley! You up?!" Murray yelled from the outside. "I made breakfast!"

"Uhhh…yeah… I'll be out in a second." He answered.

The turtle closed his laptop and wheeled himself to the kitchen.

The aroma of the food filled the turtle's nostrils. There were heart-shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup, sizzling sausages, a large fruit bowl, cheese omelets, and fresh-squeezed orange juice all set at the table.

"Really Murray, heart-shaped pancakes? You've never done this before." Bentley commented as he glided into a good spot at the table.

"Well, I wanted to do something different. I've been up since six, Sly and Damien already had a taste of my Valentine's Day meal and they liked it. I just made more for us." The hippo said as he sat down.

"That's good. Where's Sly?" Bentley asked as he cut up his pancakes.

"After he dropped Damien off, he came back and went straight to bed. Before he went to sleep, he told me he had some things to do later on today and won't be back until tomorrow." Murray sipped his juice.

Bentley was a little suspicious about his Raccoon friend. He was actually going to be out on Valentine's Day, which wasn't something he typically did, at least not to the turtle's knowledge.

"Is Sly going on a blind date or something?" The turtle was partially joking when he asked this.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was, not that it matters." The hippo chuckled and then ate his omelet.

"Yeah, I mean I was just curious. I just don't see how he'll be going anywhere on this particular day, unless it involved dating."

"Do you have any plans Bentley?"

The turtle snorted and chewed on a strawberry.

"No what about you Murray?"

The hippo shook his head as he finished his meal.

"Other than picking Damien up from school, I don't. I'll just be in the house today. I'm not checking anyone out at the moment."

"Oh really? Well, my hippo chum, when was the last time you gone out with anyone?"

"Umm…it was a while ago…"

The turtle laughed as the two of them started to clean up.

"You can't even recall. Shame on you Murray."

"Oh please, the last girlfriend you had was back in high school. And boy was that girl screwed up in the head. Remember when she started stalking you after you broke up with her? That was the year before we left New York."

"Don't remind me. That was the worst three months of my life." Bentley giggled.

After breakfast, the two friends went back to their usual activities, Murray watching T.V. and Bentley in his room on his laptop.

A bashful smile filled his face. He couldn't wait until the evening to chat with the "Black Baron".

It was 12:50 P.M. Damien was in the library reading a book. His friend Basil was with him earlier but decided to go and play in gym which was fine by him. If the lemur stuck around to see what the meerkat was really up to, he would never hear the end of it. Then again, it wasn't like the meerkat wasn't already subjected to the teasing for his crush on Femi.

The meerkat had been waiting for Femi for ten minutes now and she had yet to show up. She was normally here before he was, either reading or on the computer.

"I hope she's not sick or anything." He whispered to himself, looking down at his book.

He barely read two pages; he didn't even have a clue as to what he was reading because he was so engulfed in seeing Femi.

He heard the sound of the door open and saw Femi. He felt his heart stop as she walked in. She was dressed in a pink shirt, khaki pants, and pink high tops. She still had he soft, light-brown hair in bantu knots.

"She looks so cute." He grinned.

Damien walked over to him over to her from behind and stood there.

He was getting nervous, his hands were clammy. He quickly wiped his hands on his jeans.

"I hope she doesn't laugh at me or think it's silly that I'm doing this…" He reflected and exhaled.

He gently tapped the meerkat girl's shoulder. She turned and showed her friendly smile.

"Hi Damien." She greeted.

He loved hearing her sweet Nigerian accent.

"H-hi Femi." He choked.

"You're having a good day?"

"Y-y-yes…ummm…I wanna give you something."

The meerkat boy dug into his pocket and pulled out a purple glittery card and two pieces of candy.

The meerkat girl's eyes widened as she took the card and candies.

She opened it and read it to herself.

"To Femi,

I hope you have a good Valentine's Day.

You're very nice, smart, and pretty.

I hope you like the candy.

From Damien,

P.S. Thanks again for teaching me how to ice skate!"

She stared at the words for a moment in silence.

Damien began fidgeting and messing with the hem of his shirt. Did she like it or not? The meerkat looked away, feeling bashful and attempted to walk off until she touched his arm.

"Damien," She finally spoke.

He turned to see the biggest and brightest smile on her face, her dimples even showed.

"I have something for you too." She mentioned.

She went into her binder and took a red and blue card out with a lollipop attached.

Out of the two of them, Damien was the one who was truly surprised.

He opened it and read it.

"To Damien,

I think you are very kind and funny.

I hope to be your Valentine today.

From Femi,

P.S. Don't forget you still owe me rollerblading lessons."

The two of them stared at each other. Then, they quietly hugged one another.

It was 4:23 P.M. and Sly was in the grocery store dashing through every aisle to get the items he needed to cook.

So far in his cart he had steak, lobster, broccoli, balloons, candy, card, etc. He was basically grabbing anything he can touch.

He nearly ran over an older male aardvark.

"Watch where you're going you fool!" He spat in French as he shook his fist.

"Sorry sir!" The Raccoon called out, not even bothering to look back.

Sly had to hurry up and get to Carmelita's apartment soon so everything will ready before she arrived.

The vixen trusted the Raccoon enough to give him one of her spare keys to her apartment. To think that months ago she was so eager to have in handcuffs, she was now giving him access to her place. It actually warmed him heart.

When he was done, he rolled his cart to the check-out line. He groaned when saw five people ahead of him with their carts nearly full of food. Unfortunately, the other check-out lines were just as congested.

"Lord, I hope this doesn't take forever." The Raccoon grumbled.

Carmelita was glad to get off from work. It was nearly 7:30 P.M. but she wasn't mad. She got out of Interpol and that's what mattered to her. The vixen walked down the street, it was cold outside. She wanted to hurry over to her apartment because Sly told her he was going to do something special for Valentine's Day. He never specified what it was, assuming they were going somewhere. Yet she wanted to get herself together before the Raccoon picked her up.

She strolled over to her apartment and unlocked the door and her eyes widened in shock and her mouth practically dropped to the floor. The living room was dim with some lavender scented candles on the table. She noticed some red and pink balloons in the corner. She heard a faint sound coming from her stereo system.

"…Baby you don't know,what you do to me.
Between me and you, I feel a chemistry.
Won't let no one come and take your place.
Cause the love you give can't be replaced.
See no one else love me like you do.
That's why I don't mind to spend my life with you.
Wanna please you in anyway I can.
Wanna share my world don't you understand.

Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on
you give me a really good feelin all day long.
Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on
you give me a really good feelin all day long…"

The vixen just couldn't believe it when she walked further into her place.

"That damn Raccoon…" She smirked.

Instantaneously, she felt a pair of hands gripping her waist and she jumped.

"Ringtail…" She hissed.

"The one and only." He murmured in her ear.

"You are something else." She moaned.

"I know." He responded and kissed her neck. "Come on." He pulled her towards the kitchen but she didn't budge.

"I just got home, Ringtail. Let me get myself together." She ran straight upstairs.

"Okay, just don't take too long."

Fifteen minutes later, after taking a quick shower and putting on some tight jeans and a tank top, she went to the kitchen, where she saw the Raccoon hastily moving from one corner to another.

"Dinner? You can actually cook Ringtail?" She snickered at her boyfriend.

"Well…there are a lot of things I can do that you don't know about." He gave her a smug expression and winked at her.

The way he spoke those words sent shivers to her spine.

She saw that the table had two candles placed in the middle. Two glasses filled with cool water and ice, a bottle of steak sauce, and some fluffy, hot rolls.

Sly pulled her chair out and she sat down and pushed her close to the table. He opened the oven and took out two hot plates; he set one for him and one for her.

The meal consisted of lobster drizzled in melted butter, steamed broccoli, and tender steak with mushrooms.

"Wow…" The vixen was astounded.

"Be careful, the plate is still hot." The Raccoon warned.

"There's no way in hell you cooked this. You ordered this, didn't you?" She accused.

Sly pretended to be offended.

"My love, how can you say that? Why would I lie?"

He took a roll and ate it.

Carmelita scoffed playfully.

"Oh Ringtail."

The two of them began to eat, not saying much.

She must have been starving because she was vigorously stuffing her face.

Sly caught a glimpse of her without her noticing. He was so mesmerized by her radiant and natural beauty. He licked his lips, trying to maintain his composure. There were so many things he wanted to do for her. Pleasing her made him happy.

Carmelita caught Sly looking at her.

"What is it Ringtail?" She ate her broccoli.

"Oh…nothing, I was just gazing at you." He drank his water.

"You like staring at me don't you?"

"Yes, just as much as you like fondling me."

They both laughed and continued their meal.

When dinner was over, Sly cleared the table and handled the kitchen while Carmelita went up upstairs to get his Valentine's Day card. It took her a good minute to search for it but she remembered she put it in the dresser the other day; she must have been exhausted when she did that.

She came back down to living room and Sly was over at her stereo system trying to play some different music. He turned to her with an arrogant smile and over to his vixen and forced his tongue in her mouth, which she passionately accepted. Once they broke away, the vixen teasingly licked the Raccoon's lips.

"I got you something for you…" The vixen breathed flirtatiously and they sat down on the couch.

"Me too, love." The Raccoon spoke.

He gave her a box of chocolates and a card.

"Aww, thank you Ringtail." She took her present and read the card.

"Roses are red, violets are blue

Hey senorita, please be my

Valentine's Day boo.

Love,

Your Ringtail."

Carmelita giggled and swatted Sly with the card.

"Sly, you are so damn corny, but I love it." She kissed his cheek.

"I knew that would make you laugh!" He chuckled and kissed her back.

"Open my card." She implored, pushing the card in his hand.

As soon as he opened it, he shook his head and looked dead into Carmelita's eyes, who burst into laughter.

He put his beet-red face into his hand and gradually howled in laughter.

When their laughter ceased, he pulled out what was attached to the inside of the card, revealing to be a condom between his fingers.

"You think you're so cute don't you?" He gave her a slick smile as he put the condom in his pocket.

"Oh, so what are you going to do about it?" She challenged.

Sly got up from the couch, changed the CD, and cranked up the volume.

"…What's up baby
I know what you're thinking
What did I call you over here for
I wanna take you somewhere…"

He gawked at her like she was succulent piece of meat. He moistened his lips as he walked over to her and pushed her onto her back. He slid his body on top of her and she coiled her arms around his neck. He slithered his tongue into her mouth and massaged her tongue and the roof of her mouth. She felt multiple sensations.

His chest was rising up and down; his heart was thumping against hers, yet most of all his hardness, through his pants, was grinding up between her thighs. The candles were still burning and the room was getting warmer.

"…Step into my territory
And let the vibes begin
Don't be afraid
Just let this love groove in
Let the passion lead you to a place beyond
Exploring my bedroom, having freaky fun…"

The vixen had been waiting for this for the longest and she was willing to let go. Sly wanted to give her all he got. He got off of her momentarily to remove his shirt and undershirt, showing his thin but well-built torso. He leaned back on her and continued making-out with Carmelita.

"…Tempo slow, lights down low
Let me take you to a place
Where only love grooves go

All the players go
All the gangstas go…"

She stroked his chest and rock-hard stomach with her soft fingers. He moaned inside her mouth. He started dry humping her against her core. Her breathing quickened.

"You like that don't you Inspector?" He grinned at her cockily.

She nodded; she was losing herself in ecstasy.

The Raccoon unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them off, exposing her panties. He advanced his hand underneath the material and slowly rubbed her inner thighs.

She panted heavily and his smile grew twice the normal size.

Just as he was about to plunge inside her, the phone rang and the two of them groaned in irritations.

"Just…ignore…it." She breathed.

After the ringing died out, Sly placed his focus back on his lovely vixen. His finger was nearing her until the phone rang again.

Frustrated, she got up from beneath Sly and snatched the phone off the hook.

"Hello? Oh hello chief, what's up?" She masked her annoyance and desire as she spoke to her boss.

Sly just gazed at her curiously, wanting to know what was going on.

"Really sir? I just got home…Okay." She sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'll be there, in about forty minutes. Bye." She slammed the phone down, blowing steam out of her ears.

"What's up love?" Sly rubbed her back, calming her down.

"Barkley wants me to come down to Interpol right away. He didn't tell me why, he just wanted me to be there because it's an emergency. I may not get back until midnight. Oh and he also told me I have to come to work everyday an hour early starting from tomorrow until the twenty-sixth."

"The twenty-sixth of this month right?" Sly carefully queried.

"Yeah, let me get ready." She left and went upstairs.

Carmelita was not the only one that was pissed. This could have been the best Valentine's Day ever until that phone call. The Raccoon grabbed his undershirt and shirt, putting them on. He would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed.

Ten minutes later, she was ready to go and unfortunately so was Sly.

"I'm sorry about this." Sly kissed her hand.

Carmelita pulled him into a deep kiss.

"You have no reason to be sorry, Ringtail. Thank you for everything."

"Anything for you my dear." He pulled her into his embrace and made her moan when his hardness rubbed up against her.

"When will I see you again?"

"I'm taking vacation after this hectic schedule comes to an end. So, we'll have enough time to be alone no distractions, no nothing."

"Sounds like a plan, love."

They gave each other one last kiss and then went their separate ways after leaving her apartment.

Although Sly was disappointed with their day coming to an end, he was looking forward to the time they were going to spend during her vacation.

He put his hands in his pocket and suddenly remembered the condom in here. He took it out and examined it.

He just smiled and kept walking. He wanted to get home fast to take care of his little "problem".

A/N: Hey everybody, I'm sorry it took sooooo long to update. I have a few announcements:

Thank you all for the support of this story, Guests/Followers/Supports thank you I really do appreciate it!

I will be posting another chapter later night or tomorrow morning so look out for that! BTW, it's going to mostly focus on Damien's mother and her relationship with Hakim, the hyena that's friends with Muggshot. That chapter is going to be a little dark.

I know you guys are wondering "why why why?" "They were so close!" Here's the thing. Chapter 23 is going that chapter you've all been waiting for! I'm sure someone's going to say "Well, Sly could have gotten it in real quick before she left." Let's be real. When you engaged in something like that, you don't want to leave, especially when it's good. You want to cuddle or just sleep. Again, don't worry ch 23 is that chapter and I will be issuing a message about the rating change.

Again thanks and leave a comment.

Music-

Aaliyah- One in a Million

R. Kelly- Tempo Slow