"Hey Bentley, what are you building there?" Chaz asked.
Bentley was hard at work building something that resembled a hook. It had a line of wires and springs attached to the end of it. Chaz knew Bentley didn't like to be interrupted during his building time but he couldn't help but wonder what he was up to.
"Well," Bentley paused to fix his glasses. "It's going to be for you."
Chaz focuses on the invention laid out on the table. "For me? What am I gonna do with a hook?"
"I'm going to attach it to your staff and make a retractable hook that will function sort of like Sly's. This will help you when you need to do some ranged pick pocketing or climbing of sorts."
Chaz questioned Bentley and continued to watch him put together the small hook. It was no bigger than a fist and had many layers to it, meaning it must retract into itself to fit into his staff. Chaz could only wonder what he could do with something like Sly's cane.
Bentley down the hook and removed his magnifying glass goggles. "I'm actually glad you asked. I just finished it. Mind if I install it into your staff?"
"Oh, uh, of course." Chaz gave Bentley his staff and the turtle didn't hesitate to begin working on it. Chaz knew Bentley would want silence so he got up from the table and moved over to his room. He gently turned the handle to the door and opened it slowly. Inside was Sly, sitting on the bed and polishing his cane, with a rather grumpy look on his face."Was the little raccoon still mad? Chaz smiled and closed the door behind him before making his way to Sly to sit besides him.
Chaz watched him move his oil covered wax up and down the cane. "You missed a spot." Chaz joked.
Sly continued to polish his cane while ignoring Chaz.
Chaz raised an eyebrow. "Sly?"
Chaz was clearly being ignored and put two and two together. He was getting the payback silent treatment. Chaz would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it even after countless times of doing it to Sly.
"Oh, come on. I was reading! Don't be mad at me."
The silence continued and Chaz became annoyed. He didn't hesitate to make it up to Sly, so he maneuvered himself through Sly's arms and sat on his lap. Sly groaned and put his cane and rag down on the side of his bed.
"I'm trying to polish my cane." Sly tried to mimic Chaz's voice.
Chaz looked into his eyes and cupped Sly's face with his hand. "Well I want attention."
Chaz closed the distance and took Sly into a kiss. Seconds after connecting Sly fell onto his back and Chaz leaned his body down to stay connected with him. The two stayed in their position for minutes, kissing and embracing each other, their tongues exploring through the other's mouth. They kept their moans to a minimum to not alert anyone outside the door.
However, Sly began to feel uneasy and broke the kiss. Chaz looked down at Sly with a confused look, wondering why they stopped. He watched Sly awkwardly look at him and began to wonder what was going on in his mind. To reassure Sly, he gave a soft smile and gently stroked his hair. Sly exhaled out from Chaz's touch, eventually mustering up the words to begin talking.
"We're not going to act like friends to each other forever, right?"
"What do you mean?" Chaz responded.
"I mean… like are we going to try and become a thing?"
"Uh…?" Chaz scratched the side of his head with his finger.
Chaz questioned where Sly was getting at and got off of him. The two sat back side-by-side on the bed. Chaz was focused the whole time on Sly who put his head down to look at the ground.
"Sly, if something is bothering you then you should always know you can tell me."
"I-" Sly hesitated to get his words out. "... I don't want to just be friends with benefits."
Chaz's eyes widened and he turned his head away from Sly. It wasn't exactly what he was thinking they were but Chaz was just nervous to go too fast. To jump from being friends for years to just… more than that. Surely he was in the right to want to go slow… But… could this mean that Sly was really interested?
"I understand. If you're really serious about this, then ask me." Chaz responded back.
"Ask you what?" Sly looked over at Chaz.
"Ask me out. But you have to promise me that no matter what happens, we'll be friends if it doesn't work out. Not that I'm not hoping it doesn't… I just don't want to lose you."
Sly paused for a moment to think of what Chaz said. He could sense that Chaz was uneasy after all of this and that it wouldn't be something simple to move into. Sly replayed memories of all the times he choked on his words trying to talk to Chaz when the moment was right. How close he got at some points but never acted on it… All the times he played off being jealous because Chaz might've found someone. But now that he has him, he doesn't want to let him go, and he'll do anything to keep his Arctic Fox… even if it means as friends.
"I promise." Sly turned his head to gaze at Chaz with a smirk. "Now for the question of the day! Will you… be my…" Sly chuckled when he saw Chaz looking in the corner of his eyes at him. "Boyfriend?"
Chaz couldn't help but laugh at Sly's face after finishing. He just heard the words he never would've thought would come out of Sly's mouth. He somehow still carried his pride and ego through with him in an embarrassing moment. Chaz has no choice but to mess with him.
"Hmm… I don't know. We've only known each other for…" Chaz began to count on his fingers. "Five years? Surely I need more time to think. Ask again later!"
Chaz got up and skipped out of the room with a giant smile on his face, leaving Sly there in awe at what just happened.
"Such a tease."
But he smirks.
"Though I'm always up for a bit of a challenge."
Sly walked out of the room to follow Chaz whenever he went to. Once outside the bedroom, he saw Chaz holding his staff and talking to Bentley. Bentley was pointing to different parts of the staff while Chaz watched and listened in closely. After finishing their talk, Chaz pressed a button on his staff and out came a small, retractable, magnetic hook. Sly had to get a closer look at his new upgrade so he went forward to join the two.
"With that, you'll be able to help us on our next mission." Bentley said.
"Woah, that's pretty cool." Sly added in.
Chaz was mesmerized with his new tool and couldn't stop examining it. "It really is! Thank you Bentley!"
Bentley called the gang in for a meeting and went over their missions for the day. He announced that today was the start of the ACES competition and the teams will be going competing in a couple of hours in the open division. To further their chances of winning, the team will be sabotaging the final two teams in the open division so they can have a higher chance of victory and an invitation to the finals.
Chaz's task was on the simpler side of things. All he had to do was standby for Murray's notification for when he successfully distracted a captain of an enemy team. Chaz will go into the dining hall to sneak behind the distracted captain and pickpocket him for his Team's Handkerchief. Once wrapped up, Chaz will run off and give Sly the handkerchief to plant it. Bentley finished the run down and sent them out to fulfill their roles.
Chaz sat within the lobby area casually, waiting for Murray's ping. He grew impatient after minutes of sitting down and tapped his fingers on his legs to distract himself. Soon after, Chaz felt a buzz come from his wrist, signifying that Murray was ready. Chaz quickly got up and made his way to the dining hall and to Murray near Dimitri's bar. After getting in closer, he noticed that Murray had his fist shoved down his throat.
"What the…?" Chaz questioned the scene before him. His attention was diverted back to the dog wearing a similar flight outfit, crying laughing in front of Murray. Chaz quickly moved in and stood behind the dog without getting his attention. He kept his staff retracted and extended out his hook attachment to steal the handkerchief wrapped in his pocket.
The dog held on to his sides while laughing at Murray who was basically choking on his own hand. Chaz took the opportunity while the dog was wiping his tears to quickly yank the Belgium embroidered cloth from his pocket and stash it away along with his staff. He gave a thumbs up behind the dogs to Murray who was clearly struggling to take his fist out of his mouth.
"Oh jeez…" Chaz groaned out. Chaz walked from behind the still laughing figure and up to Murray to help him. He wrapped both of his arms around Murray's arm and put all his strength into dislodging the fist stuck in his mouth. Murray coughed loudly before taking in deep breaths.
"Ta-da!" Murray waved his arms out while gasping for air.
"HAHAHA! Your friend is something else. I couldn't feel my own sides!" The dog said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, heh. He's something else." Chaz turned his head to Murray. "Come on, pal. Let's go rest up for the competition."
The two began to walk away before stopping from the sound of a voice calling from behind them.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute. You know, you don't look half-"
Chaz interrupts the dog's attempt. "Not interested. Come on Murray."
The two make their way out of the dining hall and to the outside where an increase of guard patrol was present. They must all be on the standby for any last minute sabotage from the competing teams. Murray and Chaz step outside and look at each other.
"You shut that guy down fast, Chaz!"
"I did, didn't I? I don't think I would want to hang with someone who finds choking on a fist funny."
"Yeah… true… he does have a weird sense of humor. Anyways, you got that handkerchief?
"Sure did! I'll go pass it on to Sly. You go…. rest your jaw."
Murray gave a thumbs up. "Will do, pal!"
Murray ran off in the direction of the Safehouse, leaving Chaz alone. Chaz began to make his way through the town to Sly's last known location. He passed through a bridge hovering over water filled with boats and to the area with the town's well. After examining his surroundings, he noticed Sly resting on the roof, looking out for something too.
Chaz waved his hands in the air to get Sly's attention. It didn't take long for Sly to notice the fox, so he jumped down and made his way to the figure.
"Hey!" Sly yelled out.
"Hello, handsome. Look what I got!" Chaz took out the Belgium Hanky and put it in Sly's hands. Now all that was left to do was plant the Handkerchief in Team Iceland's truck after some friendly vandalization. They started the sabotage and the truck slowly became a canvas for the raccoon and fox.
"And done." Sly finished spraying "u suck" on the side of the truck.
Chaz laughed after watching the art show before him.
"Truly beautiful. Dimitri couldn't think of possessing your skills."
"Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week. Hey, since I'm an artist and all now, how about we head back and I draw you naked?"
"Yeah, how about no!"
The two finished their exchange of laughter and headed back to the hideout in preparation for the competition. The Cooper Gang were a few hours away from being airborne.
End of Chapter 22