Chapter 12

"Well…" Carmelita began, startling them all with her stealthy return. "What do you think?"

Kitty looked over, and saw her friend in her rusty red outfit…however, there was something different about it somehow. That was when Kitty grinned, realizing the difference was the brass c-shaped tipped canes, one each jutting over each of her shoulders. "Sweet," Kitty offered up, grinning at Carmelita.

Carmelita grinned in appreciation, then both her hands flew up to quickly draw her canes over her shoulders from their scabbards. She then whirled them quickly around in a blur, amazing them all with her display, the humming sound of the whirling canes was exciting yet eerie. Carmelita then laughed, tossed her canes each up into the air, then snatched them back, guiding them back into their scabbards with almost magical precision. "Yes! Your changes are amazing, Yuri! I love them!" Carmelita gushed, her brown eyes sparkling and alive with her joy.

Yuri simply smiled at Carmelita's thanks, holding up a hand. "Ah, but it is nothing, cheri. I am only glad to see that my addition seems to work very nicely for you."

"Oh, yes! They are perfect. Just perfect!" Carmelita assured her, grinning over at Kitty, who couldn't help but smile in reply.

Yuri smiled again, chuckling. "Ah, cheri…I thank you for your praise. Now, to tell you the truth, I thought my additions just the finishing touch to your costume, dear." She then saw a flicker of…well, concern, maybe curiosity, flicker in Carmelita's big brown eyes. "Ah, I know that look, cheri," Yuri teased. "Was there something still amiss, hmm?"

"Well," Carmelita replied, smiling a bit sheepishly. "Actually…there is. I don't want to be a pest or anything, Yuri…but, I've found that I'm having a few problems with my lessons." She then proceeded to point to her red leather boots. "This morning, Sly suggested something…a change to my outfit."

"Ah," Yuri responded, tapping her chin softly, intrigued. "What sort of change did Monsieur Cooper suggest, hmm?" Her green gold eyes twinkled mischievously. "Ah, I know…a bit more cleavage, nes pas?"

Carmelita blushed, then laughed. "No," she replied. "I already told you, it has to do with my boots." She gave Kitty a quick baleful glance, seeing her still roaring with laughter at Yuri's suggestive comment. Kitty caught that, and stilled her laughter…though she did occasionally tremble with finely repressed humor…when she thought Carmelita wasn't looking, of course. Carmelita continued. "When I'm trying to move stealthily…these hard leather soles of my boots make way too much noise. Sly could hear me moving from five steps away."

"Hmm," Yuri pondered for a moment. "Yes, I can see where that might indeed prove a problem," she added a moment later. She thought a few moments, picking up a pencil to absently begin sketching. "Hmm, very well," she then told her. "Please, cheri…go back and change, hmm? I believe your jacket is perfect now, no?"

"Thanks to you," Carmelita observed, smiling thankfully once more. "I'll be back in a jiff, okay?" She then nodded and rushed back to change.

As Carmelita left, Yuri turned her attention toward Kitty, who---once she noticed, of course!---smiled politely at her. She was therefore somewhat surprised when Yuri moved gracefully to her feet, and glided over to where she sat. "So, Ms. Petro, do you like my work?"

Kitty couldn't help herself and blushed a moment before answering. "Well," she began hesitantly, looking away. "Um, not all that much, sorry."

Yuri was surprised, one elegant blond eyebrow raising. "No?" she prompted, seemingly not offended.

Kitty sighed with relief. "No, you see…well, I'm what you'd call a bit of a tomboy really," she told the tall, graceful socialite/designer.

"Ah," Yuri replied easily, but her exotic eyes showed confusion. "I see. Now, my dear Kitty…exactly what is this 'tomboy' of which you speak, hmm?"

Now it was Kitty's turn to blink in surprise. "What?" she blurted, then blushed again. She seemed to do a lot of that around the urbane Yuri she found. "Um, a tomboy is, well…a girl that's not into all that, um, well, girlie sorts of things," she explained hopefully.

"Oh, I see," Yuri replied, nodding her proud, beautiful head. "I have not---as you no doubt know---met many such women in my line of work, I'm afraid, my dear." She eyed Kitty speculatively, a challenging grin on her pretty face.

Kitty felt uncomfortable under that intense scrutiny, and cleared her throat before she spoke. "Well, Madame Sing, it's like this really…to be brutally honest, in my opinion, clothes are well, clothes, okay? Now, I don't mean any disrespect, of course, you understand. It's just how I feel on the matter is all."

Yuri smiled that most mysterious smile of hers, making Kitty shiver. "No, Kitty…none is taken," she assured her. "Although…" Yuri began, leaning over to gently cup Kitty's chin in her perfectly manicured hand, turning her face this way and that, all the while examining her. "You have a most lovely face, child. I have many a client who would just die to have your cheekbones, as well as your large lovely eyes." Yuri watched the girl blush fiercely. "Give time, I could make men worship the ground you walk upon, cheri…"

Kitty turned away, blushing furiously now. "Uh, no. If it's all the same to you, I like me just the way I am," Kitty told her.

Yuri, seeing Kitty was very uncomfortable, thankfully changed the subject abruptly. "So, then, Kitty…you have come to call upon me just because Carmelita asked you to, then?" Yuri asked curiously.

"Well, Madame Sing…to speak simply…yes," Kitty replied.

"I see," Yuri replied softly, clearly thinking. She then turned to Kitty, the full force of her beauty and charm falling upon Kitty once more. "And…why would she ask that of you then, mon petite?" Yuri asked, smoothly trying to wrangle the truth out of the girl.

Kitty swallowed hard. Boy, this lady is sharp as a pin, she thought to herself with a sigh. Not much gets past her, I can see…

Yuri only smiled at the blonde vixen's silence. "I have a secret to impart to you, Ms. Petro," she explained. "I have---shall we say---some small gift…that of knowing when someone is looking at me." She paused a moment, reaching her hands up to make sure her hair was still just so. "I suppose that some would say that it comes from my being beautiful and single."

Kitty nodded her agreement. Yuri was indeed very beautiful…and single as well. "Yeah, I'm sure that Carmelita would probably know that feeling as well," Kitty pointed out smiling.

Yuri chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming. "Yes, I do not doubt that," Yuri agreed. "So then, mon petite…why is it that you have been staring at me, hmm?"

"Honestly?" Kitty asked.

"Why, of course, Ms. Petro," Yuri replied, prompting Kitty to continue.

"Well," Kitty began. "You see…Carmelita told me she needed some of my---let's say---particular sort of help. Something outside the law enforcement aspect of things, you understand."

Yuri nodded, thinking, and then prompted Kitty to continue. "And…what would that particular sort of help be, dear?"

"Oh, I think you already know, Madame Sing," Kitty replied cleverly, then casting a direct look over toward where Bentley sat. She then said nothing, but jerked her chin significantly over in the turtle's direction, grunting softly.

Yuri blinked, not understanding at first. But, as Kitty repeated her gesture time and time again, Yuri turned her head to look where Kitty wanted her to. Yuri found herself smiling when she saw Bentley, and that was when her green-gold eyes went wide, and she swallowed hard before looking back at the grinning Kitty.

"You see…I've got a talent," Kitty said. "I'm a matchmaker…it runs in my family. Just ask my parents…they'll tell you."

Yuri arched one blond eyebrow, pink suffusing her cheeks. "Oh, really?"

"Yep!" Kitty assured her. "Really."

"So…you think that Monsieur Bentley and I then…er, would make such a match then, Kitty?" Yuri ventured, her voice full of disbelief.

Kitty shrugged, still grinning. "Maybe. Maybe not," Kitty replied cryptically. "All I do know at the moment is that he's crazy about you, lady. And, as you might of noticed…he does a rather poor job of hiding it."

"Perhaps," Yuri reluctantly agreed. "I am used to gentlemen all of sorts professing their love of me, Kitty. It is the curse of my being this way." She lowered her eyes to her graceful form, then back to Kitty's eyes as way of explanation.

"Yeah, go figure that," Kitty teased, making a distinctly uncomfortable Yuri smile softly. "Okay, look…tell you what. I've got pretty good instincts about things like this…most of the time. I betcha I can guess what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

"You can, can you?" Yuri replied, her proud head lifting in challenge. "So…go ahead, tell me what I am thinking then, mon petite."

Kitty grinned confidently. "Okay, but I did warn you. Remember that," she teased. Then she straightened up, looked Yuri over a moment or three, then---in typical Kitty fashion---dived right in headfirst. "Okay, you're good. Good at putting on a brave front, I mean. But, I can tell that despite the fact that you're pretty enough to turn most men's heads, you're still lonely. Lonelier than you ever let on to, I mean. Hey, and that's not to mean that you're unhappy or anything."

Yuri inhaled sharply as Kitty's amazing insights…which effectively cut the proud girl to the quick. But, she put on her brave face, screwed up her courage, and persevered. "Go on," she simply said.

"C'mon, Yuri…you've been lonely for a long time, haven't you? Hey, I know that Carmelita's been…well, before her and Sly found one another, you understand. It happens to pretty girls for some reason. Don't know why," Kitty ventured on, unaware that Yuri now reeled inwardly. "But, then our geeky wonder, Bentley over there, wanders in one day. And, wham! He---in his decidedly charming and awkward sort of way---finds a way to touch your very lonely heart. C'mon, I can see it…in the way you look at him. Now, you do a pretty fair job of hiding it, I'll grant you…but, not from me, you don't. I can see that you like him. You like him probably more than you'd ever care to admit."

"I---I am afraid that you are most mistaken, young lady," Yuri protested, wringing her hands without even knowing she was doing so.

"Am I?" Kitty questioned softly, keeping her gaze locked with Yuri's. "Am I really?"

Yuri couldn't stand it, and looked away a moment later, her heart lurching.

Kitty was sympathetic. "You like him all right…but, you're holding back. You're holding back in expressing your feelings because you were raised in high society, a girl with exquisite breeding and a noble family line. And, because of that, you aren't sure if you know if your family would ever accept you and he becoming a couple. He's not rich---well, not that sort of rich. And unlike you, he is an orphan, with no family---nobility or otherwise. Heck, he's not even another feline, like you are. Am I right?"

Yuri looked away, blinking back tears. That was indeed the crux of the matter for poor Yuri. She enjoyed---truly enjoyed---the attention Bentley lavished upon her: the respect, the adoration, the concern. And, best of all…his feelings for her were real. In her world, so much of all the interaction of folks was contrived, fabricated, telling others what you thought they expected to hear, what you were supposed to say. Not with Bentley, though. No, he told her what he was really feeling, and not because it was expected of him…no, quite the contrary, because it was how he really felt! "Kitty, I---I do not know what to say," Yuri said softly, her ears angling down flat against her skull.

Kitty chuckled, laying a gently hand over Yuri's. "That's easy," Kitty informed her. "Just let yourself say 'Yes' to your heart for once."

Yuri blinked several times, clearly stunned. However, the more she thought about it, the more her advice made sense. After all, Yuri told herself, hadn't she gone into the criminal side of things to experience the thrill of doing something real, something unexpected? She looked back at the clever girl seated across from herself, and laughed softly.

Just as she did this, Carmelita returned to them both. Yuri turned toward Kitty, while Carmelita paused a moment to say something to Murray. "I am afraid that I am growing fond of you, Ms. Petro. You are a charming little rogue. You simply must come back one day…so that we two can have continue our little chat again, hmm? "

"Sure, Yuri!" Kitty said, nodding the affirmative.

"Ah, now. Well then, my dears," Yuri announced to the others. "I will need an additional week to complete work on Ms. Fox's boots. So, until then, I must bid you all farewell."

Carmelita moved over and hugged Yuri in thanks, causing her to grin. "Thank you for everything, Yuri," she said.

"Ah, now…do not thank me, cheri," Yuri said, looking over at Murray just then. "Thank your Murray. It is his gift, is it not?"

Carmelita blinked, then laughed, moving over to hug Murray. "Thanks, big guy," she said, smiling.

Murray grinned, blushing red. "Aw, it was nothing, really, Carmelita," he muttered.

Yuri smiled at this display, then gave both Murray, as well as Kitty a fare well hug. At long last, she finally turned her attention to the adoring Bentley. "Au revoire, Monsieur," Yuri bade him, bending over to kissed him once on his right cheek, then upon his left, in the French manner.

Kitty winked over at Carmelita, who grinned, nodding her willingness to go along with her rascally friend. The two vixens paused a moment before beginning to softly sing a most familiar song:

Bentley and Yuri sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Kitty stopped singing at Carmelita continued,

First comes love,

Kitty smiled and added her bit,

Then comes marriage,

Both of the vixens nodded to one another, then turned and finished together,

Then comes babies in a baby carriage!

Both Kitty and Carmelita laughed, then hugged one another at the end of their 'presentation'.

Bentley scowled, his cheeks going red, "That's it! I've had---"

Yuri reached out to lay a restraining hand upon his shoulder. She chuckled at the two's antics, her cheeks still just a bit pink. "Let them have their fun, Monsieur. However, I must ask you…do they do this sort of thing very often?"

Bentley sighed. "All the time, Yuri," he explained. "All. Of. The. Time."

Naomi escorted the four out of C'est Sing. "Merci," she said. "Do come back to visit us."

"That's rich," Bentley opined as they made their way back to the van. "She wasn't saying that when she was pointing that Uzi our way."

"She was just protecting Madame Sing, Bentley," Murray pointed out, defending the pretty Naomi.

"Somebody's got a crush," Kitty nearly sang, falling into a fit of giggling.

"I do not," Bentley said.

"Who said I was talking about you, Turtle Boy?" Kitty teased.

Bentley gawked, then grumbled at her.

"Really now, Bentley…I'm a matchmaker, after all. I can tell these sort of things, you see," Kitty explained to a still grumbling Bentley as they got inside the van.

"Oh, hey," Kitty then added as she and Carmelita fastened their safety belts. "that was awfully nice of you to defend Naomi that way, Murray."

"Well," Murray said, not understanding that he was being set up. "She was only threatening us when she thought we might be there to hurt Yuri. You can't blame her for that. I mean, we'd do that for Sly now, wouldn't we?"

"Aw," gushed Kitty, clasping her hands together, then resting them against her cheek, batting her big blue eyes. "Ain't love grand?"

Murray blushed, but grinned. "Aw, stop, Kitty," Murray protested. "Ms. Rousseau is way too fine a lady for the likes a big lug like me."

"If you say so, buddy," Kitty replied, grinning.

"Bentley," Kitty then opined. "You're just embarrassed. Admit it…you like Yuri…a lot! And, whether you want to admit it or not, she like you back. So, what's all the noise about, bud?"

Bentley snorted. "Because, Ms. Petro,Yuri and I will never be a couple, that´s why."

"Ah ah," Kitty tutted, patting Bentley's cheek. Bentley scowled even more. "Oh, just you wait and see, Bentley me lad," Kitty assured him. "Just you wait and see…"