Hey everyone,
This chapter is going to be more or less the aftermath of Sly getting his answers. It's, as you probably already expected, going to cover even more bonding between Sly and Carmelita. However, I also plan to start making sure that the other Foxes get their chance to shine and be in the spotlight. After all, why would I create this whole family for Carmelita if I don't plan to use them. They're part of the team, not just random background characters.
Okay, let's roll,

Venquine1990

Chapter 26
Emotions In Turmoil

28th of June 2007
Cooper Hide Out
Carmelita's POV

I had yelped in horrified fright when, upon their return, Murray had been carrying an unconscious Sly in his arms. "Sly! What happened! Murray! What happened to him? What happened to my Ringtail?" I had asked and Murray had winced at my high-pitched tone before Bentley, who looked something solemn, told me: "Sly's gone into another shock, Carmelita. The – the answers to his questions – they were just too much for him to take."
The others had all been just as shocked and horrified and worried and Murray had mumbled that he would go lie Sly down in his bed. But I had put my foot down and told him to put Sly in my room, that I wanted to cuddle with my Ringtail once he had told me what they had found out. And while they were actually the de-facto leaders of the Cooper Gang, the two had agreed to this. Murray had carried Sly up to the bedrooms and then come back down.

In the meantime Bentley and Guru had joined us on the couches and chairs and while I, again, missed the presence of my precious Ringtail, I had listened to their story. And what they told me had instantly made Sly's state make sense. It had also made me feel like Sly must have felt when he heard about Barkley and me on Saturday. Shock, horror, disgust, hatred, anger and pain had raged through me as Bentley explained.
About Mandril and how he was once the brain of the original Cooper Gang, what Bentley is now to Sly. About how the Mandril had apparently been greedy while on the team, but that he had also, when Sly was young, looked like he cared for the little Raccoon. And how, in the end, it hadn't mattered as his greed had made him betray the Coopers. Not just once by telling the Fiendish Five where to find them, but also with his actions in regards to the Cooper Vault.

"I mean, for goodness sake, he could've easily just taken Sly out of the orphanage and taken him along with him to the Vault. Sly has a big heart, he would have been happy to share some of his wealth with a friend of his father's. But no, instead of that, that greedy bastard killed his old man and then starts trying to break into his family vault, trying to steal his inheritance. And not even McSweeney knew what caused this change in the man."
Bentley told us and while mama had papa, while Cheren was holding Helena, I was beyond glad that Murray went to sit with me on the couch. I was crying something horrible in the big hippo's shirt and his muscular arms were comfortingly wrapped around me. Though I also sensed, through the underlying tension in his arms, that the hippo was holding back on the anger that had been coursing through him, which I also heard in Bentley's voice.

Then Bentley had slammed his fists on top of the board of his wheelchair above his legs and growled: "And as if that's not enough, Muggshot just had to go and make it worse. Apparently a year after the Coopers were killed, Clockwerk went one step further. He destroyed the whole farm and then he went and threatened Muggshot to put up a bank there. The killer of his mother has been making money on his land for the past decade and longer!"
I had been horrified to hear this, but then Guru spoke up. "Bresbe lu crecha mri tresti. Michael pre bledds. " I had only been able to understand the name Michael of this, but Bentley had sighed in relief and translated. "He said that there were guards around who also heard this. That he's sure that Michael will hear of this." On one hand I hadn't wanted to burden my good friend with this, on the other hand I didn't feel like dealing with it myself.

Instead I had just left the team and gone up to my bedroom. I had crawled into bed and had cuddled closely against my beloved's form. The tension in his muscles had proven that he was indeed in shock, even though his face was slack and emotionless. Since then I have not left his side, other than for a few minutes to use the restroom and to get changed. Bentley had even brought my three meals a day up to my room.
"We did the same for him, you know? After his parents had been killed, after that meeting with the officer and – well – thanks Carmelita. It means a lot to us that Sly has someone who stays this close with him." Bentley's falter had made me curious, but I had pushed down on the need to question him. Instead I just stored the curiosity away for when my beloved would wake. I had also constantly made sure that Sly stayed hydrated through glasses of water.

By now it's two days later and to see my ever energetic and flexible Raccoon lying so still for so long is really starting to affect me, really starting to worry me. I try to keep hold on the memories of what Sly told me about how his shock had left him asleep for days the last two times, but that doesn't really work to keep my concerns for him down. I am currently sitting up in bed with Sly's head in my lap and my hand running through the fur on his head.
I am looking down at his calm visage, which is in such stark contrast to the emotions that must have been going through him when he heard the news. And once again I curse myself for not going with him, for retiring too early, for not using my old status as an Interpol Inspector to get us both inside that prison. I try not to show these emotions on my face, however, as I don't want them to be the first that Sly will see when he wakes up.

I realize that a few hours have passed since I last helped him drink and grab one of the dozen glasses of water that are on the bedside table. With my other arm I pull Sly's body up till his ears are level with my chest. And while I use my right arm to keep his upper body raised by wrapping it under his arm pits, I use my left to raise the glass to his lips. Yet just before my hand reaches his muzzle, Sly suddenly starts to grunt.
Instantly my whole body tenses and I react with every bit of speed my reflexes can muster. I lie Sly back down and put the glass back on the bedside table. I look down at Sly's head lying in my lap and gently call his name. "Sly?" Glazed brown eyes slowly blink open and stare up at me for a moment before they clear up. "Carmelita?" Sly asks back and I feel like crying in relief. I bend my back and press my forehead against his.

Sly grunts, but then he snickers and says: "Good to see you too, beautiful. What's going on? The last I – I remember –." And a second later his whole body tenses up. Instantly I respond again. I pull Sly higher up on the bed and move so that I am lying on top of him. I wrap my arms tightly around his waist and rub my cheek against his sleep-shirt clothed chest. And Sly, obviously more out of instinct than anything else, wraps his arms around me as well.
"Heathrow prison. The Fiendish Four. Muggshot. And Ruby and Ralleigh. And –." For several minutes Sly holds quiet and then he speaks again. "Mandrill. Dr. M." These three words, these two names, are hissed from between clenched teeth. And I have never heard more venom, rage and hatred come from the man beneath me, not even when we faced down Clockwerk together. Yet at the same time I really can't blame my beloved.

I look up at Sly and notice that he is staring up at the canopy above my bed, probably without even really seeing it. "I fainted, didn't I?" He asks and I nod as I say: "You've been in shock for two days now. Guru apparently levitated you out of the prison and Murray drove and carried you home. He wanted to put you in your own bed, but I told him to lie you down in mine. I've been by your side since, waiting for you to wake."
Sly looks down and pure guilt shines in his eyes, which are now clear once again. He wants to open his mouth, but the guilt in his eyes makes me react. I pull myself up and seal his lips with my own. Sly is slow to react, probably because he is still recovering from how long he was out, but he still gently lies a hand in the back of my head in the end. I part and mutter: "Don't apologize, Sly. Bentley told us everything. Anyone would have gone in shock, really."
Sly grins and mutters: "I was just going to apologize for making you worry and for being so stupid as to not take you along with me when I went. I'm pretty sure that, if you had been by my side, I would have been able to handle it all much better." This gentle admission of trust makes my heart soar and I cuddle close against his form as I say: "I'm just glad that you're awake, Sly. And that I get to be there for you now, just like you were there for me on Saturday."

Sly grins back at me and he buries his nose and a part of his muzzle in my hair as he whispers: "With you by my side, gorgeous, I don't think anyone or anything can stop me. As long as I have you, Carmelita, nothing and no one will ever be able to take me down." I grin and mutter: "I will always be there for you, Sly. I will help you take down anyone who stands in your way and if anyone dares to hurt you, I will be there to help you recover."
A small portion feels like I am making an official vow to my partner in life and this thought makes my whole body feel warm with love and delight. And Sly softly whispering I love you, Carmelita just enforces that feeling. I look back up at him and the look of intense love in his eyes almost takes my breath away. Yet I still manage to whisper back: "I love you too, Sly." And while I have been worried for him for days, I don't feel this as I kiss him.

Instead the kiss we share is filled with nothing but the love we so clearly feel for each other. We part after a few minutes of kissing and I want to lie my head back on his chest, just content to stay lying here with him. But I don't get this chance as suddenly we hear Bentley's voice as he says: "Sly! Thank goodness that you're awake, buddy. We've all been worried about you." And the kind, brotherly turtle rolls his wheelchair into the room.
Sly lets out a deep breath through his nose and he mutters: "I'm getting better, Bentley. I mean, it – it hurts to – to think back on what I found out, but –." Yet before he can say more, Bentley just nods. And the look on his face as he nods proves that Sly doesn't need to say anything, Bentley knows and he understands how my Ringtail feels. Then Sly, after he sends Bentley a grateful grin, turns solemn and says:

"We are getting to that Vault. And if we, at any point, encounter M. we take him down. I do want him to rot in prison, preferably Heathrow so that McSweeney can also make him pay for what he did to his teammate, but – I can't deny myself the chance to take him down. I have never wanted to take someone down so badly, Bentley. Not even Clockwerk or Clock-La. I just – I want so badly to use every last Cooper technique on him, just to make him pay."
Bentley nods and says: "I know how you feel, Sly. Those are the same feelings that have been going through the rest of our team for the last two days. In fact, I took the Fox family into the Hazard Room and they still had their Shock Guns on them. They wrecked every last dummy I had ever made for training. Though they did admit that they mixed their hatred for Barkley with their newly founded anger for M. and what he did to you."

Sly and I both grin at this and then Sly asks: "So, who's the best shooter of them?" I feel beyond relieved that Sly is now once again just sounding delightfully curious and that that relaxed grin that I know and love about him is back on his face. I know just fine that, beneath that smile, intense emotions must be raging within him, but at the same time I feel deeply proud of my man for being able to focus on other things at the moment.
"I would personally say Cheren, though I'd also say that he and Carmelita are pretty close at that. Then again I would need to see the two of them shoot side by side to really make a proper analysis and – well – Carmelita really hasn't left your side since we came back. She only left to shower and change and if she had to use the restroom. Otherwise, she just stayed close the entire time, just like we did the other times this happened."

And suddenly I remember something. I turn to look from him to Bentley and back. The turtle sighs and mutters: "I figured that you had caught my slip." Sly looks confused and Bentley mutters: "I'm sorry, Sly. But – when you stayed out cold and Carmelita got worried, I reminded her of the other two times you were in shock. It's just – I almost told her of – well –." The turtle seems to hesitate, yet I instantly get proven why.
Sly's whole body tenses up and to my shocked concern he even starts to slightly shake and tremble. I look at him and notice that his eyes are glazed over once again and that he is staring at Bentley without really seeing him. The while state of his fur increases my worries and I realize that he is stuck in some kind of horrible memory. Instantly I respond. I pull Sly's face until it's staring at me instead and I press my lips against his once again.

Sly actually doesn't respond, but then I let out a soft moan of desperate need and a moment later Sly comes back to me. Yet his reaction shocks me. This is because the next thing I know, I am underneath the Raccoon that I love and his mouth is almost devouring mine. For a moment I tense up, but then Sly growls at me and the guttural sound sets my every last nerve on fire. I feel my nipples turning hard and my womanhood turning wet.
Sly actually uses one of his hands to roughly rub and massage my breast and I moan delightfully at this. But then I remember what we talked about a few days ago and think: "If I let him do this, he will come to regret it later. I know what he's like. I need to be strong, for him, for both of us." And so, as much as I want him to continue, I break our kiss. And this alone seems enough to help Sly regain control of himself and his instincts.

For a moment Sly's glazed, hungry stare sets my body aflame with want and love, but then the look is replaced with one of shock. Sly groans and leans his head onto my chest and neck as he mutters: "I – I can't believe I just did that." But while I notice that Bentley is still here and that his green skin is now beet red, I don't care for this. I just lovingly wrap my arms around my Ringtail and whisper: "You just woke up from a state of shock, Sly. It's okay."
Sly looks up at me and mumbles: "Thank you, Carmelita. Thank you for pulling me out of my funk." I happily pull his face close to mine so I can once again kiss his lips and whisper: "Anytime, Ringtail. After all, I did promise, didn't I? Our wedding night?" And while Bentley squawks, Sly just shows me his cheeky, lopsided grin that I love so much. "There's the Ringtail that I love." I think to myself and I happily cuddle with the man I love.

For a few minutes we just keep lying like this, Sly this time the one to lie on my chest instead of the other way around and my arms wrapped lovingly, yet also protectively, around his form. And perhaps out of some kind of deep natural instinct, Sly is softly rubbing the top of his head against the bottom of my muzzle, in a sense of both affection and a desire to silently ask me for something without saying it. Yet he doesn't need to say it for me to know what he needs.
And this knowledge makes me pull him just that little bit closer, as if I myself silently tell him that I will indeed stay with him and that I will love him, that I won't hurt him in any way or form. Part of me does wonder who could have hurt my beloved Ringtail to such an extent that he would resort to this instinctual need for comfort and love, but I again just push my curiosity to the side for later. Right now only my Ringtail and his needs matter.

Okay, that's that.
To be honest, I am kind of just trying to implement as many of my Sly Cooper story ideas, that have been rushing through my head for the past few weeks, into this story as possible. I don't mean to make this story confusing or anything, I just think that implementing these other smaller ideas can help me create a nice bit of backstory for the Cooper Gang, create a nice bit of head-canon. Maybe I will make shorter stories later, with the same ideas, but
That's for later,

Venquine1990
PS. Sorry for the short chapter. I promise next chapter will be longer.