After cleaning himself and changing clothes, Sly walked out of Carmelita's bedroom. She had soaked the clothes and the blanket in a plastic basin and washed them with soap and detergent.

"Does it come off?" curiously asked the raccoon as he walked towards her.

"It doesn't look like it," said the frustrated fox before giving up and drying her hands with a rag.

"Don't worry, I'll buy you a new blanket" chuckled Sly as he leaned on the kitchen countertop.

Carmelita rolled her eyes and looked at the thief's face.

"What's wrong?" asked the worried thief after the inspector stared at him in silence for a few seconds.

"Your mask, you're not wearing" observed the fox as she tenderly ran her fingers over the natural mask that the raccoon's dark fur drew on his face.

"Oh…" Sly realized he left his mask in the bathroom as he took it off to wash his face "...so what?" he nervously smiled as he felt the soft hands of Carmelita stroking his fur.

"Well, it's the first time I've seen your whole face" smirked the inspector.

"And what do you think?" the thief mimicked Carmelita's smug smile.

"You're so vain, Cooper…" Carmelita moved her hands down to his shoulders "...I'm sorry about before" she murmured after leaning her head on his chest.

"What?" said the raccoon, confused.

"You said how thankful you were to have me and I didn't even-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Carmelita…" Sly comforted her with a hug "...if there is anything you should be sorry for it's for making me fall in love with you the first time we met" he whispered.

After hearing Sly's words, the fox slowly pulled away from the thief's arms and stared at him with tenderhearted eyes. The raccoon smiled sincerely and tried to keep talking, but Carmelita leaned towards him and kissed him. Sly opened his eyes widely in surprise when he felt the soft and smooth lips of the inspector fondling his. The kiss was very passionate but brief, after a few seconds their lips separated.

"Carmelita, I-" Sly tried to talk, but he was interrupted by the fox again.

"No hables" the inspector begged him to stay quiet and get carried away by passion before pulling him closer and kissing the thief one more time.

This time Sly closed his eyes to savor the pleasure of the kiss more, he also pulled Carmelita closer to him, close enough to feel her rapid and excited heartbeat as their lips melted in a kiss that they had been desiring for years. After what seemed like an eternity for them, the fox and the raccoon broke up the kiss to catch their breath. Carmelita gazed into Sly's captivating eyes as they both panted. She felt how the slightly nervous hands of the thief traveled up her body, from her hips to her cheeks.

The raccoon leaned in and tilted his head enough to keep their noses from bumping as his lips locked with hers. Carmelita delicately placed her hands around Sly's neck while enjoying the thief's tender kiss, which gradually turned more intense as the seconds passed. Their tails caressed each other's as the raccoon's wet tongue teased the fox's. Carmelita decided to retake the initiative by slowly walking across the room, without separating their lips, until she cornered Sly against her bedroom door.

The fox blindly reached for the doorknob, eventually, opened the door, and began to hurriedly lead the thief to her bed before they fell on top of it after they stumbled with each other's legs. Sly hurt his wounded side and broke up the kiss with a groan.

"Oh my God…" Carmelita worried and quickly checked on the raccoon "...are you okay?" she apologized while carefully placing her hand on top of Sly's, which was covering his bandaged wound.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Sly's words calmed Carmelita, who felt the raccoon's soft hand gently fondling her arm "...you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen" the thief complimented the fox, who just smiled and blushed.

Sly smoothly pulled the inspector closer to him and embraced her tenderly. Carmelita enjoyed the feeling of the raccoon's hands running through her hair and surrounding her waist as she rested her head on his chest. They stayed like that for almost a minute until the fox saw the thief's cap on her bedside table. After that, the fox began to think about the things she didn't want to think about when she kissed Sly. All of their differences and incompatibilities came to her mind as she listened to the raccoon's calmed heartbeat.

"Cooper, what are we going to do now?" asked Carmelita with a downhearted voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Sly…" the fox pulled away from the hug "...we can't wake up tomorrow and act like none of this happened"

"Hmm..." the raccoon sat up and fondled his lover's face "...then, what do you want to do, Carmelita?" whispered Sly with his seductive and irresistible voice.

"I…" her cheeks blushed with the thief's caress "...I just want to be able to be with you, Sly…" confessed the fox "...I want you to hold me, kiss me and love me...without having to worry about anything else" Carmelita's words left the raccoon speechless.

After a few seconds of silence, the fox pulled Sly towards her by his t-shirt neck and melted her lips with his in a kiss full of emotion and lust. Carmelita's hands smoothly slid under the thief's shirt and ran over his well-built chest.

Their lips separated when the fox removed the raccoon's shirt, leaving it in a way it would lightly immobilize Sly's wrists. The thief could have easily escaped, but he decided to play along.

Carmelita started caressing the raccoon's fur as she softly kissed him. Slowly, her kisses traveled down his body, tickling the raccoon's grey neck and, then, his bandaged chest. A flurry of chills tensed Sly's ears as he felt the inspector's hands, as well as her lips, going down his abdomen. He quickly freed himself and interrupted the fox with a hug.

"Carmelita, I don't think I'm ready for that yet," said the raccoon as he calmed his agitated breathing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sly, I-" the fox apologized as she tried to hide her flustered face.

The thief just smiled and lovingly kissed Carmelita as they fell back on the bed. The fox and the raccoon stared at each other's eyes before he pulled her closer to him and applied a few sweet little kisses on her neck, which sent cold shivers down her spine.

The couple felt the warm touch of their bodies as they exchanged a wide variety of signs of affection, such as compliments, hugs, and lots of kisses.

"I love you" were the last words the fox pronounced before her eyes closed due to the sleepiness.

"I love you too," whispered back the raccoon as he delicately accommodated her in his arms.

Sly and Carmelita enjoyed the cozy feeling of their embrace for a few more seconds until they finally fell asleep and began to dream about a future together.

FIN