Sly Cooper

And

The Shadow Thief

Chapter Six: Unconditional

Last Time:

"If I'm such a sleazy player then, why do you keep freaking out whenever I so much as mention Carmelita?" Sly demanded.

"Because I love you!" Merah yelled.

---

Bentley patted Sly on the shoulder. "You'll make up with her. I know you will."

"Thanks for the confidence, Bentley," Sly said.

Bentley left him alone, and Sly was left staring out into the night. Then he heard something, and he tried to peer through the darkness to see what it was. Then he recognized the dress…

"Merah?" Sly said, hope gathering in his chest. His hope was quickly taken over by fear when she suddenly collapsed to her knees. "Merah!"

---

"I'm so sorry for whatever I've said or done to upset you all this time," Sly said softly. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Too late for that," Merah muttered.

"I'm trying to say that I want to make it up to you," He said. "And… and that I love you. I really do. No joke."

---

"We were right," Bentley said to Penelope. "They did end up together."

The van had started up again, and Bentley and Penelope were trying to look up information on the next member of the Organization. Guru was sitting with Murray, in the front seat, talking about things that Murray had studied while in his 'peaceful' state. Sly and Merah were still asleep in the back. Everything was quiet until the back tire of the van hit a huge pot-hole, and Merah gave a yelp of pain, for it must've hurt her injury. She gasped on the floor, holding it, and Sly woke with a start. He instantly snapped into concern mode, and tried to roll Merah over onto her back so he could see what was wrong. Everyone else was concerned, too, and they all watched until Merah spoke.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Merah said. "Just… let me breathe."

She took a deep breath, and after her wound had stopped throbbing, she gingerly lay herself down on the van floor again.

"You're sure you're alright?" Sly asked. She nodded.

"Just tired, still," Merah replied.

"Do you want anything?" Sly asked, stroking her hair. "Water, something to eat?"

"Water sounds good," Merah said, snuggling back up under the covers. Sly smiled at her and kissed her forehead before getting up. That's when Merah noticed the red spot on his shirt, and she grabbed his hand before he could walk away.

"What's on your shirt?" She asked, sounding a little scared. "It doesn't look like punch."

"Hm?" Sly looked at his sleep-wrinkled white tuxedo shirt, and then he laughed a bit. "No, actually, that would be your blood. You fell on me after you managed to get back to the van."

"I… don't remember any of that." Merah confessed.

"You were only semi-conscious by that time, so I wouldn't expect you to," He replied, going to get water for her again. Then she realized she was still wearing her dress from the night before.

"We can pull over so you can change," Penelope said. "And maybe I should change the bandages, too."

Merah nodded in agreement, and after Murray pulled over, Penelope forced all the guys to get out again. Around twenty minutes later (the guys didn't realize why it took so long for one girl to get changed and re-bandaged), the door was opened again. Merah was back in her thieving outfit, and she was sitting up with her back against the wall, her eyes half closed. She was still really tired. Sly immediately went over to her, and sat next to her, taking her hand. She looked over at him, and smiled lightly.

"Do you want to sleep more?" He asked.

"Yes, please," Merah answered softly, and Sly put an arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. She was asleep again almost instantly.

"Do you think we should wait for her to recuperate before we go track down the next Organization member?" Bentley asked Sly. He nodded.

"She'd insist on helping out, and the strain on her wouldn't do her any good." Sly said.

A few weeks later, Merah was almost back to her original self. They were back in Paris, at the hideout, for they all felt she needed a secure place to rest and get better. She was just as demanding and hot-tempered as ever, but her energy was still restricted, and whenever she did something, even simple, it wore her down completely. But she was sleeping less and less during the day, and Sly was happy about that. It gave him more time to spend with her.

When Merah was pretty much completely healed, Bentley presented them with a bit of good news, and bad news. The bad news was Mister Bun-Bun, the next member they were supposed to steal the book from, had already handed the book over to the fifth and final member of the group, The Master. He had gotten himself arrested soon after. But the good news was that The Master resided there, in Paris, coincidentally, at Shadow's manor. They found out later the manor really belonged to The Master, and Shadow had just been borrowing it. So, they would know exactly where to find him.

It was tough to find out about him, though. He was a complete mystery, and Bentley spent hours a day trying to find out at least something about him. He actually spent nights, too, but he had to do that in secret, because Penelope would kill him if she found out he was pulling another all-nighter.

"Hey, Bentley," Sly said one morning, sitting down in the chair next to Bentley. Penelope had occupied it a short moment ago, but she got up to go get something. "How's it going?"

"I wish it was going better," Bentley said bitterly, pressing two last keys before rubbing his sore eyes tiredly. He looked at Sly with a bit of disdain. "Whoever this Master guy is, he certainly knows how to keep himself hidden. I've found out he was born in Dijon, though."

"Well, that's a start," Sly said. "Anyway, I just thought I'd tell you that Merah and I are going to go out for the afternoon. She needs to get out of the house."

"Agreed," Bentley said. "Speaking of Merah, where is she?"

"Still asleep," Sly answered.

"At seven thirty in the morning?" Bentley asked, shocked. Sly laughed.

"Not everyone is an early bird like you, pal," He said, getting to his feet. "Anyway, we're going to be gone most of the afternoon. I'll take the Binoc-u-com with me in case I need to contact you, alright?"

"Fair enough," Bentley answered. Sly gave him a clap on the shoulder as he set off to work again.

Heading into the car where the beds were kept, Sly went over to Merah, who was still wrapped up snugly in the covers. She had the blanket up over her nose. Sly laughed when he saw this. He noticed she slept like that often. Lying down on the bed next to her, Sly put an arm around her waist, and kissed her cheek. She started to move then, and she turned in his arms to lie on her back. She didn't even open her eyes when her hand found its way from beneath the covers, and she gave him a little whack upside the head.

"Ow," Sly said playfully, though it didn't hurt at all. "What was that for?"

"I'm sleeping," Merah muttered groggily, her voice muffled by the blanket over her mouth. Sly pulled the blanket away, and gave her a kiss. He heard her laugh softly.

"Come on, get up," Sly ordered. Merah groaned.

"Do I have to?" She asked. She rubbed her eyes like a small child, and then looked at him.

"We're going out for the day," Sly said. "I want to take you somewhere special."

"Oh, a surprise?" Merah asked. Sly leaned down to kiss her again.

"You could say that," He replied with a charming smile. Merah smiled back, and then pushed him away.

"Let me get dressed then," She said, sitting up. Sly left her alone to dress, and waited for her out by the front door. Twenty minutes later, Merah came out to meet him. She was wearing her plain old jeans, two t-shirts, a long-sleeved white one over a regular blue one and she left her beautiful hair down. She went over to Sly and took his hand, and they both called hurried good-byes to the others before Merah dragged Sly outside.

Sly had recently bought a motorcycle after finding the vault, and after handing Merah a helmet, and putting one on himself, they both climbed on, Merah sitting behind him with her arms around his waist. Then he drove off into town.

"So where are we going?" Merah asked, raising her voice over the sound of the bike.

"You'll see," Sly answered, and he sharply turned a corner of a street. He slowed down as they drew nearer to a fancy little café, and he parked the bike, taking the keys out of the ignition.

"What are we doing?" Merah asked as Sly helped her off the bike.

"Today," Sly said, pulling her close so close to him, their noses were almost touching. "Is a day where you will be spoiled. I'm taking you for breakfast, and then I want to buy you something, and then we're going to sightsee, and then have lunch, order an early dinner to go, and then we're going to climb to the very top of the Eiffel Tower where we will eat out take-out dinner, and star-gaze." He touched his nose to hers then. "Just the two of us."

"Now I feel selfish," Merah said jokingly. "Haven't I been spoiled enough, everyone waiting on me hand and foot when I was hurt?"

"Well," Sly started dragging her into the café. "You aren't hurt anymore. So I'm going to spoil you as much as I feel like I should."

After a wonderful breakfast at the café, Sly and Merah got onto the bike again, and he drove down a street, passing many little boutiques, clothing stores, and jewelry stores. Sly parked the bike again in an alley way, hidden so no one would steal it, and he and Merah walked along past all of the stores. There was one that caught her eye, and she stopped at the window of a jewelry store, selling wedding rings. It wasn't the fact that they were wedding rings, it was the fact that one of then she recognized.

"Let's go in here for a minute," She said, and Sly followed her into the store. Merah asked the lady working there if she could see one of the rings displayed in the window. The lady went and got the rings that were on display, and Merah picked out one that was a simple silver band with a blue topaz stone set into it. She turned it around to see the back, and she smiled when she saw the name that was engraved into the silver:

Alana Serenity Ringo

"Who's Alana Serenity Ringo?" Sly asked, seeing the name, too.

"My mom," Merah answered. Then she looked at the lady, and asked how much it was.

"Oh," The woman said. "This one isn't for sale. Someone has already made a deposit on it."

"Oh," Merah said. She reluctantly put it back in the tray the lady had taken out. "Thank you, anyway."

Then she pulled Sly from the store.

"I could have paid for that, you know," Sly said. "If you wanted it that badly."

"No, it's okay," Merah said. "I just wanted to see it."

Sly put an arm around her waist then, and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder for a minute before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You don't have to buy me something," She said. "Your company is enough. Besides, you already paid for breakfast."

Sly laughed, and let her drag him down the street.

Meanwhile, Carmelita was driving down the road in her police car. She wasn't on duty – actually, she had taken the day off. There was no sign of the Cooper Gang at all anywhere, and no new members of the Organization running around that she knew of. So, basically, she was bored. She turned the radio on, and flipped through stations, but none of the music sparked her interest at the moment. So she turned it off.

She drove and parked at a café, where she got some breakfast and a coffee, and then she drove around some more. Boredom certainly was irritating. And she never hung out with any of the other cops at her office; she didn't connect well with them. And all the men kept staring at her like she was a prize, which she didn't like at all.

Carmelita thought about the past few months, chasing after the Cooper Gang. They had a new member, a female raccoon. She, Carmelita, had fought with her at Nyoka's party. She wasn't going to deny it- that girl was a good fighter. She managed to match every single one of Carmelita's moves, and more. And Cooper seemed to have taken an interest in her.

But… why could Carmelita care? It was Sly's own problem if he loved that hot-tempered little snot. Was she… jealous? No, way! Not Carmelita Montoya Fox. She didn't care about Sly Cooper at all. She just wanted him in prison.

It was then that she saw a raccoon couple walking down the street, hand in hand. She sighed when they stopped and kissed for a minute and then the guy bought a rose for his girlfriend from a passing flower vendor. Then they proceeded on their way, happy in each other's company.

Carmelita saw the streetlight turn green, signaling for her to go, and she sighed again. Though she wasn't attracted to Cooper, she did think it would be nice to have someone to lean on like that.

Evening was drawing nearer, now, and Sly went and ordered dinner for Merah and himself at a take-out place. She stayed with the bike, fiddling with the rose he had bought her. When he came back, he said to leave the bike here, and they'd walk to the Eiffel Tower, for it was a little ways away.

"We're not going to take the stairs, are we?" Merah asked.

Sly smiled. "Certainly not. It would take us forever. One thousand, six hundred and sixty-five stairs all the way to the top. The elevators are much more practical."

"Good," Merah said. "I don't want to be exhausted before the end of our wonderful day together. This is the most physical activity I've done since recovering."

"You're right," Sly said, looking at her. "It is. Feeling okay?"

"Yes, dear," Merah said, giving a small laugh. "I'm perfectly fine."

They reached the tower, and Sly paid the entrance fee. Then they took one of the elevators. After reaching the first floor, they took another elevator, and once on the second floor, Sly lead Merah silently to a set of stairs that were off limits, except for security. There was no on there right now, so after climbing a small flight of stairs, Sly opened a hatch, and pulled Merah up onto the roof of the tower. The very top.

"Whoa," Merah breathed in awe, looking across at all of Paris. "I've never seen such a view."

"I always come up here when I can," Sly said. "I love looking out over Paris."

"I can see why," Merah replied, sitting down on the roof. "It's beautiful."

Sly sat down next to her, and they just looked out over Paris for a while. Then Merah leaned her head on his shoulder, and said, "Thanks for taking me out today. It's been fun."

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself," Sly answered with a smile. Merah smiled back, and then kissed him softly.

"I love you," She whispered.

"I love you, too," He replied, and leaned in to kiss her again. She kissed back. They forgot all about dinner.

Eventually, as it always does, one thing lead to another. Neither of them had planned to go very far. But they had.

And to make it worse for the fact she felt so alone with no emotional ties, Carmelita had seen it all.

Sly and Merah drove home on the bike that night, both of them quiet. They still hadn't eaten, but neither of them was really very hungry. Sly parked the bike near the hideout, and Merah got off, removing her helmet. Sly took off his helmet, too, but he didn't get off the bike. Merah gently touched his shoulder. She smiled at him.

"It's okay," She said.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Sly answered, sounding a little bit disheartened. "I took something from you that I shouldn't have—"

"It's not like I told you to slow down," Merah interrupted.

"Yeah, but… still." Sly said. "If you get—"

"Let's… not even think about that, okay?" Merah said, cutting him off again. "Let's just… go inside, and pretend it never happened."

"But…" Sly looked up at her. "It did…"

"And we can't change that," Merah said. Then she hugged him, and said softly. "I had a wonderful time today. I don't remember the last time I had so much fun. And… I think of what we did as… a way for me to thank you. And for our feelings to be stronger."

Sly smiled then, and got up off the bike. He pulled Merah close to him and kissed her lovingly. "I'm so lucky."

"Because of that horse shoe you have in your pocket?" Merah asked jokingly after she had kissed him back.

"No," Sly replied. "I'm lucky because I have you."

He looked deep into her beautiful blue eyes, and said softly, "Thank you, Merah. For giving me that gift."

Merah kissed him, and then together, they walked back to the hideout.

Sly couldn't help but feel a little bit worried, though. If they had conceived a child, it would mean more danger in this whole mission. He just hoped that everything would stay the same at least until after they bagged the Master, and god the Thievius Raccoonus back.

A/N: Hmm… well, I had to make something happen, right? That's why this fic is rated T.

Next Chappie is about Carmelita. I hope you enjoyed!