As Carmelita ran out of Dr. M's lair, the echoing sound of her footsteps began to fade. Once she reached the exit, a light breeze and the darkness of the sky reminded her that it was night. The fox was so focused on running that she didn't realize Sly wasn't behind her anymore.

"Cooper!" She looked around. "Cooper!"

There was no response.

The inspector, quite worried, thought of going back in, but it was then that the pile of rocks on top of the passage she came out fell and collapsed the exit.

"Sly!" her voice turned desperate.

The vixen tried to move the rocks, but they were too heavy. Then, she began to look for another way to get back into the cave as she kept calling the raccoon's name. After a while, the unmistakable voice of the thief answered.

"Inspector Fox!"

"Cooper!"

After following the sound of his voice, Carmelita found Sly, who was wounded from his fight against Dr. M.

"Are you alright?" she said while checking his face for cuts and bruises.

"Yeah." the thief unconsciously smiled at the comforting feeling of the fox's hands.

"What happened? I thought you were with me!"

The truth was that Sly had taken a little detour to leave his mask, his cane, and a note that explained the situation to the gang. But, since he decided to lie about not remembering anything, he obviously couldn't tell her that. Instead, he came up with an excuse and acted a bit disoriented. The fox didn't stop to question if what he was saying was true or not, she just wanted Sly to be safe.

Together, they left Kaine Island in a seaplane that was waiting for Carmelita. The pilot didn't pay much attention to Sly, but the vixen was far more concerned about what her superiors would think of the amnesic thief.

During the flight, the fox took out the first aid kit from under her seat to treat the raccoon's wounds. She sat next to him and stared at him for a few seconds. He seemed anxious, and the gray fur on his face was slightly stained with dust and dirt. It was then that Carmelita realized the raccoon wasn't wearing his mask nor carrying his cane.

"What happened to your mask? And the cane?" she asked.

"Oh, was I supposed to keep those? I think I left them in the cave."

"It's okay, don't worry."

The vixen carefully cleaned his face with wet gauze and bandaged the cuts on his arms. She only took a few minutes, but Sly enjoyed every second of her gentle and delicate touch.

"So, where are we going now?" asked the raccoon with a curious tone.

"Canberra. It's where the closest Interpol Headquarters are located. Does your head hurt?"

"Just a little." he touched his own forehead.

"I'll make sure that you are taken care of when we get there. Sure you don't remember anything?" she said while holding his hand.

Sly shook his head. "No. I don't even remember why we're here or why I'm wearing these clothes." he pointed to his outfit, which was nothing like his partner's.

"Well, this was an undercover mission. I'll also get you some normal clothes at HQ."

"Thanks, Inspector." smiled the raccoon after putting his hand on top of hers, which made her smile back.

After the vixen put the first aid kit away, she kept answering Sly's questions for the rest of the flight. Carmelita reminded him of his first name and told him they lived in Paris, among other things.

It was around 3 in the morning when they arrived in Canberra. At that time, the roads and the streets of the city were practically empty.

After getting off the plane, Carmelita and Sly got in a car that the inspector had requested. The drive to Interpol Headquarters was quieter than the flight. The raccoon was terrified that his new partner or Interpol would see through his lies. And Carmelita couldn't stop thinking about what she would do to prevent the raccoon from getting thrown into a jail cell.

Before they arrived at their destination, they stopped at a red light. The vixen nervously tapped the steering wheel and sighed while Sly looked at the streetlights through the car window.

"Sly," the fox broke the silence.

"Huh?" he turned to her.

"Do you trust me?"

There was a pause.

"Of course. We're partners." he smiled.

Carmelita returned the smile before the bright red traffic light turned green. She drove for a few minutes, and when they arrived at Interpol Headquarters, she packed right in front of the building. The vixen got out of the car, and the raccoon followed her. Just before they walked in, she grabbed him by the wrist. Sly acted a bit confused but ended up playing along to not get caught. They crossed the lobby and walked up to the reception counter.

"Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox, I'm here to see Chief Taylor." said the fox to the receptionist while showing her badge.

The receptionist gave them a shocked and confused look before typing something on the computer.

"Third floor, last door to the left."

Sly and Carmelita followed the directions and, after a short elevator ride, they found Chief Taylor's office.

"Do you mind waiting here for a moment?" asked the vixen.

"Oh, sure." answered the raccoon without complaining before sitting on one of a few chairs that were in the hall.

The chief, who was a dingo, had already been informed of Sly's presence by the receptionist, so he received Carmelita enthusiastically when she knocked on his door. His confidence was short-lived, and it turned into confusion once the fox explained the situation. Chief Taylor was bewildered at why the inspector, who spent the last 5 years chasing the raccoon, was now opposed to locking him up. Outside the chief's office, Sly was starting to get nervous. Word had spread that he had finally been captured, and many curious agents started to peek down the hall. The thief decided to look away and ignore them, but that became complicated when some began to provoke him. All the noise from the hall made Carmelita walk out of the office to shut the other agents up.

"Get back to work, now!" she ordered them.

Once they did as told, the vixen checked up on the raccoon, who was looking at her with innocent eyes.

"Is everything alright, Carmelita?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, we're almost done with the report." The fox closed the door and walked back to Chief Taylor's desk. "He didn't even remember his own name. He's not a threat to us anymore."

"But that doesn't change all the things he's done in the past. The guy's still a criminal."

"I'm not saying he isn't a criminal. I'm saying he's harmless, and I don't see why we would lock him up when he could be of great help to us."

Chief Taylor put his hands together under his snout and thought about the fox's words. "Go on."

"He could serve his time by working with us. He's willing to collaborate, and I'd make sure that he stays out of trouble."

The dingo leaned back on his chair and stroked his chin.

"But, how can we be sure that he has really lost his memory? I mean, you can't just gonna take his word for it? Right?"

Carmelita convinced him to run a lie detector test on Sly and herself, so he wouldn't get too suspicious. To their surprise, they both passed the test. After that, a few of Interpol's high-ups organized a phone meeting to discuss the situation. Meanwhile, Sly received medical treatment, and Carmelita got him a tracksuit to change clothes. Then, they sat outside Chief Taylor's office while they waited for a decision. After an hour, the dingo opened the door and asked the fox to step inside his office. The inspector felt an immense sense of relief when Taylor told her that Sly had been allowed to serve his time by working as a consultant for Interpol under her supervision, but she managed to keep a straight face.

Once things were cleared up, Sly and Carmelita were flown back to Paris in a private jet provided by Interpol. The flight lasted just over 20 hours, so the raccoon, who was now more relaxed, decided to get some rest. The vixen was as tired as he was, but she couldn't fall asleep for some reason. After having a drink, Carmelita sat in front of her new partner and watched him peacefully sleep. His untroubled expression warmed her heart and drew a smile on her face.

After the raccoon woke up from his nap, they ate something and kept talking. The flight passed quickly. And, by the time they knew it, they were about to land in Paris. They had no need to stop by the Paris headquarters, so they went straight to Carmelita's apartment.

"You'll be staying at my place for a while, is that okay?" said the vixen as she drove.

"Sure..." answered Sly as he looked away to hide his smile.

It was around 3 in the afternoon when they arrived at the fox's apartment. Between the jetlag and everything they had been through in the last 24 hours, Sly and Carmelita could only think of getting some sleep.

"You don't mind sleeping on the couch, do you?" asked the vixen as she closed the curtains throughout the apartment.

"Of course not." said the raccoon as he wandered through her living room while looking around.

Before getting into bed, the vixen gave Sly a couple of blankets and a pillow.

"I'll try to get you some more clothes tomorrow." she yawned.

The thief smiled and looked at her with warm eyes. "Thanks for everything, Carmelita."

The fox looked back at him and smiled too. "I'm just glad you're okay." There was a brief pause before the vixen hugged the raccoon. While they held each other, the couple felt how all of the stress and worries in their bodies vanished. After the hug, Carmelita turned around and went to her room. "Goodnight…" she said before realizing it wasn't night "...well, you know." The fox was too tired to think.

After her bedroom door closed, Sly was left alone in the dark. "Goodnight, Carmelita." He lay down on the couch with a dumb and satisfied smile on his face.

Throughout the next few days, the raccoon's behavior began to loosen up as he worked alongside the vixen, who was impressed by his manners and efficiency. Still, the rest of their coworkers looked down on Sly and treated him with little to no respect. Carmelita stood up for her partner on multiple occasions, which caused rumors that she described as absurd to spread around the office.

One of those days, he stayed late finishing some paperwork and arrived home exhausted. From the couch, the vixen saw how he took off his jacket and stretched his back. She thought the raccoon looked very professional and handsome in formal clothes.

Sly walked to the couch and lay next to Carmelita. "What took you so long?" she asked.

"I had to do the daily report."

"And it took you two hours to finish it?"

The raccoon shrugged. "I used the exact same words from the one you sent me."

"You copied it word by word?"

"Yeah."

"Manually?" Sly fell silent. "Cooper, you're supposed to copy and paste it, then fill in the blanks." she chuckled.

The now ex-thief covered his face with a cushion and let out a frustrated grunt. The fox gave him a pat on the arm and asked him if he was hungry. While he took a shower, Carmelita prepared something to eat. After Sly got out of the bathroom, the delicious smell of whatever it was the vixen was cooking caught his attention. He walked to the kitchen to find the fox making a plate of nachos with cheese. The raccoon helped clean up. Then, they sat at the table to eat while they kept talking about their day.

Once they were done eating, they sat on the couch. There was a show playing on the TV, but neither of them really paid attention to it. At some point, Carmelita noticed how Sly was staring at her.

"What?" asked the fox while smiling.

"Nothing… I just realized now how lucky I am to have you in my life."

His words, along with his warm gaze, felt like an arrow full of tenderness going through her chest. Carmelita expected that the raccoon's charming side started to show as he got his memory back, but this caught her off guard. Still, she saw this as a great opportunity to open up to him about her feelings.

Sly froze when he felt the fox's hand on top of his. "I also consider myself very lucky to have you." It definitely wasn't the reaction the raccoon was expecting. He thought she would just fluster, like old times. But, instead, he was now the one whose face was burning and heart was racing.

Carmelita moved closer to him and held his hand. "You know, Sly… Before the whole Kaine Island incident, you and I had… something."

The thief smiled nervously. "Like dating?" he asked while cocking his head.

"Not exactly… It was something different… but special." She held his other hand and began to caress them both with her thumbs, which made the raccoon go through several newly found emotions at the same time. "I regret not having the courage to tell you how I really felt..."

The vixen put one of her hands on Sly's chest and felt the beating of his heart. Then, the two looked into each other's eyes, knowing what was to come. Carmelita's hands moved up to his face and gently caressed his cheeks. The raccoon wrapped his arms around the vixen and leaned in to kiss her. The soft and overdue feeling of their lips together made them close their eyes. It was like a great relief in their chests. Carmelita delicately played with the raccoon's gray fur while he pulled her closer to him.

Once the kiss broke, they gasped for air as their snouts pressed against each other. The fox smiled as she kept running her fingers over his face. This time, it was her who leaned in for the kiss. But, after a few seconds, Sly pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Carmelita… I… I can't do this." The raccoon covered his face with his hands and sighed in frustration. He thought he'd be able to keep his conscience clear after lying to Carmelita, but the remorse had become unbearable.

"Hey, it's okay… We don't have to go so fast if you don't want to." said the vixen before touching his arm affectionately.

"It's not that… I…" He looked away in embarrassment. "...Carmelita, I don't have amnesia."

Silence fell in the room.

Sly didn't dare to look the fox in the eye. Meanwhile, she went through a dozen different emotions at once, but none of them were really negative. The vixen then realized she didn't have a stranger in front of her, but her Ringtail. His memories, their encounters, his feelings, all of them were intact in the thief's head.

"Well? Say something..." said Sly with a hesitant voice.

Instead of talking, the vixen grabbed him by the neck of his shirt. The raccoon flinched. But, to his surprise, Carmelita pulled him towards her and kissed him. Sly was extremely confused, but he still closed his eyes to enjoy the kiss, just in case it was his last. The fox fell backward on the couch, leaving the thief on top of her. After a few more seconds, their lips parted.

"You're not mad?" he said while catching his breath.

"Oh, Sly… Why would I be mad?" asked the vixen as she smiled and held his face.

As his breathing went back to normal, Sly felt how Carmelita's hands played with his fur and ears. It was then that the thief realized why the fox had gone to so much trouble to keep Interpol from putting him in jail. It wasn't because of his mediocre Excel skills but because she deeply cared about him, and she wanted to be with her as much as he did. The raccoon kissed her and thus began a year full of memories and love. They had to keep their relationship hidden from their coworkers to not raise suspicion, but that didn't stop them from having fun in the janitor closet during their lunch break. Carmelita didn't have to attend any more of those boring events Interpol organized by herself, and Sly actually managed to redeem himself from his criminal past. They were happy until, unfortunately, the old itch came back.