About six months later, things led to the other time that Sly was really nervous about talking to Carmelita.

They had gone out to dinner and returned to Carmelita's apartment.

"Do you want to come in Sly?" she asked, "you haven't been yourself tonight. Is something the matter?"

"There's nothing wrong, so you don't have to worry, but there is something that I feel I need to talk to you about," Sly said as he took her hand and lead her into the apartment. He sat her down on her couch and looked into her eyes. She could see nervous excitement in those brown eyes, but she also saw a hint of worry. There was something big weighing on his heart tonight.

"Carmelita."

"Yes Sly?"

"There's something that I've wanted to ask you for a while."

"Oh?" her heart leaped as she hoped she knew what his question was going to be. She was still concerned about that worried look in his eyes.

"What's up ringtail?" she smirked and stroked his hand.

"Before I ask, there's something I need to tell you and although it might change your answer to my question, I really need to get this off my chest."

Carmelita looked intently into Sly's eyes and let him know that he could continue. Sure, she was concerned about what he was going to say, but it was obviously important to him and she didn't want to show any concern in her eyes that would make him not say what he needed to get out. Sly saw the heartfelt support in Carmelita's eyes and regained the strength to continue.

"Carmelita, I love you. I don't think I've loved anyone as much as I love you, but the entire time we've been together, I've been lying to you. I never wanted to lie, it hurt me every day to have to do it, but I felt that I needed to in order to get a chance to make a life with you."

Carmelita didn't respond. Sly felt uneasy by her silence, but continued.

"When you found me on that island, I didn't know who I was for a moment, but when you answered me and told me that I was your partner, Constable Cooper, and not the master thief Sly Cooper, everything came back to me and I realized the chance you were taking to give me the gift that I desperately wanted. So knowingly, I gave up my old life to start a new one with you. Carmelita, I never had amnesia. I know about my whole past, our past. I know that there is no way I could make up for lying to you for so long, but I know that the little time I've spent with you has at least been worth it for me. I'll leave if you want me to," Sly said dejectedly as he started to get up.

Carmelita's inner cop felt triumphant: 'See, I told you he was no good! That thief has been lying to you this whole time. He's been using you!"

For once in her life, Carmelita ignored that little voice in her head and thought exactly what her heart was telling her.

'He lied so he could be with me. He gave up his entire life just so he could get to know me better, so we could be more than a cop and a thief. He hasn't been with me because he was forced to, but because he chose to."

Being with Sly had finally given her the courage to follow her heart for once and she finally decided to listen to it.

"Sly…" she said as she placed her hand on Sly's to stop him from going, "How thick do you think I am?"

The raccoon looked at her with a confused look on his face and she smiled as she continued.

"I had the inkling that you had always known who you were. There were plenty of times when you had given me subtle hints that you knew more of your former life and our past relationship than you were letting on: like the time you started to go to kiss me goodnight the first night you stayed here but stopped," Sly blushed as he remembered that moment.

"I also have to admit that I lied to you Sly," she hung her face down shamefully for a moment, while Sly looked at her tenderly and then continued, "I kept up the charade that you had been my partner before that time on the island for the same reason you pretended to still have amnesia. I also wanted to have the chance to get to know you better. This may come as a shock to you, but I'm relieved to hear you say that you've always known who you were. It was like a dagger always hanging over my head. Were you ever going to realize who you really were and then decide to leave- leave me?"

"Never Carmelita," Sly whispered, though she heard him and blushed.

"I knew that you were too smart and would figure everything out Cooper, but I hoped that you had stayed with me because you wanted to and not because I had tricked you. In fact, I think being with you has matured me a bit, besides the few gray hairs you may have given me due to your antics during our missions," they both chuckled at that.

"You've helped me realize that the world can't be partitioned into black or white, right or wrong. I don't love Constable Cooper or even Sly Cooper, Master Thief. I love Sly Cooper, since I know he loves Carmelita Montoya Fox and not Inspector Fox. So, with that said, are you going to ask me your question or not?"

Sly was so taken back by her honesty and by what she said that he just stood there speechless for once. Carmelita smiled and replied.

"I like it when you're speechless Cooper. It doesn't happen that often. Now, you've always amazed me with that intuition of yours, so let me try to amaze you with mine. Yes."

"Yes?" Sly asked as he playfully cocked his head, though he was hoping she knew what he was thinking.

"Yes, I'll marry you, Sly Cooper! That was what you were going to ask me, wasn't it?"

Sly just stood there amazed again and thought 'What a woman!' before he responded.

"Huh, how did you know? Did you peak in my jacket, you little thief?" he smiled coyly at her.

"No, I'm too honest for that, I just secretly hoped that you would."

"Well, let me make it official," Sly said as he got down on one knee and opened up the small black box that contained a diamond engagement ring.

"Carmelita Montoya Fox, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Of course."

Sly placed the ring on her finger and they passionately kissed each other. After the kiss, Carmelita turned to Sly and said.

"Not to bring up old times, but I was right."

"What do you mean Carmelita?"

"Didn't I always tell you that I'd get you ringtail?" she said with a big smile on her face.

Sly laughed as he remembered those past times and said.

"You're right querera. I guess I'm all yours now!" and the two of them kissed again for what seemed like an eternity.

--------------------------------------------------

The Saturday after his confession to Carmelita, Sly seemed a little edgy while he and Carmelita were at her place watching a movie.

"Sly, you seem really tense, what's the matter?" she said, starting to massage his shoulders.

"Well, I still feel a little guilty because I haven't come a hundred percent clean to you."

"What?" she stopped massaging Sly.

"What other secrets are you hiding?" Carmelita said hurt. She thought that they had stopped keeping secrets from each other.

"It's nothing earth shattering. It's just, well, I meant everything I said to you a few nights ago and the reason I did it was that I wanted us to be together and not have any secrets come between us, but I think that I had an ulterior motive for coming clean about my past."

Carmelita said nothing. This really upset Sly, so he quickly continued.

"I just figured that if I told you about everything and that we were together, that I would be able to possibly have my family back in my life."

"What do you mean Cooper? I'm sorry to bring this up, but I thought all your family passed away," Carmelita was really afraid, was he trying to tell her that he wanted to go back to his family business?

"They did. I mean, who I'm talking about aren't my family, biologically, but they've been my only family for years and I've deeply missed them the past year."

Carmelita finally understood: that gang of his. She thought that they were just criminals-in-arms. She didn't realize that Sly thought of them as family. The more she thought of it, the more she realized how much Sly gave up for her. She didn't know what she would do without her parents and her sister: they were her world, besides Sly now.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Carmelita said as she pulled Sly into a huge hug.

"What do you have to be sorry for? I'm the jerk who didn't let you know sooner."

"Sly, with all that family talk, I thought you wanted to go back into your 'family business'. I forgot about your gang. They seemed like decent enough guys, but I never thought of them as your family. Sly I'm so sorry. I never thought of that, it must have been hard for you to not see them for so long," she looked at him lovingly, letting him know she understood what he was asking of her and how much she appreciated his sacrifice.

"Carmelita, I would never do anything to jeopardize my life with you. As of now, I have no secrets from you and I don't plan on keeping any. And, don't worry, I wanted to show you how much I really care about you and I secretly felt that I would probably see the guys again some day."

"Don't worry, they're going to be part of my family too now, so they can be part of yours again."

"You mean it Carmelita?"

'Yes. Besides, it'll be interesting to meet the guys that bailed you out of jams so many times."

"It wasn't that many," Sly said indignantly, yet playfully.

"So, do you have any idea of what they're doing now?" Carmelita said, knowing full well what his answer would probably be.

Sly grinned sheepishly.

"I do. I promise that I haven't contacted them. I didn't want you to worry that I was reforming the gang, but I just wanted to see how they were doing."

"Well, go ahead ringtail!" Carmelita said annoyed, though she smiled when she said it.

"Well, Murray, he's back in the States and being that he enjoyed working on the gang's van, he opened up his own mechanic shop. He's also gotten into stock van racing and it seems that he's pretty successful at it. He travels all around the States and Canada during the racing season, but I think he's based in Florida since that's where most of the big racetracks are."

"It's good to see that the big guy's keeping busy. Now what about that genius friend of yours?"

"Bentley? Well, it might surprise you, but right before our job at the Cooper Vault, Bentley got himself a girlfriend."

"Wow, god job, turtle boy."

"Yeah, it was seeing them together that gave me the kick in the pants I needed to realize that all I wanted was with you, querera," Carmelita blushed at Sly's use of 'my love' in Spanish and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

"Now just who is this special lady who finally captured that turtle's heart?'

-'Her name's Penelope. She's a mouse from Amsterdam who knows a thing or two about RC technology. She was, uh, one of our former collaborators."

"You mean a member of your gang?" Carmelita remarked slyly as she tugged on one of Sly's cheek ruffs, making him blush.

"Yeah, she was."

"So what is that brain trust up to? No good, I figure," Carmelita's eyes went a little hard as she said that.

"To tell you the truth, querera," Carmelita's expression softened a little at that and because Sly placed his hand on hers as he said it, the sly devil, "I'm not exactly sure about that. I do know that they're currently living in Boston. Bentley's working for some computer firm I think, probably making a name for himself as an ace computer programmer and Penelope's earning a Master's degree in mechanical engineering or something like that."

"Well, it's good to see that you're friends are doing things that they love, legal activities I might add."

"Would you expect any less from friends of Interpol's newest and best constable, querera?"

"Hmm, I guess not, ringtail," Carmelita said as she pulled him toward her for a kiss.