Hey everyone,
This chapter will be a real challenge for me and my creativity. I am planning something that, hopefully, will be very interesting for a lot of you, yet I usually fully shut down whenever I need to do such a thing and when it comes to something like this, I'd rather keep to what is done in Cannon. Well, enough hinting.
Wish me luck,

Venquine1990

Carmelita's POV

Waking up in a bed that is more comfortable than my own is something that makes me alert to my surroundings the minute my consciousness returns to me in the morning, yet before I can fully jump out of bed and grab my weapon off of my bedside table, have my eyes registered what room exactly it is that I am in.
For a very short second does the memory of that vile creature named Akudo and what he wanted to do with this room run through my mind, yet this memory gets disrupted by a knock on the door, making me actually react more out of instinct than with conscious thought – and the next second do I regret doing this.

Sly comes into the rooms and the minute he sees me awake and with my gun aimed at his face does he raise his arms, making whatever he had in his arms be dropped to the floor before he says: "It wasn't me – well, not this time." He then tries to joke and this makes me lower my gun with a sigh of relief and a smile on my face.
"Sorry Cooper, I guess yesterday has left some marks." I then tell him and the Raccoon seems to understand this as his eyes shine while he smiles at me and he says: "Trust me, I get that." And this reminds me of all he's been through the last week, making me send him a grateful smile before we both look down.
Yet when I do, do my eyes widen as I see all of the cloths that Cooper has sown for me lying in front of his feet and he says: "I forgot to put these back last night so I decided to come and see if you were awake yet. Unless you'd rather stay in your uniform today?" He asks, but I nod and say: "I barely ever go in uniform when I'm off duty."

To which the Ringtail works on my funny bone as he asks: "When are you ever off duty?" And I laugh, causing for Cooper to actually smile at me with that ever-charming smirk of his before he bends down and pulls the cloths back off the floor, lifting it up and asking: "Can I come in?" To which I decide to kid and ask:
"Cooper, who's house is this?" And this time I'm the one smiling as Cooper moves into my room laughing. Yet while he moves past, does my face suddenly lose color as I realize something. Without the upper dress to cover my form are practically all of my female curves perfectly visible, even when covered by a tight fabric.
Instantly, I turn beet red and as quickly as I jumped out of bed a few minutes ago, as quickly do I dive back under the covers, yet Cooper seems obvious to this as he lifts the fabrics onto one arm and uses the other one to open the wardrobe on the other side of the room, his stance proving he is slowly recovering from the flu.

The Raccoon puts everything away and while he does so, can I not help but remember what happened the other night, Cooper's words and how he called me his beautiful ringing through my ears. Then the doors of the wardrobe close off, pulling me from my thoughts and Cooper sends me a last smile before leaving the room.
Yet the smile alone reminds me of his words yet again and while I feel slightly dazed as the idea that Cooper could have any kind of emotions for me makes me question all we have gone through together, yet a few minutes later does a possible solution appear to me as Bentley wheels his wheelchair past my open bedroom door.
Instantly I grab my chance and shout: "Bentley!" The turtle turns his face my way and smiles: "Good morning, Carmelita." I smile back and say: "Good morning, would you mind? I – I need some advice." The turtle nods and asks: "Are you – ehem – decent?" Making me turn red and pull up the covers even more.
The turtle also turns red and says: "I'll – eh – I'll just wait here." And he rolls past the door, making me sigh in relief and rush for the wardrobe, pulling out a peach-colored dress with straps around the upper arms and with a sweetheart neckline, where the skirt reaches halfway up my upper legs and pull it on.
On the floor of the wardrobe do I find a pair of matching heels with a strap around the ankle and while part of me wonders if Cooper made these as well or stole them, do I not even like caring either way as I put them on along with clean underwear and while using my hands to fashion my hair, do I shout back at Bentley:

"Okay, I'm good." And I can hear the turtle sigh in relief as he rolls into my room and asks: "What can I help you with?" And instantly I look down as I remember just who the creator of this dress is and what he said last night and I say: "I wasn't fully asleep when Cooper carried me upstairs last night, you know?"
At this Bentley tilts his head and says: "Murray carried you." But to this I shrug and Bentley nods, understanding that it doesn't matter to my problem and I say: "Either way, I had some trouble falling asleep last night and – a few minutes after I was laid in bed – I felt someone else enter my room – Cooper."
This seems to shock Bentley and he instantly asks: "Did he – did he say or – or do anything?" And just by how he falters at the end do I know that even Bentley himself doesn't believe Cooper capable of doing anything to someone who's unable to defend themselves, making a hint of happiness pierce through my worries.
I shake my head at the turtle and say: "No, well – he didn't do anything. He – he said something that – well, I hear him say it practically all the time, but – but this. This is – different and –.""Did Sly call you anything?" Bentley interrupts my rant of confusion and I send him a grateful smile for his understanding as I say:

"He – he said Sweet dreams, my beautiful. And – and I know he calls me all kinds of sweet things practically every time we meet, but – but I never, until last night, really paid attention –." And again Bentley understands my problems as he says: "To how he said it, because you were constantly on opposite sides of the law."
I nod, hating the fact that the first person I could ever be falling for is the man I am ordered by law to arrest and I sigh as I ask: "What do I do, Bentley? I mean, all the nice things Cooper has ever said to me, they – I mean, I like that he did and I – I'm starting to believe him, but – but why does it have to be Cooper?"
Now Bentley looks confused for a second before his eyes widen behind his glasses and he asks: "Inspector, are you – are you falling – for Sly?" And while this question makes my heart scream in joy and my mind scream at me to deny it with ferocity, do I listen to the appendage that gives me life and do I nod slightly.

The Turtle looks at me shocked and whispers: "Well, I'll be." Before a smile larger than any I have ever even seen on Cooper's face when he pulls off a successful heist, which makes the voice in my mind quiet down slightly as it tries to rant at me that I am making the mistake of a lifetime before the turtle asks:
"Care to prove him and get some proof yourself?" And when I look up from where I have my hands clasped in front of me, my left playing with the fabric of my skirt, do I see a smirk on Bentley's face that convinces me I will get all the answers I desire – in the most interesting way I can imagine, making me smile and ask:

"What do you have in mind?"

1 hour later
Sly's POV

I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but while it feels fantastic to be back behind the stove to prepare breakfast, was it most strange to find that neither Bentley, nor Murray or even Carmelita have come down for breakfast and when I asked the others, had Dimitri told me that none of them were still in their bedrooms.
Yes, Carmelita had been slightly embarrassed when I had entered her room to pack up her new cloths while she was only wearing the bodice of her dress, yet while my eyes had very much appreciated how gorgeous she looked with the dark purple fabric accentuating her forms, had I focused on my task too much too really care.

By now, breakfast is over and while Dimitri and Guru accept to do the dishes, do I decide to scurry the Hideout for my Main crew and my favorite inspector. Yet when I pass into the hallway, do I notice something I hadn't seen before. The doorway to the living room has been covered with a dark shadow-colored curtain.
This confuses me and I softly touch the fabric, only for Bentley to actually come through and ask: "Oh hey Sly, breakfast done yet?" I nod and want to tell him how we already ate, yet the turtle interrupts me and says: "Great, we just finished here as well. Come on in, pall. Come right in." His voice filled with glee.
This makes me look at the rest of the team, yet Bentley moves past me and says: "Sorry guys, this is private. Main Gang only." And while this shocks the others, do I decide to just find out what has my turtle buddy and brother so happy and do I move past him and through the shadowy curtain, entering a room that baffles me.

The whole living room has been changed and where the chairs and couches were stood before, now stands a gorgeous stage of soft brown velvet with lights on all the sides and with only three chairs stood around it. Where we had our TV is now a small room build with the walls existing out of more shadow-colored curtains.
Then all kinds of colored lights that have somehow been hung onto the ceiling start to shine, the spots moving around the room and mist drifting out from under the curtains against the TV wall and Bentley quickly pushes me in the back as he says: "Quick Sly, take your seat. We're about to begin. Hurry up, will you?"
And while I feel shocked, baffled and confused, does he give me another shove and do I see one of the lights moving past one of the chairs, this one stood at the very end of the stage, and as it passes, do I see a blue ribbon wrapped around the metal bars of the backrest, making me realize that this must indeed be my chair.

I sit myself down and after I do, does Murray move out from behind the curtain and whisper something in Bentley's ear that makes the turtle smile before he actually helps our crippled brother into the chair on the left of the stage and while I want to ask him what he told Bentley, does Murray ignore me and sit down.
I look from the Hippo to the turtle and then back to the stage, wondering what on earth could have transpired to make them plan this and I ask: "Eeeh – guys?" But the two ignore me and then music, a soft and sweet sounding ballade, sounds throughout the room, making the two around me smile and turn to the curtains.
Deciding to follow their example do I look at the very beginning of the stage, the platform itself only high enough to reach my own seat and when the curtains at the beginning of the stage open, does the sight that greet me make my eyes widen, my heart miss a beat and my whole body scream in pure elation and amazement.

Carmelita. Dressed in the peach-colored dress that I made three years ago, stands on stage with her hands on her hips and her beautiful black hair with blue highlights curled down to past her waist, a single curl lying on her forehead and a few curls wound around her brown colored ears with black colored tips.
The dress itself clings to her waist and part of her hips, yet the very bottom flares out, just like I intended and this, together with the 4 inch high heels with strap around the ankle, makes her beautiful slim, agile legs look downright endless, yet the sweetheart neckline of the bodice hides just enough cleavage to be respectable.
The way her dress accentuates her is also strengthened by her hands in her hips and with a pace in her step that would make the world's finest top model become jealous, does the fox slide across the stage, stopping a few times to take poses that make her look even more breathtaking before she ends at my part of the stage.

Yet, for the first time since I met her, do I feel all of my smooth, suave self-confidence to have taken a hike to South Africa as I can only gape with open mouth and bulging eyes at the breathtaking sight that is the angelic fox in front of me and just a single glance up her face proves me that she very much enjoys seeing me like this.
Yet even her amused grin is not enough to shake me out of my stupor and I watch as if in a daze as she walks back, this time with only one hand in her hips and disappears behind the curtain. Then, after about a minute of her being out of my sight, do I shake my head to get over my shock and I turn to my friends as I want to ask:

"Guys, what –?" Yet before I can formulate my question, does the music change into a little more upbeat tune and do the curtains open yet again, Carmelita standing sideways and wearing one of the outfits I feel most proud of to have created, mostly because it in itself is very handy for movement, yet the fabric is exceedingly soft.
A loose fitting tank-top with spaghetti straps made of green fabric with a black stripe just under the bust line and a pair of dark forest green pants that are fitted very tight around her hips, yet that flares out from under her knees, again making it so that her legs look longer than they are, while they start just inches under her shirt.
The whole outfit just screams officer out in the field and still looks casual enough I can imagine the incredible vixen being undercover somewhere out in the jungle and while the memory of my dance with her at Rajan's party flashes through my mind, do I luckily enough not gape again as I see her coming over.

Her pace a little more upbeat this time and her poses a little more often, does it almost look as if the fox is dancing as she moves across the stage, yet the poses she holds halt in prove that she has fully grasped the meaning behind the design and this makes me change from a shocked and amazed look to a very approving gaze.
Of course I still wonder what on earth could have made the gorgeous, very dashing and ever so adventurous vixen decide on something like this, yet while Bentley and Murray start to clap along with the beat of the song, does Carmelita actually keep pose at the end of the stage with her hands holding a fake pistol.
Yet it is not the stand that she holds as she stops her, or the fact that she is again smirking at me. No, it's the fact that, as her eyes lock with mine, I actually catch her sending me a very flirty looking wink before she makes a perfect backflip from where she stood, her movement in sync with the music before she vanishes again.

My eyes are wide for a third time this morning and my heart is almost singing in tune with the music thanks to the speed its beating with and I think: "Did she just –?" Before I ask: "Did she just wink at me?" And Bentley snickers as he says: "No clue, Sly, how long has she been out of this room now? A few minutes?"
And instantly my stomach drops down to my feet as I realize the source of all this. Why Carmelita is showing herself off in all of the outfits I have ever made for her. Why she, Bentley and Murray worked on getting this fashion show set up so quick. And why only Bentley, Murray and I are allowed in here right now.

"She heard me." I whisper and Bentley nods, yet then the tune of the music, just when the song turns to a softer tone with strong beat, changes again, the beat disappearing and the most beautiful ballad I have ever heard coming out of the speakers that I have yet to locate and while shocked over all of this, do I look back at the curtains.
The shadow colored fabric opens at a slower pace this time and slowly reveals my deepest crush for me and my friends to see. The first part shown in her feet, covered in a pair of auburn red boots with 2 inch high heels, the heel itself covered with diamonds I once stole from some swindler in the high alps of France.
Next is the skirt of the dress Carmelita is wearing, the skirt itself wide and flaring thanks to the hoopskirt under it, yet the ruffled fabric, made out of leaf brown material makes the fox look as if she is standing in the middle of an autumn storm with leafs blowing past her legs in a pattern I am very proud to have created.
Finally does Carmelita's body and her face show through the curtain and while she has her arms behind her back, can I still see the striped material that the arms is made off, the colors being autumn brown and red and matching amazingly with the autumn red that is her bodice, while a soft amber belt is wrapped around her midriff.
This, however, accentuates Carmelita's bust incredibly and somehow, while she had her hair loose and curled in her first outfit and had her hair in a low ponytail in the second outfit, is her hair now stuck up in a bun with only a small amount of strands hanging down from under it and covering the upper half of her neck.

All in all the fox looks like the princess I have always believed her to be and her looks actually even amaze Bentley and Murray, the two of them looking just like I did when she first appeared in her first dress and as Carmelita floats over the stage, do I feel as if she is floating to me as if on the clouds of the love I feel for her.
This makes me decide that, if not for everything she has ever done for me, then to prove Akudo that Carmelita belongs to no one but me and most importantly because I am finally willing to admit it to her face to face and the minute that Carmelita makes a twirl on her axis at my end of the stage do I move into action.
I get out of my seat and set one foot on the stage, taking one of the hands Carmelita used to hold her skirt as she twirled in my own and kiss it with all the love and amazement I feel in my heart as I mutter: "You are just too good for me, my princess." And while Murray gasps in shock, does Carmelita smile at me.

Hey everyone,
Yes, this is a cliffhanger, no, I do not regret it leaving at that. Yes, this will probably be the final chapter where you will hear about Akudo, at least for a while. The next few chapters will mostly be about Sly and Carmelita, about Sly getting over his flu and about Carmelita falling more in love as she helps him heal.
Also, I DID NOT think of the peach colored dress that Carmelita had put on while talking with Bentley and that she was showing off to Sly during the beginning of the fashion show. This dress was designed by Moon-Shyne and can be found on her Deviant-Art page under the title Sly Cooper Girls Night Out. All credits to her.
Check out her page,

Venquine1990