Archive of Our Own

“Oh yeah, baby!”, shouted Shark, when the elevator’s door opened.
“Yeah… look at all that nothing…”, said Snake.
“Oh, c’mon Snake! Don’t tell me you’re not happy about coming home!”, replied Tarantula, jumping out of Piranha’s head.
“Yeah, Webs’ right. At least give a smile, Mr. Grumpypants”, Wolf joked.
Snake flicked his forked tongue in an against-the-will agreement. It was nice to be home.

After getting out of prison (and leaving Diane home), Wolf went to the Police Department and managed to inside-the-law “trick” some random lawyers, responsible for their properties, to return their hideout. Plus: he got a job for all the crew. With Diane’s help, ironically the Bad Guys became “field agents” for the police. Instead of making them start from the very very beginning, Diane convinced the authorities that having former criminals helping them in their fight against the crime itself would be a smart play that’d make them able to stop any heist attempt. And it worked.

“Looks like you owe Diane another one”, thought Wolf, as the gang unpacked the few things they had.
“Look, Piranha, we’ve got an oven! What about making us dinner?”, Webs suggested.
“Yeah, sure, sure, I’ll make… but how am I supposed to cook without food?”, he answered.
“Shark’s going to the market, dummy. I think you should go with him… and… y’know what? I’ll go too. I need to buy a new router. They’ve taken the old one”.
“Deal! Now let’s go! I’m hungry!” Shark said from the elevator.
“Webs, keep your eyes on these two, or we’ll get arrested again”, Wolf said.
“Nice! The TV’s still here!” shouted Snake from the living room.

Again, Wolf’s mind returned to Diane.
“She made them give us our things back”, he thought.
And, surprisingly, Diane was the word he read when his cellphone’s screen lighted up.

‘Hey there, Wolf! Did everything go well there?’.

Wolf couldn’t hold back a smile. And when he was putting the phone in his pocket, it started to shake.

‘Diane Foxington’, it said.

‘Hey Wolf, how’s it going?’
‘Hey there, Governor. Everything’s just fine here’
‘Great! I heard you managed to get back your hide- I mean, your… uh… house’
‘Yeah… I was lucky’
‘But you did that legally, right?’
‘What do you think?’
Diane laughed.
‘I think you’re an idiot’
‘Aw, c’mon, you know you love me’
‘Hmm… yes, I do’
‘Wait… you know or you love me?
She chuckled.
‘See ya’
For a funny moment, Wolf didn’t know if he was happy or angry.

Wolf and Diane had gotten themselves together pretty well while the Bad Guys were in prison. Thanks to his good behavior, Wolf chatted every day with Diane through the phone. And it became a habit.

Both of them liked it.

***

The months that followed the Bad Guys’ release went by pretty well. They were financially stable, socially stable and mentally stable in some aspects. Besides, thanks to their new job, they were “invited” to all the important and fancy ceremonies and events that happened in Los Angeles. And that was enough for Snake, and Shark, and Webs, and even Piranha.
But not for Wolf.
He needed a different thing. Actually, someone.

Obviously, in all those events, Diane was present. And nothing bad ever happened, nothing actually happened, ‘cause the “Bad” Guys were securing all the operation. So Wolf had plenty of time to remember the Gala for Goodness, in which he found the most valuable treasure of the world. Seeing her in those events always made him lose himself in the memories of his dance with her. But being a just-thinking-no-doing passionate guy wasn’t his type. In all those events, he danced and talked with her. And something started to become clearer inside his mind. “That’s the thing you’ve been searching for”.

And he wasn’t the only one to think that.

***

The Bad Guys went good. The Good Guys. And whether they liked it or not, everyone loved them. But, at some point, people just got tired of them. In many aspects, that was a very good thing. But when the weight of the press constantly interviewing them was taken off their shoulders, Wolf felt somewhat free.
And even though he was the first one between them to actually go good, Wolf missed the excitement of robbing, the late-at-night scheming, the epic proportions of his biggest heists. Plus: he hadn’t “said goodbye” to thievery. And he knew he’d still miss being a bad guy as long as he didn’t have done one last job.
And one day, a crazy idea came up in his mind. He’d be alone the whole day, since Shark really wanted to go shopping, Webs needed to buy a new computer, Piranha was tired of staying home and Snake said the Push-Pops were gone. The Police Department had given them a break. Wolf volunteered himself to stay and ‘take care of everything’, which was strange, since he actually didn’t have to do anything.

‘One last job’. This phrase was knocking his mind the whole morning.
He really wanted to do a last heist to get free of the longing he felt. And the destiny, often crushing people’s dreams or ruining their plans, this time, decided to help.

Wolf’s phone was buzzing again.

‘What the… hey! Diane?’
‘Yeah, it’s me! Everything alright?’
‘Oh… uhm.. yes, everything’s good’
‘Nice! Are you free today?’

Wolf stopped. Are you free today?

‘Yeah, I’m free for the whole day, actually’
‘Meet me at Luigi’s’
‘I’m on my way’
He answered automatically, mechanically, without even thinking.

“What the…“, he thought. Anyways, he was already in the car, driving to Luigi’s.

When he got there, he saw Diane sitting in a hidden table in the dark.

“Hey Wolf”, she said.
“Nice too see you, Diane”.
And it was very nice to see her.
“Sorry to ask, but why did you-“
“Yeah… I just wanted to talk with you”.
“Hm… alright then, I’m here”

She took a deep breath and said:

”I’m done, Wolf, I’m destroyed. It’s been two weeks I haven’t got a decent sleep, I’m drowning in paperwork, my mind’s blowing up… I can’t take it”

”Hey, look… if there’s someone who can bear all of that, it’s you. You’re the strongest and hottest person I know! Plus: hard times makes us stronger”

“Heh…”, she smiled, “Well… thanks for hearing me out”
“Aw, please, Diane, I love you- I mean, I love talking to you”
Diane noticed the stumble. And she loved it.
“But… I may have something that can bring you some excitement”, Wolf continued.
“Hmm… what are you thinking?”
“At the museum, there’s this jewel, the Blue Sapphire, arrived yesterday. They say it’s the most valuable stone in the world. Tonight, it’ll be revealed to public”
“Wolf, don’t tell me you’re-“
“Yes, Diane. I am”

She wanted to say no, but Wolf was right. They needed that excitement. Plus, she really wanted an excuse to be with him.

“But do you have a plan?”
“Excuse me? I’m not bringing up a plan alone”
“What-“
Wolf grabbed her paw. Diane blushed. Suddenly, she discovered she really liked that furry smooth touch…
“Would you join me?”
“What?! I ca-“
“C’mon… I know you want it… and plus…”
Wolf got closer to her.
“The Queen of Cons…”
“Wolf, please-“
“Acrobatic Swiss Army Knife…”
“Wolf…”
“Stole the Zumpango Diamond twice… once for profit… second time just for fun… never identified, never caught”
“No, no… I can’t do that, Wolf”
“Please, Diane. Aren’t you the best bad guy world’s ever seen?”
She looked down, and Wolf sat in his chair again.
“I had a dream…”
Diane looked at him: his yellow eyes were shining.
“I had a dream that one day… I’d make a heist with The Crimson Paw. Please, Diane…”
“Okay, okay… you won. But it’s just because I like you”
“You love me”
“Yeah… I do”
Wolf frowned.
“What?”
Diane laughed.
“I knew you’d make that face”
He smiled. But… she loved him? What?
“Uhh… ‘kay, let’s bounce”
“Uh… where exactly?”
“Eh.. your house?”, Wolf said, a bit awkward.

Wolf drove to Diane’s house, stopping by the other side of the street. They got in, and Diane typed the code on the microwave. Wolf was secretly memorizing it.
When they got into the elevator, Wolf delightfully remembered his first time in Crimson Paw’s hideout.

“I love this place”

Diane ran to the computer and started searching for information about the Blue Sapphire: how the revealing was gonna happen, time and security…

“Wolf!”
He was messing around her equipment.
“Sorry”, he said, with an embarrassed smile.
“Take a look at this”
She opened a document with the information related to all the security procedures.

“It’s gonna be easier than I thought”, Wolf smiled.
“What do you mean?”, Diane asked.
“Card-safe doors, bulletproof glass containers, guards roaming around… it’s exactly like the Good Samaritan awarding ceremony”
“Yeah… okay, so, what’s the plan?”
“First, we need two different disguises each and an excuse to explain why the Governor’s not coming”
“Ah, that’s easy. But why two disguises?”
“One to enter there without being recognized, neither me as Wolf, or you as Diane. The other one’s for the action, and we need to be hooded up to the teeth so the heist won’t have anything to do with Crimson Paw or me”
“Alright then. As for the Sapphire… we’ll need to get it from the container before it gets revealed. How are we gonna do that?”
“Maybe we could-“
“We could fool the lock with a decoder and replace it with another jewel… but I think we’ll need to take down some guards and hijack some security cameras before that… ‘cause then, when the Sapphire gets revealed, we’ll have a clear escape route and time to run away before-“
“Before they notice the switcheroo”
For a brief moment, they both exchanged admiration glances, for finding one more thing that bonded them together: crime.

“You see why I was dreaming with this?”, Wolf said.

Diane let a smile escape. On the inside, she was happy to be with the real Wolf. Not the pretend-to-be-good Wolf, but the actual Wolf, gentleman thief, the furry Arsène Lupin who stole her heart.
“Alright, so… the lights go out, we break into the safe room, get the Sapphire, leave the building and boom: the greatest heist in history’s done”, Wolf concluded, while grabbing the equipment.

“And… uh… thanks for…”
“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Wolf”

They packed up and got in the car.
“Shall we?”, asked Wolf.
“Dig it”, said Diane.
The engine revved and the black Camaro-Challenger speeded through the streets of Los Angeles.

***

The city didn’t have the smaller idea of what was about to happen. Two mastermind criminals, the best thieves in the world, were about to pull of the heist of the century. Wolf and Diane knew that if it succeeded (which was almost impossible to not happen), they’d leave their mark in history, stealing the most precious jewel in existence like stealing a lollipop from a kid.

When they arrived at the event, disguised and ready for the action, they felt like if they were at the Good Samaritan Awarding Ceremony again. But, this time, they were together.
Wolf smoothly grabbed Diane’s paw, probably using the disguise thing as an excuse to show his affection for her.
And she loved it.

The place was very large and full of yellow lights, with tables in the middle and display totems around. The stage where the Blue Sapphire would be presented from was in the back. Inside each totem was a different jewel, less valuable, but still very rare, along with its detailed description, found in a small sign near each totem.

“Okay... now… I’ll get the pass cards and the replacement jewel and you find a way to jam those cameras”, said Wolf.
“Alright”, Diane answered, walking through the crowd.

Wolf quickly found the perfect stone: blue, shiny and almost the same size as the Sapphire. But, right next to it, another jewel caught his attention: the Zumpango Diamond.
The Crimson Paw had lots of fake things she used whenever she needed to replace something she’d steal, and among these things, fake jewels. Wolf had brought some, in order to replace the jewel he’d use to replace the Sapphire.
Wolf quickly broke into the glass container, switched the stones and closed it again, very smoothly. And after making sure no one was looking, he did the same with the Zumpango Diamond. He knew Diane liked that stone in a special way, and what better than returning it to the con who stole it, two times, fair and square? Plus, he perfectly remembered she said: “What? I’m sentimental!”.
After that, he started to search for Chief Luggins, who, again, had the pass cards with her. It didn’t take long, though. But he couldn’t use the same trick he used at the Awarding Ceremony, so he came up with another plan: he wouldn’t be the one bumping into her.
He waited for her to cross someone’s path, and before she passed by, he taunted him. That made him look away, to return the wave, and bump into the Chief, while Wolf snitched the cards and mingled again in the crowd.
When he met with Diane again, he grabbed her paw and kissed it, just like Oliver Poodleton, but now, instead of stealing her ring, he was returning it.

“Wolf, what are you do-“
She gasped after seeing the ring in her finger.
“Oh, Wolf, you… wait a sec… Wolf!”
“What?”
“You… you… ah, forget it. Thanks”, she said, giving him a flirty look.
Wolf smiled in delight. He knew she’d like it.
“Alright. Cameras jammed?”
“Cameras jammed”

‘She’s good’, Wolf thought.

“Nice. Now… we’ve got fifteen minutes before the reveal. What about a drink?”, he suggested.
“It’d be great”, Diane answered, heading towards the bar.

She took a seat next to Wolf, and while the bartender didn’t show up, he tried to strike a chord.

“This makes me remember of the Awarding Ceremony… but this time the job’s gonna get done, no pants ripped off”
“Why?”
“First: I’m with my path clear, no feelings getting in my way; second…”
He looked deeply in Diane’s emerald eyes, and spoke flirting, being honest, and trying to give her a hint of what he really wanted to mean, at the same time.
“You’re here”

That furry couple had some kind of telepathic connection that made every hint be understood, every reaction, captured, every emotion, felt by both. So Diane didn’t have any problem in getting what Wolf meant. And that was starting to bundle up in her mind: every single hint of his. But she needed to wait, because, she was scared. Scared of maybe losing him if she confessed her feelings or if she didn’t do nothing. Of course she knew Wolf loved her (she didn’t know as much as he actually did, though), but what was she gonna do? What would be her play? She needed to take a first step.

Diane lost herself on these thoughts, and woke up from the trance while Wolf was ordering his drink.

“Hmm… I’ll get a Moscow Mule, double shot, and water. What about you, sweetheart?”
“Wha- I’ll get the same”
“Alright, we’ll get it done in no time”, said the bartender.
Diane looked sharply to Wolf.
“What did you just call me?”
Wolf looked down and lowered his ears in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t call you Diane, and I needed to think fast”, he whispered.
“Really? ‘Sweetheart’ is the first thing that come up in your mind when you think of me?”

Her eyes were sparkling in sweet expectation of what’d be his answer. Diane adored every single affect demonstration he did. He could call her ‘sweetheart’ always.

“Actually, when you come up in my mind, I don’t think anything… you take it over”

The bartender gave them their drinks, and they calmly finished and went somewhere hidden to start working.

The first thing they had to do was getting inside the safe room, from which they could access the main power source, the backstage room and the electrical system sharing panel. Then, they’d plant the lights-out trigger in the power source, lock the system and get into the backstage room. After that, they’d need to silently take down some guards and bypass the identity verifier to get in the Sapphire room. And to finish, they’d deactivate the alarm, break into the bulletproof glass container, switch the stones and leave.

“Just like riding a stolen bicycle, isn’t it?”, joked Wolf.
“Let’s do this”, Diane replied.

They hided, changed clothes and ran through the shadows, heading for the safe room. Wolf quickly inserted one of the pass cards in the door, and they got in.

“Alright. Are you with the trigger thing?”
Diane nodded, and planted it in the power source.
“Great. Now lock the system while I try to fool this reader”
“Done”, she said after a while.
“C’mere”
They both entered the next room. There were mobs of securities.
“How are we gonna get past them?”, Diane asked.
“You’re Crimson Paw. Do what you did back at the S.U.C.M. Prison”, Wolf answered.
“Lemme just..”
She turned a little signal jammer device on and stuck it to the wall.
“Just to make sure they won’t call backup”
“Sly fox”, Wolf said with a proud smirk.

They ran directly to the guards, taking down four of them just in the first blow. Diane was fast and agile, and easily defeated her opponents. She took down one, two, three in a row, without even thinking. Wolf asked himself if she was real. But he wasn’t the only one not paying attention to the fight: Diane was watching him too. She didn’t know he fought so well, even though his skills weren’t as good as hers. She was indeed surprised.
After many punches and kicks and stuff, they got rid of the securities.

“You really know how to fight”, said Diane.
“And you look gorgeous while fighting”, Wolf replied.

After sharing glances once again, Diane hacked the verifier, unlocked the door and disabled the Sapphire alarm. Wolf walked through the door and stopped in front of the glass container.

“It’s beautiful”, Diane exclaimed.
Wolf gave a small chuckle. ‘Not as beautiful as you’, he thought.

Wolf quickly broke the lock, opened the access window and switched the stones, in seconds. And another crazy idea came up in his mind.

“Hey, Diane”
“Yes?”
“Look, I don’t know how to thank you for everything you did to us, everything you did to me. Saving us from prison, half-cleaning our names… helping me to be myself… on the right side. But… I’ll try to return it. Here”
He handed over the Blue Sapphire, kindly laying it on Diane’s paws.
“The most valuable stone in the world”, he continued.
Diane smiled to him. The most beautiful and lovely smile Wolf had ever seen.

“Let’s get outta here, Wolf”

Suddenly they heard a bump, and they were almost revealed when the lights turned on. Diane noticed her mistake: the signal jammer wasn’t working. Special S.W.A.T. guards entered the room and started searching for them. They silently hid in the shadows, thinking on how they could leave the room without being caught.

“There!”, Wolf whispered, pointing at a vent entrance. “We’ve gotta be fast. You first”
Diane nodded and got ready to run. When one of the guards nearby turned around, she ran to the vent and broke inside it.
Two securities heard the noise and headed to the back wall. Diane was going to be caught.
Wolf noticed it and drove their attention to himself, running and hiding behind a totem. Diane managed to get in the vents. But now Wolf was in danger. The guards were steps away of him. Searching for any chance of escape, he looked to the stone inside the totem.
As a desperate last resource, he broke inside the totem, got the jewel inside it and threw it to the the other side of the room, cracking it in thousands of pieces.

It worked. The security guards ran towards the cracking sound, and Wolf headed to the vent. Diane quickly closed the latch and they crawled through the narrow ventilation corridor, leaving in the ladies’ room.

“Close one”, Wolf sighed, getting off the vent. “We’d better change now”.
“Yeah”

After changing, they left the bathroom and reintroduced in the event, calmly, like if nothing happened. Wolf guided Diane to his car and they left the luxurious site, speeding up the highway.

They both felt indescribably relieved.

“I feel much better now. We’ve just pulled off the greatest heist in history like if it wasn’t nothing”, Wolf said with a proud smile.
Diane was quiet.
“Diane, you okay?”
“It’s just… I almost got us caught, and… if it wasn’t by you, I’d probably be in jail”
“Actually, you did the same thing to us some time ago…”
“Yeah, but… thanks”
“No problem, Governor”
They glanced at each other, eyes sparkling.

“Also… thanks for inviting me”
Wolf chuckled.
“It was the best part”
“Huh?”
“Having you”

***

Wolf dropped Diane home, but she invited him inside. Her house was still the same, nothing had changed since he last entered there.

They took a seat on the sofa, looking at each other. Wolf had never seen a fox so beautiful. That orange fur… those emerald eyes…

Diane had never been like she was. Uncharted territory, no control over what’s happening… and when she looked at him… she just wanted to be with him.

And thanks to that telepathic bond they had, both of them noticed that this strange feeling was mutual. 

“Are you feeling…”

“Yes… I’m feeling it for a long time, actually”

He got closer to her.
Diane blushed.
“And that’s why I gave you the Sapphire and the Diamond. That’s why I called you. That’s why I turned myself in a year ago. That’s why I didn’t steal the Golden Dolphin. That’s why I went good”
“Wolf, I…”
“Diane… would you like to go on… a date?”
“When?”
“Now”
He grabbed her paw and took a seat on the kitchen table. Then, took off something from his pocket.
“Take it”
It was the necklace she was wearing at the Gala.
“I’m yours”
Diane looked at him, wordless.
“I give up. You won”
“What do you mean, Wolf?”
“You’ve been pursuing me since I met you. Every scheme, every plan I tried to come up with since then, I couldn’t do it. And I can escape anything. I’m a criminal, and even though I went good, I still have the heart of one. But you took over my mind, you stole my heart, now I’m yours”, he shot all at once.

Whoever saw that scene would have seen a miracle: the great Crimson Paw, caught.
He knew how to flatter her, he knew what she wanted, and now he had given himself in. What could she do? She couldn’t escape.
Both of them were unmasked. Wolf wasn’t being the smooth, proud and cool Wolf, but the honest, real Wolf, for the first time not hiding something, but risking everything.
Diane wasn’t being the expert, tricky fox, but the sentimental, fragile vixen she never revealed to anyone.

Suddenly, something took over her as well. A desperate feeling, a deep desire, that would finally bring up and discharge that thing that was bothering her mind since she danced with Wolf at the Gala. Diane grabbed Wolf’s tie and dragged him into a passionate and unexpected kiss. If it was crazy, insane, she didn’t care. She loved him.
Wolf felt relieved when she did that, without mentioning he was extremely and indescribably happy. He got up and pressed her body against his, returning all the feelings she made him feel.

After a whole minute, they got apart and Diane hugged him, as she whispered in Wolf’s ears: “I love you”
“I love you more”, he answered.

They laid together on the sofa, cuddling, finally showing how they loved each other, since their first encounter.