Tying Knots

In the bullpen, Chief Bogo was handing out his assignments as normal. He saved Hopps and Wilde for last. "You two, I have a very special mission for you."

"What mission is that?" Hopps asked, very eager.

"I want you two to take Clawhauser out on the town today. I don't care what you do, just keep him busy. I need time to plan something very important, and I really don't want him to know about the plans in advance,"

"You gonna pop the question, boss?" Wilde asked.

Bogo panicked and shout-whispered, "Not so loud, Wilde! He could walk by at any moment!"

"Whoa, I was actually right?" Wilde asked, "I thought I was joking…"

"Whatever, just keep him busy and don't let him know what I'm up to," Bogo said, "If anyone here has the resourcefulness to pull this off, it's you two. Do not waver."

"On it, Chief," Hopps said.

"Oh, Hopps and Wilde! Got any sweet and awesome assignments today?" Clawhauser asked when the detective team approached his desk.

"Actually, Chief Bogo said that you deserved a day off," Hopps said, "Because you've been working so hard. And in fact, he thought that it'd be so hard to pry you from your desk he tasked us with the duty of treating you to a day on the town."

"Really?" Clawhauser said, "Aww, the Chief's sure a sweet potato."

"So, what do you want to do?" Wilde said.

"Go shopping?" Clawhauser said.

"Ohh, but I don't think Officer Wilde will be ah… thrilled about that," Hopps said.

"Naw, it's fine," Wilde said, "We can shop anywhere you want in the city, as long as it's nowhere near a jewelry store."

"Why?" Clawhauser asked.

Hopps looked at Wilde impatiently. Wilde shifted his eyes around. "Umm," he said, "I don't like jewelry because it reminds me of muzzles."

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, Officer Wilde, I didn't realize how sensitive… it's okay, we'll avoid it for sure," Clawhauser said, "I happen to know the city's strip malls backwards and forwards, and there is no jewelry store anywhere near the one in East Rainforest District."

"Nice save," Hopps whispered.

"Thanks," Wilde responded.

Hopps and Wilde took Clawhauser to East Rainforest District as intended, and they visited a few stores. While Wilde was waiting impatiently for Hopps and Clawhauser to finish trying on party clothes, he suddenly spotted Bogo standing on a bridge overlooking a river, moving his arms as if imagining a framed picture. He then took out a notebook and started jotting things down.

"Code red," Wilde said.

"What do you mean?" Hopps asked, as she came out dressed in a short, pink cocktail dress.

"That looks great on you," Wilde said, smirking.

"Okay, keeping this one," Hopps said, adding her clothes to the purchases.

"But more importantly, make sure that Mr. Fabulous gets out of here without seeing the b-f-alo," Wilde whispered. "I think he might be… checking out spots."

"Chief Bogo is HERE!?" Hopps shout-whispered, and then covered her mouth, worried that Clawhauser would hear.

"How do I look, guys? Be brutal," Clawhauser said, walking out wearing a lavender T-shirt that said, "Don't hate me because I'm adorable."

Wilde said, "It suits you, big guy, really."

"Thank you!" Clawhauser shouted, as his tail curled.

"But anyway, how about we make our purchases and get out of here?" Wilde said, trying to push Hopps and Clawhauser to the checkout stand.

"What's the big rush?" Clawhauser asked.

"It's almost noon, and I bet you haven't had lunch yet," Wilde said, "Let's go have lunch… somewhere else. Like Tundratown."

"Ooh!" Clawhauser said, "I love dining in Tundratown! Some of my favorite restaurants are there!"

"Great, let's go," Wilde said.

"I'm partial to a little place called Swims n Sweets," Clawhauser said.

"Does it serve… umm… vegetables at all?" Hopps asked.

"Of course," Clawhauser said, "There's a whole page of menu items catering to prey."

"No use dawdling," Wilde said. "We've gotta get out of here, now."

"Okay," Clawhauser said, heading for the front door.

"No, let's umm… take the back exit, there's a shortcut," Wilde said.

"If you say so, Wilde," Clawhauser said, giggling and following his lead. He turned to Hopps and said, "Your boyfriend seems a little tense."

"He's not my boyfriend," Hopps said.

Clawhauser giggled. "Your friend who is a heterosexual boy seems a little tense."

Hopps said, "He's just antsy because we took so much time shopping."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Clawhauser said, "And it is lunch time… maybe he's getting a little bit of the hunger mood."

Wilde, Hopps, and Clawhauser headed to Tundratown. Wilde scoped out the restaurant Clawhauser requested, and saw Bogo smiling and resting his arm on the host's podium, clearly talking about something. "Uh… Hopps? We have a big problem. A like, seven foot, one ton big problem."

"Not again," Hopps said. "What now."

"He's chatting up the maître d. I think he might be trying to… make reservations!" Wilde whispered.

"Well, we certainly can't eat here then, under the circumstances," Hopps whispered back.

"What are you two talking about?" Clawhauser asked.

"Nothing!" both of them said in unison.

"Really?" Clawhauser asked.

"No," Hopps said, "Clawhauser… it seems that Swims n Sweets is booked for a private party of hyenas today."

"Aww," Clawhauser said, pouting.

"It's okay, we'll find another place. Like, how about that place… Bonfire Skewers! It serves fish, vegetables, breads, and desserts!"

"That definitely works," Clawhauser said. "Thanks for looking out for me, guys."

Clawhauser, Wilde, and Hopps enjoyed their lunch. "So," Clawhauser said, "You guysaren't dating."

"No," Hopps said.

"How come?" Clawhauser asked.

"Well, we're very good friends," Hopps said.

"But just because we're not dating now, that doesn't mean we never will," Wilde said. "We just thought it would be better to, you know, take things slow. How long did you know the chief before he asked you out?"

"Many years," Clawhauser said, "But only a few months after he admitted something fundamental to himself… and to me."

"That he loves dudes as much as he hates everything?" Wilde asked.

"I guess you could say that," Clawhauser said, "But he's not nearly as rough as he appears on the surface. Deep down, he's a cuddly doll. He's like one of those lollypops that has a hard crunchy surface and a chewy chocolate center!"

"Tootsie Pawps?" Wilde asked.

"Exactly," Clawhauser said dreamily. "Oh, speaking of my hunky boyfriend, isn't that him right there?" He pointed out the window, to see Bogo leaving the vicinity of Swims n Sweets.

Wilde gasped, and then said, "Annnd… I think it's time to go now. Check please!"

"Did the hyena party get too unruly?" Clawhauser pondered.

"Let's go with that," Wilde said, "Come on, we have got to go."

"Then why is the chief grinning?" Clawhauser asked.

"No reason, let's just get out of here," Wilde said. He put down the payment for the restaurant and then left immediately.

Clawhauser said, "You know, for a day off, this sure is exhausting. With all the running back and forth everywhere."

"You're a cheetah, you're supposed to be good at running," Wilde said.

"Short distance sprints. We're terrible at marathons, which this day is turning into…" Clawhauser said.

"Well, we can go relax somewhere nice," Hopps said, "I know a great day spa right across the street from my apartment complex."

"Good idea," Clawhauser said, "Let's go there."

Hopps, Clawhauser, and Wilde made their way to the day spa, and they relaxed a while. Hopps and Wilde were sitting around a hot tub, dipping their feet. "You did it, Hopps," Wilde said, "There's no way that we'll run into Chief Bogo in a place like this."

"At least not planning stuff," Hopps responded.

"Who's planning what exactly?" Clawhauser asked as he entered the room.

"Eek! I thought you were getting a massage in the other room!" Hopps said.

"I was, but now, I thought I'd join you guys in here for a bit," Clawhauser said. "What's being planned?"

"It's a need to know basis," Wilde said, "And you do NOT need to know."

"Wait," Clawhauser said, "Plans… that I do not need to know… pushing me away from the restaurant when the chief was nearby… avoiding the jewelry stores…" He slowly let his jaw drop, and then began to grin like crazy.

"Oh crap, he figured it out," Wilde said.

"Not necessarily," Hopps said.

"The chief is gonna propose to me?" Clawhauser asked, grinning eagerly.

"Okay, yeah, he did," Hopps said.

Clawhauser loudly squealed and rolled onto his back, playfully kicking the air. "I've been dreaming of this day for god knows how long!"

"Okay, but see, the chief was really, really intent on surprising you," Hopps said, "In fact, he specifically ordered us to keep you busy so you didn't find out."

"Okay," Clawhauser said, "I'll just have to make that thing I just did a repeat performance."

Hopps, Wilde, and Clawhauser exited the day spa. Bogo was heading in the exact direction of the day spa, holding a small box. He saw Clawhauser and immediately hid the box behind his back. "Hey, cutie, how are you doing?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, just wonderful, sweetie!" Clawhauser responded. "Thanks for having Hopps and Wilde take me on a day off."

"Oh, it's no problem," Bogo said. He cleared his throat, "I would like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night, if that's alright with you."

"Oh, no problem at all," Clawhauser said.

"I made reservations at your favorite place, Swims n Sweets in Tundratown," Bogo said.

"Thank you," Clawhauser said. He purred loudly. Bogo attempted to pet his head but then remembered he was still holding something he didn't want Clawhauser to see yet.

"Umm, see you then, kitten," Bogo said before he backed away from Clawhauser, and ducked behind a building.

"He had the ring," Clawhauser whispered to Hopps and Wilde, and then he cradled his face, squealing loudly and rapidly stomping his feet alternatively.

"Okay, but seriously? You're going to need to save some of that excitement for tomorrow night," Wilde said, "If Chief Stonewall discovers you learned about it in advance, he might have our heads."

"Oh, please," Clawhauser said, flicking his wrist, "I have enough excitement for thirty birthday parties even when I didn't just learn that someone's going to ask me to marry him."

"While that is a good point," Wilde said, "Shouldn't it be noticeably higher than usual?"

"It will be, don't worry," Clawhauser said. He clasped his front paws together and looked dreamily into the distance. "Hypotheticals are never as exciting as the real thing."

"If you say so," Wilde said, shrugging.

Wilde and Hopps felt compelled to spy on the next evening's events, just to make sure everything went according to plan. They hid behind a large column and peered out the edges of it. When Bogo and Clawhauser got to the restaurant, Bogo told the waiter, "An extra-large salad for me, and a Swims n Sweets Sampler for this cute little cheetah."

"Ooh," Clawhauser said. "My, my, my… you really do know what I like."

"Yeah, well," Bogo said, "I do like to think I know you rather well. We've been working together for a long time, friends for almost as long, and dating for a while."

"Oh, not long enough," Clawhauser said, "I wish that we could be together for years and years… or even, you know, forever. Oh, sorry, did that sound weird?"

"Not at all," Bogo said, smirking.

"That is so sweet," Hopps whispered to Wilde from their post, as she put her paws over her heart.

The waiter circled back to the table, where Bogo ordered a plate of sticky buns to split. "You can have as much as you want, sweetie, don't hold back for my sake," Bogo said, putting a hoof on one of Clawhauser's paws and gazing lovingly into his eyes. Clawhauser's heart was pounding loudly and he was stunned speechless.

After they finished their dessert and Bogo paid the check, he asked, "Benny, would you care to take a walk with me in the Rainforest District?"

"Oh, I'd love to," Clawhauser said.

"Perfect," Bogo said, holding Clawhauser close to him. Wilde and Hopps took that as their cue to move out.

Bogo and Clawhauser eventually found their way to a bridge overlooking a river. "Isn't it lovely?" Bogo asked, "Almost, but not quite, as lovely as your eyes."

"Aww," Clawhauser said, his tail curling. "You know what, this night has been just perfect. I can hardly think of anything that would make it better…"

"Well, maybe there is something that can make it better," Bogo said, reaching into his pocket. Clawhauser fought hard not to start squealing right then. This was Bogo's surprise for him, and he couldn't spoil it.

When Bogo got on one knee, Clawhauser took that as permission to start showing his true feelings. He gasped loudly and beamed widely. "Benjamin Clawhauser, will you marry me?" Bogo asked, looking very smooth, presenting the ring.

"I… I…" he said, knowing what he wanted to say but not being able to get the words out. "Yes, yes, I will marry you!" he eventually managed. He gave Bogo a huge hug and purred loudly.

"Well, in that case," Bogo said, and then he dipped Clawhauser and started kissing him deeply.

"Wouldn't kissing a cheetah like that, you know, hurt?" Wilde asked Hopps as they looked on the scene.

"I suspect Bogo's pain tolerance is somewhere around the level of an iron mallet's," Hopps responded. "That buffalo is a real beast."

"They definitely seem happy," Wilde said. He turned around and sighed deeply, then continued, "You know, I was thinking about what Clawhauser said at lunch yesterday."

"About how we should be dating?" Hopps asked.

"Yeah, and how it only took a few months after Bogo admitted his feelings to himself," Wilde said. "You know, Bogo and Clawhauser are going to be married soon. Maybe, it's… been slow enough?"

"If you're asking me on a date," Hopps responded, "I accept."

"Yes!" Wilde said, swinging his arm in front of his chest victoriously.

"But, let's hold off on wedding bells for a bit," Hopps said.

"Oh, yeah, I agree, totally," Wilde said. "I'm not expecting us to pick out matching gravestones yet or anything, just… getting started would be nice."

"Yes, yes, it would," Hopps said.

"Oh, what are you two doing here?" Bogo asked, upon seeing them, "Spying on us to make sure everything went right?"

"Exactly," Wilde said.

"Thank you," Bogo said. "It was so nice to see him genuinely surprised."

Wilde and Hopps looked at each other, and then Wilde said, "Yeah, he didn't have any clue."

"Perfect," Bogo said, obliviously. "Come on, my adorable fiancé, let's go home." Clawhauser giggled.

"What say you, Judy?" Wilde asked, "How about we go on our first date?"

"Yes, let's," she said, placing her paw in his as they walked off.