Another early morning at the ZPD. Officer Benjamin Clawhauser was behind the reception desk, halfway through his breakfast - which, today, consisted of a bowl of Lucky Chomps and the predictable half-dozen doughnuts - getting ready for another slow day. Ever since the night howler case had been solved, the headquarters had returned to its far-less-busy self.

Clawhauser liked that, since it allowed him more time to do what he liked. Plus, it also meant that he wasn't stuck down in Records. While it was nice to not have visitors and officers constantly filing in and out of the HQ, the cheetah loved his job, the talking to others and animal-watching especially.

His round ears twitched a bit as he heard a soft push on the revolving door at the building's entrance. He looked up to see Officer Nick Wilde strolling in. Another reason Clawhauser loved his job was because of his fellow officers, who were also some of his closest friends. While not everyone bothered to talk to him, the ones that did were always very nice and helped him if he needed it.

Taking his mind off of those thoughts, Clawhauser watched Nick for a little, and his smile slowly faltered.

The fox was there almost an half hour early. He was never there that early, and nearly always just barely made it into the bullpen before Chief Bogo. In addition, he seemed to be behaving a bit strangely. His usual smirk was replaced with a small frown, his ears were slightly flattened, and his bushy tail hung lower to the floor than usual.

Clawhauser watched as Nick strolled over to a low wall surrounding a planter, turned around, and leaned his back against it, staring idly at the floor. He looked like he was lost in thought, and, judging by his expression, something was troubling him.

The cheetah watched from the front desk for a little while more, trying to figure out why his friend was acting like this. He then decided that it was time to take matters into his own paws.

"Hey, Nick!" Clawhauser called, giving the fox a cheery wave and a huge smile. Nick looked up and his expression changed, his smirk reappearing and his tail curling a bit, though his ears remained where they were. "Heya, Claw." he replied as he strode to the desk casually.

"You're in early." the cheetah remarked, his tail curling a bit behind him.

"Yeah, I.. didn't get much sleep last night. I was up around five." Nick replied, leaning against the desk. Even though he couldn't pick up on some things, Clawhauser wasn't fooled by Nick's lie, though he didn't want to accuse him directly.

"Is everything okay? You didn't look too happy when you came in here." he asked, searching Nick's expression. He noticed that his ears flicked a bit and his sly smile quivered slightly.

"Headache. I think that's why I couldn't sleep. That, or I'm dreading the work Buffalo Butt's gonna give me today." the fox joked, his smirk returning.

Something was definitely bothering him, and Clawhauser wasn't going to let it go until he learned if there was anything he could do to help.

Time to stop beating around the bush.

"You wouldn't lie to me, right Nick?" he asked seriously, putting on his most innocent voice as he looked down at him.

Nick looked a bit taken aback. "No.. Why would I lie to you, Claw?" he then asked, his smile gone yet again. Clawhauser didn't respond, but continued looking down at Nick with puppy-dog eyes. After a few moments of staring back, the fox broke.

"Okay, okay, fine. I might not be telling the complete truth." he said with a sigh, his ears drooping further as he looked away, his usual sly attitude gone completely now.

"It's okay, you can tell me.." Clawhauser said gently, his ears perking up a bit. "Are you feeling sick? Stressed out? Angry?"

The fox let out another sigh before looking back up at him. "It's just… I don't know how to feel about Carrots."

"Judy?" the cheetah asked, his curiosity and concern increasing. "Did something happen?"

"No, just.." Nick paused, closing his eyes for a moment, "I.. I don't know what she thinks of me. I know we're partners and all but.. I feel like we could be something more."

"You're afraid she might not like you as much as you like her?" Clawhauser prompted, getting a nod from the fox. "Pretty much. I don't want to ask because what if she doesn't want to be more than friends? What if she thinks I'm weird for suggesting that?" Nick was gazing up at him, a helpless look about him.

Clawhauser considered his options, noticing the rest of the police force starting to arrive. He then looked back at Nick.

"How about this: You come over and we'll talk about this more, alright?" he suggested, giving him a kind smile. He wanted to help the fox with his problems and unfortunately they wouldn't have much time left before Nick had to go into the bullpen.

Nick considered this for a while before nodding. "Sure." he said, giving the cheetah a rare genuine smile in return, his pointy ears perking up a bit.

Clawhauser gave Nick his address and apartment number, and told him that he was welcome to come when he wanted, as long as he was given a warning prior.

Just then, Judy hopped in, her usual cheerful self. She greeted the two of them and followed the others into the room. Nick thanked Clawhauser and left to accompany her, leaving the cheetah to think about how he'll help the fox deal with his emotions, smiling as he thought of some advice to give him.