***Frank (Chloe’s Dad), Bandit Heeler, and Stripe Heeler are from the Australian TV Show Bluey, which belongs to Studio LUDO***

It was like a slap in the face.

Frank had been hard at work on the computer at home. He was just finishing up an intense research paper on the communication styles of dolphins, and that they could be as or even more intelligent than dogs after a detailed analysis of their brains, with perhaps the only hindrance to their progress being the limitations of their physical bodies…

Finally, he sent it, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

As he walked into the living room, he saw that his daughter, Chloe, had finally gotten back from playing at her best friend Bluey’s house.

“Hey, Chloe! I’m glad you’re back! I have a little time on my hands, so… why don’t we play a game or something?” Frank offered.

She took one look at her father, and simply just sighed heavily with a sullen look. She slouched into her seat.

“Um…no thanks… it’s just, you’re so… boring. You always do the same thing. You never do anything creative or energetic like Bluey’s Dad. You don’t know how to make it fun like him.”

Frank looked at her, stunned, only to reply with a quiet “oh,” as he looked down and walked away.

The rest of the day went on in a normal way: Chloe cooed at her baby brother and tried to have fun with him, his wife had cooked dinner, he cleaned up a little bit around the house, read Chloe a bedtime story… as if nothing happened.

But yet, the whole time, he couldn’t stop his mind from repeating what Chloe had said: that he was “boring.” That he wasn’t “fun” like Bluey’s dad…

Well, it certainly wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t a stay-at-home Dad like Bandit, who just has this seemingly endless, boisterous energy all the time.

As much as he liked Bandit, he admittedly couldn’t truly be friends with him—or his friends, for that matter. Frank wasn’t completely obsessed with Cricket like he was, he often got tuckered out from work while Bandit would be planning and doing all these fun and exciting things, he wasn’t competitive like Bandit was, he didn’t drink a lot of beer and party like Bandit did, he wasn’t unafraid to embarrass himself like Bandit would for his kids, and he wasn’t creative in the same way that Bandit was.

Sure, Frank could be creative—but his ideas often spawned from his interest in his research at work and were more about “high-level” things, concepts, and philosophies, rather than the down-to-earth, physical, spontaneous creativity of Bandit. Him and Bandit were just total opposites…

As he went to bed, these thoughts kept on plaguing him, making it a struggle for him to get to sleep…

—

Frank woke up feeling groggy in the morning. Frank usually liked to get up early, but the rocky night’s sleep last night from his ever-running mind made him want to sleep in.

In spite of this, he continued to go on his day: going to work, involving himself in his research, going out in the field—but, the whole time, he couldn’t get what Chloe said off his mind—especially since she was playing all day at the Heeler house again today!

Finally, he made up his mind.

He was going to call Bandit and ask him how to be a fun dad!

—

Frank felt a lump in his throat as he looked at Bandit’s number on his phone. He had literally been sitting there for five minutes.

Why am I so nervous to call him? I’m always making calls for work…

Maybe it was because Frank rarely ever called him, or that they’d only really spoke to each other because their daughters were best friends…

Frank realized something.

This would be first time—ever—that Frank would call Bandit for something.

Usually, it was always Bandit calling him to invite his family out for things, or to do some sort of activity or hangout—never the other way around.

Well, there’s a first time for everything… there’s no point in wasting time.

Feeling a sense of resolve, Frank finally dialed his number and called him.

“‘Ay, mate!” Bandit laughed cheerfully.

“Um, hello…” Frank murmured hesitantly.

“It’s rare to see you calling me—wait, have you called me? Well, no bother—listen mates I was just playing ‘Kraken’ with the kids! You won’t believe how crazy it’s getting, mate! At this point, we’ll be at this all arvy!”

“Well, yeah…”

Frank slightly brightened as a subtle smile came up on his face. He and Bandit really were opposites…

“I’m glad that everyone’s having fun. Chloe really loves spending time with you and Bluey; I really appreciate you taking the time to play so enthusiastically with her.”

“No problem; any time, Frank!”

“So… I wanted to ask you a question,” Frank started.

“You know, I look at you and just how much energy and fun you have with the kids and how much you connect with them and… I really want that kind of relationship with my daughter.”

Frank looked down as he held the phone, his voice slightly shrinking.

“I feel like I’m just… boring. Like I’m not a ‘fun’ or ‘good’ dad,” he quivered.

“I—I want to be a fun dad! I want to be like you!” Frank cried.

Although Frank couldn’t see it, a cocky smile grew on Bandit’s face as he looked at his brother Stripe. Unbeknownst to Frank, he was on speaker—although, Chloe and Bluey were now playing outside, so neither of them were hearing this conversation.

“Aw, Frank… you wanna be a fun dad, mate? Come over here. We’ll teach you,” Bandit said confidently.

“‘We’ll?’” Frank questioned.

“Yes, we’ll,” a deep voice—that obviously wasn’t Bandit’s—responded.

Frank was actually kind of surprised with how burly the voice sounded. “Who is that?”

“It’s me, Bandit’s brother Stripe!” the deep voice replied.

Stripe put his arm around Bandit and loudly patted his shoulder so Frank could hear over the phone.

“You’ll be learning from the best. Don’t worry.” Stripe assured Frank.

“Just keep it chill… we’ll teach you… in fact, that’ll be your first lesson in being a fun dad: don’t be a worrywart! Just relax and be yourself—and not your shy self, your open self!” Bandit added.

“Don’t be a worrywart, just relax… got it,” Frank repeated.

“You’re getting it, mate!” Bandit cheered. “Even if it’s only a minuscule fraction of it… just knowing you and how repressed you are, you’ve got a long way to go. Come over to my house tomorrow. The only way that you’ll improve is to get into the action, especially since tomorrow’s Saturday and you probably won’t be working; doing this over the phone won’t cut it.”

—

Frank stood before the Heeler house. It was a large, traditional Queenslander house with yellow siding and a red roof—a home that looked as cheerful as its inhabitants, contrasting starkly against Frank’s ultramodern white, brown, and beige house, only demonstrating to him once again how different he was from the Heelers.

Frank had already expected that things would get a bit physical, so he wore his soft, stretchy blue workout shirt and sweatpants just in case.

Having readied himself for today, he went to knock on the door, only for Bandit to open it up before he could even knock, Bandit suddenly lunging out and hugging him excitedly before he could say even a word.

“Frank!!! Welcome to the Heeler house! You ready to be a fun dad?”

It was like all of Bandit’s fat and sweat had sloshed into him…

“Y-y-you’re squishing me…” Frank squirmed.

“Aw, biscuits!” Bandit quickly let go.

“Sorry mate! I get like that when I get excited,” Bandit grinned toothily.

Frank finally got to get a good look at him. From all the sweat Frank could see and the intense armpit musk he could smell, it was clear that Bandit had just been out on a run. Sweat dripped down his fur, giving it a matted texture, and dark sweat stains were clearly visible on his red tank top that read “Dad Bod” in huge white letters, especially on his chest and armpits. His tank top definitely seemed too small for him and like it’d been stretched out, as tons of dark yellow chest hairs popped out from his low tank top, and his gigantic hairy ball belly was clearly visible and hanging. Bandit’s shoulders were truly massive, spanning three or four times the width of Frank’s. He wore a red headband, which somehow hadn’t come off despite his short forehead. In spite of all the fat that hung on his body, Bandit’s arms were shockingly muscular, and Frank could clearly see Bandit’s hairy pecs flex as his arms retracted to his sides. He was also shockingly tall. What was he, 190 centimeters (6’3”~6’4”) tall?

My God, he’s huge! Was he always this big? Frank thought.

“Oh my…” a deep voice sounded.

Frank and Bandit looked over to see Stripe, who had an almost identical body type to Bandit, smiling half-lidded in the doorway.

“He really does have a long way to go. He’s skinny as a rail!” Stripe yelled while leaning over and poking Frank’s belly.

“Lesson two on being a fun dad: don’t be so picky with what you eat, you gotta get that energy! It’s no wonder you don’t have enough stamina to keep up with your daughter! We gotta feed you something right now” Bandit exclaimed.

Frank just took one look at the two burly men’s massive guts and looked back up.

“I… think I’m good, but thank you! There’s importance in that, but I’m not sure if there’s that much importance…” he seriously tried his hardest not to look at their thundering bellies as he said this. “I try to be healthy—“

“Oh no…” Stripe interjected, now fingering Frank’s belly as he yanked his arm.

“With a body that skinny, trust me, you’ll never be a fun dad. Man, even the way you’re talking is no fun! You need more help than I thought, mate…” Stripe sighed, putting his hand to his head. “You’re coming to eat with us.”

Oh my god… Frank thought.

Maybe I shouldn’t have asked… just what have I gotten myself into!?!?