Chapter Text
Even With The Distance - Part 1
Within the Botanic Gardens, at a time of the most peace and tranquility strolled two dogs hand in hand, an Australian blue heeler and a French-Canadian labrador.
The scene was absolutely perfect. A beautiful, clear night sky, the sound of crickets and the busy city in the distance, fireflies surrounding them, and above all, the slow, gentle falling of gorgeous pink flowers from the hundreds of cherry blossom trees around them.
Such a romantic scene, Bluey thought. Being near Jean-Luc brought out all her best qualities. She could truly be herself around him, she could be vulnerable around him, and every time, he would understand her like no other person ever did.
He looked especially handsome tonight. His beautiful dark blue coat, the adorable floppy ears, the stylish black vest he put on for their date, and the smell… she could swear he had cologne on, and it made her heartbeat skyrocket with how much he prepped himself for this occasion.
“Are you enjoying yourself, mon amour?”
Oh, it was so romantic the way he talked to her. He just completed her.
“Very much. Thank you so much for this, Jean-Luc.”
She felt her hand being squeezed. “Anything for you, Bluey.”
Even after all of this time, he still managed to fluster her. She could feel her tail subconsciously beginning to wag as she heard that beautiful accent.
As they came to a bridge, they stopped, viewing the scene before them. A small creek, the gentle flowing of water filling their ears, and within the water, a stream of beautiful pink flowers, coming all from a row of cherry blossom trees.
The Botanic Gardens had so many cherry blossom trees in bloom that it made for the most ideal, most serene, most romantic scene either dog could imagine.
Bluey and Jean-Luc turned to each other, and she saw his eyes slowly close, and him lean in. Subconsciously, she felt her eyes close as well as she moved closer.
Just before she was able to feel his lips on hers…
“Bluey! Wake up! Your alarm’s been going off for five minutes!”
Bluey’s eyes darted open, and she felt reality snap back to her.
Her in her messy bed, her alarm playing, her sister looking at her expectedly.
“Come on, we overslept. We gotta prepare.”
Bluey groaned as she got out of bed, ready to prepare herself for another day of school.
15,462 kilometers. Fifteen-thousand, four hundred and sixty-two kilometers.
Bluey memorized that number. It meant such a big deal to her.
It was the exact distance between Brisbane and Montréal. An entire ocean apart, lots of time zones and all. She couldn’t remember exactly how many time zones they were apart. All she knew is that when it was six in the afternoon on her end, it was four in the morning on his end.
The only times they could truly text was in the evenings, or rather, the morning for him. She found that out the hard way a few days ago, when she decided to text him in the middle of the day at one point to show him something.
Bluey: this here would totally be us!! 😂
It was of two bats, a male and a female, who made a great cookie dough, and ended up eating the entire thing before they could get around to baking it. Jean-Luc’s response was really slow, but the moment he texted back, she realized why.
Jean-Luc: Bluey… really funny, but it’s three in the morning… 😵💫
Bluey: 😰 i’m so sorry! i didn’t mean to wake you up!
Jean-Luc: It’s okay, we both still need to get used to this ❤️
She felt so guilty that she woke him up. She made sure to properly apologize when he woke up, and he was incredibly understanding.
Jean-Luc: Bonjour Bluey 👋
Bluey: hi Jean-Luc! i’m so sorry again about waking you up…
Jean-Luc: It’s okay, really. besides, it was worth it if I got to hear from you!
Bluey: d’awww you’re sweet 🤭
Jean-Luc: I learn from the best! 😉
Bluey had to stop there, because she felt the need to squeal a bit. The compliments just kept coming! He was so sweet!
Bluey: how was your day, Luc?
Jean-Luc: Well… nothing much happened, considering I just woke up 😂
Bluey facepalmed again. How could she forget? She just heard that today!
Bluey: … i’m a dingus
Jean-Luc: 😂😂😂😂
She could just imagine the silly laugh behind that text. The thought made her smile.
Jean-Luc: Well, I might as well ask how your day went then, no?
Bluey: hehe yeah… I think that’s fair 😊
Bluey: well, aside from dealing with Bingo pining over her crush it’s been fairly okay… kinda mundane really, nothing happened today
Bluey: honestly since the camping trip it’s been boring af
Jean-Luc: Yeah, Canada’s also pretty boring. Just playing hockey with polar bears all the time gets stale
Bluey: wait what 😳
Jean-Luc: Except I don’t play hockey and also the polar bears would maul me
Jean-Luc: a.k.a. I can’t believe you fell for that 😂😂😂
For the third time that day, Bluey felt like an idiot. The things this boy does to her.
Bluey: yeah yeah tease the aussie all you want you doof 🙄😂
Jean-Luc: I mean… if you insist
Bluey: BRO COME ON
Jean-Luc then sent her a GIF of a smirking Corgi, to which Bluey only rolled her eyes.
Bluey: what am I gonna do with you I swear 😩
Jean-Luc: There are a lot of things you could do with me 👀
Bluey: I’m gonna block you right now I swear!!!
Jean-Luc: No you won’t~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Bluey let out a loud, dramatic groan. She could just envision the big smirk his dumb face had. His cheekiness was just so… gaaaah. It paralleled how cheeky she could be. And honestly, it made her heartbeat accelerate. He was so cute.
Bluey blushed a little, realizing the thought she just had. It wasn’t a false thought though - Jean-Luc was quite the handsome fellow. And with a personality like his, it makes her wonder how many girls he’s wooed in the past. Her guess was, he had a girlfriend already.
While the thought hurt, the purpose of its existence was more so Bluey wouldn’t get her own hopes up. Hope could be an incredibly blind, devious thing. But for now, she was content with the current stance she and he had.
That night was spent sending texts back and forth until she felt her fatigue kick in, and they had to call it a night. Or rather, a day in his case. She had so much fun texting him. It was like they never spent time apart. He just… got her.
Maybe that’s why the separation took a toll on her. And then there were these feelings. That dream… it seemed so bizarre. But at the same time, Bluey regretted waking up, she wanted to know how the dream would go.
It wasn’t the first time she had a similar dream.
Just a few days ago, she had a dream where she saw him at the airport, and she sprinted towards him, engulfing him in a hug, feeling his warm embrace. The moment they were about to kiss, she woke up.
Before that, she and Jean-Luc were back in the field of fireflies as they called it, watching a sunrise, and seeing the fireflies gradually disappear. She was snuggled up to him, cuddling against a tree. The moment they were about to kiss, she woke up.
She even had a dream where they were kids again, running around and having fun. Feeling him holding her hand was something she yearned for, just to feel his physical touch like she did back at the campsite. At one point during one of their hugs, he started leaning forward, and she leaned forward as well… but again, the moment they were about to kiss, she woke up.
It’s like her brain was torturing her. Even now, her thoughts kept wandering back to that camping trip. Seeing him again after all these years… having just as much fun with him… and why couldn’t she stop thinking about how good-looking he had become?
Did she even properly remember what they did as kids?
The thoughts plagued Bluey as she and Bingo prepped themselves for school. She was able to keep a hold on things, having a quick light coffee and grabbing an apple to take with her to school. A piece of toast and some deviled eggs for breakfast should be enough to help her last until lunch.
Her music kept her company, luckily. She found a piano cover of one of her favorite songs, and she had that playing right now. She thought of replicating it sometime as well.
After breakfast was done, everyone headed for the car, ready to go to their respective places. Chilli had a shift at the airport today, Bandit had a presentation to give at the university, and Bluey and Bingo were both to be dropped off at their high school.
Bluey was lucky that most of her friends from Calypso’s class, plus Bingo and some of her friends also went to the same school. It felt a little less lonely that way, being surrounded by familiar people. They even had their own place at the canteen.
She was reading a magazine with her headphones on while on the way to school, and it just so happened to be a travel magazine. She saw beautiful places that weren’t too far from Australia, like New Zealand, French Polynesia, the Maldives… she even saw some info about Hawaii at one point as well.
She then reached Canada. Canada was a gorgeous country. She read about it a little further, finding some of the most fascinating details. Despite being the second largest country in the world, it was actually one of the most sparsely populated. It also apparently had the most freshwater lakes in the world. They must be gorgeous!
Then she saw Montréal. And in turn, her thoughts wandered back to him. Jean-Luc.
How long has it been? Maybe a few weeks at most? Why did it feel longer than that?
Better yet… why did she feel the desire to look back at her texts with him?
She succumbed to her desire and looked back at the text exchange that was directly after the camping trip. They didn’t text for long, though with how it started, main highlights being “I miss you” and “I can’t wait to see you again” and “this song reminded me of you,” it started making the blue heeler’s heart feel heavy.
It was hard to not think about him.
They stopped at the school. Happy face for now. All would be okay.
It was always a little loud in the canteen. With an absolute pitch, it meant Bluey could tell all sounds apart, and she was a pretty decent singer as well, not that she was going to brag about it.
However great it was, there were some downsides, though. It made her hearing more sensitive, more prone to being disturbed by loud sounds than the average joe. Right now was one of those moments, as it usually is whenever she steps foot into the school’s canteen.
With everyone rushing to get their food and chatting up a storm after the arduous classes, it got very, very loud. Bluey often had to cover her ears while she made her way to the queue to get some food. Afterward, she went to find her place, hoping to get there soon enough so she could cover her ears.
“Bluey! Over here!” She heard the sound of one of her friends. Turning in the direction of the source, she saw a familiar border collie waving to her, surrounded by her friends from her childhood.
Mackenzie was always nice enough to save a spot for Bluey. She made her way there and made her presence known. At the table sat Mackenzie, Coco, Judo, Winnie, Chloe, Jack, Rusty, Honey, Lucky and Indy. She saw Bingo and her friends not far from their place as well, alongside Missy, Lila, Dougie, Chucky and Pom-Pom.
Most of her friends were in different classes, but she still met up with them every day. They’ve been her friends for decades, they all grew incredibly close over the years. Some even closer than usual, she would say! Bluey could swear, Winnie was the only one who didn’t notice how openly Judo flirted with her. And the inner ship enthusiast within her saw sparks between Jack and Chloe…
“Hi everyone!” greeted Bluey, sitting down with her friends, Mackenzie on her right, Chloe on her left. Pleasantries were quickly exchanged before the boys got back to their topic, something about rugby, which soon evolved into cricket. Boys and sports!
She wondered if Jean-Luc was into any sport… she should ask him at one point. It would actually be so cool if Jean-Luc met her friends one day. The boys would probably wrangle him into their misadventures.
Ahh, now she was thinking about him again. She put on her headphones to drown out the loudness. She loved her friends, and she hated to drown them out, but it was getting too loud, both around her and in her head. For once, she put on heavy metal, allowing the music to diminish any negative feelings within her. Pom-Pom would be proud of her.
Speaking of which, she glanced over to Bingo’s side to check on her sister. She was currently in her own world with her friends, though with how close Lila sat next to her, she could swear she saw her sister blushing like crazy. Her tail movements gave everything away. She wondered when or if Bingo would ever make her move.
She knew Chucky was always enthusiastic to try new things, so she knew he was very happy to learn sign language with Missy and Dougie. He was struggling a little bit with his introduction, mixing up a few letters, but she knew he’d get there one day.
While Pom-Pom was doing her own thing, she could never not notice how much she had grown over the years, and not just in height! The poor pomeranian often got bullied in school for being the small one, so she began to exercise a while ago, and surprisingly, with a small body came a lot of unbound energy, which she put into workouts. The effects were very visible, as she had quite the build after a while, with very visible muscles. It was hard not to marvel at how far she’d come since they were kids!
Her thoughts wandered back to the dream she had while she ate. Ugh! Why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
The dream she had… it seemed so romantic. It was the kind of scene Bluey inwardly longed for to do with someone she could call her significant other.
She wasn’t really open about the topic, but she was a hopeless romantic.
She loved books and movies that depicted loving couples. She loved songs that had emotion and meaningful lyrics behind them. She loved seeing her loved ones happy with the ones they loved.
Maybe she could have had that with Mackenzie. Besides, she couldn’t say she hasn’t gone on a date or had a kiss before. It was nice while it lasted, but after a while, she just didn’t feel a romantic attraction to him anymore, and he was the same about it. She was very lucky that they ended their relationship on good terms.
What was weirder is that their friends seemed more devastated than they were. It took them a while to reassure them that all was okay, there was no tension, and that this wouldn’t tear them apart. At the end of the day, they were still childhood friends, and neither Bluey nor Mackenzie wanted to lose that.
“What matters to me is that you’re happy, Bluey. And I hope you find that someone who will give you that happiness.” Mackenzie told her that day.
She felt so guilty for how she felt. It took the border collie so long to assure her that he wasn’t upset at all, and it took her even longer to believe that it wasn’t her fault. She was grateful to have him and her other friends in her life.
Bluey still craved for someone to love, though. Jean-Luc… was she really falling for him so quickly? After zero contact for nearly ten years? Then he came crashing back into her life again, and… what changed?
Was she someone who just got crushes on cute boys quickly?
Or was it even a crush? She didn’t dream of a romantic walk with Mackenzie, before… great, now she felt guilty again.
Also, why is this so hard to talk about?
“Bluey!”
Bluey yelped a little at the force on her shoulder. She removed her headphones and turned to see Chloe looking at her with an amused look.
“Earth to Bluey, girl!” she said. “Is the music that loud, B?”
Bluey chuckled a little. “Yeah, it’s pretty loud here.”
Chloe then gestured away from the table. “Come on, let’s get out of here before class.”
A little time with her best friend before class? Bluey couldn’t say no to that. Besides, she was already done with her food. So she took her books and bag, and left the canteen with Chloe.
“Everything been okay with you lately, Bluey?”
Bluey glanced over at Chloe, who was now giving her a concerned look.
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay. Why do you ask?”
“What’s on your mind, Bluey?” she asked again, a bit more adamantly.
“It’s nothing, really. I’m fine.”
“Bluey.” Chloe put her hands on her hips. “How long have we been best friends?”
“Erm… for eleven years?”
“Eleven years, B. You think I wouldn’t learn how you tick over that time?”
“I-I-I don’t follow…” Bluey held the books a little closer to her chest, making Chloe sigh in exasperation.
“Whenever something bothers you, you close off because you don’t want to feel like you’re pushing your problems onto other people.” She then smiled. “And either I or others have to remind you that that’s not the case. Granted, you’ll never remember that…”
That got a little giggle out of Bluey. Chloe walked up and put a hand on Bluey’s shoulder.
“Come on girl, talk to me. What’s going on through that rave of a head?”
She smiled and looked down, though her smile seemed to be one of sadness. She didn’t even notice her tail started wagging.
The dalmatian already had a knowing look. “Ahhh, I know that look. What’s their name?~”
Bluey giggled, though her sad smile remained. “Jean-Luc.”
Chloe looked knowingly. “Ooooh! That boy you met when you went camping?”
“Yep, that’s the one. You remember him, yeah?”
Chloe had stars in her eyes. “Of course I remember! He’s the boy who’s captured your heart!”
The blue heeler gave the dalmatian her own amused smile. “That’s… a bit of a stretch, Chloe.” She brushed her fur a bit. “Especially when I haven’t seen him in years…”
Chloe’s face fell immediately. “Oh… you’re still thinking about him, huh?”
“I haven’t seen him for years, but… I never stopped thinking about him.” Bluey’s sad smile morphed into a happy one. “Especially after we met again.”
That statement made the dalmatian squeal. “Tell me all about it!”
Bluey relayed her camping trip to Chloe. Though she tried to keep the details of being physically close to the labrador discreet, Chloe got it out of Bluey either way. This is exactly why Chloe was her best friend, because among her friends, she was the one who got her the most, behind only Bingo.
“It’s been a little while since then… I’m hoping I’ll see him again soon.”
She lost count of how many times her best friend let out a dreamy sigh. In the end, Chloe’s gonna end up being the one to steal him away with how highly Bluey spoke of him.
… why did that thought suddenly fill her with jealousy?
“He’s lucky to have you as a girlfriend.” Chloe’s statement brought her away from her momentary jealousy, and Bluey’s reaction was immediate.
“Oh, no no no, he’s not my boyfriend…”
“Not yet, he isn’t.” Chloe replied, smirking. Bluey rolled her eyes.
“Chloeeee…” And she rolled her eyes in return.
“Girl, I see those stars in your eyes. The only one you’re lying to is yourself, by now.”
The blue heeler shrugged. “I guess… I just don’t want it to be a repeat of what Mackenzie and I used to be. It’s lucky that he and I are still friends, but… will Jean-Luc think the same way Mackenzie thinks?”
Chloe put a hand on Bluey’s shoulder. “If you really do mean a lot to him… then yes. Yes, he will. The way I see it, you’re crushing on him hard, girl. The day you see him again, you’re going to fall right into his arms, and you are gonna love it.”
Bluey giggled a bit, though she had to admit, she did entertain the thought of being in his arms. It was tedious, but at the current stance, things were okay.
Maybe this separation wouldn’t be so difficult after all.