Preface: Hello, everyone! I know I said I wasn't gonna upload this weekend, but my schedule became a little more free! So thankfully, I'll be able to at least upload my latest one-shot! It's another Bluey-themed one, but I have to warn you: like my last one, this one has some shipping in it! You have been warned!

[Character Selected: Mackenzie]
[Current World: Bonegea]
[Current Location: Calypso's School]

[BGM: Asu01 - Calypso]

All that morning at school, Mackenzie Collie had the trip he took over the weekend at the back of his mind. He returned to his homeland of New Zealand to attend his cousin's wedding, where he was properly taught how a wedding went. He even got to be the ring-bearer! But it also made him think about one of his friends, Bluey…

Regardless, as soon as his class broke for playtime, he began to search for supplies. "Hey, Calypso," he asked the teacher, "where are the arts and crafts supplies?"

The Australian Shepherd looked away from her knitting and pointed to the cabinet nearby. "Over there, Mackenzie," she said.

"Thanks!" said Mackenzie. "I was gonna play Wedding Shop because I went to my cousin's wedding, and I need paper for rings!" He began to walk over to the cabinet, but then he paused. "Is that weird, that I want rings as part of my game?" he asked, uneasily.

Calypso thought. "Well...maybe not weird, but different." She smiled. "But I think if no one was different, then the world would be no fun."

Mackenzie nodded, reassured. "Yeah, I guess."

Calypso watched as Mackenzie began to search for paper from the cabinet. "I'm sure whoever will get married will be a lovely couple," she thought aloud.

This fanfiction of Bluey is called:
"Wedding Shop"

Mackenzie met up with his best friend, Honey Beagle, who was one of the first friends he made when he moved to Brisbane. After placing a cloth on a table, the two began to use the arts and crafts supplies to make rings out of paper. As they did so, Honey decided to spark up a conversation. "How was the wedding?" she asked.

"It was actually nice," Mackenzie admitted. "My cousin showed me how to really do the whole thing, and he even told me that the rings meant 'no beginning, no end,' whatever that means." He paused for a moment. "But I also realized something."

Honey put down her work-in-progress ring. "What is it?"

Mackenzie began to blush. "I'm not sure the episode has aired yet, but remember the last time our buddies came and Winton teased me and Bluey?" Honey nodded. "Well, I guess the wedding kinda made me realize why I felt so uncomfortable when he did."

That made Honey curious. "Well, you're my best friend," she said. "If you tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Mackenzie sighed. "Okay…" He began to work up the nerve, then blurted out, "I love Bluey."

Thankfully, only Honey heard it, but she kinda made a big deal out of it. "Aww," she said. "I kinda thought you two looked cute together."

Mackenzie smiled. "Thanks, Honey, but I don't really want to talk about it too much," he answered. By then, the two had finished their rings, which were simple yellow circles. "C'mon, let's finish setting up the game."

"Oh, okay," Honey responded. The beagle adjusted her glasses and walked in front of the table, placing another cloth in front of it. "This will be where the two stand," she said.

"And this will be where the bearer gives the rings!" Mackenzie added, examining the ring on his finger. He took the ring off and placed both of them on top of a pillow. "Now we just need some kids to have get married…"

At that moment, Bluey ran up to the two, and Mackenzie felt his tail wag a bit too hard. "Hi, guys! What are you playing?" the blue heeler asked.

"We're playing Wedding Shop!" Honey answered.

Bluey looked at the rings and the proximity of Honey and Mackenzie. "Ooo, are you two getting married?" she asked obnoxiously, jokingly batting her eyes. The other two kids responded by looking at each other in disbelief and screaming "Ew! No!" Bluey frowned as her tail drooped. "Sorry, was that weird?" she asked.

"Well, a little," Mackenzie answered. Even then, he really wanted to play with her. "But you can still play with us." He pointed his thumb to himself. "I'll be the person who has the two married!"

"I'll be the maid of honor," added Honey. "I'm the wife's special friend!"

"Okay," Bluey nodded. "Who will I be?"

"You'll be the ring-bearer," Mackenzie told her. "That's the person who gives the two these rings that would mean they're married!" Everyone looked at the fourth wall and shouted "Hooray!" But then he realized something. "Oh, but who are we gonna marry?"

Bluey had an idea. "Ooo! I know!" she shouted. Recalling a moment where one of her best friends, Indy, mentioned having feelings for another friend of hers, Rusty, she ran over to the cafe that Coco and Chloe had set up. The two were sitting at a table with their new student Jack Russel, pretending to drink out of tea cups. "Hey, Rusty! Wanna play Wedding Shop with me, Honey, and Mackenzie?" she asked the red kelpie.

"Okay! Who am I getting married to?" Rusty eagerly asked.

"Indy!"

At Bluey's answer, the afghan hound put her hand to her mouth in shock. But it was quickly replaced with a smile as she said "Okay!"

Jack stood up, wanting to be involved. "Can I play, too?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think we can find a role for you," responded Bluey. Everyone began to wag their tails, excited for the game.

[BGM: Asu01 - Quest for a Companion]

After that, the six began to prepare. Indy placed a bridal veil from the dress-up box over her head as Rusty similarly donned a black top hat with a red band. Jack was given the title of Best Man (which was the husband's special friend, according to Mackenzie), and Bluey prepared to give the rings, picking up the pillow and standing near the table.

Mackenzie stood in front of the table, cracking his hands like hoe he has seen his dad do before going out to herd sheep (because that's what border collies do). "Alright, let's do this!" he said confidently. He cleared his throat and began to rack his brain for what the priest said at his cousin's ceremony. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've come here today to celebrate these two getting married!" Everyone giggled at his over-the-top performance, if Indy a little more so because of her role. "Rusty, do you take Indy as your wife?" Mackenzie asked the red keplie.

Rusty eagerly nodded. "Yeah! I do!" he said. Jack began to fidget with anticipation in the background.

"And Indy, do you take Rusty as your husband?" Mackenzie asked the afghan hound.

"I do!" Indy nodded. Her tail began to wag, stiffly.

Mackenzie turned towards Bluey. "Ring bearer, that's you!" he said.

Bluey walked up to take his place, but noticed that he was blushing. "Why is your face red?" she asked, giggling.

"Uh, no reason!" Mackenzie quickly tried to cover up. He stepped away for Bluey to take his place.

Bluey shrugged and placed the pillow on the cloth. "Now, exchange rings!" she declared.

Everyone watched as Rusty and Indy picked up the paper rings and placed them on each other's fingers. "I'm so happy for you two!" Honey said, eagerly.

"Yeah! You two are great together!" Jack agreed, his body moving back and forth with his tail.

"Thanks, Jack!" said Rusty, examining his ring. Honey noticed that both he and Indy were blushing, like Mackenzie was just now. I think I know why Bluey chose them, now, she thought.

That was when Bluey made the situation incredibly awkward by declaring "You may now kiss!" Everyone looked at her with faces that were combinations of confusion, weirded-out-ness, and disgust. "What?" Bluey asked, shrugging.

"They can't kiss!" answered Mackenzie. "That'd be weird!"

"Yeah, only grown-ups can kiss for real life!" agreed Honey.

"But I thought you wanted this to be close to a real wedding!" Bluey protested.

"What? I never said that?" Mackenzie said in defense. After that, the three's arguing became incoherent as Indy and Rusty watched. Looking over, Rusty noticed that Jack was beginning to fidget even more, anxiously.

"Um, guys? I think you're making Jack upset!" Rusty tried to say, but no one could hear him over the arguing.

"I'll go get Calypso!" said Indy, and she ran to the Australian Shepherd, who was currently talking with the terrier triplets, who were once again invading Romans. "Calypso!" Indy interrupted. "We need help."

The teacher was guided over to the wedding stand, and she gasped at the commotion. "Oh, goodness! What's the matter here?"

Rusty began to explain the situation. "Indy and I were getting married when Bluey wanted us to kiss, and then they started squabbling and Jack got upset!"

Calypso looked down and saw that the jack russell terrier had curled up into a ball and was now crying. Bluey, Mackenzie, and Honey stopped arguing and looked over. "It's okay, Jack," Calypso said, calmly. "Sit up, now."

Jack sat up and sniffed, rubbing his nose. "I'm sorry, Calypso," he said, upset with himself. "I should've gone to you instead of letting them squabble."

Bluey smiled, apologetically. "No, we're sorry, Jack," she said.

"Yeah, we shouldn't have squabbled," Mackenzie agreed.

There was still something on Bluey's mind, however. "But why were you fidgeting all the time? And why did you lie down and cry?"

Jack looked down. "Because...I'm different," he said, sadly.

"He just needs a little help sitting still and remembering," Rusty clarified. "But I've been doing a good job helping him when we play Army! Right, Jack?"

Jack's frown curved into a smile. "Yeah, you have," he said, standing back up.

"And sometimes my mum tells me, 'square pegs make the world go round!'" added Indy.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked.

"I think it means what I told Mackenzie earlier," answered Calypso. "If we weren't different, the world would be no fun!"

"So...it's fine that I'm different?"

Indy and Rusty walked in and gave Jack a big hug. "Of course it is," Rusty said, and the three of them wagged their tails.

"Thanks, Calypso," Mackenzie said.

The teacher gave him a quick pat on the head. "Good boy, Mackenzie," she said, and then she walked away to see what Snickers was up to.

[BGM: Asu01 - Together Again]

Indy and Rusty began to undress from their wedding garb, placing their veil and hat back in the dress-up box and putting the rings back on the pillow. "Thanks for letting us play, you three," said Rusty. "It was fun, besides your squabbling!" He got an idea. "Oh, Jack! You can be the uncle in Mums and Dads!"

"Oh, yeah I can!" Jack said, beaming.

"What do you say, Indy?"

"I'd love to, my husband," Indy answered, and then she leaned in and gave Rusty a small kiss on the cheek. The red kelpie was briefly stunned by the action, but then he gave a big smile, finally knowing his feelings weren't unrequited, and walked away holding Indy's hand.

"Well, they do look happy together," said Honey.

"I'm sorry for being weird during the game and telling them to kiss," Bluey apologized.

"It's okay, it all worked out," answered Mackenzie. "So, who should we marry next?"

Bluey chuckled. "Well, there's still you two!" she said, slyly, to which Mackenzie and Honey once again looked at each other and screamed "Ew! No!" "Why not?" Bluey pressed. "You look cute together!"

"Actually, Mackenzie said-" Honey began, but then the border collie put his hand over her mouth.

"Um, actually, you can have a turn being the marrying person," Mackenzie covered up. "Honey and I are gonna do something else now."

"Alright, have fun!" said Bluey. She stepped behind the table as the other two walked away.

Once they were a good distance away, Honey asked, "Why didn't you tell her you love her?"

Mackenzie sighed. "I don't really want her to know yet," he confided. "And besides, I don't think she loves me back."

"Oh. Why not?" Honey asked.

"I don't know," Mackenzie answered. "I just have a feeling, okay?"

Honey shrugged. "Well, I guess you can tell her when you're ready."

[Location Change: Mackenzie's Bedroom]

That evening after getting ready to sleep, Mackenzie laid on his bed, thinking about Bluey. He recalled playing spies with her during a barbecue, exploring the creek with her sister and dad, and the recent time where their buddies Mia and Captain wound up accidentally abandoning them, so they played Barky Boats together.

Why can't we just be friends? Mackenzie wondered. He didn't understand why things had to be so complicated. But then he sported an angry face. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not old enough for love. When we're old enough, maybe I'll tell her.

Even then, as he drifted to sleep, his feelings stayed put. In fact, he dreamed of a day where he told Bluey he loved her and she wound up loving him back. But even then, he told himself to wait. Being weird may not have been as bad as he thought, but this was still a little too weird for his taste.

The End

Credits

Voices:
Jack Simmons - Mackenzie
Megan Washington - Calypso
Names Withheld by Request - Honey, Bluey, Rusty, Indy, Jack

Music:
Asu01
Based on compositions by Joff Bush

Additional Music:
Asu01 - Passing Time (Credits)

Written by: Alfred von Any

Edits by: Jesus von Any

Postface: This is certainly one that I've been waiting to rewrite for a while! It's probably one of my favorite stories! I actually previously redid this one in a script format - this version was based off of that!

Now, you're probably wondering where each ship comes from. Well, to be honest, I'm not too sure where the Bluey x Mackenzie ship came from. I've heard quite a few people say that there's some stuff in Season 1 that suggests that Mackenzie has a crush on Bluey, but in my opinion, the only real episode that really had those vibes were the recent episode Barky Boats, the events of which are acknowledged here. In that episode, Bluey and Mackenzie's older buddies are written in a way that suggests that they like each other, and besides, Winton already teasing said that Bluey was gonna marry Mackenzie at the start of the episode, which may have been the catalyst for them avoiding each other! Of course, I had to also make Bluey x Jean-Luc canon here, so...let's just say Mackenzie's smart to not fess up right away! Indy and Rusty, on the other hand, was more obvious: the end of the episode Early Baby has an odd close-up of Indy looking at Rusty, which seems to suggest that the crush she has on him in my AU is canon. The following episode Mums and Dads also helps matters! I think it's pretty funny how a girl from a hippie-like upbringing can fall for a boy who loves the army because his dad is on patrol. As for Honey being Mackenzie's best friend, that was mostly based off of their chemistry in the show - watch the episode Shops and notice how cool they seem around each other. The episode Circus is another good example, too. As for the inclusion of Jack, well...he's a favorite of mine! I don't have ADHD like he does (at least not that I'm aware of), but I can totally relate to him feeling like he can't do anything right and just being a broken, stupid being. If anyone at Ludo is reading this, you did a good job with Jack and I hope he's in Season 3!

That should be it! Please read, review, and share around, and I'll see you all later! Stay diamond, everyone!

-Alfred

~Bluey and everything related to her are properties/licensees of Ludo Studio PTY., LTD., the Australian Broadcasting Corp., and BBC Studios Dist., LTD. No copyright infringement with any of these companies nor financial gain was intended in the making of this story. Any resemblance to real-world people or events are either coincidental or done fictitiously.~