Upon entering the building after their dancing outside, Mackenzie and Bingo see all the other couples leaving the building. It was now late, and prom had finally ended. Mackenzie noticed Lila and Dougie walking out, smiles on their faces as they held hands. Both Mackenzie and Bingo couldn't help but smile at each other, no longer feeling any sense of jealousy, as they now had each other. Bluey saw the two and walked over, Jack in tow.
"Bingo! Where have you been??" Bluey walked up to Bingo, bringing her into a hug. "We've been looking for you for half an hour." Bingo seemed like she wanted to say something but held her tongue. She couldn't just tell her that she felt bad about not having a date as soon as they got there, she wanted Bluey to enjoy tonight.
"Mackenzie? You were with her?" Jack asked, turning to face him.
"Um, yeah, I was. I had a small talk with Coco, and I decided on going outside for some fresh air. That's when I found Bingo, then.." he decided on not telling the whole story, as he wanted Bingo to make the decision on whether or not to tell them.
"Then what?" Bluey asked, less worried but more intrigued now.
"We danced Blue. We decided to stay outside because it was too crowded." Bingo finally said with a little smile on her face, hugging Bluey back. Bluey and Jack turned to face Mackenzie, who had a small blush as he scratched the back of his head. Jack walks over to Kenzie and nudges him with his elbow.
"Well lucky us huh?" Jack whispered into Mackenzie's ear before putting him into a headlock. Mackenzie, though, broke free easily and put him into a headlock instead. "Ah! Okayokayokay I give!" Bluey and Bingo giggled to themselves as Mackenzie let's go of Jack, the top of their heads now a little messy.
"Oh yea, where's Rusty?" Mackenzie looked to Jack, who shrugged.
"No idea, probably already left with Indy. You know how they are. When they're together, no one else exists."
"That's fair."
"Hey Bingo, Jack offered me a ride home. Do you want to join?" Bluey turned back to face Bingo.
"Su-" Bingo was immediately cut off by Mackenzie.
"I can take her home," Mackenzie spoke up. Bingo looked over to Mackenzie, a little shocked but also happy to hear him offer her a ride home. Bluey looked at Mackenzie with an eyebrow raised, then she looked at Bingo.
"Is that alright with you Bingo?" Bluey asked her. Bingo only nodded before walking to Mackenzie's side. Bluey smiled at her, happy to know that she's happy as well. "Alright. It's late now so me and Jack will be heading out. I'll see you soon, okay?" Bingo nodded before Bluey gave her another hug. Then her and Jack waved bye to Mackenzie before heading out, leaving them alone. Mackenzie and Bingo looked at each other, giving each other a small smile before they held each other's hand. They have known each other for so long, but they never expected things to turn out the way it did. The two of them though, wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
Soon though, they made their way out of the school, being one of the last couples out of the building. They walked over to the parking lot, where Mackenzie parked the car. He had brought his dad's ute, as his car was somewhat boring, being an economy car. He brought Bingo to the passenger side and opened the door for her, to which Bingo entered the car, feeling emotions that she thought could only happen in dreams. Mackenzie then closed the door and made his way to the driver side, getting in and turning the car on. However, he immediately got embarrassed when the radio had begun playing that one song that Bingo showed him many years ago, a song that he himself called mid back then to her face.
"Oh? I remember this song, I thought you didn't like it much." Bingo looked over to Mackenzie, a little grin on her face.
"U-uhhhh, well. It's not a bad song. I like going back to older songs every once and a while. It's not like I have this song saved or anything," Mackenzie said, flustered and fidgeting with his fingers. Bingo couldn't help but giggle a bit, getting comfortable in her seat. Mackenzie took a bit of time to compose himself, taking a deep breath and getting into a comfortable driving position. "Alright.. let's get going." He puts the car in drive and makes his way out of the parking lot and onto the street. While on the street, Bingo stares out the window, still debating whether she's in a dream or not. She always was a daydreamer, but she knew this time it was real. She would take quick glances and Mackenzie, each glance causing her feelings to grow more and more as she remembered all the little details of their past together. All the way back to the curry day they had 11 years ago, to just earlier tonight. The image of Mackenzie dancing with her of all people was stuck in her mind, replaying itself.
Mackenzie though, was a little worried as he drove. He wasn't expecting Bingo to stay so silent throughout the drive. He began to sweat a little, becoming a little nervous as they soon approached the Heeler home. Mackenzie then parks the car next to the side walk, right next to the mailbox. "Well… we're here." Mackenzie spoke up, adjusting his jacket before hopping out of the car. Bingo watched Mackenzie walk around the car, a smile on her face as she happily waited for him. Mackenzie took a deep breath before opening the door, holding a hand out for Bingo to hold, to which she gladly accepted. After hopping out of the car, Bingo had an idea.
"Brrrr… It's kind of cold tonight," Bingo wrapped her arms around herself, acting like she was freezing. Although it had felt cheesy for her to do, this was something that she had wanted to do for a while. She could barely hide her grin, which Mackenzie luckily didn't notice as he took off his jacket, putting it on Bingo carefully.
"Better?" Mackenzie asked, a visible blush on his face. Seeing Bingo standing there with his jacket, light from a nearby lamppost hitting her in the most captivating way for him, prevented him from saying anything else.
"Muuuuuuch better," Bingo wrapped the jacket around herself tightly, enjoying its warmth. She then looked up to see Mackenzie just staring at her, his mouth slightly agape. Bingo couldn't help but blush herself as she walked up to him, snapping her fingers in his face. With that, Mackenzie shook his head.
"Sorry about that.. Let's go," once again he offered her a hand, which she immediately held with her own. Now they made their way to the front entrance, side by side. This reminded both Bingo and Mackenzie of their early secondary years, where they would sometimes walk home together with the others. This time however, it was just the two of them. No Bluey and her jokes and shenanigans. No Lila and her planning of play dates. And lastly, no Dougie to take away their attention. Of course, the two loved having the others around, as they made every day of their lives more interesting and fun. But tonight was special to the both of them, as it was all about them two and no one else.
They stood before the front door to the house as Bingo stepped forward in front of him, turning to face him. "Kenzie, thanks for tonight. I had a lot of fun," she gave him a big smile, leaning forward a bit.
"As did I," he replied, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. After a few seconds of silence, Mackenzie hesitatingly spoke up. "So.. I know this may be coming out of nowhere, but I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out on a date sometime..?"
Bingo's ears and tail perked up, with the latter now starting to wag behind her. She stood upright and looked up to him, a small blush appearing on her face, "of.. of course Kenzie! I've been waiting for you to ask me out for a while now!" Almost instinctively she runs up and jumps at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugs him tightly. Mackenzie was a little taken aback by her response. Throughout the years, he never thought that she liked him back. When it came to anything romance related, Bingo had mainly kept to herself, so this was a shock to him. He pushed those thoughts aside as he let himself enjoy her hug, his arms instinctively wrapping around her waist. They melted into each other's arms. Bingo eased off as she looked up to Kenzie, her thoughts all over the place. What took center stage in her mind however, was the opportunity in front of her. In the heat of the moment, she pulled him by his neck, pulling them together as their lips touched. Mackenzie's eyes widened, his mind going blank as she kissed him.
A few seconds had passed, and Bingo pulled herself away, realizing Mackenzie didn't return it. She was still in his arms, but she looked away from him, now embarrassed. "S-sorry about that.. I got a bit carried aw-" she was cut off as Mackenzie lifted her head by her chin, bringing her into another kiss. Bingo was obviously taken aback by this, but soon closed her eyes as she kissed him back. However, as soon as she did, the door behind them opened, with Bandit walking out drinking some coffee.
Upon seeing them, he uncontrollably spit his drink, spitting a little on Bingo's back. "Bingo?! Mackenzie!?" Bingo and Mackenzie immediately separated from each other, both of their faces red.
"H-hi Bandit," he let out an awkward laugh, "fancy uh.. seeing you tonight."
Bandit wiped away the coffee he spit on himself before responding. "Hey Bingo, sorry about that, go ahead and get yourself cleaned up, okay?" He led her inside before turning to face Kenzie, closing the door behind them. It was just the two of them outside, on the porch of the Heeler residence. Mackenzie began to sweat, not knowing what Bandit was going to say. "Come mate, let's sit and talk a little." He walks over to the two seats on the porch, setting his coffee down to the side. Mackenzie loosens his collar before walking over, sitting in one of the seats. "So then, you and Bingo huh? I have to admit, I'm quite surprised."
"Huh? Surprised?" Mackenzie tilted his head, a little confused as he turned to face Bandit.
He nods, "yea. I may or may not have made a bet with Chili with who Bluey and Bingo would get with. I'll just say, I lost," he lets out a small chuckle. "Not to say I'm disappointed or anything. You seem like a good guy mate. I'm sure you can make Bingo happy."
"I.." Mackenzie looked out to the street, taking a deep breath. The quiet of the night helped him collect his thoughts. "Bandit, I.. Ever since that day I apologized to Bingo, we've been great friends. It wasn't until secondary that.. my feelings began to change. Even those fun games we played when we were young started to change in my head. Playing hospital, shops, work… and especially mums and dads. To me, they were no longer just innocent games we used to play to pass by the time. I began seeing them as seeing the real Bingo. Seeing how caring she is when we played hospitals.. seeing how smart and prepared she was with shops and work… and seeing how loving and dedicated she is as we played mums and dads. Everything she did.. just fed into my feelings. I.. I love Bingo, I really do."
Bandit was quite surprised, hearing Mackenzie spill out all his thoughts and feelings for his daughter. A small smile appeared on his face. "You found quite a catch Bingo.. you really have." He reached out to Kenzie, patting his back. "That was quite the confession Mackenzie. I'm glad that Bingo has someone like you with her."
"With her? Well.. we're not dating yet.."
"Yet being the keyword mate," Bandit said with a little grin. Mackenzie began to blush again as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, this was not what I wanted to talk about. I was mainly curious about the prom, but this is good enough for me. You're free to go Mackenzie."
Mackenzie was, once again, embarrassed. "T-thank you Bandit. Sorry for rambling. I'll.. see you tomorrow?"
"Sure thing mate, I'm sure Bingo would be ecstatic to see you again." Bandit gave him a smile before getting up, grabbing his coffee before heading back inside, "goodnight mate."
Mackenzie got up as well, waving goodbye to Bandit before walking down the stairs of the porch. As he made his way to the car, he looked back towards the house. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bingo."