As Far As I Know, Nothing's Wrong.

[kissmeandstopme]

Mandy had just spent some wonderful time with her parents, and Auntie Wall, and the whole Waller clan.

She was making plans for training with Brandon when a thought occurred to her.

How was Henry taking all this? Had Liv even told him?

Henry was Mandy's friend, and she didn't want him completely blindsided. But she didn't want to rub information in his face either, considering how he felt about Brandon.

One of the best ways to get a level-headed view on the issue, she felt, was to call the closest source on Henry one could get outside of Henry's household.

"Hello, Din?"

Comments

[sonoftheatom]

"Yeah, I heard something about that," Dinadan says. Henry gets pretty cranky any time he and Brandon butt heads; and Dinadan usually gets the details later -- if he's not there keeping them separate in the first place. "How'd that work out?"

[kissmeandstopme]

"It was wonderful, and then I broke it off. And now he's seeing someone else, and this is where the 'I don't want Henry blindsided' part comes in."

[sonoftheatom]

"...Oh boy." Dinadan's a smart guy. He can connect the dots between Brandon's "someone else" and "have Henry and Liv talked lately".

"Yeah, okay, I can see why you called. Um. This is the first I heard anything about that, so I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten to Henry yet. What do you need me to do?"

[kissmeandstopme]

"Well, I'd appreciate your input. What's the most respectful-to-all-parties way of handling this? I just don't want to see Henry trying to start a fight like he did about the ring thing, because Brandon will just try to start one right back...et cetera."

[sonoftheatom]

"My first thought would be to call Liv, tell her to call Henry, and let the two of them sort it out between themselves, buuuuut I don't know how well that would go over with Liv." Dinadan scratches the back of his head. "...She knows that you know that she and Brandon are dating, right?"

[kissmeandstopme]

"Oh, most definitely. And that is a very sensible and straightforward plan, but...I can't shake a bad feeling; I don't know."

[sonoftheatom]

Dinadan made a face. "I thought you'd say something like that," he says morosely. "Well, if they know that you know that they're dating, and they haven't told you to keep it a secret, then they have to know that it's going to get out and get around, right? Especially with you with your successful setting-them-up and your ring -- congratulations on that, by the way. Sooo...I guess we could tell him? Maybe? I don't know, I try not to get involved in the whole romantic brouhaha."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Yeah, no mention of discretion. So yes, maybe it'd just be best to sit him down. That way we can know any hostilities won't escalate right then and there."

[sonoftheatom]

"Yeah, and Avalon and Josh will probably help us sit on him if it looks like he's going to go tearing off or something," Dinadan says. "I mean, I don't think he will, but four people, two of 'em being Lanterns should be enough to keep everything under control in the worst-case, possessed-by-red-ring scenario."

Beat.

"And I can bring cookies."

[kissmeandstopme]

"That sounds perfect. Every plan is better with cookies."

[sonoftheatom]

No, 'perfect' is 'we go back in time and make it be not a problem', but time-travel is a bit beyond them right now. And probably shouldn't be used to solve romantic woes even if it were.

"We have a time-frame on this?" Dinadan asks, checking the oven timer again. "I mean, the longer we wait, the more likely he is to hear about it from Liv; but also the more likely he is to hear about it from somebody else in the gossip-slurry that is our little community, and the more cranky he's going to be that he was left out of the loop."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Yeah, good point. Are you busy tomorrow?"

[sonoftheatom]

"I guess I am now, aren't I?"

[kissmeandstopme]

She laughed. "Yeah. I appreciate this, Din. How are things over there, anyway?"

[sonoftheatom]

"They're going," Dinadan says with a shrug, even though Mandy can't see it over the phone. "Nothing has exploded and the old men are still puttering around being terrifyingly brilliant and occasionally pantsless. Oh, and someone taught Tris to wolf-whistle, which is going to end up biting me in the butt sooner or later I'm sure. How about you?"

[kissmeandstopme]

"Oh, that sounds adorable," Mandy says. "I'm fine. Mom and Dad and Auntie Wall are fine. And Brandon and I are still ring-buddies, so we need to get back on the practice schedule soon."

[sonoftheatom]

Dinadan tries to figure out which of the things he just rattled off qualifies as "adorable". Probably Tris.

"Speaking of, can I convince you to swing by tomorrow and pick me up to go to Henry's? Cookies taste weird after you shrink them down, and Tris hates phone travel and sulks if I go visit Henry without her."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Of course. No trouble at all."

[sonoftheatom]

"Great, thanks. Cross-country's a little much for me without phone-lines."

"Hi Henry, hi Henry!"

Dinadan glances up see Tris puffed up on her perch, looking around like she's expecting someone. He tilts the phone's mouthpiece away from his face. "Don't get your feathers all disordered, he's not here. We're going to see him tomorrow." Tris wolf-whistles at him and hops closer like she wants to inspect the phone.

"Mandy, Tris says 'hi'."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Oh my goodness." That is so cute. "Hi, Tris!"

[sonoftheatom]

Tris hops onto Dinadan's shoulder, putting her head up next to the phone.

"Pretty bird," she cooes hopefully. Dinadan rolls his eyes and chuckles indulgently.

"Yes, yes, pretty bird. No screeching into the phone this time, you hear? Sorry Mandy, bird invasion."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Absolutely no problem at all. You and Henry done the ring-flight thing much before?"

[sonoftheatom]

"Yeah, we have. You don't need to worry about me getting airsick or anything like that."

[kissmeandstopme]

"Great. Didn't figure, but leave no angle unconsidered and all. I knew /you'd / understand, Din."

[sonoftheatom]

"Totally fair. If I were the one providing transport, I'd check that too," Dinadan says. He is the guy with a (small) first aid kid in his backpack, after all.