open | claire danvers the science gal!

[clairedanvers]

[ open ]

Claire is bound and determined to figure this place out. She's out in the park with a science kit. This is not your ordinary sceince kit either. It's advanced far beyond some kiddie game. But then, when you live with a maniac vampire inventor/scientist in a town that seems to build itself arund you, you end up with all the cool toys, plus a few that said afore mentioned vampire inventor/scientist/genius invented himself while here, and a few gadgets that Claire, a genius in her own right invented as well.

This is what has her out in the park with some strange looking goggles on and a contraption in her hands that is all limbs, joints and gears. She walks around the park like this, trying not to be noticed by anyone because these goggles make her look ridiculous. It appears maniacal vampires care nothing for fashion. She works a bit and jots things down in a notebook. Then works a bit more, taking samples of everything from grass to dirt to tree limbs and leaves, even some of the flowers that had caused so much havoc a few months back. She's taking bits and pieces of paint off of benches and any look inanimate object that will fit in her bag. Between her and Myrnin, surely they can figure something out.


[ for Myrnin ]

Late in the evening, when the sun is starting to fall, she arrives back at the apartment she shares with Myrnin. Her bags are full and the goggles are off. "Myrnin!" she calls out, always letting him know she's here first and foremost so that he can show himself and she can judge which Myrnin she's getting today. "The goggles worked just like you said they would." She could see all the particles and weave of everything around her, all of unnatural, all of it... not like it should be if this were any place normal, like Earth. They had both suspected this, but it was still a shock.

Comments

[clairedanvers]

It's such a different tone for him to take that Claire has to look sideways to him. She has to see the look on his face and know that everything is okay. She squeezes his hand a little tighter in hers to help ground him. He is not a monster. He's Myrnin. He's her boyfriend. Myrnin is her boyfriend.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle you and me both." She says, trying to keep her tone light. "I mean I've been doing it for years. Literally." Granted, that hadn't been in a boyfriend and girlfriend capacity. This is new in a way, and yet also somehow still the same as it's been since she's known him.

To be with Myrnin you have to gauge him. and yes, sometimes even manage him. Amelie had put her with Myrnin not just because she's start, but because she thought Claire could do both gage and manage him.

"I think you think I can handle it too." She adds, smiling at him. Myrnin wouldn't be here with her if he didn't think she could handle it.

[trapdoorspider]

He appreciates the way she squeezes his hand. Claire is the only one who reliably treats him like a human. There's a lot to be said for that old saying about treating someone the way you wish them to act.

He can't help but smile at that. "I suppose you have, haven't you? It doesn't seem possible, that I have known you that long and yet, you have grown into a beautiful young, capable woman." Their relationship status has changed, but in so many ways things are precisely the same between them. They're not that couple that have to constantly be touching. It's unlikely Myrnin could handle that sort of constant stimuli anyway.

Plenty of smart people haven't been able to manage or gauge him. Claire has survived because she is a genius (Myrnin wouldn't expect anything less) but because she knows how to deal with him; she knows which warning signs to watch for and how to calm him before they erupt into something full-blown.

He brings their hands up to kiss the pulse at her inner wrist. "Today is a good day." Both for him and for them. He watches her for a moment before looking around them. "Ice cream. I believe you mentioned ice cream. Which flavor do you prefer?"

[clairedanvers]

"And you've grown into a saner, more well-dressed (occasionally) man." She tosses back. "Plus the flowers were a nice touch."

Claire is definitely not all flowery prose and hearts and ridiculousness. But she is still just an eighteen year old girl. Sometimes she wants to feel like a girl. Sometimes she wants to feel her stomach flip-flop and her heart skip a beat. Sometimes she wants to cuddle on the couch and feel like she means something to someone in that way. Sometimes she wants to be kissed and kissed and kissed.

Most of the time she just wants to learn from Myrnin. She might be a genius compared to 99.999 percent of the population. But Myrnin is that and more with tons of knowledge and history under his belt. He's in love with Claire's mind? She might be a little bit in love with his too. That he's so very handsome is an added bonus.

He kisses the inside of her wrist and she knows exactly the kind of pulse he would feel and hear there. She has to marvel at his restraint. And how far they've come. Because there was a time when she would have flinched with his lips that close to her veins. Now it just makes her body come alive in an entirely different way.

"Vanilla." She answers him. "I like vanilla. I know it's boring but I still love it. My mom used to make it homemade all Summer long."

[trapdoorspider]

"You're an excellent influence upon me," he tells her, and it's obviously true.

In Myrnin's experience (which isn't a lot), all girls like to, occasionally, have some romance in their lives. He may not be very good at it, but he's willing to try for her sake. He's particularly alright with the cuddling and the kissing bit. He's learned to appreciate that in a way that he never had before.

Myrnin is a genius compared to most people living and dead. It's why Amelie couldn't, wouldn't let him die of the plague. He wants someone to teach; he's wanted someone to teach for centuries. At first it had been Ada, but after that there was a string of men and women that didn't make the cut. Claire is one of the few. He feels the same way about the way Claire looks. That she's a pretty little thing is a bonus. It would hardly matter if she weren't. Of course, he might not be so physically attracted to her if she weren't and he is so enjoying the physical side of their relationship. It's relatively new to him.

On his good days, he has excellent control. On his bad days, he trusts Claire to know when to get out and how far to push him. He's not hungry right now and that helps a great deal. He likes the way she comes alive beneath his lips. He'd only had a vague idea of what it would be like to have Claire love him. It hadn't compared to reality.

"Vanilla is an excellent flavor. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I like bubblegum." He considers Claire's words. "You would have liked ice cream a few centuries ago when it first came to England. Very creamy, heavy. Vanilla was the only flavor at first."

[clairedanvers]

"It sounds good. We should try to make some ourselves sometime, how you remember it made back then." It might seem silly, but Claire thinks it could be fun to research how it was made and try to replicate all of that. Cooking is a kind of science, after all, by definition.

She then wrinkles her nose. "I'm not really sure how to add the bubblegum flavor."

They find a drive in that does indeed have some picnic tables sitting outside. She steps up to the outside order station and looks over the menu displayed. Nothing about this is glamorous or upscale, but Claire loves it. She loves the low-key aspect of it. She loves that Myrnin is willing to do this with her.

"I think I'm gonna have a chili dog and chili cheese fries." She tells him. "And a cherry coke."

[trapdoorspider]

He ponders that a moment. "I'm sure I could recall. It might be a bit trial and error." But he knows that Claire is okay with that. It is, a bit, like science. "Maybe we'll try an ice cream freezer. Or! One of those balls you throw around."

"By adding bubblegum, of course." He says it in the same tone that someone might say duh.

Myrnin doesn't really fit into glamorous or upscale. He always feels like it's a test and he's certain he's going to fail so this suits him completely. He pursues the menu while she's doing the same.

"I believe I'll have onion rings, a chili cheese dog as well and some of those jalapeno poppers and root beer." He doesn't have to eat; he often doesn't, but he enjoys eating. Food still tastes good. He presses the button and orders for the both of them, looking to Claire when he's done as if he's just done something very good and he wants her approval.

he kind of does.

[clairedanvers]

"Okay but... does it freeze? Does bubblegum freeze?" Obviously she just skims right over the way he explains making bubblegum like he's a thirteen year old girl. Although if she gets over the science of it and her curiosity of it long enough she'll find it hilarious.

Claire's lips twist a bit when Myrnin orders for the both of them. It's actually kind of cool, she thinks, that vampires eat, and that Myrnin will eat with her. So that small twisted smile is definitely approval.

She tales his hand again and they go over to a picnic bench. She sits down on one side and lets him decide if he wants to sit beside her or across from her. "Will you let me steal one of your onion rings and jalapeno poppers when they come?"

[trapdoorspider]

"I supposed in chewed form it would, but in bubblegum ball form, not at the temperatures ice cream gets to," Myrnin answers. He knows this, of course. Yes. He likes bubblegum like a thirteen year old girl.

Really, it's a personal preference. Eating is an incredibly social activity and if vampires are going to interact with people they have to be able to engage in social activities. And anyway, Myrnin likes the way food tastes. It is like science. He sees that approval and he might be patting himself a little on the back for making Claire smile a bit.

He follows her, choosing to sit next to her. He can't help but grin at her question. "Of course. You can steal more than one, but you don't have to steal. I'll give them to you."

[clairedanvers]

Of course he already knows the answer to this question. Of course he does. Claire should have known. But as it is, she has to smile with her chin her hand as she looks over to him where he's sat beside her. His random knowledge amuses her. It's one of the things she likes so much about him.

"It's so altruistic of you." She teases him, leaning over to lightly bump his shoulder with hers.

For a few moments she's silent, just enjoying sitting there next to him and with him. Her guard is down and she doesn't even realize it. That's the problem with doing normal things, you relax into it. "Do you miss Morganville?"

[trapdoorspider]

His mind is a labyrinth of archaic, brilliant and sometimes trivial information. He likes the way she looks at him that way, likes the way that Claire realizes he's brilliant and appreciates it.

"It's one of my lesser known qualities," he teases in return. In actuality, the opposite is true: Myrnin is selfish and he always has been. The closest he comes to being selfless is with Claire. He loves her and because of that he'd hadn't pushed for more back in Morganville. Because of that, he can put her first sometimes.

Relaxing is good, especially when it's safe for her to relax and it is safe for her to relax right now. Myrnin watches her, enjoying the way that she's so very natural and normal right now. He takes a sharp breath at her question, he holds it for a moment then exhales before answering. "Sometimes. Morganville was familiar. It was...safe in some ways. I knew that Amelie and Oliver would stop me if I---got lost. However, I have a great deal more freedom here." He smiles at her. "I have you. I believe I prefer that to safety and familiarity." He tilts his head at her. "Do you miss Morganville?"

[clairedanvers]

"I'll put it in the list." She offers without missing a beat. She's implying that she has a list of all of Myrnin's qualities. She doesn't really, except for the pros and cons lists she makes in her head sometimes. She loves him too. But she knows fully well how dangerous it could be for her to be with him as she is, as she wants to be.

But right now does feel safe. She reaches out to tentatively rest her hand over his again. She wants this to be a real date. She wants them to be together.

She smirks internally when he says Morganville was safe. She knows that it was only really safe for the vampires in a lot of ways. But she gets what he's saying. Myrnin did have people to keep him in check. Now he just has her. And as he finishes, she feels her heart skip a beat in her chest. He prefers to have just her.

"Sometimes I miss the Glass House and... my friends there." Including Shane even if he got all weird with her. Shane is just an angry person, rightfully so given what the Vampires had done to his family. "But I think I like us here more than all of that too." They do have some kind of freedom here that they didn't have before.

[trapdoorspider]

His eyebrows shoot up, catching that implication. He's afraid to ask though. What if that list is very small? He certainly can count his redeeming qualities on one hand. He's aware of how dangerous it is as well. He also knows that he should keep Claire at a distance. He's not going to though. He's not that good a person.

He wants the same thing, even if he knows that he shouldn't. He turns his hand and laces his fingers with hers.

He does prefer to have just her, even if it's not as safe for her, for him, for anyone here. This is a freedom that he hasn't had in decades. Myrnin gets to have a life here, not simply work for Amelie. He can make his own choices without running them through someone first, and he loves Claire. He's not sure that would ever have happened back in Morganville with Shane there, with other choices.

If he had breath to hold, he would hold it when she says she misses her friends. He presses his lips together when she says she prefers this place, this life with him. He'd been prepared to ask her if she would have ever loved him back home then she'd said that and he decides it doesn't matter. He puts a hand to the back of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss.