I've an inkling that this bit of writing (I refuse to call it a chapter because it isn't!) is not quite up to scratch, but really, I can't be bothered. Hardly anyone reads Oliver/Myrnin fics anyway! This was originally supposed to be another little oneshot with a bit of cute, needy Myrnin trying to get it on with Oliver in front of everyone, but it mutated into something else. A horrible little monster. Sort of follows on from the previous 'chapter'...Well, it's in the same Universe, at least.


Claire caught Myrnin's eyes across the table; he grinned brightly at her and mimed staking himself, which caused her to sputter and choke on the water in the glass she had just raised to her lips. A few people around the table glanced at her briefly, but then their gazes snapped back to Amelie again, who was speaking. Still.

Claire checked her watch surreptitiously, and groaned. Three hours. They had been in this meeting for three frickin' hours. That was an hour and a half since the 'official' meeting had ended and all the superficial members of the council had left, thinking it was over, leaving the inner council to deal with the real issues. Claire didn't exactly agree with this version of democracy, but she figured that this was as good as it was going to get; she should just be glad that Amelie had even included any humans in it.

The inner council unofficially consisted of Amelie, Oliver, Myrnin, Michael, Hannah Moses, the Mayor (whoever that happened to be), herself and Robert Newman, a stout middle-aged man who apparently owned a lot of the businesses in Morganville. Claire wasn't sure whether that meant he was rich or not; most of the shops in Morganville looked as though they'd seen better days. That, or they'd been built to look that way. She wouldn't put it past the vampires to do that just to deter visitors.

Besides the eight of them, there was also another dark-skinned male vampire whose name Claire couldn't pronounce, which made nine overall with five vampires and four humans, but Michael often voted with the humans, and Myrnin - well, he was Myrnin. Claire suspected he was only on the council because of his age and the services he'd done for the town.

She glanced at Amelie, made sure she wasn't looking in her direction, and then looked back at Myrnin. She raised two fingers to the side of her head and pretended to shoot herself. Myrnin broke into a wide grin, and she saw the vampire to Myrnin's left - the older gentleman with greying hair whose name she didn't know - watching them and smirking slightly.

She doubted there was a single person in the room save Amelie who wasn't bored out of their mind right now. Apart from Oliver. He was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in the proceedings, watching Amelie alertly and actually interrupting every now and then in a low voice to confer with her on something. He had the right, of course - he sat at the head of the oval table with Amelie, on her right, and though she had been the main speaker over the last couple of hours they practically co-ruled now.

Not that Claire wasn't interested in what was happening. With all the changes going on, it had been decided that the council board had to be made up of equal numbers humans and vampires, and Claire had been delighted at first when Amelie had asked her to be a member - until she realised that she was obliged to attend every single meeting, which were mostly spent listening to Amelie talk about boring legal or financial things which went straight over Claire's head. She actually suspected that the only reason she was there was to keep Myrnin company; in all the many meetings she had been to so far he had never done anything other than seemingly try his utmost to piss the hell out of Oliver.

He piped up whenever there was a controversial topic being discussed to give (mostly) useless suggestions, or when Oliver was arguing a point. He always argued against Oliver, even if it was to his detriment. Like the time they had been discussing a new law which was to be passed concerning hunting rights, and Myrnin had argued very loudly for the case of the humans, even though Claire knew that he himself had the occasional...incident. She liked to think that he didn't kill if he could help it, though. She was convinced that the only reason he had done that was to wind up Oliver, who was vehemently against the hunting laws being restricted at all.

He hadn't been so bad today; in fact, he had hardly said anything at all, merely lounging in his chair and staring at the ceiling, looking as bored as Claire felt. Amelie did have to ask him to stop drumming his fingers on the table at one point, though.

Claire dragged herself forcibly back to the present to listen to what Amelie was saying, realising that she had no idea what was going on anymore.

"...that Common Grounds will be reinstated as a neutral zone, although it will remain under Oliver's control."

Myrnin snorted. Loudly.

In unison, the heads of all eight of the other people around the table turned to look at him.

"Well?" Amelie said.

"Well?" Myrnin drawled, still slouched in his chair, "Hardly neutral, methinks," He thrust his chin in Oliver's direction, "Not with that moon-calf in charge."

To his credit, Oliver merely rolled his eyes before turning to Amelie, ready to continue, but Amelie was staring at Myrnin, clearly irritated by his interruption.

"Very well, Myrnin," She said coolly, "What do you propose as a solution?"

Claire barely managed to suppress a groan as Myrnin sat up. Really, Amelie should have known better. She was just giving Myrnin what he wanted; a distraction, and all eyes on him. This would just drag out the meeting for another ten minutes, prolonging all of their torture.

She caught the smirk Myrnin sent in Oliver's direction, and saw the exasperated look Olive gave Amelie as Myrnin began speaking.

"Really," He drawled, at his most condescending - which for Claire was a worst case scenario, as boredom was often followed by listlessness, arrogance and a sort of cruel condescension she had grown to loathe, "I should have thought it was obvious. If 'Common Grounds'-" His mouth formed a sneer as he said the words, "- is intended as a neutral zone, then it is hardly appropriate for it to be run by a single representative who is strongly in favour of one group or another."

There was silence for a moment as the whole room digested the fact that, in one sentence, Myrnin had not only raised a relevant point, but had also not mocked Oliver. The truth was that Oliver had been the owner of Common Grounds for so long that it hadn't occurred to anyone that there might be an issue. After all, he employed human baristas.

Then in one fell swoop, Myrnin ruined any chance he had of being taken seriously in the next, oh, hundred years. Give or take.

"Besides, who would want to buy their coffee from him?"

His voice said he was joking, but the look on his face said otherwise. Claire stared. Another ten minutes. That was all he had to sit there for, but no, he had to choose now to make the whole room aware of how much he despised Oliver. As if they didn't already know.

"Myrnin!" Amelie snapped, "That's enough. You've made your point, it will be considered. Sit down."

"Where am I to go for my coffee if he is in charge of the only neutral ground coffee shop in the town? I wouldn't want to step foot in the kind of establishment he is no doubt used to running," Myrnin said, stubbornly continuing to stand.

"You wouldn't be welcome anyway, dog!" Oliver snarled, losing his patience. Claire closed her eyes and sighed to herself. Things always escalated once Oliver had risen to the bait.

"See, Amelie!" Myrnin cried, for all the world like a young boy attempting to get his sibling in trouble, "Hardly fair, is it?"

Before Amelie could respond, Oliver cut in, snarling across the table at Myrnin.

"And is it fair that you send Claire to my coffee shop every morning to buy your coffee for you, and more often than not send her back with a made-up complaint just to irritate me?!"

A few eyes swivelled in Claire's direction, including Michael's and Hannah's, and she threw her hands up in a gesture which said, Don't look at me.

It was true though. She had begun to suspect after Myrnin had sent her back the third day in a row, saying his coffee was too disgusting to drink. She had taken a sip on the way over and it had tasted fine to her, but she had just assumed that Myrnin had super vampire tastebuds or something, and could detect something which she couldn't. Claire made a note to have a word with him later. If he had been wasting her time without a good reason, she would of course blackmail him for money. There was a lovely blue dress she'd seen while window shopping the other day which was, funnily enough, on sale for the exact amount of money Myrnin would have to give her in compensation.

"It isn't my fault you employ inferior baristas!" Myrnin retorted.

"I always prepare your orders myself!" Oliver snapped.

"And they are always inferior!" Myrnin shouted. Claire thought he was enjoying himself a little too much. She didn't know why Oliver let himself get so wound up; he had stood up abruptly at Myrnin's last comment, chair screeching horribly on the polished wooden floor.

"Enough!" Amelie said suddenly, and the room went silent suddenly. They could all feel the power rippling off her. Oliver sat, and that would have been the end of it if, as he was sitting down, Myrnin hadn't muttered,

"Not just your coffee that is inferior, I see."

Oliver slammed his palm down on the table with enough force to leave a dent.

"Insult me once more, you fool, and I swear it shall be the last time you ever speak! I shall rip your tongue out of your mouth. It is only your brain this town requires!"

Claire saw the shadow which passed over Myrnin's face the second before he started grinning like the cat that got the cream, and silently moved her chair back, out of what she judged to be the danger zone.

"At least I make some part of myself useful!" He retorted, "Or have you forgotten? With our only enemies obliterated, you are of no use to anyone anymore," He leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed behind his head, looking very pleased with himself, "There is no place for a mangy old war leader here. I shouldn't think it'll be long before Amelie has you...removed."

There was a split second during which time seemed to slow down and Claire wondered why on earth no one had stepped in to make Myrnin shut up, and then with an enraged snarl, Oliver launched himself across the table, his arms outstretched for Myrnin's throat. The expression on Myrnin's face was almost comical, but it only lasted for a moment before Oliver barrelled into him and sent them and the chair toppling over.

Then they were out of Claire's sight, her view obscured by the large oak table around which they were all sitting. She heard the thud as the two men hit the floor though, and what followed, which was oddly similar to the sound of two cats fighting. Everyone else around the table, who had mostly been watching the argument with mild amusement, were suddenly sitting up in their chairs, looking at each other in shock. Those closer to the fighting began to move away, but in the next second Oliver dragged Myrnin up, and threw him across the room to crash into the panelled wall. He thudded to the floor in a tangle of limbs, and Claire gasped as he got up and she saw that one of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

She looked at Amelie, wondering why she hadn't gone all ice-queen on them yet, but she was calmly sorting through some papers on the table in front of her as if nothing was actually happening.

Oliver had Myrnin up against the wall by the lapels of his coat, and was repeatedly slamming him into the woodwork, splintering more of it each time.

For his part, Myrnin was laughing almost hysterically, wholly unconcerned by his predicament or the blood which had begun to stain the wall behind his head. Claire looked around her, aghast. Everyone was just sitting there. Granted, Robert Newman looked completely shocked, but he was a relatively new member of the council, and no one else seemed to be particularly concerned about the fight which had just broken out, or Myrnin's well-being. Or the wall's, for that matter.

But then again, this was Morganville. Everyone was used to fighting; Claire had just assumed that one of the most unlikely places for it (in the physical form anyway) would be in a council meeting.

She looked at The Founder again. Amelie had apparently finished sorting her documents, and was now sitting with her hands folded in her lap, watching the two vampires with polite interest.

"Amelie?" Claire said, raising her voice a little to be heard over the snarling and crashes of splintering wood. Luckily she was sitting quite near to her rather than down the table. Amelie turned her gaze to Claire briefly before flicking back to watch Oliver and Myrnin. She took that as her cue to speak.

"Aren't you going to do something?"

"And what do you propose I do? Scold them in front of everyone like the little boys that they are? No," She shook her head, "They will be punished later for their utter stupidity."

Claire gaped until Amelie turned to look at her again.

"I thought you were all for public punishment!"

Amelie smiled, just slightly.

"Yes, little Claire, but this town is changing. And," She added, apparently as an afterthought, "Myrnin has been exceedingly irritating as of late."

Amelie turned away again at this point, making it quite clear that the conversation was over.

Claire stared for a moment longer before her attention was turned back to the progressing fight as Myrnin's laughter rose even higher. He had broken free of Oliver's grip and was dancing just out of his reach, taunting him.

"Come on then, old man!"

Oliver hissed and swiped at him in a movement that was too fast for Claire's eyes to keep up with, but Myrnin still managed to dodge it with apparent ease, springing straight back into place.

"I'll-"

Oliver began to speak in his most threatening voice, but Myrnin interrupted.

"Yes, yes, I know. What are you going to do?" Up until this point he had been jovial, toying with Oliver, but now his voice dropped and there was a malicious glint in his eyes as he spoke his next words slowly and deliberately, "Rip out my tongue and see if you can still make me scream?"

There was something dark about the way he said it that made Claire shiver; even Amelie looked up at him and frowned. At his words, Oliver froze for a moment, and an indecipherable expression passed over his face. If Claire had thought he was pissed before, she was wrong.

With a strangled sound of rage, he flung himself at Myrnin for a second time, slamming him back into the wall with enough force to embed him a couple of inches into the woodwork.

"You dare?!" Oliver roared, shaking him, "You dare?!"

Myrnin just stared at him, eyes dark and mouth pursed. His hands dropped to his sides and he just stood there, swaying in Oliver's grip.

"Yes, I dare," He hissed. Claire heard the hitch in his breath, saw his pale fingers twitching helplessly and realised that something was wrong.

So, apparently, had Amelie.

"That is enough, now. Sit down, please," She said quietly. She was watching the two intently, brow furrowed. The two men ignored her, or didn't register her words.

Myrnin spoke again, so quietly that Claire almost missed his words.

"I dare as you dared, Oliver."

She had no idea what he was talking about, but the tension crackling between the two was tangible; Claire felt her stomach tighten and a wave of sick anticipation wash coldly over her. There was something very not right here, something she was missing. This was not Myrnin's usual game any more.

He made to bolt forward suddenly, but Oliver's grip on his lapels was strong, his knuckles visibly whitened. Myrnin snarled in frustration, his face twisting. He struggled again, and Oliver slammed him back into the wall even more ferociously than before.

"Explain." Oliver growled.

Myrnin let his head loll back, chest heaving, and gazed sullenly at Oliver for a moment before dropping his head forward again.

"You took advantage of me," He said finally, and something in his voice was missing. He sounded broken.

"Meeting adjourned." Amelie's voice rolled around the silent hall, laden with such power that everyone immediately stood up from their seats, even Claire. They left the room quickly and noiselessly, some stealing glances on their way out at the two vampires against the wall. As Claire made for the door though, slightly relieved to be getting away from whatever odd thing was going on between Oliver and Myrnin, Amelie stopped her, and Michael too. Claire slid uncomfortably back into her seat, Michael standing behind her, and they watched the two vampires standing across the hall as if in a world of their own, seemingly unaware of anyone else's presence.

Myrnin was speaking again, his voice slightly stronger and his eyes flashing.

"You took advantage of me-"

"No!" Oliver cut in, shaking him again, but Myrnin just raised his voice.

"-in a moment of weakness!"

There was a moment's pause, where Oliver just stared at Myrnin, and then Claire flinched as there was a blur of movement and Myrnin's head snapped to the side suddenly. The sharp slap of flesh hitting flesh seemed horribly amplified in the silence of the room.

Myrnin slowly lifted his head again, one cheek already flushing red from the force of Oliver's blow. His expression was unreadable; Claire waited for him to react, almost forgetting to breath.

Finally, with a snarled sound like a strangled sob, he surged forwards - and crushed his mouth to Oliver's.

For a moment, the scene seemed frozen in action; Myrnin caught in the act of his forward momentum tipping into Oliver, his hands curled into fists on either side of the taller man's jaw, Oliver leaning backwards, one foot behind him, raised hands just about to let go of the other's clothing and push him away. Neither moved for a fraction of a second. Claire heard a muffled sound of protest escape Oliver as Myrnin moved his lips against his mouth, as if trying to fuse the two together. The scientist's eyes were squeezed shut as he mashed himself closer to Oliver, snarling a little in frustration as he attempted to elicit a response, tongue flicking out briefly between sharpened teeth.

It reality the interaction lasted only a few seconds, but to Claire's shock-flooded brain it seemed slowed down. Then the bubble was broken, and Myrnin pushed angrily away from Oliver at the same time as Oliver seemed to regain control of his muscles and shoved himself backwards, stumbling and wiping his mouth viciously with his forearm.

They stood facing each other for a moment, both breathing unnecessarily hard, and then Myrnin slowly started to laugh. It began as little wheezing chuckles, and blossomed into almost hysterical giggles which sent him tripping back into the wall, massaging his throat with one hand and wiping away a trickle of blood from his lip with the other.

Amelie's voice broke in over the waves of his laughter.

"What is going on?"

Oliver didn't turn round to look at her. Instead, he spat and growled at Myrnin, then whirled around as Amelie appeared behind him suddenly, one pale hand flashing out to grab his arm. He hissed at her and wrenched his arm out of her grip, and then he was gone, moving quicker than Claire's eyes could keep up with. The door clicked shut behind him, and in unison all eyes in the room swivelled to Myrnin.

He was still laughing manically to himself, but it died down to little hiccoughs as Amelie turned to look at him.

"You fool," She hissed, "What have you done?"

Myrnin set off giggling again, bending almost double, hands clutching his knees. He managed to gasp out an answer between the laughs which were shaking his body, so that his words were almost missed.

"Oliver," He said, "Oliver, of all people."

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, but when it did Claire raised a shaky hand to cover her mouth, eyes flicking to Michael. His expression was a comical mix of absolute shock and nausea. Claire didn't blame him. She herself felt vaguely sick at the idea, but she could also feel the impulse for hysterical laughter rising in her chest.

Her mind was refusing to process the concept properly - part of her just didn't believe him, and for once it seemed that Amelie was having similar difficulties.

"...Oliver?" She said, her voice echoing hollowly in the hall, "No, Myrnin. I refuse to believe it. Even you...even you are not insane enough-"

"Apparently I am," Myrnin cackled, for the present completely unashamed of his admission. Claire expected that later, when he was more in control of all his faculties, he might feel differently.

"Dear God!" Amelie said, "Do you have any idea what you have done?! Do you torment him on purpose?"

Myrnin stopped laughing, pursing his lips into a moue of petulance.

"No," He muttered, but his mask was cracked, and for a moment a look of helplessness and shame passed over his face.

"What were you thinking?!"

"I didn't know!" Myrnin snapped, running a thin hand through his dishevelled hair. "I was not in control!" He breathed heavily into the silence, looking defeated.

Amelie sighed and started to speak, but Myrnin cut in, his voice whipping bitter and harsh through the air.

"He should have known better. He should have stopped it."


May revise later and try to neaten this up. Not much in the way of 'stuff', if you get my meaning, but if I post another I promise it'll be gloriously stuffed with stuff ;) Or it won't. Who knows. Maybe if everyone who reads this reviews begging me to write something smutty then I will. :)

Many thanks to the lone reviewer for chapter one; aside from leaving a lovely review, without you I would have felt so unappreciated that I probably wouldn't have continued this. So thanks :D Hope you like this too!