The Blacksmith and the Apothecary

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

The thought of changing and enduring that pain again twisted Bruce's lips into a deep grimace, but they needed the information if they wanted any hope of understanding his condition, which could lead to him possibly controlling the transformations later on. He felt like it was worth the risk. After a moment, he nodded, his lips pressed into a hard line.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony reached out and gripped Bruce gently by the shoulders, forcing the man to look him in the eye. "Bruce, if you are uncomfortable, we will simply go by what the books tell us. Are you certain you wish to do this? I would stop the trial before you actually changed," he told him softly.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce met Tony's eyes fleetingly, breaking contact with him every few seconds to looks down to his feet instead. "It is not as if I want to do this, but I am willing to. I-If it could help, then I am willing," he stated firmly.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony gazed firmly at him, deciding that they didn't have a choice. "Well, if you are sure, then let us begin. I would like to state ahead of time that I may try to provoke you or act in ways that I do not actually mean. It is simply to get your blood pumping, as they say. Now..." He trailed off, trying to gauge just how drunk he himself was. Ah well, drunk enough. "I think I'll shock you first," he said, then with little warning surged forward and kissed him.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded and took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever it was that Tony was planning on doing to him. Whatever he had been expecting, it certainly wasn't what he received. His lids fluttered, eyes widening with sheer surprise, and his stomach twisted into a tight knot. Pulling away, he huffed and stared at the blacksmith as if the other man had grown a second head, utterly speechless.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony looked him up and down expectantly. "No? All right, no change. Shock doesn't seem to have anything to do with it," he hummed, picking up a discarded journal and the quip inside of it, quickly scratching down the results so that they didn't have to just remember it all. "Anger, next?" He asked, looking up innocently as though he hadn't just violated Bruce.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Tony seemed to already have a head start on angering him. Bruce swallowed and balled his hands at his sides, resolving to just take a few deep breaths and calm himself. Like he'd said before, nothing he did was really him, it was strictly for their little research project. "Sure," he huffed, rubbing an arm, all the while doing his damnedest not to dwell on the feeling of Tony's lips against his.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony couldn't help but grin at the way Bruce seemed to be reacting to his little experiment. He couldn't help but think that it hadn't been too terrible of an experience. All at once his expression became hard and he took a step towards Bruce, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. "Actually, why are we doing this? Why bother? You have nothing to contribute to this society anymore except murder and destruction- hell, you were nothing before this happened. Are you sure your wife didn't just kill herself?" They were low words- but he had to do something.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce visibly flinched and screwed his eyes shut and turned his head, metaphorically and physically turning the other cheek. It was the jab at Elizabeth that caused a pain to shoot through his chest, and his lips curled into a snarl. "Don't," he warned, voice gravely and serious.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony held up his hands, taking a mental step back. "Okay. Easy Bruce, calm down. You know I didn't mean that, and I can see that anger does have something to do with it, so we're done with that test," he said very slowly, tones low and gentle.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce took a deep breath and turned so that his back was to Tony, just needing a moment to collect himself. "I know...Don't talk about her like that. Please," he muttered. To say that he was defensive of his wife, and that he still grieved over her, was an understatement.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony knew it was necessary, but he still hated himself for making Bruce feel this way. "I won't anymore. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.." He stopped blabbering. Well, sadness didn't do it either. "I think we should take a break," he muttered.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded in agreement once he felt a little more calm. "Yes...that is probably wise," he muttered. He cleared his throat and turned to face Tony a moment, at a loss for what to say.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony busied himself with recording their findings in the journal. Anger definitely seemed to play a roll, and it was something they should avoid. He was finished writing soon yet he pretended to continue, if only to keep from looking Bruce in the eye. "Perhaps we could start on the potion with what ingredients I already have," he suggested, looking out the window.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

"That, I can do," Bruce sighed, feeling a touch more relieved once he was presented with something within his comfort zone. This was what he was good at, what he enjoyed. It was work, and he could use it to take his mind off of things. The apothecary slipped the list from his pocket and scanned over it. "If you could show me to your supplies, I can start."

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony removed his hat and set it on the table, suddenly feeling wrong wearing it. "Of course. This way," he encouraged, walking over to a small cupboard and opening it. There were a few jars and boxes labeled inside- he hadn't looked through it in a while. "Have at it," he said, moving out of the way.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce nodded and approached the cupboard to rummage and take stock of everything he had to work with. Picking up boxes and jars, he sighed once he realized that most were left unlabeled, and he began to identify the various herbs, whether by opening a few jars to sniff at its contents, or by feeling the texture of the herbs themselves. Most however, was done by plain sight itself. After a few minutes or sorting, he turned to Tony. "We are still missing a few vital ingredients, including the wolfsbane. But I think I can work with what you have here, as well as the supplies I brought with me, at least for now," he told him.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony nodded, feeling uncomfortable in his own skin as he watched Bruce work. "What can I do to help?" He asked, rubbing his arm almost unconsciously. It was good that the man could find some use of the herbs, as he himself rarely did anything with them.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce considered the question for a moment, running a hand across his stubble. "I shall have to talk to a supplier of mine, a merchant named Jones. I should be able to get the rest of the supplies in a few weeks time. So until then, we can prepare what we have, unless it specifies that certain ingredients should be mixed together. So with that being said, can you help me measure out what we have?"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

The way Bruce talked made it sound like they'd be buying things from a black market. It wasn't that Tony was just opposed, he just didn't take Bruce as the type to get in on those kinds of dealings. Clearing his throat, the blacksmith replied, "Of course. Allow me to get some glasses." Opening another cupboard, he began pulling out separate glasses in order to measure the amounts of their ingredients in.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce considered a few things as Tony went to retrieve a few glasses. "It's just that a few are a little more difficult to get a hold of, like this Juniper. It's rare, actually. I just hope that Jones will be able to get what we need," he mused to no one in particular, studying the list in his hands.

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony nodded absently, checking the numbers on each glass so that they could measure properly. It was an ingenious idea, to mark numbers going up a container to measure how much you had of something. "I'm sure he will."

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce glanced over and tilted his head curiously upon seeing the glasses. "Did you come up with this?" he questioned with awe, lips quirked into an impressed smile, his eyes bright. "It's brilliant!"

[Sweet_Wyvern]

Tony, modest for once in his life, glanced away and muttered something about it not being all that special. "Just.. Necessary, if you want to keep track of anything," he mumbled, a sheepish smile inching onto his face.

[lord-of-the-nerds-and-fandoms]

Bruce's lips quirked into a smirk upon seeing the look on Tony's face, and he chuckled softly. "No, these are great. I may have to have you help me make some more so I can use them at home," he smiled, already starting to pour out ingredients.