Umm, well... Hi. *waves*

So, ususally you'd find me at the NCIS department (hence the pen name- cookies for fellow fans!) but recently I've really been into Sweeney Todd. Like, absolutely obsessing over it.

I spent most of my time reading all those wonderful Sweenett 'fics on this side and was really debating with myself whether or not I should try and contribute something as well. I kept writing little notes on my phone and tried to put them together to form a story that makes at least some sort of sense in the end (my ideas are always pretty random)... this is the outcome. I'm feeling really insecure about this, so constructive criticism is absolutely welcome and very much appreciated.

Also, English isn't my first language and I struggled quite a bit with the accents, so please forgive me if they're... weird. And feel free to correct me, so I can improve my writing. ;)

Anyway, enough of all this. You didn't come here for my rambling. Enjoy the story! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own the worst pies in London. Pretty sure I've never eaten them either.

Barbers and their Sensibilities
Pt. I

Nellie Lovett awoke to the sound of someone, or much rather something, howling in the street just outside her bedchamber. Now, getting up earlier than absolutely necessary on a Sunday, her only free day of the week, was the last thing she was aiming at, but whatever creature was out there, it kept its volume up with persistence, almost as if it was mocking her. She tried squeezing her eyes shut and buried her face under her pillow, but without much success. Mrs. Lovett decided that she wasn't sleepy anymore anyway, not wanting to give the dog -and she was sure that it was a dog. Either that or Satan reincarnated as dog- the satisfaction of having thrown her out of bed, and made her way towards the door. She was armed with one of her slippers, just in case.

"Ya bloody damn bastard dog," she yelled as she yanked the door open, aiming and throwing the footwear into the general direction the noise was coming from. To her surprise and great irritation the hostile action did nothing to shoo the animal away, but merely focused its attention on the baker, who was suddenly rooted to the spot, watching the dog carefully. It had finally stopped howling and was now hesitantly approaching her, ears pressed flatly against its head. It was a beautiful creature, Mrs. Lovett had to admit to herself, with ruff dark grey fur and pitch black eyes that shone with some sort of intelligence the baker almost dared to describe as human.
The dog came to a halt directly in front of her, sat down and tilted its head to the side expectantly.

"Ya're lookin' for somethin' ta eat, eh?" secretly Mrs. Lovett had always had a soft spot for dogs. She admired their unquestioning loyalty and love whereas she despised cats ( not enough to pop then into pies, like certain other people, though)

"Well, let's see wot we can find ya."

The dog started wagging its tail enthusiastically, but remained sitting at her feet. She sent him a frown before snapping her fingers by her side. The dog's ears shot up and he lifted its behind off the ground. When she took a step backwards into the pie shop, it followed cautiously and when she stopped it sat straight back down. The baker smiled; oddly thrilled by the obedience she was met with. Now she was eager for a little experiment as to how far this obedience went.
"Stay." She ordered, and then turned to search for some meat she didn't plan on filling her pies with. The dog followed suit. When she realized this Mrs. Lovett turned and waited for the dog to sit again before repeating her order more firmly. This time it worked. The animal lay down in the centre of the room and rested its big head on its front paws, patiently waiting for the promised food.

"'Ere you go, dearie, " the baker cooed as she returned with some older meat that would only harm her booming business, setting the bowl down in front of the dog. The animal sniffed the meat once and then shrunk back from the plate with a whine. Mrs. Lovett frowned and sighed, collecting the plate and heading back to replace …well, whatever poor soul had found his way into Mr. Todd's chair, with leftover pork. When she presented the new meat to the dog it instantly started to eagerly devour the snack with a wagging tail. She watched it with crossed arms and wondered who could be as cruel as to let such a kind natured creature starve. When the dog had finished it turned its gaze up to her, licking its mouth with its pink tongue, and she could swear she'd never seen anyone look as grateful as this dog did that moment in the middle of her small kitchen. She lowered herself into a half-kneeling position and stretched one hand out to the animal. The dog eyed her briefly before getting up and making its way towards the baker to nudge her hand with its cold nose. Mrs. Lovett felt her lips curl up into a smile as she started to softly pet the dog's head. It leaned into her touch and even licked her fingers, although she believed that it wasn't as much a gesture of love towards her as for the taste of raw meat on her hand.

"Is that a dog?!" Toby's loud voice startled her and the dog flinched and fled under the table. She straightened herself up and turned to face the boy standing in the doorway.

"Yes, love. Wot else would it be?"

"Well...what's it doin' 'ere, mum?" Toby was evidently confused and she didn't blame him. Having a giant grey dog in the kitchen on a Sunday morning wasn't exactly a weekly routine.

"It woke me up, 'owlin' out in the street. Figured it might be 'ungry."
Toby nodded slowly before lying down on his stomach to try and get the dog out from its hiding place under the table. It sniffed the boy's hand before slowly leaving the safety of the shadows to let it be pet.

"Can we keep 'im?" Toby asked excitedly as the dog rolled onto its back, silently demanding for the boy to rub its belly. Mrs. Lovett, who had watched the whole scene from afar while filling a bowl with water for the dog, froze mid-motion. She hadn't given that subject any thought at all when 'inviting' the dog inside, but now that she considered it, she found herself quite fond of the idea of having the grey animal around permanently. She quickly banned that thought from her mind.

"I'm sure someone must be missin' 'im, love. Look 'ow nice 'is fur is, 'e can't be livin' on the streets..." she didn't mention the fact that whoever was the owner of the dog also seemed to let the animal starve enough to make it run off.

"An' what if you're wrong? If no one comes lookin' for 'im, can we keep 'im then? "
Both the dog and the boy were begging her with their eyes for a promise she knew she shouldn't give. But she shouldn't be a murderer's accomplice either, so she didn't really care.

"We'll see."
Toby grinned and the dog gave a happy bark. It even walked up to her and nudged her hand with its nose, making her smile. Suddenly someone knocked at the door quite forcefully, making the dog hide under the table again. Mrs. Lovett sighed.
"Toby, will ya go an' see who's outside?"

"Yes, mum," the boy darted across the room and lifted the curtain aside to take a look at the street. "Uh...it's Mrs. Mooney, " he informed the baker with disbelief evident his voice. Mrs. Lovett's head shot up in confusion and she motioned for Toby to leave the room. The dog stuck its nose out from under the table and whined as he saw the boy walk out.

"Take 'im," Mrs. Lovett hissed and went to open the door, not looking back to see if the dog actually left with the boy or not.

"What took you so bloody long, Eleanor? " Mrs. Mooney greeted her before eyeing the fellow baker skeptically. It was then that Mrs. Lovett realized she was still dressed only in her night gown with a robe haphazardly thrown over it. She self-consciously wrapped the robe more closely around her and crossed her arms, ignoring the little snicker coming from the woman in front of her.

"Wot do I owe the pleasure o' yer company to?" She asked sarcastically.

"'Ave you by any chance seen a dog?" Mrs. Mooney tried to get a look inside, but Mrs. Lovett blocked the view effectively by stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

"A...dog?" She tried to sound genuinely surprised but could obviously not fool the woman before her. Mrs. Mooney narrowed her eyes with suspicion but played along.

"Yes a dog. Ya know, tall-ish animal. ..barks an' howls from time ta time."

"I bloody knows what a dog is. Now, tell me why you're lookin' fo' one." The baker knew that only minutes ago she had lectured Toby about the wrongness of keeping the dog, but now that she knew her archenemy of some sorts wanted it, she refused to give the animal up without putting up a fight. Mrs. Mooney hesitated for a moment before straightening herself up.

"That's none o' your bleedin' business," she cleared her throat.

"If ya want me ta talk it is." Mrs. Lovett smiled smugly and leaned against the door frame. Now she was teasing her opponent, fully aware that she knew the dog was inside. Mrs. Mooney threw her arms in the air with exasperation.

"Fine. Keep 'im. Bastard kept getting' on me nerves anyway. But don't come beggin' me ta take 'im back once 'e starts eatin' ya inta poverty. 'Ave a very good day."

With that the bad-tempered woman turned on her heel and left into the direction of her own pie shop without another word.

Mrs. Lovett sighed and closed her eyes briefly before reentering her house. Toby and the dog were standing in the centre of the room and she knew that the conversation had been eavesdropped upon. Toby was grinning from ear to ear.

"We can keep 'im for sure, right? "

"Yes, love. Looks like it, don't it?"

"Did ya hear that, Dog? Ya're stayin'!" The boy fell to his knees next to the animal and threw his arms around its neck. The dog's response was simply a content growl.

Mrs. Lovett watched the dog and the boy play for a while with a warm smile until she heard someone pacing upstairs. She jumped up, realizing that she had completely forgotten about the demon barber...and his breakfast. She knew he didn't actually eat the meals she brought him, but she liked to think that he at least appreciated them. And bringing him food gave her the opportunity to try and have a conversation with him, although conversation wasn't quite the right term. It was usually more of a monologue from her side that either lasted until he threw her out or just stopped responding altogether.

The baker hurried into her bedroom to get dressed, trusting Toby to watch the dog. She cursed under her breath for letting herself get distracted so easily, though she had to admit that her heart had felt lighter than ever during those two hours during which she'd managed to ban the barber from her mind completely. Guilt rushed over her immediately for even thinking this, but she couldn't deny the truth. Sometimes loving Sweeney Todd was the hardest and simultaneously the most beautiful thing in her life. Even though she knew he didn't feel the same way and never would. But a woman was still allowed to dream, no? And she knew he needed her just as much as she needed him. Of course he'd never admit it, but she was sure he did.
Now dressed in one of her favorite garments, Mrs. Lovett rushed back into the kitchen.

"Toby, love, be a nice lil' lad an' 'elp me with. .." her voice trailed off and she stopped, rooted to the spot, at the sight of one very grumpy looking barber sitting at her table and glaring from the boy to the dog, which was hiding its huge body behind the boys thin frame, and back. Silence filled the room and from the corner of her eye she saw Toby slowly exit, the grey dog still by his side. She didn't know how long it was silent after the pair had left, but after a felt eternity her chatty nature got the better of her.

"Breakfast's almost done," she said with as much cheer as she could manage. Sweeney ignored her.

"The dog needs to go." He stated in his usual monotone voice.

"'An' why's that? " she asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't like him."

She couldn't stop the disbelieving laugh escaping her lips.
"Well, that's too bad, it really is. 'Cause last time I checked this was my 'ome. An' I do like 'im."

The barber's head shot up and he glared at her, got up and slowly walked towards his landlady, backing her up against a wall. Her heartbeat immediately sped up at the close proximity but she was already trained in feigning indifference, knowing only too well that the barber used her feelings for him against her for manipulation to his advantage frequently.
"Mrs. Lovett. .." he started and his hand brushed down her side, over her ribcage to her waist where it stayed for a moment.

"Mr. Todd. " she responded mockingly.

"The dog will be gone by tomorrow. " he mumbled and his hand left her body to grab one of his razors from his belt to make a point. They held gazes for a moment before the baker looked down and smiled, patting the barber's chest in mock affection.

"Ya won't even know 'e's 'ere, love." Just like intended Sweeney stepped away and walked toward the door leading to the outside staircase. He stopped with his hand on the handle but didn't look at her.

"One bark" he warned darkly with a subtle motion to the razor at his hip, and left.
Mrs. Lovett walked over to the table and dropped down on the bench with a grunt, dropping her head in her hands.

It looked like trouble was inevitable.

So... Let me know if you want me to continue or had enough. :)

Peace xx