A/N: I just saw Sweeney Todd for the second time yesterday, and so I had to post something! This is a companion to Heart, my other Sweeney fic. It's not important to read the one first, but if you do, there's guaranteed warm fuzzies in the form of review replies at stake. So go on…
…
No one understood him, poor Mr. Todd. Everyone avoided him, not obviously, but they did. They shied away from him in the street, whenever he dragged himself away from his razors and that dark, dreary little room of his.
But I knew a different Mr. Todd, a Mr. Todd who wasn't just some odd-looking barber man with funny hair, but who used to be dear Benjamin Barker, him what was pining over his poor Lucy. He did have a heart…
…
The end of the week was never a good time, what with me being rushed off my feet with customers every night, and staying awake to watch the fires, not to mention bleeding Mrs. Mooney poking her nose in every minute wanting to know my secrets. That week had been even worse. Toby wasn't feeling his best, so I tucked him up in bed and set out to do all the shopping by myself. My bones was right weary by the time I got back, so I sat myself down I the parlour to rest for a moment before I got on with dealing to all them poor souls piling up in the bakehouse. It had been a busy week. Before Mr. Todd came back from wherever he'd been, there'd only been what's-his-name, old Pirelli shaving people, but after he… disappeared… well, everyone still needed to shave, didn't they? Business was booming, and no mistake, but blimey, it was hard work.
"Mrs. Lovett!"
There he was, Mr. Todd, probably wanting more cloths to clean up his little room. I never would have thought one throat could hold so much blood, but there you go.
"Mrs. Lovett, I've been after you for an hour. The chair is looking a little worse for wear, but the boy isn't quite up to cleaning."
"I'll get right on it, Mr. T," I smiled, and got up to find a cloth. Or, tried to get up, but my foot caught in the hem of my dress, and tore a hole in it.
There's times when everything seems to pile up on top of you, and little things gets hard to bear. It happened to me then, staring at the hole in my dress and thinking of all the work I still had to do before I could rest my poor aching limbs.
I dropped back into the chair and a sob broke out of my mouth before I could control myself. Mr. Todd turned in the doorway to look at me.
"Here, what's the tears for, pet?"
He walked across the room, slow like, like he wasn't sure what to do. Then he came and knelt awkwardly next to my chair, and used the corner of his jacket to wipe my face. He was a right proper gentleman, even if he didn't have a real handkerchief to mop the tears with. His jacket was good enough for me, anyhow.
He cleared his throat and got up. "I'll… I'll start on the chair myself."
I sat for a while longer just feeling sorry for myself, until I realised that Mr. T was up there alone trying to clean. He was lovely, he was, but not the most practical gent. He wouldn't hardly get up in the morning if someone didn't tell him to. Heaven only knew what he could get up to up there.
I found the mop and hurried up the stairs to find him staring at the stained floorboards like they'd rose up out of nowhere.
"Here, Mr. T, you just leave that to me, eh?"
He looked up. "You need to get o with the pies, love."
"Alright."
I handed him the mop, not that I'd expect him to know what to do with it, silly man. As I closed the door I heard him call my name.
I poked my head back through the door to find him looking at me with the oddest expression. If I didn't know him better I could have sworn he was trying to put a smile on his dear brooding face.
"Thank you, my pet."
He did have a heart, my Mr. Todd. He did.
…
So… what do you think? Too OOC? Too random? Please review… otherwise those pussies just keep on getting baked in pies.