Life Is For The Barely Alive
By: Yami Malika
Disclaimer: Sweeney Todd owns all of you, but sadly, I do not own Sweeney Todd.
Summary: Mrs. Lovett wants Sweeney Todd to love her back. It is possible if she thought about it. Lucy was married to Benjamin Barker, and that man is dead. That's what Mr. Todd told her after all. (Light Sweenett) (ONE SHOT)
Rating: K+
A/N: I have a new obsession, and it's Sweeney Todd (movie, musical, book, ect.). Because I love it (Haha Lovett…) so much, I decided to write a Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett one shot.
Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review before you go!
Benjamin Barker was dead. Mr. Todd said it himself. If Benjamin Barker was dead, then this man called Sweeney Todd does not belong to Lucy Barker. No, Mr. Todd was free. This was because Mr. Todd was not Benjamin Barker.
Mrs. Nellie Lovett would replay this over and over in her head, as she sat back in her late husband's favorite plush chair. These thoughts gave her hope that her dream was possible. But...was Mrs. Lovett really in love with the tormented being that dwelled above her shop? Mrs. Lovett had a fondness for Benjamin Barker, not Sweeney Todd. Sure, Mr. Todd resembled the beautiful barber in some aspects, but being imprisoned for fifteen years had warped his once cheerful personality, and marred his features.
Mrs. Lovett assumed that being tortured in Australia would have killed Mr. Barker, so she should be glad that she had so much as a shell of the man that she had longed for. This new man could belong to her. It was possible. So yes, she loved Mr. Todd.
Now, If only Mr. Todd could leave the memories of his past behind. Nothing that he does will be able to bring Lucy back from the same mental destruction that he had endured. Lucy Barker was not Lucy Barker anymore. She was now one of the many half-crazed beggar women who so often roamed the streets of London. Of course Mr. Todd did not know Lucy's entire fate. Although, if he had the right to call himself dead, then Mrs. Lovett did not lie when she explained what had happened to his wife. Lucy was in fact dead...her mind was dead.
Mrs. Lovett smiled sadly. Could she be considered dead as well? She spent fourteen years of loneliness after all. That would drive anyone to the brink of madness. Right when Mr. Barker was taken away, within a year's time, Lucy and Mrs. Lovett's husband Albert would leave as well. She didn't even have the soft cooing of the baby Johanna to break the silence. Who knows? Maybe Mrs. Lovett was in fact as crazy as the Barkers. Well, one of the Barkers at least. Sweeney Todd was not Benjamin Barker. It'd be best not to forget that.
The woman's gaze then fell on the small boy who had curled himself by the fireplace, gin in hand, after a long hard day of working in the pie shop. It reminded her that she was not alone anymore. She housed Mr. Todd, and the young Tobias Ragg now.
"Toby dear." she beckoned softly. The boy stirred and sat up, his eyes glazed.
"Yes mum?" He asked groggily.
"Why don't you go run to bed now, aye?" Mrs. Lovett motioned her head to the couch, which served as the boy's makeshift bed. "The floor will get awfully cold when the fire goes out."
Toby nodded and hopped onto the sofa, falling asleep instantly as his head hit the soft surface. Mrs. Lovett stood up herself, and threw a blanket over her adoptive son. She let a long sigh escape her lips, as she patted the boy's head. How she longed that Mr. Todd would come and join her away from his shop for once. Then it would be like the three of them were a real family. Who else did they really have in this hell called London?
She looked up at the ceiling that resonated the rhythmic pacing of her beloved barber. His steps were so even; one could mistake it for a metronome…a slightly angry metronome. Mrs. Lovett assumed that his annoyance was caused by the fact that he only had three customers that day. She would know because she was the one who scraped the meat from their bones and bake pies from them. Perhaps she would visit Mr. Todd tonight.
Mrs. Lovett braced herself for the chilly night air as she scaled the steps to Mr. Todd's shop. She opened the wooden door that jingled a small bell merrily.
Mr. Todd who was in fact pacing at the moment shot Mrs. Lovett a glare, but softened ever so slightly when he realized who she was. He could never tell when the sailor Anthony would show up, even in the dead of night. However, he should have known better that his visitor was the baker.
"What is it Mrs. Lovett?" Mr. Todd asked gruffly, now reaching into his holster to polish a razor. It was a habit he picked up whenever the baker talked to distract him from her rambling. Mrs. Lovett noticed this, and pursed her lips together, but calmed herself down.
"Mr. T. Why don't yeh come down to the shop tonight?" She offered pleasantly, placing a hand on his arm.
Mr. Todd almost laughed, as he looked down at her from the corner of his eye. She had been asking him the same question for about a month now. And the answer was always the same: "No."
Deja Vu indeed.
Mrs. Lovett cringed at the harshness of his tone.
"Alright then. I'll just leave yeh to yeh'r brooding," the women said softly, walking away. Had he not one single speck of interest in her at all? Of course she knew that she could never compare to the beauty of Lucy, but she was still a woman, and he a man.
Things must not be as simple as that. Besides, life is for the alive—even if two souls were barely hanging on. Mrs. Lovett had the door open, when Mr. Todd spoke.
"Not even a 'good night Mr. T.?'" Mr. Todd asked, stopping the woman in her tracks.
She turned to face the man who had put his razor back, and was advancing towards her. "Sorry." Mrs. Lovett said sarcastically, closing the door.
"Good ni--"
Mr. Todd proceeded to push the baker against the wall, which cut her off. This action was not uncommon when Mr. Todd was upset. However, the force this time had made a few pins fall from Mrs. Lovett's curly hair, letting a strand fall from the pile she kept atop her head. For the first time, Mr. Todd made eye contact with the woman who was breathing heavily by now.
"Mrs. Lovett...what do you really want? Tell me." He asked, tightening his grip on her shoulders.
"I want...to live by the sea of course. With yeh, and the boy...and…" Mrs. Lovett responded, trying to keep her composure.
"That's not the whole truth is it?" Mr. Todd said his voice becoming louder.
"I- I want you to love me!" Mrs. Lovett shouted, and immediately blushed a deep red, as her eyes widened. She never had intended to confess to the man in such blunt terms.
Mr. Todd chuckled darkly. "That's what I thought you might say."
Mrs. Lovett bit her lip under the barber's tight hold on her. If he knew...which she would think he would by now...why would he make her tell him like this?
"Mrs. Lovett. You must be truly out of your mind. You're a bloody wonder, but quite insane." Mr. Todd growled leaning in to Mrs. Lovett so that the two were eye-level to each other. "I cannot, and will not love you, pet. I must stay faithful to my Lucy."
Why would he call her such names then? Why was he torturing her so? "Mr. Todd. Yeh don't need to hold on to a memory. Why should yeh? Yeh told me...yeh told me that Benjamin Barker was a dead man. That's what yeh said." Mrs. Lovett choked, in a frenzied babble.
"Besides, if Lucy were alive (in a state of mind to Mrs. Lovett), would she want to know what yeh've been doing?"
That was it for Mr. Todd. Mrs. Lovett had over stepped her boundaries. He shoved the baker violently against the wall, and caused her to crumple on the ground, shaking. The man walked to the window. Why must Mrs. Lovett be so correct?
"This is my revenge. I'm avenging the deaths of Benjamin and Lucy Barker." Mr. Todd said more to himself, but loud enough for Mrs. Lovett to hear. This was his justification for murder, and he let her know that.
Mrs. Lovett stood herself up and walked over to the barber. She risked her throat by doing what she was about to do, especially after infuriating Mr. Todd, but she did it anyway. She threw her arms around him, and buried her face in his back. Mr. Todd stiffened at the contact.
"Please forgive me Mr. T. I don't know what I would do without yeh...even if yeh don't love me. I don't want to be alone again." Mrs. Lovett begged in a whisper.
Mr. Todd removed himself from her embrace and looked at the baker's tear filled eyes. He reached his hand out and pushed the stray curls from Mrs. Lovett's face. She flinched slightly, for she didn't know if he might slap her.
Mr. Todd then lowered his face down, and brushed his lips over Mrs. Lovett's for a kiss. It was not passionate in the least, but it made Mrs. Lovett feel weak nonetheless. No amount of seaside homes could compare to this moment. They remained still for a good minute, but Mr. Todd was the one to end the kiss by straightening himself up and facing the moonlit streets.
"I learned to forgive, Mrs. Lovett. Now you must try to forget. Forget about what happened tonight, and please...leave me."
The baker complied with Mr. Todd's request, and left the shop. Mrs. Lovett's head filled with glorious fantasies. A kiss was a kiss, and her Mr. Todd had given her a kiss. After some time, perhaps she would receive something more from the barber that she must always remember, was not Benjamin Barker. It was Todd now. Sweeney Todd, and he would have his revenge, and what Mrs. Lovett wished, a new life as well.