Here's something that occured to me as I was at the park watching a man getting attacked by a large swan (that I thought was a massive goose until my dad told me it was a swan).
I didn't publish it in Sweeney Todd Oneshots (like I probably should really) because to me it feels like it has a different tone and everything in there is from Sweeney's point of view and this is from Mrs. Lovett's. If you want me to expand on this and develop it into a story, I may well because I really like it and it could be the start of a neat little Sweenett tale :).
Enjoy :D.
Sweeney's eyes remained distant as Mrs. Lovett thrust some bread into his hands. She examined his expression. His face was emotionless, but her sharp eyes caught the small, almost unnoticeable frown that made him look so much like a stubborn child.
"Come on love, just tear some off and throw it to them." she demonstrated, and the ducks at their feet snapped it up.
Sweeney turned to her. "Times are hard, Mrs. Lovett. Why waste good bread on ducks?"
Mrs. Lovett fought not to sigh as she patiently explained:
"It's just a bit of fun Mr. T."
His eyes clouded over again, and she expected her words had triggered some long-forgotten memory. She decided not to interrupt his thinking, knowing that he would snap at her or hurt her unknowingly in some way.
Sweeney drifted away to the very edge of the lake, staring out into the water, lost in thoughts that Mrs. Lovett could only speculate about. She could never work out what he was thinking. He was just so damn complicated.
Almost despairingly, Mrs. Lovett turned away from Sweeney and went back to tearing lumps of bread from the loaf and tossing it to the floor. Ducks swarmed around and gulped it down, as though nobody had fed them for years.
And then it dawned on her.
Benjamin and Lucy had come here. They had spent long afternoons in the park and once they had invited Mrs. Lovett along too. She had blocked the awful day from her mind in an attempt to drown out her growing jealousy and hatred of Lucy. That was the day she realised she was in love with Benjamin.
Mrs. Lovett was drawn from her memories by a rapidly advancing goose. It was abnormally large and looked very, very angry. In an attempt to make it back off, she threw a hunk of bread at it, but it swallowed it greedily without slowing.
Then another goose joined it. Mrs. Lovett carried on throwing bread at the pair of them, but only succeeded in drawing more to her. Soon there was a very small flock coming towards her and she was out of bread. Nervously, she took a step back.
"Mr. T?" she called, but he was still engrossed in his thoughts, too far away to hear.
The situation would have been comical if Mrs. Lovett wasn't afraid of geese. She was, however. Spiders didn't faze her, as they did most people. She wasn't afraid of most things, but geese were her worst nightmare. She had been 'bitten' by one as a child, and over time the memory had instilled a fear in her that was deep and strong.
Stupid thing to be afraid of, she scolded herself. They were just geese, after all. But still she was backing off, her heart in her mouth. One of them snapped at her hand and she moved it just in time.
"Shoo." she said, her voice higher than usual. She attempted to flap her hands to drive them away, but she lost her nerve and ended up feebly lifting her hand and flapping it once before it fell down to her side where it balled. "Mr. T? Ouch! You bugger!" she exclaimed, tearing her hand out of a goose's beak. She felt tears well in her eyes as she looked at her bleeding fingers. She clutched them, stumbling back.
"Shoo!" another, lower voice called. Mrs. Lovett looked up in surprise to see Sweeney scatter the flock of birds. He reached Mrs. Lovett and stared at her. "Are you alright?"
She nodded, unable to find her tongue immediately.
"The pest bit me fingers." she just about managed to say eventually, showing Sweeney the deep cuts that were bleeding freely and excessively. She couldn't quite feel the pain, too stunned by what had just happened.
"Geese, Mrs. Lovett, can not bite."
"He pecked me then." she replied irritably, closing her hand around her fingers again. They were starting to hurt now.
Sweeney simply gave a dismissive grunt, and Mrs. Lovett knew that his rare moment of concern was over. She still smiled though. She had broken through to him. She had seen a flash of the man he had once been.
Mrs. Lovett was aware that Sweeney could and would never be Benjamin again, but she didn't want that. She wanted a balance. She wanted Sweeney, but she wanted him to notice her in a way Benjamin had. She wanted him to listen patiently and enquire after her wellbeing. She wanted him to treat her like an equal, a person, not like a slave. She had given him so much, yet she never received anything more than the odd curt, insincere 'thank you'.
The way things were, she would settle for listening occasionally and thanking her properly. That was all she wanted anymore. It was the best she would ever get out of Sweeney, she thought. And at least she still got the new man- the wise one who knew the world was cruel, not the naïve one who knew but didn't think it could affect him.
But it was a start. For a moment, she had seen genuine concern in Sweeney's eyes, and although he was now strolling beside her in a moody silence, she knew it was the first step. He did care for her, even if it was only a little bit and even if he didn't realise it.
Geese weren't so bad, Mrs. Lovett decided. In fact, maybe they could feed them more often…
There you have it :). The contents of a head that was bored silly by the dreariness of a park on boxing day lol. Please, please review and I hope you all had a good Christmas (or whatever other festival you might celebrate!).