I really couldn't resist writing this. I got the idea when I saw my brother eating a cherry flavored snow cone and I instantly thought of blood and then Sweeney came to mind. And voila! I hope you all enjoy some... strange treats. A bit of Sweenett and some occ-ness.


A Sweetly Twist Treat

Mr. Sweeney Todd was having trouble tuning out Mrs. Lovett. He hadn't the faintest idea why the woman could not understand his want of solitude and silence. Her steady one-sided chatter was making his head hurt like hell. His temples throbbed fiercely as she kept on yapping away. Anyone who had entered for a shave would have been met with a scandalous image of Mrs. Lovett seated languidly in the barber's chair with one leg over the armrest whilst the other dangled a few inches from the floor. But luckily no one came in.

Mr. Todd had closed up the shop to clean up the blood that was everywhere and on him. He vaguely saw his reflection on the dirty window and sighed. He turned his head to his right where the cracked vanity was hidden in the corner and saw himself with red petals of blood scattered all over his hair, face, neck and front side of his shirt. The cuffs of his no-longer-white shirt as well held evident of the deed he had just done minutes before.

The sound of laughter from outside made him look out the window to see why anyone would have reason to laugh. He saw two young boys both holding what appeared to be red snow cones, an odd contrast to the gloominess of Fleet Street, and having a good time. Each boy's lips were red and their icy treats were starting to melt and make their hands sticky. But both lads didn't seem to mind at all. They ran off with their treats and smiles down Fleet Street before disappearing around the corner.

Turning around and lifting his fingertips to his face, a sudden thought entered Mr. Todd's shrewd mind. He was in an experimental mood to create and observe.

Mrs. Lovett was still going on about flowers brightening up the room when she stopped, baffled completely when a cynical smile appeared on Mr. Todd's face. Not having the slightest idea what came over the barber, Mrs. Lovett stood up and said concernedly, "Mr. T, are you alright love? Daydreaming of killin' the judge again? 'Ow many times do I 'ave to tell you love that you 'ave got to be patient, you do. That's the only way of getting anywhere. You know wot you need love is a glass of gin. Yes, that's wot you need. I bought some the other day and I'm sure that's—"

Growing frustrated with her, Mr. Todd fixed his dark eyes on the baker and said coldly, "As hard as this many seem Mrs. Lovett for you to understand, but right now I'm not thinking of the judge. What I'm thinking has something to do with… something sweet but bitter."

Her countenance was one of utter confusion. She blinked and asked, "Silly man, wot are you talking about? We've nothing sweet in this house besides… well come to think of it, we 'ave got nothing sweet except that bag of sugar. But I'm sure it's gone stale by now and it's probably saturated with roaches."

Sighing somewhat sharply, Mr. Todd wiped some of the blood on his face and approached Mrs. Lovett. He grabbed her wrist and instantly felt her stiffen. She stared at him with a wild look in her eyes. She was afraid and enthralled at the same time. Smirking, he brought his scarlet tips to her mouth and wickedly painted her full lips with the heavy dosage of blood with his cold-as-a-corpse finger. Mrs. Lovett fought back a groan that was threatening to emerge from her throat. She endeavored from letting the barber hear but in vain.

He heard her pitiful moan and his smirk grew smug. He was actually enjoying himself causing her pain. Mr. Todd pressed his index finger harder against her lips until his nail bit into the tender flesh and a small stream of her own blood flowed free.

The wall was right behind Mrs. Lovett and Mr. Todd thought of pinning her against it and seeing how far he could go before she screamed from whatever emotions she was fighting to keep at bay. He was about to put his experiment to the test when he abruptly released her and walked away from her as if he hadn't done anything but stare out the window with a glassy expression. He said nothing and showed no signs of speaking.

As much as the idea of testing the baker's endurance presented some appeal to him, Mr. Todd was reminded of his urge for vengeance and his family. He hadn't the time to waste on Mrs. Lovett. Mr. Todd yanked the rag that hung from his belt and wiped the streaks and splashes of crimson that were on him.

Red still refused to be removed from his fingers and he was reminded of what he was going to say to Mrs. Lovett. Without looking at her, he muttered indifferently, "Blood. I was referring to blood, Mrs. Lovett. We have such an abundance of it that... " He trailed off, letting his thought hang in the air, unfinished.

Her confusion dissipated and was replaced with curiosity and she dared to take a step closer to the unpredictable barber and inquired gingerly, "That wot, Mr. Todd? Wot were you going to say?"

Still not wishing to look at her, Mr. Todd held a staring contest with his reflection in the window and mumbled sharply, "Nothing. Leave me Mrs. Lovett and attend to your shop."

Mrs. Lovett was about to protest when he reeled around and snarled menacingly, "Get out!" That did the trick. She scurried out the door with a look over her shoulder right as the door closed and saw Mr. Todd continuing to look out the window.

When he was sure she had gone, Mr. Todd came to life and swiftly changed his dirty shirt and replaced it with a fresh one. He poured water in the basin and washed his hair, face, neck and hands as best he could until not a speck of red remained. He dried his face and slipped on his vest and jacket. Once dressed, he gave his razor a thorough cleanse and stropping before slipping it into his holster.

His idea still lingered in his mind and he was curious to see how it would turn out. But he needed supplies and he wasn't very keen on the idea of asking Mrs. Lovett at the moment after what happened between them. So, the only thing left for him to do was to go get them himself. With a harsh groan, he knew he had to go to the marketplace.

Pulling out a few coins from where he stored his earnings, Mr. Todd got what he thought would be enough before heading to the door. He hesitated a moment before throwing the door open and taking the steps two at a time. On the last steps however, he lessened his pace and quietly jumped off the stairs as not to attract the baker's attention. He looked cautiously in to see where she was and found her busy at work kneading the dough and smashing roaches with her trusty rolling pin. Thwack!

As he watched her work he found himself curiously attracted to her. At the realization of his own thought, Mr. Todd went a shade paler and hurried off to the marketplace to get what he needed before anymore disturbing thoughts entered his mind.

When he returned with the items he needed, he set to work at once. He re-opened his shop and waited impatiently for someone to show up. Luckily he hadn't much to wait. A mid-aged man came strolling in for a shave.

Keeping his excitement from showing, Mr. Todd asked the man to sit and went through the customary duties of a barber before guiding his razor across the man's throat gradually. With one hand he reached for a large clean mug that he had set out and placed at the base of the rent he had created on the man's throat. It felt like he was milking a cow, only this wasn't a cow and he was milking milk. He was milking a human for his blood.

Once the mug was filled just below the rim, he placed it on the table and wiped his razor on the cloth where it was not stained with red and proceeded to send the man down below. He pressed the lever and sent the dead man's body and things down the chute and was now Mrs. Lovett's responsibility.

Conscious of time, Mr. Todd cleaned up the blood and changed again. When all splotches of red had been erased, he went to the bag of groceries he had bought and laid everything out on the surface of his table. The first thing he did was prepare the concoction for the flavoring he would be using. He pulled out a small bag of sugar and placed a tablespoon into a little bowl. Next he mixed the blood he had extracted from the dead man's neck and slowly mixed it until all the sugar had dissolved.

Next came the fun part. He retrieved two cones and the shaved ice he had had a hard time finding and getting the accurate amount he wanted. He scooped out enough shaved ice into both paper cones and added the final ingredients which would complete his plan. With delicacy, he poured the sweetened blood over the shaved ice until they turned a lovely shade of red. And all the while Mr. Todd couldn't help but smirk.

There was but one final thing that was missing. He rummaged through his groceries and retreived two round cherries and placed them on top of each snow cone. Once ready, he put everything away and headed down the stairs to the pie shop with his treats. He balanced both cones in one hand and open the door with his free one.

The bell above his head jingled and at once made Mrs. Lovett's head look up and stare at him. She was puzzled to see him standing there with his hands behind his back as if he were a child being reprimand for doing something naughty.

Wiping her hands on her dress, she walked around the counter and said, "Something the matter, love? Come sit down and I'll get you something warm to eat."

Mr. Todd didn't move he just remained at the door. Mrs. Lovett frowned and stepped towards him with the intention of leading him to the table and having him sit down and forcing him to eat something. Right as she reached out a hand to take him by the arm to the booth, he extended his arm and held out the frozen treat to her.

He finally looked up and muttered somewhat abashedly, "I was thinking you might want something sweet."

Mrs. Lovett gasped and took the offered snow cone into her trembling hands with a smile and watery eyes. This was the first time he had ever given her anything so with more reason she treasured it. She admired it as if it were an exotic flower and sighed dreamily.

"Thank you Mr. Todd. That was very good of you." She would have hugged him but a sharp gleam returned to his eyes, warning her to do no such thing.

He grunted and said mysteriously, "Aren't you going to taste it Mrs. Lovett?"

At the question, she blinked and smiled. "Of course I am!" She brought the treat to her lips and licked the red flavoring with the tip of her tongue. At once she fell in love with how sweet and tasty it was. She bit into the ice and shuddered at how cold it was. But it didn't matter because it was so good and the thought that Mr. Todd had given it to her made it ever sweeter.

Watching her with his dark eyes, his lips formed a smirk and he decided to join her. They walked to the booth and sat down opposite each other and enjoyed their snow cones in silence.

Mrs. Lovett suddenly looked up from her cone and asked with a frown, "Mr. T, where did you get such a sweet and delicious flavoring for these snow cones, love?"

Looking at her from over his snow cone with a small smirk, Sweeney Todd replied cynically, "It's an ingredient we have in abundance and I thought it could be turned into something… sweet."

"And the ingredient you're talkin' about Mr. Todd?"

"Guess." Mr. Todd returned his attention to his snow cone and took a lick from its red surface.