Shockingly, this was inspired by a knife-sharpening commercial at an Applebees.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd. I do not own Applebees.

"Mr. Todd, may I have-"

"NO!" Sweeney Todd slammed the door hard causing the window frames to shudder in protest. Toby flinched back and glared at the door. After a moment, he turned around and walked down the slick steps. With all the dignity he could muster, he slumped down the sidewalk, muttering the violent images that kept flying into his mind. The poor boy had merely been asking for a moment of the barber's time, but nooo… that was too much for him. He stopped suddenly and scowled.

"Stupid! Stupid barber!" he growled. He turned his head suddenly and gaped at the toy store window. A small plastic toy was sitting framed in the window, a Heavenly light glowing around it. Toby grinned evilly, checked the change in his pocket, and then strolled into the toy store.

"Toby! You shouldn't be sneaking in and spying on Mr. T!" Nellie Lovett chided, giving the small boy a pointed glare. Toby huffed and stopped when he was only on the second step.

"I wasn't spying on him! He left just a moment ago!" he whined, jumping up and down with anxiety. Mrs. Lovett thought about it for a moment before looking back at the small boy.

"Why were you sneaking into his room?" she asked slyly.

"Why were you sneaking into his room?" Toby retorted sharply, looking up at his adopted mother who was halfway up the flight of steps. She blanched and her jaw dropped as the words seemed to fail her (for once in her life).

"I-uh-was… going to get the laundry!" she giggled nervously, quickly running up the stairs. She opened the door and disappeared for a moment before reappearing with a pile of white shirts and black pants. Toby sniffed the air before scowling.

"Those are clean clothes, mum," he muttered cheekily. Mrs. Lovett stopped laughing long enough to throw the clothes back into the room and onto the grimy floors. She shuffled down the stairs and pushed past her adopted son in a flourish of flour, leaving the acidic tinge of blood in her wake.

"Don't contradict me, son," she sniffed, disappearing around the corner. "I know where Mr. T keeps his blades…" she trailed off as her voice became more and more distant. Toby couldn't help but grin. That's just what I need to know, he thought, continuing his expedition up the stairs. He finally arrived at his destination.

It was dark in the room, so the poor boy could hardly see where he was going. The filtered light pouring in through the windows did little for the thick air that smelled and almost tasted of gin. Toby gave a little cough before reaching into his back pocket and retrieved what he had just purchased.

"Have fun with this, Mr. T."

Ahh! It's shorter than I thought. It's only the 1st chapter, though, so hopefully they get longer...