Simply Starve This Sin

Chapter 3: Rise and Shine

The next morning, Nellie awoke nonchalantly, stretching her arms up as she let out a rather over dramatic yawn and rolled onto her side, hoping that Sweeney was there lying next to her as he always was, usually already awake with his nose tucked into a good book. Reading was something that had become a part of his morning ritual - nothing like a bit of Poe to remind him of death in the morning - but if he had to be blatantly honest, it was only an excuse so he didn't have to admit that he liked glancing over at his sleeping wife. He also read the newspaper too (which was also filled with wondrous tales of death) at breakfast, as he found it pointless trying to converse during the morning - especially when his wife had been so stubborn with grief. Yet on this particular morning, it seemed like he was further away from her than he normally was, as she reached back to feel for him, but there was nothing but air...

In shock, her weariness seemed to disappear (unlike her case of red-head bed-head, which was surprisingly rather stylish on her), and her brown eyes widened as she flung herself erratically over to face the other side of the bed, the entirety of the mattress threatening to fall through as it bounced at her actions. The man was there all right. She watched him for a few minutes, utterly confused as he was sound asleep, snoring away heavily and letting out unintelligible murmurs. He was laid in a rather awkward position, the side of his head lolled against the iron bedpost with just the one pillow behind his head, as his body was bent like he was sat on a chair, only one side of his body was pressed against the mattress beneath him. ' 'Ow on earth can that man be bloody comfortable?' Nellie thought to herself, finding herself trying not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked, reminding herself that the sleeping man in front of her was also a successful serial murderer. That only made her giggles harder to swallow. Now and again he'd murmur something utterly strange, or even let out a twisted chuckle to which she shivered slightly. This was because it had been some time since she'd been her true self of course. As a consequence, the two of them hadn't exactly been social let alone intimate with one another, so naturally she found certain qualities about her husband unnerving, perhaps qualities she had become so accustomed to before her cousin's death.

She continued to watch him, unsure of whether to wake him. 'Naa,' she thought, curling a lock of her messy hair around her finger. 'Oh, I couldn't possibly do that could I? Then again 'e's usually awake by now, the bugger... what time did 'e get here? I don't remember him even comin' t'bed...'

Nellie sighed, sitting up as she plumped the reddish pillows behind her. She still observed him sleeping, biting her lip to stop her chuckling again when she looked at his hair - it was the usual style, black with that bright white streak, only this time the untamable locks had grown into lengthy chaotic strands that strayed down at the sides of his face in a grungy manner - it truly was ridiculous. It was getting far too long for her liking, how hadn't she noticed how long it had gotten before? Well, she hadn't noticed him properly for quite some time. It was understandable.

Unfortunately his hair was incredibly hard not to giggle at.

She scoffed, holding a hand over her mouth.

'Don't laugh Nell!' she told herself, only making herself even more amused.

She opened her mouth, wheezing in a gasp of much needed air, but found that she couldn't contain her laughter anymore. She gritted her teeth together but found a high-pitched cackle roar out of her lungs, pushing up through her throat and out through her mouth. Tears of amusement trickled from her eyes, her hands gripping the sides of her barely covered stomach. She couldn't stop, even when she saw the man finally stirring for his deep slumber next to her, muttering something like "bloody woman..." before he groaned exhaustedly, only able to crack open his eyes a fraction.

"Mr T! Wot do you look like!" she stated rather than questioned, only just able to stop for a moment to catch a breath before giggling incessantly again. Sweeney made a low growl, as if he was warning her to shut up - but then a yawn came out, which naturally...

...isn't that intimidating.

She was only pushed on further, practically rolling to-and-fro under what little bedcovers covered her, hands gripping to her sides as more trails of tears sprang from her eyes. And to think that she had once thought it was Sweeney that had lost his marbles... yet here she was, literally laughing her arse off at a mass murderer who had funny hair. Not mentioning of course, that she'd gone and married him too. He squinted at her, dark rings around his eyes more prominent compared to his usual shadowed lids, his body's bones and muscles were tense and pulling. He'd gotten to bed in the early hours, and much to his dismay, his wife had woken him after only three or four hours of sleep...

Things did not bode well for her.

"O-Oh!" she laughed out, coughing and spluttering when he sat up slightly next to her, his hair sticking up at the back like the tail of a duck. "S-Sweeney! I'm ever so sorry f'wakin' ya!"

He wore a bothered look, eyes still squinted as his under-lids felt swollen from tiredness. His eyebrows knitted together in a scowl. He was silent, and didn't even look her way, her giggling had subsided but the odd chuckle still crept its way out of her lips. "You're worse than our child." he muttered in monotone, sitting up stiffly with his arms by his sides, still unable to see the entire room because of his damned eyes. She bit her lip, shooting him an apologetic look, yet her eyes still had amusement dancing in them. "I'm sorry, love. Y'just always readin' when I wake up. I didn't expect ya lyin' there catchin' some sleep and talkin' 'bout my brea - " He found his eyes widening, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Considering they hadn't been intimate in a while, he didn't want her knowing just how much he'd missed her... (like she didn't already know). "Don't Nell," he whispered viciously, feeling fully awake now. "Just don't."

Just as Nellie was about to answer him, Rue's cries sounded out, to which Sweeney was thankful for once (despite the fact the high pitch noise pricked his ears). She gasped in a strange excitement and tore away from him, jumping out of the bed so fast that she could have probably entered the Olympics for doing such a thing. Before leaving the room completely, she paused at the door, shooting him a suggestive glance before a last low giggle escaped her. Sweeney rolled his eyes as she padded to their daughter's room, rubbing his eyes with fatigue.

Last night had been a blur for him, and he wasn't exactly sure entirely what he'd gotten himself into. He hadn't killed the woman, even though he had really wanted to at that point. Yet as he'd vowed to his wife, and his daughter, he had promised to not kill another person, unless "it was absolutely bloody necessary" as his wife had said. So instead, Mr Todd had struck up a deal with the woman, a deal that at first he hadn't liked one bit, due to what the woman expected from him in order for her to keep quiet. But he had made it quite clear, he was willing to do anything - even if it meant harming another person - to ensure the rest of his family was happy (and to keep Nellie from knowing about their little developing demon's antics).

That morning his head was buzzing with conflicted thoughts of regret and relief - considering what the woman from the night before had asked of him. His terms weren't actually that bad. His agreement wasn't about money, or sex, or anything that selfish for that matter. Strangely, the only perk of the deal was that it was extremely violent. So at least the man could release his murderous tendencies somehow, much to his own relief.

He still could not tell his wife. No matter what, he had to keep it secret. If she found out - well, he wasn't exactly sure how she'd react. On one hand, she'd be heartbroken as he'd promised he wouldn't harm another soul, yet on the other, he'd be a lot less tense around her, seeing as he'd been fairly harsh in general as of late.

As his thoughts continued to sting him from all directions, his eyes began to droop again, and he slipped back into sleep whilst Nellie's humming served as his ambient soundtrack to slumber.

Sweeney, having his guard-down due to his exhaustion, failed to pick up on the little tiny thumps of shuffling coming in through the open door. He shifted slightly under the covers in order to get more comfortable, sinking down to lie on his back. The rustling of the same covers went unnoticed as a small weight was added to the bed, the little lump slowly crawling up the blankets that covered Sweeney's half-naked form. Tiny gasps came from the little girl as she nestled herself on top of her father's torso, curling her miniature fingers as she let out a yawn. Nellie's concerned gasp could be heard from the little girl in question's room, and she rushed back to her husband, worried expression falling into one of silent contentment. Rue laid on her father's chest, clad in cotton-white baby grow, rising and falling as her father breathed in and out. Nellie knew this was a scene she wasn't likely to ever forget, seeing the two most precious things to her in such safety, truly was something she found remarkably beautiful.

For once, Nellie Todd stayed quiet. The sight was almost ethereal in a way - before the marriage between her and the ex-barber had even occurred, she would often daydream about how a child with him would look, or would even contemplate on scenarios such as the one she was looking at now... But the dreams did not even come close to the beauty she looked upon at that moment. As she watched them sleep, her brow furrowed and her eyes softened, full pale lips curved into a small smile.

The baby seemed to fidget slightly over his chest, which finally caught Sweeney's attention. He groaned lowly, and stirred, cracking open his eyes. He tipped his chin into his chest, looking down at the baby girl hugging to him, who was letting out little coos and gurgles. If that wasn't enough to melt the man's cold heart, nothing could. Not questioning how she'd managed to get there, he smiled gladly, leaning upwards to give his daughter a warm kiss on her forehead. Nellie's eyes faltered at the sight, her heart pounding fiercely at seeing his care for their daughter. He let out a deep sigh, stroking his hand up and down the warm curved spine of his baby that was clinging to him. He looked in the direction of the door, eyelids hanging heavily over his eyes, yet Nellie wasn't totally sure that was due to his lack of sleep. She gave him a smile back as she looked straight at him, biting her bottom lip to stop her from saying anything to disturb the peaceful moment. He managed to give his wife a wink as he took his other hand up to motion for her to come closer.

Nellie obliged, tiptoeing over to them, holding a hand over her mouth to stop her from squealing with utter joy. She knelt down next to the bed, so that she could be face level with Sweeney. He turned his head to face her, still lightly caressing the back of his daughter. "Fast asleep," he whispered, eyelids drooping down as his wife neared his face, their noses nuzzling. She was reluctant to kiss him, but found him leaning towards her and she completed the rest of the distance, their lips brushing over each others before they closed their eyes and gently pressed into each other. Sweeney took his free hand up to push the back of Nellie's head towards him, deepening their kiss. He'd missed this from her. Nellie was the one to break away, sucking in much needed air. Sweeney smirked at her, bloodshot black eyes suddenly losing their tiredness.

Sensing movement from her parents, Rue wriggled and let out a little yawn, amazingly just as bright-eyed as her father now was. Her mother let out a chuckle, watching the girl frown up at her father in wonder. He followed Nellie's gaze, setting his eyes on his curious daughter. " 'Ello there..." he breathed out, eyebrows lifting so a much more expressive emotion was displayed to the child. "What do you want then, hm?" Her little thumb went to her mouth as she looked back over to her mother, who was stroking the red curls on the little girl's head in awe of how much the hair was like her own. "Looks like ya take after y'father lttle 'un," Nellie whispered, lightly twirling a longer lock of her daughter's hair. " 'E's not a mornin' person today either..." Sweeney shot her an unimpressed glare, to which she smirked. The little girl caught sight of his look of annoyance and stopped sucking her thumb sweetly, and instead rose the same tiny hand up, hitting his cheek with a great thwack, instantly leaving a throbbing red mark. Nellie burst out laughing, her aching stomach truly in for another workout. Sweeney gaped in horror at his daughter, then back to his wife. Clearly the girl hadn't liked that particular expression from her father because she now wore a little smile as she watched her mother laugh joyously. 'Happiness and hilarity at my expense... well, s'pose there's nothin' new there...' he thought, managing a grin when he realised it was rather funny, despite the unfortunate stinging pain on his left cheek. Only his own daughter could get away with such a ludicrous thing unscathed.

Well, if he wasn't before...

Sweeney Todd was well and truly awake now.

A/N Thank you for reading this far, I'm so sorry for not posting last week. I was aiming to post another this week, and I'll still try to do that, but with a convention coming up I don't have loads of time. The ideas are there, they just need typing up. Let me know if you enjoyed, I know this was a rather softer chapter. I assure you, there is most certainly more to come! Thanks again :)