Yeah, I'm not sure if I love or utterly loathe this chapter. It pretty much wrote itself and I couldn't change it. I'll let you guys decide.

Chapter Four: His Pet


Nellie tossed and turned in her creaky bed, opening her eyes and glaring at the ceiling. She had all her meager belongings packed (made a little less meager from the profits of Mr. Todd's customers), and she was sure that the barber hadn't slept a wink in the few hours they had before heading off to the docks. She blew air through red lips and willed her body upright. Sleepily, she dressed herself in an older dress - no black lace on this one – and stuffed her feet into sturdy boots that had served her well in the past. She snuck a look at herself in a small hand mirror that was a gift from the late Mr. Lovett, and frowned at her reflection. She was as white as a ghost, with red marks staining her neck and purple circles prominent under brown eyes.

She shrugged philosophically to herself and heaved her bag out into the hallway before going upstairs to pay a visit to Sweeney Todd. It was still dark outside, the streets quiet for once. Mrs. Lovett walked up the stairs to his tonsorial parlor, knocking on the door lightly. It swung open at once.

"Mr. T?"

She peeked in and saw him staring out of that damned window, one arm leaning on the frame. He didn't turn around right away, but waited for her to come to him. She approached him cautiously, not quite sure whether to touch him or not.

"Mr. T, it'll be daybreak soon, and we'd best be going."

She touched his shoulder, feather-light. He turned to face her, searching her face in the half-gloom. "Mrs. Lovett-"

She shushed him. She didn't want to hear what he was going to say, not if it was anything to ruin her dreams. "Not now, my dear. Come along, have you got your clothes?"

He lifted a bag onto his shoulder, and she saw the tell-tale glint of his razors half-hidden within a pocket. He became a different man with those things – what used to give Mr. Barker such an innocent joy was now the subject of a twisted obsession for Sweeney Todd. And she had given them to him.

He moved so silently that he was walking down the steps before she even noticed he was out of the room. She stepped after him, huffing down the stairs. He waited silently for her outside as she fetched her bag, and then they walked into the pre-morning mist, the air smelling strangely sweet and cool. There was no one outside, and Mrs. Lovett could hear her boot heels clicking against the cobblestones, a pleasing counterpoint to the tapping of Mr. Todd's boots. They walked in relative silence, the sleeve of her cloak occasionally brushing against his arm.

They soon reached the docks, and the captain appeared out of the darkness. He checked them closely, and then waved them on board. The minute Mrs. Lovett stepped on to the deck, she lost her balance and almost toppled onto Sweeney Todd. He instinctively grabbed her around the waist and set her back on her feet. She turned red and muttered something about how humans were meant to stay on solid ground. She had to stand still for a moment to get her bearings, then tried walking again. Just as she was about to take another step, the captain loomed in front of them again.

Sailors darted here and there, tightening ropes and batting down hatches. The captain eyed the strange couple curiously, wondering about their identities for the first time. Light was beginning to pierce through the gloom, and the older man squinted in order to see them better. A weak ray of light highlighted the raw skin on Mrs. Lovett's neck, and he glanced at Mr. Todd suspiciously. She could tell the man was getting nervous, so she grabbed on to Sweeney's arm and started to do what she did best: talk fast.

"Me husband and I…well, we decided we needed a bit of a change, y'see? London is a nice city and all, but it's awful loud and crowded, and seein' as my health is not the best-" she coughed for effect – "the doctor ordered some fresh sea wind to fix me up. Isn't that right, my love?"

The barber nodded solemnly, playing along.

The captain nodded grudgingly. "I guess that's in order. S'long as we don' have any trouble."

She shook her head quickly. "No trouble at all, sir."

He still looked wary, but elected a sailor to show them around the galley and the main deck, going down to show them their room.

"I suspect you'll only be needin' one room, aye?"

Mr. Todd opened his mouth to say something to the contrary, but Mrs. Lovett discreetly stamped down on his foot. He made a strangled noise and then fell silent.

"One room will be fine, thank you."

The sailor waited outside as Nellie walked into the humble room that was only a little higher than she was. Sweeney had to stoop a little to get through the doorway and stopped in the middle of the small space.

"Well," she said briskly, "this is quite fittin' for a married couple, I think. We'll do just fine here."

The grubby sailor pulled on his forelock in a sign of humility, then bobbed his head. "Only doin' my duty, mum. Call if you need anything." With that, he left them standing awkwardly side-by-side.

"There's one bed," Sweeney pointed out, rather unhelpfully.

"So there is," she retorted. "You weren't expectin' anything fancy, were you?"

He didn't answer her.

"I'm going to rest for a bit," she declared, kicking off her boots and collapsing on the bed. She raised herself up a moment later and made a face, picking a little black bug off the comforter. "Hope you don't mind bedbugs, love."

He wheeled around and bolted out of the little room, carrying his bag with him

"Don't you go slitting anyone's throats, now," she called after him before laying her head back down on the mattress.

Sweeney paced the deck, ignoring the pointed stares of the crew. The Seahawk plunged through cresting waves, leaving a trail of foam in her wake. He rubbed his hand along the rough wood of the railing absently, humming to himself. Failure was far away from his mind – he would find Johanna and bring her back with him. Ships crossed paths occasionally, didn't they? Stranger things had happened in his lifetime. Anthony managed to spot his little dinghy far out into the ocean and saved his pathetic excuse for a life. Stranger things have happened, he repeated to himself. For now, he just had to deal with Mrs. Lovett and work on restraint. He couldn't touch her again, couldn't be near her. It would ruin him completely. He sighed and leaned his head heavily in his hand, staring out into the implacable sea. He looked down and saw a smooth, shining fin cut arch through the water. Mr. Todd leaned a little farther out until he saw a dark eye shining up at him. Another dolphin crashed through the waves, twisting and turning and shining in the weak light. He didn't smile, but nodded his head at the animals. Maybe their insane plan would work out in the end. Maybe.

The haunted man stayed out there for hours, and all the sailors muttered amongst themselves that he was a bad omen. They felt the darkness encroach upon them every time he walked near, and that frightened them. Sweeney smiled at their fear, and stood stationary even as they all went into the galley for dinner, casting him uneasy looks.

The dolphins left in search of their own dinner, and Mr. Todd was left alone. He remembered a time when people felt comfortable around him, when he went out of his way to accommodate everyone. What an innocent fool he had been. To believe in the goodness of humankind, that was the only real sin in this world. He touched a hand to the razor hidden in his belt, and felt comforted. They waited patiently for him, never demanding. The sky darkened, and he remained, bracing himself against the blistering wind.

Mrs. Lovett sat up abruptly and yawned, rubbing her eyes. It was completely dark in the little cabin, and she felt uneasy. Had she slept all day? She did feel slightly nauseas from the constant rocking of the ship. She reached a hand out to the other side of the bed, and felt the absence of another person. Of course he would be missing. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized that she must have skipped dinner. Probably didn't miss much. Still, she wouldn't mind hardtack and gravy about now. Blinking quickly to adjust her eyes to the dark, she reached down and pulled her boots on, intent on finding Mr. T and insisting he got a good-night's sleep.

She exited the little room cautiously, and sighed with a sweet, patient look on her face when she saw the back of a leather jacket, silhouetted black against the moonlight. Nellie went to stand next to him in silence, gazing out onto the everlasting darkness. Tilting her head up, she was amazed at all the different stars peppering the sky. The London sky was always filled with smog, and no one was flighty enough to look up anyhow.

"Beautiful," she murmured to herself. She felt Mr. Todd turn his head to look at her. His eyes were deep, sunken shadows, and she felt that she was standing next to some otherworldly creature, not quite sure what he was capable of doing.

"Wot did you say?"

"The stars," she pointed to the sky. "Aren't they just the prettiest things you've ever seen?"

He stretched an arm out and she recoiled. Her slight motion did not go unnoticed. He softened his voice from the usual growling tone. "The North Star. Polaris." Her gaze followed the line of his hand until she saw a star brighter than the ones surrounding it. "Oh," she breathed.

"Every sailor's got to know that star." He traced the W in the sky. "An' that's Cassiopeia."

He glanced over at her, transfixed by the bright lights against the velvety dark. He wished she would leave him alone and stop trying. He wished she would go away so he could stop caring. There wasn't room in his blackened heart for another, and she knew that. Still she persevered. And now she looked so vulnerable, so unlike the Mrs. Lovett he loved to hate.

Nellie felt insignificant in the face of the cosmos. She felt like she didn't deserve any part of it. The endless sea, the small sound of the waves slapping against the hull of the ship like the clapping of a baby's hands made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. She was really only a simple woman at heart. She didn't want for much. A family, happiness… She turned away to go back inside the cramped cabin, where her thoughts could only reach as far as the ceiling. She hesitated a moment, then reached up and kissed Sweeney Todd on his cold, marble cheek. He let her leave, his fingers gripping the wood tightly.

Once in the small space, she set her jaw and stripped down to her simple cotton shift. She crawled underneath the quilt, slapping at a bug on her leg. She willed herself to shut her eyes and go to sleep again, but she was wide awake. Just as she shifted to get more comfortable, she heard footsteps entering the room. She froze, then shut her eyes tightly. He still had those damned razors with him…

She lay there, fully expecting to feel the cold edge of a blade against her neck. Strangely, she was not afraid. Mrs. Lovett got another shock as she felt his weight roll on to the bed right next to her.

"Mr. T?" she whispered. Getting no response, she turned over, just a little. She stretched out an arm and made contact with the rough linen of his white shirt. Her fingers found his wrist; felt his slow pulse through the thin skin. They trailed up his arm and rested on his collarbone. His bare skin was warm and soft. He remained motionless as she moved her hand down his sculpted chest, stopping just above his heart. She kept her hand there, the beating of his heart comforting.

"See, now. You're just as alive as I am."

He made some sort of sound, and she smiled in the dark. "I always said you was a good man, Mr. Todd."

"Wot makes you so sure? I could…" he shifted so that he looked down at her, leaning up on one elbow. He put one hand around her neck, and it reached almost the whole way around. "I could kill you right now," he said hollowly. They both knew that he wasn't going to. Not tonight.

"You 'avent killed a woman yet."

"I could start."

"D'you hate me that much?"

The pressure around her neck disappeared. She heard his breathing quicken, and she reached towards him with both arms. "My love," she breathed. "Let me…"

Nellie buried her head in his shoulder as his hands moved down her body, grasping and needy. She let him pull the straps from her shoulders, his calloused fingers digging against her skin. She hummed in his ear, planting kisses along his sharp jaw line as she felt his hand sliding up her leg. He muffled her yell of pain and pleasure as they came together, a tangle of pale bodies and entwined limbs.

He was not gentle or particularly loving, but Mrs. Lovett thought that she understood. She wanted to understand as he pulled the comforter back over his shoulders, turning his back to her as though there was nothing left to say after what they had just done. She lay there, still breathing hard, feeling the sore places that would be bruises tomorrow.

In a perfect world, it would have been everything she had dreamed it would be. He, the perfect gentleman, would have demanded to marry her right away. As it was, she would always be second best. She didn't expect anything better, not in real life. Only in her fantasies did he kiss her softly and tell her that he loved her. Even this exceptional man was no different than the others. In this twisted game, neither person could win. They would hurt each other again and again, in so many different ways.

Now, she stared at his scarred back, her eyes welling up for some inexplicable reason. She got what she wanted, didn't she? She blinked, once, twice. He rolled towards her, silent even in his sleep. Mrs. Lovett snuggled up to him, needing something more. She wrapped her arms around his slim waist and held him close, resting her head below his chin.

He sighed, restless and dreaming, and held her tightly. "Lucy…"

Within the circle of his arms, she felt cold. Even lying next to her like he was, he was a million miles away. As she prayed for him to love her, she realized bitterly that she would never truly have him. She could only pretend.