Hello guys! I know, I know! I haven't updated for a very long time. I don't have an excuse, though. I'm sorry.
Anyways, I am having second thoughts about this fic. please do tell me if I should go on and continue this. Thank you! :)
Mr. Todd needs Mrs. Lovett trust him, again- she is one of the keys to fulfilling his revenge- and in order to do so, there are numerous things that he must change. Firstly, of course, - and the most important- is the way he treats her. Although it's against his will, he guesses that maybe he should be more kind towards her, now. He will let her believe that he's changed and is greatly remorseful for what he has done to her.
He knows for a fact that the baker will not be easily fooled- unlike last time. So, gaining her trust may be a little harder task to do. It is easier to manipulate her before because she still has that certain… fondness for him. But now, he is not her priority anymore; he already has a replacement. And this leads him to his second plan, which is to exterminate said replacement and climb back on the top of her priority list. When he's successful with that, all will be easy.
Smirking, Sweeney Todd carefully walks out of the shop as not to notice by the two occupants. He makes his way upstairs, excited at the knowledge that he will now be able to continue his revenge. Trapped in his own world, he is halfway up when he notices that someone is following him. He turns to look and sees the whore- what did she say her name was? She seems to be angry, though he does not know why. She is speaking but he cannot hear her over the sound of his genius plan.
Scowling darkly at the woman in front of him, he asks. "What?"
The woman stops talking; her face that is showing anger is gradually morphing into a mischievous one. She smirks at him as she takes a step up, in which where the barber is standing. She squeezes herself at the narrow staircase, invading Mr. Todd's personal space as she runs her hands down the barber's chest, purring. "Have you forgotten, Darling?"
The barber's eyes darken the moment the woman touches him- his face showing controlled anger. Unfortunately for Amy- the whore- she is unaware of Mr. Todd's sudden change of mood. She just continues to caress his chest all the way to his back.
Suddenly, Mr. Todd grabs Amy's wrists and holds it in a deathly grip, making the woman whimper. "Do. Not. Touch. Me." He warns.
He releases her and she stumbles back a bit as he does so. He then turns away from the woman and continues to go straight up to his shop, shutting the door with a loud bang. But of course, foolish Amy dares not to listen to his warning. Regaining her composure, she follows him- not one to be ignored.
Opening the door to his shop- and closing it softly, she sees him seating on the chair in the middle of the room. She slowly- sensually- walks towards him, though he does not acknowledge her presence nor look at her. When she reaches him, she boldly sits on his lap and wounds her arms around his neck.
"You look stressed, Darling. Want me to relieve the stress away? A little quickie will be just the right remedy." she whispers, leaning down and nipping Mr. Todd's earlobe.
The barber growls in disgust by the woman's suggestion. He takes hold of her waist- about to push her off of him, when the door opens- the sound of the bell echoing around the room. There stands an angry… or concerned? Looking Mrs. Lovett, and behind her stands a bewildered Richard.
"What's happened? Have you-" The baker asks, but immediately stops speaking upon seeing the scene in front of her, clearly misunderstanding what's happening.
Mr. Todd just looks at Mrs. Lovett; his mouth opening and closing- resembling a fish- but no sounds is coming out. He is too surprised that the baker suddenly shows up in his shop, in the most awkward situation. He is struggling forming words that will explain his current predicament; but Amy saves him the trouble of answering.
She pulls away from him- though her arms are still wounded around his neck- and looks at Mrs. Lovett, grinning lasciviously. "Nothing, Dear. Me and Mister…" she falters, not knowing the barber's name. She looks at Mr. Todd questioningly but he is not looking at her- his gaze is firmly set on the wooden floor, all of a sudden finding it interesting. She receives no answer.
After a moment of awkward silence, while all the occupants in the room are looking at her expectantly- except for Mr. Todd- she smiles and laughs, embarrassed. Clearing her throat, she continues speaking. "Me and him…" she says, while cupping the barber's face, forcing him to look at her– much to his annoyance. "…We were just having a bit of fun. Ain't we, Darling?"
Mr. Todd glares at the grinning woman who is sitting on his lap, but later nods in response to her question- just so she will shut up. Foolish Amy, chuckles, and then pecks the barber on the lips. The barber stiffens. That is the last straw. His hands immediately tighten its holds on her hips- not even aware that he's holding her all this time. His face contorts in anger as he reaches past the point of self-control. He reaches for his razor, ready to slit the throat of the woman, but luckily for Amy, it is not in his holster.
So instead, the barber settles with pushing Amy roughly away from him, causing her to stumble to the ground. Soon, she is on the floor and he's standing, hovering above her. His fists are balled in fury, knuckles turning white. He does not even notice that Richard is at his side, holding him, preventing him to cause harm to the woman- while Mrs. Lovett is trying to lift the scared woman up, keeping her out of the barber's reach- knowing all too well of his dangerous nature.
"Get out." Mr. Todd says in a deadly whisper. If looks could kill, then the woman will surely die a painful death, by the glare that the barber is giving her. Amy does not need to be told twice; she rises up in panic and pushes the baker away- who is helping her- and dashes through the door, running out for her dear life.
The three just stands there and watches as the woman disappears out of their view. Only when Amy is gone does Richard let go of Sweeney. They are now only the occupants of the room. They do not move nor speak; they only stare at the spot where Amy is, just a while ago. The door slams shut with a loud bang echoing throughout the room, breaking their trance like state. An awkward silence fills the room. They all averted their gaze to the nearest thing that they can find, just to avoid making uncomfortable eye contact with one another. To Mr. Todd, he sees it fit to check the floor; Mrs. Lovett, her hands; Richard, the wall.
After a few painful minutes of silence, Mrs. Lovett breaks the dead air. She clears her throat, looks up, and steps over to Richard, who is still beside Mr. Todd. The barber whips his head and looks at the baker. He casts a sideway glance to Richard, merely observing him. He has not properly seen him a while ago when Mrs. Lovett bursts unexpectedly in the room, but now that he is standing very close to him, all he can say is that the baker did a good job in finding a replacement of him- too bad he's a coward.
"Mr. Todd…" Mrs. Lovett calls for his attention; he looks at her, averting his gaze from Richard to her. When she is sure that the barber is listening to her, she continues. "This is Richard Wright, my partner- business partner. I will be opening my shop-again- soon, and he will be helping me." She chooses not to mention of what has happened a while ago- the topic is better left not discussed.
Mr. Todd nods in acknowledgement at Richard; he forces himself to smile, but the gesture is too foreign to him that he looks like he is grimacing. Luckily, Richard does not seem to notice this, because he is too transfixed on the woman beside him. "And Richard, this is Mr. Todd. He rents this room to me- has been living here for quite a long time now."
Though hesitant, Richard holds out his hand for Mr. Todd to shake; the barber grabs it and shakes his hand, at the same time patting his shoulder in a friendly manner- too friendly for Mr. Todd. If Mrs. Lovett is surprised, it only shows by the way her eyebrow raises up ever so slightly. They resolve into silence again, looking at each other.
"Alright, Mr. Todd, we'll be going now. Lots of things are to do in the shop." Mrs. Lovett, as expected, is the one to speak first- again. She pats Richard on the shoulder, motioning for him to follow her. She nods to the barber then turns around and walks towards the door. "Come now, Richard."
When the two reaches the door, suddenly, Mr. Todd strides across the room towards them "Wait!" he bellows, grabbing hold of Mrs. Lovett's forearm. "May I have a word with you?" he says softly; he is trying his best to smile, but failing to do so.
The baker's eyes widen as she feels the barber's hand touches her. It is a very unusual thing for Mr. Todd to do. She remembers how he is always keen on reminding her not to touch him, before, when she will comfort him with her caresses- or when she just cannot help herself but give in to her desire to feel him. Now, he is willingly touching her! Well, it's not that she cares anyways, just stunned.
Mr. Todd looks up to Richard, with the hope that he will get this cue to go and give them some privacy. But Richard is hesitant to leave Mrs. Lovett alone with him, seeing how the barber has treated the lady a while ago. Only when the baker looks him in the eyes and nods- a simple gesture telling him that she will be fine- does he reluctantly exits the room.
Mrs. Lovett looks at the departing form of Richard, not wanting yet to face the barber. Though she can still feel him beside her, but by the way her skin tingles from where he has held her, she knows he has already let go- away from her. And she's right, by the time she turns her attention towards Mr. Todd, he is already standing by the window, staring outside the busy streets of London.
Mrs. Lovett just stands there as she watches Mr. Todd- who is apparently ignoring her, after requesting to speak with her. She taps her foot on the ground in an impatient manner and crosses her arms, waiting for the barber to address her. She wishes that whatever he will be saying, that he makes it quick- she is telling the truth when she told him that she has a lot of things to do downstairs in her shop.
After a minute, that seems to be a whole hour for Mrs. Lovett, she finally gives up. Heaving a dramatic sigh, she throws her arms out- they land at her thighs, making a clapping sound. "You're wasting my time! If you ain't gonna say something then I better go."
She turns around and heads towards the door but before she reaches it, the barber is already at her side- stopping her by grabbing the crook of her elbow. How he gets there, she doesn't know; she did not even hear him.
"I just want to say a few things." Mr. Todd says in his monotone voice, letting go of Mrs. Lovett. She turns to face him- putting her hands on her hips, and one eyebrow rising in question.
The barber looks at her with his usual stern face, though Mr. Lovett can see that there's an inner turmoil going on inside his mind, by the way his eyes glisten with an emotion that she cannot put a name on. But of course this is Mr. Todd; his mind is always in chaos.
"Well, then make it quick. I haven't got the time." She says condescendingly, raising her chin up- resembling a noble and of importance person.
Though Mr. Todd wants so badly to smack the woman in front of him by the way she is acting, he controls himself, knowing that if he doesn't then it will ruin his plans. It is hard enough that he needs to be kind with Mrs. Lovett, but it is harder when she is being, on what he likes to call, a… bitch.
"I offer you my help, if there ever is needed in restoring your shop. I would also like to re-open my shop and-" He is immediately cut off by the seemingly angry baker when he mentions his plan about opening his shop again.
"No!" Mrs. Lovett almost screams. She points her finger at his chest, scowling darkly at him "I will never use those bloody meats again in my pies."
Mr. Todd smirks and grabs Mrs. Lovett's wrist, putting it down her side. "Ah! But Mrs. Lovett, who says I'll send meat down that chute? You didn't let me finish. As I was saying, I would like to open my shop again, without any motives but to shave people and earn money to pay for my rent."
By the time Mr. Todd finishes speaking Mrs. Lovett is openly gaping at him. He stares at her, one eyebrow raised in amusement at her reaction. "You seemed surprised, Mrs. Lovett."
The baker closes her mouth and shakes her head, coming back to her senses. She then says softly, as if in a whisper. "No."
"No?" the barber asks in confusion, furrowing her brows as he thinks about what the baker is saying.
"I- I don't believe you. You can't do that! You won't be able to control yourself and soon you will start killing and-"
Something else clicks on Mrs. Lovett's mind, she stops mid-sentence- her eyes widening in fear. The colour in her face drains as a moment of realization hits her. "Tho- those bodies… What did you do with them? While I was gone, where did you- The bake house!"
She runs for the door but the barber is fast enough to catch her- wrapping her hands around her lithe form, not allowing her to move. But she flails and wriggles out of his hold. "Let go of me! Richard is there! He'll see! He'll see!"
"Mrs. Lovett, will you calm down." Mr. Todd struggles to restrain the baker; she may be small, but she is definitely strong. He rolls his eyes when she continues to resist, kicking and punching him.
"Stop it woman. There's nothing to see." He finally declares, effectively halting Mrs. Lovett's movements. He releases her, she stumbles a bit as he does so. She regains her composure and straightens her dress, brushing imaginary dirt from it.
Glaring at the barber, she asks him. "What do you mean there's nothing to see?"
"What do you think?" Mr. Todd asks, smirking deviously.
"It's either you haven't killed a single soul, Mr. Todd, or, you properly disposed of the bodies. Which one is it?" Mrs. Lovett believes that it is the latter. Mr. Todd cannot possibly live without slitting someone's throat; he is a bloody murderer who lusts for blood.
"You don't have to know, Mrs. Lovett. But I assure you, it's safe to go down the bake house. Now, about my shop…" he looks expectantly at the baker, wanting to hear her say about the re-opening.
Though curious, Mrs. Lovett drops the subject about Mr. Todd's bloody escapades. Instead she focuses on "We can open the shops the same day. That way, we can attract more customers. A free shave for every three pies they buy, eh? Don't worry, we'll share the money."
The barber grins sinisterly, the wheels in his head turning. It seems like a good idea- what Mrs. Lovett is suggesting. It probably will attract lots of customers. "Ah, Mrs. Lovett, you're practical as always."
The baker smiles in response. "I better get going, Mr. T. lots of things to do." With that, she leaves the room and heads downstairs to her shop, this time without the barber stopping her.
As Mrs. Lovett leaves, Mr. Todd is left to his own thoughts. He takes a seat on his barber chair, with a smile lingering on his face. He is quite sure that his plans will be successful; he'll just have to wait, now- as the ever practical Mrs. Lovett says.
I Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)
Review in exchange for a meat pie. I'll give the first one a priest ;)