Hello everyone! The next chapter is here!

A huge thank you to my reviewers: Cunnawabum, Emma, Buffy Sparrow, SBMFanatic, red-eyedgal, Nala162024, o0LittlequeenXX. Hyzenflayrabbit, Simply Charlie and PiratePrincess29! Thank you all so much for your support! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sweeney Todd!

Chapter 21

Grace woke up the next morning and turned o her back. She looked around and saw that she was alone in the room. She rubbed her eyes and stretched before sitting up on the bed.

"Sweeney?" she said sleepily but she heard some noises coming from the bathroom next door so she understood that he was in there. She looked at the door of the shop and saw that the sign was turned, indicating that it was still close. She fell back on the bed and looked at the ceiling. She had woken in the middle of the night and had found herself sleeping with her head on Sweeney's chest and he had his arms around her in a tight embrace. At first she had thought about moving away but when he had stirred and whispered her name she realized that she couldn't so she had just stayed where she was. The truth was that she had rather enjoyed staying in his embrace all night even if she was upset that he insisted on keeping her locked there. She had to admit however, that he had been nothing but good with her. She wasn't really afraid of what he might do to her but what he would to others, like what happened the other day with that man. He got angry really easily and she was scared he might return to his old habits. She really didn't want to be the reason for new murders. Even the word murder made her shiver in fear. She put the covers better around her and turned on her back when the bathroom door opened. She looked at the door and her eyes widened. A very shirtless Sweeney Todd walked out of the bathroom with a towel in his hands, drying his hair. He looked around the room and when he spotted her he smiled; he really smiled not just a smirk. He came closer to the bed and she unconsciously moved a little further under the covers.

"You are awake?" he asked her softly and she nodded her head as she continued staring at him. He sat on the bed and slowly crawled his way towards her after putting the towel on a chair near by. He took hold of the blanket and pulled it down and revealed her face. He chuckled and shook his head.

"No good morning for me, Gracie?" he asked her as he leaned closer to her face. He noticed her staring at his chest and smirked.

"Like what you see?" he asked her huskily and her eyes widened before snatching the covers over her head again.

"I don't know what you mean!" she mumbled from under the covers and he chuckled.

"Time to get up, Gracie." He whispered, finding the edge of the covers and slid under them since she was refusing to reveal herself.

"What for? You have me locked in here anyway." She said as she turned away from him when she saw his face coming closer to her pillow.

He sighed and he took her face in his hand and turned her to his direction.

"Gracie, don't make this more difficult for me than it already is." He whispered as he kissed her cheek.

"How is this difficult for you?" she demanded and he narrowed his eyes angrily at her.

"You think that I like keeping you here when I know that you don't like it? You think I like it that you are scared of me and disgusted by me?!" he said forcefully into her face. He made to get out of bed but her small hand on his arm stopped him. He turned to look at her; confusion and anger clear into his eyes.

"Sweeney…you don't disgust me." She admitted and he looked at her frowning.

"I don't?" he asked her hopefully as he leaned towards her again,

"No…" she whispered as she stroked his wet hair out of his face. His eyes softened immediately and he smiled at her like a small child. She couldn't help but smile back at him. In her mind that's the smile that he used to have when he was Benjamin Barker; that's the smile he had in the picture she had found that day. He looked into her eyes and cocked his head to the side.

"Like the sea…" he whispered in a barely audible voice.

She smiled at his comment and blushed under his stare but that only seemed to make him smile more.

"I love it when you do that…" he whispered as he leaned close to her lips.

"What?" she asked him softly.

"When you blush." He said before crashing his mouth to hers in a fierce kiss, making her gasp at the sudden action. He moved on top of her and placed his hands on either side of her head as he continued kissing her thoroughly. She sighed into the kiss and he moaned when he heard her. He broke the kiss and stared into her eyes again while her hands moved to his bare back. He shivered as she touched him with her warm hands, not being used to that kind of contact after all those lonely years. When she felt him shiver she tried to take her hands away but he shook his head frantically.

"No! No don't…" he said quickly and she nodded, keeping her hands on his back.

"Gracie?" he asked her after a while of just looking at her.

"Yes?" she asked him softly, enjoying his weight on her body.

"Will you…um…" he stammered and she smiled because that was so not him. He was always confident.

"What?" she encouraged and he cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Can you hold me for a while?" he asked her desperately and she nodded, laughing warmly at the very simple request that seemed to be so difficult for him to ask.

He smiled a little as she drew him into her arms; his head resting in the crook of her neck as his hands went under her body and hugged her close to him. She sighed into their embrace as her hands pulled him to rest fully on top of her; his body flush against hers. He inhaled her scent and kissed the cut on her neck a few times before resting his face on her chest, looking up at her with a thoughtful expression.

"If you want…we can take a walk together…later. If you want that is." He said to her with a nonchalant expression.

"I'd love to. Does that mean…that I can return to my shop?" she asked him hopefully. He stiffened in her arms and shook his head.

"No…I can't do that…" he whispered and his hand left her waist to come to her collarbone, stroking her skin with one finger before moving up towards the still healing cut on her neck.

She nodded her head, deciding not to anger him since he was calm. Maybe if she went along with him he would let her open her shop again sometime. He smiled at her again and nuzzled his face into her neck before rolling of her and lying on his back.

"Aren't you going to open the shop?" she asked him and he smirked.

"If you decide to get dressed sometime…although I have to say that I rather like you in this attire…" he said as he looked at her up and down.

"Sweeney!" she said as she stood up and went to get dressed, leaving him with a smile on his face and a rather warm feeling in his chest.

End of chapter 21

Author's note: Thank you for reading. Please review and tell me what you think! :)