[A/N: I'm excited! I'm getting new hearingaids this morning, so I thought I'd update while I wait for my sister to come and pick me up to take me to the hospital. I very much hope you enjoy this chapter. n_n Thanks again to Aftershock and Rubiie, I love youu! xxx Teeny Sweeney]


Mr. Todd didn't actually remember falling asleep, but the next thing he new, there was light shining through his eyelids, forcing him out of what he could only call his catnap, because only just over an hour had passed since he last checked his watch. It took him a moment to regain his senses; he started to notice that he had lost all feeling in his left hand and that his whole left side was unusually warm compared to his right. A movement beside him reminded him of Gerard's presence. He nudged him, trying to rouse him too; he needed his arm back, or else his hand would surely just fall off from lack of blood being supplied to it. Gerard mumbled incoherently, snuggling up closer.

"Gerard, I need my arm back." The barber sighed.

"You've got another one." Was what he made out of Gerard's mumbling.

"Gerard, don't be difficult."

"I'm not."

He was waking up more now.

"I'll pick you up again."

Gerard opened his eyes slightly, considering, before moving off Sweeney's arm.

"Thank you."

"Mr. Todd?"

"Mm?" He replied, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his boots on.

"Can you make me a cuppa, please?"

"Yeah. How d'you take it?"

Gerard grinned, his eyes still shut.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He asked suggestively.

His cheekiness earned him a flick on the nose, but he wasn't put off by it.

"Warm and wet, like everyone else." He replied in the same tone.

"If you carry on, you can make it yourself."

"Okay, okay. Ya miserable sod. Two sugars, if you please." Gerard replied, shaking his head exasperatedly.

"Better. Alright, but I'm not bringing it to you."

"Some gentleman you are." Gerard scoffed, finally opening his eyes.

"You need to get out of bed at some point." The barber shrugged. "I'm just giving you the motivation to do so."

"Might as well get up now then." Gerard huffed, forcing himself to sit up, flinging the duvet away from him, and shuffling to the edge of the bed before standing up.

He glanced at his watch. It was four-thirty. Something here was very wrong.

"Why the fuck did you wake me up at such an ungodly hour?" He groaned.

"I could've woken you earlier." Sweeney shrugged carelessly.

"Lousy git." Gerard grumbled.

"Cry me a river."

"Maybe I will, just so I can drown you in it."

"Gerard, shut it."

The dangerous tone of voice and the look that came with it cut his attitude short and made his stomach twist. Not solely out of fear either. He'd always had a thing for winding up short-tempered people, but as of yet, he'd never encountered anyone quite so dangerous as Sweeney.

At first it had made him nervous, but the more involved he got, the more intriguing it became and the more tempted he was to push his luck.

"I'm cold…" He mumbled suddenly, wrapping his arms around himself.

The barber stared at him emotionlessly for a while.

"Here." He finally said softly, beginning to un-tuck his shirt.

Gerard's mind formed a protest, but his mouth refused to heed his better judgment. He chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes followed the steady hands working their way down the buttons of the shirt. His conscience begged him to stop, snapping him out of his little trance. He forced himself to become interested in the clutter on the dresser, but he could still see out of the corner of his eye as Sweeney tugged at the cuffs of his sleeves and straightened his arms, causing the shirt to slip off his shoulders and down his arms, falling from one and being caught in the other hand. Gerard looked back a moment before the shirt was held out to him. At this point, he was slavering over the man.

"There you go."

Gerard took the shirt without saying a word, trying, and failing to keep his eyes on it.

"Are you alright? You've got quiet all of a sudden."

Gerard's gaze dragged up to meet the barber's seemingly characteristic frown. [i]No[/i]. He wasn't [i]alright[/i]. He was embarrassed by himself. He'd been interested enough before, and he wasn't always comfortable with that, now he fancied him , and he certainly wasn't comfortable with that.

"I'm fine." He nodded with a smile, starting to put the slightly-too-big shirt on.

"Okay then."

He left for a moment, and returned complete with his razor, boots and waistcoat, shoving the loose ends of his tie down it as he walked back into the room.

"Thanks…by the way." Gerard said suddenly.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, well, don't get used to it." The barber smirked.

Gerard gave him a look, his expression said that he was sad but his eyes said something very different.

"Don't look at me like that."

Sweeney frowned, not at Gerard, but because really, he very much wanted Gerard to look at him like that. But he shouldn't, so he told himself he didn't.

"This shirt's warm. I mean, it's warm from you wearing it." Gerard commented, sounding mildly surprised.

"I have body heat as much as the next person does, Gerard."

"I know but…you don't look very warm." Gerard replied in a small voice.

"Hm. I'm usually warm, apart from my hands." The barber muttered, looking at his hands as he spoke.

Gerard bit back a laugh.

"Interesting. I'm going downstairs now. So I suppose…I'll talk to you…later."

Sweeney opened his mouth to say something, shut it again and nodded before Gerard granted him a smile and left.