Chapter 10

Mrs. Lovett was having the most wonderful dream she had ever had. She dreamed that she had dozed off after having found Sweeney Todd again, spending an afternoon and an evening with him that had been turbulent to say the least.

Even in her dreams, the feeling of his body against her own was so solid that it almost seemed to be real, and her stomach was suspiciously quiet, as if she had just indeed filled it with the best food she had ever had.

The baker was used by now to have dreams of this fashion; even only several days after he had tried to kill her, her subconsciousness had come up with images of affection and intimacy between the two of them.

The first time that this had happened, when she could basically still feel the pressure on her arm at the spots where the barber had held her when he had been ready to cast her into the fire, she had been truly disturbed. She had known very well that the man who the barber had become wasn't a pleasant person and she had accepted it. But now that she had found out the hard way to which extent his madness had actually spread, it seemed simply wrong to think of him in a romantic way.

She hadn't been able to help herself however. Both during the night and during the day she had found herself thinking of Sweeney Todd, her treacherous mind trying to come up with scenarios where a relationship between the two of them could work after all.

As always, dreams had dominated her nights. Usually they were innocent enough; dreams of kissing the barber gently or simply having her hand in his were enough to make her happy – until the dream ended, at least. Others hadn't been so chaste at all. Every once in a while she would wake covered in sweat, a heat burning deep inside of her, feeling as if the barber had touched her intimately after all. In such moments she had to push her face in her thin pillow to prevent herself from waking Teddy with her groans, both of arousal and frustration.

The dream she had just had hadn't been as heated, but it had been intense indeed. In her sleep she had kissed the barber so often that she had lost count, and in the majority of the moments he had actually kissed her back with a passion that had even surprised her in her sleep.

Mrs. Lovett knew that she was no stranger to such dreams and although it was clear even to her that those dreams had little to do with reality, she savored them, knowing too well that moments like the one she experienced in her sleep were the only ones that she could truly spend with the barber in such an affectionate way.

She had always had them, even though the dreams appeared to become more intense the longer she was away from the barber. The dream that she just had had however had been so overwhelming and real, that it couldn't really be compared to the dreams she had had recently – or at any point in her life.

Even when her eyes fluttered open and she made a small noise of contentment, the feeling of Mr. Todd's lips pressing against hers fresh in her mind even now, the dream didn't fade.

If anything, the feeling of his warm body beneath her own became only stronger, just like the pressure of the supple hands that were caressing her back.

It was only when her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room that she was in and she saw the piece of a white shirt in front of her eyes, that she realized that she hadn't been dreaming after all – or at least, the events that had taken place in her head while she slept were rooted firmly in reality.

"Slept well?"

The barber's voice was deliciously teasing as he became aware of her confusion.

"I... what..."

The baker was too bewildered to reply to him for the moment, first needing to find out what was going on exactly.

First of all she became slowly aware that she was actually lying on top of the barber, his body in a way functioning as the best pillow and mattress she had ever had. His hands weren't only an illusion either; even now, they were caressing her, moving far below the small or her back. It made the baker blush even though she wasn't fully awake yet, but still remembered with unpleasant clarity that she had noticed herself only a few hours ago that there was little left of the curves with which she once had hoped to seduce them.

But apparently, Sweeney couldn't care less, repeating the motions over and over again. Those caresses didn't make it any easier to think, to separate dream from reality.

After another few seconds of confusion she realized however that she had indeed been dreaming, but that the heavenly dream had only been a reproduction of her mind that was based on something that had actually happened, no matter how difficult that was to believe.

"For how long was I asleep?" she asked, shocked that she had apparently fallen asleep in the barber's arms, just after he had told her how important she had become for him. It wasn't a moment that she would chose for herself to doze off, but clearly it had happened after all.

"Only half an hour or so," he said, wiping some unruly curls out of her face.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, cheeks coloring slightly because she recalled now that she hadn't been the only one who had been quite eager to make good use of the fact that they were in the same room now without any hard feelings between them.

"Don't be," he said, "you clearly needed it."

"Teddy and I took the first train to London this morning," she admitted, "it was the only one we could afford."

It had been no wonder that those tickets were relatively cheap. She supposed that the journey was usually long and tiring enough already. But only people who were desperate – or crazy – took the one that left long before the break of dawn.

It didn't matter any longer; if she hadn't taken that train, she wouldn't be here now. Although she was rather embarrassed that the journey had exhausted her so much that she was falling asleep, even when the barber was so close to her.

It was not just the journey however that had tired her so much; especially since she had lost her job, she had spent many nightly hours awake, trying to find a way to look after both Teddy and herself. Dreaming was a much better way to spend the night indeed, but it was an alternative that she no longer had been able to afford. But now this too was of no importance any longer; at least for the time being, real life was better than even her most vivid dreams had ever been.

"Don't worry about it," he said, his hands coming to rest on the small of our back. "We have the time."

She smiled a little, knowing that he was probably right.

"And besides, I like watching you sleep."

The baker's cheeks colored again, but not with shame this time. There was just something about this revelation that made her entire body tingle.

"Let us speak of it no more," he said, his voice more serious as he mistook her reaction for embarrassment.

The baker began to feel a bit uncomfortable in her close position to the barber, realizing that she must've been there for quite a while and that his body probably wasn't what it once had been, especially not after the injury on his leg.

So she got up carefully, making sure not to hurt him as she had done last time, and sat up. The barber followed her immediately and a moment later, the two adults found themselves sitting on the floor in the middle of the parlor. Mrs. Lovett was somewhat amused by this, but she didn't think about it for long when she found Sweeney looking briefly at the food that was still standing on the table.

"You haven't eaten yet."

It was more a question than a statement.

The barber just shrugged, as if eating wasn't important all. Nellie was horrified however; Mr. Todd had just done so much to make sure that she could have a good meal without regretting it later, but she had completely forgotten that he hadn't dinner yet himself.

She made her way to the table, getting up on her knees to take a good look at the food that was remaining. There was still quite a lot of it, even after she had had as much as she wanted; he had obviously been generous when he had selected the food that was meant for her.

The soup was cold and thus rather inedible – or at least, it probably was in the barber's eyes, whose standards were now, ironically, doubtlessly a lot higher than her own. She knew from experience that the bread would still taste almost as well as it had done before, even though it was cold now.

Having learned a thing or two to come up with practical solutions in such circumstances, the baker took the pan with the remaining soup and placed it close to the fire, that was almost extinguished now. She spotted a box with wood that was next to the hearth and threw a few blocks on the fire, bringing it back to its former temperature and magnitude.

Convinced that she wouldn't get the soup any warmer unless she went to find a fire that was actually suitable for tasks like this in the kitchen – something she didn't plan to do at all as long as the barber was in the parlor – she simply put the pan as close to the burning flames as was possible.

"Come here, you silly man," she said to the barber, who was watching her with unconcealed amusement.

He did as he was told, making his way to her and taking the bowl of remaining bread with him while doing so.

"Are we going to have a picnic?"

"Why not?" the baker asked, sitting down on the floor next to the hearth, winking at the man who seemed to be both surprised and amused by her plan.

He sat down next to her, crossing his legs beneath his body. Mrs. Lovett had imagined herself eating with the barber alone in many settings, but this wasn't one of them. But even except from the decor it couldn't have been more different from the few rare trips to the park that she had made with the barber and Toby when they still lived together.

Mr. Todd obviously didn't like sitting like that, judging from the way he was shifting restlessly. She was afraid that his leg was hurting this way or, which was at least just as likely, that he simply didn't want to eat with her like that, as if her playfulness was something that was below him.

It became clear soon however that this wasn't the case at all. Looking at her, he moved down until he was lying fully on the floor, not breaking their locked gazes for even the shortest moment.

She didn't understand what he was doing, until he moved closer to her and rested his head on her thigh, using her upper leg as some sort of pillow just like he had done before.

This way he couldn't reach for the bowl with bread that he had taken with him. Mrs. Lovett however knew a solution for that and although she would've feared in any other situation that Mr. Todd would think that she was going too far, he clearly didn't now. Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten himself in their current position in the first place.

Smiling mischievously as she recalled how he had fed her earlier, she took a slide of bread, tore it into smaller pieces, and gave them to him one by one.

He wasn't bothered by this at all; if anything, he seemed that he was enjoying it. Maybe he had once thought about something like this, to be eating in front of the fire in such an unusual way. But he probably had, just like her, been unable to come up with something as bizarre as this, only to find out now that this was better than most of the things he had ever imagined for the two of them.

He reached for her with one arm until he could take her left hand in his own. Mrs. Lovett could only stare at their joined hands for a moment, still not used at all to the apparent current normalcy of such actions.

But she shook herself out of it, reminding herself that she'd better get used to this, or at least for a while. Sensing that he was quite hungry now himself, she took another piece of bread, making smaller pieces out of it if only because that gave her a good reason to reach for the barber's face more often, pretending to brush her fingers against his lips accidentally every once in a while.

She couldn't believe that this was actually happening, but even now his lips were obviously real, feeling warmer and softer against her fingertips than she had expected.

Mrs. Lovett was getting a little hungry herself again as she watched the barber eat. Knowing that he wouldn't mind and very grateful to have the opportunity, she took a few more pieces of bread herself, once more surprised by its delicious taste. She vaguely wondered whether the food actually tasted so good or that her standards had become so low after living in poverty for such a long time. She decided to ask Mr. Todd later about the bread; being a baker herself, she wanted to know those things – you never knew when such information could be useful.

Once the barber's own hunger had been mostly slaked, she didn't stop feeding him. The pieces of bread she gave him were smaller than before and she didn't give them to him as fast as she initially had done, but it was now more about getting her fingers as close to Sweeney's lips under the pretense of feeding him.

The barber realized soon enough however what she was doing and, gently taking the bread that she was currently holding out of her hands to place it back in the bowl where it came from, guided her hand to his face again, this time without having to pretend that she was actually doing something else.

Delighted that he was letting her do this and at the same time terrified to ruin the wonderful chance he had just given her, she reached for him now without any pretense. Her fingers were trembling when they brushed against the barber's face again, exploring his features. Although she had done so already not long before, this wasn't something she would get used to easily, even if she would've dared the previous time to touch as much of him as she actually wanted.

She didn't dare reach for his lips immediately, but his still slightly hallow cheek was a good place to start. She touched it gently, familiarizing herself with the structure of that part of him once again. She had touched this part of him only a short while ago, but she was still as eager to caress him like that as she had been then.

Mr. Todd didn't say anything, but the way his breath quickened when she touched him was encouraging enough for her to continue. It was obvious that he too wasn't bored at all now that she was doing this again.

Her fingers moved down to his lips when she had enough courage to do so. He gasped and so did she, amazed that she could influence him like this. She moved closer to him, the strands of her hair that had gotten loose during the unusual afternoon that they had spent together falling over him like a curtain, shielding both of them from the rest of the world. No matter how much she enjoyed doing this and it was clear that he shared this feeling, it wasn't enough for both of them. He pulled her towards him, until she continued to explore the shape of his face with her lips.

Her body was bend uncomfortably as she was leaning down and the baker managed to get up, not breaking away from him while doing so, intending to lie down beside him. As she was doing so however, her leg came in contact with the pan of soup that was still warming next to the fire, almost knocking it over.

Startled, she looked up abruptly for the source of the sudden impact. By the time she realized what had happened, the barber was sitting up as well, just as surprised by the sudden noise as she had been.

"We aren't very lucky, are we?" he asked, looking at the innocently looking pan.

She just nodded, sighing as she did so.

"Do you want some soup?" she asked, the moment of intimate tenderness clearly over.

The baker didn't like this at all, but she figured that it would be best now to become a bit more practical again. She hadn't put the pan near the fire for nothing after all and if the coming hours were going to turn out the way she hoped they would, both would need all the strength and energy they could possibly get.

She reached for the pan with care, making sure not to spill the soup after all. The spoon that she had just used herself was still standing in it and she used it to try some of the soup. It wasn't as warm as she would've liked, but it was a lot more edible than it must've been when it had been fully cooled.

There didn't appear to be another spoon, but before she could begin to wonder where she could quickly get another one, Mr. Todd just took it.

"I don't think this will make a difference," he said, raising a suggestive eyebrow that made the baker feel very flushed indeed.

The idea of Sweeney holding the spoon himself was one that she wasn't very fond of, but feeding him soup as well seemed a bit tricky, even to her. She didn't want to spoil the tomato soup over his floor and carpet and the chance of doing so was rather large. Even now, her hands were trembling because of the way she and the barber were spending their time.

He ate the soup with obvious delight. The baker couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt to see him eat someone else's food since he had never eaten hers, but she knew well enough that it hadn't anything to do with the actual food – or at least, not very much. And the way he was looking at her, his eyes still locked with hers even when he was eating, made it impossible for her to be only slightly upset with him.

Just watching him eat was wonderful. She couldn't take her eyes off him, even though he took his time eating the majority of the soup that was left. It was good to see that he looked after himself like this now, even though the baker had the feeling that Mrs. Clint might have to push him in the right direction every once in a while. He had just eaten more than he usually did within an entire week and she was truly happy to see that this had changed so much.

When he was finished, he placed the almost empty pan as far away as he could without having to get up, clearly wanting to prevent the metal from getting in their way once again. Apparently very content with the place where he currently was, he lay down on the carpet, his face towards the fire.

Sensing the silent invitation, the baker made herself comfortable in front of him. Her back was towards him, so she could stare into the fire just like he did. She could see her favorite chair from the corner of her eyes and once again she was reminded of all the hours that she had spent sitting in that chair, looking at a similar fire while thinking of a happy future for the barber and herself, which had never been much like what was currently happening.

It was one of the first truly quiet moment that she had known that day. Beginning to feel tired in spite of herself, the baker just stared into the flames, her thoughts going nowhere in particular as she was mostly just aware of the barber who was right behind her, holding on to her tightly.

The feeling of being filled with as much food as she had wanted to eat was a strange one after having lived with a hungry, growing boy without much of an income for years, but it was nothing compared to the oddness of seeing this caring and gentle side of the man of whom she had feared that he had lost all the goodness he once had possessed.

She could get used to it however, of course. For now, she felt safe and happy indeed. Her dreams, of which she had been sure that they were lost forever, were more than within reach now – they seemed to have come true. She wanted to savor that feeling, to fully know what she had achieved, to be aware of everything that had found its way into her life that day.

But the delicious food that she had eaten made her feel lazy, the warmth of the fire and most of all Sweeney's body against her own made her feel sleepy. She stifled a yawn, forcing herself to stay awake for at least a bit longer, to enjoy as much of the current situation as she could.

There was still a feeling of worry inside of her; if things in her life had seemed to be too good to be true, they usually were. She couldn't help but vaguely fear that this was nothing but a dream after all, and that all that she had found that day would be gone as soon as she woke up and opened her eyes again, only to see the greyness of the life she had lived during the past years, where a boy that wasn't her own was the only light in her existence.

Turning her partly around in order to be able to do so, the barber silenced her doubt with a soft kiss on her lips, making a promise of trust and loyalty without using words.

Mrs. Lovett sighed as his lips touched hers once more, the feelings that his mouth caused in her entire being rushing over her again. She embraced those wonderful but completely unfamiliar and rather intimidating sensations, just like the barber himself, pulling him on top of her.

She knew now how heavenly it felt like when such a kiss escalated and she wanted to experience it again, this time without being interrupted by anybody or anything. The baker wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as she opened her mouth, wanting to deepen the kiss.

Mr. Todd wouldn't let her do so however, keeping some distance between them as he ended the kiss.

"You haven't changed one bit," he said, the amused spark she had noticed earlier appearing in his eyes again.

No matter how lovely and miraculous it was to see this, there was something else that the baker wanted quite a bit more at that moment.

"Don't tease," she muttered, suppressing another yawn as she reached for the barber again. She needed him a lot more than sleep, but she feared that her body couldn't stay awake much longer if Sweeney didn't touch her properly soon.

"We should wait."

The baker groaned with frustration at this.

"I'm sick of waiting. If you think about it, we have waited for several decades."

"So a few more hours wouldn't hurt."

"Please."

The barber's wish to wait made feel uncomfortable. There had been days that she had told him again and again that waiting was a good thing, but now she didn't quite agree with that any longer. She had learned the hard way that you had to claim things before they were taken from you; no matter what would happen later, she wanted to be touched by the barber in the ultimate way at least once. If he didn't want to do so now, she feared that he never would.

"Think about it," he said. For the first time she was aware that the prospect of waiting wasn't one he was very fond of himself. "The previous few times... well. Teddy and Victoria are in the room next to ours and there's nothing to prevent them from barging here and catching us again. Mrs. Clint is still here as well. If we wait a few hours, the children will be asleep in the other side of the house and Mrs. Clint will be at home. You can rest in the mean time."

Mrs. Lovett had to admit that the idea was a rather good one. It would take a long time before she'd be able to forget about the look on Teddy's face when he had seen her with Mr. Todd's hand beneath her skirt – and she had the feeling that the boy wouldn't forget for quite some time as well. She could leave it to him to see her accidentally again in an intimate situation with the barber.

"And what will we do then?" she asked mischievously, fully aware now of the tension in Sweeney's body and the slight hesitation in his voice. She agreed with his plan, but that didn't mean that she would let him get away with it so easily. He could torment her if he wanted to, but she was going to show him that he wasn't the only one who could tease.

"We shall take a bath," he said immediately, suggesting that he had completely considered the matter already. "There's a tub in the bathroom. It should just be large enough for both of us – if we sit very close to each other."

The baker's breath hitched in her throat at those words. The mere thought of a bath was a tempting one, but taking it together with Mr. Todd himself...

"Yes," he said, seeing her reaction of his words. "A long and hot bath. A bath to be savored."

Mrs. Lovett's shut her eyes, but not with fatigue this time. She had always thought that the barber's voice was beautiful, but never before had it sounded as wonderful as now, when he was whispering words of such suggestive nature.

"It'll be slow... long... thorough..." he moved his mouth closer to her ear, his nose brushing against her skin as he spoke quietly. "Unlike anything you've ever known."

She shuddered, feeling deliciously ravished by his words alone as her mind, overactive as usual, didn't have much trouble imagining herself being subjected to the barber's attention in such a way.

"Mr. Todd," she breathed, cheeks flushed and chest heaving against the barber's body, "you can't say that to a woman and expect her to fall asleep like this."

His only reaction was an implicative raise of his eyebrow. In spite of her impatient state, Mrs. Lovett couldn't help but smile brightly. The barber's banter was another solid proof of how he had changed, finding back some of the humor and playfulness of the man he once had been. The way his lips quirked upwards somewhat because of her response made her smile widen.

She sobered quickly however when she was reminded of their circumstances. Her smile faded and the evidence of his delight was erased from his face within a second as well. His expression wasn't as empty however as it usual was and this encouraged her.

Sleep was overpowering her and it was completely clear now to the baker that she couldn't engage in any activity, let alone one as demanding as the one that Mr. Todd had not so subtly suggested, until she had slept for a while and was fully rested again.

"Promise me that you'll be there when I wake up."

"I promise."

Those two words were all that she needed in order to allow herself to fall asleep at last. There was something about the way he said them, something about the way that he held her as he did so, that made her feel that she could trust him fully.

Sweeney sat up and the baker couldn't prevent herself from sighing with disappointment because of this. She had had no reason to believe that he would do so, but she had hoped that he would stay with her when she slept.

He gestured her to stand up from the soft and thick carpet that covered the floor as well, confusing her more. She had presumed that he had wanted her to sleep right there; it wasn't a bed but it was comfortable enough.

The thought that he might be taking her to his bedroom rose within her, making her shiver lightly. She had accepted that they had to wait before surrendering to their desire for each other fully for the first time, but she feared that sticking to this plan would be rather difficult after all if he would literally bring her to his bed.

As soon as she stood up however, Sweeney guided her to the largest couch of the parlor. He lay down on it as soon as he could, making himself comfortable as he never took his eyes off her. When he was apparently satisfied with the way he was lying on the couch, he motioned her to join him.

The suggestion was a tempting one indeed, but the baker hesitated for a moment. Whenever she had been close to the barber before, both of them had been too caught up in the moment to be fully aware of what they were doing.

This time however both were very much aware of even the slightest movement that the other made, knowing how quickly things could spin beyond their control. Knowing what could happen, they also knew what to do in order to avoid it. But making herself comfortable on top of the barber wasn't something she had much practice at and she certainly didn't want to make any kind of mistake; the last thing she wanted to do now was hurt him again or, almost just as worse, do something that would drive him away from her at last.

The look in his eyes however made her relax. He didn't need to use words to tell her that there was nothing to be afraid of, that this was as new to him as it was to her. She could read the confirmation that she needed in his gaze.

Scolding herself for being so silly, she settled herself on the couch again. In spite of his encouragement, doing so was difficult when the barber's body was right there and those dark eyes of his didn't miss even the smallest of her movements. Not to mention the fact that the old skirts she detested so much prevented her from snuggling against him like she wanted to do and she had to be careful to prevent herself from hurting him again accidentally.

She intended to straddle the barber's waist, sensing that this was the only way to make herself comfortable with him, even though this wouldn't make it any easier for her to actually sleep. The heavy and long skirts however made this once again rather impossible to do. The baker felt foolish indeed, resting on her knees on the edge of the couch without having a clue how to get closer to the barber without either of them getting stuck with the various layers of fabric that she was wearing.

Sensing this problem, Sweeney moved up somewhat and reached for the edges of her skirt. To her surprise and delight, he carefully hiked up the material, exposing her boots and stocking clad legs.

Both of them held their breath as he did so. Although it was clear to her that he tried not to stare, Mrs. Lovett caught him watching the lower half of her body intently even though he had seen her like this already earlier that day. It was obvious that he didn't mind at all to see her like this again. She couldn't help but smirk because of this, triumph and delight welling up inside of her because he was again finally looking at her in that way she had dreamed of for so long.

Being partly free now from the bothersome material of the skirts, the baker carefully straddled him like she had planned to do earlier, and settled herself against his chest. She longed to wrap both her arms and legs around him, clinging to him for all that she was worth now that she had the possibility at last, but she found herself lacking the courage to do so now that the barber's acceptance of her feelings had become so much more than a mere illusion.

Mrs. Lovett was tempted for a moment to shift a bit more against him than was really necessary, paying him back somewhat for the way he had just teased her, but she decided against it. At the moment, she was too tired for any more games – even if they were as seductive as the one that Sweeney apparently liked to play these days – and she felt that it was cruel to torment him. Especially now that she was lying so closely to him, it was very clear to her that it hadn't been as easy for him to persuade her just to go to sleep as she thought earlier.

Although it was a rather difficult thing to relax during such circumstances, Mrs. Lovett calmed somewhat as the two of them lay very still for a few minutes, slowly familiarizing themselves with the still unknown feeling of being close to each other like this.

As time passed, she began to feel as much at ease being so near the barber as she had been before, when she hadn't been fully aware yet of the way that their bodies touching. She could feel that Mr. Todd was relaxing as well.

Not feeling as awkward as before at all, she moved her arms from their safe position on the edges of the couch after all and wrapped them around the barber's neck again. He returned the gesture by moving his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him until his chin was resting against her head. The contented sigh was a mutual one.

They just lay like that and Mrs. Lovett's mind began the long process of analyzing everything that had happened that day. Her thoughts were slow and vague with tiredness and happiness however; for once, she realized that she didn't want to think at all. She simply enjoyed this moment, one that would've seen so utterly impossible to her until just a few hours ago.

After a while, when her eyes had closed, Sweeney reached for her hair. To her surprise, he began removing the pins that kept her auburn curls somewhat in place.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bewildered even though she was almost asleep already.

"Beginning to make you ready for your bath," he replied quietly.

His words made her exhausted being shudder with desire again. The way he ran his fingers through her loose strands of hair suggested something more than simple want, something that went much deeper than that.

The touches however were innocent and gentle, lulling her to sleep after all. When all the pins were taken from her hair, Sweeney began to caress the auburn locks, carefully running his hands through them with curious but eager movements.

The baker didn't think that there had ever been a moment that she had felt better than she did at that very moment. Usually the few hours that she could afford to sleep where the only ones that she could be with the barber, the only times that she could be truly happy.

This was quite the other way around now, but Nellie still didn't mind to go to sleep any longer. Sleeping would be a pleasant thing indeed when Mr. Todd was so close to her and awakening would be most agreeable now, for it would enable her to fully re-enter her life that had basically turned into a real dream now.

Her body slowly gave in to its urge to sleep after all, and images of a steamy bathtub began to fill her mind. The last thing she heard before she was fully asleep at last, where the words that Sweeney whispered in her ear when his hands came to rest on the small of her back in a gesture that was both protective and possessive.

"I'll be there."