"This family meeting will now be called to order."
Mrs. Lovett beamed at her two boys sitting at the large oak table. Toby grinned back; Sweeney just scowled. A month after that fateful night, Toby was finally beginning to accept Mr. Todd. Mrs. Lovett had quietly taken the boy aside one day after Mr. Todd had yelled at him. She explained that it was very difficult for Mr. Todd, that he had seen the whole fight and it had shaken him rather badly. Toby accepted this lie and tried his best to make nice with Sweeney. Unfortunately, Mrs. Lovett had neglected to tell the barber about the story, so Sweeney was very surprised when he woke up one morning to see Toby staring at him.
Sweeney glared as Mrs. Lovett led the "family" meeting. He still didn't understand why he had to be part of her family. Whenever he complained, she would say angrily, "Mr. T, you've got to stop living in the past. Me'n Toby, we're 'ere for you now."
He scowled even harder when Mrs. Lovett chastised him for daydreaming during the meeting. Sighing, Sweeney slumped onto the table. Would it ever end?
Mrs. Lovett glared at him until he slowly pulled away from the table. Then she smiled sweetly and said, "Now, Mr. T, wot do you say to us op'ning back up in a week or so? I think I'm going to try being a nice reg'lar baker, no more meat pies. Wot do you say to that?"
"Fine, fine," he mumbled. "Whatever you say."
Mrs. Lovett's brow furrowed and said, her teeth clenched, "Toby, dear, why don't you leave me an' Mr. T 'ere for a moment to discuss some...adult things?"
"Yes, mum!"
The boy scurried away to play by himself again. As soon as he was out of earshot, Mrs. Lovett grabbed Sweeney's ear and gave it a hard twist. He yelped and glared, his eyes watering. "What was that for?"
"That was for you not caring about wot 'appens to me and Toby! I've told you before, if we want to stay 'appy like we are now, you've got to cooperate!"
He sighed. "But I'm not happy."
Mrs. Lovett looked sadly at the man. Indeed, he had not seemed happy since that night. She patted him gently on the arm. "I know…it's not easy, love. But if you even want a chance to be 'appy, you've got to start living again. Life is for the alive, my dear."
Sweeney gave her the most minute of smiles. "So let's keep living it."
She smiled gently. "That's right, dear. So, wot do you think about reopening soon? Like I said, I'll just bake reg'lar cakes and things, and you can be a barber again. Not a demon one, mind, just a nice respectable one. Wot do you say, love?"
He sighed. "Do I have to?"
"Yes."
A/N: Yes, I know it's short. And not too action-packed; sorry. That's the way I write: little bits at a time. I hope you're liking the story so far. Reviews and reads are luffed, dearies.