4
Nellie waited, the grin still on her face. Her eyes flickered between the bottle and Sweeney, determined to wait. Hopefully he would become nervous enough to do something she could make fun of him for. All he did was stare at the empty bottle, a murderous glint in his eye.
She sighed, grin slipping off her face. "Smile."
"Excuse me?" He looked genuinely surprised.
"Ya heard me luv. Smile."
His lip twitched.
"Tha' don' count."
"I wasn't trying."
"Ya 'ave to try to smile? I don' believe tha' Mr. T! Ya'd smile plenty often 'afore-"
"Shut-up." He snapped, grumpily taking a swig from the gin bottle.
Mrs. Lovett held out her glass. "Fill 'er up, won'cha dearie?"
"It hasn't been the entire evening." Sweeney said coldly.
"It hasn't." She agreed. "But if you aren't goin' ta play, neither am I." She waved the empty glass in his face.
"Who said I wasn't playing?" He brushed the glass away, irritated with her behavior.
"Ya didn' smile."
His lips pursed and he forced his next words out. "Not yet."
"When are ya goin' to?"
Sweeney couldn't think of an answer, and his lips slowly curled down into a frown. How could someone simply smile? Mrs. Lovett tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes.
He sighed. "What are you doing?"
"Tryin' ta turn yer frown upsie' down." She straightened her head and the blinked rapidly, as if clearing her vision. "Not tha' tha' would coun'."
Trying to make his face passive, the corner of Sweeney's lip twitched, attempting her challenge. Reaching across the counter, Mrs. Lovett pinched his cheeks, smiling.
"Ya aren't doin' it righ' Mr. T!"
He stared at her, eyes wide with shock. Cheeks caught in a death grip he felt her lift up his pale cheeks in a mock-up of a smile. She giggled at him, still holding onto his face.
"Ya look like a clown."
Furious, he grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from his face. Pinning her hands to the counter he leaned towards her, growling. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Ya dropped the gin Mr. T." She said sulkily.
Looking away from her and down onto the floor he realized what she had meant. Glass and gin were all over the floor, as well as his shoe and pant leg. He snapped his eyes back to her, grip tightening. "That was your fault."
"No it wasn'."
He wrinkled his nose, finally detecting the reek of gin coming off of her. "How much have you been drinking?"
"I'm na' sure." She started to smile at him again, ignoring the tight grip he had on her arms.
"It was only a dress, Mrs. Lovett." Sweeney sighed.
A/N Did I raise your hopes that something was going to happen with the gin, and then dash them? Hopefully they came back up at the last line.. Only one more chapter left.
