AN: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SWEENEY TODD: DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET FRANCHISE!

Chapter Seven: Distracting Thoughts,

"Yes, now I don't suppose you have that key?" He said, turning away as she slipped her dress over her head, not bothering with the laces or the corset. Smiling, though he could not see, she told him no.
"Then how do you suppose we get out?" He asked, trying to control his frustration.
"Wait, until the children get up." She said, before quickly adding, "Of course that might not be for hours upon hours..." He could hear her step closer to him as the light grew ever dimmer. He sighed, whether he liked it or not he was stuck in here, with Mrs. Lovett. He heard fabric drop to the floor behind him and turned, one eyebrow raised.
"Well, you don't expect me to sleep in my dress do you?" She asked, still wearing her under-dress which now was easily seen through because she had not dried herself properly before slipping it on. "You probably shouldn't sleep in that bloody thing either, might alert the children," She said, secretly wanting him to remove it for more selfish reasons. Grunting, he grudgingly took it off, feeling her eyes glaze over the many scars on his back from abusement in New Gate.
"Here," He said coldly, tossing it to her. She caught it and slowly set to work cleaning it the still water, making sure he got a good view of her waist and back. He averted his eyes and sat on the floor against the wall, resting his elbow on his knee and his head on his fist.
She sighed, her attempt to get him to notice her small figure failed. She held onto his shirt in the water, feeling it over, ashing away the stains. She wished it were him instead. She looked over her shoulder at the thought of him, and found him in a forced sleep against the wall. Hoping he wouldn't notice, she put the now clean shirt in the sink and sat down beside him, gave him a kiss on the cheek so light, you might not have believed there had been a touch there at all, and leaned her head against his shoulder, drifting off into her own sleep.

He didn't bother pushing her off, there was no use, she had no where else to sleep in the small bathroom, he'd just have to wait it out. Sighing inwardly, he drifted off into real sleep, and without realizing it, placed his own head atop Mrs. Lovett's.

The next morning, Mrs. Lovett stirred from her sleep. Smiling, she noticed he'd leaned against her in his sleep. Her smile disappeared though as she heard the children looking for her, she knew she'd have to call to them. She stood and removed her under-dress to place on her corset, lacing it up quickly and placing her purse inside. Next came her under-dress again and finally her dress. She laced it up quickly and went to Sweeney, shaking his shoulder lightly.
"Wake up love, the children are awake." She whispered as he stirred. He stood up, stiff from sleeping in such an odd position. He nodded and knocked on the bathroom door loudly as he heard the children coming past, James calling out for Mrs. Lovett. The boy heard and called out again.
"In here loves!" Mrs. Lovett called out. "We're locked in, get the key off me dresser," She called, listening as he scurried off to her bedroom, coming back, and placing thew key through the hole. The lock clicked and they opened the door, free at last. At first they were both confused by the boy's shocked expression, that is until they realized Mr. Todd had forgotten to place on his shirt and Mrs. Lovett's dress was a little ruffled, as though it had been on the floor all night and tossed at that. Quickly, she fetched his shirt and his placed it on.
"Now, come on, best be getting you two cleaned up for work," She said hurrying them into the bathroom and replacing the candle. "Till dinner then Mr. Todd," She said before closing the door, though not completely so as not to lock herself in.

As she cleaned the children off in a fresh bath, she was surprised to find that they were actually quite pale, contrary to what she had assumed with their grimy skin. She also found that James had black hair, rather than brown as she had thought before and Madeleine had soft, light brunette curls, much like her own as a child. Still though, she couldn't help but bring her mind back around to the numerous scars on Sweeney Todd's back. How she wished she could trace them, feel his past through his scars. She shook her head and refocused on dressing the children in their now clean clothing and setting them to work on helping her make pies in the shop below.

Meanwhile, Mr. Todd in his barber shop above couldn't quite focus on his victims that day. More than twice he had let a man go without realizing he'd forgotten to cut their throats. For some reason that he silently cursed, his mind continued to travel back to her body and the way that her waist curved. It'd been nearly a year since he had seen a woman's body like that, or felt a woman on his chest. Though he does admit that he'd never had the pleasure of going farther than that. That was it, he had to close shop. He had just let his fifth customer go that day because of his foolish thoughts. If he did not fix this soon, he and Mrs. Lovett would go out of business.
His shirt, clean of all blood, shocked her the most as he came into the shop. She gave him a questioning look, and he merely gestured to the children, whom she sent to bed straight after. He walked over to her.
"What is it Mr. T, why've you got no blood on your shirt?" She asked, slightly concerned.
"Mrs. Lovett, we need to talk."