30. Against All Odds

Her days are occupied with staring at the door, willing him with all her heart to open it and see her standing there, waiting to be his and his alone. Her nights are filled with a thousand miles between them in their cold bed, their bodies never quite touching despite how small it is. The distance stretches on, and she wonders where it will stop.

She tries not to let it bother her. After all, the important thing is that he is here with her, against all odds. A year ago, although it was her most coveted daydream, she would not have quite believed that he would be here with her by the sea if someone had told her so.

She tries not to let it bother her that he spends all his time in one of the bedrooms, away from her and Toby. She tries not to let the tears fall when she talks to him in soft tones only for him to stare blankly through her as though he's not even aware of her presence.

Because he's here with her now, against all odds. He's still in the same house as her, allows her to venture into the room to share his bed at night, even if they never exchange anything other than a subdued goodnight, a listless grunt on his behalf as though he can't bring himself to formulate even that one word. He offers her nothing but a few non-committal growls every so often, but knowing he is there with her is—should be—enough.

Although, it is endlessly agony to know that they have even less to say to each other now than they did even in London. In London, Mr. Todd had been forced to speak to her if he thought it would help his plight for revenge take off more quickly. Now, with nothing more to live for, he does not care if he wastes away into a shadow of his former, vengeful self—it's nothing less than he deserves, anyway. That's what he'd told her once. But, Nellie reassures herself, words are superfluous compared to actions.

She pushes away the niggling thought that he doesn't show her anything, either.

And why does any of this matter anyway when he is with her against all odds?

His razors lay resting in their mahogany box on his bedside table, catching the light whenever it dances across their decedent surfaces. True to his word, Sweeney Todd has allowed his friends to sleep the untroubled sleep of the angels now that the Judge is finally gone from his life. Instead he holds them in gentle fingers and croons songs about Lucy to them, while Mrs. Lovett stands at the other side of their wooden bedroom door, pressing her forehead fiercely against it as though she can will Lucy out of his thoughts if only she tries hard enough. She attempts not to dwell on the fact that her love is meaningless if he won't even allow her close enough to his icy being for her to melt him.

Still, it does not matter, as he is beside her against all odds. His razors have served their purpose, and it is not possible for him to continue to look upon them as friends when they do not paint the world red for him anymore. Lucy can exist only in his mind, or in the shining surface of the razors, and in time they will fade into dull pieces of metal, not even having the strength to reflect the yellow hair in her barber's mind. Todd himself is already fruitlessly grasping onto the remains of his yellow haired beauty, trying not to let her move on and leave him alone in the darkness.

Tonight, as she lies on her back beside him, she reaches out with one tentative hand to rest it flat against his scarred back.

"Love?" she says softly, inching nearer, breaking the miles between them. "I need you." She presses her lips lingeringly against his jutting shoulder blade, leaving her meaning without question.

He does not even move, not feeling her lips ghost over the contours of his back. The miles between them continue to stretch on. She'll never be able to complete the walk.

She tries to get him to warm to her for a few more moments, even daring to skim a hand down his front, but nothing seems to reach him in the meadow of life he is currently walking in with Lucy.

Withdrawing and blinking back bitter tears desperately, Nellie closes her eyes and wills herself into believing that it doesn't matter.

He'll warm to her one day. He'll have to. Especially since he's still with her, against all odds.

A/N: A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited, or followed during the course of this fanfic.