I Feel Like You Can Explore Sweeney's Character So Much - Tumblr Posts
If you’re taking requests right now could you do a Sweeney Todd one shot or scenario where his s/o convinces him to give them a haircut? Tysm 🖤
A new haircut
Pairing: Sweeney Todd x reader (gender neutral)
Warnings: murderous thoughts (I mean, what did you expect)
A/N: You have no idea how excited I am for this. I hope I did it right and that our dear barber isn’t too ooc. I refered to the reader as they/them (because of how the ask was frazed), if you want me to change it, just say so, I have no problems with that ^ ^
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It was a silent, cloudy morning in London. The sky was gray, gray like his razors. Sweeney sat on a chair which he put next to the window in his barbershop and polished his beloved helpers, the only reminder of who he used to be. He hated everything. The gray sky, the smoke, the rich and the poor, yet he couldn’t bring himself to hate his razors. Just like he couldn’t bring himself to hate Y/N.
Sweeney held the razor he just finished polishing against the faint light coming into the room. Gray and glum like the sky above, yet so different. His metal companion shone like a star, a very dangerous one. Their smile shone too, he thought, but it was far from dangerous. Their smile was more...carefree and joyful, sometimes he wondered if they truly were that naïve or if they were lying to themselves, always so happy and bubbly.
He could never bring himself to ask, seeing their smile was somewhat refreshing from all those indifferent faces he saw every day. That’s why he still kept them around he supposed. Surely there couldn’t be a different reason.
So engrossed in his thoughts he was that he didn’t hear the familiar footsteps approaching his barbershop, only the sound of knocking, gentle and patient, broke his train of thought. Sweeney looked up from his work and rose to open the door to whoever was on the other side.
Talk of the devil and he shall appear. Y/N stood outside his barbershop with a smile on their face. With a slight wave they greeted him “Good morning mr. Todd! Can I come in?”
Sweeney nodded in response to their energetic greeting and stepped aside to let Y/N in. Closing the door he turned to look at them, awaiting the reason for their sudden visit.
But Y/N was looking out of the window with their back turned to him “It’s a lovely day today, isn’t it?” they muttered absent mindedly, Sweeney had to step closer to hear them. Looking out of the window at the still gray sky from behind their shoulder, he answered truthfully “Not really.”
His sudden closeness seemed to startle them and Y/N jumped a little. Trying to nervously laugh it off they shrugged “Well, I think yesterday’s rain cleared out the air quite nicely.”
Sweeney didn’t reply to that, instead he stepped next to them and asked, not particularly fond of small talk “May I know the reason behind your sudden visit?” Y/N stepped back from the window “Well, I was on my way to the market, so I said hi to Nellie and I thought that if I’m already here, why not come and say hi to you as well. It surely must get lonely here.” they said with nonchalance that sounded way too forced.
Y/N wasn’t one to lie, unlike most people he encountered, why would they lie now? With a deep frown on his face he closed the short distance between the two of them with only a few steps. Looking Y/N deep in the eyes he nothing but hissed “Don’t lie.”
Worried, Y/N took a step back from him, their demeanor suddenly shy. They sighed and with apologetic eyes said “Forgive me. In my defense, it wasn’t a complete lie! I really was just saying hi to Nellie and...” they seemed to hesitate “I hear so much praise left and right from men who have been to your barbershop, so...I was wondering if you could give me a haircut!” Y/N rushed out the last bit.
The air grew silent around them and for a moment it looked Sweeney was actually taken aback by the request. Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, Y/N quickly added “Of course, I don’t expect you to do anything for free! I’ll pay you, like any other customer would. I just thought...Well, we’ve known each other for quite some time now and...”
It was clear to him that Y/N was getting lost in their unnecessary rant. If seeing them in joy was refreshing to Sweeney, seeing them nervous and coy was downright amusing. Although women weren’t his usual customers, seeing as killing a woman was different from killing a man and he had a target after all, not to mention how much they liked to talk, it didn’t mean he could not use his skills on them.
Pushing lightly on their shoulders, Sweeney directed Y/N into the barber chair. Keeping a neutral expression on his face, like usual, he couldn’t help but feel an odd rush of excitement at seeing them so stiff in a place where he murdered so many men. They weren’t scared of him, he didn’t give them any reason to be...yet. He imagined they were just nervous about the whole thing.
It turned out Sweeney’s assumptions were correct. He never really agreed to cutting their Y/N hair, what if he was doing it only to shut them up? It wasn’t like they would ask him about it and he wouldn’t tell them by himself, it would be best to just enjoy it, Y/N decided.
Not sure where to look, Y/N decided to close their eyes and concentrate on the feeling. First the feeling of a soft plaid being draped over them and the slight cold feeling of it, like walking through a foggy street. Then Sweeney tipped the chair backwards, the sudden movement startling poor Y/N, before they relaxed again. He supported their head on one of his hands, while he pulled their hair from under them and over the chair with his other, then gently placing Y/N’s head back. And then it was just scissors and the occasional tug of a hairbrush.
Now that Sweeney was this close to Y/N, he noticed certain things about them. For example, how soft their hair felt or how they relaxed in the barber chair completely over time. Something about seeing them in such a relaxed state made him relaxed too and if his movements were even a little stiff, now they were completely fluent.
Sometimes he had to catch some loose strands of hair and so accidentally brush his hands over Y/N’s exposed neck. Just looking at it, craned into his touch, felt so enticing. How easy would it be to plunge those scissors into the soft flesh, see the blood gush out, and their wide eyes and helpless gasps leaving their mouth until it would fill with the red essence to the brim.
It would all look lovely, but there wasn’t the satisfaction he felt while envisioning killing his other customers or the judge himself. The death of Y/N would be just a mess, without a reason, without passion and if he’d kill just for his belief that all people deserve to die, he wouldn’t be any better than any drunken aggressor. He was better than that.
Y/N wasn’t sure if they dosed off, but when Sweeney’s touch disappeared, taking the snipping of scissors with it, it felt like rising from a dream. They opened their eyes just as Sweeney pulled the plaid from their frame and proceeded to straighten the chair once more.
Y/N stood up and smoothed down their clothes. Clearing their throat, they asked “So, how much do I owe you?” Without actually looking at them, Sweeney made his way around them to put his tools on a table at the wall behind the barber chair “It’s nothing. I just trimmed your hair, since you never told me what you wanted me to do.” Y/N had to admit that they kind of got lost in the moment.
Deciding on a rather bold decision, they approached him and placed a quick peck on the barber’s cheek “Thank you mr. Todd!” they said with their usual cheerful attitude and made a beeline towards the door, fearing that if they stayed just a while longer, he’d throw a razor at them or something, judging by the expression on his face.
Minutes went by and Sweeney still stared at the door, unblinking, unmoving. He didn’t know how to feel about the payment he received, but the new sides he got to see of Y/N were definitely enough for him to keep around. Seeing them so nervous was definitely amusing, to say the least.