"I'll steal you, David..." - Sweeny Todd x Jackson's Diary Fanfic.

Alms! Alms!

Exer, now out of his sailor's uniform, is walking along the sidewalk near William's mansion, absorbed in a copy of Baedeker's London.

He stops, lost, trying to get his bearings, studying his map.

Then an unusual sound emerges through the normal cosmopolitan bustle. It is the sound of a guy humming. He looks up to see...

David Miller, a 17-year-old boy with golden hair, handsome, and hauntingly sad. He sits at his window above, behind bars, humming to himself as he does needlepoint.

Exer watches him, absolutely mesmerised.

David notices a bird seller passing. He carries a long, wooden pole with little bird cages attached.

David gazes at the bird seller for a while until he spots Exer on the sidewalk below.

There is a long look between them. His intense, melancholy expression moves Exer.

He continues to hum to himself as he glances down at the gorgeous boy below him.

Then, he turns away quickly, alarmed, when someone enters his room. He looks terrified.

Below, Exer is concerned for him. He sees the boy move from the window.

He is craning to see better when a beggar woman—a filthy tendril of a woman, her foul clothes of rags like a second skin—suddenly thrusts her arm up from the curb, imploring:

"Please spare some alms for a miserable old woman on a miserable, chilly morning!"

(Exer drops a coin into her hands)

"Thank you, sir, thank you." The beggar woman uttered.

"Ma'am, could you tell me whose house this is?" Exer inquires as he gestures to the mansion facing the two of them.

"That's the great William Miller's house that is." The beggar woman replies.

"And the young man who resides there?" Exer queried.

"That's David, his pretty little ward. Keeps him snug, he does; all locked up... So don't you go trespassing there, or it's a good beating for you—or any other young man with mischief on his mind." The beggar woman warns him.

She turns away, instantly plaintive again, and appeals to other pedestrians as she goes:

"Please spare some alms for a miserable old woman on a miserable, chilly morning!"

Over and over again.

Exer considers the mansion. He sees a figure standing at a window, unclear behind the shutters, watching him.

He sits on a bench outside the mansion and thinks to himself:

"I'll steal you, David—I'll get you out of that horrid place."

Then the figure disappears from the window above. Exer stands, waits. Then the doors to the mansion swing open.

Exer is expecting David, but it is William who steps into the doorway.

William seems like a different man now. Paternal and warm, he smiles and beckons to Exer.

Exer hesitates, unsure—William beckons again with that warm smile still plastered on his face.

"Come in, lad, come in!" William begs.

Exer goes into the mansion.

——————————————————————————

William leads Exer into the dark library, filled with books. Exer is looking around for David. He is wary, this is all very strange.

"You were looking for Hyde Park, you say?" William interrogates.

"Yes, it's terribly large on the map, but I keep getting lost..." Exer replies.

"Sit down, lad, sit down." William says as he gestures towards the chair opposite him.

Exer sits down, uncomfortable, as William pours two snifters of brandy.

"It's embarrassing for a sailor to lose his bearings, but, well, there you are." Exer reveals.

Then...

The large form of a guy appears from the shadows. No introduction of him is made. Exer glances to him, uneasy.

"A sailor, eh?" William responds.

"Yes, sir. The 'Bountiful,' out of Plymouth."

"You must be practiced in the ways of the world—would you say you were practiced, boy?" William replies as he hands Exer a snifter of brandy.

"Sir?" Exer responds, confused.

William cocks an eyebrow at Exer in disgust and disapproval.

"I think there's been some mistake-" Exer says as realisation hits him.

Exer stands up in panic.

"Oh, I think not. You gandered at my ward, David... You gandered at him... Yes, sir, you gandered."

Kevin walks out of the shadows and stands behind Exer. Kevin grabs a lethal billy club and hides it behind his back.

"I meant no harm-" Exer says as he glances nervously at Kevin behind him.

"Your meaning is immaterial. Mark me: if I see your face again on this street, you'll rue the day your bitch of a mother gave you birth." William shouts.

Exer is shocked. William proceeds with shocking venom:

"My son isn't a bloody homo like you! He is not to be gandered at by a man!"

William nods at Kevin—Kevin immediately grabs Exer and brutally hauls him out.

——————————————————————————

Kevin drags Exer through a rear door of the mansion and flings him into a filthy alley.

Exer pulls himself up. Stunned.

"Hyde Park is that way, young sir... Right and then a left, then straight on, you see?" Kevin states aggressively.

Kevin points in the direction.

"Over there!"

Flustered, Exer turns to look.

The instant Exer's back is turned, Kevin swings his lethal billy club and SLAMS him from behind brutally, in the kidneys—Exer's knees buckle from the pain.

Kevin then HITS Exer across the back of the neck—Exer falls hard.

Kevin then uses one dainty foot to roll Exer over—Exer gazes up at him, bleeding and bruised, gasping for air in agony.

"You heard William, little man." Kevin remarks.

He presses the end of his billy club into Exer's forehead, grinding it hard.

"Next time it'll be your pretty brains all over the pavement." Kevin adds on.

With that, Kevin returns to the mansion and slams the door.

Exer slowly pulls himself to his knees, doubled over, coughing up blood.

A long beat as Exer catches his breath, wiping blood from his face.

Still doubled over, he thinks to himself again:

"I'll steal you, David—I'll get you out of that horrid place."

"Away from that horrible man."

He pulls himself up, every movement in agony. He makes his way down the alley, leaning on the wall for support.

Exer emerges from the dark alley into the bright sunlight. He makes his way along the side walk.

Only one thing is on his mind, and one thing only. David.

Exer's eyes turned a vibrant shade of green, reflecting his deep empathy, concern, and pain. A green mist enveloped him like a protective cocoon, swirling with intensity. His mind filled with thoughts of David, enduring the harsh environment, igniting a fierce desire to rescue him.

Exer stops at a park across the street from William's mansion, bravely gazing up at David's window.