Without You, There is No Point in Surviving

Chapter 19 Fallen Leaves Turning to Snow

Upon hearing the click of the door opening, Sweeney rolled his eyes and rose into a sitting position just in time to see a frowning Nellie standing above him over the settee. He cocked his brows at her and smirked.

"You're plan failed; I can't sleep a wink." She says, hands on her hips.

He continued to smirk, closing his eyes once more. For the past months, the demon couple has been coming up with different strategies to get Nellie more comfortable with intimacy again, to ward off this terrible trauma that has taken root inside of her. His current plan was to simply, keep his distance, and that meant no longer sharing a bed. A plan that wasn't seeming to be working.

His brows rose in alarm as she lifted the blanket to lay over top him on the couch. "Alright, I'll join you in bed." He protested, it was too late, her weight was now snuggled atop his. She ignored him, closing her eyes. "Well now I am to be the one with trouble sleeping." He growled.

"Ah, such a shame, it really is." She said her eyes still shut.

"I'm serious Nellie," he grabbed her jaw, forcing her eyes open to look into his. Their noses were touching. The light of the moon coming in through the window illuminated their features. She frowned, for a moment she thought she would receive a kiss from him. It's been so bloody long since she's kissed him. This blasted plan of his was making her mood over the whole situation much more strained. Instead of gracing his lips to hers, they turned back flashing his yellow teeth into a sneer. "Get off."

Her eyes narrowed as they pierced into his dark ones. "Make me." She hissed back. He was silent for a bit, her features relaxed and she turned her head slightly, leaning in for that kiss. She let out a small scream as she was thrown off of him, her butt colliding with the wooden planks of the floor. She glared up at him, muttering "Bastard."

He smirked and extended his hand to her. "If you insist." He spoke.

She begrudgingly took his hand and he led her to the bedroom. They snuggled under the covers, both of them drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

The next day, they stayed home instead of running the bakery stall in the marketplace. It was now November and the temperature had begun to drop. The snow would start falling soon enough. As perfect and cozy as that would be, Nellie refused to stand out in the cold for a long period of time to sell her wares.

***

"I want to buy a piano." She complained from her spot on the couch.

"We don't have the room for a piano." The demon barber and his wife were lounging across from one another in the parlor of their tiny by the sea cottage. They both were making idle chatter on a boring, cloudy, Saturday afternoon.

Nellie sat up on the couch, "Nonsense, I could..." her voice trailed off as she looked around their small living area noticing how a piano, even a small one, wouldn't fit perfectly anywhere. She sunk back down with a sigh and a frown. She picked up her pencil and parchment, continuing to scribble down ideas for the bakery.

"I'm getting a piano when we have a bigger house." She continued.

"When are we getting a bigger home?" Sweeney asked not even looking up at her. He kept his gaze to the newspaper in his hands until even that became boring.

"One day my love." She mused taping the pencil to the paper while thinking.

He folded up the newspaper, replacing it with the sketchbook to his right. He pondered for a moment a frown resting upon his lips. Nellie had asked if he could draw her almost a month ago now. He inhaled deeply. She wasn't exactly posing; in fact, she wasn't paying attention to him in the slightest.