A young albino in a orange t-shirt with white long sleeves attached, grey jeans and red and white vertically striped sneakers with golden buckles on the outside of each trudged tiredly through the environment until he reached an area filled with smog and schlop. The boy peered at the alteration in atmosphere through his glasses and squinted to see a man dressed in all grey and a fuzzy creature the same shade as his shirt planting tree saplings not too deep into the smoky place. He groaned lightly and weakly approached, having not eaten since he passed a blueberry bush by a river about four miles back and lacking in sleep. In an attempt to call out to the two of them, he opened his mouth just enough to try and say, "H-hel-p…" before collapsing from weakness.

Luckily, a barbaloot had spotted him and tugged the grey-clad man's shirt, pointing him out and the man ran up to help, "Oh my, are you okay young man? Can you hear me?" he spoke with a voice that to the boy, sounded angelic. "Answer me, please!" he was concerned and the albino was about to speak before losing consciousness. "Oh dear… he's in terrible condition!" The man stated to his short, furry counterpart and picked up the young boy, "I should get him inside and out of the smog… Can you handle the rest of the trees?" the furry male nodded and the man brought the kid to the guest room in the factory.

After about five hours, the boy awoke in a bed and sat up stretching. He rubbed his eyes and found his glasses carefully placed on a nightstand to his left, picking them up and placing them over his eyes to better see his location. The first thing he saw was the floral bedsheets that covered his lower half, now messy from his shifting. A quick look downward led him to see he wasn't in his usual clothes, but a pair of blue pajamas with yellow rabbits on them. Scanning the room, he noted some chairs, two nightstands with lamps and one holding the medicine and switchblade from his jeans pockets. He spotted a small desk with papers and drawing/writing materials placed neatly on top.

Confused, he heard the doorknob turn and the passageway was opened to reveal the grey-clad man from before holding a tray with food on it, "Oh good, you're awake." he said, stepping inside and placing the tray on a nightstand before sitting beside the boy, "You must be confused, so allow me to introduce myself: my name is Onceler, but everyone calls me 'Oncie'. Who might you be young man?" Oncie was very nice and seemed trustworthy, so the boy said in a quiet tone, "Nick," he said, "Nick Orville. Nice to meet you, Mr. Onceler" "Nice to meet you too, Nick." Oncie said, "Now, care to tell me why you're out here all alone?" he questioned the albino.

"...I'd rather not discuss it, if that's alright" he said and Oncie nodded, "Of course. I won't pressure you. Ah, you must be hungry" he paused to grab the tray he brought in, it had a plate of pancakes with butter and syrup and a glass of milk plus a small bowl of fruits from the trees outside. "Here, get your strength up" he said. Nick politely accepted the food and ate silently as Oncie asked, "How old are you?"

When Nick answered with, "12" he noticed the shock on the Onceler's face, "You're only 12 years old and out on your own? What about your parents?" the preteen winced slightly at the mention of caretakers and willingly stated, "I'm an orphan" to which the grey-clad man in his 20s responded with a quiet, "Oh…" relaxing his shoulders, "I'm sorry to hear that, Nick. Um… do you have a place you're going to so you can live with them? A friend or…?" Nick shook his head, "Nope," he began, "never made any friends. I guess I was always such a loner, everyone just avoided me" the albino spoke honestly and Oncie just couldn't believe his ears.

As the man went to speak, there came a slightly husky-yet considerate-voice from the doorway, "Oncie, who is this boy and why is he in our guest room?" The two on the bed simultaneously turned to see a man that looked nearly identical to Onceler, the main difference was this man wore a black top hat and a pinstripe green suit with black dress pants and slightly heeled boots. He lowered his sapphire shades partly to reveal seafoam green eyes with a skeptical glare, examining the boy in Oncie's pjs with a cocked eyebrow awaiting the Onceler's response.

"Oh! Um, Greed, this is Nick Orville. I found him collapsed outside in the smog and brought him in to help him" he stood up and approached the other as he explained, revealing the green-clad man was inches taller than Oncie as well. "Nick, this is Greedler" the slightly taller man approached Nick and sat in a nearby chair, "Nick Orville, huh?" he questioned, having a closer look at the albino, "Age?" he inquired and Nick repeated the answer from earlier. "...You're welcome to stay here with us if you really have no place to go" he stated.

"Um, thanks. But I don't want to be a burden" Oncie returned to the bedside, "It's no trouble at all, Nick." he said. The preteen nodded, "Thank you." he repeated, "But I'd like to insist I help out in some way, I'm no freeloader" Greedler seemed to smile lightly at those words, "I could always hire you to work here, minimum wage" "Free. In exchange for living here, I'll work for no payment" The green-clad man's smile grew a bit more and he seemed sincere, "Of course, whatever makes you comfortable" he stated and Oncie was glad his doppleganger wasn't mad about Nick's unexpected presence there.

"Welp," Onceler stood up, "let's allow Nick to finish eating in peace and then I'll show you around the factory. Sound good?" he offered and Nick nodded as Greed stood up, walking over to Oncie and kissing him. Nick scoffed slightly under his breath and continued eating, finding the relationship adorable as the two left him in peace. Nick simply looked down and sighed, wondering why he's allowing the risk of getting close to anyone.

Meanwhile, Greed had taken Oncie to the office and pulled him into a heated kiss. The smaller copy mewed lightly into the kiss and pulled back, "Is this why you were looking for me? To fuck me senseless?" he interrogated the greedy man who only nibbled at Oncie's earlobe, "Possibly~" he whispered sensually, pinning his lover to the wall. Fedora falling to the ground, Oncie let out a faint yelp upon contact with the cold surface. The chill shocked the younger man even through his vest and button down shirt, making him groan softly as Greed moved to Oncie's neck.

Off in the guest room, Nick had finished eating and searched for normal clothes to wear in the nearby wardrobe. Most were actually his size, as if they were preparing to have a child of their own. He settled for the least formal attire he could find which consisted of black dress pants, a beige button down shirt, a dark violet dress jacket and a pair of slightly heeled black boots. The preteen felt so out of character as he pulled on the finishing touches of a pitch black bowtie and fedora. He poised himself in front of a full body mirror by the lone window of the room and examined the attire, sighing slightly and taking his bipolar medication before pocketing his switchblade and heading out with the tray.

Nick made his way through the long corridors and along the way, a blonde woman took the tray for him. He thanked her and continued to follow the main path (Directions from the woman) to the office. He didn't hear anything coming from inside, but better safe than sorry.

Within the office, Greed and Oncie had moved to the desk and the former was pounding into the latter's ass. Oncie screamed in ecstasy, crying out for his master to go harder and faster. The older copy happily obliged and fucked him without holding back until…

Knock knock knock! Those faint three knocks made the dopplegangers freeze in place and stare at the door. Their whole family and every worker knew when the door was locked up it meant either they were in a meeting or simply wished to be alone. Who was oblivious enough to defy that rule? Well, it was soundproofed. Whomever was at the door could wait a few minutes so they could finish.

Greed wasted no time at all returning to his previous pace and driving them both over the edge. After finishing, they cleaned up and Greed opened the door to see Nick. "Oh, how'd you find the office?" he asked the boy politely. "Your mother showed me while I was looking for the kitchen to wash the dishes, she took it and sent me here" A visible scowl became clear on the greedy man's lips that he immediately switched to a sincere look, "I see, well, come in" he stated and led Nick inside.

"Oncie, look who was at the door" Greed called and the grey clad man turned from fixing up the desk smiling, "Oh, Nick. Don't you look dapper" he said and Nick huffed lightly, "It was the least formal thing in the wardrobe. I hate formal clothes" "But why? You look good in formalwear" "Too practical" was Nick's immediate response and Greed placed a hand on Nick's shoulder, "Relax, it looks good" the entrepreneur offered the words of encouragement to hopefully calm the preteen from his annoyed state. The albino simply rolled his eyes and Oncie gave a bright smile, "Say, how about that tour? That's why you looked for us, right?"

Nick nodded, "Yeah, sounds good" he said calmly and walked with Onceler. The factory was huge and Nick nearly passed back out after they returned to the office where Greed was now doing paperwork. "Ah, you're back." he said and stalked over to the two, kissing Oncie and kneeling by Nick, "Well, what do you think of the place?" Nick glanced up at him, "Too… Big…" he said and Greed chuckled, "Too big? Is that all you think?" "No. It's my first impression. I think the factory itself is amazing and impressive for a place sustaining off the environment and barely able to regrow its resources" This took the man by total shock: the way Nick didn't flash a coy smirk mentioning his flaws in design, the way the kid spoke in a serious tone, Hell, this preteen had no look of sympathy or wish to help behind his eyes. Just a cold, cynical and bluntly put statement of his poor ability to care for his resources. Plus, too big? Greed had the assumption nothing was 'too big' and planned to keep biggering and biggering until he deemed it unimportant.

"Don't get me wrong," Nick's words broke Greed's thoughts and he looked to the boy now staring out the large windows behind the desk, "you're cut one, plant two in it's place ordeal is a perfect compromise… on paper. But you seem to neglect the fact, even with speedy growth of the truffula trees, it'll still take a while before any reach maturity." Nick approached the window and stared at the patch of saplings, "Save for a few, that patch of babies is almost all you have left. I'd suggest you stop chopping down your supply entirely." this made the man in green nearly see red until Nick continued, "Onceler told me the thneed has unlimited uses, right? Well, why not use them as tools to properly harvest the tufts? You know, large tufts, not those tiny ones Onceler said the twins used to collect. And instead of axe machines, enlist transport vehicles to move the tufts to the factory quicker and save more time than dragging the trees here and harvesting them by hand" Nick looked at Greed and quickly added, "Just a suggestion" with a blank expression.

Greed, on the other hand, was deep in thought over the suggestions made by the boy. He took every word under consideration and sat at his desk with Oncie beside him, "Not a bad one, either" he finally responded after nearly a minute of silence, "You seem to have a natural talent for business, kid. I like your gumption. You say what's on your mind without a worry for rejection or fear of being attacked." Nick shrugged and took an empty seat on the opposite side of the desk, crossing his arms, "Well," he stated, "I've been through enough shit in my life to stop caring if I get hurt. It's more or less what I expected to happen here. But I guess you've got skills in keeping your temper at bay" Greed smiled triumphantly as Nick continued, "Me however, I need medication to pull my emotions into line. The pills from my pocket were bipolar medication I need to take every day. If I fall asleep or drink alcohol-when older of course- it'll wipe my pills out of my system and I'll need to take it again"

Both the businessmen nodded and agreed to help him keep his pill bottle full so he wouldn't be without them. Nick sat on the couch with Oncie thinking about the place he wound up staying. Onceler and Greedler seemed nice enough, but he couldn't take any chances… he made a silent vow not to get too attached to these two. "You okay, Nick?" Onceler was clearly concerned at Nick's silence and pulled the preteen back to reality, "Uh- yeah. Just deep in thought is all…" he said after a swift moment of waiting. "Not much of a socialist, are you?" he asked and Nick shook his head, "That's okay" he reassured the boy with a pat on the back. This took Nick by slight surprise and he slid away, "I-I have a thing with physical contact… sorry" Onceler retreated his hand, "Oh, no problem" he said and smiled sweetly.

Nick was nearly dumbfounded at how respectful the man was of his comfort and preferences, with all he's been through; he thought it next to impossible for anyone to be like this with him. He gave a content smirk and glanced up to see Onceler's face fully for the first time since he saw him. Fair skin, button nose, raven hair and baby blue eyes were what he spotted, and he knew clouding those eyes with lust for anything he'd appear just like Greedler with different clothes. Nick read Greed like a book, the man was greedy-hence his name-with a lust for power over all around him. And yet… he was kind. The boy just couldn't explain that.

Greed had placed orders to have the thneeds used to collect tufts and to have the axe machines replaced with transport devices. After he finished, Greed walked over and knelt down, "Walk with me, Nick" he said, offering his hand. Onceler gave a gentle nudge of reassurance and Nick took Greed's hand, walking outside the office and down the corridors. Nick stared off to the side, nervous about what Greedler wanted to talk about or rather-where they were even walking to. "So, it looks as though you'll be staying here a while, hm?" he stated calmly.

Casual small talk? Nick thought, There's something off about this… at least, coming from Greedler something seems wrong. Nick eventually just shrugged, "I suppose. And I did say I'd work in the factory in exchange" "Don't worry about that, earning your stay will be simpler than that" the man reassured the preteen and guided him to a special wing, "You see, Oncie and I have been longing, begging god for a child" he stated, "So… I had this wing set up for classes to have that child attend. The basics: math, english, science, art and such. But also classes on making and selling thneeds if they wished to attend. That room you were in was designed specifically for a child we'd eventually have." he explained and they stopped back by the office, "How you earn your stay will be to attend the basic classes. You're quite the businessman in the making, but follow the path you wish to take. That's all" and with his signature smirk, Greed was back in the office and at his desk working.

Nick supposed it wasn't up for debate on the matter of earning his stay, so he just said he was going to walk around and closed the office door. The preteen stopped by the front door, clasping the latch on the handle he pushed it open to step into the smog. The air wasn't all scuffed up with pollution, especially with the few standing trees left. He went and sat by a fully grown tree he'd convinced Greed to leave up. He leaned on it, groaning as he went to grab a cigarette. But he remembered that they weren't on the nightstand with his pills and glasses. He slapped his forehead annoyed, pushing off the tree and heading back towards the office.

Nick grew more agitated the longer he went without the cigarettes he'd snatched from the last town's convenient store. He knocked out of instinct and got no reply. After a minute of waiting, he knocked again, a bit louder this time. Still no reply. He grasped the handle of the door and fiddled with it, but it was locked. Nick glared slightly and assumed they were either busy inside or left the office for something. He backed off the door and turned on his heels to search elsewhere, thinking, Maybe Onceler is holding onto them or left them in his room? Eh… but I couldn't just up and searched their private room. Damn… I'm really getting out of it. He walked down the halls, wondering if Onceler possibly dropped them and he neglected to spot them before.

Suddenly, he froze in place, gripping his head in both hands and grunting in pain. Shit! Without those cigarettes, I'm starting to physically hurt. But why? This has never happened from a few minutes without before… "Huh?" he looked up and saw two figures at the end of the hall, but blurred. This wasn't lack of nicotine… his psyche was making him hallucinate for a reason he didn't know. The figures opened their arms for him to hug them, and he felt compelled to oblige. Nick stepped slightly closer and heard a faint whisper, "Nick… you worthless child. We never wanted you, you were an accident. A curse, a burden, this orphanage is the only reason we aren't killing you." Crimson tears formed in his eyes as he broke into a run, reaching for the figures that kept getting further away, "Mom? Dad? Wait! Please! I-" he wound up right back at the office and the figures vanished inside.

Nick rammed into the door, pounding his fist into it and crying as he attempted to open the door, "Mom! Dad! Come back, please! Please!" He swiftly turned to anger, "OPEN THE DOOR! Let me in, NOW!" He changed back to tears and slid to his knees, sobbing as he leaned on the door, "...Please… d-don't abandon me…" he cried silently and the blonde woman found him. She brought him to a lounge room and gave him some hot chocolate, "... Thank you, Mrs. Onceler" he muttered and she said, "Call me 'Linda', please" Nick nodded, "Okay Linda." he said and sipped his cocoa. She sat across from him, "So… why were you breaking down?" she asked politely and Nick looked down, "Why would you care about my state of mind?"

"Dear, I'm a mother of three. It's normal to worry about children" "But Onceler said you were a negligent cunt that never believed in him and only cares if he's making money" Nick's words caught Linda by surprise and she stood up, "You seem fine for now, but I'll tell Oncie and Greed that you're here." "Sorry Linda, but… do you happen to have a cigarette?" she turned back to the boy in shock, but didn't deny his request, handing him a cigarette before leaving to get the two businessmen. Nick picked up a matchbox and struck one up, lighting the cigarette and wafting the match out before disposing of the used wood in a garbage bin. Thankfully he could calm his nerves now with the numbness of nicotine. Sure, it was a crutch, he could confess it wasn't good for him. Although he wasn't like everyone else, he just took what he could for comfort.

He'd smoked nearly the whole cigarette before his new caretakers walked in concerned after the news from Linda. Oncie almost broke the door off it's hinges coming to check on the child and stopped seeing him snuff out the cigarette, "Nick, are you okay? Mom said she found you breaking down in front of the office, pleading not to be left alone." The preteen felt his heart drop at the fact she heard that and passed it on, "It's nothing… just my imagination playing tricks on me" he lied to hopefully steer away from the topic. He finished with, "I'm fine" to end their concern, which worked for Oncie, but Greed seemed unconvinced. They brought Nick to his room and tucked him into bed to rest. Onceler left and Greed sat beside him, "I'm not leaving until you tell me what you hallucinated about" he stated bluntly.

Nick sighed, "I'd rather not discuss it, Greedler," he said, "it's nothing to fret about." "I'm not buying it, Nick" Greed said simply, "Something tells me that you're not being truthful" At this, the boy looked down and hugged his knees, "Sorry… I just- it's not easy to bring up. Let's just say, I try not to get too close to people I meet" he finally decided to say. This somewhat hurt Greed to hear, it wasn't that he hated Nick's choices, but he wondered, "What drove you to isolation like this?" he asked, "Where you're alone and never get attached to anyone? What made you like this?" He placed a gentle hand on top of Nick's knee with a look of concern. The albino looked down and pulled away, laying down and curling up. "I really just, don't want to talk about it. Maybe when I'm more comfortable here, okay?" Greedler sighed and stood up, tucking Nick back under the covers, "Alright, get some rest and I'll make sure your refill was put in for tomorrow" he said and left Nick to sleep.

The following day, Nick woke up and went in search of a restroom. The tour had given less of a struggle in locating the bathrooms, but finding an unoccupied one with the Onceler's family there was easier said than done. First Linda was giving herself a personal spa treatment, then Bret and Chet were sharing a shower (They're twins, but gross), Grizelda was 'powdering her nose' for 5 minutes before the preteen quit on that one and Uncle Terry was stuck on the toilet with constipation. Two bathrooms were left, one on the first floor that meant a 10 minute walk downstairs and the one connected to Oncie and Greed's bedroom on the same floor he was on. Nick didn't want to sound awkward and ask his caretakers to use their restroom, so he started for downstairs.

About halfway down the second set of stairs, Nick paused and leaned on the wall. He caught his breath and continued, Maybe I could... "No," he muttered, "never gonna happen here. I will NOT scare them with my… freaky secret…" and with that, he made it to the bathroom. He showered and dried off, wearing his towel as he walked back upstairs to his room to get dressed. He hurried down the corridors, hoping no one would see him as he sprinted to get back into the privacy of his bedroom… when he tripped. He slid for half a second as he hit the ground and groaned slightly when he tried to get up as quickly as he went down.

Oncie had spotted him and ran up to help when he froze in place, "Oh my god," he said, "Nick… what happened to your back?" Nick's pale back was littered with whipmarks that looked painful and the albino wrapped his towel up his torso like a dress, "It's nothing!" he turned to face the ravenette, "Don't worry about-" "Nick, this is serious! Where did you get those scars?!" Cut off, Nick backed up slightly and Onceler grabbed him gently by the arm, pulling him towards the office. "Onceler, what are you-?" "You need to show Greedler that! That's not something you hide!" It was this moment Onceler felt something on the boy's wrists and tugged his arms to look at them, "You cut yourself?! Nick, that's not good!" Nick pulled his arms away, "Onceler, please! Don't tell Greedler! You weren't supposed to see these! Although I'm surprised you didn't notice while changing me into those pjs…" "That's because I had the barbaloots do that. I wasn't going to strip down a child, even to only change their clothes" Nick backed away again, "Please… I don't want you to worry about me. These are old scars, like the one on my cheek, they don't even hurt anymore. Please don't' tell Greedler, promise?"

"Nick, I can't just not tell him. He's your caretaker, too, he has a right to know" Nick swallowed hard, "...Fine. But only you two, okay?" he said and Oncie nodded, "That deal I'll make." he said and guided him into the office. Once inside, Greed looked up at them, "Oncie… why is Nick in only a towel?" he asked and Nick stepped forward, "Greedler, I have something to show you. A few things, actually." and with that, he turned his back to the two of them and showed his scars. While the man in grey knew the scars were on Nick's back, he felt he was hiding something else. So while Greed was shocked by the whip marks, Oncie took it upon himself to walk to the opposing side and saw what nearly made him faint, "You didn't mention this…" he said and turned Nick to Greed so he saw the gash along Nick's stomach.

Now all the green-clad man saw was red in a determination to find those responsible, because Nick had a gash crossing from his right hip to his left abdomen and the self-inflicted scars came into view. He stood up and walked over to Nick who re-wrapped the towel around his waist and placed his hands firmly on the boy's shoulders. He knelt to meet Nick's eye level and said, "Who did this?" his tone held the overprotective tone of a pissed off guardian as he spoke to the preteen and all Nick could do was tense up, "I-it happened a long time ago…."

(Phew! Okay, that's chapter 1 done. Sorry if this kinda goes all over the place, but I had no internet while writing this and all my thoughts spilled onto the page without me thinking. Also, I promise to have full and better smut scenes later! Hope you like it and don't be shy with feedback and advice! See you in the next chapter!)