Disclaimer: If I owned "The Lorax" in any way, do you really think it would be the way it is? Really? I own nothing! Warning: Ted's mouth brings the rating of this one up again. Bad Ted! *Squirts with water bottle.* Also, I made up an utterly delicious sounding food while I was at work and shoved it in here cause I was hungry. Enjoy~
"Oncie!" No, don't even stir. Everyone who used that nickname meant trouble in the morning. The Once-ler remained as still as possible as his bed dipped to compensate for another weight. "C'mon Once, get up already!" It must be one of the twins, they always woke him up like this on holidays, he reasoned groggily. Bret and Chet would just have to wait a little while longer. "I swear to all things artificially manufactured that I will molest you in your sleep if you don't get the fuck out of bed in the next fifteen minutes." That was not one of his brothers. A pale blue eye peeked out between slitted lids to spy Ted perched excitedly on the side of the bed staring straight at his face. So much for pretending to be asleep. "Mornin' sleepy head," the brunet greeted with a smile. "Ready for our first date?" So that is how you get the kid out of bed before noon: bribe him with a date.
"Does't have to take place b'fore dawn?" came the tired reply from the still waking man. "What're we goin' ta do, fish?" How was the kid so lively this early? His brown eyes were wide and alert in a face that was perfectly fresh and clean. Silk boxers clung perfectly to an otherwise naked body. The pale light of early morning streamed through a crack in the bedroom curtains to paint a brilliant tan strip across the boy's toned chest.
The sight alone was enough to drive anyone to distraction. The Once-ler, however, was determined to give Ted his undivided attention. The kid was up before noon after all. "Psh dawn. It's almost six thirty! Now get up or we'll miss it." Six thirty! The lanky man let out a groan and fell back onto the plush mattress taking the sheets with him to cover everything including the black mess of hair atop his head. Ted was having none of the lethargy today though and promptly confiscated the blankets in a brisk swipe declaring, "It's time to get up! C'mon Once." The blanket thief then promptly fled the scene of the crime with his booty leaving the Once-ler cold, tired, and most importantly, confused. Curiosity proved to be the best cure for a sleepy morning and soon escorted the black haired man into the strangely sweet smelling kitchenette of the apartment to join his lover whether or not the groggy headed man wanted to. Ted was still wearing as little as possible while he grabbed some water and air bottles along with some snacks. The boy turned as the Once-ler stretched his arms and back and let out an exaggerated yawn. "Good morning to you too. Are these bars good with you? I got peanut and jerky flavored ones." The Once-ler cringed a bit, these people and their weird foods.
"Yeah, that's fine. Can I know where we're goin' now?" Ted just smiled in response and grabbed a handful of cash to stuff in his wallet before connecting its chain to a pair of jeans and slipping the clothing on. The Once-ler rarely carried cash since his rise to the top. A precaution to getting mugged he had claimed though without any change, he had a perfect excuse not to slip a bill to lowly beggars. He could just refuse them or lie but he always got this bad feeling when he did stuff like that. It was much easier to ignore when he did not even have the opportunity to help them.
Breaking the Once-ler from his thoughts, Ted swayed over to place a kiss on his lips before answering, "We're going to Funtown Plaza. Now go put on some normal clothes. We gotta get there before seven and I wanna pick up some mulsch on the way." The Once-ler knew Funtown Plaza on one of the outskirts of town. It was a pretty nice sized expanse of colorful cement and fake foliage surrounded by snowy slopes and banks of sand that dropped into harmless looking waves. It even had one of those things people in Thneedville called aviaries where bright bundles of feathers were bound and suspended from false trees and sounds of the forest were played. It was not quite what the Once-ler remembered the forest to be but it was a peaceful atmosphere. Unfortunately, despite the tall man's knowledge, Ted still insisted on driving the firebird.
That was how he found himself in a faded pair of what Ted called skinny jeans and a feather grey sweatshirt sitting in the passenger seat eating the crispy confection with a custardy center called a mulsch. In the past few days, he learned that the kid loved the fried cone shaped food and that he shared that love as well. The odd warm crust and cool custard mixture sensation somehow went decidedly well with the buttery sweet taste of it all. The driver made a distressed noise that drew the other's attention from his breakfast to see the goofy kid trying to catch a broken off portion of pastry with his mouth. Every time he would tilt it towards his face, the loose piece would flap down and out of reach of even his outstretched tongue. The Once-ler chuckled before leaning over to break the offending bite off and pop it into his own mouth earning him an indignant huff from the other boy. "Sorry Ted but it seemed to be distracting you from the road and I don't want to die today." Ted pouted at that which made the passenger laugh even harder. "Oh come on Ted, you can have the last one." He offered with a twinkle of humor still in his eyes.
Ted stubbornly kept his gaze glued to the blue painted street. He grumbled out, "I'll tell you what you can do with your last one." At the chuckle that earned him, Ted stuffed the remainder of his meal into his mouth and slowly chewed through the enormous mouthful to swallow. What could be seen as an utterly barbaric gesture was just plain cute when coupled with Ted's childish pout. He looked so serious when driving that the Once-ler wondered how he could have ever crashed his speeder. The gears slid smoothly in the boy's grasp even on an incline which the Once-ler could admit, he still had trouble with. Suddenly, the car stopped and distracted blue eyes realized the shadow over them was a multilevel parking garage. Ted unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to return the gaze focused on him by blue eyes. "Well?" the boy asked expectantly.
"What? Are we parking? We could've made out in bed."
"Parking? You are so old man," Ted rolled his eyes and jabbed at the release button for his lover's seatbelt before opening the car door and climbing out.
The Once-ler untangled his body from the safety belt and reached to the handle on the door only to blush when it opened of its own accord. Ted was treating him like the girl! Despite his resentment of the gesture, the taller man accepted his companion's hand and assistance in climbing out of the vehicle. "Then what're we doin' here Ted?" He asked while rearranging the hem of his sweatshirt to keep the cold autumn's air from biting at his mid-section.
The brunet shushed him and tightened his grip on the pale hand before striding away with the taller man in tow as the car chirped its locked goodbyes. The teller gave them their parking ticket with a cheery tiding for them to enjoy the show which Ted returned another pleasant greeting about having a good holiday. The kid would not relinquish any information to his boyfriend about the 'show'. How would the garage worker even know about it if Ted was bringing him to see a show? What holiday was it anyways? The blue eyed man wracked his mind for answers but none came. He was led out into the light by the boy to find the streets oddly busy for this time of day. More wore the ruddy darker coats of factory workers than the Once-ler had ever seen in mid-city. This lower class gathering mingled seamlessly with just as anxious higher classed citizens. Even a number of pastel and white coats could be seen with the universal buzz of excitement that began to permeate into the pair of men as they wove their way through the crowds. Some moved with a purpose while others moseyed on with seemingly no particular direction in mind and more still just stood, glancing at watches as though waiting for something to start at a particular time. The tall lithe man could not help but check his own silver lined wrist watch. Seven to seven, he grinned at the oddly humorous time. Ted ran up to a wavy plastic bench just as a very round pink woman left it to chase after a toddler and climbed on to it waving for his lover to follow. The boy sat on the back railing with his feet on the seat of the bright red plastic.
After following the strange behavior of the boy the Once-ler finally asked again. "What're we doing here Ted?" He glanced nervously at a bunch of rough looking dark coated men who smirked in their direction. Why did it always seem like thugs could smell rich people? Ted just held his hand again loosely, on his jean clad lap this time.
With one dark grey gloved finger held before his pink lips, the boy said, "The first rule is that no one can talk about it. Just calm down, there hasn't been a murder here for weeks." The hand moved to cover that pink lipped smile as the boy laughed at him. So Ted had noticed how tense he was. Did people really die here? With a renewed vigor, the taller man whipped his head around to survey the surrounding crowds for any threat. Though there was a lot of excitement in everyone here, no one appeared edgy, like there was something to fear, so he let tense muscles loosen and scowled at his pesky boyfriend who was failing at hiding how funny he thought the Once-ler's paranoid actions were. "C'mon Once, can't we just enjoy the crisp morning air?" The Once-ler gave a start at this statement. No one here was the least bit worried about air pollution and he could immediately tell why. This place had a fresh air supply. Most of the outdoor parks had systems to keep them habitable enough for guests to enjoy them but this plaza was not one of them. No one had masks but still the air was fresh enough and smelled mostly of the manufactured foods side street vendors were peddling. Someone was spending quite a bit to keep this area's air breathable for so many eager people and the puzzled man soon found out why. The usual clamor of a crowded street died down just before seven then music that almost sounded like the beginning to the song "Funky Town" began to play and random strangers began to sing in harmony, casting aside their coats to expose all vibrant colored clothes and smiling faces.
"In Thneedville, It's a brand new da-a-a-a-awn."
The group of down-towners that had smirked at him before were all now beaming up at him as they sung along in their pinks and greens and yellows and blues.
"With brand new cars, and houses and lawns.
Here in got-all-that-we-need-ville.
In Thneedville, we manufacture our tree-e-e-e-es.
Each one is made in factorieees.
And uses 96 batteries!
In Thneedville, the air can cause disease.
So, we make it fresh each day
And put it in Biggering Inc. treeeees!
It's Satisfactions-guaranteed-ville!
In Thneedville, we don't want to know
Where the smog and trash, and chemicals go.
(Just don't eat any glowing snow)
In Thneedville we have fun year-round;
We surf and snowboard right in town.
We thank plastic for all we've got,
Including this brand new parking lot!
PARKING LOT! Pa-a-a-arking lot!"
Ted had stood up on the bench somewhere during the song and had his leather jacket peeled off to expose an orange and red striped T-shirt layered over a yellow sweatshirt. He was now singing, nudging the Once-ler and focusing his grinning face at the still rather shocked man,
"Today it's
Our city's Founder's Da-a-a-a-ay!
(Founder's Day!)
The day when the city was renamed
After the Once-ler's thnee-e-e-e-ed,"
This was sung as more of a jeer by Ted as he pinched his boyfriend's cheek.
"An invention, everyone neeeeeds!
We celebrate,
Though the founder's long go-o-o-one,"
The kid's face turned a red to match his shirt as he tried his hardest not to laugh at this part. The Once-ler narrowed his eyes, realizing how hysterical the kid must think all this is.
"And keep carrying oooon.
In Thneedville, we love living this way.
(IT'S PERFECT!)
The whole cast of singers did an exaggerated fist pump.
And that's how it will stay!
Here in Love-The-Life-We-Lead-Ville,
Destined-To-Succeed-Ville,
We-Are-All-Agreed-Ville!
We've got all we need in
Thhhhh-THNEEDVILLE!"
After the last sentence left the singers mouths, jackets and coats were pulled back on and the crowd began moving along as if nothing had happened. The music was gone as though it never had played and the Once-ler could almost convince himself that he had imagined it but even his imagination was not that good. Ted was still gleaming with joy when the Once-ler scooped the boy close and started kissing him right in the middle of the city, standing on a bench.
Ted broke the kiss after a moment shaking a bit in what the Once-ler assumed was the rush of singing in a crowd like that. "So, I take it you liked that?" instead of answering, the taller man pulled the kid in for another peck on the lips. The brunet pretended to think for a moment. "So next, you wanna go swimmin'?" He chuckled when black brows knitted together in confusion earning him a shove than nearly sent him tumbling off of the bench. Ted caught his boyfriend's arm to steady himself. "Woah! Alright, alright, no swimming," he chided cheekily. "How about… a gallery?" This time, he seemed a bit unsure.
The Once-ler hopped of the bench and took the other by his waist to hoist him to the ground, trying his hardest at getting his manly footing back after the horrid display in the parking garage. "That sounds wonderful Ted. Please, lead the way." Ted grabbed his hand to pull him through the clusters of people still on the streets to a big colorful building with murals of O'Hare, the founder of Biggering Inc. and a man in the Once-ler's suit. Even the galleries here revered good business. Once they were in the quiet, warm, sweet smelling gallery, Ted paid for the admission, since they only took cash, and led him further from the doors to the busy plaza. The taller man leaned close to his boyfriend to speak tough the building was mostly deserted, "I did not know you were a singer. What was that anyway?"
Ted turned to him, surprised, "You've never heard of a flash mob? I mean, you sing all the time: when you are telling boring stories to little kids, right before you screw those kids, and Air knows when else! Flash mobs were so common when I was a kid that I assumed they were always around. I haven't seen one since they changed the time from ten to seven so factory workers could do 'em again." Ted's smile fell into a perplexed look. "What do people do in these places anyway?" Brown eyes glanced around at the various paintings and sculptures looing utterly lost.
"Aw, you like me. Bringing me to places that obviously make you uncomfortable…. Clearly, you like me… a little, right?" The Once-ler let the unsure hope shine through his voice in the question.
Ted just chuckled again and pulled the other down to his level by black hair for a quick kiss. "Of course I like you, you're my boyfriend. Now what do we do… here?" The boy's very voice deflated in the last word along with a hopeless hand gesture showing his lover just how lost he was in this surrounding.
A pale hand took one of the grey gloved ones in its grasp, "Well Teddy, we look at the art." Both could see this was going to be a pretty interesting day, and it had only just started. Their time in the gallery was mostly spent cracking jokes about some of the artwork and by the Once-ler explaining the various techniques used in creating the pieces. The art itself seemed the same as in every other museum but the company was infinitely better than visiting the building alone. It was by far the best time the tall man had ever had in a gallery. "So what's next?" he asked the kid as they returned to the entrance.
"Oh, I thought we'd go to the street fair." Brown eyes twinkled as Ted mentioned a place more in his area of expertise.
The Once-ler shrugged. "What street fair?"
Ted held the door open for his boyfriend as they walked back onto the plaza, "This one." The Once-ler could not believe it. In the few hours they had spent in the gallery, the whole block had been filled with booths for games and food vendors. There was music playing from a stage and people dancing. "Having the flash mob so early also gives them a chance to set it up. What d'ya wanna do first?" Those mischievous eyes that seemed to hold the Once-ler's attention so much today lit up with excitement. His fate was decided then, he would do whatever the boy wanted…
First off. I am NOT a song writer. I cannot even write poems so the parts of the song that I change may not go with the rhythm and all, so sorry. I wanted to make it 'fit' with the story. Happy Canada Day guys... This was written because yesterday, I celebrated United State's Independence Day and I wanted the guys to get a holiday. Also, the beginning of the story failed to mention this but it is fall... just saying. That is what I say, and I rule this fanfiction so ha!
In this one, I ripped off a joke from fight club, but hey, who doesn't? Does anyone else think this song's beat vaguely resembles "Funky Town" at the beginning... Anyone?
The guys may be kind of ooc but whatever. I thought it was cute. Special thanks to Jessycakes: She reassured me that posting this would be okay... Thanks Jessy, I appreciate it. ^.^
This chapter and probably at least one to follow will be filler. It is not because I do not have the plot planned out. It is because the plot cannot move THAT fast. It just cannot. I needed more... fluff... Thanks for providing it Teddy! I hope you guys enjoy. Please let me know what you thought of my attempt at fluff... ^.^; Hehe...