Disclaimer: Even after such a long absence, I still do not own the Lorax.

Warning: Guys kissing in public and me ragging on male ego... Sorry, this is kind of OOC but I thought it was cute.


Ted was ready to dance with joy when Once-ler consented to staying at the fair but since he had already made enough of a fool of himself singing this morning, he settled for dragging his still dazed boyfriend along to choose which booths they would be visiting. The first one the Oncer pointed to with interest turned out to be a darts booth with neon colors brightened in a canopy's shade by black lights. Lining up at the required distance Ted estimated how long it had been since he played darts. Surely almost ten years by now. Did the Once-ler own a darts board? He would surely beat the boy if he did.

The first thunk thunk of the pointed neon projectiles hitting the far boards answered Ted's question with a resounding no as Once-ler's bright green dart found a home in the bottom far reaches of the board making the taller man laugh with a feint pink staining his cheeks. "Must've been longer than I thought since I've played," the older man admitted.

Much to his own surprise, Ted laughed too. He spied his own dart as far from the center as it was from the edge of the circles, commenting, "Me too. I don't think I've played darts since I was a kid."

Thunk thunk, the next round of their darts faired only a little better than the first but the Once-ler's laugh filled the small enclosure more than ever. "You still are a kid, Ted. You're what, eighteen? Oh truffula, I'm a pedophile aren't I?" The blue eyed man did not seem nearly as worried about that statement as his words suggested as his chuckle continued to resonate to Ted's ears.

It was the brunet's turn to blush now as he turned to his lover who was staring intently at the board ready to launch his third strike. "I am not a kid and I'm nineteen thank you very much." His voice nearly covered the feint thuds of the darts. The two readied the fourth assault knowing their dart skills left much to be desired. Ted's own orange darts had not even made it to the second innermost circle, only landing in the third, fourth, and fifth ones. Before the release, Ted shot a remark at his boyfriend in jest, "But no matter how old I am, you're still a pedophile." Both men had thrown but Ted only saw his own dart stick in the board. Where was Oncie's? A glance down showed the plastic green sprig decorating the ground like a tiny tree. He turned to the man who had thrown it to see blue eyes wide and staring forward in an even paler than usual face. "Once? Woah, hey, are you alright?" He gently tugged at the man's sweater which drew that far away frosty gaze onto him.

"Good Golly, I am a pedophile aren't I?" The Once-ler said in a daze.

The words were worried, lost, desperate even but Ted could not help his laughter. Ted tossed his final dart, not looking where it landed, knowing no matter where it stuck he would not have enough points to reap any reward. He pushed money forward along with the last of the Once-ler's darts to draw the pale man out back into the simulated sunlight. "Hey, don't worry about it." He grabbed the other man's face to draw it down in front of his own, disregarding the crowds drifting past them to focus on his distraught boyfriend. "I'm of age and you don't look much older than me anyway. No one will question it and we love each other. Who cares about any of the rest?" Blue eyes came back to reality to focus on brown.

A small smile came to the taller man's face with a sigh. "I guess you're right. As long you don't care about it, neither do I." After sharing a brief kiss the two made off for the next destination at the fair.

This one was Ted's choice and he had spotted it before the pair even approached the neon darts. The Once-ler stared up to gape at the giant plastic inflatable. "What in the name of the lifted Lorax is this?" The black haired man asked as someone helped him get strapped into a harness.

Ted grinned across a short wall of nylon mesh at him, "It's a race of course!"

"Does everything have to be a race with you?" The Once-ler grumbled tugging at the thick bungee cord attached to the back of his harness. Twenty feet away, Frisbees were attached in the boy's corresponding colors. Ted's was red while his was a very fitting green. Apparently, the winner could keep the Frisbee as a prize. The game's tenant gave the count down and the boys were off. Neither realized what a challenge the race along the bouncy track would be until they started. The Once-ler's first instinct was to run down the plastic track but apparently Ted had tried jumping which sent the inflated surface lurching knocking both men from their feet. The Once-ler felt the smooth material rush under him as his bungee cord pulled him back towards the start of the race. Gangly limbs fumbled to find footing, fabric of socks and pants slipping on the smooth inflated track. On his feet, the Once-ler's eyes darted a glance at his opponent to see the kid in a similar state if not quite as steady on his feet yet.

With gritted teeth the tall businessman bounded toward the far end of the track only to find the bungee's resistance was more extreme than he expected. His progress was slow coming but he kept a foot as firmly planted on the unpredictable plastic as possible at all times. Ted was ahead of him, almost at the far end when an idea hit the entrepreneur. Blue eyes lit up deviously as he went to the mesh screen between the two and took a firm hold on the ropes there. With one heavy footed jump on the Once-ler's part the whole inflatable rocked and shuddered pulling Ted back halfway to the starting point. Before the kid had a chance to fully recuperate, the Once-ler started forward again and grabbed his Frisbee bouncing passed Ted with a grin on his face as every footfall caused tremors that made the kid stumble to his knees all over again. Of course the Once-ler was declared the winner about the time Ted was almost back to the far wall making the younger boy's face scrunch up in what the blue eyed man decided was a completely adorable way especially since he won.

Ted continued his pout even as the two caught their breath from the exertion and pulled their shoes back on. The elder could not help but laugh as he attempted to coax the boy into speaking. Even offering to let the kid pick the next booth did nothing to help his tight lips loosen. Something attracted the attention of clear blue orbs and the old man firmly took a hold of the stubborn child to drag him to the perfect remedy for Ted's wounded pride. "Win me a fish," The taller man grinned down at his boyfriend.

"What makes you think I can get one of these balls into one of those bowls, huh?" Ted huffed out in his aggravation. "Why don't you just win your own since you're so good at these games?" The kid refused to even look at the game set up now.

The Once-ler shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the response, and paid for a game of his own. Not really trying, he tossed the balls in generally the direction of the mechanical fish bowls but as the balls landed far from his prize giggles erupted from girls nearby. The laughter brought a blush to his cheeks, making him really try but his aim was terrible after years of not tossing anything. As balls missed terribly with only the occasional graze or bounce against glass bowls, the determined man paid for more and more rounds of balls as the small flock of girls just shy of Ted's age laughed at him. Growls and huffs at his many failures eventually drew brown eyes to watch the rather humorous spectacle.

Ted stepped up behind him grabbing his arm just before he released his newest projectile. "Let me try Once," The boy merely stepped forward to the shooting line and tossed the ball forward to clop into the purified water of a bowl with a pretty green and blue mechanical angel fish. The booth operator's laughter was cut off as surely as with a sharp knife when he realized Ted's aim was not nearly as bad as his companion's. The bright green midtown man scowled as he fished out the pretty contraption to put it in a bag for Ted. "We have one ball left. Do you want to do it?" The boy asked his lover.

"I dunno. I don't think I can get it in." The stain on the Once-ler's face darkened as he admitted it. Ted definitely had tremendous aim. Not only could he win fish at street fairs but he could throw rocks through high windows in failing light. "You should do it, Ted." He sounded pathetic even to his own ears but Ted only adopted a new pursed lip look, this one speculative.

"Three more balls please," He fished out the money handing it to the green man but remained focused on his boyfriend the whole while. The girls remained staring at the two as Ted turned the Once-ler back toward the fish bowls. Tanned hands placed a ball into pale ones before Ted began coaching him through the throw. "First: Relax, if you are too tense and upset over the other shots you'll never make it. Second: Pick a bowl in the middle, it should be easier to get at least one if there are others around your target." The taller man sniffed at that. The green one Ted got had been on the very edge, certainly because it was the only way Ted could be sure of the color of fish he was getting. "Third: You just sort of pull back and release as your hand passes you. C'mon, you can do this." Ted had even positioned his lover and guided him through the steps. Once-ler had never felt so very embarrassed. His first throw definitely flew more true than the others had but still he missed with the light ball plinking delicately off the side of a bowl eliciting awes from the surrounding girls. "Relax, Oncie, you can do this," A soothing hand rubbed over the Once-ler's arm as the blue eyed man took a deep breath in preparation for his next pitch. Just as Ted had showed him, the Once-ler lined up his shot and threw. He nearly stopped breathing as the ball clopped down into a bowl in the center next to the one he was aiming for. The girls cheered and clapped as Ted pulled him into a congratulatory hug that somehow ended in a kiss that drew gasps from all around. "I knew you'd eventually get it in the hole," the younger man chuckled lowly bringing out a new blush on his lover's cheeks.

"Ted?" A dazed voice cracked, breaking he two men apart to glance in the direction of the crowd of girls even though the voice belonged to a boy. Ted smiled sheepishly at the boy who looked maybe a couple of years younger than him. "You- you told me to come and meet you b-but I didn't expect this. Uh.. Who is this?" The boy drew close to look down at Ted before glancing up mere inches at the Once-ler.

Ted chuckled grumbling, "Just my luck." He went on in a more jovial tone however. "Hehe. Hey Wes. Uh, this is actually my boyfriend, the Once-ler. Once, this is Wesley, my friend. So, since everyone is introduced, is everyone ready for the picnic?" He accentuated the question by hefting up his backpack filled with strange flavored food bars, a Frisbee, and now two fish.

Wes carefully scrutinized the Once-ler before nodding distractedly. "Mom got the spot already but everyone else is running sorta late. Apparently R.J. didn't tell EatR that we were going out so Dad went over there to try to coax here out." Wes frowned and turned to his friend nervously scratching the back of his head. "You aren't gonna stay right? I don't mind if you do or anything but I can't see the two of you wanting to-"

"If Oncie doesn't mind, we'll stay. It has been a while since I've seen you in action. We'll see." Ted put an arm around the younger boy's shoulders and grabbed his boyfriend's hand, escorting them both away from the bustle of the street fair and into a park.


I am back bearing a bit of fluff. This is why I should never be allowed to write about things I know nothing about. The sex seemed to go well enough so I decided to try my hand at a street festival too. Well, this is what happened. Sorry if the boys do not act quite right but this was a birthday present to me so meh. New chapter should be up before next week but I do have quite a bit to do so we will see.

I hope I did not lose my readers... Thanks for all of the lovely reviews in my absence. Wow, so many! O.O; Love you guys. I hope the storm did not pester too many of you... Isaac was so not fun...

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Sad attempt at a heart on here...