(The Lorax and The Once-ler or anything from Dr. Seuss books do not belong to me. They're Dr. Seuss' and Illumination Entertainment's. Same goes for his family and songs/sayings shown in the film/book/old cartoon. Only Marie is mine!)

Chapter 2

Traveling Madness

The first day of traveling had been enjoyable. Once-ler wouldn't stop singing and Marie leaned over his shoulder to listen. Being tone deaf, she preferred to not ruin the moment with her squawking. By nightfall, Once-ler's voice was almost hoarse so he halted Melvin to rest for the night. The tired couple jumped off to stretch their legs and Melvin was freed from his bridle to some free walking. He nibbled on grass to satisfy his constant hungry stomach, but he didn't like seeing Marie coming along that much. She and the mule had always been at some kind of odds. If there was going to be any kissy, huggy stuff happening he didn't want to watch it. Young couples!

Once-ler was pleased with how the wagon had turned out after some adjustments. It was a precision machine for transportation, not for joyrides. Though, who would go joyriding in a wagon? It would be bumpy. Marie struggled to simply jump off because she had never ridden in a wagon before so Once-ler had to help her out. After a blush worthy incident, one involving Marie's dress getting caught on the driver's seat, Marie slid down on Once-ler's waist while he kept a steady grip on her sides.

"Very graceful," he teased nuzzling his nose to hers.

Marie didn't know if she'd get used to wagons. She had been raised as a city girl compared to Once-ler, but she was looking forward to the next few days. Once-ler tore open a package of crackers and some marshmallows for them while bottles of cola were cracked open. What was a road trip without junk food? Later, with Melvin snoozing away, the newlyweds climbed back into the wagon and leaned against the canvas. Marie kicked off her shoes and took one of the books which she planned to read if things got tedious for either of them. They both sat on the mattress, nestled against each other and Once-ler slipped his fedora off.

"You think we'll see any of these where we're going?" asked Marie.

She flipped the pages through her fingertips. She hadn't seen animals of the kind in the book before. It was rare to see any animals in Palmer with all the people. The best way to see animals were the fish in the aquarium or the small zoo and it wasn't as exciting.

"I don't know," said Once-ler. "We're searching the globe to find the perfect material for my Thneed. I don't know what we'll find."

"Humming-Fish have been said to hum choruses depending on their moods," said Marie as she read the pamphlet about rare animals. There were only so many in the world and neither noticed the caption that said the only place they lived in was a place called Truffula Valley.

Once-ler yawned, starting to feel tired. He crossed his legs and lolled his head to the side she was on. She skipped the fish thinking he was getting bored with it and went on to the next animal.

"Swomee-Swans are known for their graceful neck and noble breast," Marie continued.

"Huh, we better not find any where we're going," said Once-ler who heard the sentence.

"Why?" asked Marie. She closed the book and draped her legs over his lap.

"They'll get jealous and be in rage," he said leaning towards her. A clever hand caressed her knee through the soft material of her dress. Once-ler still looked tired, but he seemed to have some energy left to be flirtatious.

"Jealous of what?" asked Marie letting him lead her down.

"Of you," Once-ler leaned closer to her, a playful smile biggering.

"Why would some birds be jealous of me Once?"

"They'll be jealous of your noble breasts," said Once-ler resting his head on hers.

"Once!" Marie squealed and blushed at his compliment as they kissed. "Dirty Once-ler," she thought to herself.

Both felt exhaustion after a long day and night before, so after a couple more kisses they snuggled under the bed cover and went to sleep. The sky seemed wider than ever out in the middle of nowhere. It was amazing. Nothing, but darkness splattered with stars surrounded them. Even Melvin seemed a bit happier to be away from his owner's pesky relatives. Once-ler felt content. Marie was with him and they were far away from terrible people. The world was waiting for them and it was all theirs to see. It wasn't common of Marie to go against the tide, like running away from her parents, but he was glad she did. This was the one time running away had done well for her to do and he was open to it. It was better than when she tried to run off on her sixteenth birthday.

Sunrise broke through the canvas and Once-ler got up first. Before he crawled out of the comfort of their resting spot, he placed a soft kiss on the curly head next to him. Marie's hair ran over her closed eyes and he brushed them back. She often said she looked like a mess in the morning, but he thought she looked gorgeous. Snuggling back under the covers was so tempting, but they had to keep going. So Once-ler tucked the bed cover closer to Marie and he climbed out to hitch Melvin back up who gave him an eye roll. It still seemed strange for Edwin to not be with Marie. However, there was a chance that she could see him again. Once-ler settled down and with a gentle crack at the reins, Mevin started again. The moving wagon awoke Marie with a squeak.

"Rise and shine Beautiful," Once-ler called after hearing her. "Breakfast is ready." He reached behind him and slid a small box to her.

Marie didn't know what was inside, but was surprised to see doughnuts. Buying doughnuts had been an extravagance in The Once-ler household, so that meant Once-ler made them; there was a way to make any baked good at home.

"Doughnuts?" questioned Marie. Twelve simple, square cakes covered in sugar, either granulated or powdered greeted her. She smiled slyly. "What? No pancakes? The only breakfast food you love?"

"Pancakes will have to wait," said Once-ler. "You can't make them on the road as easily as in the kitchen."

"There is a frozen kind," said Marie knowing what he'd say to that. Once-ler craned his neck to her with disgust.

"Frozen?" he said slowly. "Frozen pancakes? That doesn't mix Marie. Fresh and hot is better."

"I know Honey," teased Marie. She took one of the sticky pastries out and sunk her teeth in. "Oh, better than the bakery kind Once-ler!" It was soft, fluffy, airy and sweet. It melted right in her mouth! She could eat them for the rest of her life! That and her favorite cookies.

"Mmmhmm," she moaned as the taste took over. "Best I've ever tasted. You did a great job Once. Thanks for making them."

Once-ler smiled proudly. Marie made a smart choice in marrying Once-ler! He knew how to bake, sew, and knit, but he had a masculine side. With the strength he had, knowledge of tools and knowing of mechanics she didn't have to worry about certain complicated things in a household.

Marie crawled up front and handed him a doughnut. Some milk would've been nice too, but Once-ler had packed ingredients for meals and they were all stored away to keep cool. After breakfast, Marie took the time to open her suitcase for her hairbrush to smooth her hair, thinking she looked messy.

The landscape with tall grass blowed lightly in the breeze. The sky was as blue as Once-ler's eyes. The smell of dry air and dirt wafted around them. Marie draped an arm out over the side in the back as she watched the world pass from behind. It seemed that the quiet was too much for Once-ler to handle and it began:

"Na, na, na, na, na, na! Wop-bah-bah-dah-dah-doh-woo-dooo."

Once-ler's nonsensical singing and guitar skills started up. Marie shifted in her place and crossed a knee over the other. Once-ler swayed his head with a huge smile as he played. He gave a kick midair and bounced about playing his guitar. At one point he slung it over his neck playing it upside. Marie crawled behind him and read the books. She felt comfortable in the shade until later in the day. Perhaps it was boredom growing or the summer heat was lingering on, but Marie grew sleepy and curled up in the corner. She woke up an hour later to find Once-ler nearly nodding off. He muttered and yawned, head tilting forward and backward. She put a soft hand on his shoulder which startled him and he turned to her.

"I'll drive," said Marie. "You take a nap and I'll take a turn."

The sight of him crawling over the seat said enough. Without a word, he flopped on the mattress and snored. She crawled up to take his place and hitched her dress up to not repeat the accident from the night before. With an afterthought she reached around and patted Once-ler's ankle affectionately.

"Alright Melvin," she said cheerfully. "I'm taking charge." She gripped the reins and sat upright.

Seeing the vast land, made her miss old childhood places and her thoughts wandered. What if there wasn't a place as magical as Misty Hideaway? Marie thought of Betsy and Rufus and what were they thinking by then. With her parents' reaction to her disappearance...she could only imagine. Another thought occured to Marie as she let Melvin pace. What if they told Isabella? One set of parents knowing had been bad enough. Then Marie missed Edwin. She wanted to feel him curled up in her lap and the vibrations of his purring. She soon felt tears prick her eyes.

Marie guided Melvin for a long time as Once-ler napped, but she felt bored more than ever. She wondered if there were some playing cards packed away so she could play some solitaire later. Marie could feel Once-ler toss and turn in his sleep. She was used to it after years of taking naps under their tree in Misty Hideaway. She'd been used to it since they were only eight, which had been only twelve years ago. Once-ler took the longest nap she was aware of that day. The skies brought in twilight when he stirred to wake up and he looked dazed.

"How long did I sleep?" he asked rubbing his head.

"A long time," said Marie. She arched her back to stretch out the kinks. "This chair isn't very comfortable."

"Sorry it isn't," said Once-ler. He suddenly grasped under her shoulders and managed to yank her back. With a yelp Marie found herself going backwards. Mercy, he was strong! Marie found herself on top of him and twisted around to face him.

"Do you need something?" she asked smiling.

"No, I'm just-" began Once-ler. Marie rested her head to his slender neck. "I'm glad you came with me," he murmured against her hair.

"So am I," she murmured back. "It'd be lonely without you."

"Very lonely," agreed Once-ler and gave a peck on her lips. The long journey had only gotten sweeter...until a madness sunk in.

It seemed like days stretched out even longer than possible. Boredom and homesickness seemed worse. Marie reminded herself that it would've been worse at home, but she was almost tired of Once-ler's singing. She felt cranky and weak all over. She really didn't know which way north or east was anymore. They went through a desert which actually scared her! She didn't remember seeing deserts on maps near Palmer in Geography. How far were they going? What if they arrived at the ocean?

"You sure you're going the right way?" she asked for the ninth time. She was starting to question Once-ler's sense of directions.

"Yes My Sweetness," said Once-ler, starting to feel annoyed by her asking. "We're searching; any way we go is the right way."

Every direction seemed the same. Half of the time Marie slept or switched driving shifts. Melvin seemed more cantankerous than usual. Once-ler seemed to be the only one in a good mood.

"Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na! Op-bop-bah-doop-bah-doop-boo! Going off to make a Thneed!"

Marie rolled her eyes and stretched where she lay. She was almost ready to scream at Once-ler to shut his mouth and enjoy the quiet scenery. He was too busy with himself and thought she was sleeping.

"I've got a cramp in my back, and another cramp in my right rump cheek." Once-ler tried moving around on the chair from the stiffness. His brain began to slip away. "You and I will have separate grandchildren and we will say to them…"

Marie had the twitch of a smile on her lips when he mentioned the cramping which developed into a full smile about separate grandchildren. For that to happen they would need to have kids…

"Melvin look! I'm playing my guitar upside down." Melvin turned his head with a snort to see his owner flipped around in the chair, his legs over the top and guitar in his lap. Out of all the humans in the world why did he...

"Don't look at me like that. It's something to do." Melvin gave a kick to the chair and continued his pace. Once-ler recovered and twisted back to the sitting position. Marie bit her lips to not laugh. It was like he was doing it on purpose to make her crack up.

"Oh wait," Once-ler cleared his throat. "I forgot the words." His singing got slower. "Na, na, na, na, na. You ever think really hard about boredom?"

"Sometimes," thought Marie. She sat up and waddled on her knees nearer to him. He didn't notice his wife (the word still made his soul flutter) was listening. He played some sour notes in between his words.

"Is that annoying? Is that annoying? Is this annoying?" He leaned back and propped his feet up. He was one of the few men that Marie knew who had a size fourteen and a half for shoes. Once-ler looked up at the sky at some black birds hovering. "Look it's some circling birds. I bet you that they're going to eat our corpses." Marie flinched, but still held back laughter. Melvin's face wrinkled in disturbance.

"And then the worms will come out of the ground…and then some little critter's going to come and make furniture out of our bones…and sit on it…and have lovely dinners." The image of animals having a turkey dinner with all the trimmings on tables made of bones was a creepy and amusing thought. Marie flung both hands to her mouth.

"And this whole thing will be a disaster! Da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da!" he slumped down more and droned the rest of his tune with a bored sigh. "Uhhhhhh! Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da."

Marie finally lost it and laughed hard. Once-ler spun around to see her nose to nose with him. His face went pink realizing she had heard everything.

"I was bored," he said quickly as she still laughed. He slumped back down and rested his feet back up.

Marie exhaled to ease herself and decided she could make him smile too. With a grin she gently poked Once-ler's shoulder.

"Is this annoying?" she teased. He flinched and shrugged as she traveled to his sensitive neck with her tickling and giggling. "Is this annoying?"

Once-ler whined playfully as she tickled him for a long minute. Finally, he settled back down, feeling better after his crazy singing. Marie stopped giggling and circled her arms around his neck, chin on his shoulder and pressing the side of her face to his. She blinked slowly, making him feel the brush of her eyelashes on his cheek.

"You know how to make me smile," she said sweetly.

Author's Note: Oh, dirty young Once-ler man you! ;) I couldn't help myself with that line! It took a long time, but I found the lyrics and wrote it all down! BadLuckCat, Jinxed just in Time and RebelSnowstarButtonGirl, thanks for the story alert! RadioactiveRoar, Rosie Jade Stilinski-Hale and Oncie's Sweetheart, thank you for the fave and alert! Oh, I just found out I'm in your fave author's list! Sorry I didn't see that sooner! Thanks again! I'm grateful for all of you, past present and future!