It's Not All Bad [ONECEST}

~Chapter Two~

(Here's Saturday's update a bit early.)

Once-ler whimpered as he slid down lower into the warm water in the bathtub; his bruises ached and his cuts stung. He looked down at his legs and sighed when he saw that they were covered in even more bite marks and bruises than last time. With a grunt, he lifted himself out of the tub and drained the soapy water before grabbing a fluffy white towel and drying himself off then changing into the clothes he had on the edge of the sink.
He groaned when he saw that both of the buttons on his vest had popped off and were now most likely under his bed or dresser. He quickly buttoned up his shirt before snatching his vest back off of the sink and walking back into his bedroom to search for his missing buttons.

...x...x...x...

After twenty minutes of crawling around on the floor looking for the buttons, eventually finding one under his dresser (who would've guessed) and another one under his night stand, he pulled his sewing box out from under his bed and groaned when he saw that he was out of thread and was hit with the realization that he would have to go out of his room to get more.
Using his bed as leverage, he pushed himself up off of the floor and slowly began to limp over to his door. He pulled it open and slipped out of his room, trying as hard as he could to be quiet as he walked down the dimly lit hall.
He stumbled when he felt something run into his leg and looked down to see Pipsqueak looking up at him.
"Oh, hey, Pipsqueak!" Once-ler quietly exclaimed and kneeled down to wrap his arms around his furry friend. When he pulled back, he put a finger to his lips and Pipsqueak nodded his head, understanding what the man meant and staying quiet while they made their way towards the supply closet on the first floor. Greed-ler's mansion was nine stories high, so it took the pair quiet a while to get to their destination and when they did, both of them were panting and exhausted. Once-ler flicked the front of his hat up and let out a heavy breath.
"This...is...horrible," he groaned through his panting as he leaned back against the railing.
"Hey there, Beanpole."
Once-ler let out a shriek as he fell onto his rear on the steps behind him, his hat falling over hi eyes. He quickly flicked it up once more and grinned when he saw the orange creature in front of him.
"You're back!" he shouted and tightly wrapped his arms around Lorax, lifting him up and nearly squeezing the life out of him. "Wait, why are you back?"
"I'm back to help you," Lorax said and Once-ler put him back down on his feet. "I think I know how I can stop Greed from what he's doing."
"Really?" Once-ler asked, his blue eyes shining. "H-How?"
Lorax beckoned Once-ler down to his level and once he was able to whisper in the man's ear, he told Once-ler his whole plan on how to stop Greed.
"Oh no. No no no no no. I will do anything but that," Once-ler said as he stood up straight and started back down the stairs, his face flushed a dark red.
"Come on, Beanpole! Don't you want this all to stop?" Lorax asked as he ran after the young man.
"Yes, but I don't-...Just...ugh! What makes you think that he'll stop for that?" Once-ler exclaimed as he turned to face Lorax who stopped in his tracks.
"Love makes people do things they never thought they'd do," Lorax said with a sigh. Once-ler bit his lip as he thought it over before he let out an agitated groan. "Fine! I'll-...I'll do it!"
Lorax snapped his fingers and Once-ler fell back against the railing, pain flaring in his stomach and his vision becoming blurry before it all went black.