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cottagecore-onceler · 2 years

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Chapter 5 / Onceler x Reader

Your head was spinning.

The blueprint you found between Onceler’s things was a project of an unimaginably giant factory. This complicated machinery’s purpose seemed to be remaking Truffula tufts into thneeds. Maybe it wasn’t his? Maybe it was an outside project which he, certainly, wanted to reject? Margin notes suggested otherwise. There it was, written in his handwriting: “smogue?”.

“Fuck this”, you thought hysterically, immediatelly wanting to dump his ass. How come he didn’t mention building a full-size, XIXth century style factory? What else was he hiding? You couldn’t believe you let him continuously lie to you. Suddenly you realised what the point of your vacation was. He was keeping you in here so you couldn’t see what was happening with his workshop. That’s why he didn’t want you to go to Greenville or pretty much anywhere else. You felt tears falling down your cheeks. You gave yourself permission to be vulnerable and it bit you back. You shouldn’t have done this.

You sat on the bed, closing your eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. Maybe this wasn’t so bad? Maybe it was just a practice drawing or some twisted form of a surprise? Building a giant factory doesn’t even compare to cheating, it’s just a… factory? Confusion replaced anger. You didn’t know how to feel about this. No one has ever built a secret factory without telling you. And where the hell was he anyway?

You knew you should confront him. Honest communication is the key to a healthy relationship. But he wasn’t honest, so why would you be? You quickly went back to his drawer and stuck the blueprint back between the shirts. You poured yourself a glass of wine, wrapped a thneed around your shoulders and went outside. Exceptionally bright, full moon emerged among the clouds, while you sat comfortably on your wooden porch.

You decided not to confront him. Moreover, you decided not to tell him anything at all. You wanted to see how it plays out and investigate a little on your own. If he didn’t want to talk about his work, you were gonna find other sources. After all, you were one theatrical bitch.

The sound of a car approaching brought you down to earth. You tossed the wine glass in the sink and ran back to bed, pretending to be long asleep. “This is definitely not a cab”, you thought as the engine was quiet, rather like a sports car than an old taxi. What was he doing driving around in the middle of the night?

The door opened and closed. He was extremely quiet while changing into his pyjamas. It couldn’t have been the first time he was sneaking out like that. He crawled into bed gently, trying not to wake you up, and put his arms around you.

You felt a sudden warmth in your chest. Your feelings toward him didn’t change. You knew there must’ve been a good reason he wasn’t telling you about this. But you weren’t gonna sit patiently and wait for him to finally tell you all about it. You needed to know, now.

...

You woke up. For a moment it felt like every other morning. Like everything that happened last night was just a dream. You quickly realised that wasn’t true.

- Good morning, y/n - Onceler was up and ready, making pancakes - how’d you sleep?

- Good - you lied - and you?

- Alright - he said with surprising confidence - what do you wanna do today? It’s the last day of my leave, we could do something fun.

“This is your chance”, you thought, “this is your chance to catch him in a lie”. And since you’ve established that he was keeping you here so you couldn’t see what he was building…

- Let’s go to Greenville - you proposed - I could use some human interaction.

- Really? That’s what you wanna do on the last day of our vacation? - his response was quick and almost nonchalant, but you could clearly notice a hint of anxiety unfolding in his eyes - let’s go to the lake.

- Again? - you sighed.

- How come you don’t want to go swimming? - he laughed nervously.

You shrugged your shoulders and decided to push it a little bit more to see how he handles it.

- I wanna go to Grenville. We could watch a movie.

- Actually, I just remembered - you could see him getting more and more anxious - I have to swing by work today. I’m not exactly sure how long it will take, but maybe I’ll get us some wine and we can watch a movie in the garden when I get back?

“Damn, he’s a good liar”, you thought. Suddenly, you came up with the most brilliant idea.

- That does sound good.

He seemed to be relieved.

- Okay, um… a coworker will pick me up in 15 minutes. Is that okay?

- Sure - you smiled at him.

You had to act quick. You put on a hoodie and leggings, dived into your wardrobe looking for a backpack.

- I think I’m gonna go on a little hike - you said, trying to sound natural.

- Cool! - he replied with a mouth full of pancakes, completely unaware of the true purpose of your comfortable attire.

You put on your hiking shoes and packed a big water bottle. “Maybe I should bring a raincoat?”, you thought, weirdly excited about your trip.

- Have some pancakes! - he looked at you with a smile - it’s the best source of energy.

“God”, you thought while quickly stuffing things into your backpack, “how can he act so natural?”. You finished packing and sat at the table next to him.

- Have some of mine - he stood up, put on a coat and gave you a kiss - I’ll be back soon.

- See you later, Once.

He went out. You quickly ran for your backpack and looked outside the window. You could still see him between the trees. You opened the door, as quietly as humanly possible, grabbed your bike and followed him.

(Broadcast - The Book Lovers playing in the background)

“If he sees me, I’m screwed”, you thought, trying not to breathe too loud. Your heart was pounding outside your chest. Was this a mistake? You walked behind him for about 15 minutes until you heard the sound of a car unlocking.

You quickly hid behind a tree as he looked around, stepping into a brand new Audi A5, on the driver’s side. “Fuck”, you thought, “that’s a nice car”. You hopped on the bike.

You rode right past him. It wasn’t exceptionally difficult as he seemed to be struggling, driving between the trees extremely slow. The picture of a giant factory appeared in your head. Was it built already? Or was he still working in it? Was there a tower with a secret office? Maybe a medieval style dungeon? You needed to know.

What worried you the most were the trees. You remembered the conversation you had half a year ago:

- Don’t you have to like… cut down the trees to get them?

- At first I thought so too! But then, since it came out that I’m not gonna be knitting that many of them… I found a way of harvesting them, which doesn’t disrupt their growth at all.

He wasn’t knitting that many of them. What if he was now? What if he started cutting the Truffulas down? You still couldn’t really picture the size of this in your head. How well was it going that he was building a factory? He must’ve been selling… hundreds per day? Thousands? Then you thought of another vital question: what kind of money was he making? The car, the suit… the bracelet.

You looked down your wrist. There it was, suddenly filling you with guilt. Tears went down your cheeks. What a fool you were, trusting someone so much, thinking everything could possibly turn out so perfect. You should have…

A sudden, sharp pain emerged somewhere around your forehead. Everything froze.

(Sin Fang, Sóley and Örvar Smárson - Citrus Light playing in the background)

For a few seconds, nothing was real. The world was spinning. Your body was… on the ground? It seemed like it. You grabbed your head where it seemed like the throbbing was coming from. It was a natural reflex meant to stop the pain. Instead, it intensified. Your hand was warm and sticky. You looked at it. It was blurry. And red.

The last thing you saw before losing consciousness was a weird, sort of car-shaped machine with axes attached to its front.

- Are you okay?

- Someone come here, quick!

- Call the ambulance!

- No, let’s call the boss.

- Are you sure? That’s a lot of blood.

...

You woke up blinded by the harsh light of fluorescent fixtures. The pain in your head was excruciating.

- She’s awake! - an unidentified female voice screamed. You looked in its direction. A blurry figure was staring right at you - are you feeling dizzy, honey? Try not to move too much, you’ve had a terrible accident.

You opened your mouth to reply, but what came out was completely unintelligible. A big tide of nausea went through your entire body.

- Shh - the blurry figure gently put its hand on your shoulder, keeping you from getting up - You’ve had a concussion. It’s much better now, but you still need to rest. Are you feeling nauseous? Nod for yes.

You nodded.

- I’ll get you something that might help. Just try not to move too much.

As the blurry figure disappeared, you had a look around the room. Your vision was slowly getting better; you noticed white furniture and sterile, medical equipment. You were in a hospital. It wasn’t the Greenville Hospital though, you were sure of it. You’ve been hospitalised there once, due to a bike accident. This room was small and much nicer than the ones they had.

You decided to get up and have a little look around, but shortly realised you couldn’t really move your arms and legs. For a moment, you felt pure panic. Were your injuries that bad? Then you realised this wasn’t the case. You were strapped to the hospital bed.

- No, no, no, no - you whispered. Suddenly you remembered what happened last night.

- Y/n! - you heard Onceler’s voice. He ran toward you and kissed you, holding your face tighter than ever before - I was so worried.

He was wearing that green suit again, with a top hat. You pushed him away, as much as you could with your hands tied.

(Elita - Sour Switchblade playing in the background)

- You were worried?! - you yelled - you did this to me! I know everything.

- What exactly do you mean by “everything”? - he smirked, sitting next to you.

- I know you’re building a huge factory and cutting the trees down - your memory was getting better as well - you’ve been lying to me.

- I had to - he said with a smile - I needed to show you.

- Show me what?

- The life we could have! - he stood up and started walking around the room - just look outside the window. It’s all ours!

- If you haven’t noticed yet - you replied with discontent - I’m not exactly able to move.

- Were you following me? - Onceler asked, changing the subject - yesterday. How did you get here?

- I’m not talking to you until you untie me - you said angrily.

- That might actually come in handy - he smiled - you shouldn’t be moving too much.

- What is wrong with you? - you almost screamed - untie me!

Onceler kneeled next to you and grabbed your hand.

- And what are you gonna do? Run away and get yourself in trouble again? I don’t think so.

You didn’t know what to say. It felt like a dream. The few seconds of silence felt like eternity.

- I’ll tell you what you’re gonna do - his smile was getting more and more creepy - you’ll stay here and get better. Then I’ll show you around. There will be no more secrets between us. Then, I think you’ll prefer to stay here with me. But we’ll see. How does that sound?

You looked him in the eyes.

- Get away from me - you whispered - you disgust me.

- It’s normal to feel a little agitated after a concussion - he stood up - but with all the medical professionals I’ve gathered here, you’ll get better in no time! Get some more sleep, I’ll be back in the morning.

- I don’t recognise you - you said - this isn’t you, Onceler.

- Don’t be stupid, y/n.

- Untie me! - you cried.

- Y/n, I won’t let you go back to your cabin, so don’t even try.

- Why? - you asked genuinely.

- Because now you hate me - he kneeled next to you again, putting his hand on your cheek - and I don’t want you to act on it. But I’m pretty sure you’ll stop hating me soon. And then we can talk.

You stared blankly at the wall, trying to figure out what to say.

- How do you know I’ll ever stop hating you? - you asked - after all this.

- Because I know you - he kissed your hand - you will want to stay here with me.

- I won’t - his face was inches away from yours.

He smiled.

- You will.

#I'm writing my dissertation rn which is why the chapters are very much late sorry <3 #thank yall for reading #hope u like it!!!#lemme know #ilu #the lorax #the onceler #onceler x reader #onceler fanfic #onceler fanfiction #greedler #greedler x reader #oncelerxreader #oncelerfanfitction #oncelerfanfic #greedlerxreader

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