The Once-ler leaned back against the counter, watching Oncie cook, and not doing any of the actual pancake-making himself, despite being the one in the frilly pink apron. Standing there, a sudden thought occurred to him; Oncie was really cute. From the tip of his fedora down to the way he stood slightly leaning to the right. He was adorable. The observation surprised The Once-ler. That was himself he was looking at, and he was thinking about how cute he was?! That was....that was sick! At that moment, he felt his heart leap in his chest. The Once-ler suddenly had to get out of the stuffy kitchen right that second, or he was certain he would blow up.
"Oncie, I'm going to go change real quick."
Oncie looked up from flipping pancakes. "What? We're in the middle of making pancakes!"
"I'll only be a minute, I promise. Here." The Once-ler took off his apron and put it over Oncie's shoulders, tying a lopsided little bow in the back, and then took off for the safety of his room. Once there, he sat down on his bed with wide eyes.
"Where the hell did that come from?! Oncie's way younger than me (they're the same age, actually)) O-Only, only pedos have thoughts like that! What the freak is wrong with you, Once-ler?! Why are you thinking like this?! Do you love Oncie or something!?" Once again, The Once-ler was surprised by what had just implied. He moaned and put his head in his hands, falling back to lay on the bed, the same way a distressed teenager would lie when she's too confused to think properly.
    The Once-ler stared up at the ceiling and pondered his statement. Maybe he didn't love Oncie, maybe he was just noticing his appearance...but that still wouldn't explain the flip his heart had done after he'd noticed Oncie. Maybe.....maybe he did love him....as disturbing as the idea was, he thought, it just might be possible he loved Oncie, even after just a day.
Maybe I love Oncie.....but how do I know? I've never been in love before... He wondered. His heart felt like it had grown three sizes too big whenever he thought of Oncie....was that love? What else could it be? The Once-ler shook his head to clear it a bit before remembering that Oncie was waiting for him.
"Oh, shit!" He hopped off the bed and changed his clothes as fast as he could and ran off back to the kitchen. Oncie was sitting at the table with a huge stack of pancakes in from of him. His face lit up and he smiled when The Once-ler rushed in.
"Hi! I finished making pancakes for us. I thought it would be rude to start eating without you, though, so I haven't taken anything."
The Once-ler smiled and plopped into a chair. "That's really sweet of you. But you could've eaten without me if you wanted to."
"Naw. I didn't mind waiting a bit." Oncie relied, smiling. The Once-ler returned the smile before digging into his pancakes.
"Thith ith really thood!"
Oncie laughed. "I'm glad you like it!" He took a bite of his own food.
The Once-ler stared at him from across the table with a small smile on his face. He's so sweet......I think I may really be in love with him....