Self-Compassion

Note: This is a oneshot that it totally separate from any Once-ler and Greed-ler fics I have written or may write in the future. I hope you enjoy!

Once-ler walked down the hallway towards the office, trying to hold back tears. It had been a terrible day. The kind of day where everything went wrong. It all started that morning when the Lorax somehow managed to sneak into the kitchen. Once-ler was startled by the forest guardian's sudden and unexpected arrival, and he knocked over his cup of coffee in surprise, causing it to spill all over the cell phone that had been sitting on the table. Once-ler cringed as he listened to yet another lecture from the Lorax and cleaned up spilled coffee. Then after the Lorax left, Once-ler sighed and walked back to the bedroom to finish getting ready. He was already especially nervous that morning, and the Lorax's visit and the ruined cell phone had made everything worse.

Later that day, there was going to be a meeting to discuss the results of his latest advertising venture. Once-ler had come up with the idea to create a television commercial in order to further promote thneeds. He had hoped that the commercial would result in a dramatic increase in sales. However, there were rumors circulating around the factory that the advertisement had not performed well. Creating the commercial had been rather costly, and Once-ler was worried that the potentially failed advertising campaign could have hurt the company financially. Today, Once-ler would finally know the truth, but he was nervous to hear how bad the results could possibly be.

With shaky hands, Once-ler adjusted Greed-ler's tie as they stood in stood in front of the vanity. Then Once-ler looked up and gazed into Greed-ler's eyes, desperately seeking reassurance. For a moment, Greed-ler's eyes, the exact same shade of blue as Once-ler's, reflected the latter's concern and fear. Then, they softened and shone with confidence, and Once-ler's own eyes responded instantly in turn.

"Everything is going to be fine," Greed-ler reassured him. "Even if the results of the commercial weren't great. It won't be a disaster. Customers are still buying thneeds. The company is still pulling in profits and will most certainly keep going regardless of the results. If we need to, we'll come up with another campaign. We've got this. "

Once-ler continued to gaze at Greed-ler in gratitude. It was thanks to Greed-ler's help that Thneed inc. had become so successful. Ever since Greed-ler arrived, he had become the face of the company, being the confident, sophisticated businessman. While Once-ler, the inventive but awkward visionary, mainly worked behind the scenes. They worked together to keep the company running. When one of them struggled with a particular task, the other one would step in to help. Once-ler still felt nervous about the day ahead, but he knew that as long as he could count on Greed-ler's help, everything would be fine. With a new sense of determination, Once-ler put on his hat and headed out the door.

Once-ler's enthusiasm would be short-lived. Before the meeting began, Greed-ler had several important phone calls to make. Being the one who was more socially adept, it was his job to handle all correspondence. However, for some reason, the office radiophone would not work. In fact, none of the radiophones in the entire factory would work. He couldn't use his cell phone either, as it had been ruined earlier that morning from the coffee spill.

Once-ler quickly stepped into action. Being the one who originally built the radiophones, he figured he could find a way to get them back in working order quickly. Alas, no matter what he tried, he could not

get any of the radiophones to work, and soon it was already time for the meeting. As Once-ler made his way down the hall to the meeting room, he felt very discouraged. Not being able to fix the radiophones he had built himself was a particularly hard blow to his pride.

The day would only get worse from there. At the meeting, they would finally hear the results of the advertising campaign. While the results were not as disastrous as Once-ler had imagined, the news still wasn't good. The television commercial had failed to attract audiences, and as a result, thneed sales had not increased. The sales numbers remained the same as they had been prior to the advertisement airing. Thankfully, the company was still generating profits, just not as much as was expected. While the failed advertising venture was a disappointment, the company would be able to overcome the loss, just as Greed-ler had predicted.