Disclaimer: Despite my numerous break-in attempts on the Burton compound, Willy Wonka still remains out of my reach and therefore isn't mine.

AN: This chapter may get a little…heated…but nothing adult, I promise you! Nice and sappy, though, and good enough for the younger readers. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 10: Exciting Elevator Rides:

While the Johnson family explored the town and all of its quaintness, Willy Wonka spent the entire time cooped up with his Oompa Loompa workers, trying to figure out how to install his newest form of transportation. Astra really was quite clever in her (unknowing) suggestion, as this new form of elevator would be unlike anything else in the world, and Willy was determined to have it completely finished and well-tested by the time Astra returned for another tour of the factory.

Before the Johnson family had left, both Robert and Caroline had declared that they had achieved their goal at seeing the factory to the extent of their limits. Mitchell had also expressed his satisfaction at seeing everything he could in one day, and had no desire to see more. Astra, on the other hand, had practically begged to be allowed back into the factory in order to see Willy's new take on the common elevator. The chocolatier had quickly approved of her return, though her parents looked a bit uneasy at the though of their daughter coming back for a third visit. Still, they allowed it, and made a promise to return in a week, which gave Willy that much time to create, install, and test his newest creation.

Most of that time was dedicated to getting all of the rooms connected with wires and metal rails for the elevator to run on. The amazingly strong sheets of glass that actually formed the elevator walls were quite easy to make and put together, and the buttons with lights and labels were fun to install. Considering all the materials he had in the factory, it only took Willy about three days to connect all of the rooms and one day to put the elevator together. When it came time to test it, the Oompa Loompas were a tad bit nervous that something would go wrong, and had suggested an 'emergency button,' which would trigger four small rockets at the top of the elevator that would keep the elevator aloft if anything bad should happen.

Testing the glass elevator was what Willy had been looking forward to most. He had made it out of glass so that he could look over the rooms that he passed through and see if everything was going all right…and to see Astra's expression whenever they were in motion. The slight problem with the elevator was the jerking motion that it produced, but Willy was soon able to handle it with little difficulty. The testing went very smoothly, and he was practically bouncing off the walls with impatience with waiting for Astra's arrival at the factory.

When the day arrived, Willy was frantically pacing the hallway at the back of his factory, waiting for the Oompa Loompa he'd sent out to return with Astra in tow. The Glass Elevator was in the wall next to him, and he was eager to show it off. Finally, a side door opened and Astra was practically running down the hall to get to him. A broad smile spread across his face, and his arms unexpectedly wrapped themselves around Astra's waist, lifting her up and whirling her around the hall, her voice happy and giggling as she was swung around. Her laughter made Willy's heart dance, and he regretfully set her down, though he still smiled as he did so.

"Ready to see my newest invention, Starshine?" he asked, keeping one arm around her waist as he escorted her to the wall.

Astra nodded, her smile and excited expression showing her eagerness. "Absolutely!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait to see how you managed to change the way an elevator works."

Willy grinned and pushed the button on the wall. "Well, here we go!"

When a section of the door slid open, Astra was shocked to see an elevator made entirely out of some sort of clear material. Reaching forward, she tapped it a couple times and deduced that it was made out of glass! Amazed at the chocolatier's cleverness, she quickly stepped in and looked at the long rows of buttons plastered all over the wall. Small labels were lined up next to the buttons, telling the rider what button led to where. It was so creative! Biting back a squeal of delight, Astra looked up into Willy's sparkling violet eyes.

"Can I pick a button?" she asked, clapping her hands excitedly.

A bright smile greeted her enthusiasm. "Go ahead!" he said, waving his hands at the walls full of buttons. "Pick a room, any room!"

Fudge Mountain seemed like a good one, but Willy shook his head, saying that it was a bit cold and that she wasn't dressed for it. Instead, he pushed a button that read Whatever Floats Your Boat. Puzzled, she looked up at him and was about to ask him what that was when the elevator gave a huge jerk, causing her to fly directly into Willy Wonka's arms.

As the Glass Elevator smoothly glided its way through the factory, Astra found herself looking deep into violet eyes. The lighting around them changed rapidly as they moved, and with each change came a certain sparkle that lit within the purple orbs of Willy Wonka's gaze. The ride was a bit jarring, but Astra didn't move an inch, thanks to the firm grip that Willy's arms had on her waist.

In short, it was the best elevator ride of her life.

When they finally stopped at their destination, the two of them merely stood and stared at one another for a moment, not registering anything around them. Willy found himself thoroughly enjoying having Astra in his arms, her brown eyes staring up at him with awe and shyness. It was rather charming, and he liked it. The fact that her fingers were gripping his coat and holding him close to her was a very good thing, too, and he found himself wanting to hold her closer instead of pushing her away, like he did with other people.

'And she smells especially eatable today,' he thought, nervously licking the inside of his lips.

Astra must have used some sort of fruit-scented lotion or soap before she arrived at the factory. The enticing smell of melon and fresh scent of cucumber invaded his senses, and Willy longed to close his eyes and get a better whiff of it. Giving into the pull of his sense of smell, he leaned forward and sniffed, right behind her ear. He heard her give a small sound of surprise, but ignored it to get a better smell of her. Gosh, she smelled delightful!

'I should make this into a candy,' he thought through the haze forming in his mind as he sniffed. 'Maybe I'll make it into a candy for myself or something…'

How long the two of them stood there in the elevator, Willy had no clue, but the sound of someone coughing rather effectively shook him out of the fruit-scented induced cloud that he was in, and caused him pull back from where his face was buried in Astra's neck. Looking around, he spotted an Oompa Loompa standing there, a rather large grin on his face as he saw their position. Blushing, Willy cleared his throat and (reluctantly) removed his arms from around Astra.

"Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the tiny worker.

The Oompa Loompa simply giggled and walked away, leaving the two taller folks standing alone in the elevator. Willy took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Glancing over to his left, he saw that Astra had a deep blush forming over her cheeks, her eyes focused on the floor in front of the elevator. Her shy and blushing demeanor only made her look more sweet and appealing to him, but Willy decided not to press his luck; after all, he'd just sniffed her neck for who-knows-how-long!

Once again, he cleared his throat. "Shall we?" he asked, offering his left arm to her.

The whole "sniffing incident" had been a rather surprising turn of events, along with falling directly into Willy Wonka's arms. Although the feeling of having Willy holding her tightly was very pleasant and warm, the part where he leaned forward and began sniffing her neck was rather…odd. No one had ever tried to smell her neck before. Men and women had, of course, sniffed the air around her and asked what sort of perfume she wore, but that was basically it. Never had a person leaned in and pressed their nose to her in an attempt to smell her body spray!

'Not that it had been a bad experience,' Astra thought to herself as Willy led her out of the Glass Elevator and into a dark blue hallway with silver floor and ceiling tiles.

And it had been rather nice to be in that sort of position with him. On the other hand, he was old enough to be her father, not to mention that he was actually a life-long best friend of her father's! Astra highly doubted that this sort of thing was appropriate, but if it was so wrong, why did it feel so right? It had been so wonderful being held by the famous chocolatier that it couldn't be wrong…could it?

Pushing aside the right-or-wrong debate in her head, Astra focused her attention on the door that Willy stopped in front of and what he had to tell her about the room. However, instead of saying anything, he simply opened the door and bowed her into the room to let her judge it for herself.

The Whatever Floats Your Boat Room was created specifically so Willy could construct his huge, pink, hard candy boat. Once it was finished, however, it seemed sort of silly for him to dedicate a room just to creating one boat. After giving it much thought, the candyman had decided to turn it into a room that could produce candy boats for children when the factory reopened. The idea he had was creating small hard candy or chocolate toy boat sets for children to put in water or milk whenever the weather was too icky to play outside in. Presently, however, Willy Wonka was trying to get a few prototypes to impress Astra with.

After moving aside a few Oompa Loompas, he picked up a blue candy boat that was in the shape of a pirate ship and another that was the shape of a Navy ship from the seventeenth century. He saw Astra follow his movements, curiosity in her eyes as she watched him walk over to a small tub full of water.

Each boat was about six inches long and six inches high, and both of them were remarkably detailed for something that would only be eaten in a matter of hours. Astra watched as Willy placed the two boats into the water on opposite sides of the tub. He then winked at her, motioning with his hands for her to watch the boats. She did so, and as her attention focused on the eatable toys, the two boats began sailing towards one another under their own power!

Astra watched in fascination as the two small ships pulled along side one another and began to fire tiny little pellets of hard candy at one another, reenacting what might have happened centuries ago between real British ships and those that were crewed by pirates. Right in front of her very eyes, a mock battle was happening between two candy ships! It was the greatest thing she'd ever seen, and her hands itched to get one of the candy ships from the production line that was currently running behind her. Looking up, Astra saw immense pride plastered all over Willy Wonka's face as he also watched the battle.

"I'm hoping that these will be popular with both boys and girls, but as long as they make someone happy, it doesn't really matter, now, does it, Starshine?" he said, focusing his attention on her.

Astra nodded. "I have quite a few cousins who would love to have one of these for their birthday or Christmas," she replied, grinning at him. "In fact, could I take one home to Mitch? He might like it."

"Of course you can!" Willy exclaimed, grinning wildly at her request. "I couldn't refuse a request from you, Starshine, no matter how hard I tried!"

Astra blushed at that last sentence. How many people would take advantage of that sort of open offer from the world's greatest chocolatier? It made her feel proud, knowing that she wasn't one of those horrid folks who would attempt to use their friendship to get something out of it. Smiling, Astra turned her attention back to the boats, only to watch one begin to sink into the water.

"Oh, no!" she said, reaching out for the sinking ship. A gloved hand stopped her, and she watched in amazement as the sinking ship came back up and began to sail once more.

"I made them from a very good hard candy recipe that would keep them from dissolving in water for two or three hours, and would keep them from sinking too soon into a mock battle," Willy explained as the ships resumed their original positions on opposite sides of the tub. "That way the kids can play with them until they get bored and then eat them when they're done!"

Astra smiled at him. "They're absolutely amazing," she said, staring down at the ships.

Suddenly, her watch beeped, signaling that her father was expecting her back at the hotel within the hour. She gave Willy an apologetic look, and he nodded his understanding before leading her back towards the elevator.

The glass doors slid shut as the two braced themselves for another eventful ride. Willy was especially looking forward to it, since it meant that Astra was likely to fall into his arms again. Sure enough, a second after pushing the button for the back hallway, Willy once more found the lovely young lady very cozily smooshed against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her waist in order to help her regain her sense of balance, Willy watched as a red tint spread up her cheeks, his own face beginning to feel a tad bit warm. On the whole, though, the ride was brief and uneventful…until the Elevator reached its final destination.

Willy had leaned in closer to Astra's face to get one last sniff of her delicious-scented lotion when the unexpected jerk of the elevator caused his lips to press firmly against hers. Frozen in surprise, Willy found himself unable to pull out of the sudden kiss he had suddenly discovered himself in.

'Oh, my gosh, I'm kissing Willy Wonka!' a voice sounded off in Astra's mind.

Astoundingly, it wasn't a bad kiss, considering the suddenness of it. His lips were rather soft and very warm, not to mention very gentle. The surprised stiffness that Willy had assumed at the beginning of the kiss began to quickly disappear, and Astra soon found that he was very eagerly giving into his instinct of deepening the kiss. Surrendering to her own inward feelings, she melted into his embrace, closing her eyes and savoring the warm, tingly emotions that were spreading from her chest and into her toes. A small, contented sigh escaped from her throat as she tightened the grip she had on his coat. She felt the arms around her waist tighten in response to her sigh, and smiled.

Willy felt her smile against his mouth and was thrilled that Astra enjoyed the kiss as much as him. Never before had he kissed a woman, and he was beyond happy knowing that it was Astra that he had the chance to share such a moment with. The sensation of her lips on his was better than anything he had ever experienced in his life, even better than the first piece of candy that he'd had as a child. No, this was infinitely better, and there was nothing in the world that Willy Wonka wouldn't give to make this kiss last forever. His arms pulled Astra even closer to him, trapping her against his body in an attempt to prolong the kiss as much as possible.

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end, and the need for air caused the two to pull apart and catch their breath. Astra pulled back to look into Willy's dazed violet eyes, trying to figure out how he felt about the kiss. Did he regret it, even though it had started out as an accident? Would he forbid her from ever setting foot in the factory again, forcing her to stay away from him and the magical air that flowed around him and everything he did? Would she never see him again after the most amazing moment she'd ever had with him?

The small, contented smile that settled on his lips put her fears to rest. She felt one of his hands move from her waist and settle on her cheek, gently caressing her face with a gloved finger. The rubber gave a slight squeak as it glided across her skin, the sensation as unique as the man causing it. Smiling, Astra gazed up into vibrant purple eyes.

"I have to go," she whispered, so as not to ruin the moment. "My dad will be waiting for me."

Willy nodded and released her. "Until later, my Starshine," he softly replied, not removing his hand.

She nodded, giving him one last kiss before slipping out of the elevator and out of the factory.

As he watched Astra disappear out the door, Willy Wonka found himself going into a dreamy haze of thought over what had just happened between them. He knew that she had enjoyed the kiss from the way she had sighed and smiled, and he, too, had found his insides melting as she kissed and held onto him. It was wonderful, better than anything he'd ever imagined.

But she was his best friend's daughter, and that made the pure happiness flowing through him stop, freezing like ice in his veins. If Robert ever found out about this, Willy's blissful romance with Astra would be over before it had even really begun. A father first protected his children, and Willy had no doubt that Robert would tear him apart if he knew that his best friend was romantically interested in (and involved with) his daughter.

'Well, then, I'll just have to make sure that he doesn't find out,' he thought, twirling his cane as he began to walk to his room instead of using the Glass Elevator.

But that was easier said than done. Within the next day or two, the Johnson's would be departing, and he would likely not see Astra again for a very long time. No, he had to do something now, before she left him, probably for good. Focusing on that thought, Willy walked towards his room, working on a plan to keep his Starshine with him in his factory forever.

AN: Aw, can you feel the romance and sappiness? Review and let me know if you liked it!