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Willy Wonka had never been interested in relationships with other people until he met Charlie Bucket. The young boy reminded him of himself when he was young, though Charlie had a much better head on his shoulders. He also didnt mind his family either. Didn't mind wasn't the right word...Willy LIKED his family and thought of them as his own. He even had a somewhat relationship with his father who would send him a letter once every month.

Other then his family and Oompa Loompas, and his young assistant of course, Willy didn't think about relationships. That was until he got a startling question from Charlie. Honestly it shouldn't have been THAT startling. It had been almost two years since he had chosen the boy to be his heir and he was 13 now. He should have seen this coming. 

"Mr. Wonka?" The young boy asked as he entered the inventing room where the chocolatier was working on his hair toffee again. He almost had the formula down.

When the much taller man didn't respond, he tried again "Mister Wonka!"

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The next morning, very early the next morning, Willy was informed that a box had not made it out for shipment. It was a very small box meant to go to someone important but a box none the less. That sent the eccentric man into an absolute frenzy as he ran outside to where the delivery vans were, box in hand. When he got there he waved his free hand at the van that was thankfully still there.

"Hey hey!"

The person in the van rolled down the window then stuck his head out. The sight of him made the great Willy Wonka stop right in his tracks. The man who stuck his head out the window was around his age, maybe a little older, with long candy apple red hair that reminded him of licorice. It was tied back neatly with a red ribbon and the man himself looked a little tired. He must have been staring for a little while because eventually he called out to him.

"Oi! Are you alright mate?"

Willy quickly shook himself out of his thoughts "Yes! I mean- I have-" the last time he could barely get words out like this was never.

"Look I have a delivery to make..."

"This box was left behind!" He suddenly blurted out. 

The man blinked before getting out of the truck, he was wearing the standard striped uniform and hat. When he got closer his big green eyes widened. "Oh you're- Mister Wonka! I'm sorry if I was disrespectful sir."

"I don't care." He said bluntly as he held out the box to him. He glanced down at his hands as the other man took it from him, he was wearing quite a few rings.

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That night when Willy Wonka came to eat dinner with the Bucket family, he was still thinking about the red haired man he had met earlier that day. Willy had met a lot of people before but none, besides Charlie, had ever piqued his interest to such a degree. He picked at his potatoes as he thought about him. That man was intriguing on a whole other level.

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Willy Wonka had been pacing around in the inventing room all day, how was he going to talk to that delivery man again? He had drawn up tons of plans but most of them included him leading the man inside using licorice as bait. That's when it dawned on him. The great glass elevator! He could just fly it around town, find his van, approach him, ask him if he wanted to talk in it, and then talk to him! Honestly it did not dawn on the pale man that his guy actually worked for him but give him a break he's trying.

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When Willy had offered him a job he didn't exactly have a plan. What job could he possibly give him? He didn't need an assistant or partner, Charlie was more then enough, and the Oompa Loompas did the rest. Still he had to come up with something for him to do. That's when he remembered that there was ONE job that the Oompa Loompas didn't always enjoy doing...

"Welcome to my factory!" Willy Wonka announced to Leo who looked around at the candy landscape with a neutral expression.

"Is that...a chocolate waterfall?"

"Yes! Did you know that no other factory mixes it's chocolate by waterfall?" The enthusiastic man said with a big grin.

"No...I did not."

As Wonka kept talking about different parts of the factory, Leo followed behind him. He was beginning to zone out when an unexpected question snapped him back to reality. "What's your favorite kind of candy?"

"Oh. Mints I suppose." He said nonchalantly.

"Mints?" Willy turned on heels "I'll admit I was hoping for something a little more exciting."

"I've...never liked sweets." He admitted quietly. That was a lie, it wasn't that he didn't like candy it was what..candy had done to him.

He remembered those times he would be pushed down in the playground by older boys, their hands full of sweets from their parents and they would stick melted caramel and chocolate into his long red hair. They would then say things about him wanting to be a girl.

"Aww is girly gonna cry?"

"Go with the girls!"

Willy once again brought him back to reality "I see.."

"Why are you so passionate about it?" He blurted out.

That made the man before him pause. He stood there for a few minutes before looking away. "My father was against candy and it was my way..of getting back to him, at least for a little bit. Candy is about how you feel. Candy makes people feel HAPPY and I want that for them."

He looked like he was upset so Leo went to put a hand on his shoulder but suddenly Wonka jerked "Anyways! On with the tour!" He kept moving.

"Wait up!" How could he suddenly move so fast? And more importantly, was he okay?

They went through every room in the factory worth mentioning before ending at the invention room. That was where the tour ended. "Now onto your job! I need to taste test..some of the less dangerous candies."

"Really?"

"Yes! Is that a problem?"

"No.."

"Perfect!" He smiled "You start tomorrow." He waved him out of the room with gloved hands "Now shoo!"

Leo had a lot to think about as he left the factory, but most of his thoughts were on Willy Wonka. That man was so passionate about his work...so why did it seem like there was something that he was hiding?

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Over the next few days, Leo found that working in the factory wasn't that bad. All he had to do was come in everyday and eat candy. While he didn't like sweets he had to admit, Willy Wonka's were pretty good. He liked to watch the chocolatier work, the way he moved around the factory was amazing. He would bop around from place to place so fast that he never quite knew where the taller man was at any given time.

One day when he was done with work he felt a tug on his shirt. He turned to find Charlie, his boss's young assistant. "Do you need something boy?"

"I just wanted to ask if you if you would come to dinner? Mum's making a stew."

He blinked, he didn't have much to do that night but he wondered why he was asking him now. "...I suppose I can drop by."

"Great!" The young boy grabbed his hand and pulled him along to his house, which was surprisingly run down for a home within a lavish chocolate factory. Charlie opened the door cheerfully as Leo stepped inside with him. "Mum! Dad! This is Leo!"

"Oh are you joining us for dinner too dear?"

Too? He wondered who else she meant before he saw Willy's coat and hat hanging by the door. He glanced over at the table to see said man sitting inbetween what must have been Charlie's grandmothers. He was chatting amiably with one of them while the other seemed to stare off into space while making an occasional comment to the other two.

"You can sit next to Mr. Wonka! And grandma Georgina can sit next to me."

He almost protested but soon found himself next to his employer. "Mr. Wonka.' He said somewhat calmly.

"Call me Willy, I think we've reached that point." The other man laughed as he accepted some of the offered stew from Mrs. Bucket.

"Okay mate.." Jesus. He hadn't called him that since he didn't recognize him the first day they met.

"That's an interesting word." Willy commented as he passed him a roll "Do you use that often?"

"Uuhhhh.." That was a weird question and the other man had an almost maniacal grin on his face as he waited for an answer.

"Sometimes?" He brushed some of his long red hair out of his face before going to eat his stew.

"Wonderful!" Wonka said as he turned to talk to Charlie's father. What a weird man.

The rest of the night was pleasant enough and it ended with Willy and Leo being shoved out the door, figuratively, then walking across the edible grass of his candy wonderland. They walked in silence for awhile, Willy holding his coat and hat in his arms. Eventually the redhead broke the silence.

"So...they seem like nice people."

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Great people." He nodded in agreement before passing his things off to a passing Oompa Loompa.

"Do you eat dinner at their house every night?"

"Well yeah, where else would I eat?" Willy asked, as if it were a stupid question.

"I don't know, somewhere in town?"

"Oh I don't go out much."

He was momentarily startled "But I thought that after the contest-"

"Contest or no contest, I still don't get out much." He told him with an air of indifference.

Leo knew he was going to regret what he was about to ask but he asked anyway "Would you want to come see my apartment?"

To his surprise, Willy agreed.

Willy Wonka was not exaggerating when he said he didn't leave the factory much, he knew the little town well but things had changed since he was last there. New corner shops, some new faces, Slughorn seemed to have gone out of business. That part he enjoyed. Soon he found himself in front of a somewhat dingey building that Leo opened the door too "After you Mr. Wonka."

"Willy." He corrected as he headed inside and up the stairs. They stopped at the 8th floor and Leo unlocked the faded green door to reveal a nicer room then the chocolatier had been expecting. There was a small living area with a battered blue couch, glass table, and TV, then across from it was a small kitchen.

There was also a small hallway directly in front of him that he assumed lead to the bathroom and bedroom. Leo switched on the light before heading to the small kitchen table "It ain't much but it's home."

Willy chuckled at the comment before going over to the singular window. When he looked out into the night he could see the light shining off of his factory. The view was better from his elevator but this was nice too. "So Willy, what do you think?"

He waved a gloved hand in the air "Nicer then I expected." Ouch. He really did not hold back when giving his opinion.

"Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically as he made tea.

The taller man just laughed lightly "You're welcome!"

Leo could already tell that this was going to be a long night.

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Charlie eventually had to let them out of the room, since the Oompa Loompas told his mother what he was up too, and after being reprimanded slightly by his mentor they all went back to work. Things seemed to be fine between Willy and Leo now, and as days bled into weeks they all fell into a comfortable sort of system. The young boy liked having Leo around and it was clear that Mr. Wonka did too so he figured whatever had happened had been worked out. 

Of course, Charlie was only 13 and still not quite familiar with grown up emotions so he didn't realize that nothing had been resolved at all. At least where Willy was concerned. Halloween was rapidly approaching, alright not really it was only close to the end of September but Mr. Wonka liked to be on top of things, so him being more frazzled then usual made sense. 

If only the young boy knew what he was really thinking about. 

Willy Wonka laid back on a therapy couch while one of his Oompa Loompas sat by with a clipboard. They had been sitting in silence for awhile because Willy was still building up the courage to speak about what was on his mind. That was when he sat up abruptly "Endorphins."

The Oompa Loompa nodded and scribbled on his notepad. "They give one the feeling of being..." He visibly shuddered before he said love. That gum chewing girls mother had ruined that part of the tour. He sighed and rubbed his temples "Well this just won't do."

His employee gave him a quizzical look and he elaborated "I don't have time for this right now!" Willy insisted "Halloween is coming and I need to perfect my chocolate pumpkins."

The Oompa Loompa merely lowered his glasses and gave him a look. That's when Willy grinned "I'll admit I have feelings for him after Halloween!" He announced before looking back at his friend "You're very good." 

The short person beside him only smiled while watching Willy walk off with new found determination. They all wanted him to be happy after all. 

Leo had gotten used to certain things in the time he had worked at the factory, one of those things being that Willy Wonka could pop up anywhere. Absolutely anywhere. Out from a closet, stepping out of his great glass elevator, falling from somewhere higher up, sprinting through a room while grabbing something, so when he burst into the lab where the redhead was giving his opinion on the new flavor of everlasting gobstoppers, he barely even flinched. "Leo!" 

"You alright there Willy?" He asked while turning around to look at his boss.

"No. In fact I'm feeling absolutely dreadful!" He grinned widely and his employee felt a little lost "You look fine mate." 

"Oh I mean emotionally." He told him while waving a gloved hand in the air and walking over to the chewing gum meal machine. He started calibrating something on the side while his friend just stared at him. "Okay?" 

"Anyways!" He stopped his calibrations and looked at him "It's because of you!"

Leo was floored "Are you..firing me?"

"Oh good gracious no!" Willy slammed the panel shut and walked over to him in three long strides. When he was close he could always smell what candies the chocolatier had been working with that day. Right now he smelled like hair cream and sugar, maybe he got his hair cut? It didn't look any different. He didn't even realize that the taller man had continued prattling on until he said "And you'll find out after Halloween!" 

He blinked and in that split second Willy was already hurrying away. "Hey wait!" He called after him but he had already left.  

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Leo was proud to say that usually things didn't rattle him. Usually. Lately he was finding that Wily had a strange knack for getting under his skin, maybe it was his lack of adherence to personal space or his overall demeanor, he didn't know. In any case he was even more on edge now with Willy's weird announcement that he was apparently miserable because of him. What did he even mean? He didn't want to fire him, which had been made perfectly clear, so what was it? 

 He wished the slightly taller man wasn't so cryptic. 

He could sense the unease in the weeks leading up to Halloween, how Willy danced around their interactions and spoke to him less and less. He barely even glanced at him when he went to dinner with the Buckets. 

Normally he would have liked to be left alone but there was this uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, sure he was beginning to see Willy as more of a friend then a boss so maybe that was the reason for his concern? It didn't explain the ache in his chest in any case. 

He was down in the chocolate room when it hit him, just as he was biting into one of the new chocolate pumpkins. He hadn't had anyone who challenged him quite like this. Who made an effort to know him. Oh lord it was happening again. 

He liked another man, only this time it was his boss. 

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Halloween came and went with no word from Willy on how Leo was making him miserable. It was getting towards the end of the week in November with absolutely no word. That was around the time that the red haired man realized that he had to approach him himself or nothing would ever get done. The thought came to him just as he was leaving work and honestly? He had no idea where his boss was. 

So he approached one of the Oompa Loompas who pointed him in the direction of another Oompa Loompa who pointed him in the direction of another one and so on and so forth. The last one he came into contact with was standing outside the door to the inventing room with a clipboard and he looked up at him with a weird smile before ushering him into the room and shutting the door behind him. 

While that was strange, he needed to stay focused. He found Willy writing something down on a sheet of paper, using the wall as a table. He cleared his throat and watched his boss jump almost 5 feet in the air before whirling around so fast his hat nearly came off. "Hello starshine! The Earth says hello!" Was all he stammered out. 

That caused a deafening silence where the only thing that could be heard was the humming of machines. Surprisingly it was Willy who broke the silence. "So um, Leo, what are you doing here?" 

"You said you had something to tell me after Halloween." He stuck his hands in his pockets. 

"Oh! Well forget that! I was just being silly!" He quickly walked off to go look at something else. 

"Mate." He headed over to where he was and stood next to him with his arms crossed. "It didn't sound like nothing."

"YOU'RE LIKE CHOCOLATE TO ME!" The bobbed haired man suddenly yelped which caught both of them by surprise. 

"What?"

"Chocolate releases endorphins which gives one the feeling of being in love! I'm not in love but I do uh like you! But you work for me so that's a little-" He was cut off by a hand on his shoulder which made him freeze like so many other times. 

"Willy, you're crazy." 

The other man deflated a little "Crazy for candy!" 

"And me, which..I don't mind I don't know why I said that I um.." He was blowing it so he did the only thing he could think to do. He grabbed him by the collar of the ridiculous coat he was wearing and pulled him down for a kiss. 

He had never been shoved away so hard or so quickly. He stumbled into one of the machines as he looked over at Willy who was staring at him like he had just grown two heads. "Shit I'm sorry, I should have asked-" Leo was cut off by a gloved hand being raised. 

"I think I need some time." 

"Whatever you say.." He tried not to stare as the taller man walked by him, pulling his arms in closer so they wouldn't touch again. He didn't say a word on the way out and Leo didn't go after him.

"Damn it." He said to himself while running a hand through his hair. 

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Willy didn't stay away, not as long as last time in any case, and the next day Leo found himself being ushered into an office he had never seen before but he quickly recognized that it must've been one of the Oompa Loompa's, because Willy was sitting at a desk that was way too small for him. 

"You wanted to see me..?" He couldn't help the little snort he let out at the sight of him. 

"Yeah! We need to set some-" He was cut off by his legs getting stuck under the tiny desk. He shifted a few times before falling forward, Leo moving to catch him before he hit the floor. "Boundaries.." The bobbed man finished as he straightened up and backed away. 

"I'm sorry about that-" A raised hand stopped him "I've never been kissed before." 

"Never?" 

"Yeah." He let out a little giggle before getting closer hesitantly with his hands behind his back. "So um...I think that could happen again. If I say so." 

Leo found himself smiling at him "Right.." 

They stared at each other for awhile until Willy reached up a gloved hand, flinching when it got close to the other man's face. "It's okay." He said softly. 

"You know your hair.." The chocolatier said before swallowing nervously and brushing it back away from his face. "It reminded me of red licorice." 

He chuckled "Is that why you risked getting a concussion just to hire me?"

"Maybe." The pale man admitted before his other hand came up too, he was cupping his face now but he was still fidgety. "Could I...?"

He nodded quietly, leaning in and meeting him halfway. This kiss was better then their first, even if Willy was a little anxious. Leo's hands traveled up to the top hat wearing man's wrists, holding his hands against his face. This was the start of something new for both of them. 

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Things didn't change that much, at least not immeadiately, but everyone was noticing that there was something going on between Leo and Willy Wonka. The way they acted around each other was different.  Willy was dark at worst and strange at best, something the red haired man didn't seem to mind. Charlie had started watching some of their interactions, like one day when Mr. Wonka was testing another candy on an Oompa Loompa, Leo came in and watched.

All he did was stand there and call the little man a "poor bastard" for turning purple. Mr. Wonka had grumbled about the formula not being right and Charlie could've sworn that he saw Leo's hand touch his as he reassured him that he'd get it right. He didn't know how to feel about it at first but he didn't comment. That was the adults business. 

Leo on the other hand was enjoying this new relationship, but he had to be careful because Willy got spooked easily. He also tried to scare off things he didn't like which was mainly people so he had to try to make sure he was as comfortable as possible. One day he nearly forgot that when they were walking together away from the Buckets home.  Willy was off on a tangent about how chocolate needed the right consistency, something he'd told him before, and he had tuned him out a long time ago. 

They stopped when the chocolatier needed to express something he thought was particularly important and he found himself smiling at him. "You sure do talk a lot." 

That threw the other man off "Were you listening?" 

"You've told me about how the waterfall churns the chocolate Willy." 

"Oh." He looked sheepish and Leo laughed, leaning in to kiss his cheek. That made him freeze and for a split second he was worried he'd crossed a line. 

Luckily he hadn't, because in the next few minutes he had already picked a new topic and had grabbed his hand to drag him through the factory. They ended up staying up late in Willy's living area, just sitting across from each other. The top hat wearing man liked his hair, that much he already knew. 

Sometimes he would reach over to touch it and he let him, he had joked about cutting it before and Willy nearly bit his head off. Tonight they were sitting closer then they ever had before. He was tying his hair back as Willy looked on with barely contained happiness. He looked over at him "What?" 

"Nothing! I just know what I'm doing once I give Charlie my entire factory." 

"And what's that?" 

"Staying here with you."

They smiled at each other and Leo took his hand again "I think I'd like that."

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It was late, very late, and Leo was getting worried. Willy often threw himself into his work but not for this long, he had a surprisingly good work life balance. He headed out into the factory, passing by a few Oompa Loompas that were on the night shift. They didn't pay him any mind, they were pretty much used to him wandering around by now.  He checked the inventing room first but he wasn't there so he went to where the glass elevator usually was. 

It wasn't there, so he knew Willy was somewhere else in the factory. He really needed to ask the chocolatier for a map one of these days. The next place he went too was the TV room, when he peeked in the lights were off and he saw a figure over by the control panel. "Willy?" He asked while stepping inside. 

The figure by the control panel stirred and it was indeed Willy, his hat had fallen off of his head and his hair was sticking up to one side. His coat had been taken off somewhere and he squinted at Leo. "Hello?" 

"What are you doing in here?"

"Working...?" 

"How long have you been in here?" 

Willy looked around, obviously he had no idea. So Leo just sighed and offered him a hand. "Come on then." 

They walked to their shared living space in silence, Willy hugging onto his arm as they went along. Soon he was tucking him into bed with a gentle hand before slipping in right next to him. Willy turned towards him, playing with his hair with one hand. 

"You should go to bed." He told him, eyes already closed. 

"Hello starshine..the earth says hello!" His partner responded with a big grin. 

"Oh you're exhausted aren't you?" He asked while turning towards him. 

"A little." 

He chuckled and pulled him in close, burying his face in his ridiculous bobbed hair. He didn't fight him, just pressed his face into his chest. "Leo?" 

"Hm?" 

"Tomorrow I need to visit the puppet hospital and burn center." 

The redhead chuckled again "And why's that?"

"Doris is bringing her friend some flowers." He explained. 

"And you're showing your support huh?" He asked while pulling back a little to look down at him. 

"Yeah!" 

He smiled and kissed his head, closing his eyes again as he rested on the pillow. "Never change."