Aurora p.o.v.
Over the course of a few days, we'd all been helping Mr. Wonka sell his chocolates all over the city. Noodle and I had also been teaching him how to read, but he hadn't been paying super attention. Apart from that, him and I have gotten a lot closer, which makes my heart extremely happy.
After about a week, when the seven of us were sneaking out of the wash house, Mr. Wonka was telling us once again about the little orange man with the green hair.
"He came back?" Noodle asks, clearly not buying it.
"Yes! I had set a trap, and he walked right into it!"
"So where is he?"
"We had a fight, you see. He won, hit me on the head with a frying pan and jumped out the window."
"Of course he did." I snorted with sarcasm.
We stop the cart and he emerges from the laundry bag he was hiding in.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"Honestly? No." Noodle looked at him, and I shook my head to agree with her.
One by one, the others popped out of their bags with varying responses.
"No."
"No."
"No."
"Definitely not."
"But as it happens," Noodle started. "We don't need to sell chocolate today."
I smiled brightly and he looked at me with a confused face, waiting for an explanation.
"Why is that?'
"You know that shop? The one you've been dreaming of?" I pull a pair of keys from my pocket and hold them up to him.
We all watch with bated breath as Mr. Wonka unlocks the door, and we stepped inside after him. Now...the place was a complete dump. What was left of the walls were peeling, everything was covered in dust, and there was a gaping hole in the ceiling revealing the sky.
"Now I know what you're thinking...it may need a little work." Mr. Crunch started, looking around.
Ms. Benz connects two ends of a cable together and half of the lights flicker to life. "Looks like someone left the water running 20 years ago, and the ceiling fell through. And the ceiling above that, and the ceiling above that..."
"But that means we can afford it." Mr. Crunch chimes in. "For a week anyway."
"And we'd finally be legitimate. The police wouldn't have any excuse to keep bothering us." Ms. Bell said with a smile.
We all nervously look at Mr. Wonka, who hasn't said a word. He was just looking around...an unreadable expression on his face.
"What...What do you think, Mr. Wonka? Do you like it?"
"I think you should call me by my first name, Rory."
I think he's upset but then I see him with a small smile, so I mirror him.
"Do I like it? It's just how I always imagined. No...scratch that. It's better than I imagined." He replied, getting more and more excited. "I mean...look at this place! Yeah, it's a wreck but the potential! The bones! You mark my words; this is going to be the best chocolate shop in the world! You're not going to be scrub scrubbing much longer, girls. We'll all be free! As free as flamingos!!"
As he said that, the room erupted in cheers. I took that opportunity to run into his arms for a hug, and he picked me up and spun me around. A loud laugh escaped me, and when he set me down, he caught my eye. We stared intensely at each other forever, and it felt like it was just the two of us. I thought about making a move, but I didn't get a chance before he rushed forward and put his lips on mine.
They were soft...and tasted like milk chocolate. We only pulled away when both of us could no longer breathe, but our eyes never left each other's.
"S-so...I take it you like me?" I say softly, smiling and panting.
He scoffed quietly, shocked that I could even ask such a thing. "Aurora...I've always liked you, from the moment our eyes met in the Galeries Gourmet."
I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, and he wraps his arms back around me in an embrace that says 'I'll never let you go'.
"YESSSS FINALLYYYYY!!!!" We look to see Noodle jumping up and down and cheering. The others laughed and cheered with her.
3rd p.o.v.
While the team of secret chocolatiers climb out of the storm drain, the Cartel and the Chief of police watch them from a nearby building as they grab their laundry cart and all pile in.
"There's seven of 'em in total, includin' the two girls. They seem to be the brains of the operation. They're based at a laundry called Scrubbit and Bleacher." The Chief explains to them, and Slugworth noticeably tenses up because of it.
"Scrubbit's?" He asks.
"That's right, why? Do you know it?"
"Yes...as a matter of fact I do..."
"They just rented a shop, so legally, I can't touch them. But illegally, I'm happy to do whatever you guys want. You want them all to have a little accident?-"
"In which they die?" Prodnose interjected.
"-Not a problem." The Chief continued. "But it's gonna cost you a lot more chocolate. "
"Alright, Chief." Slugworth puts his hand up to stop him.
"Also I'd be grateful for an advance cause the last boxes you gave me? They're gone."
"All of them?" Fickelgruber asks in disbelief.
"Yep. I'd been eating these little paper cases for the past three days. You think they're gonna give you the same hit? They don't."
Slugworth sighs and hands him a small white box. "Here you go, Chief. And there's plenty more where that came from, but you stand down for now. We'll give you a call when the time is right."
He takes the chocolate and leaves, where the others turn back to watch the sneaky sellers.
"What is it, Arthur?" Fickelgruber peers at the tense man.
"The girl."
"You don't really think it could be her, do you?"
"I do."
"You always assured us she wouldn't be a problem."
"He's right! You did assure us!" Prodnose pops up.
"She won't be. Nor will Wonka, or their bodyguard. I'll see to it, personally." Slugworth sneers as Willy Wonka helps Aurora out of the sewer.
Distant thunder rolls as a shadowy figure approaches the doorway to the laundromat and knocks on it with his cane.
Mrs. Scrubbit yanks back the hatch to look outside and screeches. "Who is it? What do you want?"
Mr. Slugworth steps into the light and grins at her.
She gasps, "Mr. Slugworth!" and opens the door just as Mr. Bleacher comes down the stairs into a parlor. They're both matching knee length kimonos.
"Who is it, Puffy Wu-... Stone me!" Mr. Bleacher gets noticeably embarrassed to be caught so underdressed by such an important man and he shuffles behind the counter.
"To what do we owe the pleasure, sir?" Mrs. Scrubbit said in her sickly-sweet voice.
"You have a guest. A Mr. Wonka. He's been sneaking out to sell chocolate with the help of your serving girls."
Her facade quickly dropped as her anger took hold. "Those little brats!"
"Well, quite. I wondered if you might help me put an end to their...business."
