Exhausted, Howl trudged back into the castle. It had been a long day, and he couldn't wait to get to bed. He was heading for the stairs, when he noticed Sophie sleeping at the dining table. Poor thing, must have been waiting all night for him. There were little puddles of drool around where she slept, and she hadn't even changed into her nightgown. Howl ran a hand through his raven hair, looks like he wasn't gonna get to immediately relax like he thought he would.
Gently, he picked Sophie up and headed for their bedroom. He tried to lay her down as careful as possible, and then undressed. Howl couldn't help but wonder why Sophie had stayed up so late.
"Mhh, Howl?" He heard her yawn. With a patient smile, he turned around and pressed a finger to her lips.
"Shh, it's late, go to sleep." But Sophie shook here her head.
"No, I'm up now. Should at least change." She got up and headed for the drawers and removed her nightgown. Howl couldn't help but watch in awe as she changed. He had seen her like this thousands of times, but he couldn't help marvel how beautiful Sophie was. From the top of her silver head to the tip of her toe, Howl just wanted to take it all in.
Once changed, Sophie sat on the edge of the bed and said,
"Howl, we need to talk."
"Your tired, we can do this in the morning." But Sophie shook her head again.
"No, It's important, do-" She looked as if she wanted to say more but stopped midsentence.
"Do, I what?" Howl tried to coax her to continue.
"Do you want to get married?" Sophie quickly turned her head away, face flushing. "I mean I never dreamed of a life like that, and honestly don't care, but…" Sophie faced him. "But do you care at all?" Frankly, marriage had never crossed his mind either. Oh sure Howl had romanced many woman in his life, but he was consistently moving. Settling down and all that jazz seemed like stuff other people did.
He thought back to when he had first met Sophie. It had almost been a year since they've met, since they've fallen in love. Back then, they hadn't thought of rites and rituals, all they knew is that they cared for each other. If he looked at their lifestyle now, they were practically married already.
"I don't know, I just know I want you to be happy." He finally answered. "If a diamond ring and a white dress are what you desire, then so be it. If you desire the moon and the stars then somehow I'll get them for." He tucked a silver lock behind her ear. "You know I can't say no to you."
"Good," She smiled as she layed a hand over his. "I just wondered how you felt about your mistress having a bastard child."
Immediately he pressed a hand to her stomach. How could he not have known? It was almost impossible to detect, there wasn't even a heartbeat yet, but it was there.
"A baby?" Blue eyes sparkled with joy.
"Yes, a baby," Sophie confirmed. "It's a surprise as well, but I didn't know how to tell you," Though her smile was a mile wide, uncertainty lingered. A baby for goodness sakes…
Howl pulled her into a deep kiss. Images of a girl with dark hair, or perhaps a boy with hair that shone like starlight like his mother's, filled his head.
"You are going to be a fabulous mother," He punctuated each word with a kiss. Sophie relaxed a little.
"You're much more confident than me, about that,"
"It's only the truth, look at what you did to Markl and me," He snuggled closer to her. "Imagine that, another addition to our family."
Sophie buried herself in the crook of his neck. "I know, I even have a few name ideas already."
"Huh?"
"What do you think about Morgan?"
