Howl had many faults and no one knew them better than Sophie. (Except perhaps Howl himself in those rare moments he was honest.)
Howell Jenkins was dishonest, stubborn, and vain to a fault – so much so he'd fill a castle with green slime over the slightest hint of red in his hair. He was an absolute clotheshorse, a "Feckless spendthrift" – Calcifer's words not Sophie's but she agreed with the sentiment; Howl possessed an exasperating inability to leave any shop empty-handed. Not to mention the fact that he was ridiculously flamboyant, with an ego bigger than Ingary itself. He's a spreader of rumours, a breaker of young girls' hearts, a coward and worst of all a slither-outer.
Yet when they walk through the air, none of that matters.
Howl is all of those things but when it comes down to it, he's still the man who gave his heart to save a falling star, who undercharges his customers from the small, poor seaside village of Porthaven for his spells and fawns over his niece Mari. His lies were never malicious and they were often only derogatory of himself.
For all that he seemed to feel the need to fill the castle with green slime when his hair had been turned red, he was more than forgiving of the colour of her hair - red gold not ginger, thank you very much. And while he may have broken many young girls' hearts in the past, though she can't approve of his actions in the past, he hasn't broken hers. Even now, though Sophie knows he's well aware she loves him, he's still here. Her heart isn't just another conquest for the once notorious 'Heartless' Howl.
Strange as it seems, it's when he walks them through the air, above the crowds, that she realises that despite all his faults, Howl is just as human as Lettie, Martha or Michael or anyone else for that even though he's a selfish, stubborn, petulant, lying, maddening, slither-outer, she loves him for all of who he is. She couldn't picture him any other way. A Howl that wasn't as flawed as he was charming wouldn't really be any Howl at all.
Besides, she makes sure he isn't able to slither out of anything anymore. Not without her permission, at least.
AN: Just a little drabble. A mix of bookverse and movieverse. First foray into HMC so not too sure if I got Sophie right here. If you spot any glaring errors or OOCness I'd be much obliged if you'd point it out. And of course, reviews are greatly appreciated also. Thanks for reading.