A/N: Oh. My. Gawd. Fastest. Update. EVER. Im like a machine lately! Only one week since the last update! ONE WEEK! I'm so proud of myself. 8D

Anyway, this chapter contains much needed fluff, especially towards the end. So hope you all enjoy this, and im terribly sorry for any errors. I'll do my best to correct them, but it is almost 12:30 am and I do have Drivers Ed in the morning so... yeah.. if you notice anything wacky that I missed, a review or even a pm pointing it out would be great! Thanks for all your support so far guys!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I no own HMC... It belong to DWJ... c:


Chapter 8: In Which Sophie Stays Home

Sunlight streamed in through the window, shining directly on Sophie's eyelids. The bright light swam into her vision and chased away the dark of sleep. She scrunched up her face in annoyance and tried to go back to sleep. But the light only seemed to get brighter and further awaken her. With a tired sigh, Sophie sat up and yawned, stretching her arms high above her head. She glanced at the clock above her doorway, and seeing that it was still early, proceeded to flop back down on the bed. But instead of feeling her soft pillows beneath her head, she felt something rather hard and warm. Her eyes shot open and met a pair of very blue eyes staring back at her. Sophie's breath caught in her throat and she stared, dumbfounded.

Howl smiled his usual sunny smile, eyes full of warmth and amusement. "Good morning to you too."

Sophie, still frozen on what she soon came to realize was Howl's lap, opened her mouth stupidly. Words wouldn't form properly, so she shut it, swallowed, and tried again. It was a bit easier the second time around. "Howl? What are you doing here?" Her voice was weak, but she still managed to be coherent.

"Making sure you don't hurt yourself," Howl replied cheerily.

Momentarily forgetting her shock, Sophie raised an irritated eyebrow and sat up. "In my room at six in the morning?"

"Correct." He continued smiling.

Sophie frowned. "Why are you really here, Howl?" she asked in a low voice, then clutched her head as an awful streak of pain shot through it. She gave a small whine and clenched her teeth. Howl leaned forward from where he was resting against the headboard of the bed and grabbed her shoulders gently, searching her face worriedly.

"Sophie?"

Sophie groaned and lifted her head a little to meet Howl's concerned gaze. "W-what happened to me?" she asked feebly.

"You fainted last night," Howl explained. "Your head hit the floor pretty hard…" He reached a hand up to the back of her head and touched a swollen bruise that was the result of her contact with the floor. Sophie whimpered and ducked away, squeezing her eyes shut in pain.

Howl pushed her gently down onto the pillows. "You need to rest. I'll go make some tea." He moved to get up when Sophie grabbed his elbow. He turned to regard her curiously.

"Wait. Howl, did you… did you stay with me all night?" she whispered.

Howl managed a weak smile. "I had to make sure you were okay."

Sophie was a little surprised, but found herself smiling in return. Howl took her hand and patted it. "I'll be right back."

As he disappeared into the kitchen, her smile fell and she sank her aching head into the pillows. Oh how it hurt!

Trying to think of something other than the pain, she tried to remember what happened prior to her fainting the night before. She remembered Phoenix plummeting to the earth at neck-breaking speed, Howl urging her towards his trash heap of a castle, seeing many oddities (including a talking fire?), then falling unconscious.

Was that all? Sophie suddenly felt embarrassed about the whole thing. Howl must really think her a frightened little grey mouse now! She hid her red face in a pillow.

Said wizard came back into the room as she let out a moan of distress. He smiled sympathetically and handed her a steaming mug of tea. "This should help," he murmured, helping her into a sitting position. Sophie blushed once more. She had never felt so helpless in her life!

She took a sip of the tea, reveling in the feel of its warmth spreading throughout her body. Howl sat on the edge of the bed next to her, sipping from his own cup. Feeling some of the pain subside, Sophie absent-mindedly leaned against his shoulder. He smiled and shifted so she was more comfortable. Not really knowing what he was doing—or why, for that matter—Howl slipped an arm around her waist. When she showed no signs of complaint, he tugged her closer and leaned back a little bit to rest against the headboard. They sat together like that for a while, sipping their tea contentedly.

When she had finished her cup, Sophie was surprised to find that only a dull ache remained of her migraine. She was convinced Howl had put some magical pain reliever in the tea.

"Feeling better?" Howl's smooth voice sounded from somewhere above her head. She shivered when his breath tickled her ear.

"Much actually. Did you enchant my tea?" Sophie accused light-heartedly, a smile etched onto her face.

Howl chuckled. "Nope."

"What did you put in it then?"

"Ginger and fresh honey." Howl stared at the wall thoughtfully. "My mother used to put that in my tea all the time when I was sick. Worked wonders."

Sophie hummed, satisfied with his answer. She lazily shifted her gaze to the clock. She bolted straight up when she saw what time it was, nearly clocking Howl in the jaw with her head as she did so. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for work!" she cried in dismay and tried to scramble off the bed. Howl held her back.

"Sophie, calm down! You're not going anywhere today." Sophie stopped struggling and stared at him, flabbergasted.

"Wha…what?"

"I sent in a note saying you were sick and unable to come into work today," Howl answered.

Sophie was shocked for a second. "But… but that's a lie!"

Howl grinned. "Not entirely. You were just complaining of a massive headache," he said matter-of-factly.

"But I'm fine now!" she argued.

"Sophie, do you really think I'd let you go to work after falling unconscious and waking up hours later with a bump the size of an egg on your head?"

Sophie opened her mouth to protest, but realized he was right. She closed her mouth and stared at the bed sheets.

"Now come back here." Howl pulled her back against his chest, eliciting a squeak from the young Hatter. Sophie blushed and tried to control her rapidly thrumming heart. She wasn't sure what to think of his behavior. She would never admit it, but secretly she was enjoying it. She smiled shyly.

"So today, you are going to relax. I will make sure of that," Howl announced meaningfully. Sophie's eyebrows crinkled.

"I don't need a babysitter, Howl," she retorted.

"Nonsense. A workaholic like you does," Howl replied cheerfully. Sophie rolled her eyes and moved to get up. "Where are you going?" he asked. Sophie turned to look at him. Was that a glimmer of hurt in his eyes? Seriously?

"To clean up, babysitter." She started for the bathroom, glancing over her shoulder at him. "And no, you're not keeping an eye on me while I change," she added for good measure.

Howl laughed outright and shook his head. "Of course not, Sophie dear."

Sophie smiled and disappeared into the bathroom. She stopped in front of the mirror and stared in disgust at the dirty dress she had fallen asleep in. Stripping down and releasing her brunette hair from its braid, she stepped into the shower. The hot water chased away the remaining ache in her head.

Fifteen minutes later, Sophie stepped from the bathroom, feeling refreshed and clad in a simple blue dress with the sapphire pendent around her neck and her hair tumbling over her shoulders in elegant chocolate waves. She had decided to leave it down for once.

Seeing Howl was no longer in the bedroom, she wandered into the kitchen where the delightful smell of bacon hit her full on. Howl was setting two plates loaded with bacon, eggs, and toast on the table.

He looked up when Sophie walked in and was struck frozen by her simple yet amazing beauty. "Sophie," he breathed, "you're beautiful…"

Sophie reddened and looked away. "Not really."

"I don't know why you won't just accept it," Howl said. "Anyway, I made breakfast." He gestured to the food laden table with a pleased smile.

Sophie smiled back gratefully and seated herself. "Howl, you didn't have to do this."

Howl sat across from her. "Sure I did. It's your day off, and you're going to be waited on whether you like it or not." He winked at her.

Sophie took a bite of her toast. "I guess I can't argue with that."

After breakfast, Howl conjured a chess board and insisted on playing. They spent the next two hours trying to beat each other. Sophie won every time, much to Howl's chagrin, and he unsuccessfully tried to convince her that he let her win. Sophie just smirked and crossed her arms over her chest in triumph.

At lunch, while making the pie, Howl spilled flour all over his front, causing Sophie to giggle uncontrollably. In retaliation, Howl threw a handful of the white powder at her. This resulted in an all-out flour war that ended with the two covered head-to-toe in the ingredient, as well as the rest of the kitchen. Howl used magic to clean the mess up, in which Sophie made a comment that laziness never got anyone anywhere. Howl replied just as easily that using magic was anything but lazy.

After lunch was eaten, Howl enlightened Sophie on all the different kinds of magic and their properties, none of which she fully understood. He then demonstrated some simple parlor tricks that would barely impress a toddler just to make her laugh. Sophie stated that he should get a job as a magician that performed for small children instead of continuing sorcery, to which he replied that his magic stretched far beyond little tricks and he refused to lower himself to that of a simple magician. He finally got a good laugh out of her, making him grin satisfactorily.

They then talked about horses and pegasi, which Sophie (thankfully) was more familiar with. They chatted until their stomachs growled, signaling the coming of dinner time.

Howl made pasta and soup for dinner. Sophie called him a culinary genius, inflating his already huge ego. They talked about fancy foods and restaurants.

Later, Sophie found a deck of cards and they played different games until sun-down, laughing at each other's jokes and stories.

Eventually, they found themselves on the couch, simply enjoying each other's company. Sophie was leaning comfortably against Howl's shoulder reviewing the day. She realized that she had never had more fun in the course of a day in her whole life. I should have Howl around more often, she thought jokingly. But a part of her meant it too. Sophie liked being around this eccentric, big-headed, caring wizard more than she cared to admit.

As she continued to think about recent events, something else crossed her mind. Her eyebrows lowered in confusion. "Howl?" she murmured, breaking the silence.

"Mmm?"

"Do you have a son?"

Howl tensed, staring at the top of her head like she was some kind of beast waiting to make a kill. "Heavens no!" he raised an eyebrow. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

Sophie narrowed her eyes, trying to hold onto the foggy memory. "Last night in your castle, I thought I saw a little boy on the stairs just before I passed out. Maybe around eight years old or so…" she turned to look up at Howl expectantly. He visibly relaxed.

"Oh. That was just Markl, my apprentice," he said, as if it was the most unimportant thing in the world.

It was Sophie's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You have an apprentice?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"Oh." Sophie frowned. She couldn't exactly see Howl as teacher material. He was too immature. Then again, most guys are, I guess, she had to remind herself. She did think a little more highly of him for taking on that responsibility, though.

Sophie chose not to bring up the talking fire—she was certain that was a hallucination.

They sat together for a while more. Sophie found herself struggling to keep her eyes open. She gave a huge yawn.

Howl glanced down at her. He saw how tired she was, and took that as his cue to be on his way. He stood up and looked at the clock meaningfully. Sophie got up as well. Together they crossed her bedroom and stepped out onto the moonlit balcony. They watched the stars for a brief moment, neither really wanting to say goodbye. Then they turned to each other. Howl was surprised to see tears gathering in Sophie's hazel eyes. He bent towards her in concern, wiping them away with his thumbs.

"Hey, hey! It's alright. This isn't the last time we'll see each other," he soothed.

Sophie sniffled and tried to compose herself. "I know," she whispered. "I'm just so grateful for the kindness you've shown me. No one's cared for me the way you have since my father died." She smiled.

Howl returned it. "It was my pleasure. You deserve all the kindness you receive and more, Sophie." And then he did something completely unexpected. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the cheek.

A shock ran through Sophie's skin at the contact. She shivered and felt warm all over. She stared, stunned, at Howl as he leaned away. He caressed the sides of her face gently with the pads of his thumbs. "Goodnight, Sophie," he murmured and backed away from her. With one last kind smile, he jumped over the railing and disappeared.

A hand flew up to Sophie's cheek, touching the spot he'd kissed. The corners of her mouth turned up as she gazed out at the night. She wasn't stupid. She wasn't oblivious. She knew there was something bigger here than before. And whatever it was, she welcomed it with open arms.

A/N: Yay! Fluff! (And I fooled you all, ha!) Even if it's only a little bit, it's better than none!

Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed, I felt like there wasnt much to explain about their day and I wanted the chapter to be a bit shorter. If I were to go through and add every little detail about their time together, this chapter would go on forever. So yeah. I hope its fine with my readers. :')

Next chapter might take longer (a LOT longer probably) due to school projects (english research paper -.-") and my drivers ed classes, which are taking up a ton of my time already. Not to mention I get really lazy... But Spring break is at the end of this month so Ill try to get the next chapter up sometime during then, unfortunately im most likely getting my wisdom teeth pulled that week so I will be bed ridden for a few days and probably unable to do any writing or typing whatsoever. But ill get started on writing chapter 10 ASAP. I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do.. It's just breaking past that no-motivation barrier that will be the hardest. Soooooo yeah, if you have all been with me this long, I think you can manage to wait a bit longer. Again, terribly sorry about such slow updates. Im trying to improve that. Wow long authors note. *yawn* I am getting my permit in two weeks though so Im pretty Psyched about that. DRIVING YAY. :3

Since there are only a few reviews so far on last chapter and they are all pretty similar, I'm not going to do individual replies. But to those who did review (you know who you are c;), I thank you for your support and Im so happy that you're enjoying this story. I thank everyone for your continued support, and keep a lookout for the next chapter! Things will definitely start getting.. what would be a good word... spicier? Sure, that works, whatever. Im tired.

Keep sending in those reviews! They help me keep going! :)

See ya next time readers!

~SillyLeaf