A/N: I own nothing, not even the computer this was typed on. HMC belongs to DWJ and Miyazaki owns the character designs I'm referencing. You can have this nice pocket lint if you like though…
"So after I pick up Martha from the bakery, I'm going to take her to dinner, and then I was thinking we could come back here for tea and a visit with you Sophie, does that sound good to you?" Michael was fresh from the bath and running down a list of 'things to do with Martha' for Sophie while Howl lounged by the fire looking absolutely bored out of his skull and proclaiming his disinterest in Michaels love-life at every opportunity.
"So you want to take her out to dinner, we've got that part memorized, hells teeth Michael, can't you think of anything more original that that?" Howl rant a hand through his black tresses and moaned, "I've taught you the wrong type of wizardry! Haven't you been watching me, if I could hold a degree in the art of woo-ing women, I would be a PhD several times over!"
"What's a PhD?" Michael inquired, "an incubus or something?" That thought worried Sophie, Howl didn't need new incentive in his skirt chasing. Howl laughed and turned from the grate to face them.
"It's an education level, fear not," he cocked an eye to Sophie when he said this, "What I mean my young, painfully inexperienced apprentice, is that a girl likes to be swept off her feet. Dazzled if you will. Go with a theme maybe." he appeared thoughtful, "Take myself for example. I am a roguishly good looking wizard, mysterious, with a penchant for tomfoolery. I charm. I dazzle. I make the girl laugh… Make Martha feel like you will give her the moon, and then, my apprentice, I hope to god you can do this charm by now, give it too her." Howl's eyes sparkled with laughter and all present observed how he appeared to puff up with size of his own ego.
"That is the worst advice I have ever heard, you snake!" Sophie growled and shoved Howl from his perch on the chair. Howl fell over with a thud and gave his attacker a confused look.
"You should know me well enough by now, you slitherer, that I will not tolerate such manipulation!" Sophie was surprised by her own offense to what Howl had been suggesting. 'Sadly, that sort of thing does work. Too well.' Sophie scowled again, reminded of just how many times Howl must have utilized such tactics on poor girls before slithering back to his castle to revel in his triumph over their hearts. What she said aloud was,
"Michael dear, just be yourself and try to show Martha a completely natural good time." At this point the copper haired boy had detected the danger in the air and felt it best to just nod and flee for dear life. Without any more discussion, he excused himself out the door that was on the Wastes and took off at a hurried pace.
"Michael, you can leave through the shop without having to walk as far to the bakery! It looks like it's going to rain!" Sophie ran to the door and called after him even though he was already a fair distance off at the pace he was going.
"That's fine Sophie! If it means passing between you and Master Howl at this point, I'll take my chances with the Wastes and the rain, have a good evening!" he called back to her over the wind. To himself, Michael made a mental note never to ask for relationship and date advice from either of them.
Sophie huffed back inside and glared at the wizard who now stood dusting himself off in the doorway, "I don't understand this obsession you have with everything being natural, if you have the skill to make something super-natural, I say go ahead and do it."
"Like it even matters anymore, I'm quite sure neither of us will ever be consulted again on such matters. It's all your fault!" she pointed an accusatory finger in Howl's direction.
"My fault? I offered advice in a subject area I happen to have a lot of experience in, would you mind telling me why you are mad at me for it!" he held his arms out in defeat, Sophie was riled up now, and Howl knew that when she got like this, there was no stopping her.
Sophie fixed her chocolate brown eyes on the floor and tried to get a grip on her emotions. The voice of reason inside her told her to calm down. She knew that she wasn't really upset about the advice Howl had given Michael. On a certain level, it was even good advice, and it was knowledge gained from years of experience. Knowledge that worked on women in Howl's past…many, many women.
"How many conquests have you had Howl Jenkins?" that question blindsided Howl who raised a long fingered hand to his chest in an expression of 'who, me?'.
"Why Ms. Nose, aren't we being hostile today. First I come home to you talking about cursing my favorite clothes, and now you accuse me of philandering, I am offended that you mistrust me so."
"Forgive me if I find your past 'hobbies' a little unsettling Howl." Sophie could feel her anger subsiding, the old lady inside her seemed to be scolding her for her behavior. Howl shook his head and moved to pull Sophie close, this time tucking his hair behind his ears before he did so. The red jewel dangling from his ear glinted in Calcifers firelight. Sophie tensed at the weight of his hands on her shoulders and then relaxed against his warm body with a sigh. Wrapping her own thin arms around his waist she squeezed him tight and breathed in deeply. He smelled of honeysuckle today.
"Sophie, tonight lets go on our own outting. If you want, I can go upstairs and make myself up as I did for the other women, and then take you out onto the heather and promise you the moon." he ran his fingertips down through her starry hair, over her temple making her shiver. Then continued on down until he had captured her chin and raised her face from where it had been burried in his folds of his white shirt. She looked into his face to find his liquid eyes filled with love again. Howl broke into a grin, "I'll even bring that old guitar too!" Sophie smiled back.
"You don't even know how to play it Howl." To this the man smiled and shrugged, "Never stopped me before."
"You don't have to pretend with me Howl. I know what kind of man you are so your tricks and spells, and makeup, won't work on me." Sophie laughed in spite of herself attempting to be serious. "I love you anyway, despite yourself." she raised up on tiptoe and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose, shocked at her own boldness.
"Despite myself eh? I am Wizard Howl. Women would fight each other off claim my heart for their own." he moved to capture her lips before being stopped by the palm of her hand, which he kissed anyway.
"A tad to close to reality, don't you think Howl?" Sophie's face had returned to serious at the reminder of how close she had come to actually loosing this man who over the past year had stolen her heart, as soundly as she had his. Howl frowned and shook his head. He took her hand and led her to the chair by the grate, and beckoned her to sit in it.
"Calcifer? Do you think that you could find somewhere else to be this evening, I think Sophie and I need some time to ourself. To talk."
The fire demon crackled blew some green flames up the chimney. "It's going to rain Howl. You may not be tied to me anymore, but I still bear no fondness for liquids."
The wizard glared into Calcifers flames and pulled Sophie back out of the chair and towards the door where the portal was still set to the wastes. "Fine, stop the castle here then and don't more it. Come on Ms. Nose, I can't even get privacy in my own home anymore it seems!"
"Howl…" she began, then thought about it, and decided it would be better to just follow him out onto the heather than argue about getting wet themselves. Howl seemed like he was open to answering her questions for once, so she decided to take that chance while she still had it. If she got a little wet it was worth it to get a straight answer out of Horrible Howl.
The wind caught her hair and swirled it lightly about her face while the longer black hair of the man leading her blew with the wind in long whipping strands. She thought about brushing those forming knots out of his soft hair later and blushed a slight pink. Howl would never risk her near his hair again, even if the ginger dye had been an accident. The smell of honeysuckle wafted off his skin in the wind and brought with it a more natural scent that was all Howl. Sophie wished greatly that someday she could see him without the illusions he clothed himself in. When that day came he would truly be hers. The day he dropped his beauty spells in front of her would give her the greatest affirmation of his love that even his word could manage to convey. Sophie had heard Howl speak of love in regards to other women, her sister Lettie in particular, but she had never in the time she had known him, seen him totally free of illusions. Even drunk, hungover, or sick with a cold Howl had somehow managed to keep up at least some of his beauty spells.
'Vain peacock' thought Sophie. They had come to a dip in the heather, and hear Howl dropped to one knee in front of her. His large blue eyes gazing up at her, his raven hair whipping around his face, spells or not, the man was gorgeous.
"Sophie, I hope you can forgive the cold, but I'd rather not do this in front of Calcifer…I'd never hear the end of it from him." Her heart fluttered in her chest and she felt the blood rush into her cheeks making them rosy. "I don't want anybody else but you Sophie…I love you. You held my heart in your hand, saved my life, and been a nice person despite my best efforts." Howl mock frowned to himself, "too nice really, in fact, you were so nice to that fire demon of the Witch of the Wastes that it almost got us all killed…" Sophie started to argue by was stopped by Howl as he continued, "I love you Sophie. I love you, and I can't seem to stop saying it. It feels so nice to say it even after knowing you love me. It feels better than the times those other women said they loved me. When you say you love me I know you mean it, I'm not just a beautiful illusion to you." He raised to his full height again, bringing Sophies face close to his again to breathe over her lips once more, beforeing ensnaring them with his own soft lips.
Sophie fisted his hair again and massaged the base of his scalp with her fingertips as he kissed her with a bruising force. Faintly she noticed that the rain had begun to fall, and was slowly but surely soaking the both of them, yet neither let the other go, standing out in the middle of the wet heather, devouring each others mouths with such a passion it was good nobody was about to witness them. At length Sophie broke the kissed and laughed slapping Howl's shoulder lightly.
"You slitherer-outer, you never answered my question!" Howl smiled and had the good grace to look confused.
"Oh Ms. Nose, I forget what question you asked me, or if you even asked a question at all." he kissed her again, proding with the tip of his tounge to be allowed entrance to her mouth again. Sophie sighed into the kiss and decided to let it go, it wouldn't be Howl if getting any answer out of him were easy.
"Why couldn't you say this in front of Calcifer? You two shared a heart for five years. Surely such a confession wouldn't be too hard to do would it? And that way we wouldn't be soaked through either!" For by now they both were wet to the skins under their clothes. Small rivers seemed to run from every strand of Howl's carefully styled hair, now a mess of knots.
"I have a reputation to keep," he flipped a tendril of his wet hair, sending water flying, "I am Horrible Heartless Howl afterall."
"Oh you're horrible indeed. Look at me, I'm soaked to the bone! Let's head back to the castle so I can take a hot shower and get into some dry clothes."
"You? My little mouse, I'm the one who until recently had a very bad cold, I should get the first shower." Howl laughed but by then Sophie had already started running across the grey heather toward the moving castle.
"First one back gets the hot water!" the hatter called over the wind.
yay, chp. 2. Oohhhh, both are wet and cold, with only one shower stall and a bathtub. lets see who gets back first shall we? If you're reading this on you'll have to go to for the full unedited version of chp. 3, same username, MangaMazoku. See you there!
