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Howl learned quickly upon her very arrival to the castle that Sophie is one to establish a routine and sticks to it almost obediently once said routine has been formed. He believes this has something to do with her being the eldest of three daughters, from her having to shoulder much responsibility in her family after the death of her beloved father. In the nearly three years of marriage to his beautiful starlight, Howl thinks that he has learned Sophie’s routines quite well, particularly so as a strategy to avoid his darling wife’s ire. If he were to cause her to deviate from her set routines in any way, then everyone in the moving castle would batten down the proverbial hatches to prevent Sophie from quarreling endlessly with Howl. He certainly has taken to becoming more punctual each day after one particularly frightening instance when Sophie had been so angry with him over being late arriving home one night, fear that he had been hurt in the last days of the war. This had occurred not long after the spell between Howl and Calcifer was broken and everyone was still on edge and high on alert, even young Markl. Sophie had made Howl sleep on the couch that night, threatening to force Calcifer to withhold the hot water for Howl’s much desired hot bath if he did not apologize sufficiently. That had been one of the scariest days in their marriage and the infamous wizard was cognizant to never make a mistake so large again.
Night has long since fallen in the great city of Market Chipping, though Howl Pendragon is just now finishing up with the last of his work for the day. Marrying Sophie had done wonders for his cowardly ways, as he is no longer quite the slithering man he had been prior to meeting her. Yet, he still from time to time attempts to run away from certain responsibilities if they impede with his freedom or his alone time with his wife. He blows out the candle on his workstation, padding quietly down the hallway so as not to wake the slumbering Markl. When he enters the main living space of the castle, the sight that greets him in the low glow of Calcifer’s embers is rather shocking to him. There, lying on the green couch is Sophie, her breaths even and slow, denoting that she is fast asleep.
Howl crosses the room in just two strides thanks to the length of his legs before he places one of his hands gently on Sophie’s shoulder.
“Sophie? Whatever is the matter?” he gently inquires, carding his hand through Sophie’s starlight-colored hair in the process of waking her.
“Hmm?” Sophie hums in the back of her throat, her deep chocolate eyes opening slowly and with much effort. “Is something wrong, Howl?” she questions, her voice still thick and disoriented with sleep.
“You tell me, dearest. You’re the one sleeping on the couch when you’re usually to bed far before now,” Howl grins softly, helping Sophie into a sitting position, his blue eyes locking onto her brown ones. “Were you waiting up on me to finish where we could come to bed together for the evening, perhaps?” he asks, knowing that Sophie always appreciates when they retire to their bedroom at the same time, to know he is safe beside her.
“I’m not quite sure what happened,” Sophie admits, a wry laugh escaping her lips in the process at the unintentional deviation from her nightly routine. “I remember wishing Markl goodnight and then I settled down with a book to do a bit of reading while I waited for you to finish with your spell work for the night. And then…” here she trails off, a fog settling in her brain as the rest of the details are missing.
“Goodness, what time is it? I must’ve been out for longer than I’ve realized. My body aches from being curled up like that on the couch.”
“It’s just after midnight,” Howl says, crouching down and taking slow, calculated measures to pull his wife gently into his arms. “Let’s get you to bed, beloved. I shall join you and will hold onto you the entire night,” the raven-haired wizard whispers in her ear, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as he stands from the floor, Sophie clutched tenderly in his hold.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Howl. I’ve been so exhausted lately. Why, even now, I feel like my eyes could close again,” Sophie says, her voice a ghost of a whisper as she rests her head in the crook of her husband’s neck.
“Why, that may just be because of the comfort of being in your handsome, strong husband’s tender arms, dearest,” Howl quips nearly immediately, tightening his grasp on Sophie as if to prove his point.
“Vanity again? Why am I not surprised by that, Howl Pendragon?” Sophie sighs and if she had the proper amount of energy, Howl knows that his beloved would have thrown an eye roll in there for good measure as well.
“Because you and I know each other in the way only lovers can, Sophie. Perhaps I’ve been working you too hard with your magic these past few weeks because of how much progress you’ve been making?”
“I don’t think so. This feels like a different form of exhaustion,” the budding witch states, feeling this variety of fatigue down to her very bones.
“Perhaps now you see why it takes me so long to get out of bed in the mornings, what with all the magical energy I expound on any given day,” Howl jokes, a wide grin appearing on his lips as his chest rumbles with laughter against Sophie’s arms while he uses one hand to pull the quilt and sheet down on their shared bed.
“That’s just because you’re lazy, Howl,” Sophie deadpans, no room for argument in her voice. “We’ve been married for almost three years and I’m the one who saved your heart, so you can’t lie to me,” she reminds, that wicked look appearing in her chocolate eyes which normally spells trouble for Howl Pendragon.
Fortunately for the wizard, his wife is in too tired of a state to act on said wickedness, meaning he is safe from any meddling this night.
“Rest, darling,” Howl softly commands, sliding Sophie into their bed before pulling the covers up around her, creating quite the warm cocoon for his lover to lie in to help combat the winter temperatures.
He presses a kiss to her forehead before climbing over her legs, settling down on his side of the bed, but not before pulling Sophie into his arms once more.
“I shall not leave your side and will keep you in my arms until you wake,” Howl promises, this time pressing a kiss long and slow to Sophie’s lips, capturing his love in one of the best ways he knows how.
Sophie sighs contentedly against his lips, a jolt of electricity seemingly passing through her as it does each time she and her husband’s lips meet, offering her a burst of energy that had disappeared due to the late hour. She presses herself closer against Howl, her head resting firmly atop his heart, listening to its steady rhythm beating assuredly in his chest. Sophie Pendragon would never tire of that sound, no matter how many times she has listened to its melody, all but having memorized the pattern of her husband’s heartbeat. As she lies atop of him, Sophie hears his heartbeat quicken as her arms come to wind around his waist, ensuring there is not a single inch of space separating them in their bed. Howl sighs happily, wrapping his arms tightly around Sophie’s chest and waist as he holds her with all the tenderness and reverence she deserves.
“Sleep, Sophie,” he whispers, another kiss given to his wife with these two words, this one a brief kiss to her forehead beneath her bangs.
“I love you, Howl,” Sophie softly says, sleep already threatening to overcome her with the safety of being in her husband’s embrace in their bed.
“I love you more, Sophie,” Howl returns the sentiment, his own voice growing gravelly as he prepares to sink into the oblivion of sleep as well.
Sophie awakens the next morning, her position unchanged from how she fell asleep last night, still tucked protectively in Howl’s arms. She exhales quietly through her nose, her chocolate brown eyes studying her husband and his soft facial features as he lies blissfully in sleep. Sophie gently sweeps some of his jet-black hair back from his face before she presses a kiss to his forehead.
“Morning already?” Howl groans, his blue eyes blinking in the soft sunlight streaming in through the bedroom window, neither of them having remembered to pull the curtains closed last night.
“It would appear so,” Sophie answers back.
“Stay with me a little longer this morning?”
“Of course I will.”