Howls Moving Castle <3 (My Absolute Favourite)

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Ever since you had wondered your way through the isolated mountains only a few months ago, your name hadn't left the fire demons mouth.

Calcifer; a fire demon who held the heart of Howl in a contract he had gotten himself stuck in when Howl was only a child. The fire demon was extremely kind to you and it surprised Markl, Sophie and Howl. They didn't know what possessed the demon to be so selfish and careless towards others but when it came to you, it was like you were his damsel who was constantly in distress.

Calcifer was consistently wondering if you were okay, he would ask how you were doing or what you were up to. He always seemed to want you near him and you didn't plan on upsetting the demon so you obeyed with smiles. The thought of being 'needed' in a way, made you feel really good and you weren't too keen on witnessing a forlorn fire demon.

"Hey! Hey, (Y/N), how are you? You look so beautiful today, can you feed me please- i'm goin' out!"

You had just exited the castle for a moment to witness the scenery outside. Sophie was still outside with turnip-head as she was quietly seated at a table that she and Markl brought out but you were a bit bored out there. The second you made it inside, walking up the small set of stairs, you had caught Calcifer's eyes and he already spoke out to you which also gained the undivided attention of Howl from where he was listening upstairs.

You only smiled at the little but powerful fire, unknowingly adding a little fuel to the fire of envy swirling inside of Howl and answered the fire, sitting in front of him now to warm yourself up, "Yes, I'm alright Calcifer, here you go." You answered when you leaned down under the fireplace to grab some extra wood on the floor.

Calcifer smiled widely at your words and at the content look on your face, you grab multiple pieces of wood and proceeded to throw them in, laughing at the sounds of Calcifer roughly devouring them as he had no shame.

"So how are you Cal?"

You asked as you lifted your hands to help heat them up. Calcifer noticed your actions, growing larger and nearer towards you to deliver the blaze you desired and you smiled as he began speaking, "I'm real good- better now that you're here!"

You giggled slightly but quieted a bit when a familiar green substance started leaking from upstairs, making it's way slowly down to the first floor. You gasped slightly at the sight when you remembered when Howl's hair had turned orange due to Sophie's impressive cleaning when she rearranged his magic potions and in one haste movement you were removing your shoes to run upstairs, only to find Howl was sitting at the top step with his head leaning on the wall.

"Eavesdropping, really? Then what could've caused your tantrum now?" You muttered to yourself when you reached the witch. You heard the door open as a couple of footsteps resonated through the house and you heard Calcifer yelling something about helping you and Howl.  

"Oh Howl, not again!" You heard from Sophie as she came beside you to lift the man up. Markl had already zoomed pass the two of you to run into the bathroom and Calcifer already knew to start heating up the water for a bath made for Howl.

You took one arm while Sophie took the other as you grunted in annoyance when you realised how heavy the witch really was. His green gooey substance was now all over you but you could do nothing but keep going as you slowly lowered Howl into the bath so Markl could help him clean up. Sophie sighed when she realised she would have to mop the house again and you only smiled sheepishly when you exited the house to strip yourself of your dirty clothes to take a dip in the vast lake.

You swam through the peaceful water, cleaning your clothes as well as your smooth skin with a small smile on your face but you still couldn't deny the fact that you were slightly worried about Howl; his reaction was quite odd and something pretty bad must've happened for him to react this way.

"Hey! (Y/N), Howl is okay now- you should come back inside, it's getting a bit chilly!" Sophie yelled from one of the balcony's on the castle. You turned to smile at the grey-haired woman, giving her a nod so she knew that you heard her and you began to approach the shore when you grabbed your now dried clothes with help from the rays of the sun.

You slowly put the clothes on your body and walked back inside the castle to take another seat right in front of the fire, watching as Sophie had already started making dinner for the four of you. You watched as she cut up some vegetables and unconsciously curled into yourself while Calcifer helped dry you off with a small smile.

"Do you need help?" You asked quietly, Sohpie looked up at the sound of your voice, smiling and shook her head as she sliced up a carrot. You nodded and looked around again, your eyes casually lifting to the stairs as if they knew Howl was right there again.

"What happened to Howl?" You asked, again keeping your voice quiet so the man didn't hear. He was most likely in bed now and you couldn't help but miss his presence. Sophie only smiled a devious one but shrugged nonchalantly when she opened her mouth, closed it and opened again as if she had to think thoroughly about her answer, "That boy is so immature, I swear he will never.."

Sophie mumbled the end of her sentence and your brows furrowed at the sound because now you weren't sure if she was speaking to you or herself, "Sophie?"

She looked up from her carrot with surprised, her cheeks turning pink from embarrassment when she realised her mistake and laughed awkwardly, waving the knife around in emphasis, "Oh, it's nothing! He's fine now- that's all that matters right?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so." You answered in a glum voice. Sophie and Calcifer noticed this and immediately grew interested at your reaction because of how intrigued you seemed about Howl's condition.

"(Y/N) do you like Howl?" Califer asked slowly. You lifted your head to stare at Sophie, turning around slowly to face the fire who watched with wide eyes. You guessed your face mirrored his because of how unexpected his question was but you only nodded feebly and opened your mouth, "O-of course I do, He's a gr-great friend of m-mine."

"No! He means like-like (Y/N)!" Markl was heard, exclaiming his statement from the top of the stairs when he sprinted down because of the mouth-watering scent of the food that was in the process of completion. You turned your head quickly, jumping from fear at the sound of the loud and abrupt voice and went to answer, already in the process of shaking your head furiously before Sophie's words stopped you.

"Yes, like Calcifer likes (Y/N)."

You were frozen, feeling extremely awkward at the thought of a fire demon developing a crush on you over the short period of time you had been here. The fire choked on his breath at Sophie's words, also feeling very exposed and shocked at her blunt words. You wanted to feel mad or at least annoyed at her because of the embarrassment she caused but her giggling wouldn't let you. Instead you opt for skipping dinner to go to bed early, purposely stomping your feet in humiliation and irritation.

"What the hell was that Sophie!" You heard Calcifer bellow out from downstairs.

"Oh please, It isn't as bad as it sounds."

- Next day -

Waking from your slumber, you tiredly got up from bed to fix the mess of hair on your head and go downstairs for breakfast. You lazily walked down the steps to get to the kitchen and placed a pan on the fire place, rummaging through the fridge to look for the necessary ingredients used for a traditional bacon and eggs breakfast. The quiet morning bothered you slightly but you didn't question it in your drained state. Then the fact that the eggs on the pan weren't even cooking, that wasn't right.

You stared at the eggs, wondering what the hell was happening before you finally realised, eyes wide and a scream ripping from your throat; effectively waking everyone from their sleep to immediately rush to your aid.

Calcifer. Calcifer was missing.

"(Y/N)! What's the matter?!" Sophie exclaimed wildly from her spot now next to you. You continued to stare at the fireplace, tears brimming your eyes at the thought of no more Calcifer when you turned to face Howl who was also next to you, surprising the tall male as he stared with messy hair and wide eyes.

"(Y/N)-"

"What happened?! How are you okay, Where is Cal?!" You screamed on the verge of crying, Howl seemed to slump at the sound of your cracked voice, eyes saddening at the sight of having his beloved cry for someone that wasn't him.

"It's okay (Y/N), He's free now!" Mackl beamed while rubbing his tired eyes so he could wake up properly. You turned to him questioningly, wondering what the heck was going on when Sophie stepped forward with a smile on her face, her eyes knowingly drifting from Howl and then to you.

"It's okay now, Howl has his heart back.. And now Calcifer is finally free. Isn't that great!"

You watched in silence, thousands of questions zooming through your mind and you thought that hopefully Sophie could somehow read your mind so she could answer your unspoken queries. Howl smiled a gentle smile that further confused you but also ignited those crazy butterflies in your stomach and you had to breath out a sigh to somehow relax your tense form.

"I'm so confused.." You whimpered out as you slowly moped towards the table, sitting in the chair while Howl made his way to you to take a seat across from you, Sophie sitting next to you and Markl smiling his way to sit next to Sophie.

"It's completely fine (Y/N)- basically what happened is that yesterday when you went to bed early, I took that as an opportunity to return Howl his heart when he slept and for that- Calcifer was free and the contract between them is no more."

"Howl.. Heart..-"

"Yes?" Howl asked confused, your eyes met his and you had to cover your face with your hands so he wouldn't see the obvious blush that had been painted across your face. Calcifer was the heart of Howl.

"Calcifer was Howl's heart.." Howl, Sophie and Markl nod, "So everything Calcifer did and said.. Was actually  from Howl's heart."

"Yes, like Calcifer likes (Y/N)."

"Yes.. And it was all true, everything that was said."

By now Sophie had dragged Markl away so that you two could talk, you guessed they were relaxing outside with turnip-head and you could only look at your hands on the table when the prominent blush never left your face because of the thought of Howl having those feelings for you.

"Howl.. That's so sweet.. Yo- you like me..?"

"Yeah, I think I love you! You're so beautiful- inside and out. So... Will you be mine?"

You didn't know if you could be anymore surprised or shocked this morning but you were obvious proved wrong because of the charming man in front of you. You became frozen, still long enough for Howl to watch and smile at you, get up from his seat and kneel in front of you. You jumped at the feeling of your hands being grabbed and turned to the man in awe, opening your mouth to answer before you were abruptly silenced.

By another pair of lips.

They were warm and incredibly smooth, not that you were expecting anything different from the witch that was Howl Jenkins Pendragon.
He was still against your lips, waiting for some sort of sign that indicated a disapproval of his actions but when he received none, he took advantage of your surprise. He moved his lips around with yours, sucking your lips and squeezing your hands at the feeling of the explosions in his and yours stomach.

He pulled away after a while, slightly panting from the lack of oxygen and let go of your right hand so he could tenderly run his hand over your smooth, red cheek and he smiled again when you immediately leaned into his touch, growing a toothy grin when your next words reached his ears before he engulfed your lips with his again,

"I'll be yours, Howl."