A/N: I just watched this movie the other day, and then watched it again two days later, and then proceeded to watch every single Howl/Sophie moment over and over again. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the fluff between them! I love them so much and so whole-heartedly ship them. I have one more one-shot planned for them that I'm quite excited to write very, very soon! Especially since I'm on break and have more time to write! Anyway, here is some Howl and Sophie fluff :)

Sophie was very careful as she maneuvered through all off the winding passages that would eventually lead to the bakery. She knew that with the parade going on, she would never be able to see her sister and get back before it got too late. The passages weren't any better. She kept walking and walking, often consulting the piece of paper she gripped in her hand to lead the way for her.

She turned her head for just a moment, and when she looked back in front of her, she was met with the very lustful eyes of a couple of soldiers. She immediately began to regret her decision to take these passages. At least if she was held up by the parade, she was surrounded by witnesses. Here, she was all alone. It was up to her to get out of this mess.

"Hey, looks like a little mouse lost its way," one soldier said to her in a seductful tone that made her want to punch him in the face. But that was not lady-like, and he certainly would end up overpowering her.

"Oh, no, I'm not lost," she said, trying to appear not as timid as she felt.

"This little mouse looks thirsty," he taunted. "We should take her for a cup of tea."

Sophie knew that was not all they wanted with her and was afraid of what else they might do to her if they forced her to come with him. "No, thanks, my sister's expecting me."

The other soldier came beside her. "She's pretty cute for a mouse." There was no escape at this point. He had blocked her supposed exit. If she turned and ran, she'd never see her sister and most likely, they would chase her and take her away. She had to stand her ground.

"How old are you anyway? Do you live around here?"

"Leave me alone!" she demanded, hoping they would see she wasn't interested.

"You see?" he said to the other soldier. "Your mustache scares all the girls!"

"So? I think she's even cuter when she's scared!"

They were toying with her and she knew it. She was scared, as much as she was trying not to show it. She couldn't see any way out now.

Howl had been searching for years for the girl from his childhood. He had dated several other girls, but none of them turned out to be that one from so long ago. With only Calcifer as his closest "friend" and little Markl, who was like a son to him, he couldn't deny that he had been quite lonely and desperate to find that girl.

And that's when he caught sight of…her. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the girl he had been searching for all these years. She looked different though. Her hair was brown, not silver. And it was much longer, reaching the middle of her back, rather than just below her neck. But her perfect face was unmistakable.

He watched her with curious eyes, and saw two soldiers talking to her. From what he could tell, their true intentions were anything but pure, and she obviously did not want to be a part of what they wanted.

So he knew that he had to rescue her.

He came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulder. "There you are, sweetheart," he said sweetly so these soldiers would believe she was taken. "Sorry I'm late. I've been looking everywhere for you." And that was most certainly the truth.

Sophie jumped at his sudden touch, but did not dare look at him just yet. She was nervous being so close to this man, yet at the same time, she also felt safe and protected.

"Hey, hey, we're busy here!" one of the soldiers barked at him.

"Are you really?" he answered with no hesitation. "It looked to me like the two of you were just leaving."

Sophie felt his hand leave her shoulder ever so slightly, and move around. Suddenly, the two soldiers in front of her stood upright and marched away, though it was clear it was not by their own doing. She looked after them, taking in what was happening.

"Don't hold it against them. They're actually not all that bad."

Sophie allowed herself to look at her savior. He was beautiful. She had never seen such a handsome man in her entire life. He had piercing blue eyes that seemed to stare straight through her and blond hair that desperately needed a cutting as some of it fell too far in front of his face. He had on black trousers and a white shirt with a multi-colored jacket that was draped over his shoulders. How it stayed on so well, she didn't know.

"Where to? I'll be your escort this evening."

And he had a beautiful voice to match his looks. Sophie was temporarily rendered speechless. When she finally found her voice again, she mustered out, "Oh, um, I'm just going to the bakery."

Howl smiled at her attempts to conceal her obvious hesitation and the red tint that was growing on her cheeks. "Don't be alarmed, but I'm being followed. Act normal."

He took her arm and placed it over his, like a true gentleman. They began to leisurely walk through the alleyway. Admittedly, Sophie was very uncomfortable, and wasn't at the same time. She had never been this close to a man, or even a boy, before, and she kind of liked it.

She heard noises behind her and ever so slightly turned her head to find weird blackish blob things coming from the walls.

"Sorry, looks like you're involved."

Sophie looked ahead of her and gasped. More of the blobs came out of the walls in front of them. Forgetting about being uncomfortable, she gripped his shirt tightly with her other hand. He led her down another passage and they managed to avoid the blobs.

Just when she thought they were safe, even more blobs appeared in front of them, and this time, there was no other passage to escape into. Sophie's fingers held onto his shirt tighter and her fingers ached from straining them so much.

"Hold on!"

The man gripped her waist firmly and took her hand. Just as the blobs were about to close in on them, Sophie gasped as the man flew them up into the air. Higher and higher and higher they went until the blobs could not follow.

Sophie's stomach lurched at the great height they were at. His hand was still wrapped around her waist, gently pulling her towards him.

"Now straighten your legs, and start walking," he said softly to her.

Sophie usually wasn't this intimidated, but she had been having a very rough afternoon. Two soldiers tried to seduce her, a weird yet handsome man saved her, she was attacked by blobs, and now she was in the air with said weird man.

The stress of it all as too much and she shook her head and buried her face into his soft shirt, clutching his hand tightly, afraid to let go even a little bit.

Howl looked at the young girl in his embrace, obviously very scared. For clear reasons, of course. This kind of thing didn't happen every day, not to mention she wasn't having the best day. His thumb rubbed her hand which sent goosebumps along Sophie's skin.

"I promise. I won't let you fall."

Sophie looked at up at him. His eyes were so kind that she knew he most certainly was not lying. Slowly, she forced her wobbling legs to straighten out and then followed his lead and started walking in the air.

Howl took both of her hands in his and guided her along. She became noticeably relaxed and her hands began to loosen up.

"See? Not so hard, is it?"

Sophie could not respond as she focused on making her feet move and push her along. They glided over the rooftops and she heard him laugh softly, a sound that was pure bliss to her ears.

"You are a natural," he said to her to try to get her to calm down even more.

It worked, and Sophie's tight grip loosened even more and she even gave him a small smile.

Sophie could see the bakery in sight. Now that she was okay with this, she didn't want it to end. She was so happy and felt so safe with this stranger. Besides, it wasn't every day someone like him talked to her. She wasn't pretty enough to attract real men like him.

Howl stepped onto the balcony railing and gently lowered Sophie down onto the balcony.

"I'll make sure to draw them off, but be sure you wait a bit before heading back outside."

Sophie couldn't ignore the fact that even after he dropped her onto the floor, he was still gently holding her hand. The simple act stole her voice from her once again. "Okay," she choked out, immediately embarrassed at how she sounded.

He slowly withdrew his hand, and Sophie found that she didn't want him to do that. She held onto it for as long as possible before it slipped out of her grasp, leaving her feeling almost empty, like his touch filled her to the brim with something she never had before.

He gave her a beautiful smile. "That's my girl!"

He jumped backwards off the railing and floated down. In shock, Sophie ran to the railing and looked for him, but could not find him amongst the crowd of people.

Howl looked up at her from his hidden position in the crowd. She was the one alright. She was perfect.

Sophie edged away from the railing and touched her palm where his hand had lingered. It felt warm to the touch from his body heat.

He had called her his girl. Her mind replayed him saying those words over and over again which caused her stomach to flutter. She knew she had to see him again. He was perfect.