Chapter Text
Snufkin had just finished setting up his tent when he heard Little My shouting his name. He had been gone for about a day, fishing up in the Lonely Mountains.
“Snufkiiiiin!” She called out. Little My was running as fast as her little legs could take her. Something seemed wrong.
He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. “What’s wrong, Little My?”
She skidded to a stop and put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. “It’s… it’s- ugh!” She groaned and just pointed at the tall blue house she came from. “Mamma’s.. Looking.. For.. you.” She spoke in between breaths.
Snufkin picked up the small Mymble and put her on his hat. “Did something happen?” He inquired. He tried to hide the concern in his voice, but he was worried. What on Earth happened while he was gone?
Little My was still breathing quite heavily. “Mr. Hemulen… He found... a stupid magic flower.”
“A magic flower?”
“Yea, but it’s! It’s been putting people to sleep! And we can’t wake anyone up!” Little My looked down from the edge of Snufkin’s hat. “It’s already put a dozen people to sleep! Including-”
“Moomintroll?” He felt his heart in his throat. Little My nodded, and sat back up.
Snufkin needed to see Moomintroll for himself. He hurried up the path to the Moominhouse, just as rain began to sprinkle down. Only yesterday had all this drama happened.
The first one to fall asleep was Mr. Hemulen. It started deep within the Forest of Witches, and he had found a cluster of beautiful flowers. Each flower had about 6 petals that seemed to shift between a cotton blue and a pearly pink. They seemed to illuminate a gentle light. It wasn’t in any of his botany books, so he thought he had made a brand-new discovery! However, that was not the case. For this flower was in a book, but not one written by scientists. The flowers he found were old and held a dangerous magic, causing anyone who inhaled its pollen to fall into a deep slumber. Once Mr. Hemulen brought some of the flowers out of the forest and told the others in Moominvalley, it went downhill from there.
Moominmamma was sitting on Moomin’s bed, when Little My opened the door, with Snufkin following right behind. She turned around and smiled at him, the corner of her eyes crinkling.
“Snufkin, it’s so good to see you!”
Snufkin nodded with a polite smile, but it fell once his eyes found the unconscious Moomin laying in bed. He looked incredibly peaceful, as if the world around him didn’t exist. Snufkin would’ve found it charming, but he knew this was not natural sleep.
“Little My told me about what happened. How is he?” He asked, walking over to join Moominmamma.
She sighed and looked back at her son. “He hasn’t stirred at all. Moominpappa is out gathering the ingredients we need to wake him and the others up, but it’s going to be a while.” She pulled out her Grandma’s recipe book and opened it to a marked page. Snufkin noticed there was a flower drawn on the same page. “None of these are found naturally in Moominvalley. Oh, I just hope Pappa makes it back soon.”
Snufkin’s heart ached. He wanted to help, in any way possible. Oh how he hated feeling helpless. “Is there anything I can do?” He looked up at Moominmamma.
“Well-”
“I know how you can help!” Shouted Little My, as she climbed onto the foot of Moomin’s bed. She had that same mischievous smile on her face; the one she always had whenever she was about to be a smart-aleck. Snufkin looked over at her and gave a puzzling look.
“How?”
“Well, Grandma’s recipe says there’s a second way to cure the flower’s magic!” She giggled.
"There is?” He looked to Moominmamma for a response.
“Little My!” She said with a huff. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. Little My was chuckling to herself. “Yes, there is a second way, but…” She looked back to Snufkin and then down at her Grandma's old book. Snufkin tilted his head.
“But?”
Little My rolled her eyes. “It’s true love’s kiss.”
Snufkin’s eyes widened. True love's kiss? Like in the fairy tales? "Is this true?"
She nodded. "Yes, Grandma says that the easiest way to break the flower's spell, and to wake the sleeping person, is by True Love's kiss." Moominmamma opened the book back up and began to read what her grandmother had written down years ago. “Grandma says, true love is a bond stronger than any type of magic in the whole world. That special person you think of every morning, and every night. With this, you can break the flower’s spell with ease.”
Snufkin looked back at Moomin. True love, huh? He felt his cheeks heat up at the idea, but he shook it off. He knew better. Moomin was just a friend - well, best friend, but still. They were just friends, there’s no way Moomin felt that way about Snufkin.
“So if we wanna wake Moomin up, we need someone to give him true love’s kiss.” Little My leans forward towards Snufkin. He looked at her and felt his stomach turn. Avoiding eye contact, he rubbed the back of his head. “But Snorkmaiden’s asleep, isn’t she?”
Little My rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t talking about her.”
Snufkin stared at her in confusion. If not Snorkmaiden, then who?
Wait.
Suddenly, his cheeks became a bright red and his eyes widened. “H-Whu- ME?!” He yelped, his voice raising an octave. Little My started laughing as Snufkin tried to find his words. “T-There is! No way I can do it! I’m not Moomin’s true love! He, he loves Snorkmaiden! Not me!” He yelled. Snufkin would’ve said more, but he felt a gentle paw touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Moominmamma giving him a sympathetic look. Snufkin let out a shaky sigh, and pulled his hat down. He really wished he could run away from this whole situation.
“Snufkin.” Moominmamma spoke softly, just as any mother would. She turned him to face her and put her paws on both shoulders. “Moomintroll cares about you more than anything, and I know you care about him too.”
He stared up at her, eyes wide. She continued. “No matter how you feel, this family will always love and accept you.” She wrapped her arms around Snufkin and pulled him into a gentle hug. A motherly hug. Something Snufkin has only experienced before from Moominmamma. He felt his eyes water and hugged her in return.
“And don’t feel pressured to do anything that you don’t want to do. I know Little My is trying to tease you, but we can just wait a few days for Moominpappa to come home with supplies!”
Snufkin blinked his tears away and took a deep breath. “But that’s too long.”
If Mamma’s book was right, Snufkin could wake up Moomin. Maybe.
Suddenly, a shift and a gentle groan came from the bed. All three looked at Moomintroll. Moomin’s ears twitched and he sighed.
“Snuf..kin..”
Snufkin’s cheeks became a bright red. Moomin was dreaming of him. And he was calling out to him. That in itself caused something in Snufkin’s heart to click.
“I could try.”
Moominmamma and Little My looked at Snufkin, a little shocked. “Are you sure?” Moominmamma asked, worried about the young mumrik. Snufkin took off his hat and fidgeted with the rim. His cheeks were still flushed. “If you believe it will work… I should at least try?”
Little My hopped off the bed and stood next to Moominmamma. “Well we don’t have all day!” Snufkin scowled at her and turned back to face the sleeping Moomin.
This is not going to work. He thought. His stomach felt like it was turning inside out. There was no way this would actually work, right?
But... for his sake, I’ll try.
The grip on his hat tightened and he began to lean forward. Sweat beads formed on his forehead as he felt Moomin’s gentle breath hit his face. He had to do this. For Moomin’s sake.
He knew it could not have been a long kiss, but oh- it felt like an eternity. Moomin’s small whiskers tickled against Snufkin’s lips. The gentle warmth radiating from the sleeping Moomintroll. The blood pounding in Snufkin’s ears. It was too much for him.
Snufkin shot up straight and nearly fell backwards onto Little My and Moominmamma. He could barely focus on anything except his heartbeat in his head. His breath was heavy and shaky. He actually did it. He just kissed his best friend in the whole world.
“Are you alright? Snufkin?” Moominmamma gave Snufkin a concerned look. He looked up at her and nodded, his breath slowing down. “I’m okay, I’m okay..” He repeated, putting his hat back on. Little My hopped on the bed and stood by Moomin’s side, staring at him. Moominmamma and Snufkin turned to stare at him too. Moomin was still sleeping. It didn’t seem like he was going to stir at all from his slumber.
Snufkin felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. It really didn’t work. He pulled the rim of his hat over his eyes, and lowered his head. Tears had started to form, and stung his eyes. He just wanted to run away. The Hobgoblin, or the Groke, or anything that could make him disappear from here would be better than the pain he was feeling.
That was, until Moomin started to move.
Snufkin snapped his head back up and stared. Moomin squinted his eyes and blinked a few times. “Wha’s going on?” He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Moominmamma walked over and hugged her son. “Oh! You’re finally awake!” Moomin was still confused, but returned his mother’s hug. “Finally you woke up!” Little My kicked Moomin’s leg.
Snufkin stood there in disbelief. It worked. Oh my god, it worked. His heart started pounding again, and everything felt tight in his chest.
“Snufkin!.. Snufkin?” Moomin looked over to his friend, who was staring dumbfoundedly. His entire face was hot.
“I-um-uh.” He stuttered. Snufkin looked outside to see it was now pouring rain. “I left my- um- laundry! Out! I better go get that!” He quickly backed up to the door and smiled. “Gotta go!” And with that, he slammed the door shut and ran down the stairs. He threw himself out the front door and stumbled onto the deck. Sweat dripped off his face. He leaned his back against the door. His breathing was fast and shaky, his vision blurry. The tears he was holding back started to pour uncontrollably. Small hiccups escaped from his mouth, despite his best efforts to hold them back. He needed to collect himself. He needed to focus. To ground himself.
Five...
It was something he learned years ago. A way to control these attacks he had. As he tried to control his breathing, he began to look around. Five things he could see. He saw the rain pouring. The white wood of the deck. The table where the Moomins had breakfast or lunch depending on the weather. He saw Moominmamma’s flower beds, and all the roses in them.
Four...
Four things he could feel. Snufkin grabbed his shirt and rubbed the old fabric between his index finger and thumb. He felt the worn leather inside his boots. As he ran his other hand through his hair, he felt the sweat that had soaked his hair. He let out a sigh and then ran his hand across the white door frame, feeling his finger glide against the painted wood.
Three.
Three things he could hear. He wiped the tears from his face and closed his eyes. He could obviously hear the rain around him. But as he listened more closely, he could hear the river rushing. He tried to find something to hear. His weight shifted and the floorboards creaked under his weight.
Two.
Two things he could smell. He took a deep breath, and could smell the rain. It always left a unique smell that helped calm him. He could also smell the leftover pie that Moominmamma had made the day before.
One.
One thing he could taste. A taste. Snufkin focused but the only thing he could taste was…
Moomin.
His heartbeat had slowed down, and he was now in control of his own breathing. But his heart still ached. It yearned for more. It yearned for all the things that Snufkin was denying it - denying himself - to feel. He wanted to kiss Moomin again. To hold his soft paws, and lay in the warm sun together. He let out a shaky breath and readjusted his hat. Ignoring the pouring rain, Snufkin quickly made his way over to his tent and nearly fell into it. All he wanted to do was to sleep these feelings away, and forget it like it was a dream. He ripped off his shoes and overcoat, throwing them to the side. He grabbed his blanket and curled himself up in it. By this time tomorrow, everything would go back to the way it was. That’s what Snufkin had hoped for, at least.