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Holding paws was never unusual between Snufkin and Moomin.
Even before they confessed to each other, it wasn’t a surprise to see the two holding paws, one of them leading the other to wherever they planned to go on that day, talking to each other while Snufkin did his best to keep his hat from falling off of his head.
For today, they were off to visit the waterfall they once found the Emerald in upon Moomin’s request.
“I saw it! I know I did!” Moomin said, basically dragging Snufkin through the forest. Snufkin did his best to dodge the tree roots and avoid stepping on the little animals that followed after them, wondering what the two were doing and why they were in such a rush.
“Saw what, Moomin?” Snufkin asked, still not knowing what Moomin was so excited about. Moomin merely ran to his usual spot by the river, held his paw and started running, after all.
Moomin thankfully slowed down, taking a deep breath after all the running he did, and turned to look at Snufkin, “There was something shining in the stars! And I saw something falling! And I think this is where it fell!”
Snufkin, skeptical until he could see what it really was, raised an eyebrow, “What do you think it could be? Maybe it’s another comet?”
“I don’t think it was.” Moomin said, head raised to the sky as he pondered, “The comet was a lot bigger when it did reach the valley, and whatever fell now looked a lot smaller than that! Oh, maybe it’s a star? That would be amazing, right, Snufkin?”
Snufkin was curious now, too. This was certainly not the most surprising thing that’s happened to the valley, what with things like pirates and genies and dragons having already appeared in the past, a star wouldn’t be too worrying.
“That would be amazing.” He agreed, Moomin still holding his paw as they hopped on stones that functioned as a bridge to the other side of the lake they were crossing, “But what would you do with something like that?”
Moomin started pondering again and Snufkin was sure that Moomin’s brain would overheat if he thought about it even more, “Don’t be so worried about it.” Snufkin said, patting his boyfriend’s shoulder, “We’ll figure it out once we see what it really is.” He held Moomin’s paw a little tighter when he nearly slipped on the wet rock, “Come on then. Let’s go see it.”
They heard the rumbling of a waterfall after a few more minutes and they followed it until they were at the very front of it. There, in the area a little behind the waterfall, was smoke as if someone managed to start a campfire behind the waterfall and still hadn’t put it out.
“Must have landed there, just like you said so,” Snufkin said, which made Moomin smile with pride at having guessed the area correctly.
The only entrance to the waterfall was near the top of it and the two had to let go off each other’s paws so they could hold onto anything they could to avoid slipping as they climbed on some rocks to it. Finally, they reached it and they held onto the slippery walls as they walked in.
Snufkin was in front of Moomin, careful not to go too fast. Heights weren’t something he was that worried about, but the height they were at was a very dangerous one, and he rather not fall all the way down there.
“How much farther do you think we have to go before we reach it?” Snufkin asked, still seeing nothing as they kept walking.
“I’m not very sure.” Moomin admitted, “But I know it’s here! We even saw the smoke it left behind!”
“We certainly did see it,” Snufkin agreed.
They didn’t have much else to say, so their walk was full of random questions they could think of just to fill in the silence and to drown out the sound of rushing water.
As they continued to walk, Snufkin suddenly felt a pit in his stomach, like a black hole suddenly appeared and was sucking out the air in his lungs.
“Snufkin?” Moomin called out when Snufkin stopped walking and his tail stood up and bristled, making Moomin’s own tail follow suit.
The feeling got worse the longer Snufkin stared at the path in front of them and he immediately recognized what it was: A strong sense of foreboding. Back when Snufkin finally met his father, he asked him more about the forebodings the Joxter felt and this was exactly what he said it would be like. It was an interesting thing to get from his father’s side, but now that the feeling of apprehension was here and he could sense it much better than anyone else can, he felt concern.
“I think there’s something there,” Snufkin pointed to the darkness in front of them and Moomin’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
Snufkin nodded, already raising his arm up to protect Moomin.
They let a few minutes pass, the only sounds being their own breathing, the dripping of water, and the waterfall itself. Snufkin’s tail still stood up straight, and the feeling in his chest worsened, but still, nothing happened.
“Well…” Moomin took a step closer to Snufkin, “Maybe there really is nothing-”
A loud growl suddenly rang through the cage, followed by the sound of something skittering loudly to them.
Moomin yelped, “Snufkin! Wh-”
The thought couldn’t be completed until a few little creatures, voices deep as they yelled in unison, ran to them, making the two scream in surprise. The creatures screamed back and they bumped into the two, forcing Moomin and Snufkin to stagger back, Moomin ending up a little far from Snufkin. The creatures ignored this and ran past them, their voices going farther until it sounded just like the growl they heard.
Paws on their respective chests and understanding the source of the growl, they both laughed as loudly as the could. What a silly thing to have felt such apprehension over! Everyone in Moominhouse would surely find this hilarious.
They struggled to get a few breaths of air in, giggling a little longer, “We should keep going then.” Moomin said.
Snufkin thought that that would be it, until he realized that his tail was still up and the feeling inside him, merely overshadowed by the laughter of relief he just had, remained. He began to think, what else could possibly happen that would be so dangerous? He was alright, so maybe-
He whipped his head to where Moomin stood, only seeing now how close he was to the edge, and yelled, “MOOMINTROLL!”
Moomin only got his bearings now and was alert, hearing the distress in Snufkin’s voice as the mumrik ran to him, “Snufkin, what’s wro-”
The rock underneath Moomin gave out.
Moomin only let out a gasp, eyes wide in shock. That stupid rock! Snufkin was right to have been so worried and now Moomin was going to fall. The rocks that were sharp didn’t seem to be any reassurance that he’ll be fine right after either.
And what about Snufkin? What would Snufkin feel after all of this? What about his mother? His father? Little My? Sniff? Snorkmaiden? Everybody? Would he survive? What if he didn’t? What if-
Moomin felt a sudden jolt as something firm caught him by the paw.
“I got you!” Snufkin yelled, thanking all his years of wandering that helped him gain enough strength, though he struggled to keep himself up there as the slippery rocks made it difficult for him.
“Snufkin!” Moomin couldn’t say anything else, still in shock.
“Don’t you dare let go, Moomin! Hold onto my paw. Please.” Snufkin begged, his voice shaking.
“As if I would ever!” Moomin yelled back in an attempt to reassure his boyfriend.
Paw in paw, Snufkin gathered all of his strength to lift the troll up, the mix of waterfall water, sweat (and tears, even if he wouldn’t say it) making him feel uncomfortable, but that wouldn’t stop him from saving Moomin’s life.
At last, Moomin was lifted high enough to put his other paw on the slippery rock, pushing himself up to help Snufkin. And just like that, the crisis was averted, and both mumrik and moomin took deep breaths filled with fear and relief.
The feeling of danger left Snufkin and his tail relaxed, another thing that made the two sigh with even more relief.
“Moomin, are you alright?” Snufkin quickly asked, paws on Moomin’s face and eyes scanning his body.
“I’m fine. I really am.” Moomin said, trying to shake Snufkin’s worry off, “Just a little accident. Nothing to worry about.”
Snufkin didn’t seem to believe. “But I am worried! So worried. I...I thought that you would-”
Moomin put his own paws on Snufkin’s face, then hugged him, patting Snufkin’s back, “Shh, it’s okay, Snufkin. I’m fine and you saved my life and I owe you so much for that.”
“You don’t owe me anything, Moomin. All I need to know is that you’re safe and that will be enough for me.” Snufkin replied and he hugged Moomin a little tighter, head on his shoulder.
They refused to let each other go, but the minutes passed, and they both knew that something must be done, lest they wanted to get even more soaked as the dripping water fell on them.
“Would you still like to see whatever it was we came here for? It might be safe now.” Snufkin asked, even if the hesitation in his voice was obvious.
“You know what?” Moomin held Snufkin’s paw once again, “Maybe next time. I think that’s enough adventure for the two of us today. I rather go back to home for now.”
“I agree with that sentiment,” Snufkin replied and, making the hold much tighter, they left the area.
As they left the waterfall behind, they could see the smoke had disappeared, but, just as Moomin said, they had a tiring adventure already, and surely some things could wait a little longer.
They refused to let go of each other’s paws. Not even Little My could stop them as they all ate in Moominhouse, not even when Snufkin went back to fishing, and not even when Moomin tried to catch a butterfly.
Everybody shrugged it off as something the two did for the fun of it and they all gave up on trying to stop the two from letting the other go when Snufkin, who rarely slept in Moominhouse, was passed out along with Moomin on Moomin’s bed, still holding each other’s hand just as tight as they did all day, the mystery item nearly forgotten.
(Even after all that happened, they did return and found a little rock that fit in the palm of Snufkin’s hand shining brightly in the darkness. Nobody knew what it was exactly, but Moomin got the idea to turn it into a necklace just for Snufkin. Snufkin immediately considered this gift as something very essential and he kept it around his neck daily ever since, though it was tucked into his coat for the most part. This as all in the future though, but we’re still talking about the past.)
Holding paws was never unusual between Snufkin and Moomin. And if they happened to be holding paws a little longer than usual, then nobody bothered to ask why it was so.