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“Oh, dear. How much longer will this pesky weather go on for?” Snorkmaiden shuffled over to the window near the sofa, sitting down and frowning at the heavy rainfall.
Moomin and his friends were cooped up inside Moominhouse all day after a sudden storm decided to roll through the valley without anyone’s permission. Sniff and Moomin suggested they make a pillow fort inside while waiting for the rain to pass, but it was taking it’s sweet time to do so.
“Not sure. But, I know that watching it won’t make it leave any quicker.” That came out a bit huffier than Snufkin would have liked, but he couldn’t deny that being trapped indoors was starting to get to him too.
All Snorkmaiden did was sigh softly to herself and open up a book that was already sitting at a side table nearby.
This was when Little My decided to interject. “Well, I happen to have an idea for what we should do next.”
All of the others perked up at that, even Snufkin.
Once she was certain she had everyone’s attention, the small mymble cleared her throat and stood up from the pile of pillows she had been sitting on. “I know of a game that my sister used to play with her friends when they were all cooped up inside. It’s called ‘chicken’ and everyone has to participate-- that means you too Snufkin.”
Seemingly caught out at something, Snufkin covered his eyes with his hat and turned back around to face her. How had she noticed so quickly that he had immediately began trying to find a way out at the mere mention of the game. Moomin looked over to his best friend curiously, but decided not to question him on it.
“The rules are simple. Don’t be the one to chicken out.” She gathered everyone into a circle and pulled out a small silver coin from who-knows-where. Sniff was immediately rushing over to her in an attempt to get a better look at it, but she shooed him away before he could beg for it. “Now, we do this in pairs. I get to be the one to moderate since it was my idea.”
“What? So, you’re not going to even be playing, Little My? That hardly seems fair.” Snorkmaiden piped up, frown still on her face.
The grin that had been spreading over Little My’s face for a few moments now had only grown, morphing into quite the smug look. “I don’t have to. This won’t last very long, I’m sure.”
With everyone quietly waiting after My explained the rest of the rules on how to play, it became quite clear that this was just something she probably made up in her boredom to cause trouble.
“So, essentially, we have to be mean to each other?” Moomin asked with a worried brow. “And, the first person to lose their cool is ‘out’ and they lose the round?”
“Not exactly, but now we see who goes first. Sniff, since you keep looking over at this coin, you and Snorkmaiden are up first. Pick heads or tails.”
“Heads” Sniff said immediately.
“Alright. Snorkmaiden, you are tails.” Little My flipped the coin up in the air and it landed right in the middle of the back of her hand. She smacked her other hand on top of it to keep it from slipping and then lifted it back up to peek at the result. It was heads.
“Sniff, you have to… hm.. Let’s see.” She was in thought for a few moments before deciding. “You have to tell Snorkmaiden five of the grossest things you have eaten. Don’t skimp on the details. If Snorkmaiden can survive after you list all five things, she wins”
“Oh, this is so silly, Little My. I don’t--”
“And, you have to tell her by whispering into her ear.”
Snorkmaiden squeaked a little and My just laughed at her. “Now hurry up, Sniff. I might even give you this coin if you actually end up winning the whole game.”
Unfortunately for Snorkmaiden, Sniff saw nothing wrong with disclosing such information and set about doing as he was told. He leaned close to her ear and put a hand in front of his mouth, voice as low as he could manage.
Surprisingly, Snorkmaiden lasted a lot longer than expected. But, after a couple minutes, she turned a noticeably green hue, looking gradually more disturbed. “Stop it, Sniff. That is absolutely horrid! I won’t listen to another word!!” She exclaimed and shook her head, hands shaking as she lifted herself up and ran out of the room.
“Snorkmaiden!” Moomin got up as well and followed after her out of concern.
Snufkin kept a stoic look on his face, although his eyes followed Moomin as he left the room. Then back to Little My.
“So, I guess that worked. Maybe a little too well.” Oddly enough, the mymble looked slightly concerned herself but quickly shook it off and smoothed out her expression a bit by the time Moomin came back. He looked rather defeated, however.
Snufkin leaned over to quietly ask if everything was alright and Moomin shook his head.”Not sure, but I think it will be though.”
The mumrik waited a few seconds to then ask, “What exactly did Sniff tell her?”
“She didn’t want to repeat it.”
Snufkin couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. “Oh, dear. That bad, eh?”
Both boys glanced over at Sniff, who was looking rather pleased with himself for having been the victor.
Moomin couldn’t help but grin at that, although he would never admit to finding it funny in front of Snorkmaiden. “It’s no laughing matter, Snufkin.” He said shakily, trying not to chuckle.
“Oh, yes, it surely isn’t.” Snufkin spoke softly, although he was already covering a grin and chortling lightly into his own hand. He was trying his best to be respectful, at least for Moomin’s sake.
“Alright, alright. Now I guess we can carry on. Snufkin, you and Moomin can be next since you both seem keen to talk.”
Waving a hand to her rather dismissively, Snufkin righted himself a bit and looked over to her. “Ah, I suppose. There’s nothing that either of us have eaten that could compare to whatever Sniff has tried, I’m sure.” He joked, causing Moomin to laugh even more, despite his best efforts.
“Very funny, Snufkin. Too bad for you that I’ve just come up with something even better for this round.” She crossed her arms, although retaining her smirk.
“Fine. I pick tails, in that case.”
Moomin quieted down after that and nodded. “Then, I suppose I’m heads.”
With a flourish, Little My flipped the coin as she did before, waiting a few extra seconds before opening her hand to reveal that it had landed on heads again.
Her expression became a bit concerning to Snufkin, but he wouldn’t let it show.
“Now, there will be slightly different rules for winning, but the goal is the same-- first to chicken out and lose their nerve loses the round.” Little My walked over to sit on the sofa, pointing to the wall clock after she sat down. “There. You both have 5 minutes to give as many disgusting compliments as you can. You are already practiced at fawning over each other so I’m sure this won’t be too hard, eh? Take turns and the one who can come up with the most to say wins.”
There was silence then, everyone looking rather shocked.
“Wait, wait, so they just have to out-compliment each other?” Sniff scratched his head. “I don’t understand how that is challenging at all.”
Little My looked thoughtful for a moment. “You’re right, Sniff. So, since Snufkin lost the coin toss, he has to only give romantic ones.” She put a lot of emphasis, making sure to look Snufkin in the eye.
Sniff chuckled at that and added, “And, and, he has to include a pet name each time!”
Little My laughed and agreed.
“I don’t think she needs your help tormenting others, Sniff.” Snufkin gave him a look that shut Sniff up almost immediately.
Little My was looking like a cat with a bowl of warm milk. She damn well knew that one of Snufkin’s weaknesses was that he was almost incapable of receiving praise or taking compliments well. Especially when it came from Moomin, who tended to be oblivious and lay them on quite thick once he got started. The moomin did admire his friend ever so much.
“Don’t be a spoilsport and get on with it. This round will determine who will go up against Sniff and win the lot.” She held up her coin again briefly, catching Sniff’s eye. He then looked over to the other two boys expectantly.
Moomin only shrugged. “I suppose I will go first, then.” He turned to Snufkin and for a moment he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of embarrassment on his best friend’s face. “You alright, Snufkin?”
The question seemed to break the mumrik out of whatever thoughts he was lost in. He gave a hasty nod. “Yeah.”
And with that, Moomin smiled and began the round. “Well, if we are saying nice things, I do happen to have a few already thought up…”
Here we go , Snufkin thought, and visibly cringed.
“I enjoy our time together, even if we aren’t doing anything, cooped up inside on a rainy day. Even if we do something quite silly, like this game. You always know how to turn anything into a good time, Snufkin. And, you can always find the humor in things. I really like that about you.”
Oh. That was very nice and sincere and didn’t cause Snufkin’s heart to flutter at all. No. Of course not.
Moomin just smiled and tilted his head, patiently waiting for Snufkin to continue the game.
Little My, on the other hand, was not so patient. “Hurry up, Snufkin. It’s your turn. And, don’t forget to make it mushy.” She ended her sentence with a pseudo gagging sound.
It should not be this hard to do this. Truth be told, Snufkin had plenty of things to say to his best friend that would probably be interpreted as “romantic.'' It took him a long time to be somewhat at peace with it, privately anyway. However, there are some things that one simply does not say out loud. He would have to say something though, so… Maybe his only option was to over dramatize. It might seem less sincere, but at least he could manage to finish this ridiculous game that he was sure Little My was just making up as she went along, just to mess with them.
Snufkin took a moment to gather himself and with a newfound determination, he looked from Little My to Moomin. “You-- you are as bright and as radiant as ever before on this dark and stormy night.” Immediately after getting out his words, Snufkin felt like jumping off the roof. Instead, he just tilted his hat down, mostly covering his face from view.
Unfortunately, this caused him to completely miss Moomin’s reaction. It did not go unnoticed by Little My however, who was just about to comment on it when Sniff interrupted with a snicker. “Ah, but Snufkin, you have forgotten about the pet name!”
“Oh, Sniff, don’t--” Moomin tried to alleviate the situation for Snufkin, but the mumrik interrupted him.
“Fine! Fine…” He cleared his throat and spoke up again after a few choice moments, “M-My dear troll. My dove.”
“That will do. That will do.” Little My kept her expression blank as she then turned to Moomin. “You’re turn.”
Moomin suddenly seemed a lot less casual and eager, and a bit more red in the cheeks, than before. “W-well… I think this is a bit unfair. So, from now on I’m going to just follow the same rules as Snufkin so he doesn’t have to be the only one to--”
“Flirt. Alright, fine, fine. Just go on.” She finished his sentence snappily, but her voice was softer than normal. Sniff nodded in understanding.
Moomin started up again, looking perhaps apologetically at his best friend. “Snufkin… Er, my darling Snuf, why do you shy away so? Please, let me look upon you properly.. I wish to see your dashing good looks.” He took it a bit too far then by gently, slowly, lifting a paw up to Snukin’s face. He stopped right before making physical contact, silently asking if it was alright to touch Snufkin before doing so.
Snufkin did indeed eventually look up at Moomin, despite his mind screaming at him to do the opposite, and allowed the touch. He expected to see a grin or hear a laugh, but Moomin actually looked quite serious.
Why…?
Before Snufkin could stop himself, his lips parted on their own and words spilled out.
“My face…? You say I have good looks, but how could they even begin to compare to yours? You and your handsomely white fur, your brilliant smile, your eyes… Eyes of a summer sky kissed by the sun-- of an ocean lifted by the breeze and glistening like stars.”
Moomin’s eyes grew wider, still with a darkened tint to his cheeks. Snufkin couldn’t believe he had just said all that. He started trying to think of a careful apology, but he didn’t have time to voice it before Moomin began speaking again.
“Of course, my eyes would have to be so beautiful, as they are reflecting the most enticing creature I have ever seen.” Moomin continued without so much as a prompt from Little My now. “You. They are gazing upon you, Snufkin. You are almost always on my mind. I wonder what you are doing and where you are during the winter months. When you return in spring, I still think of you often, even when we are together.”
Sniff’s voice wafts through the air in a low, “Whoa…” But, only Little My seemed to have heard it. Both watch the scene play out in silence after that.
“Oh, Moomin, please don’t say that.” Snufkin’s gaze was averted again this time, unable to look at the moomintroll any longer. Especially not if he was to be able to keep speaking like this. “I think of you… more often than I think of any one creature. I find myself unable to help it. When I am traveling alone and all is quiet-- those are the times I let my mind wander to thoughts of you and how you are, even though I know you are hibernating most likely. I am always reminded of you, even by completely innocuous things. Every time I visit a place that I know you would love, I try to remember everything about it for you and how to get back there, so that maybe…” He stops there.
Not missing a beat, Moomin keeps the conversation going. “Maybe…? Snufkin, do you mean you would… Are you saying you would like to travel with me after all? Oh, truly?”
“I…” He closed off his next sentence again, but this did not discourage the other in the slightest.
“Actually, you don’t have to answer that right away. I am just so lucky you think of me as often as I you. Snufkin, I hope you know how much I care for you. When you leave for winter, I do so wish for you to stay. I admit that I always wish it, but I know that would never make you happy. I want you to be as happy as you make me, so I will never ever want to force you to stay. I couldn’t even imagine it…”
“It’s not that I would be unhappy if I did.” It was blurted out rather quickly, so Snufkin really wasn’t sure what to follow it up with.
“Oh…? Is it not?”
“No.”
Sniff and Little My shared a look of concern and surprise.
“Moomintroll, don’t you understand?” He finally looked back up, brown eyes meeting blue. “I didn’t think I would ever be so conflicted in all my days. You are why I return to the valley every spring, just as I promise to. Promises… I never use to make promises before. Not like this. Never would I have thought I would even consider bringing someone along on my travels, let alone consider staying in one place for so long. Sometimes I even catch myself wishing to stay here in the winter too, Moomin. I know I can’t, in the end, but I have… I have thought about it.”
It was almost as if Snufkin was just coming to a certain realization himself after hearing what he was saying and letting it sink in.
Soft, white paws lifted up slowly and with them, an unspoken question. Snufkin stared down at them for a moment before cautiously placing one of his own hands in them. Moomin took it gladly, a smile returning to his face.
Snufkin let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, his face relaxing slightly. “Oh, that smile. Please don’t stop smiling, my dove.”
“I could never stop, just as long as you keep smiling at me like that.”
Snufkin had not even noticed that at some point he began beaming like an idiot. “You’re such a doof.”
Moomin was shocked at hearing his own playful insult being thrown back at him. Oh, but that laugh. That laugh made it worthwhile.
“You are both doofs.” Little My shook her head as she got up and started for the door. “I cannot believe this! I try to have a little fun and you two have to ruin it. This was not as intended. Not at all.”
“Ah, wait, Little My, where are you going?”
“Oh, for goodness sake. I’m leaving. I sat through that whole melodrama for nothing because now you both are acting idiotic, just like that--”
“My, were you perhaps starting to feel a bit worried?” Snufkin’s eyes glinted over to her and she froze, hand on the knob of the front door.
“Of course I wasn’t-- who would be worried about two fools who can’t be serious for more than a few minutes and can’t be bothered to sort their own damn feelings out?!” She half-shouted, slamming the door behind herself as she left. “By the way, the storm let up while you two were having a moment!”
Sniff looked as confused as ever, scrambling to his feet and running after the mymble. “W-wait, who won?! I still want a chance at that coin, Little My!”
With the room cleared out now, the boys looked at one another, sitting in near silence for the first time all afternoon.
Moomin was the first one to break it. “So… ‘my dove’, eh?”
It took Snufkin several seconds before he picked up a nearby pillow and smacked Moomin with it.
Moominpappa and Moominmama were downstairs rather quickly to see what all the laughter was about.
