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"T-Too-Ticky?" Moomin called out as he rapped his knuckles against the door of the bath house. "Are you in there?"
There was no reply, which wasn't too unusual. She was likely fishing under the frozen ocean and Moomin would have to go to find her. He shivered. It was too early in the winter for his usual winter coat to be fully grown just yet but the crisp bite of frost in the air acted as though winter was in full swing, accompanied by a thick layer of snow on the ground and a sharply whistling wind. Moomin tried to turn the doorknob of the bath house but found it impossible to move. It was completely frozen shut. He knocked again, louder.
"Too-Ticky?" He called again, continuing to knock. "Are you alright? Are you stuck?"
"Moomintroll? What's all this fuss about?"
Moomin spun around to find Too-Ticky standing behind him with a fond, amused smile on her face, carrying a fishing rod over her shoulder and a bucket in one paw. He felt his entire being slump with relief.
"Oh, thank goodness! I thought you were trapped inside Moominpappa's bath house."
"Now, why would you think that?"
"The door has frozen shut!"
Too-Ticky frowned and stood next to Moomin to push at the door herself, finding it stiff and unmoving. She shook the door handle and when it didn't open, she stepped back.
"Alright, Moomintroll, we're both going to have to break open the door if we don't want to freeze."
Moomin wanted to protest at that, it simply wouldn't do to break anything Moominpappa had made. It would be such an awful shame. But a violent shiver ran up his spine as the crisp winter air snapped harshly through his fur. He nodded in agreement and the two friends counted down together.
"Three."
"Two."
"One!"
They charged at the door, their combined bodyweight slamming against the wood, then toppling over onto the floor of the bathhouse when the door swung open at the sudden force. They landed with two soft "oof" noises and scrambled to stand and help each other up. Too-Ticky closed the door behind them, finding, to Moomin's delight, that it still worked perfectly despite being hit. He shivered again and wrapped his arms around himself.
"Are you cold?" Too-Ticky asked, concerned.
"A-a little." Moomin's teeth chattered. "But you know us moomintrolls, we're very tough!"
Too-Ticky smiled to herself, looking amused. "Oh, yes, I'd almost forgotten. Since you're so tough, I imagine we don't even need the fire on to keep us warm."
Moomin's eyes widened. "U-um, well, I don't need it of course, but if you want the fire on, then go ahead!"
"That's very kind of you, Moomintroll." Too-Ticky covered her mouth with her paw. "You're such a gentleman."
Moomin blushed at the compliment, feeling only a little guilty for lying. He caught her eye and ducked his head, embarrassed, as he realised she had only offered to put the fire on for him. He wasn't about to call her out on it. He shivered again and shifted a little closer to the flames.
Too-Ticky sat down on the rug in front of the fire, very close to Moomin, almost completely pressed up against his side. She wrapped a thick woollen blanket around them both; the ends of it reached around their farthest shoulders. Moomin curled into the warmth next to him, squinting his eyes happily. Too-Ticky relaxed next to him, sinking into his soft fur.
It was nice to spend time with Too-Ticky in the winter. She was a calming presence; she had always been calming ever since they met. Moomin loved Too-Ticky's company, he was enthralled in her presence. He would even go as far as to say that she was the only part of winter in Moomin Valley worth staying awake for. In recent years he'd stopped trying to hibernate at all and instead simply made plans to spend time with Too-Ticky alone, while every other soul in the Valley slept through the winter. For some strange reason he felt embarrassed about it. Every year, as Too-Ticky smiled at him and asked if he had trouble hibernating again, Moomin smiled shyly back and agreed, never once mentioning that he didn't bother trying.
"Too-Ticky?"
"Yes, Moomintroll?"
"Do you- do you ever get lonely during the winter?"
Too-Ticky tilted her head to consider it. He allowed her time to think it through; she wasn't the kind of person to answer immediately. She took as long as she needed before she replied.
"I prefer being alone most of the time so I don't tend to be lonely."
"Oh." Moomin hunched in on himself, suddenly feeling insecure. "Should I...leave?"
"Now why would you do that?"
"Because you'd rather be alone."
She chuckled. "Just because someone prefers to be alone the majority of the time, it doesn't mean they want to be alone all of the time. Just look at your friend, Snufkin. He likes to be alone, doesn't he?"
"Well, yes." Moomin frowned.
"And he also likes to spend time with you as well, right?"
"I suppose you're right..." He mumbled. Then another shiver shot down his spine.
"Still cold?" She asked, as Moomin curled up tighter. "I can make us some soup."
"No! No, thank you. I'll be okay." Moomin didn't want Too-Ticky to move from where she was pressed to his side, her arm brushing against his. She was warm, although she distractingly smelled of ice and sea salt. Too-Ticky placed her arm over Moomin's shoulders and rubber her paw on his arm, brushing his fur up and down. A tingling sensation made its way from Too-Ticky's paw throughout Moomin's entire body. He shifted subtly closer to her which, of course, Too-Ticky noticed immediately. She pulled him closer and tucked his head under her chin.
"Better now, Moomintroll?"
"Much warmer." He squeaked because he was now warm but that didn't mean he felt better. Instead of cold, now every single one of his nerves stood on end. He could feel her every movement, every shift. "Too-Ticky?"
"Yes, Moomintroll?"
"Are you sure you don't mind me here?"
"To tell the truth, Moomintroll, I like it when you're here to keep me company."
"You do?" His tailed flicked back and forth as Too-Ticky reached over and ran her paw through his fur.
"Yeah. I do."