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Snufkin lay back onto the overgrown grass, letting his face stream into the sunlight which seeped through the gaps in the trees. The sky was a clear, azure colour. It was the best kind of colour; it reminded Snufkin of the lake and, well, Moomintroll’s eyes.
There was a distant rustling of leaves and the trickling of water which were produced by the calm river on which Snufkin laid beside. He could hear the crowd of birds echoing throughout the lonely but large forest where he’d disappear into every year.
Every year.
It was almost funny now, how he’d hesitantly leave Moominvalley behind every time despite his excuse being for his freedom. Yes, yes, of course, he did enjoy his freedom from time to time. Being with people could be overwhelming and irritating. But now it just seemed ridiculous. He didn’t have to leave, as the Moomins had mentioned plenty of times, he could just stay there. However, he always replied with his usual excuse. Either he didn’t want to bother them, or he valued his oh-so-precious liberty. Eventually, he found out he never did want to leave. He enjoyed the pestering, the annoyance, the adventure, and enjoyed the company. Most times, anyway.
He sighed when his wide-brimmed hat fell aloft his freckled face, blocking out the beautiful view above him. He lifted his arm to allow vision to overcome him once again and felt calmness overwhelm his senses once again. Peacefulness was always perfection in Snufkin. The ability to stay calm in most situations, such as leaving Moominvalley, or watching his dear friend burst into tears as he dissolved into the shadows of the forest. He was always calm.
Although, in most of these situations, his heart was whirring with adrenaline and his blood was plagued with panic. He’d become great at masking. A little talent of his which nobody knew and nobody noticed. Not that he wasn’t thankful for that, he masked for a reason, but in some cases, his happiness wasn’t masked.
He felt his ears twitch as the slight sound of rustling coming from a raspberry bush beside him, letting his eyes flicker towards the sound. Of course, this could just be the wind, since there was a slight breeze, but there was no harm in being cautious. Perhaps it was Little My. His ears perked up. Or, maybe, just maybe, it was his best friend. Moomintroll.
Ah yes, his best friend. The word didn’t really sit right with him.
He cocked his head, greeted with a face popped right next to his.
Snufkin shrieked, terrified and startled, and scampered backwards, feeling his back collide with the harsh trunk of the Oaktree that provided the lovely shade he sat beneath.
The familiar voice of (the one and only) Little My echoed throughout the woods, her euphoric laugh filled with mania and hysterics. Snufkin groaned and felt his head fall lazily on the tree trunk as his sister’s giggles disturbed the comfortable silence that Snufkin had only just grown attached to.
“You’re so easy to scare!” Said Little My, hopping over to Snufkin, who hid his face under the protection of his felt hat with humiliation. “I wasn’t even trying to scare you, you know.” She giggled.
Snufkin tipped his hat up slightly and glared daggers at her. At least, he felt he did. “You’re terrible, you know that, right? Of course I was going to be scared when your face popped up out of nowhere. I was having quite a good time without your disturbance, mind you.”
Little My grinned and sat herself down beside him. She tilted her head so that she could see his whole face. “What are you doing here anyway? You’re supposed to be with Moomintroll for lunch. You promised him, remember?”
“Oh.” Snufkin simply replied, not exactly remembering just now. He knew that he promised him, but he didn’t exactly have access to time. Neither did he want to go. “Alright.”
The Little Mymble peered curiously at him, placing her hands on her knees and leaning forwards in curiosity. Snufkin looked back at her uncomfortably. Her eyes were wide and observing, and he didn’t like the fact he was the object.
“What?” He asked, cocking his head away so that his little bubble of space was uninterrupted by his sister’s prying eyes. “What is it?”
“I’m not dumb.” Little My finally scoffed, shrinking back to rest lazily on the roots of the trees surrounding them.
Snufkin snorted, “OK.”
She stuck her tongue out rudely and continued talking. “Why don’t you want to go? I thought you liked Moomintroll.”
“I—” Snufkin spluttered, face flushing an ugly scarlet as a river of denials streamed out of his mouth. He flailed his hands around. “What—what do you mean by like? Moomintroll is my best friend, I don’t—what? I don’t—”
Little my sniffed and interrupted him, “I don’t mean like that. I mean in a friendly way, idiot.”
“Ah,” Snufkin said, heavily embarrassed. He covered his cheeks with his gloved hands. “Right. Of course.”
“What, did you expect it to be in a different way?” Poked Little My curiously. She smirked when Snufkin spluttered once again.
“No!” He denied, feeling pathetic. He didn’t like that. “I just thought, you know.”
“Right.” She giggled, falling silent. They stayed like that for a while, Little My being incredibly silent (somehow), and Snufkin falling into his thoughts, unable to ask her if they could go to the Moominhouse.
Finally, after a few seconds, he admitted, “I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?” She said.
“I don’t know whether I like him that way.”
She grinned and Snufkin narrowed his eyes at her. Little My sprung up and cheekily smiled as if her smile could go any wider. “Well, that’s alright. Should we go?”
Snufkin hesitated, confused at her careless reply. There was no teasing, no annoyance, and seemingly no reaction to his confession. She was just there. He couldn’t tell if she didn’t like the fact he had romantic feelings towards the troll. Was she masking her feelings, just as he’d done? Was she still thinking? Was she in denial?
Or maybe, perhaps, just perhaps, she was OK with this. Maybe she was fine with her brother liking the boy she lived with. Maybe she was fine with him liking a male. Technically, he shouldn’t be so surprised, since Little My was scarcely irritated by anything. Especially when it came to her younger brother.
He blinked confusingly, then nodded slightly, standing up to try and catch up with her energetic skipping towards the house.
Towards Moomintroll.
His tail wavered lovingly.