Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Moomin sighed for what must have been the millionth time that day.

Their group of friends was currently sitting in a meadow. Sniff was running away from Little My, who as usual was tormenting him to relieve her own boredom. Snorkmaiden and Moomin were sitting together making flower crowns (or trying to, on Moomin’s part). And Snufkin was sitting a bit further away under a tree, playing a gentle tune on his harmonica. The light shining between the leaves rested gently on his figure. Truly, Moomin thought, he was the most picturesque thing he had ever laid eyes on.

“Are you going to just sit there and lovingly stare at him all day, Moomintroll?” Snorkmaiden teased after her friend sighed once again.

Moomin felt his face flush deep red as he turned to glare at her. “I wasn’t staring!”

“Oh of course you weren’t! You were pining, how silly of me to confuse the two” she grinned devilishly at him.

“Snorkmaiden!” he felt his face turn an even deeper shade of red as he gave her a gentle shove on the shoulder.

She just laughed, unphased by his embarrassment. “Don’t even try to deny it! You’ve been working on that one flower crown for the past hour, all because you can’t take your eyes off of him.”

“W-well! I mean- yknow…. It’s…..” the troll stumbled for an excuse, unable to find one.

“Why haven’t you just told him how you feel yet?” 

“I can’t just do that!” Moomin looked at her incredulously.

She just rolled her eyes. “You can’t hide how you feel forever, Moomin. You’ll never be happy if you spend the rest of your life pining”

“I know, I know” he sighed, fiddling with the flower crown in his hands. “I’m just…. Afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Snorkmaiden encouraged him to continue.

“He’s my best friend, if he doesn’t feel the same way I could lose everything, even his friendship!”  Moomin cried out, quietly enough though for the others not to hear him. He dramatically held his face in his paws.

“Oh Moomin, you really are dense” Snorkmaiden sighed.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” he glared at her.

“You really think Snufkin would stop being your best friend just because you have feelings for him? You of all people should know better than that!” She put down her flower crown and gave him a pointed look. “You saw him turn down that traveler who was flirting with him that one time, and he was nothing but polite to them.”

“Well yes, of course I know that!” he pouted at the memory of that traveler, remembering the deep feelings of jealousy he felt. “But what if knowing about my feelings makes him uncomfortable to be around me?”

“Oh dear Moomintroll, I really don’t think you have to worry about that” she chuckled slightly into her paws.

“What makes you so certain?” Moomin scowled at his giggling friend in annoyance. Didn’t she understand how much was at stake?

“Oh don’t worry about it. Anyways!” She slammed her paws down on the grass, making Moomin jump in surprise at her sudden excitement. “Here’s what we’re gonna do, we're going to come up with the perfect date so you can finally tell him how you feel!”

Oh no, Moomin sighed internally. It seems he was in for a long day.

___

Moomin was really grateful for Snorkmaiden’s friendship. He had been so worried when they had broken up a few years ago that he would lose her as a friend as well. And it’s true that it had placed some strain on their their relationship for a while, but after time and healing the two found it was easy to continue on as just friends. He’d had been afraid of her reaction when she learned of his feelings for Snufkin as well, but to his surprise she just laughed and said she already knew. She assured him she was ok and that she was happy for him. Since then, she had been very supportive of his feelings, actively encouraging him to act on them. Though, her support was a bit overwhelming at times. After all, when she got an idea in her mind, she was a force to be reckoned with.

This was one of those times, he thought to himself as he watched her slam down a pencil and paper in front of him.

“We are going to come up with the perfect plan to confess your feelings to him! You’re gonna sweep him off his feet, there’s no way he would say no!”

Moomin couldn’t suppress a groan, which Snorkmaiden promptly ignored as she continued her spiel.

“First things first! Location! We need a spot that’s romantic and secluded. Bonus points if it has some sort of emotional significance to you both. Can you think of any?”

“Um, I don’t know. The beach? He does love the ocean.” He suggested.

“Hmmm yes, that’s an option. A bit ordinary, but let’s write it down anyways. Let’s see, are there any spots in the valley that are special to you guys?”

Moomin thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose there is one place.” At Snorkmaiden’s intrigued hum he continued. “There’s this one secret area we’ve always gone to, just the two of us. And well, it's really beautiful there.”

“Oh Moomin that sounds perfect! Yes yes, that’s where the date should be. Don’t worry you don’t have to tell me where it is, I know you’d prefer to keep that a secret between you two” she smirked at him.

“Do be quiet, will you?” he felt his face burn.

She simply giggled and moved on. “All right, the next part is time. When would it be most romantic to take him there?”

Despite his initial reluctance, Moomin found himself starting to get invested in the planning. “Oh definitely at night, you can see the stars so well from there, and you know how dearly he loves the stars.”

“Oh a date by the moonlight, how romantic!” Snorkmaiden swooned. “Ok, and what about what you two will be doing? You can’t just go and stand there awkwardly. Maybe a romantic dinner? Or perhaps stargazing?”

“Typically we go swimming, there’s a lovely spring there that’s just perfect for lounging around” Moomin tapped his fingers to his chin in thought.

Snorkmaiden gave him a wicked grin. “I see, you just want to see him with his shirt off, don’t you? How clever you are, Moomintroll.”

Moomin flushed a bright red. “No that’s not- I’m not!” She only laughed at his expense. “Oh hush will you, you don’t need to tease me!”

She just kept laughing, and soon he couldn’t help but join in.

Chapter Text

Moomin paced around his room nervously. He couldn’t do this, it was a mistake. Maybe he should back out now, tell Snufkin that something came up and he couldn’t go after all. Oh but that wouldn’t do, he really wanted to spend time with him. He can’t bail out now, his heart couldn’t take it. Maybe he should just go on the trip but not go through with the confession? Right, then it would just be a fun evening with his best friend, like old times! Oh but Snorkmaiden would kill him if he backed out now.

All too soon he heard the familiar whistle that signified Snufkin has arrived outside his window. His heart started to beat 100 miles an hour. Oh there really was no backing out now. Moomin took a deep breath, grabbing the towel he had prepared before opening his window and giving the other young man a quick wave before clumsily climbing down the rope ladder.

Tonight they were going for a midnight swim in the secret spring the two of them had found as children. For years they had kept its existence a secret, shared only between the two of them. It had served as a place of solitude for them to go and get away from the world for a while.

“Good evening, Moomintroll” Snufkin smiled and tipped his hat at his friend. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yep! Shall we?”

The two walked for a while in a comfortable silence, walking close enough that their paws would occasionally brush against one another. Oh how Moomintroll longed to reach out and grab his paw. Perhaps, if all went well, he would be able to do just that on their way home. He smiled at the thought.

Snufkin seemed to notice his gleeful mood. “Something on your mind?”

“Oh, nothing! I was just thinking, it’s been awhile since we’ve gotten to go on an adventure together, just the two of us.” Not a lie, but not the full truth either.

“I’m not sure this really counts as an adventure, per say” Snufkin chuckled. “But yes, it has been a while since we’ve gotten to spend time together. Seems these days there’s always something going on around the valley.”

“Yes, and even more so with Little My snooping around and pulling pranks all the time!” Moomin huffed. He couldn’t count how many times he had tried to spend time alone with Snufkin only for her to follow them. He loved her, he did, but she could be a real pain sometimes. Especially when it comes to teasing him for his obvious feelings for his best friend.

“She is quite the trouble maker. You don’t think she’ll be tailing us tonight, do you?” Snufkin glanced around quickly to see if his sister was hiding somewhere amongst the foliage.

“No no, she’s staying the night with the Mymble, she shouldn’t be bothering us.” Moomin had made sure of that. He had gone out of his way to plan this on a day when Little My would be away. He wanted everything to be perfect.

They arrived at the familiar cave entrance, hidden away behind the trees. The cave itself was fairly small, with a wide opening that spread along two of the cave walls. The spring was just as beautiful as it had been the last time they had been here. A circular pool of clear water sat in the middle of the small cave, shallow enough to stand in but deep enough to submerge them both up to their shoulders. The bottom of the pool was filled with a soft layer of sand that felt pleasant against their feet. And to top it all off, the light from the moon shined through the cave's entrance, making it seem as if the water was glowing a beautiful deep blue. Yes, Moomintroll thought to himself, this was the perfect place to confess to his best friend. Now he just had to not chicken out.

Snufkin stepped into the cave and took a deep breath, taking in the pleasant mixture of the cool night breeze against the small pool of water. “It’s just as beautiful as I remember” he lamented.

“Yeah” Moomin agreed dreamily, though he was no longer looking at the spring. He was brought out of his thoughts when Snufkin turned to look back at him.

“Well, shall we?” he asked, gently placing his pack down against one of the rocks.

“Oh, yeah yeah, right” Moomin agreed, dropping his towel on another nearby rock and sitting on the water’s edge, dipping his feet in. The water was pleasantly cool for a summer night.

Looking behind himself, he startled to see Snufkin taking off his coat and looked away, a fierce blush on his face. It’s not like he’s never seen Snufkin with just his trousers on before, they’ve gone swimming together many times after all. It’s just that it felt impolite to watch someone undress, that’s all! At least that's how he reasoned with himself in his mind.

Once the rustling of clothes could no longer be heard, he chanced a look back at his friend and felt his heart caught in his throat. Snufkin stood facing away from him doing a few quick stretches, and without the shirt, Momin could see so much more than he was accustomed to. His eyes roamed across his toned back, fairly muscular from years of lugging his backpack around. The moonlight seemed to make the fur along his paws and arms shine in an entrancing way. God, he was the most beautiful creature Moomin had ever laid eyes on.

“Is something wrong, Moomintroll?”

Oh dear oh dear, he had been caught staring. Snufkin was now looking back at him with questioning eyes, tilting his head slightly. God he was cute, what the troll wouldn’t do to just kiss him right now.

“Oh no, nothing’s wrong, I was just looking out at the stars, we have such a good view of them from here” he lied. He felt slightly bad for how easily the lie came from him, as this was not the first time he had been caught admiring his dear friend.

Snufkin only smiled. “Oh yes, you’re quite right. It’s really such a lovely spot.” He made his way over to the pool, crouching down to feel the water. “The temperature is perfect as well.” At that, he began to lower himself into the pool, then turned to smile at his friend, who was still sitting on the edge. “What’s the matter, Moomin? Forget how to swim?” he teased.

“Of course not!” he huffed indignantly. “I was just waiting for you.”

“Well then come on” Snufkin laughed as he waded over to him. “Join me, will you?” He grabbed his paws and gently led him in the water.

Moomin blushed at the contact, hoping that it was dark enough for it to not show through his fur.

“Come now, no need to be shy” Snufkin laughed, splashing his companion to pull him out of his reverie.

Moomin gasped as the water soaked his fur. “Oh, now it’s on!”

From there, the two began a wild game of splashing and chasing each other around the spring, laughing all the way. Moomin felt all his nervousness fade to the back of his mind as they played around like they were children again. Eventually the two tired out, deciding to simply rest and soak in the spring. Moomin sat with his back to the edge of the spring, sitting on a rock that was jutting out from the floor like a perfectly placed chair.

Moomin glanced to his side at Snufkin, who was sitting a few inches away from him. He seemed completely relaxed, soaking in the water with his head resting on his arms as they laid across the cold stone floor. His eyes were closed, with a blissful smile gracing his face. He looked positively angelic, and Moomin wished he could preserve this moment in his mind for the rest of his life. He steeled himself, it was now or never.

“Snufkin?” Moomin cringed at how his voice cracked slightly from nerves.

Snufkin didn’t open his eyes, but gave a small hum to indicate for the troll to continue.

“You know you’re my best friend, right?”

At this he opened one of his eyes, and gave Moomin a lazy smile. “Yes, just as you are mine.”

“Well, what if… what if that’s not really the right way to say it?” he stumbled over his words, completely forgetting the speech he had prepared earlier with Snorkmaiden.

Snufkin frowned and looked at him. “Is something wrong, Moomintroll? Have I done something to upset you?”

“No of course not! No I-, I just...” Oh no no this isn’t going how he had hoped at all! He felt himself becoming flustered with agitation. How had he messed it up already?

At this Snufkin turned to face him completely, hurt and concern obvious in his face. “If I’ve done something to hurt you, I’m deeply sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you.”

“No you haven’t done anything wrong! It’s just…You’re more than just a best friend to me….I… Oh Snufkin” Moomin cried out. “I’m in love with you. Hopelessly, deeply in love with you, I have been for so long!”

The cave went quiet after his sudden outburst. Oh no, that wasn’t what he had planned at all! He had wanted so badly to make this romantic, instead he had practically shouted his confession! He couldn’t find it in himself to look up to meet Snufkin's eyes, choosing instead to stare at the water below him and will himself not to cry.

Snufkin was still quiet, which did nothing to help calm his nerves. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes shut tight, still looking away from the mumrik. He could feel the hot tears starting to run down his face. He had messed it all up, and now their friendship was ruined, Snufkin hated him now. He would probably leave Moominvalley and never return. “I-I’m sorry, I understand if you don’t feel the same way, or if you despise me now after knowing, I just-!”

He was interrupted by the feeling of a paw grabbing his fist and gently unfurling it. “Oh no no Moomin, don’t cry my dove. I could never hate you” Moomin looked up at he felt another paw reach up to wipe his tears. “I was just surprised, that’s all. I never would have thought you felt the same.”

“Felt the same? Wha-?” Moomin stumbled over his words. Did that mean-? “So you….?”

Snufkin only chuckled as he caressed Moomin’s cheek. “I’m in love with you too, my dove. Deeply and utterly in love with you, I have been for longer than you can imagine.”

“Oh…. OH!” Moomin felt his whole face light up, his smile wider than he thought it could ever possibly go. In a sudden fit of glee, he wrapped his arms around Snufkin’s waist and began twirling him around, making the water twirl around them as if joining in with his happiness. “Oh Snufkin!”

Snufkin only giggled as he was spun around, and boy it was like music to Moomin’s ears. Oh how he wished he could hear that wonderful sound for the rest of his life. “Moomin, I’m going to get dizzy!” he managed to get out between giggles.

Moomin slowly brought them to a stop but didn’t relinquish his tight hold on him. “Oh Snufkin, I’m so happy, my heart feels ready to burst!”

As the two gazed into each other's eyes, Moomin just couldn’t believe what was happening. How could he ever be so lucky, to hold this wonderful, wonderful man in his arms, to call him his love?

Elated and unable to help himself, he leaned in and nuzzled his snout against his friend’s nose in a Moomin kiss. To his glee, Snufkin returned the kiss, nuzzling him back with a wide grin on his face.

As the two pulled apart, Snufkin’s gaze changed to an expression the troll had never seen before, was it embarrassment? Nervousness? He couldn’t tell.

“Can I…Can I try something?” The mumrik's face was a beautiful shade of scarlet.

“O-oh, what is it?”

“W-Well…” Moomin had never heard Snufkin stutter before, and he found it utterly adorable. “We’ve tried a moomin kiss, I was wondering if….” He trailed off in embarrassment.

Moomin thought for a second before it came to him. “A mumrik kiss?” Snufkin only nodded. “Yes!” Moomin said, a bit too enthusiastically, and felt his cheeks burn. “I mean, yes, I’d love to… I don’t know how though…”

“Just tilt your head back a little” Snufkin mumbled, gently guiding him.

Moomin felt his heart rate speed up in anticipation. After what felt like an agonizing few seconds, he felt the gentle pressure of Snufkin’s lips pressed against his, resting his paws against the trolls face. Moomin’s eyes fluttered closed instinctively. Oh. Oh . He quite likes mumrik kisses, he decides right then and there. It was gentle and intimate, his senses seemed to become overloaded by Snufkin’s intoxicating presence.

All too quickly, Snufkin pulled away. Moomin could still feel the phantom presence of lips still pressed against his.

Snufkin looked at him nervously, face flushed. “Was that…Was that ok?”

‘Yes of course it was ok, it was magical! It was more than ok!’  Is what Moomin wanted to say. Instead all that came out was “Again, please.” in an embarrassingly hoarse voice.

Snufkin’s eyes widened before he started to chuckle lightly. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“Oh hush” the troll said before pulling him in and locking their lips together once again, allowing his eyes to flutter closed. This time he tried reciprocating the kiss more, allowing their lips to move together in tandem. Snufkin hummed in what Moomintroll assumed was appreciation. This kiss was similar, but oh so different from their first. All the longing he had felt for all those years seemed to culminate in this one moment. Moomin wrapped his arms around Snufkin’s waist to bring him as close as possible, while Snufkin’s paws found themselves on the back of his head before gently caressing Moomin’s ears, earning a giggle from the troll. The two both smiled into the kiss before breaking apart in a fit of gleeful giggles. Snufkin rested his forehead against the troll’s, and the two stared into each other’s eyes.

“You’re wonderful, Moomin.” Snufkin whispered, voice husky and breathless. His paws trailed down Moomin’s arms to find his paws. The two laced their fingers together under the water.

“Not as wonderful as you” he replied equally as breathless, bringing their paws up and placing gentle kisses on his partner’s paws. This action brought more of those wonderful musical giggles to his ears, and Snufkin pulled apart and placed several gentle kisses on his friend’s snout.

A breeze blew through the cave, making the two lovers shiver.

“Oh dear, we’ve been in the water for quite a while, perhaps we should dry off” Moomin said reluctantly. He wanted to stay in this moment forever, but he was also afraid they would catch a nasty cold if they stayed in the water any longer.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right, it would do us both good to get dried off.” Snufkin nodded in agreement. The two parted but kept their paws intertwined as they stepped out of the spring.

“Oh, but I only brought one towel…” Moomin looked at the fluffy blue towel he had placed on a rock earlier.

“Well, I certainly don’t mind sharing, do you?” Snufkin smirked, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

“Oh!” A similar blush spread to Moomin’s as well. “Of course, yes, I’d like that very much”

The two of them wrapped the towel around them both and sat against the walls of the cave, content to share one another’s body heat.

As Snufkin rested his head on the troll’s shoulders, Moomin spoke up, his voice barely above a whisper. “Does this mean we’re… uh… boyfriends now?”

“I should hope so, I think I would like that very much.”

__

The two must have dozed off, because when he came to there was sunlight shining through the cave. He looked down to find Snufkin’s head resting on his chest, their tails intertwined. He felt a deep rumbling coming from his partner. Oh, he was purring! Moomin had to stop himself from giggling, not wanting to wake the sleeping mumrik. Snufkin rarely purred, so for him to be comfortable enough to do so now, well, Moomin felt very honored.

He sat there for a while in silence, running his paws through his boyfriend’s hair, relishing the deep purr that he received. Eventually though, the sun had started to rise a bit more, shining directly on the two of them. Moomin would be fine of course, but he didn’t want Snufkin to get a sunburn, as he was still only in his trousers.

“Snufkin, Snufkin wake up” He gently nudged his shoulders. He smiled as he was met with those deep brown eyes he loved so much, blinking slowly and heavily from sleep.

“Good morning my dove” he grinned up at his lover. “Thank you for keeping me warm last night, it seems I forgot to put on my coat.”

“Of course, it was my pleasure” Moomin leaned in and nuzzled his nose. “Though, you should get dressed now, we wouldn’t want you getting a sunburn.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right” Snufkin pulled away gently and stretched his arms. Moomin did the same, feeling his back crack loudly. As much as he loved sleeping curled next to Snufkin, perhaps next time it would be good to do so somewhere more comfortable. The cave floor did quite a number on his back.

Snufkin stood up and shuffled over to where his shirt and coat were, quickly putting them on. “We should probably head back, I’m sure your parents are wondering where you are by now.”

“Oh yes! I’m sure Mamma has a wonderful breakfast prepared by now, oh won’t you join us today, Snufkin?” he pleaded.

“It would be my pleasure, dove.”

So the two walked back to Moominhouse paw in paw, much to Moomin’s delight. Of course, they were met with many questions when they arrived, mostly from a very nosey Little My and a very confused Sniff. Mamma and Pappa simply smiled warmly at the sight of the two and offered quiet congratulations before ushering them in for a hearty breakfast.