the quiet one

Day 17, 18, 19: garden, scribe, cathedral

By My Side (Part 1)

Fandom/Media: The Moomins (1990)

Ship: Snufmin (heavily implied)

Content Advisory: Brief descriptions of hunger, stomach growling, stuffing, tummyaches, tummy rubs, caretaking

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re staying the winter with us, Snufkin!”

“You’ve said that about a dozen times today, Moomin.” Snufkin replied, setting down a book he had picked off the moomintroll’s shelf and had been absently skimming for the past few minutes. It seemed to be about pirates.

“Well what else am I supposed to say? You’ve never stayed the winter, and you hardly sleep over in Moominhouse, but I suppose it makes sense now that the snow’s almost taller than the tree you pitch your tent under… You would have been buried if you’d stayed out there all winter!” Moomin rambled, pulling himself away from the window where he had previously been watching the snow fall from the sky in heaps. Snufkin got up to take Moomin’s place at the window upon hearing that, feeling some small urge to check if that claim was true.

“Well how about that.” His tail swayed back and forth gently as Moomin checked the clock on his wall, as if growing impatient for something. “All these years and I’ve never seen Moominvalley in the snow. It looks like a bowl of sugar.”

His stomach panged hungrily at the word ‘sugar.’ Surely the Hibernation Feast was nearly done by now, right?

“I suppose it does, I hope it’s mostly melted by the first day of spring though, I’d hate to have to trudge through the snow while we’re off on our adventure.” Moomin couldn’t keep a smile off his face as he finished that sentence. ‘Our adventure’ sounded like a dream come true; a dream that Moomin had dreamt countless times after hearing Moominpapa’s tales of his youth.

“You forget that’s what I do every winter, Moomin.”

“Oh… Adventure sounds hard.”

“You getting cold feet already?”

“Not a chance!” Moomin defended quickly, crossing his arms as Snufkin chuckled and turned to face him. Eager to change the subject now, Moomin shuffled over to open his bedroom door. “Let’s go find Little My, I’m sure she needs to be reminded to wash up before the feast, like usual.”

Snufkin’s thoughts were already preoccupied with something else as he stepped out of the bedroom, however; the smell of Moominmama’s cooking had hung heavily around the kitchen since breakfast, but now that the sun was nearly set and dinnertime was fast approaching, that glorious meal could be smelled from every inch of the house. Snufkin’s stomach grumbled impatiently, and Moomin’s ears flicked before the troll stole a glance back at his friend.

“Maybe we should ask Mama for some bread before dinner, too.” Moomin proposed.

“You go ahead, I wouldn’t want to spoil my appetite.”

“You sound like you have enough of an appetite.” Moomin teased as Snufkin rested a hand against his belly and opted to look anywhere but Moomin as he willed his stomach to quiet down for the time being.

The smell of food cooking was even heavier down in the dining room, where Little My was already sitting expectantly at the table.

“Spending the winter in Moominhouse again, Little My?” Snufkin asked as he peeked briefly inside the kitchen, where Moominmama, Moominpapa, and Snorkmaiden were hard at work.

“Obviously, Moominmama’s Feast is the best thing to have before hibernation! I’ve been spending the winter here since before you could travel.” She explained, briefly flaunting her status as the older sibling.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Moomin suddenly exclaimed. “This might be a little late to ask it, but you can hibernate, right Snufkin? Because I know some people can’t hibernate like Moomins can.” Snufkin opened his mouth to answer, but Little My quickly interjected.

“Of course he can! He’s half Mymble, and I hibernate just fine.”

“Well, yes, but I’m also half Mumrik.” He reminded, taking his own seat at the table. Moomin sat dutifully beside him. “And Mumriks don’t hibernate at all. I may be able to for a bit, but not nearly as long as you or Moomin.”

“Oh, what are you going to do during the winter then?” Moomin asked.

“I suppose I’ll try to hibernate, and if I wake up I’ll stretch my legs a bit and then go back to bed. There’s not much use in trying to stay awake if I’m snowed in.” He explained, though the thought of being trapped in one place all winter was particularly daunting.

He was quickly pulled away from those worries as the kitchen door swung open, to reveal Snorkmaiden carrying a large basket of bread.

“Oh good, you’re all here already.” She smiled, ducking back in briefly to grab two more plates heaped with different starting dishes. Little My climbed onto the table and made a grab for some bread, but Snorkmaiden swatted her hand and shook her head. “You have to wait! It’s rude to start eating before everyone’s at the table.” Snorkmaiden scolded, and Little My only slinked back into her chair and crossed her arms with a ‘humph.’

And just as she did, Snufkin’s stomach growled rather fiercely, and as his face flushed, Snorkmaiden just giggled and headed back towards the kitchen. “I’ll tell mama and papa to hurry up though, the food’s nearly done.” She assured, but that didn’t do much to assuage Snufkin’s embarrassment as he pulled his hat down over his face.

She hadn’t lied though, Moominmama and Moominpapa were out in a matter of seconds carting their own plates of food, everything from roasted and seasoned vegetables to hearty pasta and homemade sauce, and of course the main dish: A beautiful roast duck. Snufkin couldn’t help his mouth from filling with saliva just at the sight of the feast; he couldn’t ever recall being in the presence of so much food. He was snapped out of his momentary trance as Moominmama set a pie before Snufkin on the table, and then gave him a little wink.

“I made this special for you, dear.” She said proudly, arranging a few more things on the table as she spoke. “You helped us catch so much fish this season after all, so I tried out a recipe for black bass pie. I do hope you like it.” Snufkin just stared up at her, nearly dumbfounded.

“I can’t wait to try it Moominmama, thank you…” He replied, taking up his knife and fork as everyone sat around the table. Moominpapa grunted in agreement.

“Neither can I, working in that kitchen is torture! I’ve been waiting all day to try a bit of everything…” He grumbled as Moominmama sat beside him and gave him a quick peck. “Then stop complaining and start eating, dear.”

And that they did.

With as much polite restraint as he could continue to muster, Snufkin began piling food onto his plate. He took a little bit of everything, but he made a point to take a heaping slice out of Moominmama’s black bass pie. He couldn’t help his curiosity about the dish, and he ended up taking a bite out of that first.

And my goodness, was it heavenly.

Snufkin could hardly stop eating after that initial bite, everything was just so good; the vegetables were crispy, the fish was savory, the duck was roasted and spiced just right. It didn’t take him long to clear his plate, and when he saw everyone else reaching for seconds, he figured he might as well do the same. There were still things on the table he hadn’t even gotten around to trying.

“Make sure to eat a lot Snufkin.” Moomin advised plainly, passing the duck that the mumrik had motioned for once again. “This meal has got to last you all winter!”

“I know, but that shouldn’t be a problem, Moominmama’s cooked enough to feed the whole of Moominvalley.” His fangs tore into a leg of duck, and he couldn’t help his tail from swaying gently at the taste. He hardly ever got to eat a luxury such as cured meat.

Moomin himself couldn’t keep a grin off his face as he saw the other’s tail swaying. Not much could make him happier than when Snufkin showed those little telltale habits that reminded the world that he was, in fact, a mumrik.

Mumriks weren’t accustomed to Moomin-sized portions, however. Snufkin heeded Moomin’s advice to ‘eat a lot’ regardless, and throughout most of the feast, he was far too preoccupied with eating his fill of each and every dish, and made sure to put a helping of his favorites back on his plate during every serving. It would be rude if he didn’t try a little bit of everything after Moominmama and Moominpapa had worked so hard on such a big feast, after all. But by the time he was halfway through his third helping, Snufkin began slowing down a bit, on account of realizing just how full he was getting. He paused briefly to set a hand on his belly, which had rounded out considerably since he began eating. He’d been so caught up in eating that he had hardly noticed himself getting full, and now he just felt positively stuffed.

But he still had half a plate of food left, so he tried to push away the thought of how full he was getting in favor of clearing his plate.

When he eventually did, the stuffed swell of his belly was near impossible to ignore. At least for him. Thank goodness it was hidden beneath his cloak, but he could feel his overfull stomach straining against his undershirt and gurgling with the effort it took to digest the massive amount of food. Thank goodness the chatter of the table was enough to mask the noises, and that chatter only grew when Moominmama got up and returned with a few more heaping dishes of dessert.

“I hope you all aren’t too full yet, you can’t hibernate without some nice dessert in your belly, after all.” She insisted kindly, though Snufkin found himself groaning inwardly. The food looked absolutely delicious, Moominmama had brought out pies and cakes and cookies, and Snufkin silently envied how everyone else looked ready to dig into the final stretch of the meal while he was already stuffed to the gills. He would eat dessert nonetheless though; he’d rather be too full than wake up starving during hibernation, after all.

So he ate a cookie, and then a cupcake, and then a piece of cake, and then a piece of pie until he’d had at least one of every dessert. But after that he positively had to sit back and put down his fork to place a hand on his overfull stomach; if he didn’t he feared his tummy would burst with how much he’d crammed into it.

Thankfully it didn’t, but it did give a rather displeased rumble at the amount of food it had to deal with now, and like usual, Moomin’s sensitive ears swiveled before the troll glanced down at the swell of Snufkin’s stomach, now round enough to be noticeable even under his cloak. Moomin gasped.

“Snufkin-!” But the mumrik just held a hand up, shook his head and stared back at him with a look he hoped communicated ‘please, not here.’ He stifled a hiccup, and Moomin quickly got the message, finishing off the last of his own dessert before standing up.

“Can we be excused, mama?”

“I suppose, have you two had enough to eat?”

“Oh yes, more than enough mama, thank you.” Moomin insisted as Snufkin hoisted himself out of his seat with an agreeable nod.

“Everything was amazing Moominmama, thank you…” He said, one hand still resting on his rounded tummy as Moomin led him towards the stairwell.

“Alright, you two have a good hibernation then! Sleep well.” She called after the boys. Snufkin just stared up at the stairs and then exhaustedly back at Moomin.

“You’re mad if you think I can climb up to your room in this state…” He murmured abashedly. He’d really overdone it, his stomach was starting to churn and gurgle uncomfortably beneath his palm, not used to such an immense amount of food.

“Oh dear… Well, how about I just carry you up?”

“Carry me?” Snufkin couldn’t keep the blush from spreading across his cheeks.

“Of course, how else are you supposed to get to bed?” Both the boys paused as Snufkin’s stomach churned noisily, and Snufkin glanced down at the floor, placing his other hand on his belly in the hopes that he could hide the busy noises. “Best to get you to a place where I can tend to that tummy too, I don’t want you starting hibernation with a stomachache…” Moomin fussed as he gathered the mumrik up into his arms and started the trek up the three flights of stairs.

“Oh please, there’s no need to tend to me, I’m just full.” Snufkin insisted, but the journey up the stairs proved otherwise. Being jostled around and so close to Moomin that the troll could surely hear every churn and squeeze of his overworked gut was enough to make Snufkin silently give into Moomin’s offer for help. Especially now that an uncomfortable ache was starting to bloom in his belly.

Moomin set Snufkin carefully on his bed, and, with a bit of hesitation, the mumrik began making himself comfortable by wrestling his way out of his cloak and kicking off his boots. Moomin hung both his cloak and his hat on the bedframe before climbing up beside Snufkin, and nearly gasping again at the sight of his tummy.

“Oh, Snufkin… You really overdid it, didn’t you?” The smaller boy’s stomach certainly looked full. Where there would normally be the gentle slope of a soft and well-fed tummy, there was now the distended swell of a stomach that was a little too well-fed. Not to mention rumbling like an avalanche around the food that had been crammed inside of it. Snufkin had overindulged to the point where his belly was rounded like a ball and pressing against his undershirt, and after a moment of stewing in embarrassment at his overindulgence, Snufkin carefully undid the belt of his trousers and heaved a relieved sigh. Moomin chuckled gently and tentatively reached a paw out, and after a silent ‘go ahead’ nod from Snufkin, he placed a hand on the top of his friends belly.

“I bet that feels a little better, huh?” Moomin asked, slowly beginning to rub the gurgling swell of Snufkin’s belly. Snufkin just nodded, leaning into the gentle touch of the other’s paw. “Goodness, your belly’s all firm like a rock! Just how much did you eat?” He exclaimed, pressing in ever so slightly to help relieve a bit of the achiness. Snufkin’s stomach just released a string of distressed grumbles in return.

“Four plates, including dessert… How do you manage this every winter?” He huffed. Now that his hat was off and his ears were visible, Moomin could see that Snufkin’s ears were pressed flat against the side of his head, and his face was still flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, that’s all? I had six, but I suppose your tummy is smaller than mine.” Moomin nearly teased, patting his own round tummy for emphasis. Snufkin just smiled gently, he couldn’t help but adore Moomin’s warm and round softness, everything about him was just so comfortable. He supposed that’s why Moomins hibernated in the winter, that softness couldn’t be properly appreciated if they blended in with the snowy white landscape. “You’ll be alright though-“ Moomin started again, interrupting Snufkin’s train of thought. “It’s your first Hibernation Feast. Once your tummy settles you won’t want to do anything but sleep.”

“Aren’t you tired then, Moomin?”

“Oh yes, but I need to make sure you get to sleep alright before I do. Like I said, this is your first hibernation, so I’ll make sure you get proper rest.” He insisted.

“Well, I learn by watching, so how about you just show me how?” He asked before wincing as Moomin worked on a particularly painful cramp in his stomach.

“Only after you start feeling better.” Moomin worked that spot a little more with the careful pads of his paws, and he was able to loosen the cramp and release another string of gurgles and growls. Snufkin just sighed in relief at the untied knot in his stomach.

“…Deal.”

So they carried on that way for awhile, with Moomin massaging, Snufkin reclined on the bed, and his stomach rumbling away around a lovely feast. Eventually Moomin was able to ease most of the aches in his stomach, and as soon as he was able to focus more on the weight in his belly as a comfortable fullness rather than an achy mass, he began to feel his eyelids drooping. And without a second thought, he began to purr.

“Snufkin!” Moomin gasped, causing the mumrik to crack an eye open. “Oh, you’re purring!” He said in a more hushed tone upon realizing how tired the other was getting.

“Mhm? I suppose I am…” He murmured, stifling a yawn. Moomin did the same; the action contagious. “Well, your belly rubs do feel rather nice…” He continued to purr, and with wide, admiring eyes, Moomin continued to rub Snufkin’s belly with one paw while he pulled a blanket over them with his other. He lied down facing the mumrik to continue rubbing his belly, as Snufkin simply lied there, finally enjoying his fullness.

“I’m glad… Do you feel better yet?”

“Oh yes, much better… Thank you Moomin.”

“Of course Snufkin…” Moomin could feel his eyes getting a bit droopy as well. But before he could ask Snufkin another question, his purring continued as his breathing evened out. He’d fallen asleep, and Moomin just smiled.

“Goodnight then, Snufkin.”