Chapter Text
Snufkin was sitting on the porch, watching Moomintroll attempt to teach Sniff to play tennis.
They didn't have a proper court, or a net, and Sniff kept getting muddled as to who was winning, despite the fact that he kept missing the ball.
Snufkin chuckled as Moomintroll explained the scoring again.
"That troll has the patience of a rock."
Snufkin nodded, moving aside and giving The Joxter room to sit.
His father smiled, settling next to him and pulling out his pipe before turning back to the game. Sniff had fallen over again.
"So that's Muddlers boy?" he mused to himself, lighting the pipe with care. The crop had been good this year and Moominpapa had been very kind indeed, pressing a pack of leaves into his hand on arrival. After a winter without it was a welcome gift. "Moominpapa tells me he takes after his father. I don't think it was meant as a compliment."
Snufkin ducked his head, hiding his smile under his hat. "Oh Sniffs alright," he said mildly. "His heart's in the right place, so long as someone's there to remind him of it."
Joxter hummed, vanishing briefly in a cloud of sweet smoke. Snufkin inhaled greedily, savouring the loosening in his nerves. Closing his eyes he sighed, letting the nicotine do it's work. When he opened them again the Joxter was looking at him curiously. "I'm trying to quit," he admitted with a faint blush.
"Why?"
Snufkin looked away, back to the doomed tennis match. Joxter followed his gaze.
"Aaah," he said, nodding sagely. "The price of love."
"He didn't ask me to," Snufkin added quickly. "But he hates it." He looked back out at the erratic tennis game, eyes softening as he watched Moomin serve the ball as gently as possible, cheering when Sniff managed to actually hit it back, and sighed. "There's already so much I won't give up, even for him. This seemed like the least I could do."
Joxter considered this for a moment. Then he nodded to himself, damping the flames of his pipe on a clod of dirt and stowing it away in a pocket.