NOTE: Here is the second chapter. Keep in mind that I ABSOLUTELY HATE Houska because she made Sniff cry in the cartoon.

The Groke had never felt so warm before. So alive. So happy. The caress of Sniff's soft paws slowly tracing her icy skin made her tingle. The heat of his breath on her neck as he tenderly licked her with his smooth pink tongue. She held him close and ran her fingers along his coarse brown fur, deeply inhaling his musky, animalistic scent. The smell of pure extasy. She gently ran her purple fingers along the edge of his large ears and down the length of his long muzzle. She could feel his heartbeat as she held him close to her body. The two gazed into each other's eyes as The Groke sucked in Sniff's warmth and Sniff drank in The Groke's coolness. Like fire and ice. They touched noses and gently nuzzled each other.

Suddenly, The Groke's eyes snapped open. She looked around the forest and shook her head. It was only a dream. A fantasy. But it felt so real. The texture of Sniff's fur and the warmth. Everything was so vivid. She needed a taste of his warmth again. She wanted to go out on a date with him. But how? It wouldn't be long before Sniff began hibernating. She had a deadline and she needed to see him again. Remembering a field of flowers she passed on the way to the forest, she headed in that general direction. Sure, the flowers would be dead when she gave them to him but it was the thought that counted.

She then thought about the person who owned the field of flowers. A blonde girl known as Houska. An angry scowl crossed her face as she thought about what that girl had done to Sniff. Snorkmaiden was an excellent source of gossip so when Sniff's heartbreak happened, news of it spread far and wide across Moominvalley. Even The Groke found out at some point. Feeling disgusted by the way Houska treated Sniff, she was going to take matters into her own hands.

But when she finally made it to the field off flowers, they had all died off from the icy chill of winter and snowed over. The Groke felt really stupid, thinking that flowers could even bloom in this kind of weather. She looked around herself, desperately trying to find a substitute for the flowers. A lone pine tree sitting in the field. Of course, she could snap off a branch from it and give it to Sniff as a token of her love. She slowly approached the tree and grabbed a branch. It froze. Then she heard a voice behind her, "Hey! What are you doing to that tree?"

The Groke turned around and saw Houska standing there with an angry look on her face, "That tree was planted by my grandfather! There are dozens of pine trees in the woods, go pick one of them."

The Groke shrugged, ignoring Houska as she ripped the branch clear off the tree as if it were only a twig. Houska gasped, "HOW DARE YOU, YOU BIG FAT MONSTER! I'LL CALL ANIMAL CONTROL ON YOU! THEY'LL TRANQUILIZE YOU AND TAKE YOU TO A ZOO, YOU HEAR ME!?"

The Groke grinned at Houska, mockingly waving the frozen branch in her face, causing Houska to run away crying.

Meanwhile, Sniff was in Moomintroll's bedroom, repeatedly banging his head against the wall, "Stupid, stupid stupid STUPID! Why oh why did I have to be so nice to The Groke? Now she's got a crush on me!"

Little My smirked, "I wonder what the children will look like..."

Moomintroll glared at Little My, "Little My!"

Little My burst out laughing, "I can't help it! This is the best thing that's happened in Moominvalley since our last adventure in Moominworld. It was kind of funny to see an adult woman dressed as me."

"Please don't bring up Moominworld." Sniff whined, "You said you'd never speak of that again."

"Oh, you mean the incident with the frozen yogurt and the bathroom." Little My said mockingly.

"SHUT UP!" Sniff shrieked angrily, "No one needs to be reminded of that!"

Little My crossed her arms, "Chill out, Sniff. I was only messing with you."

Snorkmaiden smiled at Moomintroll, "At least that Groke doesn't have a crush on you anymore, Moomin."

Moomintroll crossed his arms, "I think it's ridiculous to even think she had a crush on me in the first place."

Snorkmaiden turned to Sniff, "Make sure you treat her like a lady, Sniff. Always open the door for her and make sure you pay on your first date."

Sniff whimpered a bit, "Just because she has a crush on me doesn't make me her boyfriend."

Little My glared at Sniff, "Do you have any idea how lonely the Groke is? Stop being such a selfish lard and try to go on a date with her. It'll cheer her up a bit."

Sniff sighed, "But if I touch her, I'll freeze solid."

"You don't have to make contact to show affection, Sniff." Moomintroll replied, "Just give her a gift of some sort."

"Or seranade her." Snorkmaiden added.

"But I don't know how to play guitar or sing very well." Sniff whined, "This entire situation is so embarrassing and awkward. I just can't wait to go back into hibernation."

Suddenly, Moominmama entered the room and spoke, "For some strange reason, The Groke appears to be at the door. She's holding a large, frozen tree branch."

Snorkmaiden smiled, "Flowers don't bloom in the winter, so she's probably using a tree branch instead."

Moominmama looked confused, "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"

Little My smirked, "I'll give you a hint. Sniff and Grokey sittin in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage...then Sniff turns to a block of ice when they try to make a baby!"

Sniff sobbed a little out of sheer embarrassment and Moominmama smiled, "Oh, that's lovely. Looks like you've found yourself a girlfriend, Sniff. Good job, I knew you would always find that special someone."

Sniff whimpered a little as he tugged at his large ears, now blushing more than ever. He wished he could just vanish into thin air and not face her. He took a deep breath and Moominmama searched the closet and handed him some clothes: a white button shirt, a sleeveless grey dress-vest and a blue bowtie. Sniff sighed, "Might as well look fancy, I guess."

Sniff put on the white shirt and the vest over it. He buttoned them up and strapped the bowtie around his neck. Snorkmaiden smiled, "You look so handsome in that outfit, Sniff. I'm pretty sure The Groke will have trouble keeping her hands off of you in that vest!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sniff replied in a whiny tone. Moominmama opened the door and invited the icy chill of winter in. In front of the front steps of Moominhouse stood The Groke, a large frozen tree branch in her hand being held as it if were a boquet of flowers.

Moominmama turned to Sniff, "I have some leftover lasagna for the two of you to enjoy. Think of it as a dinner date only you don't have to pay."

Sniff whimpered a little, blushing more than ever. Dinner date? Was she serious about all this? He took a deep sigh and walked up near the Groke and sat in the snow a safe distance away from her. His ears wilted and there was a long silence. About 2 minutes passed and The Groke slowly dropped the branch into Sniff's lap. Sniff looked up at the icy creature with tears in his eyes from the crushing weight of the branch and a nervous grin on his face, "So...this is for me?"

The Groke nodded slowly as she gazed into Sniff's tearful eyes. She wanted so badly to pick him up and hug him like some sort of teddy bear. He was so adorkable and the expression on his face made him look like a kicked puppy but she didn't want to freeze him. It took every ounce of willpower not to snuggle the timid creature.

"It's a very lovely...branch. Heavy and cold, but lovely..." Sniff replied, trying to hug himself for warmth. The dress-vest couldn't even protect him against The Groke's icy presence.

Suddenly, Moominmama emerged from the kitchen with two plates that had lasagna on them. She walked up to the giant purple bloblike creature and the pudgy kangaroo-like creature and set down the plates. She smiled at the two, "Awww...don't the two of you look so sweet together? I'll go get the camera, this one is going in the photo album!"

Sniff watched as the Groke picked up her lasagna and it froze into a large block of ice. She then began munching on the ice block with a satisfied grin on her face. He sighed and slowly dug into his lasagna. This was going to be without a doubt, the most awkward date he'd ever be on. Suddenly, he felt something cold hit his head and he glared over at Little My who was holding a snowball. She smirked at him, "Guess what, Sniff? Moomintroll and I challenge you and The Groke to a snowball fight!"

Moomintroll turned to Little My, "Are you crazy? This is the GROKE we're talking about!"

Little My crossed her arms, "Where's your sense of fun-"

But Little My's sentence was cut off when a snowball hit her head, she turned and glared at Sniff and The Groke who were both trying to look innocent, "All right, which one of you threw that?"

Both of them pointed to Snorkmaiden who was holding a snowball. She had a really nervous look on her face, "Me?"

Little My glared at Snorkmaiden and scooped up some snow in her gloved hand. She then started throwing rapid fire snowballs at her, "How DARE you interrupt me like that Snorkmaiden! I'll get you for that, mark my words!"

Little My then started chasing Snorkmaiden across the snowy lawn and Snorkmaiden spoke frantically, "It was Sniff, I saw him throw it! Those two are trying to make me look bad, I swear!"

The Groke and Sniff snickered a little but then The Groke turned away and let out a sad moan. Sniff's ears wilted, "What's the matter? Do you miss your family?"

The Groke nodded and Sniff let out a soft whimper, "You can stay here with us. With Moomin and Moominmama and Moominpapa and Little My and me! How does that sound?"

The Groke shook her head and Sniff sighed, "You're right...you belong with your own kind. If you hung around us too much, we'd freeze...do you want us to help you move out?"

The Groke nodded as Sniff swallowed back a wave of bitter tears, blinking rapidly as he hugged himself, "M...maybe Too Ticky c-c-can h-help you."

Sniff closed his eyes, trying to imagine just how lonely and homesick The Groke was but unlike him, she couldn't just surround herself with friends. She'd just freeze them and wallow in her own loneliness. It broke his heart but he knew she needed to be with her own kind. She'd be much happier that way. It was time to say goodbye.