Hello again my dear readers/fellow shippers. Its been awhile since I wrote the last chapter of 'Only a Voice' and it was about time to see a little of the Hooked Wayfinder version of what happens five years later. Now I'm not an expert on romance, but as a writer I like to figure out how I can make something work so let us see if I can provide something good for you that made the wait worth it. Also 'five year time gap' equals 'ok NOW HolyMaiden24 is ok with full on shipping' so let it commence!
And also Arataki (aka the awesome sibling OC from the original fan fic) came back in this part.
So... I don't ignore the obvious, but even so I can't help but wonder what exact age Maui is supposed to be physically, even if my best guess still ranges between early thirties to mid forties. And Dwayne Johnson was in his early forties when he first signed on to be a part of the film, so... IDK. Age gaps shouldn't be a problem anymore this time around.
Moana's outfit is inspired by a dress from the concept art of outfits worn by village women from the Art of Moana book. The lyrics to the song are from 'Logo te pate' from Moana (and yes I did look at the translation beforehand).
Duet
A few miles from the nearest island, there were a couple boats that had been surrounded by a large swarm of monstrous eels, yet those upon the boats were almost about ready to win the fight.
"Get back!" Arataki snarled as she sent a spear into an eel and pulled the spear up so that she could smack it across the face with her club. "If you don't stop, we'll make you our next meal!" She shouted at the waters to the remaining eels while her fellow passengers were still trying to fight back.
Then one very daring eel somehow managed to launch itself onto the boat in the midst of the chaos. It recognized Arataki as the leader and it began to wiggle and swarm towards her as she prepared to launch another spear at an eel in the water. Yet before it managed to get close enough to her to lunge and strike, an oar slammed down upon its head as hard as the owner could before she knocked the beast back into the water.
Arataki turned around to see who saved her in the nick of time and grinned. "I bet you weren't planning on helping us during your visit, eh?! At least this is strengthening our relations with you guys!"
Moana merely laughed and went on to stop the next oncoming eel. Right as it tried to launch itself at her, she smacked it as hard as she could and it went soaring in a perfect arc over the water and the heads of its companions before it crashed back into the ocean.
Eventually the battle was won by those upon the boat and the eels had either perished or swam away. When that moment came, Moana eventually went back onto her own boat as Arataki and the others checked to make sure no serious damage had been done to their large vessel. "You sure you don't want to come back with us right away?" Awhina asked the young woman as she inspected her own boat.
"I might need a couple of moments to myself." Moana admitted. After seeing that there wasn't anything to be too horribly concerned about, she turned back and waved to them. "See you soon!" She then freed the sail and went off.
"Yeah see you!" Arataki waved to Moana as Awhina stood beside her. "And don't forget that I'll be having a little party tonight, so be sure to come on by!"
"I won't forget!" Moana promised before she got too far away to be heard.
"Oh man, I almost envy whoever gets to marry her." Arataki grinned. "Motonui is lucky to have her as a Chief."
"What do you mean by 'envy'?" Awhina shot Arataki a suspicious look that made the other woman laugh. "Oh relax, Awhina!" She playfully swatted her arm.
"I mean I'm not the only one who was checking her out." Arataki nodded to a couple of men who watched Moana leave for a bit longer than they should have, though there was no denying the admiration they had towards her. "Its not often you find someone who can do the things that she can do."
Awhina hummed in thought before she turned around to see what looked like a shark in the ocean by the boat, but then it sank back into the depths before she could get a glimpse of it. "Maybe we should get going, in case there's something else out here. The last thing we need is another surprise ambush." She advised Arataki.
Unknown to everyone on the surface, the shark with unusual markings on his body had came across the fight as it was ending and he watched the fight from a distance to see if he would be needed or not, though his eyes had been on Moana in particular. He was proud to see that she did just fine on her own, though he opted to stay underwater for a bit to make sure the eels wouldn't go after her. It wasn't until both boats had vanished that he finally went back to the surface to change into a large hawk that took to the skies.
All the while, he thought about what he had just overheard.
Time had been extremely generous with the girl Maui saved so many years ago in more ways than one.
It was true that he wasn't there all the time during those five years since they both had things to attend to, but the changes in Moana slowly became more noticeable whenever they did meet up. The years had aged her until there was no sign of a child or a teen in her features and her eyes reflected much experience and self-confidence in herself. It wasn't hard to notice when she got another couple inches taller, but then it lead to noticing that she had gained a little more muscle in the arms and legs from her time out in the ocean and fighting monsters. Then for some reason it lead to seeing that she was getting a little more curvier and more developed when she finally left the teen years behind and hit the two decade mark.
If a person changed over time you tended to notice these things the longer you look at them. It was interesting to see how much a person would change or what they would turn into over the years. A child could become a warrior or a fisherman and it would still be hard to believe it when recalling them as a small child. Yet for some reason it was almost hard to recall the small child he saved when he looked at what she had turned into and what he never really acknowledged in all the time he knew her and hung out with her until it was almost too late.
Moana had grown up and matured to become a beautiful young woman–there was no denying it. Even though she was still mostly the same person he knew on the inside, that part of her had also matured (in wisdom and experience) over the years and it made her even more appealing. She was a force to behold and he was positive that her name would be known throughout the ocean for her unwavering inner strength.
Maui wasn't the only one to notice though, as what he had overheard earlier had proved to him. Others (men and even a few women) had noticed Moana's beauty in particular and it bugged him when he saw them looking at her and whenever a few of them talked with her or even flirted with her. He had no clue why it bothered him so much.
Well duh, it had to be because he was protective of her, right? This was going to happen either way, though it still caught him off guard whenever it did. It made him more concerned about her safety though as the last thing he wanted was for her to end up having a nasty creep go after her for her beauty if it wasn't for her being a Chief and he didn't want her to suffer any heartbreak over a crush gone wrong. That and he really didn't want another repeat of a monster going after a young maiden scenario and especially with Moana of all people.
Especially considering what happened five years ago... what could have happened five years ago...
He remembered what Moana said about how a certain crab in a human disguise had tried to charm her. He remembered how Tamatoa looked back then, but even with all the flashy adornments and odd behavior quirks he somehow pictured him doing the same things with this older version of Moana and that bothered him even more than it used to. If what had happened to her as a sixteen year old had happened to her as an adult, would the events have played out the same or would something much worse have happened?
He shuddered as he recalled what happened all those years ago and was thankful that whatever Tamatoa had in mind for Moana never came to pass. Moana would have suffered and felt trapped and alone under the ocean and away from the sun in the unfriendly realm of the monsters. Who knew if she would have still been alive today if that happened.
If that had happened, he would never have forgiven himself.
If Moana had not been brought back to life five years ago he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself.
Either way he almost lost her forever and he was more than grateful that she was alive and that she was a part of his life. It was hard to imagine a life without her now and he enjoyed showing her as much as he could within these past five years and seeing her learn and experience so much within that time. Seeing her excited and eager to learn and discover new things helped to see the world through her eyes and see each thing as something new all over again and she shared it all through stories to her people and her family with that same excitement.
It was almost at that point where he would have to wait a few decades before he could take her off the island and try to go farther out than anyone would dare dream to go, but he was looking forward to it. He wanted to see how much the world could change with someone and talk about it with them.
He wanted to hang out with her more but at the same time he wondered if he shouldn't be around her too much while she still had her family with her. Oh sure, he could be selfless when helping the humans and being a hero, and yet he found himself wondering about what it was that this one person would want and if it would be best to put them first.
That time he had been stuck as a voiceless mortal really did a number on his thought process.
Yet sometimes he couldn't help but also think about how much Moana had grown up, such as the last time he paid a visit to her island and he tried not to say anything about how much she had changed. Not much happened during that one visit besides a couple of hellos to a few faces and a few hours with Moana and her family before heading off. (Her family treated him as if he was a part of them over the years and he was grateful that they had forgiven him despite all that had happened way back when). He hadn't seen Moana for the past couple of months but the thoughts of those odd feelings came to him once or twice and he didn't know what to make of them.
"Ke manatua faiga iena," He heard a familiar voice sing out and he saw a familiar boat as well as its passenger as he flew in the skies. "Te luelue te malohi ina hiva."
He was tempted to call out to her when an amusing idea occurred to him. He quietly reached the ocean's surface and changed forms with the same amount of quietness.
"Hau le ke ta o," Moana sang as she walked around the boat to stretch her legs out a bit. "Hiki mai to lima. Hau le ke ta o. Hau ta hauniga." She smiled as she absorbed enough heat from the sun and planned to soon jump into the ocean for a quick swim.
"Hau le ke ta o. Hiki mai to lima." She stretched her arms out and closed her eyes as she continued the song, unaware of the voice that joined her on the last part.
"Hau le ke ta o." She sang but then stopped when she realized that someone else had joined in her singing and she waited until she heard a familiar voice she knew sing out "Ko koe tagata e lago ai au!"
Moana grinned and looked around to try to find the source of the voice. "Maui?!" She asked as she looked at her surroundings before looking up into the sky. "Where are you hiding this time?" She checked the sail to see if he was in a small form hiding way above her. She quickly looked in the compartment within the canoe, but there wasn't any living creature hiding within it. "You aren't going to try to scare me this time, are you?" She demanded as she looked up. "Because one of these days I'm going to trick you so hard you won't be able to come up with a good comeback for it!"
She heard him chuckling somewhere behind her along with a flash of the magic of his transformation powers; She looked around quickly but was unable to catch him in time. She looked up again before she looked down into the water and couldn't see anything. "Please don't turn into something large and come shooting up at me!" She pleaded. "It wasn't funny the first time you did it!"
She sighed. Sometimes the things Maui did kept her on her toes, but not in a bad way. He was famous for being a trickster for a reason and it was fun to get back at him once in awhile. Though there were times were he would almost take the jokes too far and she hated being scared for fun.
Well, it looked like it was time to go into the water anyway. If he tried to take on a form that involved grabbing her leg again, she was going to give him a piece of her mind. With that in mind, she jumped into the water and enjoyed the cool sensation against her body when she went into it.
She swam a couple times around the boat before diving down and she opened her eyes to see the dark depths of the ocean below and her hair waving around her head in a graceful manner. It made her smile as she looked up to see the sky above the water, along with her boat.
Wait a minute. It wasn't often that she swam underwater by the boat, but seeing her hair reminded her of a dream she had a long time ago. One with a certain shark.
That wasn't actually going to happen... was it?
She became aware that something was swimming behind her and she turned to see a large shark swimming towards her with a mischievous and sharp tooth filled grin on his face.
Moana almost cursed as she made to swim back up and get onto the boat. She was in the process of pulling herself back on when she realized that the shark looked very familiar. She knew those marks on its body and she recognized those dark brown and very human eyes.
She took a deep breath and plunged down to see the shark patiently waiting for her. He hadn't lost that grin but he was clearly very happy to see her.
Moana smiled and swam over towards Maui. She did something no one would dare do (unless they had a death wish) and made to reach her arms around the shark to hug him as tight as she could but only managed to get her arms around his mouth and her hands away from his teeth before pressing her forehead against his. In turn, she felt Maui bump against her in an affectionate way.
Moana then let go of the shark to swim back up and she took a deep breath when she broke through the surface. She smiled and waited for Maui to come up to her or shift into his true form before saying a 'hello' to her or something else that was bound to be amusing but as the seconds passed she frowned and looked around to try to find any sign of the demi-god in the water.
"Maui?" Moana asked.
Then all of a sudden, she felt something ticklish rub against her foot. She shrieked and kicked at something slippery before she looked down to see the shark giving her an even wider grin.
Why did he just–wait... a... minute. She told Maui about the shark tickling her in the dream all those years ago, which meant... oh no.
"NO!" Moana yelled as she tried to swim away, but Maui was quicker and the dream became a reality when she felt him rub against her stomach. Her yells became hysterical laughs as she tried to hold onto the shark for dear life as he 'attacked' her so that she wouldn't drown. "STOP IT MAUI!" She half yelled, half laughed. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT DREAM, MAUI–STOP IT!" She yelled as he hit a part of her stomach that was especially ticklish.
She could barely breathe from laughing so hard. There had to be a way to stop the trickster demi-god, but how? She couldn't think straight as she was laughing and trying to get back on the boat, but then the shark decided to rub a fin down her leg that made her try to kick him again. Then she felt him go for her back and try to rub his nose up her backbone made her flinch and cry out "OK, CUT IT OUT!"
Meanwhile Maui was having the time of his life. It was taking him everything not to laugh in the water as he made Moana almost pass out from her own laughter. He almost didn't notice when Moana made to grab his head again when his head was finally out of the water and when he realized it, he made to lunge at her again.
Moana, however, was still trying to get him to stop and yet a very amusing thought had popped into her head that she knew would probably get him to stop and maybe she would get back at him in the process. So upon instinct (and with little time to actually think about what she was doing) Moana lunged forward and kissed the great shark right on the forehead.
And when Maui realized what she was doing, he felt everything come to a stop and felt his mind shut down as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Did Moana... just kiss him?!
Moana pulled away and she laughed in triumph when she felt the shark come to a stop. She planned to give the creature a taste of his own medicine as a follow up until she heard a familiar flash of light and saw Maui change back into his normal form. She had to try to hold onto the boat with one arm to avoid sinking as she suffered though her laughing fit. That didn't last long and her laughter began to die as she took a second look at Maui.
As she stared at Maui, she was reminded that he could change into any form but his real form was still that of a man (and an attractive one according to her secret opinion), which was the form she was seeing before her as he began to sink into the ocean and when he realized what was happening, he scrambled to also hold onto the boat. Despite this, he retained an incredibly shocked and wide eyed expression that would have been funny at any other point in time and he wasn't even saying a single word (whether it be amusing or sarcastic) about what she had just done.
And then Moana realized she kissed one of her dearest and closest friends.
"I–" Moana struggled to say as she felt a blush creep into her face. "Uh... I was just... trying to stop you–" Oh gods, this was like that time where she was caught cuddling him in her sleep. "I thought it would be funny if–" Wait... didn't she almost think of kissing him later that night too?! Wait–
No, no, no, no, no, no–
"I am so sorry I didn't–I shouldn't have–!" Moana cringed as she scrambled to get back onto the boat. She wasn't graceful about it either and she was in a messy and wet heap when she finally flopped back on the surface. She couldn't bring herself to face Maui and when she heard the flash of light, she looked up to see him as a hawk flying as fast as he could away from her in a slightly clumsy manner.
"Oh gods, why did I do that, why did I do that?!" Moana held her face in shame though she felt that her face was warm under her touch.
Maui himself was almost in a similar mental state as he tried to think of why Moana chose to kiss him in order to stop him. He wasn't even considering the fact that he was a shark at that moment, though he would have preferred it if he had been in his real form at the time. It would have been more enjoyable if–
When he realized what was going on through his mind, he almost felt his heart stop because he realized he would have liked it if she had kissed him at all.
Suddenly he realized why the attention Moana was getting from others had bugged him so much and why it was so difficult to not notice how beautiful she had become as well as the person she had turned into upon reaching the specific age she was currently at. A person who, in his opinion, was pretty awesome and who he wanted to hang around and be with.
He wasn't just being protective of her, he was attracted to her. In fact, if he didn't know better, maybe he had even fallen in...
And with that, Maui came to a stop. "Son of a–AAAAAAGGHHH!" He realized he was in midair still and had to quickly flap his wings before he could plummet to the ocean, but he was still mentally cursing at his discovery. The only person who would have seen this mistake was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice it.
He did not see this coming when he rescued that girl all those years ago or when she was a teen, though back then that seemed more like an amusing but impossible future. And he had no clue what to make of this, but he wanted to curse at something.
Sometimes she thought about what could have been if anything had changed.
Moana dreamt of the night she first met Tamatoa, but instead she dreamt that she decided to make her choice of going to set her friend free instead of letting her depression consume her to the point of becoming an easy target for the crab. This time she knew everything and this time she wasn't a sixteen year old, but she was how she currently was. This time she snuck into Maui's fale from the back while no one else was looking.
"Shh!" Moana placed a finger to her lips when Maui looked at her in shock. He was the way he was before she learned the truth–completely human and voiceless with scars covering most of his upper body–and she took out a dagger to make quick work of the ropes around him. "I'm getting you out of here."
When she finally succeeded in getting them off, she grabbed Maui by the arm and ran out of the fale. She took him as fast as she could out of the village and into a section of the surrounding forest without stopping and when she felt that they were safe, she turned around to see his look of confusion.
"I know who you are this time!" Moana was breathless as she grabbed his arms. "I made a huge mistake in not helping you when I did! I should have done this after all you had done for me!"
She saw Maui try to say something, but she could only smile as she made to hug him as best as she could without letting go. "I want you in my life and I don't want you to feel alone ever again! You don't have to try to win love from us–I already gave it to you!"
She shut her eyes and waited as she felt Maui freeze up before she felt him move his arms around to return the hug.
But then all of a sudden he vanished and Moana found herself holding onto nothing but the air before her arms moved inward and she had to stop herself from falling.
"What the–?! Maui?!" She called out in a panic but he wasn't there. "Where did you go?!" She was now scared. What just happened? What did she do wrong?!
"I told him that he couldn't become a human through someone's infatuation. But you forgot that he told you, didn't you mon princesse?" An all too familiar voice with a particular accent called out to her.
Moana felt her heart stop.
"No," She turned around to see a familiar man in unusual garments and flashy adornments and who had an all too familiar pair of blue eyes with the pupil larger in the left one compared to the right. "No." Moana shook her head as she tried to deny who she was seeing before her and a small terror took a hold of her. She knew who was before her and she didn't know what was going to happen next.
"Missed me, babe?" Tamatoa flashed Moana a malicious grin that revealed his crooked teeth. "Can't blame you. I can think of a few who did."
"No, you aren't real!" Moana walked backwards away from the monster in disguise as she pointed a finger at him. "I know this is a dream!"
Tamatoa rolled his eyes. "No I'm real as–yes of course its a dream you stupid mortal, why would my real self dare go anywhere near you a second time?!" He snapped at her as he threw his arms out. "Or appear as a human for a second time in a row?! Do you have any idea how painful the transformations really are?!"
"Why are you here then?" Moana demanded as she came to a stop but the crab just smiled.
"You know I didn't expect Maui would ever cause someone to be attracted to him, especially given his appearance at the time." Tamatoa chuckled as he walked towards the young woman with uneven steps. "But he didn't take it well even when you're all grown up, did he? You scared him off and he's never coming back to you. And now you are stuck forever alone because you couldn't resist your inner urges. Maybe you should have let me killed him back then."
"Shut up!" Moana found her courage and snarled as she stood her ground. "I will never regret my sacrifice for him and you have no right to–"
"You are just as quick to act without thinking as your dear daddy." Tamatoa continued on. "Its what lead you you me and what lead you to your death." He added as Moana glared in anger at him.
"And now you're going to guilt trip Maui for letting you die and becoming a demi-goddess." Tamatoa snickered. "You're going to outlive your whole family and he's going to leave behind a stupid girl whose going to make him uncomfortable every time he thinks of her. You probably made him feel like a weirdo–"
"I said shut up!"
Tamatoa paused for a moment and it made Moana feel uneasy.
"Of course there's always me, babe." Tamatoa flashed Moana a look that made her feel sick as he looked her over. "I'm still down in Lalotai waiting for you under the sea where you don't have to watch everyone age and die around you. One day you'll realize you don't need anyone like I do and you'll come on down and let me numb your emotions again. I never did tell you what it was I had in mind for you." He licked his lips and that was the final straw for her. "Would you like to hear about it?"
"Ugh!" Moana went over and slapped Tamatoa on the cheek but it felt more like she was hitting a hard shell instead of flesh. The crab hidden in the guise of a man merely laughed it off as he rubbed the spot she hit him.
"So you'd prefer that ugly giant of a loudmouth over this vision of perfection?" Tamatoa asked and Moana felt her anger rise. "There was a reason his mother threw him into the sea in the first place you know and even those two girls could see it. Of course, you could try to kill him and steal his mana to give to someone else if you'd rather have–"
"SHUT! UP!" Moana screamed as she drew her arm back and punched Tamatoa in the face as hard as she could and repeated the move with each of the following "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"
It was at this point that Moana finally woke up and found herself staring at the ceiling of the guest fale she was residing in. She had taken a nap since she didn't get much sleep the night before but it seemed that fate wanted to bestow another peculiar dream in her sleep to her.
She turned her head to see that it would be awhile before the sun would go down, though it reminded her of that fateful sunset five years ago and she could see the ocean where somewhere in the dark depths that crab was hiding.
"I will never regret trying to save Maui." Moana calmly declared to the ocean and to Tamatoa, wherever he was. "Ever."
Arataki wanted to throw a small party when they returned, but it wasn't until after sunset that such a thing could be possible. There was a fire that had been set upon one of the many shorelines, along with a few torches thrusted into the sand, and Moana watched as many islanders around her age talked, laughed over certain things, and some even played an instrument or two for entertainment.
When she had denied a reward for her assistance earlier, Arataki sent Moana to a few women to dress her up a little for the occasion. She was given a light tan (almost yellow or white) colored dress that went to her knees, and there were many strands of dried but delicate grass around the dress that began around her mid section and ended at the ankles. The women also took it a little further and gave her a single band of green leaves and bright red flowers for one of her wrists and Moana had to stop them before they could do anything further to her.
"By the way." One of the women asked Moana. "Are you single or taken?"
"Uh... single?" Moana raised an eyebrow but before she could ask, the woman placed a red flower between Moana's hair and her right ear. The woman observed her handiwork as Moana realized what she had done and didn't know how to correct what had been done. Had the flower been in her left ear, it would have said that she was already taken at the moment, but the right ear was an open invitation for others to approach her.
"Perhaps you should take the necklace off. It doesn't go well with the dress." The woman advised Moana, but the young woman held onto it as tightly as she could. "I'd rather not." She told her as politely as she could.
After one awkward discussion or two with Chief Hoani later on (she did not forget what almost happened the first time she met him) Moana was then free to leave the village to enjoy herself and dance among the others when one individual started up a musical piece intended for such an occasion.
No traditions were followed this time around and everyone was free to be ridiculous or dance with a friend or significant other. Eventually she felt like she could act her age and that she wasn't the leader of her own island but was instead someone else. She didn't have to talk to people who were much older than her and she didn't have to talk about crops, fishing, or how to resolve other dilemmas around the island. She could talk about less important things or more enjoyable topics and while she was recognized as a special guest, everyone treated her as if she hadn't ever been the daughter of a Chief to begin with. It was one of those days where she didn't have to put others first, even though she truly cared about her people.
She had so much fun joining in the dancing and impressing the others with her own moves that she almost forgot about what happened earlier that day until–
Maui would have really enjoyed this. I wish he was here.
Moana stopped dancing and the merriment for her died a little when that thought came to her.
She walked away from the large group and stared at the island's village some distance away before staring back at the ocean and the night sky above it. Even though she knew the demi-god was pretty much banned from this island and could partake in such an event another time, she was still surprised that she wished he was here with her. She looked at those who she had been dancing with and though she had been asked by a few men to dance with them, she couldn't think of one she wanted to dance again with. They were all around her age and they were handsome, but she couldn't imagine the same intimacy she had thought about with Maui (especially when she was sixteen and foolish) with them. She didn't spend enough time with them to really get to know them just yet like she did with Maui five years ago.
Five years.
That's how long it had been since she was allowed to go out to the ocean to explore. It had been five years since she had been reunited with someone she wasn't sure she would ever see again and it had been five years since she died and was brought back to life.
Five years since so much had happened, she reflected. What was supposed to have happened if Maui never came to Motonui? Would she have been able to visit other islands like she was doing right now, or would she be forced to marry someone for the sake of continuing her family line? Would she have been stuck on her island forever wanting this and longing for what could have been?
Moana did not believe that her destiny and her happiness had to be defined by a man and that it all was by her own hand. Yet she probably never would have gotten to leave Motonui's shores (of her own free will of course) without him being involved and he had done far more than help her learn how to manage the boat.
And thanks to her stupidity she drove him off. That stupid dream version of Tamatoa from earlier had a point, as much as Moana hated to admit it. She sighed in regret as she thought–How am I going to explain this to him? Can I explain it to him?
Unknown to Moana, Maui had snuck onto the island when he saw that her boat was on one of the many shorelines. He had zero desire to run into Hoani again, especially because he still never forgave him for the necklace incident or that he told him to shut up in front of everyone during the visit to Motonui... and almost put him in danger thanks to Tamatoa's rampage. So he avoided the village as best as he could.
Still he wanted to check on Moana to see if she was doing ok after what happened earlier, though a part of him was accusing him of doing it for another reason.
It didn't take him long to find her with the others by the fire, but he still stayed hidden behind a patch of nearby trees and a few bushes and large rocks. He could see her staring out into ocean in deep thought and he observed her appearance. She looked beautiful and she looked as if she belonged with those mortals, but why wasn't she enjoying herself?
If it wasn't for the ban and what happened earlier that day, he would have joined her. It looked like it would have been a lot of fun but everyone seemed a little closer to Moana's age than him (or at least the apparent age of his physical appearance), even if he could see that some of them were around the three decade mark. Plus he had a feeling he knew why she wasn't with the others and it might of had to do with him.
And maybe this was one of those times where he probably should let her be, as much as he wanted to hang out with her.
He felt something smack him in the chest and he looked down at his tattoo incarnation giving him a rather strong judgmental look as he crossed his arms against his own chest. "Look, I'm not stalking her!" He hissed at the tattoo. "I was just checking up and seeing if she's ok and look she is!" He gestured to the scene.
Riiiiiiiiigggggghhhhht. Mini Maui seemed to say with the tilt of his head and one eye opened up a little more than the other. You're checking on her. You're checking on someone you find attractive and you want to be with her. I'm not stupid, you big oaf.
Maui groaned and slapped his face. "Please quit judging me. It's the last thing I want right now."
Meanwhile, Moana was about to be joined by someone else.
"Contemplating something?" Moana turned to see Arataki heading towards her with a grin. "I have to admit, I didn't think you would be a warrior when I first met you, but you proved me wrong by helping us fight off those monsters earlier. Motonui is lucky to have you as a Chief."
"Thank you." Moana smiled. She was glad when she finally had a chance to properly meet the middle child of the ruling family of this island as she proved to be entertaining, not to mention incredibly helpful and had a lot to advise the younger girl based off her experiences with how things were run in her island.
"You're going to make yourself a lot more intimidating with the reputation you could develop, both out here and in your island." Arataki chuckled. "A lot of men are going to be scared of you... unless you actually want to get married." She added as a thought struck her. "Or... not into men?"
"Hey it's no problem if you aren't into men!" Arataki held her hands up as Moana shot her a confused look. "I don't like talking about these kind of things myself, but I'm not going to lie. You are pretty and I would want to try my luck with you if I wasn't–"
"I'm not seeking a husband right now." Moana told her before frowning. "In fact... l..."
"Its complicated." Moana waved a hand at the warrior. "It would be nice if I found the right person and I've met a few promising people here and there... But.." She looked down at her dress and moved some of the grass aside to reveal the hints of the delicate and carefully designed tattoos that marked her passage into adulthood. It was not a pleasant experience, but she had been so excited when she saw them at last that she almost didn't consider what it would also symbolize–the complete end of her childhood and the reminder of the eventual transition to becoming a demi-godess.
Te Fiti said that she would become a demi-goddess by this point and she didn't feel any different. Yet she wasn't ready to go through the process of watching everyone that she loved and knew die before her at a non-stop pace. It was one thing when it was her family, but it was another if it had to be a husband or a child of her own. By now she only personally knew a few individuals who would live well beyond one hundred years and the one she was closest to was like her best friend. And to her dismay, she still harbored feelings she thought she suppressed and grew out of.
"Can I ask you a question?" Moana asked. "Have you... have you ever had feelings for someone who was like a friend to you?"
"Hmm." Arataki crossed her arms. "That's an interesting question. You say you aren't interested in anyone and yet you have feelings towards someone who is like a friend. Don't deny it," She told Moana before she could protest "I've gone through enough to know these sorts of things."
"Well," Moana sighed as she tried to think of an example that was similar to the truth. "Say it's someone who you are going to journey with for a long time. Someone who might have only seen you as anything but the person they want to kiss. If you kissed them or if you confessed how you felt, what would you do if they didn't feel any romantic thoughts toward you? Wouldn't it be awkward if you were stuck with them on that journey with that knowledge? Could you still see each other as friends?"
Arataki thought about Moana's words for a few moments as she stared out at the ocean. "You know, I was in your place more than once." She quietly admitted. "It scared me so bad and I didn't know how they would take it. The first time it didn't end too well, but the second time it happened I decided it was better for me to tell her than keep it in–and I had complete trust in her, so it wasn't as horrible the second time around. Sometimes its better to confess then lose your chance forever. And if this friend of yours doesn't love you back, then you at least can move on without worrying about it ever again... and maybe someone else will come along."
Arataki placed a hand on Moana's shoulder. "Besides, this person is really important to you, right?" She smiled. "Are they the reason you've been acting so odd lately? Because anything you wish to say should probably be said to them. They need to know how special they are to you. If it doesn't work out, then you should try to stay in touch with them if you both still care about each other."
Moana gave the woman a smile. "Thank you."
At this point, Maui had noticed Moana talking with the second royal sibling of the island, though he couldn't make out what they were talking about. At the same time, his tattoo version was getting fed up with his host's secret longing to be out there with the others and to be with the girl, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. He decided to take care of the situation and let Maui know exactly what he should try to do and smacked the demi-god in the chest.
When Maui looked down and demanded "What?!" Mini Maui shot him an evil grin and pulled a tattoo version of Moana out of the ink of the tattoos that surrounded him. He then gave her a flirtatious look before pulling her into a hug and followed it up with a kiss and an exaggerated dip that had the tattoo Moana's hair going past her feet.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Maui yelled out in frustration as the message came right to him.
And then Maui realized he made a stupid mistake and looked up to see that the people on the shoreline stopped and looked to see who had yelled, but he saw that Moana was the one to actually spot him first and the shocked look on her face would have been funny if it had been for another reason.
Did... he actually... Moana was confused. Did he find me or is he trying to hide from me?!
"Who are you?!" One of the dancers called out to Maui.
Maui let out a series of mental cursing in his head before he tried to put on a smile and yelled "Uh... hey there!" He waved while cringing at how awkward he sounded. "I didn't mean to interrupt all the fun! If this is some sort of secret get-together, I promise I won't say a word about it to the others!"
His tattoo counterpart slammed his hand over his face in embarrassment.
"Oh hey Muscles!" Arataki gave the demi-god a cheeky grin as Moana found herself smirking a little while trying to fight the urge to slam her hand over her face. "Haven't seen you in awhile! And don't worry, I won't tell my brother! He doesn't need to know about this!"
Maui was not pleased that he gave himself away to begin with and was caught in an interesting position of looking like he was watching the whole thing behind the bushes. "Thanks a bunch." He hissed sarcastically to the tattoo on his chest. Then it got worse when Moana finally came towards him and he couldn't tell what was going on through her mind. "Uh... hi again." She gave him her own awkward wave. "Do... you want to join us or... was there something you needed to talk about alone?"
Maui then felt awful for ruining Moana's night, but he didn't feel like joining the party after being caught. "Maybe alone would give me a chance to recover my pride." He finally agreed.
"Come on, let's go get my boat for a bit." Moana went over to grab his arm and lead him away.
"No wait, you don't have to–" The demi-god protested, but Moana cut him off. "Its ok, I'm not ready to dance again just yet."
Everyone stared as the oddly matched pair left the area. Arataki also watched but then a thought struck her and she had to place a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter in, but it still came out in snickers.
"Oh my gods," She then understood. "Wow, she outdid me there!" She snickered a little more. "I mean, I wish her luck with it, but–" She shook her head before she shot Awhina a knowing look.
The moon was almost full up in the night sky and the boat was far away from the island to the point where they could see it, but no one could see them. Neither of them said a word up to this point and they had been left to their own thoughts.
"So, uh..." Maui tried to begin without looking at Moana. "You look nice."
"Oh thanks." Moana smiled a little but didn't look at Maui.
"So... is that something people your age do nowadays?" Maui asked in genuine interest. "Party on the beach by the fire at night? I can totally see that as a thing in the future."
"It would be the first for me. But you know, it would have been even more fun if you were allowed on the island. I was having a good time and Arataki knows how to throw a good party." Moana continued. "I admit its nice to have days where you don't have to put the entire village first."
"Yeah, but I can tell I kind of ruined it for you." Maui countered. "Plus I can't exactly force myself to physically de-age back to the way I was when I was as old as you are right now. I could have been mistaken for your dad when I first met you, but now I would be like your much older friend by a decade or two... I don't know." He tried to laugh it off. "Would that have been a problem for you?"
His tattoo version slapped his face again. Oh gods, really? Now you feel self conscious about looking older than her? He would have told Maui.
"You don't have to do that for my sake." Moana countered. "And I like you the way you are." And more. She mentally thought. "I don't want you to change any physical part about you because you think I would prefer that." She thought about those two girls who insulted his appearance and his face five years ago and frowned. No, she would not change anything about him.
There was an awkward pause.
"I guess I can't really call you 'kid' anymore, can I?" Maui mused. "None of them looked like kids."
"I guess not?" Moana shrugged. "I mean..." She sighed. "Twenty one years must seem young compared to... thousands of years?" She asked with a weak laugh.
"I swear if you use that as an excuse to call me an old man, I'll throw you off the boat." Maui warned as he cringed at the thought of anyone calling him that, but it only made Moana laugh a little more.
"Ok, I'll keep that in mind." She finally turned to him with a smirk. "But if it helps, you act too much like a kid at times to the point I wonder which one of us is more mature."
Maui grimaced at this; Mini Maui would probably use that against him in the constant scoreboard of his.
Moana then sighed. "But then again maybe I still am a child."
"Better to be a child at heart than anything else." Maui countered. "Life isn't fun if you grow up too much."
"Anyway I'm not exactly anywhere close to looking like your age and if the human thing had worked out, I would have looked even older." Maui blurted out. "Wouldn't that have looked odd to any of them? Not to mention you don't have to spend all your free time with me." He forced a laugh. "I mean I can't blame you if you do but–" He cut himself off as he cringed over the fact that he was trying to boast to get over this. He wanted Moana to be her own person, even if a part of him wanted her to always join him on whatever he got into. "It's still your life." He finally gave up.
This all made Moana remember what she thought about.
"Look, about earlier..." She began "I was just trying to get you to stop and then I was reminded of that talk I had with you. You know when I was acting a little intimate without meaning to." She blushed. "I meant what I said back then, and I don't know what your stance was on it. I don't want to ruin our friendship, but..." She finally turned around to look at him.
She remembered being impressed with his physique, but it all made sense after she discovered who he really was. And his true identity added to his appearance–she secretly liked all his tattoos, even if it was more than what most people would dare to have. If she could dare to do it, she could trace a finger over them and feel them as well as his skin and muscles beneath her touch. He was a story given flesh and bone that she could touch, yet despite that it was really the person within the powerful figure that she cherished with all her heart. The one who was willing to open up and be vulnerable, who had risked a lot just to help make her wish of being out on the sea come true. The one who was fun to be around with, who acknowledged his mistakes, and who once had been willing to give his life up for her freedom.
She took a deep breath as she got up on her feet.
"I thought what I had back then was the attraction of an unexperienced girl who didn't know any better and I was attracted to you back then... and I did want to kiss you." She blushed and couldn't look Maui in the eye when he turned around to give her a stunned look.
"All that you have done for us is impressive, but given the choice, I would want the person hidden within the legends that I have gotten to know even when I didn't realize it. My grandmother once said that outer appearances and great accomplishments are fine, but they mean nothing without what is important on the inside. You are real and you are also one of the best people I've ever had the luck of meeting. You are funny, you're brave, you're sweet, you listen to me and you were willing to give up so much for my sake. I want to see as much of the world with you–I can't imagine anyone else if everyone were a demi-god."
"I can't deny that..." Another breath. "Maybe I still feel that way that I did back then. I don't want you to ever feel alone and once I'm ready to pass on the role of leadership to someone else, I want to completely be out on the ocean and see all that I can. And I want to do that with you because you are an amazing person to be around."
"I don't want to lose my friendship with you." Moana continued as her heart began to pound. "So I want to get this out of my system. I really really care about you. But I guess what I did earlier... Deep down a part of me wanted to do it... and I did want to do that with you when I was younger. And I will never do anything like what I've done ever again if..." She didn't know what to say next and could only turn around to stare at the ocean again as she tried and failed to calm her nerves. "If you don't see me like that." She finally concluded. It was now off her chest and she had to tell herself that whatever happened next would finally give her some peace.
Maui looked at the girl–no, the young woman– from where he sat.
So after all this time, she really did feel something incredibly strong towards him.
Well how was he supposed to respond to that? A part of him was happy, yes, and a little nervous... but there was only one way to find out if this was going to work out at all.
He got up and faced her. "So... you actually like me in that way?" When she nodded without looking at him, he walked up to her. Well great, the mere thought of what he had to do was making him more nervous than anything else he could think of, even as she finally turned around to face him.
He reached down to take Moana's hand and stared at it for a moment. It was the hand of someone who had done a lot of hard work in life instead of taking an easy path and who had been patient with him and had been willing to face a giant monster and death itself in order to save him. "What I wanted to tell you when you made that confession back then was that I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable... though I couldn't blame you if you had a crush on me." He let out a nervous laugh as he scratched his head with his other hand. He didn't know how this was going to go down and it was really scaring him because he didn't experience this that often. "I wouldn't have minded waiting to see what would happen but I didn't think it would work out because I didn't think the human thing would have been permanent. Obviously not, but..."
He wasn't so good with this kind of stuff so he decided to just go for it before he realized what he was doing.
"A bit of advice for the future Moana–if you ever have an urge to kiss someone, you better do it properly and not when they are a shark."
Moana shot Maui a confused look and that was when he just went and picked her up and pretty much smashed his lips against hers before he even held her against him.
Moana's eyes widened in shock as she realized what was happening–that Maui was kissing her, or at least trying to. It wasn't perfect but... it didn't feel weird either.
She tried to breath through her nose and this time tried to return the kiss and closed her eyes. She could feel him relax as he readjusted himself and this time it felt pleasant. She enjoyed feeling his lips against hers and though she wasn't experiencing anything mind blowing, she felt excited.
Her hand reached up to caress the face she had been attracted to when she first saw it–the face that wasn't traditionally handsome to anyone else but was handsome to her. She enjoyed feeling it against her fingers and her palm and she let her other hand go up to feel the other side. She felt him hold onto her with one arm while the other went so that he could hold his hand over one of her own–the hand that was so large that it could cover her entire head until its fingers curled between her own and held on without letting go. This time it was a perfect fit and made her feel equal to him instead of tiny in comparison.
Kissing was like trying to breathe underwater, so they both had to part so that they could take in the night air but it was obvious that things were not exactly going to be the same ever again.
And as she touched her lips, Moana could not help but let out a gasp and a small laugh. "Better than kissing a shark!" Well not only was that out of the way, but she kind of wanted it again which put her mind at ease. "Uh... I don't need to go back anytime soon." She finally looked up at Maui with a grin. "What about you?"
As for Maui... well, he really enjoyed that himself and any regrets he held had completely vanished. "Same here." he smiled.
He pulled her into another kiss just because he couldn't get enough after just one. He felt her hands go up his arms and trace the tattoos upon his skin in a way for her that was both out of curiosity and out of something a little more than just admiration. Then one of those hands went to his hair and he could feel her fingers curling around whatever strands they could find in a sort of caress before the hold tightened up a little but not too much as she moved closer to him. It encouraged him to hold her closer against him and he didn't want to get go for as long as he could.
While he knew of adoration, this was something entirely else and he considered himself lucky he met this wonderful person. While she would still be needed by her people and her family, he could wait for as many decades as possible until she was ready to be able to be free to be by his side without any time limits to hold her back and to be completely his. For now, this was good enough; there was no point in rushing or thinking too far into anything else.
Unknown to either of them, a certain wave of water had watched the whole thing as the ocean carefully waved around the boat and collided into itself in its own song. The wave turned to a certain tattoo that had sneaked around and onto the back side of his host and when he gave the wave a smug thumbs up, it nodded in approval.
It looked like the start of a happy beginning.
...He finally kissed the girl! :D
NO REGRETS! NONE AT ALL!
*Giggles in an immature way* So... I was debating if this would be more like the Broadway version of 'Kiss the Girl' or Jonathan Young's cover of the song (I'd give both a listen).
So... I don't know what kind of Moana fan fics I'll do in the future. Its tempting to do a Beauty and the Beast AU though I had a good idea for a small crossover fic with the same Disney film. And I had a few other ideas in mind but nothing big.
I did do a couple of drawings that was inspired for this two shot but... not enough to post anything right away. At this point it would have to be done depending on how much demand I get. Plus I want them to be just right.
Until then, I hope you guys enjoyed this and hopefully I'll see you with another fic in the future. So–wait why did the font change?"
HolyMaiden24 realized something. "Oh wait a minute." She looked to see that she was in a boat with her laptop and then looked up to see another familiar boat with two passengers who stopped kissing to look at her in confusion.
"Oh... uh, hi?" She awkwardly waved before letting out a giggle at the sight. "Sorry for interrupting... you..." Her voice slowed down when the man on the boat began to narrow his eyebrows at her. "Uh..."
"OH ****! GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!" The writer pressed some buttons as fast as she could. "I'M NOT GOING TO GET KILLED AGAIN! I'M NOT GETTING KILLED BY A CHARACTER VOICED BY THE R–"
*And so the writer disappeared without getting killed by a character voiced by The Rock (because honestly that's never a good sign) and the memory of the writer was erased as if she never appeared in that moment of the fic to begin with.*
*Also you're wel... ahhh I better not say it and tempt anything*