The rising sun brought with it a pleasantly warm breeze, the wind scented with the mist of the sea.

Tamatoa awoke slowly, blinking a few times until his vision adjusted to the light. Hmm… Morning already. I'd better move those two before they wake up. He glanced over to the pair that had been sleeping on him, but his eyes widened with horror when he saw that they were already awake and looking at him. Oh Gods.

"Well, well, well." Maui said with a smirk, arms folded behind his head as he leaned against the crustacean. "Looks like someone's already warming up to us."

The crab got to his feet immediately, stepping away from Moana and Maui. "N-No, you've got it all wrong! I just—It was raining, and—I didn't—"

"Uh-huh, suuuuuure, crab cake." He teased, leaning on his hook now. "You totally have a soft spot for us."

Tamatoa buried his face in his claws, screaming internally at himself for not waking up sooner while muttering garbled gibberish out of embarrassment. He almost preferred being with that blade-tailed monster over this. How humiliating.

Moana lightly nudged the demigod, smiling slightly. "Hey now, don't embarrass the poor guy." She then smiled kindly at the decapod. "It was very nice of you to shield us from the rain, Tama. Thank you."

"Tamatoa." He snapped, peeking out from behind his claws. "And I only did it because I didn't want you waking up and bothering me, that's all!"

"Mmhm. I know." She grinned, agreeing with the crab only to make him feel better.

That afternoon, Maui had gone off to check up on Moana's people while Moana stayed with Tamatoa. She had taken some time to look over his wounds and see how they were healing; they seemed to be getting better, slowly but surely, though Moana could tell it probably wouldn't be a good idea to remove the splints yet.

The pair lay quietly in the sand, looking across the water. Moana glanced at the crustacean, an idea forming in her head, but she wasn't quite sure how to word it.

Tamatoa returned her glance, curious. "… What?"

"… I think… I think we should tackle your fear of water." She replied carefully.

The creature narrowed his eyes, and Moana quickly corrected herself. "Sorry, fear of drowning." She looked over to the ocean again. "It's just… If you're thinking of staying on the surface, you'll need to go into the ocean to get your food, and—"

"Whoever said I was considering staying on the surface?" Tamatoa interrupted, raising his head slightly.

Moana raised an eyebrow. "Well, you never answered my question as to whether you prefer up here or Lalotai. That's got to mean you're torn between which place you like better. Am I wrong?"

"… Tch." The crustacean looked away, not arguing her point, but not validating it either.

Moana frowned slightly as she tried to figure out a way to get him to face his fear. "… Not only that, but Maui will start getting suspicious if you keep getting better but don't go hunting for fish." She didn't like having to play on his pride, but she felt it was important for him to try and get over this.

Tamatoa stayed quiet, eyes focused on the water. "… I… don't think I can do it." He said quietly.

"Not with that attitude!" Moana piped up, jumping to her feet. "C'mon, where has all that confidence you once had disappeared to?"

Tamatoa blinked, confused by her sudden enthusiasm. "… Uh…" He glanced once more at the water, a twinge of fear flickering inside of him as he considered his options.

Moana walked over to the crab's side, voice gentler now. "I'll stay by you the whole time. You'll be safe, I promise. We'll take baby steps."

He was quiet for a moment more before taking in a deep breath. "… Okay."

They took it slow at first, Tamatoa seeming alright for the first few steps into the water. Moana stayed beside him, carried by the ocean to match his height. It was when the water started to reach his abdomen that Tamatoa began to hesitate.

"You're doing great." Moana reassured him after noticing his hesitation, keeping her voice at a soft and supportive tone. "Do you think you could take a couple more steps…?"

The crab took a moment to think it over. He was placing an irrational amount of faith in this little human to keep him afloat, after all, but…

Taking a quick breath, he nodded, then took a few more steps forward. Heart racing, he did everything in his power not to flinch when his body started to submerge.

"There we go. That's not so bad, right?" Moana said with a smile.

Well, she wasn't wrong. Tamatoa might have actually enjoyed how the water felt if he wasn't currently so anxious. He started to take another step, but tripped on a rocky part of the seafloor. He would have gone under had Moana not reacted so quickly, making the sea dip down so that his head remained above water.

The crustacean was trembling at this point, his panic immediately replaced with relief when he realized he hadn't fallen in. Moana was right; he was safe in her hands.

"Are you okay?" Her voice shook him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see a very worried-looking Moana staring back at him. "We can go back if you want—"

"No." He growled, determined now to not back down. He hated the idea that he was letting his fear control him like this, and he was not planning on letting that continue. "I'm… fine. Let's keep going."

"… Okay, if you're sure." She agreed, and they slowly continued on their way.

By the time the water had reached the crustacean's neck, he hesitated again. Moana looked over to him, impressed that he made it this far. "You've been doing really well, Tamatoa. We can probably call it a day and—"

"I want to go underwater." He said suddenly, catching Moana off guard.

Moana blinked, surprised. Looking at the crab, she could tell he was serious about this. But also very nervous. "Are… you sure…?" She questioned, to which Tamatoa gave a small nod.

"… Okay." Moana said, letting the ocean take her a bit deeper into the water. "Crabs can hold their breath for a long time," She continued in another attempt to reassure him, "but, of course, we don't need to stay under for long! And I think you'll find the view from underwater to be really beautiful, and—"

The crab held a pincer over her mouth to shut her up. "I get it, babe. Th' water's the best thing ever and all. Save the sales pitch and let's get on with it." Admittedly, her constant reassurance did make him feel a little better. With one deep breath, the crab went beneath the water, Moana following suit.

Once again, the girl was right. Seeing everything beneath the water was spectacular. He especially liked the way the rays of sunlight rippled through the waves, and how it illuminated every decoration of the sea floor. Unfortunately he didn't last for more than a few seconds before feeling the need to come up for air.

"What'd you think?" Moana asked upon resurfacing, eager to hear the crab's reaction.

"Well, I suppose it was pretty beautiful… Not as beautiful as me, though." Tamatoa crowed in response, smiling slightly at the laugh he got out of Moana.

The pair continued going underwater in little intervals over the next few hours, so Tamatoa could gradually get used to the feeling. They had almost lost track of time, and upon realizing that Maui should be returning soon, they returned to the shore, resting in the shade whilst awaiting the demigod's arrival.

Tamatoa watched Moana quietly as she stared out to the sea, wondering how on Earth she could be so kind. He really was lucky, he realized, to get a second chance like this; not just with Maui, but a chance to know Moana as well. The crab was determined not to mess this all up again.

"… Thank you, Moana." He said finally. It's true that Tamatoa wasn't the "grateful" type, but he felt compelled to express gratitude in this case nonetheless. He wasn't even sure what he was thanking her for at this point, considering how much she's done for him.

Moana flashed him a cocky grin, and in a jokingly sing-song voice, replied, "You're welcome!"