Disclaimer: See initial chapter.

A/N: Did I mention this was a tad 'unbalanced'? There's a change in perspective that is hopefully not too jarring. Some questions are answered, others brought up (no doubt), and an idea is broached which is never actually brought to fruition in this particular story (if there's interest, there may be another story dealing with the little nugget that Lono drops here).

Maui peered into the gingerbread house through the looking glass, and gave the scene unfolding within it a thoughtful frown. Lono shook his head, and grasped the trickster god's shoulder. Of all of the gods, Maui was the most playful; he had the oddest sense of humor.

"Maui, son, I think it's time to send our friends back to where they belong," Lono said, squeezing the younger god's shoulder.

"Not until they see how much they mean to each other." In addition to a sense of humor that few appreciated, Maui had a stubborn streak that was a mile long (at least).

Lono sighed. "Not everyone can see what the gods can, and few can see what you can."

"Uncle Lono, just a few more minutes," Maui begged, brown eyes glittering with excitement as he watched the four humans he had taken an interest in.

The dark-haired man, Steve, Lono thought his name was, had burst into the cabin, a flurry of the 'snow' that Maui had 'gifted' them with, blew in through the open door before Steve could close it.

"You should leave the matchmaking to one of your sisters," Lono scoffed, and he cuffed the back of Maui's head.

"These two have been circling each other for years, Uncle. It's time that they realize how much they mean to each other, before it's too late," Maui said. The younger god was rarely sad, and Lono knew that he was pining after his own lost love.

Lono nodded, and gestured toward the looking glass, peering into it himself. "I still do not understand why you created such an elaborate setup. Surely something a little less dramatic, and more in keeping with their line of work would have done the trick."

Maui shook his head. "Not with these two. They're both stubborn men. I knew it would take something out of the ordinary to make them see what they should have been seeing all along."

Lono raised an eyebrow. "And the inclusion of their teammates in all of this?"

Maui smiled. "The cousins are 'ohana."

"And the injuries to the blonde-haired one?" Lono's frown deepened. He hadn't approved of Maui's toy soldiers. The snowstorm was one thing, but the violence was something that Lono had little love for.

"Call it a little 'push' in the right direction." Maui laughed and ducked out of the way of Lono's next cuff. "Watch and listen old man."

Lono glared at the younger god, and lightning flashed in his eyes, but he turned toward the looking glass, indulging Maui in his strange proclivities. They might not always see eye-to-eye, but he could see that the injuries to the blonde one had indeed caused the dark-haired one to behave in a manner which was atypical.

The one called Steve had rushed into the cabin, and knelt beside his partner, a look of distress evident on his face. Lono cleared his throat and felt heat rise to his cheeks when the cookies gave each other a once over, their eyes roaming over every inch of the other, taking in every single detail. A quick, sidelong glance toward Maui revealed that the other god had no compunction with spying on the four humans, with bearing witness to such an intimate exchange.

Their voices were tinny, as human voices often were when heard from the heavens, but there was no mistaking the love in the tones that were used by the four. Though he felt like a peeping Tom, Lono listened keenly to the exchange that took place in the gingerbread cabin.

"Here, Danno," Steve said, eyes glued to the blonde cookie's face. "Take one of mine."

At first, Lono had no idea what the dark-haired cookie was talking about, and he squinted as he peered into the glass, pressing his face closer to it. He ignored Maui's knowing chuckle in favor of watching the occupants of the cabin.

The blonde cookie's gumdrop button had been ruined, and Steve was offering his partner one of his heart-shaped red hot candies as a replacement. A sacrifice that the blonde refused to accept until Steve stubbornly worked the candy loose and glued it onto the protesting Danno.

"You goof," Danno scolded, though his mouth was shaped into a lopsided grin, and there was love reflected in his eyes - tiny little hearts of white within the blue.

"They love each other," Lono acknowledged.

Maui nodded. "Yes."

"Will his injuries remain once they return?" Lono asked, without taking his eyes off of the cookies. "And what of the lies you planted in the heads of the male cousin and Steve?"

"Not lies, Uncle Lono, foreknowledge. The Mendoza case will not happen for another month," Maui explained, voice subdued, which was unusual for the god. "It will return to them as though in a dream. I believe humans call it...déjà vu?"

"And the injuries?" Lono reminded the younger god.

Maui sighed. "It would seem that everyone, including you, likes a happy ending. The four will return to their world no worse for the wear, but Danny's injuries will require time to heal."

There was a familiar smirk on the god's face, and Lono slapped Maui on the back. "Part of the plan?"

"I think it's time," Maui announced, clapping his hands together and forming a yellow ball of light within the palms of his hands. "They're ready to return."

"Will you wipe the memory of this from their minds?" Lono asked.

Maui shook his head. "I do not think so. This will be told to their grandchildren, and will be passed on for generations to come, though with quite a bit of embellishment."

Maui took the yellow light and blew it through the looking glass, whispering something that Lono could not quite hear. There was a tender look on the young god's voice, but Lono turned to watch the four in the cabin.

"Danny?" Steve's eyes were focused on his friend, the one he loved more than himself, so he did not see the orb of light which had floated into the cabin. Danny's jumped, and he twisted in Steve's grasp. The other cookie held him, pulled him into an embrace.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay. We'll get out of this place. I'll get you back to Grace. Don't worry."

Lono chuckled softly when Danny, words muffled by Steve's shoulder, pushed ineffectively at his partner and tried to explain that the way out had magically appeared just behind him. "Schtve, tur...roun...Neand...thal."

Frowning, Steve turned around, eyes growing wide, matching those of the cousins' in every way but color.

"Help me up, you big goof. I don't know about you, but I am ready to get back to good old Kansas," Danny said.

"It's a reference to a well known literary work," Maui explained when Lono's eyes shot to him. "Wizard of Oz, I believe. It's really a fascinating -"

Lono shushed Maui with an impatient wave of his hand, and resumed watching the four as they aided Danny in regaining his feet. He was unsteady on his feet, but his friends kept him upright.

"Are you sure it'll take us back?" one of the cousin's asked.

"I have no idea," Steve answered.

"Well, here goes nothing," Danny said. The smile on his face was more of a grimace, though Lono could hardly blame him for that.

It was Steve, hand-in-hand with Danny, who took the first step, drawing the rest of them into the portal. The cousins were on either side of the duo. Like that, they reminded Lono of the counsel of the gods, and he wondered if, one day, the four might find themselves standing in front of it. He'd have to have a word with the others, show them what Maui had shown him.

"It's done," Maui announced, and he clapped his hands once more, shutting off the brief window they'd had into the world Maui had created for the mortals. It disappeared within the blink of an eye; it's place, in between the mortal realm and the realm of the gods, would remember it no more.

"I think it best it we keep an eye on those four," Lono said.

"I thought you'd say that, uncle." There was a twinkle in Maui's eye, and Lono understood that what the younger, playful god had done to the four humans was as much about him and the counsel of the gods as it was about the four fragile beings living in the land they were charged with guarding.

"They will make worthy warrior guardians of the lands of Hawaii," Lono murmured, thinking aloud.

"Given time and just the right 'ingredients,' they will be perfect," Maui agreed.

Lono shook his head and chuckled at Maui. He was so full of enthusiasm, but the young always were.

"Alright, I give you permission to continue your work with the...what did you call them? Five-0 team?" Lono sighed and rolled his eyes when Maui threw his arms around him in a crushing hug.

He patted the god's back, no more than a youth really,plucked from earth's great sea when he was just a child, and the islands of Hawaii had still been forming - he'd created an island of his own on a dare, thinking it a great joke. Chosen of the gods when he was just a baby, centuries ago, he was still considered 'young' and impetuous in the eyes of the other gods. He remained youthful and boy-like in appearance though he was over a century old. Gods didn't age like humans did, and Maui still had much growing to do, but Lono couldn't have been more proud of him as he was in that moment.

"Thank you, Uncle," Maui said, voice filled with enthusiasm and respect. "I won't let you down."

"No more tricks," Lono cautioned, knowing that asking Maui not to play tricks was like asking the sun not to shine.

Maui just grinned in response, hands held behind his back where Lono knew that the young god had his fingers crossed as he agreed with an overenthusiastic nod.

Lono shook his head, and held a hand out for the young god. Together, they walked toward the temple to attend to the mundane issues of counsel meetings and the distribution of daily assignments.

"Okay, maybe you can play another trick or two," Lono conceded, grimacing as he thought of facing Tawhiri and explaining why his name was mentioned by the mortals.

Hopefully the god would keep his temper in check, and the islands would not feel his wrath visited in their skies, and on their shores. It was going to be a very long day.

Feed the writer, she doesn't bite (well, to be fair, in the case of gingerbread people, I do bite off heads, quite literally).