Five years later.
When she was little, Moana had always been told that love was the greatest miracle in life. That the supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved. But at the moment, love was not her miracle. It was her invigorating curse, the force that fettered her down, ripping her coherency apart, imprisoning her senses and misleading her to an empty hope.
And that four letter word was slowly tearing her logic to pieces. It had obliterated her happiness, defying all her reasoning and replacing her senses with numbness.
It's been five years.
Five years since she last saw the radiance of his mesmerizing eyes.
Five years since she heard her name fell from his lips.
Five years since she had waited for him to turn his promise into a reality.
She'd been waiting, patiently, but those promise had remained a mystery.
But somehow, where there is love, there is hope, even when in the course of her life their love never materialize until it was too late, Moana was certain she would stay faithfully waiting.
That morning, like many other mornings before, Moana stepped into the room, watching the ray of sun shyly filtered through the slight opening of the fale's window.
On one corner of the bedroom, laid a familiar figure as though sleeping peacefully on the bed. His figure weaved with a sea of tattoos, and his torso comfortably tucked in a thin layer of blanket.
"Morning, Maui…"
There was no reply. But this was hardly surprising, the same ritual, the same motion had been repeated relentlessly many mornings before.
Gulping down her irrational disappointment, Moana went on to open the curtain, welcoming the brilliance of the golden ray and the scent of salty water filling the air. The smell of the ocean reminded her of him, and she couldn't even breathe properly when he wasn't here. She briefly gazed at his listless form. Well, he was technically here… but his mind and soul were clearly drifting elsewhere.
She missed him. She missed the sound of his boisterous laughter, his boundless vanity, his preening persona that often kindled a hammy laugh for being narcissistic. She missed his dry, dramatic jokes that lightened her days, his never-ending bragging in front of his sycophantic supplicant and his smug grin as he was basking in their adoration.
She sighed sadly as she deposited herself on the floor, next to his bedroll, sitting there in silence watching his chest rise and fall rhythmically. Witnessing him like this creating an inexplicable combination of familiar sadness and relief she had always strived to explain.
It was odd to say the least that the world around her seemed so distantly different, surreal and unreal without him. The sea breeze didn't breathe the same refreshing scent anymore; instead, they unlocked sorrowful, afflicting memories she thought would forever be buried in the darkest corner of her mind. The beach didn't excite her anymore, and she had refused to set sail - because, there was sacredness in the ocean - it was a nostalgic place of their adventure, the place that held their future together, and the place that reminded her how life should've been if he were still here.
The mention of his name rekindled all the bittersweet memory she had never been offered before. His hug was well-practiced routine, and Moana often wondered how many maidens had fallen into his arms before - this was how being a prisoner of love felt like.
"It's been five years, Maui. Five years since I almost lost you," she whispered as her fingers following the curve of his chin, looking at his peaceful feature. He laid there mutely as though listening patiently on every word that fell from her lips.
"But it felt just like yesterday," she said, her hands curling gently around his fingertips, fantasizing of a familiar hand on her shoulder, a generous, bear-sized hug, perhaps even a lingering kiss on her forehead.
It was a choking sense of familiarity that ached her. She could map every groove and scar within his body as well as mapping her mind of the sea, knew the sloping curve of his muscle, every blemish and every indentation printed on his skin as well as she knew her own name.
"I missed our adventure. The sea felt so different without you."
She closed her eyes, resting her head on his granite hard chest. He smelt like cool Pacific breeze and salty ocean, and his breathing had a soothing timbre to it.
"But I missed your smile the most because it told me so many things I love about you."
As she silently traced the living tapestry on his skin, the same bitter-sweet memory replayed in her mind, reminding her of their happy days. The days that filled with rapturous laughter, emotional hugs, passionate kisses and boundless hope - the time of her life that would be forever tattooed in her mind. His cheesy songs that filled her night, his big, strong arms that curled protectively around her slender frame, his unforgivingly romantic replied for every little thing that she said.
"This I shall promise you. However long, I shall be here," she said, her voice became small."...Waiting for you."
She had learned to love him when the sun set and rose up. When the day felt empty, the room felt lonesome, and her life seemed meaningless. She had learned to love him when sharp trial sliced through her heart and pierced her soul. She had learned to endure itall, because she knew: the pain it costs to love, no matter how painful - it is always worth it.
Maui didn't exactly know what happened to him. The day his consciousness fell into the pit of oblivion, it felt like everything went dark, forgotten, and silent. But one day, he noticed how he began to fill the warm, comforting feeling of the sun ray caressing his body, the soft, woven blanket wrapped around him or the plushness of whatever he was sleeping on.
It took him some effort to crack open his eyelids that felt being secured by metaphorical padlock around it. But as soon as it was opened slightly, he immediately took note of his surrounding: the timber post ceiling, its flax roof, some familiar carving on the pillar and a tapa that dressed the wall depicting a smiling girl perching on her canoe.
Moana. His eyes widened. Every single neuron in his brains reminded him of what took place few months, days, and hour before the incident took place.
It felt like he hadn't seen her for eternity.
Wait, how long had been he sleeping actually?
"Maui…?"
Moana could hardly believe it, except that she knew she would never allow herself the luxury or the comfort of hallucinating his presence back in this mortal realm. While it seemed impossible that he's here, she knew he was real.
That familiar voice snapped him from his delusion, immediately turned his eyes.
After a moment of clearing his vision, Maui's eyes lock with her right away, and immediately Moana's chest loosened and her body sagged with relief and hope and wonder.
He's here. He'd come back. He'd come back for her.
"Maui…-" she repeated in disbelief. Her voice began to crack and her eyes glazed with tears, although Moana tried desperately to hide it from him, because it was not supposed to be a sad occasion. This should be the happiest day of her life! Because Maui was back in the world of the living, both in body and in spirit. She didn't have to dream about him anymore. And that, Moana reckoned, was nothing less of a miracle. Her wait just ended!
Fighting the tears that threatened to fall, Moana hurried to help him to sit and wrapped him gently with her hands, whispering incomprehensible words of gratitude, thanking gods for answering her prayer.
There was a moment of surprise as her slender body imprinted against his. That shock came with a tug in Maui's chest. She was perfectly placed by his side, leaning physically where his heart was, and overpowering sense of elation as he felt her arm encircled him. Her hug was paradoxically strong and tight, almost protective... yet passionate and gentle, as she had savored it only for very few selected individual. It took him a few fleeting moment before he hugged her back, running her huge palm over her silky hair, indulging the feeling of her slender frame in his arms.
"Moana…"
He finally found his voice, although his tone was drained and not much louder than a whisper, it was joyous. With a smile decorated his face, as he extricated himself from the hug, taking a better look on her.
"How long… have I've been…-?"
"Five years," she answered him.
That long? Maui swallowed. That was a sobering thought if there ever was one.
Drawing back just enough, he examined her with caution, trying to pinpoint what had changed. Maui saw it then. He saw what his bliss-crazed mind had failed to detect. And now that the initial waves of shock were fading, he noticed: a tattoo weaved on her cheek, many more spiraling down her arms and her back; subtle wrinkles around the eyes that hadn't been there last time he saw her. Her skin was darker. Her face was harder. She looked older. Five days couldn't age someone, even Moana, that rapidly.
And the realization over what had kind of torment Moana must have endured during his absence hit him, wiping all his gleeful smile into a remorseful frown.
"Moana," he sighed, cupping her cheek and rubbing his thumb across her skin. She shivered under his touch. "Oh, Moana..." He raked his finger through her raven locks and pressed their foreheads together. Five perilous years… how could he?! Immortality be damn, perhaps it was better if he died so Moana could move on with her life.
"I am sorry…-" he said breathlessly, averting his eyes that were stinging with tears. "I'm sorry I leave you for so long."
But Moana shook her head, leaning forward and wrapped her hands around his and she understood the answer for all of her question. She didn't need his explanation, even that didn't seem to matter anymore because he was here!
"There is nothing to forgive, Maui." Nothing…
That seemed to alleviate him, as he let out an easy exhale.
Without preamble, she leaped and hugged him again as tears of joy escaped from her eyes. Moana's hug was strong and bold, tightly gripping him, as a reflection of her determination and earnestness to protect those she loved. While his hug was soft and caring, portraying his tenderness and his affection towards her. And after such a disturbing turn of reality, nearly losing someone you deeply cared forever - did put things into perspective.
"Please stay..." he pleaded, gripping her slender frame closer to his, not willing to let go. "Please stay with me…" His voice was thick with melancholy, as the eruption of emotion began to take control of his being.
Moana wasn't in much different place either, burying her face on his wide shoulder she began to weep, allowing herself to have that freedom to express how she felt, releasing the sadness that she had felt lasted for eternity.
"I am not going anywhere," Moana's voice was grinding hoarsely at the corner of her words. And you are the reason I'm still here, she whispered to herself.
He was so close that she felt his breaths spilling like a gentle wave. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. She noted the way he held her waist, and how her body contoured and fit nicely around his.
It felt so right.
Suddenly, the door of the fale flung open, revealing an adorable little face with wavy hair, beautiful dark brown eyes and a flower sitting daintily right above her ears.
The little girl stared at Maui with her inquisitive eyes. Before long her lips curled into a heartbreakingly adorable smile, and a glint of happiness radiated from her face. "Oh, he is awake! Finally! Mommy…. he is awake!"
Mommy? The word felt like invisible punch onto his heart. Oh yeah, she has to move on! Of course! Foolish you, Maui! It's been five years. Five stupid years! Maui thought ruefully in his head. And perhaps her dad pestered her endlessly about her job to replenish the family heritage.
"Whetu, quick tell your Grandma and Grandad that…."
But the little girl's delight seemed to outshine Moana's instruction. She absconded from their sight, squealing and howling enthusiastically, commanding her short legs to carry her as quick as possible to Tui's fale.
"He's awake…. He's awake!" she warbled. Her little, cute voice resonated until ebbing away in the distance.
"She's cute. Who her name again? Wathoo? Weento? Wee…-"
"Whetu," Moana corrected. "A star."
Stars were one of the few constants in Moana's life. No matter where she went, she could look up and see her old friends who had been burning brilliantly for thousands of years, staring down from the heaven with their silent eyes watching over her. Whetu was a metaphorical portrayal of the girl's father and a description of the pivotal role he held in her life. That mental picture made her smile for a second.
Maui muted for a moment, train of thoughts running wildly in every direction, each one taunting him with information and infinite possibilities. Who is her father? And… where is he? Has Moana... married someone?
"She...she is lovely," Maui gulped, struggling to find the right words between confused emotion that swelling inside his chest.
"Of course!" Moana laughed. Before long the girl reappeared with Tui and Sina trailing behind her.
"Mommy..?" the little girl inched closer, cautiously approaching the bedside, her eyes fixated on Maui, scrutinizing his every feature.
"Now, why don't you say hello?" Moana coaxed the toddler, placing her on Maui's lap. Tui and Sina just smiled, quietly wiping happy tears as they stood in the doorway.
"Daddy?" she said, testing the words.
For a moment, he truly believed he's lost his mind along with his heart. The words were like a powerful tsunami lapping and crushed his mind, Maui grappled the edges of the bed to prevent from falling. Daddy? Me? He stared back at Moana incredulously.
"She is…. She is…. mine?" he supplied, not sure of what else to say. On the background, Tui and Sina's smile grew a fraction wider, but they decided to subtly leave and gave their daughter the pedestal to clarify things privately.
"Can't you tell?" Moana frowned. Well, it was good to know that apparently Maui was just as stubbornly obtuse despite suffering from a serious concussion.
The little girl on his lap bit her lower lip and looked up at him, expectantly. Her curiosity nearly gets the better of her, and she's about to ask him her first in a litany of questions when he gently pushes some of her hair away from her face and gives her that playful half-smile. But she decided to wait, quietly cradling a doll figure to calm her nerves.
"But...we...did we…-?"
He paused again and made a face, squeezing all the juice of his memory. And he finally found the particular page in his brain that happened around a week before the unfortunate incident. They were alone on a short mission to clear a carnage after a strong earthquakes shook the island. It was a calamity like Maui had never seen in his life, people hurting, trapped around the rocks. The stench of the corpse that polluted the air still lingered stubbornly in his nostril. The entire island had turned into a morgue. It took him months to erase those horrifying image from his mind. And in their moment of vulnerability, they sought refuge in each other's arm… which obviously had gone further than they planned.
Gently, she approached him, holding out her hand to encase his. The gesture inadvertently invited his attention on a familiar object sitting on the digit of her finger. The light bounced off the gentle curve of the stone, taunting him with its beauty.
He almost choked. A sadness swept over him, as he pressed her forehead to her, still running her hair between his fingers as his own words resonated around the wall of his heart.
Five more days, Mo…. Five more days until you are mine.
"Maui, are you okay?"
Still, he remained maddeningly silent. Yet she noticed the brief change in his stance as he shifted weight from one side to the other. And then his shoulders dropped ever so slightly.
"Are you still feeling guilty for… for not marrying me?"
His head snapped in her direction, surprise written on his face. But then he just sighed, running a hand over his head, pulling at the hairs at the base of his scalp.
"How can I not? I am the cause of all this."
"Was…" she emphasized. "And I said it again. I am not blaming you for it. No one does. It's an accident, Maui. You are mine always. And I just want the chance to be yours...and I had that chance."
"What are we going to do now? I mean…" he gulped. "You are an unmarried woman with a child. And.. I…-" He sighed deeply, turning to look at her, the pain so prevalent in his eyes. Not only he had caused her to wait, he had left her with his child… weathering all the social stigma and general prejudice. Alone. Maui couldn't decide if his presence was making things better or irrevocably worse.
"You know, Maui, I haven't thought something through in...quite some time." Moana said it in a light manner, but he could hear the sad undertone and immediately understood the truth she was concealing between words.
Since he'd been gone. Maui felt his heart thrumming with ache. Exactly how long she had been living like this, waiting indefinitely… scared and alone? She seemed relatively stable, but even his Moana had mastered the art of concealment.
Maui's attention naturally gravitated toward the little person on his lap, the one who had intimately called her 'daddy'.
Maui felt his heart throbbing with chronic aftershock, his throat tightening, on the verge of a gulp, but he couldn't even swallow. Sure, he was always told that he was destined for greatness, but being a father was never one of them. His mind was still having trouble processing it, though clearly, the evidence stood before him.
The girl was watching him with that same quiet expectancy, studying him with a kind of awe that he felt unworthy of.
Immediately, Maui began taking inventory. She had so many of Moana's features—her cascading wavy hair, those piercing dark brown eyes, even the hint of innocent inquisitiveness in her expression was the same. His heart flooded with warmth when he finally found a piece of himself on her face, even when it wasn't as superficially prominent. The girl certainly was an odd blend of two very conflicting personas.
It was then Maui understood why father treasured their daughter so much.
"You are so much like your mom, Kid," he remarked. "But you definitely have my charming smile."
An unexpected wave of pride hit him, seeing the way her face lit up like the sun on his simple remark.
"I have your action figure," she shyly pulled the dolly that bore a little resemblance to himself. "Mommy made it for me, she said I can hold on to it until you come back," she went on explaining. Under normal condition, Maui would tease Moana to no end on her poor feminine prowess in sewing and weaving.
"Do you?" Maui accepted the doll and studied the inanimate object in his palm.
"Yes!" she replied with fervor. "He has been protecting me from nightmares! He is my hero!"
Maui's mouth began curving with the beginnings of a smile. And perhaps someday I'll have yours, my little hero.
Days right after his miraculous recovery seemed to fly by like lightning. There was plenty of adjustment to be dealt with, from aiding the villagers, helping Moana with her chiefly responsibility, doing his usual cool superhero feat… to taking turn babysitting a rowdy, overly energized five years old. Undoubtedly, it was a steep learning curve for someone who usually squandered his time pleasuring about his solitary island, singing and dancing to himself. Maui knew, if he wanted to be the man who deserved a woman as wonderful as Moana, he had to remain focused, and thanks to his obstinate proclivity, normally Maui succeeded in doing so.
However, today his mind refused to concentrate and the vow that he had rehearsed until his jaw ached, seemed to transpired into distant memory.
His eyes traced the woman in a simple red bandeau and lavalava skirt, emerged on the horizon, and suddenly he felt his chest tightened and his heart thundering violently in his ears. Maui swore there was nothing as captivating as the sight he beheld. Next to him, Sina smiled gently, reminding him to breathe.
It was nothing like a wedding he had imagined during the blissful days of their courting. There was hardly any crowds, and his bride was dressed ever so simply with only a large red hibiscus adorned her tresses. Her eyes never left his as she approached him, their little toddler rested on her side.
Despite everything, he smiled. Maui had always fantasized what Moana Waialiki might look like kissing babies and taking a proper feminine role... and he had to admit the real picture did not disappoint.
She was beautiful…. And she was his.
They stood in front of a few elders, who went on with the sequence of ceremony. Somehow, their voice almost drowned like unwanted background noise, diffused into the sound of the crashing waves. At one minutes or the other, Maui captured something playful crossed her features, but he didn't have time to understand it, before she grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. He was too shocked to properly respond at first, but soon enough he started moving with her, an equal give and take—which frankly was much more forceful than he'd anticipated. She kissed him with zeal, with a raging fuel he'd always loved about her, but to experience her like this went beyond his fantasies. She tasted better than he remembered, like freedom and salvation.
As his tongue danced with hers, the pressing guilt of being away from her for years was forgotten. All he could smell and hear and feel for ten glorious seconds was Moana. This was like having a hard blow on his head all over again, except it felt good.
This was hope and dream and reality all blended together in one searing mouthful.
This was exactly where he belonged, not as a demigod, not as a hero, but simply being the man who loved Moana Waialiki with all that he had.
You are mine always. And I just want the chance to be yours….
Note: Do you remember Maui teased Moana about her kissing babies back at the village when she stubbornly followed him to Lalotai?
Dani-miha did a wonderful picture for me, I've posted it on the last chapter of 'It's Arranged' in Ao3.