Author's Note: Sorry for having so many days recently with no updates, guys. Thanks for your patience. The play has been cast! Now I just need to sit here for the next several hours waiting for "yes I accept this role" or "no, screw you, Mercy, this role is stupid" calls from the actors so that I can send out the main cast list and schedule the rehearsals…

Nothing to do but write while I wait, is there? *dramatic sigh* Oh well, if I must, I must! ;)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

After a brief conversation with the ocean and an hour or so spent fishing from the canoe, Maui and Moana returned to the village just in time to deliver lunch.

This time, there were slightly fewer curious lunchtime onlookers, and Maui ate with Moana's family around the side of the house, near the warmth of the earth-oven, where Sina had cooked the whitehead fish he'd brought. Moana sat beside her father and her cousin, Rangi, while her mother and Whetu entertained the cranky old grandmother who Maui now understood was some distant relation, the sister of Rangi's grandfather, or something of that kind.

"So, Maui," began Whetu conversationally and a bit too loudly, obviously doing her best to make up for the nasty glares the old grandmother was giving him. "Don't you think your wife's beginning to get worried about you? How long has it been since you've been home? Weeks? Months? Don't you think you ought to go see her, at least for a few days? If my husband had been away for all that time, I don't know what I'd do."

"Oh," said Maui. "Yeah, well, about that; actually, she's not-!"

"You're married?" Moana looked shocked.

Hastily, Maui shook his head. "Nope, no, I'm not married. No."

The grandmother gave him a nasty look.

"And how do you think Hina would feel, if she heard you say a thing like that, hmm? You're just a man like any other, I suppose. Throw your wife over so easily, don't you, on the hunt for the next hot little thing in a skirt." She sighed.

Tui looked startled and coughed, but Maui couldn't totally deny having had some moments like that in his past, so he didn't take too much offense. He even managed not to look embarrassed.

"Hina," retorted Maui, "probably wouldn't care one way or another, because she's been dead for thousands of years."

He was more than a little maliciously pleased to see the alarmed look on the old grandmother's face.

That shut her up pretty fast, he thought. Hah!

Maui turned back to Moana.

"The legend goes," he explained, "that I had a wife named Hina, right? Major misunderstanding. Look, the truth is, Hina was my older sister; just as mortal as the rest of my family. She and I showed up together to the wedding of some distant cousin of my brother's wife, and since nobody at the party knew her, they figured she was my date. Turned into a whole series of legends about me and the goddess Hina, but none of it's true. I'm not married, she's not a goddess, end of story."

He shot the grandmother a look, but she was just glowering at him, now.

"So, in response to your question, ma'am," he said to Whetu, who he figured had just made an honest mistake, "there's no one waiting for me at home; nothing to worry about there."

He glanced at Moana out of the corner of his eye, half-hoping she'd be obviously relieved to discover that he wasn't taken after all, but instead she just looked interested, and maybe a little sad.

"So," she asked, "were you and your sister close?"

Maui frowned, and wondered if, by mortal standards, they had been close. It had been such a long time ago; nostalgia and resentment had gotten in the way since then. He honestly couldn't remember.

"She didn't tease me as much as my brothers," he admitted slowly. "So, yeah…I mean, Hina was a nice girl. She had a happy life, too, so don't look like that. Died a woman, lots of kids, grandkids, and now everybody talks about her like she was a goddess. Overall, not a bad deal."

"So," muttered the grandmother, "You've been alive for thousands and thousands of years, and you've never been married, not even once? Why, what's wrong with you? Can't get a girl? Wouldn't be surprised."

Maui winced.

"Maui isn't exactly the marrying kind," Moana interjected loyally, narrowing her eyes. "He's a little busy, you know, saving the world, having adventures, creating the islands; things like that. Not everybody wants to have twelve kids and be stuck in the village forever, you know."

The grandmother snorted a derisive little laugh, and Maui could tell by the look on Moana's face that this was an argument she'd had a few times before.

Tui and Sina exchanged a look, but neither of them said anything.

"You just wait, Moana of Motunui," muttered the grandmother, shrugging and beginning to get slowly to her feet. "One day, maybe when you're more of a woman than a little girl, you'll get the itch for a man, and you'll have twelve children before you know what's hit you. Then, you'll be lucky and quite pleased to have the village to protect you and your family. It'll happen, you'll see. Happens to everybody, in the end, and I don't mind saying that I'm going to get a good laugh out of it when it happens to you, young miss."

"Hey," mumbled Rangi, "leave her alone, okay?"

His mother shushed him.

"Moana," said Tui quietly but firmly, "is your Chief, Anahera."

"Then she'd best start acting like it," the grandmother shot back. "She'd better find her place and start giving something back to Motunui for posterity, or what good is she to the Waialiki line, anyway? Not much, if you ask me!" Then, with a wince, she hauled herself upright and stalked off across the village square.

Moana sighed. "Ugh. I hate her."

"Don't say that," murmured Sina. "Just ignore her; in her own way, she thinks she means well."

Moana raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"You'll marry when you're ready," her father added. "When you meet the man who suits you as well as your mother suits me."

Sina shook her head and gave her husband a smile, and Moana, watching that little matrimonial moment, smiled too. Maui felt suddenly a little bit lonely, which he immediately tried to brush off, searching his brain for a subject change.

Rangi spoiled the romantic atmosphere by snorting a laugh.

"Um," he said, "yeah, except, I'm pretty sure the only guy that would suit Moana would be like, some kind of seafaring adventurer covered in war wounds and with tons of enemies for her to fight, because she has this not-so-secret fantasy of being a legendary warrior princess, and some sort of a savior complex."

"I do not!" Moana glared at him.

"Yeah," returned Rangi, "you kinda do. I mean, the problem is, it's not like all the heroes of myth and legend are actually around anymore, and most of them weren't even real, and I'm pretty sure anybody else would just bore you to death, so why settle down? You're fine. Marriage is no big deal. Who needs it?"

Moana's glare became a grin.

"Oh, I get it. Anahera's been at you too to get married soon, huh?" She gave him a sympathetic clap on the shoulder, and Rangi just rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled. "Okay?"

"Okay, then I have an idea," suggested Moana. "How about we change the subject? I have a surprise for you, Dad; guess who we saw down in Rarohenga? Oh, and she looks great. Hasn't changed a bit!"

While Moana went on to tell her parents all about meeting her Grandmother in the underworld, Maui tried not to think too hard about Moana's savior complex. He glanced down at the tattoos on his chest, and thought about what Rangi had said about heroes with enemies and hundreds of war wounds to show for it.

Not everybody wants to be stuck in the village forever, he thought, watching the animated look on Moana's face as she enthusiastically described the Turehu and the terribly magical realm of the dead.

What Moana had always really wanted, Maui reminded himself, buoyed by the realization, was to see the world and to experience life. Rangi was right, of course; what she probably really craved was a man who understood her admittedly unconventional need for excitement, adventure, and a good if harrowing time.

Maui might not be able to offer her wealth and safety, he told himself, but adventure, doubt, and the consequences of years and years of dangerous life choices; those he had in spades. What better fit could there be for a would-be-warrior princess?

Feeling suddenly a lot more in his element and much more confident, Maui flashed Moana a grin that she, totally unaware of what was going on in his head, didn't return.

"Maui," asked Sina, "more fish? You've barely had two portions…you must still be starving!"

She gave him her sweetest smile, reaching for his bowl, and something in the twinkle in her eye made Maui wonder if maybe, just maybe, Sina knew, somehow, what he'd been thinking. Maybe she'd ever been thinking the same thing.

The truth was, unfortunately, that he couldn't eat another bite. Mortal stomachs, apparently, had limitations. He made a mental note to remember that.

After lunch, and after warning the people of Motunui that it might be a good idea to stay indoors and to hold on tight to something sturdy for a bit, Moana and Maui returned to the path that led up to the village. There, they could sit side-by-side in safety, and watch what was happening to the sea.

The ocean must have noticed their arrival, or have taken their appearance as a signal that it was time, because no sooner had they settled in than the ground began to rumble and shake.

Maui heard gasps and shrieks from the village behind him as people who hadn't heeded their warning the first time rushed to grab their children or to flee into their homes.

Moana kept her eyes fixed on the water, which was rising up on all sides of the island, sucking Motunui greedily back down into the sea. Below, Maui could see a huge, white-water whirlpool, much larger, even, than the one that had taken their canoe out near his island.

"Good old ocean," whispered Moana, smiling. "I'm so glad we have you back."

"It's all thanks to you," Maui reminded her.

Moana just shook her head.

"No," she said. "We did it together."

"If it hadn't been for me," returned Maui, "there would never have been any trouble in the first place, remember? Isn't that what you said, back when you first had to bail me out of Hine-nui-te-po's place?"

"If it hadn't been for you," said Moana shrugging, "we'd never have gone back to Rarohenga. I'd never have made amends with the ocean. None of this would have been solved. It's true, you know, Maui…you really did make things right again. It's okay for you to be proud of that."

There was another impressive tremor as the ocean dragged on the island. Maui struggled to decide if it would be smooth or just stupid to reach over and try casually holding Moana's hand.

"We did it," whispered Moan simply. "I knew we could. Everything's going to be all right, now, after all."

She turned and beamed at him, glowing with all of that enthusiasm and vivacity that made him crazy, and he swallowed hard, gave up on reaching for her hand, and took a deep breath.

"Moana," he began. "Can I, uh…do you have a minute to talk about a, uh, thing? You know, not a big deal, just something I…sorta wanted to run by you. Yeah."

All around them, waves crashed impressively against the rapidly descending island.

Someone in the village was screaming, but neither Maui or Moana took any notice.

Author's End Note: HUZZAH! So far, 11 out of the 21 actors have accepted their roles! I might not be here until four in the morning after all!

However, I still have a long, long night ahead of me, so thanks for keeping me company while I ride it out.

The story is almost over…or at least, the first part of the story is almost over. I think we're going to have a Part II. Yeah. That seems pretty likely at this point.