Another gorgeous day in Motonui. The sun was bright, the waves were gently crashing against the rocks on the beach, the light breeze keeping it from being an overly hot one. Not that Maui would mind either way, even the lousiest weather rarely had any effect on the mighty demigod. He strolled down to the beach before swinging his hook off his shoulders and slumping down on the sand, a couple of feet away from the water.

"What's up, Puddles?" Maui watched as the ocean gave no signs of responding. Oh well, he wasn't really expecting it to. It only seemed to wanna «chat» when Moana was around. It made sense. She was the chosen one.

He chuckled under his breath. The chosen one. Where was the Chief anyway? Probably doing Chief things back in the village. He hasn't dropped by today, but he noticed some people bustling around a little more actively than usual. He shrugged, leaning back on his elbows. Jokes aside, Moana was doing a great job running the place. It's been a big while since she's claimed the title, yet sometimes she still would get kinda tense, thinking she's not doing well enough, that she might be disappointing someone. She never told him so, but he always felt it. And whenever he did, he had to put in quite some effort to make her talk. Eventually she would, of course, and he would tell her she was being ridiculous and be there to help her cheer up. Just like she had done for him for the very first time back then, when she had made him open up to her about that blasted tattoo taking up most of his upper back. Made him actually believe he was worth something again.

Maui rested the back of his hand on his eyes to shield from the sun as he continued his train of thought.

His and Moana's relationship sure has come a long way since way back then. They had already formed a strong bond after the restoration of Te Fiti's heart. Strong enough for him to want to be a sort of a guide for her, on every new trip her people and herself went on, to every new island they found. He was there, most of the time. As a hawk, a lizard, or even a bug. It took a little while for him to want to transform into his normal human form not just in front of her, but her people, too. It has been years since then, and that bond only grew stronger. And Moana herself grew with it. Maui was only vaguely aware of it, until it was impossible not to be. From the kid that came to his island back then, grabbing him by the ear and demanding that he boarded her canoe, she has become a beautiful young woman. Of course, on the inside she was still the same kid. Spirited, adventurous, unafraid. But somehow all of it seemed to have acquired a more... feminine undertone. He couldn't quite explain it, but he knew it was there.

Clearly he wasn't the only one to take note of the progressing changes in the young Chief, as more and more village boys began paying her more attention than Maui would deem necessary. It didn't seem like Moana was too aware of it, though, seeing as she wouldn't reciprocate to any of the subtle hints and advances.

If he were completely honest, it was beginning to bother him as those advances on her were becoming more apparent. Though he would never admit it to her. He was having a hard enough time admitting it to himself... Why was it bothering him? It was just Moana. Curly. What's it to him if some guys were hitting on her? She's his friend. Yes... That's it. He's just being protective of his best friend, that's all. If some guy thinks he could just strut over with his dangly seashells and sweep his not-a-princess off her feet, they've got another thing coming... But that was it, wasn't it? "His" not-a-princess.

After all the time they've spent together, all they've been through together. How even though he could shapeshift into his giant hawk form and fly off in any direction he chose, for however long he chose, he couldn't do that. Granted, he did fly off to explore and do «demigod stuff» quite frequently, but he never stayed away for longer than a month. He kept coming back. To her. She wasn't just Moana. She was his Moana. His best friend, probably the only person in the world he felt so content just being around, hanging around, talking, messing with. Probably the only person in the world he would allow to mess with him. They've been hanging out like that for... what, three years now? Four? Maui wasn't keeping count. All he knew was that it didn't for a moment feel like he was being «tied down». He was doing whatever he wanted, he didn't feel the need to fly across all the oceans to look for something more. Sure, he would happily go off to find some new monster to beat, do something to earn himself a new tattoo. And he could do it alone. But he also knew it wouldn't be quite as fun without Curly. If a new adventure calls he would surely want her to come with him, and knowing her spirit, she woud most likely jump at the chance to get some excitement going. She was Moana of Motonui, and she would /always/ board the canoe. Maui chuckled quietly as he pictured her valiant stance and deliberate tone.

"Enjoying the sun?"

Maui was momentarily pulled from his thoughts as the upbeat voice of the precise object of them chimed from behind him.

"Oh, just looking if I should maybe pull it a little closer. Make trees grow faster and stuff." He flashed his signature grin as he lazily pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"I doubt that's how it works, Maui." Moana snickered, taking a seat on the sand beside him. "Afraid you're gonna have to find some other way to show off and impress the villagers."

He gave a lighthearted scoff "Kid, I impress the villagers on the daily just by existing."

Moana had to chuckle at that. Partly because of how typically Maui he was being with his boyish arrogance, and partly because it was actually true. The people of Motonui seemed to be very impressed with her demigod buddy. Initially they did take a little while to warm up to him, accept that he's real and he's there, and to, quoting Maui himself, «stop being weird». But even after all had been settled in and they had sort of grown used to The Great Maui, Hero to All, casually hanging around, they still seemed to be in awe at nearly everything he did. Whether it was helping arrange the canoes, or getting coconuts down, or building something. Perhaps it was partially because of the sheer effortlessness of the way he was doing those things. He could take one of the heaviest canoes they had and carry it around like it was nothing. Moana would never show it, but she, too, couldn't help but be secretly impressed with his strength. She knew he had it. Boy, did she know. But that didn't stop her from marveling at the power in those arms, whenever she did allow herself to even think about them.

Over the years they've spent hanging out, sailing, being around each other, Moana had begun noticing the gradual changes in the way she looked at the demigod. It was barely there at first - a stolen glance here, a semi-flirty remark there. Back then she would always brush it off in her mind as «oh come on, it's just Maui». As time went by, however, she started thinking that maybe it wasn't... «just» Maui. Whenever she caught herself looking at him for a moment too long, sitting a little too closely, wishing he would hold her a little tighter whenever they happened to hug. She thought about it more and more. The fact that he wasn't just her best friend, but also a man... a very attractive one, at that... that fact sank in really fast. The unmistakable giggling of some of the unmarried women on the island whenever they watched him work on something made her ears curl. Moana needed no extra time to pinpoint that feeling. As reluctant as she was to admit it at first, it made her jealous. Fortunately, none of the women were brave enough to dare approach Maui in any sort of flirtatious manner. But the mere thought of it still made something inside her twitch.

Sure, they weren't «together» in that sense, but they were extremely close. Close enough for Moana to realize her feelings for Maui may have developed past the friendship mark. It seemed to have become more potent in the last few months, too much to ignore. Still, she tried to. Tried, because as flirty as he may have seemed on occasion, something in the back of her mind kept telling her it wasn't intentional. He didn't mean it /like that/. It was just a part of his demeanor, his personality. The Trickster. They called him that for a reason.

Even all of that put aside, he probably still thought of her as a kid. Obviously she had grown over the past four years, developed a figure most young men in the village would find quite attractive. Yet somehow she found herself not caring what any of them thought or how intently they looked at her sometimes. She did care how Maui looked at her, though. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't wish he was the one looking at her like that.

Moana gave a light shake of her head "Whatever you say, Hero to All."

She chuckled, brushing some loose strands of hair back before resting her arms on her knees as her gaze fell on the calming blue of the water, the sunlight playing gracefully on the surface.

"Mm-hmm." The demigod grinned, his head tilting to the side to look at her. "So what was so boring that you decided staring at the ocean's a better thing to do?"

"Actually, I was looking for you, Maui." She shrugged her shoulders, looking away from the soft waves and meeting his eyes instead. Those deep dark eyes, that mischievous spark dancing in them at all times..

"Well, you found me. What's shakin', Curly?"

Moana softly cleared her throat, breaking the eye contact for a second
"There's another feast coming up tonight... Of course, if you had bothered to help around the village today, you would know that..." She paused, eyeing him in mock-scolding as Maui merely rolled his eyes and kept looking at her, as if saying «Yeah, continue».

"Right." She scoffed internally "So there's a feast, and before you ask - no, it's not in your honor this time either." Her lips pursed in her attempt at teasing him.

Maui quirked a brow and puffed "Their loss. I could put on a heck of a shapeshifting show, they'd forget to eat."

This time it was Moana's turn to roll her eyes, suppressing a chuckle. She could imagine it so vividly. Maui just being himself, showing off, his hook swinging, and the people going crazy for it. As silly as it was, there was also an odd charm about it. Though she knew that if it were anyone else but him trying to act full of themselves, she would find nothing charming about it. She quickly figured the reason for that was that she knew Maui was more than just some self-important jerk craving attention. So much more.

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second." She let a delicate grin form on her lips as she looked at him "Maybe next time. For now, you're welcome to attend this one. I bet everyone would find it amazing enough if you just showed up."

Maui pretended to consider it for a moment, tapping his large fingers on the sand. He would usually attend one out of every three or four feasts in the village. Not that he didn't enjoy the food or the attention he was given regardless, he very much did. But even he sometimes preferred to be left alone with his thoughts, soar through the air above the island before finding a cozy spot on the rocks near the beach. More often than not Moana would come find him anyway after the feast was done, bring him food, and they would hang out and talk until it was time for her to go to bed.

He had already missed a few feasts in a row, he figured. Would be rude to deprive the villagers of the wonder that was Maui and his presence. He smirked to himself before slumping back on the sand, his hands behind his head.

"Suppose I have nothing better to do. Better save me a good seat, buttercup." He winked at her before closing his eyes and relaxing under the sun's warmth.

Moana's grin melted into a bright smile as she stood up, brushing her skirt off
"It might be a little crowded. But I'll squeeze you in. You're welcome." She replied in a playful tone before making her way back to the village.

"Bet you will." Maui murmured as she walked away, knowing full well his seat would be right next to her, as it always was.