"I love you."

Those are the words Maui never expected to hear from Moana, nor anyone for that matter. After all he'd done by stealing the Heart of Te Fiti and cursing the world as a result, he never thought he'd hear those words again. Nor has he heard them since he got stuck on that island for a thousand years.

But this little girl – no, he was sure she was a teenager now that he thought about it– who he'd taught Wayfinding to had finally said the words he loved to hear. He missed hearing them and never realized how much he missed them until she had said them.

Before he could think about what he was doing he suddenly wrapped her up in a tight hug saying, "I love you too Moana."

He had no idea why she'd just tell him she loved him out of nowhere, but the thought of her doing so gave him butterflies – and yes, the good kind. Besides, he never thought that someone as stubborn as Moana would say those words. But little did he know, she had said those words because the island he had found for her and her people was huge – bigger than Motunui itself and full of life.

The island was full of fruit and everything they'd need for trades and their daily lives. But one thing Moana didn't know is that once they had set sail to look for a new island a few months after the heart was restored, Maui flew off from his hiding spot and flew over the ocean, asking it to point out the biggest island he could pull up for Moana as a gift to her.

After pulling the island up, he flew towards Moana's boat – the ocean guiding him to her so he could find her easily – and flew beside her before flying ahead of the boat to guide her and her people to the island. He remembered it took two days to find her, but he knew the flight would be worth it, and it was. He remembered how happy she was when they had gotten off the boat to settle on the island and how she loved it even more when he'd given her a tour.

Now here he was, being hugged by Moana after giving her a tour of the island.

"Thank you so much, Maui." She said, very grateful to him for finding a new island for her and her family, her cheek resting on his chest as she hugged him, "If there's any way we can repay you, just let us know." Maui smiled warmly at her.

"You're welcome." He said softly, "And don't worry, there's no need to repay the great demigod Maui. I'm just here to help you mortals." Moana giggled.

"I think the 'great demigod Maui' needs to work on his ego." Moana joked with a smile, "Your ego's a bit too high." Maui chuckled before kissing her forehead.

"I know it is, Princess." He playfully retorted. Just then Moana reached for her oar which was conveniently placed beside her and whacked him in the stomach like she did the first time they'd met, but this time she had a smile on her face.

Seeing he was covering his stomach with his hands again, she found it a good time to grab him by the ear and harshly whisper, "I am NOT a princess!" She then let go of his ear – now playfully smirking – as he rubbed it.

"Okay, okay..." He said with a smile, "I get it, you're not a princess! Well, weren't, at least before last year." Moana looked confused.

"What?" She asked, "You didn't know me a year ago! We hadn't even met yet!"

"Well I'm glad I had met you." Maui said with a smile, "If I didn't meet you, I'd still be on that filthy pile of rocks."

"And if I didn't meet you, my people and I'd still be forbidden from voyaging." Moana said, grinning, "So I guess we were destined to meet." Maui lightly chuckled.

"Yeah." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I guess we were." Moana then suddenly hugged him again.

"Just promise me you'll never abandon me again." She said, looking up at him.

Abandoning her was one memory he hated, but he vowed to himself after he went back to her that he wouldn't abandon her again.

"I won't, Curly." He promised, "I'll never do that again."


Hey guys! I got this idea maybe a week or so ago and started to write it before running out of ideas after the part where he hugs her back and tells her he loves her too. At least yesterday I got more inspiration for it (somehow)!

Also as for Maui telling Moana about not being a princess before last year, I wanted to at least have Maui break the fourth wall in one of my stories and point this out. And yes, on the Disney Wiki in the Trivia section of Moana's page, she officially became a Disney Princess in 2019. I forget the month but I think it was either in one of the Summer months or November. I don't remember.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this little one-shot I made! I don't ship Maui and Moana but I hope this satisfied you MauixMoana shippers though (if you'd rather read it as a love story and did read it as one).

Thanks for reading!