Author's Note: That last chapter was a little weirdly personal for me, maybe more so than I intended.

All right, let's finish strong.

Epilogue

For a long time after Maui had left, Moana stood by herself on the beach with her feet in the surf, trying to make sense of what had just happened. The ocean, bubbling sympathetically over and around her toes, felt soothing and real, which was refreshing after what had just happened, which Moana still couldn't quite believe had actually happened.

Things like this just don't happen to real people, she told herself. I mean, ancient magical demigods don't actually just profess their undying love for real people down on the beach only moments after sacrificing themselves to save the world, and my village, and…and me. I mean, this isn't something I expected to have to handle. I figured the most I'd have to deal with, in terms of men, would be having a crush on someone who didn't like me back, or maybe not being able to find a guy on my island who I didn't play with when we were kids. Nobody told me it was going to get complicated in such a legendary way. I was not prepared.

Then again, she realized, she'd never let herself live what anyone would call a "normal" life. At sixteen, she'd been fighting off monsters on her way to save the world from a terrible darkness. At twenty, she was sneaking around in the realm of the dead, plotting the rescues of gods.

"I have lived a legendary life," she sighed. "People may even write songs and tell stories about me for years to come, all because you decided I was the right person to save the world. Sometimes I'm not sure if I should say thank you."

The ocean swished around her ankles, and Moana raised an eyebrow at it.

"And," she went on, "all of that has gotten me…where?" Glancing over her shoulder, she looked up the path towards her village, where, by now, most people had recovered from the earthquake and were going happily about their daily tasks. Moana could hear her father singing, her mother laughing, probably at something silly or stupid that Pua had done or that one of the village children had said. Everything in Motunui was mundane, everyday, and Moana had a sudden, intense longing to go home and to stay home for good.

"Being a hero," she mumbled, "is…complex."

As she turned back around to face the sea, the ocean chose that moment to spray her directly in the eye.

"Aaah!" Wincing and blinking frantically, Moana wiped her hand across her face. "Hey, what was that for?"

She felt the tattoo of Maui's fish hook against the back of her hand, frowned, and looked out at the horizon, listening despite herself for the cries of a hawk, which she didn't hear.

"So," she asked the ocean, "where do you think he went? Back to that island? No, probably not."

A wave surged out of the water, then collapsed back again, almost as though the ocean was shrugging.

"Yeah," agreed Moana. "I guess it doesn't matter, right? He's probably fine on his own. I should just…I should let him cool off. Maybe we can talk about this when he's feeling a little better. He's kinda been through a lot, lately. Sure, I get that. I can wait."

She said it to reassure herself, really, but Moana remembered the genuine anguish and anger that she'd seen on Maui's face before he'd transformed himself and flown away. She hated the idea that she had been the cause of all those terrible feelings.

"Yeah," she asked herself aloud, "but what else could I have done? I mean…maybe he'll get over it. Maybe once he's over it, he'll come back and we can just…we can just be the way we were, twenty minutes ago, before anybody was in love with anybody else…before everything went totally insane! Yeah…that would be nice."

The ocean made a doubtful sort of burble, but Moana ignored it.

"I hope he comes back," she whispered. "I hope…"

A bird swooped by at that moment, and Moana looked up, assuming, for a thrilling split-second, that it was Maui returning.

It wasn't. As the bird circled once and flew off towards the village again, Moana let out a long, exasperated breath.

"Um," she mumbled, "he…he is going to come back, right?"

The ocean was silent, and so, for a moment, was everything else. Moana felt suddenly lonely; far lonelier than she'd ever felt before, like there was now a dull, empty ache where something important should have been, something she hadn't realized was going to make her hurt until it had gone so unexpectedly missing.

"I hope he doesn't get into any trouble," she said.

The ocean snorted a little bubbling spray of disbelief.

"Yeah," agreed Moana, almost smiling. "Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking, right? He's definitely going to get into trouble. Well…if he needs my help, he knows where to find me."

Moana wondered if Maui would ever need her help again, and, if she came for him, would he be happy to see her? Would he still be angry? Did he even want her help anymore? If she wasn't in love with him, did that mean that what he really needed was…someone else?

She fantasized, for an indulgent moment, about finding him trapped in the clutches of Tangaroa in some secluded sea-cave, and being the only one who'd come for him, or who'd be able to free him. She imagined him being incredibly relieved to see her, telling her he'd missed her, maybe apologizing a few hundred times for being an idiot…and that felt good. It was a nice, pleasant thought that momentarily buoyed her spirits a bit, but in the end, it didn't last. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that what Maui was looking for was someone that she'd already told him she didn't' know how to be.

I don't know what it feels like to fall in love, she reminded herself. I'm not a fairytale princess; I don't have it in me. Maybe I'll never know what it's like to be that person. Maybe that means he shouldn't miss me.

Confused, unhappy, and frustrated with herself for being, maybe, too much of a little girl to belong in the world of adventures into which she'd been flung by the sea, Moana turned around and wandered back up the path towards the village.

There were several women gathered in the square together, chatting as they husked the coconuts. Moana's Mom caught sight of her and waved, and Moana waved absent-mindedly back.

If Mom noticed that Maui was missing, she didn't say anything. She would probably, thought Moana, say something later, and Moana was going to have to figure out how she wanted to answer all the questions that she'd inevitably get from her parents when they figured out that their honored guest had taken off without warning.

There was still part of a pile of nets and ropes leaning against the side of Moana's house, the same pile from which she'd taken the ropes that she'd used to build her first flight harness only a couple of days ago.

Moana remembered flying, remembered falling through the air out over the waters of Rarohenga, and she reflected philosophically that Maui's being in love with her felt sort of like falling, possibly to your death, off the back of an in-flight hawk. It was terrible, unexpected, rushed, extreme, out of control, and definitely something she'd never voluntarily do again…but it was also just exciting enough that she couldn't quite get it out of her head.

Moana, you know I'm crazy about you, he'd said, which gave her a weird little shivery chill every time she listened to it playing in her head.

"Moana!"

Across the square, Moana could hear her father calling for her.

With a sigh and one last rueful look at the pile of ropes, Moana hurried off to join him, relieved for the first time in her life that whatever was about to happen couldn't possibly surprise her.

Author's End Note: Well, we've reached the end of one journey, dear readers, and we've arrived safe and sound back in Motunui. I'm not going to play coy with you; yes, I do fully intend to write a sequel. Obviously, there is still a lot of room for things between characters to be resolved or at least revisited.

I am curious to hear from you; what would you be interested in seeing in a sequel? Are there any characters you'd like to see more of, or particularly interesting Maori myths you'd like me to bring in? I absolutely don't promise that I'll take those suggestions, but I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts. I do have a pretty good idea of what sort of shape I want the next part of the story to take, but you guys always inspire me, and that's magnificent.

Either way, thank you so much for reading, and goodnight!