Here is a little prompt that popped into my head. It has to do with the demo version of Shiny, the lyrics being, "They can't see your heart is a vacancy". So here is a prompt I came up with as those lyrics popped into my head:

"They can't see that your heart is vacant, can they?"

I do tend to randomly get little ideas that pop into my head when I'm not writing fan fiction, so I may use those little ideas in fanfics if I can remember them. But from now on if I get an idea, I will be writing it as a little prompt if I can remember it so I can write it down, then get to it when I have ideas on how to start.

Often I do start writing these down after I think of them if I'm not busy, like one of my stories I'm working on currently (I'm not sure if it'll be part of my Moana One-Shots story or if it'll be its own) came from an idea that popped into my head. The first line is, "Maui never really let himself grow too close to mortals". That was the idea I got, so I wrote it down then just went with it.

Anyway, I'll end the author's note here and I hope you all enjoy the story!

Today was just like any other: Helping mortals, pulling up islands for them to discover, telling them his stories when he would visit their islands, etc. Though today he hadn't visited an island to tell stories – he was too busy. He was busy helping island after island with their tasks after noticing a few islands needed help. So he helped them, letting them know he had other islands to tend to, apologizing and telling them he couldn't stay for a celebration nor a feast.

The day was tiring and by the time he was done, he just wanted to relax. He thought of a place where he could relax and then a smirk crept onto his face as he thought, Lalotai... He then changed to his giant hawk form then shot straight up into the sky.

Once inside Lalotai, Maui headed straight for the home of the giant crab Tamatoa. He looked around – his hook clutched in his hands – in case any monsters were to jump out at him. His hook was also glowing blue, acting as a warning to any monsters that he was battle ready.

Once he reached Tamatoa's lair, he noticed the giant crab monster still flipped over on his back. Maui quickly allowed the blue light from his hook to go out to avoid being noticed by Tamatoa as he crept as close as possible still without being noticed.

Jeez, how long has he been there? Maui thought with a roll of his eyes, It's been like, what? A week or something like that? He then walked up to Tamatoa, twirling his hook.

"Well, well, well..." He began with a smirk, "If it isn't my old pal Tamatoa. How've ya been?" He leaned on his hook, his smirk not leaving his face as Tamatoa shot a glare at him.

"I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking!" He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, "It's not like I got other things I need to do!" Maui snickered.

"If you really did have things to do, you would be off your lazy shell by now!" He joked, but the crab didn't seem to take it too well. A claw suddenly shot out and tried to grab him, but he quickly jumped back to avoid it.

"If I really had things to do, I would be doing them!" Tamatoa snapped, looking enraged, "But no, I'm stuck here!" Deciding to ignore him, Maui smiled.

"Well I've been doing great!" He beamed, no longer leaning on his hook and now holding it over his shoulder, "I've been helping the mortals a lot lately since we restored the Heart. In fact, I can still hear their praise in my head!" He then smiled, closing his eyes as he remembered the praise he had gotten from the mortals throughout the week. Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"Pfft. Pathetic..." He scoffed, causing Maui to open his eyes and frown, "Just last week I kicked your sorry butt and sent you limping away with that girl to support you so you wouldn't fall! How could someone so weak and puny as you possibly be out and about helping humans of all things?" Maui glared at Tamatoa, tightly holding his hook in his hands as it glowed blue.

"I'm better with my hook now, Crab Cake." He warned through clenched teeth, "So you better not mess with me. Or else..." Tamatoa smirked, knowing his enemy's tone was a threatening one, even without the added "or else".

"Who said I was messing with you?" He asked, his smirk not leaving his face, "I was just asking a question! Besides, they can't see that your heart is vacant, can they?" Maui's hook stopped glowing as a confused look spread across the demigod's face.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked. Tamatoa snickered.

"By that I mean that you don't really care about the mortals, do you?" He replied, "You know, going after the love of those humans only for it to not be enough for you, so you love yourself. You know, like doing it to get your armor up." Maui glared at him once again, his teeth clenched and his hook glowing blue.

"Not true, Crab Cake!" He denied, tightening his grip on his hook, "If I didn't like them I wouldn't have gone back to them!" Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, Maui." He said, crossing his front legs like arms, "You only do things for humans for praise and so you can feel loved, not 'cause you actually care." Maui's grip on his hook loosened a little, a look of what seemed to be realization, hurt or both on his face.

"And?" He prodded, the look on his face replaced with one of impatience, "What else?"

"Well, if that girl you like so much found out that you don't care, do you think she'd be happy to know that her little demigod friend was nothing but a fake?" Tamatoa teased, jabbing a claw in Maui's direction, "I mean, seriously man, I didn't know you were a fake either, until you took my leg. Then I realized how much of a fake you were. I realized that you have your ways of covering up your true self so others don't know the heartless being that lives underneath." Maui felt his body tense and his anger grow inside him every time he heard the word 'fake', not knowing that his grip on his hook had tightened to where it would've snapped in half by now if it were fragile enough.

"I–"

"And you're the one who makes me hate the thought of inner beauty, because on the inside you only care about yourself." Tamatoa continued, interrupting him before he could even say anything in his defense, "You proved to me that you're ugly on the inside and out, and I'm not kidding when I say that either. I mean, have you ever looked at your reflection?" Maui growled.

"ENOUGH!!" He shouted, his voice echoing throughout Lalotai. He went to say something else, but he didn't know what to say. His ego had already been damaged by being called fake. The fact that his enemy had thrown the mention of Moana in didn't help either. He struggled to find words to back himself up, but the only thing he could think of to say was that he helped the humans which proved he cared. Though he gave up, knowing that it would be a lie.

He really didn't love humans nor do things out of love for them. He really did only do things for them so he could receive praise and feel loved, but it was only to help him cope with his abandonment. He never let himself grow too close to mortals because he knew they were capable of abandoning him – or other humans – when they were needed the most. He'd always hated the thought of being abandoned again.

Tamatoa watched, finding it amusing to see his enemy struggle to find words before eventually giving up. He'd never seen Maui so vulnerable. It almost made him pity the demigod, though if they weren't enemies he would have.

"Not so tough now, are you!?" He spat, venom in his words, "I knew your armor was weak! You've tried to act all big and tough, but you're not! You just want the humans to think you're so great so you can keep having the false sense that you're loved and wanted, and not just a dumb god they can pray to!" By this point, Maui was looking down, his hook no longer in his hands but lying on the floor, his fists clenched. Tamatoa thought he looked pathetic, becoming depressed so easily.

"That's not true..." Maui muttered, glancing up at Tamatoa with just his eyes, glaring at him the best he could, "I do this stuff to help me cope with being abandoned. You don't know how it feels to be abandoned... To want to feel loved!" Tamatoa huffed.

"Oh, what about that time you abandoned me, huh?" He questioned, his words once again full of venom, "You just took my leg and left, possibly to steal the Heart or help the humans! You didn't care about the pain I was in! Besides, why do you think I hate humans in the first place?" He paused for a moment as if to allow Maui to think about it, but without waiting for him to come up with an answer he continued, "Because of you! The humans you don't really love – nor care about at all – are the ones you think about, more than your friends!" Those words were enough to bring Maui's anger back as he picked up his hook from the ground and held it tightly in his hands.

"Well maybe if you weren't so selfish and didn't expect me to care more about you than I do the mortals, we would still be friends!" He spat, his hook once again emitting a blue glow, "You know, if you didn't expect me to put you above mortals!" Tamatoa seemed to raise a nonexistent(?) eyebrow at this.

"Friends?" He questioned as if that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, "Who said I wanted to be friends again?" Maui frowned.

"I didn't, Crab Cake." He said, twirling his hook before planting it on the ground and leaning on it, "I was just saying..." Tamatoa smirked, finding this to be an opportunity to take another jab at the demigod's feelings.

"Oh, so I see the 'great' demigod Maui doesn't need friends." He teased, "Wait until I tell that girl that you don't need them." Maui looked shocked, as if someone had stolen his hook somehow without him noticing as Tamatoa made a failed attempt to right himself up.

"What?! I-I never said that!" Maui exclaimed, his eyes wide, "I mean, I don't...need to be friends with you, but..." He then realized something before adding, "Wait, you're just trying to twist my words around, aren't you? Because I said nothing about not needing nor wanting friends! I just replied to your question, saying that I didn't say you wanted to be friends again!" Tamatoa chuckled, causing Maui to hold onto his hook defensively.

"But if you don't want to be my friend, wouldn't that mean you don't want friends?" He questioned. Maui snorted as he tried not to laugh at what the crab had just said.

"Now you're just twisting your own words around!" He pointed out, letting out a laugh, "First you ask me who said you needed friends, then you say that if you don't need friends then it means you don't want friends." He then rolled his eyes before sarcastically adding, "Makes sense!" Tamatoa glared at him, letting out a low growl.

"Shut up!" He snapped as he quickly snapped his claws shut at the same time, his eyes narrowed, "You just think you're so smart, don't you? Well if you were so smart, you would leave the realm of monsters and go back to the humans." He then pretended to have a realization. "Oh wait! They don't need you anymore because they don't love you!" He then shrugged. "I guess you stealing the Heart really–" He then interrupted himself as he suddenly remembered what was said earlier on in the conversation, giving Maui the chance to speak.

"Uh-huh..." He said with a roll of his eyes, giving Tamatoa an unamused look, "Yeah, stealing the Heart and being trapped on a filthy island for a thousand years really is karma." He then smiled and added, "And karma is sweet!" Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you didn't say that when karma came to you in the form of me kicking your butt, did you?" He asked with a smirk. Maui once again frowned before Tamatoa continued, "The only reason you're running back to the humans is because you're afraid they'd hate you for stealing the Heart, and you want to prove you're something you're not! You aren't a hero, you'll never be a hero" — Maui's grip on his hook tightened — "and you will always be a failure! To humans, to me and even to the Gods!" Maui let out a growl.

"Not true!" He denied, frustrated, "If I wasn't a hero I wouldn't have a new hook! My old hook would still be with me and damaged! I would be living on an island, isolated from everyone! Heck, I wouldn't be able to help mortals right now if I wasn't a hero!" Tamatoa smirked, getting an idea to hopefully bring down his enemy's ego.

"So you're saying you restored the Heart by yourself?" He asked, still smirking. Maui glared at him.

"I didn't say that!" He said in his own defense, now becoming annoyed, "I helped her by distracting Te Kā so she could restore the Heart!" Tamatoa frowned.

"So you didn't help much." He assumed, an unamused expression on his face, "Seems like it fits you, always doing little to help humans..." Maui's hook glowed blue as his grip tightened even harder on it.

"She could've died if I didn't distract Te Kā!" He yelled at the crustacean, "Besides, she had the Heart and there was little I could do to help since my hook broke after it came into contact with her!"

"But you decided to let her do it, instead of you just restoring it yourself?" Tamatoa questioned, once again raising a nonexistant eyebrow, "You could've restored the Heart yourself since you stole it but instead you had her do it! This is why I don't like you Maui." Maui was seething by now, the giant crab's words being just enough to tick him off.

"We wouldn't have had time to switch places..." He growled, "Moana was already battling Te Kā before I showed up! Her canoe was flipped over so I had to help her flip it back upright. But I was the one who could actually fight Te Kā, not her! Fighting Te Kā by themselves would be dangerous for mortals..." As he finished, he felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes as he thought of Moana being alone in that dangerous situation and possibly dying. He tried to hide the hurt on his face but Tamatoa could sense he was sad.

"Not like you would've cared..." He muttered, "Like I said earlier, you don't really care about humans. You just think you're above them – better than them! But you're not! You were found by the gods as a puny little helpless human baby – kinda like what you act like without your hook – and you were raised by them! And you do know that a demigod is a half-human, half-god, right?" Though the answer was obvious, he just felt he had to ask since to him it seemed like Maui sometimes forgot that he wasn't fully considered a god.

"Yes, I do know that." Maui said between clenched teeth, "And you should know that if you call me a baby again, you're going to lose another leg!" Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"Look man, you're missing the point." He pointed out, putting a claw to his face before bringing it down, "I mean that you're not better than the humans. You're still human, which means you're still not perfect, even though you say and think you are!" Maui looked down at the ground below him and kicked his foot, thinking about what Tamatoa had just said for a moment.

Not perfect, even though I...thought I was? He thought, But...humans aren't perfect. They're the ones who make mistakes. Not demigods! Us demigods are... Are perfect in every way, right? But...if I'm not perfect, then...that means... He then came to a realization. Moana! I... She needed me, tried to convince me to stay with her, but I...abandoned her... But I did apologize. I said I was sorry. Now, should I tell him? Can I even trust him? He then sighed.

"Look, Crab Cake, I...abandoned her." He said, looking down and unable to look Tamatoa in the eyes, "But I... I did apologize. I wasn't thinking... Battling Te Kā meant certain death, and without my hook, well...you know I can't fight very well. But...after we restored the Heart, I did apologize for everything I'd said to her." Despite hating telling his worst enemy that, he knew he had to tell the truth, and not looking his enemy in the eyes actually helped him to admit that. He felt that looking down to where he couldn't really see the 50 foot crab helped a bit with admitting what he had done.

"See? You're not perfect!" Tamatoa spat, "You're just like the other humans: Always prone to making mistakes!" Maui looked up at him.

"So what if I am?" He growled, clenching his fists, his hook now in his left hand, "They still love me despite that." Tamatoa huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, they love you because you're a demigod." He scoffed, "They don't love you for anything else. They're using you! That's why what you do for them never seems to be enough! And I think that girl could be using you too! Like she used you to help her restore the Heart for her own people!" Maui's fists clenched tighter, him almost wincing at the pain due to how tightly his hand was clenched around his hook. Not to mention his ego was shattered a bit – no, a lot – more after Tamatoa had told him they were only using him.

"She did not!" He argued, glaring at Tamatoa, "She had to restore the Heart! Her village was dying! If she didn't restore the Heart her village would've died!" Tamatoa smirked.

"See?" He asked as if proving a point, "She was only using you because she went to you instead of fixing the issue herself." Maui growled in frustration, wincing a bit from pain as his fists clenched even tighter, his left hand still holding the hook. Quickly, he dropped his hook and held on to his hand.

Ow... He thought, his eyes and teeth clenched shut from the pain as he resisted sucking air in through his teeth. He didn't want his enemy to think he was weak, so that was his instinct.

"And you might want to calm down before you hurt yourself." Tamatoa said with a smirk upon seeing what just happened, "Or don't. I actually enjoy seeing the one who put me through so much pain and suffering get hurt!" Maui shot him a death glare.

"Yeah, glad you do." He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before picking his hook up again, "Anyway, is our conversation done here? I've got, uh...somewhere to be." Tamatoa gave him an unamused look.

"Aren't you going to tell me I'm wrong?" He wondered. Maui looked confused.

"About what?" He asked with a shrug. Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"You know, tell me I'm wrong about her using you instead of just fixing the problem herself." He replied, once again trying to rock himself upright.

"No." Maui said, looking unamused, "I already told you why she couldn't fight the lava monster herself." He turned his back to Tamatoa. "Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go." He then started to leave.

"Aren't you going to help me up or something?!" Tamatoa asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Nope!" Maui replied, still walking away, "You're just gonna have to–" Just then he felt a tug on his chest then a snap. "Ow!" He yelped, glaring down at his miniature counterpart. "What was that for!?" Tamatoa watched, amused.

Maui watched as his mini counterpart was joined by Tamatoa's mini counterpart, both not seeming to be bothered by the other's presence. They seemed to be...smiling.

"What!?" Maui exclaimed, raising an eyebrow, "But Tiny, that relationship is over! It's been over for years now!" Mini Maui facepalmed, seemingly annoyed by his larger counterpart missing the point.

The image then changed to the mini Tamatoa lying on his back, Mini Maui next to him. Maui then watched as Mini Maui helped the mini Tamatoa off his back. Maui rolled his eyes.

"You expect me to help him?!" Maui questioned, looking as if he were offended by what he saw, "After all he put me through?!" Tamatoa smirked as he heard what Maui was saying.

Guess that little tattoo of his is gonna make him help me up! He thought, his smirk growing, I guess that means I win!

As a response to Maui's question, Mini Maui rolled his eyes. The image then changed to the mini Tamatoa having X's for eyes, as if it were dead. Maui sighed and rolled his eyes in defeat.

"Okay, fine..." He groaned, turning around to where he was facing Tamatoa, "I'll help him! Happy!?" Of course, as he'd expected, Mini Maui responded by looking up at him with his arms crossed, a triumphant smile spread across his face.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Maui really couldn't just sit there and let – nor even watch – his old friend die. But he really wouldn't admit that to anyone, not even Tamatoa. Though Mini Maui knew and understood, which made Maui glad he couldn't talk. But they had already talked about it before, and Mini Maui had agreed – when asked by Maui if he would tell anyone about it if he had the ability to talk – that he would keep the secret between him and his larger counterpart.

Maui walked over, being cautious about any possible dangers the crab might possess, and held his hook out in front of him in case he had to defend himself.

"What?" Tamatoa asked, "You don't trust me?" Maui glared at him.

"You think I'd trust you after what you did the last time?" He growled between clenched teeth, "Sorry, Crab Cake, but I don't work that way." Tamatoa glared at him.

"Well it's not like I'm going to hurt you – as much as I want to – unless you make any wrong moves." He retorted, eyes narrowed at his foe. Maui rolled his eyes.

"Well, glad I'm just doing this and leaving then." He said, giving Tamatoa an unamused look. Tamatoa gave him a look back as if telling him the feeling was mutual.

Once Maui was next to Tamatoa in order to help him back upright, he planted his hook in the ground and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, you ready Crab Cake?" Tamatoa rolled his eyes.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He replied sarcastically. He then felt Maui on his left side pushing him in attempt to roll him over back onto his stomach. "Whoa, not that way!" He cried out, afraid of getting hurt and possibly losing more shiny treasure off his shell, "Push me forward!" He then rocked himself forward for what seemed to be maybe the third time during Maui's visit. Maui rolled his eyes.

"Fine..." He said, going over to Tamatoa's head. Tamatoa smirked in triumph.

As he was being pushed, he noticed Maui was having a pretty hard time rolling him back onto his front. He rolled his eyes, feeling like Maui wasn't putting any effort into it.

"Push, man!" He shouted to Maui, his tone impatient, "Like is that all you got after a thousand years?" This seemed to anger Maui, causing the demigod to give one final push hard enough to roll him over onto his front.

Panting, Maui growled, "Well excuse me for being stuck on an island for a thousand years!" Tamatoa chuckled as he turned to face him.

"Oh Maui, you know that's just an excuse." He teased with a smirk, though Maui knew it was true. He still did have his strength even after a thousand years on an island.

"Shut it, Crab Cake." Was his only response before he started walking off again. Just then he had to dodge a giant claw coming down on him, rolling to the left. For some reason he had the sense that the crab would try something while his back was turned, even before the attempted attack. He knew his enemy too well.

What also helped him know that Tamatoa would try something was what he had said after his leg had been taken. He had told Maui that he would strike him whenever he had least expected it. Yeah, not very wise... Then again, he knew the crustacean sometimes didn't think before he spoke.

"Look, I didn't come here to fight." Maui stated firmly as he turned around to face him, "I came here to get some rest after a long day." Tamatoa rolled his eyes, waving a claw.

"Do you really think Lalotai is a good place to relax?" He questioned, glaring at the demigod, "If so, I thought you'd know by now after all these years that Lalotai isn't a place where you can go to relax, it's a place filled with monsters. There is no relaxing here." Maui snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Well it was relaxing until I helped you up." He deadpanned, giving Tamatoa an unamused look. Tamatoa narrowed his eyes at Maui's attitude.

"It was relaxing for me too, before you came along!" He snapped, his teeth bared. Maui smirked.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave now so you can continue relaxing." He said, his smirk not leaving his face, even as he turned his back to the crustacean, "So enjoy your beauty rest, or whatever you're going to be doing while I'm gone!" Behind him, he could hear Tamatoa growl. He then started running, knowing that the crab might start chasing him.

As he ran, however, he decided to stop, change to his lizard form, then scurry towards the geyser, Tamatoa having already started to chase him.

"What the–" He heard Tamatoa say, smirking at how the crab still didn't know his tricks yet despite them knowing each other for years.

"Goodbye, Crab Cake!" He shouted triumphantly as he got on the geyser and changed to his human form, "And good riddance!" Just as Tamatoa started running towards him, he screeched to a halt once he was close enough to the geyser, remembering what had happened last time.

"Oh, are you afraid you'll get hurt?" Maui taunted with a smirk as the rumbling started in the geyser. Tamatoa glared at him, hating how his rival had an advantage.

"No, I just don't want to be flipped on my shell again!" Tamatoa protested, but Maui continued to smirk, making Tamatoa wish he could wipe that smirk off his face. Cautiously, he reached a claw out towards Maui, deciding that maybe he could get rid of his annoying smirk. That is, until the rumbling of the geyser became louder.

He quickly stumbled back just as the geyser started spraying water up into the air, not wanting to get struck by it again. He then breathed a sigh of relief before remembering his prey had gotten away.

Just great... He thought, kicking a few rocks that were on the ground below, Right when I almost had him.

After his close encounter with Tamatoa in Lalotai, Maui was thinking over things, having flown to the land he and Moana had landed on during their journey to restore the Heart, before flapping his wings and landing gently before changing to his human form. Considering remembering that stuff his rival had said to him had hurt his ego still, he still couldn't help but think over those things. He then realized that Tamatoa was actually pointing out his flaws to him.

He didn't think of it that way during their conversation, but thinking about it now, he couldn't deny it. The thing about him doing things for the mortals just so he could feel loved and receive praise was just his way of coping with his abandonment. Though he still did it even after restoring the Heart with Moana, he didn't realize that he was actually wanted. Not until now, that is...

He remembered how she asked him if he would like to go and live with her and her people before he politely declined. He looked out at the ocean, towards the direction of Motunui. He then smiled, deciding to get on his boat. He continued to think to himself as he walked up to it.

One of the other flaws Tamatoa pointed out was their love not being enough for him, causing him to love himself. He then realized that was true also since his theft of the Heart was meant to give mortals the power to create life, please them and make them happy. What he had given them didn't seem to be enough to keep them happy so he stole the Heart for them. But his heart wasn't really focused on them, it was focused on him receiving praise and feeling even more loved and wanted — which is why he loved himself. He loved that he could be praised while also praising himself for his own good deeds.

Unfortunately, that led to his downfall. He thought he'd make the people happy by giving them the power to create life. He was too busy hearing their praise ringing through his head to think about the possible consequences. He'd heard it was cursed but he kept going, just to make the people happy. But all it did was curse the islands and banish him to a vacant island for a thousand years.

His other flaw was that his armor wasn't hard enough. The only way he could get it up was loving himself, which he'd eventually learned to do after many of his great feats turned out successful. His armor wasn't hard enough though because of his abandonment. As tough as he tried to be, he always failed, coming back to the thought that he wasn't wanted.

After thinking of all those flaws, he decided he could change them around so he wouldn't have them anymore. Getting into his boat, he decided to sail off to Motunui where Moana lived. He was going to try his best to be a new and better person.

He was going to show the world – and Tamatoa – that he could change.

I know this story is like 5k words long, but...what can I say? These ideas just came to me and I wanted to add them. So there ya go! I was originally was going to have Maui leave instead of helping Tamatoa up and after I got the idea with Mini Maui I decided to have Maui leave after he finally helped him up, but then I got another idea. Anyway, I've seen one-shots on here that are maybe 5k or 6k words, so I don't think it matters how long this one was.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!