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Tigress made her way through the palace barracks. Everyone was away, and she and Po had pulled the short straws for watching the Jade Palace while master Shifu and the rest of the five played arbitrators and peacekeepers for two feuding families over land disputes. And since Po was off trying to meditate at the Dragon Grotto, she was on her lonesome. So she decided to be a bit mischievous and peruse though her friends belonging.
Monkey's room was spartan and a tad plain. She surmised it had to be his love of hiding his belongings out of sight where he could meditate, secure in their safety from prying eyes. Po was still having trouble finding his almond cookies after he moved their hiding spot for the third time.
Cranes room was filled with walls covered in his beautiful calligraphy. Words and symbols conveying perfect meaning and definition. He had tutored all of them at one point or other. Po was his newest project. His once sloppy but legible writing was now starting to rival Cranes own brush work.
Mantis's room could be considered a full scale model of the training hall. And even more fit on the table in the center that contained his whole living space. Small scrolls on the basic physiology of all morphological builds of the species that lived across China. With four or five comparably large ones donated by the Pandas. Mantis was ecstatic to finally have scrolls that helped him on a pandas health needs instead of drawing on, and potentially ruining, perfectly good scrolls just to accommodate one panda.
Vipers room was perfectly clean and filled with everything that had even a remote relation to her. Her dancing ribbons. Pictures of her family. Dry, but well preserved flowers from her mother. And a letter Po sent her asking about when Mei Mei was going to need his support for her performance for the valley. The reply in short said, no. Mei Mei was fine and just needed practice in rehearsal.
Finally she came upon Po's room. Which could be described as a well organized mess. The wall lined with posters of Kung-fu masters present and past. More than a few of the Furious Five, obviously featuring her. In fact they made up the majority of the posters. And on his desk were his hand carved wooden figures. All of the five, save her, in a battle ready Kung-fu pose. Her figure was in a relaxed tai-chi pose. She suddenly found herself realizing the special treatment she was receiving from Po. He made no secret that she was his favorite in his days before knowing the five more personally.
Then there was the revelation that she was his first experience with Kung-fu, the day he saw her take down the villain Boar. She was his idol from day one. She was his first crush. So of course he would be awkward around her. If you just straight up told your hero upfront that they were the object of your desire it would cause major problems. But Po handled it pretty well, dropping it on her sooner rather then later that he harbored feelings for her that, in his own words, “I'd soon grow out of.” She had to wonder how much of it he actually grew out of. He always seemed...enthusiastic to be around her.
Well she had to have feeling about him too. Seeing that he had become something she had desired. The Dragon Warrior. And he was the only other animal her size in the whole valley. She had to guess that her being the same to him was a factor of his infatuation. They were both giants in a place filled with, and built for animals smaller than the two of them. She once believed that she was the largest living thing in the valley. Meeting Po changed that. He was taller, and wider.
Fine by her though. He was as soft as he was big. And Po loved hugs. She never realized how touch deprived she was before she learned to accept that Po was a very physical animal. Once again she had to realize that being as big as he was at a young age must have kept him from being able to play rough. She was lucky. Her adoption into the palace gave her a place to cut loose. Po? He must have lived his whole life being careful with his strength. It showed with his claws. He chewed them down into blunt stubs. Normal panda claws were as deadly as tigers. And non-retractable to boot.
Her eyes fell upon a book on his desk. She opened it. Inside were...admirably well drawn sketches of her, the five, Shifu, Mr Ping, the villains they faced, and himself. All of it well inked with flowing lines and curves and the dates in small symbols next to each doodle.. The style was simplistic, yet also carried weight. The dynamic poses. The addition of plants like reeds and bamboo shoots at their feet. All of it made the contents from cooking and dancing to relaxation and fighting stand out.
She flipped back to the pages of the book. She wanted to see what Po drew before he lived with them. The drawings were slightly more amateurish. But still well done for what must have been his growing skill. But she began to notice a running theme. Some of the painting were colored. Reds and whites and vertical black streaks dominated everyone of them. Like a snowy forest bathed in a sunset or fire.
And she saw it. In everyone of them. A great white smear, like a formless monster, dotted with red eyes. Accompanied by smaller shadows with similar red eyes.
On the days following his defeat of Tai-Lung and his moving into the Jade Palace. When Po began sleeping in the barracks after moving, she often noticed at some nights he would wake up suddenly, get up to sketch, then eat. Not the hungry eating that she saw everyday. The upset eating every time Po felt distressed.
She then heard the wood floor creaking under the weight of a three hundred pound bear.
“You know if you wanted to look you just had to ask.” Po said. His unoffended expression said he was just a bit annoyed with her breaking into his privacy. And more then greatly amused that she could even be doing what she was doing.
She was once again hit by how much older they had become after their last great victory. Her fur on her cheeks were just a bit droopy and longer. It had been a while since Viper took her out for “Girl time.” And the white fur of Po's chin was starting to sport the beginnings of a longer beard. So he must have neglected or ignored his grooming rituals.
Tigress spoke. “So, Dragon Warrior, how did you know about my...snooping.” Po walked over next to her. “Oh it's just my super awesome Enlightened superpower of knowing when someone is in my room messing with my stuff.”
Tigress wore a puzzled but equally amused expression. “Also, Zeng saw you and told me after my meditation. That little snitch needs a hobby.” Tigress chuffed a laugh. “You are the grand master of the palace. Should you not be informed of what happens in your Dominion?” Po smiled broadened. “If it means I get to catch snooping tigers then I guess so.”
He looked past her to the open page of his sketchbook. “Oh look at that! You found my little collection of bad dreams!” Now was the time to ask. “How long had you've had dreams about him?” Po's expression grew somber. “Since I was a little cub. I couldn't understand any of it. My dad never let me sleep alone until I got myself under control. It's kinda hard to be a kid if you're dreading going to sleep.” He sighed “I don't think i'll ever be OK with what happened that night.”
She halted. “What about your inner peace?” Po smiled. She had just walked herself into another moment of Po being unexpectedly profound. “Inner peace isn't a lifetime deal Ti. You have to constantly reevaluate yourself, your state of mind. Becoming enlightened or having an epiphany doesn't mean all your inner strife is magically solved. It means that you understand why you are the way you are.”
Tigress absorbed her master's wisdom. Digesting every word. “Your right Po. It is strange to hear you becoming the next Oogway.” Po laughed. “Well at least I'm not becoming Shifu. I don't think I can act like I'm constantly about to kick someone down the stairs.” She blew a stifled laugh through her nose. “There is only room for one Shifu. And a second might tear a hole in space and time.”
Po smiled and sighed “You know it's you saying stuff like that that makes it hard to get over my crush for you.”
Tigress considered her thoughts. “Well Po...you becoming wiser and more mature has...showed me how I might find someone like...you...worthy of my attention.” Po was paused. And then he was unpaused. “Are you saying that you consider me, attractive?”
“In small doses.” He smiled a smile that became dangerously coquettish. “What about me do you find attractive?”
“your heart mostly. You know how to speak to people. Even if they won't listen. In body, id say your belly. It's your best feature.”
“No kidding that's what pandas love best!” He looked her directly in the eyes. “But you still have reservations...on me as a partner.”
“I'm not looking for a relationship Po. But I can...attempt to...sample what its like. But even if it fails. We'll still be friend?”
“Yeah Ti. We'll always be friends.”
She moved over towards him, slowly. She had never done this before and was more then a little nervous. And gave him a kiss on his cheek.
The smile plastered on his face spoke volumes “So just to be sure, your not just looking to be the one who deflowered the Dragon warrior right?”
“Don't make it weird.”