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Tigress flinched at a sudden noise, her whole body tensing, ready for combat or a quick escape, whichever one proved more necessary. But upon identifying the source of the disturbance as just a broken branch scraping against the outer courtyard wall she let the tension out, exhaling heavily.
She shouldn't have asked him to come. Not tonight of all nights with Shifu already suspicious and crowds lining the streets for New Year, threatening to stumble upon their secret meeting place at any moment.
Gossip spread too quickly in the valley and even if only one person saw them, it would be all over. Shifu would never let her leave the Jade Palace again, and Po would be shipped off to who knows where, as punishment for his infraction.
Tigress tried not to stamp her feet, tapping her paw against her thigh impatiently.
Where was he? He should have been here by now.
Her brows furrowed.
Had he gotten lost? Held up? Turned back by guards? Perhaps he had been discovered and was even now being escorted to the court tribunal to be banished from the village forever, sentenced to five years of hard labor in a mining quarry, or imprisoned in Chorh-Gom.
As the minutes stretched out, Tigress's nerves strained. Her eyes searched the dark, starlit street for any trace of him.
A paw tapped her shoulder.
"Psst!"
Tigress jumped, leaping into a martial arts stance, limbs coiled to strike.
The rotund figure of her secret panda beau put up his paws, palms forward.
"Woah woah easy, it's me! It's me!" Po cried.
Tigress deflated, coming out of her stance with relief. "You took so long. I was getting worried."
Po scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that. We had a huge birthday group come in at the last minute at the noodle shop," he explained. "Thirteen people with twenty different orders and specialty soups and they sent at least three plates back because they were too cold, too hot, or too spicy. Dad was about ready to pull his feathers out."
She'd crossed the distance before he was even finished speaking, arms coming up. She clasped his paws in hers feverishly.
"Did you make it here okay? You weren't followed or seen by anyone?" she asked anxiously.
"Uh…" Po said nervously, his mind flashing back to the tumbles, rolls, dropped or nudged vases, and pratfalls that were his latest and most shameful attempt thus far at Stealth Mode. But he gave a shrug and grinned. "No, of course not! Totally invisible the whole way, promise!"
Her eyes flattened to narrow slits. "You hesitated," came her flat observation.
The panda sweated and laughed a little too eagerly. "Pfft—No I didn't! What are you talking about?" he blustered, over-casual.
"Po…" Tigress groaned. "This is serious!"
"I know," he said.
"If we're discovered together it's all over for us!"
"I know."
"You'll be sent to prison or worse! I'll be forbidden to leave the palace grounds and we'll never see each other again!"
Po offered her another smile, more genuine this time, and squeezed her paws tightly. "Hey, I know, I know. Don't worry about it. I wasn't seen. Promise," he repeated. After a beat he added, "You look beautiful."
Her irritation simmered away and she sighed. "Thank you," she begrudgingly acknowledged.
She moved closer, arms raising to envelope the panda in an embrace. The two lovers nestled into each other, burying their faces in each other's shoulders. The familiar scent of his fur—which smelled of tofu, lentils, and ginger—filled her nose.
"I missed you," she whispered.
He patted her back gently. "I missed you too, babe," he cooed.
-KFP-
"Awwww…." sighed Viper, watching hidden in the trees and foliage in the corner of the secluded plaza. Her gleaming eyes watered happily. "They're so cute together!" she gushed.
Crane, standing behind her, was decidedly less enthused and proportionally more nervous about the tender exchange. "Should we be seeing this?" he questioned. He pointed a wing towards the couple, who were now whispering in each other's ears. "I have a feeling we shouldn't be seeing this," he declared.
Mantis, perched on top of Crane's hat, merely gave an antenna twitch. "Well, there's one mystery solved," he snarked. "Now we know why she keeps coming home smelling like the noodle shop."
Monkey nudged Viper and Crane worriedly. "Do you think we should tell Shifu?" he asked.
Viper's expression became deadly serious in an instant. "You do and I will break every bone in your body," she threatened, her eyes narrowing to ominous slits.
Mantis shrugged.
"Sounds fair enough to me. Who's up for bean buns?"