This popped into my head after watching the new episode with Crane's mother. If you have not seen the episode, there isn't really any spoiler in here except for one phrase that I used from the episode, so don't threat, there aren't really any spoilers in here.

Please enjoy.

Not So Feminine

Tigress sat in her room, contemplating about herself. It was the night of the day Crane's mother had left from visiting. What she had said when she arrived was the final straw that got Tigress to start thinking about her appearance.

She was never bothered or cared about what others thought, but this one really got to her. She remembers all the times others had referred to her as a guy.

"I don't have any real friends like you do. Like that cricket, or that mean man with the stripes."

"Hey, we caught that tiger dude."

"You handle the kid. I'll take care of him."

"Hey, you settling in ok?" "Yes sir."

And the one that really got to her…

"Oh, everybody's just how you described them. Except, I thought you said the tiger was a girl."

That comment struck through her like a knife. Tigress got up and looked at herself in her mirror, then at her strong, tough as ironwood paws, then back at her reflection and sighed.

"Do I really give people the impression that I'm a guy? Is that why no one have even given me a second look. Not only because I'm strong but also because I give the impression of being a guy." Tigress thought, and let out a heavy sigh. "I would think that at least the way I walk or my voice or my name would give hint of my femininity."

Tigress walked back over and sat on her bed, and continued to ponder. She gave another heavy sigh and decided to get another's opinion. She walked over to the rice paper wall separating hers and the room of her only female companion, and lightly tapped on it, awakening the sleeping serpent.

"Viper, are you awake?" Tigress asked.

"Hmm, Tigress?" Viper asked, slithering over to the wall and opening it. She looked up at the female tiger and yawned. "Is everything alright?"

"Viper, do you think I'm… not feminine enough?" Tigress asked. This caught the serpent's attention, making her become fully awake.

"Oh, Tigress," Viper started, slithering pass the feline and over to the side of her bed. She patted her tail on it, gesturing to the feline to have a seat. Tigress walked over and sat down. "Does this have anything to do with what Crane's mother said?"

Tigress sighed. "Yes, it is. But, the thing is, that's not the only time someone has referred to me as a guy. But this time…" Tigress paused. "This time, it really hurt. It's one thing when someone meets me for the first time and think I'm a guy, but it's another if you were already told that I was a female and think otherwise when you finally meet me. Do I really lack a feminine appearance, Viper?"

"Well… to be honest, Tigress, since I've known you for so long, I wouldn't question your gender. But, if I have to look at you from the perspective of a first timer, then I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say, yes. You don't exactly give anyone the impression that you're a girl, Tigress." Viper honestly told her friend.

Tigress sighed. "So… I'm unattractive. It's no wonder no one ever gives me a second look."

"Po did." Viper said.

"Please, Viper. You saw what happened with Song and Lu Shi." Tigress scowled and folded her arms, then frowned a moment later. "He's forgotten about me."

Unbeknownst to the two females, said person was outside the room listening. He had just returned from running up and the down the mountain stairs one hundred times, and was on his way to his room, when he heard his name being mentioned. Curious to know why they were talking about him, he forgot about being tired and stayed to listen.

"No he hasn't, Tigress."

"Come on, Viper. He was willing to give up being the Dragon Warrior to marry Lu Shi, a girl he just met! He was willing to settle down with her!"

"Tigress calm down. You have a point there, but despite all that, I know Po has feelings for you. Why do you think he kept teasing you about being jealous of Lu Shi, and how what you two had together was in the past or in your imagination? When you really look into it Tigress, those were his imagination. He always believed there was something between you two, even if there never was. And I know for a fact that you were jealous since you never took your eyes off her and confronted her about her real reason for showing up and wanting to marry Po, despite that his father confirmed that he did arrange a marriage for Po when he was a cub."

"So what if he has feelings for me. He was willing to forget about them to marry someone else. And as much as I hate to admit it…. I… I was jealous."

There was a long silent pause. Po couldn't believe all that he was hearing.

"I don't blame him for wanting to find someone else, someone with a feminine charm… unlike me."

"Tigress, despite what almost happened with Po and Lu Shi, Po is infatuated with you. I saw the way he looked at you when he first came here, he even outright said that you were his favourite out of all of us. I've seen the looks he gives you when you're not looking. When you insult him, even when you don't mean to, it hurts him more than if any of the rest of us do. The time when you decided to go with Mistress Mugan, he begged you not to go, promising to change, for you. And when you left, Tigress, he was the most heartbroken out of all of us. He barely ate and even cleaned up all his messes and did all his chores. Even his room was spotless, until he decided to go get you to come home."

Tigress sighed. "I don't know, Viper. I just… I just don't get what he could possibly see in me. I'm not the most attractive of females; I'm just one of the guys. That's how everyone sees me anyway."

"No Tigress, that's not true." Po thought.

"That's not true, Tigress. Tell you what, how about I give you a makeover tomorrow and see what the others think. Or, talk to Po, and ask him what you asked me about your femininity."

Tigress chuckled. "You know, as you mention makeover, I remember what the bunny twins asked and did to me when I was sick with river fever."

"What did they do?"

"They asked to do my hair and makeup. When I said no, they were smart enough to know I wasn't strong enough to stop them anyway, saying they were going to make me pretty while they started putting makeup on me. They then asked me if I loved Po and if he was my boyfriend. I told them no, but they said that he would be when he sees me, and placed a mirror in front of me to see what they had done to me." Tigress chuckled, remembering that event.

Po blushed hearing this.

"Aww, how cute. See, even the kids in the village believe you two should be together. So what will it be? Makeover, or talk with Po."

"I'll talk to Po. And we'll see what happens from there."

That's when Po decided to leave and quietly made his way to his room and dropped his tired body on his bed and instantly fell asleep.

The next day was like any other day, training, patrolling, stopping bad guys and other stuff that the warriors would normally do.

It was close to dinner time when Tigress approached the Dragon Warrior.

"Po?"

"Oh, hey Tigress! Did you want something?" Po asked in his usual excited tone.

"I'd like to speak with you, after dinner." She replied.

"Uh, sure."

"Meet me at the peach tree." Tigress told him, as they followed the others to the kitchen.

A few hours later, Tigress was at the peach tree, waiting for Po to arrive. Her ears perked up minutes later when she heard heavy footsteps and breathing getting louder, informing her of the approach of her panda companion.

"Ah… ha… sorry I'm… ugh… late… T-Tigress. UGH!" Po panted, plopping himself down at the foot of the peach tree to restore his breathing. Tigress waited for him to recover. She had not removed her gaze from looking down at the valley. The panda looked at her back, a small frown on his face because of her lack of acknowledging him.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about?" Po asked, picking a peach from the tree, having recovered enough.

"Do you think I lack a proper level of femininity?" Tigress asked, still not turning to face the panda.

Po's eyes widened and he broke into a coughing fit, almost choking on the peach he was eating.

"WHAT!" Po asked in shock. He was not expecting that. He knew she wanted to talk to him, but he thought she was going to asked him if he thought she was attractive, since he had eavesdropped on her and Viper the night before.

"Answer me, Po. Do you think I'm feminine enough?" Tigress repeated after not getting a response from the panda for a period of time.

"Um… well…" Po said, nervously clicking the claws of his paws together.

Tigress sighed. "I won't hurt you, Po. I promise. Just answer me, truthfully."

"You promise you won't get mad no matter what I say?" Po asked.

"Yes." Tigress said.

Po took a deep breath and sighed. "No, you're not, Tigress." He answered truthfully.

Tigress eyes widened at his response, then frowned a few moments letter. "So, even he thinks so." Tigress sadly thought, fighting back tears.

There was a long moment of silence between the two, until Po spoke up again.

"However, Tigress, I… do find you attractive." Po said, taking a step closer to her.

Tigress gasped. She tightly closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, now really trying to fight back the tears. "He's just saying that. He doesn't mean it." Tigress thought.

"Yea, right. You're just saying that to make me feel better." Tigress said, in a slightly quivering and annoyed voice.

Po walked up to the tiger master and placed a paw on her shoulder. "No I'm not Tigress. I really mean-"

"SAVE YOUR BREATH, PO!" Tigress exclaimed, swiftly turning around to face the panda while knocking his paw off her shoulder, startling said panda. "I KNOW THE TYPE YOU GO FOR, PANDA! AND I'M NOWHERE NEAR THAT CATEGORY! You go for the pretty, sensitive girl, but at the same time are able to defend themselves to an extent. I'm not any of these things, Po! So don't you DARE tell me you find me attractive when you don't!" She cried out at the panda.

Po stared at Tigress in shock. Both from her outburst and from what he saw in her eyes… pain.

"Tigress…"

"Face it Po. I'm a tomboy. Nobody's ever going to look at me for the first time and think I'm a girl. It's happened on too many occasions, and Crane's mother's comment just sealed it. Even YOU tend to sometimes forget I'm a girl, or that there are even girls in the Jade Palace." Tigress glared at the panda, but he didn't back down. Tigress turned away from the panda and sat on the ground and wrapped her tail and arms around her body. It had gotten dark by then.

"I see now, that I was never meant to receive the affection of other. I'm just one of the guys." Tigress said sadly. "I see and understand why you would fall for someone like Song and Lu Shi."

"That's not…" Po paused and sighed. "I see your point. But the truth is, Tigress, I've always been attracted to you. True, I did fall for Song and Lu Shi because I thought they were cute, but… I think what blinded me from the truth was because they were willing to do all the things I wanted to do or liked the things I liked. But now that I think about it, those are things I should be doing with my guy friends and not a girlfriend."

A few minutes of silence passed between them once again.

"Do you really mean that, Po? That you're attracted to me, even though I'm not as feminine as I should be." Tigress asked, still not turning to look at the panda.

"Yea, I do. Ever since we were cubs." Po replied. "I guess I felt like I was never going to get through to you, so I tried to move on. But… just so you know Tigress, although I was willing to marry Lu Shi, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Why do you think I kept teasing you about being jealous?"

"To tell you the truth, Po… I was jealous. That's why I was keeping an eye on her. I figured… if I was going to lose you to someone else, then that person had to truly like you for who you are and not use you for something else, like both Song and Lu Shi did." Tigress confessed.

"I guess… wait! Lose me? Tigress… are you saying what I think you're saying." Po asked surprised.

"Yes, Po. I am. Despite that I've been somewhat mean and annoyed with you; I have developed a soft spot for you. Why do you think I always had your back in battle?"

"I thought it was because we are able to work well together."

"Well, there is that." Tigress said, looking up at the panda standing behind her. "But it was mostly because I worry about your safety."

Tigress then got up, and stood facing Po.

"This may sound awkward coming from me, but… Po, are you will to give me a chance, even though I'm not as feminine as Song or Lu Shi?" Tigress asked hopefully.

"I guess so. You know what they say; third time's the charm." Po said, trying to make a joke out of it. Tigress scowled and growled at Po, showing him she was serious. Po grinned when she did that.

"Now that's the Tigress I fell for." Po said. Tigress was taken aback by this.

"What do you mean?" She asked the panda, a bit confused by what he said. "You like when I'm like this?"

"Well yea. To tell you the truth Tigress, I love it when you're like this. It scares me, but I get this unexplainable thrill when you threaten me. I think that's why I tend to tease and annoy you for no reason sometimes." Po told her.

Tigress grinned and got down on all fours.

"Well then panda, I suggest you start running, because we are going to play, predator and prey on our way back to the barracks." Tigress said with a growl. Po laughed nervously and quickly made his way down peach tree hill.

Tigress allowed a decent distance between them, before chasing after the panda. She caught up to him on the stairs heading towards the barracks and pounced on him just before he got to the top.

"Ok, ok, you caught me." Po laughed while panting, trying to recover his breathing, as Tigress sat on his belly.

Tigress grinned triumphantly and purred, then leaned down and placed a quick kiss on Po's lips. She sat back up and purred again.

"Thanks for giving me a chance, Po." Tigress said, before getting off Po, and entered the barracks, then her room, leaving behind a stunned panda with a goofy smile on his face.

"Awesome." Po whispered, recovering from his shock and also entered the barracks. When he got to his door, he looked at the one just across from his and smiled.

"Goodnight, Tigress." He whispered.

"Goodnight, Po." Tigress whispered as well, and Po finally entered his room for some well-deserved sleep, after a remarkably eventful day.

END!

Published: 23.06.2013

Hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think.

~Zea