A/N: Hey there! So, first story written at my new place of residence. Sitting here, in my room at my sister's place, surrounded by books containing all the stuff I have to learn, bothered by my lil' niece and nephew... I'm beginning to think that the cat they have here is the only sane being in the whole house. Yes, myself included. The little furry thing helps me in characterizing Tigress a bit, I'd say. Although I'm having a hard time understanding the little animal. Seriously, what's so interesting about my shoes? Anyway, as to the story itself... it's more of an intro than anything else. Yes, intro. This is going to be the one-shot series I talked about a while ago. So, onto the one-shot number 'one', then.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda

Awesome Or Not, I'll Remember It

It was a thing all boys... all children had in common. The dream to become the someone. The great someone... a hero. Po was no exception. Becoming the Dragon Warrior was a dream come true for the bear, even if there were moments that made him reconsider the pros and cons of going back to the life of a cook at his father's restaurant.

But no, the conclusion was always the same in the end. He would not change a thing.

That did not mean, however, that there were not situations he most certainly did not dream of during his childhood years. Things he did not think of. Things that, as he would say, were really not all that awesome.

It was on that one particular day when the panda, weary and tired, dirty and reeking, with his head spinning, his vision blurry and his stomach seemingly whirling at such intensity that he did not even dare to think about food, really wished he could be somewhere else. Or someone else.

The situation itself was not repulsing by any means. It all made perfect sense; he was the Dragon Warrior and it was his duty to help those in need. And it did not even need to be his duty when the ones in need of help were his friends.

His heroes.

But still, it felt somewhat... odd. Carrying his idols, being the one to save them from the ill situation. Being the only one able to walk.

Being the only one aware, the only one still conscious.

It felt grim more than anything else. It was just that need to help his friends that kept him going. Otherwise, he would toss himself somewhere onto the ground and get the much needed sleep. Truly, the desire was just too tempting. In his state, he did not doubt he would find the cold, muddy ground comfortable.

But he had to go on. He could not let them down. He would not hesitate to land his friends, his comrades the helping hand. Or shoulder. Or back. Or pretty much anything they could lean on.

Or rather lie on.

It was one of those moments when Po was actually glad for his size. Truly, the task would be much more difficult if he was a bug, like Mantis. Or a snake, like Viper, with no hands at all.

The way he was, it was easier, yes, but still not comfortable. Crane, although being light, was rather troublesome. The avian just insisted on almost falling off the panda's left shoulder everytime the bear moved. Mantis was obviously easier, but Po could not help but worry he would somehow hurt the seemingly fragile insect sleeping in his black, furry paw. Monkey was the most cooperative when it came to staying still in one place, resting on his right shoulder with his limbs and tail hanging freely. The primate managed to be annoying in his own way, though, even when unconscious.

The only one Po could not complain about was Viper.

Only until he had to cross a shallow river. Early in the morning as it was, with the dawn just at its beginning, a momentary, small contact the reptile's scaled body made with the cold water was enough to cause the snake to move. With her eyes still closed and overall still unaware of her surroundings, Viper started to coil up on the bear's leg in attempt to get further away from the water's surface.

A startled yelp resounded through the bamboo forest when the panda felt the snake get way too close to a certain area. He quickly finished his way across the river. Then, once on a dry land again, he moved Mantis from one paw to another so he could better reach for the troublesome reptile. He grabbed her by her body, gently prying her off from his thigh. Just as he hoped, she reacted by immediately coiling around the arm.

Deciding he had all of his four friends safely situated, he continued in his way. For once, he was really glad that Tigress did not accompany them. Truly, he did not know how he'd manage to carry her too. Not that he thought she was heavy or anything. A bitter chuckle made its way to his mouth when he thought about the consequences of voicing such a thought in front of the feline.

His laughter was cut short, however, when he suddenly registered the right side of his back getting wet. He froze for a moment, then let out an annoyed groan.

Monkey puked. Again.

Right then and there the panda vowed to himself that he would never agree to get drunk with his friends again.

Or get drunk at all.

Despite it being his first time to as much as touch alcohol, save perhaps for some rare occasions when his dad used it for cooking, the panda discovered that he was not such a light-weight as one would think.

Compared to the other four warriors, at least.

He did not feel encouraged by this discovery, though. Especially seeing that the price for the winner of the drinking contest was to carry the losers all the way back.

Yes, being the Dragon Warrior and a comrade of the Furious Five was indeed awesome.

Carrying them back from the inn to the campsite with a nasty hangover... that was something else.

He was not really certain why he agreed to it. Nor did he really understand how Mantis and Monkey convinced Viper and Crane to come along. He always considered the latter two to be the wise ones, the mature ones.

After the events of last night, things got a little more... perspective.

Po has learnt many things that night. First, Crane could not fly very well when drunk. Second, Viper was not always so nice and innocent. Third, Mantis knew of ways to use acupuncture and the knowledge of nerve points the panda would prefer to never hear about.

„You're late."

And fourth, Tigress looked really scary when she was upset, even if your vision was somewhat worsened by drinking.

Come to think of it, it actually made her look even more scary.

A sudden feeling of dread overcome the panda when the realization hit him. Tigress did not know what he and the rest of the five were up to last night. They knew well what her reaction would be like, so they came up with a little lie. Lie that was no good now when she could clearly see the state they were in.

„Uh, y-yeah, sorry about... that," Po spoke, trying to sound as sober as possible. He kept glancing around, confused why the campsite seemed so different from yesterday. Of course the reason was simple; he was not at the camspite. He met Tigress on her way after them. Yes, they were late indeed.

Now that was going to be not-awesome.

„We, uh... we got... delayed," the panda tried to explain. In vain, actually. Things were all too clear.

Tigress growled in anger, her glare was present in full force. Po could not stop his mind from going over the possible consequences this all would have. Would she take it out on him? Probably; he was the only one still standing, after all. Or would she tell Shifu? Or would she take it out on him and then tell Shifu?

„So," she cut through his racing thoughts, making him refocus his gaze on her again. As much as he was able to, at least. „How was your little night out?"

The glare was gone for the moment. Her tone was even, measured, and in combination with her raised brow, almost daring. Yes, as if she was daring him to deny the truth.

Teasing him.

Po hung his head in shame, his usually happy expression now replaced by a deep frown. He contemplated on the answer, more than he would have if sober. He took the time to take in the pain in his legs, the uneasiness in his stomach, the unpleasant taste in his mouth, the smell... not to mention the state the fur on his back was in...

And then, a smile crept its way onto his muzzle, the frown disappearing as the smile grew wider and wider as he remembered all the laughter, the jokes, the awesome tales the warriors would probably never share if it weren't for the wine affecting their reason.

These were things he would probably never tell to the village children; Crane trying to paint the sky green, Monkey pulling out some of his best pranks, Mantis and Viper revealing secrets the panda would have trouble getting out of his mind for weeks to come...

„Totally awesome," the panda declared, barely above a whisper. Raising his gaze, he was met with a piercing glare. The tiger's tail was curled downards in anger, lightly tapping the ground impatiently, almost like a foot.

„A-and I'll never do it again," Po quickly added, realizing what she was waiting for.

Tigress studied him for a little longer, judging. Then, nodding to herself, she turned around and started walking toward the campsite. „We were supposed to be at the Thread of Hope by now."

„Er, yeah, sorry," the panda mumbled after he let out a sigh of relief. „I'll explain it to Shifu why we're lat-"

„So we'll head off immediately to make up for the delay your little detour caused."

„Huh?!" the panda almost squeaked, the tiredness of his body suddenly seeming to grow tenfold. „But I'm so freaking tired and the others aren't awake and-" he went on without breathing, stopping only when Tigress turned around to face him.

„Err, I," he faltered under her gaze, sighing in defeat. „At least help me carry Crane. He keeps falling down."

Tigress stood unmoving for a few moments, then nodded and removed the avian from the bear's shoulder.

„Such a disgrace," she muttered under her breath as she readjusted the feathered master in her arms. „What happened to his hat?"

„You don't wanna know."

„That bad?"

„Yeah," Po nodded in confirmation. „I guess it's a good thing they probably won't remember anything."

„But you will."

Po turned his head to look at her at that line. There was a smirk on his face.

„You bet," he stated in a happy tone, making her look at him confusedly in return. „There's no way I'm forgetting anything from the time I spend with you guys."

A/N: Thank you for reading! As always I ask you to voice your opinion. Just one thing: be honest about it. Really, that's all I want from you in your reviews. As to the series itself, I honestly don't know at what frequency I'll be updating this. It will mostly serve as a 'case' for ideas I can't put into HEGHHF or ideas I don't indend to turn into longer stories. There's quite a few of those. By this I don't mean that you can't send some suggestion should you have some, but... I don't know, I have hard time writting something that doesn't pop up in MY head. And as I stated earlier, I don't have much of a time now... and also, there's HEGHHF... the title really seems terrible when written like this, doesn't it?

Err, anyway, thanks again and have a nice time! See you later!