Leaving

Po had done it. He had finally left the Jade Palace, and left the life of a Kung Fu warrior behind.

The decision had been easy, really. He had simply gotten tired of never being good enough. He had gotten rid of Tai Lung, for Pete's sakes. The 'major bad guy'. You would think that that would have earned him some respect.

Of course not.

Tigress still had nothing but unkind words for him, mocking him openly. It hurt, especially when the others would join in, or burst into laughter, or agree with her. Some of those insults still stuck in his mind, and replayed over and over.

"You may have beaten that traitor, but you are far from earning my respect, Panda."

"Even now, he's just a worthless tub of lard."

"I can't even be bothered to spar with him. It's too pathetic to watch him attempt to fight."

"Master Oogway was wrong. Master Shifu knows, I know, and I'm sure that you know too."

Shifu had still whacked him about the head with that annoying staff, and bitched about how he would never be good enough, how he would never measure up to the standard of the Five. He insinuated that Po's victory had been a fluke, not that Po had really told the truth about winning.

So, two months after his supposed victory, Po packed his things, bluntly told Shifu that he was leaving, and walked down those stairs without looking back. No-one had tried to stop him. No-one even said goodbye. That was all the proof he needed that he was making the right choice.

That had been three years ago. Three years, and they still hadn't said sorry.

He had returned to his father's noodle restaurant, and gotten back to work. Sure, there were murmurings and whisperings, plenty of gossip, but that had all faded over time. Slowly but surely, everyone forgot that Po had ever been the Dragon Warrior. Everyone except for Tai Lung, that is.

Yes, Tai Lung was still alive. Sure, Po had beaten him down, but there had been no real anger behind it. He had willingly handed the snow leopard the scroll, and sympathized when Tai Lung did not understand. Yes, he had given his 'enemy' the Wuxi Finger Hold, but without the intent to kill behind the attack, the other had survived. Half dead, of course, but still hanging on to life.

Then, Po gave him a choice. Leave, or let the Furious Five finish him off. He had left, with surprisingly little complaining, taking the scroll with him. It had been what he came for, after all, so Po had just let him keep it. Sure, Shifu was pissed when Po claimed to have "lost" it, but it felt like the right thing to do.

The old master would probably have had a heart attack if he knew that Tai Lung was still coming to the valley every other week. A brown cloak was his only disguise as he walked into the town, bold as brass, and went straight to Ping's Noodles (open 8am to 7pm Monday thru Saturday, as Mr. Ping would happily tell you). He'd come an hour after closing, usually on Thursdays, and would sit at a table and talk with Po over a bowl of noodles and a couple of dumplings, sometimes for hours on end.

Strangely, Po looked forward to these visits. He watched as Tai Lung changed, becoming less hateful and less bitter each time. They would talk about anything and nothing. They would smile once in a while, or even laugh. Laugh over the idiots that had visited the restaurant and given Po a hard time, or the poor suckers that the leopard had roughed up to keep his existence a secret.

Po had never mentioned it, but when he heard the other male laugh, he felt giddy inside. When he looked into those terrifying (though not so angry anymore) eyes, his heart would jump. He wanted Tai Lung to keep visiting forever, if only so he could keep feeling this way. That feeling… it couldn't be.

Could it?

Tonight, he felt like he was walking on air as he stirred a fresh pot of noodle soup – spicy, just the way the leopard liked it – and glanced over to see if the dumplings were burning. They weren't, of course. Tai Lung would (should) be there in just a few minutes, and Po simply couldn't wait.

As the panda ladled the soup into a couple of massive bowls, there was a tapping on the window. He looked up to see his friend smirking in at him. Po grinned, balancing the bowls and plates on one arm as he opened the door.

"Hey, Tai!" Po greeted the leopard happily.

"You're quite the cheerful one today, Po," Tai Lung responded. "At any rate, I ought to reply. Hello."

Po chuckled at the other's greeting as he made his way over to their usual table, which was in the corner by the wall – the one that separated the shop property from the road. He set down the food, and then sat across from the stronger male. His stomach rumbled, and to his surprise, he heard Tai Lung's stomach growl right back at him.

"Haven't been eating enough lately?" The panda asked.

"When theft is the only way that you can afford to eat, it's hard not to be hungry," the snow leopard replied.

"Aww. Don't be so serious." Po gave a wide grin, hoping to cheer the other up. "Anyways, dig in!"

"I think that I will, thank you." With that, Tai Lung quickly began to devour his dumplings, making Po realize that his friend really was far hungrier than he would admit.

Po waited until the leopard had finished the lot before he spoke again. "Tai," he asked thoughtfully. "Why do you come here?" In all this time, he had never thought to ask.

"Would you rather that I didn't?" Was the amused answer.

Po gave an adorable little pout. "I didn't mean that. I was just wondering why you… why you do this." He finished lamely.

"I started to 'do this'," Tai Lung began, "because I respected your strength and wanted to understand more about the warrior that let me live. By all rights, I should have been dead." He sighed. "Nowadays, I come here for the free meal."

Seeing Po's hurt expression, he backtracked. "Not just that, you understand. This is the only place where I don't have to steal, or hide, or run." Suddenly, he gave his friend a small smirk. "There's also the intelligent conversation, of course."

"Hey!" The panda yelped, spraying bits of dumpling across the table.

"Kidding," he chuckled, before taking a mouthful of noodle soup and giving a satisfied hum.

"Spicy enough? I wasn't sure-" Po began, but Tai Lung cut him off.

"It's perfect."

"P-perfect?" Po stuttered, his cheeks turning pink. For some reason, hearing this praise from his friend, who never seemed to think that anything was quite good enough, made him feel exited and embarrassed and hopeful all at once.

"You heard me," the leopard replied, grinning toothily.

Po gave that silly, lopsided smile of his, and began eating from his own bowl of noodles. He did not notice Tai Lung's eyes watching him closely, scanning every part of him as if looking for a flaw. Finally, the leopard went back to his soup, pleased with what he had seen.

They ate the noodles quietly, not speaking or even looking up, which was unusual for both parties. Then, finishing their meal at almost the exact same time, both animals glanced up, meeting each other's eyes. They stared for a moment, Tai Lung almost glaring into Po's innocent green eyes as they both tried not to blush.

The moment ended when the leopard spoke, gesturing to the empty bowl. "Each time that I come here, Po, I swear that you give me a larger serving than last time." His hand rested on his comfortably full stomach, and he gave a satisfied sigh. "Though that's hardly something to complain about."

"First time that you've been full in a few days, right?" The panda grinned.

"This is the first hot meal I've had in ten days, never mind actually being full."

Po's face fell at Tai Lung's words. He looked guiltily down at his round stomach, which had only gotten larger since he had left the Jade Palace lifestyle behind him. "I guess I don't really know what that's like," he said, his voice much less cheerful than it had been.

The leopard gave a cold laugh. "Believe me, you're fortunate not to know, panda," he snapped.

Po winced. "I'm sorry, Tai. I didn't mean to be a jerk when I said that. It just sorta came out wrong."

Tai Lung took in the panda's apologetic smile and sighed. "I'm aware that you didn't mean it. My temper is-"

"Part of what makes you who you are!" Po blurted out, before the leopard could finish. "Part of the reason why I-" He bit down on his lip.

"Yes?" The feline asked, amused.

"I-I don't know how to tell you this." The panda was stuttering again.

"Tell me what?" Tai Lung's tone was curious.

"Would you kill me if I told you…?" Po trailed off again.

"Told me what?" A bit of impatience.

The panda took a deep breath. "I think I kind of might be falling in love with someone, and it sort of may possibly be you." The words tumbled out all at once.

Tai Lung's yellow eyes widened. He was too stunned to speak. As he tried to find the right words, he watched Po's face turn red; a red so bright that it looked like it might start glowing. As the seconds went by, the panda slumped down lower and lower, and then hid his face in his paws.

The leopard began to hear angry whispers. Po was cussing himself out.

"Why did I have to say that? What was I thinking? I'm just some stupid worthless fat bear. Now he knows! Argh! Stupid, stupid idiot! Am I nuts or something? Now he knows I'm some sort of freak!"

The snow leopard made up his mind. "Po."

The panda didn't look up, still muttering. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"Po." Tai Lung's voice was louder now.

"…Yes?" Po asked sadly, peeking through his fingers.

"I wouldn't say that you were 'some sort of freak', nor would I say that you're stupid," the feline said firmly.

"Then what would you say?" Po wondered. "That I'm worthless and totally nuts?"

"No." The other male's tone softened. "I would say that feel the exact same way that you do."

"What?" Po squeaked, startled.

"I love you."

Po's first reaction to his friend's statement was complete shock. "Really?" He exclaimed.

Tai Lung reached a paw across the table towards the panda, and Po obliged, reaching out and holding it with his own. Po was truly glowing now – his blush was so amazingly bright – but nothing was as bright as his huge smile.

"I really do, Po. Really." The snow leopard had never been so serious in his life. Then, his curiosity piqued. "How long have you felt this way?"

"I really don't know. I guess I've always felt it, but I just didn't know what it was. A sort of weird feeling like I was floating or something. Weird, but in a good way. I should have known, though. I mean how could I not go for you? You're a total badass."

The panda suddenly stopped talking, embarrassed. "So, what about you? When did you, you know, start feeling it?"

"I realized my feelings the day we met. When we began our battle I still had my doubts, until you punched me so damn hard that I crashed through that wall." Tai Lung chuckled at the memory.

"Heh. Sorry about that." The panda look more than a little guilty.

"Don't be. Anyway, you nearly broke my spine doing that, and it proved to me that you were strong enough to be the one that I loved. Then I just allowed myself to accept how I felt."

Po was shocked. "You mean all this time, all these years, and you didn't say anything? Why not?"

Tai Lung turned away the question with a wave of his paw. "That's in the past. Now is what matters."

He stood, pulling Po to his feet. Still holding the panda's hand, he led him away from the table.

"Where are we going? The dishes are-"

The snow leopard cut him off with a growl. "I've waited long enough for this. Just shut up and kiss me."

Po happily looped his broad arms around Tai Lung's waist, drawing the other several inches into his soft stomach. Then he did as he was told, pressing their lips together in a chaste, gentle kiss. Neither tried to move faster or push further. They simply shared a kiss – their first kiss – in the middle of the restaurant courtyard.

The pale moon shone down approvingly upon them, and for a moment the universe was at peace.

FIN