Tigress was never one to be playing with anyone; mostly because of her past experiences with the children in the orphanage. But that was 20 years ago, things have changed. And ever since a certain panda dropped from the sky, it changed her and five other's lives forever.
And that certain panda is, Po. The one who broke through the tiger's walls and released all those emotions that she's been keeping hidden from the others and actually started to open up to people. He even convinced her to have some fun for once.
So here they were, in the ironwood grove, chasing each other.
"AAHHH!" Po shrieked, as he was tackled to the ground by a large orange and black blur.
"Told you I can catch you." Tigress smiled triumphantly, while sitting on Po's belly.
Po chuckled,"I already know you can catch me. I was just testing you if you still have some fun left in you."
Tigress got off of him and helped him up.
"Hey, I can have fun." Tigress said.
"Oh yeah, what do you do for fun?" Po asked, anticipating what she's gonna say.
"Train." Tigress answered simply.
"Training isn't fun." Po shook his head.
"You have defeated two of the most dangerous villains and an evil Spirit Warrior, yet you still find training... hard?" she asked as she gave Po a quizzical look.
"Hey, you try running up and down the thousand stairs ten times and see how you like it." Po retorted.
"Don't worry, Po. It'll pay off soon enough." she said.
Po sighed,"Yeah. But, I'll never be as hardcore as you, though." he poked Tigress on her side thus, making her involuntarily jerk back at the sudden contact.
Po was surprised at the action, but suddenly got an idea. He looked at Tigress and grinned mischievously,"I think someone's ticklish."
Tigress looked at Po confusingly, when she got the message she widened her eyes,"Don't you dare."
But Po wasn't listening. Instead, he just moved closer. Before Tigress could run, she was tackled to the ground by the panda. Po attempted to tickle Tigress but was kicked off crashing near a tree.
She ran away as fast as she possibly could. Thinking she made a good distance, she looked behind her and to her astonishment, Po was keeping up the pace even though he's running with two legs instead of four.
Tigress was amazed at how well Po could keep up with her, she guessed it was because of Shifu making Po run up and down the thousand stairs, she looked back again but this time she found no one. She stopped and looked around trying to find Po, where could he be? He was just here a second ago.
Just as she thought Po gave up, she hears the grass rustling in the distance. She squinted her eyes to get a better look and saw a ball of fur coming right at her with increasing speed, her eyes widened at the sudden realization. She collided with the ball; a mix of black, orange and white as they went tumbling in the grass.
Po finally caught Tigress so he didn't waste time as he tickled her sides causing the feline to burst in laughter,"Okay! Okay! Stop! Hahahahaha." she was too weak as she was being tickled. She tried pushing Po's arms but to no avail.
"Po! Stop! Please! I can't breathe!" Tigress pleaded, fortunately for her, Po stopped.
"Now that, was fun!" Po said, as he panted slightly.
Tigress clutched her stomach as she sat up, slightly panting as well,"You can say that again, but do you have to stop until to the point I couldn't breathe?"
Po chuckled,"Hehe, sorry about that. It's probably by the way you laugh."
"What about my laugh?"
"Well... I... er..." Po stammered.
"Spit it out, Po."
"I... think it's cute."
"Oh. Really?" Po nodded,"Well, I guess I can say the same for you." she smiled.
Before Po could speak again, he heard a loud grumble. He looked down to see his belly vibrating. Po glanced at Tigress who was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. He scratched the back of his head,"Heh, all that running takes a lot out of me."
"Now that you mention it; I myself, is hungry as well."
And with that, they went back to the kitchen to get something to eat. They were eating in comfortable silence until Po broke it.
"Hey, er... Tigress?" 'Well, here goes...' he thought to himself
"Yes?" she looked up from her food to see Po nervously twiddling his fingers.
"Um..." he said, as he was searching for confidence,"Would you er… like to go on a date with me?" he asked, as he blushed, looking away.
Tigress just sat there wide eyed as she blushed profusely. Now it's her turn to be nervous as she pondered on what to do.
"I would love to, Po. But…" she sighed.
"But what?"
"I haven't been on a date before." this surprised Po.
"What?" Po asked in disbelief,"Surely a beautiful woman like you has dated someone before." he was confused but also happy that he was the first one to ask the Master Tigress out.
Tigress blushed again,"No, I was so persistent on making Shifu proud that I didn't have time to go out of the valley and socialize, except missions." she explained.
Then Po chuckled,"Looks like you're not the only one."
"Huh?"
"Growing up, I didn't have any friends, I usually got to be made fun of because if my size and my height. Every girl I try to give flowers to either makes fun of me or just plain rejects me." Po said sadly.
Tigress grabbed Po's paw thus, slightly startling the panda,"I will," she smiled,"I may not have the experience for it but I'll try my best."
Just then, Po suddenly pulled Tigress into a bear hug, surprising the feline,"Oh, thank you! Thank you! For giving me a chance."
Tigress laughed as she kissed Po's cheek, shocking the bear.
"So, when do we start?" she said, snapping Po out of his shocked state.
"Does tomorrow night sound good to you?" Po asked.
She pondered for a moment,"Yup." she replied.
After they were done eating, Po cleaned the dishes with Tigress helping him. And with that they retreated back to the barracks to sleep.
Tigress was getting ready to sleep, but not before paying a visit to her snake sister. She waited for Po to start snoring before slightly opening the door and peered through the hallway to see if anyone was still awake. When she found no one, she opened her door fully and walked towards her sister's door and knocked quietly so as to not wake up the others.
"Viper." Tigress whispered, she heard slight rustling on the cot before seeing the silhouette of her snake sister.
Viper opened the door to find Tigress nervously looking left and right,"*Yawn* Tigress? What are you doing so late at night?" Viper asked, her eyes slightly drooping.
"We need to talk, may I come in?" Viper nodded as she slithered away for the feline to enter.
"So, what's this about?"
"Po asked me out." Viper's eyes widened, all her sleep vanished. She was about to scream but Tigress blocked her mouth.
"Really?!" Viper whispered.
"Yes, but I need your help."
"Sure! With what exactly?"
"Surely, you have experience in dating before, right?" Viper blushed but nodded nonetheless,"Can you help me find a dress tomorrow?"
Viper nodded,"Of course, I'll even do your make up." she beamed at her sister.
"Sure, but not too much! I hate that stuff, it makes my fur sticky." Tigress grimaced.
"Okay, is that all?" Tigress nodded,"Okay then, goodnight, Tigress."
"Goodnight, Viper."
And with that, Tigress returned to her quarters and went to sleep.
The next day, Tigress and Viper went down to the valley to find some suitable clothes for Tigress. With Po being the new teacher, he gave the two some time off as he went to go train the remaining members.
The day went by as usual, Po cooking in the afternoon, everyone having a break in the evening.
Finally. Night came by as Po was preparing what to wear on his date. He wore a black suit with gold trimmings and a dragon symbol on its back, black pants and a pair of flat wooden sandals. He even brought some peonies with him as he waited for Tigress in her room.
Po could hear the sounds of the tiger running around her room as she was preparing also though, with slight difficulty. But alas, she finished as Po could see the silhouette of the snake and the tiger approach the door.
The door opened but the one he was expecting didn't come out, instead, it was Viper. Viper cleared her throat as she announced beside the slightly opened door,"And now, I present to you... Master Tigress." the door opened, revealing the beautiful tiger wearing a bright red dress with flower patterns running across it coupled with her purple eye-shadow.
Po gazed at the tiger with utter astonishment his mouth hung open as he stared dreamily at her,"Wow... you look more beautiful than ever!" Tigress blushed by the comment.
Po approached her as he extended his paw,"Shall we?" Tigress grabbed his paw and with that they both went down to the village.
Viper waved them goodbye as she returned to her quarters… but not before saying,"Alright guys, you can stop hiding now." just then the other members appeared.
Monkey and Mantis snickering at their newfound knowledge about the two love birds while Crane smiled sheepishly,"Listen up, and listen well, because I'm not gonna say it again: If I ever find out or catch you guys spying on those two for your jokes, so help me I will literally make you beat yourselves that you won't be training for a few weeks, got it?" Viper glared menacingly at them, trying to make her point very clear. They nodded their heads vigorously,"Good." she smiled as she returned to her room.
Mr. Ping closed the shop early as requested by his son. The goose prepared a special table for them to sit on. As he was cooking the food in the kitchen, he heard footsteps coming from the archway, he looked up to find the two he was expecting. He waddled out of the kitchen to greet them.
"Po! Tigress! There you are." Mr. Ping said happily.
"Hello, Mr. Ping" Tigress greeted him.
Tigress looked around,"Wow."
"Like what you see?"
"Did you do all this?" Tigress gestured to the beautiful designs made for a romantic setting.
"I couldn't have done it without the help of my dad."
"It's beautiful." she commented.
"Yeah, but not as much as the one standing before me." Po grinned.
Tigress blushed as she took her seat opposite to Po.
Their food arrived as they ate while talking; they're getting to know more about themselves. At first, Tigress seemed hesitant but all of the nervousness was gone like it was washed away, once she looked at those jade green eyes, she felt confidence and reassurance as she removed all of the doubts and fears that have been lurking in her mind.
The same goes for Po, his heart was beating fast. Sweat droplets were visible on his forehead as he noticed his entire body was slightly shaking but not too noticeable as far as the eye can see. Anxiety taking over his being as it almost felt like he would pass out. But just as he was about to, he looked at Tigress' face and all of a sudden, he felt a surge of calmness and a sense of determination.
They talked for hours until it was midnight, they decided it's time to go back to the palace. So they thanked Mr. Ping for the food and headed towards the palace.
Tigress was clinging on Po with her head resting on his shoulder as they reached the door to palace. Po opened the door letting Tigress enter first like any other gentleman would. They went to the barracks and walked to their respective rooms, but not before looking at each other.
"Thank you, Po." she smiled,"For giving me something I thought I would never have."
"What's that?" his response was a kiss on the lips. Po was shocked for a moment but recovered as he kissed back. She wrapped her arms on his neck as Po wrapped his on her waist, pulling her closer; deepening the kiss.
Viper suddenly woke up, she hears voices coming from the hallway of the barracks. She got out of her cot and silently went for her door, she slightly opened it and peered through the hallway. There, she saw two silhouettes of a panda and tiger of what looks like to be... kissing? Viper squinted her eyes to see more clearly and in fact, they are kissing! She quickly retreated to her room, eyes wide as her face was red as a rose when she realized what they were doing. She smiled at the new couple and finally went back to bed.
The two stopped kissing as they needed some air.
"Wow..." Po said, breathlessly.
"It's called love." she said, as she smiled at her panda.
"I love you, too." Po said, breaking their embrace.
And with that, the two lovers went to bed with smiles on their faces as they slept blissfully in the night.