This story birthed from some one-shots from Tumblr - I choose the cheesiest one since the weather here is pretty stormy.
Anyways, I hope its good enough, enjoy guys :)
"Thunderstorm"
"Maybe we should've left sooner…" Po huffed a bit trying to catch his breath from keeping up with Tigress.
"We would have, if a certain Dragon Warrior hadn't stop by for a quick snack stop of bean buns the locals offered" She eyed Po humorously quirking an eyebrow up,
"Hey, if they offered, why say no?" Po sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck,
Tigress and Po had left on a duo mission to aid a nearby village with some bandits that went on longer than expected.
The day started out cloudy but they never imagined a storm was brewing nearby. The subtle sound of thunder was distant, as the overcast sky darkened with heavy rain clouds. The storm had caught up to them as they were traveling back home to the Valley of Peace.
Unfortunately for Po they had to keep moving as they were nowhere near any sort of shelter except for the light protection the trees offered, which they maneuvered every minute or so, surprisingly keeping dry -
Before they knew it - it began to pour as lightning crackled across the sky.
Po spotted a tree that held thicker branches to give slighter but better shelter as he made in time, his fur matted and moist but not soaked. He suddenly felt colder than usual as his companion was missing from her usual spot next to him. Po looked frantically around him, calling out to his feline companion, as he saw her from the previous tree they just moved from.
He quirked his head, his emerald eyes squinted from the blurry rainfall seeing Tigress hold a paw out to touch the rain droplets land on her paw pads drip down between her furry fingers.
From what Po remembered, Tigress told him once how she 'felt nothing' after punching iron wood trees for 20 years, was it possible that she really can't… Po's thoughts were interrupted as he gazed at Tigress' features of pensiveness that captivated his attention.
She looked utterly peaceful yet in awe, as if she'd never witnessed rainfall first hand before. He always did like looking at her brilliant vermilion eyes but he had always too shy to look at them for more than a few seconds as Tigress' keen skills would always sense somebody starring at her. Po would awkwardly look at something else if she were to catch him starring too long. With her being distracted by the rainstorm he saw his golden opportunity to finally admire them from the distance he was at.
Although, it wasn't long until she finally met up with Po at the bigger tree.
There was a brief silence until Po's curiosity left his throat,
"We're in the middle of a thunderstorm and you stopped to feel the rain?" He asked innocently, nearing closer to Tigress enough to hear her exhale deeply, the sound of rainfall continued as thunder was heard overhead. It secretly relaxed Tigress.
"It's always good to appreciate the simple pleasures in a moment, it's more rewarding" She replied softly, Po was mostly used to her stern tone and quick orders that made his blood run with adrenaline, however this side of the stoic Tigress was refreshingly soothing, "Kung Fu usually takes up a lot of that…" her eyes casted downwards momentarily in thought before they met Po's unconscious smitten expression.
Embarrassed by her unplanned antics, her soft demeanor hardened,
"We should keep moving. If I'm not mistaken just passing through the small gorge we should be at the Jade Palace no later than an hour." Fortune smiled upon them as she noticed the rain turned into a soft drizzle, the rumble of thunder still ever present.
Po kept quiet to their journey back home, his mind trying to process what just occurred. He wouldn't admit to Tigress more than adoring fan, but seeing this new side of her made him see her a bit differently that made him value her more than her 'nerves of steel' persona.
It was a fact that Po disliked thunderstorms, unaware that Tigress had now made Po appreciate such storms he once feared.
Before long the two warriors strode through the soggy soil. The air became fairly cooler and patter of rain over the leaves dropping into puddles of small pools echoed into ripples reflecting the destined two journeying closely together back home.
It feels weird just doing one-shots. But it is good practice for me to do them, where I don't take a year to come up with one chapter in a story.
I'll definitely make more one-shots based on these two and more :)
Gabzgirl xoxo