It's been a month since it happened. The Jade Palace's servants and masters were in grief as they had lost the Dragon Warrior, their comrade, a friend, brother, a student and a master. Everyone was hurt by the loss of this amazing being, but Tigress was the one who was hurting the most. Memories of her best friend came to her mind, good and bad, as she tried to hold in tears that threatened to escape.
"Why did it happen so soon?" She said full of sorrow and grief.
Viper coiled her body on the striped felines forearm and hugged her "I know you miss him a lot, sister. We all do. But we got to be strong" She looked at Tigress and smiled "He would've wanted us to be strong and keep on going. For him and for our sake" She finally said as she gave the feline one last hug and slithered back down to the floor.
"I know, Viper. It's just that I never got the chance to tell him, that I care for him very much..." She sighed in defeat as a couple of tears escaped.
"Tigress, did you say you cared for him?" She smiled.
"Yes, I did and still do. He won a special place in my heart, one no else will ever take." She stood and cleaned the few tears still on her fur.
"I'm glad to hear that, sister. Why don't you go meditate on the hill where the Sacred Peach tree of Wisdom is? It will help you calm yourself"
"I will do that, thank you, Viper" She hugged her once and made her way to the Peach tree.
It was his favorite place of all the palace. He would often come here to eat peaches when he was nervous or something was bothering him
She took a half lotus position and began meditating. The same memories from before came, but this time, they were stronger. She could hear his voice, his silly jokes, his goofy smile and even smell the food from the kitchen he cooked. Oh, how she missed him. As the memories came, so did the tears, this time, she didn't hold them in. She started to sob until everything went silent. A small breeze came and blew a few petals behind the tiger, where a bulky, black and white figure began to appear. It laid a paw on her shoulder and made her jump into a fighting stance, but froze at seeing the being in front of her.
"Po...?" She said shocked, unable to form any other words.
"Hi there, Ti" He pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back, hearing her sob.
"Everyone missed you... I missed you!" She said between sobs, melting into his hug and nuzzling into his neck fur.
"I missed you too, Tigress"
He pulled her head away and looked into her eyes " I don't have much time here. I gotta go back to the spirit realm with master Oogway... I came back to see you" He choked on the last words. He didn't want to leave
"I'm wanted to see you too, but why?" She put a paw on his cheek, letting it sweep the tears from his eyes.
"I left you without saying something important. I thought I had more time, but seems like I was wrong" he let out a small chuckle and touched her nose with his "I can't leave until these words are said, Ti... I love you and I will always love you"
She started to sob more and more until her words manage to come out "I love you too, my panda!" She manage to give him a small kiss before he spoke his last words
"Remember, I will always be in your heart, in your memories and will always protect you from the spirit realm" He kissed her back and hugged her once more "Master Oogway is waiting, Ti... I love you, my stri-"
A sound of thunder woke him up, panting, sweating and shaking.
"What was that all about?" He was worried "Never thought I'd have this dream in my life... Well, half dream half nightmare... I should talk to Tigress… Maybe this dream meant something, maybe Shifu knows something?" He was concerned about his dream, but nonetheless, fell back to sleep.
The morning gong had awoken everybody and had the Furious Five already in the hall of the barracks. The grandmaster came and vowed to his students "Good morning to you all"
"Good morning, Master" Said all of them in unison.
"Looks like Po is oversleeping. I'll do the honor of waking him up today" an annoyed tone in his voice as he stepped towards and opened the door to the panda's room.
He was awake, but was shaking, worried and looked like something bothered him deeply
"Panda, is everything alright?" Master Shifu said, concern clearly in his voice
"Master... Can we talk for a moment?" The panda didn't try to hide his worry as it was clear in his voice and face.
"Of course. Everyone, go to the training hall and continue practicing your Kung Fu. The Dragon Warrior and I will join you shortly" He turned his gaze to Po "Follow me, Panda"
They went off to the peach tree where a soothing, calm breeze washed away the red pandas stress, as did the morning sun.
"Tell me, Po, what is bothering you?"
"I uh... I had a dream/ nightmare last night and it kinda bothered me" he tapped his fingertips as he got closer to his problem "As the dream went on, I realized that I had passed away and everyone was in grief, specially Tigress..." He stopped, a knot formed in his throat as he went on "Shifu, in that dream I never manage to tell Ti-" he was cut off by Shifu
"You never told Tigress about your feeling for her" the old master smiled warmly and patted the pandas shoulder "Go to her now and do not waste any time, Po"
"Uh... How did you know I was gonna say, Tigress?" He was confused at the master
Shifu chuckled and looked Po in the eye "It was a bit obvious. Besides, you two spend a lot of time together. In missions, sparring, cleaning up and you even meditate together most of the times. Po, you shouldn't worry about what you haven't said in the past, but what can you say now to her. Make today, the present it is" Shifu said while making his way down the hill.
"Master... Thank you" he ran off to the training hall in a blur.
The doors of the training hall blasted open as Po looked for Tigress inside, but to his surprise, she wasn't there.
"Po!" Viper called her friend from the Jade Tortoise
"Hey, guys! Um...do you guys know where Tigress is?" He said hoping they knew where a certain tiger was
"She went to the barracks" said Crane as he gave the panda a smile
"Thanks! Oh and uh... Mantis, Monkey, can you guys please stop teasing me this week... I just want to be sure nothing gets Tigress mad, please?" He asked pleading them to stop for a while
"Don't worry, Big guy! We notice you seemed worried this morning and thought something related to her was bothering you" Mantis said with the most honest tone they've ever hear
"Yeah, Po, we won't tease you. For now," The monkey chuckled and gave the panda a thumb up
"Thanks, guys!" He smiled before leaving
…
She opened the door to the barracks, but turned around, staring at the door in front of her
"What could've happened that bothered him..." She started to walk into her room, but someone caught her in her tracks.
"T...T..Tig... Tigress!" He was panting from all the running he had done
"Po, are you alright?" She was concerned for the panda, but smiled to see he was better than in the morning.
"I...am now" he chuckled as he ended catching his breath "Tigress, can we talk somewhere else? Maybe the peach tree?" He asked his friend with a goofy grin on his maw.
"Of course, Po" She smiled back, a warmth starting to fastened her heartbeat as the two made their way to the peach tree.
They talked on their way, made some silly jokes, trying to lighten up the mood. Po could even swear he hear he laugh a couple times. As they reached their destinations, the Sun was starting to set, casting beautiful colors on the village. Po sat near the cliff and patted the spot next to him, signaling the tiger to sit.
"The village looks so peaceful and the Sunset is beautiful" said the striped feline as she contemplated the while village.
"It is! But that isn't the only reason I wanted to talk to you hear. It's because it kinda calms me when I'm nervous" he chuckled and glanced between the tiger and some peaches "Want one?"
"Thanks" She happily accepted the peach and started to eat "What did you want to talk about, Po?"
"Well...uh I..."no, I'm gonna do this now "I just had something to tell you. Something important" he reached out and grabbed her paw, squeezing it and gently rubbing it with his thumb.
He felt his cheek beginning to blush as he did that " Ever since I was a teen, when I saw you fighting Boar"
"You fell in love with Kung Fu and it was your dream to become a Kung Fu master and live at the Jade Palace, befriend us, I know" She gave him a warm smile
"Yup! But that day, I didn't only fell in love with Kung Fu. I... I- I saw this beautiful tiger running through the village and pick up a scroll behind the noodle shop" He now found himself looking into her amber eyes
"You... You saw me grab the scroll that day? Wait... Beautiful tiger?" She felt sudden heat underneath her cheek as he said that
"Yeah, to both questions!" He chuckled but regained his seriousness "You are beautiful, even if you don't find yourself attractive, Tigress... That day I fell for you"
"Tigress, I love you, more than anything. It's the same love that kept me going in Gongmen when we fought Lord Shen and it's the same one when I fought Kai. You gave me strength. You make me feel different... And good" He felt his whole face turn red as those words where let out
A moment of silence was brought into the pair, only their heartbeat was the only sound. Suddenly he felt a tight squeeze on his paw and a blushed tiger on his side
"Po..." She felt her body get closer to him without her commanding "You know me more than anyone. You've been my strength in many battles and my rock as well" she stopped for a moment to put her thoughts in place "I don't exactly know how it happened, but I'm glad I fell for you as well"
Po was a bit shocked and couldn't believe what he heard "Um... Tigress, did you...just say that you Also fell for me" his blush never left his face, but felt comfortable talking about his feeling to her.
She giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek "Yes, I love you too, Po" she smiled, heartbeat trying to match his own as their muzzles touched and shared a kiss filled with passion, comfort and both beings love.
"This is Awesome!" An excited panda let out "So, does this mean I can start courting you?" He teased her a bit before her answer.
"I would love that, my panda" she gave him another kiss as the two made their way to the barracks, paw in paw.