Haven't seen the third movie yet, as it's still not out in the UK, but I was re-watching the second movie and that paralysed look that Tigress got when Po hugged her...it gave me ideas. Enjoy!

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Tigress wasn't sleeping. She wasn't worried about attackers. So far, the trip back from Gongmen City had been perfectly uneventful – a welcome reprieve from the chaos that had been the final battle against Lord Shen's army. The slow bobbing of the water underneath the boat had acted like the rocking of a mother's arms to the rest of the Five, fuelling their exhaustion, and quickly lulling them to slumber. Po was asleep too, of course, though Tigress knew he'd never needed an excuse for a nap.

But Tigress couldn't sleep. Her mind was a-flurry with anxious curiosity. Her arms held each other, as she rubbed her own fur with her paws, up and down, up and down, over and over again, as if she could regain the feeling with the motion. She looked over toward the other side of the boat.

Po's large, furry bulk rose up and down rhythmically, in perfect synchronisation with the light bobbing of the boat. Tigress remembered being surprised when she'd found out that Po didn't snore – the first impressions he had made all those months ago still made her assume that he was far more stereotypically bumbling than he actually was. Of course, after what she'd personally seen him pull off against Lord Shen's weapon, she wouldn't be making such assumptions again in a hurry. Underneath the juvenile manner and the voracious appetite was someone who'd proven themselves to be quick on the uptake and surprisingly wise.

But that wasn't what her mind was fixed on. Her paws went up and down, up and down her body.

Tigress had never been hugged before. Master Shifu was, to all intents and purposes, her adoptive father, and he had always cared for her growth and well-being, just as she had always looked up to his knowledge and strength, but he had always done so in a cold, detached manner that had made considering such affectionate ideas and impossibility. He had become brighter of heart since Tai Lung's defeat, thankfully, but as she'd noticed with his own interactions with Po, he still wasn't one for physical contact.

When she had embraced Po in Gongmen prison, it was the first time she had ever put her arms around someone else in her life. She wasn't surprised that the Five had been dumbstruck.

But that had been nothing. It had seemed necessary at the time. A gesture of sympathy. The sort of thing you do for friends. And importantly, she had been in control.

It was entirely different being hugged by someone else.

Po's arms had been wet and cold, but she'd hardly noticed. As they'd pulled her in, she'd frozen, petrified. She'd felt something that she'd only previously known when she'd fought Tai Lung. When she'd lost.

She'd felt powerless.

And yet, for some reason, it hadn't felt so bad.

She was 'hard-core', as Po put it. She wasn't supposed to feel anything. But she did feel that.

Her paws went up and down, up and down, as she gazed restlessly at the slumbering panda, the boat sailing on in to the night.

…

A week had passed since then. It was midnight, the moon full in the sky. The rest of the five had finished their evening meditation and were sound asleep. Thankfully, they had been granted a small respite from their daily regimen in light of what they'd accomplished in Gongmen. Only for the day, though – none of the Five wanted to go soft.

Tigress stood outside Po's door. Now that she'd got this far, she was petrified, rooted to the spot. She felt like an idiot. She was a warrior, she was 'hard-core', and here she was scared of stepping through the threshold in to someone's room!

She sighed, letting her forehead bump lightly against the paper thin walls. She had to do this. She'd been trying to get her mind off what had happened all week, to no avail. This was the only way she would know. She could do this. She would do this.

With a swift movement of her paw, the paper-thin door slid open. Po slept on a far-too-small mat in the corner of the small room, which was otherwise bare. Unlike the Five, this wasn't because he had given up worldly possessions – Tigress had seen his...'action figures' in person. She smirked slightly as she remembered his attempts to deny ownership of the very skilfully carved model of herself that Mr Ping had been holding.

Lying there, in the dark, he looked so...at peace. Made sense, of course – he had literally achieved 'inner peace' just days ago. Tigress couldn't hold back the creeping feeling of envy. She was strong, fearless, and despite all that he had learned, she still kicked Po's butt in sparring. But it would be a long time before she felt anything resembling peace.

She walked briskly over to where the sleeping panda lay. Then, in a swift movement, she lay down. Her eyes darted from side – if one of the Five did wake up and saw her, she'd never hear the end of it.

Po was laying on his left side as he slept. His face was turned towards her. She could feel his breath lightly tickling the hairs on her head. Trying to make as little noise as possible, she slowly shuffled over, placed a paw over her over Po's limp arm, and ever so gently, hoping that the impression he gave of being a deep sleeper did indeed prove true, dragged it over on top of her chest. The slumbering panda made no indication that he had been roused.

Tigress lay there, stiff as a board, Po's arm draped over her front, nervously glancing at his face. Then she groaned. This was stupid. What exactly did she expect from this?

Abandoning the whole misguided endeavor, she started rising to get up, but almost yelped as Po's arm suddenly yanked her towards him with unexpected strength. Her face was pushed in to his neck as she felt his other arm reach around her back. A red-hot blush warmed her cheeks in response to her feeling of panicked mortification, her breath hitching in her throat. If she just stayed perfectly quiet...Thankfully, Po made no indication of alertness beyond what sounded like very light mumbling in his dreams.

However, it only took a few moments for Tigress mood to calm as she slowly realised that one immediate impression that they had had about Po was very true – he was extremely cuddly. His overconsumption of dumplings made him feel like he was a very large one himself, but a lot warmer. Tigress' eyelids slowly started to fall as her nose twitched in his fur. He smelt of the kitchen, of salt and smoke. She found her paws reaching around Po's large body as she pressed herself further in to his soft chest.

It felt nice. And as the corners of her eyes started to moisten, she realised, it also felt weirdly nostalgic. A tiny smile edged at the corners of her lips. Just as her mind gave in to slumber, it gave out one last, amused thought.

'So much for hardcore...'

...

Hope you enjoyed, and any feedback would be appreciated. :)