'Festival of Love'

There is also a mature version of this story I will be posting, please only read it if you are old enough.

Rated T: Suggested Themes

Enjoy.

"Love is a game two can play, and both can win."- Eva Gabor


Po lay in his bed quietly staring at the ceiling, letting himself wander his mind. All six warriors had been up earlier than normal so that the training for the next day could be accomplished. Master Shifu had promised them all if they were to finish said training then they could have the day off. The Festival of Love was tomorrow, a widely known festival that couples were encouraged to join in on the fun and just as the name describes: it's all about love.

A lot of people around the village had been preparing for this festival all week, and to a lot, it was a very important day. So most of you might be thinking that Po is sitting in his room thinking of how to get a date, and you would be wrong. He already has one.

It was roughly a year after the defeat of Shen when Po gained enough courage to ask Tigress on a date. He knew they had been growing ever closer to each other and Tigress would always confide in him before anyone else, even Shifu. The start of their new found relationship was not a perfect beginning, like all new couples they had their rough patches. The masters at the Jade Palace learned to keep their distance and allow them to grow as a couple, all with Shifu keeping a close eye. But after the initial troubles, it was all smooth sailing from there on.

But that was nearly 16 months ago, and they had never had a problem since. Both panda and tiger were content with each other and both strived to make the relationship meaningful. Tigress was indeed slow on catching up with what it meant to be in a relationship, they didn't even have their first kiss till their fourth date. Po was a little more knowledgeable in the situation due to having one girlfriend in school, but it didn't last long. He knew about 'coupley' stuff, as he would put it, and taught Tigress as much as she wanted to learn. The panda didn't mind waiting for Tigress to feel comfortable enough to show her feelings in certain ways.

Now after all that time, Po had been thinking about something that would catapult their relationship to the next level. He and Tigress had only talked about it once before.

FLASHBACK- FOUR MONTHS AGO

"Hey Tigress, I have a quick question." Po said as he laid down the Bo staffs on the weapon rack. They had been cleaning up the training room after practicing all day.

"Is it about food?" The striped feline replied, replacing one of the wooden warriors she had broken during training.

"Yes… I mean no! But now that you mention it…" Po trailed off.

Tigress shook her head softly; the antics of the bear always seemed to impress her. "What is it Po?"

Po snapped back from his thoughts on food and his face contorted into a look of seriousness, one Tigress normally doesn't see on him "Oh yea… I wanted to know your thoughts on marriage."

Tigress quietly eyed the panda for a moment then opened her mouth to speak. "Well for starters it's a legally binding contract that is recognized throughout the nation of China and the Masters Council saying that you and another person are willing to give everything to each other. Then there is the fact-"

"That's not what I meant Tigress; I meant what are your thoughts on marriage between us?" Po pointed a finger to tigress and back to him.

The female tiger searched her mind for something to say, but nothing was really there. She hadn't really though on the subject before. Some of the others occasionally asked about it, but no conversations ever started.

"I… I have never really thought about it to be honest." Tigress started but noticed a small hurt expression in Po's eyes so Tigress rebound to not make it sound so bad. "Not that I don't see it happening one day."

"But not right now?" Po replied.

"No not it's not that." Tigress stated, knowing she was not making this conversation easy for herself. "But what about the law where you would have to give up your title?"

"I'd give it up for you… any day." Po said, Tigress thought he was just joking around but then she saw it again, the serious gleam in his eyes. Tigress was absolutely floored that Po would give up his Dragon Warrior status so willingly for her. But then she began to look back in the past at everything he did for her, he really did cherish her.

"I love you Po, and I'm so happy to know that you would just drop you title to truly be with me." Tigress walked to Po until she was inches away from him. "But we are in our prime of Kung- Fu and you still have so much to accomplish with your Dragon Warrior name. I would feel guilty knowing you had giving it all up for me. I am really happy with the way we are now. Maybe one day, as the last act of the Dragon Warrior, we can get married."

Po understood her reasoning, after all they were still young and Po had only gotten his title not very long ago. However, he was a little disappointed, but he would never show that to her.

"Ok." Po smiled, which in turn made Tigress smile. "But promise me it will happen one day." Po said holing out his pinky to Tigress.

She looked down to his finger pointed in her direction. She smiled slightly and grasped Po's pinky with hers. "Promise."

One look into her amber cat eyes, Po knew it was a serious promise that she would keep.

Tigress moved in and lightly pecked Po on his lips. "Now let's go get some dinner. I'm sure the others are starving as well."

END FLASHBACK

Po ended his thoughts on that day and wondered if she would still hold to that promise and how strongly she would, especially if he told her the news that he found from Shifu.

FLASHBACK – 3 AND A HALF MONTHS AGO.

"Po, can I speak to you in private?" Shifu asked late at night, before Po had started heading towards his room.

"You're not going to hurt me are you?" Po said eyeing the red panda suspiciously.

The old Grandmaster chuckled deeply inside. "No, no, I have no need to do that… yet. But I do have something to ask you."

"Yeah fire away." Po nodded. Shifu motion with his hand to follow him, a short walk later they found themselves in the Hall of Heroes.

"Do you love my daughter, panda?" Shifu asked without looking at Po.

"Of course, with all my heart." Po said looking at his master who slowly nodded his head.

"Will you protect her with all that you are?" again Shifu questioned looking straight ahead.

"Yes, I will." Po began to wonder why his Master was questioning him like this.

"Will you ever look at another woman like you look at Tigress?"

"No master, she has captured my heart like no other woman can." Po replied "Master? No disrespect or anything, but why are you asking me these… things?"

"To make sure I am making the right…" Shifu pulled a small scroll tied with a golden ribbon, out of his robe. "Decision." He then handed it over to the panda.

Po took the scroll, opened it, and read it. A few minutes later his eyes grew large. The panda looked at Shifu who had a soft smile on his face.

"Is this real?" Po asked astounded. Shifu simply nodded his head. The panda bowed to his master stuffed the scroll into his pocket.

"Do as you see fit, panda, you have my blessings."

END FLASHBACK

The thought of marriage was not the only thing that was on the panda's mind this night as he and Tigress had talked of one thing that made him both excited and nervous for the next day's activities.

FLASHBACK – 2 MONTHS AGO

Tigress had still felt bad about their talk in the training hall, making Po wait for marriage even though it was the right thing to do. But she had gotten an idea that would make Po's wait a little more bearable, the only thing that was personal enough to matter and no one would have to know.

"Panda, are you still awake?" Tigress poked her head through his bedroom door.

"Yeah" he said with his eyes halfway closed.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Tigress asked and saw Po nod his head and motion for her to come in. Shifu usually had strict after hour rules for the each of them, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him … right?

"I still… are you upset with my decision on marrage?"

"No, I could never be upset with your decisions. I trust you as my leader, a friend, and my mate." Po reached out and rubbed his paw against Tigress' cheek. "Plus as long as you keep your promise then we shouldn't have to worry about that." The panda said and laughed a little soon after.

"I know and I will, but besides marriage I want to give you something that will last an eternity."

Po sat up in bed and eyed her curiously as she walked closer to him. "And that would be?"

"I want you to take me. I want to give myself to you in a way that the Masters Council or the Emperor of China doesn't have to know. That way you don't have to give up your title." Tigress said sitting next to him.

Po's eyes widened at the thing that Tigress was suggesting. But then he remembered the scroll that Shifu had given him. However, as he went to reach for it, Tigress continued with what she was saying.

"But I don't want it to be something spontaneous. I want it to be special and on a day we will remember for the rest of our lives." Tigress said taking one of Po's paws. "I want this Po, I've been so serious for all of my life and it's not fun anymore. I want to be with you in body and soul, even if the laws prevent us. We will still wait to get married, but I can still give you myself."

Po thought for a moment, trying to think of something smart to say. "What if… we did it on the day of the Festival of Love? It's only two months away and it's a special day meant for couples."

Tigress turned towards Po and kissed him on the lips. "I think that would be perfect, so special and so full of meaning!" Po could tell she was getting excited, something that normally didn't radiate off her very much, and he liked it. Po frowned a bit and Tigress noticed this.

"What's wrong?" Tigress asked her soon to be mate.

"Nothing much, it's just… I-I have never been with another women in 'that' way, and I just don't know if I will be able to satisfy you." Po blushed a little bit, although it was hard to see in the darkened room.

"That's all?" Tigress eyed Po until he nodded. Tigress then proceeded to kiss him passionately.

"What was that for?" Po asked.

"I thought you were going to tell me that you had already been with another girl." Tigress 'lightly' punched Po's arm causing him to flinch. "This will only make the night even more special between us, seeing as it will be the first time for the both of us."

Po was silently relieved to know he would be her first.

"In two months' time we will be one." Tigress said as she nuzzled her panda, happily chuffing all the while.

As Tigress was content with the decision, Po now had to come up with a new plan. He needed to talk with Viper; he couldn't set his plan in motion without her.

END FLASHBACK

And talk with Viper he did. She helped him set up everything for tomorrow, mostly because she had known the tiger for the longest time and he needed her opinion on certain things. Then the reservations at a nice restaurant needed to be set up along with other necessities.

Po also didn't neglect the other part of the night to be special between him and his tiger. He purchased a few articles on the act they were going to commit. He need to be ready for her, the panda found some scrolls that would help him stay in the 'game' for a longer period of time and also one on different positions that would help the pleasure.

As the panda continued to lie in bed he made sure everything was ready, checking a list inside his head. Once he was satisfied with himself and was sure everything was ready, he allowed himself to drift into dreamland, only dreaming that the next day was going to be perfect.

NEXT MORNING

Po woke up earlier than normal to beat everyone into the kitchen so he could make them all a nice breakfast especially for Tigress. Within an hour, members of the furious five began to wonder into the kitchen for a wonderful smell had brought them there. Po made them all a very hearty breakfast which everyone thanked him for. Tigress was one of the last to join them at the breakfast table. Po proceeded to give her all the baked pastries, fruit, stir-fry, juice, and fried tofu she could want. Most of the items that were made for her were cut and sculpted into heart shaped designs.

Tigress was again very grateful for Po, for him to go to all this just for her made her want to kiss him deeply but she couldn't due to her comrades being around the table enjoying the same meal. So she snuck him a light kiss on his cheek which made him smile.

The rest of the day involved the masters laying around and enjoying themselves, it was a day off and the activities for the festival didn't kick off till later in the day. Po and Tigress had a light training session for a while. Tigress worked on some scroll with defensive type techniques why Po mainly worked on his balance, something he had been meaning to do for a while. Not much was said between the two as they simply enjoyed being around each other and both silently thought about what was going to happen later that night. After training for a little bit, they went to meditate for a couple of hours, again in complete silence.

After nearly wasting the entire day away with each other, Po decided to go freshen up a bit. The sun was starting to lower in the sky and their dinner reservation would be upon them soon. The panda kissed his date and went to the bath house. Tigress did the same but realized she only needed to change out of the clothes she had worn all day. Both had decide that they weren't going to get dressed up for the occasion, mainly because Tigress didn't like putting anything fancy on and Po didn't mind looking at her in her training vests. Actually he preferred it that way.

The two met before the gates of the Jade Palace, Po was still in his patched pants and Tigress was still in her training vest.

"Wow… you're beautiful!" Po said as she walked towards him.

Tigress let a small smile sweep across her face, letting her happiness be known. "I didn't change into anything different."

"And yet, she is still just as pretty." Po said swiftly pulling her into a kiss to which she greatly accepted. "May I take this fine young lady to dinner?" Po asked, offering her his arm. Tigress eyed him sweetly and wrapped her arm around his.

As they started off down the stairs towards the Valley of Peace, Tigress continued to hang off of Po's arm and leaned into him. Po didn't dare look down at her right now, for he would risk tripping and drag them both down the stairs. Although the thought of seeing his girlfriend hanging so scandalously off him was all most too much not to look at. Tigress never did this in public, and hardly ever around the other masters, it was strictly an alone time thing for them. Maybe it was the fact that they agreed to do something so personal later or that everyone in the village was acting so lovely that caused her to show her love much more openly. Whatever it was, Po was excited being able to express his love for her in a public fashion.

They final made it to the restaurant and were quickly escorted to a two person table with candles that were light and flickering in the night sky. Po had already placed their order a head of time so their food didn't take long to arrive. Tigress got a nicer version of her favorite dish, Tofu Stir-fry, but she continued to claim that Po's was better. Po got some sticky dumplings and a Bamboo Stir-fry. They talked lightly while enjoying the meal, talking about kung-fu moves and memories about themselves, but mostly they were happy to be enjoying this moment alone.

After their meal the waiter brought them a personal pastry that closely resembled a cake, as per Po's instructions the waiter set the small desert in front of Tigress who looked from the waiter to Po in a surprised and questioning look.

"What's this Po?"

"It's dessert." Po smiled, then he fake frowned. "But if you don't want it I…"

"No, it's fine. Thanks Po" Tigress smiled then went to take a bite out the pastry and when she did something metallic hit her teeth. She retracted the dessert to see what she had bitten into when she realized that there was something in golden color sticking out of the cake. Tigress fished it out to find a golden ring that said 'Po and Tigress Forever' and there were two gemstones infused into the metal, one Jade and the other, Amber.

"What's this?" Tigress looked up to question him but he was no longer in his seat but on the floor kneeling before her.

"It's a ring, Tigress. I want you to be my wife." Po said taking one of her paws into his own. "Will you marry me?"

Tigress wanted to say yes, after everything he had done for her. But her thoughts suddenly went back to their talk four months prior. "But Po… the law…" Tigress looked at him sadly while clutching onto the ring. That is when Po presented a small scroll with a golden ribbon tied around it, and handed it to Tigress.

Tigress untied the ribbon and unrolled the scroll. After a minute of reading, she looked over to Po. "This is just the law stating you have to give up your title when you marry, I don't understand Po."

"Read the last part."

Tigress looked to the scroll again and this time she saw what Po was talking about and she gasped at what it said.

'As the law states, the Dragon Warrior must give up his or her title upon marring as this would endanger his or her mate. However, there is one way to keep his or her title. If the Masters Council or the Emperor of China recognizes the significant other as a Master and able to handle themselves in various conditions, this law is null and void.'

Then Tigress noticed a signature at the bottom. Tigress looked over to Po. "Is this real?"

Po chuckled a little. "That is the same thing I asked Shifu."

"Wait… Shifu? Where did he get this?" Tigress waved the piece of parchment in Po's direction.

"He told me he has friends in the Forbidden Palace and that I shouldn't worry about it."

"Does that mean…?" Tigress looked at him with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. Po slightly nodded.

"We are free to get married, and I don't have to stop being the Dragon Warrior." Po smiled towards her. Tigress eyed Po happily as she turned to the still kneeling panda.

"Yes… Yes Po I will marry you." Tigress softly said and cupped his face, pulling him into a hot passionate kiss. Their tongues fought each other for a few minutes until they both broke for air.

"I also got you this chain to put the ring on, that way you don't have to wear the ring on her finger but you can wear it around your neck. Plus you can hide it under your vest that way it's not a target for bandits." Po said as stood and put the ring on the golden chain, then proceeded to put the necklace around Tigress' neck.

"You are so thoughtful panda." Tigress said giving him another passionate kiss.

While taking Tigress' paw, Po's eyes did not leave Tigress'. Po paid for their dinner and they exited the restaurant. Tigress let Po lead the way knowing what was going to come next. They kept walking through the village, both walking close as they could with each other. Other couples were walking the streets enjoying themselves and looking at the sights of the village transferred from the love all around. Po eventually stopped bringing Tigress from her thoughts. Tigress realized that they were in front of Po's dad's shop, and she looked to Po for an answer.

"My dad is out of town… I figured we could spend the night here, because the walls are… uh thin… at the palace." Po said and Tigress could clearly tell he was blushing.

"What about Shifu? Won't he notice we are gone?" Tigress asked shooting a hole through Po's plan.

"I already talked to him… I told him we would be late to training tomorrow." Po said his blush getting redder and this time Tigress' cheeks turned a little red.

"Well then… what are we waiting for?" Tigress said walking into the vacant shop. Po watched on as she left his side and walked towards the back of the shop, as he watched her, his gazed lowered. Po couldn't help himself, sometimes he forgot how feminine Tigress really is, but his daydream was torn apart when she looked over her shoulder, calling him to her.

"Are you coming?" Tigress said with a low growl. Po could only smile goofily and nod his head.


-A One-shot that I have had in my head for a while. Pleas R&R. There is a mature version of this story that I posted if you're interested.

Still working on the next chapter for Twists and Turns.

MrSimb593 Over and Out.