She's Back

Don't own Kung Fu Panda

"She's a thief, Po!" Tigress exclaimed. Po shook his head as he sighed deeply. Song had just came back to the Valley of Peace and was staying in Po's bedroom down in the valley. Of course, most of the team didn't like the snow leopard staying so near to the Jade Palace. And by most, I mean Tigress.

"She's not a thief anymore, Tigress. She's just staying here to change further, okay? It's not that bad," Po replied as he started to wash the dishes. The team was in the kitchen. Tigress, still angry, stopped Po's hands from cleaning.

"How do you know? It's dangerous having her be around here!" Tigress fumed. Before Po could speak, Monkey talked.

"Come on, Tigress. You're making a big fuss out of this. You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say you're jealous," Monkey joked. Tigress glared menacingly at the monkey. Monkey chuckled nervously. "Just saying."

"Look, I'll just make sure that she doesn't go anywhere near the Jade Palace, and that she doesn't steal anything," Po replied.

"But how do we know that you won't be blinded by affection like last time, or that she won't seduce you into some bad deed," Viper asked worried. Po looked at her with a dead face. The kind of face that Shifu would give if Po messed up. This made Viper slither back. Po looked away from her with the same look on his face.

"We...made a...deal that she wouldn't do that again," Po said emotionlessly. Tigress still was uneasy.

"What makes you sure that she won't betray that deal?" Tigress asked.

"Certain...circumstances," Po replied emotionlessly, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to my father's shop." He quietly exited the room. Tigress started after him, but Viper stopped her.

"Tigress, I wouldn't do that. He seems to be in a bad mood. I wonder why?" Viper said curiously.

"Maybe he's regretting that he didn't take his chance with Song," Mantis suggested, "He seemed pretty upset when you asked, Viper."

"Guys, Po's our friend. We have to at least worry about him," Tigress said a little upset that they didn't seem worried at all.

"We know that, Tigress," Crane answered with a calm head, "But don't you think that you're being a little bit unfair to Song?"

"She was a thief," Tigress said defensively.

"Yes, and didn't the village have problems with you?" Crane said. Tigress looked at the ground for a while. He was right, the village was still cautious around her because they thought she was a monster. Tigress sighed.

"Fine, I won't harm her in any way, if that's what you're worried about," Tigress assured.

"Yes!" the team replied at the same time.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't need to still check up on him," she said leaving the room. Viper sighed.

"This is going to end with them shouting at each other," she said shaking her head. The others agreed with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Tigress went down the mountain of the Jade Palace to spy on Po. Soon she found Po in Mr. Ping's shop serving away tables with Song right beside him. Tigress growled a bit when she saw her. Song smiled widely as she greeted the guests of the shop. Po sat down in the corner of the shop watching Song work. She soon came down right beside him. "Whew, this is some good work," Song said. Po smiled.

"Good to see that you are adjusting to your environment," Po said. Tigress snuck behind them and spied a little closer.

"Thanks Po so much for letting me work here for a while," Song said warmly.

"Nah, think nothing of it," Po said trying to hide his frown, but Song noticed.

"Is something wrong, Po?" Song asked. Po's frown showed.

"Well, I was with the Masters of the Jade Palace," Po said. Song's smile disappeared, "They aren't really the most...excited about your stay."

"I wouldn't blame them. I wouldn't trust me as well. But I guess it is really just Tigress that doesn't like me," Song said.

"Yeah, but how did you know?" Po asked.

"I'm a cat, Po. I know how other felines are about the people they care about," Song smiled resting her hand on Po's paw. Po retracted from her as he looked away from her and had an upset face.

"We are just teammates. Nothing more," Po said bluntly and harshly.

"Are you sure? I mean she seems very fond of you," Song said.

"I'm a lone man, Song. I can't have a relationship. Too much failure. But anyways, it's nothing to be considered or concerned."

"Okay, but just tell me if anything's wrong," Song said. Then Po shrugged and got up.

"Everything's alright. I'm just going through something that I don't know," Po said and then walked up the mountain. Tigress came out of her hiding place. Song saw her and bowed.

"Master Tigress," She said making Tigress turn around, "It's nice to see you."

"Hello," Tigress replied grumbling a little. Song sighed.

"Master Tigress, I know that I've done some horrible things in the past, but can we just bury the cannon? I know that you don't trust me, but I promise that I won't steal anything," Song replied. Tigress looked at Song's outstretched hand. She finally shook it.

"Fine, but don't use any of your tactics to use Po," Tigress warned. Song's eyes lit up in surprise and then she stood back and crossed her arms. "What?"

"Po didn't tell you about the circumstances of our deal, did he?" Song said flatly. Tigress shook her head. Song rolled her eyes. "There's a reason why I can't do that, Tigress. There's also a reason why Po asked me to come here. Why don't you ask him about it?" Song said leaving the tiger alone at the entrance. She decided to go back up the mountain.

At this time, Po was eating dumplings in the Training Hall...again. Moments later Tigress came up. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Po replied with a mouth of dumplings in his mouth before swallowing. "What's wrong?"

"Is there a reason why you didn't tell us that YOU brought Song here?" Tigress said angrily. Po sighed.

"Tigress, she's just staying here for a while. I brought her for a reason." Po replied.

"Why? Why did you bring her here?" Tigress asked still upset.

"She was in need! She's my friend, I have to take of her, don't I? I am the 'Dragon Warrior' after all," Po said starting to get angry.

"Why did you bring her?!" Tigress asked almost jealously.

"WHY DOES IT MATTER?! SHE'S MY FRIEND?!" Po shouted at her. This made Tigress jump back. Po realized he had gone too far.

"Po," Tigress said in a gentler voice, "Please, just tell me about the 'circumstances' of the deal." Po sighed.

"Tigress, Song's married and pregnant. That's why she can't use me or steal. She has a baby to worry about," Po revealed. Tigress gasped. "She's about three months pregnant and I invited her here. To get her mind off on things and get her to relax. Her husband is a Kung Fu front-line fighter.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Tigress asked.

"Because you guys would think I was trying to get some compassion from you. That and she is my friend, Tigress," Po sighed. Tigress's face looked at Po hurt. "What?" Po asked concerned.

"You don't think we're your friends?" Tigress said showing a little sadness. Now Po felt some pangs on his heart strings. He looked away with a bitter face.

"I thought that we were just teammates," he said bitterly. Tigress's ears lowered a bit.

"Po...I...I'm sorry for being the way I was. I was just worried about your safety," Tigress apologized. Po rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm sorry too. About yelling at you," Po said forcing a smile, but Tigress noticed that he was still fidgety.

"Po, there's something else that you're not telling me. What is it?" she asked. Now Po was sweating fiercely. He finally took a deep breath.

"Um...well, I was talking with Shifu, who got this message from the Master's Council of Kung Fu," Po said. Tigress's eyes widen as she feared the worst, "They are seeing that my progress is going well with Shifu. So well that they've offered me to go to the heart of China to help protect the people there."

"You...you're leaving?" Tigress asked in a hushed hurt voice, "Is that why you've really been upset today?" Po could see that she was struggling not to cry.

"Kind of. I mean, if I were to go then I would be able to protect the people over there and-"

"Why?" Tigress interrupted, "Why are you really contemplating about this?" Po sighed.

"Well, it's just that...I don't feel like my place is here. Like I don't belong here anymore." Po said

"Po, what I said when you first came here. I didn't mean-"

"I know that you didn't mean it, but it did get me thinking. I don't feel like I belong not in the Palace or in the village anymore."

"Po, we need you to protect the Valley of Peace. We need you here," Tigress said almost tearfully. Po smiled.

"You guys survived just well without me before. You'll do fine," Po said turning his back towards Tigress. Tigress surprised him by hugging him from behind.

"I need you," Tigress said a little shy, "Who will be there when I need them? Who will help me understand how to be a better warrior? Who will be my fluffy punching bag?" Po laughed when he heard that.

"Well, for the first two you can ask Shifu and the others to help you. The last one you can definitely use Monkey for all the pranks he's pulled on me," he said making Tigress chuckle a little.

"But no one can do it better than you," Tigress whispered sadly. Po was struggling. It was already bad enough that he was planning on leaving and even harder for him to leave his father and Tigress, one of his closest friends. Now his friend was in pain because he was leaving. It hurt him greatly.

"Tigress, I just don't feel like I'm meant to be here." Po said trying to leave her grip. But Tigress held tighter.

"I need you, Po. I know that I don't seem to appreciate you as much but I do," Tigress said.

"Why? Why do you need me so much?" Po asked able to turn around and face her. Tigress was struggling to get it out. Po sighed. "Look Tigress, there's something I need to tell you before I go."

"What is it?" Tigress asked curiously.

"I...I've had a crush on you for the longest and I...um I love you," Po said looking at the ground hearing Tigress gasp. She released her grip on him looking at him, her hands shaking a little. Po looked at her and saw this. He sighed. "It's okay, I knew that you didn't like me back. We're just teammates, right? Sorry to make you upset," Po said about to leave.

"Po wait...I," Tigress said grabbing Po's hand. She couldn't say it. She was so scared about showing her weak side. What if he took advantage of it? But this was Po. He wouldn't even have the idea of take remote advantage of her. But she was still struggling to get it out. Po had hopelessness in his eyes. Tigress panicked when she felt him pull away. Everything seemed to slow down in Tigress's mind. She quickly decided to kiss Po on his lips.

She was still nervous about what Po would say after this. But when she felt him kissing back, all fear, nervousness, and hurt melted away. Tigress thought that showing any type of affection or love would show a sign of weakness. But she desperately didn't want Po to leave. She soon found out that showing weakness to Po was different. It felt like being safe and strong. Tigress felt his hand rub gently behind along her back. She purred into the kiss causing Po to smile into the kiss. When they parted, they were out of breath as they leaned on each other's head.

"Okay," Po said catching his breath, "I think I get the message."

"Good," Tigress said a little giddy. "I love you, too, Po. That's why I don't want you to leave."

"And that's the reason why I'm not," Po said. Tigress face lit up.

"You mean it?" Tigress said hopefully. Po nodded. Tigress had a big smile on her face.

"You have a wonderful smile," Po commented. Tigress blushed a little.

"Thanks, and you have a wonderful heart," Tigress said kissing him again. Meanwhile, Shifu was with the others secretly spying on Tigress and Po. They snuck off while Shifu said.

"Told you she would get him to stay."

THE END

I like this one.