Oh, boy. Too much stuff going on.
But you know what? Fuck it. I got this idea, and so I decided to write it. Blame it all on my relentless listening to songs from West Side Story for the past week.
Or probably not. See, last Monday, a very awesome someone turned 33 years of age. Yep, I'm talking about nievelion, author of A Different Lesson. So I thought up of this cute little oneshot with Po and nievelion's character Wu Jia. Take West Side Story, and you've got a winner. I hope.
Yep. So, disclaimers. Kung Fu Panda, its characters, and the Valley of Peace do not belong to me. Those are property of Dreamworks entertainment. Wu Jia is not mine either. She belongs to nievelion (A.K.A. Terry McNamee). And One Hand, One Heart, as much as I would love to own it, is not by me. It's from West Side Story, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (A.K.A. master librettist extraordinaire).
Anyways, enough talk. I'll go ahead and present you with a oneshot now. Enjoy!
One Hand, One Heart
Life had been a little hectic in the Valley of Peace. Between cleaning up after the now finished New Years festival, teaching youngsters the basics of kung fu, and the return of Crane, Mei Ling, and Wu Jia from a rather long quest of self-fulfillment, Po pretty much had his hands full. It didn't really help that he was the one that did almost all of the cooking in the Jade Palace now that he inhabited it.
So when Jia had asked him to come and buy some new clothes with her, he had been only too glad to accept the proposition, if only to get away from responsibility for the most undeniably brief period of time possible.
And so, Po and Jia had left the Jade Palace in the middle of the day. Any other time it would have been uncalled for that Po would leave the palace without telling anybody, but since everybody was in a relatively happy mood (yes, even Tigress was considerably happy for once), things would have been all right with that. What was not all right was how damn cold it was in the Valley of Peace in that time of year.
And so, Po lumbered around in what he suddenly realized was two layers too many as Jia bounced glibly along. Looking down at Jia he tried to smile. Jia looked over at Po, her eyes darting from somewhere else for the slightest moment.
Blinking, the panda looked a Jia. "Were ya lookin' at my body again?" he asked.
The Wu sister giggled gently, a paw coming to her muzzle as she did. "I can't help it!" she said. "I've got an attractive panda for a boyfriend!"
Blushing slightly and thankful that the fur on his cheeks was able to hide said blush, Po glanced to the side. "I dunno..." he said. "Anyways, why are we goin' to the shop again?"
"'Cause this is the best time to go shopping for clothes!" she said. "Don't you know?"
Po rubbed the back of his head uncertainly as he heard this. "I dunno," he said. "I've always been so busy cookin' the meals on certain days that I never took the time ta look at it that way..."
The snow leopard shrugged. "Well, usually this is when the prices on all that are lowest," she said. "I guess you just needed to get out on the town sometime, eh, handsome?"
Po nodded as he crossed his arms in front of him. "I guess," he replied. "But I can't help but think that ya're up ta somethin'..."
"Maybe I am," replied Jia playfully. "Not in the old sense of 'I'm up to something', but still..."
Po stopped in his tracks, looking at the snow leopard as something clicked in his mind.
"Ya mean... This is a date?" he asked.
"Yep, handsome!" replied the Wu sister in a voice too bubbly for Po's sanity. "I wanna see you in something that fits your frame more! And you never know how much fun you can have in there anyway."
"Right..." said Po, bringing his hands forward and twiddling his fingers in his nervousness. "I guess this means ya're not gonna let me go back?"
"'Course not," said Jia, crossing her arms. "Besides, you've had too much to do, so this could probably do you some good. We loiter in the shop for an hour, we do stuff, and we refresh you. After all, we can't have you lumbering around with too much work, can we?"
"That's... true..." replied Po. "Honestly... I thought I--"
Wu Jia shook her head, her finger joining in the action as she looked at Po. "I'm a cat, I can read your expressions," she said, winking. "So it's ot so much of a problem really."
The panda nodded, gesturing to Jia. "I like ya for that," he said. "Thanks for lookin' out for me."
"No problem," said the former assassin cheerfully. "Now, let's get down to the cloth shop. I really do want to see you in... other clothes..." The last two words were said almost suggestively.
This time, his blush was so strong it showed through his fur and probably would have presented it to Shifu if it wasn't for the fact that Po had bent down in his embarassment.
"J-Jia!"
After a few more minutes of Po hearing what he honestly thought were double-entendres by that point, the two of them had arrived at the cloth shop. Jia and the shopkeeper had exchanged a few customary words of greeting, and then Po and Jia were wondering the shop, looking at various kinds of clothes in the rather small establishment. Looking around, Jia seemed to pick up on a few items of clothing that she had picked up off a few shelves.
"How do you think this would look?" asked the Wu sister as she held a dress in front of her. Purple silk was seen flowing down the snow leopard's body, and Po gave it a quick glance. Purple seemed to compliment her violet eyes, and even though it was not fitted around her he could not help but think that the dress suited her perfectly.
"It would suit ya for formal events," he said. "It... It looks real lovely on ya."
Jia smiled as she curled the dress over her arm carefully. "Okay," she said. "Have you found anything yet?"
"Not really," replied Po, waving his arms in the air. "Ya know how I am."
"Hm..." The Wu sister rubbed her chin in thought.
Her violet eyes darted across the shelves, looking at a few stray articles of clothes. Going over to a shelf, she scanned some clothes. Seeing something, she grabbed it from the shelf and held it out to Po to reveal a silk vest made of a brown dye with dragon patterns sewn in with gold thread (or at the least, a cheap imitation of it).
"Try this," she offered.
Gingerly, Po took the vest in his hands. He looked it over briefly before slinging one end over his large shoulders. Eventually, the panda had gotten the vest onto his shoulders, and so he turned to Jia to ask how it looked.
The leopardess apparently had the same mindset, though, for then she looked over Po, smiling. "Exactly as I thought," she said. "Attractive as always."
The panda nodded, feeling a little flustered deep inside. "Thanks," he said. "I guess. How'd ya know this was gonna work with me anyway?"
"It looked like something your father might wear..." said Jia, sounding slightly more somber than usual.
At this, the panda shrugged, taking the vest off. "Nah, it's cool," he said. "I've gotten over that whole thing with how he was a criminal and all... I wonder what he'd say now..."
Jia rubbed her chin. "Well, he didn't really like Xiu all that much, but I guess he kinda liked me..."
Po smirked softly as he pulled out a red vest from a shelf behind him. As he draped the brown vest over himself, he looked at the red vest, almost visualizing something of what his father might look like. Nodding his head a couple of times to the side, he then turned to Jia.
"I think he's happy for me, yeah," he said.
Jia giggled. "He probably would."
The panda smiled at the snow leopardess, and then looking at the vest he had pulled out, he turned to Jia. "And I wonder... What would your mother say?"
At this, the Wu sister had gotten out a black dress. Looking down at it, she frowned slightly.
"She doesn't have an opinion," she replied. "She's too busy giving out Xiu's punishment right now."
Po chuckled at this, facing the black dress and frowning slightly at it. "Stop beatin' your oldest girl and tell Jia if our love is cool!"
A short silence took over the air as Jia gestured to the dress with her head. After a few seconds, she faced Po, gleaming smile on her teeth as she did. "She says yes."
The panda pumped his fist in victory, and then turned to see what else they could think of.
"Hm..." said Po. "I wonder what everyone else would say..."
"Well, we know Tigress is gonna be glad," replied Jia, crossing her arms in front of her. "If I have to explain why..."
"Nah, ya don't," replied Po, looking around. His hand darted into a cubby and took out a very small robe, grinning at Jia. The robe was not made to fit a larger creature, and so the Wu sister looked at it, trying to figure out which parent to fit into the picture.
"Spiritual or paternal?" asked Jia, seeming to get the panda's drift.
"Shifu," he replied. "Whichever one that is."
Jia grinned then. "Spiritual," she replied, facing him. Po held the robe out at a distance, nodding his head a few times.
"He says yeah," said the panda. "And... Wait, this sounds like we're askin' people if we can get married..."
It was Jia's turn to be a little flustered at this as a soft blush showed through her spotted fur. However, this quickly passed, for she then got an outrageous idea and raised a finger.
"Then let's continue on that subject," said Jia, holding out a headdress. "Maid of honor?"
Po reached into a shelf and pulled out a rather long robe made for somebody of his size. "Best man," he said.
Quickly, Jia and Po arranged some of the clothes so that they were supported against two rows of shelves that faced each other. The panda arranged most of his clothes there, Jia ducking the black dress back into the cubby before getting to hers. When they had put up various other clothes there, they both nodded.
"Heyo, Tai Lung," said Po to the longer robe. "Looks like we're all joinin' the wagon here."
"Now you see, Tigress?" asked Jia to a red dress she had taken out. "There's nothing to worry about with Tai-Tai, m'kay?"
The two of them turned to each other, Po raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. "Last I checked, Tigress didn't seem like maid of honor stuff ta me..."
The former assassin held her paw up, holding a rather ornate shirt of white silk. "That's why Mei Ling is my maid of honor," she replied, smiling.
"Ah." Po nodded at this, looking down at the shirt symbolizing the mountain cat.
Jia nodded. Something came across her mind at that point, however, and so she gasped softly. "Wait, who's gonna do the wedding feast if you're the one that's getting married?" asked Jia quickly.
But Po was one step ahead of her, for then his hand darted into a cubby and pulled out another robe meant for a smaller person. Holding it out in front of him, he nodded and turned to Jia.
"Well, every great chef's gotta learn from someone, right?" he asked. "After all, my dad said he would love to make my wedding feast eventually."
Knowing that Po had referred to Ping with this, Jia giggled as he set that robe to the side. Seeing that the vest that had represented his father was sitting by Shifu's robe, however, Jia rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Say," she said. "If you're father's here, how do you plan on getting him out?"
Po shrugged. "It's a fake wedding," he said. "It doesn't have ta be totally real."
Grabbing a dress from the other side of the room, Jia walked over to Po and set the dress next to the vest. "Then don't forget about your mother," she replied. "I don't think she'd want to miss ut on something either."
Po nodded, looking at the people on his side of the isle. However, he turned to Jia and saw that she hadn't put any of her immediate family up on the shelf. "And what about yours?" he asked.
The snow leopardess shook her head. "Wouldn't want them to," she replied. "Especially not Xiu."
"That's true," said Po, picking up the headdress. "What about the Furious Five, though?"
Leopardess and panda both exchanged glances, and suddenly Po had turned, picking out two pairs of pants from his side as Jia set the headdress and a small stick to the side. Po set the two pairs of pants down there as well, and the two of them looked over. Grinning mischievously, however, Jia grabbed the shirt representing Mei Ling and suddenly brought the shirt over to one of the pairs of pants that Po had picked out.
"Whoah, since when did Mei Ling take an interest with Monkey?" asked Po, wincing slightly.
Her ears going erect, Jia visibly stiffened before scooting over to the other pair of pants. Patting the pants that she had mistakenly forced Mei Ling's shirt to come in contact with, she grinned embarassedly.
"Sorry, Monkey," she said carefully.
With this, she brought the shirt down on the pair of pants representing Crane, and then Jia and Po both giggled.
"Aw, gettin' all mushy before our wedding?" asked Po to the pants. "Don't worry, Crane, you'll get yer chance."
"I dunno what Mantis and Monkey would think of this..." said Jia.
Nodding, the panda turned to the snow leopardess and nodded. "They're happy," he said. "It's hard not ta be happy right now."
Jia nodded, looking at Po. "What about Emperor Chen?" she asked.
Po nodded, grabbing a different robe from his end of the isle. "If ya want him here," he said with a broad smile on his face.
Jia giggled as he set the robe towards the back of his side. When he was done, the Dragon Warrior rubbed his hands together, admiring his handiwork with a broad smile on his face.
"Right," he said. "Looks a little crowded for a wedding, I'll be honest..."
And suddenly, all went rather quiet between the two of them. Jia and Po just looked at each other briefly, their fun smiles dissolving from their faces as they suddenly realized how serious the entire set-up seemed. Looking around them, the two of them carefully nudged up against each other, looking in front of them earnestly.
Make of our hands, one hand,
Make of our hearts, one heart,
Make of our vows, one last vow,
Only death will part us now.
The two of them were silent as they moved forward slightly, looking down at the ground where no doubt an altor stood. hey both bowed down, Po speaking softly.
"Ancestors, we thank ya for this day," he said.
"May the lineage continue?" asked Jia.
"I guess," he said.
Make of our lives, one life,
Day after day, one life.
The snow leopardess nodded. "I also pay tribute to Heaven and Earth," she said. "Thank you for this day."
"Tsao-Chün, I also wanna thank ya," added Po. "For everything, Jia, especially."
Here, Jia held out her hands with what the panda assumed was an imaginary tea tray. Walking slowly to the parents, she nodded. "I offer you this tea," she said softly, glancing at the figures of Po's parents with a very loving shine in her eyes.
Now it begins, now we start
One hand, one heart
Even death won't part us now.
And then snow leopardess and panda turned to each other. As Po clasped his hand in Jia's, the two of them bowed to each other, their foreheads touching each other tenderly as they stayed in this position for a brief period of time, the panda gently holding Jia's hand as they held this position.
Make of our lives, one life,
Day after day, one life,
Now it begins, now we start,
One hand, one heart,
Even death won't part us now.
When they stood back up, the two of them nodded to each other. Po leaned forward and lightly planted a kiss on Jia's forehead, which the snow leopardess was only too glad to accept. It lasted for a few seconds before they parted, looking at each other longingly.
Finally, they were snapped out of their stupor when they noticed the clothes around them that they had arrayed. Blushing, Jia turned around and Po looked at all the clothes.
"We oughta put all this stuff back before we head to the nuptial chamber," said Po.
"That we should," said Jia.
And so they went to putting all of the discarded articles of clothing back in their places, hoping nobody had noticed their brief reverie.
Fin
A/N: Yep, so that was the oneshot. Improbable, slightly anachronistic, and overall too mushy, but still, it's the thought that counts, right?
With that, I have but one thing to say to nievelion:
Happy birthday to you!
You live in a zoo!
You write really well,
You're really awesome too. XD
-Herr Wozzeck