Year of the Tiger

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda

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Chapter 2- New

They couldn't help but stare. This was not what they expected to see when they saw Tigress.

Her voice wasn't strong and commanding like it used to be. It was calm and soothing, and more musical than before. She was wearing a soft peach colored dress—a dress!—and finely made sandals. They could smell the perfume on her. It was a gentle blend of plum and wisteria, the same perfume that she had begun wearing four years ago. Her piercing garnet eyes no longer had a sharp and defying shine to them, but instead were praising and understanding.

Mingxia snapped out of it first and rushed to her daughter, hugging her tightly. "Tigress, it's wonderful to see you again! We missed you so much," she said happily, tears building up on her eyelids.

"I missed you too, Mama."

Shan came over next and tilted Tigress' chin up so he could look in her eyes. "What happened to my baby girl? I thought she was coming today, but instead I get this tall, beautiful young woman."

Tigress laughed and hugged him. "Hello, Papa."

Everyone took their turn saying hello to Tigress. "I can't believe how much you've changed in only four years!" Viper exclaimed.

"Well you haven't seemed to change much. And I'm glad—I missed my best friend," Tigress said.

"Whoa, is this the same girl who could hand me my tail any day during training?" Po asked.

"Don't tempt me, Po," she warned playfully. They both laughed. Monkey and Crane both said hello, wrapping her up in long hugs. She got down on one knee and bowed to Master Shifu. "Hello, Master."

He smiled a little. "I should hope that four years of no training hasn't affected your kung fu." Tigress smiled back, as if they were sharing some sort of secret joke. She stood up. She was practically glowing. Then that glow was interrupted when her eyes drifted to the form of her little sister. She stepped around Master Shifu to Clover, who was quietly standing off to the side.

"Clover," Tigress said slowly.

"Tigress."

Both women looked over each other carefully. "You've grown," Tigress observed.

"I'm no longer a child. I'm eighteen years old now," Clover said. Tigress smirked.

"And such a refined young lady. I never would have guessed my little sister could be so proper."

"Time changes people," Clover cited.

Tigress frowned. A heavy, tense silence ran through the air. "Hey, who wants some food? I bet you guys are starving from your long trip," Po said happily, coming in between the sisters.

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry. And I haven't had a decent bowl of noodles since I left. You think you're up to it, buddy?" Dongwa asked happily.

"For my best friend? Always," Po said happily. They both started off towards the kitchen.

"We do have a lot of catching up to do," Meifeng agreed.

"We do! First, you have to tell me where you got Tigress' dress, it's gorgeous!" Mingxia said, rubbing the fabric of the sleeve between her fingers.

"Mama!" Tigress blushed.

"I'm sorry, dear, I just don't get to see you in a dress very often," Mingxia said.

Tigress smiled. "I wanted to look nice."

"Are we going to go eat or not?" Mantis asked.

"You really haven't changed at all, have you Mantis?" Tigress asked.

"Nope! Now let's go get some food!" he exclaimed, hopping off towards the kitchen. Everyone followed, but Tigress caught Clover by the hand.

"Could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked quietly.

"Of course."

They waited until everyone was out of sight. "Clover—I've missed you. Did you get my letters?" Tigress asked.

"Yes. They were a bit dated because we don't get decent mail out here, but I received them," Clover replied.

"I can barely recognize you. You never used to wear dresses, and now you're a beautiful young lady."

"You never used to wear dresses either," Clover noted.

Tigress half smiled. "I never really wore them for the entire time that I was gone. It was just because today was a special occasion."

"Oh."

Tigress looked worried. "What's wrong, Clover? Are… are you upset with something that I did?" she asked.

"A little. Tigress, the you that I used to know would have asked me, 'What the hell is your problem? Why are you being such brat'?"

Tigress put her paws on her hips. "Well, it seems that the refined young lady doesn't have such a refined mouth."

"Tigress, please. I'm a woman now, I can swear as much as I damn well please," Clover snapped. She sighed. "I just… I feel like I lost a sister. You're not acting like you used to. You know, all tough and strong."

"Well, I changed in these past years. And you have too. Look at you, you're more mature, you speak so well, and you've become a beautiful woman. I bet Papa is going insane trying to keep you away from all the men you've probably got at the doorstep," Tigress grinned.

Clover sighed. "Well, there's no one right now. I suppose I'm too mature, and well spoken, and beautiful for my own good."

"Don't say that," Tigress chided softly, taking her hands, "You just haven't found a man who can appreciate everything that you are. And someday, you will."

"Let's face some facts, I'll never have someone like Dongwa is for you. Tigress, he nearly sent himself to death to get you back from the Emperor himself," she insisted.

Tigress smiled softly. "Well, Dongwa… he's just…"

"I get the point. So, has he popped the question? You two have been together for four years, I don't know how much longer I can wait!"

Tigress laughed. "No, he hasn't asked me to marry him yet. But that's alright. I don't think I'm ready to get married yet, anyway," she said quietly, heading towards the smell of vegetables and noodles. Clover caught up with her.

"Tigress, come on! You two are crazy for each other. I say if he hasn't proposed by the end of the month, you cut the cord. This relationship obviously isn't going anywhere."

"I could never do that to him! I love him," Tigress said, mortified.

"Well than let's get this going! You only get to wear the red dress once, and let's face it, you're not getting any younger," Clover said. Tigress glared at her. "What? You know it's true, you're twenty-nine years old!"

"Look, we're getting a little off topic. I promise that I'll turn it down on the girly stuff and try to be myself again. As long as you promise not to mention this whole marriage discussion to anyone. I can think of so many reactions to it, and none are very pleasant for me," Tigress said.

Clover nodded. "Alright. And don't mention the whole insecurities about myself to Dad. He's been bragging about me non-stop to his friends, and if he knew I was insecure, he would make me sit down and give me that talk he used to give us whenever we felt bad about ourselves."

Tigress grinned and hugged her sister. "Now that's the Clover I know and love. Come on, let's go get some noodles." They entered the kitchen.

"There you two are. I was starting to get worried about you," Mingxia said, placing a bowl of ginger slices on the table for tea.

"We were just talking and catching up, Mom. We're both fine, now cuts, no scrapes," Clover teased.

"Well if I recall it correctly, it was you who would come running to me with tears on your cheeks and ask me to kiss it and make it better," Mingxia said. Clover blushed and sat down, not saying a word.

"Oh, I remember when Po used to bang his head off the countertop! He would bawl his eyes out and come running to me!" Mr. Ping exclaimed.

"DAD!" Po yelled.

"I remember that! He was so adorable," Mrs. Ping agreed.

Po hid his face in his hands. "I'm right there with you, Po," Clover muttered. He smiled shyly at her.

Viper winked at her and nodded, her eyes saying, "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" Clover rolled her eyes.

Everyone managed to crowd around the small table. "For you, darling," Dongwa said, putting a bowl down in front of Tigress and leaning to kiss her. Shan, Shifu, and the rest of the men at the table cleared their throats, and he just pecked her cheek.

"Thank you," Tigress said appreciatively.

"Anything for you."

Clover caught her sister's eye and smiled.

"Dongwa, you must be very proud of yourself. A university education is quite an accomplishment," Shifu said.

"Well, it wasn't easy, but it was well worth the toil," Dongwa agreed.

"And what do you plan to do for a living now that you have your diploma?" Shan asked.

"I was going to try and find a teaching job, and maybe someday open my own school."

"Your own school?" Crane asked.

"Yeah. When I was at the university and I would help the others understand the work, it was a really amazing feeling. And by the time I graduated I knew that I wanted to teach others for the rest of my life. It's just one of those things that you just know is meant to be the minute it pops into your mind," Dongwa explained.

"Can't you just imagine that? My boy, a teacher!" Mrs. Ping exclaimed happily. A small frown crossed Meifeng's face, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

"It sounds like you have a good portion of your life planned out," Shifu observed.

"Well, I don't know about that, but I know there's one part of my life that I want secured for good." He turned away from the red panda. "Tigress." He got out of his chair and down on one knee.

"Tigress, I love you and I want to be with you forever. So in front of all our friends and family, and your father and master who will probably kill me after this, will you marry me?"

Tigress sat there, eyes wide. It was completely silent for a few minutes. Clover stood up and slammed her hands down on the table. "Say yes, goddamn it!"

"Clover!" Mingxia scolded.

"Please, Tigress? I don't think I could live without you," Dongwa said, completely ignoring the menagerie of looks from everyone at the table. Tigress' chest was heaving, and she gazed into Dongwa's eyes. A wide grin grew on her face.

"Yes! Yes, Dongwa, I'll marry you!"

She threw her arms around him and crushed their lips together. "How long should we give him until we kill him?" Shan whispered to Shifu.

"I say we give her a day to change her mind, and then if she doesn't, then we kill him," Shifu whispered back.

"Do we really have to wait that long?" Shan asked. Mingxia hit him upside the head.

A/N: Thanks to Luna Goldsun for being my first reviewer! Follow her example and send me your commentary!