Hey guys, here's Chapter 2! It's kinda long - hope you guys like it! I'm going to make this a long story, starting from when they first realize their feelings for each other, until they are old. Hope y'all enjoy - gonna try to keep it interesting for ya...
*In Training Hall*
After Shifu and Po had left, Tigress resumed her training, hitting the swinging arms while deep in her thoughts.
"Why am I feeling so... warm... it felt kind of nice when he hugged me at the harbor… I felt warm and safe inside when he held my paw, my cheeks started to get hot… I mean, I almost lost my best friend; I do care about him, have for a long time - since Tai Lung. And we have gotten pretty close recently. I guess the incident with Shen made me realize how much I really care about him."Tigress thought to herself her cheeks warming up again.
Tigress kept training, still thinking to herself about Po and how much he's changed in the months he's been at the Jade Palace. She stopped training when she remembered how rudely she had treated him when he first arrived. She still felt bad about this, but then she remembered all the mission adventures they had together; he had always been by her side no matter what, and he'd shown in his actions that he had forgiven her – even if she had never apologized.
"He has changed a lot, hasn't he? I hope he doesn't change his big golden heart." She smiled and giggled a little, not noticing her own reaction to these thoughts. "I mean he has the cutest, warmest smile I've ever seen and those jade eyes of his! OH GODS...WHAT AM I THINKING?!" she thought, eyes widening as she shook her head at what had just ran through her head.
"C'mon Po's my best friend but I don't like him like that...or do I?"she asked, questioning this but the more she thought about it... it started to make sense as her heart began to race.
Tigress then started to realize what she was feeling for Po even before Gongmen was more than friendship, admiration, or anything else she felt before. She found herself smiling at him more, and when he smiled back, she felt her heart flutter. She didn't just care for him as a friend, but she realized she cared for him deeply from the heart. It pained her - the thought of losing him - especially after Gongmen City. Her eyes widened as the realization hit her.
"I'm i-in love...w-with Po." she whispered to herself, feeling her cheeks warm up again and heart beat faster than normal as an unusual warmth began to spread all over her.
At first, Tigress wasn't sure if she should follow through with her feelings because she thought being in love would get in the way of her training. Tigress then felt selfish the very second after thinking that! Then she remembered when she realized, with the help of Po, that there was more to life than just Kung Fu. She smiled at the memory, and mentally beat herself up for only thinking of herself and Kung Fu. An inner voice encouraged her saying that her abilities would be just as strong - if not stronger - with someone special in her life; that love would just pull everyone together. Ignoring it would be the worst decision of her life, and it would throw away her one shot of true happiness: the love and inner peace that she thought she could never achieve due to the pain from her past at the orphanage. The memory was painful.
*Tigress' Flashback*
"Tigress you're a monster! Nothing but a monster!" said the kids of the orphanage mocking and teasing.
"No, I'm not! I just wanna play." said the young Tigress who was now in tears bawling.
"Aww is the little monster crying?" the kids mocked at the young tiger cub.
Tigress screamed and pushed them over and ran to her room and cried into her pillow. She just wanted a friend, but no one was there for her. This hurt her deeply… all she ever wanted was love.
*End of Tigress' flashback*
"Nooo!" Tigress shouted at the memory, tears that she couldn't help began rolling down her cheeks and into her fur as she sobbed softly for the first time in a long time.
Tigress was not going let this opportunity slip by her, much less ignore it. She was done being cold-hearted and overly hardcore; now that side of herself would only come out in combat. Somehow, she had to tell Po her feelings that she had for him. It couldn't be done in front of the others; it had to be at the right time and place, and they had to be totally alone.
Tigress wiped the tears from her eyes with her paw, and for once in her life let her heart feel something; she was starting to let the hardness melt away, as it had been doing for some time now, thanks to Po. She then left the training hall to see if Po and Shifu were finished talking.
Tigress came to the Hall of Heroes, and overheard Shifu and Po still talking on the roof. The tiger, clever as she was, decided to listen in.
*With Po and Shifu on the roof's edge*
"...why didn't you pursue her and tell her your feelings?" Tigress heard Shifu ask Po.
She heard him sigh deeply and then began.
"Because I don't think Tigress would ever feel the same way; I thought she would only see me as a friend..." Po said, and paused before continuing.
"Besides, how could she ever love me?" Po added, getting angry with himself. "I'm just a big, fat, stupid panda who always screws up and makes her mad - I'm just a big loser; I don't deserve someone as amazing, insanely awesome and gorgeous as her." Po said sadly before continuing on.
"Any guy would be lucky enough to have a conversation with her; I don't think I'm good enough for her." Po said, dropping his head.
When Tigress heard this, she was shocked, her mouth dropped open and tears ran down her face as she thought to herself:
"He feels the same way? Why does he see himself so poorly? Sure, he messes up sometimes, but so do we all. I could never stay mad at him; he's always so kind and sweet, especially to me. And I don't just see him as a friend - I see him as way more than that now. He's not stupid nor a loser; he's really clever, smart, and resourceful. He's not fat either, I think he's... really fluffy and cute. I'm going to tell him; I have to." Tigress thought with a blush as she wiped away the tears with the back of her paw. She knew then she had to tell him soon, so she continued to listen in...
"Do you really believe that Po? I think you're good enough for her - no one cares for her like you do. And you're not stupid Po, I've watched your progress over the months you've been here. We all make mistakes, you know. By the way, you're supposed to be a little big, after all - you're a panda; if you weren't, there would be something wrong with you." Shifu said encouragingly with a smile, giving his arm a punch.
"Thanks Master Shifu. I'll try to remember what you said." Po said, still unconvinced but a little less sad.
"Good, then I guess I'll let you and Tigress continue your training." Shifu said, getting up. Po did the same and followed him off the roof; before they got down, Shifu turned and said:
"Po, please keep my daughter safe, show her the love and care I never did that I should have." Shifu said with regret and shame at the last part.
"Yes, Master Shifu. I promise you I will." Po said, bowing fist-in-palm.
"Thanks, Po." Shifu said as they both got down from the roof.
Tigress heard them coming and wiped away the rest of her tears, hiding behind a pillar as she composed herself.
Shifu went to the peach tree to meditate, while Po started back to the Training Hall. He came to the Hall of Heroes, and Tigress heard him coming. Her heart was pounding in her chest after all she heard, and she knew what to do later.
Tigress casually stepped out from behind the pillar with a warm smile on her face. Love was radiating from her being, as her heart that was once cold and hard and overly hardcore was now full of warmth and love. She had finally obtained the thing she had so badly desired her whole life.
"Hey Ti, is everything alright?" Po asked, his signature smile returning.
"Uhhh... Everything is fine Po, I just missed my friend. I wanted to see if you and Shifu were finished talking." she said, still smiling and cheeks warming up.
"Oh yeah we're finished; it went ok… I'm not in trouble, if that's what you're asking." Po stated plainly but with a blush, remembering he had told Shifu about his feelings for the tiger.
"Good, now can we finish where we left off?" Tigress asked curiously with her normal expression and her striped tail curled up behind her.
"Of course!" Po said happily and followed Tigress back to the Training Hall, where they resumed their various training routines.
Neither spoke a word to each other, as they were both were deep in their thoughts. Tigress would steal glances at him and smile and blush and the panda and he would do the same.
They trained until almost dinnertime, with breaks of course, because Po got winded easily. After they had trained enough the two sat down together and played some checkers, one of Tigress's favorite games to play with Po and spend time with the panda she loved. The two played other games as well but this and one other was Tigress favorites. For the first time in a long time when they became friends, Tigress was having fun and she found herself smiling and laughing around him - spending all the time she could with the goofy, adorable and joke-cracking panda. Now she realized she had fallen deeply for him and it was the best feeling - to fall in love with her best friend.
After playing almost ten games straight, the two stopped playing with Tigress winning most of the games and Po quite a few. Tigress wanted to play her favorite game, but it was almost time for dinner and Po always cooked for them and his meals were the best Tigress had ever eaten in years. And truth be told the tiger didn't like missing a single meal Po made.
By the time Po started to make dinner, the rest of the Five had returned, chatting about their day. Po was still deep in his thoughts thinking about his talk with Shifu, wondering if Tigress could ever love him back.
"Order up!" Po said, giving each of the now seated Five a bowl of noodles, and Tigress her favorite noodles with bits of tofu in them.
"Thanks, Buddy!" Monkey said, digging in happily.
"Thanks, Po!" Crane and Mantis said in unison
"Thanks brother, you're the best!" Viper said as she swallowed the noodles whole. (Yes, she can do this lol.)
"Thanks, Po." Tigress said warmly before digging in, eating her favorite noodles. Still deep in her thoughts, planning out how she would confess her feelings and to tell Po he was wrong to think so harshly of himself.
"You're welcome, you guys! Hope you enjoy." Po said, sitting down and eating with them.
When they were finished, they all left for bed except Tigress and Po. Tigress had some things she wanted to discuss with Po before confessing how she felt about him.
"Thanks again, Po. That was really good." Tigress said with a small smile as she complemented proudly.
"Anytime Ti, I'm glad you like it." Po said, still hurting inwardly, thinking he would never be with the love of his life.
A sad expression came over Tigress's face and she stared at the floor. "Po?" she whispered softly.
"Hmm?" Po hummed, and Tigress looked up at him briefly before looking away.
"I'm sorry I was so hard on you in Gongmen. I shouldn't have been so rough and forceful in that jail; you just wanted to know your past and I tried to stop you - and for that... I'm sorry." Tigress said sadly as her ears flattened.
Po placed a paw on her shoulder, and she looked up at him and almost purred at his touch, remembering the warm hug he gave her.
"I forgive you Ti, and it's ok. I should have listened to you, and that way both of us wouldn't have got shot." Po said sadly, and Tigress smiled at him softly.
"Po, it's fine. You did what you thought you had to. I probably would have done the same thing if I was in your place. I'm just glad you're alive." Tigress said as she got lost in his jade green eyes.
"Me too, Ti." Po said with a smile and Tigress, thinking fast, quickly embraced him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, surprising him at first.
Both blushed a deep scarlet at the sudden contact and warmth of the one they secretly loved, and this time... Po hugged her back.
"You mean so sooo much to me Po - I just couldn't stand to watch you be killed. And the hardcore DO feel; you've helped me realize that." Tigress said softly, savoring the warm hug, not wanting to let go again; but she had to, so she slowly and hesitantly broke the embrace.
Po and Tigress both were blushing deeply, and their hearts beat rapidly in their chests. Po was shocked she had hugged him again, but they both enjoyed it. He then nodded softly with a smile, and Tigress blushed a deeper shade of red that shone through her fur at the sight of his smile.
"There's that smile again..." Tigress thought smiling as her cheeks heated up.
"Well... goodnight, Po." Tigress said casually, still planning what she would do. Then she walked to her room and sat down. This was new for her, she had never experienced love like this or been with anyone and she didn't know what to do yet but Tigress would soon.
"Goodnight, Ti." Po said with a sigh as she smiled at him again and walked out.
"Man, she's so gorgeous when she smiles. And I can't believe we hugged again! It's so awesome to hold her." Po thought, blushing a deeply and washing the dishes with a blank expression, deep in his thoughts.
Po finished the dishes and put them away before heading to his room in the barracks to sleep. Sleep soon overtook him, and he began to snore softly.
Meanwhile, Tigress was in her room sitting on her bed, waiting anxiously for everyone to go to sleep. Tigress was going to make her move.
That's it for Chapter 2! What do you think? What is Tigress' plan? Will it work out the way she hopes? Find out in Chapter 3! No, LoA isn't canon in this, none of what happened in that cheesy series happened here (or at all in the movies); I'm just using some scenes for this story making only them canon minus Tigress' rude behavior and attitude. And this story will be more like the canon Tigress, not the mean, bratty one we got in the filler series. Anyway, thanks for reading!
- Tipofan4life