Elegant, Graceful, and Clumsy
Disclaimer: Kung Fu Panda is © 2008 DreamWorks Animation SKG
Quickie 4
Could We Ever Be Together?
Letting a growl rip through her throat in an obvious show of tenacity, Tigress blocked another stab from Viper as the two sparred in the training hall. They moved so quickly through the course that they appeared as nothing more than a green and orange blur, furiously dodging and striking each other as if this fight was their very last. They finally hopped onto the Jade Tortoise Bowl, both of them staring each other down from opposite ends of the large tunicate. Finally, Viper struck, jabbing at the striped cat with innumerable jabs from her tail. Tigress was able to block each one, stabbing back with her own flurry of hard punches…but the tree viper was able to hold her ground, gracefully twisting her form to keep away from the tiger's assault.
After quite a bit of time guessing and analyzing which move their opponent would use next, Viper quietly conceded to the tiger, finding that they were evenly harmonized in each offensive strike. If Viper could walk (or slither) away from a match without a mark from Tigress' overly-explosive offensive techniques, she considered it a victory in her book. The two bowed and hopped from the course, landing safely on solid ground.
For her part, Tigress was deeply impressed at how well Viper was able to handle herself during their match—it was the first time they had sparred that she didn't come out victorious over her reptilian friend.
"Viper, I have to say your techniques are becoming harder to match; I could barely keep up!"
Viper chuckled into her coils, smiling at the feline, "Thanks Tigress…it was nothing, really. You know, it's interesting, since this is the first time we've trained together in over a month."
The tiger cocked her head slightly, "Are you sure? It doesn't seem like that long to me…"
The snake nodded, "Well, ever since Po's been training here, you've always wanted to be his partner. Why is that?"
Tigress was, to say the very least, perplexed by her friend's question, but even more amazing was that she herself hadn't even seemed to notice that she had devoted most of her time to exclusively training the panda, other than when they had one-on-one sparring matches…
"It is interesting. I mean, I'm not really sure why I'd be spending so much time—"
"Oh come on, Tigress!" Viper rolled her eyes, "I may seem naïve at times, but I can sense these things miles away…you like him, don't you?"
"Viper…"
The serpent smiled and giggled knowingly, "Well, do you?"
Tigress glared at her, "Please Viper! I'm not attracted to that fat oaf…it's out of respect for him being the Dragon Warrior, okay?" she seethed, placing emphasis on her words. Before Viper could say anything further, her training partner stormed out of the training hall, her anger boiling like water over white-hot coals.
While Viper stood alone, confusedly trying to figure out why her feline comrade had a hissy-fit over a simple question, the men of the Palace, minus Master Shifu, were congregated in the kitchen, Po preparing lunch while the others were engaged in light conversation. The panda was so engrossed in his cooking that he was unable to keep track of what the others were talking about, although he could only imagine what the topic of the day was.
"So, you think he has a thing for her, then?" Monkey asked, taking a bite out of one of his famous cookies.
Mantis, who had seated himself comfortably on the primate's shoulder, nodding fervently at his question, "Is it not obvious? Those two are always spending time together…there's got to be something going on…"
Crane tipped his hat up, glaring at the two. He obviously didn't share their cynicism, "You two are cracked. She's as distant emotionally from him now as the day he defeated Tai Lung. They only train together because she likes beating the snot out of him."
"Hey Po," Mantis called from Monkey's shoulder, "You and Tigress…what's going on there?"
"What do you mean?" The panda asked.
"Why are you two always training together?" he clarified.
"Dunno," Po shrugged, dicing a handful of vegetables. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"Well, you tell us. We think that you and she have a 'thing' going on." Monkey snickered while Crane shook his head; Mantis was in a fit of hysterics by this point, but all the panda could do is flush in embarrassment, and then, anger. He turned on his heel and glared at them.
"Are you nuts!" He yelled, "I can't even lay a finger on her, let alone have a thing for her—"
Mantis interjected, "Hey, it was just out of curiosity…"
"NO, alright! We're not like that!" Po tossed a ladle into the pot and walked out of the room.
"Po, where are you going?" Monkey called after him. "What about lunch!"
"Make it yourselves!" Came the panda's curt reply.
The other three males exchanged glances with each other, wondering in astonishment what in the hell had just happened.
The panda found himself walking down the bunkhouse hallway towards his room, his fists balled in anger. Incredible…yeah, we're madly in love, that'll be the day. Even the slightest hint that I had feelings for the woman, she'd tear me to shreds—He stopped dead in his tracks, knocking directly into Tigress, who was also heading for her bedroom from the training hall.
They both fell backwards, falling onto the hard wood floor. Po, naturally thinking it was one of the others, raised his voice, "Hey! Watch where you're—" Only then did he realize that he'd bumped into a very flustered feline. "Oh, Tigress! Jeez, here, let me help you up…" He held his hand out, and she slowly, as if questioning the decision, grabbed onto his paw, letting him pull her from the floor.
"I didn't realize it was you."
Tigress shook her head, "No, it's my fault…I should have watched where I was going. Is something wrong?" She asked, keeping her eyes glued to the floor.
"No, but the guys are cracking jokes about us training together."
Her eyes darted up to his face, "I understand. Viper made the same observation…she seems to think that we—"
"—like each other?" Po finished, smirking when she nodded.
A temporary look of disgust befell the tiger, "I know…could you just imagine: us, together?"
They shared a good laugh as their eyes connected, "I know! It's stupid, isn't it? To think that…you and I—that we could possibly ever, uh…" the more he stared into those fiery red eyes, the more he tried to resist thinking the unthinkable: She does have a nice face. No, NO! She will kill you if you even think about it! But as the seconds wore on, he became lost in her intoxicating gaze.
Tigress felt her legs get weak as she stared more intensely into his deep green eyes. In her mind, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, telling herself to break away from his gaze; that she couldn't possibly have any feelings for him…that it just wasn't possible. He stole the Dragon Scroll from her, took away her only chance to prove her worth. He had made a mockery of her practice of kung-fu, made it look like mere child's play, and yet…she just couldn't tear herself away.
"I hope you don't think I'm being too forward or anything, but, do you think that one kiss would really kill us?"
"N-no…" She responded slowly. "Besides, one kiss never really means anything, right?"
"Of course not."
Cautiously, Po framed her face with his hands, and brought them both closer together until Tigress worked up the nerve to take the final plunge, closing the gap with her lips. For a fleeting moment, both tiger and panda lost all consciousness in what they were doing. Po felt her arms slip around his neck, so he reciprocated and laced his arms around her back, as if they were latching themselves to one another, propelling their bodies deeper into this warm exchange.
It took a few moments, but they slowly separated and gazed into one another's eyes, their faces burning like wildfire at the tingling sensation from their intimate contact.
Trembling, Po managed to whisper, "…oh dear gods,"
"We're such damned fools…" Tigress said softly, "but…I don't care." She purred and pressed her body against his, defied her conscious objections, and reconnected their lips.