A Talk Gone Down the Toilet

(I got a million of them) ;)

Tigress opened the door, expecting it to be the mailman when she saw Tai-Lung at the front door. "Oh, hello Tai-Lung. Is Po with you?" Tigress asked, looking behind the snow leopard.

"Nope, just you and me, kitten," Tai-Lung smirked, irritating Tigress as she let him inside. "Po wanted me to help you with the house today, but he has another appointment."

"Oh," Tigress said, noticeably disappointed.

"Aw, don't be so sad kitten. Your crush will come back," Tai-Lung teased.

"Po and I are just professionals in our fields interacting with each other, nothing else," Tigress firmly stated. Tai-Lung looked her over up and down.

"Is that why you're wearing the shirt that he gave back to you," Tai-Lung smirked. Tigress looked down and realized she had worn it the whole day and forgot to take it off. Tigress quickly looked away from Tai-Lung while he laughed at her flustered face. "Don't worry, I won't tell Po that you like his shirt."

"Thank you," Tigress mumbled. "Anyways, could you fix what needs to be fixed and then kindly get out of my house!" Tai-Lung laughed as he went to work on one of the toilets in the house. "What appointment did Po have?" Tigress asked. Tai-Lung smirked at her. "I'm curious."

"His sister's daughter had a doctor's appointment and she couldn't take her, so Po offered to help," Tai-Lung replied as they finally got to the toilet. "I don't know how much longer he can take it, though," Tai-Lung grunted as he bent down to look at the toilet.

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked.

"Po overworks himself a lot. We have to beg him sometimes to take a break," Tai-Lung replied. "He makes a decent amount of money, but it seems like he's constantly working. The only time he ever stops is when he's sleeping, eating, or working out as you enjoy watching him do."

"Tai-Lung," Tigress sternly growled. Tai-Lung was undeterred. "It's none of your business."

"Oh really? Then why did you exercise in front of him?" Tai-Lung smirked. Tigress's eyes widened.

"He told you that!" She said loudly, causing Tai-Lung to jump and hit his head on the porcelain throne.

"OW! Gosh, woman! It's not that critical," Tai-Lung rubbed his head. Tigress turned away, hiding her fluster.

"Why would Po tell you that?" Tigress asked, really wanting it to be a secret.

"We kind of pressed it out of him. We were honestly wondering why he came back from your house sweating like a sprinkler. We had feared something went wrong...or right," Tai-Lung smirked.

"Tai-Lung!" Tigress shouted, causing him to bang his head again.

"OW! Would you stop doing that!" Tai-Lung groaned. "Why are you so uptight about this?"

"He's my plumber! I can't just... you know... with a person that works for me," Tigress explained.

"Well, considering you're helping him with his legal work, I would think you're working for him as well," Tai-Lung said, finally getting the water tank out of the toilet.

"He told you that as well?" Tigress asked, wondering if there was anything that Po kept secret from them.

"Of course, we're family," Tai-Lung laughed, but his laughter stopped as he said, "Or at least we'll be for a while," Tai-Lung sighed sadly.

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked.

"Peng's almost about to go to college within two years, which is also the time that Lei-Lei, Po's sister's daughter, is going to kindergarten, so Po will have to move out of the house and get his own apartment," Tai-Lung explained.

"Why can't he just stay with his sister?" Tigress asked.

"He doesn't want to feel like a burden. He doesn't say it, but I think the thought of him going back to an apartment all by himself is... scary," Tai-Lung sighed as he cranked the last socket into place. "Well, there we go. Sorry for the intrusiveness, not like you don't like me coming over," Tai-Lung smirked. Tigress smirked back, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you, and tell Po I'll be paying him electronically," Tigress replied, "Now please, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Tai-Lung laughed as he was about to leave, but Tigress stopped him. "By the way, what is Po's sister's address?" Tai-Lung, for the first time he was there, didn't look at her with a mocking face, but a confused one.

"Why?"

"...I'm... just curious," Tigress finally said. Tai-Lung shrugged and gave her the address.

Later in the day, after bringing Lei-Lei back from the doctor, Po went to get some food and came back to hear Lei-Lei screaming and laughing loudly, "Stripey Baby!" Po thought it was strange. Lei-Lei usually called people by how they looked. Snow leopards were big or small Spotty babies and Po was Uncle Cloudy. Who on Earth could be a 'Stripey baby'? Po looked around the corner to Tigress playing with Lei-Lei, and Mei-Mei and Tigress laughing together. Po's mouth dropped as Mei-Mei saw him.

"Oh, Po, it's good to see you. Miss. Fang came over to visit," Mei-Mei smiled. Po tried to fake his surprise.

"It's good to see Tigress," Po nervously smiled. "Um... Mei, could you come into my office for a moment. You don't mind watching Lei-Lei, do you Tigress?"

"Oh of course not," Tigress smiled as the panda child played with her tail. Po pulled his sister into his office.

"What is she doing here?!" Po exclaimed.

"I don't know. She just came, introduced herself, and we hit it off pretty well," Mei-Mei replied.

"Well, I'm glad you two are getting along, but still!" Po exclaimed. "Why would you let the person who I work for in the house?!"

"Because she asked?" Mei-Mei shrugged. Po was still exasperated. "Po, calm down. She obviously wanted to see you in your natural element."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, don't you think it's strange that she would come here just to play with Lei-Lei?" Mei-Mei pointed out. Po thought about it for a moment. He considered the things that had happened. Did Tigress really do all of this just to be closer to him? Po shook his head awake and was about to speak, but, "Don't just shake away that thought. You know that it doesn't make sense and you can't just ignore it!" Mei-Mei assertively exclaimed. "Po, you've been working a lot and everyone in this house knows that you're afraid of being alone when Lei-Lei and Peng are grown up. Just try this relationship and see what happens."

"I can't!" Po exclaimed out of frustration held back emotions, nearly shouting at his sister. Mei-Mei was shocked that he would shout at her. Po calmed down. "No matter what I do, I can't let that happen. She and I aren't in some kind of whimsical fanfiction that some hopeless romantic wrote up! (Oops! Did I write that out loud? Speaking the truth a little too much) This is real life. People like her don't go for people like me. And even if I could, a plumber with a lawyer?! How is that going to work?" Po asked, no, demanded to know.

"It's your life, Po," Mei-Mei calmly replied. "You decide if it will work. Some things are destined to work or fail. Other things, you have to try." Po sighed.

"Mei, I'm sorry for shouting," Po sighed as he plopped into his chair. "I'm just very tired."

"Then rest," Mei-Mei said to her brother. "You're working yourself to death. Just relax for a moment. You've taken care of others for a while. Let others take care of you for a change."

"I'll try," Po sighed as they went back to Tigress, who seemed very flustered and Lei-Lei was gigglingly loudly.

"Uh... *Cough* Well, I should be going now," Tigress said, grabbing a stack of papers from Po's office. "Uh... Mei-Mei already gave me your papers, so no need to send them. I'll be off now," Tigress said in a hurry. She jumped into her car and drove off. The two pandas looked at each other.

"What was that about?" Po asked her sister, who shrugged, but Lei-Lei continued to giggle.

"I know why she's upset," She said excitedly. Po smiled.

"Oh? And why's that?" Po asked.

"I told her a secret," Lei-Lei replied.

"You did," Po said still smiling. "What's the secret?"

"I told her you liked how she 'smelled' because you were sniffing her shirt," Lei-Lei said. Po's eyes widened.

"YOU WHAT!" Po exclaimed, making Mei-Mei and Lei-Lei laugh. Meanwhile, Tigress, after hearing the child's words, was driving home. She wasn't weirded out or anything. She would have found it flattering that he thought her scent was nice. It was embarrassing to her that she was in the same boat. Tigress pulled into the driveway of her house and sighed.

"That's it," Tigress said to herself. "I have to end this now."

To Be Continued...