Tigress x Po if you squint ;)

116. Help

Po was running around like a lunatic. He was on a frantic search for a certain reptile, but he couldn't find her anywhere! He looked in the training hall, the Jade Palace, the entire village, and he had practically flipped the barracks upside down. Running out of options, he decided to turn to the one animal in the Valley who might have an idea where Viper could be…

"Tigress!" he called from the entrance of the training hall. The master had been training there all morning, hoping to not get involved with the panda's antics. But, of course, that was just a fantasy, "I need your help!" He ran over to her, staying out of her hit-zone.

The tiger groaned and paused her sparring match against Crane, "Po, what is it? You've been running around for hours."

Po huffed, "At least I've been running…" He got himself back onto his main point, "Anyways, do you know where Viper is? I need to talk with her."

Tigress shrugged in annoyance, "How am I supposed to know?!"

"Aren't you her best friend?"

"Well, yes." Tigress blushed from being retorted to by Po. But she quickly thought of a comeback, "But I don't keep tabs on her 24/7." Viper is her own woman. And, even though they talk about many things they don't discuss with the others, they still have to respect each other's privacy.

Suddenly, Crane stepped into the conversation, "Did you check her room?"

Po nodded with a feeling of defeat, "Yeah. She wasn't there."

"Did you check the kitchen?"

Po nodded, "Yes! She wasn't there either. I thought she would be making breakfast for herself since she wasn't awake when we had ours."

"How about that ribbon shop in the village? Her favourite restaurant?" Crane continued, "The forest and the Sacred Peach Tree? She goes there when she wants to gather flowers for tea."

"She makes tea from flowers?" Po asked in shock.

"Yeah." Crane replied bluntly, "Now, did you look on the roofs? Oh, no. Never mind. The weather is too humid, and she usually goes there during the night. How about the stationary closet?" Crane's eyes widened, and he snapped his wings, "The archives! She goes there when she needs to hide and be alone."

Po smiled widely and jumped in excitement, "I haven't looked there yet! That's an awesome idea!" He gave Crane a punch on the shoulder, "Thanks man! Who knew you knew so much about Viper!" and with that, the black and white warrior dashed to the archives.

OOO

Tigress rose an eyebrow at the avian, who seemed to play it off as if what just happened was normal. "So, uh, where were we?" he asked Tigress, getting into a defensive position.

"How do you know so much about Viper?" Tigress asked, crossing her arms, "I didn't even know she went to half of the places you listed." Does Viper share more with Crane than Tigress?

Crane blushed and got into a more casual pose, "I-I just know because… she tells me?" He said unsurely, "Well, I guess it's more because I notice the amount of times she visits those places."

"How about the flower tea?"

"I thought everyone knew about that."

"Po didn't."

"He's new."

"I didn't."

Crane hummed and placed a feather to his beak, "Hm, well, if you didn't know, that probably means Monkey and Mantis don't know, which means…"

"…You were the only one who knew." Tigress finished. She clenched her fist with a slight of anger. How does Crane know these things? Was it because…? No. No, it couldn't be…

"Crane, do you still like Viper?"

OOO

"Viper!"

"Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiper!"

"VIPER!"

The sounds of Po's calls echoed through the caverns as he searched the halls for Viper. The archives were huge! How would he be able to find her? A scent suddenly came into Po's nose vision…was it—he sniffed the air—chamomile? He could also smell a hint of mint and honey. He doesn't remember there being air fresheners in the archives…

The panda followed the scent through the halls which led him to the main library. He continued to follow the scent and it revealed itself to be "Tea?" he asked himself, "Why is there tea here?" He then heard someone humming… He looked around and gasped when he saw the animal he was looking for, "Viper!"

Viper was peacefully scrolling through one of the high shelves. But when Po called out to her, she became so startled that she ended up falling down, on to a pile of old, dusty scrolls. "Ow…"

Po rushed over to help his friend, "Oh my gosh! So sorry, Viper!" he exclaimed, helping her out of the ancient texts.

Viper coughed a few times to try and get the dust from out of her lungs, but she shook her head and smiled, "It's fine, Po." She wheezed, slithering out of the pile, "But what are you doing here?" She went over to her tea set while rubbing her eyes.

Po sat himself down across from her, "I need your help." He said, smiling. He then dug into his pocket and got out a folded piece of paper, "I-I wrote this for you-know-who, and I want your opinion on it!"

Viper rose an eyebrow and hesitantly took it from his paws. She carefully unfolded it and began to read. She already knew who it was for. No matter how many times Viper told him that Tigress doesn't need anything elaborate, he went and wrote her a whole damn love letter. Although, she found the gesture to be quite sweet. It made her smile to see how much Po cared for the Tiger.

She began to get more relaxed and she decided to take a sip of her tea while she finished up the last of the letter. Everything he had written was truly him pouring his feelings onto the page.

"I just wanted to say that…

…I love you."

Viper's eyes went wide, and she spit out some of her tea to the side. "Wha-wha-wha-what?!" She thought, reading over the last sentence…over and over and over again.

Po jumped up at her reaction and leaned over the table in worry, "What?! Was it bad?!" he exclaimed, "Should I rip it up and burn it on the stove? I was planning to do that anyways!"

Viper looked up from the letter, "No, no, no, no, no! Don't do that! The letter is great! It's-it's perfect!" she said quickly, before Po did something rash. She blushed and looked at the sentence again—specifically those three words, "It's just…you said 'I love you'…" she pointed to the last sentence and handed it back to Po.

He looked at it and gave her a confused look, "What's so wrong with it?" he asked while she wiped her mouth, "I thought I'd just go all the way if I was gonna do it."

"Yes, I completely agree!" the reptile said, "Sorry; my reaction must've been misleading." She poured some more tea into her cup. She exhaled and wrapped her tail around the cup tightly for comfort, "I just have…weird memories with those words." She chuckled nervously, "Sorry! I-I really like the letter a lot though, Po! It's really well written."

Po smiled and blushed at her compliments, "Thanks Viper! Do you think she'll like it?" He hugged the letter close to his heart.

Viper sipped her tea and nodded, "I'm sure she would, but I told you that you don't have to give her anything elaborate."

"I knooooow, but she deserves something special~" Po placed the paper on the table, smoothing it out, "Do you think I should add anything?"

Viper hummed and traced the rim of her teacup around in circles, "Well, there isn't much criticism I can give," she said, "I haven't written a love letter, nor have I received one."

"Really? You haven't gotten a love letter? I thought you out of all the Five would get the most." Po said, continuing to smooth out the letter, "You're really likeable and pretty."

Viper blushed and sipped out of nervousness, "Ah! Ha, ha, well…" she hesitated in what she was about to tell him. But she supposed since the rest of the Five know, she might as well tell Po. He is a part of their team after all, "…I've received one, but I have never considered it as an actual—ahem—document of affection."

"Do you remember what any of it said? If you liked it, maybe I can take notes!" Po said, cheerfully.

Of course, Viper remembered the letter. It was the first love letter she received. It's in a box in her room somewhere. So, she didn't have to dig too deep to try and remember what it said, "Well, I liked the fact that they first wrote about when they fell for me. I feel like it's important to know that it wasn't just 'love at first sight.' I like knowing how long it took for them to realize they liked me." She smiled, and looked into her teacup, watching the tea swirl peacefully, "I liked how they described my personality before my appearance, because having a beautiful personality is more important than what's on the outside."

Po hummed and stared dreamily to the ceiling of the archives, "That sounds awesome…" he said, "Anything else?"

Viper sighed and nodded, "There is this one line they wrote that I really loved…" She couldn't remember word-for-word, but it still meant a lot to her: "I want you to know that someone cares for you—whether you accept them as a lover, or just as a friend. Because as long as I have you in my life, I'll be happy. You are amazing and…" Viper began to trail off. She couldn't finish it, "I can't remember the rest."

Po's smile couldn't get any wider. He knew that she remembered the rest. Or maybe it was too hard to remember three more words. He didn't want to pry too much though, she has already told him plenty, "Thank you, Viper." He had one more question that would seal the deal, "Is there anything you wish they would have done differently?"

Viper's smile faded. She felt her heart begin to palpitate at an abnormal speed, creating a stinging pain in her chest. She took one last sip of her tea and looked Po directly in the eyes. She gave him a small smile, "I wish he would have told me himself."

OOO

Po and Viper started walking back to the barracks. Po was carrying her teapot and teacup as an action of gratitude for her help. They were walking in silence for the most part, until Po broke the silence, "You know…I think I will burn this letter on the stove."

Viper went wide eyed, "What?! Why?!" She exclaimed. Was it because of what she said? "Po, you shouldn't base your decision off of what I said. That's what I would have wanted. You need to follow what you think Tigress would want."

Po chuckled and shrugged, "I know, I know. But I'm making this choice on my own." He said, "But, you've inspired me to do something better than a letter…I'll tell her face-to-face." He smiled at the shocked reptile, "I want to do something that your admirer was too afraid to do." He smirked and started to walk with more swagger, "Besides, it would show her how brave I am~"

"Yeah, it definitely would." Viper chuckled at her friend. She was proud of him for following his gut. Huh. Actually, now that she thought about it, what did his gut say when he tried to find her? "Wait, Po, how did you know I was in the archives?" Nobody knows that she goes there to be alone…

"Crane told me you might be there~!"

…except for Crane.

She blushed and smiled to herself, "Of course he told you." He seems to be the main man of her thoughts today.

OOO

Oof, slight Tigress x Po? Say less...

There will probably, most likely be a continuation of the conversation Tigress and crane were having. And there will be a chapter focusing on Crane's love letter.

Thanks fren for the 'wow' review. hella cute~

Have a nice day/night~!

-V