10 Song Challenge: 10 Typos

Put your iPod/MP3 player on shuffle. Start writing a fic for each of the songs. Stop when the song ends, even if you're in the middle of a word. Do this for 10 songs. I own nothing. Expect to see a lot of one-liners. And to all of you who tried this, or are going to try it, have fun!

I own nothing. This is all for Awerewolf, nicest guy ever, and there will be more to come!

9) Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Po's smile, Tai Lung decided, gazing at the sleeping panda, was the most perfect thing he had ever seen.

In the dim light of the dying fire, shadows engulfed the majority of Po's mouth, enlarging his lusciously large lips, accentuating the slight upturn of the corners of his mouth. He had smiled like that every night when he slept beside the leopard, and once, while he was awake.

It had been after Tai Lung explained, or, more or less, sobbed out how much Shifu's approval had always meant to him, and Po had hugged him close, whispering how beautiful and perfect and wonderful he was. And Po had understood who he was.

As far as Tai Lung was concerned, that was all that mattered. Po knew what he had been through, knew why he did what he did, knew what he regretted, what he was and wasn't sorry for, and still loved him. If that wasn't true love, Tai Lung wasn't sure what was.

Then again, there were a lot of things he still didn't know, especially about his lovely panda. For example, he didn't know why he stayed with him, especially since it had meant faking their deaths and running away from everyone Po loved. He knew Po missed them all. There would be nights Tai would wake up to hear him crying outside their hut, names like 'Tigress' and 'father' nearly drowned in his tears. It was in those moments he hated himself. It was those moments that made him regret what he had done the most. There would always be that nagging voice that would remind him that if he hadn't gone on a rampage, Po and he could be living a beautiful life together in the Jade Palace.

And visiting the Valley only made it worse.

The two of them would dress up in cloaks and go into the Valley. The first time they had gone by Mr. Ping's noodle shop, Po had nearly lost it. The old goose had closed down, the entire building was a mess, clearly it hadn't been cleaned since Po and Tai Lung faked their deaths, but what had really gotten to him was seeing his father sitting on the counter, leaning lazily against one of the sides of the structure, bottle in wing.

He had become an alcoholic.

Tai Lung had to hold Po back from revealing himself to his father. They had left immediately after that, and Po had cried for hours, until he finally fell asleep in exhaustion. It had taken nearly a week for the panda to go back to his regular, optimistic self. Several days later, they went down to the Valley again, but this time they went to spy on the Jade Palace.

What had greeted them was anything but what they had expected.

It was obvious they were having a day off from the lack of motion. Instead, Tigress sat slumped in a corner of the training arena, tears running down her face. Viper laid curled up in her lap, snuggling against her, offering her silent condolences. Monkey and Mantis were playing Mahjong, both concentrating too much on the board game, as though trying to ignore the weeping women in the corner. Crane and Master Shifu were meditating, though the troubled looks on their faces revealed their lack of peace.

Moving closer, they had heard managed to hear what Tigress was saying to her reptillian friend. She was weeping for being so cruel to Po, for not apologizing, for never telling him she really did care, that she loved him. They left again, and on the way home Tai Lung had stopped, turning to face Po with a solemn look. He had said that if Po wanted to go back, to be with Tigress, who could give him a life, a family, and help bring his father back from the depths of depression, he would understand.

Po had merely smiled and replied that maybe it would be easier, but he loved Tai Lung too much to ever leave him. It was then that he saw how beautiful Po was when he smiled, not because of the smile itself, cute though it was, but because no matter what the circumstances, no matter how bad things were, he could always find a reason to smile.

And so Tai Lung would bask in that smile of his, drinking in the intoxicating joy and contagious laughter until he felt giddy and light like a drunkard with a winning lottery ticket because he could. Because Po was his, had given up everything to be with him, had seen it all go to hell, and still, with his old, comforting home world crumbling before his eyes, he chose to stay.

Because he loved him more than life, and knew the feeling was mutual.