AYEEE! I wanna apologize first and foremost. College was a killer this week and then my computer kept crashing and it was just a mess, but I have finally got everything settled. So now I present Chapter 10! And thank you all for your reviews!

p.s. next few chapters are gonna be real fluffy if you will because that's the roller coaster of life. Things gotta go up before they can go back down. *cough cough* *wink wink*

I don't own ... ANYTHING!

Jade High: Senior Year

Chapter 10

CRACK! …..BOOM! Po jolted awake and shot straight up in the bed. He blinked a few times still a bit groggy. As he looked around his room he could see it was still dark. He leaned over Tigress's sleeping form and checked his phone that was on the nightstand. 10:36 a.m. Po stared at the time and looked around again. It could possibly be morning. It's almost pitch black in here. Po got up from his bed and lumbered over to the window. Opening the shade, Po was met with a sight he did not expect. Normally when one flings their shades open they are met with the blinding light of the morning sun but that wasn't the case. As Po looked out his window he saw the same dark clouds from last night. He scanned the outside as rain continued to hit and bounce off the glass. Po was temporarily blinded by a flash of lightning that was much too close for comfort. It was the sound after that really woke Po up. A deafening boom rang out making Po cover his ears. As the thunder rolled Po felt the house shake as the sound waves passed. When he uncovered his ears he heard something else. Whimpering. He turned back towards his bed and could see Tigress stir. He walked over to her side of the bed and was about to comfort her when he realized she was still sleeping. Po watched as Tigress squirmed slightly and whimpered again. He could barely make out the sweat running down her forehead. He leaned in closer to her face and saw something that disturbed him greatly. Not all the moisture on Tigress's face was sweat. She was crying as well. Not knowing what to really do in this situation Po stuck his hands out. One grabbing Tigress's hand and the other slowly caressing her cheek. He watched as her face slowly began to relax and continued to caress her cheek as her eyes opened fully. She looked into Po's eyes as he looked into hers. Po's hand moved up to Tigress's forehead and moved a few strand of hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear.

"You were having a nightmare." Po said softly. Tigress didn't reply. She merely nodded and grabbed Po's hand and placed it back on her cheek and held in there. A soft smile graced her face and she moved over on the bed slightly signalling Po to get in. Po obliged and laid on his back staring at the ceiling. He felt as Tigress laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Po smiled, pulled the blanket over them and held Tigress.

"Thank you Po." Tigress whispered.

Po chuckled softly. "Don't mention it. I mean I only rubbed your cheek a bit but.."

"Not that Po." Tigress interrupted. He could feel her shake her head.

"Oh then what?" Po asked looking down at her. Tigress leaned her head up a bit and scouched up so she could be eye level with Po.

"For being there for me. For being my friend. For saving my life." Tigress averted her eyes as she said the last part softly. "For making me feel special." She could feel Po stir a bit and looked back up at him. She could see a smile form on his face.

"Well that's because you are special. In every way." Po watched a slight blush form on her face as she smiled softly. Tigress leaned in and planted a kiss of Po's cheek. Po was frozen at first but soon thawed as Tigress held her lips on his cheek. Even though it wasn't a kiss on the lips it was clear that there was love behind it. After a few seconds Tigress pulled back creating a small but audible smacking sound as her lips disconnected from his cheek. She then cuddled close and moved her head back onto Po's chest. Po closed his eyes and breathed a soft sigh, very much enjoying the company and warmth of Tigress.

It had been a few minutes now and for some reason Po felt uncomfortable. Something was bothering him but he couldn't figure it out. He opened his eyes and looked down to Tigress. He realized she was sleeping peacefully on his chest. Po scanned over her face admiring every detail until he realized the source of his discomfort. Po was now looking at Tigress's mouth which was wide open and watched as drool rolled out onto his shirt. He quickly bit his tongue to keep from laughing. The sight was so ….. adorable. He let out a few giggles unable to bite it all down and unfortunately his giggles made his chest move disturbing Tigress's slumber. Po watched with amusement as Tigress's eyes slowly opened while her mouth closed. It didn't take long for Tigress to realize her blunder and she shot up quickly. As she looked at the rather large drool stain she had created, her cheeks grew a bright rosy red.

"P-po ….I'm s-so sorry." She looked away, embarrassment clear in her voice. Po chuckled softly and sat up as well. He grabbed her hand and squeezed softly earning him her attention.

"It's okay. It's only a shirt. I have plenty more." Po got out of the bed and walked over to his closet. He opened and and took out a white T-shirt. He removed the one he had on and threw it into into the corner of the room. While his shirt was off Tigress admired Po's torso and upper chest. Now within feet of him, Tigress could see in clear detail the muscle Po had attained. Not only did she find it attractive but she was also impressed. How long did it take for him to do this?

Po put his new shirt on and climbed back into the bed and laid down on his back. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice Tigress laid down with her back to Po. She felt Po's arm wrap around her similar to how they slept the night before but different. Tigress had sensed something different in their new embrace. Last night Po's grip on Tigress was strong, very much protective while today his grip was soft and relaxed, almost loving. Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she felt Po's breath ride across her neck. It sent a shiver down her spine and suddenly she felt warm. She thawed further into him and soon felt rather drowsy. Po could feel as Tigress's breath became slow and even. He knew she had fallen asleep and closed his eyes hoping for the same outcome. His wish was granted and he soon fell into a peaceful slumber beside her.

While the pair slept the weather began to subside. The clouds remained but the rain and strong wind had ceased. Shifu took notice to this and was outside and halfway down the stairs before Zeng had even closed the door. Not knowing how to drive, Shifu ran. He knew every inch of the Valley of Peace and although didn't know exactly where Po lived, he knew where the Noodle Dragon was and wasted no time getting there. He knocked on the front door of the house that was connected to the restaurant and heard footsteps from inside. Soon Mr. Ping answered and smiled at the out-of-breath Shifu.

"Well hello. You must be Master Shifu." Mr. Ping said in a hushed tone

"Yes and you must be Mr. Ping. It's nice to meet you." Master Shifu replied in the same hushed voice.

"Please do come in." Mr. Ping held the door open for Shifu.

"Thank you very much but uh ….why are we whispering?"

"Well you see the young ones are upstairs sleeping." Shifu's eye twitched. He was started to get the wrong idea and Mr. Ping quickly amended. "No no Master Shifu, nothing like that. Tigress confessed she was afraid of thunder and didn't want to sleep alone." Shifu softened and smiled slightly. He remembered when Tigress was younger she would always come into his room at night when it was storming and plead to stay with him. He then frowned as he recalled he never did. It's no wonder she never got over that fear. He sighed and shook his head of the thought.

"I see. Well if you don't mind I would very much like to see her. I've been terribly worried."

"Ah yes I would have been as well. Follow me." Mr. Ping silently led Master Shifu up the stairs and into Po's room. Before entering Mr. Ping turned back to Shifu and held his finger to his lips. Shifu nodded and followed Mr. Ping inside. What he saw actually made him …...happy. He saw Po and Tigress sleeping peacefully on the bed with Po's armed wrapped around Tigress in a protective/loving embrace. He walked further into the room and could now make out the smile on Tigress's face. Shifu had never seen his adopted daughter so at peace and he sure as hell didn't want to ruin it. As much as it drove him crazy he left the room followed by Mr. Ping who shut the door behind him.

"I ….I've never seen Tigress so …..happy." Shifu said with a small smile on his face.

"That's what happens when you fall in love." Mr. Ping chuckled. He saw Shifu fidget and pat his shoulder. "Don't worry. I know it's hard to let go but it's a part of life." Shifu relaxed a bit and nodded while letting out a weary sigh.

"Yes…...yes it is." Shifu then followed Mr. Ping down the stairs and into the living room. There was a comfortable silence before Mr. Ping spoke.

"You know with all the damage this storm has done I'm sure that school will be cancelled for another day or two. Maybe you should let Tigress spend a few more days here." Mr. Ping then muttered. "Especially after what she's been through."

Shifu's instantly perked up, "Wait what did you say?" Mr. Ping only gave him a sad expression.

"It's a long story. Here let me make you some tea and then I'll tell you." Mr. Ping made his way over to the wood fire stove and began to brew some tea. Once he was done he went into the kitchen and grabbed two cups. Instead of going back to Shifu however he made his way to the front door and locked it, Shifu was confused.

"Mr. Ping ….uhm…..why'd you lock the door?"

"Because I fear that after I tell you what happened, the first thing you'll want to do is bust through it and rain hell and fire down." Mr. Ping made his way back over to Master Shifu and poured him a cup of tea, then began the long and tiring story of the events from the previous day.

Sniff. Hmmmmm is that noodles? SNIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFF. and ,,,,,dumplings? Po opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He rubbed his face and yawned. He looked back over to Tigress who was still sound asleep and smiled. Beautiful. He turned toward his nightstand and checked his phone. 4:14 p.m. As Po came to realize just how long they had slept his stomach growled. Yeah I know you're hungry. Jeez. His stomach growled again as if to answer his thoughts. Phillip …..Bad. Bad stomach. His stomach gave another low growl.

"Phillip…...stop it. Be patient." Po said firmly to his stomach.

"So who's Phillip?" The new voice startled Po and he yelped, before falling off the bed. He could hear giggling from the bed and stood up rubbing his sore shoulder. A blush grew on his face as he saw the sly smirk Tigress was giving him.

"He's …..He's uhhh…"

"Your stomach." Tigress finished for him.

"Yeah." Po looked away.

Tigress directed her attention to Po's stomach, or Phillip. "Is Phillip hungry?" Phillip made a reply with a gurgling sound. At that Tigress burst into hysterics, while Po's blush only grew worse. "Alright then Phillip let's go get something to eat." Tigress stood from the bed and grabbed Po's hand and led him out of the room. Po's eyes darted down to their hands and he smiled softly. They had finally made it down the stairs but Po was too busy with his thoughts he didn't realize Tigress had stopped dead in her tracks, he bumped into her and began to apologize when he saw what had stopped her. There in his living room sipping on a cup of tea was Master Shifu. He had caught sight of the pair and smiled but when he saw their conjoined hand his smile faltered a bit. He quickly recovered and stood up to greet them.

"Hello Tigress. Hello Po." Shifu approached them.

"Master." Tigress bowed.

"Hello Master Shifu." Po simply said.

Tigress didn't know what was going to happen. Was he going to be mad at Po? I mean we're holding hands but….., she suddenly stopped, she now felt her stomach twist, did he …...see us in bed? As Tigress dreaded the worst, what occurred next completely shell shocked her. Master Shifu pulled Tigress into a tight embrace, practically squeezing the life out of her.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried." Tigress stood frozen. She didn't know what to do. Shifu had never shown this much affection towards her before. She quickly looked over to Po who was smiling. He motioned for her to hug him back and she did. It felt…..good. They held the hug for a minute before Master Shifu whispered, "Don't you worry about Tai Lung. I'm gonna take good care of that."

Tigress chuckled lightly. She figured Mr. Ping had shared what had happened and only could imagine how furious Shifu was. Shifu pulled back from the hug and then stood in front of Po. His hard stare made Po a bit nervous and he squirmed a bit, uncomfortable. Master Shifu merely stuck his hand out and smiled.

"And you. I am forever in you debt. Thank you." Po smiled back and took Shifu's hand, shaking it hard. After the handshake, Shifu held his hands behind his back and began to pace. "Mr. Ping has brought to my attention that the damage from the storm was immense and that school will probably be cancelled for a couple of days. So in light of recent events I will allow Tigress to have the rest of the week off from training and allow her to stay here for the next few nights." He now stood in front of Po again and gave him a deadly glare. "But if I catch even a single wiff of trouble from you. I will come down here myself and use the Wushi Finger Hold on you. Are we clear?" Po gulped and nodded quickly. Shifu smiled. "Good. Now I am off. I must return to the Jade Palace to inform the others of your safety."

Shifu said a quick goodbye and left. Po and Tigress stood a bit awkwardly for a second, unsure of how to react to everything that just happened. They heard shuffling and turned to see Mr. Ping stick his head out from the kitchen.

"Yeah what he said. I am way to young for grandchildren. Maybe in a few years." Po's eyes widened and a bright blush grew on both their faces. This is going to be a looooooong week.

Welp...there it is. I hope you enjoyed. And please...Have A Bodaciously Glorious Day!