My Own Destiny
By corset-rebellion-follower
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda
--
Chapter 10- This Might Be Awkward
I was beginning to hyperventilate. My father had insisted upon meeting Nikko if I wanted anything to do with him in the future. "Relax, Angel, it'll be fine. I'm sure I can handle anything that you're dad dishes out for me," Nikko said. That didn't really help much.
"You've never met Master Shifu, have you, Nikko?" Tavy asked. Nikko shook his head. "This should be good," she muttered under her breath. I kicked her on the leg. "Ow!"
"So where's Bryan? Does he still hang out with you guys? Last time I talked to him he mentioned you," he said looking at Tavy. I felt a small stab of anger at Bryan. He's talked to Nikko and he never mentioned me to him once? He mentioned Tavy, but not me?
We reached the top of the stairs. "Finally. I never thought we would reach the top," Nikko said, putting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily. I laughed.
"Don't worry, it gets easier in time," I consoled.
"She's been telling me that since we met in third grade. It hasn't gotten easier," Tavy contradicted.
"Well, I guess all your training helps. It's either that, or I'm in worse shape than I think," he added.
I laughed. "Let's get inside. I'll bet anything Po is in there, making a snack."
"The Dragon Warrior?" Nikko asked. We both nodded. We went to the kitchen and peeked in through the door. Surely enough, Po was once again preparing some sort of dish. I walked in.
"Hey, Po." He jumped and turned around.
"Oh. Angel, you scared me," he said, leaning against the counter.
"My dad is making you do stealth exercises again, isn't he?" I asked.
"Yeah. Now I think every little noise is someone trying to sneak up on me and whack me with a staff," Po explained.
I giggled. "Hang in there, Dragon Warrior." He added something to the pan he was cooking in.
"So where are Tavy and Bryan? Did they come up today?" he asked.
"Tavy did. And… someone else," I said quietly. Tavy came into the room, towing Nikko along.
"So who's this? A new friend?" he asked, sizing Nikko up.
"Sort of. Po, this is Nikko. Nikko, this is Po," I introduced, already feeling the upcoming embarrassment.
"So this is the guy that you've been seeing. Well it's nice to meet you, Nikko," Po said, offering his hand. Nikko politely shook it.
"Nice to meet you too." The worrisome feeling in my stomach faded just slightly.
"Um, Angel, if you're looking for your dad, he's in the training hall with your mom and the rest of the Five," Po told me.
I nodded. "Thanks. Either of you guys hungry?" I asked Tavy and Nikko.
"Whenever Po is cooking, I am hungry," Tavy said happily, running over to the stove and smelling whatever he was making.
"Just some quick vegetable stir fry," Po said. Tavy plucked a mini corn from the pan and put it in her mouth.
"Are you hungry, Nikko?" I asked.
"Yeah. My mom always force-feeds me something after school, and her cooking is like Pringles. You can never have just one," he joked. Tavy and I giggled.
"Yeah, well, this stuff will knock your socks off. It's a secret family recipe," Po said proudly.
"How many of those does your family have?" I asked.
"Well, actually it's my cousin's secret recipe, but close enough," he clarified. He gave us each a little plate of stir-fry. Tavy bolted hers down as if she hadn't eaten anything for weeks. In a weird sort of way, she's a lot like Po. She loves to eat; but unlike Po, she has a very high metabolism and barely ever gains weight.
"So how was it?" Po asked excitedly.
Tavy licked her fingers. "I thought it was delicious." I just shrugged.
"Oh, come on, Angel! You used to love trying my cooking. What's wrong with you?" he teased.
"Nothing's wrong with me. I'm just used to your cooking, that's all," I said defensively. Nikko smiled at me appreciatively, obviously remembering my philosophical reasoning from our date like I was.
"What about you, mystery guy?" Po asked. I really wanted to hit Po after that. Nikko also shrugged.
"It was alright, I guess," he said nonchalantly.
"Alright? What's that supposed to mean?" Po asked.
"I've had better, that's all," Nikko said, shrugging again. A small evil smile appeared on his face. Po smirked at it.
"Ok, wise guy, very funny. You guys better go find Master Shifu, he'll probably be real anxious to meet you." I glared at Po on our way out, and he made a funny face back. The closer we got to the training hall, the more anxious I got. My dad was going to swarm Nikko with a million questions and pretty much embarrass me to no end. But at least my mom would be there. She understands me so much better than he does.
Nikko fell back and walked beside me. "Chill out, Angel. Everything is going to be fine." I wanted to scream at him that everything would not be fine and that this would be a complete disaster, but I decided against it.
"I wish you were right," I muttered.
"You'd be surprised at how good I am at handling parents," he added.
"You haven't met my dad yet. He's definitely not like other parents," I insisted.
Nikko chuckled. "You obviously haven't seen me in action yet. Have some faith in me." He stopped walking completely and kneeled down next to me. "I really like you, Angel. I'm sure I can handle it." He took my hand and squeezed it gently. And he gave me my second kiss ever. (I just can't get over saying that. Nikko kissed me! Whoo!)
"You going to be ok?" he asked when we separated. I nodded and tried not to smile like an idiot. Tavy had waited for us outside of the training hall, and I tried really hard not to notice her sly smile. I pushed the doors to the training hall open and went inside, Tavy and Nikko following me.
"Hey guys. I'm home," I announced weakly. Suddenly all eyes were watching Nikko with mistrust, except for Viper, who looked really excited. "See what I mean?" I whispered to him. He nodded a little. "And as you've probably already guessed by the complete stranger in the training hall, this is Nikko," I introduced.
My mother stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nikko. I'm Angel's mother." Nikko shook her hand and smiled.
"So, you're the one who thinks you're good enough to date our girl?" Mantis asked, hopping up on his shoulder.
"Guys!" I groaned.
"Stand down, students." The Five parted. My dad walked up to us. "There's no need to interrogate him. That's very disrespectful," he scolded them.
"We shouldn't?" Monkey asked.
"It is?" Crane asked. I almost couldn't believe my ears. Was my dad approving of my relationship?
"No, you should not, and it is. Besides…" Uh oh. There's a catch.
"… that's my job," he finished, glancing at Nikko. Yup, there it is. The infamous catch. "Everybody out," he ordered. Viper, Crane, Tavy, Monkey, and Mantis immediately disappeared. My mom looked down at him and crossed her arms over her chest. He looked back up at her. "Tigress." She sighed and padded out of the room. My father looked at me with a look that said leave-or-you're-grounded.
So I very reluctantly left the room, trying to smile at Nikko before the doors closed. Everyone was still on the porch. "You didn't tell me he was that cute, Angel!" Viper exclaimed. I immediately felt my cheeks burn.
"Well if you ask me, he's not good enough for her," Monkey said.
"But who ever will be?" my mother asked, kissing my forehead.
"I can't believe I left him in there with Dad," I said, horrified.
"Well, it was nice knowing him. Not really, but still," Mantis said.
"I think Po is cooking in the kitchen," Mom said, glaring at him.
"He is. He's making vegetable stir-fry, and it's excellent," Tavy said happily.
"You had me at cooking," Mantis said, heading towards the kitchen. Crane and Viper followed, and after a few looks from my mom, Viper left too. After they were gone, I ran to the door and pushed it open just a crack so that I could see my father and Nikko and also hear everything they were saying.
"You know that you shouldn't spy on people, young lady," my mother warned.
"Mom, this is my potential boyfriend. And I can't date someone who's a pile of goo," I pleaded desperately.
She sighed. "Alright. I want to know what your father is saying anyway." Tavy immediately joined us at the door.
"So, how long have you known my daughter?" my dad asked, pacing back and forth.
"Well, I've known she's existed since fourth grade when she gave an awesome oral report about the history of kung fu," Nikko reported. A small smile appeared on my father's face when he heard "history of kung fu". I felt Tavy poke my side.
"Told you he knew you existed," she whispered in my ear.
"But I first talked to her only three days ago," Nikko added. I cringed a little. Oh, Nikko, did you have to say that?
"You've only been talking to him for three days?" my mother asked in disbelief. Her and my father's mind seem to be connected by some invisible vein.
"You've only talked to her for three days?" my father asked, only a little more angrily.
"Well, yes. Would you like me to lie and say we've been speaking since I laid eyes on her?" Nikko asked. My mother giggled and put a paw over her mouth. But my father was not as pleased.
"Are you saying you would lie if someone asked you to?" he snapped.
Nikko chuckled a little. "Of course not, sir. It was just a joke. But I really do like Angel. I think she's a really special girl. In fact… I don't think I've ever felt this way about a girl before." Tavy was poking my side savagely, and I felt Mom's comforting hand on my back. "And I've probably made a total idiot of myself saying all of this to you. But I definitely don't want to hurt Angel or anything. I'm not just in this because she's your daughter and really famous. I don't have some sort of plan to embarrass her or break her heart or anything. I just want a chance," Nikko said.
I felt my heart swell. He really likes me. "You know, that's something like what your father told my father after you were born," my mother whispered.
"Really? I asked, pulling away from the door.
"Yes. I hadn't told my father or mother or your uncles that I was married and pregnant with you until about a month before you were born. And my father was not happy when he found out that I had married my kung fu master. But the day after you were born, he sat down with your grandfather and said that he loved me and that he didn't marry me just because he wanted to get me in… um…"
I rolled my eyes. "Mom, I know all about sex. It was one of the few subjects that they made sure no one was sleeping through."
"You sleep in health class?" she asked.
"Don't worry, Master Tigress. It's pretty hard not to fall asleep in health class," Tavy defended.
Dad and Nikko emerged from the training hall. My dad's ears had flattened against his head and he was mumbling to himself. My mother sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. I could just barely see her rubbing his back with her thumb. "Girls, Nikko, can I have a minute alone with Master Shifu?" she asked sweetly.
"I need to be getting home anyway," Tavy said, dashing off. My mother was shooing me away with her eyes.
I sighed. "Come on, Nikko." We walked to the bunkhouse and holed ourselves up in my room. "I'm sorry I was freaking out. My father is very overprotective, and trust me, it only gets worse," I said.
"Well I like your father. He may not have the best sense of humor, but he cares about you. And trust me, that's a good thing," Nikko said. I sighed.
"You don't even know the half of it."
"What? What's wrong?" he asked.
"Well… Nikko, can I trust you? You have to promise never to repeat this to anyone ever again unless I tell you its ok," I said gravely.
"Sure. You can tell me. I'm not a jerk that goes telling everyone's secrets." I sighed.
"You didn't happen to mention my newspaper article to him, did you?" I asked. He shook his head. "Good. Don't. My dad doesn't know that I'm into music. He thinks that I've been drawing kung fu forms for my article," I explained.
Nikko's eyes were wide. "Seriously? You've never told him? Wow. I don't think that I could have kept a secret like that. How do you do it?" I shrugged.
"Well, Po gave me my iPod secretly for my tenth birthday. I keep it and all my other music stuff in here." I pulled out the cardboard box and opened it. All my CDs were stacked inside, along with my CD player, my radio, and my iPod.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked, pulling out my music journal.
"Wait, Nikko, no, don't read that!" I said, reaching for it. He pulled it out of my reach.
"Ooh, a secret! Is it your diary or something?"
"No, it is not! Give it to me!" I jumped up for it, but he didn't let me get at it.
"Did you write anything about me?" he asked, flipping through the pages.
"Come on, Nikko, give it back! This is not funny!" I pleaded, still jumping for it.
"Hold on, hold on. It's not like I'm going to rip out the pages and pin them up around school," he insisted. This had gone too far. I jumped up and grabbed the journal, then kicked him in the chest. He fell back onto my bed and I landed softly on my feet on the floor. "Well, you really are no joke with that kung fu, are you?" he asked, rubbing his chest.
I shrugged and sat down next to him. "It's kind of a given when both your parents are kung fu masters." He smiled and kissed my cheek.
"Well I think that it's really cool that I have a girlfriend who can kick my butt."
My heart fluttered. "Girlfriend? Since when am I your girlfriend?" I asked bashfully. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well… I hadn't gotten around to asking you yet, since your dad wanted to meet me, and since we've only been going out for like, two days, but… if you wanna…"
"Yes!" I said happily. A wide grin spread across his face. I felt my face heat up even more.
He leaned down and brushed his lips softly against mine. I smiled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. And we stayed like that for as long as possible, until both of us ran out of oxygen and we broke apart. We pressed our foreheads together and just stared at each other for a few moments before pressing our lips together again. I sighed happily. Well, if my parents can have their romantic moment, so can I. And mine won't make people throw up at the thought of it.