My Own Destiny

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda

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Chapter 21- It's Time (Again)

There was another ear-piercing scream. Baba was pacing back and forth out in the hallway, looking worried and muttering to himself. "Like I said before, I'm glad that I can never have children," Mantis quipped.

It had been fourteen hours since Mom had gone into labor. Viper was inside along with Grandmother, who was helping Mom give birth. She and Grandfather had come from the Northern Mountains almost as soon as they received the news of the pregnancy. Uncle Ming was here too, but he had only been here for a few weeks. He's engaged now, to a white tigress whose still in the mountains, waiting for his return.

Let me tell you, it was NOT easy having to live with Baba and Grandfather in the same Jade Palace for that long. They don't really like each other that much.

Grandfather was pacing back and forth too, and glaring at Baba while he did so. Viper had secretly explained to me that "the thought of Tigress being impregnated by your father is just a little hard for him to accept." This is why I like Viper. She doesn't sugarcoat things for me because I'm young.

"SHIFU, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

We all stared at the door for a few seconds. "Does… does giving birth really hurt that much?" I asked.

"Um, we're not the best group to ask, Angel," Crane stuttered. The rest of the males nodded.

"Remind me to never get married," I muttered.

"I'll make sure of that if you mean it," Baba intervened.

"Now, Shifu, don't be so quick to promise that. Having your daughter married to a complete stranger can be very uplifting. I would tell you what it feels like, but I don't know, now do I?" Grandfather snapped. Baba was about to say something, but Po came in between them.

"Come on, we don't need to fight now, do we? A baby is something to celebrate, and get along about, right? Come on!" It didn't really seem to work. I smiled at Grandfather, who smiled back. He sat down and accepted me into his lap. He stroked the top of my head gently. Baba frowned at this, but didn't say anything.

"So how have you been, Angel? I haven't seen you since your tenth birthday. I definitely don't remember you being this tall. You'll surpass your father soon, I have no doubt," he said cheerfully. Baba's ears flattened against his head.

I considered this question carefully. I could have told him that I had run away, met my mother and father's worst enemy, made a permanent spiritual connection with him, and was still in contact with him, and came back only to be grounded for the next ten years. "I'm alright."

This was better than watching him have a heart attack by telling him the whole truth.

He smiled. "Any admirers? A pretty young girl like you probably has to carry around a stick just to keep them away." You're probably wondering about the fate of Nikko and I. We didn't really work out. We broke up. And now he's going out with Jing, and they're apparently the talk of the school. Baba wanted to go to the village and teach him a lesson for breaking his little girl's heart, but I insisted against it. Nikko and I are still friends, and sometimes he comes to the shop for a bowl of noodles and a chat.

And maybe not so surprisingly, Xin was the first thing to come to my mind when Grandfather said "admirers". In Tai Lung's last letter, he said that Xin had recently turned thirteen, and that his training was coming along nicely. Biyu doesn't turn eight until winter, and apparently she's still jumping around, waiting not-so-patiently for her lessons in kung fu to begin. I have to remember to get all of the Five and Po to autograph a paper for her birthday present.

There was another scream, this one even louder. I'm not having children, I'm not having children, I'm not having children, I repeated in my head. But this time all was quiet. Everyone was completely silent. A loud cry erupted from Mom's room.

The door slid open a little, and Viper and Grandmother came out. "Shifu, Angel, Tigress wants you two to go in first."

"Typical, Tigress always makes her family wait until last," Uncle Ming muttered.

"At least she's not as aggressive as she was before Angel was born," Uncle Lian added. Mom, more aggressive than she is now? Scary. I quickly got up out of Grandfather's lap and rushed into Mom's room after Baba.

Mom was still breathing heavily, leaning back against the pillows and smiling. "If you were going to go through on that threat to kill me, now would be a good time," Baba joked.

Mom grinned at him. "Don't test me, Shifu, I just gave birth." Another soft cry came from a bundle in Mom's arms. She started rocking it gently. Baba came to her side and looked at it. He smiled and reached down into the bundle. It cooed. He and Mom shared a glance before turning their attention back to the bundle.

After a few more seconds of staring at it, Mom looked up at me. "Angel, don't you want to see your brother?"

Brother? It was a boy? I slowly came towards them and stood next to Mom on the other side of the bedroll so that I could see inside the blankets. Nestled in the fabric was a tiny tiger, which smiled up at me and held its tiny arms up to me.

"He likes you," Mom whispered.

He looked just like Mom. Same colored eyes, no odd colorations, almost an exact replica. I reached down towards him, and he grabbed one of my fingers with his tiny paw. All of his fingers wrapped around my one.

I smiled at him. "He's so cute!" I whispered.

Baba and Mom smiled at me. He brought my finger down to his mouth and started sucking on it, closing his eyes.

Baba chuckled. "He knows who his sister is." Even though most people think baby spit is gross, it felt strangely comforting to watch this little thing suck on my finger. I couldn't believe that only a few days ago, this was a lump in Mom's stomach. And now it was so real. He was alive.

"What's his name?" I asked. Mom and Baba looked at each other, eyes widening. "You did think of a name before this, didn't you?" I asked.

"Well, honey, getting ready for a birth is a lot of work, I guess it just slipped our minds," Mom said.

I sighed.

"Do you know how we named you, cherry blossom?" Baba asked. I shook my head.

"When we named you, you were sleeping like a little angel. So that's what we named you," Mom finished.

"Well you can't name him 'Suck', that would be really weird!" I exclaimed.

Mom peered down at my new brother. "He looks perfect, doesn't he, Shifu?" she asked quietly. He nodded. The little cub was still sucking on my finger, his eyes now open and watching us. I thought for a minute.

"What about Tai?"

Both my parents glanced at me, then looked at each other. I waited for their reaction. This suggestion was a bit of a stretch, and I knew it might bring back bad memories for my mother. Mom smiled at me. "That sounds like a good idea."

"It is?" I asked.

"It is?" Baba asked.

"Yes. I want to name him Tai." Baba looked as if he was about to faint.

"Tigress… are you really sure?" he whispered.

"Shifu, that chapter of our life is in the past, and I've moved on. And he just looks like a Tai to me," Tigress insisted. Baba sighed, and then looked down at the little baby. He smiled up at Baba, and grabbed hold of one of his whiskers, ripping it clean off. I tried to hold in my giggles.

"Oh yes, that seems like a good name."

"HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LOOK AT A BABY?" Uncle Ming yelled through the door.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE OF OLD AGE OUT HERE IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP!" Uncle Lian added. There was the sound of a loud whack. Both Baba and Mom started laughing.

"This brings back old memories." Soon everyone was let inside to look at the newborn Tai. He started crying when he was placed in Po's arms.

"Ah, man! Sorry, little guy, I didn't mean to scare you!" Po whispered. But Tai kept on crying. He didn't stop crying even after he was placed in Mom's waiting arms. "He's probably hungry," Grandmother said.

"Angel, could you hold him for a moment?" Mom asked, I nodded, and Tai was placed into my arms. Almost immediately, he stopped crying. Tai reached up and grabbed at one of my ears, playing with it and giggling. Everyone stared at me in shock.

"What? He knows who his favorite is, that's all," I said happily, tickling him under his chin. He laughed and pulled on my ear, which made me grit my teeth so I wouldn't cry out. Tai is VERY strong, even for a baby. Mom smiled.

She took him back, and he snuggled against her, purring softly. Everyone was forced out so that both Tai and my mom could get some rest.

Later that night, I snuck into my mom's room. I wanted to see Tai. Both he and Mom were curled up under the covers, their breathing peaceful and steady.

"Angel." I recognized that voice. It was gruff and deep. It was Tai Lung. I could see his glowing eyes in the moonlight.

"Tai Lung… what are you doing here? Do you realize what would happen if you got caught?" I whispered angrily.

"I'm fully aware of what I'm doing. I needed to see her one more time." He looked over my mother. "Is she well?" he asked. I nodded. His eyes went to rest on my brother. "A boy or a girl?"

"A boy."

He grunted. There was a pause, and only the sounds were that of the crickets chirping outside. "He looks just like her."

I nodded again. "He does." I searched his face. I couldn't read any emotion that may have been present in his heart. "She named him Tai." Tai Lung looked up at me.

"You're joking, right?"

I shook my head. "Well, it was my idea, but she agreed to it," I explained.

He frowned. "You shouldn't have done that."

I shrugged. "Too late. I did." He turned his gaze back to my mother and baby brother. "Can—can I leave you in here alone without anyone getting hurt? I'm kind of tired," I said. He nodded.

"Trust me, I'm long since over her. I have two children of my own and a beautiful wife. What use would she or your brother be to me now?" I tried to smile.

"Goodbye, Tai Lung." He grunted again. I started out of the room.

"Angel."

I turned back around. "Xin told me to say hello to you. He wishes you the best of health." I smiled and a rosy red blush fell across my cheeks.

"Tell him the same from me." And I left.

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Tai Lung waited until he was sure that Angel was really gone. Then he kneeled next to Tigress. Her eyes were closed, and her arms wrapped defensively around her newborn child. Tai Lung smiled. She was just as beautiful as he remembered.

"Tigress… I'm sorry. I've made mistakes, and I know it. I wish I could take every one of them back and do this again the right way. Then maybe things would be different, and I would be allowed to approach you without fear of disembowelment."

He cautiously ran a paw over her cheek. Her fur was soft and silky. Some of the feelings from his past resurfaced. For a split second, he wanted to take her into his arms and run his fingers all through her fur, through every inch. Her warm breath escaped her lips and tickled his face. Her full, wet lips tantalized and challenged him, daring him to bring his own down to meet them. Her chest rose and fell in perfect time to his heartbeat.

There was something about Tigress that made Tai Lung act this way. It was the reason that he had distanced himself from her for the past thirteen years. But standing in front of her, this close to her sleeping form was putting Tai Lung's new reforms to the test.

There was his good side, reminding him of Ting and his son and daughter.

Then there was his animal side, yelling at him to carefully and slowly take the child out of her arms and put him somewhere safe, and then proceed to take her into his arms and fill his needs for her. The need for her gentle kiss, her passionate caress, the feel of her muscles moving in tune with his.

These were the things that were reserved for him.

Shifu was her husband, yes, but there were some things that were sworn to Tai Lung silently. He had kidnapped her, and he had taken her virginity without her consent. He would never deny it.

But during that tryst, the one night that they were each other's and no one else's, she had kissed him back. She had run her paws over his chest and face and his inner thighs. Her hips had risen up to meet his eagerly. She had moaned out his name to him loudly, giving him no connotation that she wanted him to stop. She had an equal share in his guilt.

But then she wasn't married. She was a free woman, and Shifu could never say that he had committed adultery with Tigress. Now things were different. She had a husband, and a daughter and son, just like him.

You love Angel as if she were your own, the animal side whispered to him, and you could raise the son as your child. Tigress named it after you, it's practically an invitation. She's your one true desire, and she's in front of you! Do it before it's too late!

But Ting's face flashed through his mind. Her luminous smile, her gorgeous laugh. He loved Ting. The good side spoke to him, battling back against his inner demons.

You don't really want her for a wife. You like what you see in front of you. She's pretty on the eyes. You just want her so that you can have the physical pleasure. The relationship that you and Ting have is different. It's an actual connection, a sign of true love. Will you risk it for one or two nights with Tigress? And her children—how could you live with yourself knowing that you ripped them away from a loving home? She just gave birth today, her son will grow up thinking its okay to do this. Is that what you want? What you really want?

He sighed and resumed stroking Tigress' cheek. "I would have loved you. I didn't want just a night of fun and then to drop you, or just for you to have my children and continue on my lineage. I wanted you, as yourself, and everything about you. But now it's too late. You've lost your chance." He kissed her forehead.

"Goodbye, Tigress."

He turned to leave, but heard a soft sound from behind him. He slowly turned around. The baby in Tigress' arms had awoken, and was staring up at him, smiling. He held his arms out to Tai Lung, wanting to be picked up and held. Tai Lung half smiled at the tiger cub.

"You look just like your mother."

And he disappeared.