Walking into Love
Don't own Kung Fu panda
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I like you as a friend, Po," Said the snow leopard. The bullet shot right through his heart as he pried the corners of his lips into a smile.
"It... it's okay, Sarah. I understand," Po stiffly replied.
"Is it okay if we stay friends?" asked the snow leopard with gritted teeth, tensing her shoulders as her eyes squinted. Regurgitating the broken fragments of his heart, Po swallowed hard.
"Of course."
"Great! Thank you so much, Po," Sarah gleefully smiled as she ran up and hugged the big panda. Po hugged back and as he released her, Sarah walked over to her car, waving back at him, and drove away. Po trudged back into his small house, shut the door, and plopped down into a chair, glaring at the wavy white carpet brushing his sock-clothed feet. The cold wind howled through skinny trees and leafless branches against his window while the day grew darker until the sun dismissed its head from his sight.
What could he do? Why did he do this? If he had never said anything, he could have probably just escaped the hurt and...
No. He had to tell her. The pain of asking was somehow less than the pain of wondering if she would say yes. This pain was sharp, stabbed like a sword through the heart, and burned. Yet his sigh seemed to extinguish the pain a bit. He had finally, after two long years, told Sarah that he had feelings for her.
And now the feelings were rejected. What now? "Can I even stay friends with her?" Po asked. He remembered their prior conversation that she hated how men immediately dropped women when they were friendzoned. Though he agreed at the time, Po could see why some men did it. The very thought of seeing her again agonized him. Her: the cause of the pain.
Po shook his head and walked to the kitchen, appreciating the cool touch of the fridge. Cold, just like he felt. He grabbed the bottled coke, popped it with an opener, and let carbonated fizz slowly wash down the awful pit in his stomach.
"She's not the cause of pain," Po said aloud. He knew once his brain associated her with pain, it would cause him to see her differently. Maybe that's why guys stayed away from girls that rejected them. Because the association of pain and the woman were strong deterrents. But then what about the other way around: girls getting rejected by guys? Po shrugged. Guys rarely wanted girls to be their friends after rejecting them. They usually avoided them because of the awkwardness. The panda grumbled lightly as he gulped down another sip. In his opinion, neither sex knew what the other was going through.
"How the heck am I going to do this?" Po asked. He looked at his watch. 11:00pm. He sighed and went to bed, fitfully wrestling with sleep.
The next day wearing a white button-up shirt and pressed black dress pants, Po drove to the college, parked, and walked onto campus. "Hello Professor Ping!" said a student. The panda smiled briefly and waved as he walked into the airy atrium. A small garden was in the center as massive rays of sunlight filled the circular three-story university. Crossing the inner garden, Po strolled over to his classroom on the first floor. The class, filled with animals of different kinds, busily talked with each other. Well, some. Some crowded around in their budding friend groups while others looked around at the crowd like frightened children. Po gave a big sigh and plastered a smile onto his face as he walked in.
"Hello everyone!" he called and walked right over to the table. "Wow, there's a lot of you here." The university was private, but the panda counted at least thirty students in his class. Clapping his hands together, Po grinned. "It's nice to see all of you here. I hope that you're having a wonderful day. Now, let's get the show on the road. My name is Professor Po Ping. Yes, I know I'm much younger than you would think. I'm sorry that not every professor is an old tart." The students chuckled lightly. "As you know, this is English 101 For Critical Thinking. If you've made a mistake and you're in the wrong class, please get out." No one moved. "Alright. So all of you are here. Good," He said breathily like he was exhausted. "You'll have to forgive me. I got a little tired trying to get ready for the first day of the semester. Hehe. Now let's get to the fun part. I want you guys to get your phones out... cause a play a game of word guessing," Po grinned.
Po's class instantly loved him, and a lot of students were late for their next class because they kept asking Po questions. The panda smiled but sadly. Almost every time this happened, the question of love life always came up. "I'm sorry," Po finally said, "but I have to get to my next class." Though a lie, he did need to get to his office where he found a short old red panda stood at his door. "Dr. Shifu?"
"Ah! Po. I was looking for you."
"I was teaching."
"Right, right. Listen, as you know we've seen an increase in student enrollment. I wanted to make sure that you felt adequate to handle the work. Maybe you could use some help?"
"Oh no, that won't be-" Po paused. He usually had only 10 students per class, and since his first-class had thirty..."Yes, I need it. Fast."
"Oh well, I do have someone in mind. She's fairly new and Viper has been working with her but since Viper's retired, she could help you."
Po narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know Viper had an assistant."
"Recently, she's been working the night shift, which is probably why you don't see her."
Po asked, "So where is she?" Just then, someone in a bright red blouse rounded the corner of the hall and strolled towards them. She was a tiger with a loose beaded necklace and a pair of dark pants. Her maroon flats clapped against the white tiled floor, and she held a small bag over her left arm, wearing a small thin smile that threatened to grow into either a smirk, laugh, or snarl.
"Ah, here she is," Shifu smiled as the tiger walked up to them. Po politely smiled and shook the tiger's extended hand. "This is Tigress Fu."
Po's eyes widened and shot to Shifu. "Fu? Which means-"
"She's my adopted daughter," Shifu said.
"It's great to meet you, Mr. Ping," Tigress said. "I've heard a lot about you from Viper."
"Really?"
"Something about hyping up the students every time they come to her class? She has to calm them down."
"Hehe," Po's finger scratched the side of his face. "Yeah. That's me."
"Of course you would know that if you paid attention at teacher conferences," Shifu muttered.
"Sorry, I've... been going through a lot," Po sighed. Tigress slightly narrowed her eyes as Shifu continued.
"I hope that you'll be able to help Professor Ping, and I hope that Ms. Fu is to your liking."
"Thank you, Shifu," Po sighed as the red panda walked away. Po opened up his office. It was big, much bigger than normal offices. A dark wooden desk sat by the window, and a bookcase was right behind him, filled with Dickens, Jane Austen, Homer, Virgil, Shelley, and Rupi Kaur along with reference books. Another desk in the far right corner sat at the corner of the window. The desks were in an L-shaped position so Po's left was facing the window while Tigress would be looking out of it. "I hope the desk is to your liking. I can get a different one or-"
"It'll be fine, Mr. Ping."
"Please, just Po. Mr. Ping is... probably someone that has his life more put together," Po smiled with a slight laugh. Tigress slightly narrowed her eyes.
"What makes you think that your life isn't?"
"Aahh," Po sighed with a dismissive wave. "You don't want to hear about it. Just some small... relationship problems."
"Oh."
"But," Po said, clapping his hands together, "Let's get going! I have a lot to do and not that much time to do it, so I could really use your help."
Tigress gracefully smiled. "I'm at your service."
Po and Tigress worked together fairly well. The panda's usual grading was three times the amount it used to be, and the extra hand was desperately needed. Tigress normally hummed while she worked and though it caught Po off guard at first, he didn't prevent her from doing it. It made him smile a bit wider. One day after a week of their partnership, Po wrote down some grading average when he stopped and said, "Isn't it weird?"
"Hm?"
"Isn't it weird that you're doing this? I mean, Viper's thing is biology. Don't you need some background in science to know how to edit it?"
Tigress looked out the window for a bit. "I don't think so. I had to make sure that the students knew what they were talking about. In your class, I just need to make sure that they write well. Either way, I'm looking at sentences and paper, not content."
"And why are you doing this?"
"To get ideas."
"I'm sorry?"
Tigress smiled, "I'm an author and when I asked my father to get me close-up with student writing, this is the job he gave me."
"Why?"
"The students' creativity is pretty... untamed. I mean, before college sucks it out of them."
"Hey," Po protested, "I don't do that."
"I meant no offense, Po," Tigress smiled. The panda quietly grumbled as he returned to writing.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He looked at the number and gave a big sigh. "Is something wrong?" Tigress asked. Po shook his head, answering the phone.
"Hey, Sarah. How are you doing? That's nice. Oh... you want me to go with you... uh... let me see my schedule. We have a lot of students this year, and I'm gonna be really busy these next few weeks. Oh... uh... well-" Po looked at Tigress, who scribbled on her desk. "No! Uh... actually I can't! Yeah, I'm sorry. Uhh... how about next Thursday? Okay, thanks." He hung up and dragged his fingers down his face. "UGGhh!"
"Is something wrong?"
"Me."
"Hm?"
"Nothing. Just a friend of mine wanted to hang out."
"And you're not going with them? Why?"
"I'm... busy?"
"Is that a question or a statement?"
"Hey, this isn't a lesson in English 101. I should know," Po said. Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Look, she and I just have...never mind. It's nothing. Relationship issues." He returned to his writing.
It was quiet for a moment, but Po didn't hear Tigress scribbling. "You two... broke up?" Po looked at Tigress. He sighed and relaxed back into his chair.
"Now I see why I don't have an assistant. I'm too obvious," Po sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"No, no. It's fine. No, I didn't break up with her. In fact, we were never together in the first place. I liked her, she didn't like me back," He sighed and focused back on his work, "Kids stuff, you know."
"But it still hurts."
Po lifted his head and stared at the tiger. "What exactly are you trying to get at Tigress?"
"I'm just concerned." Her face seemed genuine.
Po sighed, "It's just... trying to be in the friendzone is hard, especially when I just poured out my feelings. Seeing her at all hurts, so how am I supposed to be a 'good friend' when I can't even be around her without feeling hurt in some kind of way?"
"Have you told her?"
"No, of course not."
"Why not?"
"Would you want to hear that your very presence was a pain to me?"
Tigress rolled her eyes. "I would want to make sure that my friend wasn't hurting." Po slumped back into his chair. "It doesn't hurt to tell the truth."
"Doesn't hurt me or her?"
"Po." The panda sighed loudly and let the moment of silence tick away.
"You're right," Po said. "I should at least say something."
The days passed when Po finally grew the courage to talk to Sarah on the dreaded Thursday he promised. The snow leopard and panda walked through the huge mall in the center of town as they usually did. Po shoved his hands into his pockets as Sarah looked through stuff to wear. "Oohh this is nice. What do you think?"
"Huh? Oh, I think it's okay," Po smiled. The expression felt off, even to him. So he wasn't surprised when the feline turned to him with a dubious frown on her attractive face.
"Po, what's wrong?" Sarah said, "You know you don't hide your emotions well." The panda grumbled under his breath. He promised her he would talk about it later. All too soon, the normally long mall trip came to an end as Sarah power-walked out of the mall.
"Don't you want to look at more shops? I saw they had a nice dress at Rue 21," Po shakily smiled. The snow leopard didn't turn around until they were at the car they had ridden together in. She placed her bags in the trunk and turned around, crossing her arms. "Uh oh."
"So, what's the matter?" Sarah asked.
"Ummm... I don't know what you're-"
"Po, you promised," she pouted. Po cursed in his head. Darn his belly-sized heart. Finally, the panda sighed and told Sarah the pain he was feeling with each and every visit they had with each other. Sarah's eyes grew wide as her mouth slowly dropped. At one point she covered her mouth and then slid her hands into a folded position on her chest. When Po was done, Sarah was quiet. "Po... I-"
"You don't have to feel bad or anything. It's just... I can be friends with you, but... I just can't see you right now. It's...it just hurts really badly. I'm sorry. I wish it weren't true, but I can't... I can't be a good friend if I don't tell you what's going on in my mind." Sarah bowed her head.
Sniff, Sniff!
Uh oh. Then she cried. The panda immediately wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing his hand over the back of her head. "I'm sorry Sarah. I just-"
"Stop apologizing Po!" She yelled not as loudly as Po thought. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't think for a moment how you felt and assumed that everything would go back to the way things were," She paused. "But they can't, can they?"
"Nothing stays the same, but that doesn't mean we can't stay friends. I'll learn how to heal from this, I promise," Po said.
"But... you can't talk to me then... can you?" Sarah sighed. Po gently pulled her chin up and smiled.
"Don't worry. I will. I promise. I'll get over this. It's okay, Sarah. It's not your fault." Sarah wrapped her arms around him and tightly hugged him.
"I'm sorry, Po."
"It's okay. It's okay," Po sighed as a small tear ran down his cheek.
From that day, Sarah and Po didn't talk to each other much. The panda was intentional about talking with her, but it was more sporadic than their friendship used to be. This went on for about a month or two until their friendship slowly formed back to Po talking to her without any trace of pain. In fact, the last time he talked to Sarah, he was laughing and giggling like an old man talking about his famous jokes. What happened?
During that time, Tigress and Po's partnership had gotten... lively. "That is NOT how the sentence should be and you know it!" Po exclaimed.
"The student should have known that then," Tigress grunted back.
"I'm just saying that it might've been done on purpose to prove the thesis."
"What thesis?! This student didn't even make it clear what he was talking about."
"I'm just saying you're being too harsh."
"Maybe you're not being strict enough," Tigress grumbled, marching over to her desk.
"And what about Judy and her paper? That's okay?"
"It's creative."
"It's choppy and it doesn't tell the story. You should know that Ms. Author," Po replied sharply. Tigress spun her head around and stormed right up to the panda's face.
"Are you calling me incompetent?"
"You know I'm not that stupid."
"Judy's paper is in your Creative Writing class and the other is English 101. Those are two different classes that require two different styles of writing. Plus, Judy wrote a paper about a hero in the woods fighting a demon that requires suspenseful writing while the other student was talking about marbles! Or did you forget that?"
Po paused, looked around the office, and frowned, "I didn't forget."
"Then what?"
"I... I just..." Po sighed and laughed heartily. "I just don't like losing to you."
"You wouldn't have to if you just admitted I'm right when I am," Tigress smirked. Their play fights had become well-known in the university. They argued constantly about the English students' papers and how their style could possibly bypass some of the rules of writing. Most times Tigress would win, but they always ended their fights with a laugh and a smirk. Tigress's brilliance as an author helped Po re-design how he taught while Po's viewpoint changed how Tigress wrote. The panda sighed and sat down at his desk when Tigress's phone, which was on her desk, pinged. He glanced up and saw something that resembled a snow leopard before she picked it up.
The tiger flinched and stuffed her phone in her pocket. "What's the matter?" Po asked.
"Nothing."
"Tigress."
"You would be upset."
"Is it about Sarah?"
"Ye-" Tigress narrowed her eyes at him. "How did you know?"
"You know, I saw spots," He shrugged. "Why do you have her on your social media?" Tigress looked away and cleared her throat.
"I didn't know what she looked like"
"I could have just given you a picture."
"I didn't want to upset you."
"Eh, I'm past that," Po said. "So what's going on with her?"
"I thought you were past that."
Po sighed, exhaustedly exasperated. "Do you have to fight a battle-worn panda?"
"I'm serious actually."
"Tigress, I'm fine. I'm just curious," Po said. Tigress still had narrowed eyes until she finally sighed and pulled out her phone.
"Well, she has... a boyfriend."
"Oh," Po said lightly. "Now I know why she hasn't told me yet. What does he look like?" Tigress showed him. "Oh," He said dejectedly.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just... I didn't realize I was never her type," Po said. The picture showed Sarah happily standing next to her snow leopard boyfriend. Tigress sighed, putting her phone away. "But hey, that's how life goes."
"Is Sarah your type?"
"Well... not really. Of course, I don't think I really have a type." Po looked at the ceiling in thought. "I mean I like felines, but I... stop smirking at me like that."
"Hehe, I was just wondering," Tigress grinned. Po didn't mind. He didn't mind their playful arguments; he didn't mind their long lunch breaks together; he didn't mind editing her stories; he didn't mind her coming over to his house to learn how to cook; he didn't mind meeting her parents and her meeting his; he didn't mind watching movies together; he didn't mind the two years with her. He still talked with Sarah, and Tigress finally met her, though Po had to make sure that she behaved and didn't chew Sarah out for rejecting the panda. He didn't know why Tigress was so protective, but he didn't mind.
He didn't even mind going to the writing convention with her for one of her famous books. Po stood close to the tiger as she smiled and waved to her fans like a runway model. "Come on, diva, we have to get going to the panel."
"Since when did you become my manager?" Tigress asked.
"Since you asked me to be your escort," the panda smirked. The panel was informative and fun as kids and adults crowded in to hear their favorite authors, especially Tigress. Po stood by the sideline, smiling as Tigress finally stepped down from the panel stage and groaned. "Tired?"
"I need a latte."
"Why don't we go to the writer's lounge? We have some time before the next panel."
"Yes please," Tigress sighed. The lounge was a big conference room filled with ornate tables, and Po and Tigress sat in the corner of the room away from the action. "Ugh."
"Fame is hard."
"I'm not even that famous."
"Well, others seem to think otherwise. You should really think of teaching a class at the university."
"Po, people would come from all over the world just to take one of my classes, and I'm not trying to be prideful." Po rose an eyebrow. "I'm not! I just like my quiet work with you."
"Alright," the panda smirked. Just then, a simian came up to them.
"Monkey! It's great to see you!" exclaimed Tigress as she hugged the primate.
"It's great to see you, too. I saw you created a crowd at the panel."
"Yeah, I'm exhausted."
"And who is this?" Monkey asked.
"This is Po."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"No, no," the tiger and panda quickly said.
"Po is just my escort... and manager," Tigress said. "He's a great friend of mine and I help him with his job at our university."
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, but I didn't think that... women had male escorts," Monkey struggled not to snicker.
"Can't women have male escorts?" Tigress lowly growled.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Monkey timidly stuttered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I... I should get to the panel." And the monkey raced off.
"You know," Po smirked, "you bite your own mouth if you have teeth that sharp."
"Enough with the metaphors," Tigress grumbled. "I just didn't appreciate his joke."
"Why?"
"It just... I don't know. It just... got to me," Tigress struggled to say. Po shrugged. The convention came and went, and the two slept in a hotel room with two beds. It was fine to them. Tigress slept over Po's house sometimes when they were working on students' papers late into the night. Nothing new. Po looked out of the sliding glass window as the sun went down. Tigress laid on the bed behind him, staring at the ceiling. Her hands folded behind her head as a frown bent her lips.
"You haven't said anything since the convention. Are you okay?" Po asked.
"It's nothing. I'm just... what Monkey-"
"Still? Tigress, it was just a joke."
"I know, I know." Tigress paused. "Then why..."
Po turned around to face her. "Why what?" Tigress sat up in the bed.
"Po...um... gosh this is weird."
"Just tell me, Tigress." The wait was unbearable.
"Why is it that I want what he was suggesting to be true?" Po's eyes shot open. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"No, no, no. I get it. I understand," Po said, sitting on her bed's edge. Tigress moved to the edge as well. "Tigress, uh... would it be crazy if we were... more than friends?"
"No," She answered quickly. They looked at each other. They barely breathed. "It... it wouldn't be crazy."
"So... if I asked if we could... go out together...would you say yes?"
"Yes."
"Oh," Po said. They were silent for a moment. "Okay." Then Tigress punched Po in the shoulder. "OW! What did you do that for?"
"For being weird about this."
"What! You were just as weird about it!"
"Yeah, but you should be a little more confident."
"That's a lie and you know it!"
"Well, you should have," She huffed, crossing her arms. Po frowned but then he laughed, suddenly hugging her and falling back to the bed. The tiger laughed with him as they embraced each other on the bed. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being with me. I'm not the easiest person to get along with."
"We get along?"
"Po."
"I'm kidding," Po chuckled, resting his head against hers. "But I like this."
"Like what?"
"The way we did it. We didn't fall in love with each other. We just walked in, like a stroll in the park. And before we knew what we were, we already knew. It's quiet but... I wouldn't change it," Po smiled. Tigress chuckled.
"I... I love you, Po."
"I love you too, Tigress."
"What did the Great One say?" I asked my friend. "Love is patient, kind, gentle, and never fails? He is right, as always. Much better to walk into love than to fall for it."
The End