Author's Notes:

Hello! For a while now, I've had this idea for a small fanfiction, and I've just never really had the time to start writing it. But now, I just woke up one day and, after all my other worldly duties, just decided to sit down and start writing this thing. Also keep in mind, the standard of writing is going to be much different from my other main fanfiction; most of you will probably like that. I've noticed I just use redundant adjectives in places where they don't really need them, and if you've read my recent chapters, you can tell I've certainly revamped my work regarding that matter. I hope my writing feels a lot more sophisticated than my earlier chapters in my other works, however, I'm not going to put as much effort into this as my other main works. I have a rough idea of where this will go, but I'll expand if need be.

Anyway, enough of me ranting on, let's get to the story!

Chapter 1:

A beam of moonlight shone through the window. It was well within the night; everything was eerily quiet. The rhythmic snores of his comrades would usually occupy the night air, but for some reason, they couldn't be heard. The kindling sizzle of candles and lanterns were also quite a common thing to hear, but they too were unheard. It was quiet. Way too quiet.

Po was unable to sleep. He kept tossing and turning to no avail. He kept on thinking that sleep would just be around the corner, but it never came. Po was well familiar with sleepless nights, the same way he was well familiar with being bullied and name-called. Before Po was named the Dragon Warrior, he lived a life that didn't satisfy him. He would go to school to learn things that didn't really matter to him. He would be forced to do things that he didn't want to do. And worst of all, he would be exposed to a lot of hateful comments and statements that would just add on to the misery.

'Stupid, fat Panda!', 'A lonely nobody!', he heard them all. Despite the physical abuse that would shortly follow with statements like these, the thing that truly broke Po was the fact that over time, he started to believe what they were saying. With every day he lived his life, he lived another with a fresh, new scar on his heart. His one and only passion of Kung Fu was so juxtaposed with others' expectations, that it was almost hysterical. How poetic! A man, forced to live a life he doesn't want, hates himself with every forthcoming day, for with every deep wound that he would receive, the belief that he was useless would cement more and more. What was a person without a purpose? What redeeming qualities did a person have if they couldn't follow the dreams they wanted?

These questions were among the many that stayed unanswered for a long time, until he was named Dragon Warrior. For once, his crying pleas were listened to, and for the first time in a long time, he finally felt like he had a purpose. His hopes came crashing down however, when he heard how hostile the Five were to him. For a person that didn't do anything wrong, he was more confused if not hurt more than anything. It was a never-ending cycle; for as long as he lived, he would never be what others wanted him to be. Despite this, Po didn't give up, as this was the closest he had ever been to following his passion for Kung Fu.

Since then, things have only bettered. He miraculously defeated Tai Lung, and emerged victorious in a battle to the death. He gained the respect of the Furious Five, and for a while, things were great, until Shen made an appearance. His skills were put to the test again when he had to travel to an unknown city on the coast of China and recklessly throw himself in the line of danger to save the day once more. The trip was more like a mortal journey than anything, as he found out about his past and origin, and the showdown with Shen's armada was the final crescendo of it all. Once again, he was the savior of China, and the hero of Kung Fu.

While his victory over Kai aged more and more, he felt a mix of emotions subtly grow inside of him. He long outgrew his 'not worthy' phases; he was clearly capable of great things, but then why did he feel like he needed to prove himself? It was as if the standards of the people around him weren't of any meaning anymore, but he always felt like he had to put his best foot forward when other people were around him.

Was it a good work ethic? He knew himself enough to know that that wasn't the case. A desire to be better? That was partially true, but when you're pretty much the most powerful being within a one-thousand kilometer radius, it gets quite hard to improve.

Po thought about that last thought again. Was he really the strongest person in China? After he mastered inner peace, he surpassed most of the five, and after his chi stunt with Kai, he was better than Shifu, which left a grand total of zero people to challenge him. Wait a second, a grand total of zero people? He thought about it one more time, and when he did, there was one person that would always surface in his pool of thoughts. One person who he knew he could never best.

He quickly tried to suppress his thoughts of the person, but for some reason, it was harder to do than usual. Po didn't like to think of them for long, because when he did, more… salacious thoughts would creep into his mind. It was unhealthy to be this fantasized about one person, but love spoke a different meaning.

He couldn't take it anymore. If he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well eat. Looking up from his bed, he slowly pulled the blankets away, and took careful steps to the door, and started to slowly pull its handle. He was right to think that there were no candles; the place was barely visible, let alone maneuverable.

However, when he was out on the corridor, he could hear a small… whimpering sound? He squinted his eyes, and he heard it again. He could hear soft sniffles and heavy breathes come from one of the rooms. Judging from its subtlety, the person who was doing it was most likely crying through a pillow, or something similar in nature.

Po simply shrugged his shoulders; it wasn't his business to snoop into someone's sensitive matters. With that, he walked through to the kitchen, and started to eat a few dumplings. The night progressed fine, but during it all, he couldn't help but question who was crying.

He woke up with a start. He must've fallen asleep in the kitchen, because he was surrounded by the five. He raised his face up, bowl in hand, and rubbed his eyes.

"Hello?..." Po said slowly.

"Po, you have to stop sleeping at such late hours, it's bad for your health." Tigress sternly stated. Everyone else idly stood by.

"I can't sleep, I can't help it." Po admitted, causing Tigress to somewhat scrunch her features, "Anyway, why is Shifu not here?"

"He's given us the day off. In a few days, it's the New Year festival." Tigress replied.

"He's given us a few days off so we find a partner to dance with on the day. It's tradition to ask and dance with someone." Crane pitched in.

"Anyway, I'll let you get to it. I hope you… find someone." Tigress's voice suddenly went a lot deeper with those last words; it didn't go unnoticed.

Everyone else took their leave, except for Viper, who stayed for a few moments more.

"It's the year of the Tiger too." She winked at Po before slithering off, leaving him with his own thoughts and a mild, red blush on his cheeks.

The day went by quickly. After a silent, two hour training session and three lunch breaks later, the sun was retreating back to the horizon. He couldn't stop thinking about what Tigress said earlier. We have to choose someone to dance with for the ceremony? He never remembered having to do something like that last year. They must've added some new thing to it.

His thoughts started to creep to the dark side of his mind again, and soon, he found himself conflicted. This could be my chance to admit my feelings for Tigress! But what if she says no? Our friendship will be ruined, and she'll never want to talk to me again. But I can't hide my love for her any longer, I have to tell her... Ugh, I'm having second thoughts again.

He sat under the veil of the Sacred Peach tree for what seemed like hours. He appeared to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. He desperately wanted to see if his love would be reciprocated, but if it was unrequited, he would be risking what would be a strong and stable friendship.

He was too focused in thought to notice that a certain feline was watching him in the shadows. Her stark, orange eyes almost glowed in the night, and it juxtaposed well with the dark sunset.

She stood there silently. Waiting. Listening. Just seeing his crestfallen face made her stomach churn. A maverick tear nearly broke through her walls, but she held it in. Now wasn't the time for something like this. Now wasn't the time at all.

Regrettably, she had caught herself watching Po a few more than one too many. She was trained at a young age to keep urges like these at bay, but most recently, her heats have denied such things. Now, she felt almost obligated to make sure he was safe and out of harm's way, even if he was already in safe areas, such as the Jade Palace.

When he fell asleep, she smiled. She walked out of her cover and approached the panda. Resisting the urge to just cuddle up into her fur, Tigress walked away, but not before whispering a small prayer.

"Please may my love feel the same way I do. Please may he look to me beyond that of a comrade. I hope this New Year can grant me these wishes."

With those final words, she left, hoping that at least one day, her words would speak the truth.

If only she knew that things were about to take a huge twist…

To be continued…

Author's notes:

I hope this was a good teaser for what's about to come up. And just so you know, this entirely for fun; the love feelings are heavily OOC because I feel like it just makes the story downright better. Plus, I like writing unrealistic, melodramatic romance. This is going to be one of my final bottom author's notes, because I feel like these next chapters will just flow better without wordy comments from me, you know.

Also, I have a small little request from you guys. If you guys know of any really good TiPo fanfics, message me in PMs. I've read at least 200 tipo fan fics, and I'm looking for some really good reads. Anything that's 20-30k plus will be good, but 100k words or more would be recommended. After looking at the sheer amount of TiPo fanfics when I first got into the ship, I never thought I would be running out of such material, but with my quick reading pace, and with me usually staying up to 2 AM on most days, I go through a lot of literature very quickly, even when I read actual proper novels as well.

Well, apart from that, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review ;)