AN: This is a sequel of sorts to my other work 'Seize The Day'. Set in-between the second and third movies, and after the present-time events of Secrets of the Scroll. Also, is anyone still curious why they changed Tigress's clothes after the second movie?

The time was late September, and to the dismay of many residents of the Valley of Peace, the tell-tale signs of the end of summer were beginning to show at last. Grim clouds were drawing in from the horizon, bringing with them squalls of cold rain that would send a shiver running through one's body. Plants had begun to wither and the lush leaves that donned the great trees were rotting, as though infected by some vicious disease. With each passing day, the sun was setting sooner and leaving behind a bitter chill to set in and sink straight to the bone. There was no doubt that the season of hot days and warm nights was finally drawing to a certain close.

But it was not until Viper could see her breath cloud before her in the cool evening did she finally relent and admit, with a heavy heart, that the summer was finally over. "I'll miss the heat." she sighed as she turned away from the outdoors, where rain had just begun to fall, and followed her fellow teammates into student barracks of the Jade Palace.

"Yeah – it's always a shame," Crane agreed. His words were a little muffled; he carried a woven bag with the handle slipped between the mandibles of his beak. "Now all we've got left to look forward to is freezing wind, rain, and snow."

Crane, Viper, and Po had all returned from shopping in the village and were all carrying some assortment of baskets, bags, and (in Po's case) a small wooden crate. They mostly contained food – spices, herbs, and vegetables to be stored in the pantry. Conventionally, the Palace staff would arrange the food deliveries but Po's humungous appetite was not appeased by the measly portions the staff insisted came with a Kung-Fu diet. To satisfy his cravings, Po often ate out – or would take frequent trips into the village in order to purchase his own rations of food to bring back to the barracks.

"C'mon, Crane – winter's not all that bad!" Po protested as he backed into the kitchen, one crate slung confidently on his shoulder. "There's jumping in puddles, walking on crunchy leaves – oh! And the holidays! Then when snow falls, there's snowball fights and-"

"If you want to catch a cold then go ahead, but I refuse to! That's why I bought this!"

From out of his bag, Crane fished out a long scarf. It was a deep purple that matched the sash he wore around his trim waist but was made of knitted wool rather than silk. He wrapped it around his neck twice and then stretched out to show it fully.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Very practical," Viper commented with a gentle hiss. "And I love the colour co-ordination."

Crane held his beak a little higher. "Thank you - that's why I went for purple rather than the red one. It would clash a little with my pants, don't you think?"

"So that's why you wanted to go down to the village today?" Po asked. He was setting his crate and bags down onto the floor and began to rummage through their contents. "To get a scarf?"

"Yep – now I'm all ready for the winter. You were thinking the same, right? I saw you go inside the clothes shop – getting yourself winter-ready too, eh?"

Po suddenly became very interested in unpacking a bag of vegetables. "Yeah, something like that. What about you, Viper? What did you buy today?"

"Oh, nothing," Viper shook her head. "I was just browsing. I like to go to the stall with all the perfumes and see if they have anything new. Sometimes they have some great smells there. Cedarwood, rose, cinnamon – they're just all so good."

"I didn't know you were into perfume?"

"Of course! We snakes can smell with our tongues as well as our noses – but sometimes it's not always a blessing. It's nice to go out and smell something different from Monkey's sweaty feet!" Viper giggled playfully.

"I heard that!"

From the central corridor came Monkey, with Mantis perched on his shoulder. The golden langur frowned indignantly at Viper and cried, "I don't have smelly feet! I have smelly hands – four of them!"

The group gave a chorus of laughter. Viper rolled her eyes, although she could not help but smirk in amusement with the others. "And you should wash those hands of yours more often!" She scolded.

"Yes, Mommy." Monkey shot back, rousing more laughter. Viper did not rise to the jest; she only gave a slight shake of her head. She knew full well that the other's labelled her as the mother of the group.

The kitchen was beginning to fill now as the group congregated around the table. Monkey and Mantis, upon hearing the others' voices, had joined them to see what was on the menu for dinner. They were beginning to discuss exactly that when Po interrupted with a question. His eyes had searched the corridor, expecting another figure to step out of the growing shadows and into the warm glow of the kitchen – but the figure did not come.

"Where's Tigress?"

"In her room," Mantis answered nonchalantly. "I'll go fetch her-"

"It's okay, I will!" Po interrupted as he snatched up the bag he had been emptying, leaving behind a pile of bok choy and broccoli on the kitchen table. He squeezed his away around the chairs, sucking in his belly with a deep breath, and quickly padded off into the corridor.

Almost no one noticed or commented on his apparent eagerness to escape to the sleeping quarters; Monkey and Mantis were too busy arguing what kind of rice would be the best to serve broccoli with, and Crane as still admiring his new purchase. Only Viper thought it was curious that the panda took with him a bag that had supposedly been filled with produce, but quickly told herself that Po had probably bought himself something that wasn't food and would need to store it in his room.

But in his keenness to leave, Po's lumbering feet had knocked over another bag. The contents were spilled out over the floor: a few radishes rolled away, but Po's money-bag hit the wooden floorboards with a tell-tale clink of scattered coins.

"Po! Your money-" Viper tried to call after him, but Po was already far down the hall. The snake flicked her tongue and shook her head in slight frustration. "I'll take it to him." She said with a sigh, and slithered over to recollect the few coins that had slipped out. She gathered them up, tightened the string to seal the bag shut, and left the kitchen swiftly with the bag grasped tightly in her coils.

The student's sleeping quarters were situated in the left wing of the barracks, further along the intersecting corridor that split the building in half. The panelled walls of the barracks soon transformed into tall latticed dividers, covered with translucent paper that provided little privacy for the occupants of the bedrooms. They were so thin that shadows cast from any light would create silhouettes that moved against the walls like shadow puppets. The paper walls also did very little to block out any noise, so Po's voice could be heard loud and clear as Viper approached the quarters.

"So, what do you think?" Viper heard Po ask with a strange mixture of anxiety and enthusiasm.

The snake paused with surprise. Her initial plan had been to go to Po's room, expecting him to be there, but his voice clearly came from her left and not her right. Po had gone straight into Tigress's room instead of his own. That's strange, Viper thought. Is he showing her what he bought?

"Po," Tigress said gently. Her voice was slightly muffled by the paper walls but was still easily distinguishable. "It's beautiful."

"You really think so? I got it just for you. You know, because it's getting kinda cold now and I thought maybe you could do with something with sleeves – to keep you warmer? And the black leaves kinda match your stripes, and the lotus flower looks like the one on your-"

"I love it."

"You do?"

"Yes – it's perfect."

Out in the corridor, Viper was frowning - what could they ever be talking about? Tigress's voice was so soft and sincere, a tone she only ever adopted when talking about sensitive issues or when interacting with children. Viper had assumed they were discussing clothes – but why would Tigress be feeling emotional while talking about clothes?

Inside the room, Tigress continued. "It's just that…I don't think I can wear this."

A pause fell. Viper did not dare to breathe; Tigress's hearing was almost as good as Viper's sense of smell, and one small breath could give her away even despite the rain now falling with a steady beat outside.

"What?" Po said finally, his hurt clearly reflected in his tone of voice. "Why not?"

The tiger had lit a candle inside and illuminated the room with a soft glow; pressed against the paper walls, her shadow was stood opposite Po's and she held a long piece of fabric before her. "What will the others think?" She said with a sigh and bowed her head. "I've worn the same garments for years."

"Well, you just tell them you fancied a change and…maybe it was little chilly so you thought-"

"That's not going to fool them, Po."

"Why not?"

"Because for the ten years the Five have known me, I have not once chosen to wear a different vest. Even my formal clothes for the Winter Feast are basically same, just in different colours. I am as stubborn as they come – in all kinds of ways. They will notice; even Shifu will surely make a comment."

"Then…you can just tell them the truth: I was out in the village shopping, saw it, thought of you, and bought it as a gift."

"I can't tell them that."

"Why not?"

"Because… because of the implications."

"What implications?" Po's silhouette gave a shrug. "There's nothing wrong with a buying a gift for a friend-"

"But you're not just a friend, are you?" Tigress's shadow took a step closer.

Po hesitated. "Maybe…maybe we should just tell them?"

"What is there to tell?"

"About - about us…"

Viper gave a small gasp.

It was an immediate mistake.

Tigress moved fast, but Viper could move faster. She was out of the corridor and half-way on her way back to the kitchen before Tigress had even laid a paw on the door handles. Nevertheless, her heart was racing and adrenaline was coursing through her veins. Getting caught eavesdropping by Tigress was not something she wanted to experience, so she moved quicker than wind back to the kitchen with Po's money-bag still in her tail's grasp. The only tell-tale sign of her presence was a small gust that rippled the air in her wake, but it was gone before Tigress could even sense it.

Viper returned to the kitchen, her absence unnoticed by the rest of the Five: Monkey and Mantis had turned their argument into an arm-pincer wrestle to conclude the debate about rice, while Crane had begun moving most of the food to the pantry. Unobserved, Viper slid back to her seat, slipping Po's money-bag back into its original place as she passed. Her mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts and questions, but they all agreed on one thing:

Po and Tigress were in a secret relationship – and neither of them had the decency to confide in her.

It was deep into the night when Viper decided to make her move.

The evening had passed in complete agony, but Viper was patient. She engaged politely in the conversation at dinner and ate her meal with as much gusto as she usually would, but her eyes were trained on the panda and the tiger all night – looking for any subtle signs that the two were really involved – but saw nothing to betray that they were anything more than just friends.

The Five had always noticed that the two were particularly close: Po was always more excited to train with Tigress, and Tigress in turn had warmed up to Po quicker than anyone could have hoped. They had even started coming up with their own techniques, sparring together well into the night. Po had had an amazing idea to blend the local folk dances into ways to use Tigress's immense strength and Po's weight together to increase momentum, and the two masters could now move like dancers in the middle of a fight, as though they were of one mind and one body.

But it was in Gongmen City when they really began to suspect that something was up.

In the ten years they had all known Tigress, none of them had ever received a hug from her - but Po had hugged her twice.

There was definitely something between them but nothing ever seemed to come of it. Well – apparently, something had and the two of them had kept it a secret from the rest of them. But why?

Viper had to know the truth and all the details – her only issue was who she would go to.

It took her all evening to decide, with much toing and froing. She considered waiting until the right moment to confront them both together but Viper couldn't wait that long – and what if they were interrupted by one of the others? Viper didn't want to expose them – she just had to know the truth.

So she came to a decision, and laid in wait.

At curfew, one by one, the candles were carefully extinguished. The sleeping quarters was bathed in darkness; there was no moon to light the rooms in muted silver. Pitch blackness seeped in around them, concealing the furniture in Viper's room, reducing them to only faint shapes in the corner of her eyes. The rain outside had devolved into a late summer storm, and the rain fell so heavy that it was difficult for Viper to hear the sounds of the others falling asleep. She waited, at first, to hear Po snoring; Po was always the first to drop off into a deep slumber, so his snores and grunts soon echoed down the corridor even over the continuous drumming of rain against the roof. Viper waited a little while longer, listening as the storm passed over their heads. Then, finally satisfied that she would not be overheard, she uncoiled herself and crept to the doors that adjoined her and Tigress's rooms.

"Tigress." She whispered and tapped on the door with the end of her tail.

There was no answer. Viper narrowed her eyes. Tigress was easily the lightest sleeper out of the Five; there was no way she did not hear that.

"Tigress, I know you're awake." She whispered more harshly. "I'm coming in!"

Viper heard an irritated sigh from inside the room. Stifling a giggle, she slipped her head through the doors. Two amber eyes stared at her out of the darkness as brightly as stars shone against a night sky. Tigress was lying in her bed on her side, and was covered by a thin blanket. "It's late, Viper. What do you want?" She asked, keeping the volume of her voice low but doing nothing to disguise her frustration.

"I just wanted some girl talk!" Viper answered innocently, moving a little closer. A toothless smile lit up her face.

Now it was Tigress's turn to narrow her eyes suspiciously. "You have chosen a rather peculiar hour for girl talk."

"Well…I couldn't sleep. Something's been bothering me-"

Viper stopped. A flash of lightning had lit up the room for a split second. From the corner of her eye, something golden caught her attention. She turned her head slightly and took in a gentle inhale of air at what she saw.

Tigress's room had always been rather sparse. The Five all had few belongings as they tried to form as little attachment with earthly pleasures as possible, and this meant that their rooms were always a little on the barren side. Tigress's room was the most barren of all; Viper had hers adorned with a painting of her family, her ribbons she used for practising her dancing, and a few bottles of perfume. Even Mantis had his acupunctures and Crane his calligraphy set – but Tigress did not seem to have any hobbies outside of Kung Fu. Thus, her room only ever consisted of her bed, a small chest of drawers that held her spare sets of clothes, and a jade saucer for her candle. No pictures, no personal items – but suddenly, there was now a new addition.

Hung up against the far wall was a golden hanfu. The colour was so rich that is almost shone in the dark, glowing against the latticed wall. The long flowing sleeves were patterned with black leaves – resembling stripes – and a white lotus flower bloomed on the left breast.

Viper's jaw dropped. "Wow…" She gasped, her eyes wide with wonder. "That's really something."

"Yes…"

"So…where did you get it?"

Tigress swallowed thickly. "I…saw it…in the village…"

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"In…a shop on the main street…"

Viper turned her head from the hanfu and gave Tigress a pointed look. "Oh – so Po definitely didn't buy it for you when we were out shopping today, hm?"

"What? What makes you say that? Unless - so there was someone there!" Tigress sat up suddenly, her nose scrunched up and her teeth bared. A growl began to vibrate in her throat. Viper backed up instinctively. "It was you! You were eavesdropping-"

"Look, I was trying to bring Po his money-bag and I just happened to overhear-"

"How much did you hear?"

"A little…"

Tigress's nostrils flared; a low rumble echoed across the room, but it was not thunder.

"Okay, okay! I heard you and Po talking about the hanfu."

"Did you hear anything else?"

"I…also heard that you didn't want to wear it – but Tigress, you must! It's so beautiful and such a thoughtful gift from Po. You can't just not wear it! It will look amazing on you!"

"Right now, I'm not concerned about my choice in attire." Tigress snapped, her voice hissing in a harsh whisper. With a firm kick, she swiped the blanket from herself and swung her legs off of her bed. Her eyes zeroed in on Viper, staring at her with the heat of a blazing fire. "Viper - what else did you hear?"

"I-I also heard you and Po talking about yourselves…as an item." She said quietly and recoiled away, steeling herself for Tigress's response.

But the outburst of anger Viper was expecting did not come. Instead, all the tension seemed to drain from Tigress's body. As quickly as her fury appeared, it drained away. Her shoulders slumped, she bowed her head, and closed her eyes tightly. A paw slapped her forehead and she groaned. "Viper, how could you?"

She sounded so wounded that Viper felt a cold pinch at her heart. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to eavesdrop." She pleaded desperately. "I thought you two were only talking about clothes, I didn't expect to find out that you were both courting."

"We're not courting."

Viper blinked. "But…Po said-"

"Not technically. It's…it's complicated."

For a while, Tigress said nothing. She remained as still as a stone statue, her eyes closed. The room was much darker without them; Viper could barely see her shape. Viper inched closer, her eyes searching for some sort of response from the tiger. Tigress, upon hearing her friend's scales slide cautiously across the floor, finally lifted her head up and glanced at Viper with sad eyes. Viper felt her heartstrings pull. "Oh, Tigress…do you want to talk about it?"

"You say that like I have a choice in the matter."

"Of course you do, Sweetie." Viper said as she climbed up and settled herself at the foot of Tigress's bed. She laid the tip of her tail on Tigress's paw reassuringly. "I know I shouldn't have listened in on you and Po earlier, and it's not really my place to go prying – it's just that – maybe I can help?"

Tigress's tail twitched. She looked away from Viper and stared at the golden hanfu hanging on her bedroom wall. Another flash of lightning illuminated it, a splash of gold against a palette of beige and brown. "Po and I…are in love."

Viper gave a squeal of uncontained joy and she shook her body with excitement. Tigress glanced at her with one striped brow raised. Viper clamped her mouth shut. "Sorry," She whispered, but her face was still light up with a beaming smile. "Carry on."

"I always thought what I felt for Po was platonic, but after what happened in Gongmen City…we both came to realise that we cared for each other far more than we realised and in a completely different way than we expected. The care I feel for him is different from what I feel for you and the Five. I couldn't really explain it but when Po came to me and confessed how he felt, I realised that I felt the exact same too. He told me that he was in love with me and I return those feelings."

"But then…why do you say things are complicated?" Viper asked with a frown. "You love Po, and he clearly loves you. He wouldn't have bought that hanfu for anyone else - so what's so complicated?"

"I said…I said that I wasn't ready for a relationship, but that did not change how I felt for him. Po agreed and said that he would wait until I was ready but I can tell…" Tigress's eyes lingered on the hanfu once again. "I can tell that he wants to be more public about our affections."

Viper followed her eyes to the hanfu and gave a small sigh in realisation. "So what are you afraid of?" She questioned.

Tigress scowled. Her head snapped towards Viper. "What? I'm – I'm not afraid."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. You won't wear the hanfu, you won't officially say you're in a relationship with Po - you're afraid of something. What is it?" Viper sighed. Her tongue flickered in frustration.

"I'm not afraid, I'm just…concerned." Tigress unclenched her paw and flexed her digits, breaking her eye contact with her friend. "It will be such a big change – what will everyone think, what will everyone say?"

"What would we have to say? Tigress, we would be so happy for you!" Viper insisted. "I mean – look at me! I can hardly contain it! And nothing will change, Tigress. We will still be your friends, and we will still be Po's! And it's not as if we already didn't have an inkling that there was something going on between you two. We all saw you hugging him in Gongmen City – both hugs, remember? It shouldn't really come as such a surprise that you're both in love with each other. The only person I would be worried about is Shifu – but I can't see him having much to complain about. Po is the Dragon Warrior, and it's obvious how much he cares about you."

"Do you think he will disapprove?" Tigress asked with a sudden chill creeping up her spine.

Viper shook her head firmly. "No – and even if he did, his approval is not what defines you. You don't need his permission to be in a romantic relationship with Po!"

For a while, Tigress said nothing more. She only sat and thought in silence. Finally, she turned and stared into Viper's eyes. "But everything will change for Po and I. There will be no going back; if I mess up, then I will have ruined everything we already have."

"And what makes you think you will mess up, Tigress?"

"I've never been particularly good at showing my emotions. I have always been closed off, holding back, keeping things in…that will have to change to have the kind of relationship I desire with Po…I will have to change."

"Oh Tigress," Viper chuckled. She ran the tip of her tail over Tigress's cheek, caressing her face. "You already have. Ever since Po came into your life, ever since he defeated Tai Lung and you accepted him as the Dragon Warrior, you have changed – you smile more, you laugh and have fun, you joke around like you haven't in such a long time. Po has changed all of our lives for the better, and he has already changed you too. If you want this relationship with Po to work, then all you have to be is yourself and allow yourself to grow with Po naturally. He will do the same. That's how these kind of relationships turn out; you learn and grow with each other, and become-"

"-better people." Tigress mumbled as a light suddenly lit in her eyes and shone through the mists of doubt that had been clouding there. The drumming of the rain on the roof ceased suddenly, and the clouds parted to light the bedrooms with silvery moonlight. "Po…makes me a better person…and that change is not something to be afraid of."

Viper rattled her tongue happily.

"Now you're getting it. All you need is a little courage. I had to learn the same lesson years ago, and look where I am now. You may not know where change will lead you but sometimes," Viper let go of Tigress's cheek and moved over to the hanfu hanging from the wall. She touched the material with her tail. The silk was smooth and cool to touch. "Change can be for the better; all it takes is a little courage."

She turned to look back at Tigress, only to find the tiger moving towards her swiftly and silently. The next thing she knew, she was wrapped between Tigress's two strong arms and was lifted up from the floor. Her head rested on Tigress's shoulder, her eyes wide with shock.

"Thank you, Viper." Tigress whispered.

Viper felt tears moisten her eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat away. "No problem, Sweetie. That's what friends are for." She reassured with a gentle pat of her tail. "You know, we should really have these girl talks more often?"

"We really should," Tigress chuckled lowly and set her friend back down on the floor. "But it's getting late and we have much training to do in the morning. We should be getting to sleep."

"Of course – oh! One more question!" Viper turned around suddenly as she slid back into her own room. Tigress followed, a paw on each of the doors, ready to close them behind her. She quirked a questioning eyebrow. Viper smiled coyly. "Have you kissed him yet?"

Tigress's lips twitched into a smirk. "Goodnight, Viper." She bid goodbye firmly and shut the doors.

Viper giggled and returned to her own sleeping mat. "I'll take that as a yes."

The sun dawned brightly the next morning, burning away any remnants of the previous night's storm. Dew shimmered like diamonds on the leaves of every plant. A chill had still crept in despite the clear blue skies and lack of breeze, but Shifu could not feel it as he walked in the early sunshine towards the student's barracks. He limped up the steps and down the corridor of the sleeping quarters, taking his place at the head of the room with a small expecting smile on his face.

The bell was rung; each of his students leapt out of their rooms with practised precision and recited their morning greeting perfectly in unison. Even Po had made it out on time, and joined the others in their chorus.

"Good morning, Ma-aaaaaah!"

Shifu scowled but quickly saw what had captured the panda's attention.

Tigress stood at her door, her hands held behind her back, her face expressionless. She looked the same as she did every morning for the past ten years – except for her change in attire. Instead of her usual red vest, she now wore a bright golden hanfu with black trimming and patterned leaves.

Heads turned. Po, who stood opposite her in the corridor, slumped forward with his jaw dropped towards the floor. "Tigress!" He gasped, a shaking finger lifted to point at her new clothing. "You look-"

"-so beautiful!" Piped up Viper with much enthusiasm. Soon, the other members of the five chimed in:

"Wow!"

"Where did you get that?"

"Students!" Shifu yelled and hit his staff against the floor, his ears flattened to his head.

Each of his students recollected themselves and stood to attention. Shifu looked at them all in turn, walking past all of them, until he reached Tigress's feet. His gaze lingered on his adoptive daughter a little while longer. He raised one long eyebrow. Tigress's face betrayed nothing but her tail twisted happily against the floor. He hummed at the pleasant surprise and stood a little taller.

"Why the change in clothes?" He asked, a note of curiosity playing in his voice.

Tigress looked down and saw Shifu was smiling warmly. She smiled shyly in return and answered sincerely,

"It was more of a change of heart."