Deep in the mountains of Ancient China, in the secret Panda Village, the inhabitants were all moving along with their daily lives. It had been two months since the attack on the village by the crazed Dragon Master Jindiao, but since then, the village had been repaired, and all was right with the universe. However, one could not simply call it a secret PANDA village anymore. The reason being that the village was now home to the cult of female water deer known as the Poison Clan.
After the fight with Jindiao, the clan leader, Jade Tusk, now just Jade, had volunteered herself and her clan sisters to help the pandas rebuild their village. After about three weeks of repairs, the clan of does prepared to leave, only to be offered by the panda leader, Li Shan, also Dragon Master Po's biological father, to stay, seeing as how the clans help had allowed them to become integrated to village life. Jade decided to hold it to a vote with her sisters, resulting in a unanimous vote to stay, having formed friendships and deep bonds within the panda community. Jade noticed the one who was most excited to stay was the bubbly clan member Huifang, who also happened to be the girlfriend of the emerald toothed doe.
If someone had told Jade three months earlier that she would be dating the most gullible, boisterous, and annoying water deer in the province, she would have kicked them into Jindiao's moon pit for fear they had gone mad. But, after the battle in the village, Huifang had helped her to open up about her past, specifically how Jade developed a fear of water after her father drowned trying to save her, as well as being able to listen to others, especially after hearing the story of how Huifang found her lucky sea shell. After the latter event, Jade found she had fallen in the love with the ditzy doe, and vice-versa. It was then that they had shared their first kiss, finally cementing their new relationship.
Jade had been walking through the village, smiling widely at the various pandas and water deer that she passed. She beamed especially at the sight of few new couples. It turns out that her relationship with Huifang had inspired others in the village to be more open about their feelings. She recalled one day when one of her clan sisters, Fa Jun, a beautiful teenage doe in a violet silk tunic and black training pants, who had a tuft of fur always hanging over her left eye, was asked out by a kind, soft spoken water deer named Nan Hai, who had happened upon the village a few weeks prior while on a cross country journey.
Jade had laughed warmly when the young buck was tackled by the ecstatic doe, which lead Jade to explain that Jun had been waiting for Nan to ask her out for some time. Needless to say, the date was a success, as Jun and Nan were rarely seen apart from each other since then. That hadn't stopped Jade from giving Nan the "you hurt her, you have me to answer too" spiel, even though she knew that Nan was too much of sweetheart to hurt Jun intentionally.
Pulling herself from her memories, Jade smiled at the two lovebirds, both laying on their backs on a small hill, hand in hand, as they gazed at the clouds together. Such a sight reminded her of how she and her partner would occasionally do the same thing. Which reminded Jade of the purpose of her walk; she had been searching for Huifang so the two could grab some grub from Mr. Ping, who had set up his own little shop in the village so he wouldn't always have to bring "Cart" whenever he visited.
Before long, Jade had found Huifang at her new job. Seeing as how the Poison Clan would have to contribute to the community in order to stay, each decided to adopt a trade that fit their skill sets. Some took up carpentry, others decorating, a few cooking and baking, as well as taking on titles as seamstresses', while a handful retained their original positions as guards. Huifang's skill just happened to be with child care.
Jade had noticed early on that Huifang was good with children. Whenever parents were busy during the village repairs, the bubbly dear offered to babysit the cubs. She felt she was so good at it, she decided to open her own little day care when the Clan was invited to stay. Jade was a bit skeptical, seeing as how Huifang, although smarter than what she and the other does gave her credit for, as well as surprisingly wise, was in ways of personality a child herself, leading Jade to think that her partner, although skilled in giving lessons, was a little immature for something as delicate as full-on child care.
But she was proven wrong one day when she observed that, even though the doe could be very childish, was willing to put her foot down when it became clear that things were getting out of hand. But, Huifang was never forceful in discipline, which meant she never resorted to anything above a stern talking to, which seemed to get to the cubs very easily, as Huifang explained their misdeeds in a simple way that they could understand; this made Jade love the doe even more. She even believed Huifang would make a great mother one day.
As Jade approached the small area that Huifang designated for her day care, She was soon overwhelmed with an onslaught of giggling cubs, each wanting to either be picked up or look at her fake, emerald tooth. Jade, who had developed a soft spot for children thanks to Huifang, picked up the first cub she saw who just admired her shining tusk. Huifang, who had be teaching a small cub some basic reading looked up at the sound of the commotion and smiled at her girlfriend. Excusing herself from the cub, Huifang began walking toward Jade.
"HEY, JADE!" she greeted in her overly enthusiastic way. Upon reaching her partner, Huifang leaned in, as did Jade, for a quick kiss. Some of the cubs "oohed" at the sight, while others made gagging noises at the display of affection. Both deer just smiled at the cub's antics as they refocused their attention on each other. "So, what's up?" inquired Huifang, smiling at her lovely partner.
"Nothing," responded Jade, "I just wanted see if you wanted to get some lunch at Mr. Ping's." Just as Jade finished speaking, she heard the telltale sound of a rumbling stomach. Huifang quickly looked down at her own stomach, only to looking back a Jade with a wide, sheepish smile.
"Well I guess that answers that question," joked Huifang. Turning around, she called to a nearby panda who Jade recognized as Fan Tong, the young panda who had acquired Master Red Phoenix's Chi. "HEY FAN TONG," Huifang called, catching the former's attention, "You think you can handle watching the kids for a bit while I grab some grub." Fan Tong responded with a large small.
"Sure, I can handle it," Fan Tong responded coolly, leaning a broom he had, only for it fall from under him, causing him to land right on his face, leading Jade to scrunch her face in confusion as she began to doubt her partner's assistant. After thanking Fan Tong, both deer walked together toward Mr. Ping's. They were no more than ten feet away when they heard a high pitched squeal come from the area they were just at. Turning around, they were met with the sight of Fan Tong being swarmed by an army of tiny panda's. Both does just smiled and continued their walk.
Upon arriving at the makeshift noodle shop, they noticed Mr. Ping being hounded by a crowd of obviously very hungry pandas and water deer. Before the two partners, both sporting wide eyed, nervous expressions, could even comprehend what was going on, Jun barreled between the two of them, quickly making her way behind the counter, all while hastily tying an apron around her waist; Jun was the head waitress at the restaurant, well, the only waitress who would put up the awful pay and bad hours at Mr. Ping's.
"JUN, YOU'RE LATE!" yelled Mr. Ping in a tone that was half angry and half afraid for his life.
"SORRY MR. PING!" responded Jun guiltily as she began taking orders and preparing the noodles. Before long, the crowd had been served and either had taken their lunch to a nearby table, or simply had it to go. Jade and Huifang had decided to take a seat at a table while the chaos died down. Soon, they were met with the apologetic eyes of Jun who looked on the verge of passing out.
"Sorry about that guys," she said, "I guess I lost track of time." Jade responded quickly with a knowing smile, while resting her chin on both of her hooves.
"I guess spending all that time with a strapping young buck will do that to you," teased Jade, winking at the eighteen-year-old doe, earning a muffled snort from Huifang and an embarrassed look from Jun. Before Jun could even take their orders, Mr. Ping stormed up to the exhausted doe, figurative steam pouring from his nostrils.
"Jun," he began in a controlled, but otherwise tense tone, making said doe cringe, "I can understand outside of the noodle shop, you are going to do what you are going to do, but today was too much. If this continues, I will have no choice but to…" before he could finish, Mr. Ping was interrupted by a very annoyed Jade.
"Lay off her Ping," growled Jade, who had noticed the young doe had been on the verge of crying, arms crossed in front of her chest, with a hoof clasped over her mouth to muffle her sobs, while keeping her violet eyes clenched shut. In the time Jade had known Jun, she observed that the young doe never liked personal confrontation, as she would always cry when being scolded or antagonized. Refocusing her attention on the angry goose, Jade continued her rant.
"She was late because she was with Nan. If you haven't noticed, her life does not revolve around noodles like yours," while ranting to the goose, Jade stood up and wrapped her friend in a comforting hug, as the young doe just let her tears flow onto her jade green hanfu. Huifang, even though she felt bad for her friend, couldn't help but feel a strange feeling develop in the pit of her stomach as her gaze hardened at the sight of another doe in her girlfriend's arms. Her thoughts were interrupted when Jade continued to admonish the obviously startled goose.
"She has a boyfriend who cares a lot about her," she continued, "I say that's worth sacrificing her time AND job for. And, if you can't respect that, then you deserve being hounded every day."
Mr. Ping was a bit taken aback by Jade's tirade. Looking around, he noticed he was receiving dirty looks from the other patrons in the area. One doe even brandished a freshly sharpened knife. Gulping nervously, Ping returned his attention to Jun, who had just pulled herself away from Jade, who had noticeable tear stains on her tunic.
The former had recomposed herself, although her eyes where still puffy, and streaks of wet fur running down her cheeks, and she was taking deep breaths. Eyes softening at the sight, Mr. Ping let out a long sigh. Looking at Jun, he beckoned her with his wing to come down to his level. Jun, although hesitant, complied, not wanting to upset her boss any further.
"Jun," he began, "I am very sorry." Almost all the patrons in the space were soon wide eyed and slack jawed; it was very rare for Mr. Ping to show any kind of remorse.
"You are right, Jade," he continued, "It was very inconsiderate of me to think of Jun as just an employee with no life of her own." He ended his sentence by placing a wing on one of Jun's shoulders.
"You know," he continued, "I was in love once," he said, while also laughing at the memory, "she was a scorpion, sure, but she was also the most beautiful arachnid I had ever seen." Pings eyes glazed over with a mist of reminiscing. However, he quickly snapped to a sour expression as his stressed monotone explained, "But then again, she was only using me to get to my son and attack the Jade Palace." His face soon returned to its dreamy state. "But it was still the best time of my life," he finished.
"So, am I fired," asked Jun, tentatively? Mr. Ping looked toward the scared water deer, and slowly allowed another smile to cross his face as he shook his head.
"No, my child," he responded. "Like I said, I know what it's like to be in love. Just promise me you will balance your personal life with work, and all is forgiven." Jun beamed from ear to ear as she enveloped the avian in a tight hug, causing the goose to let out a startled honk.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. PING!" she screamed. She quickly released the goose when she heard him gasping for air, spitting out apologies in rapid succession. The other patrons, now seeing that the tension was diffused, went back to their meals while Jade stood there with a proud smile on her face. Huifang, while being happy for Jun, was still a little unnerved by the attention she had received from her partner.
"ALRIGHT!" shouted Mr. Ping. "Let's get back to work! We have hungry mouths to feed!" Jun got up, quickly took the two does orders, and ran to the kitchen. "OH! And Jun," Mr. Ping called to his employee, who quickly stuck her head in the door frame at hearing her name being called. "If your late again, it comes out of your pay," he finished in a deadpan tone as he walked toward the kitchen.
"Oh, and Huifang," he said, turning back to said doe, whose ears perked up. "Don't think I didn't notice the extra green in your eyes," he said with a wink and smile as he returned to the kitchen. While Huifang was confused at the statement, Jade's full attention was on her partner as she suddenly realized what Mr. Ping was getting at.
"Extra green? My eyes are the same shade as always," she wondered innocently. Jade only shook her head and smiled; she loved the doe, but she could be real clueless sometimes. Jun returned with their orders and left, but not before giving Jade a big hug for the help she gave. Jade noticed the hard glare on Huifang's face from earlier as she was held in the massive bear hug from her friend. The glare softened when Jade sent a reassuring smile and wink. Jun soon withdrew from the hug and went back to work. As Huifang's glare followed the doe, Jade decided to break the ice.
"He mean's your jealous," she stated with an amused smirk. Huifang, realizing she had been caught, started trying to cover up the obvious existence of her own little green-eyed monster.
"Whaaaat," she stressed nonchalantly," I'm not jealous." Huifang then began to go into a rambling, fast paced defense speech.
"I mean, would a jealous person feel like her girlfriend was being hit on by another girl who just gave her a hug for standing up for her which could lead to deeper feelings forming into a budding romance, oh my gosh I'm jealous," she finished as she brought her cheek down into the palm of her hand with an exhausted look on her face. Huifang then felt her other hand being squeezed. Looking down, she saw that Jade was holding her hand, all while smiling a gentle smile at her lover.
"Huifang," she started to say, 'You have nothing to worry about. Believe me, Jun is cute," she added just to annoy her companion, which succeeded. "But," she continued, "She has one problem." This peaked Huifang's interest
"What?" she inquired. Jade smiled, bringing her hand up to caress her girlfriend's cheek, to which the latter nuzzled into while closing her eyes and sighing in contentment.
"She's not you." With that Jade leaned in and captured Huifang's lips in kiss, to which the latter gladly reciprocated.
The rest of their lunch was uneventful; they basically just fed each other noodles and bean buns, occasionally getting a single strand that, when slurped, brought their lips back together.
Eventually, Jade walked Huifang back to her day care, but not before paying for their food and leaving a sizeable tip for Jun. Upon returning to the day care, the pair arrived to find Fan Tong bound in rope, hanging from a nearby tree, as the multitude of children tried to break him open with sticks to try to get the imaginary candy inside of him. Looking at each other, both does just smiled and rolled their eyes at the children's antics, and proceeded to help poor Fan Tong.
Needless to say, knowing she had an amazing girlfriend who only had eyes for her, Huifang knew she had no further reason to be jealous of anyone.