Hello there!
Well, I was taking a little trip down memory lane recently by reading some of my old one-shots. Oh, it was quite an interesting journey! I have a year's worth of material now, so there were plenty of smiles, laughs, and cringes all around! And of course, seeing my very first few one-shots was interesting, as I can finally see how I've improved a little at writing!
But, I did happen to notice one thing: I don't have too many romantic one-shots. I mean, there's a few, but we could always use some more!
I know, I know, I said I was going to put all my future one-shots into a collection, but, there have to be "singles" that come out, too! And so, after I recently checked out Billy Joel's Piano Man album from my library a few days ago, I was inspired to write this after hearing the songs You're My Home and "Travelin' Prayer for the first time!
I don't own Dreamworks, and this takes place post-KFP 3.
On with the show!
You're My Home
Tigress, Viper, and Crane stood triumphantly in the dark of the night among the small field, the limp, unconscious bodies of the bandits they had been sent to do battle with littering the ground.
It was already night by now, and these bandits were already gagged and tied up, and had been for a few hours. The trio stood admiring their work one last time before they retreated into the bamboo forest around them and set up camp for the night.
"I'd say it was a job well done," Viper whispered. She wasn't quite sure why she whispered. Perhaps a part of her felt as if she didn't want to disturb the unconscious bandits. After all, they deserved some peaceful sleep, too.
"Yes," Tigress answered, although she didn't whisper. She turned to the other two. "Well, should we be going now?"
"It's as good a time as any," Crane answered. "We certainly spent long enough trying to find these guys."
That was an understatement. Normally, between Tigress' tracking skills and Crane's aerial abilities, finding groups of fleeing bandits usually wasn't too difficult. But this group must have predicted that some of the Five would be sent after them, and so they had proved much more of a challenge to find. In fact, it took an extra two days to find them, and they had begun to grow irritated at all the additional time it was taking to find them.
But now, the job was done, and they could focus on returning home. The bandits were all defeated and tied up, ready for the Valley guard to come and pick them up later and haul them off to prison.
And so, the trio took their gaze away from the spectacle of their own doing and moved to return from the camp that they had just come from. As the tiger, snake, and bird walked together, they did not say very much. After all, this was just another day in the life for them. Hearing about bad guys, looking for the bad guys, beating up the bad guys, and then coming back home so that they could train for the next time they heard about some bad guys.
Finally, they reached their small camp. It was only a small fire with two tents standing on either side. One for Tigress, and the other for Crane and Viper.
They sat around the fire for a few minutes, making light conversation until drowsiness overtook their eyelids. Shuffling back into their respective tents, all made a short journey a few feet away so that they might join the ethereal dream world of deep slumbers that none may elude.
Although, Tigress did cast one glance back at Viper and Crane just as the flap on their tent closed, obscuring her view of them and the position that they might assume once they both fell asleep. She had the feeling that it would - while not being the ultimate expression of intimacy- would still be rather intimate, regardless. The two of them liked to keep their relationship a secret, but, at this point, everyone in the Palace knew. But, neither Viper nor Crane had officially come out and said anything, so everyone pretended to see nothing.
That didn't stop Tigress from imagining Viper gently wrapping her coils around Crane's neck as they fell asleep.
The image that came to her mind never failed to bring a smile to her face, but, in this particular instance, it was accompanied by a pang of longing.
For sure, it took her by surprise. She almost never felt that way. It was difficult to explain. A deep, deep desire, like hunger, took hold of her. Her heart demanded that she satisfy it, but her mind tried to tell her heart that it wasn't possible at the moment. And so, the two eternal rivals, the heart and the mind, performed their usual ritual of battling one another once again.
Tigress then turned away and stepped into her own tent, observing the empty floor that lay beneath her. A sight she had become used to in the past, but recently, it had not appeared before her eyes for some time. There was usually… something else that occupied the empty space. Or perhaps, someone else.
Her relationship with Po had finally blossomed into something magical. One night, after they had each confessed, the panda had come into Tigress' room in the middle of the night, blanket in tow, and lay down next to Tigress' bed.
She would have none of it. Tigress told Po to stand up and wait there. She crossed the hall into his room and grabbed his bed, frame, mattress, and all, and easily picked it up and carried it back to her room, setting it right beside hers.
Ever since then, they spent every night sleeping like that. Shifu never actually came looking into their rooms, and since Tigress and Po assured him that they were sleeping in separate beds - it wasn't a lie, after all - he never objected.
But, he had no reason to fear, for his daughter - and one who he was certain would become his son-in-law - wanted to take things slowly, and let each moment last forever.
She had grown used to lying down to rest, and then turning on her side and seeing Po's jade eyes joyfully stare back at her. It was a sight that she knew would never lose its place within her heart.
But now, only the cold, hard ground was there to be her companion on this night. She lay down and gazed upon the vacant spot that Po would normally occupy. The thought of him made her smile once more, but, still, that longing feeling remained.
As she thought about him more and more, she realized something.
"I never really did have a home, Po," she told herself as if he were here. "I mean, the Jade Palace is for all of us, but only as kung-fu masters, not as people. One day, the next generation will take our place and take our home for their own. Our bedrooms and the baths will be occupied, and, in the morning, the kitchen table will ring with laughter that doesn't belong to us."
"But… that's alright. I'll never need a building to make me happy. Home can be right here, in these woods. Yes, home could be in the cold mountains where Chorh-Gom sits, or in the dry desert in the Gobi. It could be in the streets and ditches of Gongmen, or in the small houses of the Valley. Maybe home could be the early morning dew of woods like these, but it's alright, because home's just another word for you."
"As long as I hear your voice and see you standing by my side, I'll have a sturdy roof and four, strong walls all around. You, Po, are my palace, my castle. I'll never get homesick, because you, Po…"
"...You're my home."
Travelin' Prayer
"What!?" Po asked Shifu two days ago. "What do you mean they're not back yet?"
Po, Monkey, and Mantis had just returned from the brief mission to find a group of fleeing bandits, but they had broken into two groups, and so he and Five also broke into two groups in order to find them with greater ease.
"I told you, Po," Shifu had answered him, "They'll be just fine. They always are."
This logic may have comforted Shifu, but it did nothing for Po. Whenever situations like this arose and Po and Tigress were forced to separate, Tigress always returned to the Jade Palace first, usually a day before, in fact. She made whatever group she found herself in operate at maximum efficiency when it came to finding and confronting the bandits, and also on the way back.
Po's group, however, usually took several breaks, especially on the return journey, where there was less pressure on them to arrive anywhere. From snack breaks to "panda asthma" breaks, his group generally took their sweet, sweet time.
So for his group to return to the Palace first was quite concerning to the panda.
And that was why, on this night, Po found himself in the Hall of Heroes, alone, with only the silence to be his companion. Over the past two days, he had thought of nothing else but Tigress' return, and every second that passed without her arrival became more and more painful.
Finally, he felt as if he could contain it no longer. He had to do something. If he couldn't go out and find her, then there was at least one thing he could do.
Po reached the steps that surrounded the Moon Pool and got down on his knees. He looked upwards, and saw the golden dragon's head that once held the secret to limitless power clutched in its maw. The panda clasped his paws, and spoke within his head.
"Umm… Gods? Hello? I've… never really done this, so please, excuse me. Now, I don't know if you can hear me thinking to myself or not, but, if you wouldn't mind, and if it's not too much of a bother, I'd like to ask you something. You see, somewhere, the most wonderful person I've ever known is a little late to come home. So, could you please look around from your… vantage point and see if you can find her? Just look out for her please, because I get so scared when she's this far from me."
At first, Po thought he should end it there, but a few more requests came to his mind.
"Oh! Just a few more things! If it's not too much, could you make sure that all her dreams are sweet? Oh! And make sure the roads that she's on are soft on her paws. And if she's sleeping under the sky right now, could you make sure the ground is warm and dry? Give her some peace of mind, please, and, if you still have some time, could you tell her that I miss her every day?"
Suddenly, Po realized that perhaps he wasn't praying anymore, but rather telling the gods about his wish list like ordering a meal at a restaurant.
"Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away there. Just look out for her tonight and make sure she's alright until she's here and home with me."
Yeah, Po thought. That sounded good.
"Home with me."
And that concludes today's show! Hope you enjoyed it!
Keep being awesome!