Po looked at the cannon about to fire in fear. He was frozen, knowing that he would be shot by the cannon again. Then everything happened in a flash.
Po heard Tigress say his name and the next moment he was pushed away. Not long after, he felt the familiar force of the cannon, like he was being thrown like a rag doll.
Surfacing out of the water and onto a wooden plank, Po quickly searched for his friends, but more importantly, he was worried about Tigress.
She had taken the shot for him!
Po swam over to her and called to her to which she responded by weakly lifting her head. Relieved that he was safe, she fell back down.
The next moment Po found himself getting out of the water and onto the harbor. What he saw next made his heart sink to his stomach.
The Five were all looking down with expressions of sadness, shock, and disbelief at the lifeless body of Tigress.
"No," Po whispered weakly. It couldn't be. She couldn't be… Tigress couldn't be dead! Po ran over to her and cradled her head in his paws. Her face was lifeless! He looked at her body in horror. Her clothes were torn in multiple areas to reveal burnt fur and dried blood. His breathing quickened as he placed his ear over her chest hoping it wasn't what he was thinking.
Po felt his heart stop at the lack of a heartbeat from Tigress. He looked towards his friends with tears in his eyes, but they only shook their heads.
Po woke up, immediately sitting up on his bed and panting heavily. He wiped the tears that had escaped. He looked around; he was in his room.
It was a dream!
But Tigress… where is Tigress? He scanned his room as if expecting her to be there. His eyes fell on the door. Right, she was in her room. He had to make sure that she was there and not… No! That hadn't happened.
Po threw away the blankets and got out of bed. Tigress's room was across from his. He just needed to see that she was safe and sound.
He stood in front of her door debating on whether or not to enter. The doors didn't have locks so he just had to slide it open and check. But it was the middle of the night, it was rude to do so.
The horrors of the nightmare came back and overtook any doubts he had. Before he knew he had opened the door and peeked in. She was right there, her back facing him. When he saw her body move up and down, he sighed in relief. She was alive and breathing. Nothing to worry about.
Tigress on the other side was awake. She had been for a long time. The reason was, she too had a nightmare. Bad dreams weren't new to her, she had them frequently, but this one shook her to the core. To say the least it had involved Shen and Po's death.
Remembering the promise she had made to Po, she had thought of going to him but she thought against it. First, it was late at night, and second, she wasn't familiar with this "seeking comfort" thing. All these conflicting thoughts along with the nightmare playing over and over in her mind was making her feel frustrated. Her mind wandered to the hug they had shared a few weeks back. She could use one right about now.
Now that his mind was assured, Po turned to leave.
"Po." He heard Tigress call out to him. Po turned around to see Tigress awake and sitting on her bed.
"I am so sorry I woke you. I was just leaving." Po turned to leave again but was stopped with a paw on his shoulder. He turned around to face Tigress's glowing eyes.
"You can't just leave without telling me why you came here so late at night," Tigress said with an assuring smile.
Po sighed and let go of the door. "I-I had a nightmare and…I just wanted to check up on you."
"Oh." Tigress was surprised at how similar their situations were. "You-you want to talk about it?" She said a little unsure as she wasn't good at giving comfort. At the moment, she really wished she had Po's power of giving comfort.
Po stared at her for a while, the burnt face from his nightmare overlapping hers. He shut his eyes and let out a shaky breath.
"I'd rather not."
Po was looking at her but his eyes appeared to be far away. There was also something else in his expression-fear. She had a feeling the nightmare had something to do with her. She knew exactly how that felt and the only thing that could help-assurance and a hug. Tigress shut the door with a paw and then proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck.
Tigress rested her chin on his head, stroking his back with one of her paws.
"It's ok. It was just a dream." She whispered soothingly.
Wrapping his arms around her, Po closed his eyes and let the tears flow. As Po let it all out, Tigress shushed him, soothingly stroking his back. The dream wasn't true. Tigress was here, in his arms; safe and sound.
After a while, he quieted down.
"I-I saw y-you die after you-you took the sh-shot for me," Po said in between hiccups, tightening his hold on her.
"That didn't happen. See, I am right here." Tigress said in a soothing tone (one she didn't know she possessed).
Sniffling, Po hummed in agreement.
"Am I doing this right? I am not good at comforting someone." Tigress said. She wasn't given much comfort nor was she good at giving it to someone. Before it hadn't bothered her much but now it really did.
Po chuckled, pulling back to look at her.
"It depends on the right person giving comfort. For now, I just wanted you. In other words, you are doing it right." He said, winking at her.
Tigress smiled but at the same time sniffled. Po didn't notice it first due to the darkness but there were tear streaks on her fur. The realization hit him when he felt wetness on his head.
"Tigress, were you…crying?" He asked with concern. She never cried. He had never seen her do it nor heard from any of their friends that she ever had.
Stiffening at his question, she averted her eyes.
"It's nothing." She muttered.
"It's ok if you are not comfortable sharing it. But you promised, remember?" Po said, reminding her of the promise she made a few weeks back.
Sighing, she gave in. "I…also had a nightmare of you…dying at Shen's claws." Her mind flashed back to the nightmare.
She and the furious five were chained up, forced to helplessly watch as Shen ignited the cannon. The cannonball hit Po, sending him flying.
Shen found Po barely alive. He didn't leave him at that. Right in front of the Five, Shen tortured Po's dying body with his blades.
A lump formed in her throat, as her breathing became erratic. Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arms around herself.
"I-I can't repeat the dream. It's too-too horrifying." She whispered, unable to speak without her voice breaking.
"Shh. It's ok." Po caressed her cheek with a paw making her look at him with sad eyes. "It's like you said. It was a dream and I'm right here, safe and sound."
She pursed her lips and nodded. Though the horrors were driven away, she wasn't sure if she would be able to sleep. Alone, that is. So she decided to risk it and ask him.
"Po, w-will you hold me till I sleep?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Po's jaw dropped. It wasn't that he had a problem with it, he just didn't expect Tigress to ask so…openly.
"You sure? What if someone notices. We will never hear the end of it."
"Don't worry. I wake up before any of them do."
"Fine. If you say so." Po said, moving towards the bed. He got under the blanket, patting the spot next to him.
Without a word, Tigress slid under. Her back touched his stomach whilst she curled up like a cat.
Wrapping an arm around her curled-up body, Po pulled her closer. He stared at the striped head tucked below his chin, contemplating whether or not to do what he wanted to. Seeing her so comfortably snuggled, he couldn't help it, he placed a quick kiss on the back of her striped head.
"Po. Don't push it." Tigress said in a playful tone while snickering.
"Whaaat. I couldn't help it." Po complained, causing Tigress to snicker more. She snuggled up closer to his soft stomach and…
Po felt vibration along with air hitting his arm. She was doing it again, she was chuffing.
"I could get used to hearing that." Po snickered while nuzzling her ear.
"What can I say? You're too cuddly and soft and I can't help it." She chuffed so rarely that she didn't even know she could make such a sound. Until recently that is.
Both of them chuckled, murmuring good night to each other. Within a few minutes, they were sound asleep, with Po's light snoring and Tigress's chuffing filling the air.
This story was supposed to be a one-shot but it just kept going. There are a few chapters to go, so I will keep it as ongoing. But each chapter is a complete one.
Anyway, enjoy and plz review.