AN: Alright, (cracks knuckles) let's do this.
(Cross-posted from AO3, where my username is JustAnotherWriter140)
I'll try to make this longer than my last story, I'm aiming for around one thousand words. Also, thank you so much for the feedback! I'll try to do better with this one-shot. I took all of your suggestions under consideration (both from AO3 and from ), and I'll try my hardest to incorporate more details. I'm currently working on mastering Po and Tigress's dialogue and interactions, so that's what I'm trying to focus on in this story.
Again, thank you for the kind comments! They meant so much to me :)
POST KFP2
The Valley Of Peace had never been prone to storms, per se, but it surely received its fair share of yearly rain. It was one of the wetter places within the province, that was for certain. Flooding was to be expected in the summer months, due to the monsoons, and heavy rains were common in the spring season. In autumn and winter, however, the valley was usually a fairly dry area.
Still, there he was. In the middle of winter, with a storm wreaking havoc on the Jade Palace grounds. Whether it'd touched the valley below or not, Po wasn't sure. Upon opening the door, it was obvious that nobody was leaving the barracks. The rain was coming down in freezing sheets, and even Po, who was covered in thick layers of fur, was chilled to the bone. On top of the horrid weather, it was in the middle of the night. With the pouring rain and the frigid darkness combined, it was practically impossible to see. One couldn't dream of making it to the village in one piece.
Po sat in the kitchen in dark silence, unable to fall asleep. He had a heavy woolen cloak draped over his shoulders in an unsuccessful attempt to stay warm. He realized that he used to find the sound of rain calming, as most others did. But then again, he'd also once found fireworks fun to watch. Things change, he supposed. It was a bit odd that he no longer enjoyed the sound of rain, though. It's not like he'd had a traumatic experience with rain. On the other hand, however, in the months following serious trauma, the mind could interpret the least-threatening of things as terrifying.
Po had been looking for something to eat at first, mainly to pass time; but soon found himself intently listening to the sounds of the night instead.
The droning static of heavy rain against the wooden roofing of the barracks.
The sharp claps of thunder that shook the sky, always partnered with a violent strike of lightning.
The paper walls of the barracks trembling, providing no warmth as numbing gusts of wind whipped through the building.
"Po?" The voice was almost completely drowned out by the loud storm. Po snapped his head up to look in the direction of the doorway. His eyes scanned the far side of the room, searching for any kind of shape in the pitch blackness. All that was visible were two fiery orange eyes, piercing through his soul.
A sudden crash of thunder exploded in the sky, a flash of lightning accompanying it within seconds. The lightning illuminated the room for a split second, allowing Po to spot the rest of his best friend, who was standing in the doorway with a heavy cloak wrapped around her slim figure.
"Hey," Po greeted. "Couldn't sleep?"
"You too?" Tigress responded. Po looked down at his hands, which were folded on the wooden tabletop. Tigress made no noise for a few moments, leaving Po to continue with his endless train of thought. Listening to every raindrop, each a music note in the beautiful symphony of rainfall. Po's ear twitched as he suddenly heard the kitchen floorboards to his left creaking slightly. Chair legs scraping against the wooden floors was brought to his attention, and he was barely able to hear Tigress take a deep breath as she sat down in the chair beside him.
A hand on his upper arm caused Po to look up. He almost gasped as his eyes found the same pair of blazing hot ones as a few moments before. They were all he could see in the darkness, but at the same time, they were all he really needed to see. He'd once heard that the eyes were the window to the soul, and he'd never truly believed it until he'd met Tigress. One look said one thousand words.
"Are you okay?" Po inquired in concern, placing his hand on top of hers, as if holding her hand onto his arm.
The room suddenly wasn't as cold anymore.
"Does it still hurt?" He questioned. "I could run down to the valley to get some medicine if you really need it." Beginning to ramble, his tone began to match that of the rain. Constant and never-ending. "It'll probably take a while, but I could get down there somehow."
"Po, I'm fine." Tigress assured him. "It's been two months. If there was anything seriously wrong, I think we would've known by now." Continuously having to confirm her wellbeing for him was admittedly tiring, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him to stop asking. If she was being honest with herself, she enjoyed the attention.
"You never know," Po continued. "Nobody's ever been shot by a cannon head-on before and survived. There could be serious underlying injuries."
"You were shot, too." Tigress countered.
He paused briefly. Choosing to ignore the facts of his situation, he continued. "I know that you don't want to hear this, but I think that you should hold off on training for another month."
"I respect your opinion, Po," Tigress said. She wasn't going to interrogate him, not right now at least. "However, I refuse to wait another month to resume my training. I'll be starting again next week, whether you like it or not." She couldn't see very well in the darkness of the night, but she could see enough to watch Po's facial expression go from a relaxed one to a semi-frustrated one. "I'll take it slow, I promise." She said; a weak attempt to ease his mind.
"I just worry about you, that's all." Po sighed, unable to look at her any longer. Making eye contact with her for long periods of time proved to be a struggle for him. He stared at the far side of the kitchen once more, trying to find the pottery that was piled up in the right corner the least bit interesting.
"You don't have to worry about me." Tigress whispered, leaning forward slightly. She could hardly be heard above the storm outside, with the rain still relentlessly pounding down onto the roof.
"I know I don't," Po nodded, tilting his head toward her slightly. "I won't stop, though."
"Why?" Tigress asked incredulously. "Why would you bother yourself with worrying about me?"
"It's not a bother." Po said quickly. "It's never been a bother, and it never will be. It's been an honor to know you, and to call you a friend." He paused. "And I don't know if you know this, Tigress, but with friendship comes a lot of things. One of those things is love." He tore his gaze from the ceramics on the far side of the room to look at her again. His jade eyes found hers in the blackness, and all was still. "With love comes care. And if you haven't noticed, I care very deeply about you." The small smile that had grown on his face faded, and he suddenly saddened. "If anything ever happened to you, I don't…" His voice broke slightly and he stopped talking, mostly out of embarrassment.
Tigress was taken aback. Sure, it wasn't direct, but he'd technically just said that he loved her. She wasn't sure how she was going to respond, but maybe a response wasn't really needed. She looked away from him for the first time since she'd come into the room, and with little hesitation, rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes almost immediately.
She trusted him.
And while the storm outside was still raging on with unrelenting ferocity, his storm was suddenly over.
AN: Dang, this took me way too long to write. Around three hours, plus revising.
(I swear, this is my favorite part of writing fanfiction. It's so rewarding to write in the end notes after obsessing over a single plot for so long.)
Also, yay! I hit my goal! :D
I really hope that Po and Tigress seemed likes themselves. I tried my best, but please tell me in the comments if they were OOC. I obviously don't have a lot of experience with these two, but I'm trying to improve upon my writing every day.
Fun fact: This fanfiction was originally going to be a light-hearted drabble about Po enjoying the summer rain.
Once again, I'm begging for constructive criticism. Please leave a comment so I know if I'm doing something right. I really want to keep writing, and more than anything, I want to get better :)
Thank you so much for reading! :D