Chapter 4

He just kept walking, all the way back to the Jade Palace, straight to the Training Hall. No one waved him down on the way; just what he wanted. Li Shan didn't chase after him, and neither did Mr. Ping, which was exactly what he needed.

Po didn't want anyone near him right now, he didn't what anyone near him before he lost the plot completely. He just slammed the door behind him, ran down the steps, almost tripping off the last step as he threw himself towards the closest thing; the dummy. His fist connected with the dummy's head, and it bounced off the wall and flew back at him. He was prepared; one fist after the other, one kick after the next, the dummy was getting it all, until, with a final roar of frustration, he kicked the dummy across the room. Where it went, he didn't care, but the thump it made in the distance, beckoned him over to continue his rampage.

He needed to run off this anger...

"Po?"

His head twisted behind him, starting to glare in annoyance. "Do you mind-" he stopped talking immediately, and the anger melted into nervousness. Tigress was leaning against the wall by one shoulder and arms folded near the entrance he stormed through. "Tigress."

"I could hear you from the bunk house..." turning her head to the corner, she raised an eyebrow in question at the empty space. "Where's the-"

VOOOSH!

...

POOF

The couple eyed the fire field, where the dummy swayed from side to side, slightly blackened. Po was about to step in that direction to retrieve it, but Tigress placed a paw by his shoulder, and turned him towards her. "Leave it. What's wrong?"

"Nothing-"

"You're upset."

"I'm not-" a paw latched over his mouth.

"Liar." Gently pulling her paw away from his muzzle, he sighed in defeat when she cupped his cheek, and he just looked down at the floor. Looking around, she pulled him over to the edge of the arena ground that they used for sparring, and sat there, their hanging over the side inches from the floor. Wrapping her arms around on his, she looked up at him. "What happened?"

It took a few minutes, but eventually, with teary eyes, Po told her everything, and settled her head on his shoulder.

Mr. Ping and Li decided not to open the noodle shop yet. They could sum up any excuse to the customers if it need be.

"There was a robbery last night and the poor beggars took all the essential vegetables."

"No noodles this morning."

"There's preparations being made for the Winter Festival. No food today..."

With motivation, Mr. Ping was going to choose the last excuse they could think of. Right now, he was pacing up and down the kitchen, while Li sat on the stairs, head propped in his paws.

"What are we gonna do?" Li asked.

"Where is this 'we' business?" Mr. Ping squawked. "You're the one in this mess! You can get yourself out-" Mr. Ping turned sharply mid pace, but before he could say anything else, his face crumbled at Li holding his head in his paws. Nothing was said at first, until Li whispered.

"Everything just came out wrong."

Ping just frowned. "I hope so... I thought you liked Tigress?"

"I do like Tigress... she's a lovely girl... it's just..." Li sighed as he picked up a picture off of the counter top. Turning it so Mr. Ping could have a look. It was a baby Po, being held by his mother. As Mr. Ping's left wing fell to his chest, Li continued. "I just feel like Po is growing up too quickly..." Mr. Ping took hold of the picture, and scrutinized it slowly. "I only found him after twenty years, but it seems like he's moving on with his life with me on the sidelines..." Mr. Ping could feel the eyes of every picture he had hanging around the room looking down at him. Most of them being Po through the twenty years Li missed out on. "It feels like only yesterday I found him, and before I know it, he finds love, they form a relationship, he asked her to marry him, they're planning a future... his future... like I have no part in it."

Li's arms collapsed over one another, balanced on his knees as he looked at the floor in front of his feet with a saddened look. Mr. Ping stared at him in silence, before he face fell to pity. He waddled over and sat by Li, leaning into the older panda's peripheral vision, until he glanced up at him glumly.

Mr. Ping looks sympathetic. "You feel like him getting married is taking him away from you?" Li nodded slowly. "I felt that way when they started out. But it's a parent thing, I can assure you it'll be nothing like that! You won't ever lose Po! He's too much of a home bear. Tigress becomes part of our family, and like how she and the other masters accepted Po... we will accept her too." Patting him on the shoulder, Mr. Ping stood up once more. "Maybe talk to him about how you feel..."

Two days later...

The day of the winter festival.

Po hasn't been around the noodle shop leading up to the day of the festival. Li assumed he didn't want to see him after what had happened, but they had a visit this morning.

Tigress suddenly appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, greeted by Mr. Ping had welcomed her into his open wings. Li kept his distance, afraid if anything was said to her, and decided to tick around Po's room, cleaning up bowls, changing the sheets, and fixing the posters on the way that were crooked. While cleaning, he heard them talking downstairs, but the words exchanged didn't reach his ears clearly...

"What brings you here my dear?" Mr. Ping asked, his smiling straining a little.

"I'm looking for Li Shan..." Raising her eyebrows knowingly, Mr. Ping nodded slowly. "Po wishes to speak with him before the feast with the Masters."

"I'll let him know Po is looking for him."

"Perfect. He's to meet Po at the Peach Tree." She bowed to him respectively, and left. He waved her off, and once she disappeared from view, Mr. Ping waddled upstairs, and pushed the bedroom door open.

Mr. Ping stated, making Li stop whatever he was doing. "She said Po wants to speak with you..."

Li huffed and puffed as he made it up to the Peach Tree an hour or so later.

Po was sitting under the tree, cross legged, and mute. He didn't flinch when Li Shan plopped down beside, breathing heavily. Instead, his head itched to the side, and waited for Li to catch his breath.

"Uh... huh... WOO!" Li bounced back into the swing of regular intakes of air, and collected his paws on his lap. "So..." there was silence. "How's planning the feast?" Great start, Li mentally slapped himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid-

"Done. Ti's taking over last minute things while I talk with you."

"Oh?"

A prolonged 'mhmm' vibrating from Po's lips. "The wife of the Dragon Warrior steps in to control the affairs when the Dragon Warrior is absent..."

"That's... a nice way to put it."

Po chuckled stiffly as he fixed his scarf and hat. "Best to start practicing now..." Cue the awkward silence, and they both looked out, beyond the cliff, and to the Valley far below. There was a soft whistling of the wind, softer inhales from both parties, and Po kicked his legs out gently as they dangled over the edge.

"It's beautiful up here." Li commented after a while.

Po smiled inwardly. "Yeah... but you should see it at night time during the Winter Festival."

Li's gaze remained focused to the villager far below, but he smiled at his son's words. "Must be really beautiful."

"Yeah... man, all the lanterns cast this amazing glow, and it makes it look so warm and fuzzy from this distance..." Po sighed, relaxed and loose, before his eyes twitched to one side, away from his father. "Tigress and I came up here after last years festival..." Li's ears picked up right away. "We sat right here," he patted the ground between them, and Li watched his paw make an imprint in the snow. "At first we were watching that glow in silence... and eventually we just talked about everything."

Li gulped a little uneasily. "Everything?"

"Yeap. We figured out if we both really meant to kiss... how we truly felt about one another, and I was happy to ask her out on our first date there and then... everything just fell into place." Po then turned to look at Li Shan, glaring at him slightly. "Despite what you think."

"Son, I am so sorry for what I said. My words were wrong... I was wrong." That was when Li explained how he truly felt. Everything he said to Ping, was repeated to Po... along with something that shocked Po a little. With a strenuous wringing of paws, Po hung onto every word Li said.

"All those years I spent without you or your mother at this time of year... I had this hole in my heart that nothing could fill. No one can understand how lonely it is, to be around everyone you hold dear, yet have two faces missing, every single day. After finding you, some of that void was filled..."

"As was mine." Po began softly, but Li begged him to keep listening, and so he did.

"But last year... I wanted it to be special. It was my first Winter Festival with you, and I couldn't wait to learn the Valley's customs, for them to learn some of ours... and most of all, spend it with you...my son," holding Po's paw with both his own, Li could feel a lump growing in his throat. "Although that void in your heart is full.. I sense that now your heart made room for one more... a love that you wanted to share with someone for a long time..."

Po nodded slowly. "Yeah... I found you, learned about mom... and I felt that I could love some more now because I had you back... I still have a hole in my heart for not having mom around, and not getting to know her... but I know what she did for me was to protect me, and I will be forever grateful for that..." Po sighed. "It really upset me what you said about Tigress... even if it was 'the wrong choice of words'."

"I know son... I will give anything to make up for what I said... I assumed you told her." Po began his answer with a slow nod, but before Li could mentally punish himself for actually a fool, Po said;

"She felt that you didn't mean it that way..." Li just blinked in shock, and Po smiled at him. "She was convincing me what you really meant wasn't revealed... I guess she's right."

Li just chuckled. "Must be a wife's intuition." Po just laughed, one of his arms wrapping around Li's shoulder. "She's lucky to have you."

Po just laughed. "I think I'm the lucky one..." Soon they shared a tight embrace. Nothing was said for a couple of seconds, until Li whispered.

"I love you son."

...

"I love you too Dad..."

One more chapter on the way... I hope you all liked this one.

Sorry for the delayed post. Work has been taking all my energy, and I got really sick over Christmas, and came back again only a few days ago. On the mend now, so I can write and focus!

Happy (Belated) New Year!

Ciao!