Ever since then, and a cold as well as a scowling from Master Shifu from even deciding to stay out in the rain in the first place, they had kept to that promise.
If it be day or night, sun or rain, bitter cold or intense heat: even if they were angry at each other a few minutes ago, they had agreed to be there for one another, and that their shoulders were no longer their own, but belonged to the other involving the promise.
There was even one time where they had gotten so mad at one another, no one dared to be in the room. Yet, after all of the bruises and bleeding, they still lent their shoulders to the other to cry, which was a good thing since neither had to go far to apologize.
No one said anything about it, because they were afraid to (especially when the one they were afraid of the most was Tigress), but like metal having to go through the fire before the impurities can be beaten out with a hammer, so were the moments in Po and Tigress' relationship. They butted head sometimes, and even some cases left them broken or bleeding, but they were still there for one another in the end. How they did it was beyond them: heck, it was even beyond the comprehension of the panda and the tiger sometimes, but they still kept going at it because their promise was that important to them.
That pinkie promise seemed silly, but there was a lot of meaning behind it. No one understood that but them.
It was also that promise that didn't stop Po from getting up one night, primarily because of the nightmare he had. He tried to meditate about it, but that didn't work at all. For someone who had inner peace, he soon came to realize that it was going to need some work.
Until then, there was only one thing he knew he could do.
After all, it was that one thing that lead him to Tigress' door in the first place. He hesitated for a minute, but he pushed down all doubt as he let the promise pass through his thoughts.
"No matter what time of day and no matter the circumstances - our shoulders belong to each other whenever we need them."
Nodding, he let a light sigh leave his lips before he lifted his paw to the paper door, only to have it open before he even touched it.
There, on the other side, gazing at him with her glowing sunset eyes, was Tigress - looking at him as if she were expecting him.
He gave her a very weak, sheepish smile, as if an apology for disturbing her so late at night. Tigress only shook her head, smiled in understanding, and opened the door to let the panda in. After all, she really couldn't sleep either - she too had a nightmare of her own, but was mentally preparing herself to go to Po.
Apparently, he beat her to it.
As Po turned for a minute to close the door behind him, Tigress went to lay back down, except she sat on her bed rather than actually laid down to rest. Then again, this wasn't about resting, and watched as Po carefully went over to her bed, sitting down for a minute to collect his thoughts.
This wasn't about collecting thoughts - Tigress knew why he was here, and placed her hand on his shoulder.
From the look he was giving the ground before he looked at her, it was obvious that he had a nightmare.
Without really saying it, she told him that she was here for him, so there was no need to hold anything back.
Po understood her silent message, and tears began to form, words becoming utterly useless as he embraced the tiger around her waist and buried his head into her shoulder.
Tigress, on the other hand, had hugged him the same moment he did, putting her cheek on top of his head as she listened to his sobs. Whatever nightmare it was, it must've been bad.
She didn't hold back her feelings either, and allowed herself the right to cry as the first tear came down her cheek, glancing over Po's body that was still shaking a little from the trauma of the nightmare.
Neither were really sure if this promise would do anything at first, but after the pain, the fights, and even the tears, they came to realize that not only was this the best thing, but it was what they needed.
They needed this - they needed each other.
No one really debated about who suffered the most in Gongmen City, but it was likely that Po and Tigress suffered the most, even after arriving home. While there was a monument for the master, Po and Tigress had a different monument, and one that kept haunting their dreams every night. If they had not confide in each other, perhaps these feelings wouldn't have been bearable.
No words were necessary either: it was that promise that brought about the best ointment that could possibly heal their scars, and that was the promised company of two friends, embracing and just letting it out.
In fact, in the funniest way (as Tigress let the another set of tears of her own go down her face as her eyes lightly passed over the spots on Po's body that were still scarred up physically and lightly painted with his scarlet blood), it was as if they had been trying to tell each other the entire time that they needed this embrace. What couldn't be said with words was best expressed in just giving each other the gift of time. It was this special embrace in one another that had become their soothing ointment for the scars many thought would heal on the account of victory.
It was all they could ever ask for because it was all they wanted.
It was all they needed.
Maybe that was enough of just the right ointment to sooth the scars of Gongmen City.
Artist's Comments
I'm sorry guys, but that's it - well, at least for the moment.
Sometime after writing this piece, I had received a suggestion from Jakaynne, here on Fanfiction, about a potential chapter five.
The idea basically sums up to this - Tigress and Po get some time alone after the battle with Kai and Tigress has some weight on her heart she hasn't quite vented out yet, primarily of what he had to do to defeat Kai in the first place. Sticking to the promise, she eventually gets that time with Po, which is a very understanding time between them.
To me, that sounds like a really good idea, perhaps a potential love scene, like in the process of giving each other their shoulders to cry on, their relationship development had come to the point where they had unintentionally given each other their hearts (and everything else) to each other. I am oddly reminded of the TiPo oneshot The Dumbest Thing, by Joei Write, which might end up being the inspiration for the next potential scene.
I want to hear what you all have to think about Jakaynne's idea, and anything you think I should add to that if I were to add any more to this.
UPDATE: March 23, 2016
Surprisingly, during my greatest hours of stress, I have another idea of my own for a potential chapter 5 for Gongmen's Scars.
Perhaps after this scene and pior to the idea above, I was thinking of something a little less dramatic, since I can't seem to get out of my head that Po having a broken rib was pushing it.
Anyway, I was thinking that they are on a random mission, and Po's taking the next shift to look out for trouble while everyone gets some shut-eye. Tigress, who can't really get any sleep, decides to silently keep a look out with Po, doing a similar scene in Inuyasha where Kagome has her chest against Inuyasha and they're both holding hands - man I wish I could remember the episode it was in, but I would know it when I see it.
Anyway, shoot me any thoughts over if you have some - I'm willing to extend this if I've got the ideas for it.
May God's love, grace, and mercy be with us all.