Cleaning Up the Mess

Po walked along a certain part of the Jade Palace. It was beautiful garden with cherry blossom trees and flowers of all kind. The garden stretched out on both sides of the walkway. Then Po saw a little flower that caught his eye. It was in the middle between two bushes. He picked it up and looked at it. It was beautiful, with red tips and outlines and a yellow interior on its petals. Po continued to look at the flower as he walked to the Training Hall where Tigress was practicing...again. Po sat down on the walkway of the hall and looked at the flower. "What's wrong?" Po's head snapped up to see Tigress looking at him, standing on the walkway.

"Oh nothing," Po lied as he stood up, "I...I just wanted to give you this," Po said forcing a smile. Tigress's eyes widened as she looked at the flower. It was absolutely marvelous. She gently grasped the flower in her paw.

"Thank you Po. It's wonderful," Tigress smiled as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Po's eyes grew wide. His brain was still trying to process the incident as Tigress released him. "Thank you, Po," She smiled as she exited the room.

"B'wuh" Po jumbled trying to say 'bye'. He soon fell backwards. As he regained consciousness, it was noon time. He was still thinking about the incident. Then a thought came into his head. "Song," He grumbled. It made no sense for Tigress to One: hugged him. Two: kiss him. Something was up. He quickly went out and went to the kitchen, where Viper, Song, and Monkey were eating.

"Hey P-"

"Were you anywhere near the shift stones?" Po interrupted Song. Song was confused.

"The what?"

"How long have you been in the kitchen?" Po asked.

"Po, she and I have been in here from the time you left. It's only been an hour," Viper replied. Then Tigress came in. They all mumbled a hello as she went to kitchen. Po sat down as Tigress got her tea. Po noticed that Tigress had an emotionless face. Po rolled his eyes and gave a huff. Maybe it was all just his imagination. Then he glance down at her pants. Inside one of her pockets, Po could make out the lines of a stuffed flower. It was the same shape and size of the one that he gave Tigress. Tigress saw Po looking at her.

"What?" She asked the panda. Po snapped out of his gaze and looked elsewhere.

"Nothing, nothing," Po covered. He could see in the corner of his eye that Tigress was gracing a small smile. What was up? It was as if Tigress was just being this way because of the others. Speaking of others, "Does anyone know where Vince and Leng are?" He asked.

"They went down the valley to get some supplies," Monkey said. Po nodded and as he went out the door, Monkey also said, "A Tiger Lily."

"What?" Po asked.

"You picked up a Tiger Lily. I saw you in the garden picking up a flower. I was trying to figure out what it was. It's been bothering me for the longest," Monkey replied sipping his tea. Tigress and Po looked at each other and blushed as Po rushed out the door.

"I'm going to go workout," Tigress immediately said as Po left. The two ladies left were baffled.

"What was all that about? And what happened to the flower you were talking about?" Song asked.

"I don't know," Monkey shrugged as he gazed at the spot where Tigress was just standing. A smile came to his face. "But I think I know where the flower is."

Po ran down the mountain so fast that he tripped and bounced all the way down. Of course, without the fat, it was a lot more painful. Po groaned as he got back up. He, literally had just landed into a fight with Vince and some bandits. "Hey Po. Help me with these guys," Vince asked. Po joined his side. A lot has happened in the eleven days since Vince came to the Valley of Peace. Almost like an entire lifetime. After the two were done with fighting the bandits, Po brought Vince into his father's shop.

"I have to tell you something," Po said excitedly.

"What?" Vince asked as he sipped his tea.

"Tigress hugged and kissed me," Po said making Vince spit out the tea he had onto some now crying children.

"Sorry," Vince apologized as Po sat down right next to him, "She KISSED you? Where?"

"On the cheek. And I checked. It wasn't Song in disguise!" Po said excitedly.

"Well, how do you feel about it?"

"A..mazing!" Po exclaimed loudly earning weird stares from all around the shop. Vince cowered a little from the embarrassment.

"So, what's next?" Vince asked. Po looked at the legged serpentine in a questioning way. "Well you got her to like you, the panda you. What about the tiger you? What's your next move?" Po thought about it for a moment.

"I could tell her, but I don't think that's for the best. Even if she didn't hate me for what happened between Viper and me, I just can't shake the feeling that I shouldn't tell her," Po sighed. Vince shrugged as he got up.

"It's your world, panda," The walking serpentine said as he walked out the shop.

"Po, I need your help with table seven," Mr. Ping called from the kitchen.

"Coming," Po replied.

Tigress walked nervously to a familiar room for her troubles. Well, not really familiar. This was the first time that Tigress went to Viper for girl troubles. Most problems weren't frivolous in her sense of mind, but this was different. She had never felt like this before. In fact, she had usually never felt. As she was about to knock on the silk panel door of Viper, Viper opened the door. The two looked at each other with an awkward atmosphere in the room. "Oh, hello Viper," Tigress said trying to put on her emotionless face. Viper was trying to do the same thing.

"Oh, hello Master Tigress," Viper replied properly. Another awkward moment passed.

"I was looking for you," Tigress spoke out.

"Oh really? Me too," Viper replied the same. Another awkward silence. "Do you want to come in?"

"Yeah that would be nice," Tigress quickly said as she came into the room. She could see that Viper had done some redecorating. "So, what was it that you wanted to ask me?" Tigress asked. Viper looked around nervously. She was careful not to look up at the tiger's eyes; she was about half of an inch shorter than Tigress.

"Why don't you tell me why you're here?" Viper diverted quickly sitting down on her bed. Tigress was now nervous. She took a deep breath and finally said.

"How do you see Crane?" Tigress asked. This threw Viper for a loop. She wasn't expecting that. Unfortunately, her attitude turned to jealousy.

"Why do you ask?" Viper questioned.

"Because of what happened with Fang Po and you. Were you two going out?" Tigress asked innocently and bluntly.

"It was an ACCIDENT! The only reason why I was down there in the first place is because Vince and Leng wanted me to test the guy's heart or some mumbo jumbo," Viper exclaimed furiously, "Why else do you ask?"

"Because I was wondering how far I need to stay away from him before I wake up with venom in my tea," Tigress countered with a smirking smile. Now Viper was blushing. Tigress sat down right next to her. "So, what's the answer?"

"Well, I do see him as a great friend. It's...really difficult to express my feelings," Viper replied.

"How? You're the most friendly, warm hearted, open person I've met," Tigress said wondering what Viper meant. Viper sighed sadly.

"People are great deceivers and snakes are even more so. Plus," Viper said nervously looking away. "It would be a lot better if he said he loved me. I'm just...a little-"

"Insecure?" Tigress guessed. Viper groaned in response confirming Tigress' guess. "I can understand. I have difficulty showing my feelings."

"We ALL know that Tigress," Viper countered with a 'duh' expression on her face.

"Yeah, but you guys don't know my inner desires," Tigress argued. Viper tilted her head meaning 'good point'. Then Viper thought of something to deter the feline.

"So, Tigress, now is my turn to ask you a question," Viper said looking directly at the cat. "Who do you like?"

"I'm not answering that," Tigress said defensively.

"You already did, but I'll leave that alone for now," Viper said changing the subject, "Who do you like more? Po or Fang Po?" She asked this question, not for her self, but for Po's sake. Now, Tigress was the one that was nervously blushing.

"Um..." Was all she could say.

"Come on, who do you like more? Simple question, not personal," Viper insisted.

"I...I think...I think that they are both...friendly," Tigress replied slowly.

"I know, but which would you prefer being in a relationship with," Viper said. Before Tigress could answer, Viper quickly added, "And NOT just because of species." Tigress closed her mouth thinking.

"I...I...I don't know. That's kind of what I wanted to ask you about. I don't know how to...deal with this," Tigress said a little in angst. The little Viper in Viper's head was running around trying to open Viper's mouth about Po. Needless to say, Viper really wanted to tell Tigress, but for Po's sake she remained silent about it.

"Well, why do you like each?" Viper questioned.

"Well, Po is caring, loving, kind, and he's helped me open up a little," Tigress said. She glanced at Viper, who had a dead face on. "Okay, a lot. He's been with me through the tough times. But with Fang Po, he's adventurous, caring like Po, strong, of course Po is a lot more handsome than before he was changed-"

"Let me stop you for a second," Viper interrupted, "Do Fang Po and Po seem similar to you in character?" Tigress thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Now here's my next question. Did you like Po before his transformation?"

"Yes," Tigress sighed. Little Viper jumped for joy. She did like him for his character. Viper smiled.

"Don't worry, Tigress," Viper said placing her hand on her shoulder, "Things will turn out."

to be continued

Trivia

1. What did Po give Tigress?

2. What was the name of the flower?

3. What did Tigress do to Po to make him lose consciousness?

4 (Opinion-based) Why do you think moments between Tigress and Viper were so awkward?

answers for chapter 10

1. Because she saw what happened between Fang Po and Viper.

2. Dating/ kissing

3. She might only like him for his body.