~~happy (VERY belated) valentine's day everyone! (wrote this a few days before but ofc I am late as usual TwT ah well gonna keep the original author's notes) AAAA ONE OF MY FAVORITE DAYS OF THE YEAR X3 and you know in order to celebrate I had to write about my favorite ship in this little idea I came up with UwU
as you have probably noticed- the last time I wrote was around a month ago- I'm hoping that this year I would write something at least once every month! this will help with consistency and also give me time to think of ideas to publish! consider this my new year's resolution if you will ;3
ANYWAYS- Imma stop talking and let you read this- there isn't much context to this other than the fact I want to see my girls Mei Mei and Tigress interact and I am a HUGE fan of the trope in here... can y'all guess what it is? (eye ball emoji LOL)
have a great day/night this valentine's day, whether you're celebrating alone, with a friend, or a special someone~ I hope you get all the chocolates and heart-shaped corporate souvenirs and remember to live, laugh, love! seeya next time! yarart OUT! ;D~~
Ember eyes find their way away from the crowded area of the outdoor market in the valley and spot the Dragon warrior gleefully moving around the area.
The feline was already out on patrol much earlier than him, but she still wasn't surprised by his sudden presence in the valley either. After all, it is his duty to look over the villagers as well.
Her fiery gaze followed the panda as he smiled, waved, and kindly conversed to everyone he could interact with. It was sweet seeing him so in touch with the people he protected. No matter how many battles he had fought for them all, physically and mentally, he still showed a kind, cheesy smile to whoever needed it.
She couldn't help but smile and lovingly watch as he bumped into a few kids playing kickball before deciding to join them himself. He laughed and goofed off and interacted with the children on their level. And of course, they adored him. Ducklings, piglets, lambs and panda cubs all giggled and cheered whilst passing the ball amongst each other and the Dragon Warrior. How he was able to bring this much light in areas where it was needed only amazed the tiger, as she unknowingly slumped her side to a wooden pillar.
"Ahem... if you're going to lean there, you might as well buy something."
Tigress slightly jumped at the sudden sound, surprised with herself that she couldn't sense someone in her presence as she usually did. She turned to the voice that called to her and it was at that moment where the feline realised the wooden pillar she was leaning against... was supposedly apart of Mei Mei's stand.
The panda diva looked up at the tiger with a smirk on her face, accomplished with herself for spooking the Master Tigress. She waved and fluttered her stubby paw fingers towards the sophisticated master. "Hey~"
"I—wha—Mei Mei?" Tigress momentarily stuttered before clearing her throat. "What are you doing here? Aren't you usually at your boutique?" She asked, finding her vision fall back on the playful Dragon Warrior in the distance.
"Well~ starting my new ''Chucks and Chicks' business in a new place is gonna start off rocky, so I'm making a small stand to extend and promote my business! Make-up, jewellery and ribbons galore!"
Unfortunately for Mei Mei, she found out pretty quickly that Tigress' attention wasn't all on her, judging by the small, dismissive hum she made whilst still looking off into the distance. "Something on your mind?"
"No." Tigress simply stated, which made the pandess pout in slight annoyance before leaning out of her stand to follow where the kung fu master was staring at, only for her eyes to widen once she realised she was staring at...
Po.
Mei Mei turned back to the look on Tigress' face, and only saw a look of internal longing in the tiger's eyes. She may have quite the composed poker face, but that can only hold up for so long until you look into the fiery passion in her eyes. The panda diva smirked yet again, pulling up a mint-colored camellia fur-clip and holding it out towards the unsuspecting cat. "Wanna give one of these a try~?"
Just as Mei Mei predicted, the very idea of it perked up Tigress' ears and brought her attention back to the panda and her little trinkets. "Oh no, I couldn't, I'm not really someone who enjoys things like that."
"Well, have you ever even tried these before?"
The question seemed to stun the feline, taking her aback and leaving her hesitant to answer. "Well... no."
"Then how can you say you don't enjoy it!" Mei Mei remarked whilst Tigress simply deadpanned.
"Listen, I'm not like you... I'm not as... expressive towards more 'feminine' gestures... or any kind of gesture for that manner..." That more hushed last part was what really piqued the female panda's interest.
"Okay, you're right, you're not like me," She snorted, "No one can be as magnificent as I~..." Tigress simply grinned in amusement and shook her head.
"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't express yourself! Take this flower for example..." She gestured to the fur-clip she was holding. "At first, this little guy wasn't as blossomed as it is now... it used to be sheltered too." The tiger curiously tilted her head at the camellia, wondering where this analogy was going. "It did long to be expressed, though. And over time, with some love, nurturing and care, it did. And the more it opened itself up, the more the world and itself was enthralled by it's beauty! You don't have to force yourself to be so open with others, but do know that with the right love and care from others, and more importantly yourself, your beauty and strength will blossom more than it ever has before!"
The master quirked up her eyebrow sceptically. "I'm not sure if you're just referring to me trying on make-up and jewellery or... something else."
Mei Mei simply shrugged. "Hey, bottom line is... don't knock it until you try it."
Tigress looked down for a moment, pondering to herself, before looking off into the distance to see Po gleefully raising one of the kids on his shoulders, carefree and expressing himself to full lengths. The hard, thinking look on her face softened upon his sight. Finally, she turned back to the other panda holding out the fur-clip in anticipation. "Is this some kind of business tactic that convinces customers they have enough self confidence to buy products from you?"
The pandess giggled. "That depends... did it work?" She smirked, contagiously having Tigress smirk back. And at long last, slowly and unsurely, she took the camellia fur-clip into her claws, holding it as gentle as possible.
She pulled out a small pouch filled with at least a hundred yuan. "Well played... how much do I owe you, then?"
Surprisingly, Mei Mei dismissively waved her paw. "Pah~ please, it's on the house. Consider it a tiny favor... perhaps you can use that to prepare for the Qixi festival coming up~..." She winked, causing Tigress to feel her cheeks flush just a teensy bit.
Now, after that week has passed, Mei Mei pushed that small encounter aside from her mind, not really wondering if Master Tigress actually took her advice. Until one faithful day just before the infamous Qixi festival, where Mei Mei was cleaning up her boutique after a busy day, her front door suddenly busted with an ecstatic, panicked snake, latching onto the arm of a moderately flustered tiger.
"MEI MEIIIIIIIII! EMERGENCY!"
Out of reflex, the pandess turned her broom in which she was using to sweep as a substitute staff as she broke into an amateur kung fu pose. "WHAT IS IT!? WHO'S INVADING NOW!?"
"NOT THAT EMERGENCY! A GIRL EMERGENCY!" Viper exclaimed, pushing a reluctant Tigress towards Mei Mei. It was then that she noticed the feline master wearing the camellia fur-clip against her ear. She stood the broom by her side and looked onto the two female warriors. "Well thank the Spirit Realm for that! What happened?"
Tigress grumbled and covered her blushing face with her claw. "I... I took your advice a little too well, I believe..."
"My advice?"
"TIGRESS ASKED PO TO BE HER DATE TO THE QIXI FESTIVAL!"
Mei Mei widened her eyes. "SHE WHAAAA!?"
"Viper!" Tigress called out in embarrassment to Viper's sudden exclaim. The sweet snake bounced her slithery body in her spot. "I'M SORRY—THIS IS JUST—THE BEST THING EVER! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!? LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT!" Viper shouted, making Tigress face palm herself. "But the problem is SOMEONE doesn't have anything to wear or even know HOW to get ready for an event like this so we REALLY NEED YOUR HELP!"
"I still don't understand why I can't just wear my usual Qixi festival qipao..."
"Tigress, dear sister, I love you, but I would rather give my soul to the Spirit Realm than let you wear that old thing on this particular date."
"For the last time, it's NOT a date! It's simply an outing I asked to have with Po..."
Viper scoffed. "Yeah, on, like, the most ROMANTIC DAY OF THE LUNAR YEAR! MEI MEI, HELP ME OUT HERE!"
Mei Mei simply clasped her paws over her lips and smiled brightly. "Okay—here's the plan. Viper, grab all my blue, purple and red fabrics from the back, those colors will definitely compliment Tigress' exotic fur..." She brought up her paws to shape a picture frame around the flabbergasted tiger. Viper smiled brightly, squealing "Right on it, Mei! Gosh, I just KNEW I could count on you!" before slithering to the back rooms of the boutique.
"In the meantime..." The pandess laid her arm around Tigress' shoulder and led her towards the fitting rooms. "YOU, Miss Grumpy Stripes, are gonna tell me EVERYTHING that happened. Glad that camellia gave you a bit of confidence." She smirked, once again causing Tigress to give a small, and even shockingly shy smirk back. "Do you want the general summary or to me to explain it in great detail? I never know how these... 'girl talks' work..."
"Oh, Tigress..." Mei Mei stared at the feline in total seriousness. "We ALWAYS need great detail."