Master Tigress sat tall with grace and austerity, eyes softly shut and shoulders back as she rested in peaceful meditation. This very practice, passed on to her from Master Shifu himself, had been a faithful companion to every vigorous day of training she'd endured over the years. All she needed was a quiet room full of oxygen, and through any troubles she might face, the restorative powers of the breath remained a constant.

In fact, at times, the quiet room wasn't even a necessity anymore. But other times, it was. You see, the ferocious feline, much like her teacher, was very gifted in the ways of chi, and the fluidity with which her senses adapted to it. With just the right focus of mind and body, she could hone into even the most intricate details of another's chi; and with the inversion of that same focus, she could drown out even the most obtrusive distractions.

Of course...

There was at least one distraction she hadn't had quite as much luck with...yet.

Tigress' ear twitched as a sudden, oh-so-familiar ripple in her calm brought all awareness back to the forefront of her mind. Almost any other presence could have slipped right under her radar had she allowed it. Why this one was so different, she still hadn't figured out. But it was.

One thing she had grown to know well, however, was that there was no sense in trying to avoid it. Softly, she blinked her eyes open, and turned to look toward her room's door. She didn't speak; she only waited. And sure enough, as the door swung open in not even a full moment's time, her mysterious "panda senses" proved to be just as precise as always.

Po froze at the sight of his closest comrade already staring straight through him as if she'd been expecting the entire situation, and already knew his exact thoughts. His jaw hung open for a few seconds; Tigress could almost feel every ounce of confidence he might have had melting away and dripping down into the floorboards of the barracks.

"U-Uh...hey," he choked.

The cat blinked calmly. Then with a faint nod, she answered, "Po."

The two sat and stood in their respective places, gazes locked as the most awkward of silences loomed between them. Even the air around them suddenly felt as stiff and rigid as an ironwood tree. Until finally, the Dragon Warrior decided his next move.

"Well, I'll, uh...see ya later!" he swiftly turned on his toes to exit the scene. Tigress' eyes widened at his attempt to retreat, and momentarily guided by instinct alone, she quickly stood to her feet. Whatever was going on with her friend, if it was strong enough to inspire this kind of intimidation in him, it wasn't something she could ignore.

She repeated herself, this time with force. "Po!"

The panda froze in his tracks. And ever so hesitantly, he turned back around to look at her again. The visible anxiety in his big, emerald eyes alone was more than enough to humble the feline even further. She furrowed her brow, and continued, a bit gentler.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Finally, Po turned to face her completely, but unsurprisingly, donned with his signature facade of ignorance. He chirped, "Nothin'! I was just, y'know, stoppin' by. Nothin' to worry about, no...secrets...or...things of that sort, sooooo I'm just gonna...y'know."

Though unluckily for him, Tigress was the last person who would ever be fooled by it, and at this point, the one who knew his silly trademarks better than anyone.

She bypassed the white lies, and as always, remained a step ahead. "If you need to talk to me, come in and talk to me. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

In response, the bear clamped his mouth shut, leaving no doubts to the answer of the question. Tigress raised her brow and let a small, knowing smile grace her lips before she stepped aside to gesture the invitation a second time. Which must have given Po just the reassurance he needed, for his whole body almost seemed to sigh in relief as he softened into a shy smile of his own.

He nodded and finally, stepped back into the room with her.

Once the two masters were situated on the floor together in privacy, another moment of silence ensued. Though nowhere near as stifling as the first, a bashful awkwardness remained in the air around them. Mostly on Po's end, of course, as he kept his gaze down in obviously arduous efforts to scrape up the words he wanted to say.

Tigress waited patiently.

Several moments went by, but at last, the Dragon Warrior took a shaky breath.

"Okay," he sighed. And paused again, mouth agape. "I've...never actually talked to anyone about this before. But I...I don't think I like...girls." Quickly, he stifled an awkward cough. "I-I mean, they're fine! But, y'know, I mean...not in that way."

He took another breath as he bravely looked up to meet his friend's gaze, awaiting her reaction. Though the cat did raise her brow in slight intrigue at the information, she showed no other signs of a ruffled conscience. She opened her mouth to speak, but first averted her gaze for a second.

And then she gingerly asked, "Do you prefer men?"

Instantly, Po froze again, as a red tinge coated his pudgy cheeks. He gulped quietly after a moment, and answered the question. "I, uh...y-yeah, I...think so, yeah."

The panda kept a few of the specific details to himself, like how long his feelings had been seemingly dormant since the end of his years as a schoolkid, and...the simian that had so fervently rekindled them lately. Thinking back on each experience with romantic attraction and the like he'd ever had, he couldn't recount a single time of anything similar happening with a girl.

"I see," Tigress acknowledged the reply, and took a brief pause before her next, rather blunt question. "So, what's the problem?"

Po only blinked.

Though he seemed significantly calmer knowing that his comrade didn't think any less of him, he was speechless at the implication that what he'd just told her did not matter. He stared at her in genuine confusion for a moment as he gathered his next words.

"Tigress, I'm... I don't even know anyone else who feels this way," he laughed a bit, in a tone almost akin to hopelessness. "My whole life, it's always been...boys like girls...and girls like boys. I mean, when do you ever see two guys on a date?"

"It's more common than you'd think," she said.

Po sighed wearily, still not satisfied with her answer. "Well, why isn't it normal, then? ...Why do I have to be different? I'm the Dragon Warrior, shouldn't I be normal? Shouldn't I care about this!?"

The feline found no words initially, mostly due to the obvious turmoil she could see in her friend's worried face. She held his gaze with a somewhat conflicted one of her own, unsure how exactly to go about reassuring him that his feelings and his sexuality were valid and fine. She'd never been one to dwell on things of this nature, and despite how much she wanted to comfort Po, she was gradually finding herself a bit more annoyed that these things could be such crucial disturbances of one's rationale.

Finally, she closed her eyes for a few seconds, and opened them again before she firmly replied.

"No."

"...What?" Po asked timidly, in more confusion than he'd even had before.

Tigress straightened her posture, and continued confidently, echoing a lesson she'd learned for herself so long ago. "Po. Listen to me. You may be the Dragon Warrior, but you were not chosen out of normalcy, nor anyone's idea of what defines it. You are not here to worry about the things you are not. You're here to embrace who you are, and to strive for excellence in whatever that may be. That is the way of kung fu."

At the wise sincerity in her words, Po blinked his eyes wide. He had come a good ways in embracing himself even since first realizing what an important aspect of being the Dragon Warrior that was, back when he'd defeated Tai Lung; but obviously, he still had a long way to go.

So it was a very good thing he had friends like the Furious Five to help him when he couldn't quite do it on his own. The bear could have melted into the humbling gratitude he now felt to be one of them. He looked away from Master Tigress, as the warmest of smiles crept back upon his face, and for the first time, the same weight he'd brought into her room had a brand new air of lightness.

"Yeah," he softly agreed. "I...guess you're right."

Tigress couldn't help but soften with relief to see that she had truly helped her dear friend, at least a little bit. She tilted her head, and asked one final question. "How do you feel now?"

Po inhaled a calming breath of air, and exhaled fully before he nodded and lifted his head back up to meet her gaze in immeasurable thanks.

"Better."

Notes:

Pre-KFP2.

Just a little something I've been toying with in my head for a while. Po & Tigress' friendship is a beautiful thing.

Enjoy!