Request from Elena Hurley, who always has epic ideas! Be on the lookout for her new MantisxViper story coming soon!

Quote from unknown. If you know who said this, please tell me!

~Kitty~

Mantis thought he was going to throw up. The snake looked intently at him, like he was nothing, like he was dinner and nothing else. He glanced at Viper as if to ask "Are we in the right house?", but all she did was give a shakey smile that he guessed was to reassure him. It wasn't helping. It just reminded him of how he got into this mess in the first place...

~Two Days Previous~

It was, for once, a peaceful afternoon in the Valley of Peace. The sun was setting on the perfect day, which hadn't been disturbed at all. *Master Shifu played Tigress's favorite song on his flute, Trail of the Angels, as they sat together, finally deciding to reconnect as father and daughter after twenty years of nothing but master and student. Crane was enjoying painting the beautiful sunset the gods had blessed them with. Monkey had finally shared his cookies with Po, so the two were in the kitchen cracking jokes and just relaxing after the lazy day Shifu had given them.

As for Viper and Mantis... Well, they shattered the fragile peace that had settled over the valley and the Jade Palace.

"But why?"

"Mantis, stop whining," Viper admonished, looking over her letter once again. It was very simple, really. Just an invitation back to her old home, stating that everyone missed her dearly. Until the second sentece, that is. Which stated that her father, Grand Master Viper, wanted to meet her husband.

Which was, to put it lightly, a damn big problem. In the words of Mantis, anyway...

"But I don't want to go!" he shouted.

"You're acting like a child," she stated, rolling the letter back up and her eyes.

"But I wanna liiiiiiiiiiiiiive!"

"Oh, stop it. We're going, and there's no way I'm letting you get out of this. Now come on, we have to run this by Shifu."

Mantis reluctantly let himself be lead to the Peach Tree, where Shifu and Tigress were. He was just finishing his song. He flashed them a smile. "Good afternoon, students. Have you enjoyed your day off?"

"We were," Mantis quipped sourly, but at a slap to the back of his head from Viper, he faked a smile and nodded. She smiled at Shifu. "Yes we have, but we would like to know if it would be okay to head out of town for a couple of days, maybe a week at the most."

"Why the sudden urgency?" Shifu asked.

"My parents have asked me to come back home..."

"That's wonderful, Viper," Tigress smiled.

"... To meet Mantis..."

"Oh?" Shifu smiled, realizing what had Mantis bothered. Seeing Mantis begging behind Viper, pleading with his eyes to deny the request. "Well, have a safe trip. Oh, and Viper, do try to bring Mantis back in one piece. It would be so hard to replace him."

He went back to his flute, playing another one of Tigress's top songs. Viper cheered and dragged Mantis to start packing. Before he was out of earshot, Tigress smirked and said, "Have fun."

~Present Day~

Oh, he was far from having fun. Being stared down by the over-protective father of his wife wasn't that fun, believe it or not. In fact, for the first time in almost a month, he feared for his life (which was amazing for his line of work). The snake's eyes bore into his very soul, as if trying to see what exactly he had done to his daughter in their three months of marriage. He shivered. He hoped Master Viper wouldn't be able to see that... Then he really would die...

Viper laughed nervously, trying to relieve the tension. "Daddy-"

"Please tell me he is just here to escort you and your real husband."

Mantis felt his short temper flaring at Master Viper's words. Before he could retaliate, though, Viper interupted him. "No, Daddy, this is my husband..." She slithered over to him and kissed his cheek, which immediately calmed him down. "I'd like you to meet Master Mantis. He's trained alongside me for... Well, he arrived about the time I did."

Master Viper felt his own temper flare. She had been dating him for that long and had never mentioned him in her letters home?

Viper's eyes widened as she realized how that sounded. "Oh, no! Um, we've been together together for around a year."

Mantis smiled, nerves expertly hidden. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Grand Master Viper."

He grumbled, but at a nudge from his wife Mei, he said, "The pleasure is all mine."

Viper and Mantis both allowed an internal sigh of relief. They had made it past her father (if only for a moment) and her mother. Now all Viper had to do was get Mantis past...

"Sister Viper!" two blurs shouted as they ran into her.

Viper giggled and hugged the two identical little snakes, one with red ribbons hanging down from her lilly head-dress and one with blue. "Mia, Jia!"

"We missed you!" the twin ten-year-olds said together, backing off. They looked at Mantis. "Who's he?" Jia asked.

"Master Mantis, but please just call me Mantis," he smiled. "I never really was one for formalities."

The twins gave him a critical eye, and Mantis thought that he was going to have to get past two more, but then they smiled and said, "He's good!"

Mantis smiled, but was shocked when they tackled him in a fierce hug. Viper giggled at his strangled look before saying, "Alright girls, off the hubby."

"You two will stay in Viper's old room," Mei smiled. Viper looked surprised. How did her mother manage to get that past her father? He looked as though he hated the idea, but gave no objections. None verbally, anyway.

"Mom, Daddy, if it's alright, Mantis and I have had a long journey, and we would greatly appriciate it if we could have an early rest," Viper said, glancing at the setting sun outside their house's window.

"Of course, sweetie," Master Viper said, kissing her on her forehead.

"Good night, everyone," she smiled.

"Good night," they replied.

"Wan'an," Mantis bowed.**

"Wan'an," they all replied (even if Master Viper's was a little grudgingly).

"I think they like you," Viper said as she shut her door. Unlike the ones at the Jade Palace, they were wooden. Solid. The house itself was made of wood and stone, while the Jade Palace was made of wood, glass, and jade.

"If that's how your father shows he likes someone, I'd hate to see what he did if he hated me," Mantis said sarcastically.

Viper sighed and curled around him. "So he's a little bit protective. He'll come around."

"When?"

"Be patient," Viper teased, kissing him softly.

Mantis smiled. "Well, I think it's about time I start enjoying this trip..."

"Mantis, there are children in this house!"

"I meant acupuncture! Geez, sometimes you have a very dirty mind..."

~Next Day~

Viper had promised her sister's a day shopping, and since Mantis had no intention of staying with Viper's father without his bride there, he was forced to go along. Snakes didn't buy much, thankfully, so he didn't have to carry much (and yes, he was used to it). He provided input on what looked best, usually replying, "Babe, you look fantastic." To which she thougtht he was just saying that to get out of having to shop with them. He defended himself with "Hey, I can't help if you look good in everything," earning him a kiss.

After the first hour of shopping, it was around lunch, so they decided to stop by a nearby noodle shop for dinner. He set the bags under the table before jumping up beside Viper, giving her a kiss.

"Wow, Vipey, Mantis is strong," Mia giggled.

"Vipey?" Mantis jabbed. He was ignored.

"He's a warrior," Viper said, a shrug implied in her voice since she literally couldn't.

"How many bad guy's butts have you kicked?" Jia blurted out.

Mantis smiled as Viper gently scolded her sister. He could tell that Jia (the one with the red ribbons) didn't really act lady-like, or want to anyway. He would like her.

"Alot. In fact, there was this one time..."

The rest of lunch was spent laughing, gasping in excitement, and giggling if it got to a romantic part (which, thankfully, it rarely did). It flew by rather quickly, and they walked away from the noodle shop soon with full bellies and eagerness to shop more. Well, Viper and Mia did. Jia and Mantis just came along for the ride. But shopping time was cut short because people were running away from one part of the town, screaming, "Bandits!"

"Mia, Jia, get home now!" Viper said as she and Mantis began to head toward the quarrel.

"But what about you and Mantis?" they asked.

"We can take 'em!" Mantis shouted.

When they arrived, they could see about twenty bandits of different species: gorillas, crocodiles, and multiple boars.

They quickly lept into the fray. Mantis was a powerhouse of energy, zipping from enemy to enemy. Some he fought, some he just nerve-struck. "You interupted my break!" he screamed, flipping a gorilla into a crocodile, knocking them both out. He nerve struck a boar, sending him crashing to the ground, frozen. He jumped onto the fallen boar's back, shouting, "Who's next?"

Viper swiftly and gracefully dodged any attacks thrown her way. She jumped into the air and brought herself down heavily onto a boar, knocking him unconscious. A boar ran at her with a sword. She quickly disarmed him, grabbing his hoof and making him punch himself in her signature move. While she did, though, a gorilla grabbed her. The boar hit the floor, too beat up to remember his own name. She squirmed in the gorilla's strong grip, but that only made him squeeze harder. She realized that he planned to crush her, but he had her tail pinned, so she couldn't try and pry his massive paw off of her form. With her air quickly rushing away from her, she yelled in a strained voice, "Man-tis!"

"Viper!" he shouted, seeing his wife's plight. He finished off the boar by him, then ran over and punched the gorilla straight in the face. Caught off guard, he was launched into a stone wall, Viper landing safely in Mantis's arms. He fell to the ground, K.O'd. He gently set her down. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she wheezed, catching her breath.

Mantis glared at the rest of them, daring one of them to hurt her again. A few boars and a crocodile fled, leaving only a gorilla, a crocodile, and three boars. "Fear." He launched the crocodile into the same stone wall, this time knocking him through it. "The." He used his nerve strike on the three boars, so fast he was only a blur. The gorilla looked nervously at the insect as Mantis glared heavily at him. "BUG!" He jumped up and punched the gorilla straight in the face, sending him flying.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mantis asked, taking her tail in his hand.

She smiled. "I'm fine, thanks to you."

Many villagers came forward, either to congradulate them or clear out the unconscious. Around that time, Viper's family slithered up to them. Master Viper hugged his daughter. "Are you alright?"

Viper giggled. "Daddy, I'm fine. I'm used to this kind of stuff."

Master Viper frowned, and looked around at the many faces. 'I'll wait until we arrive back home.'

"Well, I think that was an eventful day," Mei said. "How about we all head back and get to know Master Mantis over tea?"

"Please, Mrs. Mei, just call me Mantis," he bowed.

"Then you call me Mei," she smiled.

"Fair enough."

~Later~

The family enjoyed their tea as Mantis and Viper told them of their journeys. There were sad moments, like when Mantis told them how he had no live relatives anymore. There were funny moments everywhere, since Mantis couldn't help but jab in a joke. There were also very sweet moments, like when they retold the events of their wedding. The only person that remained neutral was Master Viper.

"Now that we have stories out of the way, it's time to get serious," Master Viper spoke after a silence.

"What do you mean?" Viper asked.

"Dear, do we have to do this now?" Mei asked worriedly.

"Do what now?" Mantis asked.

"I'd like to talk about Viper's future."

"Daddy, what are you talking about?" Viper asked. "I've already planned out my future. I'm going to be a teacher of kung fu once I get experienced enough."

"I'd like you to stay here with us, where I can keep an eye on you," Master Viper said.

Viper looked shocked. "B-But I have training! Back in the Valley of Peace!"

"I'm not comfortable with my daughter being around that kind of danger," he said.

"But what about Mantis?" Viper added as Mantis wrapped an arm around her.

"Not that kind of danger either."

Viper's eyes flashed with anger. "You can't tell me what to do!"

He looked shocked. "Viper-"

"No!" She shouted. "I've worked too hard for you to just take it away from me like that! I won't quit! I won't stay here! And you can't make me!"

She quickly left the room. Mantis heard her slam her door. He chuckled awkwardly. "Um, heh, I'll just- uh- go check on her..."

Mantis couldn't have left any quicker than he did. Mantis slowly opened the door so he wouldn't scare Viper.

He was immediately holding a crying Viper in his arms.

He shut the door, knowing Viper wouldn't want her family to hear her thoughts she would undoubtly tell him. "Shhh... Shh, it's okay, Vipe. I've got you. I've got you. You're safe."

"H-He can't take me away f-from my t-training," she wept. "He can't take me f-from the oth-others..." She kissed him, which he gladly returned. It was a needy kiss, like if her lips weren't on his, he would diappear forever. She separated and looked in his scarlet eyes. "He c-can't take me from you..."

"Hey, since when do I let anyone come in and try to take away the love of my life?" he asked. "A son is your son until he takes a wife. A daughter will stay yours for all of your life. Viper, he just wants to protect you. He thinks that since you're married to me, that you won't be his anymore-"

"I'm no one's," she protested. "I'm my own person!"

Mantis laughed softly, stroking her cheek. "There's the Viper I know."

"I just don't want my father to be disappointed with me..."

"Then get down there and show him how you feel and stop staying up here and crying her your eyes out-"

"No need." They turned when Master Viper slithered through the door. Viper glared at him. He sighed. "I am sorry for expecting you to just go along with it. I should have asked you're opinion first." He glared at Mantis. "I just hate that my little girl grew up; and worse! She got married."

"Daddy, I'm not a little girl anymore," she said, slithering closer. "I'm a married, soon-to-be-mother kung fu warrior."

"Well, I- wait, WHAT?"

"Mantis and I have been talking about adoption," she smiled. When he sighed in relief, she smirked. "Did I trick you?"

"Don't do that to me, Viper!" he shouted, tail against his heart. "I'm too old."

"Ah, you're not that old," Mantis smiled.

Master Viper gave him a critical eye, then smiled. "Maybe you aren't so bad." He then gave a small glare. "But if you so much as think about hurting Viper-"

"Then you'll kill me," Mantis finished. "But I'd kill myself before I let that happen, so you'd have to beat me to it."

Viper kissed his cheek. The older snake smiled. "He's a keeper."

~Kitty~

Like it? I do! Please review! Lol, that ryhmed!

* A link to the song he was playing (I STRONGLY recommend you listen to it! It's so peaceful!): h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = A B O x T t x J x N w Take out the spaces.

** It means "good night". I know, how original.

~Kitty~