Here is the next chapter. Hope you guys like it, more will be out as soon as I get around to it.

Disclaimer: I do not own KFP

Chapter 4: The Moment

Po's eyes shot open as his body lurched forward, sending the blanket that covered him flying. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily with a cold sweat on his brow, his hands shaking. His eyes darted everywhere; for a moment, he had no idea where he was, but upon seeing his fellow masters lying in the circle around him, he began to relax.

He got to his feet on shaky legs, not having any recollection of any dreams he might have had and not knowing what woke him up. It was still fairly dark out, but dawn was fast approaching through an overcast sky. He stood by his mat for a second before turning to roll it up. Cool gusts of wind swept through the camp; that coupled with the lack of light made for a somewhat foreboding atmosphere.

The panda finished rolling his mat, tying the knot around it while observing his surroundings. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

It just felt as if something was…wrong.

The feeling disappeared when his eyes landed on the tiger lying across from him on her mat, sleeping soundly. He smiled when he saw that the lotus was still behind her ear where he had placed it the night before.

He walked over to her, gently pulling her blanket up around her and removing the flower from behind her ear, placing it at her side. He stood back, the smile still on his face, as he gazed down upon her.

Warm feelings swirled around inside of him as he marveled at the fact that her mere presence was enough to make everything okay. He resisted the urge to bend down and pull her into an embrace; to hold her and never let her go.

His smile dropped into a grimace as he turned away. He still had no idea how he would be able to tell her about his feelings for her, or if he was even ready. He wondered if she felt the same way for him, before remembering last night, how close she had gotten…

Perhaps there was hope after all.

Po shivered a bit, feeling incredibly restless, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He decided to instead look for firewood for the morning fire. After placing his mat alongside the pack, he left for the thicket once again.

Thinking back to last night, he pondered the moment when she rested her head on his shoulder. He wondered if that was the right time to tell her and he had already missed it, and what would've happened had he told her right then and there. But he knew he wouldn't have been able to bring himself to it; he didn't feel like he was ready.

You'll know when the time is right. I know you can do it. Viper's words rang through his head over and over again. He really hoped she was right.

He began to rummage through the trees and bushes, grabbing anything serviceable for firewood. A gust of wind shook the leaves around him, causing them to all hiss in unison, the branches of the foliage swaying ominously. He felt a chill run down his spine as he hastily withdrew from the thicket with a bundle of sticks under his arm. He was now suitably shaken from his thoughts, and decided to think on them later, now feeling the same foreboding feeling return as he walked back to camp.

Po approached the fire pit and dropped the firewood into it and turned to walk over to his pack to retrieve the flint, but noticed something was different out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to Tigress' mat and saw that she was gone; the lotus now lay on her mat where she had been. A mixture of worry and anxiety welled up in the panda's stomach. The ominous atmosphere didn't help, though at least it was starting to get lighter out. He dug through the pack, keeping his ears perked and ready to detect any sign of an ambush, and retrieved the flint.

He turned around and froze, almost dropping the flint as his eyes fell on the tiger who was sitting by the fire pit in the lotus position, her eyes beaming into his. She motioned to him with her head, beckoning him to join her. His eyes scanned over the rest of the camp and saw that everyone else was still asleep. If this was a trap, it was most likely just her.

He approached her somewhat cautiously. His eyes were suspicious at first, but when he got closer and saw how relaxed she was, they softened. He dropped the flint by the pit before sitting down in front of her, their eyes never breaking connection. The tiger's smile widened ever so slightly, prompting his to do the same.

Po felt a remarkable sense of calm wash over him as he began to meditate with her; the strange sense of imminent danger had vanished once more. He felt safe when he was near her, as if nothing in the world could overcome them. The passage of time seemed nonexistent as the two masters gazed ever deeper into the other's eyes, both content to stay this way for hours on end.

The rest of the day proceeded much like it had the day before, each master pursuing their own activities. Viper had left for a spa in town, Monkey and Mantis had trained and were now relaxing in the spring, Crane practiced his calligraphy, and Po and Tigress sparred again before joining Monkey and Mantis after lunch.

The four masters sat in the corner of the spring as Mantis cracked a few jokes.

"…so he takes one look at her and says, 'Nah, I'm good, I'll keep my head, thank you very much.'"

Monkey and Mantis burst out laughing, as Tigress scoffed and rolled her eyes, looking to the panda next to her to gauge his reaction. He just sat there, confused.

"Wait, so…I don't get it." He scratched his head as he tried to figure out the meaning behind Mantis' joke.

The primate smirked while Mantis deadpanned and sighed. "Okay, so, y'know how Praying Manti-"

"I don't need to hear how it works, thank you." Tigress held up her hand and cut off Mantis in his explanation. "You guys are so immature…" With that, she stood up and exited the spring, shaking off before getting dressed and beginning to walk away.

"Better go get your girlfriend, Po!" Monkey teased, high-fiving Mantis while both snickered incessantly. Without Viper there to keep them in line, the two were having a field day.

"Guyyyysss…she is not my girlfriend!" Po whined back, only making the other two males laugh harder. The panda sighed and shook his head, stepping out of the spring and shaking off, slipping his pants back on and leaving the other two to their immaturity. He caught up to Tigress just as she was leaving the camp.

"Tigress!" He called out as he ran to her side, slightly out of breath. "Where're you going?"

"For a walk." She replied calmly, still staring straight ahead. "You're welcome to join me if you're sick of those guys."

"Yeah…" Po frowned as the howls of laughter continued to erupt from the springs behind him. "They are really immature…"

Tigress remained silent as the two strolled out of the camp and onto the road.

"So, uh…are we walking to any place in particular, or…?"

The tiger shrugged. "Anywhere but back there."

"Fair enough."

Po felt a grumble in his stomach and realized it had been a few hours since they last ate; the sun was already nearing the horizon.

"Hey, uh…" he began, choosing his words rather carefully. "Forget those guys, wanna grab somethin' to eat, y'know…just the two of us?"

Tigress stopped in her tracks, prompting the panda to do likewise as she turned to him with a smile on her face. Is he asking me out on a date? She decided not to allow her thoughts to become words this time.

"I'd like that," she responded instead with a nod.

The two masters sat in the same restaurant they had visited the day before, albeit this time in a more secluded section, at a two-person table. Po was rambling on as usual, unable to shut his mouth.

"So, have you ever had a nickname?"

"No, Po-"

"Well, you should totally get one…I've had a couple, like The Big Fat Panda, and Podacious…hmmm, what could yours be?"

"Po."

"Oh, I know! How about just Ti? It's nice and simple-"

"Po!"

"Yeah?"

The tiger motioned to the waitress, who had been standing there for a while now, waiting to take their orders.

"Oh, uh…" The panda scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "I'll have that same rice and vegetable bowl, but maybe with sautéed onions this time…"

The waitress nodded, writing down his order before turning to the tiger.

"I'll have the gourmet tofu with a side of dumplings, please."

Taking the menus, the waitress bowed out and returned to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, back at the camp…

Monkey felt a grumble start in his stomach.

"Uhh…are they coming back?" he asked Crane and Mantis who sat with him by the fire pit. The masters just looked at each other nervously.

"Well, shit…I don't know how to cook anything!" Mantis exclaimed.

"It's really not that hard, you know…" Crane retorted, moving to start the fire.

"Oh, really? Enlighten us, please," the bug replied. Crane just sighed.

Monkey was digging through the pack, looking for Po's noodle supplies. He pulled it all out and laid it before the others in a heap. They looked down at the intricate mechanisms and ingredients which they had no idea how to use. Mantis looked up to his comrades through panicked eyes.

"We're screwed."

"Oh, wow…now that stuff will never get old…" Po declared, patting his stomach in contentment after having downed the entire bowl in just a couple of minutes.

Tigress just smirked, finishing the last of her tofu and placing her chopsticks down before clearing her throat to speak.

"Um…Po? Can I ask you something?"

"Fire away," Po replied through a napkin as he wiped his mouth.

Tigress hesitated. She didn't quite know how to go about asking what she wanted to know, but the warm feeling in her stomach had been growing stronger all night. She had to say something.

"Do you ever…get a…a warm feeling-"

She was cut off by the waitress as she approached their table. Po reached over and grabbed Tigress' dishes and stacked them onto his own, handing them to the waitress and pulling out a small sack of money from his pocket, throwing it on the table. The waitress bowed and thanked them as Po stood up.

"C'mon, we can talk on the way back." He turned to leave. Tigress sighed and followed him out of the restaurant and back onto the quiet streets.

Other than the panda and the tiger, not a soul was in sight as the two strolled down the street into the night. The village wasn't very big, so it wasn't long until they were back out in the countryside as they headed back to the springs.

"So…what did you want to say back there?" Po asked, turning to the tiger as they walked.

She hesitated for a moment. Gods, what am I doing? she thought as she grabbed his arm and pulled him off of the road and up a small hill beside it.

They stood there for a good minute, gazing out across the moonlit landscape below them.

"Po…I need to ask you something…" Tigress began, closing her eyes and hanging her head, almost as if in shame.

"What…what is it?" He inquired with a genuine look of confusion across his face.

"What would you do if…you found out…that a person…likes you?"

"…Likes me? Um, well, a lot of people like me, so-"

"I mean 'like' as in…more than a friend…"

Po's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. "Oh, uh…" his hand found its way to the back of his head while he cleared his throat nervously. "…well, I, uh…I don't really…"

Tigress sighed. She knew she wasn't going to get a coherent answer, so she decided to continue.

"…what if…that person…was…me?"

Po's heart jumped into his throat as a wave of warmth flooded his chest, tingles and shivers following. His eyes were flitting all over the place as he turned away from her.

"Tigress…I-I…"

She placed her paw on his shoulder and gently turned him back towards her. They made eye contact, and Viper's words returned to his head. You'll know when the time is right…

"Po…I think…"

The panda gulped, but was too lost in the tiger's eyes to move away. He began to twiddle his thumbs nervously instead.

"…I think I…love you."

Those last words hit him like a brick to the face. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates by now. He gulped again and bit down on his lip, backing up ever so slightly and letting her paw slip off of his shoulder. He knew this was the time. This was the right time. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

Yet he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to admit his feelings for her in return. His lips just wouldn't form the words and his lungs refused to release the air to say them. Viper's words ran though his head one last time. I know you can do it…

He spun his back to her, trying to focus on the words he wanted so desperately to say, the words he was trying so earnestly to force out of his mouth. But they just wouldn't come.

He said something else instead.

"Wow, it-it's getting pretty…late…" he stuttered, looking up at the sky and the position of the moon. He could feel Tigress' eyes widen and her mouth drop open.

"Po…" his name left her lips in a squeak.

"Yeah, it looks like…it might…rain…"

She gaped, taking a few steps backwards as if physically struck by his words. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as her heart sank like a rock.

She had opened up to emotion for the first time in her entire life.

She had felt feelings she never dreamed she would ever feel.

She had shared them with the person she cared for most.

She had just told him she loved him…

And the only thing he could reply with…was the weather.

Was that how interested in her feelings he really was? Was the weather more important to him than the fact that she had just admitted how emotionally invested in him she truly was? She felt as if a knife had been driven through her heart as feelings of something similar to betrayal seeped in through the wound.

Her lips began to quiver, tears now falling freely as she waited with bated breath for him to come to his senses…to turn around and tell her how he really felt…

"P-Po…?"

The panda didn't turn around. He stood, frozen in place, ten feet or so in front of her. It was clear that he was going to say no more.

A small whimper left the tiger's mouth as she pulled herself away from him and down the hill before breaking out in sobs, taking off down the road on all fours.

A single tear found its way down Po's cheek as he sat down. He didn't feel the first raindrop as it landed on his head, nor the torrent that soon followed.

Yeah...this was pretty hard for me to write due to the memories...Chapter 5 should be out soon though. See you guys there.