Orange and Red
By corset-rebellion-follower
Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda
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Chapter 4- Even the Most Beautiful Rose Wilts a Little
Tigress walked across the bridge that led into the village.
It was chore day, and she got assigned with the task of buying groceries for the week. Tigress despised chore day because it took away time she could and would use for training. But the Jade Palace didn't keep itself tidied up on its own or do its own grocery shopping.
And being in the village wasn't so bad. She loved watching the children laughing and playing together, the old men playing mahjong, and just the noise and the bustle. It was always so quiet and peaceful up at the Jade Palace, it actually got rather annoying.
"Oh, look, there's Master Tigress! She's grown to be such a beauty! I remember when she first came to the Jade Palace. She was so timid and barely spoke a word to anyone!" An elderly woman known as Mother Ling whispered to her friend, Ta Ju, who nodded in agreement.
"Remember how she used to follow Master Shifu around as if they were glued together?" Ta Ju asked. They laughed and sighed reflectively.
"Have you seen Shifu lately? All those years, and he's still got it!" Mother Ling cawed. They busted out in laughter. Tigress felt her cheeks burn at that comment. She shook her head. Focus on your chores. The faster you get them done, the faster you can get back to training.
She approached one of the stalls and started filling her basket with various fruits and vegetables. As she did, she noticed a pair of green eyes watching her. She tried to ignore their gaze, but it was proving difficult. The eyes belonged to Hsia, the only other tiger in the Valley of Peace.
She was hanging around with her friends, all of whom were geese and pigs. "Is it just me, or did Tigress gain weight?" she whispered, just loud enough for Tigress to hear. Her friends started giggling. Tigress's grip tightened on the peach in her hand, but she slowed her breathing and loosened.
"And I wish she would do something about her outfit! Has she ever even seen a skirt?" Hsia asked. More giggling ensued.
"And has she heard of makeup? Geez!" Tigress gritted her teeth and growled quietly. For a moment, she locked eyes with Hsia, who immediately acted all innocent. Tigress finished loading her basket and paid for the food before striding proudly past Hsia, who scoffed.
Tigress kept her eyes fixed on the sidewalk until she was back in the Jade Palace kitchen, where Monkey was sweeping. "Hey, Tigress. Got the food?" he asked cheerfully. She merely nodded and placed the basket on the counter. Monkey put down the broom and came to stand beside her. "Uh, Tigress?"
"What?" she snapped, gripping the edge of the counter.
"Is this all you got? Because it's mostly peaches. And we have those growing on a tree outside. Not that we're supposed to eat the peaches from the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom," he said. She looked at the basket. It had a bok choy, a bag of edamame pods, and the rest were peaches.
"Oh. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was putting inside," she said embarrassedly.
"It's alright. I'm almost done in here, I'll go down and finish for you," he offered.
She smiled. "Thanks. I think I'm going to my room, if anyone asks for me." She left the kitchen. As soon as she was far enough away, she hit herself in the forehead. Ugh, that was stupid of me. She opened the doors to her room and slammed them shut, sitting on her bedroll and hiding her face in her hands.
I am so stupid! How could I not have noticed that? She sighed and looked down at herself. Have I gained weight?
"Tigress?" She jumped and turned to see who was addressing her. Shifu was standing in the doorway. "Are you back from the market already? Usually it takes much longer than that," he said, coming in and softly closing the doors.
She turned her back to him. "Um, yeah… I'm back." He raised an eyebrow at her.
"What's wrong?"
"What makes you think something's wrong?" she challenged, getting defensive. She paused, then sighed. "Master Shifu… am I… ugly?" she asked softly.
He immediately turned her around and took her paws. "What would give you an insane idea like that?" he demanded.
"Well… at the market, I saw Hsia. And she was talking about me. And saying that I was gaining weight and I needed to wear makeup," she answered obediently. He squeezed her paws and smiled.
"First of all, you are not gaining weight. You're the perfect size."
Tigress's sullen attitude melted a little. "And second, you shouldn't be listening to her. She's been making fun of you since you were both kids. She's just jealous of you." Tigress chuckled a little, but still looked doubtful. Shifu cupped her cheek.
"She's jealous because you are the most graceful…" He kissed her cheek.
"… Strong…" He kissed her nose.
"… Independent…" He pressed a passionate kiss on her lips and wrapped his arms around her neck.
"… And beautiful young woman in all of China," he finished, nuzzling her.
She giggled and kissed his lips. "You're probably right. You almost always are," she whispered, feeling his hands slipping beneath her vest and stroking the fur of her shoulders and back.
"I am right," he corrected, pressing a warm kiss to the back of her neck. She shuddered with pleasure.
"Well forgive me, Master, for making such a blatant mistake. Should I go run five laps of the obstacle course as punishment?" she asked, recalling her childhood punishment for back-talking. He shook his head and started to work on opening one of the clasps of her vest.
"Stay here with me. Just stay."
She purred as their lips met in another kiss and they laid down on the bedroll. Mother Ling was right. He's still got it.
A/N: These are becoming more like oneshots, but I'll still call them drabbles. Oh well. BTW, if anyone who's reading this has read Big or Little Ears? I want to thank you a zillion times! It's my now most-read story, with 6,498 hits as of July 22, 2008, 2:36 a.m. Thank you so much! Holla!