Chapter 5

Felix carried Tigress all the way up to the temple and to The Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. He hesitated before laying Tigress down on her back. "I wonder if…" Felix undid Tigress' vest and held his hand to her bandaged chest and felt the bones underneath. "Healed…that's good…"

Felix reached up and slipped Tigress' vest off of her body and felt along her bone structure. "That's good…no lasting injuries…" Felix brushed off some of the dust off of Tigress' fur.

Tigress' eyes suddenly snapped open and she punched Felix hard in the chest, knocking him back. "Don't touch me!" Sitting up and seeing who she had hit, she immediately became flustered. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean…I did it out of impulse I swear!"

"It's ok…It didn't come…unexpected…" Felix sat up and rubbed his chest.

"No…it's not just that…I'm sorry…for the way I've treated you…" Tigress blushed and looked away. "I never meant to be…so hard on you…"

"It was expected that you-"

"No!" Tigress cut in. "For as long as I can remember…everything for me has been professional…it's was either Kung Fu and being the best…or it just didn't concern me…and then…you came along…even after I've repeatedly pushed you away, you kept trying to help…I guess…I was too busy being frustrated with you…that I just never realized…how much of an effect you were having on me…"

Tigress curled up and held her legs to her chest. "You know about the history behind Tai Lung right?"

Felix nodded and sat down next to Tigress, making sure his tail was out of the way before sitting. "He wanted to be the Dragon Warrior…Master Oogwei said no…he got mad…and was locked up for 20 years before he broke out…"

"Well that's the story the public knows…" Tigress looked away from Felix. "He was allowed to return after the first three years to try and redeem himself…but it didn't work and he spent two years on the run…He came back to kidnap Xue Hu…and a little later he was captured…then kept locked up for the next 15 years…"

"Xue Hu…you mean the guy that you were fighting…?"

Tigress nodded. "He…" Tigress swallowed. "He's my son…"

"Your son…?" Felix looked at Tigress, who buried her face in her arms in shame.

"I started learning Kung Fu from Master Shifu when I was about 5…then…Tai Lung was still with the temple. Back then, I had always admired Tai Lung, how well he was at Kung Fu. I guess you could say…I had a crush on him…Then about 4 years later he left the temple…I guess I had always liked those who were strong…I didn't know what he had done…so I just continued to like him more. Then…after three years he was give a chance to redeem himself…so he came back. I was still training here and still took a fancy to him. He found out…and then…not even a year later, he decided to abandon us again, but this time…he took something with him…me. He captured me, and…he…" Tigress felt tears well up in her eyes. "Well…it's how I came to be with Xue Hu…I hid from the others the whole time…not thinking I could bare the shame. Then, a year after Xue Hu was born, Tai Lung came back and kidnapped him, saying it was the perfect chance to train him to be the perfect warrior, someone stronger than the Dragon Warrior. But not long after Xue Hu was kidnapped, Tai Lung was captured…I never saw Xue Hu again. I just wanted to forget it all…the reason I've always trained so hard… Ever since then, I thought I had given up on love…" Tigress glowered at Felix. "And then you just had to come along and make things so complicated!"

Tigress got up and pushed Felix against the tree and started to beat her fist lightly on his chest. "Why?! Why did you have to come?! If you were never here…I would never have started feeling like this!" She started to cry. "I can't go through that again…the pain…I never want to be hurt like that again…I just can't…" She sobbed into Felix's chest, gripping his fur tightly.

Felix wrapped his arms around Tigress and held her tight. He felt Tigress stiffen and he gently rubbed her back. "I'll never let anything bad happen to you…only if you accept me…"

Tigress stared up at Felix, a gentle blush on her tear stained face. She looked up into his eyes, the quickly looked away. "I…I don't know if I can…"

Felix held Tigress close and nuzzled her neck. "I'll always be here for you…I won't let anything bad happen to you again…" Felix tilted Tigress' head up with a finger under her chin and kissed her gently.

Tigress' eyes widened and a flash from her past came back. She had to use all of her might to push Felix off of herself. Felix stepped back a little, looking at Tigress with sorrowful eyes. "I-I'm sorry…" Tigress choked, fresh tears pouring from her eyes. "I…I just can't…I'm sorry…" With that, Tigress turned and ran away from him, back towards the temple, making sure to snatch her vest off of the ground as she went.

Felix just stood there, watching her run off from under The Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

Tigress ran all the way to the temple and towards the bunk house, wiping her eyes on her fur, making sure they were dry. She put on her vest and refastened it and then walked in to see Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Monkey already there, like she had expected.

"Guys…there's something I need to tell you…something I should've told you a long time ago…"