Cruise 4


Po was on the top deck. It was really early in the morning and the wind was very gusty in the front part of the ship where he was. He could barely hear the person coming up behind him. "Po?"

"Tigress? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be exercising?" Her face became emotionless. Po instantly realized his mistake. "I mean, I don't mean to watch your weight, but you usually exercise first."

"Well, I finally figured out where this place was."

"Oh, I could have told you. I've been everywhere on this ship," Po explained.

"Really?"

"Of course, stick with me and I'll show you how to get into shows without having to make reservations," Po said cheekily. Tigress laughed.

"Is that a smile on your face? I didn't know you could do that," Tigress teased. Po chuckled lightly. "You certainly do get around, though."

"I wander a lot," Po said, resting his weight on the railing. Tigress did the same next to him.

"Why?"

"I don't know. I can't stay in one place for a while. It's my... doctor's curse," Po replied.

"'Doctor's Curse'?"

"It's something that means we race around doing work all the time that our legs are on autopilot. Some doctors don't have it, though," Po explained. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your... what were you doing?"

"I was just going to see how this place is. It's very windy!" Tigress yelled.

"I know somewhere it's not as windy," Po replied. So they made their way to the back of the ship near a place where the water theater was. There was a place behind it used for shuffleboard. "Here we go."

"Wow, you really do know your way around the boat. I guess that curse comes in handy."

"Sometimes. Other times, it just reminds me I'm wandering alone. Even with this crowd of people, it does feel like I'm an island," Po said. He looked at Tigress's sad face. "Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. I usually get... depressive from time to time. I didn't mean to guilt trip you."

"No, it's fine. You just spoke the truth. Why don't we get something for you to eat?" Tigress suggested. Po agreed and followed Tigress to the food court where they had a huge diversity of food. "Slow down, Po," Tigress chuckled.

"Sorry, I haven't eaten any breakfast," Po panted, trying to eat and talk at the same time. "Wait, what time is it?"

"About 9:00 am." Po grabbed Tigress's hand.

"Come on, I want you to see something," Po said. He hastily dragged the tiger back to the aqua theater. She noticed a crowd surrounding the theater. Po and Tigress sat rather close to the stage. Suddenly, the waterworks started with the sound of music next to it. The fountain shot water high into the air.

"Wow!" Tigress said amazed. Then the water came down on them. "AHHH!" Tigress screamed excitedly as the water splashed onto both of them. Po laughed.

"Sorry, I forgot about it," Po said.

"It's alright," Tigress said, taking off her shirt. "I did want to have a chance to show off my new bathing suit." Po sat there with his mouth dropped. Her blue two piece swimming suit was absolutely stunning. Tigress noticed him staring at her. "You know, I'm going to have to take a dip in the pool if you keep staring at me like that. You'll set them on fire." Po instantly blushed and looked away. "Do I really look that pretty to you?"

"Of course! You're absolutely beautiful," Po quickly said without hesitation. Tigress blushed but smiled.

"Thanks, Po," She said kissing him on the cheek, "You look good yourself." Po sheepishly smiled. "You know, I've wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I know you don't really have a love life, but have you ever had a girlfriend or significant other?" Tigress asked. Po sighed.

"No, I've either been too busy or not in the range of the other woman." Po could see that Tigress seemed to be getting a little anxious.

"So... that would mean... if we WERE in a relationship... I would be your first?" Tigress asked cautiously. Po rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah," He replied slowly. "You would." Tigress's eyes popped open. "But I'm sure that you've had hundreds of men asking you out."

"Unfortunately," Tigress huffed. "And I have a tendency of attracting some of the most ignorant and irritating men around."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Po replied.

"But let's get off the subject. Viper and Crane, how did they meet?"

"Well, Viper use to be my assistant nurse. Crane, one day, came in because of some chronic pain. Turns out it was work related. After they met, they started dating, got married, and then Crane came in because of some (Ahem) chronic BACK pain."

"Oh," Tigress laughed. "I see. And Monkey is usually the party guy?" Po nodded. "So why are you so lonely? You're surrounded by friends."

"With Viper and Crane, I would feel like a third wheel. Monkey is an exciting kind of guy and I'm not like him. I like easy and quiet, which does make me a little boring."

"Nonsense, you're not boring. A boring person wouldn't be able to find private places all over the ship, haggle a vendor's price, and be such a great gentleman at it," Tigress commented. She realized what she said and blushed a bit. Po did the same.

"Thanks, Tigress," Po replied. "Here's a weird question. Do you know how to play chess?" Tigress rolled her eyes.

"My grandpa is the Chessmaster at the university and I live with him. What do you think?" Tigress remarked.

"I don't know. You may not have been interested in the game," Po replied.

"I know how to play it. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering. By the way, why do you live so close to your grandpa?" Po asked. Tigress became silent.

"My parents were away a lot and they left me with my grandpa, who practically raised me. By the time I was out of college, I decided to stay with him," Tigress sighed. "What about you?"

"Other than my dad, I didn't really have that much of a family. I've been the lone guy for as long as I can remember. It's kind of my thing," Po joked. Tigress smiled. She rested her hand in Po's hand.

"Not anymore. You have me," She said quietly. Po smiled back.

"Yes, I do have you," Po replied. For now anyways. Po knew that the cruise would soon be over and he would have to decide whether or not to keep this thing between them going after they left. Po shook the thought from his mind. "Come on, let's get you dried."

Continued...