Thanks for all the faves, follows and reviews so far! I'm happy to see some returning readers! *waves hello* Prepare yourselves for some TiPo feels...I figured they deserve a rest after everything that happened, so this chapter is dedicated to just the two of them :)

xxxx

Nights were even better than mornings sometimes. You could look back on the day that you made the most of with those you cherished, look up at the millions of stars that lined the dark sky and look forward to what the next day was going to bring.

There was still the utter gratefulness that he'd finally had the chance to go back home, yet there was still the uneasiness that came with going from one time to the next—and though Oogway had assured him that everything would turn out the way it was supposed to, there was still the lingering guilt of changing the past, and it didn't help that he had no one to talk to about that particular subject.

The uneasiness washed away as Tigress joined him to sit outside under the stars. Po could still remember the smog that had taken over the skies in the future, and he was glad that it was gone now. Looking up, he was filled with wonder, yet he felt so small and vulnerable.

Shaking the feeling away, his heart leapt with joy as Tigress joined him at the cliff's edge. It was a new place that he'd found in the Valley one day that he had never been to, and so he'd wanted to share it with Tigress; it had soon become their own private and special spot that no one else knew of, and where they would go whenever they wanted to be alone on a perfect night like tonight.

"You think my dad will be okay watching the kids?" he asked with a knowing grin; they had left Li to look after Chao and Lotus for the night.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. They love him and it's already close to their bedtime." Her tone was certain, but her unsure expression failed her.

Now it was Po's turn to ask. "What's wrong?"

"That dream you told me about this morning...was it really a dream?"

Po's eyes widened. She couldn't be remembering...could she? No one but him remembered their alternate future lives; he wasn't even sure if Oogway himself remembered—the tortoise had been clear that their memories of the future would be erased. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure...it's just...when you told me about having to go to sleep for a thousand years, the strangest feeling came over me—a terrible sadness that maybe I really did have to be apart from you for a long time at one point...it was so strong and I—I was afraid..."

He was shocked to see a stray tear escape down her cheek, and his stomach dropped. She wasn't remembering, but there were still the leftover and heartbreaking feelings that they'd had to endure while saying goodbye to each other and being separated for so long.

"Hey, hey, listen. It was just a weird dream that I had," he comforted. "Dreams can be super random sometimes. I probably shouldn't have told you."

"No, I'm glad you told me...we don't keep anything from each other. Right?" Her expression hardened and Po knew that he had to reply fast.

He nodded quickly, an idea crossing his mind. Maybe it would help her feel better...

"Want to go for a flight?"

She blinked, his words sinking in slower than normal. Had she heard right?

"What?"

"Come on, I'll take you," he prompted, nodding out over the cliff towards the starry sky.

Flying?

The last time she had flown with Po, they'd gone to the Spirit Realm to see if Master Oogway had known anything about why he had been turned back into a dragon so unexpectedly...and then the dragon had completely taken over and attacked both her and their master. She'd never really thought about flying with him again just for the fun of it; they could never truly find time to set aside just for themselves with no work or kids like tonight. It was a very rare occasion indeed, and so she smiled at his suggestion to go for a flight.

He took her smile as a yes. Though his transformations were quick and simple with only a green flash, they amazed her every time.

In the blink of an eye he was a dragon. He bent down to her level so that she could climb aboard. Once she was sitting safely on his back, he grinned and took off from the edge of the cliff.

It wasn't long before he could feel her smiling, enjoying the ride. He soared as close to the moon as he could get, her fur ruffled coldly by the sharp wind. But she didn't mind; it was simply beautiful. The strange feeling washed away, her worries disappearing. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck so that he would know just how happy he was making her not just because of his ability to fly, but because they were together as if there was no one else in the world but them. Po's heart thudded as he felt her touch and he let out a loud roar that shook the sky itself.

"Show off," she murmured playfully with a small laugh. Po simply smiled and rolled his eyes at her comment.

He landed back on the grassy hill, kneeling so she could slide off and he could switch back to his original form.

"Wait! Don't change."

He remained in dragon form at her request, surprised but holding still as she moved forward and reached an arm out to caress his shiny body. He lay stock still as she ran a paw over his golden scales, closing his eyes and rumbling quietly in pleasure at her soothing and gentle touch. While she could not feel physically, she could still sense his strength and power just from a simple touch.

"...What's it like? To be able to switch back and forth at will?"

His eyes still shut, he explained. Ever since returning, he'd found that he could communicate with her through his mind while he was in dragon form just like she'd been able to in the Spirit Realm, and just like he'd been able to just before falling asleep...but she didn't remember that. It had become a natural way of communicating for them whenever he transformed, and it was only the two of them who could understand each other; anyone else who was around and didn't know that a conversation was going on would most likely think that she wasn't all there.

It's...amazing. Back when I couldn't control it, I was afraid. I was afraid I would hurt someone; I was afraid of my powers and myself.

"How did you learn to control it?" She'd always wondered. Ever since Po had returned from saving the world, he seemed to have magically figured out how to change between a panda and a dragon.

Po knew that he couldn't tell her the full truth. It had taken him a thousand years to be able to control his dragon half the way that he could now. It had taken Kai's accusations and hurtful words to spark a raging fire deep within him that had triggered his first willed transformation. In a sort of scary way, he had Kai to thank for his new ability, and Tigress had no idea that the yak's spirit had made the universe immortal.

So he had come up with a reasonable explanation in case Tigress or anyone else would ever ask him just how he managed to learn to switch between forms whenever he wanted.

Remember when I let the dragon take over before going to save the world?

She nodded.

I just...accepted it. I allowed the dragon to take over, to trust that it knew what to do. We became one like you said I had to, and I trusted that the dragon would allow me to change back after it was all over. I've been able to switch ever since.

His words sent shivers down her spine, leaving her speechless.

He curled up close to her, wrapping his tail lovingly around her body to bring her against his chest. Though she could not feel physically, she could instantly feel warmth, and the safest that she had ever felt in her life. If someone had told her strict, hardened past self that she would one day marry and have children with a chubby panda who would take the Dragon Warrior title away from her, she would never in a million years have believed their words and would have called them crazy in the head.

But as crazy as it seemed, now she just couldn't imagine her life without him. She couldn't remember what her life was like before she had met him. She held onto her dragon with all the strength that she had, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat until her eyes became heavy and she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.