At the Lake

"This is a very nice place. I can't believe we haven't found it before Zan came," Tigress said.

"Ha, leave it to Zan to find something that no one bothered to think about," Po chuckled. Tigress smiled. Ai and Zan were still playing.

"So what are you going to do about those two," Ai asked him but made sure the two didn't hear.

"I'm doing it right now. What they need now is alone time. They'll be fine. Right now, you have to worry about being swept away by my water wave," Zan exclaimed as he used his wings and the air to produce a wave of water, completely soaking Ai.

"Oh you are so dead," Ai replied playfully. Tigress and Po looked on with smiles.

"They really are made for each other," Tigress smiled.

"Yeah, but don't tell them that. They'll deny it to the teeth and then that will make them think the one wants the other in the friend zone," Po said with smile. Tigress looked at Po.

"You say that like it comes from experience," Tigress replied. Po looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, yeah. I've had a relationship go like that," Po said nervously.

"What happened," Tigress asked curiously.

"It's something long in the past. It's uninteresting and dull. Trust me."

"Po," Tigress said sternly. Po sighed.

"Okay...I have had relationships where I was interested in the person and she wanted to keep me in the friend zone because she was teased by her friends. I just agreed to save her the grief.

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

"It's fine. I ended up just really liking her as a friend. Looks and passion seem to fade away after getting to know the person," Po stated wisely.

"Why?"

"You know, you begin to really know the person and realize you wouldn't have lived with that stuff for the rest of your life," Po replied.

"I wouldn't know," Tigress said sadly. "I've only dated two-" She covered mouth and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Po had been lying down, but when he heard that, he sprung up like a cork in a champagne bottle with a shocked face.

"Two! You've dated two people! Who was the first," Po asked, knowing that Qiang was at least the second. He had to be careful as to not make too much noise would alert the others.

"Never mind! I...made an accident," Tigress tried to recover. Po smirked.

"There are no accidents," He said.

"Darn it! I hate that turtle," Tigress murmured.

"You know I'm never going to stop pestering you until you fess up," Po smiled.

"I could always punch you," Tigress threatened.

"I can heal fast," Po replied. Tigress sighed. She was cornered.

"Fine...The person I dated however will deny this because I used the Finger Mind Slip on him. I didn't want him to remember," Tigress sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, so he doesn't know. Who is it," Po asked excited to know. Tigress snickered a bit at his childish expression. Po knew she was laughing at it but he didn't care at the moment.

"It was...Crane," Tigress finally said. Po's face completely dropped. He's mouth was open.

"AHH-" Tigress covered Po's mouth as quick as she could. Then he heard him give a louder muffled scream. Tigress looked to see she accidentally unsheathed her claws and they were puncturing Po's face.

"Sorry, just don't overact again," Tigress apologized as she released her grip on the panda's mouth.

"Crane!"

"Shhh!"

"I'm sorry. Crane," Po asked in a hushed voice.

"Yes, he and I use to date but it wasn't really working," Tigress replied.

"And you used a Mind Slip on him? What about the others? Did they know," Po asked.

"No, we were very secretive about it," Tigress said remorsefully.

"What happened," Po asked. Tigress sighed.

"He and I were probably the most compatible. Him being levelheaded and me being-"

"Inside kind of person," Po guessed. Tigress smiled a bit.

"Exactly. So, he actually asked me if we could date and I said yes, but we agreed to keep it very secret," Tigress replied.

"Then," Po asked.

"Then, things became a little different for us. I began to be more concerned about my Kung Fu than relationships and Crane started to become sad about it. I knew that if he was depressed it would show. So I tricked him into a strapped chair and erased just enough of his mind to forget about our relationship. I could focus on my Kung Fu, he could focus on other things as well."

"How long did you date," Po asked.

"About five months."

"What stopped him from asking again?"

"You," Tigress replied, making Po confused. "When you first came to the Jade Palace, it had been a whole month after I wiped his mind. I guess he found other people when you came. You did get out of the Jade Palace more after you came."

"Wow," Po said in a quiet tone.

"Listen, Crane won't remember what happened between us, so please don't question him, okay," Tigress pleaded. Po was surprised...again. Tigress would never plead for something like this. She would either threaten or scare him into keeping his mouth shut. But Tigress had asked him, it seemed, in honest and heartfelt pleading. And Po seemed bound by it more in compassion rather than friendship. He made a gentle smile and rested his hand on hers.

"I promise," Po replied. Tigress sighed. She heard him giggle and shot a glare at him. "I'm sorry. I just can't believe it. I mean, Crane?"

"Crane did what," said Zan, who was now right in front of them with Ai. They both jumped.

"Oh, nothing. We were just talking about an incident that happened in the palace," Po recovered. "Come on you two. You're soaking wet and it's nearing night fall."

"Aw, okay," Ai and Zan said as they walked back to the village. Zan just glanced at Tigress and Po's faces. They seemed...relieved. Zan showed Ai his cocky smile as if to say, "It worked".

to be continued.