-Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any of its characters-

New Feelings, New Ambitions

Part 9

"Where have you been?"

Vipers voice shocked Tigress in the dining hall. She had been eating some of Pos secret ingredient soup whilst thinking about the walk she had taken with the panda earlier. Silently she cursed herself for not being more alert, allowing to be surprised like that. But deep down, she found herself not caring too much. She smirked, Po was rubbing off on her.

"Um, Tigress? You home?"

The snakes words shook Tigress back to reality. "Hmm? Oh, I was walking the grounds with Po."

"Yeah? Sounds... nice."

Tigress smiled, "It was, we enjoyed a peaceful morning together. It was... very nice." She felt a blush warm her cheeks as she reminisced on Po's hug by the Peach Tree. Her stomach twisted at the thought, and she felt a shiver rattle her spine.

Viper took notice. "Tigress, your fur is all... um... on edge.

Tigress hadn't realized that the shiver had caused her fur to become rustle and made her all puffy. Now the blush on her face was out of embarrassment. She quickly brushed her fur back into place and brought her arms close to her sides, grasping her soup bowl, she felt her tail twitch.

"Are you, you know, ok?" Viper had situated her self on the chair across the table from her. She looked at her with concerned eyes. "Did something bad happen with Po?"

"No!" Tigress gasped gripping the table. She almost clasped her hand over her mouth. She sat back in her chair. "I... no, nothing bad happened at all.."

The face Viper was wearing was one of complete confusion and concern. "Um... Tigress? What's going on? Don't bother saying otherwise."

Biting her lip, Tigress didn't know what to say. She really didn't. She herself had no idea what was happening to her. She had never felt so frazzled in all her life, not at Bao Gu, not during her years of training, not ever. She felt like she was on fire. Sweat trickled down the side her face. "Viper... I don't know..." She had no idea what she was saying, but some how the words were still flowing from her. "Po has been so... so nice... I have never felt so comfortable or close someone before... Oh!" She suddenly felt awkward, "I don't mean to say that you and the others of the Five haven't been..."

"Tigress, stop." Viper raised her tail, and smiled. "I never really thought about how you would do when... when someone..."

Tigress tilted her head to the side, no she was confused by the blush on Vipers face.

"Well... when you... when you found someone that you..."

"That I what?" Tigress was intent on hearing this.

Viper shifted uncomfortably and then sighed. "When you found someone you wanted to get involved with."

The words hit Tigress, but she didn't quite register them entirely/

Viper saw her struggling with the concept. Again she sighed, "You know, romantically?"

Suddenly Tigress was on fire again. Her lips pursed tightly shut, her eyes went wide and all her muscles tensed. "That... that... thats not the case at all Master Viper..." Her voice was shaky and the words kept getting caught in her throat. "Master Po is a respectable warrior and master who is a gift to the Valley of Peace. And I am a member of the Furious Five, sworn to protect those in need, and shouldn't allow myself to be distracted.."

Viper interrupted, "Tigress you're not some sort of stone statue, you're living, breathing creature capable of great emotion. Happiness, anger, sorrow... passion... love."

Passion... Love... The words echoed through her entire body like a whisper in a vast. empty cavern. Is this what all of these feeling were? A want for a romantic relationship with Po? Why was this happening? What made Po so different? She sat there in silence, staring at the soup in front of her, then a light brush of air blowing through the palace brought the scent of Po that lingered on her clothes to her nose. Somehow the smell immediately calmed her.

It was then that she understood. Tigress realized that Po had made her feel like no else had before. He made her feel safe, wanted, cherished, and needed.

And she needed him too. He was... so amazing.

The revelation struck her so hard that she stood up. "Viper... I think you're right..." A small and incredibly sincere smile touched Tigress lips.

Viper looked at her with bright eyes, "So what are you going to do?"

And then Tigress was frozen again. "I have no idea."

-Guess who feels like a jerk? This guy. I am so incredibly sorry for this very late update. I mean a couple weeks is one thing, but months is unacceptable. School got really complicated and I was struggling to keep a good GPA, my fault for choosing such a difficult major and working whenever I wasn't studying. But its summer now and I can write as I please, and this is definitely my favorite thing to write. Anyways, I hope that despite my disgusting lack of updates, those who read my story still leave comments and critiques, I still want to make this the best story it can be. Thanks so much for reading!-