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

New Feelings, New Ambitions

Part 10

She was warm. Not hot, just warm. The heat the surrounded her gave comfort to her frazzled nerves and frayed thoughts. This was where she needed to be. She sighed as the heat around her shifted. She couldn't identify the source, but somehow it was everywhere around her, wrapping her in warm fuzzy blanket. No, not a blanket, an embrace, an embrace that made her feel safe and as though there as nothing else in the world but her. Nothing but her and...

Po...

Suddenly the gong rang over the Jade Palace and roused Tigress from her sleep. She had been dreaming of Po again.

Yesterday definitely was a different day. Yesterday she had finally admitted to herself that she wanted more than Po to be just a friend. She almost felt stupid that she didn't realize it sooner, that it took Vipers insight for her to realize what was going on with her. But, in truth, it made sense. Tigress had never had any sort of desire to become romantic with anyone in all her life, so how could she have possibly known what these feelings meant? And the fact that no one truly told her what these relationships felt like didn't help either.

When Viper first had gave Tigress her opinion, Tigress was almost mad at Master Shifu. The only father figure she had ever really known in her life had left her to drown in this sea of emotions without any sort of advice that could help her stay afloat. She was angry with him for never taking the time to tell her more than just the ways of Kung Fu. However, this anger soon faded when she realized that Shifu had a responsibility to teach her Kung Fu, as a means to control her strength, and she wasn't his only student, so it wouldn't be fair to expect so much of him.

Another contributing factor to the fact that she wasn't angry anymore was that she found herself not really caring about that. She didn't care that it took her so long to figure out her feelings for Po, she knew what they were now, and that was all that mattered. The only problem was, what would she do now?

After her conversation with Viper, Tigress unintentionally avoided Po for the rest of the day, having no idea how she would talk to . It was only when she was back in her room when she realized that she may have come off as rude. Sudden;y she felt obligated to talk to Po before she went to sleep. So, she got up from her mat and went opened her door, crossed the hall, and knocked against Po's door.

"Who disturbs the Master of AWESOME!" Po came stomping out the door, forcing his voice as deep as it could go, trying to look even bigger than he was.

Tigress smirked at the panda, he had squished his face shut to look more menacing so he didn't know who stood before him, probably thought it was Monkey or Mantis.

"Hi Po." Tigress said quietly.

Po's eyes shot open, and he saw Tigress was the one before him. His body suddenly slumped back into a slouch and a blush could be seen spreading beneath the fur on his cheeks. "Oh! Tigress... I didn't know it was you... uh... sorry about the..."

Tigress smiled, "Please, no need to apologize. I just wished to..." What did she wish to do? Why did she come to his room? What had compelled her to do this?

Po brought his head down to the side to look at her face, "Tigress? You ok?"

Snapped back to the moment, Tigress looked into the deep jade eyes of the panda. "Yes, I'm fine. I just..." She lifted her paws and weighed words that weren't there. "I just wanted to..." Again she found herself questioning what she wanted.

Po seemed to sense her struggle and reached out and clasped her hands. "Tigress, just tell me, its ok."

Feeling Po's hands holding hers sent ripples through Tigress's nerves. She looked at him. She looked at those soft eyes, filled with joy and compassion, she looked at his lips, always being touched by a light smile.

"Po..." Tigress stepped a bit closer, never breaking eye contact.

The Panda was calm, but Tigress could feel his hands slightly shaking.

Tigress lifted her hands away from Po's and slowly wrapped them around him. She didn't why why she was doing this, but it made her happy, and she didn't care about anything else. She felt Po hesitate for just a moment, then his arms embraced her.

This. This is what she wanted. To be with him. To hold him, and have him hold her.

I am more than a Kung Fu Master. I am more than a fighter. I can still be those things, and I want to be, but right now, I want to be with Po.

She pulled her head away from the Pandas chest and looked up at him once more. His eyes met hers and they both smiled. Tigress was happy then, in that moment. With Po, everything made sense. Everything was as it should be. This was a greater peace then she had ever felt in all her years of Kung Fu training.

Looking at Po's eyes, Tigress felt her fur stand on end, her back tighten slightly, and shivers ran up and down her body. Po smiled so warmly at her, and that was an absolutely beautiful sight. That smile was one of the best things about the panda, and he was sharing it with her.

Her body moved on its own it seemed. Her toes lifted her higher up and her arms held Po tightly. She could feel his do the same. Her face was so close to his now. She could feel his breath on her whiskers, and see the blush even more clearly. Her own blush must of matched, for her face felt hotter than any of the fires she had been around.

Po... I know what I want.

Tigress tilted her head up... and her lips pressed against Po's.

-I won't say much about this update, just this: FINALLY! (For two reasons haha) This was by far my favorite to write so far. Please read, review, and let me know what you think! PS, found new motivation to keep writing, things got a little rough for me a while back, but now I know this helps me through it all. Next chapter will happen soonish haha_