The snow leopard rolled his shoulders back as he walked into the deli with a light purple dress polo and some khakis. Tai-Lung and Po still talked together, though it had been less frequent. As he went inside, greeting the waitress, he spotted his usual spot.
But there was someone new in his spot. Not a black and white panda.
But a black and white female husky that Tai-Lung immediately knew.
Jessica and Tai-Lung locked eyes.
"Nope," He said and turned right around.
"Come over here you big kitten," Jessica smirked.
"Hmmm, I don't see a bat," Tai-Lung muttered.
"Get over here before I get one," The dog chuckled. The snow leopard took a very cautious seat at the table. Jessica seemed happy enough, which was a good sign for him, though he still had to wonder if something was wrong. "Nothing's wrong dude. Geez."
"You understand why I'm so cautious though, right?"
"Because you're afraid I'll turn your balls inside out."
"Actually no. I'm worried that something's happened to Po and you're here to pay retribution. Or pay me out for what I did back then, which again... you had every right to do what you did to me. And... I'm sorry."
Jessica rose her eyebrow and sipped her black coffee. "Heh, Po's right. You really have changed."
"Life tends to either force you to change or cement you in your own stupidity. It's... more cost-effective to go with the other."
"Whatever," Jessica said, rolling her eyes. This was new to both of them. With Po, Tai-Lung could talk about the troubling stuff that plagued him. But for Jessica... well he had to be careful, otherwise, he'd get a bat to his crotch again. "I... I just wanted to thank you."
"Th-Thank me?" Jessica nodded. "For what?"
"For getting through to Po. He's changed so much from the scared virgin in the clos- I mean, the bedroom to an absolute boss. He's really turned into a great man," Jessica said.
"He chose to change, all I did was give him some room to talk and some of my own experiences," Tai-Lung replied.
"By the way, what do you do for a living?"
"Porn cameraman," Tai-Lung smiled. Jessica's eyes shrunk but her smirk never left me.
"You nearly had me, hon."
"Got to keep you interested somehow," Tai-Lung replied. "Psychologist."
"HA! I never thought listening to other people's shit was your style."
"It wasn't... for a while. But then, you start to realize that people do have the tools to pick themselves up. They just have to see them. That's what you're there for," Tai-Lung said more to himself.
"Yoohoo! Over here spots," Jessica sniggered. The snow leopard rolled his eyes as his tea came. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for making a man out of Po."
"Hehe, Po was already a man. He just never realized what it was." His voice turned a little more serious. "Is thanking me the only thing you came to do here?"
"Well, I'm actually a little curious of what Po says about me," Jessica grinned.
Tai-Lung's straight lips never quirked. "You know I can't do that. Besides, you should just ask him yourself. It would be bad to go behind his back."
"I'm not. I'm his sister."
"And if he did the same thing to you?" Tai-Lung said, sipping his tea. Jessica frowned a bit but crossed her arms under her large bosom; she was wearing a bright blue T-shirt under her leather jacket. "Let me ask you this. Do you think he's more of a man now than he was before we started talking?"
"Yeah, but it's just annoying that he's constantly switching between the two."
"Huh?"
"It's like one moment, I'm pounding him in the ass, the next he's strolling with a bunch of ladies, the next he's sucking my dick and then the next he's teasing me by groping me or either twerking his ass."
"Ah, I forgot the kind of conversations you were into," Tai-Lung murmured uncomfortably, but psychology training prepares you... somewhat.
"He just switches so much between submissive and dominant and it... confuses me."
"Because you're not used to it?"
"Y... yes? I don't know... It's just... did you know he gave me a fucking wedging with my own thongs and before I could get mad at him he pulled out those... stupid pouty eyes at me promising me sex to pay me back? And then he uses sex to get me to do stuff I didn't plan on doing like cleaning or cooking or doing taxes. Ugh!"
"Are those bad things?" Tai-Lung asked.
"I don't want to feel like I'm getting duped into something."
"You mean housework that needs to be done anyway."
"I don't like the feeling, Spots. I'd rather he just say he needs help."
"Hmm, it sounds like he has you-"
"Don't. Say it," Jessica growled.
"Okay, fine. I won't." The snow leopard pulled up his phone and pressed something. The loud crack of a whip rang out. Jessica glared at him but said nothing. "Honestly, it doesn't really sound like the housework is the problem."
"Then what is?"
"Maybe the fact that he changes between being the submissive to the dominant person bothers you?"
Jessica shrugged. "I'm just curious to know how and why he does it."
"Well, it sounds like Po has learned how to play the game," Tai-Lung explained. "People, typically men, try to fight for the dominant role in the whole dominant-submissive thing, but really the power comes from learning how to use both. For some people, the dom-sub thing is just roleplay. For others, it's their way of life, and they constantly have to find people who will play along. It sounds like Po has done the manly thing and finally not taken the dom-sub thing to heart. To him, it's not an identity thing to be dominant. It's a game."
"Then why am I having an issue with it?"
"Well, how much do you identify with being the dominant person? That's probably the start. Identity is a multi-layered thing. It becomes a problem for people when they prioritize one part of their identity and think that's all they are. I mean... there's more to you than just sex, right?"
Jessica stared at him, fixed on some universe that Tai-Lung didn't really know. She leaned back and hugged herself a bit. "It just... messes with me," Jessica muttered.
"Okay, so why not tell him that?"
"I didn't know how to put it into words until now, spots."
"Why does it bother you?"
"Because I'm supposed to be the dominant one around here."
"It doesn't sound like Po is opposed to you being the dominant one."
"Then why do I feel so... irritated by the way he does it?"
"Maybe because you're so used to him being the submissive one before he met me," Tai-Lung said. Jessica's head shot up.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, he stayed in his room, didn't bother you, didn't try to do anything to your girls. Maybe you secretly want things to be the way they were when Po fully believed that being submissive was a part of his identity."
"Hell no! I don't want him to feel bad about himself again! I'm not some evil bitch! I just... I don't know!" Jessica struggled to say.
"Calm down, Jessica. It sounds like you're having the dominant problem here. Maybe you need to find a different way to be on top, so to speak."
"How?" Jessica muttered almost miserably.
"Well, when was the last time you just enjoyed the pleasure and worried less about who's in charge?" The husky blinked in silence. Tai-Lung stood up and shrugged. "It's an idea."
"And it's not an answer, Spots."
"Maybe because you already know the answer."
"I'm not giving up being in charge."
"I was just gonna say don't worry so much about it. I mean, it's not hurting you, just annoying you, right? Besides, sounds like you trying to be in charge all the time is exhausting, but that's just me. If you enjoy pursuing it to the end, do it, right?"
"...Right"
"So don't worry about it." With that, Tai-Lung left the deli with his money on the counter. Jessica sighed, feeling a little down. She drove back home, secretly hoping not to see her brother. But there he was.
{Sexy time on AO3 I know it's very small but you can never be too safe}
Jessica gave a small smile, "Thanks Po, but... I'm not in the mood." She went to her room and shut the door behind her.
Po's eyes screamed open. He stood up. "Ana, why don't you go to bed? I'll take care of you tomorrow, okay?"
"O-Okay. Meus Deuses," Ana moaned as she trundled to her room. Po walked up to Jessica's room and opened the door. No other girl in sight. Just Jessica huddling under the covers.
"Alright, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Po."
"Bull."
"Po I-"
"You know I'm not leaving until you tell me," Po said. Jessica sighed sharply.
"I talked with Tai-Lung at the deli." The panda's jaw dropped lower than the Grand Canyon.
"And you didn't beat him up?"
"I wish I did. I wouldn't feel this way." She summarized what the two were talking about. "I just... don't like how you manipulate me."
"I don't."
"You use your ass and dick as leverage."
"You do too."
"It's different."
"Do you not like it?"
"I didn't say that."
"You just don't like the idea of being whipped?"
"YES!"
"Okay, so what happens when my daughters come to you doing the exact same thing? You're going to get mad at them too? Or when the women you have sex with beg for more? Do you get upset with them?"
The husky was speechless. Visibly shocked by the realization, Jessica could only look around connecting some invisible dots.
"Jessica, I'm not whipping you. It's just... you're so attached to the idea of being in charge that when I flip-flop between the two, you're confused. You're not losing your freedom here. I know you like being in charge, but I also need some help around the house and the business. And if I can motivate you through sex, so be it. Plus, I just like teasing you."
"It's just," Jessica sighed, "It's just the fact that you can change so easily."
"Why is that an issue?"
"Because it... I don't know... it's weird. I don't know whether to slap your ass or let you slap mine!"
"HAHAHA! Seems like you're just afraid of trying to play the dom-sub game with me as the dominant," Po laughed. He didn't notice her flinching. "I'm joking. So you're saying you don't like my surprises?"
"No, I don't."
"I'm sorry. Do you want me to stop? I'll just let you fuck me with submission. I won't even touch you."
"I..." While she would've jumped at the idea, her gut told her no.
She sighed. Po was an unpredictable character. That's who he was. She couldn't ask Po to stop being him. That was fruitless. For him to just resort to submission was to possibly throw him back to the way he was, a fearful person afraid of his sister's shadow. Ever since Po met Tai-Lung, the step-siblings had been growing closer than she ever thought possible, and she didn't want to give that up. But if Po was just her submissive, he might just avoid her again, not out of fear but just to be somewhere he could just be... himself, which might mean he would pack up everything and just... leave. Like he had thought of doing all that time before.
That and with all her bickering, she'd be lying if she said his confusing teasing didn't get her motor running. "I... I don't know."
"It's okay, Jessica," Po smiled. "I love you either way. And it's not like you don't get what you want when we do it, right?"
"I... I guess."
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Tigress. Bao left to talk to your girls and the nanny cows... we've got to get a better nickname for them... are watching the babies. So you have the day off. But knowing you, you'll probably be at the red-light district before I say turbo," Po laughed.
"Yeah," Jessica mumbled. "Have a nice date night." With that, Po left. Jessica played some video games without any care or change in her frowning face. She must have played the game a thousand times, but she didn't care. She didn't realize she had been up that long until morning came. Her mind was still stuck on Po, but something else.
There's more to you than just sex, right?
Jessica sighed and got up. "Alright, time for the big girl panties."
