The Covenant
While a contract is legally binding, a covenant is a spiritual agreement. ... A contract is an agreement you can break while a covenant is a perpetual promise. A contract is a mutually beneficial relationship while a covenant is something you fulfill.~
Po sat on the couch, mindlessly watching pictures dance before him on the screen. A half-crest frown bent his lips as he finally shut off the television. "Ugh, I think that's enough for now." He stood up and walked to the small apartment kitchen and opened the fridge. The cold air nibbled his bare feet. He grabbed the jam and bread from the icebox and started making sandwiches. His eyes lazily stared at his bread. He didn't really think about what he was doing. Knife in jam, spread on bread, wipe, knife in peanut butter, spread on bread, etc. It had been a long day at work, and his mind seemed to run on autopilot from start to finish.
Then he felt a buzz in his pants. Reaching for his phone, he saw the text from his boss. "Unexpected power outage. No work tomorrow or the next day."
"Hm, great," Po muttered. "Instead of being at work alone, I'm at home alone." He munched on his bread. "Why? What's wrong with me? I didn't want to leave her but-" The panda stopped short. He pulled out his phone and saw a digital phone of a happy him and a beaming panda woman. "I... I thought I did everything right." Words choked in his throat. He couldn't bear looking at the picture anymore. Scrolling through his photos, he deleted all the pictures with her face on them. "It's for the best, Po," He told himself. "Like she said, you're not right for each other."
He stopped. His hand lowered the phone as his mind dwelt on the words. "Then... then who am I right for?" He looked around the room. The panda-sized single apartment gave him no answer. To the left, he could see the hall to his bedroom while the other end had a 4th story view of the gloomy clouded city. The plush gray clouds gave the skyline a silverish blue hue. Po sighed and kept deleting the pictures when he stopped on another female.
Her.
It had been a year since they spoke to each other. It's funny, a whole year after breaking up with her, and he didn't feel anything towards her. Any hard feelings anyways. "I wonder how she's doing." He gave the picture a sad smile. There were so many ways could have done to fix that relationship.
But he didn't know any of those ways at the time they broke up. Po tilted his head as he thoughtfully hummed. "I should delete this. It's been so long." He looked at the feline's face, laughing at his panda-sized chicken costume while he laughed at her tiger-sized salmon outfit. Why did they break up?
You're so childish!
You are super-duper over-controlling!
Can't you just think before you do something like that?
It's not my fault that you like to have everything perfect!
If you actually disciplined yourself a bit, I wouldn't have to micromanage you!
You would do that even if I was! You don't trust me to actually do anything OR take care of myself.
Someone has to!
Hey! I can manage myself! I don't need someone on my shoulder every single day!
And I don't need someone complaining when I try to help them!
I didn't ask for your help in the first place!
Good because I'm taking it with me!
Ah, right. In a fit of anger, they told each other the truth. Po sighed as he walked down the empty hall to his bedroom. Plopping onto the bed, he kept staring at the photo with him and the tiger. What was she doing now? Did she even think of him as he thought of her? He skipped over her picture, looking at the rest to make sure he didn't have the panda's photo anywhere. He placed his phone on the nightstand and entered a restless sleep at 7:00 pm on a summer day.
What else was there to do other than sulk about what might have been?
Morning came. Clouds bright and white slowly swayed through the air as Po grabbed his things. Even if his job was out, he still had some stuff to do. Namely, get his medication. He rushed out the door, nearly forgetting to lock his apartment, and leaped down the stairs to jump into his car. "Hmm, I haven't been to the grocery store yet. I should probably go after the pharmacy." The panda passed a tall skyscraper, and his mind drifted back to last night.
But it wasn't on the panda. It was on the tiger.
"Why am I thinking about her?" Po muttered to himself. "I haven't seen her in a year." It was especially strange since he just broke up with the panda girl about three weeks ago. Po parked the car and strolled into the pharmacy. After getting his meds, he walked down the aisle, absentmindedly thinking about the skyscraper, and about her. "I wonder if she got that office job she wanted. Ugh, what am I saying? I need to get my mind off of things. I need a distraction."
"P-Po?"
Po's heart dropped. He knew that voice. This was NOT the distraction he had in mind. He spun his head around and, lo and behold, she was there. Her eyes were as wide as his, and her mouth hung slightly ajar. She had a thin shawl on with dark black slimming pants designed for the office workforce. Her flats were red just like her blouse. The tiger's vibrant eyes blinked several times over as she stared at the jeans-wearing, panda-print T-shirt bear.
"Tigress," Po finally said as he straightened up. "H-How are you?"
"I'm fine. Thanks. How are you? Is the cooking business still going... well?"
"It's good. I'm actually in a... kinda partnership with some of the big-name restaurants. It's enough to pay for the place I've got."
"Great, that... that's great," Tigress briefly smiled.
"Did you get that office job you were hoping for?"
"Yes, actually. Though I'm actually off for today."
"Why?"
Tigress huffed, "I 'accumulated' too much PTO."
"And you're spending it shopping in the store of a pharmacy?"
"I... needed some... private stuff."
"Right, right, right," Po said, waving his hand to make her stop. "I forgot it was that time."
"That... time?" Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Po, how do you know when I was-"
"That was usually the time you'd get 'hangry'. And it's the time when you would become a little... colder."
"Oh," Tigress's ears sagged.
"It wasn't that bad. I got used to it."
"Right... so... what are you doing here?"
"Asthma medication," Po smiled, holding the box up, "You know how I am."
Tigress smiled a bit. "I know." They stood in silence, glancing at the variance products beside them. It didn't help that they were by the laxatives, women care products, and men care products as well as the "Special care for couples" products. "What are you doing in this aisle?"
"Uh..." Crap. How was he supposed to explain that? "Well, I was just... thinking and... I was just... thinking about my last girlfriend and-"
"Wait, last girlfriend?" Tigress asked. "You... you and Mei-Mei... broke up."
Po sighed, "Yeah. It was nice while it lasted, but... wait, how did you know I was in a relationship? And with Mei-Mei?"
Tigress's eyes darted everywhere except Po's direction. She cleared her throat under a cough. "I... I saw her on social media."
Po narrowed his eyes. "Why were you looking at her social media?"
Tigress gave a loud enough huff to warn Po he was on thin ice. "I wasn't stalking her if that's what you're suggesting."
"I'm not. I'm just wondering why you care about it."
"Po I..." She stopped, sagged her shoulders, and sighed. "I'm not some vindictive person."
"I never said that, Tigress. It's just... when we broke up I figured that-"
"I would stop caring altogether?" she finished. Po nodded. "No... I don't... no. I didn't do that."
Po stared at her for a while and then smiled, "Neither did I." They shared an overdue smile before Po made a cough. "Well, I should be going now. I'll stop taking up your PTO time."
"No, no. It's okay. You're not. I... I could definitely use the break."
"WHAAA! Tigress taking a break! It's inthinkable!"
"Un-thinkable," Tigress muttered. "And I can have fun."
Po rose his eyebrow. "Really? You can have fun now? What changed?"
Tigress rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "A lot can change in a year, Po. Besides, who bested you when we were playing Zombie Raids VI on the first try?"
Po grumbled at her wide smirk. "I was sick that day, remember?"
"Hmm, I don't remember it like that," Tigress grinned.
"Okay, how about this? My job's out for a few days because of an outage. If you can show me that you can have fun, I'll... I'll buy you a new dress."
Tigress's eyes widened, but she held her smirk. "Really? You have that much to spend?"
"I'm not as thrifty as I used to be. I had to get better with my money somehow." For a brief moment, Tigress's smirk went away.
"Why?"
"Life'll teach you through the pain. The pain goes away when you've learned the lesson. That's what my dad said before he left."
"Mr. Ping's... gone?!"
"HAHAHA No, no, no, no!" Po laughed, "I mean left. As in went to Florida."
"Oh... well if he's there, he might as well be dead."
"HAHAHAHAH! Oh wow, I forgot how funny you were." (A/N: I'm joking. Joking!)
Tigress smiled, "I've learned a few things as well. So... if I can show you that I can have fun, you'll get me a new dress?"
"Any kind."
"And if I lose?" Tigress asked. Po thought for a while, longer than Tigress expected him to think.
"You have to buy me dinner."
"And I get to choose where we go for dinner?" Tigress asked. Po paused again, gauging the tiger's body language. He narrowed his eyes until Tigress couldn't figure out if he was squinting or couldn't see her.
"Yes," He said very carefully. "But it has to be a restaurant I would like." Tigress bit her lip for a moment, thinking about the bet. She finally stuck out her hand and shook Po's hand.
"Deal."
And that's how it began. What started off as a dull day became a fast-paced time of great joy. Tigress took Po to the movies, restaurants, pool tables, and arcades, where she bested him at a big flashy Tic-tac-toe game and connect 4 "Beginner's luck," Po muttered as they strolled out of the arcade. Tigress smirked as she carried out a black and white stuffed panda bear in her arms, about the size of a panda child. "Why did you get that one?"
"Did I choose wrong?"
"Tigress, I'm just curious," Po said.
"It's... to remember." Po blinked a couple of times before shrugging it off and sipping a nice cup of fruit punch from the arcade. "So... maybe we could go to your place for the night?"
"PFFFFFTT!"
Po whipped his head around and saw the tiger's hand covering her laughing smile. "You said that just so I could do a spit take?!"
"I had to show you fun somehow," Tigress smirked. Po stared at her for a while before shaking his head and laughing. His lungs seemed to nearly burst. He hadn't laughed in a while. Not like this. Not since they...
That thought caused him to simmer down and sober him; he still had a smile on his face. "So, was I fun to be around?"
"Hehe, I don't think you ever stopped being fun to be around," Po said. The two looked at each other, casting their weighed smiles at each other in a rare moment of silence in a usually noisy city. "So... uh... I'm off tomorrow... so, we can get that dress tomorrow... if you like."
Tigress smiled, "That would be nice." Po returned the smile.
"Great, I'll... I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Take care."
"Hehe, no promises."
"Seriously... I mean it," Tigress said. Po looked at the worried creases on her forehead. She held the stuffed panda tightly. Po knew that face. He had known that face ever since they started dating in college. Two years of dating with a one-year separation. Things had changed, but they also stayed the same.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Po grumbled under his breath. "Hey, uh... it's only 6. Do you want to come by and catch up a little more?"
"Are you... are you sure?" Tigress asked. "I don't want to intrude."
"Hehe, when have you ever been worried about intruding?"
Tigress rose her eyebrow and smirked, "Well, there was that time you were singing Disco-Magic girl when-"
"SHSSSSHHHH! Not so loudly," The panda blushed. Tigress covered her laugh. "But look, we're both adults. It should be fine. What do you say?" He was lying. Both of them knew that. Feelings and relationships don't just go away overnight, and memories lingered longer than blows to the gut. So the smart answer would be...
What exactly? Tigress thought to herself. Po obviously changed. Most people who actually change normally show it instead of announcing it, and for the entire day, Po demonstrated that he had really changed.
Had she? It wasn't just Po's fault for their relationship's end. She had a hand in it, a major one. Tigress sighed and creased her lips into a smile. "Sure."
They went to the apartment. Tigress's eyes widened at the clean decorated place. "This is... new."
"You like it?"
"It even smells nice."
"Hey, I wasn't that much of a lazy panda."
Tigress rose her eyebrow. "Really?" She leered, "This is coming from the panda I couldn't get the pizza box out until I promised to get you more pizza."
"I wanted to make a pizza tower. Sue me," Po shrugged. "But it is nice to see the floor from time to time."
"Why'd you start doing it?" Tigress asked.
"Eh... I got tired of people not coming over because I was messy. I mean... that was mostly because we... broke up... but," Po shook his head. "Uh, it doesn't matter. Do you want something to eat? I made some Lo Mein."
"That... that'll be nice," Tigress said. So they talked together. She told him about her work as a business analyst, her father moving away, her trouble finding the right shoes to go with the blouse she wore, and her last break-up.
"Really? Who was the dum-dum?"
"Hm?"
"I mean, I know why we broke up, but I figured that no one was as dumb as me," Po smiled. Tigress only blinked in silence. "So who was the guy?"
"Um... his name was... Fu-Ling."
"That tiger guy you had a crush on?"
"How did you-"
"You told me you did before we got together. I still remember that," Po chuckled. "Wow. I didn't think you would go for him, but I guess it makes sense."
"Why?" Tigress asked.
"Well, aren't you two alike?"
"We are NOTHING alike," Tigress growled sternly. Po coiled back from the tiger.
Right, she has anger issues. He forgot about that. Though this time she didn't seem as angry. Her mouth wasn't in a gritted growl, just an unpleasant frown. And her eyes were narrowed but not too much. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It... It's not your fault," Tigress sighed. "I just learned too late that he wasn't the one for me."
"A cheater?"
"No."
"A player?"
"Same thing."
"True. Was he actually a loser?"
"No, pretty see-through guy."
"Then what the heck was wrong with him?"
"He wasn't you," Tigress finished. The walls watched in silence as the two stared at each other. Po was beyond words. He opened his mouth, but words couldn't come out. Fortunately, Tigress ended the long quiet. "He was a great person. A little bit too... whipped, but he was okay. It just... wasn't right. I even tried getting back with him and... it just wouldn't work."
"I'm... I'm sorry," Po said. "I didn't mean to be the cause of-"
"You weren't. It was unavoidable," Tigress sighed as she straightened up. Po's heart boomed. He knew that stance. "Anyways, I need to get going. I can't be sleepy for my dress-fitting tomorrow," she smirked. Po looked at the clock. 10 pm.
"Wow, time really flies," Po yawned, rubbing his eye. Tigress smiled. He was always cute when he yawned. She shook her head and headed towards the door. "I'll... I'll call you to get the dress? You... you didn't block me or change your phone number, right?" He meant it as a joke, a very sad one, but the dip in Tigress's countenance alarmed him. She slowly turned to him and gave a sad smile.
"I haven't even taken our photos off." Po's jaw dropped slightly. He struggled to speak, but he sighed. "I'll... I'll wait for your call tomorrow?"
"Sure," Po bravely smiled. Tigress nodded and started out the door. The panda's smile disappeared. He could feel each second of her foot passing the border of his door. The calming perfume, still lingering in his nose, threatened to leave the room. Her hand reached for the doorknob, just like she had a year ago. Po glanced at the couch. It wasn't the same one, but they relaxed and watched movies together on one just like it while Po wallowed in her scent. She was leaving, again, and he was standing there like the idiot that let her go, again.
No. Not again.
"Wait!" Po blurted out like a man dying of thirst. Tigress stopped, but she didn't turn around. "Do you... do you have to go?" She didn't answer. "I mean... I know it's late and you have to go. I... I was just wondering if we could just talk a little more and-"
"Po?" She interrupted. "Do you think people can... repair a broken vase?" That's not what she was asking. But the question was did Po believe that or not. The panda thought for a moment. A long silence echoed. Tigress's fists stayed at her sides. She wanted to leave the pain in her heart at the door, just so she didn't have to bear it all the way back home where she would angrily cry for the rest of the night. She shut her eyes. She knew the answer. How can you repair a broken vase?
"I don't know," Po finally answered. "But I think it can be repaired... if you're willing enough to... admit your own mistakes." Tigress turned around and gasped. Small streeks of water poured down his eyes. "And I've made a lot of mistakes, Tigress."
"Yeah," She sniffled. "Yeah, me too." They stared at each other, each thinking about what they should do. "Do you... do you want to try and... repair that vase?"
"Yes," Po gasped like a broken man. Tigress ran into his arms and kissed him on the lips. Po lifted her up off the ground as they bumped into the couch. They spilled onto it like hot gravy, still kissing each other as streams of tears poured down their eyes. As they parted, both of them smiled. Tigress gave a small giggle before sniffling and wiping her eye. Po wiped the other eye for her. "I've missed you so much, Tigress."
"I missed you too, Po." They latched onto each other. They never wanted to let each other go.
Nor would they.
Po took a deep breath, inhaling her familiar scent into his nose. His face hurt from the wide grin plastered on his face. Joy bubbled in his heart, and he couldn't stop kissing this beautiful tiger even if he wanted to. This tiger.
His tiger.
"I've missed you so much," Po sighed. He rubbed her back, making her chuff happily in her arms. "I'm so sorry for-"
"I'm sorry too. I should have never-"
"Shhshsh, it's okay. We're okay," Po smiled as Tigress kissed his tears away. They stayed in each other's hold for, oh who cares about time anyway? They were back. They were together. They were truly them again.
And Po, quite rudely, was going to make sure of it. "Now that that's settled, time to get to business."
"Huh?" It sounded more like a duck's honk than a confused word. Tigress couldn't bear the face of any emotion to describe her confusion. Po came back to the couch with a pen and legal pad in hand. "Uh... Po?"
"Look, I... I've learned some stuff from some of my past relationships."
"And?"
"I've learned that... if we don't both agree on something, miscommunication is more likely to happen. So, what I've done is ask people to make a covenant with me."
"Uh... what does this have to do with religious stuff?" Tigress asked.
"It's not religious stuff. I got the idea from... my... friend who... is a pastor, but that's not the point!" Po exclaimed. Tigress shook her head, but she held her smile. "A covenant is like a contract, but the difference is that a covenant is made because the two people ACTUALLY trust each other."
"But a contract is made specifically because they don't trust each other. I'm familiar with it," Tigress said. "But... why are you doing this?"
"The point is to get rid of any miscommunication. Or at least we know what to do when it happens. Things like: we won't talk to each other until we cool down, we don't go to bed angry, we look at stuff as 'it's us against the problem', you know, stuff like that. And we can write down any expectation we have of the other person so we don't end up trying to change them."
"And... you learned all of this from a friend of yours?" Tigress asked.
"And about two relationships that went south, but hey, that's life," Po smiled. Tigress suppressed a giggle as she scooted closer to the panda. Po tensed for a moment but immediately relaxed.
"I think that's a smart idea. I just... never figured you for a planner."
"I'm not, but it helps to plan something. Even though we were angry with each other, you were right. I needed some discipline."
"Hehe, it's funny. I think you were right too. I needed to stop being so controlling," She sighed. "That was part of the problem with Fu-Ling. I... I found out that I was...my micromanaging drove him away. Even my job was the most stressful thing in my life because... I didn't know how to delegate and let people do their own thing. That's when I started getting serious about this... need for control."
"What did you do?"
"I went to a therapist. She helped a lot."
Po smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad." Tigress returned his smile and then looked at the paper.
"Alright, now. Let's get to... love business."
"Hehehehe, funny."
The End
