The Right Fit
"Oh this is the end! My foot," Demi grinned. I really wished I could slap that grin off his face.
**********************F*******************
Not even a flipping year had gone by and Po was already dealing with other issues. His fingers drummed the kitchen table while Crane and Viper sat on the other end, eating. With his head in his hand, the panda pensively sat until Viper voiced the question. "What's wrong?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing. It's just... Tigress," Po muttered. Loudly sighing, Viper and Crane looked at each other. "I'm just... worried, okay?"
"I would ask if you're jealous, but given their situation, I know better," Crane muttered.
"Maybe things will work out," Viper said. Crane and Po looked at her with fallen faces. The snake huffed sharply, "You know, you guys could stand to benefit from looking on the bright side once and while. I shouldn't be the only optimist here."
"Sorry, Viper," Po smiled. "I thought after two months things would be a little better."
"But now?" Crane asked.
Po put his hands on his face and dragged them down. "Where do I even start?" He groaned. After Po's heartbreak of Tigress, he thought her new relationship with Sun-Jun, the white tiger, would be great. Sure, they would have some bumps in the road, but Po was positive that they would be a good fit together.
Po is okay with being wrong, but when he's wrong wrong, it's highly annoying. Almost immediately after thinking that thought, Tigress and Sun-Jun were having issues left, right, and underground. The white tiger tried his best to comfort her, but Tigress remained cold and distant, and Po had to step in and help them out. First, they got in a fight about training styles, then they went cold for a while, neither talking to the other for a while. But they both talked to Po about everything. The panda didn't know how he became the middle man, but he was regretting each and every moment of it.
Worst of all, Sun-Jun began asking Po about Tigress's quirks in hopes of offering his own kind of help. The tiger was trying; he really was, but nothing seemed to work except Po's interventions.
"Sunny," Po nicknamed him, which irritated the heck out of Sun-Jun, "Nothing you do is gonna work if it's not from yourself. You can't just act like me and expect things to be honky-dory. You've gotta... you know... figure out your own thing."
Sun-Jun let out a half-chuckle. "I tried that. Doesn't seem like my own thing was it for her." Po sagged his shoulders and sighed. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just tell Sun-Jun to act like the panda and try again.
There was only one thing to do: take care of the issue himself.
And then this would lead Po to Tigress who often meditated in a small flower field; the same where Po got the bouquet. She started coming here whenever she was upset "Could you... not come here anymore?"
"Hm?"
"This spot. Just... don't meditate here," Po mumbled.
"Why?" Tigress grunted out, annoyed.
"Just... bad memories," Po sighed. Before she could even ask, Po spoke again, "Tigress, I was talking with Sun-Jun." Tigress huffed and closed her eyes again. Po silently sat down next to her, watching the wind sway over the trees blanketing the earth below. "You know... he's not me, right?"
Tigress shot her eyes open and spun her head to him. "What?" She made it sound like a whip. Po cleared his throat.
"What I... I mean is that you can't just expect him to act the way you want. I mean, he is trying his best to get to know you. Can't you learn to love that a little more? I mean, he's not gonna change who he is."
"Po... it's difficult," Tigress sighed. "Loving someone... it takes... more out of you than I thought. I don't expect you to know anything about it."
"Wow, way to point out I'm single," Po muttered. Tigress winced at his words but looked at his kind smile. "But even if I don't know, I can at least look from the outside. And... it doesn't really look like you're giving him a chance to be... him. I mean, don't you think you're trying too hard to make him into something you want... you know... like Shifu did with Tai-Lung and you?"
All the cogs suddenly clunk together as Tigress slapped her own forehead. "I can't believe this. I've been so foolish."
"Well, telling me isn't gonna fix things," Po smiled. Tigress nodded, got up, and ran to find Sun-Jun, thanking Po for the advice. But the panda would be left frowning, looking at the moon as the night quietly unfolded before giving a heavy breath of air. "Why does it hurt so much to help people sometimes?" The moon didn't say. It simply cast its light to show Po the way back to the barracks.
That was the bulk the tigers' issues, and upon remembering them, Po anxiously bit his finger. "Something is gonna give. It's getting worse and worse," He said to Viper and Crane. "I just know it."
Crane rubbed the back of his long neck. "Would it... be a bad thing for you if... things didn't work out?"
"CRANE!" Viper and Po shouted.
"I'm just saying! You would be in a better situation. Plus, you already know Tigress a lot more than Sun-Jun."
"I don't want her happiness to go away just for me to swoop in and be with her!" Po argued. "Sure, happiness comes and goes, but I'm not gonna force it!"
"I know, but-"
"I don't care what happens between them. I'm not gonna sabotage their relationship for me."
"Why?"
"Because! I care about Tigress too much for that to happen," Po sighed, getting up from the kitchen table. "I'm going to bed."
"Po, I'm sorry," Crane called out, but the panda already walked out the door. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot."
"It's okay, Crane," Viper soothed, "I'm sure he understood what you meant. Come on, give Po's bowl back to make it up." The bird nodded and grabbed the bowl. The two walked down the barrack's hallway and stopped at Po's door, only to find the panda hunched over a large chest in his room. "Po?"
"AHH! Oh, it's you guys."
"What's wrong?" Po held a scroll tattered with a few juice stains on it. "What's that?" Crane asked.
"It's... It's uh... my... journal."
"Ohhhhh. We're sorry," Viper apologized. "We didn't mean to interrupt your privacy."
"That's okay, but that's not what I'm worried about," Po said. His eyes zoomed in on the scroll, pressing his lips together in a fitful line. "Come in and close the door." Crane and Viper did so. Crane set the bowl of dumplings down on Po's small nightstand while Viper coiled on the other side of the panda. "This scroll was outside my chest, sprawled out on my bed."
"So?"
"Viper, I slept down at my dad's house last night and I'm sure that I put this thing in the chest here."
"Okay, so someone went through your things," Crane said. "But... what secrets do you have that you don't want others to know about?"
"Exactly. None. And why?" Po asked. Crane rolled his eyes.
"Po, you're not the most secretive guy. The only secret we know but Tigress and Sunny don't is-" Crane stopped short and dropped his beak while Viper gasped.
"Ding, ding, ding! Now you get why I'm worried," Po said.
"But which one came in?" Viper asked.
"That's what I'm gonna figure out," Po replied, standing up to leave. "Also, could you save me those dumplings for later?" Viper shook her head with a smile. Po and Crane quickly walked down the halls to find one of the two tigers. They neared the Training Hall when they heard a large crash from inside. "That... can not be good."
"It's definitely Tigress, and she sounds angry."
"Crane, do you know of a different mood that Tigress ever 'sounds'?" Po remarked. Crane rolled his eyes as they snuck into the hall. All the training equipment dummies were demolished in a large heap of wooden victims. Tigress stood panting over her violent mess, clenching her fists. The wild glare in her eye could run their blood cold. The panda made the mistake of gulping. Tigress snapped her head and the two ducked behind the door. "Yipe!"
"PO! CRANE! Get in here!" Tigress shouted.
"OOOOOOOh she's definitely angry," Po whispered. The two slowly walked in. A raging aura flooded from the tiger as she crossed arms and glared at the two intruders. "H-H-H-H-Hey, Tigress. Whatcha doin'?"
"What are you doing here?" She growled.
"We...live here?"
"Po," Tigress growled with all the rage of a rumbling volcano.
'"We we.. just... wanted to see if you were okay. And you're... obviously not," Po slowly said.
"I'M FINE!" Crane and Po jumped back, clutching each other's shivering bones. Tigress took a long breath and regained a semblance of composure. "I'm fine."
"Right, right, right, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool," Po smiled sheepishly. "Uh so... why are you punching the training equipment into bits?"
"I was... training."
"Ooookay," Po looked at Crane who only shrugged with the same gritted teeth look as Po had. "Uh... just out of curiosity, were you in my room yesterday or today?"
"No, why?" Tigress grunted as she grabbed a broom by the side. As she started cleaning the wreckage, she gripped the wooden broom tightly. The cracking of wood rang out.
"No reason... so... why are you upset?" Po asked.
"I told you I'm fine."
"Tigress," Crane said calmly, "We're just a little concerned. Is... something wrong?" Tigress silently swept the pieces into a small heap before feeling a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked at Po's soft warm smile beaming back at her.
"It's okay. You can tell us," He said. Tigress dropped the broom and hid her face from the two. Po and Crane looked at each other, each fearful of what she might do.
But they weren't prepared for what she said next.
"Sun-Jun... broke up with me."
Po's heart sank. He couldn't say words fast enough and dread clawed his jaw down. Tigress moved maybe two or three inches away from them, but Po grabbed both her shoulders and spun her around.
"HE WHAT?!" He glared hard at her. The tiger's eyes, amber and fiery like her nature, were red and watery. Po knew that pain. He lived that pain. Po gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on Tigress's shoulders until it slightly pained her. "Where is he?"
"Po, don't-"
"This not about you, Tigress," He said. Tigress blinked. "I need to make sure of something before he goes. Please tell me. Where. Is. He?"
Tigress slowly found the words to speak, "He... should be down at Mr. Ping's shop. He said he was going to go to another training place and-"
"Thanks," Po darted out of the Training Hall before anyone had time to think.
"Don't worry, Tigress," Crane sighed, "I'll make sure he doesn't kill anyone." The bird flew out the door, leaving a confused tiger in a heap of wooden mess. As Po charged down the mountain Crane flew by his side. "You know, violence isn't always the answer."
"I'm not gonna fight him," Po replied.
"Then what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna make sure that I'm not responsible for all of this." Crane slowed down and let the panda continue on. It all made sense. If Tigress didn't go into Po's room, then there was only one other person. And if he knew about Po's secret...
Crane looked back at the palace high on the mountain. "I hope you're right, Po," He whispered to himself, "I hope you're right." Po sped into the village, sliding to a halt right at his father's shop. There sat the lonely white tiger in the shop just about to close for the night. Mr. Ping saw his son by the door and approached him.
"Ah, you're here. Ahh, get this guy out of my shop, would ya? I can't get him to leave," the goose said gruffly.
"It's okay, dad. I think he's here because of me," Po replied. "I'll close up for the night." Mr. Ping shrugged and left the shop. Light footsteps called out Po's position, but the tiger said nothing as he sat next to him on the stool. Sun-Jun covered his face in his arms on the counter, silent and still. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Are you...okay?"
"No."
"Uh... Tigress told me you broke up with her. Is there any reason why?" Po asked. Sun-Jun lifted his eyes filled with tears.
"Because she loves you," he sighed. The silence stuck hard to their mouths. Sun-Jun looked at Po's quizzical face.
"I... don't follow."
"I... I was... I accidentally found your scroll when-"
"Alright, that's another thing. How did you 'accidentally' find my scroll?" Po asked. Sun-Jun looked like a kid caught in a lie.
"I... okay, I went inside to... figure out if there was a way I could relate to Tigress a bit better if I learned to be like you." The white tiger sighed, hanging his head. "But that didn't help. I was honestly trying to find out how you dealt with her... but... Po, I'm so so sorry for causing you so much pain. I-"
"Right, right, right, right. I forgive you, but that doesn't explain why you broke up with Tigress. THE Tigress! Do you know how much of a mess the Training Hall is right now!" Po exclaimed. "Why would you break up with her?"
"Because she loves you."
"And how do you know that?" Sun looked the panda in the eye, wiping the tears out, and heavily said,
"Because she keeps treating me like you. That's why she's always upset with me. She's expecting me to be like you. When she's upset, she's disappointed in me, but she can't figure out why. Then you come in and everything's good. Then I do something wrong and she's upset again. I try listening to her, talking to her, but... it's like I'm trying to fit a round peg into a square hole."
"So you guys are rough around the edges. Relationships take time," Po said. "But that doesn't mean that because she treats you like me that she loves me. I mean... you're the one she's kissing, remember?" There was more hurt in his voice than he intended. Po's lips pressed hard together as he looked away briefly. Sighing, Po said to him. "You're not doing this because of me, are you? Because I've already gotten over this."
"No, you haven't."
"It doesn't hurt anymore, though. I'd say that's getting over it," Po replied with a huff.
Sun-Jun sighed, "Even you know that our fights don't make sense, and more often than not, I'm not the one responsible for the problem."
"You just gotta be a little more understanding with Tigress. She's a tough nut to crack. I'm sure if you give it another go-"
"No, Po," Sun-Jun stood up. Back straight, chest out, but sad face looking to the sky. "You and I are similar. I can see a lot of myself in you. But... we're not the same." He took a long breath, heaving out every burden in his soul. "I'm just... not the right fit for her."
"And what makes you think I am?" Po asked.
Sun-Jun smiled, "Because you know you are, and she knows you are. You two just can't vocalize it. Or maybe, she can't. I'm sorry for screwing things up."
"Don't be," Po smiled, patting the tiger's back. "I learned a lot. Kinda wish I didn't have to go through the pain, but hey. Hehehe, that's life." Sun-Jun briefly smiled before they walked out of the shop. "Where will you go?"
"I was hoping to see the academy you went to with Mei-Ling? From there, I don't know, but... I think I need some space. Do you think-"
"Mei-Ling will already have a pillow and blanket for you when you get there," Po smiled. Sun-Jun smiled back as the panda stretched his arms out and hugged him. "I'm sorry you had to go through this."
"I'm the one who should be sorry, for coming in between Tigress and you."
"Nah, don't worry about it. Besides, I don't know if things will work out."
"You don't know that. Don't be haunted by what if, Po," The white tiger said. Po thought quietly on it as the tiger looked to the edge of the village. "Well, take care. And tell Tigress... I'm so so sorry."
"I will," Po smiled bravely. He watched as the white tiger traveled over the brim of the horizon with his traveling sack on his back, and he waved back at Po one last time. Sun-Jun disappeared into the setting light, and Po started his own trek back up the mountain. Words clumped together in his head as the cold air tickled his face. Colder still was the conversation he was going to have. What in the world was he going to say? All at once, Po envied Sun-Jun; he wasn't the unfortunate messenger!
Po made it to the top, scanning the area for any sign of orange. He finally found her up at the Heavenly Peach Tree in a meditative state, and he sat next to her. There was no sound. None that they wanted to make, anyway. Finally, the words came out of Tigress's mouth. "He's gone?"
"Huh? I uh... yeah," Po sighed, "He's gone." Tigress took a long breath.
"As much as I hate it, he was right. We weren't a good fit for each other," Tigress confessed. "I knew that I just... didn't believe it."
"Well... why didn't you?"
She sat silent for a long time. "Because I didn't think I would ever... find someone again."
"Wh...really?" Po said in a high-pitch. While Tigress smiled a bit, he cleared his throat and returned to his regular tone. "I mean, Tigress, you will find someone. If not Sun-Jun, then someone else. You just gotta... give them the time of day. Or wait... the right person usually comes around when you learn to be... okay with yourself."
"Po?" The panda looked off into the distance and smiled like the wind had finally lifted the burden off his shoulder. In fact, the wind did lift off a small pink flower from the meadow, twirled it through the night air, spreading its fragrance. It finally landed gently on Po's open hand.
Po looked at the flower, surprised yet strangely thankful, and passed it to Tigress. "It's not easy," He continued, "But you'll get through it." He placed it in her hand and covered it. "And I'll be there to help you through it."
That smile. That warm embracing smile that could melt solid diamond. It was always infectious. Tigress smiled back and kept the flower in her hand. "Well, I'll leave you alone for now."
"Wait," Tigress quickly said. "Could you... please stay for a moment? I..." She couldn't say it. Po smiled and patted her hand. She didn't need to say it. He knew. After three years, he'd be surprised if he didn't know.
************F********
"And that's how I got your mother and father together," The white tiger proudly smiled. A small panda girl and tiger boy looked at each other in confusion. Tigress rolled her eyes.
"You leaving didn't get us together," Tigress said.
"How long did it take you to start dating?" Sun-Jun smirked.
"Three mon- That's not the point."
"But mommy," Said the panda girl, "Didn't you say-"
"Jun, I say a lot of things that... don't really match up." Sun-Jun couldn't help the wide grin on his face.
"If you were so mad at Uncle Sunny," said the tiger boy, Junior, "Why is he a part of our family?"
"Because marrying Mei-Ling has the perk of getting on the good side of Master Crane," Tigress muttered. The white tiger shrugged, still flaunting his smile as a large panda strolled in. "But now you know the story. Did you like it?"
"Yes! We did!" the children said.
"Let me guess. Old Sunny is telling the story of how we met?" Po smiled.
"I told you to stop calling me that," Sun-Jun griped. Po's grin widened as he wrapped an arm around Tigress, holding her close.
"Heh, I hope you two weren't too much at each others' throats."
"He started it," Tigress grumbled.
"I did not!" Sun-Jun argued.
"Dad," Said Junior, "Why do mommy and Uncle Sun-Jun fight like us?"
Po smiled at his son and sat down. He placed the two children on his knees, saying, "Because, Junior, everyone has a little child inside of them and for those two, it's louder than most."
"PO!" The tigers shouted, but a hint of merriment sullied their anger. The kids giggled while the big panda just laughed.
The End
