Po waited at the bottom of the steps of the Jade Palace, nervously adjusting his newly made open vest. It was silky and shiny, something he wasn't used to. His pants were red with golden sashes keeping it together, matching with his red vest and golden vines and reminiscent of a certain tiger's old qipao.
Speaking of a certain tiger, his face and paws broke a sweat as she was the only creature on his mind. He looked on at the couples dazzling and walking about in the valley square with gold and red lanterns and streamers hanging about on all the roofs. The sun was settling in it's golden hour. It all looked so... perfect. So inviting.
And Po gets to witness it all with her.
He knows he shouldn't get too excited about such a feat—after all, this was not a date and how many times has he and Tigress gone out to celebrate festivals like this, with or without the Furious Five? Even still, he couldn't help but feel his stomach do flips in excitement.
It was probably just him being hungry though... as usual... totally.
Suddenly, a group of cheers break him from his thoughts from behind, he turns back to the Jade Palace and sees Monkey, Crane, Mantis and Viper all maneuvering down the stairs. Monkey and Mantis gave the nervous panda knowing grins while Viper and Crane softly smiled.
Po sheepishly grinned back at them all as they stopped in front of him, "Heyyy man," Monkey patted the bear on the back. "So where's your date~?"
The Dragon Warrior rolled his eyes, "Monkey, I told you a million times, it is not a date!"
"Yeah sure," Mantis briskly commented, "And I'm a red butterfly and Crane has the backbone to ask someone out."
"Why do you feel the need to include me in your insults?" Crane muttered with a deadpan expression, earning a sympathetic smile from the primate.
"Guys, come on, knock it off, just because Tigress intimately asked Po out to go on the most romantic day of the year, does not mean we should tease them about their 'non-date-outing'~" Viper winked at the panda, making him sigh in defeat. She then slithered up to his level to quickly whisper towards him. "By the way, Mei Mei is making some last second changes, Tigress should be down any minute." She grinned brightly at him, making him flush at the face just a little and shyly smile. "Thanks, Viper."
"Have fun on your 'totally non-date', Po!" The boys all snickered as they stated in unison before behaving when the snake hissed sharply at them.
The bear warrior smirked and waved towards them, "Seeya guys around!" Before being left alone to wait... again.
After taking in the sight of the valley from where he was, he discreetly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small item that he had stored in there. It was a tiny wooden box with a brown bow to secure it. He ran through the same plan at the end of the night through his head that he already went through a thousand times just in the last hour, trying to calm his nerves in the process.
He must have been staring into this box for an eternity as once again, a certain voice behind him broke him out of his thoughts.
"Hello, Po..."
His ears perked up at that familiar voice, and he couldn't help but wear the biggest smile when he heard it. He quickly stashed away the item in his pocket once again, turning back to the stairs in pure excitement.
"Hey, Tigress! I was wondering when you would finally—"
Time stopped. He felt himself freeze physically as his eyes graced what he could only describe as pure gorgeousness.
On the base of the stairs, set at a bit of a further and higher distance from where he stood, he took in all of Tigress' form. She had that same camellia flower pinned to her ear but her outfit was completely different, and seemed to be made to oddly match it. It was the same mint colour, with a darker teal as the outlines and sash of her long hanfu dress, with faint lighter designs showing the same flower on the silk fabric. It cut open on the sleeves to show off her arms, fell tenderly off her shoulders and scandalously showed her leg through the base opening of the hanfu. She cautiously looked off to the side, though she wore a genuine smile, and rubbed at her neck in the process. Despite looking and feeling good in what she was wearing, and despite her always flourishing in confidence, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed in this position.
"How... do I look?" She sheepishly asked.
Po couldn't answer. How could he? All words jammed in the back of his throat and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears! He instinctively grabbed at the left side of his chest, scared that if he wasn't careful, his heart would leap out and pour himself out to her. He did his best to restrain himself, taking deep breaths and letting his wide eyes just stare at the feline in awe, letting himself drown in her transcendent beauty.
Tigress, noticing the ursine's physical restrictions to reactions, went from bashful to concerned as she drifted closer to him. "Po? Are you alright?"
Shaking his head feverishly, the panda finally managed to form words together. "Uh—yeah! Yeah, sorry, you just... I... wow." He chuckled nervously. "I just... phew... n-new dress?"
The feline shrugged. "Yeah, Mei Mei and Viper helped patch this together. I... like it a lot."
Po had to smile widely at this. "I'm glad... it... heh," He rubbed at the back of his head, his smile getting more goofy by the second, "it suits you..."
Tigress smiled and inspected the panda's outfit. "I could say the same thing about you. Red looks good on you.."
"T-thanks! Grandma Panda made this for me, hehe, I think she took some inspiration from one of your old outfits.."
"I figured." Tigress grinned. She moved passed Po and glanced at him over her bare shoulder, "Shall we?"
Po looked at her with total unapologetic admiration in his eyes. "Absolutely."
And shall, they did. They travelled through the small events and looked through all the vendors, Po of course indulged himself with the fruit baskets and pastries some of the female villagers would provide. They glanced passed the shadow puppet show depicting the infamous love story between Zhinu and Niulang that symbolised this holiday, Tigress took particular interest in a vendor with many kinds of flowers and let herself take in all the information of what the different plants mean. Po couldn't understand what suddenly brought on Tigress' sudden interest for such a thing, but he couldn't complain seeing Tigress fascinated in such a innocent topic, in fact, it made him all the more ecstatic. They encountered the rest of the Furious Five at certain times, with Monkey and Mantis making kissing noises and intimate movements to mock the two of them, causing Po to shift Tigress' attention away and give the two a harsh glare and a hand gesture imploring them to knock it off, hoping his feline companion wouldn't notice. She did.
Finally, they found themselves at the dance centre, inspecting all the couples dancing around in a rehearsed and enthusiastic dance format at the square. Po and Tigress observed with the same feeling of joy as they both felt deeply connected to dances. The panda jumped a bit amd flapped his arms on the spot, before moving in front of his companion. "Come on, let's join in, Tigress!"
The tiger had to move back a bit, though. "Oh, no, no, no. I would rather simply spectate."
"Come on, Ti, life ain't a spectator's sport! And neither is the dance floor!" He encouraged.
Tigress frowned a bit. "I... don't know how to dance."
Po quirked up an eyebrow, "And you think I do? I never learned the dances! Doesn't mean we can't still dance together!" He shimmied a bit towards her, hip bumping Tigress and making her amusingly scoff.
"We would look like fools."
"I look like a fool all the time!" He moved back in front of her and reached out his paw towards her. "You gotta stop worrying so much about how you'll be perceived sometimes. Don't focus on what you'll look like... just be!"
Tigress looked at the dancing crowd and the band playing the beautiful oriental music, but then slowly found her gaze staring into Po's welcoming eyes and wholesome smile.
Finally, after hovering her hand a bit, she smiled and joined herself with the bear, making him beam and pull her onto the floor.
They never once let go of each other, spinning each other and swaying their bodies in such an uncoordinated manner that left everyone on the dancefloor speechless. Po spun Tigress around, shocking her just a tad bit before laughing out of exhilaration. Then she started laughing out of pure joy. She spun the bear around in return until he grew dizzy and stumbled backwards. She quickly grabbed him to balance him as they shamelessly giggled together. They looked like bumbling, clumsy buffoons. They had no rhythm, no rhyme or reason, nor did they have a care in the world about it.
For the first time ever, Tigress didn't care about the fact she was dancing like a moron, nor did she care that there was a possibility the whole valley's eyes were on her...
It was just her and Po, them dancing alone in the world... and that made her feel carefree.
She felt so carefree, in fact, that she let herself trip on her hanfu and fall back, fully trusting Po to catch her in an unintentional dip. The trip and fall made her gasp, but feeling the security of the panda's arms around her waist, holding her in such a bizarre position, only brought her and him into a fit of giggles.
She was the first to feel her laughter ceased, instead resting her eyes affectionately on the bear as he continued to laugh.
Try as she must to deny anything, one thing she was sure of; if she could spend the rest of her life just dancing with Po alone in the world... she would.
Suddenly, the upbeat music faded and transitioned into something more soft and romantic, music meant to invite couples to be more intimate in their dance forms. Po and Tigress' smiles ceased as they glanced at the band that smirked directly at them, before they glanced back at each other and quickly broke their position. Po gently pulled Tigress up and bashfully removed his paws from her waist, a feeling Tigress hated to admit she already missed.
The ursine cleared his throat. "So uh.. let's put a pin in this activity for later?"
The feline nodded. "Would you like to go to your dads for dinner?"
"You read my mind!" Po proudly tapped his belly, getting Tigress' smile back.
They walked towards the area where vendors shared and sold food amongst the valley folk, as the tiger and panda made a beeline towards the extravagant cart with Dragon Warrior merchandise and jade dragons panted all over. Tigress gave Po a smirk seeing this, causing him to be a bit embarrassed as he approached his panda and goose dads. "Hey, dads!"
"Hey, son!" Li Shan celebrated. "Hello, Master Tigress! How's the 'non-date-outing' so far? Hope you're not having too much fun~"
"Daaad," Po whined, much to the amusement of his tiger partner. "What did we literally talk about?"
"Oh, stop teasing our boy, Li." Mr. Ping grinned as he gave his son two prepared plates. "Him and Tigress don't feel comfortable with the notion of them being on a date, so let's not continuously tease them about it!..."
"Thanks, dad!" Po puffed his chest proudly.
"...At least not in front of Tigress, let her leave and then we can tease him until his lasy breath."
"Thanks, dad..." And just as swiftly, Po's chest deflated as his shoulders sagged, his annoyance made apparent by his muttering. Tigress gave him a small smile and placed her paw on his shoulder for sympathy. He returned the smile and led Tigress away to a distant bench before giving the feline her food.
"Spicy noodles?" She asked.
"With extra sauce on the side." Po grinned, and they dived into their plates and started conversing.
Po started by discussing one of their past adventures together, still reliving the same excitement he felt back then between the two. Tigress didn't mind. She loved hearing him sound so enthusiastic when talking about kung fu, as if he wasn't the most powerful master in China and was still the sweet fanboy she met all those years ago. To say she found it endearing would be an understatement. He then got Tigress to lead the conversation as she got reminded of a kung fu legend amidst the conversation. Letting her take the lead was something she didn't mind either. She's not really a talker in interaction but being around Po just gave her the freedom to be as expressive as she wanted to. They talked, they laughed, then they silently gazed into the sunset while eating in silence. They both definitely didn't mind this. Usually silence would be seen as awkward between two people but they both achieved a bond so strong that simply sitting silence could still leave them content.
But still, there was something on Po's mind that he needed to share. So amongst the comforting silence, he finally turned to Tigress to speak again. "Hey, Ti?"
"Hm?"
"A-after we're... done eating... there's something I wanted to show you."
"Oh?" Tigress' eyebrow perked. "And how long have you been planning on... showing me this certain thing?"
"A while, actually," Po giggled shyly. "I was already planning on pulling you away from the others to show you it tonight, but when you asked me to be your... partner, tonight, I just felt it was more convenient, hehe."
The tiger smiled softly, "Well I can't wait..." She then brought the bowl of remaining soup to her lips with the intention of sipping it, but before it could even touch her lips, she heard the sudden sounds of slurping and gurgling from next to her. She whipped her head to the panda who emitted this sound, with him already putting down his now empty plate and beaming at her. She gave an exasperated smirk. "And it seems neither can you.."
After patiently waiting for Tigress to finish her plate, Po led her to the outskirts of the valley to a desolate area below the mountain that held the Jade Palace. It was quite the travels but the two could still hear the music playing back in the valley.
Curious as to why she was being led here, she finally asks, "Po? Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see!" Po replied simply.
"I don't know if I trust this..."
"Alright, Alright... I'll give you a hint." He turns towards the feline, his still walking albeit backwards. "What is the biggest gift that is received traditionally during the QiXi festival?"
Tigress tilted her head, not realising Po had slowed down to a stop after turning back around. "Flowers?"
She then looked up and was in shock. Or more accurately, in awe. Po, smiling silently, stepped to the side as he let Tigress take in the entire sight.
It was a glorious tree, seemed to be freshly planted over the course of months, but it wasn't just any tree...
It was a tree of pink camellias.
Tigress, simply stunned, turned to the ursine who held a small wooden box in his paws.
Finally finding her words, mostly confused, she cautiously points to the tree. "You said you've wanted to show me this for a while now?"
Po nodded, "I started planting this tree six months ago, give or take."
"How did you—... why camellias? I only just got this fur pin from Mei Mei not that long ago! How did you know that—"
"I didn't, honestly," Po shrugged. "But I planted them for another reason... and the reason is in here." He handed out the box towards her.
Slowly, Tigress took in the box, still looking at the panda skeptically. She opened it and felt her ears pin back as her eyes grew wider. She picked up the item inside; another camellia item. It was mint coloured, just like her pin and dress, and was held together by strong silver string. She gave Po another look.
"Okay, that one was recently. I actually made that after you asked me to the Qixi festival, heh.."
"You made this... and planted this beautiful tree... all for me?" Tigress slowly stated, still surprised and even a bit flustered at the whole ordeal. Po proudly nodded at this, but still gestured inside. "Look at what else is in there."
She looked in again, and sure enough, there was another item. A note. She picked it up and delicately unfolded it to read it's continents...
"The camellia; a flower most known for it's devoted longing, as well as adoration and love."
Tigress almost dropped all items in her arms when she read it. She deliberately pulled her wide-eyed gaze onto the now blushing panda.
"Is this..." She gulped, feeling her emotions boiling up to the surface. "I-is this how you feel about.. me?"
Po took a deep breath. "I... yes." He admitted. "It's what I've honestly felt about you for... a long time."
Her gaze shifted constantly between the panda and the tree, silently processing this all. It was then Po started to panic. "I-I'm sorry! The tree might have been a little too much! I don't want to pressure you into giving me an answer I wouldn't feel bad about—you don't have to say you feel the same, you don't have to say anything! I-I just wanted you to know how I felt about you after holding this in for so long—"
"But I do feel the same."
"... Wait. What?"
Tigress looked down at the similar flower designs on her hanfu. "I think I now know why Mei Mei convinced me to have the camellia fur clip... She gave it to me while you were playing with some kids in the valley around a week ago.."
"I remember that.." Po tilted his head.
"I... I think she sensed, no, knew how I was yearning for you... even if I tried to deny it to everyone... including myself for a long time. But..." She finally looked up and smiled widely. "I have now accepted it. I long for you, Po.. I love you."
With glazing and teary eyes, Po broke out into the widest and sincere smile. "Y-you mean that?"
"With every breath."
He sniffled wildly and did his best to wipe his streaming tears. "Aw man, I promised myself no matter what happened tonight I wouldn't cry!"
Tigress chuffed and hummed a bit of laughter, "At least wait until you helped me with my new necklace~" She teased, perking Po's ears. "Oh! Right, of course!"
He dove behind Tigress and delicately grabbed the silver strings, neatly tying them behind her neck. "And... there! Done!" He said, encouraging Tigress to turn back to him and gently grasp at the necklace.
"How does it look?"
"Nowhere near as beautiful as the woman wearing it..." He said in a daze, before wiping his tears away and goofily grinning. "Sorry! Was that too cheesy~?"
The tiger chuckled, "A little... but... charming. Thank you, Po."
"So uh..." He rubbed the back of his head once again. "Would you be more comfortable with turning this 'non-date' into an.. actual date?"
"I was hoping you would ask that." Tigress gently grasped Po's paw, catching him by surprise. They both sat down on the grass, and looked up to the tree together and instinctively laying their heads against one another.
"I am so glad you talked to Mei Mei right now..." Po interlocked their fingers together.
Tigress stared intently into one of the camellias on the luscious tree. "Me too."
~~THE END~~
~~a/n; *stressfully sips from my kung fu panda mug* sorry for the messy writing! I tried to fit in as much as I could while trying to be as coherent and consistent as possible whilst also trying to post this initially 2 days after Valentine's day and 2 days before this fic's 1 year anniversary TwT (and I am still late to meet that deadline, oy..)
even tho this chapter was a wreck, it was soooo much fun to write! it was unbelievably mushy and tooth-achingly sweet, which is exactly what I love to write! so I hope you guys enjoyed this when reading this as well!
I'll be sure to see you sometime either later this month or sometime next month! enjoy your day/night, remember to live, laugh and love this romantic time of year, and until next time... Yarart out! ;D~~