Some Thoughts

Through French windows, the peacock looked at his garden. The workers were rearranging it. Shen chuckled to himself.

She said the whole floral arrangement was too... depressing and needed a complete makeover. As pink and red flowers grew down a path to a large statue of two birds closely holding each other, he had to admit that she was right.

Just then, hands covered his eyes. "Guess who?"

Shen chuckled, "Someone who's way too old for this nonsense."

"Oh and you're the 'mature one'?" Said the panda, removing her hands. Shen turned and smiled at the large ursine woman wearing a big flowery black and white dress.

"How many of those dresses do you have?" he asked.

"Enough to keep your imagination spicy," Ayi winked. The peacock's face turned red and looked away. She giggled, "You're always so cute when you're flustered."

"Just because you can get the upper hand on me, doesn't mean anything," Shen huffed, turning his back to her. He jumped slightly when her big furry arms wrapped around his long neck.

"Then why do you let me have the upper hand, hm?" She whispered from behind.

"I... that's not-"

"Heh, I'm sorry for teasing you She-She. It's just so fun to get a rise out of you. But I'll behave. At least until your big fancy party is over," Ayi smirked, walking over to the large sofa.

"Don't you have work as well? You have your own business."

"Ugh, don't remind me. My company is still managing some stuff. And my assistant keeps telling me that I need to take the work seriously. I do, but I can take some me time, can't I?"

"There's a difference between taking a break and taking a vacation."

"What are you, my mother?"

"Something like that," Shen smirked at the panda's pout.

"Ugh, fine. You're right. I'll tell her what we're doing for the next couple of weeks," Ayi sighed, typing on her phone. "No one told me that being in charge of a company would be so... taxing. You and Kai make it seem like it's easy to be jerky dictators."

"Ayi."

"I'm kidding," She smiled widely. The peacock only rolled his eyes and stared back at the garden.

It was silent for a moment, save for the panda texting on the phone. A frown creased the peacock's beak. The silence sharpened when Ayi stopped texting. It lasted longer than he expected. Shen swallowed hard. He gritted himself. A venom slid up his spine, trying to take hold of his mind. He tried to reason it away, but it was no use. He gulped down his fear as much as he could, shaking.

He quietly spoke, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Ayi replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yes... I... I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" The panda saw his head nod. She shrugged and glanced at her phone. "Hey, I was wondering. Do you know if Po's doing okay? I know you can't tell me much for a while, but he's still my nephew. He won't tell me anything," Ayi huffed. "Honestly, I don't know why you're still at this company, She-She. It's just-"

She stopped when she heard sniffling. Her head shot up. She saw Shen's back jerking and shivering as if he was- "Shen? Shen are you, alright?" Ayi got up and spun the peacock around. She gasped and saw tears streaming down Shen's face. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he sharply sucked in the air. Ayi gently placed a hand on his cheek. "Shen. What's wrong?" The bird sniffled and leaned into her hand. He suddenly latched around her, hugging her tightly. "Shen, you're worrying me. Please tell me what's wrong."

"I... I'm sorry. It's just... I've been alone in this house for so long that... when you answered... I finally realized that... I wasn't alone anymore." Shen buried his head into her bosom, careful not to poke her with his beak. "I'm finally not alone."

Ayi's heart broke and she squeezed the bird closer. "Oh She-She."

"Heheh," Shen shakily laughed through his tears. "I really used to hate that nickname. Now, I'm so glad I can hear it all the time." He lifted his head up and smiled wearily. "It means I'm not alone anymore."

"Oh you," Ayi sniffled a bit.

"Please don't use my feathers as tissue," The peacock panicked.

"What!? I wouldn't," She stopped for a moment and frowned with a little pink tint on her face, "That was one time, Shen."

"Do you know how much detergent and soap it took to get your... snot out of my clothes and feathers!?"

"I was emotional!" Ayi huffed. Shen simply smiled and held onto her, listening to her heartbeat.

Suddenly, he realized his closeness. "Oh, I'm sorry for breaking down like this. I shouldn't cross your personal space like-"

"Oh no, you," Ayi pulled him back into her embrace while she gently rubbed his head. "Don't try to be macho now, mister. You're staying here until you feel better."

"I... ugh," Shen sighed in defeat, though he smiled. "Thank you, Ayi. Thank you for talking some sense into me."

"Heh, heh. It's what I do."

"No, it's not. You usually do stuff that make no sense at all," Shen lifted his head, staring from the comfort of her bosom. "In fact, I still can't believe you run a company. Everything about your character screams 'go with the flow'."

"Well, sometimes the flow goes uphill."

"No it does not!"

"Shut up and enjoy the cuddle!" Ayi huffed, pushing him back into her arms. Shen rolled his eyes and sighed.

He glanced through the smallest opening of her hug trap and saw the clock. "I do have to get my suit ready. The time for the party is close."

"Ooo! That reminds me! I have a suit for you!"

"Oh no," Shen gulped as he was pulled over to a section of his mansion that Ayi renovated into a tailor's place.

"Trust me, you'll be so handsome," Ayi squealed. Shen sighed but smiled.

At least he wasn't alone.

Meanwhile, Tigress colored with Lei Lei at the dinner table. The tiger smiled at her daughter's scribbling art. "Is Mr. Po coming over to look after me or Grandpa?" The panda asked.

"Grandpa. I think it's best if he starts babysitting you."

"Why? Is something wrong with Mr. Po?"

"What makes you think that something's wrong with him?"

"Because you look worried when you're talking about Mr. Po," Lei Lei said.

The tiger grimaced a bit and sighed. She couldn't say no. What Lei Lei saw was accurate. Even though Lei Lei didn't know much about Lee, she knew that Tigress had a boyfriend. "Well... Nothing's wrong with him. At least, I don't think anything's wrong with him."

"Okay," Lei Lei went back to drawing. Tigress couldn't help but notice that the panda was drawing a room from an aerial view. Kind of like the blueprints that Tigress would draw up for Po when they were doing certain projects. "Mommy, do you like Mr. Po?"

"As a friend, yes."

"Do you like him more than Lee?"

"I don't think so," Tigress chuckled, "My... like for Po isn't the same as my like for Lee. It's like apples and oranges. They're fruits but they're not the same."

The little girl narrowed her eyes for a brief second before her face exploded. "Ohh! I get it!"

"Good." Tigress smiled, petting Lei Lei's head as she returned to drawing. A knock at the door came and the tiger opened it. "Ah, Lei Lei! Grandpa's here!"

"Grandpa Shifu!" The little black and white bear ran to an old red panda and hugged him tightly. Grandpa Shifu wore a light tan turtleneck with a pair of wide-rimmed glasses on his nose. Tigress swore she had thrown out the blue jeans he wore in one of their many moves. Next to him stood someone that made Lei Lei go from happy to excited. "Mrs. Mei Ling!" The panda hugged her tightly, though the panda girl stood only a few centimeters from Mei Ling's head.

"Oh, it's good to see you, little cub. Well, I can't call you little anymore," said the small fox creature. She had some librarian-style glasses that she never wore because they "increased her age." A dulling purplish pink dress covered her body with her sandals.

"Are you ready for your formal, Tigress?" Shifu asked, noticing the tiger's casual wear.

"Soon. I was waiting for you two."

"Come on, Lei Lei. Let me show you how to make Grandpa's favorite food," Mei Ling said.

"Okay!"

"Just don't get distracted this time," Mei Ling smiled.

The panda shyly tapped her fingers together. "I'm really sorry about last time."

"It's okay, darling. Learn from your mistakes and try again." The little fox grinned, petting Lei Lei's head. As the two went into the kitchen, Shifu followed Tigress into her room.

"So, how are things with your work?"

"Good, better since I bought this house," Tigress replied.

"That's not what I meant," Shifu clarified.

Tigress sighed, "I honestly don't know what's going to happen. Po seems confident that I won't have to worry about anything, but I'm not sure about that."

"Whatever happens, it is good to have a backup plan. Have you tried looking into other jobs?"

"A few with lower pay and longer hours. And I mean longer than 40 hours," Tigress muttered. "There is an opening for a teacher position-"

"No."

"At... Lei Lei's school?"

"Definitely no. Tigress, you're not the teaching type. At least not for kids that aren't your own." Tigress grumbled. He was right. "This... Po Ping, does he have any guarantees that you'll find a job, like he found one for your friend, Song?"

The feline stared at the red panda for a moment. "I hadn't considered that."

"If he's promising stability, he should be able to back it up. It's something to consider."

"I'll look into that."

"And how close are you-"

"Just... friends," The tiger finished. "Nothing more."

"And the person you're dating... Lee? He knows about Po?"

"He knows that I work with him, but nothing beyond that." Her eyes narrowed. "Why are you asking all of this?"

"Because it's important."

Tigress sighed, "Father, what's really bothering you?"

Shifu stared at the wall and didn't say anything. The pensive tightening of his lips was accompanied by his thoughtful hum. "The... way you speak about your boss. I'm not entirely convinced that your... interests aren't divided."

"Between him and Lei Lei?"

"Between him and Lee."

Tigress lifted her eyelids. "I'm not romantically attracted to Po."

"But you are invested in him. Barring everything that has happened, if he decided to leave today, would you be okay?"

"I... I would... I think," She had to think about it for a moment; she didn't know why she hesitated. "That doesn't mean I like Po romantically."

Shifu stroked his goatee beard with a loud hum. "I see."

"Why are you asking me this?"

The red panda slightly shrugged, "I don't want you to deny your feelings for the sake of... professionalism. If... Po wasn't your boss, how would that change things?"

Tigress didn't say anything. Shifu glanced at his watch and sighed, "Let's leave that question for a month or two, hm? Right now, you have a party to go to."

Tigress nodded as the red panda left the tiger to put together her dress.

And her thoughts.

Continued...