Some Help
A few weeks went by. Zainan Inc. began to morph into the panda's dreaded existence as he walked past the vacant receptionist's desk. "I should really get Mei Mei to hire a new one," He muttered to himself. He walked into the elevator, mopping his face with his hand. Hopefully, he got whatever misery that was written on his face off. The doors opened to his floor where he was immediately greeted by a friendly serpent.
"Good morning Po-Oh. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"It's just... well your eyes are a bit... sunken in."
Po sighed, wiping his eyes. "I'm just really tired. The transition and stuff like that. It's been stressful."
"Maybe you should take a break. A vacation?" Viper suggested.
The panda sadly smiled. "Maybe, but right now I have stuff to do." He walked away, releasing a long sigh, "Like keeping this company from going underground."
Walking through cubicle after cubicle, the panda's feet drew him to his door where he expected to see Tigress.
Instead, there was a new sight waiting for him. The panda's eyes shot open. Any tiredness disappeared when he saw the person sitting at the desk, filing papers.
With lens-less glasses that were a little bit too big to fit her face.
A little panda girl with librarian-style glasses stacked some papers into different folders while writing on her notepad. "Uhhhhh Hello?" Po spoke up.
"Hello," the panda girl said cheerfully, "May I help you?"
"Um... what's your name?"
"I'm Mrs. Lei Lei. The ses-ses-ser-knee."
Po couldn't help but chuckle. "You mean the secretary."
"That's what I said."
"And where's your uh... boss?"
"Oh Mommy went to get some papers."
"Lei Lei," Tigress quickly came back, cleaning up some of the mess. "I told you not to touch the papers."
"Sorry."
"Ugh."
"Ah... was there something I forgot or..." Po asked, glancing between Tigress and Lei Lei.
The tiger smirked, "I guess you forgot that today is 'Take Your Child to Work' Day?"
"People still do that?" Po asked incredulously.* Tigress rolled her eyes while Lei Lei giggled.
"Anyway, this is Lei Lei. Lei Lei, this is my boss Mr. Ping."
"Please, she can call me Po," The panda smiled, "Mr. Ping is the owner of a food school and... someone who's probably more put together than I am." Po waved to the small panda. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Lei Lei-"
"Please sir, I go by Ms. Lei Lei," the small panda said holding her hand out for a professional handshake.
Tigress groaned, dragging her hand down her face. Po simply smiled and shook the child's hand. "Oh right, Ms. Lei Lei."
"Don't forget about your work," Lei Lei said fussily. "We don't want to be behind."
"I'll do my best," Po saluted. While Lei Lei 'went back to work', Tigress walked over to Po's door, motioning him to come with her. "Is something wrong?" He asked in a whisper that Lei Lei couldn't hear.
"Nothing, I just wanted to say sorry about Lei Lei's behavior. I don't know where she gets it from."
The large panda blinked, "I know exactly where she gets it from."
"Still I'm sorry about-"
"Oh she's fine. Heh heh. She's actually more professional than me."
Tigress smiled briefly, "But that's not the only thing. It's... I may have some... trouble completing work on time."
"What's wrong?"
"My father and his wife are moving closer to me so they can help until I get some more... permanent care-taking."
"I... don't understand."
"I just wanted to tell you. I didn't want you to think that I was slacking off."
"Can you slack off?" Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Kidding... a little. If you need help with work I can do that. Besides, I owe you a favor for helping me with the move."
"No, no, I just wanted to tell you that this... period of my life might be...unstable."
"Why is your dad moving closer to you?"
"To take care of Lei Lei until I can find a boyfriend."
"Boy...friend?" Po said slowly. "Why?"
Tigress sighed, "I need help raising Lei Lei, and I don't have a reliable 'village' to help me with it. Family is good, but still."
"Oh."
"I promise that this won't majorly interrupt my work but-"
"Don't worry about that. There's more to life than work," Po quickly replied. "Anyway, I need to get to work myself. Ms. Lei Lei told me so."
The panda's smile didn't sit well with her. She stared for just a minute until Po went into his office. Tigress bit her bottom lip. "He's lying," she murmured to herself. She had no proof for that statement.
But why did she care?
Later on, Tigress finished up her work while Lei Lei busily played some educational games on the tiger's phone. The striped feline stood up and stretched. "Alright, Lei Lei, it's time to go back home."
"Okay, Mommy."
Tigress looked at the panda's office door. Po hadn't come out of his room for the entire day, not even for lunch. "Lei Lei, put on your jacket. I have to talk with Mr. Po."
"Okay."
Tigress gently knocked on the door and opened it. The large panda busily typed and signed off on several papers. He barely registered that someone had come into his office. "What's up?" He asked, still not looking up from his work as she approached his desk.
"Are you okay?"
"Why do you ask?"
"You've been working all day non-stop."
"I... just got in a zone."
"Uh... huh," Tigress mumbled.
Po leaned away from his computer and rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine," He smiled. Tigress gave a small nod. She didn't believe him one bit. Just then, Lei Lei came into the office carrying her things. "I guess it's time for you and Lei Lei to go. Well, it was good meeting you, Ms. Lei Lei."
"Goodbye, Mr. Po," The small panda smiled. "What are you going to do now?"
"Oh, I still have some work to do."
"You need to go home and sleep."
"But I-"
"No more work mister Po. You need sleep," The panda fussily said, "Your eyes look tired. Like Mommy when she doesn't sleep well."
Tigress reexamined the panda. She was right. Po's eyes were not only red but also dreary and dreadfully sunken. Po tried his best to hide it but chuckled. "Ah, I'll keep that in mind."
"We should get going, too, Lei Lei. Say goodbye to Mr. Po."
"But I already did," the little bear said innocently.
Po laughed, "Goodbye Ms. Lei Lei." The tiger and little panda walked out of the office and journeyed to the car. After strapping Lei Lei in, Tigress cranked up the car and drove back home.
After hearing her daughter humming and writing, the feline spoke up, "Hey, Lei Lei? What do you think of Mr. Po?"
"I like him. He's funny," she giggled, "But he looks... sad. Like you were when Great Grandpa passed away."
Tigress sighed at the memory. Shifu's father had been an amazing grandpa to her. They were very close. When he died, Tigress cried herself to sleep for a straight week. It was even worse for Shifu.
That kind of pain. Having to go through that day after day for an unforeseeable length of time was pure torture. It wasn't intense 24/7, but it's difficult for the mind to separate fiction from reality in those moments. And Tigress tried to hide it so as to not worry Lei Lei. But the panda knew. And if she knew, that might mean that Po was going through something similar.
"Maybe he is," Tigress said. "Maybe he is."
A few days later, Po came into his workspace, tiredly groaning. He shook his head, trying to get rid of any remaining evidence of sleep deprivation. "I really need some more sleep. Ugh, what's that going to fix, though?" Po shook his head again as he got to his door. He noticed that Tigress wasn't there. She usually got here right before or right after him.
She mentioned something about a private event going on last night that she had to go home early for. "Wonder how it went."
He soon found out.
The elevator doors opened to the quick and alarming clacking of angry shoes against carpet. Po snapped his head down the hall and saw a furious and growling tiger charging his way. "Oh no!" He dove into his office and shut the door.
Tigress fumed as she marched to her desk and plopped down. Po slowly opened the door, wearing his hard hat.
"Get rid of that hat!" The tiger roared.
"Sorry!" Po quickly tossed it away. "Uhhh is everything okay? You seem a little... hostile."
"What?!"
"Angry! I mean... yo-you seem... angry?"
"I don't want to talk about it," She gritted through her teeth.
"Cool, cool, cool! I'll get back to work. Bye!" Po quickly disappeared into his office and locked the door.
Tigress groaned, sighing at her desk when her phone rang. "Hello Song?"
"Hey, Tigress, how are you?"
"Feeling like punching the first person who asks me if I need a drink of water."
"Did something happen at work?"
"No. I... went on a date last night and the guy pissed me off."
"Oh, bad date?"
"Bad date, bad person, bad everything!" Tigress snarled, "He lied about everything! He lied about liking kids. He lied about his height, age, and weight. He lied about his interests. He lied about what kind of animal he was!"
"Oh! That's new," Song said humorously.
"For some reason this... pig thought being a lion would help his chances. And I'm just upset it kind of worked," Tigress growled.
"Wow, that is a bad date."
"It was so bad that Lei Lei told Shifu that I was in code R."
"What's... code R?"
"It's a code she tells everyone that I'm upset and angry, and she tells everyone that I need my space," Tigress explained.
"Uhhhh-"
"She knows that I'm not upset with her. If anything, she's the one that's able to calm me down. But she tries to tell everyone else so they don't get hurt by me."
"Ohhh Rage. Code R. Okay. I get it. That's... still concerning. Have you ever-"
"Snapped on her? No, not ever. But she's very good at figuring out what people are feeling," Tigress sighed. "For some reason, she's not scared of me when I'm like this, but she's worried about other people. I don't know why."
"Tigress, Lei Lei shouldn't have to do that. I know she wants to help people, but she's only a kid. You have to be careful," Song firmly said. "That's how children develop savior complexes."
"I know. I know. I've been working on reducing the number of Code R incidents and telling her not to worry about me. But today and last night weren't my proudest moments in anger management. And... it doesn't help that Po wears a hard hat any time I'm angry."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No, no, no wait, wait! I can see that! It's yellow like those construction workers?" **
"... Yes," Tigress grumbled.
"Oh man, I miss Po so much. He was so good for a laugh," Song giggled.
"Anyway, I'm done dating."
"Come on, Tigress. You can't give up just like that. One bad date, however bad it was, shouldn't make you give up. Besides, there are other fish in the sea."
"I don't want fish. I want someone I can... be with."
"Well, what do you think a good man is?"
"Honest."
"And?"
"Kind, not just to me, but to everyone. Likes being social so I don't have to be. Funny... kind of a goofball."
"A goofball?"
"I like the lovable good boy. And... someone who can support me and help me with my anger issues. Or at least help me find the right people."
"Okay."
"They obviously have to be good with kids. Cute and soft."
"Soft?"
"Like their fur. Huggable."
"Uh... huh."
Tigress's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Wait, why does this sound like... Uhh, I need to go, Song. I'll call you later. Goodbye." Tigress quickly hung up the phone and tried to get back into her work. "No, no, that's... that's not true. We're just-"
"Hey?"
"AH!" Tigress jumped. She realized it was Po standing from his office door. "Oh, Po. It's just you."
"Hey, I couldn't help but overhear your... screaming rant about the date. I'm really sorry about that. I know what it's like to be on a bad date. Actually, I know what it's like to be on several. Heh."
Tigress smiled, "Thank you for the sympathy. I really do appreciate it."
"Um... you know Song is right, though."
Tigress eyed him suspiciously. "How did you know it was Song?"
"You don't call anyone else," Po said with a fallen face.
"Fair point."
"But she is right. You do need to get back out there."
"I'm still a mother, Po."
"Which is why I came out," Po stuttered, "You see... my apartment is all fixed up and I was wondering if... should the need come up and your dad's out for some reason... you could let Lei Lei stay with me for your dates. That way, your dad doesn't have to be in your living space all the time. Not that he's bad or anything, I just... I know what it's like to have parents around all the time," Po chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "And as a bonus, you get to go on more dates until you find the one."
Tigress's eyes widened. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I'm not sure about this. This is a little more than just a favor, Po. And I don't know if this is really... professional."
Po rolled his eyes, "This is outside office hours. Besides, you and Song are friends outside of work. And even though you obviously do an amazing job at it, I know it's hard for you alone with Lei Lei."
Tigress narrowed her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because I need to show Ms. Lei Lei that I'm doing what she told me. You can't go against the boss," Po chuckled.
"My paycheck says different," Tigress smirked.
"My dad was a single parent after my mom died. I know how hard it is. Or at least how hard it looks. Besides, you need some rest."
Looking at the panda, Tigress sighed with a small smile. She wondered how much Po needed a break. The sunken reddened eyes, weary stance, and the lost sheen in his fur. Even his smile seemed burdened.
"I'll... think about it," Tigress replied.
Just then, another problem walked in. Po and Tigress saw a massive yak marching up to Po's door. The panda sighed, "Can you make sure-"
"I'll take your calls," Tigress smiled.
Po put on the fakest smile he could muster, "Mr. Kai. It's good to see you."
"I don't have time for pleasantries. I have some... matters to talk with you," Kai gruffly said. Po glanced at Tigress. She gave a firm nod. The panda let the yak in and closed the door.
While Tigress tried her best to focus, the shouts and yells coming from Po's office constantly distracted her.
"AND You can't!"
Whatever the yak was saying to Po, she couldn't really make it out other than a few words and phrases. After what must have been thirty minutes of shouting, the yak fumed out of Po's office and stormed to the elevator.
The panda came out looking like he had battled a country. "What happened?" Tigress asked.
"Ugh, Kai's trying to increase our quota, but I keep telling him and showing him all the reasons, and laws, why we can't. Doesn't mean he listens," Po muttered.
"Maybe I don't need that break."
"You do."
"You need a break more than I do. And some breathing room."
Po grumbled, rubbing his eyes and going back into his office. "I'll breathe on the weekend."
Continued...
*A/N: Do schools still do that? I feel like schools are so efficiency conscious that they don't allow this anymore. XD. Please help this geezer.
**A/N: Apparently the color has changed to white. I don't know why.