Closure
"He did WHAT?!" Song screamed over the phone while Tigress sat in her car. The tiger rubbed her temple to ease the tension in her brain. "Why on earth would he do that?!"
"I don't know. But until we get this sorted out, don't tell anyone else at work, okay?"
"Of course not. But... why would he ask her out on a date? Isn't that illegal?"
"Not between departments."
"Po IS ALL the departments," Song retorted.
"I know, I know."
"And so she dragged you along because she's scared of Po pulling out a gun on her?"
"Or doing something worse."
"Po isn't like that, even stressed out," Song firmly said.
"I know, but have you ever seen Po stressed out like this?" Tigress asked.
There was a long pause before the snow leopard sighed, "Even if I see your point, what's the point of you coming along? To stop her from getting what she deserves?"
"To stop Po from doing something he might regret."
"Ahhhh, that makes more sense. Although, I have to say... this is WAYY out of your job description."
Tigress chuckled, "I know, but a job isn't everything."
"What about Lei Lei?"
"Shifu managed to babysit her on short notice. Though, I'm starting to think Lei Lei can tell what's going on."
"How come?"
"She asked if Mr. Po was okay."
"Oh! That's interesting. Have you been talking about him?"
"No. I talk about Lee," Tigress paused, "Now that I think about it, I don't actually talk about Lee that much." Then she facepalmed. "But I do tell her about Po when she asks for him. Of course, that's how she figured it out."
"Still, kids pick up on more stuff than people give them credit for."
Tigress looked out her car window and saw the female panda walking into the fancy restaurant across the street. "And now the party begins."
"Tell me what happens afterward, okay?"
"You're always ready for gossip, huh?" Tigress smirked.
"Heh, you know me. Guilty pleasures," Song chuckled. "Seriously though, I'm more worried about Po. And I can tell you are too."
The tiger sighed, "Yeah." She hung up and waited for the event.
Du Ai nervously clutched the pocket purse to her body. She wore a plain white dress stopping near her ankles. A mock pearl necklace adorned her body with an aluminum watch on her left wrist. She walked up to the garçon. "Po... Ping?"
"Ah, right this way." The waiter passed white-clothed tables neatly standing in a faintly lit open chamber. Du Ai glanced at the exuberant foods sizzling from the kitchen. Expensively dressed people laughed haughtily in front of their meals. She told Po she wanted to come to this place several times, but they never had the money.
A big frown sat on the panda's face; her well-off façade helped cause that obstacle.
The garçon showed the panda to another panda. Po sat in his black suit jacket and white dress shirt with a red tie. Blood red. He smiled, but Du Ai gulped at the smile. "Our waiter will be here with you shortly."
"Thank you." Po grinned, though Du Ai could tell it wasn't entirely genuine. "You look nice."
"What?"
"I said you look nice," Po repeated.
"Oh... thanks," Du Ai smiled briefly.
"Are you okay? You seem a little nervous."
"I'm... I'm fine."
Po stared for a moment and shrugged. Their waiter received their orders. "How are you liking your job?" Po asked.
"Uh... it's okay. I like the mail duty."
"I know," Po smirked. "Your sup keeps complaining that I'm holding you up here."
"I'm... sorry about that," Du Ai shakily replied.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, yes, I'm just... really anxious for the food," She said though her stomach churned.
"It's alright. I'm sure the food will be fine."
The food came and they ate. She couldn't enjoy the subtle taste and delicate cuisine. Du Ai looked at Po like a deer staring at a hungry tiger. The male panda, after finishing his dinner, looked up and tilted his head. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"No you're not."
"How would you know?"
"Because we used to date and I know you probably more than anyone," Po said, leaning his arms on the table. Du Ai leaned away. "What's wrong? You're not usually this scared."
"I'm not scared of you."
Po narrowed his eyes. "Why would you be scared of me?"
Du Ai's pursed lips finally broke out. "Because if you're going to pay me back for what I did to you... you... you don't have to resort to violence or... whatever it is you're going to do."
Po's eyes widened while his jaw dropped. Du Ai knew that face. It was a pained face. He had the same face when she broke up with him.
"Waiter! Check please!"
"Wait, Po I-" Before she could say anything, the waiter brought the receipt, placed it in front of Po, and the panda gave them a fresh 50-dollar bill.
"Keep the change," He grunted as he stood up and stormed out of the restaurant. Du Ai quickly rushed after him.
"Po, wait!"
"Why should I? Obviously, you're always going to think less of me no matter what I do!"
"Po! Stop! I'm just confused! Why did you do this?"
Po spun around and faced her, glaring deeply at her shivering face. "Do you know the hell I've been through?!" He shouted. "You've been tearing me down the day I met you but I didn't leave because I loved you! I got the most stressful job in the world just because I could still hear your voice in my head saying I wasn't doing enough! That I was being lazy! It's like the only way for you to trust someone is if you push them down!"
"YES!" Du Ai belted out. "Okay! Yes, I do that! The only way I trust people is if I can... control... them." Her realization slowly set in. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I... I don't trust people. I don't know why I keep expecting people to throw me away or treat me badly. It was only until my last ex that I... realized what true mistreatment meant. I know now I... only push people away because I think they're going to turn on me!"
"Why?" Po grunted out. "What proof do you have that says I did something wrong? That I wasn't loving you?! That I didn't care about you?!"
"Nothing! Which is why I was scared!" Du Ai shot back, tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm only ever suspicious of people! I don't know what it's like to be with a genuine loving person."
"You were with one! Me!" Po shouted. Du Ai's hurt spoke louder than any punch or kick to the body. Her head bowed slightly as she pursed her lips together. The slight shivers in her body made the chains on her purse jingle.
But Po's pain spoke louder than hers. Sunken eyes, glaring jade irises, lost sheen in his black and white fur while he panted heavily from the emotions welling up inside. A burning aura flashed from his body. But Du Ai couldn't ignore the immense pain in his eyes. No one could. "You know why I did this? I did this to get some closure. I did this to tell you that after everything you put me through, every lie you told me about myself. Every! Single! Thing... I still care about you." Po slowly rose his head, letting the tears run down his face. "I can't help you, Du Ai. You have to find a way to get over your distrust, but I can't deal with that anymore. I want someone who values me for me. Without the jobs, or money, or whatever it is that tells you I'm trustworthy. Sure, I have stuff I can work on, but that's my burden, my responsibility. Whatever it is that you have, it's your responsibility."
Du Ai said nothing. Her tearful frown simply nodded. She silently passed him and walked to her car. Po watched her speed down the road before disappearing in the distance. The wind gently brushed against his suit, picking up any lint, pain, or tears left on his body. He sat down on the sidewalk, staring at the asphalt.
The world around him became void and empty. He stared into space before the clack of footsteps entered his ear. Then the clacking stopped near him. "Am I blocking your car?" Po asked, noticing the car to his left.
"No, I came to talk to you," said a familiar voice. Po spun his head up and widened his eyes.
"Tigress? What are you doing here?" The tiger sighed as she sat down next to him. She told him what Du Ai put her up to. Po's eyebrows slowly furrowed. "And... you didn't trust me?"
After pausing for a brief moment, Tigress took a deep breath, "I knew you were stressed out, I knew you were healing from a lot of pain, and I knew that Du Ai wasn't making anything easier. And I know from experience that getting angry at people for things that are going on in your life is a recipe for disaster. I trusted you. I just didn't know if you would be strong enough to do this." Tigress rested her hand on his. "But you were. I'm proud of you, Po. You did well. How do you feel?"
"OOhhhh like a massive wall just fell on me. But... honestly, lighter."
Tigress smiled, "I'm glad."
The sun rose again early the next day. Po walked into his office floor, smiling for the first time in a while. He straightened his red tie. His eyes went straight to his executive assistant. Tigress, dusting the wrinkles out of her red blouse, looked up and smiled back at the panda as he walked into his office.
Neither of them needed to say anything.
Po put his briefcase down and opened up some papers from it. Before long, a knock on the door came. "Come in?"
A white peacock flowed into the room without a bodyguard. Po tilted his head. The bird had a new black suit with a white dress shirt and a black bowtie. "Uh... Mr. Shen. You seem... formal."
"I just came from a... fitting with your aunt," Shen murmured. "But I have some news that concerns you personally." He handed the panda a small folded paper. Po read something that made his eyes expand.
"Is... is this true?"
"She sent it in today," Shen explained. "Didn't give us much time to prepare but she cited a... personal issue to take care of."
As he sat down in his chair, Po slowly spoke, "So... Du Ai is... no longer working here."
"Her supervisor was surprised by her resignation, but I couldn't be."
"Why not?"
"I knew it was only a matter of time before things between you grew tense. I don't know what happened, but-"
"It was nothing major. Just... got a lot of things off of my chest," Po sighed, resting his head in his hand.
The peacock nodded with a sad furrow on his eyebrows. "Po... I'm so sorry for causing you so much stress with this."
The panda gave a short chuckle. "To be honest, Shen? I don't think I've ever felt more relaxed in my life."
Continued...