Chapter 1:

The sun was beating down the heat this morning, as Tai Lung stared up at the ceiling. His eyes moved from one spot to the next, as if to catch out any changes in its identical interior. The reason for being awake at this time, he wasn't sure; the gong had yet to sound off-

BLEH!

Tai Lung sat upright almost immediately, where his eyes immediately fell to the empty space beside him. But before he could move from the bed, a series of lightly padded footsteps closed in on the bedroom, and they returned just as quickly as they left. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'll be fine... but you're not allowed cook anymore." Someone in the dark laughed softly as they stopped by the doorway.

Tai Lung rolled his eyes but smiled sympathetically as he threw the sheets off of him. "Sorry, I tried to be nice..."

"I'm sure," they replied sarcastically, as he opened the windows to let in some sunlight. "But let's keep the cooking to the professionals... like myself."

"Fine." The room was suddenly bathed with light, and she shielded her eyes.

Tai Lung's bedroom was looking different nowadays; more so to the fact that he was now no longer living in the dorms; he was living in a house. That house was close to the entrance to the Valley, just outside, not too far from the only other house situated outside the Valley walls. It had a kitchen, a recreation room, a bathroom, a Master bedroom, a study, and a guest room, just like the other one. Only in this house, there were two occupants; him, and his wife.

Yes. His wife, Nuwa.

Speaking of, she had turned and walked down the stairs. Tai Lung followed her, and by the time he hit the bottom of the stairs, she was chopping and prepping something in the kitchen and had her back facing him. "I suppose I better make you something before you go to work," she dragged out a long sigh. "Can't have you starving to death."

"How considerate of you," he said, standing behind her, and watching what she was doing. There were two bowls of chopped fruit beside her on the counter, and she was chopping up some pecan nuts. The table was set for two, with a pot of honey situated between them, like a tiny vase that was absent of flowers. She was definitely up long before he was, and prepping their breakfast before she made a beeline to the bathroom. There was no way she would've been able to do this before he got to the bottom of the steps. "Looks good," his arms wrapped around her from behind, still watching. She was shorter than him, so resting his chin on her shoulder wasn't going to happen; so he resorted to settling his chin on top of her head.

She stopped mid-chop and playfully frowned up at him. "I'm brandishing a dangerous weapon," she warned, turning her head up towards him when he pulled his head away far enough for her to kiss him.

It should've been old news at this stage, but for those who need a little bit of catching up; Tai Lung and Nuwa tied the knot six months ago. It, of course, had to be a huge lavish wedding, just as rumours entailed. But no one in the Valley knew that a week before the "wedding", they had a small ceremony, to which only their closest friends and family attended. Mr Ping pulled out all the stops for both occasions, and made a beautiful dinner, consisting of several mouth-watering courses (with Po's help), and Sapphire and Jun performed later that night down in the restaurant.

After all, there were plenty of paws... wings, tails and pincers willing to step in and help for the bigger occasion.

Another thing to remember; the Furious Five had since gone their separate ways- not just because Master Tigress became head of the Master's Council, but because Viper, Crane, Monkey and Mantis, took up other opportunities in neighbouring cities and towns. But that didn't stop them from being able to come to the wedding... in fact, they were all part of it! Crane helped plan both weddings, while Viper tearfully accepted one of the bridesmaid positions. Monkey and Mantis were groomsmen, alongside Jun and Po and Tigress' sons, Tigro and Lotus, and Monkey's son, Chang was the ring bearer. Po, the Dragon Warrior was asked to be Tai Lung's best man, which he accepted wholeheartedly. Amber-Jade, Po and Tigress' daughter, was the flower girl... and Tigress? Well, Tai Lung had asked her to take the other best man position- which technically made her the best woman. The Maid of honour was taken up by Sapphire, although she and Jun also took it upon themselves to perform at the bigger wedding too. It was a night to remember and was the talk of the town for weeks... but that's another story, for another time.

"You better hurry up or you'll be late for work." Nuwa settled both plates on the table. Tai Lung was brewing the tea over by the window and watched as the sun rose a little higher over the horizon.

"I won't be late," he started pouring the hot liquid into two cups. "Tigress will drop in before, and we'll walk to the town meeting in good time." Nuwa didn't say anything else, and she only started eating when he joined her at the table. But they never ate in silence, there was always something to talk about. By the time their bowls were empty, there was a knock on the door by the kitchen counter. It led to the 'backyard', which was just a field that wasn't fenced off between their house and their neighbours; after all, they were nice people... at least he guessed so.

Nuwa rose from the table to answer it as Tai Lung downed his tea, and moved swiftly to the recreation room. The night before, he was up late going over the agenda for this morning's meeting to get a fresh idea of the complaints and issues to be tackled. The scroll sat on the side table by the couch, abandoned to collect dust overnight. His jacket, which was a dark rich green, was hung by the front door.

By the time he was back in the kitchen, he found Nuwa conversing with Tigress; the striped feline was just past the doorway, dressed in her Gold hanfu with red vine patterns and black pants. There was shouting outside, but looking over her shoulder, it revealed Tigro and Lotus sparring; the twins were now fifteen years old... and almost as tall as their mother. Not too far from them was AJ, who was now seven years old, chatting away to her father, as he locked up the house.

"We better get going. Mrs Huáng doesn't tolerate lateness." Tai Lung frowned, to which Nuwa laughed, a little too innocently, as she nestled against him.

"I don't think she'll mind if we arrive fifteen minutes before the meeting... like we always do." He turned to look down at Nuwa, who was grinning up at him. "I'll see you later." Nuwa nodded as she let go of him, before waving at Po and the kids. They all bowed respectfully before AJ ran up to take her mother's paw; she pulled her along, and soon all six of them made their way into the valley as the gong sounded off a new day.

Later that day, when the kids were just starting their afternoon lessons, the village meeting was drawn to a close. The doors opened, and a herd of animals spilt out of the doors, to let the sun hit their faces.

Tai Lung and Tigress were the last ones to leave the hall, with Mrs Huáng in tow; she was a pig with light pink skin and a black spot over her right eye. She wore burgundy overalls, with a scroll and brush always in a satchel over her shoulder. "And Mr Dao insists that we get more radishes delivered to the valley before the festival this week. Can we do that? He has himself worried sick... poor lamb."

Mrs Huáng was the one who took it upon herself to bring all the issues to the table, spending the week taking notes of the complaints she heard throughout the valley, and somehow she brought more and more problems every meeting. No one essentially asked her to, she simply volunteered herself, Po asked if she was doing it to test his patience, and Tai Lung was starting to believe his statement; it was the only explanation.

"Yes, Mrs Huáng... but that would be in Mr Dao's hoofs. That's not in our control." Tai Lung had given up talking sense into her, but he noticed that she listened to whatever Tigress said, so he let her sort it out. "If he is having trouble with contacts, I can speak to my father-in-law." Huáng was happy enough with her response (even though he said it already), and she trotted off on her merry way.

Once she was out of earshot, Tigress pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "That's another one done for the week." The door shut behind them. "At least for the next two hours. How about we get some lunch?" He suggested, and they went with it. "Besides, I haven't seen Sapphire in a few days."

"Speaking of..." Tigress' eyes checked out their surroundings, before leaning in to whisper; "how is she doing?"

Tai Lung thought about it, and shrugged to start off his response; not long before the wedding, Sapphire and Lok decided to call it quits, after a year of courting. It was a mutual decision between them, and it was hush-hush for a while until it finally came out. Tai Lung couldn't forget the night she told him; he and Nuwa were having dinner, and there was a knock on the door. He saw to it, to find Sapphire in the rain, crying. They got her inside, and she tearfully told them what happened. Tai Lung's thoughts immediately fell to the thought that Lok was unfaithful to her, but apparently, that wasn't the case; they simply just fell out of love, and it still hurt somehow.

He hadn't seen much of Lok since, but apparently, they were still in touch. He was... or is Jun's best friend after all. "She's doing fine." Which was true; she was occupied by the wedding, with her maid of honour duties. After that there was her music, business was booming... just a collection of things that made her so amazing, and made him more and more proud of her. "She's been able to keep her mind off it, at least."

"That's good," Tigress folded her arms as they continued walking. Something caught her eye, interrupting anything else they could have conversed about.

"Master Tigress! Superintendent Lung!" Now Tai Lung's attention turned to see someone walking toward them. "Hey!"

"Guang," Tigress was the first to bow her head to him, and Tai Lung soon did the same, only he fully inclined his body along with it. "How are you settling in?"

Tai Lung said nothing and watched the scene unfold. Guang was a young snow leopard who moved to the Valley last winter. He wasn't much shorter than Tai Lung (who practically towered over everyone), nor was he as muscular, but he still had some muscle that deemed him useful to the more feeble folk in the Valley. He wore a blood red tunic, that was absent of any creative design, with brown pants and sandals to complement it. He had a thick black band wrapped around a section of his upper arm, but no one ever asked about it.

"I'm doing good, great even!" Guang wiped his forehead, glaring at the sun briefly through his grin. "Doctor Shang has no mercy when it comes to the long hours of labour." Tigress chuckled, before asking if there was anything that she or Tai Lung could help him with. "No, I just wanted to say thank you, for the opportunity to stay here, for a roof over my head, to approve Master Monkey as my sponsor," Tai Lung smiled as he bowed to them. "You have no idea how much this new beginning means to me..."

Tigress planted a soft paw on his shoulder as she motioned him to follow her, so he moved alongside her, with Tai Lung at his other side. "This is what the programme is for, there's no need to thank us. What you should be doing is looking at yourself. Thank yourself for making the decision to change..." Guang was still grinning like a child, and it was too infectious; Tigress couldn't help but grin back. "Just don't overwork yourself, okay?"

Guang scoffed, which was a perfect moment for them to pause mid-walk. "Me? Overwork? PFFT! No..." he checked over both shoulders. "I'd suggest you say something to Doctor Shang though..." Tigress laughed. "I'm lucky I got a break! Master Monkey is meeting me to discuss my progress."

"Smashing." Guang nearly jumped when Tai Lung's paw clapped his back heavily. "I wish you the best of luck." He quickly recovered, and bowed to them once more, before he jogged off. Once he was a speck in the distance, Tai Lung tweaked his neck slightly, so he was side-glancing Tigress. "What do you think about him?"

Tigress smiled as she shook her head lightly. "Guang is quite the gentlemen. Both Monkey and Shang have nothing but praise for him." They grew quiet for a second.

"I think he's still scared of me." Tai Lung admitted, frowning slightly.

"I don't blame him," Tigress tilted her head in the direction Guang left a trail of dust. "I dare say, he definitely idolizes you. He wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

"Ah yes," they began walking again. "He also worships the ground Sapphire walks on." Tigress' brows rose in surprise. "She's told me herself, I don't just have an intuition for these things. I'm surprised she hasn't told you."

"First I heard of it," the striped cat confessed. "Have you spoken to either of them about this?"

"No, I was hoping Sapphire would have confronted him about it." Tigress frowned, which he pulled a face at. "What?"

"For something so mundane, I'd hate to use the word 'confront'. They're both adults, they can make their own decisions."

"I know-"

"And I know you feel like you have to be protective, but if she's anything like you, Sapphire will address the situation herself when she deems it necessary. If they're still talking, I would take that as a good thing. At least he hasn't stepped over the line."

"He'd know better than to do that."

"Don't be mean."

"Ah yes, quite right. That's your job." She playfully swatted at him, but he dodged it with ease. "Come on, we better speed up and get something to eat. I'm starving-"

"Tai Lung! There you are!" They were closing in on Mr Ping's Noodle Hut, and they could see the man himself, in a flurry of grey feathers, as he rushed for them. He almost fell flat in front of them, but Tigress reached out in time to catch him. "Hurry, quickly now! It's Nuwa." Tai Lung was racing ahead of them, while Tigress made sure Mr Ping got his breath back. When he reached the entrance to the restaurant, Li Zhan was there to see him.

"Where is she?" He was looking around; the atmosphere was normal as ever; people were conversing and dining.

"Sapphire took her into the house. She grew faint-" he didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before Tai Lung zipped past him, and into Sapphire's performance area; it was often quiet during the day, as she mostly ran programmes in the evening, which tended to make Mr Ping a lot busier too. It was a safe haven for hopeful acts to practice their songs on empty chairs and naked tables.

"Over here, Dad!" Sapphire poked her head outside the door. Tai Lung wasn't far behind her once her head disappeared back behind the door. Inside he found Nuwa sitting at Sapphire's kitchen table, fanning her face with her paw, while Jun was rinsing a cloth in a bowl of water.

"Nuwa-" She rose slowly out of her seat.

"I'm fine honestly..." he had her in his arms almost immediately, not letting her finish her sentence either. But she accepted the hug anyway.

"Is everything alright?" Tai Lung turned to find Tigress, and both her father-in-law behind him, watching on worriedly.

"I just felt a little unwell," Nuwa laughed, face-palming in order to hide her embarrassment. "There's nothing to worry about."

Sapphire's brows crinkled together, while Jun shook his head. "That's not true, she fainted outside. She came around quickly, thankfully! But still-"

"In front of everyone, I couldn't have been more mortified if I tried!" Nuwa laughed as Tai Lung helped her sit back down.

"Do you have any idea what's making you feel unwell?" Tigress sat down beside her, while Tai Lung knelt before her, holding her now cold paw in both of his. "Jun, make your mother some tea."

"On it!"

Nuwa casually waved a paw of dismissal. "It's just the weather..." she glanced at her husband. "And I was a little unwell this morning..." He grimaced right on cue, just as Tigress glanced in his direction. "Someone's a really bad cook..."

Tai Lung pinched the bridge of his nose. "I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me?"

Back again with yet another story to add to the R.O series.

This time I'll be focusing more on Tai Lung and Nuwa/ Tai Lung and Sapphire than anyone else. Hope you guys like this so far! Please leave a review!