A Crush?

Tai Lung groaned as he cracked his back. "Is it always this fun at this age?"

"Take the times when you're not in pain with levity and you come to manage it pretty well," Master Shifu smirked as they walked through the barracks' hall. The serpent slithering next to them looked between her master and the bird behind her.

"Hey, where's Po and Tigress? I haven't seen them all day."

"They mentioned something about going to the nearby panda village," Crane replied.

That's when they drew nearer to the kitchen and heard familiar voices.

"Pregnant?" Po asked.

"Yes," Tigress said heavily. Crane, Viper, Shifu, and Tai Lung all stopped in their tracks.

"Are... are you sure?"

"Positive."

"But... but how!?"

"I didn't think it was possible either."

"And you-"

"Yes, I went to the doctor Po," Tigress sighed, "He confirmed it."

"Wow. I mean... What now?"

"Now, we do everything we can to support this new child into the world. They're going to need it."

"I know my dad's going to be stoked. Though I'm not sure if Master Shifu will be okay with this."

"Our time won't be that divided, Po," Tigress smiled. The panda smiled back.

Then the two looked at the door when they heard Crane's beak drop along with all the others. Crane, Viper, Shifu, and Tai Lung all stood in the kitchen entrance with jaws lower than their feet. "Wh-Wh-Wh-What's going on?" Crane asked.

Po smiled and glanced at Tigress. "We've got some exciting news."

"What 'exciting' news," Shifu grunted heavily.

"Master Shifu, please," Viper cautioned.

"Mei Mei's pregnant," Po cheered.

The four in the doorway blinked and then collapsed with a loud sigh of relief. Shifu held the table for support while Crane's head and hat crashed onto the nearby kitchen cabinet. Viper spilled flat onto the ground, and Tai Lung leaned on the doorpost for support while clutching his chest. "Oh wow, my heart. I don't think it's supposed to be going that fast," He muttered.

"Mei Mei, the panda from the village? Wait, she's pregnant?!" Shifu exclaimed. "Who.. I mean... Uhh-"

"Yeah, she and her husband are really excited and wanted to know if we could be the godparents," Po smiled.

"WE... as in... all of us?" Viper asked slowly.

"Yes," Tigress scanned each of their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing, we just thought-" Crane immediately shut up when Shifu, Tai Lung, and Viper all snapped their heads straight at him, glowering him into silence. "We... just... had a misunderstanding, that's all."

Po shrugged, "Anyways, we weren't sure if you'd be on board with this Master Shifu since we're kung fu warriors and all. It's just-"

"No, no, it's fine," The red panda shakily smiled, "I'm sure Mei Mei's baby will be a lovely addition to the village. Just make sure that the child isn't... too attached to being at the Jade Palace. I already have Lei Lei messing with my teas as it is."

"I told you not to let her, master," Tigress smirked. Shifu grumbled under his breath. The group started eating. The leeks and cooked tofu started to be a staple for Tigress and the others; she made the best-fried tofu in the village, much to Mr. Ping's happy jealousy. She could still remember the conversation.

"I'm not jealous," the white goose murmured.

"Mr. Ping," Tigress bowed respectfully, "I would never want to disregard your training."

"Yeah, she can't help it if she's better than you at something."

"Shut it, Li Shan," Mr. Ping muttered. The bird looked at the bowing tiger and sighed with a smile. "Alright, enough of that," He said, lifting her head up. "I guess I'm just surprised how quickly you've learned this. And how you've taken it to a new level."

Tigress chuckled a bit at the memory. Just then, Monkey and Mantis swerved into the kitchen.

"Raiders at the panda section of the village!"

"Come on!" Po shouted. All of them bolted out and stormed to the scene.

The pandas moved into the Valley of Peace shortly after Po defeated Kai. The land was rich for farming and Li Shan decided it was best to come out of hiding since the danger was passed. Being next to the Jade Palace also helped with protection. A bit further towards the north, the wooden houses mirrored their past home. Amid the lake near the flatland, fog was frequent. This made it a bad combination for the pandas when the raiders tossed their flaming torches at the houses, breaking into homes left and right. "Get all the money you can find!" Shouted the lead raider, a hairy boar, to his comrades.

He was promptly knocked out by one of the pandas' fists. "That's for ruining my baby shower," huffed the female panda.

"Mei Mei!" Po shouted as the others ran into the fray. "Tigress, Tai Lung, close off the raiders at the north and east sides. That's the only way they can run from us minus the trees. Crane, Monkey, help the pandas put out those fires. We don't need fog AND smoke around. Mantis, Master Shifu, Viper, I need your help to protect the people here. Sound good?"

"Right," They all said and darted out.

The boar raiders, seeing the Kung Fu Masters, rushed for the northern exit, only to be blocked by a snow leopard cracking his stiff knuckles. "Time to get my joints loosened," Tai Lung smirked, launching at the escaping horde. Tigress fought off the raiders on the east side, ducking a mace and slamming her fist into its carrier. She leaped and smashed her foot through one of the shields, forcing the raider back. Flipping over, she kicked the other raider in the head before taking the rest down.

Crane and Monkey busily took bails and buckets of water from the lake, dumping them on the fires.

Po, Mantis, Viper, and Shifu fought off and secured all of the remaining raiders in the village. "Retreat!" Came the call.

"We have to help Tigress and Tai Lung!" Po said, "Finish them off!" So the four did as much as they could before the raiders found themselves pinned by the two felines.

Finally, as the sun slowly rose to its highest peak, the fog burned off. Monkey and Crane managed to get the fires under control while the others made sure the raiders were completely defeated and arrested. "Whew, that was close," Po groaned onto his butt, resting his back against some wooden house. Tai Lung and Tigress sat next to him while Shifu stood in front.

"That was great leadership, Po. I'm impressed."

"Don't sound too surprised," Po muttered with a tired grin.

The red panda smiled as he left to help the others with the damage. A group of villagers started to crowd around the Dragon Warrior, thanking him. Po sighed, got up, and attended to the masses. Tigress smiled as Viper and a friend slithered up to the two felines. "What's Po doing?" the snake asked.

"Just pleasing his adoring fans," Tai Lung sighed.

"Can you humbly handle being mobbed?" Tigress said.

"Fair point," the snow leopard looked at the person with Viper. "So you're Mei Mei. I just heard about you. Is your baby-"

"It's fine. None of the raiders touched me. Besides, my charms have gotten me out of a few nasty situations," The panda winked. The snow leopard gave a grimacing smile, glancing at a chuckling Tigress for a way out. They all looked at Po attending to the crowd only to hear Mei Mei sigh, "Ah, to think I had a crush on Po so long ago. I would've gone for him if he wasn't so difficult."

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked.

"Po's always been a little hard to read. Even when we first met. Of course, being bounced around by my ribbon skills doesn't really help."

"You mean like a ragdoll?" Tai Lung asked.

"No! I mean as a skilled acrobat!" Mei Mei huffed. The felines shared a smirk. "Anyways, it's hard to tell if Po is romantically interested in anyone."

"Really?" Tigress smiled in a bit of mocking disbelief.

"Po fangirls, but he doesn't do romantics. Can you remember a time when he wanted to be in a relationship with someone?" Mei Mei asked.

Tigress, Viper, and Tai Lung all looked at the ground before staring at each other. Two full minutes went by before they all collectively said, "Huh."

"Exactly."

Tai Lung got up. "Wait, wait, wait wait. Is that true? He must have had some romantic interests, right?"

"Women have been interested in Po, but it's hard to tell if he's romantically interested in them," Tigress explained.

"Okay, let's make a quick list," Viper suggested.

"Song, from the Ladies of the Shade?" Tigress asked.

"Po said... 'she made my heart go ouch.' but I don't think he really liked her like that."

"Lu-Shi, who was forced into a plot to marry Po?"

"Not... romantically. They just seemed like two fans of Kung Fu."

"Luthera, who traveled the world with him?"

"Definitely no romantic feelings," Viper muttered with a grimace, "Barely even friends at first. Sorry for the pun. But even when he was with Mama Yun, I... don't think there was ever a time where he was... lovestruck. From what the girls told me, he was awkward and shy at first, but not lovestruck. Besides, being awkward and shy the first time comes with Mama Yun's work. Po is more lovestruck over Kung Fu and food than relationships."

Tai Lung rubbed his head, "Would we know if he was romantically interested?"

The snake tilted her head and thought up at the clear sky. "I know Crane stumbles over his words, Monkey smiles a lot, Mantis is... bold and cocky, I get flustered and hum to myself, and Tigress gets-"

"The point is that if Po has a tell, he doesn't show it," Tigress interrupted, but the snake still smirked.

"And he's pretty oblivious to flirting," Mei Mei pointed out. "When we first met, I tried flirting with him, but he thought I was just being weird. Can you believe that!?"

"Yes," Tigress and Viper said.

"You're not supposed to!" Mei Mei huffed.

"Maybe he just likes being alone," Viper suggested.

"No, Po does get lonely. And if the Peach Tree incident is any indication, he does want to be around people," Tigress said grimly.

The snake sighed and nodded. But then she suddenly found herself smirking at Tigress. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"He seemed pretty... enamored when you did that split when he became Dragon Warrior."

Tigress glared and grumbled, crossing her arms. "But you can't say for sure if he had romantic feelings. Obviously, it's different now."

"I don't know, he looked very lovestruck to me."

"Viper."

"Just saying."

"We could just ask him," Tai Lung spoke up. "Nothing is preventing us."

"He would probably run away from the question unless..." Viper, Tai Lung, and Mei Mei turned their heads to Tigress.

The tiger simply stood on the staring block. "What?"

"You can coax answers out of the panda easier than most," Tai Lung said. "It would be problematic coming from any of us."

Tigress blinked several times before getting up from the ground. She glanced at the Dragon Warrior, still being swarmed by the crowds. She sighed. If Po was doing something to prevent himself from being in a loving relationship, it might be worth learning about. Po had punished himself before without anyone knowing, and he might be suffering for an illegitimate reason. Tigress just hoped that it wasn't a similar situation.

"I'll see what I can find," Tigress murmured as she walked away from the others.

Continued...