She knew where she was going – more importantly, she knew where he was going.

Whatever he was running off of, it made him incredibly fast, perhaps so fast that it was no surprise that Tigress had lost his shadow not too long ago, and his actual figure in the crowd due to everyone closing the gap between her and him long before then. If she had not known where he was going, perhaps she would be more worried, but she had to give herself a minute to breath after was able to get the crowd to realize that it was Master Tigress they were blocking and eventually make up for the ground she had lost, the exhaustion that was hitting her coming from not only the weariness of today, but how tired she really was catching up with her due to yesterday's events and time before that which accumulated to now.

If it were up to her, she would have kept yesterday a secret – that was the whole reason why it was supposed to have been a secret in the first place. However, it was anything but a secret between herself and a close friend of hers that had witnessed the endeavor at the time of its occurrence.

The clouds were dark, but so were her eyes.
It was raining, but so were the tears that were falling from her face.
It had been a whole week since it had been made known that the Dragon Warrior had purposed to his beloved. What made it worse was that she had said yes. The only thing that could possibly top it off was the fact that it wasn't her.

Then again, she wasn't the one who had been courting Po for a whole month. If she didn't know what she knew about the matter now, perhaps she would have stopped them and none of this would be happening. Maybe if she had opened her big mouth, like she was accustom to doing concerning Po, none of this would be going on.

However… this was something decided long before Po was born… In fact, it was something decided before she was even thought about by her parents, unless of course she was already growing in her mother's womb at the time. It wasn't as if she would know beforehand what song her heartstrings would be playing, much less during her infancy. She was a master of Kung-Fu, not an immortal.

Although, maybe the panda gave her too much credit for certain things, like being very hardcore.

Yes, she was hardcore, but she also had limits. The enemies that Po took on alone were prime examples of her limit. It was a pain for her enemies to get her there, but she still had limits. If she had such a god-hood state, like some people gave her credit for, then maybe the world would be different.

One thing different would likely be the idea of having a certain panda by her side, but only if he really wanted to.

That was the thing – he didn't want to be by her side. If he did, he wouldn't have been courting Mei-Mei and following the traditions set before his own time.

So there was only one way to work out these feelings, and had been gone from the Jade Palace whenever she could during Po's courtship.

No one was supposed to know, and for the longest time, no one did, but as she was so close to getting rid of what was waging war on the inside of her, someone had discovered.

Yes, she wasn't there when she was going it, but it was strange going out to train in the pouring rain, punching the Iron-wood trees and skipping meals in the name of meditation. She didn't have to tell anyone why she was meditating, some too scared to ask, but as long as she was able to get Shifu's approval, that's all that mattered.

She didn't even have to tell Shifu why she was meditating.

Tigress just had to go somewhere – let it all out without taking out on the one person she knew would hear her out. For the first time in a whole, she had to talk to someone or something that wouldn't talk back. It wasn't as soft, but it was the next alternative.

She couldn't tell anyone why she was doing this, especially Po.

By the time she was into the 'training', she had already broken one of the Iron-wood trees. It was funny how something so hard could break so easily if you hit it hard enough or did it the right way.

Tigress was just like the Iron-wood tree, and not an exception to being broken.

She was even at the second tree when she started to cry. Knowing she was alone, she let the tears fall as fast as the rain was soaking her fur, but audible sobs were foreign to her, so she just let the pain through the means of growling.

Not all of it was out by the time she broke that tree too.

Anger and frustration came out of her mouth like a sigh, turning away from the second tree that was broken before her, she turned to the first tree that had been broken and sat on it, due to the fact that so much of her pain was put into it that it actually fell over.

The second tree was battered, but it had not tipped over.

That didn't change the fact how she was feeling, covering her face with her bruised paws.

"How long are you going to keep doing this?"

She glanced up at a tree that had not been touched yet – it was Viper.

"As long as I need to."

"You know this is crazy, right?"

"Where are you going with this, Viper?"

"Why aren't you going to tell him?"

"You know why I can't say anything – they're betrothed!"

"Maybe he'll change his mind if you say something!"

"I can't, Viper – dishonoring his family's wishes is-"

"-'Is what', Tigress? Look, I understand that you want to follow tradition, but marriage is a one-time thing and binding for life! Once he's married, that's it – you can't tell him then."

"Do you think I don't know that? Besides, Po's happiness is far more important than my own."

Tigress looked down at the ground.

"His happiness is far more important than mine. Ever since he defeated Tai-Lung, I've done what I could to support him – I don't see why today is any different."

"Tigress, today is different, and not just because of the marriage! Why can't you just admit that you're in love with him?"

She decided to take onto all fours for better speed in order to find Po, but the words from before continued to ring in her mind, especially what she had said to Viper that evening.

Tigress had hugged her in appreciation, knowing all too well that Viper was just trying to be supportive of her. She did appreciate it, as one friend would do another, but she knew that if she were to be remotely happy for Po's betrothal to Mei-Mei, then she would have to put her feelings as far away from herself as possible.

Even if it hurt like hell for just a moment, Po's eternal happiness was more important for a lifetime.

It was from this that she could find genuine happiness at the thought of Po being married to another. It took a long time for her to come to grips with it, but that night made it clear, and she knew that she could be there by Po's side to see him become a husband (even if it wasn't her husband), just like how a strong wind was all clouds needed to move the rain away.

After all, all of the inner turmoil she released into the void, she did for him.

It was the whole reason she was going where she knew he would be right now. Whatever her body, mind, and soul were capable of doing, Tigress would do everything to make sure he was okay.

Before now, Tigress had consistently proved her point – from trying to knock some sense into Po to running halfway across China just to warn him. Today was no different – she needed to be there for him not just because she wanted to, but because she knew that he needed her.

After just walking out on his bride, he must be devastated. If anything, he'd probably be worse. All the more reason to find him as soon as possible – just to make sure he didn't do anything reckless.

It was as if her feelings of respect turned into friendship, which now became this pool of uncertain feelings. When she found out it was love, she had set up a barrier taller than the heavens and wider than the wall of China around her already hard heart – she would even dare say that there might have been more than one barrier. It was this same barrier (or set of barriers) that pushed down thoughts that almost seemed foreign – a hope that maybe she still had a chance with him.

She mentally slapped herself for thinking that – this wasn't about her – it was never about her – this was about Po, and relief swept over her as she came to the destination, even more relieved that Po as actually there.

However, as she slowly approached him, she took notice that there was no bamboo bent or split in half, which told her that he wasn't trying to hurt himself, or at least had not done so already. Then again, that almost made her worry more because of the fact that he was just sitting there on the large log that had been placed near the waterfall long before Po or Tigress had discovered it, perfect for just sitting down and thinking deep within the bamboo forest.

It wasn't too far from where Po had just thrown up earlier, but now it was Tigress that was feeling sick in the stomach – not from being nervous, but from how hurt she was seeing her friend like this.

Her heart felt worse, but she sucked up the pain and boldly went over to her friend, speaking up as she did so.

"Po?"

He shot up his head and looked over at Tigress as she approached him, not really unlocking his gaze off of her as she went over to his side and sat on the log over on his left. Once she sat down next to her friend, she breathed deeply, taking in the view of the waterfall (which was quite beautiful for such a place), trying not to lose her cool because Po was looking intently at her. After all, she had to do her best to be strong.

"Are you alright?"

It was a silly question, but it was the only way that she could think about starting the conversation. She was worried, so why try to hide it? Anyone who was there would have been worried about him. In fact, anyone who wasn't there at the waterfall was worried about them like Tigress was right now.

The only thing that they were unaware of was the fact that Po had been crying, and it didn't take long for Tigress to realize this when she saw his eyes – they were puffy and they were still wet because of the tears that were still flowing from his eyes.

In the best sense, Po looked as hurt as Tigress ifelt/i. However, Po was also feeling the same way Tigress was feeling – maybe even worse.

"Po…"

Without another word, Po leaned his much bigger body against the strong arms of the female tiger. Remembering all too well that this was the same way that he had hugged her after the defeat of Lord Shen (the only difference being that he was hugging her around the waist and his head was on her shoulder), she hugged the distraught panda back around and over his shoulders, as if to protect him from the pain he was suffering.

If only the source of his pain was an individual – Tigress could just beat the living shit out of him (or her) and just be done with it.

However, today wasn't as easy – Po was fighting against himself, and this particular situation did not need a training session. He needed someone that would allow him to put his shoulder on and cry his heart out. He needed someone that wouldn't care how hard he sobbed, how many tears were left on their shoulder, or how long it took to let it all out – after all, the waterfall was doing a good job at muffling any of the heart-wrenching sobs he was making.

The only person who heard the painful song was Tigress.
The only person who was hugging him right now was Tigress.
In fact, if he could audibly say so, the only person Po felt that he really needed right now was Tigress.

There was more he wanted to say other than that, but he was just internally relieved that he could pour out all of his pain in front of her and not be judged. He had been crying so hard, that he actually started to hold onto the female tiger to make sure that the tears didn't drown out his consciousness. Tigress felt Po's paws holding on to her even tighter, and responded by having a more firm hold on Po.

She did what she could to be gentle though: she didn't want to break his shoulders on the account of her great strength.

"I'm here Po," she said gently, placing her left cheek on his head as she rubbed his back as softly as she knew how, "And don't worry: I'm not going anywhere."

"Please don't," pleaded the mighty fallen Dragon Warrior, making Tigress' heart skip a beat, "Just… don't go…"

Po knew that she wasn't going anywhere, and Tigress didn't want to, so the fact that Po pleaded anyway made her worry about him even more. The Dragon Warrior couldn't see his tiger friend, but anyone who could have saw the pain in her eyes, and those who would look hard enough could see the small tears that were forming on either side of her face.

She didn't like seeing him like this: it was perfectly normal, but she didn't like seeing him like this. Tigress had to be his stone tower while he was sobbing against her, even if the sensitive parts of her were tearing apart.

Tigress wanted to say something, but it was honestly hard to come up with something to say as Po's sobs pass into the day and the warmth of the sun added extra comfort to the distraught couple.

It wasn't until he sighed that Tigress believed that he might be remotely okay. Okay might have been an overstatement, but that was the only word that came to Tigress' mind that indicated that Po might be ready to talk.

Tigress felt even worse when she heard him hiccup – it must've been really bad for those to choke out.

Nonetheless, Tigress was patient with her friend as she got up and helped Po do the same thing, leading him to the waterfall that had put a barrier between him and Tigress from the outside word from ever hearing whatever feelings reached his lips in audible form. Sure, this wasn't the way she had hoped to be holding Po's paw, but she admitted to herself that it did feel nice (the irony of the matter being that she couldn't feel anything in her paws in the first place, continuing to focus on the panda as he took a drink from the constantly running water provided by mother nature herself.

Yes, the water was fresh – Po found that out by accident a long time ago, when they had first discovered the place. It later became a sanctuary for Po when he didn't want his feelings seen by others. Tigress, like now, had followed him to this remote area after one of their more horrible fights. That was actually the first time she had seen the panda cry, but each time hurt just as much, or more, than before.

Once Po had his fill of the flowing water, he gasped a little to suck in more air through his now moisturized lips, feeling better after mentally composing himself. Then again, there were likely bags under his tired eyes, and from his expression, he still felt horrible. He could've eaten the bamboo around them, but because he didn't make a remark about being hungry after just crying, Tigress came to the conclusion that Po was more than just sad – he was worried.

He hated it when he was upset, and ate to his heart's content when it was feeling just so, but he performed the exact opposite whenever he was worried.

"I couldn't do it."

Well, that answered Tigress' question – and this time, she didn't even have to ask. That told the tiger master that the Dragon Warrior, in his weakened, defeated state, was willing to talk.

"'Couldn't do' what, Po?" she asked gently.

"You saw how I lost it in there," Po said, "I couldn't marry Mei-Mei."

"You didn't seem lost to me," Tigress said, "Your reasons that you said at the alter weren't crazy at all."

"But I made Mei-Mei expect something that I didn't want to do," Po protested, "It was a forced engagement – I couldn't go through with it."

"But you didn't completely go through with it in the end," Tigress said, hoping to comfort him, "…So why didn't you?"

"I already explained that at the altar – I couldn't marry because I had found happiness."

"Elaborate."

Po looked up at Tigress, since he had been looking down at his refection this whole time. He wanted to say something, but he thought it might have been obvious when he told everyone – apparently he was wrong.

"…When I said that I had found happiness," Po said, looking back down at the water, "I meant that I was in love with someone else."

"If you loved this significant other so much, why did you go through with it?"

"I thought maybe I could get over how I felt about the significant other, but I didn't because I couldn't: I just cared too much about her."

"And who is she?"

Po chuckled a little.

"What is this, a confession moment?"

"I'm serious, Po, I can keep it a secret from her until you're ready – it's just us."

"See… that's the thing… Putting it that way, then I couldn't tell you then because if you kept it a secret, she would already know… and that's because the girl I like is already here."

It didn't take long for Tigress to process that information, and realization immediately dawned on her as she thought about what Po had just said. If she couldn't keep it a secret because the girl he liked would already know, and because it was just them, then that would mean…

She felt a twinge in her heart, like a secret door that went through all of the barriers she put up around her heart. A strange, surprised, happy feeling, but while she figured out really quick who he was talking about, accepting it was a completely different game.

"Po…" she said, her tone half flattered and half confused, "You don't possibly mean…?"

He nodded.

"Then… you refused to get married because…?"

He nodded, his eyes closing tightly before sighing.

"Why couldn't you tell me this before?"

"I don't know," he admitted, looking away, "I kept making up one excuse after another about why I couldn't tell you – the fact we're friends, or maybe you weren't even looking… or maybe that we're both different species… but the excuse of getting married to someone else took the cake and ate it…"

He sighed.

"I realized that the more excuses that I was making to not say anything, the harder it was to keep it in. I didn't want to hurt you, Tigress, really I didn't, but liking someone is one thing… being in love is something completely different… and… and I almost lost that.

When I realized that I was about to lose that… I didn't want my heart to keep beating… not when I couldn't have you in my life."

"Po… I'll always be here…"

"But you wouldn't be with me… that's the part that hurts most of all."

Man, he had it bad, and just from the words that Po spoke, she had an idea of just how much Po liked her. While she did understand the excuses, she also grasped that there was an even bigger excuse that was bigger and more extreme than him going as far as getting married to someone else.

That excuse was fear, and Tigress knew it all too well – she grew up with it.

Pain cringed in her chest at the thought of Po being scared of her, regardless if it was genuine fear or the feelings he just confessed to. Nonetheless, she did her best to understand this from the perspective of the panda. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was as if fear scared him away from making vows he probably would never mean. Yes, Mei-Mei wasn't bad, and neither was Po, but they both deserved better – both deserved to find happiness, just like what Po said.

Thus, the very fact that she was responsible for Po's happiness gave her a warm feeling inside that she wasn't accustom too. It made her incredibly happy, but Po didn't know that.

In fact, no one knew except Viper, but that wasn't fair for Po, especially after confessing how happy she made him.

A smile began to form on her face as she let those feelings that were reaching out to her sink into her heart, breaking many of the barriers that were intended to keep feelings out. Then again, it's not like she needed them anymore. It would take time, but what was important right now was that Po loved her, and that was enough.

Reaching out, she extended her paw to reach for the cheek farthest away from her that belonged to Po, slowly, and carefully, she turned his head, giving a sense that she was in control (especially now since she needed to give him an answer) while not trying to do it so hard that she would scare the poor panda away.

After all, she needed to remain still in order to do what she was about to do.

Tigress remembered for a moment about a conversation she and Po had some time ago. They were watching the sunset and remembered that Po had made a really interesting remark about her eyes. "Sunset Eyes" he had said that fateful day, primarily because of how her eyes were red and yellow, and even illuminated a bit in the darkness, which never really had full affect until the sun had completely hidden itself under the horizon. It was an interesting gesture, but she would have a hard time forgetting how Po gave her such an affectionate nickname.

While his eyes were the color of jade, it would have not been appropriate to call him "Jaded Eyes", for such a term implied that he was always tired, and it would have been obvious through the windows of his soul. However, he was never always tired, but today seemed to have been a rarity, for he did look rather jaded in the eyes not because of the color, but because of the crying he had just did not too long ago.

She was not sure if she could prevent him from ever crying again, but she hoped that maybe her feelings could reach to him as she put her other paw on his other cheek that didn't have one since he was looking straight into her eyes now.

His eyes widened even more as Tigress closed her sunset eyes leaned in towards Po, moving his head a little to reach for his lips and lock them with her own.

Po really wanted to smack himself now – just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
Then again, the kiss seemed pretty real to him, and regardless if he was dreaming (maybe passing out during the altar scene and everyone freaking out on him), or not, one thing seemed pretty certain – he would have a hard time forgetting this.

Even as the lips that kissed him parted, he seemed to be like a statue for a short time, caught in a state of something sweet that he almost forgot. Tigress seemed patient as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her, a rare smile striking across her face.

He wasn't dreaming.

Still, he wanted to be sure.

He was just about to do it to, but as he was raising his paw to smack himself across the face, the reflexes belonging to the master of the tiger style beat him, grabbing his paw with a very firm hold and a light cross look forming on her face.

"I can assure you, Po," Tigress said, "All of this is very much real, and that you're not passed out at the altar with all of us wondering if you're okay."

"You know…" Po said thoughtfully, lowering his paw, "That's almost the same thing the Tigress in my dreams would say."

She laughed a little, lightly punching him in the shoulder, only doing it hard enough so she wouldn't hurt him.

For a moment, they looked at the water, but in all honesty, neither of them wanted to stay like this.

"Hey…" Po finally spoke up, "Thanks for talking me out of it."

"I talked you out of getting married?"

"Yeah… do you remember when we were on the boat to go fight Shen?"

"I do."

"Well, I know that you meant it for another situation, but I kept remembering you asking me why I was there. It made me realize that I was there because I had to be – not because I wanted to be."

"Would you want to be there if we got married?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course!"

Both laughed some, and it did Tigress' heart good to see him laugh again, it almost made her blush, which is the whole reason why she looked away.

"So… um…"

His voice compelled her to look back at him.

"…Now that we both know how we fell about each other… would it be weird to… I don't know… ask for another kiss?"

Affectionate and gentlemen-like – those are traits she could live with.

As she leaned in to give him the kiss he had asked for, he groaned in disappointment, earning a rather puzzled look from Tigress.

"Oh man…" Po groaned, emphasizing the vowel of the last word, "How are we going to explain to everyone about this?"

"Po," Tigress said, turning his head back to her, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now, I'd highly appreciate it if you just enjoyed the moment."

Now that she learned from Po, which earned Tigress a smile from her panda.

"So would you consider courtship with me then?"

Tigress smiled, leaning into Po as their foreheads connected.

She would have made a smart remark about not having to ponder about it anymore, but she didn't want to kill the moment – she had come to enjoy this newfound serenity with Po too much. After all, she knew what he had meant when he asked about considering.

"I'd be honored, Po, but I believe the more modern term is 'dating' and 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend'."

That too she also learned from Po – that didn't mean she couldn't get a smart remark into the moment they were sharing together. Besides, Po laughed anyway, yet didn't break the connection of their foreheads as the sunset gazed into bright jade, tiger paws touching the face of her dumpling as panda paws caressed the cheeks of his lover. However, what idid/i break the connection was the desire of the other's lips as they locked them together into another kiss. The only difference was that Tigress had moved her arms to hug around his neck as Po answered with a gentle hug around her waist, both sharing each other's warmth that neither wanted to end or let go.

Perhaps they were too deep into the moment, as normally they would be able to detect the presence of others around them. However, they were oblivious to the five pairs of eyes that were observing them from a great distance, yet just close enough to tell it was Po and Tigress.

"Man," Mantis said, who recovered his spot on Monkey's head, "How in the world are we going to explain this to everyone?"

"I don't know," Monkey replied, "But the bride seemed okay with how everything went. Maybe everyone won't be so hard on Po and Tigress because of that."

"I'm just glad that Tigress' feelings reached Po," Viper said, "I was surprised she was even okay with going through it, much less be there to see him get married to another."

"What's important now is that Po has given himself a chance with happiness," Shifu said, earning surprised looks from his students, "After all, he did say so himself that everyone deserves a chance to be happy, even if it didn't come through betrothal. And from the look of things, Tigress has given herself a chance with happiness as well."

"Master Shifu," Crane asked, "Are you really okay with Po and Tigress being together?"

"If I had been the me I was before I met the panda," Shifu replied with honesty, "Perhaps I would have asked you all to personally send me to Chorh-gom Prison."

Mantis and Monkey laughed a little at that, but Shifu continued.

"But Po has grown up a lot ever since I met him – from just learning Kung-Fu to even helping me find inner peace, and for that, I'm grateful."

His gaze turned away from Crane to look back at the newfound couple, whom were holding paws, touching foreheads, and looking into each others eyes.

"But if there is one thing that he has taught me, it was believing in what is inside your heart. I have always been a person who went by logic and reason, but there are just some things you can't use logic for – love is such a thing…

And I believe that Po needed to go through great extents to remind himself of that, which is why he was there. Now that he understands, he is there, and after showing me what potential he has, I cannot be more proud of Po for doing the right thing and Tigress for believing in him."

He gave his other students one last look before smiling before walking off.

"We all need a little more happiness in this world."

The legendary red panda could not be closer to the truth when he said those things, and it was sensible why he was happy for Po and Tigress – they had found a bit more happiness in each other, and it was likely that they had found the rest of the happiness they were searching for.

After all, that's why they where here.

...but why I'm here is because I love you.

Where I'm going is without you

Why I'm going is uncertain

Why I was there: for reasons I couldn't handle

but why I'm here is because I love you

Where I was going was away from my heart

Why I went was insanity to me

Why I was there lead me to run

and why I'm here is because I love you.

So what am I really doing out here?

I'm here because I love you.

Artists Comments:

So now for the answer you've all been waiting for.

Those words at the bottom of the pages for each chapter were part of the poem you see above. Yes, I wrote that poem myself, and I'm actually proud of it too - it's not everyday that I get enough feels for a poem. Can you believe it's been years since I wrote one? Oh well.

On another note, thanks for reading all the way to the end, and I hope you enjoyed.

May God's love, grace, and mercy be with us all.