They take refuge from the downpour in a room of the inn that has been kindly offered for their use overnight, free of charge, as a reward upon saving the denizens of this distant little village.

Tigress sits as if in meditation, her upper body bare, adorned with stripes that curve harmoniously together, as if frozen whilst dancing over her muscular frame. She's built to be hard, unyielding, underneath velvet. Her training perfected what was already natural for her kind.

"You're gonna be okay," Po murmurs calmly, balanced on his knees before her, bolstering himself and his companion with a reassuring smile. It lights up his face, scuffed and muddied, a bruise forming on his brow. "I've got this, don't worry."

She says nothing, but she isn't silent due to any embarrassment. He doesn't make her feel uncomfortable in such a way. She's disturbed by the battle they narrowly won.

Those were no ordinary bandits.

It is obvious, now, that leaving without the remaining Five to attend to such a seemingly mundane matter was foolish of Tigress and Po. But this is the extent of the confidence they have in themselves and in each other.

Shifu will lecture his students fiercely once they return.

Po's green eyes are warm and friendly, with a depth to them that he is still growing into as the Dragon Warrior. "Ready?"

Tigress sighs, then mutters, "Ready," in a tired voice.

Slowly, he reaches for her.

Her eyes follow his paw. Such fiery intensity can still be unnerving, but her willingness to be vulnerable serves as a testament to how sincerely she trusts him.

Gently, he applies pressure to the gash in her powerful shoulder.

She doesn't flinch.

He has learned not to be squeamish, maintaining a brave countenance as blood seeps through, warm under his paw. He's tended to her wounds, before. But he hates seeing any of his friends hurt.

She is unbothered by her injury, losing focus on the dangerous bandits, instead contemplating how it's always different when they're alone, together. Without the chatter of the remaining Five, such things become strangely intimate.

"But your shoulder–"

"I'm fine. Turn around."

Po obediently revolves.

Tigress moves closer, bringing with her a strong herbal aroma, arousing a chain of shivers that have nothing to do with the heady balm but are entirely caused by her proximity.

He wonders if she can hear his racing heartbeat.

"I will probably hurt you. I'm sorry."

He bites his tongue as her paws, her primary weapons, settle over his back. Her touch is delightful, except for the predicted onset of pain.

"Sorry," she mutters, one of the rare times in which she repeats herself in so brief an instance, if at all.

"N-no, you're doing great! I'm just, uh…"

"Ticklish?" she asks mildly, her paws busy massaging balm into the place where a blow thankfully did not fully land. She is not disgusted by his layer of fat. She tries to remember the games she used to play with Shifu when he taught her to control and harness her immense strength. "You always use that same excuse."

"Do I?" Po turns his head this way and that, trying to see what Tigress is doing. "Really?"

"And you always react like this whenever I remind you." She smirks in her understated manner, bright eyes narrowed with concentration upon her task.

"Fine, so I'm predictable." He folds his heavyset arms, trying not to wiggle. "Then you already know my ticklishness is not an excuse! Not entirely!"

"Because feathers are your other greatest weakness, after stairs."

"See?" The panda squirms momentarily, again, despite trying so hard not to. He manages to keep his voice cheerful as he adds, "You should write my biography."

"That would be something." She already remembers what he'll say next, her smirk deepening. The routine helps alleviate the fact that she is hurting him, despite her efforts at helping him heal.

"Then again, maybe you shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"If a bad guy got hold of all that intel you've gathered on me over the years, then he'd know how to beat me for good, for sure. Or she. Whatever, you know way too much about me, dude. Seriously."

"And I will always feel so privileged."

"Also, please don't become a masseuse. Some people aren't as… ticklish… as I am."

"I have no intention of walking that path, I assure you."

After saying their goodbyes and accepting parcels of food and drink, the pair of warriors departs.

Tigress accepts grimly that she cannot gallop on all fours without genuinely risking her shoulder. So she jogs upright, moving at a fraction of her potential speed, pacing herself with huffing breaths. She remembers how she and the Five first came together. She was left behind, trying so hard to be Shifu, before she dared to defy her Master and embraced her animalistic nature.

Beside her, Po jogs, too, managing to hold most of the conversation.

They cover ground for much the day, then set up camp in a clearing amidst bamboo as the night falls.

After eating, Po reclines on his side, his back pressed to a cool rock. Abrasive, but numbing.

Tigress remains upright, eyes closed, as if she is already asleep.

He fondly studies her.

She can sense this, but she doesn't mind.

"You know…"

"Are you about to get sentimental?"

"Yeah."

"Alright."

"Even after knowing you and seeing you in action for all this time, you're still the same fresh sort of awesomeness, to me."

Her expression briefly falters, crumpling shyly, before reasserting itself as cool indifference. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior."

Contentedly, he closes his eyes, too, fading into dreams.

"Po?"

"Mmph. Ten… more minutes, dad."

"Po, it's me."

"I don't wanna go… to school."

"We're not going to school."

"Where… we goin'…?"

"To the Jade Palace." Tigress patiently taps his nose a few more times, drawing him further out of his sleep.

"To… Kung Fu?"

"That's right."

"Yay." Despite his admiration, he groans whilst stirring beneath her, opening his eyes tentatively in her shadow. "I love–"

Her face is the first thing he sees, circled by a backdrop of the soaring green bamboo shoots and shards of blue sky.

"Tigress," he whispers, awestruck.

She opens her mouth, closes it, then chuckles, faintly smiling, something affectionate in her defeat.

"Did I oversleep, again?"

"Yes. Only a little, this time."

"Oops. Well, morning, then."

"Good morning," she replies pleasantly.

For a while, they stare at each other.

"You smell nice."

She risks another defeat, but manages to control herself, as she usually does. "Get up, Dragon Warrior. We need to go."

"Oh. Right. Okay."

She helps him to sit, flecks of dirt falling from his injured back.

"Ow."

"You must've rolled over in your sleep."

"Guess so." He grits his teeth as her paw sweeps the dirt away in a single downward stroke, causing another chain of ripples in his flesh.

She acts like she didn't notice this. She acts like she doesn't notice many things such as this.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She moves her shoulder beneath the crude bandage, indicating no discomfort.

"Hard-core." He fondly punches her other arm, striking what feels like a solid wall covered with a very nice drapery. He whimpers.

They wish that there had been a goose villager willing to convey the message that the pair of warriors are to arrive later than expected. It would prevent worrying.

"I guess I could try running on all fours. Maybe you could sit on my back?"

"I'd tire you out, no offence."

Po isn't offended. Rather, he blushes rosily at the unintended innuendo.

Intrigued by his conspicuous hush, Tigress glances his way and frowns. "What?"

He helplessly giggles, vaulting alongside her, easily clearing a narrow break in the earth.

They are using a mountain pass as a shortcut.

"Did I say something funny?"

"Nah, you don't have a sense of humour."

She takes a playful swipe at his ear, her claws sheathed, missing him by a breath.

He increases his pace enough to move ahead, his giggles morphing into a boyish laugh that echoes.

"Very mature of you, Dragon Warrior. You'll cause a rockslide."

"You can't catch me! You can't–"

She easily returns to his side, taking his elbow in her paw.

"You caught me."

"Yes, now keep your voice down and mind the gap."

His blush remains bright, even as he winks at her. "So commanding."

She lets him go, scoffing.

Together they throw themselves over a wider fissure, bodies arching at their height of their leap.

By evening, after having both students tended to by a proper doctor, Shifu does lecture them. But it is a succinct enough lecture, underpinned with thankfulness at their safe, albeit tardy return and his worry over their report of the unusually skilled bandits. His piercing blue eyes leave the most impact upon dismissal.

"Don't tell the guys I said this," Po whispers to Tigress on their way out, "but we're definitely his favourites."

"Uh-huh."

"Aw, don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Cranky."

"Perhaps I prefer being this way."

"No way! I mean, you can be a bit surly, sometimes, but we just had an adventure! Sang a few songs–"

"There was no singing."

"Whatever, we bonded and stuff. You can't be cranky. Not after that!"

"Eloquent, as always.

"Hey. You have to be a bit nicer to me from now on."

"Why?"

"Um. 'Cause our relationship has… developed."

"Mm. Forgive me. I get 'cranky' when I'm tired and in need of a bath."

"Dude, same. I am itchy all over!"

"With that said." Some comic excuse for a bow. "Excuse me, Dragon Warrior, but I'm leaving, now."

"You know," the panda says with some volume as his friend parts from him with a swish to her tail, drawing his eyes to her subtly shapely backside, causing him to stumble over his next words, "my title loses a lot of its importance when you use it sarcastically!"

"Later, Po."

"No matter how hard we bond, you still aren't as nice to me as your action figure!" He sets his hands on his hips, realising the unintended innuendo only when she casts a smirk at him from over her bandaged shoulder.

She is not flirtatious whilst doing so. Not exactly. It's deliberately hard to tell. She looks ahead again almost as suddenly, as if to yank his heart out of his chest with the motion.

He reaches for his bosom. "At least your action figure didn't mock me for real. In my imagination, sure, but that's different."

The real Tigress doesn't hear, because her friend's words were whispered and got lost in the cool breeze, her departing figure cutting an invincible shape in the dim.

"So awesome…"