Safe and Sound

This is a sort of continuation of my last story, Never Again, but you don't have to read it because this story can stand on its own just fine. This is my second fanfic and hopefully my summary this time made more of you decide to read this.

A/N: I fixed some obvious errors that I didn't catch before I first published this.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KUNG FU PANDA or KUNG FU PANDA 2

It had only been a few days since the defeat of Shen and all of Gongmen City was rejoicing. Each night there would be a beautiful display of why the city was so prosperous, the night sky being lit up in all different colors as they set off hundreds of their famed fireworks. Everyone, especially the Furious Five and the famed Dragon Warrior, enjoyed the display greatly.

Well, almost all of them.

There was one lone warrior of the famed Furious Five who would shudder each time the distant bang of each firework reached her ears. The sound bringing up horrible memories that she knew would plague her for some time to come.

This warrior was arguably the fiercest of all the famed warriors. She was unbreakable, in both spirit and body. At least, that's what everyone thought. This warrior's name is Tigress, the leader of the Furious Five.

Her past experience with the beautiful symbols of celebration was not a kind one. The dazzling lights that danced in the sky invaded her dreams, blinding her with their colors as they passed mere inches from her muzzle. And each cry of joy from the citizens of the city morphed into the terrified screams of her closest friend as he disappears into the sky, lost forever while she was helpless to prevent it.

They were supposed to be a symbol of joy and peace, but to her they symbolized horror and destruction.

"NO!" Tigress screamed as she rushed towards where her friend stood, helpless to stop what she knew was coming. "PO!" She screamed again when the shot was fired, but instead of screaming in fright as Po originally had he turned to face her.

"You're a monster!" He snarled. The angry curl of his lips and his jade eyes dancing with fury made her halt in her tracks. "You could've saved me!"

"Po, I-I tried!" Tigress whimpered.

"Not hard enough!" He shouted and turned in time to be struck in the stomach by the zen ball.

"Po!" She screamed and made to lunge for him but found she was rooted to the spot. She watched as her friend was once again shot into the sky, but this time instead of him merely being blown miles away in the darkness, an explosion went off.

Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the firework go off, it's color blood red. Then everything faded into darkness. She trembled in terror and whimpered, totally alone in this black abyss. There was nothing; at least, not for long.

Tigress screamed when a sudden explosion went off before her eyes. Her immobile body being forced to endure the familiar agony she had foregone not days before. Her body was burning, her fur set ablaze by the fire rushing towards her. She let out another yowl of pain when she felt her bones crack and break under the force of the blast, and then her ears were assaulted by the pained screams of her friends.

She tried closing her eyes but found she couldn't and was forced to watch as each and every one of her comrades was reduced to ashes because she failed to protect them.

"You failed!" Their tortured voices all seemed to converge; making one voice that hurt her ears with the magnitude of pain and anger laced in it.

"The mighty Master Tigress? Ha! There's nothing mighty about you. You are just a sad, scared little cub. You are a monster! You should've just stayed in that orphanage, and then none of this would've happened!"

Tears sprung to Tigress' eyes. They were right. She should've just refused Shifu when he came to adopt her. She should've showed him her true nature, she was a tiger. Her kind wasn't meant to protect the weak; they were meant to prey on them.

She gasped when Po suddenly appeared in front of her; the angry snarl still on his face as he leaned down towards her. "You never cared." He hissed into her ear, "All you ever cared about was your precious dragon scroll. Nothing else mattered. You are just like Tai Lung." He raised a paw and slammed it across her face then disappeared, leaving her to suffer and burn.

Tigress' eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly, wincing as she disturbed her injured chest with the sudden movement. Why did her dreams have to be plagued with nightmares? She took in a shaky breath and threw the covers aside and made her way to the balcony her room connected to.

The cool night air swept through her fur and she sighed in relief as it soothed her heated skin. The city was bathed in moonlight, giving everything a silvery glow as it danced across the rooftops below her. It was a beautiful sight, but her eyes saw nothing but her nightmare. She tried to block the images by closing her eyes but it only made the images more vivid. She sighed as she realized she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that night.

Tigress' ear twitched as she heard someone hesitate outside her door before they quietly opened it and slipped inside. A smile tugged at her lips when she recognized the lumbering footsteps as her friend tried not to disturb her, but he was failing horribly. It wasn't in his nature to be stealthy even though he tried.

He must have seen her tail twitch as it always did when she was amused because he stopped trying to be sneaky and started walking normally towards her, but he still kept his footsteps as light as he could for the sake of the residents below her room.

He came to stand beside her and Tigress finally let a smile through as she turned her head to look at him. "I don't remember giving you permission to enter my room you know." She teased while raising a brow.

Po shrugged and gave her a smile of his own, "Nor do I the past few nights."

Tigress blushed and blinked in surprise at being caught, "Sorry." She spoke sheepishly. His resulting chuckle only made her more embarrassed.

"So, what's on your mind?" Po asked as he turned around to rest his back against the railing while crossing his arms.

She smirked, "Right now I'm thinking about how long that railing is going to last before I have to rescue you."

The panda pouted, "That was mean." He whined half-heartedly because he knew she didn't really mean it.

"Aww, you know I'm just teasing you." She laughed when he moved from the railing to leaning on the wall.

"Better?"

"Much." She grinned and turned to face him as she leaned on the railing, "So what made you decide to invade my room in the middle of the night? Is it 'awesome' to watch me sleep?"

He raised a paw to his chin and feigned thinking, "Well I always did wonder if you purr when you sleep."

Tigress raised a brow and spoke challengingly, "I do not purr in my sleep."

Po shrugged, "I don't know, it is a possibility with you being a cat and all."

She growled, "I'm a tiger not a cat."

"Ah, but you are a type of cat. You're just more ferocious."

Tigress froze and her eyes widened slightly at his comment. She crossed her arms and looked away from him, the memories of her nightmare coming back full force. This did not go unnoticed by the panda and he moved to stand in front of her.

"What's wrong?" His voice was serious, making her wince and refuse to look at him, her fear of seeing that terrible snarl and furious eyes prevented her from doing so.

She wanted to say nothing was wrong, but she was a terrible liar, and he knew it. Finally she sighed and gave in, "Nightmares." She spoke simply.

"Talking about it might make you feel better." He stated, all seriousness gone and a gentle, caring voice replacing it.

The once courageous tiger felt tears spring to her eyes and she turned to face the city. She didn't want him to see her cry. Even if it was only Po, she hated looking weak. Her days in the orphanage and her kung fu training taught her to never show weakness or people would exploit it ruthlessly.

She gasped and stiffened when a pair of large arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her into a warm body in a backwards hug. Tigress felt him tense as he waited for her to inflict bodily pain upon him but she decided not to. It was an odd feeling to be wrapped up in someone's arms. She felt safe, as if he could protect her from anything in just that moment.

She leaned back into his body and relaxed, feeling him do the same as he merely held her. His warmth lulled her into a sense of security she had not felt for over twenty years. Her paws rested on his and she let out another sigh.

"I don't want to burden you, it's not very pleasant." Tigress whispered.

Po's chest rumbled as he chuckled, "That is why they are called nightmares."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Settling herself closer into his warm fur she told him all about her nightmare. She tried to leave out as many details as she could but found that once she started speaking, they were hard to contain.

By the end of it she was on the verge of tears. Po was tensed behind her with his arms gripping her tightly to him, she felt him shaking. "Po?" She gasped when she was swiftly spun around and her face was pressed into his chest as he held her close.

"Stop fighting it Tigress." He whispered gently into her ear. "Let it out." And finally she did. Her fingers curled into his fur tightly as she sobbed. Years of holding back tears suddenly gushed forth as her carefully built walls crumbled under his gentle prodding.

To her it felt like hours before she finally stopped crying. The result of letting all the pain she endured over the years was physically and mentally exhausting. She was now clinging to Po for balance as she fought to keep her eyes open.

Through half lidded eyes she watched as her friend looked down at her with a sad smile upon his lips. He was sad that she had gone through so much in her short life but he was also happy that she had finally let some of it go. He leaned back enough to encourage her to lift her head and their eyes locked.

Her amber orbs were clouded with hurt and he wanted nothing more than to take it all away. She was his idol, one of his closest friends, and he cared about her deeply. To see her like this was worse than any physical blow he'd ever received.

Po lifted a paw and cupped her face gently but was confused when she winced at his touch. "Did I hurt you?" He whispered and when she didn't respond he remembered her nightmare, "Was this the cheek?" She looked away and he smiled sadly. His thumb ran across her fur and he couldn't help but wonder how she could ever think he would hurt her like that.

Without thinking, he removed his paw and leaned down towards her.

Tigress froze in shock when she felt a pair of warm lips press against her cheek. Her eyes flew back to Po who was standing there looking as surprised as she felt. She couldn't help but smile at how nervous he looked. He must have been afraid she was going to claw his nose but instead she pressed her muzzle into his chest again.

She felt him relax and let out a breath of relief. Her eyes slowly started to drift shut when she was suddenly airborne and clinging to his neck in surprise. She looked to him to see a small smile on his face as he met her eyes.

"You were falling asleep on me." Po teased lightly, making her fur heat up in embarrassment.

"Sorry." Tigress mumbled shyly.

"Haha, don't be. It's nice to know that my fat is good for something."

Tigress growled, "You are not fat." He raised an eyebrow, "You're just…fluffy." She blushed.

"I'm…fluffy." He spoke it as a confused statement. "Well, I haven't heard that one yet." He gave her a small smile but she could see the sadness in his eyes.

Rolling hers she buried her muzzle in his neck, "I meant your fur is fluffy." She started to drift off again and let out a large yawn. "You know, you make a good blanket and pillow."

"How am I a blanket?" Po asked, even more confused than before.

"You're just…really warm." Tigress slurred, already half-way to dreamland. She had never felt more comfortable than she did in his arms, much to her surprise. The beds that the city had provided in gratitude were large and incredibly comfortable but Po's warmth and soft fur was even more so. "Stay with me?" She whispered shyly.

Po stopped and stared down at her like she was insane. "Shifu will kill me if I do."

Tigress yawned again, "I'll protect you." She slurred again, making him laugh.

"My hero."

"Well you seem to believe that on a daily basis with your talk of how awesome we are." She paused, "Plus, you have action figures of us and your dad and you have let it slip more than once exactly how much you loved the Furious Five as a cub." Tigress grinned as she teased him.

"I…well…you…!" Po groaned, "Not fair."

Tigress chuckled, "So…" She prompted.

"So what?" She blanched and stared at him with at 'Really?' look. "Oh! Yeah, but you better be good on your promise of protection."

"I promise." Tigress sighed and scooted over to allow room on her bed for him after she was finally set down.

Po grabbed the blanket and pulled it over them both, encasing them in a cocoon of warmth as their body heat mingled beneath the sheets, causing them both to become drowsy almost instantly.

"Heh, your bed is a lot more comfortable than mine." He laughed as she rolled over to rest her head on his chest.

"Meh, you're better."

Po blushed and wrapped his arm around her waist. "If you say so. Goodnight, Tigress."

"'night Po." And she let herself slowly drift off before she felt his hand start running down her spine. "What are you—?"

He hushed her and continued to stroke her back. "My dad used to do this for me whenever I woke up from nightmares. It always put me out like a light in no time."

Tigress rolled her eyes, "Yeah…right…you just want…an excuse…to…touch…" And suddenly, without her consent, her chest rumbled in a content purr before she finally gave in to sleep, feeling warm and…loved for the first time in a long time.

Again, totally not what I was trying to do. The story just took a life of its own and I just couldn't bear to change it so it could have what I originally intended. Ah well, I think it's kind of cute, so if any of you flame me then you are off your tree in my opinion. R&R please