Tigress wandered around the Jade Palace, bored out of her mind. Master Shifu had given The Furious Five and The Dragon Warrior the weekend to rest, since they were pretty exhausted from their fight against Lord Shen, only about a week ago. The rest of The Five had gone off into the village to enjoy their time off, but Tigress stayed in the Jade Palace. She didn't feel like going into public, feeling the way she did. She wasn't necessarily sick, but she did not feel like herself. Ever since she and Po had argued at the jail back in Gongmen City, where the unexpected hug had occurred, she had felt all warm and fuzzy inside whenever she was around Po. Lately she had been avoiding him, trying to keep the awkward, uncomfortable feelings away. This concerned Po though. Over the years, he and his favorite feline master had become close friends. They had spent a lot of time together training, and during their time in Gongmen City, they had managed to get even closer. But they were just friends. Tigress sighed as she remembered the hug he had given her after Shen had been killed. She had been shocked, yes, but she liked it.

"Why must it be me that feels this way about that panda…?" she mumbled, as she turned a corner and walked through the Sacred Hall of Warriors. She sat on the steps that led up to the Dragon Pool, her thoughts becoming too much to handle. She let her hand dip in the water briefly, before she retracted it quickly, hearing a strange voice.

"Tigress…"

The voice sounded elderly, weakened a bit by age.

"M-Master Oogway?"

This time, Tigress heard nothing. She dipped her finger into the water hesitantly, and jumped when she heard the voice in her head once again.

"Tigress…"

"Master!"

"Tigress… I have come to help you."

"Help me? With my combat technique?"

She heard Oogway's spirit chuckle, which made her a bit nervous.

"No, Tigress. You are doing very well in your technique. I am here to help you with a more personal issue."

Tigress bit her lip, trying to think of why Master Oogway's spirit would want to help her.

"What do I need help with, Master?"

"You are in love with the Dragon Warrior, and you know it."

Tigress' eyes turned into tiny slits.

"Master, no disrespected intended, but-"

"Yet you continue to deny it…That is not wise, Tigress."

"But, Master. We are only comrades, friends even. I am a tiger, he is a panda. It would never work."

"What about the tender hugs you shared with him?"

Tigress was beginning to feel frustrated.

"Accidents! Nothing but accidents! They didn't mean anything!"

"They didn't seem like accidents. The first one was initiated by you, if I remember correctly. And what is it that I told Shifu and the other masters?"

Tigress stared into the water, blushing as Po's laughing face was shown.

"There are no accidents." She whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Do you understand now, Tigress? You care for the panda, a lot more than you wish to say."

Tigress let her mind wander a bit, back to the hugs she had shared, and also to the many times she had made contact with Po. The small things, like putting her hand on his shoulder when they were figuring out how to infiltrate Shen's palace without alerting the guards, or how he had 'accidently' grabbed her the night they snuck into the Hero Museum. Tigress smiled and prepared to take her hand out of the water.

"Yes, Master. Thank you."

She heard nothing for a moment, and retracted her hand. She shook the water off, walked to Master Oogway's memorial area and bowed. Suddenly, she felt someone behind her. She tensed, and spun around with her claws ready.

"Whoa!" Po exclaimed as he jumped back. He had been +ahem+ 'admiring' Tigress from behind, so her sudden reaction scared him.

Tigress rolled her eyes as she relaxed, realizing it was him.

"Po, what is it?"

"Well I um…Are you alright Ti?"

Tigress felt her heart jump at the little nickname.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? The rest of the Five left about an hour ago and you're still here?"

Tigress shrugged softly and began walking towards the training room.

"I decided my time would be better spent here. I don't have to spend all my time with the Five."

Po blinked and followed her.

"But, Master Shifu said not to train…"

Tigress rolled her eyes, walking faster.

"Only those who do not wish to become better at what they do, take that kind of advice."

Po jogged to her side, and stopped her before she reached the Training Hall's doors.

"Master Shifu will be like, really mad if you train."

"Po, move."

Po didn't move an inch.

"Ti, I'm doing this for your own good." Po mumbled as he flung her over his shoulder and marched out of the palace.

"Put me down this instant Po! Po!"

Po ignored her as she clawed at his back, kicking and squirming. He walked for a while, at least until Tigress stopped yelling and relaxed. He finally put her down in the middle of a meadow full of tiger lilies, near a creek.

"Geez, Tigress… You really scratched me up…" Po mumbled, his back stinging in pain. Tigress winced at the fact that he had called her by her full name and not 'Ti'.

"I apologize, Po. I was angry. Let me help."

Tigress stood and scooped some water up in her paws, then let it run down Po's back. He shivered a bit, and chuckled.

"That's cold…"

Tigress said nothing, as she continued to rinse his back. After a few minutes, she let out a sigh.

"Do you really wish to know why I was still in the Jade Palace?"

Po thought a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah."

Tigress sighed, which surprised Po. He had never expected Tigress to be the sighing type.

"I needed to think."

"Oh. About what?" Po asked, still not understanding what the problem was.

Tigress tensed. She hadn't expected him to actually be interested in what she was thinking about. She thought about lying to him, but if she did…He would find out one day and not trust her anymore. And if this… 'thing' between them was going to work out, they needed to be able to trust each other.

"Gongmen City."

Po's eyes widened slightly. He had a feeling that she wasn't talking about the city itself…

"What about Gongmen City?"

"I was thinking about what happened between us." Tigress mumbled, as she finished rinsing Po's back. She sat in front of him, Indian-style.

Po thought a moment, blushing softly as he remembered the hugs.

"Oh… Well….Should we talk about it?"

"That's what I was hoping we would do…" Tigress said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Po chuckled slightly and flicked some grass quietly.

"Ok…So…"

"Why did you hug me, Po?"

The way she said it, it was meant as a curious question, not as a displeased one. Still, Po couldn't help but get fidgety. It's now or never…

"I hugged you…Because I was just so happy to see you alive. I thought Shen's cannon had killed you…"

"But, Po. The rest of the Five had been hit too."

"Yes…But…"

"Why did you only swim to me after the explosion? The others were closer to you than I was."

"Ti, I-"

"Why did you hold my paw? Why didn't you check on the others when you saw that I was alright? Why-"

"Tigress!"

Tigress stopped, slightly shocked at the fact that he had yelled. She stared at him, her gaze even with his. Po sighed, and took a deep breath.

"Ok. Let's just…Slow down with the questions."

Tigress gave him a blank look.

"Alright."

"Ok. So your first question?"

"…Why did you only come to me after the explosion? Why not Viper or Crane, or Mantis or Monkey?"

Po blushed.

"I…You were the one that got hit the most… You pushed me out of the way so I didn't get hurt, and I don't like seeing my…Friends hurt. I mean, if I lost you…I…I mean, if we lost you…I don't think we could keep going."

Tigress thought a moment, trying to keep a deep red blush away.

"That's nice, I suppose…Although I don't believe you and the Five wouldn't continue living without me."

"The Five, maybe…Me, not so much." Po mumbled softly, his cheeks tinting pink.

"What was that?"

Po panicked.

"Nothin!" he chuckled nervously.

"Alright…What about when you held my hand?"

"Um…A gesture of comfort? I was trying to make you feel better… You looked like you were in a lot of pain."

"Of course I was. I had just been blasted by a canon."

Po smiled.

"I wanted you to feel ok until I could get back to you."

Tigress thought a moment, then looked down at her lap.

"Po, how did you do it?"

Po tilted his head ever so slightly.

"Do what, Ti?"

"Defeat Shen."

She looked at him, confusion and a little bit of some other emotion in her eyes, one he thought he would never ever see in the eyes of someone like Tigress. Complete and utter affection.

"Well I uh… I just…Inner peace? Motivation?"

"Why is it a question?"

Po shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. Tigress raised an eyebrow as he stood up. She stood with him and walked with him as they made their way back to the Jade Palace.

"What was your motivation then?" Tigress asked after a few minutes of silent walking.

"What?" Po said, obviously not paying attention. "Come again?"

"I said, what was your motivation for defeating Lord Shen? What made you want to defeat him even though you were still weak?"

"Hm… I had to save China…Protect the Five, and Shifu…Protect you…" he trailed his sentence off, allowing what he had just said to sink in. He looked over at Tigress, and smiled at the slight blush that she had allowed to come over her face. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, for she was in deep thought.

"Ti?"

Nothing.

"Tigress…?"

Po waved his hand in front of her face, chuckling as she jumped a little.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Tigress smiled a small amount.

"It's alright, Po. I was just thinking."

"Again? I think you may have an addiction, Ti." He chuckled, pretending to prescribe her medication. He handed her a leaf and smiled. She gave him a blank look.

"What is this, Po?"

Po straightened his back slightly, trying to look professional.

"It's an official…Thingy that lets you know that you have a thinking addiction."

Tigress rolled her eyes, and tossed the leaf aside. Po chuckled.

"So…What were you thinking about this time?"

Tigress thought about telling him, letting him know exactly what he wanted to know. But as soon as she looked at the innocent and inquiring look on his face, she backed down. She couldn't tell him. Not yet, at least.

"It wouldn't interest you." She finally said, answering his question. He shrugged.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Jade Palace. Po was still huffing from the stairs, while Tigress was only a little tired. She walked off towards her room, leaving Po to catch his breath at the top of the stairs.

"See ya later, Tigress!"

Tigress just turned and waved, a small smile on her face. Po felt his face get warm, as he blushed a deep scarlet. Tigress saw it, and she felt a warm rush of electricity run through her body as she realized why he was blushing.

"Goodbye Po." She said, in a voice that was slightly shy. Po grinned, still huffing, as he watched her walk away. Sometimes, he forgot how feminine Tigress truly was. Especially when she walked.

"Hey, Po! There you are!"

Po shook his head to clear it of the suddenly awkward thoughts and turned his head back towards the stairs where the rest of the Furious Five were coming from.

"Where'd you go, Po? You said you were going to check on Tigress and you didn't come back!"

Po tried to hide his pink-tinted cheeks.

"Sorry Mantis. I was um… I got distracted."

Crane and Monkey looked at Po's back, where some of the scars were still a little visible, gave each other a questionable look, and both started laughing.

"Hey Po, you got some um… Scratches on your back…" Mantis snorted, once he realized what Crane and Monkey were staring at.

"Those aren't scratches…They're claw marks… I wonder what from…"

Viper rolled her eyes and looked at Po.

"Where'd Tigress go? I'd better make sure she's feeling ok."

Po pointed in the direction that Tigress had waltzed off in. Viper then slithered off that way, leaving the boys behind. Mantis, Crane and Monkey were still laughing, all of them in tears.

"What's so funny? Tigress and I just had a little disagreement. That's where the scars are from guys."

"We know. We were just messing with you. Come on, I'm hungry." Crane said, putting his wing on Po's shoulder. Po, still confused, followed Crane, Monkey and Mantis to the kitchen. They walked past the Training Room, where they heard yelling. Po stopped.

"Hold on, guys."

"Po, it's just Tigress. You've seen her train a lot." Mantis said, rolling his eyes. Crane smirked.

"No, no…Let him watch his little 'friend' train." He said, grinning. Monkey let out a snort and took off towards the kitchen, laughing. Po blinked, shrugged and peeked inside the Training Room. He smiled.

Tigress was everywhere. One minute, she was destroying a wooden dummy. The next, she was swinging from the ceiling. Po gasped when she landed in the middle of the fire pit thingy. (I don't know what it's called! Sue me. -.-) She looked a bit surprised, but then a smirk came across her face. She jumped and flipped, and at one point narrowly avoiding the fire. She made it out, and landed with a satisfied smile. She was only a little winded, as usual.

"I thought you were going to your room." Po said, once he had gathered up enough courage to speak.

Tigress spun around, and put her hands on her hips.

"I was, but I noticed that Master Shifu is not here right now, so I decided to train."

Po rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, I'm making some soup for Crane, Monkey and Mantis. It'll be done in about an hour. If you and Viper want some you can come get it."

Tigress thought a moment, then smiled.

"We'll be there."

"I'll save you a seat."

"Thank you, Po."

"You're welcome, Ti."

Po blushed at the shy smile she gave him. He coughed nervously and turned, walking back to the kitchen. He took a little detour to his room, then walked back to the kitchen, where the Furious Five sat. Including Tigress and Viper. They were all talking and laughing, while Tigress blushed furiously and was trying to get the others to be quiet.

"Oh, c'mon Tigress! Tell us what happened!" Viper begged, poking Tigress' arm. Tigress crossed her arms and kept her mouth shut.

"Guys, she won't tell you anything she doesn't feel like telling." Po said with a chuckle. Everyone looked at him, then looked at each other. Suddenly, Po was surrounded by them, as they all asked him questions.

"Ok, ok. I'll tell you!"

"Actually, we'll tell you."

Everyone looked at Tigress, who had a smile on her face. Po sat next to her at the table, and smiled. The rest of the Furious Five sat with them, big grins on their faces. As Po spoke, Tigress felt him slide his hand over hers underneath the table. She looked at him, and smiled. There was only word she could use to describe the moment.

Perfect.

A/N: AH! Lol I haven't abandoned Forever In My Heart, I just…Writer's block. Anyway, ive been watching both Kung Fu Panda movies and I got ideas… Sorry if it's truly a piece of crap -.- might continue if I get enough POSITIVE reviews. C Ya Boofy! :D