The Countdown

"You look beautiful and you're still strong"

The masters at the Jade Palace were relieved to see Po and Tigress interacting with each other again like they used to do. That following morning after they called off their scheme, Mantis was greeted by the sight of Po teaching Tigress how to cook. (Resulting with him getting paid ten yuan). Shifu was simply glad that things had gone back to normal and that things would resume they way they had been prior to the rumor starting in the valley. Tigress, who was also glad that she was hanging out with Po again and vanquishing the lonely feeling she got, still struggled with vanquishing the other emotion she believed to be a simple infatuation. She and Po were very good friends and worked very well together in a battle and she wanted to keep it that way. They had just strengthened their bond after a course of three years and she didn't want to damage it in any way because of some random symptoms she was getting. And thus, she set to the task of making them go away.

3 months later....

Tigress wrapped herself up tighter in her blanket, trying to go back to sleep. Master Shifu had allowed them to sleep in that one morning since they had been training hard and had done an excellent job mastering the new equipment in the training hall. (Well, Po was still struggling with The Blushing Spikes of Impending Demise, but he was better to the point where he didn't slip off and injure himself on the spikes). The fierce master, while she would have preferred to be in the training hall, she had to admit that it did feel nice to rest her muscles for a bit. She had woken up earlier that morning to the sound of the gong, but had opted to go back to sleep instead of train, just for today. Tigress was now beginning to drift back off into sleep, her brain depicting memories of snuggling against Po by the peach tree months earlier, only for her door to slam open and for her to hear a loud, "TIME TO GET UP!!!!!!!!"

Tigress jumped with a start, looking at the dent in the wall Po had made by slamming her doors open.

"Hey, you're actually asleep," Po said with surprise, pausing in the door frame.

"And you're up rather early," Tigress retaliated simply, getting up from her bed.

"It's festival time!" Po exclaimed. "Well, not yet. But soon. And there's so much to do that I just couldn't sleep! come on! You're helping me make a festival breakfast!"

The master rolled her eyes with a small smile and got up to follow him. Po had been trying to teach her, (and some days, force teach her), how to cook and over the days, she had slowly gotten better. While she wasn't great at the task, she was able to cook a decent meal on her own and work together with Po to make a really good one. Po told her often that she was getting really good, but Tigress didn't think her meals tasted nearly as good as Po's did, so she wasn't quite sure what he meant by that.

The two warriors arrived in the kitchen and Po began to direct Tigress to various tasks to perform in the kitchen. She helped to boil the water, chop vegetables, cook noodles, and help Po to make several moon cakes. As they finished and set everything on the table, she asked, "Why are we making moon cakes. These are for dessert."

"We're hosting a festival for the end of the summer," Po exclaimed happily, pouring some tea into a few cups. "We need something different for breakfast."

Tigress shrugged. "Whatever you say, Po," she answered.

The two sat down at the table where they began to dig in and also await the arrival of their hungry friends.

"So, what are your plans for today?" Po asked. "Are you going to the festival?"

"I don't know," the master admitted. "I do have to run errands though; Master Shifu wants me to pick up some lanterns."