The Countdown

The path we choose

21 days and counting....

While Tigress laid upstairs talking with Hai, Po was downstairs in the kitchen talking to his father who was relieved that he was alright.

"I'm just so glad you're okay!" Li exclaimed happily, squeezing Po in a tight hug. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you again!"

"Well, I'm not going anywhere, so lets not think about it," the Dragon Warrior answered with a weak smile.

Li put him down and grabbed a large bowl of dumplings upon which he sat down at the table. Po sat down next to him, nervously tapping his fingers on the table. "Dad," he said after a moment. "Can we talk about the whole arranged marriage deal?"

Li glanced over at him, his mouth completely full. "Of course," he assured him. "Why, what's the matter?"

"To put it simple, dad, I don't really want to marry Mei-Mei. I don't think it'll work."

Li smiled sadly and swallowed the food in his mouth. "I was afraid that was going to happen," he noted. "Not that I mind you marrying someone you like, but we were kind of hoping you and Mei-Mei would really hit off."

"Mei-Mei is...nice...." Po explained. "But we don't really see eye to eye."

"I know."

Po did a double take. "You did?!" he exclaimed. "Since when?"

"I will admit that I was really more focused on you and Mei-Mei getting reacquainted," Li admitted, laying down his chopsticks for a brief moment. "In fact, I was so focused on it that it never occurred to me that there may have been other problems at hand until Ping pointed them out."

"Um..." the Dragon Warrior said nervously, readying himself for embarrassment. "What exactly did dad say?"

"After you left this morning to fight Kai, I asked him if you and Master Tigress were ever in a relationship since I just noticed you seemed pretty close. Then your father mentioned something about people betting on you two getting together and after that, I just started thinking."

"He told you about the betting wars?!" Po exclaimed.

"Not in detail," Li promised, seeing the anxious look on Po's face. "But I've been thinking about that, and I realized that you do have a life back where you were raised. And with the responsibilities you had, simply pairing you off with Mei-Mei may not automatically work."

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to actually tell you," the Dragon Warrior explained slowly. "I was kind of hoping that maybe we could call off the whole arranged marriage to Mei-Mei. I mean, not that I wouldn't mind staying here and getting to know you even better, but the Valley of Peace does need me to keep people from destroying it. That and I've lived there for most of my life so I do feel a little more at home there...."

"I understand," Li assured him. "I don't see any problem with calling the marriage off. Besides, your dad would probably miss you."

"That doesn't mean that I can't come and visit," Po told him with a smile. "We could work out a schedule and I can come here and spend some time with you."

"That would be awesome!" Li exclaimed happily. He picked up his chopsticks and stuffed some dumplings in his mouth hungrily. "You hungry, son?" he asked.

"A little," Po admitted, getting up. As he went to go get some food, he asked, "Um...should we go grab dad and Kai?"

"I've already sent someone to do that. They'll guard Kai until someone comes to drag him to prison."