A Friend Indeed (Kung Fu Panda)

Rise

Po was nearly heaving besides her as Tigress walked back up the palace steps.

She had spent the night at the Ping residence, as they had a few extra rooms that they rented out during the holiday. She had paid for her room, despite Po's objections. Mr. Ping had tried to lecture his son about not letting personal life interfere with running a business, and she had rather wanted to avoid causing conflict between father and son.

As compensation, Po had insisted that he at least help carry her tang yuan to the Jade Palace. Tigress had no reason to doubt Po's motives; in the time since she knew him he had never been anything less than honest and a people-pleaser. Secretly, however, Tigress suspected that part of his reasons for wanting to help included getting a glimpse at the Jade Palace.

If that was Po's plan, then it was clearly falling apart. "You really weren't joking about not liking stairs, were you?"

Po gave her a smile. Or at least half of one. "'Course I wasn't. I wasn't joking about it being worth it, either."

Tigress smirked and crossed her arms as Po bent over to catch his breath. "Worth it to help out a friend? Or to see the Jade Palace?" Earlier that day, Tigress had questioned his commitment to carry dessert up an entire mountain just because she had to pay for a room, he gave a similar response.

"Both," Po said. He put his hand to his mouth as he nearly threw up, but was luckily able to swallow.

"Po, you know that you don't have to help me with this," Tigress offered. "Only students, masters, and the people who work there are allowed inside, anyways."

Po shook his head. "That's why I want to do it."

"Because you don't have to, or because you're not allowed inside?"

"Both. But mostly the first," Po said. "I mean, yeah, I would love to see the Jade Palace. Even just looking at it up close would be awesome. But also because you don't think I have to." Po gave her a smile. "That's one of the things I like about you; expecting things from me and being my friend are never the same thing."

Tigress gave a small smile, before it was dragged down by concern. "Could you. . . elaborate on that?"

Po gave a scoff to himself. "It's nothing much really. My dad expects me to run the noodle shop for him when he retires. It's a part of being his son."

"And this. . . troubles you?"

"Pfffft, nah," Po said. It was hard to take him at face value when he was panting with every step. After a few moments of Tigress's raised eyebrow, he caved. "Okay, yeah, a little. I like cooking, but I love Kung Fu. Like, if I had any other job, I wouldn't mind cooking for people, but if it's all I'm doing all day, then I don't think I could really enjoy it, you know?"

Tigress nodded. She had never really experienced burnout herself, but she had felt pangs of monotony recently. (Which reminded her about her need to buy a set of dominoes.) "And Kung Fu?"

"Kung Fu I couldn't do all day either, but, like, for a completely different reason. Cooking isn't really tiring to my body, but it makes me tired. Kung Fu is tiring to my muscles and everything, but it makes me a good tired. Like, I can't do Kung Fu all day because I literally can't. I would if I could, but I can't. But after cooking for more than a few hours at a time, I just want people to finish up eating so that they can go back to work, or back home, or literally anywhere else as long as it's over."

Tigress eyed him from the side as she smiled. "I don't know, that show last night seemed pretty tiring."

"Winter holiday excepted," Po amended.

"Have you ever thought about talking with your father about it?" Tigress said gently.

"Oh sure. I've thought about it plenty. But if you're asking me if I've actually talked to him about it. . . eh-hehe, no. No, I have not."

"Why not?" Tigress said without accusation.

Po shrugged, still holding the containers. "I just don't really want to get into it," he said just a tad defensively. "Like, there's this thing that he does whenever he sees me doing well. I've seen my dad get grumpy, but I've never seen him discontent. But when he sees me make a bowl of noodles that he doesn't have to fix, or stir up, or add the secret ingredient to, he looks. . . well he looks like he's just been named the new Emperor of China. Like the entire world is just that kitchen, and everything about it just got better. I don't want to take that away from him."

Tigress hummed in acknowledgement.

"Honestly, part of me is flattered that he thinks that I could do what he does."

"Your father has high expectations for you," Tigress said reassuringly. "I guess Master Shifu is similar in that regard," she hadn't realized she said that last part out loud until Po responded.

"Is he really?"

Tigress hadn't meant to start a discussion, but now that she knew that she held Po's attention, she felt that she owed it to him somehow to continue. She nodded. "Master Shifu expects nothing but our best. Sometimes, it can get tiring when he corrects my form, or offers his thoughts on something I'm doing wrong, but. . . maybe that's just his way of saying he's proud of me." The words, 'I hope' almost forced themselves out of her mouth, but she held them back.

Just a few minutes longer, (minutes that felt short to Tigress but probably felt like forever to Po,) the two of them arrived up on top of the palace steps. "We're here," she called to Po. She smoothly lifted the containers from his arms as he collapsed at the top step. She backed up as he rolled himself onto his back.

"Yeah!" Po said. he punched the air from his position. "Yeah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Take that, stairs."

Tigress squatted down towards him. "I'm going to take these inside. You should probably rest here for a bit before heading back down."

Po gave her a thumbs up.

She stood back up to her full height. "You might want to keep our conversation in mind." Tigress turned and started to head into the Jade Palace.

"Yeah. Maybe you should too," Po called back.

Tigress paused. ". . . Perhaps," she said.

Po grinned, still on the floor. "I'm not hearing a 'no.'"

Tigress huffed, smiling. She turned around slightly. "Do you want me to kick you down those stairs?"

Po laughed. "I mean, hey, it'd still be better than walking."

Tigress shook her head, giving a small laugh. "Don't be too sure," she said, finally passing through the doors to the Jade Palace.

As Po heard the gates close, he picked himself up off of the ground. "The Jade Palace," he said to himself, drinking in what he could see above the walls. "Yeah. Totally worth it."