A few days after talking to Master Shifu, Tigress was sitting by the peach tree wrangling with the decision of when to tell Po that she loved him. She wasn't even quite sure if she felt ready to do so, but alas, Master Shifu did have a point. While Po had only had a serious relationship with one person as far as she knew, there were several other girls who were interested in being together with Po, even if neither of them ever actually happened. Lu-Shi and Po were actually betrothed to each other, but it was called off since they were both not ready to get married. Po had a high interest in Song, but no one had seen her since she disappeared to support her troupe so he soon forgot. Superintendent Wu's daughter she had heard was interested in Po, but Po had zero interest in her. And there had even been a few incidents of fan girls, mostly teenagers, Tigress noted, who had decided to stalk Po, but some control from the guards soon got that problem out of the way. The master had several close calls, reflecting back on Po's romantic entanglements, but if she waited too long, those close calls would soon run out and she'd lose Po permanently.

But how do I tell him I love him?! she thought to herself, picking at the petals of a fallen cherry blossom. I don't even know if he feels the same way. I mean, he might have love me back. But what if he doesn't?! That would just make everything awkward. And that could ruin whatever friendship we built up, and....

Tigress leaned back against the tree, unsure of what to do. She had to tell Po before she missed her chance. But with no hints regarding Po's feelings towards her besides them being "besties" as Po put it, she felt stuck. Whatever she did, she needed to tell him soon, just to get it into the open. When do I tell him? she thought to herself. Today? Tomorrow? A week from now? And if something happens, like with Lu-Shi...do I leave him be? Tell him how I feel? What do I do?!

She didn't have this problem with Yijiro because Yijiro shared the same feelings as her and was much more open with her about how he felt. Plus, it was love at first sight. When Tigress first met Po, she hated him for stealing what she believed to be her honor and her title as the most powerful warrior in the land. It wasn't until recent years that the two finally became friends and were on the same page with each other to the point of not annoying the other. And now...she was in love.

I don't want to make things awkward for Po, she thought. That may cause more harm than good.

She continued to meditate by the tree, trying to figure out what to do, when a familiar shadow crossed over her and she heard, "Mind if I join you?"

Tigress glanced up at Po who was standing somewhat nervously by the tree trunk with a smile on his face.

"I suppose," she answered with a grin. "As long as there's no constant chatter."

Po let out a silent 'yes' and sat down beside the master as she continued to meditate. They sat in silence for a few minutes until the Dragon Warrior said, "So...what have you and Shifu been talking about?"

Tigress glanced at him. "Pardon?" she asked.

"Well, I see you go up to the Hall of Heroes a lot or he'll go to the training hall when you're doing training and stuff and I was curious to know what you two do. Do you talk and stuff? Like...well, I don't really know what Shifu finds to talk about actually...maybe Mei-Ling..... Or do you guys do awesome kung fu moves that are impossible to master?"

Tigress smiled and shook her head. "We just discuss things of minor importance," she assured him. "Like the battle of Gongmen City."

"Ah. So nothing of interest to me then?"

"I wouldn't think so."

Another moment of silence befell the two warriors as Tigress continued to meditate and Po attempted to stay quiet during it.

"See any sign of Shifu or Mei-Ling?" Tigress asked curiously.

"No," Po answered, "I guess that's a good thing though. No guards or prison troubles."

The master looked over at her and added happily, "Hey, you're wearing the shirt I got you!"

"I've been wearing it every other day," Tigress told him.

"I know. It's just...it looks nice. I'm glad you feel comfortable wearing it."

The master smiled. "Same," she admitted. "It's nice to know I won't be mocked because of what I'm wearing."

Po laughed. "Those bandits were lucky I wasn't around when they made fun of you," he said. "Or else I would have kicked their butts!"

"Really?"

"Of course! You're an awesome master at kung fu! No one should treat you like that!"

Tigress gave him a warm smile. "Thanks, Po," she told him.

Po turned a light shade of red and let out a goofy grin, quickly turning back to look at the valley. Tigress sighed inwardly and cast a glance at him.

Can I tell him I care? she thought to herself. Does he love me back...or are we still just friends. Is it just me?

Tigress debated back and forth for a few minutes on whether or not to tell Po how she felt. Minutes of silence went by before she settled on an idea that she hoped she wouldn't regret later.

I'm just going to tell him, she told herself. No matter how much it hurts...no matter what happens next.... Because if I don't tell him now when I have the chance...I may not have another one.

The tiger cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "Um...Po?" she said nervously.

"Yeah?" the panda asked, looking over at her curiously.

"There's...something I have to tell you. But...if I tell you, can you promise to not laugh or...yell at me?"

"Laugh or yell at you?" Po repeated with a grin. "Have I ever?"

"No," Tigress admitted. "But I'm afraid you will."

"I won't. I promise."

The master breathed inwardly and opened her mouth to talk. "I-"

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!!!!!!!

Po groaned. "Aw, come on!" he whined. "The one time you open up to me without kung fu matches is the one time we have bandits lurking around."

Tigress rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I'll tell you later," she promised. "We have a job to do."

The Dragon Warrior's stomach growled. "And lunch to get to afterwards," he added.

"Figures."

The two warriors proceeded to head down to the valley where bandits awaited them, grabbing whatever they could get their hands on. The Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior intercepted them during their spree, ordering them to drop whatever they had and to come quietly while they still had the chance.

The bandit leader laughed. "Surrender?!" he exclaimed. "We surrender to no one! Now get out of our way!"

The bandits lunged at the masters with vicious spears in hand with the intention of ripping them to shreds if necessary. Po grabbed a wok pan from a nearby cart and blocked the incoming attacks, allowing the rest of the five to scatter about and corner the villains. Having built up their skills over the past few months, the masters had grown faster and stronger than before and could now defeat their opponents with relative ease. Crane, who was the first master to get into position to attack, was given the order to knock the bandits off balance. The avian performed this task with a simple air blast from his wings, giving Po time to start attacking and ridding the pigs of the weapons they carried. Tigress soon slipped in to aid him with powerful attacks, quickly followed by the rest of the masters who didn't hesitate to steal the spears and use them against the bandits. (Fortunately, no one was harmed during the attack minus a brief head collision Po got with the leader). In almost no time flat, the bandits were defeated and tied up, and thanks to Crane quickly alerting the guards, they were taken away to Chorh Gom.

"Is it just me," Po asked with a grin. "Or is this getting easier?"

"It's getting easier," Monkey told him.

"Don't get too full of yourselves," Tigress piped up as she put back the wok pans Po had used. "One of these days there are going to be nastier attacks on this valley and then it won't be so easy to defeat them."

"I know," the panda assured her. "Just noticing how much faster I get to kick butt."

The lunch gong rang, along with Po's stomach, indicating that it was time to eat.

"Me too," Monkey said with a smile. "Lets get some lunch before we go back to training."

The masters began to walk back to the Jade Palace, Po lagging behind to talk to Tigress. "So..." he said nervously, hoping she didn't close back up after the fight. "What were you going to tell me earlier? Before the bandits showed up?"

"Oh," Tigress stammered. "Right. That."     The master glanced at their friends and added, "Do you mind if we discuss it privately? With no prying ears?"

"POOOO!" came Mr. Ping's voice from directly behind them. "POOO! I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE, SON!!!! YOU'RE NOODLE TRAINING COMMENCES!!!!"

Po groaned. "Looks like dad wants me to make lunch with him again," he said. "Um...not that I mind, I love cooking...but you were...and all this.... We're just having really bad timing today!"

Tigress smiled at him. "Po, it's fine," she promised. "I'll tell you later. You go spend time with your dad and...maybe I'll tell you later when everyone's asleep. No distractions, no Monkey and Mantis poking their noses where they don't belong..."

Po laughed. "That'd be nice," he admitted. "No listening to betting wars every five seconds."

"Exactly. I'll see you in training then?"

"Sounds awesome. See you later, Tigress!"

Po then took off towards his dad's restaurant in order to help him during rush hour while Tigress walked up the Thousand Steps to inform her friends about  the slight change in lunch plans.

Tonight, she told herself firmly. I'll tell him tonight.... Just please don't let this ruin anything.......