Around dinnertime, Po slinked back up to the Jade Palace to alert his friends to the fact that he wouldn't be joining them for dinner. He wasn't enthusiastic about spending the evening with Scorpion since she always tried to kill him, but his dad was pretty stubborn, so he had to go along with the idea.
I just hope she doesn't try anything else, he thought to myself. Like poison me in my sleep.
The Dragon Warrior reached the top of the Thousand Steps and proceeded to walk to the kitchen where he intercepted Viper.
"Hey, Po," she called over cheerily.
"Hey Viper," Po answered, trying his best to muster a smile.
Viper eyed him curiously. "You look a little down," she noted. "Is everything okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm perfectly fine!"
"Are you sure?"
Po sighed. "I just have to spend dinner with my dad," he admitted. "Not that that's a bad thing! It's just...he has a...date...."
"Oh," Viper said, understanding. She eyed him. "You don't like this girl either?" she asked, remembering the first time Po mentioned Mr. Ping getting a date.
"I don't mind my dad getting dates," Po assured the master. "It's just that this particular one dad was dating last time and they broke up because she turned out to not be the person he thought she was."
"Oh, I get it," Viper said, knowingly. "You just don't want him to have another broken heart?"
"Exactly. And-"
"Just keep an eye on Scorpion, okay? You never know what she's planning."
Po did a double-take. "How'd you know it was Scorpion?!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"I might have put two and two together during the Autumn festival when she tried to poison us," Viper admitted. "I mean, you're dad had a new girlfriend that you weren't particularly fond of that we apparently knew, and then Scorpion shows up during the Autumn Festival with all of the poison in the moon cakes..."
"Oh," Po said simply with a nervous look. "Um, you're not going to tell Shifu, are you?"
"If Scorpion's redeemed herself, I don't think it's necessary to make any mention of the incident," Viper told him with a smile. She glanced over at the kitchen and added, "I'm assuming that you're not making dinner then?"
"Afraid so. Dad wants me to spend some quality time with him and Scorpion."
"And Tigress?" Viper asked.
Po looked at her in surprise, but she was quick to inform him that she had gone down to the village to check up on Tigress and while passing by the noodle shop, Mr. Ping had called out to her to remind her to pop by the noodle shop for dinner. Po clapped a hand to his head. "Daaad!" he grumbled irritably.
"Don't worry, the others don't know about it," Viper assured him. "I already gave Tigress a cover story."
"Thanks, Viper," Po said with a smile. "Normally I wouldn't mind hanging out with her freely, but Mantis and Monkey seem to enjoy making bets and teasing me."
"I'd actually worry more about Mantis," Viper replied. "He's going out with Quan-Ying for an evening picnic and he might see you."
"Oh. Well, we'll be in the noodle shop, so I think we'll be okay."
On cue, Mantis hopped over to the group humming away to himself alongside Monkey who was placing bets with him and wishing him luck on the picnic.
"Don't get into another fight," he warned.
"Ah, we'll be fine!" Mantis promised. "It's just a little picnic by the lake."
"Are we still on that bet?"
"Heck yeah! Which reminds me...five yuan if they kiss!"
"Twenty if they have passing glances!"
"Did you just up your bet by ten yuan?!"
"Why, you have a problem with it?" Monkey asked.
"Nope," Mantis replied with a grin. "More money for me!"
"You two need to slow down with those bets," Viper called over as they approached them and the gate.
"When you see people who are in love but refuse to get together," Monkey told her. "You'll understand."
"Well, catch you guys later!" Mantis called out, leaving the Jade Palace grounds.
"Bye, Mantis!" Po called back.
The three watched him leave, Po's stomach then emitting a loud growl of hunger.
"Same," Monkey responded. "Lets go eat."
"Uh, I'm actually not cooking today," Po informed him slowly. "Dad wants me to eat with him today."
"He does?" Monkey asked curiously. "What's the occasion?"
"Mr. Ping has a new girlfriend," Viper answered before Po could.
"Oh, I get it! Family time!"
"You could say that," Po muttered.
"I'll be cooking," Viper promised, slithering alongside Monkey to the kitchen. "Catch you later, Po!"
"Yeah," Po grumbled. "I'll let you know how it goes."
Tigress had informed the masters that she was taking the evening off to practice her strength at the Iron Wood Trees. Around dinnertime, she reluctantly walked over to Ping's noodle shop, keeping an eye out in order to avoid Monkey and Mantis. When she approached the noodle shop, she noticed that a screen was placed in front of it, meaning that it was closed. The master gently knocked on it, receiving a, "We're not open this evening! It's a special occasion!" from Mr. Ping.
Tigress sighed and slowly slid the screen open, spotting Mr. Ping and Scorpion stirring some of the food around in various bowls.
"We're not-" Mr. Ping began again, but then spotted Tigress in the door frame and
exclaimed, "Oh Master Tigress! There you are! Come on in!"
Tigress slowly entered the noodle shop, shutting the screen behind her and shuffling her way over to the counter.
"Oh, there's no need to be so nervous," Scorpion told her friendly. "Come on in and we'll set you up at a station. Teqiao was just telling me that you wanted to learn how to cook. Although I admit I'm surprised you don't know how."
"Teqiao?" Tigress repeated.
"Oh, that's my first name," Mr. Ping informed her with a smile. "Just don't tell anyone about it. I'm saving it for a game later that I hope can get me more tips."
Tigress tried to hold back her amused smile and nervously slipped into the kitchen. Scorpion beckoned her over to the counter where she asked the master, "Have you ever cooked before?"
"Yes," Tigress admitted. "But the first time I blew the entire kitchen up and the second time I caught the food on fire."
"Blew the kitchen up?!" Mr. Ping exclaimed in shock. "What did you do? Put too much baking soda into the cake?"
"No, I put the kitchen pot in the oven."
"Oh, don't ever do that!" Scorpion cried. "Then the liquid will drip into the fire and make an explosion."
"As I've learned," Tigress grumbled.
"Well, we're going to have to fix that," Scorpion said, turning back to mix some water into the batter beside her. "You and Po are going to make soup while Pingy and I make some nice moon cakes and steamed buns."
"Speaking of Po, where is he?" Mr. Ping asked, scanning his eyes around the restaurant. "He should have been here by now."
"He has to tell the others he's not cooking tonight," Tigress assured him.
"Oh alright."
The screen then slid open and a tired looking Po slipped into the restaurant. "Hey dad," he called over, walking towards the kitchen.
"Oh there you are!" Mr. Ping exclaimed happily. "Just in time to make the soup!"
"Sounds good," Po said, popping into the kitchen. He spotted Tigress leaning against the back wall and let out a sheepish, "Hey, Tigress."
"Hey," Tigress answered. "You're going to have to help me with...whatever you do with your soup."
"You two can start on the soup," Mr. Ping told them. "We'll work over here."
Tigress walked over to Po and stood next to him. "What do I need to do?"
"You could fill up the pot and put the fire on," Po suggested.
Tigress nodded and went to perform the task. Fortunately, this one was easy to do as it was simple for her to follow and didn't require correctly putting food together. Once she had finished doing was was asked, she stood back by Po and told him that she was done.
"Okay," Po said. "Now you need to put salt into the pot and put the noodles into the pot."
"Why the salt first?" Tigress asked, gathering the noodles which were in a bowl at the edge of the counter.
"So that the noodles don't stick to the bottom of the pot," Po answered.
"Oh."
The master took the whole bowl of salt and walked over to the pot, Po quickly calling over, "Just a sprinkle. Not the whole bowl."
Tigress, who had been about to dump the entire bowl into the pot, stopped herself and hastily moved to sprinkle a small amount inside. While she went to put the noodles inside, Scorpion and Mr. Ping put their moon cake into the oven, setting the bread aside to go in next. Scorpion crawled over to the cupboards along the bottom of the opposite counter and pulled out a few empty sacks.
"Looks like we're going to need a re-fill," she told Mr. Ping.
"I guess we'd better head back down to the cellar," the old goose sighed, walking over there with his girlfriend.
"Don't think we're coming back down there to check on you!" Po called over warningly.
"That's fine, son!" Mr. Ping said with a shrug. "More privacy time for us."
The two disappeared into the cellar to replace the sacks, leaving Tigress and Po alone to cook the soup for a bit.
"While they're down there doing that," Po told Tigress, getting her attention. "You can come and help me chop some of these vegetables."
Tigress glanced at the vegetables on the cutting board, grabbing a radish and a knife and placing them in front of her.
"And don't worry," Po said. "Dad washed them."
"Okay."
The master let her knife hover above the vegetable before she began to slice it into large, lopsided chunks. Po looked over at her and quickly grabbed her shoulder so that she stopped.
"Um, they need to be a little thinner than that," he said. "That way it's easier to make them small enough for the soup."
"Easy for you to say," Tigress groaned. "Your cutting doesn't look like it's chipped!"
Po smiled at her. "Here," he said, moving behind her. "Let me help."
He took her left paw and placed it gently on the radish, doing it carefully in case she got annoyed at him for it. He then held the paw with the cleaver and guided it over the radish where he then helped the master cut the vegetable so as to avoid it looking like a sloppy mess. Tigress felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks, but tried her best to ignore it and pay attention to Po.
"Just take it slow and steady for now," Po told her, continuing to help her chop up the vegetable. "When you get better, you can go a little faster."
"Makes sense," Tigress replied with a smile.
When the radish was chopped up, Po swept away the top of it and said, "Now we turn the chopped up pieces around so that they're horizontal and we cut them the same way."
He helped Tigress spin the radish around and stepped out from behind her. He put her paw carefully on the radish slices so that they didn't fly away and the cleaver back over top of it. "Now just hold onto the radish cuts and chop away," he told her.
Tigress did as she was told, dicing the radish into small cubes so that it could be put into the pot.
"There you go," Po said with a smile. "Now you just need to stick it in the soup pot and then do the same thing with the rest of the vegetable."
Tigress felt a bit light-headed as she and Po briefly locked eyes, but the master managed to keep herself together in order to continue to make the soup.
While Po and Tigress were tending to dinner preparations, the rest of the masters (excluding Mantis) were finishing up there own dinner which had been prepared by Viper. Crane ate a bit quickly as he had wanted to relax and draw before heading off to bed to rest his sore muscles from the day's training. Monkey was a little surprised that Tigress wasn't there, but Viper reminded him of what she had said earlier about her training by herself. When the two finished dinner, Monkey set off to bed so as to rest for tomorrow. Viper decided to check on Crane before going to bed, especially because she wanted to make sure that Monkey wasn't going to try anymore tricks. The master quietly slithered out of the kitchen and made her way around the Jade Palace grounds in search of Crane. She quickly found him by the peach tree, drawing what appeared to be the entire valley. Viper slithered up to him and waited for him to take a quick break in his drawing before saying, "Hey Crane."
Startled, the avian turned around to look at the serpent master. "Viper!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"
"I wanted to see what you were drawing," Viper answered sweetly. "That and I wanted to make sure Monkey wasn't going to pull anything."
"Thanks," Crane said with a nervous smile. "I'm assuming he isn't here then?"
"Not that I see."
Crane went back to drawing, Viper slithering over and peeking over his shoulder. "That looks really good," she noted.
"Really?" Crane asked. "I've barely drawn anything."
"You have some good depth," Viper answered. "It looks good already."
Crane smiled, a faint blush settling over his cheeks. "Thanks, Viper," he said with a smile.
Tigress and Po finally finished the soup, Tigress glad that she at least didn't catch anything on fire. Mr. Ping and Scorpion eventually came back up in order to re-stock the sacks and soon got the table set for dinner. The four finally sat down to eat, Po across from Tigress and Mr. Ping across from Scorpion.
"Ah, this is so nice!" Mr. Ping said happily as Scorpion poured the tea. "All of us sitting here together."
"I know!" Scorpion cooed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Like a big, happy family!"
Po turned noticeably red and glanced down at his food and over at his dad so as to avoid eye contact with Tigress. Tigress turned slightly red as well, becoming very uncomfortable sitting at the table. She wasn't quite sure why Mr. Ping wanted her there, but she wished at that very moment that she was somewhere else. Scorpion finished pouring and the four began to eat, Mr. Ping and Scorpion pre-occupied for a few minutes by google-eyeing each other and feeding each other from across the table. Tigress focused her attention on eating, seeing Po looking very uncomfortable with the scene as well. I can be kind of romantic when I'm in a relationship, the master thought to herself, thinking back to when she dated Yijiro. But I was never so in love that I did pet names and feeding him food!
After about twelve minutes of the two gushing over each other, the group finished their soup and started on the steamed buns.
"So, how did she do with the cooking, Po?" Mr. Ping asked the Dragon Warrior.
"She did really well," Po responded, obviously relieved that the kissy-face scene had ended. "Another cooking lesson or two and I think she'll be an expert."
"Two?" Tigress repeated with a smirk. "More like twenty."
"That soup tasted delicious!" Scorpion commented from beside her. "I'm sure you did fine."
"Po did most of the work."
"Ah, I'm sure we'll make a chef out of you yet," Mr. Ping assured her, finishing his food.
"Oh!" Scorpion exclaimed suddenly. "Then we can all attend the annual bake off in Tenxin Heights!"
"That would be fun!" Mr. Ping exclaimed. "Ooh! And if we won, it could improve business!"
"Why don't the three of you go?" Tigress asked.
"But it'll be so much fun if we all go!" Mr. Ping told her. "Scorpion and I could work one half of the station and you and Po could work the other! It'll work perfectly! Once we help you learn to cook, that it."
Scorpion got up from the table and came back with the moon cake. "So, Po," she said. "How have things been?"
"Um..." Po stammered. "Fine. I guess. I'm doing kung fu and butt-kicking stuff, so...that's always awesome."
"Well that's good to hear."
The cake was placed on the table and Mr. Ping requested Po serve the slices. As Po handed everyone their plate, Tigress felt time slow down as she locked eyes with Po briefly, looking down at her food and trying to blink the feeling away. As Mr. Ping turned to talk to Po, the master went to take a sip of tea, only for a wave of dizziness to wash over her, causing her to put the cup down and close her eyes for a brief second.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Scorpion asked worriedly.
"I-I-I-I'm fine," Tigress lied. "I..." She took a small breath to calm down and avoid another head rush.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Ping asked.
"Yes, I just need to go lay down for a second."
"Why don't you go up to Po's room, then. You can rest on the bed until you feel better."
Tigress nodded and shakily stood up and walked slowly up the stairs. Po watched her for a moment before saying, "I'd better check on her just to make sure she's not sick or anything."
"If she doesn't feel better in ten minutes, call me upstairs and I'll take a look at her," Scorpion told him.
"Uh, okay," Po said, quickly heading upstairs so as to check on the master.
Crane and Viper sat by the peach tree in silence as Crane drew his picture of the valley. Viper was a little tired, but stayed up so that she could see the process of the picture.
"You should give me some pointers," she said after a long moment of silence.
"On what?" Crane asked. "How to draw?"
The serpent nodded. "Mhmm," she answered.
"Well, maybe if we ever have time," Crane answered. "Like, maybe an hour or so after dinner."
"That sounds good to me," Viper replied.
The two sat there for another minute or so before she cleared her throat and nervously added, "So...how have you been handling Monkey and Mantis' teasing games?"
"I've been getting by," Crane muttered. "Although they're starting to get out of hand."
"Why are they betting on you and me?"
"Because I went ribbon-shopping with you one time."
Viper rolled her eyes. "Those two really do nit-pick every little thing for bets, don't they?" she said.
"Yeah...."
Another moment of silence passed by.
"Not to put fuel on the fire," Viper said nervously. "But...would any of their bets be accurate?"
"Uh...." Crane stammered, turning a dark shade of red. "Well...um...." The avian glanced over to the side, barely making eye contact before saying, "Actually...I do...like you...but, um...you know those two...always making jokes....constantly....Uh, p-p-please don't hate me for saying that! You pro-"
Viper interrupted him by kissing his cheek. "I like you two," she confessed. "I just...thought you didn't feel the same because you always so adamant about not liking me."
"What?!" Crane exclaimed. "Who wouldn't like you?! You're sweet, you care for people, you're a beautiful dancer...."
"Aw, thank you!" the master said with a smile. "And you're a very good artist, as I've said."
"I'm glad you like my pictures," Crane told her. With a nervous look, he added, "You know, we could make the 'teaching-you-to-draw' thing...like a date...you know, if you want."
Viper smiled at him. "I'd love that!" she assured him.
"Can we just make sure Monkey and Mantis don't find out though?"
"It'll be our little secret."
Upstairs in Po's room, Tigress had her head in her paws so as to calm down and stop the light-headed feeling she was getting. It was dying down, fortunately, but she was getting a little bothered by the constant barrage of symptoms. She then heard creaks coming from the stairs, glancing up to see Po standing in the doorway.
"Hey," he said, walking into the room. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be alright," Tigress promised, trying to avoid eye contact so as to avoid more eye locking. "I just got a little light-headed."
"Well unless you want Scorpion looking you over, you'd better hope you're not sick."
"I'm fine, Po. Just give me a moment."
The two sat in silence, Po keeping an eye on Tigress so as to make sure she was actually feeling well, like she claimed. After a moment, Tigress sat straight up and took her paws away.
"I hope dad and Scorpion weren't making you uncomfortable," Po told her. "I mean, if they were, it's okay. I was a little uncomfortable too. But-"
"They were fine," Tigress promised. "I mean, I was a little uncomfortable while we were eating for the first few minutes, but I'm okay."
"Oh, alright then."
Tigress let out a small sigh and leaned her head back on one of her paws.
"You okay?" Po asked.
"I'm fine," Tigress assured him. "I'm just...I wasn't quite happy that your dad was...including me in the family. I mean, as if...you know...."
"As if you and I were a...couple?" Po asked nervously.
"Exactly. I mean, I wouldn't mind. Um, as in I wouldn't mind going to a cook-off! But not under a false pretense if you get what I mean."
"I get it," Po said. He reached out an arm with the intent of pulling the master into a friendly side-hug, but thought better of it and continued to sit next to her. After a few seconds of silence, Tigress finally said, "We should head back down before your dad gets any ideas."
"Good idea," Po replied.
The two warriors quietly exited the room and began to head down stairs, Tigress managing to try and calm down enough to keep herself composed. Unfortunately, she still wasn't quite fully paying attention and got her foot caught on the sneaky uneven step that had yet to be fixed. The master wound up tripping and crashing into Po who somehow managed to keep a grip on the wall and not go flying down the stairs. The two locked eyes for a brief moment, Tigress feeling the blush creeping back up, accompanied by time seeming to slow down, heavy eyes, and this time, a wave of butterflies in her stomach.
What on earth is WRONG with me?!
"S-s-sorry!" she quickly apologized, pushing away from her friend and hastily going down the stairs. Po, glad and hopeful that Tigress didn't notice him blushing, hurried down after her to finish up the meal.