The wind blew gently across a calm porch resting high atop a ridge in the Valley of Peace. The quaint cottage attached to it had some minor wear in places, but the owner's call it lived in. A pastel sun grazed the wooden structure with its soft pink and yellow hues. On the porch, a man sat in a chair that slowly rocked back and forth like it had a breath of its own.

The man sipped a cup of coffee and enjoyed the smell of another autumn morning. The coffee was a special treat that he'd purchased on a trip to France he'd taken a few years ago. It was an especially mind blowing experience for someone from another dimension. Then when you consider it took place thousands of years prior to his own time, it was like space and time travel all in one package!

"Aden,"

The man turned to an open porch door held by his beautiful partner Tigress. He'd known her for forty years at this point, yet he loved her more and more every time he looked at her.

"Breakfast will be ready soon," she told him with a smile.

"I'll be right there, Kitty," he charmed back.

Tigress smiled sweetly and let the door swing closed with a light thunk, leaving Aden alone with his thoughts once again.

It'd been a long time since he defeated Bang, and nearly every moment after had been absolute bliss for him. It took a couple months to get the Jade Palace back in order, but it wasn't so bad with his comrades helping him with some of the heavy lifting. He continued his training at the Jade Palace with his new title, but being a master sure didn't make Shifu's coaching any easier. The months turned into years, and Aden, Po, and the rest of the five continued to protect the valley with vigour and grow stronger as a family and team.

Tigress and Aden's relationship blossomed beautifully after that night. It started with the occasional date night and walks in the local garden. Then, came the wee morning chats that kept the five up all night. And finally, the fateful day where both Tigress and Aden arrived late to the morning gong. At first, Shifu simply tried shouting their names to startle them awake, but he received no response. Irritated, he marched over and threw open Tigress's door.

"I'd expect this from Aden," He said sternly. "But, never from you, Ti-"

Master Shifu stopped dead in his tracks like he'd seen a ghost. The rest of the Furious Five poked their curious eyes in front of the door after seeing Shifu's reaction. What they found made Crane and Viper blush and the rest of the boys chuckle.

Tigress lay flat on her back with Aden draped over her, his head tucked sweetly underneath her chin. A blanket was snugly wrapped around them both to hide their indecency, but it wasn't fooling anybody.

Aden's eyes slowly flickered to life before springing open at the sight of six sets of eyes drilling holes into him.

"Uhhh…" He groggily muttered, waking Tigress in a similar fashion to himself. "This isn't what it looks like?"

"Nice…" Mantis whispered, discreetly fist-bumping Monkey.

The years went by, and Aden and Tigress's relationship flourished more and more. They had their ups and downs like every relationship, but their love for each other never stopped growing. Then ten years later, the question was finally popped, and they officially sealed their love on paper.

It was a bit of an adjustment at first trying to manage a marriage while training under Shifu, but Viper and Crane joined them not two years later making it a bit less awkward for both couples.

Everyone continued to protect the valley with only a few more catastrophic events transpiring in that time, but surprisingly Liu managed to uphold her end of the bargain. He always wondered where she and the rest of the Jackals ended up. He was just happy they were free, though.

A few years later came the fateful day that the Jade Palace warriors knew was coming. Shifu entered the gate with a young looking ram, pig, goose, bear, and jaguar. They were all bright eyed upon seeing the Furious Five, Po, and Lyric, and constantly reminded them about how amazing they all were, much to Po's liking.

The newcomers trained hard, slowly building their skills to a Master's title of their own. And, It wasn't long after they achieved that when it was time for Shifu to relinquish the Jade Palace to its new warriors. The old ones all still kicked some serious butt without question, but it was time to let the new generation save China. Such is life.

Po was the only one to stay behind with Shifu to run things at the Jade Palace. Even as masters, the students still had a long way to go, and Po was more than ecstatic to help fine tune the skills of the younger cohort. Shifu aided in some training, but his new focus was to live life like Oogway.

Monkey and Mantis opted to stick together and wreak havoc with pranks and poorly timed, inappropriate jokes. They started off not too far from home, building their life as civilians in the valley and establishing themselves as the pickup artists of local bars. A few years later, in a wild change of events, they felt the need to gather perspective. They began to travel around China seeking wisdom from philosophers of all different shapes and sizes. They eventually settled down in Gongmen City and found themselves back to their typical pickup artist routine. But, this time, with a bit more success.

Viper and Crane opted for the simple life. Viper was ready to be close with family again, and Crane was more than willing to follow her back to the village she grew up in. They became local celebrities fairly quickly, which took them a bit of time to adjust to. For a community of snakes, Crane surprisingly fit right in. It didn't matter where he ended up, as long as he had his partner wrapped around him.

Tigress and Aden found that the quiet life atop a neighboring peak of the Valley of Peace was perfect for the two introverts. Tigress wanted to be close to her father, and Aden wanted to be close to Tigress. Things started out fairly slow for the couple, building their home and settling in, but the urge to experience the world soon snuck its way into their hearts. They spent two months wandering down the cobblestone roads of China together like two leaves blowing in the wind. They eventually sought more from the world and began visiting neighboring countries, soaking up the new experiences and loving one another.

Upon returning, another itch began to bug them. They already had a wonderful family, but they were ready for it to grow. With the significant difference in species, it was made clear early on that conception wasn't in the cards. But, that didn't bother either of them. The Bao Gu Orphanage was full of children waiting to find their new home, and a young Tiger named Vera stole their hearts almost immediately. Tigress locked eyes with the young girl who had been waiting patiently at the orphanage for years, and without exchanging a single word, Tigress knew her story.

With all families, as new members enter, some must leave. It had been thirty years since Aden showed up, and it was time for Shifu to join Oogway in the next world. Everyone returned to pay their respects and erect a monument of Shifu next to his Master's in the Jade Palace garden. It was the first time in years that the Furious five had all returned to the Valley, yet nobody was sad that their visits became more and more infrequent. Nomatter how far apart they physically were, they were always with one another. Life must go on, and go on life did.

"What are you doing, dad?" Vera tugged on his arm, breaking him from his train of thought. "I made all this food for you! What're you doing out here?"

"You're so right!" Aden fake gasped and leaned in to Vera's ear to whisper, yet spoke loud enough for Tigress to hear. "If you didn't cook, I'd have to eat what your mom makes."

Vera giggled, covering her mouth with her paws while Tigress shook her head.

"You're a child," Tigress said.

"Only at heart," Aden winked back.

Vera giggled again and ran back inside. "Come on, Dad! The table's already set!"

Tigress waltzed up to Aden and sweetly stroked his arm. "What's been on your mind this morning?"

"I'm not really sure," he replied. "Lots of things, I guess."

"Good things?"

"The best, actually."

The couple smiled and shared a tender kiss like the many they've shared before. Hand in paw, they walked back into the cottage with the sounds of life echoing all around them. And, even though Aden never saw a human ever again, he sure found his home.

The End


Thank you.

This feeling is unreal. This story began as the simple challenge of: I bet you could write a novel-length fanfic if you tried. It ended as something so much more. It may be just be the average 'Human in KFP' fic, but it brings me so much joy to know I created it.

Looking back, there were a few side story lines that seemed to drop off the face of the Earth, which may make the flow of the story seem 'choppy' early on. As I continued to write, I noticed myself hone in on the one story line started writing this for: Tigress x Aden. Things got sneezy this year, which pushed me back quite a bit on finishing it, but I wanted it to properly end.

Thank you to everyone who favorited or followed my story.

Thank you to those who left wonderfully constructive criticism along the way.

Thank you for enjoying my work.

Thank you.

- Jules