I finished reading the KFP fanfic "Monkey in the Middle" a few weeks ago and I have to say, it was an eye-opening read. It made me appreciate how underdeveloped Monkey is as a character, and if you've followed me for a while, you know how much I like writing about minor characters.

Besides, "The Spy Next Door" has piqued my interest in Jackie Chan. Unfortunately, my only knowledge of him consists of "Jackie Chan Adventures," the movie I mentioned before, and a dragon movie I remember seeing on commercial years ago.

In other words, please bear with me.

And yes, I do not own Kung Fu Panda—otherwise why would I be doing this story?

"I can't believe he actually did that."

"Which one: the revealing our backstories to little kids or his shamelessly exaggerated misadventures?"

Tigress put a hand to her chin to ponder Crane's question. "The first one," she finally answered, "the second goes without saying."

"You have to give him credit, though," Viper gently interjected as the Furious Five continued to stealthily watch from their perch atop the Training Hall, well out of view of Po and the kids. "Teaching children is no walk in the park, even for us. He used our pasts as a means of teaching them—and with success, at that."

Mantis nodded in agreement. "Gotta give the guy props..."

No arguing with that. Regardless, no one could help but reflect on some of the panda bear's reactions during his storytelling.

His barely contained awe at Mantis's trial...

His empathic frown at Crane, Monkey, and Viper's stories...

His sniffling at Tigress's tale...

Those facial expressions spoke so many volumes about the Dragon Warrior that none of Shifu's students knew where to start. Even though they were still adjusting to having Po around, the Furious Five had to admit that he was opening their eyes and hearts in ways they would've either scoffed at or shrugged off a week before.

What's more, hearing their humble beginnings being reiterated by the same person they mistreated and misjudged despite his earnest efforts to fit in—honestly, they felt nothing short of hypocrisy.

Monkey, especially, could attest to this feeling.

Even though the panda obviously euphemized most of the story, he'd kept some details faithful to the original—like Monkey's tendency to cause trouble and the fact that meeting Oogway helped change his life for the better.

Life for Monkey (or Chen Kong) and his family had not been easy back then, most of that being his fault, he would admit.

He'd been a slacker and constant drunk, almost constantly getting into bar fights and kicked out because of them, although the reason he did was to remove whatever slimeballs were causing folks trouble. Regardless of his off-kilter nobleness, the results were always the same.

At least he had his older brother (Kun) and their childhood friend (Lin) — they were both workers at the bar he frequented the most—to make sure he got back home safely, much to the other two langurs' chagrin.

Things only got tougher when Kun and Lin fell in love and accidentally conceived a child before marriage.

The couple, along with Chen, had agreed that abortion was out of the question; this child may have been made by accident but it was still born through love, so it was going to live through love as well.

Adoption met the same disapproval.

Kun and Chen became orphans themselves after their mother had left after Chen's birth and their irresponsible father had gotten himself killed in a bar fight a year later. If not for Lin's father taking them in, the two brothers would've been on the first caravan to Bao Gu.

This child deserved a childhood better than that of its father and uncle.

Yet despite all these understandings, the parents-to-be and Chen still clashed on one issue...

"What do you mean you're leaving?"

Kun sighed with resignation, knowing his brother would react like this; Lin was right to convince him to reveal the truth now instead of later. He faced his brother from across the table with resolve in his steel-blue eyes.

"Exactly what I mean; the enemy forces up north are putting up more of a fight than the Emperor expected. He needs more soldiers, so his generals are going around the villages, rounding up as many men from each family as possible."

"So you're gonna volunteer just ta get yourself killed?" Chen mockingly asked, his bitter tone doing nothing to faze his brother. "What complete bullshit! What about your family, huh? Whatever happened to making sure your child knows its parents?"

Faster than lightning, a hand shot across the table and struck Chen across the face, the male langur's eyes wide in shock before they focused on the cause: his sister-in-law. Chen's eyelids narrowed with fierce intensity.

Lin was more than willing to return the glare.

"Don't you dare bring my child into this!" she barked, pointing a finger at him. "If anything, you ought to be more concerned with how she or he will feel about having a lazy chronic drunk for an uncle! At least Kun takes responsibility for himself, which is far more than I can say for your sorry—"

A hand on her shoulder cut her rant short.

"Enough, both of you," Kun demanded, his tone still firm but his volume notably higher. When Lin and Chen eventually sat down, still incensed, Kun faced his brother with softened eyes.

"Chen, my family is the reason I'm volunteering. I'm doing this out of love, not just honor. I want my child to be able to live happily and peacefully. I want her to grow up and have a family of her own someday. That's also why I'm asking you to take my place while I'm gone."

Chen's jaw dropped instantly at the last sentence. 'I did not hear right. I swear I did not hear him right.'

And judging by Lin's dumbstruck stare at her husband, Chen was not alone in thinking that.

"But...but honey," she stammered, "You've seen for yourself how Chen does with kids. I know you two are family, but how can you be sure—"

A gentle hand on her cheek stopped her, as did the understanding smile on her spouse's face.

"...because Chen will be putting those fighting skills of his to good use."

That statement earned Kun confused looks from his wife and brother.

Chen narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What are you talking about?"

Kun gave his classic wry smile, the same one he gave Chen as children whenever the elder brother knew something the younger one didn't. "Don't strangle me, but...I've been writing letters to various kung fu schools. One of them has accepted you."

He held up a hand before his brother could protest—or strangle him as predicted. "Look, Chen, as much trouble as you cause, you have the potential to be a great fighter and you're way too smart to be wasting your life doing what you've been doing."

Kun reached across the table and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"You need to learn what it takes to be a man in this world."

Monkey's eyes shot open.

He'd been lying supine on his mat ever since his and the rest of the Five's return from the courtyard, the group agreeing to leave Po to teach in peace. Hands behind his head, Monkey found his mind too full of memories for meditation to rectify his inner peace.

Even with Kun dead for years now, Monkey could still hear those words in his head as if his older brother had just whispered them in his ear. With a sudden pang of guilt, Monkey sat up with one arm draped over his bent knee and sighed petulantly, sapphire eyes dark with irritation.

'Great, now the panda's making me take a trip down memory lane. I swear he's going to be the death of us all someday. Then again...'

His eyes softened with a smile at the memory of the children enraptured by the Dragon Warrior's tales, not at all unlike the oddly endeared kung fu warriors listening and watching from nearby.

'I think I could get to like some of the changes he's bringing around here.'

His thoughts cut off at the sound of someone knocking on his door. He hopped out of bed and strolled on over to slide it open. His eyes went wide at the identity of his visitor.

Po.

There was the panda bear, right in his doorway, hands held together in front of him as he nervously teetered back and forth on the balls of his feet. He disarmed Monkey with a sincere smile rather than his usual goofy fan-boy grin.

"Hey Monkey!" he waved a hand at the primate, who returned the smile and wave back. "How's my favorite chimp?"

"Fine, I guess," Monkey answered with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "I thought you were still outside teaching the kids kung fu."

"I was," Po replied in a nonchalant tone, pretending to stretch his arms as if he'd just beaten ten bandit gangs in the last half-hour, "but Shifu came by a couple of minutes ago and said class was over. I guess I got carried away telling the kids about my outrageous bodacity."

Monkey had to roll his eyes at the statement. He was still getting used to the panda bear's strange vocabulary, although took pride in the fact that he seemed to be catching onto it better than the rest of the Furious Five, especially Tigress.

"Anyways," Po continued, "I came by to tell ya dinner's coming up soon. Since my dad's noodles are such a big hit with you guys, I've decided to give 'em another go."

That news Monkey had to smile at. Despite all the criticisms he, his teammates, and Shifu ever shared about Po, one matter they could all agree on was the panda's excellent cooking skills.

'I'm pretty sure Tigress thinks the same thing; she just doesn't want the panda getting a swelled head...not that I can blame her.'

The memory of the cat passing over his offer to try some of Po's soup some days ago suddenly flickered through Monkey's mind. His smile diminished at the unimpressed tone the feline used for her comment about the Dragon Warrior being able to survive off of dew and (as Po so wittily called it) "universe juice."

'I hope she's willing to try the soup this time. It's way too good to pass up. It's the least any of us could do after—'

"Yo Monkey!"

The addressed primate jolted back to reality at the sound of Po's call. The panda bear had a slight look of worry on his face.

"Dude, what's wrong? You suddenly went all spacey on me."

Monkey scoffed good-naturedly, trying to keep his thoughts off his face lest the panda try to get all touchy-feely with him. Apparently, he was still adjusting to Po's idea of compassion and emotional openness.

He moved past the panda towards the kitchen, gesturing a hand for Po to follow. "Eh, nothing serious; so, are you gonna stand around pretending to be a training dummy all day, Panda, or are you gonna get to the kitchen so you can cook up those noodles of yours?"

Po scoffed back, smiling, as he caught up and walked alongside his teammate to the kitchen, a cheerful spring in his step. The walk there proved to be quite lively due to Po tossing around jokes, a fair amount of which Monkey found hilarious.

'Finally,' the golden langur mused in relief as he recovered from his latest laughing fit, 'Someone who knows the meaning of humor.'

These thoughts weren't to degrade or downplay Monkey's ties to the other palace residents; he deeply cherished the bonds he shared with his teacher and fellow students.

It was just...well, that they could be a tough audience.

Sure, Mantis could be funny in his own right. Only problem was that the insect's jokes tended to be raunchy, which could get tiresome after a while.

Tigress's humor, sarcasm aside, turned out to be mostly out of either spite or accident, the latter of which disappointed Monkey greatly. If she could, that tiger would've made a great comedian.

Shifu, Crane, and Viper were, for lack of a better term, all straight-laced. Getting them to laugh became much easier with Po living at the Jade Palace now, sure, but even then, those three still had their killjoy moments.

Po was a whole other story.

He was a child at heart, much like Monkey. To both the bear and the primate, laughter and optimism made life so much easier to bear. Pain and loss are inevitable facts of life, so why waste time brooding over the bad that will surely happen when you could spend the time you have now making happy memories to look back on?

"The past is history, the future a mystery, but right now is a gift. That's why it's called the present."

Monkey froze in his tracks and shot a wide-eyed look of shock at Po, who stopped a few feet in front of the primate the moment he noticed his teammate had halted and so turned to face him with a confused look.

"What?"

Monkey narrowed his eyes in incredulity at the panda's innocence. Then he tilted his head in curiosity. "That was one of Oogway's sayings, his favorite in fact. Why did you say it? Better yet, how do you know it?"

At that question, Po rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as if afraid he might say something wrong. "I don't know; just thinking out loud, I guess. Oogway told it to me a little before he—ya know."

Monkey suddenly turned his head away, eyes dark and heavy. "I'm no child, panda. Go on and say it. Who's to stop you?"

No response.

Monkey looked over his shoulder, instantly regretting his words the second he saw Po's hurt look. He rubbed his long ebony fingers into his eyes, dispirited that he'd just reverted to his attitude from the panda's first day.

"I'm sorry for talking like that, Panda," Monkey said with a sigh, "Talking about Oogway is still a little hard for me. You see, he was...special to me."

'Oh man, poor Monkey...', Po thought in sympathy as he got down on one knee to be more level with Monkey, his jade eyes shimmering with worry for one of his kung fu buddies. "How special do you mean?"

Monkey opened his mouth to answer until he heard the familiar clip-clop of Mantis hopping from the other end of the hallway. He shook his head and told Po he'd tell him after dinner and swiftly entered the kitchen, leaving Po heavily concerned.

'I just screwed up big time, didn't I?'

Dinner went by without a hitch...at a glance anyway.

Po tried to appear as if nothing was wrong and that he hadn't been on the verge of hearing someone's deep dark secrets. He honestly doubted he fooled anyone, despite the lack of suspicious stares, especially Shifu. The red panda excelled in sniffing out fakers.

He did not, however, choose to call anyone out this time around, much to the panda's vast relief.

Regardless, Po felt as if he were sitting on acupuncture needles all throughout dinner. Everyone had to have noticed his forced attempts to laugh and smile—an utter opposite to Monkey who proved far more convincing in comparison.

The only motivation the bear had to stay chill were these split-second moments when his eyes would meet Monkey's, as if there were unspoken promises telegraphed between them.

At last, dinner drew to a close.

After the Furious Five and Shifu had given Po their compliments on dinner and left for bed, he got to work cleaning the dishes for tomorrow. He barely got to picking up the first bowl when a familiar yellow tail picked it up before him.

A swivel of his head revealed Monkey marching away with two bowls in each hand and a fifth in his tail's grip. The primate tossed a challenging grin over his shoulder.

Honestly, how could Po resist?

'Oh, so that's how the monkey wants ta play?' the sure bear thought as he cracked his knuckles. 'Then let's play.'

After a rather entertaining splash fight that managed not to earn them an earful from Shifu (mostly because the goofballs managed to wipe the water away before their master checked in on them), Po and Monkey ventured off to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

Monkey stayed quiet for the entire trip. Po kept quiet for once as well, fearing he'd say something else that would upset the langur.

"What? Got nothin' left ta say, Panda?"

Po jumped a little, much to the primate's amusement, but then regained his composure and pouted at the teasing accusation. "Hey, the Dragon Warrior's got plenty ta say! In fact, I got so much to say, I just...don't know what ta start with."

Again, Monkey rolled his eyes. He'd expected no less from the Dragon Warrior. "Then allow me to give the Chosen One a hint: you wanted me to talk about Oogway after dinner, right?"

"Oh yeah, listen, um"—Po rubbed the back of his head sheepishly—"my bad about what I said earlier. I know Oogway was frickin' awesome...but I never realized until I saw your reactions to Shifu telling us about Oogway passing how much he meant to you guys. You must've really loved him."

A sad smile came across Monkey's face. His eyes trailed to the nearing top of the hill, the stars in full view without any obstructing clouds. Who knows, perhaps Oogway was watching over them from up there.

At last, they reached the summit of the hill. Monkey did not sit yet. He took a moment to breathe in the cool nighttime air, the panda standing next to him respectfully silent.

"I never had parents growing up."

Po remained quiet. He knew the true story behind the primate member of the Furious Five. However, he also wanted to hear it from Monkey himself so he could better understand his long-tailed teammate.

"My older brother tried his best to fill the gap, he really did, but as you can imagine, I didn't make it any easier for him. I was an idiot drunk with nothing going for me except having the record of being kicked out of the most bars."

As Monkey spoke, he and Po finally sat down. Monkey continued on, speaking about his parents, Kun and Lin and their incoming child, Kun's volunteering into the Imperial Army, everything.

Then there came the fulcrum of this whole conversation:

"Oogway was the first person besides Kun and Lin who showed me true understanding and kindness. When he bested me, he never put me down or left me out to dry. He treated me as if I were his own son, more than my real one ever did. That's why I accepted his offer to train here."

Monkey punctuated with a tsk and a smirk. "I just wish he gave me a heads-up about Shifu."

Po snorted at the ending quip. He could attest to that feeling. They sat in content silence, an unspoken trust beginning to take shape between them.

"So how come you guys keep calling me Panda?" Po suddenly asked, "You and the rest of the Five have names of your own, but I never hear you guys call each other by them. Shifu's the only one besides Oogway who's called me by my actual name."

Monkey took a moment to mull Po's surprisingly valid point. He shrugged his shoulders. "Habit, for one; we got so used to calling each other by our species, we hardly use our real names anymore. The other...," he trailed off with a sigh.

He faced Po with a guilty expression. "Believe it or not, Panda, me and the others didn't dislike you, unlike Tigress and Shifu. Some of us didn't even mind you at all."

"R-Really...?" asked a stunned panda. Po had been so sure the distaste for him had been mutual and intense throughout the entire Furious Five. "But...what about all that stuff you guys said about me?"

That question earned him a genuine look of confusion from the simian warrior. "What stuff?"

"Oh come on!" Po angrily retorted, throwing his arms into the air exasperatedly. "Can't see my own toes?"

Though he knew better than to dig back up painful memories like this, it nettled Po that none of the Five ever outright apologized for their mistreatment after the Tai Lung episode. Their bow never counted because that was out of respect (something he could live with), not because they wanted to be his friend (something he could not live with).

Monkey blanched with realization. 'Oh gods, he actually heard that.'

Back then, he wouldn't have cared much if the panda had heard that insult, but now Monkey felt like he belonged back in a bar, where he could be beat up to any passing thug's content. He rubbed a hand over his face, quietly groaning, and then looked up, seeing Po's face still twisted in anger.

Anger soon gave way to hurt, the same kind Monkey saw earlier.

"Do you have any idea how much it sucked to hear you say stuff like that about me? You guys are my idols, I wanted to be like you and, heck, even hang out with you. Being Dragon Warrior, yeah I doubted Oogway about it, too, but it was also a dream come true because I got to meet the people who inspired me to do kung fu in the first place."

Po finally turned away, settling his gaze on the valley below. "If not for Oogway, I would've gone back down to my dad's noodle shop, just like everyone wanted," he muttered under his breath.

"But you didn't."

Po opened his mouth to protest—

"Not just because of Oogway," Monkey cut him off, eyes serious and unyielding. "You also went out of your way the next day to prove yourself because you were tired of your life being the same every day. You wanted something new, something bold and exciting. You wanted to stop dreaming and start living the dream, no matter how painful the path to that would be."

Monkey smiled ruefully, much to the bear's confusion. "I guess we did resent you, after all, Panda. You were so much like how we used to be, we wanted to get rid of you as soon as possible so you'd stop reminding us of what we thought we could no longer have."

Both mammals looked away from each other, their emotions too raw for words. Pink leaves fluttered above the heads of the two kung fu warriors, filling in the vulnerable silence left open by Monkey's admittance.

A faint gulp sounded from Po, the bear staring down at his entwined hands wringing themselves.

"You can have it now, if ya want. Shifu won't mind," Po meekly remarked. In fact, he was certain the red panda would have encouraged his student at this point.

When Monkey did not respond, Po stared hard into the distance...until an idea sparked in his mind.

He leaned back on his hands and let an interested smirk slip across his face. "So, Monkey, I hear from Mantis you used to be a real prankster, huh?"

That got the primate's attention. Monkey regarded the panda with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'used to be'?"

"Well...," Po looked away in a not-so-innocently teasing manner, "what with Shifu being so rigorous and strict and stuff all these years, you've probably gotten kind of rusty with your ways of mischief."

'Oh no, he didn't.'

Monkey flicked his tongue to one side of his mouth, eyelids narrowed at the bear and his flagrant mockery. Okay, fine, if that's the way this guy wanted to play it. The golden langur smirked in return and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You best be watching your next words, Dragon Warrior. Kung fu is not the only thing I'm a master in."

"Oh ho, ho, ho," Po playfully sneered as he literally got up in Monkey's face, "is that a threat, my good man?"

Monkey got in the panda's face right back, smirk never waning. "You better believe it, Po."

Surprise flashed across Po's face before the ursine drew back with an astonished and flattered smile. "So, we're on a first name basis, eh?"

The primate's face became more sincere. "Yeah, I guess we are. In which case..."

He stood up and cleared his throat, hands at his sides. "Hey, I'm Chen...Chen Kong. It's very nice to meet you."

When he finished bowing his head, he looked up to see Po doing the same, happiness reflected by the bear's contagiously radiant smile.

"Po Ping, nice to meet ya, Chen."