Two Different Animals, One Close Bond

(This is my first Penguins of Madagascar production. This was inspired by Unexpected Bonds, a story by SkullDestroyer. Keep in mind, I am also a fan of Julene but I thought it great to try something new. I also do not claim ownership of the characters in this story.

Chapter 1: Where It Begins

It was a starry night at Central Park Zoo and throughout, all the animals were resting after the day's events. One particular place was the lemur habitat. There, Maurice was asleep in his hammock; this was very comforting for him. But then, much to his surprise he could hear something nearby. Slowly opening his eyes, Maurice lifted his head up.

"What's that?" Maurice asked himself. Getting out of his hammock, he decided to see what it was. As he looked around, he could hear that it was coming from the jumping castle. "Who could that be?" Maurice wondered as he headed over there. As he looked from nearby, he could see that it was Julien sitting on the jumping castle. What surprised Maurice most was that Julien had his face in his hands and was sobbing.

"What's going on this time?" Maurice asked, confused. His question was answered when Julien lifted his head up to look at the starry night sky. "I don't understand. How come she isn't able to see it? Why won't she understand what I see in her?" Julien asked, clearly upset and in distress.

Maurice could figure out what Julien was talking about; he was thinking about Marlene. Ever since the first time Marlene went outside the zoo and was infatuated with Julien, he had started to pull out the stops to make sure that Marlene saw the real him. Marlene however wasn't able to understand and this had started to leave Julien in despair and not knowing what to do.

Listening to this, Maurice started to have an idea. He figured that if he started spending time with Marlene himself, he could get to know Marlene and use that knowledge to help Julien get closer to Marlene. He smiled, figuring that out. And he had the best way to get this fully operational, but he knew that there could be consequences for this.

"It might not be good, but I know this is going to work." Maurice said to himself. With that, he looked up and raised his voice so Julien could hear it, but at the same time didn't know who it really was.

"Don't give up, Julien." Maurice whispered, making sure Julien didn't hear him. This caught Julien by surprise and he looked up, feeling confused and surprised. "Is that you, Sky Spirits?" Julien asked with uncertainty.

"Yes. Your efforts won't go to waste, because Marlene will soon realize how much you mean to her." Maurice continued from his hiding place. Maurice had to be fortunate; he had practised this for a while in case he needed it for something serious.

"You think so?" Julien asked, wondering if what he was hearing was true. Maurice smiled; this was his chance now. He knew he had to make this work. "We know, Julien. You won't be alone anymore soon; Marlene will see that you are the one for her." Maurice continued. He was half-expecting this to backfire, but to his surprise Julien smiled.

"I know how difficult Marlene can be sometimes, but I won't question you. Thank you; I am so glad to know that you are always there." Julien explained. Maurice smiled, hearing this response from Julien.

"Wow, that went a lot better that I expected it to. Now I can really get down to business." Maurice said. With that, he headed off leaving Julien by himself. But Maurice was unaware of where this plan would head; somewhere he didn't expect it to.