A/N: Wrote this an hour before I had to leave for class. This is actually my favorite chapter.

"Master Shifu, what are your intentions with my son?"

Shifu very nearly dropped the plate he had been washing in the porcelain sink. "E-excuse me?" The red panda turned to face Ping, Po's father. The goose had a stern etched across his face.

"I said, what are your intentions with Po?" Shifu blinked, dumbfounded. Just a moment ago they had been cheerfully discussing soup bones and recipes… where the hell had this come from?! "Mr. Ping, your son is a grown man, and-" Ping silenced him with a wing.

"That was not my question, Master," he snapped. Shifu growled angrily as the goose waddled to the sink and began drying a dish. Shifu took a cautious step back; Ping was infamous for throwing plates in a fit of rage. "Did Po ever tell you how I came to be his father?" Ping asked. Shifu shook his head slowly. Where was he going with this?

"My wife passed away very young. We married shortly after finishing school and worked in my father's restaurant. This restaurant," he said motioning about the kitchen. Shifu raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

"The doctors told me she had a… respiratory illness. They did everything they could. After she passed, I left the shop and started a farm, a rice paddy. I craved solitude above everything else. It was then that I found Po." Ping pulled out the stopper in the sink before drying his hands.

" I was making my usual rounds in the field when I heard crying coming from the far side of the paddy, just at the edge of the forest. That's when I found him." Ping smiled and looked up at the ceiling.

"He was so small, just a little whimpering thing. I had no idea where or who his parents were. I still don't. I took him in that day and raised him as my own." Ping hung the dishtowel over the sink and turned to Shifu.

"So, given this story, you must see why I am so protective of him. He filled a void in my heart and has brought me so much joy… I was fully prepared to accept that Po would never find a partner to share his life with. After all, Giant Pandas are not so common as they once were. I want to be positive that I am not giving my only child off to some cradle-robbing, perverted, old raccoon!" Ping said coldly.

Shifu narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I assure you, duck, that my intention was never to come between you and your son! I am thankful for everything you have done for Po, and it was because of you that he grew up to be the selfless, loving, beautiful person he is today! But you have no right to harass me like this!" Shifu cried.

There was a deafening silence in the room. All that could be heard was the tinkling of the wind chimes in the garden. Shifu looked down at his feet. "I… I never thought I could be happy again. After my own child betrayed me. And then I met Po." Shifu looked up at Ping with a crooked smile. "It's funny, you lost a wife and gained a son, and I lost a son and gained…"

Ping scoffed and examined his wings. "I don't see what is so funny." Shifu sighed and closed his eyes, ears drooping dejectedly.

"No, it's not funny at all," he mumbled. "Po means… everything to me. He is my student… my lover… and my friend. You ask me what my intentions are? I intend to spend the rest of my days loving your son." Shifu whispered.

"I believe you," the goose said quietly. Shifu looked up incredulously.

"I give you my blessing." And with that Ping turned and left the kitchen, heading up the stairs to his bedroom. Shifu gave a shaky sigh.

"Thank you," he whispered, turning and leaning against the sink. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a pair of strong arms wrapped around him, lifting him up against a warm chest. Po. Shifu smiled and rubbed his cheek against the panda's thick fur. "How much did you hear?" Shifu murmured. Po tenderly kissed the back of his neck.

"Every word."

R/R