"Thought I might find you up here."

The red panda jumped and turned his head, glancing out the corner of his eye as another man around his age climbed out of the window and onto the roof. The familiar face was welcomed warmly by a smile, but it slowly faded as the red panda squeezed his knees together, looking up at the glow of the moon above. Beneath them, the music thumped and pounded, intermingled with a bellowing laugh or two. The other man, a canine/avian hybrid, scooted across the roof until he sat beside the red panda, tucking his knees up in a similar fashion. The auburn-furred male shivered and instinctively, the hybrid put an arm around him.

"You cold, Short?" He asked gently. "You're only wearing a shirt, so..."

"I'm alright," The red panda sniffed, mostly due to the chill, and instinctively leant against the other man's side. "Thanks, Finn."

"What're you doing up here? Figured you'd be at the heart of the party, getting baked or something..." Finn muttered, but Short simply shrugged.

"I guess I'm not much in the party mood." He sounded glum, but the way he spoke was very matter-of-fact. Finn clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and squeezed his arm around Short's shoulder a little tighter. The red panda scooted a bit closer as a result, his paw bumping with Finn's own, their legs pressed together.

"Not in the mood, you say," Finn hummed. "Do you want to go home?"

"Nah," The red panda scoffed a little. "I'll be fine. Can we just sit out here for a while, though?"

Finn hummed again, this time in approval, and for a while they sat there and said nothing; the pounding music below and the whistle of the window through the suburban neighbourhood filled the silence for them. Finn didn't really know what to say; he was aware enough to know his friend was feeling a bit glum, but he didn't know why. The only person who did was the man himself, but Finn wasn't about to pry unless it was necessary.

"Thanks for being here with me." Short mumbled after a moment, and Finn turned his head slightly to look down at him.

"Anything for you, dude." The hybrid replied in a heartbeat, squeezing his arm around Short's shoulder some more. After a moment, the red panda leant up and shifted, stretching his legs out and leaning back. He laid flat against the roof, despite the cold, and stared up at the moon above. For a moment, he said nothing, but then he parted his lips to speak.

"Do you believe in stuff like fate?" Short asked out of the blue, causing Finn to frown. He stretched his legs out in a simlar fashion, but didn't lean back-- he instead sagged forwards, planting his hands on his knees.

"I consider myself something of an independent," The hybrid joked. "It would be kind of weird if some higher power had already decided everything I was going to do in life."

"Not like that," Short waved a hand. "But like...some events, places, things. Do you think that you were destined to be at that place at that point in time...even if everything else wasn't, like...pre-determined?"

"Well...I don't know. I don't think so," Finn frowned. "Why?"

"I just wonder sometimes..." He continued. "If some of the things in my life were meant to happen, or if they were because of choices I made."

"...Like what?" The hybrid was quizzical, and Short turned his head to glance at him.

"People I've met...loved...hated..." He lowered his gaze. "Sometimes I think that some guy way up there decided we were going to be best friends...or decided that my life was going to go the way it did."

The red panda lifted a hand and pointed right up to the sky, and Finn followed his finger, staring up at the starry, twinkling dark sky above. He sighed, shifted and laying back after all, briefly wincing at the cold seeped through his hoodie and against his fur. He scooted himself closer until his arm bumped with his own, and Short lowered his hand.

"I think..." Finn continued. "That things happen just because they happen. Some things are unpredictable, others...a product of our own choices. Some things are just unavoidable, but that doesn't mean it was because some guy said so."

"Mm." Short hummed, but he didn't sound all that convinced. Finn turned his head to the side a little, to look at Short through one eye. He pursed his muzzle.

"The act of us being friends..." Finn continued, reaching down to grab Short's hand in his own, bringing it up and giving it a squeeze. "Was a choice we made ourselves. No-one picked it for us. It's a choice I'd make again in a heartbeat."

The red panda blinked at him for a moment and his lower lip wobbled, causing Finn to falter. The hybrid spluttered, feeling awkward, but Short simply brought his head closer, pressing their lips together. The hybrid hesitated and shifted slightly in his laid position, squeezing Short's hand as he returned it. Their kiss lingered for what felt like a lifetime, and as they pulled away it felt like it had ended far too quickly.

"I love you." Short sniffled, and Finn nervously averted his gaze, making a scoffing splutter.

"T-That's fuckin' gay," He joked. "...Sorry for making you cry, dude."

"No, it's good tears," Short assured him. "You want to lick them up?"

"Jesus," Finn grinned and sat up, and Short followed him. "You done being melancholic?"

"No..." Short smirked and then sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But we can go back inside."

"Nah," Finn insisted. "I like it out here. Stay with me?"

Short stared at him for a moment before he grinned wider, and snuggled up beside him, pressing shoulder to shoulder. Finn put an arm around him again and turned his head, pressing his lips to the top of Short's head, in amongst his messy auburn hair.

"I love you too."

The two friends sat under the starry sky, watching the night dwindle into dawn.