Of Little birds and Gods Grace

"Little bird!" Wiley squealed, swatting at the boy's hands playfully although truly, he kind of enjoyed being tickled. "Don't do that! I said I'd kiss you, you can't tickle!" He whined, taking the boy's face into his hands and kissing him sweetly just so he might stop. "And I can't help it that my cheeks get pink." He pouted cutely as he pulled back, his arms winding around the small Native boy's waist.

"Good.  Little bird loves Kwanita's pink cheeks."  The young Native reached down to gently run his thumb over the boys brightly burning skin in a tender caress. "They are the color of sunsets, like when the sun is completely gone and the sky is left with streaks of pink against the blue.  That's the color matched with your eyes, Wiley.  An entire sunset on your face."  Their lips brushed delicately.  "God truly was gracious when he made you." It was rare Kenai ever used the boys given name being he knew how Wiley hated it.  But he himself had always adored the name and how it sounded rolling from his tongue.

Kenai's words only made Wiley's cheeks flush a deeper shade of pink as he smiled shyly up at the Native boy.
"Don't let anybody hear you calling me Wiley or else they'll think it's okay." Wiley smirked lightly, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck. "And it's only okay when you do it. My Kenai is the only one allowed to use my real name." He murmured quietly, merely resting there then and staring up at his friend. Really, he didn't mind it so much when Kenai said his real name, especially not when the boy said it in that voice while saying such sweet words about him. That was the only time it was allowed.

"Oh yeah?  Only Kenai?"  The young Native's smile was radiant like the sun, his brown eyes glowing and speckled green with pride. "Little bird is blessed for that.  Being Kwanita's special person is the best thing little bird has done in his life." The boy pressed their lips together, lingering just a moment longer than normal.  He was going to marry Wiley.  His life couldn't happen any other way.  The boys blue eyes and pink cheeks had ruined him for anyone else.  Nothing would ever compare.
"Little bird has something to ask you, Kwanita!" Kenai announced abruptly pushing himself up from the grass and glancing to the tree branch above them.  It was low enough that the young Indian could reach it simply by jumping.  From there he swung himself upside down, his legs hooking securely over the branch as they so often did.  The boy reached down for Wiley then, his cheeks coloring as the blood rushed to his head. "C'mere Kwanita! Come see little bird."

Wiley couldn't hold back his giddy laughter as he got to his feet and made his way over to the branch, grinning as he stood face to face with the upside down boy.
"What does little bird want to ask his Kwanita?" He spoke softly, reaching out to take Kenai's face in his hands, pecking the boy's lips softly.

Kenai's breath was stolen away with the kiss, but the native was determined to finish what he had started.  His tanned hands caught Wiley's holding them carefully up to his lips before he began to speak.  "Kenai wants to know if Wiley will really marry him."  The young native placed a kiss upon each knuckle.  "Kenai wants to be your special person forever.  I want to kiss you always, and eventually we could do different kinds of kisses, kinda like Denahi and Bane but better."  Everything with Wiley was better. 
"I wouldnt have to worry about anyone swooping in and trying to steal you away because you'll be mine forever, and i'd fight everyday to keep Kwanita giggling like I love. We could grow up together and live together until the end, and even after he dies Little bird will love Kwanita. Nothing could ever take little bird away from you, and even if Kwanita tried he couldn't run me off.  So he might as well just say yes and marry his little bird."

"Of course I'll marry you my little bird." Wiley cooed gently, leaning in to kiss the boy sweetly. "Nothing will ever keep Kwanita away from his little bird. We'll spend the rest of our lives together and I can't wait until we're older and we can cuddle together and kiss like Denahi and Bane and everybody looks at us and is jealous of how in love we are. Nothing is ever going to split us up, Kenai. Because I'd marry you right now if I could." He spoke softly, his tone unusually sincere as he pressed another kiss to his little bird's lips.

"You would marry me now?"  Kenai's heart soared at the confession, and he was quickly dropping out of the tree so that he could pull Wiley against his chest. "Well then we don't have to wait, Kwanita! Sitka and Shiloh don't have to know about it!  Denahi could just marry us here!"  He was laughing brightly as though he had it all figured out, how he would make Wiley his husband and mate. "That way we can still be married even now! And later when we are older we can do it all again because no one will know! We could be married twice! Wouldn't that be fun, Wiley? Can we do it?  We should do it on the next full moon! Bears Claw and Strong arm will be gone on a hunt then!" Kenai pressed their lips together feverishly. "Little bird is gonna spend the rest of his life with you."

"That would be fun!" Wiley beamed, nodding his head in agreement and bouncing lightly as he hugged the boy close. "I'll be your secret husband until we're older." He giggled softly, swaying from side to side in his happiness as he considered what they could do for their wedding. "We have to ask crocodile if he'll do it for us." He nodded, hoping Denahi would marry them as soon as possible.

"He can't say no, or I'll tell Sitka that he snuck out last night to see Bane and was gone for like, four hours. Then he'd be in for it because I dont think Bane's brother would approve if Sitka mentioned it to him." Kenai gave a sly grin, glancing over his shoulder and allowing his eye to catch the wild blackberry bushes out back.
"Want to go pick the berries now?  And then go talk to Denahi and see how much bribing it will take to make him agree?"

"Yeah, let's go little bird!" Wiley grinned, helping the boy down from the tree and tugging him along by the wrist over to where the blackberry bushes were. "We can start making the jam for your birthday! And maybe we can use some extra jam to help bribe crocodile." He hummed softly as they ran.

The young native felt this was the only time running was acceptable, being tugged along by Wiley and listening to his soft hum, always bordering giggles whenever Kenai would reach out to tickle him as they moved. When they made it to the edge of the blackberry fields, Kenai pulled them to a stop, his smile affectionate as he turned his back to Wiley and dropped down on one knee.  "Come on Kwanita, let little bird carry you from here.  The briar patches are thick this year." He was always  offering piggy back rides, even if he got a little winded from them.  It was worth it to hear the smile in Wiley's voice.  But this was also for the boys safety.  Kenai never risked letting Wiley get so much as a scratch if he could help it.

"Alright, little bird can give Kwanita a piggy back ride for now." Wiley nodded lightly as he climbed onto the boy's back, grinning widely. "But I don't need it!" He reminded after a moment as his arms secured around the other boy's neck. "I'm just letting you because you want to." He spoke with a peck to the top of the boy's head, smiling as he was carried. He truly did enjoy piggy back rides.

"Mhm, only because little bird wants too."  Kenai agreed teasingly as he lifted Wiley up and began the walk through the little groves Sitka had made for him.  Denahi had been made to help of course, and by the time they had finished all the bushes were in neat rows, eliminating the risk of their baby brother scarring his bare feet in the briars every time he went in to pick his blackberries. The young native paused at the opening to pick up the gator skin carriers that had been a gift from Denahi on his tenth birthday, handing one back to Wiley and beginning his trek along one of the blackberries bushes. Kenai was eating more than he managed to put into his carrier, his tanned skin already smeared and sticky with the sweet juices.  This was normal for him though, one reason he never managed to gather enough for jam when he went alone. By the time he'd get back to the house, he'd have already eaten everything he managed to collect.
The boy was endearing in that aspect, always cheeky and grinning and not sorry one bit. 
"The berries are sweet this year,"  The boy's smile could be heard in his voice. "But not as sweet as Kwanita's kisses!"

"You're already all sticky, little bird!" Wiley giggled as he reached down, his hands grasping the boy's cheeks and feeling the juice all over them. "You can't have any Kwanita kisses if you keep eating and get sticky." He teased although of course he knew he'd end up kissing the boy anyways. He was reaching down from his spot on Kenai's shoulders, picking berries and putting them into his basket. Normally he would have been tempted to eat them too but he wanted to make sure they had enough for Kenai's jam.

"What! Thats not fair!"  Kenai protested in a soft whine, popping another ripe blackberry into his mouth.  "Kwanita knows he likes sticky kisses too! They are sweet."  The young native laughed softly, taking a handful of berries from the bush to actually drop into his pouch.  "But Little bird likes all the kisses! The sleepy slow ones and the ones when Kwanita is still giggling and I can feel it against my lips. Every kiss with Kwanita is my new favorite."

"Kwanita likes all the kisses too." Wiley admitted, leaning down until he could press a kiss to one of Kenai's cheeks, whining as his lips became sticky with blackberry juice. "Even the sticky ones." He giggled then, plucking a blackberry from the bush to pop into his own mouth. "Little bird is going to get sick though if he keeps eating them." He informed though he took one of the berries from his own basket and fed it to the boy anyways.

"Little bird is willing to take that risk."  Kenai looked up to give Wiley a cheeky grin, his mouth and chin coated in the dark purple juice the berries supplied. "Especially if his Kwanita is feeding him." The boy winked, smacking his lips as if to blow Wiley a kiss before picking out more berries from the grove.  "If we get enough we might can even talk Sitka into making a desert!"  His older brother had been taking care of them ever since their father had died when Kenai was around five.  Their mother had passed giving birth to the youngest of the Sandoval children.  So Sitka had tripled as big brother, mother, and father for Denahi and Kenai. Cooking had been a pain in the ass, but the oldest had learned and he did well for his little family. "Bear claw is scary sometimes but he makes great cakes! Oh! And one time he made a pie for Denahi after he broke his arm two summers ago but I wound up eating most of it." His smile still never managed to be guilty.  Denahi and Sitka had merely laughed and teased him for it, there was never any real anger.

"Oh maybe I can help bear claw make a cake for you!" Wiley grinned proudly. He had a love of cooking. When he and Shiloh's father had died just two years ago, Shiloh had attempted to take over all of the duties of a parent but he had never been able to get the hang of cooking very well. So Wiley had taken that into his own hands for a while. But nowadays the two brothers spent most of their nights at the Sandoval home and Sitka cooked for them all anyways. Wiley still managed to sneak his way into the kitchen some nights to help out. "You gotta help me pick more berries when my birthday comes along too, little bird." He nodded to himself. "For my birthday I just want to lay out here by our tree with you and eat berries together." He giggled, though really it sounded like a nice day.

"Little bird would love that Kwanita! It makes me so happy that you want to spend your special day with me." Kenai adored special occasions, sometimes he made them up just so he had a reason to celebrate with his family.  "And I think bear claw would really like that, he is always grumbling about having to cook!"  Sitka truly didn't mind though.  He got a great satisfaction from being blessed enough to feed his family. And he had always loved to teach.  Passing down knowledge and making memories was how people lived even after they died. "He might even just show you and you can make my birthday cake this year! That would be so special, a cake from my Kwanita!'

"That would be perfect!" Wiley beamed, swaying lightly on Kenai's shoulders in his excitement. "I'm going to make your cake all by myself. I'll talk to Sitka tonight!" He grinned proudly, dropping several kisses to the top of Kenai's head and squeezing him tightly. "I can't wait for your birthday." He nodded happily. "It's going to be so perfect for you."

"Everything is perfect for Kenai when he has his Kwanita!"  The boy spun them gently, not wanting to risk unbalancing his friend for fear of Wiley falling down. "But really I am excited for my birthday this year.  I get a surprise AND a cake from my Wiley.  Im so excited I can't hardly stand it!"  Kenai whined softly, reaching to pick more blackberries as if they would make him feel better. "I want to know what my surprise is so bad! I'll do anything if you tell me."

"Aw come on, little bird!" Wiley pouted softly, running his fingers through the boy's hair. "Just let me have my fun! It's going to be so fun to see you all surprised and happy when you get it. So just wait. The wait will make it even more fun." He smiled to himself as he began to braid a strand of Kenai's hair.

"The wait hurts though!"  Kenai gave another pitiful whine, but his eyes were alight with excitement and adoration as he felt Wiley's fingers working through his hair.  That had always been one of his favorite things.  Whenever he was happy or sad or upset, it always did him good when Wiley would play with his hair.  Especially when the boy would braid it.  That way Kenai could keep Wiley close even when the boy wasn't physically there.  He had his braids.
"But I guess it will be worth it if thats what my Kwanita wants."

"Thank you little bird!" Wiley crooned, leaning down to nuzzle the boy's neck. "I promise the wait will be worth it. Especially because waiting makes me happy so I'll give you more kisses." He giggled, reaching out to feed the boy another blackberry. "And I'll keep feeding you berries even though you probably shouldn't eat so many." He teased.