This story is named after the children's song "Little Bird, Little Bird" by Elizabeth Mitchell.
Also, I'm just letting you guys/girls know that, due to some real-life stuff, my updates will be slower than usual. That said, I assure you the stories will be worth the wait.

Love. The mere mention of the word summons images of people holding hands, kissing and proposing marriage. However, how does it all start? Kenny and Kyle's first child, Keith, asked Kenny that very same question.

"Alright, Keith, it's time for bed. What story do you want me to read you tonight?"
"...Dad, how did you and daddy fall in love?"
"That's a very long story. I doubt you'll be able to stay awake through all of it."
"C'mon, dad..."
"Alright..." Kenny sighed. "It was about thirty years ago..."

THIRTY THREE YEARS AGO

The sun was shining brightly all over South Park, slowly melting the snow accumulated on the sidewalks and streets. The adults were carefully driving around, and all the children were at school, having fun in recess. Four boys – Kenny, Kyle, Stan and Cartman – were discussing what to do after school.

"We could sneak in to the movie theater to see the new Terrence and Phillip movie." Cartman suggested.
"That's for grown-ups..." Kyle said shyly.
"Oh, come on, Kyle! Are you scared?"

Cartman's tone only made Kyle feel more uneasy about his suggestion, which lowered his volume somewhat and made him bow his head.

"No... I just don't think it's right..."
"Seriously? C'mon; everyone does it."
"Hey, leave him alone!" Kenny yelled.
"Oh, look, standing up for your boyfriend."

"I wish." Kyle thought.

"Just shut up, fatass." Stan said. "What movie do you want to watch, Kyle?"
"I dunno..."

Kyle had always been one of the shyest boys in the school, but it only got worse when he started to develop feelings for Kenny. He didn't know what was going on with his body, and he was too scared to talk to anyone about it. His brother was practically still a baby, and he thought his parents would think he was a freak.

"Boys aren't supposed to like other boys." Kyle thought.

"Well, let's do something else then. Why don't we go to the burger joint near Kyle's house?"
"Sure, that works." Kenny said.
"Fine; whatever." Cartman replied.

Later that afternoon, the boys met at the burger joint, as agreed, and were happily eating their burgers. Cartman, unsurprisingly, had the most burgers out of all four boys, along with several fries. Kenny had less burgers than everyone else, due to his family's money problems, but Kyle happily shared his with him. He had bought more burgers with the intent of sharing them with Kenny, but he knew that if Kenny knew it, he'd never accept them. Although Kyle felt bad for basically lying to his friend, he knew it was the right thing to do.

"So what do you guys think about Wendy?"
"Why do you ask, Cartman?"
"I dunno... I think she's kinda cute."
"Like anyone would be interested in a fatty like you."
"Shut up, blondie." said Cartman as he shoved several fries into his mouth.

"If only you'd stop eating like a pig, maybe you'd stop looking like one."

The boys finished their food and headed home.

Kyle's home was closest to the burger joint, so he was the first one to leave the group.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Much to his displeasure, Cartman lived closest to Kyle, so he was the second to split from the group, leaving Kenny and Stan on their own.

"Did you notice Kyle's acting a bit stranger than usual?"
"Yeah. He didn't even react when Cartman picked on him. Usually he'd flip out and punch him or something."
"He's not very strong; Cartman barely flinches when Kyle punches him. Maybe he's realized that too."
"Yeah, maybe..."
"...You were quick to stand up for him, though."

Kenny looked at Stan, who had a knowing smile on his face.

"What are you trying to say, Stan?"
"I'm just saying, maybe you think of Kyle as more than a friend..."
"Dude, you've stood up for him too. Does that mean you're into him?"
"The difference is that I know I only think of him as a friend. I don't know how you feel about him, though."
"...He's way too sheltered for my liking."

"But you do like guys... I should've known."

PRESENT

"Wait, how did you know what he was thinking?" Keith asked.
"You'll see when I tell you the rest of the story."

THIRTY THREE YEARS AGO

Kenny and Stan walked for a couple more minutes until they reached Stan's house. Stan then headed off inside, leaving Kenny on his own. The boy was used to being alone, so he didn't even notice the difference. He entertained himself by thinking about his friends; specifically Kyle.

"I wonder why Kyle is so quiet... Maybe I should talk to him more."

Kenny finally reached his home after almost ten minutes of walking, and headed into his room.

"I wish I lived closer to school... I hate having to walk so much every day... Although it is keeping me in shape."

Kenny was getting ready to do his homework, but gave up after a few minutes of staring at it.

"Damn. I wish I was smarter... like Kyle. He really is smart... Kinda cute too. Although he's way too shy for my liking."

Later that night, in Kyle's home, the red-haired boy had just gone to sleep. He knew what usually followed him falling asleep, and that night was no different.

"Kyle. Open your eyes."

"Here we go..."

Kyle opened his eyes and saw what he expected – Kenny standing over his bed. He smiled and yawned loudly, stretching himself at the same time.

"Hey, Ken... Where are you gonna take me this time?"

Kyle had been having recurring dreams about Kenny for several weeks. In each of them, Kenny appeared and took Kyle away to a far-off place where he experienced something new, and time itself appeared to stand still every time he looked into Kenny's eyes.

"Tonight we're going sky-diving. Just give me your hand and I'll take you there."

Kenny extended his arm toward Kyle, who took his hand without hesitation. He was instantly teleported to an airplane, where he put on sky-diving gear and waited for the location of the jump.

"Ready?!" yelled Kenny, trying to overcome the noise created by the plane.
"Yeah!"

The boys jumped one after the other, getting back together as they were falling toward the ground. The noise created by their free-fall was oddly absent; something Kyle noticed but dismissed.
Kyle knew it was just a dream, but there was something about it that excited him beyond what most real things could. He looked into Kenny's eyes, and everything stood still. The boys were no longer falling; they were floating in mid-air. After a while, they resumed their drop, but Kyle never stopped thinking about the moment when everything froze.
Kyle opened his parachute almost at the same time as Kenny, and their descent was slowed down severely, until they finally hit the ground, in a remote island. The water around them was clear, and the beach seemed to go on forever. The boys changed into their swimming suits and went for a dip in the warm water. They played until Kyle became exhausted and dragged himself back onto the sand, where he lied down in the shade.

"Tired already?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah. You're not?"
"No, because, unlike you, I work out every day. You should try it."
"...You're not even real. You're just... an idea."
"It's good advice anyway, right?"
"Right..."

Kenny lied down next to Kyle and smiled at him.

"You're so pretty, Kyle... I'm glad we're together."
"We're not really together... This isn't real."
"It's real enough."
"Not for me... I want you, Kenny. The real you."
"I know, but... have you ever thought about just telling me how you feel?"
"You'd freak."
"I wouldn't. You're my friend, Kyle."

Kyle stared at Kenny with a doubting expression on his face, so the blond boy quickly changed his argument.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, why not tell your mom? If you're having doubts, I'm sure she could help you out."
"...I can't."
"Kyle, you need to trust other people. If you can't trust your own family, who can you trust?"
"...You're right."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's... great! I'm sure it'll go well."

"I'm not so sure." Kyle thought.

Kenny moved closer to Kyle, with only one thing on his mind. Kyle noticed Kenny's change in demeanor and smiled, because he knew what came next. Kenny closed in further and placed his lips on Kyle's, giving him a short kiss. Kyle felt ecstatic and smiled even more, which the blond boy noticed.

"Am I doing that?" Kenny asked, smiling.
"Yeah..." Kyle said shyly.
"C'mon; don't tell me you're getting shy now..."
"I dunno..."

Kenny realized Kyle was beginning to close himself off from him and decided to lighten up on the romance. However, before he could say anything else, Kyle woke up. He got up, looked around and realized it was past midnight, and began to wonder why he had woken up so early.

"Weird... I usually don't wake up until morning..."

After a while, Kyle decided that the reason for him waking up was meaningless, and instead focused on the main point of his dream.

"Maybe Kenny was right. Maybe I should tell mom... I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Kyle lied back down and closed his eyes, desperately trying to fall asleep and go back to his dream.

After a few minutes, Kyle fell asleep again, and, much to his contentment, resumed his dream sequence.

"Hey, Kyle. Welcome back."

Kyle smiled at Kenny and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, blushing ferociously as he did.

PRESENT

Keith had finally fallen asleep, so Kenny interrupted the story to follow his example. He lied down on the bed he had shared with Kyle for almost twenty years and Kyle asked what was on his mind.

"What took you so long?"
"Keith wanted to know how we fell in love."
"What did you tell him?"
"I started telling him our story from a few weeks before you decided to tell me you liked me, but he fell asleep. I barely got through the first day."

Both men closed their eyes, until Kenny realized something.

"You know... our thirty-third anniversary is in two days."

"I can't believe you still remember that... You really are a great husband."

"Yeah, it is..."
"Do you wanna celebrate it?"
"I dunno... I have tons of work to do."
"It's the weekend."
"Oh, right..."

Kenny noticed Kyle was hesitant to confirm his desire to celebrate their anniversary; an action they had done for as long as they'd been together. Not wanting to have an argument, Kenny decided to drop the issue.

"...Look, Kyle, if you don't want to do it, it's fine."
"I'm sorry... It's just... I dunno. I guess I feel kinda old."
"We're barely middle-age... Maybe you just need some fun, to remind you of what it's like to be young."
"Maybe..."
"Tell you what: I'll make plans, and, if you're not OK with them, we'll cancel."
"Sure, Ken... Thanks."

Both men smiled at each other and closed their eyes, with Kyle falling asleep shortly afterward. Kenny stayed awake for several hours, trying to come up with a way to get Kyle in touch with his inner child.

"What did Kyle like to do when we were kids? Maybe the arcade... Nah... I never liked it that much myself. I don't want to end up resenting Kyle."

After a while, Kenny had almost given up on finding a solution, until one popped into his head out of nowhere.

"Maybe... an amusement park? Roller coasters, fun houses... Kyle would love that! Besides, I haven't been in one in years."

Kenny had finally found the perfect solution for his problem.

"If this doesn't work, nothing will." Kenny thought.

Kenny closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but he had become too excited with his own idea to do so.

"Great. I'm gonna be exhausted tomorrow."