Birds in my ears [Chase/Ari]

Chase walked out on the front porch and stretched like a cat in the sun. "Ahhh," he said, enjoying the warmth of the new spring. It was a stark contrast to the bitter winter he had suffered through. This was his favorite time of year, when spring was in full-swing and summer was just around the corner.


He sat down on the bench that they kept on their front porch and sighed. He could see his daughter playing in the front yard, singing to herself. She would be two years old before too long. It was hard to believe.


He had a cup of coffee in his hands, regardless of the fact that it was mid-afternoon. It was simply a habit of his, albeit a fairly unfavorable one.

Ari let out a yawn as he opened the door to walk out of his house. He had just woken up from a nap and luckily his son was sleeping, so it would give him time to sit outside for a little while before having to rush back to being a full-time father again. A little five minute break wouldn't hurt him. He walked outside and the door slapped right behind him. He looked around and spied his friend across the yard. So across the yard he would travel to his friend.

"Afternoon, Cha--." Ari began then furrowed his brows, cutting off his sentence. "You do realize it is almost dinner, right?" He chuckled, walking up the porch.

Clara looked up and waved at Ari as he crossed over into their yard. "Daddy always has c'ffee before dinner," she told him matter-of-factly. "Otherwise he looks like this." She pretended to fall asleep, flopping over in the yard with her eyes wrenched shut. Chase chuckled.

"I thought it was common to have caffeine constantly rushing through a father's veins," he said, moving over on the bench to make room for his friend. "Ah, yes, dinnertime. Clara's favorite time of day, right?" She popped up in the yard and nodded her head, grinning wildly. "Go see what Mommy's making, kiddo." She nodded, and ran past them as she headed for the house.

Chase shook his head. "I was just sitting here, thinking of how big she's getting." He sighed. "Jethro's getting bigger, too. And we're getting older." He groaned and let his head fall back. "I'm convinced that I'm turning into my father."

Ari shifted his gaze down to the small girl and he smiled--that girl was adorable, reminding him a lot of her mother, Mia. "Your daddy just needs to sleep more." He spoke kindly then chuckled softly as the girl flopped over. Ari crossed his arms, "Well, haven't had coffee in a long time and look at me. My boy is a good sleeper." Chase had moved over, he took that moment to bring himself to the bench and sit down next to his friend. Ari chuckled help but smile as the girl seemed so excited to know what they could possibly be eating for dinner.

"Yeah, she's definitely getting bigger. Sooner than you know it, she's gonna' be all grown up." Ari responded, then thought of his own child, "Yeah, he is. I don't want him growing too fast." He leaned back, "We're gong to be old men. Like those ones on the television, playing chess." He closed his eyes for a moment, "What? Was he crazy, or something?" He questioned.