It was that time, Every night right after dinner He would take the boys out for a walk around their property. The expansive hundred acres of land was plenty to walk without fear of being seen. both boys sat expectantly at the back door, eyes wide and practically vibrating in excitement. Ivan chuckled as he drew closer and Matthew bounced a bit.
They needed a bit more than just leashes for this of course. Ivan grabbed Alfred walk bag first, rummaging through it and pulling out the thick finger-less gloves. "Paw" he commanded and Alfred complied instantly. "Good boy Alfred" Alfred beamed at the praise, this was one of the few times the man listened to anything. He slipped gloves on both paws and then moved to pull out the next step, hard padded knee pads, no need to get rocks and sticks in their knees! Once those were on he moved to the other twin repeating the process with the slightly more wiggly boy. Matthew adored walks in the same way Alfred loved dinner time, no matter how much he tried, Ivan knew that was as calm as Matthew was going to get about it.
It was warm enough at this time of year that they didn't need the other things in the bags, warm furry pants and coats. However… Ivan turned to the shelf and grabbed suntan lotion, quickly spraying both of them down. There.
This is the point where Matthew lost all composure, Bouncing around like his brother usually would." Walkie walkies walkies!" Ivan had grabbed the leashes. He laughed as he moved to clip the red one to the bouncy pup, before securing the blue in similar fashion to the smiling, but still, blonde next.
He wrapped the loops securely around his wrist, preparing for the dash as he opened the door. Matthew and Alfred shoved at each other the get out the door. Ivan was yanked forward by the two excited pups, he barely had time to close the door behind him. "Hey!" he called yanking back on the leashes causing them to stop as he turned the key in the lock. Matthew sat, half strangling himself waiting for the leash to ease so he could move forward, Alfred had moved back to Ivan's side nibbling at the leg of his shorts in a show of impatience.
As soon as the door was locked and he took a few steps forward Alfred moved to join his brother, knowingly they headed for the tree line, knowing the route they took through the paths that wound. Their noses were to the ground as they weaved across the path. Ivan smiled as he watched them enjoying themselves in the sun dappled path. He really should be training them to heel, but they just looked so happy!
They reached the end of the trail only fifteen minutes later and the excitement somehow grew. Matthew and Alfred whining and twirling around each other, tangling the leashes. "Come boys" he said simply. Both scrambling to sit in front of him. Paws still moving as they were unable to be still. He unhooked both leashes and watched as the pair shot off into the field, Tumbling over each other and chasing one and other.
He watched them like this for a while, they darted around, in among the towering sun flowers and the grassy area beside it. Yips of joy and calling of names echoing into the summer evening air.
Ivan wasn't exactly sure how long he sat out there, enjoying the sights and sounds of the boys before he let out a long sharp whistle. Both listening in an instant, rushing back to him panting " Good boys! Okay, Time to get back to the house da?"
"Okay daddy"
"Yes daddy"
He smiled down at them as he clipped the leashes on, placing a kiss on their heads, dodging as Alfred tried to turn his head up at the last second "No Alfred, that waits for later da?" as much as he would love to play with them right here… The mosquitoes were coming out, and he really didn't want to deal with the scratching and whining for the next week.
Alfred huffed a sigh "Okay…"
They moved down the trail markedly slower this time, still panting from the exertion of the field. Eventually they made it back to the house. Once their gear was stripped and they had each earned a scratch behind the ears, they moved to the water dishes in the kitchen, both lapping noisily until they had drank their fill. Then they trotted to the living room, both heading for the over-sized dog bed curling up together and resting.
Ivan smiled at them as he moved to the couch pulling out his book. The dogs were fed, watered and walked, now he could relax for a while... Until bed time at least.