The Treehouse [BxB]

five

"Stop giving her treats."

"But she's being such a good girl." Declan protested, scratching Marly behind her floppy ears.

"You're gonna make her fat." River snatched the bag of treats away from Declan and stuffed them back into the drawer.

"Are you body shaming your dog?"

River rolled his eyes, "Will you focus? The deadline for your coursework is soon, and you still have a lot of work to do."

They were working at the kitchen counter today, the windows thrown open to let the cool air drift in, as butterflies danced around in the flowerbeds outside. River's parents were working, and the house was empty, so he suggested working downstairs. He didn't realise that that meant Declan would have a thousand more things to get distracted by.

"Relax, River." Declan's tone was light and dreamy, "I'll meet the deadline. I promise."

River sighed, "Sorry for being so uptight recently. I'm just stressed."

"About what?" Declan pressed, distractedly twisting his ring around his finger.

River couldn't answer that. He was stressed about everything when there was nothing to be stressed about. He was up to date on all of his assignments, summer was right around the corner, and in a couple of weeks, school would finish for the holidays. And yet, there was a constant weight on his chest. Grades, university, the future. It was overwhelming. He was under so much pressure, but not from his parents, or the school, or anyone else. He was solely responsible. The crazy expectations he had for himself, and the crushing feeling of guilt if he didn't live up to them. And the only way he knew how to reply to Declan's question was, "I don't know."

"Maybe you're not getting enough sex."

River glared at him, "My sex life is fine."

"Mine too. If you were about to ask."

"I wasn't."

Declan reached over to ruffle River's hair, and River didn't pull away. "You look nice today, by the way."

River frowned, confusion clouding his features, "Huh?"

"I'm just saying."

"You've never said that to me before."

"Fucking hell, remind me to never compliment you again." Declan rolled his eyes.

River gulped, "Thank you, Dec." He smiled.

"Hey, can we take a break?"

River chewed on his lower lip in contemplation, and then nodded, "Well, Marly could do with a walk, so I guess we could take her out while the sun is still shining."

Ten minutes into the walk, with Marly skipping along beside them, Declan turned to River, "How did you get so smart?" He asked.

River pulled the sleeves of his jumper past his fingers, and held his arms to his chest, noticing the temperature drop as the evening loomed, "I guess I just work hard." He replied.

"You're lucky." Declan tugged at his beanie distractedly as they passed endless rows colourful houses with manicured lawns, "I always lose focus every couple of minutes."

"You can work on that." River suggested.

"Nah." Declan shook his head, "I share a room with my brother; the little fucker never shuts up. It's hard to get work done."

River was staring at the concrete pavement beneath his shoes, Marly bouncing happily between their legs, her tail wagging furiously, "There isn't anywhere else you can study?"