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"There were dogs in the Barrel, sometimes." Jesper says, rolling his eyes. "They lived outside."
Sir Beenhouwer, as Wylan called it, was a tiny white dog about the size of one of his pistols. Jesper called him Beenie to annoy Wylan. Beenie was blind, and a Wylan had saved him from a breeder. Beenie slept on Jesper's favorite chaise. He got hair on the elegant merchant's jackets Jesper wore ironically to dinner. He barked at guests.
"He's a friend." Wylan says firmly. "I don't like it." "him", Wylan hisses. Jesper kisses him goodbye. They have this argument every morning.
That night, Wylan asks him as they're falling asleep if he ever had a pet. Jesper puts all his thoughts about the chickens they had at the farm in Novyi Zem out of his mind. "No. Animals are here to work." Wylan smirks. "Farm boy." He scoffs. "I was not made for farms." Wylan kisses him teasingly, and the sick feeling in his stomach starts to go away.
"There was a goat I liked, once", he says, as they lay in bed hours later, still not asleep. Wylan tilts his head up from where he rests, pressed against Jesper's heart. "Yeah? What was her name?" "We called him Milo", Jesper says. "Goats are nice." Wylan tells him sleepily, and Jesper smiles as he drifts off.
The next day at dinner he discovers Wylan has brought home not one, not two, but five goats. Wylan has also named them after types of revolvers. "Blackhawk? Webby? Pearl? What kind of names are those?" He howls with laughter. Saints, but he loves Wylan. He's adorable.
"They're going to live in the back garden. Wylan says proudly. "I'm having a shed built."
Jesper kisses him again. "This is stupid." "You're smiling." Wylan replies cheerfully.
Beenie loves the goats. He chases them around yapping and they rub their heads on him when they all laze in the garden after dinner.
Jesper loves the goats too, even if he doesn't talk about it.
Wylan pries more details about Milo out of him a few days later. "So you left him with a barmaid, where in Ravka?"
The next day, Jesper walks in their front door and screams. "What? How?" "You'd be surprised what merchant money can do.", Wylan says proudly.
This time, Wylan kisses him, and Jesper smiles, and makes Wylan tea that they drink together in the back garden.