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“We can’t get a goat, Eskel,” Geralt sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m sorry, but where would we put her?”
Eskel was crouched down by the pen, holding his hand out to the kids inside. They bleated as they swarmed around his outstretched hand, fluffy little tails wiggling. Eskel glanced up at him, his gold eyes pleading.
“But Geralt, look at her. She’s so precious,” he turned back to tickle one of the goats under her chin, producing a contented bleat. Geralt bit his lip, staring at his boyfriend. They had come out into town intending to head to the pet shop to adopt a smaller animal, something that would fit comfortably in their apartment. A lizard, or a gerbil, perhaps. Maybe a goldfish. What they certainly hadn’t come for was a goat, but outside the shop, there had been a local farmer who had visited especially with several of the creatures. But of course, the moment Eskel had laid eyes on the goats, he had become enamoured with them. In particular, the noisiest little lady with a pale brown patch over her eye. Geralt sighed. It stood to reason that Eskel would fall in love with the least practical, most inconvenient pet in the whole building.
He bent down next to Eskel. “Where would we keep her though, Eskel?” he rubbed his hands across the other man’s shoulder blades, preparing himself to comfort him when they had to leave the goat behind. He sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth and continued rubbing circles across Eskel’s broad back. “You know we can’t take her home.”
Eskel looked over at him, lip between his teeth and eyes wider than Geralt had ever seen. “Please,” he whispered, and looked down at the floor unable to maintain eye contact a moment longer, “please Geralt, please, I mean look at her.”
Geralt frowned. They really didn’t have the room at home, but how could he say no to Eskel when he looked like this. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. How was he supposed to decide?
From next to him, he heard Eskel whispering again. “I could knit her little sweaters and we could take her to visit Roach sometimes, they could be friends. Maybe the stable would even let her stay there sometimes, but I wouldn’t want her to get lonely without us,” Eskel babbled, unable to stop now he’d got started on his topic. “We could make a small pen for her, it would fit in the corner of the living room, you know that dead space over by the TV? I-” Geralt shushed him, placing a finger over Eskel’s lips.
“Eskel,” he whispered, pained frown across his forehead. “It’s not like having a cat, we can’t just give her a litter box.” Eskel scowled at him.
“I know that, Ger, but listen, I really think-”
Geralt cut him off. “I know you want a pet, but we could barely squish a cage for a gerbil in the apartment, we can’t-” he made the mistake of glancing up at Eskel. His eyes were drooped, his mouth drawn tight and there was a slight tremble to his jaw that Geralt wasn’t sure his heart could take for a moment longer. He sighed, and glowered down at the goat pen. Looking at the one which had so easily taken his partner’s heart, he could understand why. She didn’t seem to ever stand still, constantly in motion, wiggling around the pen. Her eyes were a deep brown, and her horns curled back over her head, ears poking out either side with soft-looking tufts of white hair. His frown slipped from his face, replaced by a look of wide-eyed wonder as the tiny goat pranced over to him and butted his hand, bleating insistently. Geralt was reminded of Roach when the goat made to bite his fingers, and he pulled his hand back with a loud laugh, surprising himself. Turning back to Eskel, he grinned sheepishly at the other man.
“Ok, so I see what you mean, but we still don’t-”
Eskel didn’t let him finish. “We could move! You’ve been wanting a place with a garden for a while now, and this would be the perfect excuse. A garden would be good for Lil’ Bleater,”
Geralt blinked. “I beg your pardon.” Eskel’s eyes widened, mouth dropping open, and he looked away, laughing awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well, it suits her, doesn’t it?” As if on cue, the mischievous little goat bleated at them, waggling her tail proudly.
“You named her already.” Geralt said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “How are we supposed to leave her if you’ve named her?”
Eskel shrugged, schooling his expression into a blank stare that Geralt knew must be covering for a truly devious grin. “Suppose we can’t.”
Geralt stood up, brushing the knees of his jeans. “Suppose we can’t indeed. Fine, pick her up, I’ll go and pay.”
They arrived home half an hour later, a bleating bundle of fluff wriggling wildly in Eskel’s arms. He couldn’t stop beaming as he cradled Lil’ Bleater. Geralt pushed the door to their cramped flat closed behind them and Eskel released the goat. Immediately, she bounced off into their bedroom, crying out noisily as she went. Eskel chuckled and turned to Geralt.
“Thank you. It means a lot to me, but you can’t pretend you’re not in love with her, too,” he said, pulling his boyfriend in for a hug. Geralt hummed, laying his head down on Eskel’s shoulder, nuzzling in.
“No I can’t, but if she eats our blankets before we get in there, I am not going to be pleased,” he murmured, kissing Eskel’s neck.
“So, when are we going to find this house with a garden for your goat, Esk?”
Eskel snickered and turned to press a tender kiss to Geralt’s lips.
“ Our goat,” he insisted, stroking the side of Geralt’s face, enjoying the feel of the stubble under his fingers. “And maybe we should settle her in first.”
Geralt blinked open one eye. “Hmm. You’re right. Let’s go save the blankets from the terrifying beast.”
Eskel snorted, and took Geralt’s hand, pulling him into their bedroom to find the newest addition to their family.