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“I miss Milo.”
It was a joke.
Or that’s what it started as, at least. Mostly said around Kaz and Inej, and never in a way that might make Wylan feel like he wasn’t good enough.
“I miss Milo.”
It was a joke.
It got a little out of hand though. The other dregs heard it and started repeating it where Wylan would hear and would feel like he was being compared.
“I miss Milo.”
It wasn’t a joke.
Jesper never said it anymore, but the damage was done.
~
“Hey baby?” Jespers call echos through the house. “Can we talk?”
Wylan buries his head in a pillow and groans. Here it comes. He’d been hearing about this ‘Milo’ character for weeks, and it was really getting out of hand. He figured if Jesper didn’t bring it up soon, he would have to. At least Jesper had the guts to do that.
“Coming.” Wylan calls back. He’s really not looking forward to this conversation. Whoever ‘Milo’ was, everyone around the slat had heard of him, and of what he and Jesper did together. Wylan was getting sick and tired of hearing it, and had come to the conclusion that it was very likely that, one way or another, Jesper would not be sleeping in Wylans house anymore. He walks resolutely down the stairs and sits in the living room, on the couch opposite Jesper. Jesper gives him a tentative smile, but Wylan remains stony faced. Jesper sighs.
“Look, Wy, I’m… I’m really sorry about all of this. It went way too far and too many people found out, and everyone got hurt. I really didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Wylan rolls his eyes. He should have seen this coming a mile away. Jesper was a player, everyone knew it. He’d just thought…
“Im sure you didn’t.” Wylan barks.
Jespers face falls. “Look, baby-“
“ Don’t call me baby.”
“Wylan. The other dregs… they’re exaggerating. Milo’s my friend. I would never ever cheat on you with him. That’s disgusting.”
“Really? Cause those ‘exaggerations’ don’t sound far from par for the course.”
“Wylan, listen to me. Milo is a goat. I met him once, in Ravka, and he saved my life, but I haven’t seen him since, and, and I cannot stress this enough , It’s a goat ! A barnyard animal! Do I miss him? Yes. Am I fucking a goat ? No.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. I am sorry for the behaviour of the other Dregs, they took my silly little inside joke with Kaz and Inej and ran with it, and you got hurt. I’m also sorry I didn’t clear it up with you beforehand. That was stupid of me.”
“It really was.”
“Yeah. But I really do love you, and I would never, ever, cheat on you, especially not with a goat.”
Wylan laughs. Jesper gives him a reluctant smile.
“I am never, ever, letting you live this down.” Wylan smiles. Jesper frowns, and then shrugs.
“S’pose I deserve it.”
~
“Jesper misses Milo.”
It was a joke widely known in the dregs now. If Jesper ever looked mopey, or put out, or if a job that he was on went bad, the common response from whoever was around was ‘does someone miss milo?’
It was an old, overused joke, but it still made both Jesper and Wylan smile.