Tom sat up in bed the covers falling away from him. He sighed there was a horrid feeling of missing something and being too tried to do anything about it. Tom knew that it was his wizardly slipping away. It was a horrid feeling to lose something that had been the center of your life for the past twenty years.
Tom cased a look at the other still sleeping form occupying the bed and was suddenly gripped with fear. When you lost your wizardry you forgot almost about all the relationships you had because of your art. Even the people you loved became nothing more the fluffy little acquaintances you didn't really care much for. If the thought of losing his wizardry had horrified him it was nothing compared to the thought of losing Carl.
Carl could feel the distress coming from Tom and opened an eye to glance up at him. Like Tom Carl could feel his art slipping from him like water slipping through his fingers.
"It's 2 in morning Tom; can you try not to be distress until at least 5? It's rather hard to sleep with you worrying like that." Carl said his voice muffled by the pillow and thick with sleep.
"I can feel myself losing it." Tom said. Carl grumbled and rolled over to his back. He knew there would be no sleeping until Tom stopped worrying.
"We all can Tom; we've just got to put our faith in the younger wizards. There's at lot of talented people up." He said, but he could tell that Tom was no less distressed.
"What if they don't stop it in time?" Tom asked and Carl made an exasperated sound.
"What if?! What if I strangled you with the bed sheets so you'll let me sleep?! You know better than worry about what ifs!"
"Some what ifs have to be worried about." Tom said quietly.
"Like what?"
"Like what if I lose you along with my wizardry?" Carl eyes widened. He hadn't really given that much thought, but now that he did he could fully understand the fear he could feel from Tom.
"You won't." Carl said calmly.
"Won't I?
"No, because we know each other outside of wizardry and we met for the first time before either of us had our manuals." Tom still looked worried, "Besides do really think that it's possible to repress or deny a relationship that's been over twenty years in the making?"
"If it's possible to deny or repress visiting foreign galaxy and almost dying there why isn't repressing anything else?" Tom asked and Carl shut his eyes.
"I promise," He began in the Speech, "even if we lose our wizardry I will still love you." A promise made in the Speech is binding, even when neither the person making it nor the person it was made to no longer remember why, and Carl could feel the worry ebbing away from Tom.
"I promise that if we lose our wizardry I'll still love you." Tom repeated in the Speech.
"Good, now I'm going to back to sleep because I have a morning meeting in the city." Carl rolled back over and pulled the covers up. Tom watched as he fell asleep before wrapping his arms around Carl's waist and drifting in to a dreamless sleep.
---
The morning was quite; peacefully, horridly, sickeningly, quite. Tom sat sipping his tea looking out the window. He could hear the upstairs shower turn off and the floor creak as Carl walked across it. There had been something off about Carl that morning; he was much too concerned with his meeting in the city.
Carl entered the kitchen.
"Well I'm off." Tom glanced away from the window.
"You haven't eaten yet."
"I don't have time, the news says traffic is heavy today and I can't be late to this meeting." He bent down and kissed Tom, "Here I'll take an apple and I promise to get something in the city if I time." He said grabbing the red fruit before walking quickly out the door. Tom didn't hear anything after being kissed. There had been nothing there. Kissing Carl had been like kissing any normal non-wizard person.
Realization hit Tom and he nearly dropped his cup. Kissing Carl had been like kiss a normal person, because it was kissing a normal person. Carl had lost his wizardry.
Annie whined and put her head in his lap and Tom absent mindedly pet her.
"Feed me!" She demanded. Tom blinked before putting his cup down and following the dog. If Carl had lost his wizardry it wouldn't be long until Tom lost his.
It would be horrid not to hear the trees think or talk with Carl's fish, but it wouldn't be so bad. Tom shut his eyes; at least he wouldn't lose Carl. He opened them again to stare at the sunlit yard, and knew his wizardry would be gone soon and for the first time accept the fact, because sometimes some things mean more than Life.
---
AN: Yeah, just a little fluffy oneshot that I found on my computer when looking for a chapter I'd miss placed. TomCarl is one of my favorite parings so I decided to write something for it a long while ago and I guess I forgot to post it. I hope you liked it even in all its shortness.