"Tom."
Tom looked up from his laptop, blinking slightly as his eyes adjusted to the light. It got dark early now, far earlier than it had even a few weeks ago. Where had the time gone? He could have sworn that he had just sat down in front of his computer a few minutes ago, but a quick look at the time showed that it was well past six in the evening. Carl was watching him with a faintly amused look on his face.
He scowled at his long-time partner. "You didn't play a time trick on me, did you?"
"As if I would waste that much power." Carl grinned, coming over to rub his shoulders. At his touch, knots that he didn't even know existed melted away, and he leaned into Carl's hands. How long had it been, now? Since their first flush of power, as teenagers. Twenty-five years, was it?
Offhand, he wondered, and not for the first time, if he should propose. They had been together for so long before the laws were changed; before, it simply hadn't been an option, but now, he wondered whether it was necessary. They had been together for long enough without state recognition, and what more would it prove?
They owned the house together. All their investments were either in joint ownership or had the appropriate beneficiary designations. They had powers of attorney and Wills for each other locked in a fireproof safe. From a purely practical perspective, they had no need for formal state recognition, but there was something about the question that always came back to haunt him anyway. It might be nice, to have their commitment publicly recognized. It might be nice, to have a wedding. It might be nice, having all of their friends and family come around to celebrate.
"What is it?" Carl asked, coming around to look him in the face. "You have your thinking face on."
They hadn't lasted as long as they had without communication. Still, he hesitated, looking at his partner—he hadn't mentioned anything about it before, had always been able to dismiss it as an unnecessary fancy before, but for some reason today was different.
It was autumn. They had met in the fall, when the air was crisp and full of promise, and the leaves were changing into a blazing riot of colours. He always felt different in the autumn.
"You ever think about getting married, Carl?"
His long-time partner raised an eyebrow, pulling out a seat at the table and dropping into it. "If that was you proposing, Tom, it was pitiful."
Tom shrugged. "I was just sounding out the idea."
"You're a romantic." Carl smiled, the same smile that had entranced him when they had run into each other, new wizards both, at fourteen years old. "If you brought it up at all, you've probably been spinning on it for months. I don't really see the need, but if you want to formalize everything, that's fine with me. Let's get married, then."
Tom felt a very silly sort of smile coming across his face. "All right, then. Yes, let's do that. Er—how are we going to tell everyone?"