A Visitor from Hoth

by Merry Amelie

Title: A Visitor from Hoth
Author: Merry Amelie
Archive: MA only
Category: Alternate Reality, Qui/Obi, Romance, Series
Rating: PG
Summary: A Wampa in the back yard!

Series: Academic Arcadia -- # 195
A chronological list of the series with the URLs can be found under the header 'Academic Arcadia' at the Master Apprentice ML.

My MA story page is here.

Feedback: Is treasured at MerryAmelie@aol.com.
Disclaimer: Mr. Lucas owns everything Star Wars. I'm not making any money.

For
My beta team: Nerowill, Emila-Wan, and Carol
Mali Wane for posting
My former betas: Alex, Ula, and Padawan Sue

Warming up with Ian and Quinn:

1) Christmas in Williamsburg (Revised) - This story and Valentine's Cruise are my favorites in Arcadia.
2) Christmas at Arbor Lodge
3) Winter Warmth
4) A Little Bit o' Heaven
5) Hearth and Home
6) Irish Cream
7) The Wayfarers Inn
8) Snowed In
9) Snow and Chocolate
10) The Man in the Grey Flannel Pajamas

Lelia plays dress-up with Artoo: A Little Halloween Diplomacy

To Inya, Sue, and Clara -- Happy Mother's Day, my friends!

Lelia shrieked with laughter when Ian's snowball hit the Wampa, right between the eyes. "You got him!" she squealed in delight. Her Uncle Wan had the best aim she'd ever seen.

She and her uncles had made the most of a frosty Saturday afternoon in March by building the snow Wampa in the back yard at Alder Run. And, indeed, their yard bore more than a passing resemblance to Hoth, the ice planet which was the creature's natural habitat.

The puppies had joined them, with Artoo staring up at the Wampa in uncertain puzzlement, while Sandy ignored it in favor of playing in the bushes with enthusiasm. Sandy's barking made a fitting accompaniment to the Wampa's frozen expression.

Their snow Wampa was nattily turned out, in the best snowman tradition. But, by its very nature, it didn't have quite the genial look that Frosty would have. Black buttons from one of Quinn's old jackets made for flashing eyes, and an old-fashioned rubber eraser from Ian's desk drawer served as a hastily improvised nose.

When Lelia picked up and pushed a few sticks into the snowy head to create its ferocious maw, Artoo yelped and scampered to the back door, scratching and whining until Ian opened it for him. Not only had he wanted to play fetch with those sticks, but the new use Lelia had put them to scared him silly.

Luckily, Ian knew just what to do. He followed Artoo inside to the kitchen and picked up his squirming puppy. Then he gave him lots of tender hugs and let the pup lick him all over his face. He put Artoo back down with a pat to his head and grinned when the little white chihuahua made straight for his basket, tail wagging merrily.

After he ambled back out to the yard, Ian grinned once more when he saw Quinn lifting Lelia so she could put a straw hat on the Wampa. Incongruous, yes, but Ian had happy memories of Lelia doing the same thing to poor Artoo during a Halloween celebration a couple of years ago. That hat sure got around! Now it had the hilarious effect of dressing up a Wampa that looked like it was on its way to a Caribbean cruise, somehow softening its icy demeanor.

Despite being outside on a blustery day, Lelia was toasty warm, thanks to her uncles' gifts of cold weather gear, not to mention being held in Uncle Qui's arms. It was a family tradition for them to present her with a snowsuit sporting a Luke Snowhawks patch each time she outgrew her old one. They, as well as her parents, had taught her to bundle her old things to give to charity.

This year, Lelia's suit was a vision in white. It even had a tiny snowhawk medallion on the zipper pull, which reminded her of her uncles' little shamrock and parrot charms. Her ear muffs and mittens, all in Luke brown, complemented her adorable outfit.

Quinn had picked up the snowsuit in the college bookstore, along with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor scarves for Ian and Lelia. His lad had let Lelia choose the scarf she wanted, which was why he was wearing the Ravenclaw scarf today, with its vibrant blue and bronze stripes. Thoroughly fitting attire for a professor. And Lelia looked like pure royalty wrapped in crimson and gold, her regal bearing showing why she was the family's little princess.

After the snow Wampa was finally complete, its three builders, along with a shivering Sandy, trooped inside for some hot chocolate. After putting gloves in their pockets, the men took off their jackets and scarves, then hung them on pegs beside the kitchen door. Lelia scrambled out of her snowsuit in no time flat and put it on a lower peg, which Uncle Wan had added just for her. Her mittens stayed attached to the suit, and she wrapped her scarf many times around the peg to keep it off the wet kitchen tiles. Beneath the outerwear, two pairs of Williamsburg boots stood side by side with Lelia's North Face boots, dwarfing them in a charming family tableau. They all changed into slipper boots that were waiting for them in a dry corner of the kitchen.

Quinn went to the living room to start a fire on the hearth. Lelia followed him in to sit on the couch and nestled under the blue and green quilt there. Artoo came in too and jumped up to join her, snuggling onto Lelia's lap to be petted. Clearly, all was forgiven; there would be plenty of time for a game of fetch later that afternoon.

Ian stayed in the kitchen to make the hot chocolate, humming the main theme to "The Empire Strikes Back" as he worked. He smiled when he felt the warmth at his back as arms clad in flannel embraced him from behind. He put down the Ghirardelli tin before he spilled some cocoa.

Good thing he did because Quinn picked that moment to nuzzle under his right ear, just about where Obi-Wan would have grown his Padawan braid.

Ian sighed his approval and turned in his husband's arms, reaching up to steal the first kiss of the afternoon. It tasted of frost, cold air, and their own back yard -- and that was before the hot chocolate. They kept it light, knowing their niece was in the living room, but it was no less loving for that.

"Just what I needed, laddie," Quinn murmured into the soft coppery spikes of Ian's hair.

"Oh, yeah," Ian agreed, hugging him close. He snuck in another kiss while they had the chance.

'Leave it to my impetuous lad,' thought Quinn fondly. He couldn't resist another kiss himself, this time to Ian's nose, still cold and a bit red from their fun outdoors.

Reluctantly disentangling when they heard Sandy's skittering on the tiles -- a timely reminder of just how precarious their privacy was -- they finished the hot chocolate preparations together.

They started to laugh when they saw Sandy's face -- he had somehow managed to work his way into the package of mini-marshmallows and was currently sporting little white dots all over his muzzle. He looked sticky and adorable, as if he'd gone from an outdoor to an indoor snowfall.

Ian ran to his bedroom office to get his phone and snapped a picture immediately, snorfling all the while. Then he went to the living room to take one of a sleepy Lelia with Artoo curled into a ball, snuffling on the quilt covering her.

Chuckling quietly, Quinn first cleaned up Sandy, gently rubbing his muzzle with a damp soft cloth. Then he found the open pack of marshmallows that Sandy had turned into puppy treats and swept the widely strewn snack into the dustpan. He threw it into the trash, where it decorated last week's lecture notes nicely. He grabbed an unopened packet of mini-marshmallows and poured a moderate amount into the hot chocolate for his little niece.

When Ian came back from the living room, he added a splash of spiced rum to the adults' mugs, for a spirited finishing touch. Quinn shook the box of Milk Bones to bring Artoo into the kitchen along with Sandy, then poured a few of them into their bowls.

Quinn brought the tray with their mugs into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. Ian had added some of Violet's spice cookies on a plate, much to Lelia's delight. She shucked off the quilt and cuddled into her uncles when they sat on either side of her on the couch. For a few delicious minutes, all they did was sip and munch.

"Do you think the Wampa will still be here when I visit you in a couple of days?" Lelia asked.

Quinn had a twinkle in his eye when he nodded at her. "He'll be camping out in our back yard, darlin', just waiting for you to come back and play with him."

Lelia giggled. "Lucky it's so cold up here."

"Ah, the perks of Upstate New York," Ian said dryly. "Wintertime 'til April."

"When we're this cozy, who cares?" said Lelia, putting her mug down on the coffee table and wrapping her arms around her uncles as far as they would go.