The Arcadia 200
by Merry Amelie
Title: The Arcadia 200
Author: Merry Amelie
Archive: MA only
Category: Alternate Reality, Qui/Obi, Romance, Series
Rating: PG
Summary: Off to the races.
Series: Academic Arcadia -- # 200
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
Alex encouraged me to expand Arcadia from a standalone story (Wedding Gifts, posted in July 2003) to a series.
Academic Arcadia -- It all started with A Symposium on Love back in 2003. I've added Helen's anniversary artwork to celebrate the meeting of our two charming professors on the Amtrak Acela. This is the 10th anniversary of Symposium; it was posted on August 29, 2003.
Note: This is the 200th Arcadia! I never imagined being able to reach this number. My heartfelt thanks to obi1mcgregor and all of my friends at MA who have encouraged me to get here.
Two Hundred and Counting was written in 2010 to celebrate my 200th story on the MA archive, a combined total of Academic Arcadia and Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan stories. It also contains the 'Keep Quiet' challenge Ian issued, which I've mentioned in the following story.
"Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury is one of Quinn and Ian's all-time favorite books.
To Helen and Inya
Helen's beautiful montage
Saturday, August 10th
"Help me, Uncle Wan, you're my only hope."
Lelia's heartfelt plea preceded her as she ran to follow a scampering Artoo into the kitchen at Alder Run, hoping to find her uncle.
"Whoa, there, little princess!" said Ian, as she barreled into him near the refrigerator. He effortlessly made it a hug with his gymnastic reflexes and smiled when Lelia snuggled into his arms. Luckily, he had already blended vanilla-malted milkshakes for her, Quinn, and himself and put them safely away in the freezer. "You're going faster than The Millennium Falcon on the Kessel Run." Artoo let out a whoof of agreement.
Lelia giggled in delight. "I sure hope so. Did you see this?" She handed him a leaflet she'd been given at the corner store, when she and Han had walked there to pick out comic books half an hour ago.
The green sheet of paper had printed upon it:
Saturday, August 17th from 9 am - noon
Alder RUN Day for Kids at the Park
Events include relay races; the 100- and 200-meter dashes; the hop, skip, and jump.
Every child will receive an Alder RUN 2013 t-shirt.
There will be picnic lunches for sale after the competition, donated by Rex's Diner. Bottled water and juices will be available free of charge throughout the event.
Entrance fee: 10 dollars for each child
Sign-up deadline: August 14th
All proceeds will go to the Pediatric Wing of the Alder Run Medicenter.
Ian was glad to see that the organizers had scheduled the races early in the day, to take advantage of the cooler weather in the morning.
He ruffled Lelia's hair. "This sounds like a lot of fun. It's right up your alley."
Lelia nodded at him with stars in her eyes. "Han and I want to enter the 200-meter dash."
Ian's eyes shone green. "You two will be hard to beat."
"You mean 'hard to catch'," said Quinn with an indulgent chuckle as he ambled into the kitchen. He'd been working in his office until he heard the commotion out here. "How's our little lassie?" Lelia jumped into his arms and Quinn gave her a hug of his own. After setting his niece down carefully, he went over to Ian and put an arm still cool from the air conditioning vent above his desk around his herven's shoulders.
Ian handed him the leaflet and grinned at the light in his husband's eyes as he read.
"What a good idea," Quinn said. "I hope it's a success."
Ian smiled at two of his favorite people in the galaxy and said, "It'd be nice if this becomes an annual tradition."
"That would be good for our little neck of the woods. I'm also happy to see it will benefit a local charity," said Quinn.
"Will you coach us, Uncle Wan?" implored Lelia, every inch the princess wanting to go on the run.
"I'd be honored to, Lelia," Ian answered, reaching down to tweak her nose. "This calls for a celebratory milkshake," he said, another smile illuminating his face.
"Yay!" Lelia cheered, then washed her hands without any prompting from her uncles. Their little one was growing up.
Ian took the stainless-steel container with their treat out of the freezer and put it on the counter. Lelia got the straws from a drawer by the fridge, Quinn poured the shakes into their tumblers, and they each brought their own milkshake to the table.
The three of them sat down and started to enjoy their shakes. Ian couldn't resist a grin at his husband in response to Lelia's slurping, which her uncles thought was adorable. Joining the party, Sandy and Artoo dug into their kibble with as much gusto as the rest of the family.
Quinn and Ian worked out the logistics of the children's training after Jo and Keith had picked Lelia up later that afternoon. Since classes - both at Luke and the kids' elementary schools - didn't start for a few weeks, they had more time to train than they usually would. Ian and Quinn could alternate driving duties with the children's grandparents, who were always happy to help. Ian decided to ask Kathy if Lelia could stay overnight on some of the weekdays.
They hammered out a workable schedule for the kids and quickly got into the rhythms of training. Before getting started, they took a page from Douglas Spaulding, the 12-year-old hero of "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. Douglas believed that brand-new sneakers were essential at the start of each new summer to give children unlimited potential for flying through their adventures.
So Quinn and Ian took the kids shopping at Ric's Sporting Goods for the running shoes of their dreams. The men knew they were doing something right when the children immediately went to the sale aisle to pick out their sneakers. Lelia's were white with green highlights, in honor of her and Uncle Qui's favorite color, while Han also chose white sneakers, but his highlights were navy blue.
In addition to their new shoes, the little athletes wore Kid Skyhawk singlets and shorts while training, looking like miniature versions of the Luke University track team. Lelia wore side buns to keep her neck cool, and Han's grandparents scheduled his 'back-to-school' haircut a bit early this year.
Uncle Qui took the lead in their usual aikido instruction, while Uncle Wan was head coach in track. The stretches from the katas doubled as the perfect warm-up - along with specifically targeted moves, courtesy of Uncle Wan - for running. Quinn watched many of the children's races, with both he and Ian making sure to cheer them on in equal measure.
Lelia and Han's reactions, win or lose, were grins and high-fives. The kids obviously had learned good sportsmanship from the best possible source - Uncle Wan. Quinn had to admit he was thrilled to see Lelia winning at least half of the time, though. That little girl could fly.
Quinn delighted in the positive atmosphere; there was just as much laughter as running in their back yard. Ian and he liked it that way. They'd become old pros at this laidback approach from years of teaching the little ones aikido.
In between sprints, the kids cooled down by sitting on the grass in the oaken shade, with Ian and Quinn joining them. All four of them enjoyed Uncle Qui's watermelon lemonade while chatting away. There were also plenty of kid-sized orange juice cartons and Evian bottles in the cooler on the picnic table for them to grab. Proper hydration was Rule # 1 for the coaches. Granola bars and fruit were in a bowl next to the cooler.
Violet took to coming over in the late afternoon, always bringing a home-baked treat for all of them. She liked to sit on the picnic table bench and root for both children, just like Ian and Quinn did. After their workouts, Violet's snack, and some relaxation, they went to the Northland pool with her for a treat.
For the whole week, Quinn could hardly tend his daffodils without feeling the breeze of Lelia and Han's sprints as they raced by his garden. He was gratified that Ian was using the precision Tanteve watch he'd given him for his 34th birthday to time the children.
Ian was obviously made to be a coach; he motivated his fledgling Skyhawks as easily as he did his Luke gymnastics team. Lelia and Han were clearly flourishing under his expert and always tender care, and Ian was having as good a time as his little runners. The mellow vibe drew Quinn in all the more and made him part of the Kid Skyhawk team.
Sometimes, Lelia came over to hug Quinn and ask if he wanted her to water the flowers. As he knelt by the flower bed, he would look over at Ian as both of them gauged her level of tiredness. He'd let her help him if they thought she needed a break. Han liked to play with Artoo and Sandy when he wanted to relax. All of them loved the occasional spritz of the garden hose on sweaty skin.
Their week with Lelia and Han was a success, even before the competition to come. Quinn and Ian loved having their niece spend more time with them. However, the prospect of Lelia staying overnight in the spare bedroom was both welcome and inhibiting for the fellows. Ian didn't even dare suggest the "Keep Quiet" challenge he had issued - and lost - when his parents had slept over for Luke's 200th anniversary celebration. Temporary abstinence behind a firmly locked door was their only option.
Saturday, August 17th
Ian was the first to stir in bed that morning. He looked out the window, to find the sun greeting him. "Thank goodness the kids' meet won't be rained out," he said.
Ian's words woke Quinn up as he stretched beside him. "'Tis a kindness, laddie." He grabbed his husband for a good-morning kiss, one of the few intimacies they allowed themselves for the duration. At least that would end today, with both families watching the races, then taking the kids home.
They spent a couple of precious minutes in each other's arms, sharing nuzzles and kisses that would nourish them the whole day through. It almost got too hot for them to handle when Quinn nibbled at the cleft of Ian's chin for one deliciously abandoned moment, but they reined themselves in with the durasteel resolve of Jedi Knights. Soft sighs sounded as they pried themselves apart. A few minutes later, when they heard Lelia talking to Sandy in the hall, they sighed once more, this time in relief.
The men had left the bathroom in the hallway to Lelia, so they had to take consecutive showers again that morning. Of course, given their week-long vow of celibacy, a shared shower was out of the question. Fortunately, they were used to showering this way because of their cruises with the miniscule shower stalls on board ship.
If, in another galaxy, Lelia had been their daughter, they would have had to solve the problem of lovemaking with a child in the house, but that was nothing millions of moms and dads hadn't had to deal with since the dawn of time.
Off to the Races
Sitting cross-legged on the grass, in the cool, comfortable shade between the bike path and the river, Quinn and Ian cheered on the sidelines, their shouts blending with the dozens of people surrounding them. And there was quite a cheering section for Lelia and Han. Not only all three sets of grandparents - including honorary ones - and two sets of parents, but their friends and neighbors, too. To their amazement, Prudence even joined Violet in lawn chairs beside the impromptu track, which was really a short stretch of the bike path itself.
Han's race took place after the hop, skip, and jump, but it was the first of the dashes. He was wearing the Alder RUN 2013 t-shirt he'd been given when they'd signed up for the competition a few days ago, as were the other competitors, in this and every race. Five other boys crouched with him on the starting line, all raring to go.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Mr. Jefferson called out. He'd been picked to be the starting official, since he had no family members in the races.
The 200-meter dash had finally begun, after their week-long run-up to it, and they were literally off to the races.
On the first try, Han jumped the gun, getting out to a false start. Since it was a friendly competition, there was no thought of disqualification. The boys just regrouped and tried again.
The next start was true, and the boys pounded down the path. Ian's trained eye could tell that Han had held back slightly at the very start, anxious not to repeat his mistake. That natural compensation cost him valuable seconds, and though he was the fastest runner, especially towards the end of the race, he came in third.
He was such a good sport, after years of Quinn and Ian's lessons, that he had a big smile on his face anyway, which he shared with the professors, Lelia, and his grandparents.
He was perfectly happy with a Hawaiian-style lei adorned with orange flowers, which he earned for his efforts, and was twirling it around his neck, to Lelia's admiring gaze. Ian was proud of his prote'ge''s equanimity.
Lelia's race was next. The little girls lined up for the 200-meter dash with the aplomb of seasoned vets, Ian noticed with approval. No mind games; no mind tricks, either, he chuckled to himself.
Their little niece streamed past them, seemingly with Force-enhanced speed, while Nan Sandege paced her, sneaker to sneaker. The two of them - along with four other girls - flew down the track, the widest part of the bike path where it opened up by the Saastan River. At the 100-meter point, Lelia was in fourth place, but she put on a burst of speed about three-quarters of the way through, showing everyone the power of her after-burners.
She broke the tape one-and-a-half seconds before Nan, the second place finisher, earning her very first gold medal. Mr. Jefferson put a lei with yellow flowers around her neck.
The kids ran to Ian and Quinn first, to exchange congratulatory hugs and high-fives. Then the excitement spilled over to the rest of their families and friends. All they needed were Ewoks, and it would have rivalled the celebration on Endor at the conclusion of "The Return of the Jedi."
The next generation of Skyhawks was ready to soar.
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