Independence Day: Let Freedom Ring

by Merry Amelie (MerryAmelie@aol.com)

Archive: MA only
Category: Alternate Reality, Qui/Obi, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Quinn and Ian's rings change hands.
Series: Academic Arcadia -- 1) Wedding Gifts 2) A Symposium on Love 3) Dinner and a Movie 4) Please Call First 5) Masquerade 6) A Change of Clime 7) Christmas in Williamsburg 8) A Paduan New Year's Eve 9) Flux 10) Ki of Tranquility 11) A Rescindable Honor 12) An Honor Conferred 13) Outmaneuvered 14) Valentines by Design 15) Mastery 16) A Walk in the Park 17) The Man of the Moment 18) St. Patrick's Play 19) Avocation 20) Sustenance 21) A Cruise for Two 22) Mother's Day 23) A Long-expected Anniversary 24) Futurity 25) Father's Day 26) A Taste of Summer 27) Independence Day: Let Freedom Ring
Feedback: Is treasured at MerryAmelie@aol.com
Disclaimer: Mr. Lucas owns everything Star Wars. I'm not making any money.
To Alex, my friend and beta
Thanks to Nerowill for the lads' use of Elvish.

When Quinn brought in the mail on Saturday afternoon, he immediately noticed a little package addressed to Ian. Finding his lover in the kitchen, Quinn tossed him the box, watching him catch it one-handed like a baseball.

"This came for you today," Quinn said unnecessarily, eyes twinkling.

"You mean it came for you. Don't give me those innocent eyes, Quinn Masterson. You know exactly what's in here," Ian said, advancing on Quinn while shaking the package. He held it up to Quinn's face, his left arm encircling Quinn's waist.

"Okay, okay!" Quinn laughed, and murmured into Ian's ear in surrender. "It's the college ring you got me, right?"

"I knew you'd figure it out," Ian said playfully. "How could I possibly continue to wear your ring without you wearing mine?" He put the box back into Quinn's hand.

Quinn opened it eagerly. Nestled inside was a Bailor ring with a nephrite inset. "Jade symbolizing inner peace, eh? Thought I'd already cornered the market on that, thanks to you, love."

"You mean despite me," Ian grinned naughtily.

"That too." Quinn looked for the inscription that was sure to be inside. "Vernoya (My husband)." Overcome with love, Quinn grabbed Ian and covered him with haphazard kisses, not caring what choice bit his lips touched.

A flushed Ian tried to answer kiss for kiss, then looked up at him earnestly. "Let me put it on for you." He took Quinn's right hand in his, kissing the palm, then slid the golden band on his finger.

Quinn felt different with Ian's ring on his hand. Even the Williamsburg band hadn't been there before. He'd never imagined how vast the distance from chest to finger when calculated in the measure of emotion. A promise unspoken, the wedding ring had been quietly nestled on his chest since Ian had placed it there, a circle Quinn felt against his skin, around his heart.

On his finger, the potential of the ring had been realized, just as Frodo's Ring gained in power when moved from chain to hand. However, the power generated within Quinn came from the strength of his love for Ian, the primal force pulsing through Quinn, not its opposite, with which Frodo had to contend.

Ian and Quinn kissed as they had in the garden, the significance of the moment adding to their pleasure.

Ian's gift sparked Quinn's maverick spirit. "Tomorrow is July 4th, Ian. Let's wear our wedding bands for the holiday."

"So as soon as I give this to you," Ian said, thumb on the Bailor ring, "you're eager to replace it, are you?" Ian's shining face was at odds with his words.

"That I am, m'boy. Are you with me?"

"Always."

Since the Mastersons ended their barbecue at 6 pm, the Prentices began theirs at 7. Quinn and Ian were continually grateful for Jo and Keith's flexibility, easily adjusting their schedule to avoid conflicts with Quinn's parents.

Ian was reading on the bed in his old room when Quinn arrived for the party. Quinn locked the door after himself, feeling self-conscious, and turned to greet his lover properly. He sat down beside Ian and pulled him up for a hug.

Derleth forgotten, Ian kissed Quinn for the first time in his childhood bed. There was something deliciously illicit about it, an alluring mixture of past innocence and present sensuality. In high school, Ian had imagined doing this with a friend, just as he'd heard Monty and his girl-of-the-month laugh and sigh in the next room. But his fantasies had remained just that, and he'd never known the hushed intimacy of a shared attempt at stealthy petting until now.

When Ian tried to deepen the kiss, Quinn pulled away slowly, rubbing Ian's shoulders in reassurance. "Easy, lad, easy."

Quinn remembered his New Year's Eve speculations about his impetuous lover, that Ian would want to make love despite the possibility of his parents returning early. He knew now that he'd been right; Ian's eyes had that smoky glow that Quinn recognized as the start of the slow burn which unchecked would flare into conflagration.

Quinn could hear Keith and Monty out back, joking while they readied charcoal briquets, lighter fluid, and foil. He'd waved to Jo, Kathy, and Lelia in the living room on the way up to see Ian. Somehow giving in to his urge to ravish Ian seemed incongruous with the rhythms of the household.

"Later, love." Quinn gentled his mustang with the tender touches they shared before sleeping, subliminally evoking another time and place, one in which these desires had already been sated.

Quinn felt the exact moment when Ian's touch changed from charged to chaste, fingers soothing over his forearms, not tickling the hairs there.

"You're right, love. Amazing what your kiss does to me." Ian sighed and sat up completely. "Guess we'd better go down for the barbecue."

Now Quinn and Ian were sitting side by side on the bed. "You're forgetting something, lad," Quinn said, thumb and forefinger framing the point of Ian's chin.

"Ah, our rings," Ian replied, enjoying the feel of his jaw working against Quinn's fingertips.

They took off the college rings and put them in their pockets, making way for ones with more meaning. Standing up, the two reached into each other's shirts to remove the chains bearing the wedding bands, and slid them on the other's ring finger, where they'd belonged all along. The rings were warm from body heat, warmer still from love.

Even Quinn had to yield to their resultant kiss. Sweetly passionate, it held promise without the steaminess of earlier.

Easing apart, the men went downstairs to see if they could help with anything. Everyone was outside now, the women and Lelia at the picnic table, the men grilling hot dogs and hamburgers.

Ian and Quinn started bringing the cooked food to the table. When everyone was seated, each platter was passed from hand to hand, and they dug into the perfect summer fare.

Just as Quinn had gauged the precise moment when Ian had banked his desire, he knew the instant their rings had been seen. Monty's eyes widened, then he grinned at them wordlessly. Keith looked at the men's hands as they ate, unconsciously fingering his own wedding band. Jo beamed and patted Ian's left hand. Kathy smiled shyly, cuddling Lelia to her. Lelia, unconcerned, went to sleep in her mother's arms.

Quinn closed his eyes in relief. He'd known that the Prentices were staunchly behind them, but he and Ian had brought quite a surprise to the table. Just as they'd accepted Quinn's presence in their lives, his extended family had taken this new development in stride.

Ian was on his best behavior while eating his frankfurter, no one at the table but Quinn aware of what they were missing. The clan resumed their meal with hardly a blink, Quinn demolishing two burgers despite the Masterson cookout a few hours before.

After dinner, Ian and Monty brought out blankets for the family so they could watch the township's fireworks in comfort. As usual, Quinn wondered why Gandalf's were so much better than those produced by modern technology, then settled back to enjoy them anyway.

He and Ian shared a blanket, as did the other couples in the family. They lay back, looking on as the stars themselves were seemingly overlaid by manmade fires. Red, white, and blue sparklers sizzled against a midnight blue background. Green and blue Roman candles shot up into the sky like flaming sabers, awing all who witnessed the display.

Ian reached out to take Quinn's left hand, smiling as he felt the precious metal surrounding Quinn's finger. He shifted to his side so he could press their rings together.

There in the Prentice backyard, Ian and Quinn felt perfect freedom for the first time. Everyone around them knew of their love, transmuting a public celebration into a private one for the men and their family.

End.