A Wedding in Arcadia #5 -- Meditations

by Merry Amelie (MerryAmelie@aol.com)

Archive: MA only

Category: Alternate Reality, Qui/Obi, Romance, Series

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Growing together

Series: Academic Arcadia -- # 54

A chronological list of the series with the URLs can be found under the header 'Academic Arcadia' at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/master-apprentice/files/

My MA story page: http://www.masterapprentice.org/cgi-bin/qs.cgi?keyword=Merry+Amelie

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

To Alex, Ula, and Nerowill, my friends and betas extraordinaire

Saturday dawned clear and cool, the curtains rustling in the breeze. Ian woke to the pleasant feel of Quinn's soft snores tickling over his right nipple.

Their wedding day.

A day Ian had thought he'd never see. Long resigned to spending his life alone, meeting Quinn on the train to Massachusetts had electrified him. He'd felt an instant, intense attraction that had overwhelmed his normal caution, and impelled him to talk to a wary stranger.

When Quinn had responded, and given Ian that first smile, all his years of denial had evaporated with a flash of white. The hungry place inside him had finally been filled.

As if he knew Ian was thinking about him, Quinn came awake to lap at that nipple, joy in his eyes as their thoughts seemed to converge.

Their courtship was made easier by the unfamiliar campus, new territory for both of them, like their burgeoning friendship. They'd discovered common ground there, so like and unlike their home universities. Spending the days together became natural, more intimate than a traditional first date could ever be.

Their first kiss held a sweet passion that neither had ever experienced before, assuaging a need they'd never known existed. Taboos had no power in the face of that imperative.

Everything had changed in their well-ordered lives with a speed that was almost mystical.

When they'd moved in together in New Jersey, just breathing the same air had been enough. Everything was new to them. The last time they'd roomed with anyone had been in college, and that was perforce. They'd needed all their diplomatic skills just to cope with unwanted roommates.

Both of them were private men by nature, the unsettling intimacy of living with someone assigned by Housing Services all but unbearable. Neither were suited to a life of frat parties, girl chasing, too much beer, too little studying.

Sketchy social lives had been good for academics, both excelling in their studies to the point of winning scholarships to grad school.

The endless nights alone in between hadn't prepared them for the reality of sharing a bed, sharing a life. They both had wanted the left side of the bed, and were used to having the clock radio by them on the nightstand. The art of compromise soon had Ian on the left, with the radio next to Quinn. Ian wanted to wake to news, while Quinn preferred classical music, so they alternated stations.

Ian would leave his clothes on the carpet; Quinn folded his over a chair. They both used to wear long pajama bottoms; now they went to bed naked and entwined. Their embrace actually echoed their solo preferences of Quinn sleeping on his back, Ian on his left side, since Ian usually curled into Quinn, letting the two of them naturally adopt just these positions. Ian had a rapidfire snore, Quinn a low, rumbling one. Quinn liked the bedroom cool, while Ian would pile on blankets.

They both enjoyed making love just before bedtime, and had learned to put towels down to absorb the wet spot so they wouldn't have to change the fitted sheet when exhausted. Ian tended to fall asleep soon after, while Quinn habitually read for a while to tire himself out enough for sleep.

Quinn's size didn't prevent Ian from poaching his t-shirts and pajama tops. You'd think he would have learned better, however, since he never wore them long; one look at Ian in his clothes, and Quinn would just lazily paw them off. On second thought, Ian must have known precisely what he was doing, as usual.

Ian had recently familiarized himself with the sizing system of the big and tall shop in town after a bit of diffidence at the register; his gifts tended to be practical, just like his parents'.

Quinn preferred scent-free products, though he did enjoy the freshness of mint, which Ian liked also. They'd reached consensus on peppermint toothpaste, fragrance-free pump soap, rock crystal deodorant, and recycled t.p. It didn't get more personal than this.

Shopping for their own towels and sheets had been a revelation. The 'only child' in Quinn was slowly yielding to life as half of a couple. No longer were his purchases determined solely by a sale that day. Quinn favored green and Ian blue, so those cool water colors predominated in the apartment. Ian had quietly switched from towels to bathsheets, with an eye to his rangy lover. Washcloths were deemed too small for any use, replaced by hand towels.

Another man in the house.

This made for more than twice the usual food, and an improbable amount of dirty clothes. Ian now knew what his mother must have gone through with Monty and himself, not to mention his dad. They'd gone from shopping and doing laundry twice a week to almost daily, switching off on chores.

Their own condos in Landowe had given them an even sweeter taste of freedom. The double rooms had provided them with more space to spread out and be comfortable. They nonchalantly treated the joint apartments as their own private playground. A simple turn of the key unlocked their true natures, passionate and playful.

But Ian had never thought to unlock that last door between them, until Quinn had done it himself with his proposal and willingness to come out at Luke.

Now back at the university where their courtship had taken place, Ian marveled at the events that had allowed them to meet. They both had been invited to attend, but either of them could have decided to drive up to the conference, not giving them an opportunity to connect before meeting the dozens of other professors there. They might not have overcome their reticence to share a substantive conversation in that hectic environment.

Instead, it had been just the two of them side by side on the train for hours, giving them the perfect opportunity to get to know each other fast. By the time they'd reached the conference, they were more than a little in love with each other already, and their time at Mace had sealed it.

Now, after years of being married in spirit, they were taking their union to the ultimate level, back where it had quickened.

And their wedding day had finally dawned.