A Wedding in Arcadia #9 -- Quinn's Husband

by Merry Amelie (MerryAmelie@aol.com)

Archive: MA only

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

Rating: PG

Summary: Ian was a married man now.

Series: Academic Arcadia -- # 58

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

Ian woke on Sunday morning with a grin on his face almost as big as the man beside him. His husband -- his husband! -- slept the sleep of the married, head tucked into Ian's neck, softly snoring away.

They'd been up most of the night, unable to stop touching one another until exhaustion had stilled their hands. Ian would remember each detail of their wedding night for the rest of his life, especially the joy on Quinn's face.

Ian smiled as he recalled Quinn's reaction to his teasing the sensitive spot under Quinn's adam's apple. When Ian had gotten a taste of Quinn's clean skin glazed with new sweat, it was almost over for both men. It always gave them a soaring pleasure when Ian licked there, but last night Quinn's face had been positively luminous. That of a jubilant groom.

Ian was a married man now, Quinn's husband.

Ian would no longer have to worry about smitten students, flirtatious faculty members, tempted tenants, or any other variety of Quinnus captivatus. A wedding band was a powerful deterrent, finally able to be used.

And it wouldn't have been deployed at all, if not for Quinn's courage. Without his leap of faith, they wouldn't be here right now.

His remarkable Quinn. Raised by parents who had no idea that their prejudices had forced the son they dearly loved into an untenable position. Fortunately, he'd been able to overcome his upbringing, thanks to his native fortitude and Ian's steadfast love.

Love that had given Quinn what he'd always needed -- unconditional acceptance. Every last quirk, down to his allergy to feathers, treasured because it was Quinn's.

And Quinn had brought him a world of love in return. Once freed, his heart knew nothing but how to give. He had been doing just that since falling in love with Ian here -- here! -- in Windover.

Native ground, every bit as much as Padua, where Ian was born and raised. The little town had provided fertile soil for the birth of their new relationship. And Landowe, where their love had grown too deep for them to remain bachelors. Ian chuckled to himself -- even professors started out with bachelor's degrees. Their love life had finally caught up with their careers.

Williamsburg and Windover. Private vows and public ceremony.

Their pledges in a Williamsburg garden had sustained Ian and Quinn for almost two years until they could share them with family and friends. Rather than supercede their vows in Williamsburg, the public celebration had put the finishing touches on them.

Ian lifted his left hand from Quinn's stomach to gaze at his ring, glimmering in the sunlight. He had missed the feel of smooth metal around his finger each time he'd been forced to take it off. To know that from now on it would stay on his hand forever, a tangible symbol of Quinn's love for him, made him the happiest man on the planet, except possibly for Quinn.

But Quinn would not have this gift. He'd have to replace the band with his college ring every time he saw his parents. Ian didn't know what he'd do if his folks were like Quinn's. Even he had been reluctant to tell his parents about them at first, and that was after decades spent in their inclusive cocoon.

Ian actually liked the Mastersons. They were kind, friendly people in the main, whose inflexible views were passed down by their own parents. Views which haunted their son and his husband. Ian knew that Quinn loved them as much as he loved his own folks, and was glad that they'd come up with a workable solution to the ins and outs of their lives.

Quinn had carefully calibrated it so that they would have maximum freedom, minimum shadow. And that was more than Ian had expected just a month ago.

Their new life together, as an acknowledged couple to all but Quinn's family, surpassed Ian's boyhood dreams, and made him glad he'd waited so long for the perfect mate.

He'd never felt like this before, a potent blend of gratitude and exhilaration about the future. No more going out two front doors in the mornings. No more driving two cars to work much of the time. No more counting how many lunches they'd had together in a week. No more making up the air mattress to look used.

No more hiding.

The ripples from their gambling stone's throw were spreading outward into a river of light.