Migration: Beginnings

“It never has before,” Jason counters. Rhys reaches out to touch Jason’s arm just as his husband goes to counter the agent’s stance. Rhys gives Jason’s arm a gentle squeeze, giving his husband a silent plea, feeling hopeful when Jason backs off a bit. There were some TSA agents who you just didn’t mess with, and Rhys hopes the broad-shouldered man standing just inside the magnetometer giving them a death glare, isn’t one of them.

“You know, you don’t have to travel today, sir,” the agent threatens, raising an eyebrow.

Rhys quietly says, “Jase...” to again ground his husband while squeezing his bicep, and turns to the TSA officer. He knew, after spending time with everyone from Air Force enlistees to high-ranking officials just how to try and neutralize a tense situation, so he takes a breath and glances at the agent, forcing a smile. “Look, sir,” he says, diverting the attention to himself. He gives the agent his best possible demeanor and says, “He never takes it off, ever. And it’s never been a problem before. Can’t you just scan it with your wand or whatever and let him through?” When the agent doesn’t budge, he adds, “We’re on our honeymoon, sir.”

The agent considers it, and Rhys watches as his expression changes minutely and lets out a sigh. He motions for another uniformed officer to come over and join him and the two men share a whispered conversation, the original agent nodding when they finish their discussion. “You, come on through,” he says, motioning to Rhys. As Rhys passes through, the agent turns and glances up and stares at the magnetometer readings, then motions Jason to come through as well.

As soon as Jason walks through the metal detector (which does not alarm, just as the couple had promised), the second agent appears at Jason’s side. “Excuse me, sir,” the agent says in a monotone voice, “but you’ve been selected for additional screening.” He leans close to Jason, staying out of earshot of the other officer, but loud enough for Rhys to hear, and says, “Sorry about him,” and tilts his head toward the previous agent, who was now gruffly staring down a little old lady with a cane. “He’s a little hard-core...”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason responds.

Once the agent grabs Jason’s shoes from the X-ray machine belt, he directs Jason to a side table, then gives a long-winded explanation of how the pat-down procedure would go, ending with, “Do you understand what I’m about to do, sir?”

“Is it okay if my husband watches?” Jason asks, a little louder than needed, and the agent starts to blush, a smile quickly blooming on his face. Jason leans over and stage whispers, “He’s into voyeurism and all sorts of kinky shit.” And if the agent was pink before, he’s absolutely magenta by the time Jason ‘assumes the position.’

Rhys absolutely loves it when Jason is in his element like this and understands why Jason tries out for the local community theater group when an interesting play is to be staged in Portland. It’s not something he would ever do, but it is something Jason absolutely lives for.

Rhys gathers his backpack from the conveyor belt and lets out an easy laugh as Jason moans ever so quietly when the TSA agent snaps on the blue latex gloves, and it’s then that Rhys realizes that Jason has an audience—something that eggs his husband on even more.

“Okay, beginning,” the agent says as he steps behind Jason, and Rhys laughs out loud when Jason manages an “Oh, yeah,” at the first pass, making crazed-looking sex faces across the lobby at Rhys and getting guffaws from the traveling public and even a few TSA agents. Meanwhile, the previous stuffy agent is actively ignoring them as he questions a mother holding a wailing infant.

When the agent steps in front of Jason and sinks to his knees to do the second half of the examination, Jason puts out a finger. “Hold on a sec,” he says, and then bobs his eyebrows at Rhys. In that same loud voice, he calls to his husband, “Don’t worry baby, I’ll be thinking about you the whole time.” He breaks his gaze with the now laughing Rhys and looks down into the agent’s eyes and says, “Let’s do this.”

By the time Jason’s pat down is over, there are hoots of laughter and a round of applause from all those who got to watch. Jason takes a bow, and then bounds over to Rhys, reaching out his hand, which Rhys takes. “Did you have fun, sweetheart?” Rhys asks, not able to get the grin off of his face.

Jason just shakes his head. “Whew...I think I need a cigarette,” he says as he leans over, kissing Rhys’ cheek. After checking their surroundings, Jason drags Rhys over to the departures board to find out when and from where their plane is leaving.