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Moving into a new place was a big deal. Jason had lived in a total of four places in his life: his parents' house, then his college dorm, the apartment his friend let him stay in after he dropped out, and then he'd lived with Salim for a while after the war. Not counting all the barracks when he was serving, of course- those were never really a place to live, just a place to stay. But all those were small moves, a duffle bag of clothes and a box of personal belongings. Now this? This was a whole thing.
They had been toying with the idea of moving for a while, mostly because Jason's whiteness and short temper nearly got him killed on more than one occasion in Iraq. That wasn't to say he hadn't deserved it... but still, that was a few times too many for either his or Salim's comfort level. It was a good thing he'd resigned from the military not long after he and Salim met, otherwise he might actually be dead right now.
There was also the matter of their relationship... that was a pretty big factor too. And the fact that it was illegal in this country was sort of a dealbreaker.
Jason had never expected his future home search to be skewed by whether or not the country it was in allowed homosexual relationships. It was... fucking infuriating, and that was putting it mildly. It was almost funny, because Jason's first impression of pride was that it was insane; how could people be proud of giving in to such unholy desires? They should be ashamed, like he was at first, before he laid in bed with Salim and understood that nothing was better than being in the arms of the man he loved and he didn't give a damn who saw. Now it suddenly made complete and utter sense.
They had four options, three of which spoke languages that neither of them knew, plus a few American states, but Jason knew first hand that just 'cause it was legal didn't mean everyone was happy about it. He used to be one of those people, after all. So that left... Canada.
And, okay, Jason liked to pretend he was a big, bad, apple-pie eatin', beer drinkin', church goin' American angel, but if he had to wear red flannels and drink maple syrup while riding the back of a moose... he was literally going to tear out his own hair. Salim managed to convince him that it would be fine, since it really was their best option. Wouldn't be a far flight for Zain to come visit either, and it helped that Jason had taken three years of French in high school.
So, step one was applying for Canadian jobs, which... was a process. Jason had nothing before he joined the military except a few minimum wage jobs, and Salim was in the army since he finished school. Not a good resume.
"You went to college?" Salim found out as they filled out the paperwork.
"Mhm. And don't sound so surprised."
"I'm not, I just... didn't expect it," he'd told him, lowering his reading glasses that Jason kindly never teased him about. He was always losing them, actually, so Jason made it his job to ensure they always made it back to their case. "What did you go for?"
"English major," Jason had chuckled, setting his pen down and turning to wrap his arms around Salim and snuggle into his warmth. "Everyone said it was easy, and I figured I could study Tom Sawyer for a few years. And then they pulled out that Jane Austen shit, and I just wasn't havin' that at all."
Salim had smiled and kissed his head. "At least you gave it a chance."
Jason ended up going for something in landscaping, because he'd worked on farms before and decided that it couldn't be that different, and Salim applied for a security guard position at the local mall- daytime security, Jason insisted, because he wanted him home at night.
The acceptance emails came soon after, and then there were the applications for permanent work Visas they had to fill out, with Zain on the phone nearly the whole time to help them answer in the most appealing way possible since he'd gone through a similar process before, and then get accepted as well. They had to go to get Salim as passport and Jason's refreshed, and once that was all said and done there were plane tickets to buy and things to pack. Luckily they didn't have to sell the house, since technically it was national property gifted to Salim for his service in the Republican Guard, so that was one less thing to worry about.
It was all worth it though, when, at last, they landed in Canada.
They'd picked out a nice little house for themselves in a Vancouver suburb, affordable and nearby both of their new workplaces. Jason would've preferred a little more yard, but he'd be working outside for the most part anyway, so that made it okay. There was a garage and a fireplace and fancy quartz countertops in the kitchen, and the master bedroom was an absolute dream, not the mention that there were extra rooms for Zain to have his own room when he visited and a home office.
It was perfect, albeit bare until the shipping truck with all of their belongings arrived that afternoon. They'd definitely have to go furniture shopping, but they managed to get the hard stuff done in time to go hunting for some takeout dinner: the couch barely fit through the door, and getting the bedframes and mattresses up the stairs was a process in itself. They fed each other chicken and rice from styrofoam takeout containers over a shipping box labeled KITCHEN, and curled up on their mattress on the floor for the first night.
When morning came, Jason was the first one awake (a rather odd occurrence, but he was more used to jetlag, to be fair), and he quietly left the bed with Salim all bundled up in the blankets they'd unpacked and a kiss on his cheek. He wandered downstairs, and the hardwood floor was cold on his bare feet when he was used to carpet. It was a weird feeling, like he'd just woken up in someone else's house and they were the only ones home.
But this was his. Theirs. And it weren't just a house, it was a home.
You know what would make it official, actually? Jason dug around the bags and paperwork thrown on the couch and grabbed his knife, then searched for the box labeled KNICK KNACKS #2 and cut through the tape. On the top, folded neatly and still in the plastic wrapper it had come in, was a rainbow striped pride flag.
He tore through the plastic, standing to fan the flag out and hold it up in front of himself for a good look. It was like any state or country flag, like the one Jason had taken his official marine picture all decked up in his fancy uniform in front of, in terms of size and stripes at least. But the American flag had been a given, a birthright, and this one... well it was a choice, for him at least. A choice to stop hiding himself. And here he didn't have to.
There was a flagpole off of the front porch, and Jason went out to pull down the rope and the clips so he could attach the flag, getting it upside down the first time and having to fix that before raising it and securing the rope. It felt like a breath of fresh air to see it flying there, wrinkling in the soft morning breeze, and not having to be afraid of who might see.
When Salim found him a little while later, Jason was in the kitchen, unpacking cups and plates and stocking their new cabinets. There was a top shelf he wanted to dedicate to the fancy plates from Salim's parents that they didn't use except for special occasions, but... fuck it, he was too short to reach. Like he was going to let that stop him, though. Adapt and overcome, baby.
He was just turning to lift himself up on top of the counter so he could reach a little further up, and nearly dropped the cup he was holding when he saw Salim standing there.
"Jesus fuckin' christ, how long have you been standin' there?"
Salim just laughed and came over to take the glass from him, lifting it into the desired shelf with ease. "Long enough."
Jason rolled his eyes playfully and leaned back on his arms. "If you just came here to fuckin' mock me, then you can leave," he smiled, closing his eyes when he saw Salim leaning in and eagerly kissing him back.
"I would never mock you, my love," Salim told him, a lie if there ever was one, but it was all soon forgotten when he ran his fingers through Jason's hair and suddenly there was such a thing as heaven on Earth. "Did you sleep well?"
"Mm... like a baby."
Jason knew Salim never understood that expression, because it meant he'd slept well despite being compared to babies, who usually only slept in between screaming and crying fits. That's why it was his favorite phrase to use when he asked him that.
Salim, knowing him as well as the back of his hand at this point, just kissed him until he shut up.
They had the chance to enjoy some granola bars from the plane for breakfast and unpack and change into their outfits for the day. It was still a little too early to be out and about the neighborhood, Jason figured, and they had more than enough to build and unpack, so they spent the rest of the morning putting together shelves for DVDs and another shelf for the DVD player, which the tv would go on top of once they bought one- sold the old one to afford some of the paperwork they needed for the move.
They were sitting together on the living room floor, sorting their movies and CDs by genre to put on said shelves, when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Jason supplied and hopped up, nearly tripping over a pile of pillows, though Salim was right behind him. They crowded the entry hall and briefly looked each other over to confirm that they were prepared to make a good first impression, and then they unlocked the door and swung it open.
Waiting for them on the other side was a plate of muffins, that from here already looked like they had chocolate chips, which were Jason's absolute favorites- oh, yeah, and the two people holding them, they were here too.
"Hi," the woman of the two of them extended a hand over the plate of muffins so they could both take turns shaking it. "My name is Marie and this is Henry," she smiled at the man next to her, he looked so uncomfortable Jason could only assume he'd been literally dragged into doing this against his own will, "and we live in the green house across the street? We just wanted to stop by and give you guys some welcoming muffins."
Jason's southern hospitality was suddenly coming back to him full force, and he turned on his most charming smile. "That is so sweet of you! Thank you so much," he told them, taking the plate when the man, Henry, offered it to him and showing Salim. "These look amazin'. I'm Jason, and this is Salim, and clearly we've just moved in, so please ignore the literal blockade of boxes in here."
Marie was clearly the talkative one of the two of them, and laughed at his corny joke. "Oh, we don't mind, it's nice to see some friendly new faces around here! Where are you guys from?"
Jason and Salim glanced at each other. "Iraq."
To Jason's surprise, Marie only lit up at the prospect. "Really? There was a cultural festival at the art museum sometime last month, and the pieces from Iraq... they were absolutely beautiful, oh my goodness. Just completely blew me away."
"I have some original pieces gifted to me from my parents," Salim told her, always eager to share his culture and do his part in erasing the ugly, stereotypical stigmas about his country in the Americas. Jason loved it about him. "I think we still have to unbox them, but if you would like to come and help I'd be happy to tell you all about them. And it would give me a chance to put these muffins away so you can take your plate home too."
"I would love that!" Marie grinned, and Jason pressed his back against he wall also she could step past him and follow Salim into their new home. And that was great and all, that Salim was making friends, but that also meant that Jason was left with Henry, who was ever the conversationalist.
Great...
"So... nice neighborhood?" Jason attempted to ask, stepping out onto the porch to join him.
Henry was just lingering there with his hands in his pockets, kind of side eyeing him as if Jason were an unpredictable wild dog. "Yeah, nice place. Nice people. Close to the city."
"That's one of the reasons we wanted to move here, yeah. Salim's going to work in the city."
God, this was like talking to a piece of cardboard.
"So, are you two a... couple?"
Finally, something Jason actually liked to talk about. He got this crooked little grin on his face at the thought of Salim, his Salim. "Oh, yeah," he smiled, palming the back of his neck pretty proudly. "Met about two, three years ago?"
"In Iraq?"
"Yeah... yeah, it's a long story, but I'd go through it all ten times over to end up right back here. With him."
Henry nodded, but it seemed more like an awkward, forced response for the sake of social pleasantries than one with actual vigor. "We've never actually had a gay couple in this neighborhood before."
Odd comment... but alright.
"It's a nice flag," Henry continued, and Jason started getting this bad feeling in his stomach.
"Mhm."
"I can't help but feel like it's sort of distracting, though."
And here it fucking was. Jason clenched his jaw and bit his tongue between his front feet.
"I don't know..." Henry hedged. "I guess I just don't know if the kids around the neighborhood should be seeing that."
"What? A fuckin' rainbow?" Jason couldn't help himself. "They'd probably just think there's a leprechaun at the end of it."
"I'm just... not comfortable with that being something that's promoted around here," he explained. "So if you could just take it down, maybe hang it inside somewhere instead?"
No. No, Jason swore to all that was holy, if he had to hide his gayness inside the safety of his house and his bedroom ever again... No. It was supposed to be different here, he was supposed to be able to talk about and celebrate it here. For the first time in his entire life it was supposed to be okay, and he'd be damned if this Henry was going to keep him from that.
There had been a time, in the two years he spent in Iraq with Salim, before he resigned from the Republican Guard under a trauma leave, that one of his commanding officers came to call on him. Apparently he'd been knocking, but they were in Salim's room, sleeping. They didn't hear him. And the officer had let himself in, and somehow Salim heard him bump into one of the chairs in the kitchen or something, thank God, and got up in time before the officer came in and saw the two of them in bed together in nothing but their boxers.
Jason had been through war, he'd killed people and demons alike, but nothing had scared him more than that morning. And he fucking refused to feel like that again.
He stepped up to Henry so they were face to face instead of avoiding looking at each other like they were afraid it would burn their eyes. Now you listen here:
"That flag ain't goin' anywhere."
Henry straightened his back, suddenly all courageous. "I wouldn't put an anti-Iraq flag up on my house, out of respect to you. So take down your pride flag and we'll be even."
"No."
"Well then I'll just-"
Before Henry could get the rest of them words out, Jason lunged at him, seeing nothing but an enemy soldier with a gun pointed at him, a giant vampire alien with its claws poking his flesh through his bulletproof vest, an Iraqi Captain in his house dragging Salim away from him, and he pushed them down the front steps, sending them rolling across the grass until he could pin Henry beneath him.
Clearly, Henry had never fought before, not that they were quite fighting either. It was more of just a tumble of limbs, and Jason got an unintentional elbow to his jaw. Intentional or not, it fucking hurt. Henry was heavier than him, though, which gave him the advantage when it came to rolling them over and holding Jason down.
"So you like to be on top? Not surprising, all straight men do," he grinned up at Henry's bright, red with anger face.
"Shut your mouth or I'll do it for you!" he tried to threaten him, but Jason was channeling his anger into sarcastic jokes now to keep himself from punching his dude's teeth out.
"Kinky."
Henry jumped back in utter distaste, and Jason took advantage of the moment to jump on him, sending them both falling into a bush.
Salim was just coming back outside with Marie and her plate, and a bar of orange flavored chocolate they'd gotten at the airport when they left Iraq, undoubtedly a gift for their new neighbors. And then there was his boyfriend, struggling in a bush with a bruise on the side of his face, and their neighbor, who was bleeding from his arm. To be fair, that was from a sharp branch in the bush, didn't have anything to do with him!
"Jason!" he called, running over and managing to drag his temperamental boyfriend from the brush as Marie did the same with hers. He held Jason tight in his arms, not letting him get anywhere near Henry, and that was probably for the best.
"Henry!" Marie scolded him. "What is wrong with you, getting into fights with our neighbors the day they move in?
"But I-!"
"No! You're going to go home and bake this nice man some apology cookies." Marie looked at him expectantly. "Now, Henry!"
Henry sent Jason a withering look, but he did slink off across the street, back to where he came from. That's right, fucker, if you want to be a homophobe you can do it on your own side of the street, but over here they were actually inclusive.
"I am so sorry about all of this," Marie told them as she tried to tidy up their effectively destroyed bush. "I just have no idea what got into him..."
"That's completely alright," Salim assured her, finally easing up his grip on Jason now that his sworn enemy was gone. "I hope his arm is okay."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine," she shook her head with a sigh. "Well, I'm sorry again, and I won't bother you two any more today. I hope you settle in well."
"Thank you, Marie!" Salim called after her, and once she was out of earshot he groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're going to have to move again."
"No we aren't, it's fine," Jason scoffed, throwing an arm around his shoulders as they climbed the front steps. "The other neighbors won't be dicks about the gay thing, and we'll make the them like us."
"Before or after you get yourself beat into a blood pulp?"
Jason stopped him, turned him, and kissed the tip of Salim's nose. "I would rather get beaten up any day than take that fuckin' flag down," he told him, smiling a surprisingly soft smile given the situation. "It's stayin' up there."