No Man's Land

"Are you going to go visit your father?" Kurt Hummel glanced down at the man straddling his thighs, the one pressing kisses down Kurt's hip. They'd been in bed all day, really for the past three days, since they had gotten to Lima. Despite a few trips to the grocery, they had stayed in Kurt's small apartment and simply showered each other in affection. Affection which Kurt had expected to have returned to him today, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Did you really just mention my dad when you're ten seconds from putting your mouth on my dick? Is that really what just happened?" Blaine Anderson laughed, still peppering kisses against Kurt's hip, shaking his head as he did so.

"I've been thinking about it since you mentioned it at dinner yesterday. I mean, it's important to you. Plus he's probably worried, don't you think? You wanted to wait until you were a little more healed up."

Kurt sighed, turning his head against the pillow. His lack of response must have caught Blaine's undivided attention because he smoothed himself against Kurt's chest, tucking his chin against Kurt's collarbone and smiled sleepily. It was only nine in the morning, both of them only having been awake for a few minutes before this particular excursion had started.

"I don't even know what I'm going to say to my family. That wasn't the longest I had disappeared but I didn't contact anyone. And I come back with a bullet wound and I'm not really sure how I'm going to talk my way out of that one." Blaine nodded, causing his chin to bump against Kurt's collarbone, and then turned his head to the side. The few days gave Kurt's ribs time to heal and his arm no longer burned whenever he moved it.

"So let's think up a story. First as to why you've been gone and then about your injury."

Kurt bit his lip, wanting to say that he didn't want to have to lie to his family anymore, but he knew that he had to. Let this be the last lie that he told, let this be the one that ends the past few years where all he did was lie.

"My cover story for all intents and purposes was that I worked at a design school here in Ohio, about twenty miles away. Paid intern, low enough on the totem pole that I had no say in what I was told to do, but high enough that I wasn't ignored. I guess I can just say that I was sent to New York for a show, last minute. It's a story I've told before."

Blaine nodded once again, his hair tickling Kurt's chest, and then rolled his head to look back at him again.

"There are a lot of areas to get injured at during fashion shows, right? I don't know from experience, but I've seen movies." Kurt laughed because well, it was such a Blaine thing to say, and nodded. Although the fashion design school was a coverup, he had done a lot of research. And fashion shows was kind of what got him through highschool, so that helped in his favor.

"Maybe I can just tell my dad I was stabbed with an umbrella at a sale or something." Blaine laughed, the movement causing his stomach to brush against Kurt's nether regions, but since the topic of discussion was less than amorous, there was no immediate reaction.

"I'm sure that no matter what you tell them, everything will work out. And then you can get back into some normal semblence of life and everything will be fine. You're out and everything is over and done with. You can go back to how your life was before."

Kurt was sure that he wasn't imagining the tone that came with that last sentence, the tone that clearly said that Blaine wasn't saying everything that he was thinking. And it was probably the same thing that Kurt was thinking. They were enjoying their time together, separated from the world as they were, but they'd have to get back to reality soon. Kurt would have to confront his family and Blaine would have to go back to New York and... neither of them knew what was coming next.

All Kurt really knew was that he didn't want to lose Blaine just yet, not without a fight at least, so before he even had time to figure out what this next step would mean, his mouth was moving and words were coming out.

"I'd like it if you came with me when I go visit my dad." Blaine froze, slowly angling the upper half of his torso up so that he could lean on his palms, pressed down on either side of Kurt's shoulders.

"You want me to... meet your family?" Kurt nodded, averting his eyes and feeling a sense of embarrassment he hadn't felt in... well, a long time. Being a hitman may have given him a lot more confidence, but he tended to revert to his old ways quite often.

"Well, only if you want to." Kurt didn't want to think about how important this man that he'd only known over a week was to him. He didn't want to even bother comprehending that little fact because that would create so many problems. He loved him, sure, but he wasn't in love with him. Yet.

"I do want to. I'd like that a lot."

Kurt released the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding and smiled, just enough that he didn't seem like he had been having an internal breakdown while waiting for a response.

"Good."

Later that afternoon, because the mood had been ruined after talk of Kurt's family, they dressed and prepared for the drive to the Hummel household. As Kurt climbed into the driver seat, since he knew where he was going, he remembered that his own car was parked at the runway behind the company. He'd have to have Blaine ride with him to go pick it up, but later. Right now, he just wanted to get to the house and hope that his dad would refrain from blowing up on him while he had company.

"Anything I need to know about your family?"

Kurt glanced at Blaine as they left the apartment complex, driving almost on autopilot with how often he had made this trip before. It was there that he realized that they didn't know much about one another, did they? Well, Kurt knew a lot about Blaine, but not in the sense of knowing him as a person. Studying his portfolio when preparing to kill him just wasn't the same as playing 20 Questions or learning things over dinner.

"Well, let's see. My dad's name is Burt and... well, I love him.. He's very accepting of me and he's always been there for me. It's been hardest to lie to him because we always told each other everything. I introduced him to his wife, my step-mom, Carole. She is so kind and selfless and... she's been a great mom to me. And then there is my step-brother, Finn. He's... well, he's grown a lot. In high school, he was a little awkward about the gay thing. But he grew out of it and we're fine now. Honestly, we're great now. We're close and we talk about a lot. Except relationships because even though we aren't in high school anymore, he still recycles through girls at a shocking speed."

Blaine nodded, as if committing this all to memory. Really, Kurt could say so much about his family, but he didn't want to unload everything on Blaine (especially not the likes of his infatuation with his brother, before they were related). And, they were pulling onto the street, so that meant that they'd have to quit the conversation. But there was one last thing Kurt would have to get covered before they parked.

"My dad might think... my dad is probably going to ask how long we've been together. And I have a feeling telling him "a week" will most likely not end well, so we need to figure that out before we go in there." Blaine nodded, fisting and unfisting his hands on his knees.

"Well, uh... when was the last time you went to New York? That your dad knows about, that is."

Kurt thought about it, remembering how he usually doesn't tell his dad where the school was sending him. The last time he mentioned it was about three and a half months ago. When Kurt told Blaine this, Blaine nodded and bit his lip while he thought about it.

"We can say that we met when you came to New York, clicked and decided to keep in touch. Things like that happen, right?" Blaine said it half jokingly but Kurt didn't even respond because honestly? He wasn't sure how relationships worked for normal people. He hadn't had an actual relationship in way too long. Really, since he started the damn career.

"Well here we are. Good luck to us both." Kurt turned off the car, almost not wanting to get out of the car, but he could see the blinds moving in the window next to the door. Someone saw a small red car parked in the driveway, which gave them only a few minutes before whoever it was stepped out of the house.

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand quickly, shooting him what he hoped was an encouraging smile, befure undoing his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. Blaine followed suit, almost tripping when he stepped out. They walked up the driveway beside one another, their hands brushing as they did so.

On the porch, before Kurt could even raise his hand to knock, the door flew open to reveal Finn Hudson. Finn didn't even glance at the other person on the porch, simply bent down and wrapped his arms around Kurt's shoulders, squeezing him tightly. The hug pressed against the bullet wound, but thankfully the ribs were spared. He'd forgotten how much of a hugger Finn (and his father, but that would be later) was.

"Okay, okay, missed you too Finn. Could you let go of me please?" Finn let go, stepped back and hollared into the house that Kurt was there, before turning back and glancing over Kurt's head to the other person. Blaine shifted a little uncertainly before stepping up, offering his hand to Kurt's brother.

"Hi, you must be Finn. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Blaine Anderson." Finn stared at the hand, glancing from the owner of said hand to Kurt a few times, before offering his own. It was obvious in the way Blaine's fingers whitened and the face he was making the Finn was squeezing his hand a lot harder than necessary.

"Finn, honestly. Is mom and dad home?" Finn released Blaine hand, who subtly flexed his fingers at his side, before turning into the house.

"Just dad. Mom is at work but will be home for dinner. You'll be here then right? You're not running off again?" Finn looked confused, which was almost a default setting for him, but Kurt smiled reassuringly.

"No Finn, I'm not running off again."

They moved into the house, shutting the door behind them, and headed towards the living room. Blaine stayed beside Kurt, looking around the house as they passed by a couple of picture frames. Childhood pictures and then a few family pictures littered the walls and a few small tables. Kurt would ordinarily fuss over Blaine seeing those pictures, but he had more important things on his mind. Like the look that his dad was sporting, standing next to his recliner.

It was definitely not a happy look, not a look of welcoming. It was the look of-

"Finn, I'd like a moment with your brother alone please." Finn took one hard look at their dad's face, whispered 'good luck' and took off towards the stairs. Blaine made a sound in the back of his throat and started to head back to the front door but Kurt grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him back beside him.

"Before you turn me into a pinata dad, I want you to meet someone. Blaine Anderson, this is my dad, Burt Hummel. Dad, this is Blaine, my..." Kurt trailed off because okay, he wasn't really sure if 'boyfriend' was a title they were using for their relationship, but Blaine filled in the blank for him.

"Boyfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hummel, I've heard so much about you." His dad shook his hand, eyeing him cautiously for a moment before glancing back to Kurt.

"Haven't heard anything about you. Blaine, why don't you have a seat in here while I have a talk with my son." Blaine nodded quickly, shooting a look to Kurt before sitting on the couch stiffly.

Kurt inwardly rolled his eyes because he knew that there would probably be a if you hurt my son talk sometime in the next ten minutes, but followed his dad to the dining room.

"You want to tell me what's going on here Kurt? You disappear for a few days and then you come back with some boy-" Kurt glanced over his shoulder to where the living room was but he couldn't see Blaine, although he was pretty sure that Blaine could still hear them.

"He's not just some boy, dad. I really care about him. And yes, I know I shouldn't have disappeared like that but I had a last minute fashion show event in New York so I had to fly up there, literally last minute. I didn't have time to grab my charger and my phone died while I was up there. I'm sorry dad, really. And it won't happen again." Mostly because he wouldn't have to go to other states for jobs like that anymore, but Kurt kept that bit to himself.

His dad sighed, passing his hand over his face and straightening his cap. Kurt knew that his dad trusted him (hence why it was always so hard to lie to him) and that their family was so close (which would explain why that even though Kurt and Finn had their own apartments, they were always there), so he knew that him not being around hurt his dad. He would work extra hard to make sure it didn't come to that again.

"Tell me about this bo- Blaine." Kurt smiled, glancing over his shoulder again as he did so.

"His name is Blaine, we met in New York a few months ago. You remember, when I had to go there for that huge fabric design seminar? Well we met and had a lot in common so we talked for a while. I didn't... neither of us expected anything to come of it or for us to see each other again but we met up in New York on accident this trip and since he was heading down to see his family, I thought it would be nice to bring him along."

His dad nodded, glancing into the living room much like his son had been doing, before shrugging.

"I'll reserve judgement until I get to know him. Is he staying for dinner?" Kurt wanted to say no, because that would probably be a disaster, but he nodded. Saying no to his dad has never been easy.

"Most likely. His family lives in Westerville, a few hours away, so he'll leave soon to visit them."

Once the Spanish Inquisition was over, Kurt went back into the living room and sat next to Blaine. His dad hadn't followed him and Kurt knew his duty, but he wanted to give Blaine some reassurance before feeding him to the dogs.

"He's going to come across strong, but he means the best. But be careful, he can smell fear." Blaine laughed, the sound a little rushed, and nodded. It felt like high school, with Kurt introducing his first boyfriend to his family. Only it wasn't high school, but Kurt was still introducing his first real boyfriend to his family. As Blaine stood up, Kurt moved with him and cupped his cheek, pressing their lips together quickly.

"For luck." Blaine smiled, squeezing Kurt's wrist lightly before heading into the dining room.

As Kurt sat down, listening to the low tones of his dad's voice addressing Blaine, he felt himself relax. He would still probably have to give them the lie they'd made up about his arm, and whenever his dad did hug him, he'd have to pass off the wince because of his ribs as nothing. But beyond that, everything was going to be okay. They would be just fine.

Later, after dinner, Kurt pressed his fist against his mouth to hide the smile while waiting for Carole to stop hugging Blaine. They were heading out, since it was getting late, but Kurt promised to return in the morning for family breakfast. When Carole finally released him, Blaine stumbled down the porch steps to where Kurt was standing.

"Come back anytime Blaine, it was a pleasure to have you." Blaine nodded, tossing a wave over his shoulder as he slid into the passenger seat and Kurt slid into the driver seat.

"So where to now?" Kurt glanced over at Blaine and smiled lightly.

"Well, I need to go to the company to get my car. And then I guess back to the apartment?" Blaine nodded, glancing out of the window and hunching his shoulders just a bit. Kurt wasn't sure what the reason was, but he could almost feel that Blaine was thinking about something less than pleasant.

They drove in silence, Kurt with one hand pressed over Blaine's and the other steering. He could probably make this drive with his eyes closed, as often as he had made it before. And just as he suspected, they were at the company quickly.

The guard at the gate was the same one that used to flirt with Kurt, but instead of flirting, he tossed him a suspicious glare.

"What are you doing here Hummel?" Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand and glanced up at the guard.

"My car is parked at the air strip." The guard glanced into the passenger seat at Blaine, his eyes hardening, and then straightened up.

"Well get in and then get out." He turned away from the car, effectively ending the conversation. Kurt shook his head and drove on, heading down the back road to the air strip. Hopefully his car would still be there... and in one piece.

"What was that about?" Blaine was looking over his shoulder at the guard house and Kurt laughed a little under his breath.

"He was always a bit flirty with me. I guess he's just mad that I'm off the market, as it were." Blaine smiled, turning his hand over to squeeze Kurt's fingers with his own.

When they pulled into the air strip, Kurt was surprised to see his car was still there, and not even touched by the looks of it. He got out of Blaine's car and moved to his own, inspecting it and checking under it. He had an image of turning the key and blowing up, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong.

"Okay, so. Want to follow me out of here and back to the apartment?" Blaine was leaning against the driver side of his own car and at that, he glanced away from Kurt.

"I actually... I want to go to Westerville. Not tonight, because it's late and dark and I've never made the drive from here to there before, but tomorrow. I just... I wanted to tell you tonight."

Kurt nodded, moving forward to stand infront of Blaine. To be honest, he expected it. He was also aware of why Blaine was acting so stiff. He had thought, if only for a day or so, that his parents had wanted him dead. It was difficult to come back from that. Instead of dwelling on it though, Kurt wrapped his hands around Blaine's waist and smiling when Blaine's arms automatically came around his shoulders.

"That's tomorrow. Let's go back to the apartment. You can help me finish unpacking, so that maybe I can finally have my family over to see the apartment, and then we can go to sleep." They'd worry about tomorrow later.

Blaine nodded and leaned forward, connecting his lips with Kurt's and sighed into the kiss. Yes, Kurt thought, they'd worry about tomorrow some other time.

A/N: My darlings! I am back! Here is the not-so-long-awaited sequel to Shoot to Kill. While this chapter is fluffy, there will be a bit more action this time around. No worries though, my smut-minded readers, for there will be scenes of sexual nature that will be prefaced in the author note's at the top of the page just as before.

If you're following me on tumblr, you've already seen half of this chapter and a little snippet from the next. Stay tuned for more jewels of the such!

Also, these chapters are going to alternate POV. While this one centers around Kurt, the next shall be more around Blaine.

As always my darling, darling readers, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of our new story.