A/N: Sorry about the lack of update! Last week was busybusybusy and then I had State Solo and Ensemble contest this weekend...STRESS. However, it's all over now and I went shopping today and life is excellent.

IN OTHER NEWS, this chapter will be mostly from Blaine's POV, because, according to a review from Crimson Glory Kai, there hasn't been enough so far. I completely agree and I'm glad you pointed it out to me because I didn't even notice, so thank you very much(:

I would also like to thank every single one of you that has read and/or reviewed because I really appreciate every bit of feedback I get. It totally makes me want to keep writing.

I was NOT, unfortunately, able to watch the new Glee episode because I had a band concert and my brother forgot to record it:( Which means I can't get on Tumblr because I tried and all I could see were SPOILERS GALORE. I'm pretty sure I made some sort of undignified "squee" noise.

Also also also. Blaine's horse is named Katy because Darren Criss likes Katy Perry. Muahaha.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND ENJOY THE LATEST INSTALLMENT OF THE NOT-VERY-WELL-NAMED KLAINE TRAIN.


"WAKE UP, WARBLERS!"

Blaine opened his eyes groggily. Their hostage was awake and already chattering away.

"Excuse me, uh...ruffian. Thief. Whatever-your-name-is. Blaine said there'd be coffee, and I'm going to need some if you expect me to be able to travel. Quickly."

Blaine sat up to see the boy staring defiantly at a very exhausted Thad.

"Blaine," Thad said desperately. "Get. This. Ass. Some. Coffee." He walked over, hissing, "He's been up since who knows when and he won't shut up. The little shit told me his whole damn life story."

Blaine rubbed his eyes grumpily. It was way too early for this. He meandered over to the boy.

"Why are you terrorizing Thad, kid?" Blaine asked tiredly.

"I was bored. I had no one to talk to. And don't call me kid."

"You never told me your name, though," Blaine pointed out. Mercedes grinned.

"His name's Kurt," she volunteered, since Kurt had made no move to tell him.

"Mercedes!" Kurt cried. "I didn't want him to know who I am!"

"Why not?"

"He'll know how to find me in case I escape or something!" Kurt hissed.

"Boy, if you escape you better take me with you, and there are lots of Kurts in the world, I promise." Blaine disagreed. He'd never heard the name before. He liked the sound of it.

"Yeah, okay," Kurt conceded grumpily. "And of course I'll take you with me."

"That would require you actually escaping," Blaine put in, "Which will never happen, trust me."

"You have very little faith in us. I'm hurt," Kurt said, not hurt at all. "Now get me my coffee."


They were off again by sunrise.

"We'll open the chest when we've reached somewhere more secluded," Wes called to the boys. Was the warehouse not secluded enough? What was in that chest?

Blaine was still grumpy. They rarely left this early.

"What's your problem?" Kurt asked when they stopped at a creek for water. He and Mercedes hadn't been blindfolded yet; they weren't close enough to their next hideout for it to matter if they could see or not. Blaine had been muttering angrily for the past fifteen minutes and Kurt had only caught snippets of it. It was mostly curse words.

"Nothing," Blaine snapped. Kurt raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow and Blaine sighed.

"I hate our travel days."

"Why?"

"All day in the sun on a horse, no lunch, sleeping on hard ground if we don't get to one of our hideouts..." he trailed off, patting his horse.

"I thought being a Warbler required you to like the outdoors. And sleeping in the dirt. And being dirty in general," Kurt said, his eyes raking over Blaine's filthy clothes. Blaine frowned, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"I'm not a Warbler because I like it out here."

"Well, then why?"

"I thought we discussed this," Blaine said, smiling. His smile didn't reach his eyes, though. "No bonding."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Fine. Help me back onto the horse."

"Her name is Katy."


It was noon, and the sun was scorching. It was Spring, how was it already so hot? Blaine pushed his sweaty curls off his forehead and sighed, feeling it drip down the back of his neck and chest. It didn't help that Kurt was pressed up against him, his arms wrapped around his waist to keep his balance at the fairly fast pace they were keeping. Even at this rate Blaine knew they weren't going to reach their next destination: Wes's cabin. It was hidden deep in the only woods around, and small. Impossible to find unless you knew where it was.

God, Blaine hated traveling. He liked being outside, sure, but the Warblers didn't stay inside very often. Even going to Wes's cabin like this was a rarity and not all of them would fit inside. Being Blaine, accommodating guy he was, he'd probably be one of the ones outside. He always thought about protesting, but he always ended up conceding and letting his friends sleep inside. He knew Kurt thought they were bad people, but these guys were his friends. And when it got right down to it, they were all just good people whose lives had gone bad directions.

He thought about that little girl on the train. What would he have done if Mercedes hadn't stepped forward? He couldn't have shot that girl. He couldn't have. He'd never killed anybody and he didn't know if he was capable of it. He remembered how she'd cried and how her mother had screamed and he shuddered a little.

Kurt felt the shudder and wondered what he was thinking about. He certainly couldn't be cold, it was fucking hot out here.

"It's fucking hot," he said aloud. Blaine nodded.

"I know, trust me."

"Warblers, halt! Break time," Wes called. Blaine pulled Katy to a stop, sliding off gratefully and beginning to unbutton his shirt.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Kurt asked, puzzled.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Blaine answered unhelpfully, pulling off his plaid shirt, revealing his sweat-soaked white undershirt. He sighed with relief as the breeze hit his chest, his eyes closing. It felt amazing. He glanced up to see Kurt staring at him. "What?"

Kurt's voice sounded strangled when he answered. "Nothing."

"Nothing, my ass. You're bright red."

"Just the heat," Kurt said in the same strangled tone. Blaine snickered and didn't probe further.

Meanwhile, Kurt was...having some trouble organizing his thoughts, to say the least. Blaine's wet white t-shirt was absolutely see through and clinging tightly to Blaine's muscular chest and stomach. Kurt could count his abs.

Why did he have to be so sexy? For Christ's sake, he was a criminal. But he didn't act like one, Kurt had noticed. He acted like...a normal person. A normal person who just happened to have an uncanny resemblance to a Greek God. Kurt brushed his sweaty bangs away from his forehead and tried to ignore how disgusting he felt. His skin, he knew, had to be coated with grime and pore-clogging dirt.

Blaine pulled himself back up onto his horse, patting her affectionately. Poor Katy, having to carry them this far in the heat.

They were off again and Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's waist again, and as they quickened their pace the breeze hit them and Kurt caught the boyish smell of sweat and something that he couldn't identify. It smelled like wood and leaves and trees and cinnamon and heaven.

It was Blaine.

God dammit.


It was sunset when they finally stopped to rest. They had entered a forest a little while ago (blindfolding Mercedes and Kurt again) and were now in a small, secluded clearing surrounded by trees. The Warblers had clearly been here before, for they began setting up tents and one of them pulled aside a bunch of strategically placed leaves to reveal a hidden fire pit. Blaine slipped off Katy's back and reached out a hand to help Kurt down and remove his blindfold before leading her to a creek that ran nearby so she could drink. Kurt took this opportunity to sneak over to Mercedes. Wes had forgotten about her for the moment in favor of yelling orders at the Warblers. He grabbed her hand, helping her slip her blindfold off.

"Mercedes," he whispered urgently. "They're busy, do you think we should make a run for it?"

She bit her lip. "But...they still have the chest...and they'd chase us, wouldn't they?"

"Don't worry. Now that we're not blindfolded, it shouldn't be hard to tell your parents where the Warblers are. They're so preoccupied with the camp setup I don't think they'd even notice us until we were already gone."

Mercedes looked around worriedly, hesitating. "Well...okay." She grabbed his hand. "Let's go." Kurt allowed himself one more glance around before turning and dragging her away into the trees. They were thicker nearest the clearing, so it was easier for them to hide. However, it wasn't long before they heard a cry.

"Where are they? WHY WEREN'T YOU WATCHING THEM?"

"RUN!" Kurt screamed. They took off at a dead sprint, their feet pounding the dirt. Even at their speed, they heard feet behind them and Kurt was sure he heard a horse's hooves. Shit.


Blaine was running, having left Katy behind in his desperation. Dammit, this was all his fault. If he had just been watching like Wes had told him to...

He heard a yelp that sounded suspiciously like Kurt and veered in that direction.


Kurt tripped over a root and yelped as his ankle twisted painfully. He tried desperately to stand, but his knees gave out. He couldn't walk. Mercedes, who had run a little ways ahead, noticed he was gone and turned around, running back to him.

"Are you okay?" she gasped, her breathing labored.

"No," he moaned weakly. "I...twisted my ankle. I..." Then something clicked in his head. "Wait, what are you doing? Get out of here! Keep running!"

Mercedes pulled him to his feet. "Not without you." She hoisted him into the air and threw him over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he squealed. "Just leave me!"

"Hell no, boy!" she yelled, running as best she could with him on her back. He was light as air, but his long legs were getting in the way of the shorter girl. She ran as fast as she could, but she knew they weren't going to make it.


"THERE THEY ARE!"

Blaine sped up, catching a glimpse of Jones carrying Kurt over her shoulder. Carrying him? Was he injured? Blaine put on a last burst of speed, throwing all his weight onto Mercedes and knocking her and her passenger to the ground. He jumped up, prepared to fight until they both gave in, but neither of them tried getting up. Mercedes just pulled Kurt into her lap and wrapped her arms around him. Blaine paused, registering the look of pain on Kurt's face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice suddenly gentle. Kurt just looked so vulnerable.

"He sprained his ankle," Mercedes snapped. "Now leave him alone."

Blaine reached out, meaning to lift Kurt's pant leg and try to get a look at it, but at that very moment, the other Warblers arrived.

"Ah. Good. You found them," Wes said. "Get them up and bring them back." He turned on his heel without another word and left. None of the other Warblers made any move to help Blaine as he stepped forward. He held out his arms.

"Give him to me."

"No!" Mercedes protested. "I can carry him just fine." She tried to stand up, falling back down with a thump!

"It's okay, 'Cedes," Kurt said, gritting his teeth. "I can walk." He, too, tried to stand, but his ankle gave way beneath him, his face twisting in pain. Blaine reached out and caught him in his arms.

"Whoa. Easy."

Kurt glared at him. "Don't you 'EASY' me. Stop being all...nice. You're a kidnapper. And a murderer. Get off me." He tried to shove Blaine's hands away, but they only tightened.

"No. You can't walk," Blaine said shortly. He lifted Kurt into the air, bridal style, and started to walk, knowing Mercedes would follow. She did, protesting the entire way. Kurt gave up struggling after a while, settling into Blaine's arms. His arms felt strong and Kurt could feel the steady drum of his heartbeat against him. It was sort of comforting. He was glad it was Blaine here and not Wes. He was sure Wes wouldn't have been so kind about Kurt's ankle, and it really did hurt.

Blaine held Kurt closer, continuing his slow, even pace. He stumbled only once, and when he heard Kurt's sharp intake of breath as he jostled his ankle, he felt an odd sense of protectiveness towards the boy in his arms. He wasn't sure why. Was he going soft? He couldn't be. He was Blaine Anderson, for Christ's sake. He was a Warbler, feared by everyone! He wasn't going soft.

But, just to be safe (so Kurt's soft gasps of pain wouldn't turn into screaming or anything...he didn't want anyone to hear him, that's all), he started humming a song from his childhood, a song his mother used to use to get him to go to sleep. It was a playful melody, and Kurt visibly brightened upon hearing it, forgetting about the pain entirely.

Blaine smiled.

Hey, soul sister, hey that mister mister...