Prologue

Here We Go Again

Kurt was a nervous wreck, despite the fact that the wedding had gone off without a hitch, and the reception was in full swing. Blaine had just dropped a bombshell in his lap, and he didn't know what to do about it.

When Phil had called last week and asked if he wanted to go on The Amazing Race again, he had asked for time to think it over, but had been pretty sure he was going to say no. He'd just gotten a promotion at Vogue, from intern to style commentator, which meant he'd be giving his opinions on current trends, and if the editors liked them, they'd be used in the magazine. He'd also be working more closely with Isabelle, who had been the one to recommend him for the position.

He and Blaine had been keeping in touch nightly, talking for hours on the phone and on Skype, but Kurt had been kept so busy, between the promotion and planning not only Burt and Carole's wedding, but Tina and Mike's as well, that he hadn't had a chance to visit his boyfriend in Michigan.

And Blaine had been busy as well. Mercedes had recorded his song, and released it as the first single on her debut album. It hit number two on Billboard's R&B charts, and ever since, he'd had several commissions from various artists, and had been asked to write the score for a major motion picture.

The curly haired man had flown into Lima the day before, for Burt and Carole's wedding. Kurt had been there a couple of days already, overseeing last minute details. It was the first time in over a month that they had been face to face, not since Blaine had to come to New York to film some of the confessionals for the race. He'd only been in town one night, and had stayed with Kurt, but they'd both been so exhausted, all they had done was sleep, and Blaine had to fly back to Michigan the next day.

The first episode of their adventure around the world had aired that night before the wedding, and most of the friends they had made on the race who were in town for the wedding had packed into the Hummel house to watch it together.

Kurt had been a bit bummed that he hadn't had more than a few minutes alone with Blaine since the shorter man had arrived. Mercedes and Tina had latched on to the hazel eyed man. The dark skinned goddess wanted to discuss a couple of songs he was working on for her, and the goth Asian wanted his opinion on serenading Mike at the wedding. Theirs would take place on New Years Eve, in roughly six weeks.

Today he'd been ready to call Phil back and politely turn down the offer, with the excuse that his dad had hinted at a desire to partner with Carole if he could. Kurt wasn't thrilled with the idea of his dad going on the race again, either, but decided that with Carole there to keep an eye on and take care of him, his dad deserved the chance to have that adventure with his wife.

Now Blaine had informed him that he had been invited to come back for the race as well, but Cooper wouldn't be available to partner with him, as he'd landed a role in a movie, and would be filming on location in Anchorage, Alaska when the race would begin in January.

He could partner with Blaine, they could spend a month together, day and night. And maybe Kurt could find the chance to ask that very important question he'd been thinking about for the past few months…

"Please say you'll go on the race with me?" Blaine all but begged, giving him that puppy dog face he had yet to build any immunity to.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Fine! But only because I love it when you beg!"

Blaine smirked at him. "Wanna make me beg for something else?"

Kurt raked his eyes over the other man, noting how well the tailored tux fit the shorter man, and how well the brooch Kurt had picked up in India, and had given to Blaine for their twenty week anniversary a few weeks ago, and was now affixed to the lapel, brought out the honeyed highlights in those hazel eyes. His gaze moved lower to the very obvious bulge in the other man's crotch.

The pale man tried to give Blaine an expression of disapproval, indicating he thought he was out of place for being so turned on at his dad's wedding. But at the same time, it had been so long since he and Blaine had a private moment together. He was still a little miffed at not getting time alone with him the night before.

Instead of trying to scold him, Kurt gave in, grabbing the man's hand and leaving the reception hall, not caring if anyone noticed them heading away from the party.

Truth be told, someone had. Burt Hummel was eyeing his son from his seat at the head table with his new wife. The man had a knowing look on his face and a glance at Carole told him that she hadn't missed her stepson's nonchalant way of exiting the reception with his boyfriend either.

"You know," Carole said to him with a slight smirk, setting her glass of champagne down. "He doesn't have a bad idea."

Burt's eyes widened at her words. "Are you seriously suggesting we sneak off at our own wedding?" he asked.

"Who said consummating the marriage had to wait until the honeymoon?" she responded with a sly wink. Burt watched her stand from the table and start heading for the exit, perhaps on a pretense of using the restroom, but he knew that wasn't what she had in mind.

The man waited a few moments before he stood and followed his new wife out of the reception hall.

Meanwhile, Kurt was shutting the door to one of the dressing rooms, standing against it and switching the lock. He was now eyeing his boyfriend with a hungry look in his eyes. Maybe sneaking off at his dad's wedding wasn't the best time for them to reconnect this way, but Kurt no longer cared. All he wanted was the feeling of being in Blaine's arms again. That private moment they got so few of now that they weren't on the race anymore. He found it funny that they'd had more moments alone during the race than they did now.

"Have I ever told you how much you turn me on?" Kurt asked, stepping forward and pressing his hand lightly to Blaine's chest, walking him back until he fell on the chaise in the room. The pale man looked around. "They need a bed in here," he deadpanned.

"This is a dressing room, Kurt," Blaine stated with a snort of laughter.

Kurt shrugged. "So? You don't think sometimes the bride and groom need to stay overnight so they can leave in the morning?"

Blaine just looked at him for a moment. "Less talking, more kissing," he finally said, reaching out to grab Kurt by his tie.

Kurt shook his head and pulled back. "I thought you were going to beg?" He smirked at Blaine, effectively hiding his urge to just pounce on him. Thank a God he didn't believe in, that he was such a good actor.

Blaine whined and cupped his hands together in a pleading manner. "Please! Please make love to me Kurt!" he cried.

The very sight gave the pale man an idea. He undid the tie from around his neck and slipped it around his boyfriend's wrists, tying it into a knot, tight, but not so much that it was hurting the other man. Blaine watched his actions with a growl.

"Behave. I could have tied them behind you," he said with a wink. Kurt toed his shoes off and crawled slowly over the top of the other man, snapping his teeth in a hungry growl. "I would love to taste you from the top of your head, all the way down to the tip of your toes."

"Please," Blaine peeped.

Kurt lightly dragged his fingers down Blaine's chest, tugging his dress shirt free of his pants.

"Touch me Kurt! Please put your hands on my skin!" Kurt clicked his tongue in a tsking manner.

"So needy, and yet, not quite enough." He grinned a devilish grin and slowly began to pop the buttons on Blaine's shirt, one at a time, using only one hand as he brought the other up to push Blaine's bound wrists above his head.

Blaine lifted his head, trying to bring their lips together in a kiss. But Kurt released his shirt and pushed the other's head back down gently.

"Not so fast, hot stuff," he said. He wanted to attack Blaine's lips just as much, but Blaine had said he wanted to beg, so he was going to make him beg.

Slowly, the pale man stood up. "Don't move," he said. "I'll be right back."

Blaine pouted. "Where are you going?" he asked.

Giving in for just a moment, to reassure Blaine that everything was fine, Kurt leaned over and pecked a soft kiss to his lips. "I need to get a few useful things. I promise I'll be right back, okay sweetie?" he stated.

The curly haired man nodded his head and Kurt blew him a kiss before slipping back out of the room, strolling down the corridor as fast as he could while still being casual.

Blaine decided he needed to hurry this along in some way, mostly because he wasn't sure how long they could stay here, but also intending to entice Kurt.

With some difficulty because his hands were still bound at the wrists, he managed to strip the rest of his clothes off, his erection springing free.

Kurt was back at the door to the room in no time, with the things he'd gone out to get. He had stored some useful things in his car because he was very quick to learn that with Blaine, he always needed to be prepared. They were always feisty and he was realizing, he didn't mind it as much as he had with his ex-boyfriends.

However, he didn't want Blaine to think he was rushing for him. So he forced himself to wait outside the door for a number of minutes, until he heard Blaine let out a loud whine from inside the room, clearly impatient waiting for him to return. Kurt smiled to himself.

He opened the door and stepped inside, clearly ready to take back control but pausing in his tracks when he found his boyfriend fully naked on the chaise. Though Blaine had replaced his bound wrists above his head, which gave Kurt a sudden image of exactly how talented the man he loved was. It appeared that even though he was now naked, the other man had behaved himself and not moved like Kurt had told him.

"How did you…" he started, wondering exactly how Blaine had pulled it off.

The curly haired man gave the other a seductive look. "You should close your mouth love," he said. "The only thing I want slipping in there is my cock."

Kurt tightened his grip on the items in his hands. Blaine was making it increasingly more difficult for him to regain control. He shut his eyes for a beat, drawing a deep breath before he crossed the room and once more, straddled his boyfriend.

"I thought I told you to behave," Kurt said. He tsked yet again. "Now I'm going to have to add to your punishment." He grabbed one of the items he'd brought, which he'd set on the floor beside them. "Raise your head for me please." Blaine did as he was told, looking at Kurt with lust blown pleading eyes. The taller man slipped a strap over his boyfriend's head and fixed the ball at the front in the man's mouth. He grinned to himself. "Now, you need to be a good boy, but I still want to see you beg."

Blaine wondered for a moment how he was supposed to beg, now that the ball gag was in his mouth and when the hell had Kurt gotten one of these things? He'd had no idea the other man was interested in things becoming this kinky. But you learned something new about those you loved everyday, right?

Kurt began his attack, by slowly kissing down the other's chest, taking a moment to pay attention to each of the other man's nipples, causing Blaine to whine with want and need. It took everything the younger man had to not arch off the chaise, and push himself into the other's mouth.

The pale man's kisses stopped at the waist, just before Blaine's hips dipped into that V. Kurt sat back up, straddling his boyfriend's legs and raised his hands to the top button of his own dress shirt, intending to give the other a show.

"Do you want me to remove it Blaine?" he asked in a low voice. Blaine growled through the gag, following it with a whine. "Nod or shake your head please," Kurt added, using a politely authoritative sounding voice. It was at that moment, the other wondered if Kurt might have had a stint in BDSM or something. Maybe he would ask him later. Either way, everything his boyfriend did was turning him on even more. "Blaine?" Kurt questioned.

It wasn't until then that the curly haired man realized that he had yet to fully respond to the other and he nodded his head quickly.

Kurt licked his lips and slowly undid his shirt, one button at a time, until it was able to just slide right off him.

Blaine whined, lowering his bound hands to make grabby hands at the other and Kurt chuckled. "Like what you see?" he asked, and again, Blaine nodded. He was starting to get the idea here. "Good boy," Kurt said, leaning forward again to pepper Blaine's chest with kisses, and shuffling forward just a bit so that his fully clothed cock pressed right into his boyfriend's naked and erect one. Blaine groaned around the ball gag at just that little bit of friction.

The other had just lowered his hands to slowly remove his own pants, bringing them one step closer to where they were headed when he heard the handle on the door jiggle. It struck him at that moment that he had forgotten to relock the door, mainly due to being stunned by finding Blaine completely naked in front of him.

"Wait!" Kurt shouted, just as the door sprung open to reveal Santana and Brittany standing outside. Both men froze, as did the two women for just a moment.

"Wanky!" Santana said, smirking, clearly feeling that this might be great blackmail material in the future, even if Kurt and Blaine were the last couple she would ever want to blackmail. You couldn't help but love them.

Blaine's eyes had gone wide and they were alternating between the ball gag in his mouth and the two girls in the doorway.

"Dolphins!" Brittany clapped happily. Clearly, the blonde hadn't grasped the severity of the situation. And clearly, neither woman was as humiliated as the men both were. "Sanny, can we play with the dolphins?"

Santana didn't get a chance to answer because Kurt did it for her, finding his voice. "Oh no no no, no playtime with us." He laughed a little nervously.

The Latina wrapped a hand around Brittany's arm and very gently began to lead her back to the door. "No Brit Brit," she said softly. "We can't play with the dolphins right now. Besides, no offense to them because they both look like delicious fun, but I'm not really interested in sharing my playtime with them."

It wasn't just about wanting Brittany all to herself for Santana. Part of it was her way of an eye for an eye. Basically, she was repaying the favor for when Kurt had supported her after that fight with Sebastian in the race. One of her many ways of showing that she may be a bitch, but she was indeed grateful to him for not outing her. Especially when she wasn't ready.

Kurt gave her a silent look of thanks, feeling like on some level, he and Santana understood each other in a way only two people from the same community could. He knew that Blaine would understand it just as well.

Santana threw the couple another smirk, for once being respectful by not taking an eyeful. Afterwards, she gently lead Brittany from the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

The two men stayed still for another moment before Blaine suddenly wriggled beneath Kurt, drawing the other man's attention to the fact that the man beneath him was still hard, despite just having been walked in on by a couple of women.

It was enough to make Kurt forget that he should have gotten up to lock the door this time and he pulled the ball gag out of Blaine's mouth for a moment, only so he could lean down and kiss him. He didn't let it linger though, pulling away too soon for Blaine's liking and the darker man whined in protest, already accustomed to not being able to actually talk. Kurt replaced the gag before he had a chance to realize it was really out.

Sitting back up, the taller man returned his hands to his pants, slowly undoing the belt and dropping it to the floor. Blaine whined beneath him, causing Kurt to smirk.

"Soon baby, very soon," he said softly, moving his hands to the waist of his dress pants again, slowly unbuttoning them and pulling down the zipper.

Here was where things might have gotten tricky, but not for one Kurt Hummel, who had yet to show Blaine just how flexible he was.

He started to push both his pants and his underwear down, not moving from straddling the other man. Instead, he locked his eyes on Blaine and brought one leg up to rest on the arm of the chaise beside the other's head. Blaine whined again, feeling the smoothness of Kurt's skin against his arm, his wrists still above his head because he didn't dare to move them.

The pale man halted a moment, before moving his other leg to rest on the other side of Blaine's head. And then, he leaned forward into the stretch, pushing down his pants and underwear. Because of his position, the fabric rustled over Blaine, tickling at his skin as it passed down and finally, Kurt kicked the last of it off onto the floor behind the arm of the chaise. He was now just as naked as the man beneath him and slowly returned his legs to his previous position.

Blaine whined with need beneath him, head turning to spot the bottle of lube among the stuff on the floor. Kurt leaned over slowly and picked it up.

"Is this what you want sweetie?" he teased, shaking the bottle back and forth slightly. The curly haired man whined and nodded his head eagerly. "Is it really?" Kurt prodded. Blaine nodded his head even more eagerly, growling beneath the gag. He brought his bound hands forward and tried his best to plead with them. Kurt felt his cock get impossible harder.

But instead of popping the cap open on the bottle, he set it aside again and picked something else up. "Do you know what this is?" he asked as he held it up.

Blaine's eyes went wide as they focused on the sex toy his boyfriend held in his hand. He was very aware of what the thing was, though no one had ever used one on him before. And he wasn't sure he would let anyone else use one on him. But with Kurt, he felt secure enough to do anything and that included this particular kind of play.

"You wanted to beg, so I will make you beg for everything," Kurt said. "Including your release." He lowered his hand and gently took hold of Blaine's cock, giving it a few good strokes and pulling another whine from the man beneath him, before sliding the toy, a cock ring, down the man's shaft. Before he'd been with Blaine, Kurt would have never considered orgasm denial to be sexy, but something just brought out the animal in him when he was with the curly haired man.

This time, the two men were so focused on their actions, with Blaine whining and wiggling, and Kurt trying to hold him still. Blaine was in that whining and pleading state more now that he could feel Kurt's cock rubbing against his own, which was now restricted from exploding. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to stand it. He wondered if it was possible to get so hard, you managed to come even with the cock ring. He didn't have time to figure it out.

The door suddenly opened a second time and it wasn't until a startled cry filled the room that both men were alerted to it.

"Oh my God!" Burt Hummel stood stock still in the doorway, having just walked in on his son in a position he had never wanted to find him. Even with their torturing each other with tales from their sex lives. Hearing about it was one thing, something that Burt had come to be okay with these days. But actually seeing it…

Kurt felt his whole body heat up. There was absolutely nothing more mortifying than being walked in on by your parents. He was completely still and felt the blood drain from his cock as it rushed up to flush his face. He wasn't hard anymore. And he could tell by where he was sitting, that neither was Blaine. The situation had effectively killed their erections. The pale man swallowed.

"Is that a cock ring?" came Carole's voice. And Kurt found himself even more mortified that she seemed to not be embarrassed by the situation, but instead, intrigued. She was looking at the toy wrapped around Blaine's cock with interest. "Maybe I ought to get one of those for you Burt, increase your stamina," she added.

"Oh my God!" This time, it was Kurt who spoke the words. And this time, it was Burt who felt his face flush with heat.

An awkward silence hung in the room for a moment, broken only by Carole's soft chuckle.

That was when Kurt seemed to remember himself. He carefully slid off of his boyfriend, his face still red, but now with anger, and grabbed his dress shirt to hold in front of himself.

"Out! OUT, OUT, OUT! GET OUT!" Kurt yelled. He hurried forward quickly, pressing his parents to back out of the room and then slammed the door and locked it behind them. Turning around to slide down to the floor against it, shutting his eyes.

Several beats of silence passed before Kurt started chuckling, the laughter growing, causing Blaine to stare at him like he was crazy for a moment, but the darker man held his wrists out and whined one more time.

That was all it took for Kurt to come down from his embarrassed laughter fit. He stood again and moved to unbind and ungag his boyfriend. Blaine turned on his side on the chaise.

"I think we're both scarred for life," he said. Kurt just nodded. So much for that private moment. Blaine just smiled at him. "You do realize that you have to go on the race with me now, just so we can have some privacy?"

Both men were silent for a moment, before bursting into giggles and getting dressed.

…

"Is that Hunter?" Kurt asked Finn a couple weeks later. His new stepbrother was staying with him in New York for a few days, supposedly so they could bond, though the taller man had spent more time with Rachel than him. The petite diva had rehearsal today, however, so Finn was hanging out with Kurt.

Finn had been channel surfing as Kurt prepared dinner, when he happened on a news station, and there on the screen was an all too familiar buzzcut. Kurt turned the volume up so they could hear the news story.

"...indicted on fraud and embezzlement charges. Clarington appears in this season of The Amazing Race, where rumor has it he caused quite a controversy, along with his teammate, Sebastian Smythe. The show airs tonight…"

Kurt flicked the TV off. "I wonder if that was why he cheated? To pay back the money he stole."

His stepbrother only shrugged as they sat down to eat. "Did you hear about Jesse?" the younger man asked.

"No, what?" Kurt inquired.

"He was kicked out of NYADA! They found out he'd been paying some kid with an IQ off the charts to do his academic work."

Kurt smirked. "I bet Rachel is happy about that."

Although Kurt hadn't liked the woman very well while they had been on the race, he had gotten to know her a little better since she and Finn had been unofficially dating. She was still a spoiled diva, but his stepbrother seemed to have a calming effect on her, and she was slightly less annoying than before.

Finn gave him that goofy grin of his. "She might have been the one to let it slip to the admissions board."

Kurt laughed as they focused on their food for a few minutes. "Have you heard from any of the other racers?" Finn asked.

Kurt nodded. "I saw Dave a few days ago. He was in town for his Good Morning America interview. He has a new boyfriend, that Totally Gay Warbler from Russia. They've been dating for a few months, apparently."

"Cool," Finn said, taking a bite of his stir fry. "So, what do you think about my mom and your dad going on the Amazing Race again?"

Kurt shrugged. He hadn't told anyone that he and Blaine would be joining again as well. "I'm happy for them. I'm a little worried about my dad's heart, but the doctor said everything was looking good. And apparently the race is less stressful than running for congress!"

His dad had announced his candidacy a few weeks after they'd returned, and while the polls showed him with a marginal lead, his opponent had launched a smear campaign, bringing up everything from Burt's heart condition to Kurt's sexuality. Burt had refused to be baited, though, and had run a campaign on facts and information.

The two men spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and talking, getting to know each other a little better. All in all, Kurt was glad their parents had gotten together. Finn wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was kind, and it was almost impossible not to like him.

…

The next six weeks seemed to fly by. Kurt had spent Christmas Eve and the day before in Michigan with Blaine and Cooper. Their parents were supposed to have been there, but had conveniently been summoned to some important meeting. In the Bahamas.

It had been nice spending two days practically glued to his boyfriend's side, but it had been almost torture to leave again Christmas morning, but he had promised his dad he'd be home for Christmas Dinner with Carole and Finn. It had been really nice being home for those few days.

On New Years Eve, he had been in Chicago for Mike and Tina's wedding. It had been an interesting event; the bride wore black, not because of her goth style, but because it was the traditional wedding color in Korea, where Tina's grandparents were originally from. She had agreed to have a traditional Asian wedding, but the reception was all goth, with a black, spider web draped cake, and smoking purple punch.

It was mid January now, and he was flying from New York to San Francisco, where he would meet Blaine to start the new season of The Amazing Race. He had no idea who else would be joining them, although when he'd talked to Marley, Phil's PA, a few days ago, she had hinted that some of the racers might be familiar.

Blaine was waiting for him when he landed, along with Artie, the other PA he'd met last season.

"Gentlemen," Artie said. "The shuttle bus is waiting to take you to the hotel. We're doing things slightly different this time around. You'll be meeting with Phil and the other racers this evening. I know we don't usually allow you all to mingle before we start filming, but under the circumstances…"

The four eyed production assistant cut himself off. Kurt and Blaine looked at each other. "What circumstances?" Kurt asked.

The PA just grinned. "You'll find out shortly. Let's not keep everyone waiting."

Burt and Carole were waiting beside the shuttle bus when they arrived, having just arrived from Columbus. Kurt had known about his dad and stepmother coming back, but Blaine was surprised to see them there. He smiled and hugged the elder Hummel and Carole.

"I'm so glad you two are going to be there too!" Blaine said, truly happy to see them, despite what happened the last time they had all been in the same place. Burt had flushed a little at the sight of him, but none of them mentioned the dressing room incident.

Artie urged them to board the shuttle, and once his wheelchair was locked into place, they pulled away from the curb.

The two couples chatted with each other and the PA, trying to get more information out of him, but the man would only grin and say "Wait and see."

They pulled up at the hotel, and were led to a conference room, where they got their first surprise. Finn and Rachel were sitting at the long table, backpacks in front of them.

"Finn?" Carole said, shocked to see her son sitting there.

The tall man grinned sheepishly. "Hi mom!"

Kurt looked at the girl beside his stepbrother. "Rachel, what are you doing here? What about Fanny?"

Rachel shrugged and leaned into Finn. "What can I say, I'm in love! Besides, the producers are worried that now that last season has aired, numbers will drop. I got a really good review for my opening night. The last thing they want is for the attitude I had during that race to contradict peoples' judgment of my character and cause them to decide not to come and see the show for themselves." She paused a moment. "Also, I can better promote Broadway Bitches to the country from in front of a camera."

Kurt rolled his eyes. He'd been pleased when the diva had started the doggy day care, even if it had been a publicity stunt to try and redeem her image before the race had aired, but the stunt had almost backfired when the woman had been dragged down the street by a pack of dogs.

He would have said something, but the conference room door opened again, and another couple entered. "Tina! Mike!" Kurt said, hugging the new arrivals. "I thought you were supposed to be on your honeymoon!"

The goth Asian girl laughed. "We are! We're Honeymooning on the race! I can't believe you all are here! Do you think everyone is coming back?"

Blaine laughed and hugged her too. "I doubt everyone will return," he said, tactfully not mentioning Jesse in front of the Jewish Diva.

Kurt nodded. "I know Dave and Azimio won't be here. Azimio just got a walk on tryout with an NFL team, and Dave has been busy moving cross country to be with his boyfriend, the Totally Gay Warbler. I still have no clue what his name is."

The door opened once more. "Mercedes! Sam!" Several voices called out, and more hugs were exchanged. Over the next half hour, three more teams arrived. Will and Emma, Nick and Jeff, and Santana, who had a new partner, Brittany.

"Where's Quinn?" Kurt asked.

"She didn't want to leave Beth again," The Latina said. "And after Finn introduced her to his friend, Puck, at your dad's wedding, they started dating."

"That's great!" Kurt said. "I wonder who else is going to be here?"

The door opened again, and this time it was the host who entered. "Hello everyone! Welcome back!"

There was a general chorus of greeting for the man, although Santana had something more specific in mind.

"So help me, Phil, if I so much as see a single piece of hay on this race, I'm going to shove it up your…"

"Anyway!" Kurt cut her off, "I get that since we all know each other already, there is no reason to keep us separated, but knowing the race as well as I do, I get the suspicion that this isn't the only thing that has changed."

Finn had been looking around the room at all the racers gathered there. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't we a few teams short?" he asked.

Phil smiled at both men. "You are correct, both of you. Let me introduce you to the other three teams. A couple of them may seem familiar to at least some of you! Gentlemen?"

Wes and David entered the room, and Blaine jumped to his feet to greet his two best friends. "You bastards! You didn't tell me you were coming on the race!"

"We didn't know you were going to be on this season!" David informed him.

"We auditioned while you were filming last season!" Wes added.

Phil waved in the next team. Kurt noticed that Will seemed to be looking at the woman as if he recognized her, but wasn't sure where from.

"Everyone, this is Terri Delmonico and Howard Bamboo, From Iowa City, Iowa."

"Terri?" Will said. "Not the Terri Delmonico from The Honey Tones?"

The woman looked him over. "No way! You're Will Schuester, from Fluid Sound!"

Emma frowned at the two of them. "You know each other?"

"Our show choirs competed against against each other back in high school," Will said.

"I had the biggest crush on you back then," Terri admitted.

"Oh, uh, thanks?" Will said, putting his arm around Emma's shoulders.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Phil cleared his throat. "And our last team, from New York, Adam Crawford and Chandler Kiehl."

Blaine felt Kurt stiffen beside him at the names. He glanced at the pale man who seemed to have gone even whiter. "Kurt?" Blaine asked in concern, taking a hold of his boyfriend's hand, an action which for a moment, the other seemed oblivious of.

"Not again." Kurt's voice came out in a whisper.

Everyone in the room, except Burt, had stilled and turned to look at him, completely missing the moment the team walked in.

"What do you mean, not again?" Blaine asked.

Kurt finally moved, turning to look at the man next to him. "Last time, when my dad and I found out Karofsky and Azimio were on the race, I was scared because Karofsky had made my life a living hell. Now, I'm scared again, because running a race against those two will be a living hell."

Blaine was quiet for a beat, not at all entirely sure what this meant. It was Adam who broke the silence.

"Hello Kurt," he said. "I told you we would meet again, and the fates have brought us together once more."

Chandler was quick to jump in. "Now, now Adam, how do you know the fates haven't brought him back to me?" he asked, an oddly overly excited chirp to his voice. Chandler was the kind of person that seemed to get over excited about everything, whether it was negative or positive.

Kurt felt Blaine's hand tighten just a bit and the curly haired man stood up and cleared his throat. "Fate hasn't brought him to either of you. He's with me," he said, his tone firm and bordering on the edge of finality.

Phil glanced from Kurt and Blaine to Adam and Chandler and back again. "Wait, you know them too?" he asked Kurt.

Kurt's single three word sentence reply chilled the air in the room and several people threw up invisible walls of protection. "They're my ex-boyfriends."

Another awkward silence fell over the room, this time broken when the door opened again, and Phil's assistant, Marley rushed in, whispering urgently to the host, who frowned, and then excused himself.

The moment he was out the door, nine pairs of eyes narrowed at the two new racers. Kurt couldn't bring himself to look at the other two men.

Burt Hummel was the first to stand from the table. He knew very well what these two men had done to his son. Adam had seemed like a nice guy, the kind that was too good to be true, which was exactly what he was. Chandler, he had seemed like a nice guy too, until he proved to be the clingy type who would stop at nothing to make sure your admiration and attention was all about him.

The older Hummel cleared his throat. "If either of you comes anywhere near my son, I won't hesitate to hit you upside the head with a tire iron." His eyes narrowed in on Chandler. "And I know you don't want that again."

The shorter of the two men flinched and rubbed the back of his head.

Adam however, wasn't phased. He narrowed his eyes right back at Burt. "As if they would allow you to bring one on the race," he quipped.

Burt stood his ground. "Maybe not, but I ran this race once already, and I know for a fact anything is possible, and I wouldn't doubt there's a chance I can get my hands on one somewhere."

The two men were quiet after that, as Burt sat back down beside Carole, who rubbed his back. But the rest of the racers weren't done with Adam and Chandler it seemed.

"Ah hell to the no!" Mercedes bit out, hands on her hips as she stood from the table. "You two boys have obviously messed up that white boy's life enough. You got some nerve coming in here and trying to get between my boy and his boo. I may not be a fighter, but I won't hesitate to clock you one if I see any funny business."

Before Adam or Chandler could respond, another voice piped up. "I'm from the wrong side of the tracks," Santana stated, both hands resting palm flat on the table. "Now, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can leave Porcelain and his sexy hobbit alone, or I can crack one of your nuts, right or left. Your choice. Also, I have razor blades in my hair." She leaned forward. "Oh, and if you think you're going to sneak around with messing with them," she added, bringing a hand up to tap her forehead. "My psychic Mexican third eye is watching you."

Both men looked a little pale at the two women's threats, but once again the door opened, and a rather harried Phil re-entered. "Okay, so apparently, we have another new team joining us this season. From Boca Raton, Sue and Becky."

All the racers from the previous season looked to the door in shock as the tall blonde woman in the familiar tracksuit and the diminutive blonde girl in a cheerleading outfit burst into the room. The new racers obviously couldn't see what the problem was.

"I'm on the race!" Becky cheered, blowing the whistle around her neck.

Santana stood up again. "What the hell are you doing here Sue?" It suddenly became apparent to all that they all had encountered the woman somewhere along the previous season.

Sue sneered at the lot of them. "Well Tweedle Fake Boobs, I'm afraid that information is classified. But I assure you and Tweedle Dumb over there, it has nothing to do with you." She glanced around at the returning players.

"Wait," Kurt said. "You actually know this woman? You didn't just run into her somewhere?"

The blonde woman replied before Santana could get another word in. "Sandbags over there used to be the bottom of my pyramid. Perhaps if she hadn't become Tweedle Fake Boobs, she would have been a high flyer rather than a hole digger." Santana glared at the woman, who returned her gaze to the group as a whole. "Let's see, other than Tweedle Fake Boobs, we have Frankenteen, Man Hands, Fish Lips, Aretha, Asian, Other Asian, Buttchin, Doe-Eyed Ginger, Baboon Heart Hummel, Donkey Wife, and Phineas and Ferb," she noted, glancing at Nick and Jeff on the last one. "Am I missing anyone?"

Aside from the new people, and Kurt and Blaine, she had insulted every single person in the room.

"I see we're missing Buttchin's Diva son, Clariton, and Meerkat. Also Teen Mom isn't here either."

"Clarington's in prison," Kurt deadpanned.

"I knew I should have gotten to that strip search," Sue commented, snapping her fingers.

Kurt frowned at the woman, still not sure what to make of her. Why had she given him that brooch in India? And why were he and Blaine the only ones she hadn't singled out besides the new teams?

Phil clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, so, there was a reason I wanted to bring you all in before we start the race."

They all settled down at the table, and turned to the host. "First off, you need to know that there will be some changes to the way things are going to happen. The rules regarding penalties for non elimination legs are different, although I won't reveal exactly what changes have been made until they come up on the race."

The teams exchanged looks, wondering what exactly would be required of them if they had the misfortune of coming in last on a non elimination.

"Also, since we have an extra team this year," he glanced uneasily at Sue and Becky, "there will be a double elimination at some point. Again, we won't announce exactly when until the beginning of that leg."

There were a few murmurs at this, but for the most part they all seemed to agree with this change. Once they settled down, Phil continued. "There will be some other surprises along the way, so be prepared for anything. We'll begin tomorrow morning, and you will receive your first surprise at the starting line. Any questions?"

No one said anything, and Phil nodded. "Okay, the production assistants will show you to your rooms. I suggest you all get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for you all."

Once alone in their room, Kurt backed Blaine up to the bed, kissing him hard. "Finally!" he said.

Blaine laughed. "Yes. Finally! Alone. You know what this means?"

Kurt grinned. "Are you thinking the same thing I am?"

"That depends on what you are thinking?"

"That I get to be Big Spoon."

Blaine laughed, and soon both men were sound asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

…

They arrived at the base of Lombard Street shortly before eleven the next morning, and lined up as instructed, looking up at Phil, who smiled at all of them in return.

"Well, here we go again! Are you all ready for this?"

After a chorus of yeses. Phil continued.

"Behind me is Lombard Street, known as the crookedest street in the world. When I give the signal, you will race to the top of the street to where your packs and first clue are waiting for you. Once you collect them, you will have to find your own way on public transportation to San Francisco International. And," he paused, dramatically, "The first team to check in for the first flight to your first destination will receive a surprise!"

An excited murmur went through the racers. "Racers Ready! Travel safe!"

The twelve teams all hunched into position to take off, twenty four pairs of eyes narrowed in focus.

Phil glanced around at them once more…"GO!"