Shoot to Kill

"Okay, most people have exes, and I'll even venture to say that some relationships end badly, but what on earth could cause someone to want to kill their ex?" Kurt shot a glare to Sam at that because that was not helping at all. Blaine was still looking up at Kurt, watching his face closely. And thankfully Kurt was good at covering his emotions because he had a feeling this would be an awkward discussion at best.

"We weren't... it really didn't end well. Can I uh... can I take a few moments?" Kurt nodded, stepping back as to let Blaine slip through. Blaine placed his hand lightly onto Kurt's elbow before stepping away and going into the kitchen.

"Well that's gotta suck. Imagine, your ex paid to have you killed." Kurt shushed Sam, looking over his shoulder as he did so.

"Have some respect Sam." Sam shrugged, although his face told just how much sympathy he held for Blaine. They got all kinds of contracts, although they usually were not told who had set it up. Sometimes, however, they were told. It was always difficult when it was family, but for it to be someone that you had been in a relationship with? Those were difficult too.

It didn't help that this was the first time that Kurt or Sam (at least, Kurt imagined the first time for Sam) had been on this side of the hit, had seen the victim's face as more than just a victim when they found out what was going on. With another look over his shoulder at the kitchen door, Kurt moved back to the couch beside Sam and sat down.

"Can you keep the jokes to a minimum for the time being? It's not as easy for him as it is for us." Sam nodded, turning so that his laptop was firmly on his lap without him having to hold it, and held a hand out to Kurt.

"I solemnly swear that I will be on my best behavior for the remainder of this conversation. Come on, you know sarcasm is the best defense." Kurt rolled his eyes but clasped Sam's hand, shaking it once firmly before releasing it.

Just as he pulled his hand back to his side, Blaine stepped out of the kitchen. His face had a little more color to it, but his hands were still shaking and Kurt could see that a bead of sweat had sprung out on his neck. It was like this made it real for him, that knowing who actually put the hit out on him made him a target more than his mind had already decided he was, and it had finally gotten to him. Which, granted, actually calmed Kurt down because he had been so sure that Blaine would just be nonchalant about all of it until one of them died.

"Where should I start?" Kurt didn't answer and it seemed that Sam was taking his declaration to heart because he did not interject, simply waiting for Blaine to find the words.

Blaine glanced at the chair he had been in earlier and then back to Kurt, his eyes never leaving his face for the first few minutes of silence. Finally, as it seemed he found the words and courage to start, he closed his eyes.

"Matt and I were friends through our parents. When it was discovered that we were both gay, well our mothers decided to play matchmakers. So from the age of sixteen, we often found ourselves thrown together. We joked about it and played along for their sakes, but I never thought... I didn't have feelings like that for him and I was fairly sure he didn't for me by the way he was fucking his way through ever gay kid within a twenty mile radius. He... when I moved to New York for college, he was there too. We actually tried dating once but it didn't feel right, so we phased out. I dropped out of college to do my own thing and he... well, to be honest, I'm not really sure what he did."

Kurt was biting holes in his tongue because the entire thing was starting to not sound good at all. Although he shouldn't be surprised, the guy had brought a hit out on him. Really, if that doesn't just scream 'it gets worse', he's not sure what would.

"We met up a few months ago, he came into the bar with one of his sisters. He was drunk and I was willing I guess. We fell into a relatively steady routine of hooking up without actually having a conversation."

Kurt had to disguise the yelp as he actually bit into his tongue as him clearing his throat, although Sam gave him a knowing look. There was absolutely no reason or right for Kurt to be jealous about that, because he did the same thing basically.

"Finally I realized that I was being stupid and not treating myself with the respect I deserve and I ended it. A couple of weeks ago, actually. He kept trying to get in touch with me but I wouldn't call him back, I told Wes not to let him in the apartment. Finally, not too long before I met you actually, I had him banned from the bar."

Kurt waited for him to continue, but that actually felt like the end. So instead, he went over what he knew in his head. Once he was sure he understood, he looked over to Sam. Sam, who had been suspiciously quiet for the story, was typing on his laptop but not looking at his hands. Instead he was watching Blaine and Kurt, but mostly Kurt.

"If I may?" Kurt glanced at Blaine, who still hadn't opened his eyes, and then back to Sam.

"I understand that your ex would be mad, feeling like he had been rejected or whatever, but is that cause enough for him to put a hit out on you?" Blaine laughed tightly, his shoulders shaking as he did so, and finally opened his eyes. Kurt was at least grateful that it didn't seem like he had been holding back tears.

"We come from money. Old money. A lot of money. More money than should be given to any one human. I don't play the part because I got tired of the scene fast, but Matt is a stereotypical spoiled rich kid. And you'd be amazed at what good money can buy."

Actually, Kurt thought, they wouldn't be surprised. But the fact still remained that this guy put a hit out on Blaine for having standards. It was almost laughable, in the sad way that you wanted to cry about it afterwards.

"Do you think that if we approached him, we could change his mind?" Blaine laughed again, looking down at his hands and then moving to the chair he had been in earlier, sitting down with a sigh.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, I knew he was vindictive but this is taking it to new heights. So taking that into consideration, I'm not sure I'm the best judge of character for him." Kurt had to agree with that.

"So we stick with what we're doing now. Now we know who put the hit out and we know why. Now all we have to do is figure a way around the contract and be done with it." Everyone seemed to agree enough with the general idea of that, so they went back to their silence.

After a while, Blaine excused himself to go lay down. Not that Kurt blamed him. And once he was sure that Blaine was asleep, or at the very least not able to hear what was going on, Kurt turned to Sam.

"You do realize that my deadline was twelve hours ago? Which means that this is about to get really intense, really fast. How much longer can Blaine pretend that him and I went away for a few days to his roommates? And my dad is going to get really pissed and/or paranoid that I haven't answered my phone in a few days. What are we going to do Sam?"

He didn't want to sound defeated, but that's exactly how he sounded. There didn't seem to be a way to win this, he couldn't figure out a fool proof plan. And when it comes to things like this, you need fool proof. Sam glanced down the hallway, checking to make sure the bedroom door was shut, before he moved his laptop to show Kurt.

"I've been working on that. Listen, we have a few options, like I listed before. Trying to get Drum to terminate his contract or you paying it out. To be honest, I feel more comfortable with the second, but I have a feeling the first might work better." Kurt nodded, rubbing his forehead while reading over what Sam had been figuring out, before tossing a look over his shoulder and down the hallway.

"So what do I do with Blaine? Leave him here for you to take care of?" Sam snorted, obviously trying to hold back laughter, and started to shake his head.

"He's not a dog Kurt, it's not like you can just leave him here. Besides, I'm packing up and heading out soon anyways."

"I can't take him with me." Sam raised an eyebrow at that.

"Why not? It's his car, isn't it?" Kurt sighed, standing up and moving away from the couch, away from the hallway, and as far to the other side of the room as he could get.

"It's too dangerous. Where exactly is the bright idea of having him come with me when I'm going to the people that want him dead? It would be defeating the fucking purpose." He ground his teeth together, inwardly berating himself because yea, that was bad for his teeth and being a hitman didn't come with dental insurance.

"Chill out, okay? There are always ways around that stuff. Disguises and aliases and a lot of other things that we can take care of before you leave. However, I think you and Blaine should probably head out soon. The sooner this is over, the sooner I can live without constant fear of choking on the sexual tension."

That got Kurt to laugh, slumping against the far wall that he was leaning against.

"Can we not bring up that please? I'm trying very hard not to focus on that, thank you very much." Sam sighed, standing up and moving to where Kurt was standing and leaning against it as well.

"Fine, fine. Now listen, you go in there and comfort your man- don't glare Hummel, it's bad manners- and I'll work on a plan to get you two safe and sound and sexing it up before the weekend." Kurt resisted the urge to smack his friend, realizing that that probably wouldn't go over very well, and pushed himself off of the wall.

When Kurt stepped into the bedroom, it was darker than he was expecting. Blaine must have closed the curtains because there wasn't even any midday light coming through. He moved over to the bed where Blaine was lying on his back, one arm under his head and the other resting on his stomach. Kurt waited a second, not being able to see if Blaine was asleep or not, before moving further into the room. As he kneeled against the bed, he thought it might have been a bad idea to shut the door behind him. Here Blaine was, trying to deal with finding out about his ex boyfriend, and all Kurt can do is think dirty and naughty and positively delicious thoughts about the man.

"Blaine?" The man in question turned his head just a little, that much Kurt could make out. He wished he could see Blaine's face though, get some sort of insight what he was thinking and how he should navigate this.

"Hey Kurt." His voice was low, but not hoarse from crying, which was good. He could see that Blaine was reaching out and Kurt let his own hand stretch forward, biting back a smile as Blaine's hand wrapped around his and their knuckles interlocked.

If Kurt could have seen Blaine's face, he would have seen the smile he had when he pulled their joined hands, successfully pulling Kurt down onto the bed, although not completely on top of him. They were not rushing things, they were not rushing things, they were not rushing things. They were just cuddling while Blaine stressed over the turn of events and Kurt mulled over exactly what he would do to Blaine if the circumstances were different.

The main thing that Kurt kept going back to was that the circumstances weren't different, they were very soon to be on the doorstep of danger, and Kurt really didn't need any emotional attachment getting in his way.

Well, besides the emotional attachment he already had.

A/N: And in the next chapter, mild smut. Ye be warned ahead of time. Big thanks to Sammi for that plot bunny from hell. So goes for taking it slow, right? Also, very important: Starting Monday, I won't have the internet for a full week. This means no posts for a week, no replies to reviews for a week, no replies to replies for a week. I'm very sorry. However this also means that the next Monday when I come back, I'll have an assload of stuff to post. So, not all bad, right?

Thanks to those of you that have introduced yourself on here or on tumblr, please continue to do so. I want to know my readers. So, just email me or drop me a review or a private message or stalk my tumblr. Links on my profile.

I hope you're enjoying the story.