A/N: I went away for the weekend and had no internet, so I ended up writing: parts 7, 8, and 9 of It's Just Nerves, this au, two parts of a trauma au that I'm working on, and half of a part of a car au that I'm also working on. (Basically, look out for more fics sooner or later!)

TW: this fic contains a gunman and many people taken captive, please don't read if you're uncomfortable with this

Kurt stared at his phone, bus shaking beneath his feet since he had made the stupid choice to sit in the backseat. He was trying desperately not to stress out, but he had so much to do. After missing the first bus and having to wait for this one, he was now trying to organize his schedule and hoping that everything could be moved around.

Kurt didn't look up as the bus pulled to another stop. He continued staring at his phone when he heard someone sit next to him. He was not in the mood for small talk today. Or tonight. Technicalities.

The bus continued on. Kurt counted- only four stops to go. As they entered a tunnel, he lost cell phone reception and groaned. He clicked incessantly although he knew that it was useless.

At the next stop, he heard someone get on as he kept staring at his phone. The people on the bus all seemed to gasp in unison before growing silent.

Kurt finally looked up at that, eyes widening as he saw the man that had entered. He looked to be in his 20s, blonde hair and a grimace on his face.

None of that was what had startled the crowd though. It was the gun that he held in his hand, pointed steadily at the bus driver.

"Drive," he growled, the bus driver nodding shakily in return. The bus pulled away from the stop slowly, the driver obviously not knowing what to do.

Kurt could feel himself quivering as he tried not to make any movement.

The gunman turned towards the bus riders suddenly. They all jumped as the gun was pointed in their direction.

Kurt could see the bus driver quickly hit the emergency button on the side of the dashboard. He let out a silent thanks that there was such a button and hoped that help would arrive soon.

"On the floor!" shouted the man, causing the people to jump again.

Everyone obeyed almost immediately, sliding to the ground.

Kurt moved for the first time in what felt like eternity, moving swiftly to the floor. He felt the person beside him slide down as well, the two pressed against each other.

He finally turned to his left, looking at the man next to him.

"Hi," the man whispered shakily, "I'm Blaine."

"Kurt," he replied just as uneasily, trying to block out thoughts of the gunman as he stared at the beautiful man beside him. His golden eyes glanced around, fear evident in them.

"We're going to be okay," Kurt whispered, "The driver hit the emergency button."

Blaine nodded, hands shaking.

They both tensed as they heard footsteps and saw the gunman walking their way.

"Move over here," Kurt mumbled in Blaine's ear, putting his arm around the other man's shoulder and pressing both of them as close to the wall of the bus as possible.

The footsteps turned towards them, the man noticing the way that Blaine was shaking. He pointed the gun quickly down at the two of them, whispering, "Boo."

Kurt felt Blaine jump against him as he felt his own heart leap in his chest.

"Well aren't you a pretty one?" the man said gruffly, kneeling down and running his gun through Blaine's curls.

Blaine froze, eyes staring at Kurt, wide with fear. He looked terrorized and couldn't move.

"Leave him alone," Kurt said quietly.

"What was that, lady?" the gunman replied, turning to aim at Kurt.

It was Kurt's turn to freeze, saved only when the man heard the bus driver talking and snapped back up to yell at him.

As the gunman retreated back down the aisle, Blaine leaned completely into Kurt, shaking silently as a single tear rolled down his face.

"Sh, sh, it's okay," Kurt whispered, moving his hand soothingly through the man's hair as he tried to comfort him.

The near silence was broken as police sirens began blaring around them, cars pulling up on either side.

The bus driver slowed to a stop, the gunman making no move to stop him. Instead, he ran back to the rear of the bus.

"Get up," he growled, pointing his gun at Blaine once more.

"No," Kurt whispered as Blaine stood up uneasily.

"POLICE- put your weapons down!" shouted a police officer from outside the bus.

The man put his gun to Blaine's temple, pushing him towards the open door.

"I'll shoot," the gunman threatened, using Blaine's body to block himself.

Kurt gaped in fear, stomach twisting as he tried to think of what to do. He looked outside to see several officers with guns stationed around the bus in different areas. They seemed to be shaking their heads at each other, signaling that none of them had a clear shot.

Kurt moved without thinking, motioning to the other people to stay on the floor.

He walked down the aisle quickly, stopping halfway down.

"Take me," he said loudly, causing both Blaine and the gunman to turn their heads toward him and he could see Blaine mouth no as fear colored his face.

"What was that?" the gunman asked with a laugh.

"Take me instead. Let him go."

At that the man laughed again before spinning suddenly, body moving as he pointed his gun at Kurt.

In what seemed to be a fraction of a second, Blaine slid down to the floor at the same time that several guns were fired.

Blaine turned in horror as Kurt dropped to the ground, hand covering his stomach, eyes wide with shock.

The gunman fell down at the same moment, shot in the chest by the officer just outside the door of the bus.

The next few moments felt like slow motion as Blaine ran to Kurt, pressing his hands to his stomach. Blood spread through Blaine's fingers as he stared at Kurt's pale face.

"Hey, hey, stay with me," Blaine said, panic lacing his voice.

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt whispered, eyes fluttering.

"Somebody help!" Blaine shouted around him as two medics ran towards them. They pulled Kurt onto a gurney, taking him off of the bus as quickly as possible.

Blaine followed, sprinting after them. He tried to jump in the back of the ambulance, stopped suddenly as one of the medics asked, "Are you family?"

"I'm his boyfriend," he lied easily, climbing next to Kurt as the medic closed the doors and they took off.

She worked quickly, hands flying around Kurt's stomach.

Blaine sat by Kurt's head, leaning towards the semi-conscious man. "You gotta stay with me."

Kurt nodded ever so slightly, lips parted as he stared at Blaine.

"Then, when you're all better, I'm going to take you out to dinner," Blaine promised, squeezing Kurt's hand.

"That'd be really nice," Kurt whispered.

Two hours later, Blaine was pacing around the waiting room, wringing his hands together. He turned as the doors swung open.

"Anyone here for Kurt Hummel?" the doctor asked, glancing around the room.

"How is he?" Blaine replied as he ran up to him.

"There was some serious internal bleeding, but he should be fine. He's a brave young man."

Blaine breathed a sigh of relief before replying, "Yes, he is."

They walked down a wide hallway, turning this way and that before entering a room. Kurt was lying on the bed, eyes closed. Blaine couldn't help but inhale sharply when he saw him.

"He should be waking up soon." Blaine merely nodded in response as the doctor exited the room.

He sat down shakily, taking Kurt's hand. "So, Hummel, huh?" he said with a laugh.

Blaine remained sitting there, waiting. It didn't feel like he had just met Kurt a few hours ago, barely exchanging any words. He had to wait for him, had to make sure that he was alright. Besides, Blaine had promised to take him to dinner.

Lost in thought and drifting to sleep, he jumped when he felt a squeeze at his hand and saw Kurt's eyes flicker open.

"Morning sunshine," Blaine murmured softly.

"You're here," Kurt replied, letting out a cough.

"Of course I am. You saved me," he answered in return.

"You're so cute, how could I not?" Kurt said with a wheezy laugh.

"I'll have to take you out to that dinner to thank you," Blaine whispered, leaning towards Kurt.

"I'd love that," responded Kurt, squeezing Blaine's hand with as much strength as he could muster.

"My hero."