Did Oscar curse strike Kurt Hummel?

It has long been known in Hollywood that winning the Best Actress Oscar can be hazardous to your relationship. Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, and countless others have found themselves single within a year or so of claiming the coveted prize, but it looks like this year the famous Oscar curse may be switching things up a bit. Reports are circulating that recent Best Supporting Actor winner Kurt Hummel and boyfriend Blaine Anderson, who Kurt so memorably thanked in his acceptance speech, have parted ways and that Anderson has even left of the country. The news comes as a surprise to all who knew the photogenic couple. There were no hints of problems in the press and the lovebirds had recently been spotted attending a movie event together, where they were described by observers as "affectionate" and "obviously in love". Kurt, who was just cast as Northstar in the upcoming X-Men reboot, has made no public comment on the split and his publicist will only say that he is looking forward to starting work on his new film next month. — ReelToReal, March 25th, 2019

=^..^=

Kurt slouched in his chair and stuck a finger under the collar of his skintight costume to try and loosen it a bit. He was supposed to be filming part of a fight scene where Northstar was almost hit by a flying locomotive, but mechanical problems had forced delay after delay. Each time he had retreated to his trailer he'd been called back almost immediately, promised that this time they had solved all of the problems. After walking back-and-forth to the set five times he'd given up and decided just to remain where he was.

The mid-May sun was warm and he tipped his head back to let it shine on his face (not for too long, though. Even with full make-up on he would still start to freckle in a matter of minutes). He was already finding the shoot to be a draining one despite the fact that they were only one month in. He'd been excited for the challenge of the different kind of role, but reality had not lived up to his expectations. To his disappointment, a stunt double was doing most of the action work (though Kurt was sure that he would be encouraged later to claim he'd done most of his own stunts) and much of the character development of his and other characters had been watered down in the script to allow for more time to be devoted to explosions and fight scenes (why couldn't Joss Whedon have been the writer and director? He'd written some of the X-Men graphic novels, or so Kurt had been told). Though he was still proud to be portraying the first openly gay superhero in the movies he was, for lack of a better word…bored.

It didn't help matters much that he missed Blaine dreadfully every single day.

The stunt coordinator stalked by just then muttering something about needing another hour to fix whatever problem they were having, so Kurt nudged his chair over into the shade, leaned his head against a wall, and closed his eyes. He could still easily picture every second of that last week he and Blaine had spent together. He hadn't wanted to risk losing any connection that might remain after Blaine left, so he'd tried to not put any pressure on Blaine to change his mind. Kurt had already voiced his preferences on what they should do and Blaine didn't share them. It was time to let it go.

Despite the fact that they were breaking up, he and Blaine had spent that week acting as if they were still in a relationship. It might not have been the healthiest thing, but they weren't parting on bad terms and there was no way they could spend that time together and not be, well….together.

The night before he left, Blaine had made love to him so gently and with such passion that Kurt had bitten his lip in order to not beg him to stay. It'd been bittersweet, but Kurt was happy to have that one last memory of them together.

The next morning they'd gotten ready in silence, neither one able to keep their eyes off of the clock as their last minutes together ticked away. Kurt had given Blaine a gift of a small album that contained some of his favorite photos of the two of them ("You now, to add to your client scrapbook") and had tried not to cry.

When the taxi had arrived, he'd helped Blaine load his luggage into the trunk and extracted a promise that he would call as soon as his plane landed safely.

Blaine had opened his mouth to say something, but Kurt had pressed a finger over his lips to stop him. "No, don't say goodbye. Let's never say goodbye. Let's just say until next time, okay?"

Blaine nodded and his eyes seemed to grow even larger in his face as tears started to gather. Kurt kissed him softly and then he was gone. He'd called, as promised, from the airport and they had talked off and on after that, but Blaine was busy with his new job and Kurt soon had costume fittings and make-up tests and it was hard to find the time.

It had been amazingly hard to go from more than five months in Blaine's constant company to scattered texts and short phone calls. Kurt kept finding himself turning to show Blaine something or looking for him to see his reaction when something funny happened and each time his heart ached when there was no one there.

All the time alone had really given him time to think, though, and he'd taken the opportunity to really take a look at himself and what it was that he wanted from his career and his life. He still didn't have it all figured out, but he felt like he was at least getting closer.

A tap on his shoulder broke Kurt from his reverie. The PA told him that they were finally ready to start filming, so he stood up and smoothed the front of the suit down over his now-very-defined abs. On with the show.

=^..^=

Time passed and Kurt and Blaine communicated less and less. Even when Kurt had the time, he found himself sometimes avoiding making contact. It just hurt too much. Luckily, that free time was few and far between, since X-Men was taking up so much of his time and it was hard to think about your sad love life when you were dangling from a ball-crushing harness in front of a green screen.

He couldn't avoid all thoughts of Blaine, though. One day in early June, Kurt was talking with the director when he heard that the actor originally hired to play the narcissistic billionaire who causes the global catastrophe that was the catalyst for the rest of the movie had been forced to drop out due to over-runs in another film he was working on. His scenes were set to begin filming the next week, so the scramble was on to find a replacement. Kurt knew someone who would be perfect for the job, but he wasn't sure if it was the best thing for himself emotionally. He finally decided that what had happened between him and Blaine couldn't be used as an excuse to not give someone what could be their big break, so he contacted the casting director and made his suggestion.

Two days later, Cooper Anderson strolled onto the set and wrapped Kurt up in the biggest bear hug he'd ever had. "Kurt! You are the best little brother's ex-boyfriend in the entire world, do you know that? I'm going to name my first born after you, even if it's a girl. Kurtina's a name, right? I can't believe you gave them my name. I mean, I knew talent like mine wouldn't remain the industry secret for too much longer, but I never say no to a shortcut. I had other roles I was circling around, of course, but nothing was official yet and, you know, a superhero franchise in the hand is worth two independent film leading roles in the bush, am I right?"

Kurt had laughed and introduced Cooper around, but every second he was on the set was just a constant reminder of Blaine and that week was especially hard. In a moment of weakness he had broken down and called Blaine to tell him about Cooper's role, but the call was cut short when Blaine was called into a meeting and Kurt took that as a sign.

Eventually the calls and texts stopped altogether and by the beginning of September it'd been two months since they had been in contact.

=^..^=

Kurt was back in L.A. and had been called in for some X-Men re-shoots. Just a few more days and he'd be free. Despite his agent's frustration, he hadn't signed on for any other roles, saying that he needed a vacation after the stressful action-packed filming schedule. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.

The scene they were shooting that day had Kurt dressed in Northstar's "casual" everyday clothes, of which he was supremely grateful. He'd seen enough of the restrictive black "hero" costume to last him a lifetime and was seriously thinking about asking if he could take the garment home after the film was finished so that he could burn it in a sacrificial bonfire.

They filmed for most of the morning before breaking for lunch. Kurt could have had lunch in his trailer, but preferred to eat with the rest of the crew in the giant tent that had been set up for meals. He bypassed the entertainment area of the tent, which included a foosball table and television that was set to one of the 24 hour news channels, and headed right for the buffet line, famished since he hadn't eaten breakfast. He got his food then wandered over to an empty table, plunking his plate down and dropping into a chair.

He was just about to dig in when something the news anchor said caught his attention.

"…The target of the attempted kidnapping was Persephone Hamilton, the five-year old daughter of Goliath International Bank Vice President Foster Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton was transferred to the bank's Zurich home office back in January in order to oversee its expansion into ten additional markets around the world. He reportedly began to receive death and kidnapping threats around that time and had hired several bodyguards to protect his family. There is no word yet on the condition of the bodyguard who foiled the kidnapping attempt, though local police do confirm he was injured and rushed to a local hospital. Witnesses report hearing several gunshots…"

Kurt watched the screen with a creeping sense of horror. There were thousands of bodyguards in the world and probably hundreds working in Zurich and it sounded like there were even several assigned to Foster Hamilton and his family, but he knew. He knew the report was talking about Blaine. He could feel it in his bones.

He dropped his fork and pushed back from the table, not even looking when the chair crashed to the ground behind him. He sprinted to his trailer and grabbed his phone, his hands shaking as he dialed Blaine's number. It didn't ring at all, instead sending him directly to voice mail. He left a quick message begging Blaine to call him and hung up. A look at the clock and a quick time zone calculation told him it was just after 10 o'clock in the evening in Zurich, so was possible, however unlikely, that Blaine was asleep. He sent Blaine a text message too and grabbed his messenger bag, not even bothering to change out of his costume.

Within minutes he was in his car heading home. As soon as he stepped into the house he ran to his room and began to throw some clothes into an overnight bag. He had to get to Zurich. He was almost halfway to the door, bag in hand, when he stopped and looked around helplessly. He had no idea where to go once he got there. He didn't know what hospital Blaine was in, if in fact, it was even him. He didn't even know how long ago the attempted kidnapping had taken place. Had it only just happened when he'd seen the news report or was it an older story? If Blaine was the bodyguard that was injured, was he even still alive?

Kurt had to find someone who had more information. Blaine's company had to know the details, right? He looked around for his phone to make the call, but couldn't find it. He must have left it in the car. He yanked the door open to go out to the garage and…Blaine.

Blaine was standing there in the doorway. His left arm was in a sling and he had a black eye and a bandage on his forehead and looked exhausted and pale and he was the best looking thing Kurt had ever seen. Kurt threw himself at Blaine, careful to avoid his injured side. He buried his face in Blaine's neck and sobbed, crying even harder when he felt an arm curl around his waist.

"The news…I heard….hurt or worse…I just…" He was unable to form a coherent sentence and instead just babbled against Blaine's shirt collar.

"God Kurt, I've missed you so much," Blaine choked out with his lips against Kurt's hair. "I was so stupid to push you away. I was scared and unsure and I thought that it if I ended things on my terms it wouldn't hurt as much, but I was wrong. It hurt so bad and you were all I could think about. I was sitting in the hospital yesterday and all I wanted was to see you and feel your arms around me. I don't have the right to ask this and I won't blame you if you slam the door in my face, but I - I was hoping…I mean…"

Kurt pulled away until he was staring into Blaine's eyes. "Shhh…Stop. I've missed you too. So much." He saw that Blaine was swaying on his feet, so he led him into the bedroom and sat him on the bed while he removed both of their shoes. He gave Blaine a short kiss and the sensation of coming home, of being exactly where he needed to be, flooded over him. It wasn't until he tasted tears on his lips that he realized he was still crying. He broke the kiss gently and sat back against the headboard, pulling Blaine to him so that he lay back against his chest. He reached up and ghosted his fingers around the bandage on Blaine's forehead, careful not to touch it. "What happened?"

Blaine snuggled back against him and related the story of how five armed gunman had broken into the banker's home and tried to kidnap his daughter while he was out of town. The sound of breaking glass had awoken Blaine and he had gotten the girl out of the house and into the car. Unfortunately, they were spotted as they were making their getaway, so there had been a car chase through the streets of Zurich, which ended in a crash that had resulted in his cut and black eye. After the accident, he'd exchanged gunfire with their pursuers. He'd been able to take two of them down before being shot in the arm and shoulder and had been fighting off unconsciousness when the police had arrived. Thankfully, the attackers had been arrested and the little girl had been unharmed.

Blaine had spent a day in the hospital (the attack had actually taken place two days previously, but the media was just now getting the details) and upon being discharged had immediately gone to the airport to get a flight to L.A.

Kurt listened in silence, glad that Blaine couldn't see the dismay on his face as he heard the story. When he was finished, Kurt buried his lips in the matted curls in front of him and used his patented humor to try and lighten the mood. "I'm a little jealous that you didn't take a bullet for me, you know. Makes me feel like I didn't get your all."

Blaine began to laugh, but stopped and grimaced in pain when the movement jiggled his shoulder. Kurt could feel the weariness in every inch of Blaine's body, so he petted his hand and told him to sleep. Blaine didn't even protest and was out like a light in seconds. Kurt pulled him closer and laid back, enjoying the feeling of having him back in his arms.

Kurt was fixing breakfast the next morning when Blaine came in and sat at the kitchen table. "You look much better," he observed as he eyed Blaine's improved color.

"I feel it too. Spending that many hours in a plane isn't pleasant under any circumstances, but I definitely don't recommend flying with your arm in a sling," Blaine said, running a hand over his injured arm for emphasis.

Kurt finished squeezing the orange juice and set the pitcher on the table. He sat down and fussed with the table cloth, smoothing out a wrinkle as an uncomfortable silence settled over them. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he didn't really know where to begin.

Blaine poured himself a small glass of juice and drank it down in one gulp before setting the glass down with a little more force than was necessary, a determined look on his face.

"Kurt, I have to say what I came to say. I can't make the same mistake again of keeping it all inside. I spent the last six months thinking about why I just ran away instead of staying and fighting for what we had and what it all boils down to is that I'm a coward and I run away every time I think I'm about to get hurt." Kurt started to protest, but Blaine held up a hand to stop him. "I just need to get this out, okay? I-I don't think I ever got over thinking that what my parents did was my fault and I've spent years convinced that there's something inherently unlovable about me. But the more I looked back on my time with you, the more I saw that I didn't have to be afraid of what would happen when you finally saw the real me, because that's what you'd been doing all along. I didn't have to dread the day you decided you wanted more, wanted love, because the love was already there."

Kurt couldn't keep quiet any longer. "It is. It is. I love you so much. I'm in love with you," he managed to get out past the catch in this throat. "I should have told you that as soon as I knew, but I was scared. I've never been in love before, not really, and I didn't know what to do. I still don't."

"We'll figure it out together." Blaine clutched Kurt's hands tightly as he spoke and a shiver ran down Kurt's spine at the familiar touch. "I love you. Utterly and completely."

Kurt jumped up from his chair and moved over to sit on Blaine's lap, leaning against his right side and setting his head against his shoulder, needing to be closer in that moment.

"I think the universe was giving me a second chance when I got away from the kidnapping attempt relatively unscathed," Blaine said as he tugged Kurt closer. Kurt relaxed into the hold and could hear their heart beats sync up and begin to beat in tandem. "This just isn't the life for me anymore. I'm going to quit my job and pursue becoming a teacher. That's what my plan was before the whole bodyguard thing dropped into my lap. I'm going to get a job here in L.A. and we'll make it work when you're on location. I'll keep the home fires burning until you return." Kurt started shaking his head and Blaine's smile fell. "If-if you want to try. I mean, I don't want to assume, but —"

"No, no, no. I just have something that I want to tell you too," Kurt reassured him. "I've decided that I don't want to do movies anymore. I absolutely hated being on location away from home and everyone I knew. Hollywood just isn't the place for me. It's too fake and superficial. I don't like myself when I'm here. Life's too short and the theater is what I love, so I want to move back to New York and return to Broadway full-time. At least for now. I can't promise that the movies won't call me back at some point, but by then we'll have it all figured out. Will you come to New York with me? I've missed you so much. I feel like I've been missing a limb or something. Everything reminds me of you. Nothing seems real because I don't have you to share it with. Please, I —"

"Of course I'll come to New York, Kurt. I'd like to see anyone try and stop me."

Relief engulfed him and before he knew it, he was kissing Blaine with an intensity born of almost one hundred and eighty days of missed kisses. Sweet kisses, passionate kisses, desperate kisses, sleepy kisses, casual "mhaw" kisses, and goodbye kisses — he'd missed them all. He let out a shaky breath as they broke apart and buried his face in the curve of Blaine's throat, unable to even think of moving away.

"Kurt," Blaine whispered tentatively. "do you…"

"What? You can ask me anything."

"Do you still have my bow ties?"

=^..^=

Kurt Hummel is returning to Broadway this spring in a new original musical from Disney and Stephen Schwartz, the man behind such hits as Wicked, Godspell, and Pippin. Toy Story: The Musical is based on the Disney/Pixar movie of the same name and Kurt will play Woody, the humble cowboy doll who is the leader of a group of toys that comes alive when humans aren't around…Kurt recently made headlines when he declared his retirement from making movies only eight months after winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He and boyfriend Blaine Anderson, who he reunited with back in September, have recently made the move back to New York City and are already being spotted out and about in their Greenwich Village neighborhood…Tickets for Toy Story, which begins previews in January and opens on March 3rd, go on sale next week at…— BroadwayStageNews, November 20th, 2019.

=^..^=

Hallelujah! Kurt is coming back to the stage who all plans on coming out for opening night? I think we need to have a meet up of all the tumblr folks that are coming

hell yeah I'll be there we deserve this after the worst 6 months of our entire lives #seriously those boys about gave me a heart attack

#if I see blaine at the show I'm going to just curl up into a little ball of feels and expire right there in the theater #i can't believe my rl otp is back together

#i,m cry

Oh god this is going to be good! I think Oscar Winner and Two Time Tony Award Winner has a nice ring to it. #a girl can dream

I'll volunteer to coordinate all of the nyc plans. Let's show Kurt how much we care by turning out in force for his opening night. #KurtHummelStreetTeam

=^..^=

"Blaine have you seen my dance shoes? I can't find them and I'm going to be late for rehearsal."

Blaine looked up from his computer, where he was studying for the New York State Teacher Certification test and glanced around the living room. "I think I see them in the corner by the television," he called out to Kurt, who was back in the bedroom.

A current of air ruffled his curls as Kurt came running around the corner and skidded across the smooth hardwood floors in his socks. He stooped down to pick up the wayward shoes and tucked them into his practice bag.

"You know, I wouldn't have this problem if you'd stop pouncing on me as soon as I walk in the door. Give a guy a few minutes to put his stuff away."

"Hey, I've seen the movies. It's romantic when the passion is so great that clothes and belongings are sent flying with no concern for where they land."

"This isn't the movies, Blaine. Clothes wrinkle and stuff gets misplaced here in the real world."

Blaine just grinned innocently and watched as Kurt slipped on his sweatshirt (the one with zippers that ran all the way down the sleeves that absolutely drove Blaine crazy. If Kurt wanted him to stop greeting him at the door with lust in his eyes this was so not the way to go about it).

Things had moved fast after he'd shown up on Kurt's doorstep in September and they'd finally bared their souls to each other. Kurt had finished up his part in the movie that week and then officially told his agent, Bev, and Lynn about his decision to return to New York. None of them had been happy, to say the least, but they had ultimately supported his decision (not that they had any choice in the matter). When producers of Toy Story: The Musical had heard that Kurt was going to return to Broadway they had contacted him immediately with an offer for the lead role, no audition necessary. The rehearsal schedule had necessitated a change to the New York relocation timetable and he and Kurt were moved in by the beginning of November.

Amazingly, they seemed to have finally solved their major communication problems, and while the past few months hadn't been without a little bit of drama and a few arguments, there hadn't been any occasions when they'd shut each other out. Blaine hadn't totally conquered his fear of abandonment and feelings of inadequacy and Kurt still had moments where the intimacy of their relationship scared him, but they were dealing with their issues head on.

Blaine had wondered if Kurt might change his mind about leaving his movie career behind, but so far he'd shown no signs of it. He would still have to make the trip back out to L.A. for photo shoots, interviews, and any needed ADR on the X-Men, but the producers of the musical were willing to work around that, as well as the time off he would need in May when the film opened.

Previews for the show were only a few weeks away now, and while Kurt wasn't as calm and put together as he had been when rehearsals started, he definitely seemed to be handling the stress well. Since Blaine wasn't working for the time being, he was spending his days getting to know the city and picking up various items Kurt had selected to decorate their home. He had also been secretly picking out the present he was going to give Kurt on opening night. He planned on going out to Brooklyn that day actually, to visit the puppy that would just be ready to leave its mother in early March.

He smiled as Kurt stopped next to the front door and made a final check in the mirror that hung there, repositioning a stray hair with one finger. "You were wrong just now, you know."

Kurt stopped with one hand on the door knob. "About what?"

Blaine rose from the sofa and padded over to where Kurt was standing. "About our lives not being like the movies. They are you know." His kissed Kurt until they were both breathless and stepped back to admire the pink that had flooded his cheeks. "They're like the good ones where the couple always gets together in the end. And do you know what happens next?"

"They live happily ever after?"

"They live happily ever after."