Chapter Text
She could hear voices outside of the window as she stood in front of the sink. She refrained from looking outside, where the sun was beating down on the backyard. It was the perfect summer day, certainly fit for a fun family gathering. She could hear shrill laughter of children followed by the deeper laugh that had filled her days for the past year. She smiled to herself, busy rinsing off the tomatoes she had cleaned.
“Do you need help with anything?” A voice came from behind her, startling her. She whipped around, seeing another head of blonde hair.
Throwing a hand over her fast-beating heart, she exclaimed, “Ky, you scared the shit out of me!”
That got a chuckle out of the other woman, who started to walk further into the kitchen. “Sorry, just wanted to see if you needed an extra set of hands.”
When she and Travis had decided to host a family cookout in celebration of the football season kicking off, she had forgotten that it meant doing so much prep. She finished up the European leg of the tour only two weeks ago and squeezed in a few days of much needed rest before setting off on a new task: getting settled into her home with Travis.
It was only a matter of time before they made the decision to fully live together. Things between them had quickened pace once they had arrived in Los Angeles after her shows in Singapore. Full throttle, as she had said before. That’s when they finally made the plans.
“It just makes sense that I would move there.” She was in the middle of doing her nighttime skin care, him standing beside her at the bathroom vanity just watching.
Once she had laid the idea out there, he looked like a fish out of water, gaping in surprise. “Like, permanently?”
She laughed, putting down her serum and glancing at him through the mirror. “Yeah, like permanently. Unless I have work elsewhere. I want to be where you are.” She went to grab her moisturizer, then noticed that he was now facing her and turned to look at him directly. “Do you not want me to move in?”
He quickly denied that, shaking his head, “Of course I want you to move in. That doesn’t mean I’m still not shocked you want to.”
“You’re ridiculous. We’ve been living together for months now. Plus, didn’t you pretty much buy that house for me?” He showed her the house before he moved in, asked her opinion on pretty much everything, let her security walk the grounds. He wouldn’t outright say it then, but there was a reason he upgraded.
He blushed then, knowing that she had got him. “I didn’t buy it only for you, but yeah, you were part of the reason I bought it.”
“Then technically, it’s my home too.” She had spent so much time there since he had moved in. She had a stack of clothes that took up more than a few drawers and just about half of the main bedroom closet. Her various shampoos, conditioners, and body washes littered the shelves in the shower. There was a fresh set of Le Creuset cookware in his kitchen that hadn’t taken up space in his cabinet before her. She already felt like it was her home; it was time to make it official.
“I guess it is.”
She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. “So shouldn’t I live there?”
“You really want to?” His eyes were glistening, and she could tell he was close to shedding tears. Though she couldn’t read his mind, she could practically see the images fluttering through his head, all about their future together.
At the sight of his watery eyes, she found herself also withholding tears, choking out, “Yes, Trav. I really want to.”
“Baby, I’m so excited. I can’t wait to wake up every morning with you by my side.” He hugged her tightly, her face pressed into his chest.
She looked up and said, “There’s only one stipulation.”
His face twisted in curiosity. “And what is it?”
She set her face into the most serious expression she could muster. “You have to let me decorate.”
He let out a loud, booming laugh. “Anything you want, baby. You can paint the whole house pink for all I care. As long as I get you in my arms as often as possible.”
Since that day, she had been battling the conflicting emotions of wanting to savor the summer tour leg and wanting to run back to Kansas City and start their new chapter together. But she neglected to think about the actual task of moving all her stuff in.
She had refused to let anyone put away the many boxes of her own personal items she had sent over, only hiring people to set up pieces of furniture and repaint some rooms. She wanted to unbox everything herself, some weird mix of being compulsive and wanting to acquaint herself more with the house that she now considered her home.
But the two weeks she had been home wasn’t enough time to unpack everything. Yet, she remained stubborn, and never relented when Travis asked if they should bring in reinforcements. She regretted declining his many offers.
Earlier that morning, before their families arrived, they piled the few remaining boxes into the room they would use as her office to clear up space in the guest rooms. Travis had clapped his hands and declared, “Out of sight, out of mind,” once they had stacked the last box into the room.
She frowned and grumbled, “Not out of my mind.”
But the lingering stress from that stack of boxes didn’t mean she couldn’t be a proper hostess. “You’re my guest, I’ve got everything handled.” She turned towards the sink, cleaning off a cucumber so it could be cut up. She could feel Kylie’s eyes on her and glanced back in her direction.
Kylie simply leveled her with a stare and a stern “Tay,” which said more than a thousand words could.
She sighed, already knowing that she would be losing this fight. “Did Travis say something?” He’d been on her so much about relaxing since she had gotten back to the states; she wasn’t surprised that he would mention it to Kylie.
“He only said that you were completely overwhelmed.” Kylie stepped beside her, peering into the sink to see what she was doing.
She rolled her eyes then, blowing out an annoyed breath, and mumbled, “He worries too much.” She turned back to the sink to finish cleaning the array of vegetables for the salad.
“That’s hilarious, he said the same thing about you. Do you need these chopped up?” Kylie asked as she moved towards the cutting board full of already cleaned vegetables.
She nodded, looking over to where Kylie was pulling a knife from the block. “Yeah, just dice them and throw them in the bowl. Leave the onions on the side though, Travis doesn’t like them.”
They went about their tasks in silence for a moment, which led to her getting lost in her thoughts. She remembered the first time she met Kylie and the overwhelming nervousness that filled the pit of her stomach that day. She had spoken to her over the phone a few times, mostly about silly things Travis and Jason mentioned on the podcast. She’d sent presents during Christmas for Kylie, Jason, and their girls, and Kylie responded with so much gratitude and a gift of her own.
It was almost a month after that when they finally met in person, at one of Travis’ games no less. She wished the timing had been better; that week was dark, given the persistent online harassment headed in her direction and a very adamant stalker. She flew into Kansas City on a chartered flight at Travis’ request earlier that week, when everything seemed to get too much. When she had gotten in, he wrapped her up in his arms, kissed all over her face, and spoiled her rotten. It was the first night that she slept restfully, even with his snores in her ears.
A few hours before he was set to fly out with the team for the game, he told her that he understood if she didn’t want to go. But she had turned that offer down just as quickly as it was set on the table. She wanted to cheer him on and would not miss the chance to meet Jason and Kylie.
It wasn’t until she was about to land at the airport that she felt the nerves build. Jason was one of the most important people in Travis’ life and Kylie was an extension of that. She was the mother to Travis’ nieces, a sister to the man she loved. Not only that, but she was a kickass woman overall; never bit her tongue and always stood her ground. Taylor respected it but wouldn’t lie and say that she wasn’t a bit intimidated. The people pleaser in her was chomping at the bit to impress them, not to let Travis down.
Kylie was the first Kelce to arrive at the suite, immediately walking over to Taylor. “Finally! It’s so nice to see you.”
“I know, it’s about time!”
From that day, they’d hit it off. It didn’t feel like she had met someone new. She felt like she had known Kylie for years, even though they had only spoken for mere minutes. They had spoken regularly ever since.
She stopped rinsing off a head of lettuce to ask Kylie, “How have things been? I feel like we haven’t talked in forever.”
She could hear the other woman sigh. “I know. Honestly, it’s been a lot. Between Jason starting with ESPN and trying to juggle keeping up with the girls and working, I feel like I haven't really gotten a chance to catch my breath.”
“You know, you can always call if you need anything.” She was tossing lettuce into a salad spinner now, trying to get the leaves dry. She could hear the knife hitting the cutting board as Kylie chopped.
“I wasn’t going to ask you for anything when you just got back home. Speaking of which, I bet you’re excited to be on break for a bit.”
She smiled, thinking about the bittersweet day she got home from her final show in London. “You’ve no idea. I love touring, don’t get me wrong. But the European leg is just so fast paced, and we have to squeeze in so many places in such a short time. But I was a little bit more eager to come home this time.”
The chopping sound stopped, and she could practically hear the smirk on Kylie’s face by the way she asked, “Because of Trav?”
“Am I that obvious?” She brought the lettuce and remaining vegetables over to where Kylie stood, throwing them in a larger salad bowl so she could start on making a quick vinaigrette dressing.
“I think it’s sweet that you two miss each other so much.”
“He’s my favorite person. This final stretch will be so much easier since I am able to come home during the week.” She had been looking forward to that part the most. Most of her relationship with Travis occurred during her international parts of the tour, always taking her far away from him. The last remaining shows would all take place close enough that she would be home right after the final show in the city. They wouldn’t have to do another month without each other, to both her and Travis’ relief.
“Crazy that this is home now, huh?” Kylie gestured to the room they were standing in.
She nodded in agreement. “It’s fucking wild.”
“Did you ever imagine living somewhere like this?”
She felt her face warm up. “Actually, yeah. When I was a lot younger, of course. I was cliche. I wanted the whole white picket fence in the suburbs, like four kids and a dog. But then life just hit me fast, and my career was a rollercoaster, as were my previous relationships—I changed what I wanted to fit in with what I already had. But I’m here now, no place I would rather be.”
Kylie grinned. “I am glad you’re around. And the girls are too. They ask about you every single day.”
“I love those girls. They are the sweetest little babies.” She looked out the window to where the oldest two girls were running in a patch of grass, the youngest sitting and clapping her hands together in glee.
The first time she had met Jason and Kylie’s daughters was a whirlwind. The girls reminded her a lot of Travis, with the same silly yet kind demeanor. That Easter Sunday, she and Travis showed up in Philly with three comically large baskets filled with so much candy and toys that Kylie’s eyes almost bulged out of her head when she saw them.
Jason had scattered little plastic eggs all around the yard and came back in with the announcement that it was time to hunt. They watched as the girls ran around the yard, pointing them in the right direction to find all 60 eggs. Bennett toddled around, more interested in grabbing tufts of grass than the colorful eggs.
After all the eggs were found, she sat in the living room while the girls cracked them open. Elliotte shifted closer to her, cracking open each egg and then holding out the candy or trinket in the palm of her hand and showing it off to her, who oohed and awed. She could feel eyes on her more than once, especially when Wyatt came to sit on her other side and showed her a small roll of glittery butterfly stickers, which she proceeded to put on both their arms.
When she finally looked up, expecting Travis' eyes on her, she saw him helping Bennett line her stuffed animals up in a row. Jason was putting together some toys that she had put in the girl’s Easter baskets. Instead, looking at her was Kylie.
She felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest when Kylie asked if she would come help her with something in the kitchen that night. Perhaps she did something wrong, or overstepped. But instead, Kylie thanked her for being so kind to her children, letting her know that the girls already adored her.
Getting her attention again, Kylie said, “The girls are all fun and giggles except for when they have that Kelce attitude.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “I love that Kelce attitude.”
“We will see if you’re still saying that when you have your own.”
Taylor stirred together the dressing she made, sitting it down on the counter beside the salad bowl. “I hope I am. Especially since we’ve been thinking about it more seriously.”
Kylie stopped chopping for a second, turning to face her with widened eyes. “Having kids?”
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too hard. “Yeah. We’re going to get married first, and I have this feeling he might be proposing soon.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“He told me.” They both giggled, knowing that Travis was never good about keeping anything from her. “We both want to have a baby, preferably more than one. I’m tired of waiting, of putting my life on pause. He wants it all with me, and I with him. No point in delaying the inevitable, you know? He's everything I've ever wanted. I'm just glad I finally found him. It may have taken forever, and the journey wasn’t great, but I got him in the end.”
Kylie sighed wistfully, “Sometimes I feel the same about Jason, like how serendipitous it was finding him on a dating app.” She watched as Kylie threw the last few vegetables into the bowl, then quickly poured the dressing over it.
“Now that is a love story for the ages,” she elbowed Kylie slightly as she said it. “Thanks for coming to help me out. Really wasn’t necessary but appreciated nonetheless.”
“You don’t have to thank me; family helps each other out.”
The first time Kylie had said that to her was during her first set of London shows. When Kylie and Jason told Taylor they would finally be able to make it, she was thrilled. Once she had come off-stage that night, they invited everyone back to the house she had been staying in. Kylie had approached her, singing praises about how amazing the show was.
“I don’t know how you do it. I’m exhausted after just watching.”
“It’s all hard work, determination, and a very rough gym routine.”
“I should’ve known, everyone in this family is an athlete.”
Her eyes widened at the word. “I'm family?”
Kylie looked taken aback, but then her expression softened. “Of course you are. Did you think you weren’t?”
“I just didn’t—” she paused, carefully considering her next words, “I come with a lot of baggage.”
Kylie looked at her earnestly, and said, “We all do. Good thing is, we are here to help each other carry it.”
“You look like you're about to fall asleep.” She heard the voice from beside her, almost forgetting that she was still leaning against the kitchen counter, and it was the middle of the day.
She knew she should be resting, but it wouldn’t do any good while everyone was over. “I know my break is supposed to be relaxing but this move is just so much more than I was expecting. I mean, we’ve been getting work done here since May. Getting all my shit in and organized has been a mess, but this is my new forever home. I want to do it myself, pass along the memories someday.”
The sound of the door that opened to the back deck opened and she could hear footsteps coming into the kitchen, distracting her from what she had been saying. She turned around and saw Travis, whose hair and shirt were soaking wet. She turned to shoo him away as he walked further into the kitchen, drops of water trailing behind him. “Why are you dripping water all over my kitchen floors?”
“Our kitchen floors. And Jason and I found the water balloons.” He went into the fridge, pulling out a box of beers to take outside before walking back over to her to press a kiss to her cheek.
She scooted away from him, squinting her eyes in his direction. “The balloons were for the girls.”
“Don’t worry, they found some too.” He had a grin on his face, and she lightly shoved his shoulder.
“Grown men. You two act more like children than the actual children. Stop getting water on my floors!” She turned back towards the sink, giving Kylie, who was looking at them in amusement, an exasperated glance.
“Our floors,” he corrected again and sat the pack of beers down on the counter, “Let me make it up to you baby.” He grabbed her in his arms from behind and hugged her tightly, the water drenching his shirt making her own clothes wet, and she yelped.
“You’re getting me wet!” She squirmed to get away from him, but he had her trapped.
“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said that to me” he muttered in her ear, and she groaned with annoyance in response. He finally let her go, chuckling at the subtle irritation on her face as she faced him again. She grabbed the hand towel just by the sink, swatting at him with it while he backed away and held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, Tay.”
“You’re not, but I'll forgive you anyway if you take these out for me.” She placed the salad bowl on top of the box of beers, pushing them both into his hands.
“Yes ma’am.” He pressed another kiss to her cheek, and then walked out of the kitchen.
“Don’t come back in the house until you are dry!” She yelled after him, hearing his affirmative response echo through the hall.
Once she heard the back door shut again, she turned back to Kylie and rolled her eyes, which prompted a laugh from the other woman. “All that nice stuff I said about him before he walked in, I take back.”
Kylie shook her head, and stated, “No you don’t.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I love that man with everything in me. Even if he pisses me off and gets water on our nice kitchen floors.”
Then, they heard the voice of Wyatt calling out “Mommy!”
She giggled, and said, “The beautiful sounds of motherhood, " and then laughed at Kylie’s vexed expression.
They both started walking out the kitchen, towards the back deck. “You’re lucky my children love you otherwise we’d be fighting.”
She smirked. “Are you sure it isn’t because you love me?”
Kylie stopped right before they reached the door. “No wonder you and Travis are perfect for each other; you both are a pair of smart asses.”
“You like it.”
They shared a knowing glance and walked outside to join in the laughter with their family.