Chapter Text
Thursday
Travis is just walking up the stairs to go to bed after turning off the game when his phone lights up with the selfie he and Taylor took together last weekend at Yankee Stadium.
“Hey, baby, I thought you were going to bed early tonight?”
Her voice is low, like she’s lying down and he can hear a tinge of frustration, “Ugh, I was, but I can’t sleep.”
“Excited?” he asks. She’s been sending him various snapshots of the new outfits all day, so he already knows the answer.
“I am! But… I don’t know, Trav,” she replies with an aggravated huff. “It feels different. Like… there are just all these emotions swirling around, and I can’t latch on to one to figure out what it is.”
“I mean that’s understandable, Tay. I’m sure you’re sad too. End of an era and all that. Not that I meant the pun.”
She chuckles, but then sighs. “No, I mean, I’m sure that is coming, but this feels like…”
He waits her out this time, knowing she’s almost there.
“I’m excited it’s almost over."
It's quiet but it comes out in a rush like she’s afraid someone might overhear. He knows it took a lot for her to say that, and that he’s one of the few people she’d ever say it to. She never wants to seem ungrateful for what she’s been given. Never wants not to appreciate exactly where she is.
“I think that is a perfectly normal feeling to have, Taylor,” he reminds her.
She starts to argue, “I shouldn’t…”
“Hey, none of that,” he interrupts. “You should feel how you feel. That’s valid. Besides, just because you feel that way doesn’t mean that you aren’t also excited to finish this out with everything you got, does it?”
“No…”
“And you are on the edge of your seat for all the stuff you’ve got cooked up for the fans, I know you are.”
“Yes,” she admits.
“Then it’s okay to also be excited that something you’ve given your whole life to for two years—hell, more than two years—is over. And that you can do all the other things you’re amazing at—writing, directing… I know you’re excited to do some producing too.”
He can hear the excitement come back to her voice at his reminder, “That’s it. I want to put my mind to something else. I love the creativity of the mashups, but I want to make something new. Take my time with something new. Tortured Poets… I just had to get that out, but the next one… I want it to have my full attention. It deserves it, we deserve it.”
“See? And all that other stuff we’ve talked about, Tay? It’s okay to be excited to do that too. Seeing friends, sleeping in, learning to make croissants? You get that too.”
For months now, Taylor has been working on being kinder to herself. Travis knows she’s come a long way since before he met her. But it was during one of their late-night, meandering conversations this summer—she in Hamburg, him back at training camp—that something clicked, and she committed to being more forgiving of herself. His phone vibrates, and he swipes to switch to Facetime. She’s tucked up in bed with the lights down low, gazing at him with a steady look—like maybe, just maybe, she believes him that she deserves these things.
“And you. Being with you,” she says softly but firmly.
“And me,” he answers. He never doubts that.
“My life is so different, Trav. Sometimes I can’t even fathom,” she explains, shaking her head. “But it’s so good, and I just want to lean into that. Prioritize that. Because, God, that was all I wanted before this tour started, but I could have never dreamed up how good it could be. Not until now. Not until you.”
“You’ve earned it, babe. But you already know I’m going to be here, tour or no tour. So take your time, say goodbye. I’ll be here, all those dreams will be here when you come home on Mondays. And they’ll be waiting for you when you come home after Vancouver.”
She pulls the phone closer to her face like she has a secret meant only for him. “It feels like the first day of senior year. Like this little bit of time is it, and then I get to do all that big world stuff I’ve been working towards, dreaming about this last year.”
“Yeah?” he replies, pulling the phone close too, closing them in their little bubble here in the late evening a thousand miles apart. “Are you gonna lay out your outfit like everyone always did back in school?”
Giggling, she nods, “Oh yeah, the new Rep bodysuit is just waiting for me at the end of the bed.”
He laughs and moves to sit on the side of the bed. Her side of the bed. He puts his hand on the soft blanket she picked out when he moved in here last fall and thinks about how she’ll be right here Monday, but also how soon she’ll be here all the time.
“I can’t wait to see what you do next, Tay—all those big plans.”
“I can’t wait either, especially for our big plans,” and he finally sees the confidence in her expression. She’s ready.
“You already know, girl.”
Friday
Taylor picks up on the third ring of the phone and her face fills the screen.
“Hi,” she whispers.
“Hey there,” he says, mimicking her tone. “Why are you quiet? Is your throat sore?”
She shakes her head. “No, look.”
She zooms out on the phone so he can see her entire hotel bed. Olivia is tucked in above her right shoulder and under her left arm, he can make out the light brown hair of the little girl fast asleep, clutching Benji, who is passed out on his back.
“Oh, Tay.” Travis isn’t sure what to do with all the emotions he feels at the sight on the screen. It feels like one more piece of the dream he’s found himself in over the past year. He snaps a screenshot without much thought, just knowing he wants to capture this forever.
“She asked to sleep in here. Both she and Ellie were bouncing off the walls when we all got back from the stadium. Wy asked if she could ‘sleeped over' and I thought it might be good to take one off Jas and Ky’s hands since I’m the one who had all the candy put in the suite.”
He huffs a laugh at her explanation. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with how excited she was at the show.”
“I know my rank, Trav," she remarks with a shake of her head. "And it’s definitely behind candy."
“Nah, Tay, Jason let them call me after the show, and Wy wouldn’t stop talking about your pretty boots and how you matched because you both had sparkles on. And how excited she was to sing with you.”
Her face gets the softest expression at his words, and she looks down again before continuing, “Ellie wouldn’t believe it was me for a full five minutes when they came backstage before the show. I had to sing her that ridiculous song we made up at Holiday House when we’d throw them in the pool.”
He smiles. “You mean the ‘itty bitty swimming committee’ song? We should make it our family’s secret code.”
She laughs, feeling something warm bloom in her chest at “our family.”
“I’m so glad they got to come. But not gonna lie, this is my favorite part,” she observes, brushing the little girl's hair back and watching Benji stretch and turn with his paw on Wyatt’s arm.
“Yeah, they are the cutest sleeping,” he jokes.
“No, you dork. Just being Auntie Tay. I am glad they like Taylor with the sparkly dresses and got to have fun. But I like being Auntie Tay to them better.”
“Oh, but Taylor, you are always Auntie Tay. Wy told me so.”
“She did?”
“Yeah, she said you sang the song you wrote for her dad, which I’m assuming is 'I Can Do It with a Broken Heart.’ Travis pauses to shake his head and laugh, "And that you got way more people at your game than I did.”
Taylor’s eyes widen and she starts to giggle, throwing her hand over her mouth to keep quiet, “Oh my god.”
He shrugs, “She just thinks this is our family’s thing. Dad on TV, Uncle Trav playing football. Auntie Tay singing. She’s been in stadiums her whole life. What you do is normal for her.”
A thoughtful look comes across her face. She lowers her hand, “I never thought about that. I guess it is.”
“Our kids are going to be the same way, you know. I mean I might not be playing football then, but I’m sure they’ll have their fair share of stadium life.”
“I like that. Carrying on the family tradition.”
“Family tradition,” he echoes like a promise.
He notices her eyes are starting to close more and more the longer they talk. “Hey, get some sleep, Tay. Go snuggle all those kids stealing my spot in bed. You got another big day ahead of you.”
“Hmm, I will. And don’t worry, you’ll be back in your spot Sunday night,” she reminds him.
“Yes, though Olivia will still try to kick me out,” he points out. “I love you, sweet dreams.”
“Love you too.”
They hang up and before he gets up to start getting ready for bed, he opens his photos to the screenshot he took during the call. He runs his thumb over her smiling face and the scene around her.
Then he opens his texts, writes one out, and hits send to Jason.
Her evil plan worked. Your ass is definitely getting a cat after this.
One word comes back.
Fuck.