the stars in your eyes | t.s. one shots

home to my cats

Taylor pushes the door open to her New York City apartment to find Travis on the sofa, watching TV. She walks over and sits down beside him, taking the remote and pausing his show.

He looks to her. "Hi sweetheart."

"Trav..." she says, looking at him, her cheeks still rosy from the cold of the city in the winter. "Hey, listen... there's something I've gotta tell you."

"Uh oh," he replies. "That can't be good."

Taylor laughs. "Just a... liiiitttllleee favor..."

Travis looks at the way that she's got a little smirk on her lips, observes the sparkle in her crystal blue eyes. "So, in like... half an hour... we're going to be getting a little delivery... and I need you to be chill about it and I need you to be quiet about it."

The football player can't help but let out a little chuckle. Taylor is being coy; she's leaving out details that he knows are probably crucial. "So, what's exactly in the package?"

"It isn't exactly a package..."

"Taylor," Travis laughs. "Out with it."

"It's a cat."

Travis feels his heart skip a beat. "Taylor, what the fuck?" he asks with a laugh. "I mean, hey, your place, your cats, whatever, but like... did you seriously get another one?"

"No. We are babysitting the cat for the night."

He raises his eyebrows at his girlfriend. "Why are you being so secretive? Tay, I'm not going to be mad at you. Tell me the whole story."

She flashes a sweet smile at him as he rubs her shoulder. "So... this is why I need you to keep it quiet. I got a text from Kylie when I was at the studio... she was on a shelter's website and she found this sweet cat and she just fell in love and she called and they told her that there was another offer on the cat so if she didn't take it right then and there, it was probably going to go home with another family. And like, obviously she can't just pack up her three children and bring them two hours away to New York with a moment's notice... so she texted the biggest cat advocate that she knows, who also happens to live in New York City."

"Oh my god," Travis shakes his head. "So, you're conspiring with Kylie for her to bring home a secret cat against Jason's will..."

"Yes, his name is Yeti and she's coming to pick him up tomorrow." Her tone is calm and matter-of-fact, but there's laughter hidden behind her eyes.

"I have never had more respect for you than I do in this very moment," Travis tells her. "Oh my god, what I'd give to see Jason come home to a cat."

"From what I understand... he wants a mini van. She figures if he comes home to a mini van and a cat that his daughters are already attached to..."

"Alright nah," Travis laughs. "Man, Kylie is crazy."

"Jason loves her so much," Taylor says. "She knows that. She knows nothing she'll ever do is actually going to piss him off enough that he'll still be mad the next morning. Especially not something that she wants as badly as this cat."

"I know," he tells Taylor, pulling her into him. "And you know, I never understood it until I met someone who I love so much that I became a cat person for her, and now I'm helping her smuggle a cat into my brother's home." The man places a kiss on the top of the singer's head. "I love that you and Ky have gotten so close lately."

Taylor doesn't say anything to that. She doesn't need to. She instead melts into his grasp and enjoys the feeling of his touch, pulling a blanket up over her body and resting her head on his shoulder.