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

end of all the endings

Taylor looks across the table, resting her head in her hands as Travis finishes up his second plate of the gnocchi that Taylor cooked for their dinner date. It's been going really well between the two of them. This is his third trip that he's taken to New York to see her, all under the radar. They've spent a some really great days together, sandwiched in between Taylor's stops on tour, and he's been joking about seeing if they'll give him a punch card on his Manhattan hotel room so he can get every tenth night for free.

She knows that it's still the early days of their relationship- if she can even call it that. They've not officially put a label on it yet. She has kept the word 'boyfriend' out of her mouth, no matter how badly she wants to experiment with it. She knows that they're trending in that direction; she knows that it won't be long now. Every moment they've stolen in secrecy has been wonderful, and with each passing day, she wants more and more to tell the whole world that she's his.

And Travis seems to want the same thing.

"So, Tay..." he says, "I've been doing some thinking about all of this. About you and me."

The superstar swallows as she looks at him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I think... all this time in New York has been great, but I think it's time you come see Kansas City... maybe come to one of my games. You're more than welcome to stay with me if you'd like." His words are confident, as though they're not so much of a question, but a request. Her breath hitches. It takes everything in her to not leap up and accept his invitation.

The corners of her lips turn up into a smile. She knows what her answer is going to be, but she wants to see if she can push his buttons first- knock a little bit of that sexy confidence right out of him. "You want me to leave New York and follow you to the middle of nowhere, Kansas? Am I gonna have to dig out my old cowboy hat? Learn how to ride a horse? Or is it more... a gingham dress and red ruby slippers sort of vibe?"

He laughs. "Alright, nah," he says. "KC is a proper city, don't knock it. And for the record, it's in Missouri."

"Oh, even better. A state where I can't get an abortion," she quips. 

Travis sighs. "Okay, yeah. You've got me there." He pauses. "But Kansas City is  no less of a city than Nashville. I don't think you can get an abortion there either, last I checked. So... I guess you don't have an excuse to say no?" His voice doesn't waver. If he's been taken aback by her, he doesn't show it.

The blonde smirks, a twinkle in her electric blue eyes. "Oh, I could think of many excuses, Kelce. But it must be your lucky day, because I'm not too interested in using them."

"Is that a yes?"

"That's a yes," she confirms with a nod. "I'd love to come watch a game."

A grin lights up his face upon the realization of his victory. However, it quickly falls back to a serious expression when he sees the way that Taylor's looking. Her enthusiasm, her playful banter has shifted into something more heavyweight.

"But Trav..." she says, "I want you to know that this all isn't going to be a... small thing, per se. That's not how it is with me. If you want me to be in public with you, it's not going to be lowkey. It's not just going to be a cute little date or anything trivial like that. It's going to be the headline of every news outlet in the whole world. And I'm sorry about it. I wish that wasn't how it was, but that's the reality of it. Everything that once felt normal in a..." she hesitates before trying on the word, "in a relationship, it's going to have to go out the window. I can't do this unless you're really, for sure, serious about this."

He looks her right in the eye and nods. "I know. And I want you to know that I'm not freaked out by any of it. I'm right here, and that's where I intend to stay. Anything I can do to make you feel safe, make you feel comfortable... I'm going to do it."