heroine (taylor swift and travis kelce)

fairy light smiles

It was nice to get away from the loud music, Taylor was relieved to find that they were the only ones up there. There were fairy lights strung up around the place - casting a warm, golden glow over them.
"You're about to go on tour, aren't you?" Travis asked as he pulled out her chair for her.
"Yes."
"You don't seem too excited about it," Travis watched her.
"I was excited. I really was." Taylor glanced down at her lap, her lips pressed in a firm line. She wouldn't get emotional in front of a guy she'd just met.
"What happened? Isn't this gonna be like, the pinnacle of your career so far?" Travis asked, and Taylor met his eyes with a small smile.
"Sixteen days ago..." Taylor spoke quietly, "the guy I thought... I was stupid enough to think we'd  be okay, but then he told me that he needed a break."
Travis's eyes didn't break contact with hers, he didn't even falter. The words just kept tumbling out of Taylor's mouth.
"I go on tour next week, and I don't actually know how I'm going to survive." She admitted. "It really vexes me that he took away my enjoyment of it. This is supposed to be... I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm saying. I'm just being dramatic."
"Woah," Travis shook his head. "Woah woah woah there. That's not dramatic, fuck, it really hurts when your heart gets broken. I mean, in all honesty I've only ever had a relationship end, I've never had a break. I can't imagine how shitty that whole thing is for you. And you have no choice but to pick yourself up and do the tour? Shit." He gazed at her with warm eyes, his face soft. Taylor glanced over at the way his eyes twinkled under the glow of the fairy lights.
"I really don't know how I'm going to do it," Taylor admitted. "This is the first time I've left my house for something other than tour rehearsals for two weeks. Sorry, that's so embarrassing." She let out a tiny laugh. "Anyway, enough about me. What sport do you play?"
"Football," he answered with a smirk. "Just a little bit here and there."
Taylor raised a brow, suspicious of his reply.
"I don't know much about football, I'll admit." She smiled, the action still feeling foreign to her. It felt like she hadn't smiled for days - well, it had been days. It had been two weeks of sobbing into her pillow and staring blankly at the ceiling.
Travis chuckled, drinking another mouthful of beer.
"You're touring all over the world, aren't you? That must be overwhelming, having it all spread out in front of you. When it's... uh, competition season I know that I often feel like it consumes my life." Travis told her, and Taylor got the feeling that he didn't usually speak like this to people.
Taylor nodded, glancing over at him.
"I love touring," she admitted. "Well, usually I do. Usually it's my favourite part of all of it. But this time it'll be different." She opened her mouth, unable to stop the words from falling from her lips. "During one of my previous tours I was in the depths of an eating disorder, now I'll be doing it... I don't know." She sighed, remembering why she was drinking. "You should come, if you're not too busy." The words were rushed, and she regretted them instantly. He'd think she was stupid, who did she think she was?
"I'd love that," he told her, soothing her nerves. "Do I have to get dressed up? I heard that's the new thing at concerts. You don't want to see me in a tutu, I promise." His words made Taylor throw her head back laughing.
"I think you'd suit a glitter beard." Taylor spoke amidst her giggles.
Travis chuckled, his eyes wrinkling as he watched her.
"A glitter beard, you say?" He brushed his fingers through his beard as if he was contemplating it. "What colour?"
Taylor studied his face. "You know what? I think purple would totally suit you."
"My nieces would love it if I got a glitter beard. I might have to have them help me out with that." He laughed, but paused. "Taylor, I'm really sorry that you're here tonight... to forget a heartbreak."
Taylor's face softened as she listened to him. Leaning her chin on her hand, Taylor sighed.
"There's plenty of worse places to be," she smiled. "Besides, I actually smiled tonight, and you even got a few laughs out of me too." She smiled.
"You'll be okay- on tour, and with the guy who wants a break. It'll all work out the way it's supposed to - that's what my Dad used to say to me." Travis straightened up, preparing to imitate his father. "Trav, you're gonna get knocked down a billion times but you can't let that stop you from enjoying the game - whether you're knocked down or they're cheering for you at the end of it - it'll all work out exactly as it's meant to." Travis paused, shaking his head. "Then he probably told me to get back out on the field and keep practicing."
Taylor beamed at him - her cheeks flushed. Sure, it was a little cold, but between the alcohol and the outdoor heater, and the conversation with Travis, she couldn't feel it at all.
"What are you doing here tonight?" Taylor asked after a moment of silence. "Do you live here?"
"Nah," he shakes his head. "I'm from Kansas City, actually. If I'm completely honest with you, there's no reason why I should be here tonight." He chuckled. "But the neon light in the window that said 'happy hour' tempted me. And I'm sure glad I did," he told her with warm eyes.