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

dancing with you

hi everyone! just a quick note to let you all know that this one shot has a trigger warning for body image issues. please proceed with caution if this is something that is triggering to you <3

Taylor stands in front of the mirror in the master bathroom of Travis's Kansas City home- which has become her home now too. Her eyebrows crinkle in as she looks herself up and down, her heart starts to beat faster. The singer dons an all black outfit- a strappy leotard, a skirt, and tights. On the counter sits a pair of pink ballet slippers, and her hair falls down around her shoulders.

She hears a knock on the door. "Tay, can I come in?"

"I suppose," she murmurs, hearing the door creak open. Travis walks into the bathroom and places his hand on the skin of her back, lacing his fingers through the crisscrossed pattern of straps on her low-back leotard.

"You look gorgeous," he tells her. "Do you need help with your hair?"

"Mmhhmm," she nods, "do you mind?"

"Not at all," he says, picking her brush up from the counter and swooping her hair back. Taylor relishes in the feeling, loving when Travis plays with her hair. It's a moment that the two of them can always share, intimacy without being sexual. He ties it in a low ponytail, then begins to twist her hair into a bun. "You have some bobby pins and hairspray, baby girl?"

She lets out a small chuckle. "They're in the top drawer on the right." She never would have expected Travis to be so good at doing hair, and still has no idea where he learned it, but he never fails to style it perfectly. He knows how to braid it and twist it and pin it up just right. Usually, it makes her feel beautiful. In spite of that, in spite of his words and touch, Taylor does not feel that way today.

But Travis hasn't picked up on that yet.

He looks perfect, his white tee shirt and tight black pants leaving little to the imagination. He's so muscular and so attractive. Even after all this time, her heart still races when she looks at him. "You all ready to go?" Travis asks, spraying hairspray onto the bun he's put her hair into as a finishing touch.

Taylor could lie. She could paste a smile on her face, tell him to get in the car, and suck it up, hiding what she's feeling for the entire day. She's done it before. She's good at it. Lights, camera, bitch, smile. It's what she's built her legacy on. Taylor performs no matter what the circumstances are.

But that's not what her and Travis do. Between them, there's no performing. They don't shove things down and pretend that they don't exist just for the purpose of protecting each other. The couple agreed early on that there is no need to protect each other from their own feelings. They've taken the route of complete honesty. If it's on their mind, if it's troubling them, they'll share it. And time and again, Taylor's found that talking about whatever is happening, makes her feel better about it.

"Trav," she says in a small voice, "can I talk to you about something?"

"Anything, any time. You know that, hon."

"I'm really nervous about today," she admits. "I'm not skinny enough for ballet. I know that Mandy told me that it would really help me in my time off of tour, but I just... I'm really scared. The teacher that Mandy recommended for me, she teaches classes a highly esteemed and renowned ballet company. She works with these girls all the time, and they're so skinny, and that's not me."

Travis lets out a sigh, wrapping his arm around Taylor's waist. He's seen these sorts of thoughts in her a few times before. He knows that she struggled with an eating disorder in the past. He's done research and learned what the right things to say are when she's feeling this way, but that's not a miracle cure-all. And it absolutely breaks his heart that she can't see herself the way that he does.