'How was the wedding, baby?', Taylor asks as her FaceTime to Travis connects, early in the morning for her, late at night for him. The background is fuzzy, she can't make it out, but she smiles as she sees his hazy eyes and grin across his cheeks.
'It was great, Tay. So much fun, everyone turned out for Clyde. Maybe partied a little too hard, though', he shrugs, laughing, and she joins in.
'Well, you deserve to have fun, baby. Especially at a wedding. You told them I wanted to be there, right? I wish I could have gone with you. Our first invite as a couple', she says wistfully, playfully pouring her bottom lip at him, making him chuckle.
'God, Tay, I wish you were here too. But they knew, baby. You're right where you're meant to be, and we have plenty of weddings in our future. An even more important one than any of the others, too', he winks, referring to their own that Taylor was in the midst of planning for the following summer.
'Can't wait, Trav. Get some sleep, okay? I'll talk to you later, after the show. Can't wait to see you on Monday'.
'Love you sweetie', he replies, blowing kisses into the phone. 'See you later'.
She presses the red button, the screen going dark, and wistfully sighs, throwing it down on the bed beside her. She doesn't expect to hear much from him until after her third Eras show in Dublin is over, given the LA - Ireland time difference. She busies herself getting ready for the day ahead, distraction coming in the form of a short workout and show prep.
It surprises her, constantly, how much she misses him - even if he's only in the other room. They'd parted ways on Friday morning, Travis to LA to attend his teammates wedding and her to Dublin, performing Friday through Sunday. It was getting harder and harder these days, after all the time they'd spent together in Travis' offseason, to part with one another, even when she could count on one hand the number of sleeps until she'd be in his arms again.
She'd found herself teary almost immediately when she woke on Friday morning, the bed empty beside her and the shower running in the en-suite of the master bedroom. The house she'd rented for the summer was cute and cosy, a perfect hideaway from tour and a welcome retreat for them both, a little dose of normality in their hectic lives. The sound of the water running, though, had told her that their time together was running out, and she'd buried her head into Travis' pillow, tears leaking out the side of her eyes.
'Good morning, baby, I...', Travis said as he'd walked out of the bathroom, a towel slung around his hips and another shaking the water out of his hair, freshly cut but much longer than it had been when they'd first met.
'Tay?', he asked, gently, upon seeing her position in the bed, sighing softly as she turned towards him, her eyes red rimmed and watery. 'Oh sweetheart, it's not for that long. Just the weekend', he attempted to reassure her, sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand stroking up and down her back.
'I know', she sniffled, hiccuping a little as her tears continued to flow, unable to stop. 'I just don't want you to go. It's selfish, but I want you here. With me'.
Travis says nothing, just moves them both so that he's sitting properly on the bed, back against the headboard, Taylor on his lap with her head on his shoulder. 'Tay, sweetie, it's not selfish. I wish I could stay with you too. I can call Clyde, tell him I can't go...'
'What? No!', Taylor interrupts him, sitting up abruptly to look at his face, furiously wiping away the treacherous tears that won't seem to stop flowing. 'No, no way. You have to go, you're his friend. I'll be fine, truly. I have shows to perform and you'll be back here next week. I just - it's getting hard, Trav. To be apart. And I've never really experienced that before. You know, with...'
She trails off, absentmindedly tracing circles against his skin as she looks back up at him. 'With Joe. We spent a lot of time apart, and I never felt like I do now. Like there's a physical part of me getting ready to leave. Like there will be an ache in my chest until I can see you, touch you, again. And it scares me, a little. Because you have training camp and I can't visit and...'
'Tay', Travis cuts her off, planting a kiss on her lips while simultaneously grabbing her hand, squeezing it gently. 'You're spiralling. Calm down, baby'.
He waits a beat, then starts again, once she's safely tucked back against his chest. 'It's going to be shit. I can't lie to you; training camp is hard at the best of times, but without you for a month will be harder. But just think, once that's over. You'll come back to KC, and we'll be in our house. You can finally buy the rest of the furniture you've had your eye on, we can go on date nights and team events and have Pat and Britt over for dinner. We have two whole months, baby, and then you have shows, but they'll be an hour away, two or three. You'll be able to come home. And then, after December? The world's our oyster, baby. Our life together is only beginning. The wedding, maybe some little Kelces...', he trails off, looking down around her, finding her beaming back up at him at the mention of children of their own.
'And trust me, Tay. I feel the same way. It pains me to leave you, to know I'll be on a different continent, in a different time zone. But all this time apart only makes it sweeter when we're together'.
They were both crying by the time he'd finished, and after a few more words of reassurance, he'd left for the airport first - a see you later, not a goodbye, plans for dinner on Monday evening already made. She'd felt better being in Dublin without him after that, had enjoyed the two shows they'd done so far, but was excited to get back to London. Back home - to Travis.
So she had gone about the next of her day, Travis at the back of her mind, but determined to have a great last night in Ireland. That is, until she's in the middle of August and the crowd suddenly starts to wildly cheer, their heads spinning around towards the VIP tent, which she knows already holds Stevie Nicks and Julia Roberts.
That is, until she sees him: Travis, clearly fresh off a plane, his white T shirt standing out amongst the crowd, waving at her. She can't help the smile that breaks out across her face, her grin plain for the whole world to see, and for the rest of the show she feels like she might simply be floating, every time she looks back at the tent to see him there.
She has to pace herself not to rush through Karma, but as soon as that lift starts to descend she's shrugging off the tasseled jacket, fiddling with her in-ears, impatient for them to be removed. Her crew is helping when Travis rounds the corner, and when they tell her she's finally free, she practically sprints towards him, his arms opening wide to catch her.
She pulls his face to hers, kissing him freely, swiping her tongue along his bottom lip to gain access, which he immediately grants. They lose themselves in the moment, and Taylor can only feel the man underneath her, his arms holding her up, not caring who sees them be reunited.
Eventually, though, Travis pulls back, pressing three sweet kisses on her cheek before grinning at her. 'Surprise', he laughs, his eyes crinkling.
'Oh my God, Trav, this is the best surprise ever. I love you. How did you pull this off?'
'I may have had a few little birdies helping me out', he answers, and Tree's humorous 'tweet tweet' from somewhere in the background makes her giggle, loosening her grip on Travis only enough so that he can set her down; their hands instantly intertwining.
'Trav, this is so sweet. I love you so much baby', she whispers to him as they walk towards the exit, smiling up at him as she rests her cheek on his forearm.
'I love you, Tay', he replies, sweetly squeezing her hand as they walk towards where he knows her fans are gathered.
'Oh!', he hears her gasp, stop walking, and he turns, a quizzical look on his face. 'What's up, baby?'
'That's my hat! You little thief!'
