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

location (2)

When Travis gets injured right before the first game of the season, Taylor insists on staying in Kansas City to help him during his recovery. In spite of the fact that he's told her over and over again that he'll be just fine, that it's only a minor knee injury from practice and he won't be out more than a few days, Taylor tells him that she's absolutely not going to leave him alone.

It'll be her third time in Kansas City, but the longest she's stayed, with her previous visits both just being two nights each. This time, she's refusing to leave until he's back in playing shape. "Well, Tay," Travis tells her with a twinkle in his eye as they snuggle on the sofa, "that might just be an incentive to never recover. Coach wouldn't be to happy with you then, huh?"

She lets out a giggle, playfully smacking her hand against his chest. Taylor knows that he loves the game too much to ever actually do that. He'll be back on the field as soon as he's able to be. And she tells him that, to which he concedes. "But Trav," she continues, "if I'm going to be here for a little while... would you be alright with starting to tell a few people?"

He starts to laugh. "You know, I was going to ask you the exact same thing. I'm sure my mom will want to come over and help me out once she hears about the injury and I don't think it's the best idea for her to walk into my house to find Taylor Swift without any fucking warning." He reaches out and plays with a strand of her hair that's falling in her face. "You know, she might be just the slightest bit confused."

"I... think you might be right about that," Taylor winks. "I would like to tell my family and maybe a couple of my friends, if that's okay with you. I want to try again with my mom, too. She deserves a real conversation and... I've sort of been avoiding her the last few weeks." The singer sighs. She really does feel guilty about that. Her mom had every right to be cautious, to be weary of Travis. But now's the time for Andrea to see just how happy she is.

He grabs her hand, running his thumb over the back of it. "You've got it. Do you want me to talk to her with you, to see if I can ease any qualms she has?"

Taylor shakes her head. "No, I think I need to do it myself." She swallows. It's a difficult thing for her to admit, but she knows it's the truth.

"Okay, baby," Travis says, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "How about this? You can go into the other room and speak with your mom, and I'll stay out here to talk to my own. I would really like for you to meet her. Can I invite her over for dinner tomorrow night?"

She doesn't know why it is that she can't believe her own ears. "You really want me to meet her? Already?"

"Course I do," Travis says, squeezing Taylor's hand. "Plus, if you still want to come to the game in a little bit, you'll be in the suite with her. I'm sure you'll want to meet her before then, hm?"

"I thought you weren't ever going to recover from the injury to keep me around," Taylor winks. She nestles her head into Travis's chest. "I'd love to meet your mom. Tell her she's welcome to come around whenever she'd like."

Both of them stay just like that, all cozy on the sofa for a few more moments. Each person knows that they have their own conversations to have. Each of them has their own set of anxieties surrounding that. Travis can't let the nagging thought leave his mind, of what if his family can't get over just who he's dating. He'd never tell Taylor, knowing how sensitive she is to all of that. It's one of the first things she opened up to him about. How everyone who is associated with her in even the most minuscule of ways gets dragged into it in one way or another.

Of course, Travis doesn't care. He loves the spotlight, and everyone knows that. He can handle anything that life is going to throw his way. When everyone in his family meets Taylor, Travis is sure that they'll realize just how genuine she is. Still, he knows that not everyone loves to be the center of attention. His parents, Kylie and Jason... they like to keep a lot lower of a profile. Especially his brother and sister-in-law... they want their daughters to grow up with a normal life. To go to their neighborhood public school and play sports and take music lessons and go to the movies with their friends. All of those things that it's hard to do when you're thrust into the spotlight, especially unwillingly.