Pitch Perfect Harmony

Flipped Switch

The next home game, Taylor was able to attend again after being in New York for a few days. Donna would be there too this time and Travis and Taylor wanted to go to the after-party for at least a little while today. But first, they met at his place with a couple of people to get the day started. "I'm happy that you're here again today", Travis told her after finding her talking to some of his friends. "Me too. Gotta do some voodoo", she winked making him chuckle. He had read the TayVoodoo theories online and found it hilarious. And maybe he believed in it just a tiny little bit. A game just felt different when she was there. "I gotta go soon", he told her why he had come to find her in the first place. "Have fun. I'll try to get some more embarrassing stories out of your mom", Taylor joked. He just shook his head and kissed her before he had to leave.

Taylor spent another fun game night in the booth with Travis' friends and Donna celebrating another win for the Chiefs. This time, they went to the party afterward though. But because they had a few days in New York ahead of them, Taylor and Travis didn't stay too long. Taylor had also decided not to drink at the party. She had had a little at the game but didn't want to be hungover the next day. Travis on the other hand got challenged by some of his teammates for a stupid drinking game and got pretty drunk. "We wanted to go home soon", Taylor reminded him. "But why? It's so fun", he mumbled like a child at the playground. "Cause we'll go to New York tomorrow", she explained smiling about his drunk persona. "It's a big city", he said seemingly in awe making her laugh. "It is. But we wanna be sober there and feel good. So we gotta go home", she tried again. "Can I go with you?", he asked confusing her a little. Maybe he had had more shots than she had thought. "Actually, we are both going to your place", she explained. "Our place", he corrected as if suddenly remembering that she was his girlfriend. Taylor couldn't help it and blushed at that. "Whatever. But we should go now", she just answered, so they finally started moving toward the doorway.

They somehow managed to get into the car without it being obvious how drunk he was. "I like my car better", he noted when they started rolling. "Me too but this is safer", she chuckled at the skeptical look on his face. He ended up holding her hand and playing around with her fingers making Taylor chuckle a few times. She was a little worried about how to get him to bed but luckily he didn't fall asleep. He was still a drunk giant though and it was quite a task to get him to bed. Taylor managed somehow but it turned out that he also snores when he had a lot of alcohol. Taylor thought about sleeping in the guest room but she didn't want to offend him. It wasn't really his fault that he was snoring. At least that had been Matty's opinion.

When Taylor woke up from a few hours of often interrupted sleep, something had flipped in her. She hadn't recognized it, just jumped into old habits pretty quickly. The man next to her would soon wake up hungover and she hadn't prepared breakfast yet. She hadn't even gotten painkillers or water for him. Quickly, she got up and went to the kitchen. In a rush, she tried to put together something but the little sleep she had had made it hard to concentrate, and the eggs burned black in the pan. Taylor got stressed. If he would wake up to no breakfast, he would get mad. And she didn't want to get yelled at.

Suddenly, she remembered the painkillers. She should've brought them to his bedside table first. But Taylor didn't even know where he kept them. If she had ever needed some, he had brought them. Quickly, she checked a few cabinets but didn't find anything. Rushing upstairs again and tiptoeing through the bedroom, she went to the bathroom to see if she could find them there. "Please, you can't have hidden them this good", she mumbled to herself stressed. Suddenly, her shaky hand tipped a bottle in the cupboard over so that it fell right to the floor producing a loud thud. She flinched. "Tay?!", Travis asked half-yelling. The noise had woken him up. His head was throbbing though, so he needed a second to collect himself. "It's fine, I'm fine", she quickly answered looking for the pills again. He'd need them now. She was too late.

But they weren't in the cupboard at all. She could not find them and had to face him now. Slowly, she went to the bedroom finding Travis still in bed with closed eyes and a frown on his face. "Trav, I... I'm sorry but I don't know where your medicine is... I... you must have painkillers but...", she stuttered but stopped when he looked up. He was confused by her insecure voice. "They're downstairs in the bathroom by the gym", he told her. "I'll go get you some! And then I'll make breakfast. I promise it'll be quick", she rambled before leaving the room quickly. Travis looked after her still confused. He knew that he had been pretty drunk last night. But he remembered everything. There hadn't been a fight or anything that would explain her anxious behavior.

It didn't take long before Taylor came back with the medicine and a glass of water putting it on his nightstand. "I'll get some food. Sorry, I got up late. Ahm... yeah, sorry", she apologized again and was about to leave when he reached for her hand. Her whole body stiffened and she turned toward him quickly. "Tay, what's wrong?", he asked. "I... you... I didn't prepare breakfast, you... I knew you'd be hungover and...", she explained stumbling over her words unsure about where to look. He gently pulled her down so she sat on the side of the bed still visibly uncomfortable. "It's not your job to take care of me", he said unsure if that was what she was thinking and if so then why. "But you...", she began again trying to pull her hand back from him. "Tay, if I get drunk, it's my own choice. I have to deal with the consequences. You don't have to... worry", he repeated unsure where this was coming from.

Taylor just looked at him as if he had just told her that Santa Claus wasn't real. "Can you come here, please?", Travis asked her to let him hug her. Hesitantly, Taylor lay down with him and he pulled her against his chest. "Take a breath for me", he said calmly breathing in and out deeply for her to mirror him. Slowly, the tension left her body. "You're okay. You've done nothing wrong", he assured her silently. "I'm sorry", she mumbled slowly realizing what had happened. "You don't need to apologize. If I get drunk, it's my problem and I have to deal with it. If you want to bring me water or prepare food, that's fine, and I appreciate it but I would not be mad if you don't", he explained again. "I just... fell into a habit I guess", she admitted embarrassed. "What habit? Who got you this anxious?", he asked concerned. "It's just... I... got yelled at a bunch when I... Didn't...", she stuttered. "Play the nurse? Or the mom?", he finished her sentence a little mad at whoever she was talking about.

A tiny nod was answer enough. Travis sighed and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry about it, okay? I will never yell at you for not taking care of me when I put myself in that situation", he repeated again what he had said before. "I didn't get much sleep, maybe I just... got overwhelmed this morning", she mumbled. "You could've slept as long as you wanted", he answered. "You were snoring a lot", she told him hesitantly making him chuckle a little. "Why didn't you go to the guest room then? Or made me go?", he asked. Taylor hesitated again. "Cause I didn't want to... offend you", she admitted. "Tay", he sighed gently turning her toward him in his arms. "Baby, I will not be offended if you need to sleep somewhere else for a night because I'm too loud", he told her watching her avoid eye contact. It hurt him how insecure she was because some dickhead had yelled at her enough to scare her.

"Is it okay now? Do you think you'll remember this next time?", he asked carefully. "Yeah", she said still not looking at him. He lightly kissed her forehead and then finally found her eyes. "I love you", he smiled softly at her. "I love you too", she answered honestly. "Forget about whatever any idiot yelled at you for, okay?", Travis wanted to make sure. Taylor nodded letting it sink in more and more. She hadn't realized how much Joe had screwed this up. Screwed her up in a way. "I don't know who this is about and you don't have to tell me, but...", Travis started again. "Joe", she interrupted. "He got drunk a lot in the end. Or at least... regularly", she added. Travis nodded. "Did he hurt you?", he asked what he had wanted to know. Taylor immediately shook her head. "No. Never. He'd never", she assured him. "I just wanted to be sure. You... I don't know if I've seen you this anxious and insecure before because of... me kinda", Travis explained his question. "I just... it was... I'm not good with people yelling at me. He... got really loud and unfair sometimes", she explained. Travis nodded in understanding. "Okay. Please tell me if I ever make you uncomfortable or insecure with something, okay?", he asked. Taylor agreed and then cuddled into his chest again to soak up his warmth. "Order breakfast?", he asked. She nodded once more.

Again, a reminder that this is ficional!