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

three simple words

"So... Trav... since you're officially my boyfriend..." Taylor pauses, takes a moment to savor the taste of the word in her mouth. It's only been a few days since the couple has made it official, and she likes trying on the term to see how it fits. With the way that he smiles upon hearing it, she can tell that it's feeling just right.

"Yes," he asks, raising his eyebrows, "my gorgeous girlfriend?"

A smile grows on her face as she blushes and looks at the ground. "I was thinking... I might like to go to one of your games... sit in your suite with your friends and family and see you do your thing. Only if you want me to, I mean... but I'd really like to be there, to support you and-"

"Taylor," he cuts her off, grabbing her hand and holding it in between his palms. "I would love nothing more than to have you there." He never quite knew what to do with his hands, where to properly touch a woman, until he met Taylor. It's like something just clicked, like it's all natural now. He knows exactly how to touch her to make her feel it throughout her whole body.

She smiles at him. "Really?" Because, I mean... it's going to be a whole thing. It's not a small ordeal..." Her voice suddenly gets quiet. "I'm not a small ordeal." A sigh escapes her lips, and Travis feels his heart break as the color drains from her face. "Are you sure that you want me there?"

He doesn't know what's made her change her mood with such a sudden shift, but he doesn't like it. Not one bit. He looks to her and taps beneath her chin with two fingers, bringing her gaze to meet his, her eyes so bright and blue that he thinks he could stare at them forever.  He looks at her face, barren of any makeup, but still the most gorgeous woman he's ever seen- something he knows she would try to dispute but he wouldn't hear a single word of it. He knows he's right. "Tay. There is nothing in this world that I want more than to have you come to my game, if you feel comfortable with it. So what if there's a lot of eyes on us? Screw it, screw them all. I've got my girl, and that's what matters. It's you and me, baby. And as far as I'm concerned, I don't care if there's three or three billion people looking at us. Because when you're in the room, you are the most important person in there, to me and to lots of other people. That's all that it really is, all of the attention that's on you. It's just that a lot of people care about you and want to see you happy."

"You think we're going to be okay?" she asks in a small voice. "Once everyone else knows, I mean..." She nervously starts to crack her knuckles one at a time with her thumb on the same hand. He knows that she fidgets with her hands as a manifestation of her anxiety, but he places his hand on top of hers and holds it tightly, restricting her ability to continue the movement.

"I know we are," he tells her. "The last few weeks have been amazing, just the two of us, and nobody else knowing. But I don't want to hide. I know you don't either."

The words wash over Taylor's skin like a trickle of spring water so pure that you just want to taste the sweetness of the mountain and feel it run down your throat. She's never been so relieved to hear someone say those exact words. Finally, it's like freedom.

"I don't," she nods. "I can't hide any more. I can't live like that, ever again."

"And I'm not going to make you," he says, his hand finding its way to her thigh as she snuggles into him on the sofa in his Kansas City residence, the suede cushions as soft as a fluffy cloud in the summer sky. "If you want to come to my game, that means that I want you there more than anything in the world."

"Then it's settled," she says, looking up at him. "Your first game back... I'll be in the stands to cheer you on."

He looks down at his ankle. "Wish it could be sooner," he sighs.

Taylor lets out a sigh. "I hate how you just have to live in so much pain... I wish there was something I could do for you."

He looks at her, a small smile formed on his lips. "It's just a part of my life. I've always known it would be, from the second I knew I wanted to go pro. But... you know... you're pretty good at taking it away..."

She knows what he's insinuating by the fire in his eyes, and instantly, all other thoughts exit her mind as she climbs onto his lap and starts to kiss him. "If it makes you feel better... who would I be to deny you of that?" She flashes her signature sparkling smile and he feels his whole body turn to mush. He is so in love with this woman. In a way that he's never been in love before. He loves her in a way that his favorite moments with her are the mundane ones, cuddling on the sofa or drinking wine by his backyard fire pit. Moments unclothed come second to those spent in sweatpants, Taylor's hair swept up into a messy ponytail that he can reach up and mindlessly twist around in his fingers. They may soon be the subject of every headline in the country, but it doesn't feel like some great love affair, not to him. It just feels real; it feels raw and right. It feels like, for the first time, he can picture himself getting married, having kids. A house with a fence and a big backyard. A trampoline and a swing set. A room with a piano and a window that looks out on all of it.

He likes the way that he feels like a better version of himself when he's with her. Like it doesn't matter if he played a shitty game over the weekend, or if he never wants to play another game again. Not that that's something on his mind right now... but he knows the the clouds of retirement are beginning to linger over his head. He's not a rookie anymore, and it shows. It shows in the way that he's usually able to relate more to the coaches than a lot of his teammates. It shows in the way that, some days, he'll wake up and feel fragile. In the way that he fears being tackled for reasons more than just what it could do to the score of the game.

None of that is anything that Taylor cares about. She wants him for who he is. For the silly man who will show her slapstick comedy movies. For the sensitive man who loves his family more than anything in the world. For the joyful man who isn't afraid to wear a tutu just to make his nieces smile. She's not dating Travis Kelce, Tight End. She's just dating Travis.

But the fact that she wants to be there for Travis Kelce, Tight End... knowing what it means for her to go anywhere in public... it means the world to him.

So, in between kisses, he places his hands securely on her back and looks her in the eye. "I'll make the phone call today, make all of the necessary arrangements for my first game back so that you'll be safe and able to have a great day. We'll do whatever it takes. You'll get to see what Arrowhead was really meant for and let me know which one is more lit."

He winks at her and she finds herself giggling like a teenager, squealing with enthusiasm and anticipation. "I can't wait."

It's only three simple words, but they're the most important words that she could have said. He knows that she means them with every bone in her body.