the best day ⸺ taylor swift x daughter one shots

1.1 | hope it never ends

Taylor groaned as the sunlight founded its way into her eyes. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes as the events of last night replayed itself in her mind. Joe was already fast asleep when Taylor appeared at their bedroom door, so she just crawled under the covers and let the tiredness consume her.

"Taylor," Joe. She wanted to break down, to tell him to stay, but she knew she couldn't. Hesitantly, she turned around.

Yesterday, she was hoping that when she woke up, she would find that this was all a dream, but judging by the look in his eyes, it wasn't.

"Why?" She whispered weakly, his expression reflected the same of hers, pain. "Why now?" Like he did yesterday, he grabbed her hand gently, brushing his fingers across her palm.

"Taylor, you know I'll never hurt you." Taylor inhaled shakily as she forced herself to meet his ocean blue eyes, they remained the only ones that were able to see right through her. She gave him a weak nod, granting him her permission to continue. "I love you, and I love this little family we built in the last 2 years. I loved every moment of this." He sounded almost- broken. "But I think as time flew by, we both realized that we wanted different things."

Joe used his free hand to dry the tears that had streamed down her face. "I love you, and I want what's best for you and Leah. That's why I made this decision, and that's why I need you to understand."

"Is this about the tour?" Taylor questioned with a strong yet hesitant tone, and when Joe failed to put his answers into words, she was quick to defend herself. "I can cancel it. It's not too late. I can do it. Hell, I can even quit. I can quit all these. We have enough. I don't need it. I can do it, Joe, trust me. I can do it." The tears pooled in her eyes, is it really because of this? Is it really because of her?

"I know you can, Tay." He let out a shaky breath. "I know you can and that's what I'm afraid of."

"What?" She whisper-yelled, not fully in control of her own emotions and thoughts. Her insecurities and self doubts are starting to take over. "You're not making sense right now. You said it was because of me and now I'm telling you I'll change and it's still not enough?!" Taylor raised her voice, yanking her hand from his, her hurt now turned into anger and frustration.

"Tay, I know you. You'll do anything to keep this. This family. You'll cancel the tour. But will you be happy?" She stared at Joe intensely, mad yet speechless. His question had her at a loss of words. She doesn't know what to say, she loves being on stage, she loves the crowds and the fans, but she loves this more.

"I'll have you and Leanna. That'll be enough, that'll be all I'll ever ask for."

"But will you be happy?" Joe cupped her cheeks with his hands, brushing his finger over her lower lip. "You belong on stage, Taylor. You belong there. I've seen you perform, and you're always the happiest there." He offered her a sad smile, taking a second to morph all his explanations and reasonings into comprehensive sentences. "When we first started our relationship, we promised to keep it as private as possible, but I think the last few months was enough to prove that being private clearly isn't an option for us anymore."

"But we can try. We have to. We can't break up now. Think about it, Joe. If you're really concerned about me then you wouldn't be doing this." Taylor simply refused to believe that this was going to be the end. She had to fight for it, then, even if she loses, at least she'll know that she tried her best.

"I don't want to be the reason why you can't do the things you love, Tay. You have to understand that."

"No, but I- I love you, and Leah. That's more important to me." Taylor tried to argue, although she already knew that this was a losing battle. Joe knew her far too well.

"I love you too, Tay. I love you and Leanna. That's why I'm okay with just standing back and watching you shine for now." Joe leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead, and that's Taylor's last straw. The dam that was holding the tears broke as they streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"I don't want us to become strangers."

"We won't." Joe held her tightly in his arms, smoothing her as he held back tears of his own. "I promise we won't. Maybe we won't be this," he gestured towards their cozy bedroom, the place that had been their safe haven from the very first day. "But we can be friends. And who knows? Maybe one day, we can have all of these again."

"You can't. You can't do this. Think about Leah. She's still a baby, Joe. She needs both of us." Taylor was begging now, and she would gladly get down on her knees and beg him to stay if that's what it takes.

"We'll still see each other, she'll still see both of us, just a bit less of one. But she'll be fine, you'll be fine. You're an excellent mother, Taylor. I know you'll both be okay as long as she has you and you have her." Sometimes, Taylor wished Joe wasn't this headstrong, but she knows him, once he sets his mind on something, no one can change it. Not even Taylor.

She buried her face in his chest, clutching his shirt as if it would magically make him change his mind. She took in the smell of his cologne, the smell of cinnamon and mint, the scent that used to be the cure to all her problems. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to go either," Joe admitted truthfully. "But this is for the best." Stubbornly, Taylor continued to shake her head violently as she let out a bunch of incoherent swears and sentences.

Joe sighed at his soon to be ex girlfriend in his arms, it pained him to see her like this.

"Tay," he lifted her chin up with his fingers, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Our time will come." He inhaled shakily as he allowed a tear to escape through his eyes. "If we were meant to be, if we were truly written in the stars, then our time will come. One day."

Stretching her neck, Taylor captured his lips with hers. Joe ran his hand through her hair, giving her the comfort she longed for since last night. Neither of them wanted to let go, they both know that this might be the last time they get to do this in a while. And maybe forever.

Joe pulled away from their kiss, it almost tasted bitter with the mix of their tears, but in this kind of moment, it was enough. In this type of situation of a hopeless relationship, wanting was enough.

Taylor removed her hand from his chest, instead, she placed her fingers on her plumped lips, still lingering on the feeling of his touch.

"One day," Taylor echoed his words from early, "Wait for me, Joe. I'll catch up to you one day."

He nodded, and for the first time today, the smiles on their faces seemed genuine. "I'll wait for you at the end of the aisle, come meet me when you're ready." He laced their fingers together, raising their hands to eye level as he squeezed it 3 times. And she squeezed back without hesitation.

It was their secret language, one that only they knew.

It was a silent promise.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm not sure how to feel about this tbh. It feels more Jaylor then anything 😅 I promise that there will be more interactions and mentions of a child in the next chapter. I hoped you liked it though. I've never been very good at writing romance.

I might add a part 3 to this as well. I mean, I've already written it, it's just the matter of whether y'all wanna read it or not.

Please give this a quick vote and leave some comments!

Till next time <3