TNT Short Fics

Still, the yearning stays

As the confetti falls around him from above, there is a split second in which he feels completely empty.

Travis stands there, adrenaline rushing through his body, high on reaching the mountaintop for the second time. Yet, as he looks around, he searches for something that isn't there. Someone who isn't there. Someone who doesn't exist—at least not here with him. And for a few seconds, all the glory of the moment disappears.

Just as quickly, the feeling recedes. He sees Chris, turns to slap him on the back, and returns to the moment. He pushes down that emptiness and looks for his family, searching for Jason to hug his big brother.

Nevertheless, the feeling stays in the back of his mind.

Over the next few months, he revels in his life. He is grateful for the opportunities that open up. Enjoys a good party and the attention he gets from women. Basks in the high of hosting SNL. Despite all this, there are nights when he sits on the deck surrounded by his closest friends and experiences the ghost of that feeling again. As if someone is supposed to be here and isn't. Or he's out at a bar, talking to a beautiful woman but suddenly feels this is not where he's meant to be.

It isn't until Unc joins him and Jason on the podcast that it starts to make sense. As they wrap up the episode, Jason asks Shannon what advice he'd give his rookie self, and Travis isn't ready for his whole worldview to shift with the answer.

"Everything that you've accomplished doesn't mean anything because you don't have anybody to share it with. That's what I would tell myself. If I would do it over again, I would find that one person, and that is what I would do."

Even as Unc tries to lighten the mood and tease him, nodding with a "Hint. Hint," it clicks. There is the missing piece, the empty space.

Jason continues the teasing after the recording stops. "You hear him, Trav? Wise words."

"Yeah, yeah," he brushes him off, but his knee bounces as he considers what he has said.

When Jason walks away, Unc turns to him sincerely. "Listen, Travis. I meant that. I wasn't just trying to rag on you. Just something to keep in mind."

Travis remembers the empty moment on the field.

"I hear you," he replies just as seriously.

"Good kid."

All the same, he isn't running out to find the first person he crosses paths with. Frankly, he's tried that in the past with terrible results. Instead, he lives his life, knowing that what he is looking for isn't something to rush. He keeps it in the back of his mind to be open to possibilities. That he's finally in the time of his life that he wants that—wants to find that one person.

****

It starts with Patrick inviting him to the concert. He mentions hearing them talk about her in the podcast ads and shares that a bunch of the guys and their wives and girlfriends are commandeering a suite. Does Trav want in?

"Brit's excited. And I hear it's a can't-miss show," Pat says. "Plus, I know you're the one who requests 'Blank Space' during training sometimes."

Travis can't help but look sheepish at that, but he doesn't have to be convinced either. He's always enjoyed Taylor Swift's music and had 1989 on repeat when it came out. Some of her other songs also make their way onto his personal workout playlist from time to time.

"Sure, man. Count me in," he responds.

As spring turns to summer, he sees more and more about the tour. It is a phenomenon, and it's everywhere. A couple of videos of performances from the show end up on his FYP, and he likes them. However, he tries to steer clear of more so the concert will still be new to him. He jokes around with friendship bracelets at Tight End U and the leftover beads end up on his kitchen counter.