tayvis oneshots ★

tale as old as time • part two

"Taylor, what are you doing?" His voice was  more confused than concerned, which was a change Taylor appreciated.

"Can't sleep." The answer felt so rehearsed at this point.

"Why are you outside?"

"I got bored of the living room."

"There are other rooms in this house."

Taylor smiled at that, turning her head to finally look at Travis. He smiled back at her, walking over and joining her on the ground. He sat near her, "Lift your head for a sec," he whispered. She did so, and he shuffled under so that her head was now on his lap. She looked up at him, she could only barely make out the shape of his eyes in the limited light. She imagined stars in his eyes.

"I love you," Taylor spoke.

"I love you, baby," Travis replied.

Taylor hated herself. This felt like the closest they'd been in the past month. There was something about the darkness and quiet of the night that made life feel less demanding and more relaxing, and sharing this feeling with someone felt so intimate. Of course, they still talked in the daytime. They laughed, they went out, they had mind blowing sex in the evenings. They were as touchy as usual, if not more. But every time Travis pulled her body into his for a hug, she could feel his desperation. She knew he was confused. She seemed fine during the day, mostly just tired. It was the nights that worried him. She had assured him that it was okay, she was used to it and that she was getting enough sleep, but he was never convinced. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help.

Travis often asked Taylor how she was, and if she knew why she was having so much trouble sleeping, but she never allowed the conversation to go any further. She felt awful for it, but her instant response was always to just shut down. And every single time this happened, Taylor felt a divide between them. She was in genuine disbelief that Travis hadn't left her. He never yelled, the most that happened was he'd get frustrated with her lack of explanation. It was much worse when he'd get sad, and express his worry for her. Taylor's least favourite sentence, I'm worried about you, she began to hear a lot. She tried her best to reassure, but it had become futile.

"It's 4am," Travis spoke. Taylor remained silent. "Did you manage to fall asleep at all? Or have you been awake this whole night?"

Taylor didn't reply, which was a reply in itself. "Baby, I'm going to ask you to listen to me for a moment. Just let me talk," Travis pleaded softly.

Taylor swallowed, took a deep breath and nodded, staring into his eyes.

"This amount of sleep is not good for you. I'm worr-" he caught himself, "I'm concerned about you," he said with a slight smile. She smiled back. Once again, the night time calmed her. She would not be so relaxed had he tried to talk about this 12 hours ago. "I would feel a lot better about your health if you were at least sleeping in after all these late nights, but even when you wake up at 9 or 10 that's still, what... 5 hours of sleep? And those are just the nights that I know of. It kills me that I only know you can't sleep because I wake up sometimes. I wish you'd tell me when you-"

He cut himself off. Taylor felt the familiar pang of guilt. "Sorry. I'm getting off topic," Travis sighed. "I'm not trying to berate you, or treat you like a child at all. I know you know that the amount you're sleeping is not healthy. I know you must feel it. I just don't," he sighed heavily again. "It doesn't seem like you care."

After some silence, Taylor was surprised he didn't continue. "Care about what? You? I love you so much Travis. I'm really sorry if I don't show that enough."

"No, I know that. I love you," another sigh. He looked away from her steady stare, now facing the house. "Do you," he hesitated. "This sounds bad, but I don't know how else to word it. Do you care about yourself? About your health? Your sleep?"