Summary: Taylor's still going on tour despite having a teen kid and reader just wants to spend quality time with her but Taylor's too busy. Reader thought that Taylor would reschedule the tour dates around daughter's birthday until she saw the tour dates being released online. Reader got mad and that was her final straw so the relationship is fractured.
Warnings: angst, single mom, mention of abortion, hurt/comfort
Pairing: Taylor Swift X Daughter!Reader
First time writing for Taylor! Hope you like itđ
Being Taylor Swiftâs Daughter had itâs own perks and flaws.
She had you in when she was 20, and your father has always been out of the picture. You never got to know him, never met him and never asked about him but as far as you knew, he wasnât one of the famous Taylorâs exes, he was just a random guy your mother had fallen in love with. She never talked about him, not her, or her family and since the subject was apparently so delicate, not once did you ever dare ask. There werenât any pictures in the house, not in photo albums⊠it seemed like everyone had tried deleting his existence.
However itâs not like you ever needed a father figure. Your family always made you feel loved, you had all the attentions you could ever ask for and you have always been happy, no matter where you were in the world. However the first years of your life werenât easy for your mother. She was still very young herself, but at the same time she was supposed to be going on tours, concerts and make her fans happy, all while also having to take care of you. Thankfully, her mother was a big help in that too. She would help take care of you and watch you when Taylor was on concerts. She was busy, yes but she always, always made time for you, no matter where you were around the world, wether it be a couple days, and some times even a full week, depending on bow busy her schedule was.
Were you a fan of hers? Yes, of course you were. You have no reminiscence of when you were younger, buy ever since you turned 5 you had been going to every concert of hers. You would either stay in the backstage, or in the booth with your grandma, Andrea, with one of the best views in the stadium, and slowly people had started to acknowledge you too. Taylor had never publicly talked about you, buy everyone knew she had a daughter, and it was easy to know it was you, because you were identical, you were like Taylorâs mini-me, and also because of her song âNever Grow Upâ which she wrote and published when you were just one year old. You knew every single one of her songs, you screamed each and every one of them while at times Andrea filmed you and posted it on her social, which is how Taylorâs fans found your social and start following you as well.
Going a bit back in time, when she took a break from music, you were just 7, you hoped to spend more and more time with her and you did, but to an extent. Her mental health wasnât the best, and she was always busy writing/recording songs and getting ready for her next tours, so her time with you became less and less and less, to the point where youâd rarely get to spend time with her, however, you tried. ïżŒïżŒ
During Covid you finally got to spend so much time with her, after her Lover Tour was canceled. Thatâs when you decided to follow in on her footsteps. You were 11 and you already knew how to play the guitar, but you wanted to learn how to play the piano as well. One night you were supposed to be sleeping but you couldnât, so you went where you knew your mom would be. She was in the soundproof room playing the piano and humming, trying to get ideas for a new song. You stood there at the door, waiting for your mom to acknowledge you. That happened pretty soon. She turned around and saw you standing there, in your pjs as you were holding your favorite teddy bear. Taylor smiled brightly at you and beckoned you to walk over to her.
âHey little one, why arenât you asleep yet?â She asked in a low, soothing voice. âI canât sleepâ you said in a tired voice, rubbing your eyes as Taylor made you sit in her lap sideways, so that you were laying your head on her shoulder and she could look at you. She kissed your nose and cheeks and forehead, before moving some wild hair away from your face. âHow about I sing to you?â She said with a smile, you looked up at her with your big, wide, sweet (e/c) eyes expectantly and she didnât even need a reply before she started playing âNever Grow Upâ on piano. That song is originally meant for a guitar but here she was, playing it on piano and singing it, turning it into a lullaby only for you to hear.
You were asleep in a matter of seconds, and even though Taylor noticed, she still continued singing until the song was over and then she picked you up and put you into her own bed, staying snuggled up to her for the night, feeling as safe as ever in your motherâs arms. âI love you little oneâ she whispered.
That was the last time your mother sang something to you.
The last time she cuddled you.
The last time she told you she loved you.
A few weeks after she started planning her Eras Tour. She needed everything ready in such a short matter of time, setlist, choreographies, stage shape and instruments, transitions, lights and all the stuff regarding a regular concert. Not a day went by without her on the phone, or working on her laptop, or in studios either dancing or singing. It was moments like this where you wished you had a father figure. Not even the holidays you two spent together anymore. It was like she had completely forgotten about you, it was like you were just one random person in her house she had to cook for.
Two years later, On another identical night of your mother working, you decided to disturb her, just this once. âHey momâ you said, walking over and sitting next to her on the couch. She was leaning forwards to the table where her laptop was placed. However, she didnât reply to you. âMom?â You asked again. You heard her sigh as she gave you an answer, not taking her eyes off the screen. âYes, sweetie?â She asked, âCan we watch a movie tonight? Maybe we can order McDonalds and watch something?â You said as you leaned in closer to her, laying your head on her shoulder. â(Y/N) I canât, Iâm busyâ she said and for a moment you were quiet as you looked towards the screen of her laptop, you could see she was scheduling the dates for the concert. You just hoped she would have a free day on your fourteenth birthday, like she promised.
âOh come on, itâs just a movie, only for tonight. Please?â You pouted and wrapped your arms around her, hoping this might convince her. âI said in busy. Tour starts soon and I still need to figure out a few datesâ she said and you groaned. âPlease mom, we havenât cuddled in a while-â she interrupted you by removing your arms around herself. âI said no, (Y/N)!â She said, raising her voice which made you look at her with wide eyes, and kind of in shock. She never raised her voice at you until now. âGod these days youâre so bothering, just go sleep!â You knew she didnât mean it, but in this moment you couldnât help but be hurt at her words. She couldnât even be bothered to look at you when you got up and ran to your bedroom, locking yourself in as you cried into the pillow.
That was the last time you asked your mother to cuddle you.
From that day on, you barely talked to her. Not that you even needed to, either way. She was still always on the phone. The only differences where the fact that youâd go to your room immediately after lunch, and not stay and watch TV with her, and youâd go to Andreaâs place all day. She noticed you were sadder than usual. She noticed that you were more cuddly with her than usual. She also noticed you were quieter. When she asked if you were okay, you shrugged and said you were, And she also asked Taylor, who replied telling her that nothing was different, and most likely you were just acting up. It was weird to you, how your mother didnât realize that she was neglecting you and your grandma had realized that just seeing you a couple days.
You ended up telling Andrea what was happening, and she tried to reassure you, saying that she was just nervous for the whole eras tour thing, and when it started things would become easier⊠but you werenât sure of that.
A couple weeks later, what you feared became true. You were in your room when your mom made a post on instagram announcing the Eras Tour dates and you scanned through it, until you read it. âKC night 1 7/7/23â. Your birthday. She was having a concert on your birthday. You took your phone and rushed to the living room, where your mom was on the phone with her publicist, Tree. âMom, seriously??â You asked her, not caring if she was on the phone or not. You heard her sigh âTree, wait a secondâ she said and put the phone on mute, looking at me. âWhat is it?â She asked and you rolled your eyes. âYou put a concert date on my birthdayâ you said and she sighed again. âCan we not do this now? This is important-â you interrupted her again. âMore important than your daughter?â You talked back.
Taylor was silent for a while, before excusing herself with Tree and ending the call, and you repeated what you said. âYou put a concert date on my birthdayâ she nodded, looking confused âyeah, and?â You shook your head. âYou had promised me youâd have the day free so you could spend it with me! Itâs been a long time since we last had a day together, just you and meâŠâ you looked down, but she didnât seem to be bothered. âWeâll spend some time together after the concert like we already did.â She looked away from you, eyes back on her phone. âBut thatâs not what you promised!â You said and raised your voice, making her look at you. â(Y/N), right now, tourâs more important-â you interrupted her, âthen why did you have me?â She looked up back at you, looking more confused than ever.
âHuh?â She asked and only now did she notice that you had tears in your eyes. âWhy did you have me if tours are more important than me?â At that, Taylor got up and walked over to you, eyes full of worry and remorse, maybe. âThe fact that Iâm now busy with tour doesnât mean that I love you any lessâ she said and knelt down in front of you. âBut you donât show it! You donât show that you love meâŠâ You said and she furrowed her brows, even more confused. A couple tears leaving your eyes. âdo you remember when was the last time we celebrated my birthday together?â You asked her and saw how she shook her head, thinking of a reply. âIt was 6 years ago. I was 8, momâ you said âit was 2017, remember what period it was?â Once again, she didnât reply, but you both knew what period it was. âWhen was the last time you told me you loved? I donât remember itâ you didnât remember it, but Taylor did. You had fallen asleep in her lap and she had just stopped singing you âNever grow up.â She stood up and sighed, watching you cry but she didnât feel like apologizing would be enough.
âIf you knew you werenât going to have time for me, you could have aborted meâ your voice broke as you were saying this, and you rushed back into your bedroom, not knowing that in that precise moment, your mother was bawling her eyes out too. She wanted to spend more time with you, she really did, but at the same rime, she really didnât have time.
The day of your birthday, you wouldnât be seeing your mother until the concert. You woke up to no text from her, which made tears well up in your eyes but you quickly blinked them away and went on with your day. Andrea had gifted you a necklace with a dream catcher, which you really liked, but you would have needed no gift if only you could spend your day with your mother, but by now you had given up on that occasion.
The concert went by normally, like any other, and you had spent it in the booth with Andrea, smiling whenever people asked pictures of you as well and exchanging friendship bracelets with them, like grandma had showed you. Soon it was the moment of the surprise songs and you were expecting her to take her guitar, but she didnât.
She sat at her piano, and started talking. âWell, welcome to the surprise songsâ she started and everyone clapped their hands, screaming in joy and adoration. There was a reason behind every surprise song she chose for every night and you were curious as to what tonightâs reasons would be. âOn normal occasions I would be playing this song on guitar, but this isnât a normal occasionâ she smiled at what she was about to say, and you furrowed your brows in confusion. Was she talking about your birthday? âAs Iâm pretty sure all of you know, I have a daughter, her nameâs (Y/N)â everyone began cheering even more. Yes, she was talking about your birthday. âI have never talked publicly about her, but tonightâs her birthday, so I wanted to surprise her. Sheâs here tonight, and sheâs in that booth over there with my momâ she pointed over to you with a smile, and everyone cheered again.
âItâs been a rough period for both of us. Iâve been very busy with tour, and sheâs been wanting to spend more time with me and I feel like a very bad mother for not being able to give her what she wants, and apologizing doesnât really work all the time, sheâs stubborn as hellâ the crowd laughed and you couldnât help but smile at her words and you leaned into Andrea, who gave you a side hug. âWell anyway as I was saying, this is a very special occasion as itâs her birthday so Iâll play this song on piano instead of guitar, and I would like you all to look at the screen behind me as I play this song. Happy birthday little one, this is for youâ
With that, Taylor started playing âNever Grow Upâ, the song she wrote about you, for you.
Your little handâs wrapped around my finger and itâs so quiet in the world tonight Your little eyelids flutter âcause your dreaminâ So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
A video started playing on the huge screen behind her. Photos and videos of you as a child with her, both so young and happy. Taylor was smiling brightly and you laughed whenever you were around her and her family, now you understood more the words:
To you everythingâs funny you got nothing to regret, Iâd give all I have honey if you could stay like that
Oh, darlin', don't you ever grow up Don't you ever grow up Just stay this little Oh, darlin', don't you ever grow up Don't you ever grow up It could stay this simple I won't let nobody hurt you Won't let no one break your heart And no one will desert you Just try to never grow up Never grow up
You started tearing up more with the chorus as you sang along, and behind her more videos of the both of you were being played. No matter where or how Taylor was in life, she always loved you, every day more than the other. A side screen showed her as she was playing this song in this very moment, tears leaving her eyes and more forming in them. As the song came to an end, she spoke again. âHappy birthday babygirl, mama loves you so so muchâ she said and sniffled, wiping her tears. The crowd was louder than ever, and like other times she stopped to take it all in.
âCan I go to her?â You asked Grandma and she nodded, explaining that she had anticipated this would happen and already had a bodyguard ready and waiting for you. He quickly took you backstage and showed you the way up to the stage, even if you knew it already.
The stage doors opened to reveal you, and everyone cheered even louder as you started running your way to the front of the stage, where your mom was. Taylor turned around to look at you, smiling brightly as she got up and made her way towards you, arms opened for you to get into a tight, warm embrace. When you were finally in her arms, you both cried a bit more as you placed your head on her chest, and her head was right on top of yours. When you pulled back she took her in-ear monitors off, cupped your cheeks, looked at you and said âI love you so so so much, please never forget thatâ
âI love you too momâ you said almost in between sobs. She kissed your forehead and pulled you into another, tight hug.
2087
theartofmadeline
yousharknotpass
pixelskylines
gracieabrams
