Guarded: Neon Sunset Ep. 02

Tracey looked over at Leo, he still stunk of musk and sweat that made her stomach clench all over again, but he had cleaned the makeup from his face and horns. She blinked a few times, looking at his face, she definitely thought he looked better without the getup on. His skin was soft looking and smooth and she could tell he took care of it. His curled horns were a soft brown now that the paint and makeup had been removed from them.

"Then I will take care of her sleeping arrangements myself," Leo said with confidence in his voice.

Tracey perked her ears up and interrupted the two of them. "Hang on there lover boy, if you start suggesting me sharing a room with you..."

Leo's cheeks grew a much deeper shade of red, his soft skin having already been a little darker from scrubbing it with a cloth to clean his makeup off. "W-what? No! I wasn't going to suggest anything like that! I was saying I would cover a room for you!"

The wolf gave him a skeptical look, "You're being awfully generous to me, sheep."

Leo's drooped ears perked up as he fussed and looked away. "It's not like I'm trying to be nice, I just want my bodyguard nearby so she can do her job!"

"Ah-ha, so it's just business. Got it." Tracey spoke dryly.

"Y-yeah, that's right." Leo gritted his teeth and looked away, feeling his stomach twist at her words, hearing the resignation in them.

"Well, at any rate, we should make our way to the hotel as soon as you're ready to go Leo, baby!" Max spoke cheerfully to the idol.

With a grumble, Leo crossed his arms, the frustration of upsetting her starting to get to him. "Fuck you're such a nag... I swear it's a miracle I get anything done with your incompetence!"

Tracey glared at him and gave a heavy huff through her nose before putting her hands on her hips. "What did I tell you earlier?"

"Well, you are still calling me a fucking sheep!" The idol fired back with a scowl.

"Because you're still acting like a spoiled little shit!" Tracey snarled and jabbed a finger into Leo's chest. "You wouldn't be anything without all of these people supporting you, least of all, Maximilian!"

"Ah... no need to worry about me!" The rat squeaked the words and quickly scurried off.

"None of these people were around when I had to work to make it!" Leo spat the words back at Tracey getting face to face with her now.

Tracey was loudly growling now, her sharp teeth showing plainly and her fists clenching. Leo felt his heart sink at the look in her eyes but tried to stand his ground. "Y-you come in here, demanding changes of me. I just asked you for a service, not life lessons, or how to treat my staff!"

"You didn't, but I also refuse to work with such an opinionated, pompous jackass! How do you think your fans would feel seeing you like this? You were talking about how much you love them out there, but the ones that make you, you. The ones that let you do all that, you hate?" Tracey barked in his face, a small gathering of roadies and stagehands awkwardly watching the confrontation from the sidelines.

"That is none of your concern, wolf. Your job is guarding me, not telling me how to live my fucking life! Things are fine how they are, I don't need you coming in here fucking them up!" Leo shouted the words back pushing his finger into Tracey's bad shoulder sending a sharp jolt of pain through her.

Tracey let out a loud pained yip and winced at the jab, then a look of fury crossed her face. Before he knew it she had snatched the front of his jacket, wrenched him down, and shoved him against the door of the dressing room with a heavy thud. He was now at eye level with her, the large sharp canines showing in her mouth as she spat out venomously at him, "If you ever touch me again, they won't be able to find all the pieces to glue you back together! Do I make myself clear you fucking spoiled-ass bastard of a sheep!?"

The bravado shattered in an instant as Leo let out a panicked bleat at being pinned down with a furious wolf looming over him. "Y-yes ma'am! I-I'm sorry!" Leo clenched his teeth, feeling his heart throbbing in his ears while she glared at him.

Tracey flinched a little, her glare softening when she saw his fear in those green eyes, her own getting misty and shiny in the bright lights of the backstage area. The whole area was silent, with multiple people looking at the two of them. "N-no... I'm sorry... you're right, it's not my place..." She spoke in a fatigued weak voice, her fingers uncurling from the jacket.

Leo stayed against the door as he watched her clutch the shoulder he had shoved his finger into and let out a ragged sigh. "It's no excuse... but it's an old injury... you just got unlucky enough to hit it, and I snapped... my fault for putting my hands on you first..."

He felt his heart sink at the thought of hurting her and stood fully before rubbing the back of his head. "Tracey... I'm sorry... I didn't know it would hurt you..."

"I'm fine..." She growled, the familiar heat returning to her voice, her teeth clenching. She was shoveling more dirt on the old wounds, quickly burying them before she lost her cool again.

"You're not... Can I get you some ice or something for it?" Leo asked hesitantly, the words probably sounding as foreign to him as they did to her at this point.

Tracey laughed bitterly and straightened herself. "You're such an idiot... I come in here and wreck your situation, make you look like a fool in front of your subordinates. Even assault you, and you're worried about me..."

The idol rubbed the back of his head, wanting to say something but finding no words. The wolf gave him a level look, the tears that were forming gone now. "You do what you like Leo, I won't nag you about how you handle business but do you want people around you that actually like you, or just tolerate you for your money and fame? We're all doing a job one way or another."

She pushed past the ram and moved into the dressing room. "I've got a cold pack in my bag, that and a few painkillers and I will be fine."

"Alright, I'm sorry again for hurting you," He spoke out, sounding small and childish.

Tracey flicked her ears and listened to him, it was probably the first time he had ever hurt someone, the fact it was a famale probably just made it worse. "I told you shee- Leo. I started it, it's my fault it happened. I will butt out of your business in the future. You don't have to like me and I don't have to like you, we will just do our respective jobs and call it there."

Leo stepped away from the door letting it close as Tracey started to pull her shirt off. He felt his stomach ache as he moved over to the wall and leaned there in thought.

"You okay Leo, baby?" Max asked him gently, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, not physically anyway..." He sighed as he closed his eyes, thinking about the whole concept of people just tolerating him, her not liking him, and Max not liking him.

Tracey brought the strap of her bra down and shoved the cold pack against the large scar and tender area of her shoulder. She hissed out from the pain and shifted her gaze to the mirror, seeing herself in the reflection. "What's with you today, dog... this is a mess... Get it together..."

Tracey was walking with Leo to the exit of the building. She knew what to expect and when reaching the exit door she pushed in front of the idol gently, giving him a look to stay behind her until she got out.

A few hundred fans had gathered and were pushing against the various security of the venue a large black limousine parked nearby. After surveying the area she stepped back in and clenched her hands within the fingerless gloves and rolled her shoulder. "Okay, go ahead, I'm right behind you."

Leo watched her roll her shoulder, he had seen her do it several times tonight, but now he felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if it bothered her because of him. The idol gave the wolf a long stare and Tracey blinked at him in confusion. "What? You've done this plenty of times before, it's just with me now."

"That's not it, are you sure you're okay? Your shoulder I mean." He spoke the words with concern in his voice, again it sounded bizarre to her to hear the stuck-up idol worrying about her.

Tracey drooped her ears and growled at him. "I'm fine, I'm not a sissy like you, now get out the fucking door already! I will talk to you all you want later." She moved up behind him and gave him a gentle bump with her hip, pushing him forward out the door.

Leo pushed out of the exit and the hundreds of fans roared out their love for him. He gave them all a smile and waved at them as he made his way to the limo waiting for him. Tracey was there behind him, right on top of him, so close he could feel her heat and her smaller body pushing up against his back while the crowd tried to close in around them, the handful of security acting as shields.

Leo finally made it to the car and slid in with a relieved sigh, his drooped ears lifting as the door shut beside him. "W-what the fuck?!" He quickly grabbed the handle and jerked the door back open as he snapped out, "What the hell are you doing, wolf?!"

Tracey looked down at the ram, blinking in confusion as the mass of people tried to push in once more as the door came open. She didn't understand why he opened the door again and then he had reached out and grabbed her hand. His grip was strong, stronger than she expected and his hand was very warm, she could feel his heat even through the gloves she wore. He pulled at her, pulling her into the limo with him. She didn't think; she just followed along and plopped down on the smooth leather of the seat.

One of the venue security shoved the door closed and the limo pulled out of the gravel of the backlot and onto the smooth pavement of the road. Tracey slowly looked around the backseat of the limo, she had never been in one in all these years. She always rode along in one of the following cars but never with the client in the limo before. "Why did you want me to come with you?"

"Because you're my bodyguard, you said you had to stay with me, yeah?" Leo spoke the words awkwardly, still gripping her hand and not realizing it.

Tracey looked down to see her smaller hand resting in his larger one, the wolf's cheeks darkening several shades before she jerked her grip away from his and glared out the window, almost as if she were pouting over the situation. "Fucking idiot... I'm not supposed to ride with you!"

Leo flinched at the words then prodded her for an answer. "Why not? You can't protect me if you're not with me."

She cut her eyes back to Leo sitting right next to her, his scent was quickly filling the cabin of the limo. She moved to the button on the door and cracked the tinted window for some fresh air before looking away again. "I've never ridden in one of these, the clients don't like that, they prefer we follow in detail cars behind them."

"They are pretty pretentious huh?" The idol laughed as he spoke, rubbing the back of his head. "Truth be told I hate them."

Her large white ears perked up at that, it was an unexpected statement. She looked back at the young man who had made himself comfortable. He shifted over further into the large backseat and opened a small mini-fridge, pulling out a beer and tossing one to Tracey. "How about a drink to celebrate a job well done?"

Tracey caught the beer in her hands and blinked at it. Sissy-level stuff for amateurs, she preferred the hard stuff. Who did he think she was, some buddy to share drinks with? A bimbo to try to woo and flirt with? The wolf cracked the can open and bumped it against the ram's open one before taking a long pull from it.

She forced it down trying to keep a calm expression on her face. She really did hate beer though, she was more of a hard liquor or mixed drinks kind of girl. She resigned herself to taking small sips on it. She wasn't even sure why she didn't just tell him to fuck off at the proposal, maybe she felt bad for shoving him against a wall, or was still in shock from him taking her hand and pulling her into the car like he did.

Several awkward minutes passed before Tracey cleared her throat after taking another sip of her beer. She was only about halfway done and Leo was opening a second. "So... why do you hate them? Limo's I mean."

A loud hiss and crack filled the air as the can opened and he took several heavy gulps from it before pulling away and letting out a satisfied sigh. "Too damn pretentious, even for me..." Leo gave a shrug and smiled at his bodyguard. "But... the record label insists upon it, if I'm not on the bus and have to go somewhere while touring, I have an appearance to keep up I guess."

Tracey nodded and took another sip of her beer, turning her gaze back to the window, watching the building and street lights move by as the car drove through the city. Leo watched her for a long moment before rubbing the back of his head and speaking up once more. "Sorry, I mean if you didn't want to ride with me."

She really didn't, but not out of dislike so much as it wasn't what she was supposed to do, or at least that's what she always thought. He was being fairly civil now, comfortable to be around. Was it because he wasn't in the middle of a show, or because he was alone with a female.

"Ah... about what you said earlier..." Leo spoke out again and Tracey gave him a curious look.

"I said a lot of things earlier, Leo. you're going to have to be more specific." Tracey shifted in the seat to face him and not the window, sipping on her beer again.

"Disliking each other, people around me disliking me." He rubbed the back of his head as he spoke quietly in the limo.

She must have hit a nerve, maybe one that needed to be struck. Unlike her, he seemed to care what those around him thought. Tracey mulled on the words for a moment, then thought about herself. She felt a slight tug in her like she didn't want to dislike him, or maybe she didn't want him to dislike her. She finally spoke out, "What of it?"

"I consider Max a friend, we've been through a lot together." He spoke the words somberly as he looked down.

"That's a hell of a way to treat a friend that's been through a lot with you, Leo." She was making a conscious effort now to not use 'sheep' so much with him.

"I know that! I just..." The ram gritted his teeth and looked away. "I guess it's just a defense mechanism of mine, whenever I get stressed or upset, I just turn into that."

Tracey finished her beer off and laid the empty can in a cup holder. She then crossed her arms over her stomach in thought. She replayed the scene in her head that lead up to their last squabble. "Upset... you seemed fine after the show, you were in a good mood, then out of nowhere you flew off on Max, then I jumped in... and well here we are."

Leo felt his cheeks heating up as he thought to himself. 'It's because I upset you, I was trying to be nice, it wasn't just business... I wanted to make you happy because you were protecting me.' "I...I'm not sure why. Likewise, there were times you seemed to get upset over simple things like my stars."

She sucked a deep breath in through her teeth at the mention of that situation and looked away, trying to keep her memories flushed out of this conversation. "Y-yes... that had nothing to do with you, it was my own personal shit. Sorry..."

He gave her a hopeful look and spoke gently, "Do you wan-"

"Absolutely not!" She barked out, the heat returning to her voice, her teeth showing and looking sharp.

"Okay okay! Just don't get so mad all the time at me okay? Fuck..." The ram folded his arms, his own words coming out a little hot now, frustration showing from dealing with the wolf and her prickly attitude. "I'm not trying to piss you off you know."

A growl was her response before Tracey took a controlled huff through her nose."I know... I know... there are just things I won't... can't talk about...it's not you, it's all me."

Leo gave a quick nod of understanding. "Okay, well... you know if you ever want too... I'm here. We're gonna be seeing a lot of one another, I want you to be able to talk to me."

She flicked an ear and composed herself before giving him a smile, the first smile she had given him since he saw her. In truth, she couldn't remember the last time she smiled at all. "Talking like we're old friends... You've known me for like twelve hours and you're offering to listen to my problems. Do these tactics actually work for you with girls?" The wolf clicked her tongue at the words, hoping the nature of them wasn't lost. She had trouble speaking casually sometimes.

Leo's green eyes widened at Tracey's smile, it was beautiful to him for some reason, earnest but a little sad too. Still, it felt like something he had earned tonight with his words, it changed things. He blushed and jerked his head away mulling over her teasing words. "I'm glad I could make you smile at least once tonight." He looked into her eyes again with gentle confidence, promising himself he would do what he could to see that smile more often from her.

Tracey felt her cheeks darken at his honest words and clenched her teeth. With a growl, her tail started wagging around in embarrassment before jerking her eyes from his. "S-saying something like that to a girl you hardly know? You really are an idiot, sheep!"

I'm not going to lie, I kick my tail writing these! A single episode can take me twelve to fifteen hours or longer to make after conception, writing, editing, and proofreading! If you enjoy this, support me, please? Vote, Fave, Comment, offer feedback, or anything else. Thank you, and as always, I'm nothing without your support!