Work Text:
Ro got into bodyguarding after getting back from jail. She had gotten in for a minor fight and suddenly, she had to restart her life after a surprisingly serious assault charge. Somehow, through various job listings of people who took convicted felons, she found a bodyguarding agency and soon enough, she had a job.
When she got to meet her new assignment, Ro’s first thought was that the other girl was fucking hot. Everyone knew Isi, hell she’d even been on a billboard, of course, but it was one thing to know her from ads or music and another thing altogether to actually see her in real life.
“You’re Rosemary Cambria, correct?” Isi asked and Ro nodded, at the same time correcting Isi.
“I prefer Ro.” The only person who called her anything but Ro was her grandmother and even that was just Rosie.
“Okay then, Ro,” Isi said, standing up. “Your job should be pretty easy, mostly keeping reporters and… overzealous fans away from me. You can do that, right? Your experience is rather impressive.”
“I can throw a punch,” Ro smirked and Isi nodded. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually thrown a punch outside of sparring but Ro didn’t want to say that. Sparring was good enough practice, especially with Eddy. He always kept her one her toes; for a guy who she wouldn’t be surprised if he was literally a teddy bear come to life, he was a great fucking bodyguard.
“You probably shouldn’t do that unless you need to but it’s good to know,” she said and pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “The room closest to mine is already set up for you. Your duties will be 24 hours a day meaning that you always need to be in screaming distance from me unless I say otherwise. When I do say otherwise, you will need to have your phone’s alerts on as loud as possible.”
Ro, despite knowing this already, nodded. “I promise, I have nearly 8 years of experience. You’re in perfectly safe hands.”
“That’s good,” Isi said. “My last guy wasn’t particularly good at his job. I’d prefer not to nearly meet a stalker face to face again.”
“You have a stalker?” Ro asked, a bit shocked. She really should have been briefed on that. It could really affect how she dealt with Isi.
“Used to.” Ro didn’t know what that meant exactly, maybe prison or maybe it had been handled through… other methods, but Ro didn’t ask. She could see the expression on Isi’s face, pensive and slightly dark, and Ro was smart enough to know to leave it be. She hadn’t been hit in the head that many times.
Living with Isi was pretty casual, at least for the first few weeks. In between albums, but not far enough away from her last one for tensions to start rising with fans, Isi’s life was pretty relaxed by popstar standards. She practiced for a few hours a day, went to the recording studio and played around with whatever would become her next single, worked out or hung around with her friends, mainly Dante but occasionally a girl named Carina came to join them. Ro was grateful that she didn’t have to deal with the public too much, even if she had to wake up early.
It wasn’t a bad job, all and all.
Isi didn’t have many friends, Ro noticed. She had this one guy, maybe her boyfriend, Dante, over occasionally, but besides that, she was always alone. She didn’t seem to mind but it seemed sad to Ro. She was always texting or calling Sage, Eddy or her grandmother but Isi didn’t seem to even be that close with her family, at least not by Ro’s standards. Maybe she was a bit biased considering her best friend was also her brother but she thought it was a bit sad. Ro didn’t want to say anything about it, that was way out of her range, but she hoped that Isi had at least one person Ro didn’t know about. Maybe Isi’s friends were just out of town or some shit, though that was a real ‘I have a girlfriend at another school’ excuse.
Ro woke up to the sound of whimpering, just loud enough she could make it out through the relatively thick walls of Isi’s house. She stumbled towards Isi’s bedroom, growing more tense with each step. She knew exactly what could be going on in the room and she was ready for anything but she was scared all the same. This was always the hardest part of the job.
When she got into Isi’s room, she was asleep and alone, tossing slightly as she shook. Ro frowned before letting go of her stress and relaxed her muscles. A nightmare, who knows what about, though Ro couldn’t help but speculate. She knew better than to wake someone from a nightmare but she stood by Isi’s door, waiting for her to either wake up or fall back into an easy sleep. The second thing was what happened but Ro didn’t leave until she was more than certain that Isi was okay.
It was what any good bodyguard would do.
“You had a nightmare yesterday,” Ro said the next morning. “Do you want to tell me what it was about?” She didn’t want to push but Ro was a pretty curious person or as her brother would say, a pest.
“I don’t remember,” she said, frowning. Ro didn’t believe her, though she didn’t press. Instead, after a few minutes, Isi sighed and started to speak. “He nearly broke into my house. My security systems stopped it but they decided I needed a 24 hour bodyguard after that.”
“That must be… traumatizing,” she said, frowning.
“It’s not like he actually broke in,” Isi said. “It can’t be that traumatizing. Just a bit scary.”
“Still,” Ro shrugged. “They mandated therapy in jail, I know all about the shit that can cause trauma.” Mostly, she learned that her anger issues were caused by abandonment and fear or some shit but that was whatever. It was a pretty good jail.
“What were you in jail for?”
“Weren’t you told?” she said and Isi shrugged.
“I wanted to hear it from you. See if you’re honest.”
“I was drunk and got into a fight. Apparently, that counts as assault enough to land me in jail getting therapy for anger issues. Sucked ass but now, I have a good job and I could’ve gone to a way worse jail.”
“That’s… Okay then,” she said. “I hope you don’t have the same anger issues. That would be a bit concerning given your job.”
“Well, I haven’t punched anyone outside of the job, always justified and necessary, I promise, and I’m sober now,” she shrugged, “So I think that counts for something.”
Watching Isi sing might be better than sex, Ro realized as she was drilled on getting every note right. Okay, that was an exaggeration but still, her point definitely stood. Isi had an amazing voice, light and airy with a bit of emotion to every word. Obviously, she could sing at least tolerably well but there’s a difference between being able to sing and being able to sing. Ro loved music and sang herself, not necessarily the music Isi made, but she could still appreciate some good fucking shit. She was super fucking talented and when Isi was done recording for the day, Ro clapped slowly. She probably looked sarcastic but it wasn’t her fault her face was just like that. It was meant to be a joke so it wasn’t too bad that it came across as mocking, she guessed, though she’d rather Ro be laughing with her.
“You’re not half bad,” Ro said, which was a compliment coming from her. “You play guitar, right?”
“And bass.”
“Cool. I play guitar and drums,” Ro said. “I need to pick them back up though. It’s been a while. I’m a busy person, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”
“Well, you have access to a guitar right now,” Isi said. “You can play while still protecting me. I don’t know if I have a drum set at my place but I’m sure you could get one.”
“Cool,” she said, smiling a bit excitedly. She loved music. “Do you write your own songs? I haven’t checked the writing credits or any shit like that.”
“No,” Isi said, shrugging. “Not for the most part.”
Ro hummed, looking at how disappointed she seemed by admitting it. Ro didn’t know how bad her contract was but Ro didn’t have the highest view of her manager, Justine, and she hoped that Isi didn’t have long left.
Ro: you like isi right
Sage: here to taunt me bc i’m not working for my idol???
Sage: mean me
Ro: you suck ass (and it’s mean to me, you fucker)
Sage: since when do you care about grammer
Ro: since u started using it incorrectly
Ro: but i wanted to know if you would wanna come over
Ro: i told her i knew someone who was a fan and she said you can come over if you can be normal
Sage: omg i love you sm
Sage: can i come over tomorrow?
Ro: i’ll ask
Ro: she said sure, at around 11
Ro watched as Isi and Sage talked, Marshmello curled up in between them. Ro was certain that they would be friends if they met each other and it seemed that she was right.
“Do you want to see my music?” Isi asked after a little bit. “Like, the stuff I make myself. It’s like a less watered down version of what I actually release.”
“Fuck yeah,” Sage said, smiling at Ro. “You’re the best sister ever, Ro.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling as she followed Isi to her bedroom. Ro hadn’t been in there since Isi had her nightmare and she was nervous about what was going to happen, though she didn’t know why. Isi pulled out a notebook full of various writings and handed it to Ro.
“Can you carry this?” she asked, frowning.
“Lazy,” Ro scoffed, causing Isi to smile.
“Shut up,” she said, elbowing Ro. Ro waited behind Isi for a minute, just watching her before she followed.
Isi and Ro were watching a show when Isi said it. They were at a scene where two women were making out in a jail cell and Isi sighed, saying, “I wish I had a girlfriend. I’ve never really had one; it’s kinda hard when you’re so famous as a ‘straight’ girl.”
“You’re gay?”
“Mhm,” she said as one of the women started taking off her shirt. “You are too, right? You could trigger anyone’s gaydar I think.”
“Yeah, I am.” Ro looked over at Isi and frowned. “You’re stunning, it can’t be that hard to get a girlfriend on the down low.”
“I’m stunning?” Isi said, starting to smile a little bit as she moved closer to Ro. “Well, it’s harder when you have a gorgeous woman with you all of the time. It’s hard to get privacy.”
“Oh yeah?” Ro said, starting to smile. Suddenly, the show doesn’t matter in the slightest and Isi moves even closer to Ro.
“I won’t do anything if you say no. I won’t say a word, I promise,” Isi said, deadly serious for a second. “Your job won’t be in jeopardy.”
“I trust you,” Ro said and suddenly, the two were kissing passionately. When they went to sleep that night, they were both in Isi’s bed.
The next morning, Ro woke up feeling alive. Isi was stretching, already awake and looking beautifully disheveled. “Are we going to do this again?”
“I don’t see why not,” Ro said, sitting up a little bit straighter. “Though I would leave you alone if you wanted a girlfriend or a hook-up or something like that.”
“You realize I said that because I wanted to fuck you?” she said and Ro shrugged.
“I just wanted to say it,” Ro responded. “Is this going to be something more serious or just friends who fuck occasionally?”
“Just friends who fuck. I don’t need anything more serious right now, not when I have an album about to come out. We need to stay professional in public and that would be harder if we were actually dating.” Isi paused before saying, “I would date you if it weren’t for the whole situation.”
“I’d date you too.”
Someone was staring at Isi strangely during the album signing, an older man who kept glancing around nervously, as if he expected himself to be caught. When he came up, Ro moved closer to Isi, looking him over. She knew she didn’t look too intimidating, she was too skinny for that, but she could bet on that. When the man reached out to grab Isi’s wrist, Ro was ready, grabbing his shoulder and twisting him around to face her.
“Wanna try that again?” she asked. “Or do you want me to kick you out? I don’t care why you’re here but no one gets to touch Isi. Got it?”
The man blanched and nodded. She let him go, watching him closely as he walked off. Ro glanced at Isi and frowned at her.
‘Thank you,’ she mouthed.
“It’s no problem,” Ro said, smiling. “Now, next one up. And remember, no touching Isi.”
Later that day, Isi has a panic attack. Ro sits next to her the entire time, frowning as she rubs circles into Isi’s palm. When she’s calm enough to speak in more than muddled words and whimpers, Isi said, “I’m sorry about that. It’s just that guy… He reminded me a bit of…”
“What was his name?”
“Dan,” she said, practically spitting it out. “It’s such a basic fucking name. I can’t meet anyone named Daniel now without wincing.” She wipes her eyes from tears, sniffling. “God, I’m so fucking pathetic.”
“Some strange man tried to grab you and you’ve been stalked. This is a completely understandable reaction. Now, do you wanna sit on the floor or get to the car?”
“Car,” Isi said, smiling.
“I can carry you if you want,” Ro said, smiling. Sage had always had anxiety and Ro knew that one of the best ways to deal with the best panic attacks was to make the situation seem lighter. “I promise I won’t drop you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Isi said as Ro stood up. She offered out her hand to Isi and Isi took it, smiling a bit weakly. For that moment, that was enough.
They fuck again that night but it’s softer that time. Ro hated the phrase making love but really, that was the only thing she could call it. It was tender, like she was trying to draw something out of their relationship, something more meaningful. Of course, that would never be the case but she tried to pretend that everything was normal.
“Would you talk to me if you weren’t hired to?” Isi asked, sighing as she curled into Ro’s side.
“I think I would. I like pretty girls,” Ro said, like she didn’t feel like her heart was starting to belong to the other woman. “You deserve better than this, I think.”
“Then what?” she asked. “I have a pretty cushy life.”
“You’re not happy though, are you?” Ro asked, wishing she could have a cigarette. She had quit not too long ago but it was still an itch. “Only time your smile reached your eyes was when you were playing with Sage.”
“I just… I feel like I’m an idiot if I complain about living a life most artists would dream of,” Isi said, sighing. “But yeah. I want more in life.”
‘Do you want me?’ Ro thought before deciding that was too pathetic. “I’d support you. I know the company hired me, not you, but if you left, I’d follow.”
“Can you really do that?” she asked and Ro shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But maybe it’s the thought that counts.”
The tour was exhausting. Ro was constantly working and she had to deal with Isi at her most heightened emotional state, only running on a few hours of sleep (she didn’t sleep well while traveling) and constantly on ‘people’ mode. The two barely got to talk at the end of the day, Isi was usually too stressed about whatever mistake she might have made during a show or she was just too exhausted.
Ro knew she was right. Isi couldn’t keep living like this. The woman needed a break and Ro was determined to get her one.
When the album's tour was done, Ro and Isi sat together in the hotel room, Isi curled up tightly in her bed.
“My contract’s almost up and I think I’m gonna leave,” she said and Ro nodded. “Do you think that they’ll let you go? You hired me pretty much just to protect me, right?” She schooched towards Ro as she spoke, frowning.
“Do you want me to keep being your bodyguard?”
“You can be my girlfriend too if you want,” she said, wiping her eyes of sleep. “You’d be a pretty good girlfriend I think. You’re a great friend.”
“And I’m good in bed,” Ro said. “But yeah, that sounds nice.” Ro had no idea how realistic it was but she was excited at just the possibility.