Bang Bang You (Paul Stanley x reader)

Part 23

Waking up the next morning, rolling over in the bed trying to remember where you were was a shock to your system. Seeing the bookcase and closet taking you back to where you were residing for the foreseeable future. The compound.

Changing into a red shirt and jeans, you clicked on the switch to open up the secret door that led into Paul's office. Walking through it, and into a hallway, looking both ways. Using your senses you closed your eyes taking a deep breath in and then smell something familiar.

Coffee.

Following the scent of the brewing coffee, made it easier to go through the maze of hallways, until there was a break in the hallways. Opening up to a massive kitchen. Open kitchen floor plan with an island and bar stools next to it. With one currently occupied with a familiar face that was spinning around in said bar stool, while Paul's back was facing you as he was preoccupied with cooking breakfast.

"Oh someone is awake finally. Good morning." Eric said as he stopped spinning and clutched onto the island as he shook his head, almost like he was trying to counteract the spinning that he was probably experiencing internally.

"Good morning." You said as you smiled at Eric and then Paul turned, a smile on his face, as the words he said to you last night, thinking you were asleep came back. Making his smile seem even more genuine.

"Good morning, I was just making coffee and breakfast and someone decided to drop by early." Paul said, pointedly at Eric as Eric smiled.

"Yeah like I was gonna miss breakfast." Eric said with a smile, as Paul rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the pan filled with eggs.

"Oh he didn't tell you. He's made a point of having "family breakfast" on the weekends usually. But as of recently he's been preoccupied." Eric said with a smile directed towards you, as you felt bad that you were the one that was keeping him away from this version of a "family" he had.

"Don't make her feel bad about it Eric. It's not like one of you could have stepped up to continue the tradition." Paul said as he turned with the pan in hand, dividing up the eggs between 3 plates.

"Well if it's a tradition where is everyone else?" you questioned, realizing that Eric was the only one besides you and Paul.

"Oh I was the only brave soul to come here after last night." Eric replied, as he looked between the two of you, as you noticed a look on Paul's face that made Eric's knowing smile fall.

"What do you mean? I went to sleep." you said, trying to pry for more information, even know you remembered the exchange that went on in the office. And remembering the voice knowing that that could not have been Eric that was saying that to Paul. Since from the looks of him, he didn't have a problem with Paul being with you.

"Oh it was something else." Eric said dropping is, as he patted the seat next to him.

"Come up here, I want to talk more to the girl that's made Paul so preoccupied these past few weeks." Eric said as he smiled at you, genuinely.

Oh yes, he definitely wasn't the one with the issues. You thought, as you started eating your plate of eggs, as Paul pushed a cup of coffee towards you with a smile, as he phone started buzzing.

"I'm going to take this, I'll be right back." he said leaving the kitchen, hearing his voice echo throughout the halls, on his way to the office. Leaving you alone with Eric.

"Don't worry I don't bite. He wouldn't leave me with you if he didn't think it was ok." Eric said as you turned to look at him.

"You know mob work doesn't seem like your thing at all when I look at you." you commented as Eric smiled, as he ate his eggs.

"Well I could say the same thing about you being your father's daughter." he commented back, as you sighed.

"Yeah Paul told me about what happened. I knew that guy could be intense but I didn't think the same thing could be said about the treatment of you. Which is why I'm glad that you and Paul are together. I haven't seen him this happen since, well a long time."

Since my father killed his fiance, the statement that was unspoken but you knew was what he meant.

"Anyhow we aren't the 'go and shoot 'em up to get territory' type anyway. With the connections Paul made, well it's more so we use the band as a way of operations when we tour." Eric explained, as you nodded.

"So you never killed anyone then?"

"Well just because we are more into laundering money and moving drugs on the downlow, you would be surprised how little the killing option comes up." Eric continued, as you furrowed your brows.

"But you also move drugs around. Isn't that enough to kill someone to make sure that they don't get into the wrong hands?"

"Paul doesn't like to do that, well doesn't like us doing that. He's the one that usually deals with it all. I've tried to talk to him about it before but he won't listen. Won't let anyone else help. Well until you." Eric said as he sipped his coffee, as you let that sink in.

He told me things that he doesn't like to talk about with them. You realized as you heard footsteps coming into the kitchen as you turned, a smile on your face, until you turned fully. The smile on your face falling at the person that came into the room.

"Oh you're still here?" Gene questioned, as he walked over to the coffeemaker, pouring himself a cup, not breaking eye contact with you. Almost as if he did you would do something that would make him jumpy.

"Don't start Gene." Eric said, as you realized Gene was the one that talked to Paul in his office last night.

"You mean don't tell her what i think of her?" he questioned, as you heard a noise next to you, Eric grinding his teeth together to stop the response that was probably going to fly out of his mouth.

"Trust me I already heard that last night" you said, as a slight smile donned Gene's face at your response.

"Good then i don't need to tell you again how i feel about you being here. And with him for that matter. He's been through hell, the best thing you could do is leave." Gene said, as you played around with the fork and then looked at him.

"Really? Cause you do realize who you are speaking to? I could go back to my dad and tell him about all this and he could target just you, you know." you countered with, watching the dark look cross Gene's face at the threat as you heard two sets of footsteps coming into the kitchen as you leaned back into the chair, as the look was wiped away from Gene's face.

And the tense stance of Eric you saw in your peripheral vision dropped at the sound of the footsteps.

"Oh thank god." he said with a sigh next to you, as you tried to hide the smile on your face at the fact that Eric was glad to not have to jump in between the two of you. Seeing him visibly relax in the chair and sip his coffee.

"Thank god for what?" you heard a new voice ask, as you saw a man that looked about the same height as Paul but his hair screamed 80s, as you were faced with a kind smile.

Tommy Thayer.

"Oh that he didn't have to jump in between me and Gene before I stabbed him with my fork for being an ass. As if i can't back up my talk with action." you said with a smirk on your face, as you saw shock grace Paul's face just for a second and was replaced with a smile.

"Well finally Gene met his match then." Tommy replied with a laugh as he nudged Gene out of the way from the coffeemaker as they all started squabbling for coffee.

Despite Gene's feelings towards you, you found yourself smiling at their bickering.

Well Eric was right this is a family, even if it was a dysfunctional one. You thought as you shook your head sipping at your coffee.