KISS One-Shots

Bruce and Paul

Smiling faintly, I walked up to the door to Eric's house, clutching a box of chocolates in one hand. It was going to be perfect. I had managed to find an entire box of stupid cherry-filled chocolates which he loved so much for some reason, and all I had to do was get in there and give him the box and tell him how much I loved him.

I drew to a halt just outside his door, pausing for a moment to calm my nerves and try and get my heart to stop racing. I raised a hand to knock before hearing voices, muffled by the walls but undoubtedly coming from Eric's place.

"But I mean you're sure about this? Like you're okay with it?"

Gene. That was his voice, but why was he in Eric's house? And what was he talking about?

"Yeah! I told you that I am." "W-well I know but I thought that you and Bruce...you know?" I heard Eric laugh and could practically see his smile, how it made little dimples stand out on his face. "No no I love Bruce, but more as of a brother! He's my best friend and I love him to bits, but not...not like that, not romantically. Not the way I love you."

My heart dropped and I took a step back from the door, feeling tears welling up in my eyes. "Fuck," I whispered, turning and heading for the sidewalk.

I kept walking, sticking my free hand into my pocket and trying not to cry. It was cold outside, but the cold sting of secondhand rejection was a whole lot worse. Kicking loose rocks angrily, I walked further down the street, wishing I had just driven to Eric's house. A car horn honked abruptly and I looked up in surprise to find Paul pulling up to the curb.

"Hey! You need a ride?" he asked with a grin. I forced a smile back, pulling open the passenger side door. "Thanks man," I said quietly. "If you could drop me off at my house that would be nice." He nodded, driving off. "Yeah, yeah, no problem."

It was pretty silent as we drove, and he eventually parked in my driveway. "Alright here you go!" he said with a grin. I nodded, unbuckling my seat belt. "Hey, you want to come in or something?" I asked abruptly.

Paul jumped, before giving me a smile. "Yeah sure! If it's not too much trouble, that is." "No, no it's fine, you should come in," I mumbled, unlocking the front door. Paul followed me inside as I dropped the chocolates on the counter, sitting abruptly at the kitchen table and burying my face in my hands. He sat next to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you alright?" he asked gently.

I heaved a sigh, leaning back in the chair and closing my eyes. "No, not really," I said after a pause. "Oh. I'm sorry man. What happened? If you're comfortable telling me, of course." I shrugged, running a hand through my hair. "Well...I've been in love with Eric for a long time and tonight I was going to...to tell him that. But before I could I overheard Gene and Eric and they were saying they loved each other. So yeah. There goes that," I mumbled.

Paul's face fell. "Damn I'm really sorry man. I didn't know that you loved Eric, if you had I could've told you that Gene loved him and that they were going to talk about it tonight. Sorry about that."

I looked at him in confusion. "What? What do you mean you could've told me?" I asked. "I mean Gene came and asked me if I thought it was a good idea to ask Eric if he loved him. I said yeah because I thought maybe he did? But I wasn't sure," Paul said, patting me on the back. In spite of myself, I laughed. "Damn! And to think I was going to ask Gene for advice! Anyway, I've got this box of chocolates that it would be awkward to give Eric now, so do you want some?" I asked, opening the box.

He gave me a smile, taking a chocolate and taking a bite before pulling a face. "Oh shit what the hell are these?" he cried, before his face turned bright red and he gave me a horrified look. "Oh no I'm so sorry I didn't mean that, they're fine!" he said hastily. I laughed, shaking my head. "No trust me, I hate them too. I meant to warn you, the entire box is the cherry ones. Also known as the worst ones. For some reason they're Eric's favorites. "

Paul giggled, reaching for another chocolate anyway. "He would like these. Damn. If I wasn't such a sucker for chocolate I'd stop eating these." I grinned, eating one myself with a wince. "Mm, hey, you want a glass of wine? Wine and chocolates and all that shit?" A smile spread across Paul's face and he shrugged. "Hey, who am I to refuse such service?"

I uncorked a bottle, pouring us each a glass and handing one off to him. "Well, thanks for taking me home. Since you didn't warn me Eric was in love with someone else I don't feel too guilty about only having shitty chocolates for you." Paul laughed, a really nice sound, and poured us more wine. "Shh, don't worry about it! Thanks for having me over."

"You can stay longer if you want! I don't have any plans tonight anymore," I said with a faint smile, and to my immense relief he smiled back. "Well I never had plans tonight so that works out perfectly for me."

My heart skipped a bit and I had another chocolate. "You know to be honest, paired with the wine these aren't half bad. Or maybe it's because I've had three glasses and it's starting to get to me." Paul laughed, grabbing another one himself. "No, no, you're right! Maybe we should have more wine just to see."

Giggling a bit, I walked over to the fridge, grabbing another bottle of wine and filling our glasses. "Only one way to find out!"

After a few hours, we were sitting next to each other on my couch, both of us really drunk but still drinking. Paul hiccuped, taking a sip before setting his glass aside. "You know, I was kind of happy when you told me Eric and Gene were a thing," he said quietly. I stared at him in confusion. "Huh?" "Because then it gives me a chance to do this," he murmured, leaning over and kissing me.

A/N: If you have any suggestions for one-shots you want to see let me know!!