KISS One-Shots

Bruce and Eric C

Inspired by one of a I_Love_My_Evian 's stories! Go read all her stuff!

T/W: Abusive relationship!

I looked at the clock on the wall, setting aside my book and picking up my phone. Frowning, I dialed Eric's number. It rang almost long enough to be sent to voicemail before he finally picked up. "Oh, hey Bruce, what's up?" he asked casually.

"Hey, you still owe me lunch, remember? I wanted to see if you wanted to head to some restaurant or something to grab a bite to eat!" There was a pause as I heard Eric let out a quiet sigh. "Um...give me a few minutes. I'll text you and let you know, if that's okay!" he said. His voice was full to the brim with false cheer and I felt my heart sink. "Oh, yeah, that's fine!" I said. "Talk to you then, bye." "Bye!" he said, hanging up.

Frowning, I slid my phone back into my pocket, going back to my book. It took about ten minutes for me to get the text I was expecting to get.

Hey man I'm really sorry but I can't make it to lunch :( maybe some other time?

Eric, we really need to talk. I want to meet up with you today.

. . .

There was a long pause and I watched as the bubble showing he was typing appeared, disappeared, and reappeared about half a dozen times before he finally answered.

I can't

Yes you fucking can. I need to meet up with you today. We need to talk.

I'm busy, I'm sorry. I can't meet up with you today.

Either you come over here and talk to me, we meet somewhere else, or I come to your house.

There was another, even longer pause as I watched the bubble flicker in and out before disappearing entirely as he left me on read. "Dammit Eric!" I shouted, throwing my phone onto the couch. To my surprise and immense relief, it buzzed, and I stared at his text, small smile twisting my lips.

Okay fine we'll meet at the grocery store bc I need to get some groceries so I'll see you at the one on 7th

Fine, I'll head over. See you then

Shaking my head, I grabbed my keys and headed to my car, driving to the grocery store. Of course that was the only place Eric wanted to meet, that was probably the only place he could meet. That was probably the only excuse he could think of to get out of the house.

I was trying to keep my calm as I drove, but it was hard not to get frustrated. Finally, I pulled into the parking lot, slamming my car door shut and storming inside. I walked up and down a few aisles before spotting a head of curly black hair. I smiled in spite of myself and walked up to him, ruffling his hair. "Hey, there you are!"

He jumped, whirling around before giving me a nervous smile. "Hah, h-hey Bruce! Damn, you...you startled me," he said, putting a hand on his chest. "Sorry! Sorry, I keep forgetting you've gotten kinda jumpy lately," I said, before frowning. "Hey...why are you wearing sunglasses?" Eric shrugged, turning back to his grocery list. "It was sunny on the drive over and I just haven't taken them off," he said carelessly. "Well, we're inside now. So you can take them off."

But Eric just shook his head, pushing the cart down the aisle. "Nah. I'll just leave them on." "Eric. Take off the sunglasses," I said. "I said I don't want to. Don't worry about it," he snapped back. I bit back another sharp retort and just walked with him to the next aisle. He drew to a halt in front of the shelves of bread, looking at the list with a slight frown. "Hm....whole wheat wasn't right, he didn't like that last time. Multigrain, that was it!" he said, mostly to himself, and I took the chance to snatch his sunglasses off. "Bruce! Give them back!" he shouted.

I took a step back, staring at him. As hard as he had tried, as much as he had hidden the bruises with makeup, he still couldn't hide the swelling around his eye. "What...happened to you?" I asked in a quiet voice. "I fell into a door. Can I please have my sunglasses back?" he asked in a calm voice, but there was panic in his eyes. "Bullshit. You wouldn't hide it if you just fell into your doorknob. He hit you again, didn't he?" "Bruce, please give me my sunglasses back." "He hit you again."

There was a pause before Eric just turned back to the bread, putting a loaf in the cart. "He didn't mean to. It was my fault, I messed up and pissed him off. To be fair I kind of deserved it." "Come on man, you can't keep saying that. He's gaslighting you! He's not good for you man, he's fucking abusing you!" He gave me a hurt look. "He wouldn't do that! Mark isn't like that!" he protested.

"Eric Carr, you need to leave him. I'm saying that as your friend." And as someone who wants to be more than your friend I added mentally. But it wasn't jealousy that was talking. "Mark is abusing you! He's super controlling, he never lets you do anything or have any friends or do what you want, he makes you blame yourself for everything even when you don't do anything wrong, and I mean for fuck's sake Eric! He's physically abusive!" "No he's not!" Eric cried, giving me a shove. "If you told him you came to the store to meet up with me, what would he do?" I asked coldly. "Nothing, because he wouldn't care. Just watch, I'll ask him when I get home!" he said defiantly.

My heart sank and I just shook my head. "I'm saying it as your friend, Eric. You need to leave him." "No I don't," Eric snapped, reaching for another loaf of bread. His sleeve slipped back, exposing bruises on his wrists from where Mark had grabbed him. "I'm going home. Please, please just think about leaving him. I'm begging you." "Bye Bruce. I don't need to leave him though. Just watch, I'll talk to him when I get home!" "Just...please be careful," I said sadly, walking out of the store.

I hadn't heard from Eric since I left and just assumed he backed out of talking to Mark. Humming to myself, I set down my plate of food, grabbing a fork and starting to eat. I barely made it halfway through dinner before the doorbell rang. "What the hell?" I asked, rising to my feet and walking to the front door. I pulled it open and felt my heart drop.

Eric was standing there, in tears, hugging himself tightly as he sobbed. "Oh...Eric," I murmured, steering him inside. I led him to the living room, sitting next to him on the couch and slipping an arm around his shoulders, holding him against my side. "It's okay." "I'm s-sorry! You w-were just looking out for me, y-you just wanted what was best for me! And y-you were right!" he wailed. "I t-told him that I met up with you, I t-told him that's why I really went to the store and he-he lost it! He's never been that mad, he's never screamed at me like that! H-he's never...never hurt me like that."

I hugged him tightly, holding him as he buried his face in my chest and sobbed. "I'm sorry!" he screamed. "No, Eric you have nothing to be sorry for. Listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault, you understand?" I said gently. He just shook his head. "Eric, look at me. It's not your fault, okay?" Slowly, he tore his gaze away from the floor, locking eyes with me before nodding. "Okay," he whispered. I wiped away his tears with my thumb. "I'm not letting you go back. You're staying here, okay? As long as you need to."

"N-no I can't be a burden on you, I'll just find a hotel," he protested weakly. "Eric Carr, you're not a burden! I love you, okay?! I love you as a friend, I love you as more than a friend, and I'm going to keep you here so you don't ever get hurt again!" I cried, not even realizing what I was saying. With a faint smile, he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Bruce. You're a really, really good friend. And you'll be a good boyfriend too, I'm positive," he murmured, snuggling up against me.

Stunned, I froze for a moment before kissing him on the forehead. "I'm going to give you time though, okay? I'm not going to rush you into another relationship. You need to heal first." Closing his eyes, he smiled and nodded. "Thanks Bruce. I love you, did you know that?" "I love you too," I said, ruffling his hair affectionately.

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