Part 2 of Gene Simmons #8! Requested by @Murderdolls_8299 !

***

The tour was over.

You found yourself back in the familiar surroundings of your apartment. It was the same, of course, but it was strange to be back since you were gone for so long.

Three weeks after being back, you were still thinking about your current situation. You knew that eventually you would have to see Brantley, your "boyfriend," pretty soon and break-up with him. But the only thing that prevented you from doing it was not knowing when would be the right time. So that's why it was taking so long. That and going over what you should say to him.

"Brantley, we need to talk. I'm breaking up with you."

"Brantley, I can't do this anymore. Things changed since we've last spoken that I think we should break up."

"Hey, Brantley, do you remember Gene Simmons? From Kiss? Yeah, I'm in love with him so I'm breaking up with you."

The third one was definitely not something you should say. You flopped on your bed, letting out a groan in frustration. For a few minutes you just lied there, staring at nothing in particular. That's when the telephone rang.

Luckily it was on your nightstand and so you picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Y/N?"

You froze, recognizing the voice instantly. "Brantley."

"Hey," he said softly.

"What's going on?" you questioned. "I mean, it's been months."

He breathed in deeply, then exhaled. "I know. I just . . . I want to talk to you, Y/N. About us. Can I come over?"

"Yeah," you answered. "Yeah, you can come over."

"All right. I'll see you later, then."

"Okay."

The two of you said goodbye, then hung up. You remained on your bed a little longer, not wanting to get up yet.

Well actually that's what you ended up doing. After hearing a distant knock on the apartment door, you got up and walked out of your bedroom.

Standing on the other side of the door was your boyfriend, who gave a little smile. "Hi."

"Hi." You widened the door to let him come in.

He did.

You led him to the living room, where you both sat down on the couch. The silence between you two was a little awkward, but can that be blamed? After all you haven't seen each other in months.

Brantley cleared his throat. "I know it's been a long time since we've last saw each other. And I know our break lasted longer than we've expected, but . . . I've been thinking."

You stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"I thought maybe we could get back together. I've missed you, Y/N. So much. And I know that we argued a lot in the past but I'm willing to start fresh. You know, put everything behind us and start over. So what do you say?"

There was only one thing that can describe your reaction: speechless. You had no idea that Brantley would say something like this. You didn't anticipate it! However, if you weren't in love with a rockstar, then you probably would've said yes.

"Brantley," you started nervously. "I'm sorry but no."

He raised his eyebrows, obviously shocked. "Why not?"

"Well during our break, I've . . . fallen in love with someone."

"Who?"

You bit your lip before speaking. "Gene Simmons. You remember him, don't you?"

Brantley stared at you without replying. But you knew he did. It was about a year ago when the two of them met and that was the only time they interacted. Brantley didn't like Gene that much and vice versa. In fact, one of them would get annoyed whenever you mention the other, though they never showed it. They knew how much you cared about the other.

So now, hearing this, Brantley wasn't very happy. "Gene, huh?"

You nodded.

"Gene . . ." his voice trailed off. "I don't like him."

This was expected.

"I know. But I love him."

"How long?"

"Three months."

Brantley paused for a moment, then asked, "You do know about his way with women, don't you?"

You sighed. "Brantley . . ."

"Don't you?" he repeated. "How do you know he's not going to ditch you for another woman? Tell me."

"I love him," you said, not bothering to answer. "And he loves me."

"Answer my question, Y/N." No matter what the situation, no matter what you talked about, Brantley always remained calm. That's just how he was. He hardly ever raised his voice, only when he's really angry, which doesn't happen that much.

You swallowed. Brantley did have a point. As far as you know, Gene could be with another girl right now. And maybe he was. But you were confident that he wasn't. He loves you and he had proved it.

Nonetheless you answered Brantley's question. "I don't."

"Exactly," he said. "You don't know what he might do. You don't know how long he'll stay loyal to you. He can leave you heartbroken in a couple of days, weeks, or months!"

Brantley had a point.

You knew Gene is capable of doing that, but will he actually do it? Will he actually do something like that? You wouldn't be surprised, though you knew you'd be heartbroken if he ever did.

Yet you loved him.

"But what was I supposed to do?" you inquired. "We've never communicated since you suggested that we take a break. I went on tour with the band to work with the wardrobe department but have we called each other? Have we done anything? No. We didn't."

"And so one night I got desperate. I've missed the affection and everything so I went to Gene. We fell in love. And I went on with our relationship because I figured that everything was over between you and me. After all we've never interacted, and that took such a long time, Brantley. You know it, too."

You paused for a moment, taking a breath. Brantley didn't speak so you continued. "So yes, I love him. I love Gene."

Brantley took a moment to process your words. During this time, his face was expressionless so you couldn't figure out his reaction, though he was probably speechless after hearing what you've said.

Eventually he rubbed his face, then said, "Well if that's what you want. If you truly love him, then who am I to stop you?"

"Brantley--"

He held up a hand to silence you. "I get it, Y/N. I really do. Our break was longer than it should've been. It probably wouldn't have been considered a relationship at one point. I don't know. But I can't blame you."

You glanced down at your lap. "I guess this is the end of us, then."

"I guess so." Brantley squeezed your shoulder gently. "I love you, Y/N. I always will. But you moved on and I respect that."

Looking at him, you gave a little smile. "Thanks, Brantley."

He nodded, and that was that.

***

You crossed your arms, staring at Ace, who smiled.

"So what do you think?" he asked.

"You're really asking for my opinion on a five second tune?"

"Yes."

A sigh escaped from your lips. "I guess it's all right."

"All right?"

"It was only five seconds, Ace!"

"Actually it was ten," Peter spoke up from the opposite side of the room. You looked at him, your eyes meeting his. "I counted."

You opened your mouth but then closed it, not knowing what to say. You turned back to the lead guitarist. "Do you know when the others will get here?"

"No," Ace replied.

Peter said the same thing.

"You broke up with your boyfriend, didn't you?" Ace questioned. His words caught you off guard. "That's why you're here. So you can tell Gene."

"That's part of the reason, yeah," you responded. "How did you know?"

"We knew you had a boyfriend, Y/N," Peter said. "And your break or whatever it was."

"And we know how much you love Gene," Ace added.

"Shush, Ace," you told him, and he smiled.

About thirty minutes later or so, Paul came through the door, followed by Gene. You didn't even notice he arrived until Ace nudged your arm, making you look up.

Letting out a sigh, you got up and made your way toward him. "Gene, I want to talk to you."

He looked at you for a second. "You broke up with him, didn't you?"

"Yes. It's that obvious, huh?"

"Very."

You went silent, suddenly remembering Brantley's words from earlier.

"You don't know what he might do. You don't know how long he'll stay loyal to you. He can leave you heartbroken in a couple of days, weeks, or months!"

Biting your lip, you gazed at the bassist. "Gene . . . do you love me?"

His brow furrowed. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do."

"Just wondering." You shrugged.

"Did Brantley say something?"

"Yes," you replied. "But never mind that. I just wanted to know."

"Well it's true," he said. "I do love you."

You smiled. "I love you, too."

And that was the truth.