#special thanks goes to bugs bunny and his crossdressing ways for inspiring this lol

[mxliv-oftheendless]

"I'm sorry, it will never happen again." Modern Gene/Vin? 👀☂️

So I will be giving zero context for this, other than that this idea was inspired by a scene in a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which the antagonist runs into a room chasing after Bugs, we hear a scream, and the door opens to reveal Bugs in a Southern Belle outfit hitting the man over the head with a parasol. So make of that what you will XD Also for plot purposes everyone is staying in a hotel for the 2018 KISS Expo. Thanks for enabling me, Ash. Enjoy! 

(Also the Looney Tunes episodes quoted in here are Mississippi Hare and Rabbit Fire, if anyone’s curious.)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM YOU PEEPING TOM!” 

“Vinnie, calm down--”

“CAN’T EVEN FUCKING CHANGE INTO MY PAJAMAS WITHOUT PEOPLE TRYING TO GET INTO MY ROOM!” 

“Vinnie stop swinging that thing!” 

“WELL NOT TODAY, SATAN, NOT TODAY!!” 

“VINNIE IT’S ME, GENE!” 

“...” 

“...” 

“... GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!!” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, you beast! You cad! It’s getting so a girl can’t travel alone without you withered old mashers--” 

Paul was in the middle of watching an old Looney Tunes cartoon when he heard a knock at his hotel room door. Sighing quietly, he got up from lying in his bed to see who dared have the audacity to interrupt his watching of Bugs Bunny bashing a man over the head with a parasol while dressed as a Southern belle. 

He opened the door, and stared. “Gene?” 

The bassist was looking abashed, embarrassed, and had a humiliated scowl on his face. And... was his face red? Gene’s face never got red. “Can I come in? I need advice.” 

Paul raised an eyebrow, but let him in anyway, and closed the door behind him. He sat back down on his bed while Gene plopped into the armchair. He glanced at the television screen. “Bugs Bunny, huh?” 

“Yeah. What’s up?” 

“Well... You know how Vinnie is staying in the same hotel as we are?” 

Paul frowned slightly, confused, but nodded. “Yeah...” 

“Well turns out he’s one floor below me...”

“And....” 

Gene sank down a little in the armchair. “And... I may have accidentally thought I was on my floor when really I wasn’t... and thought his room was my room...” 

Paul sighed and facepalmed. “Oh, God, Gene... Tell me what I think happened didn’t happen.” 

Gene sank down even further. “It did,” 

“Son of a...” 

“It gets worse,” 

Paul looked up. “How?” 

“When I walked in, he was in the middle of changing into his pajamas...” 

“Oh my god. What did he do?” 

At this, Gene fidgeted, looking like a child who’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Well... he screamed... then grabbed an umbrella and tried to hit me with it.” 

Paul stopped and blinked at him. “... He tried to hit you?” 

“Yes,” 

“With an umbrella?” 

“Yes.” 

“What, did he think you were a peeper or something?” 

“His exact words were “Peeping Tom” but yes.” 

A smile slowly formed at the corners of his mouth. “He thought you were a Peeping Tom???” 

Gene sighed. “Yes.” 

There was a pause. Then Paul burst out laughing. 

Gene rubbed at his eyes in embarrassment as Paul fell back onto the bed, cackling madly. “This isn’t funny, Paul!” 

“Actually it is,” Paul guffawed. “Vinnie, Vinnie Vincent, one of the band’s many shorties, swinging an umbrella at you, while shouting at you to get out of his room, because he thought you were a Peeping Tom...!” He fell into laughter again. “Oh, I wish I could’ve seen that.”

“Good thing you didn’t,” Gene muttered. Then he said aloud, “Seriously, Paul, this isn’t funny. If Vinnie decides he’s going to quit the Expo over this we’re fucked.” 

“So make it up to him. Y’know, with an actual apology.” Paul sniggered. “And knock first when you go do it.” 

“That’s not gonna be enough! Vinnie won’t accept it!” 

“How do you know he won’t?” 

“I just... I feel like he’s not going to easily accept an apology. He actually looked panicked. Then when he saw it was me, he looked like he wanted to murder me with his bare hands.” 

Paul shrugged. “Isn’t that how he always looks with you?” 

“Paul, I’m being serious!” 

“So deal with it! And deal with it on your own, I don’t wanna get involved in this.” 

Gene gaped at him in betrayal. “Paul, I thought you were my friend!” 

Paul shrugged. “I’m married, Gene, I don’t have to deal with this crap.” 

“What crap? There’s no crap!” 

“So all the times I caught Vinnie sneaking out of your room back in the eighties mean nothing now, huh? Don’t let Vinnie hear you say that.” Gene sighed, and he went on. “Gene, just apologize. Get on your knees if you have to.” 

“I might...” 

“Though I thought that was Vinnie’s job,” Paul grinned. 

Gene stared at him. “... That didn’t land well,” 

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. Anyways, figure out a way to  apologize. Do candy or something. Or flowers.” 

Gene sighed and stood up. “Fine... I guess I can do flowers.” 

“Make sure they’re purple hyacinths. They symbolize a plea for forgiveness.” 

“Noted. Thanks, Paul,” 

“Anytime, Gene. Now get outta my room so I can watch Looney Tunes.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Vinnie avoided speaking to Gene all the next day of the Expo. He was sure some people had noticed how every time they made eye contact he gave the bassist his most searing glare. But he also didn’t care. Bastard deserved it for barging into his room. 

At one point a part of him wondered if he had overreacted a little bit. But he couldn’t be too careful. Especially with the rumors going around on the Internet... but Vinnie tried not to pay attention to those. And once again, the bastard deserved it for barging into his hotel room, while he was changing. Fucking Gene Simmons thought he could do whatever he liked... 

He managed to get through the day without hitting anything or breaking anything in two (save one poor pencil he’d been holding), and when he went back to his hotel room he was ready to change, in the bathroom this time, fall into bed and sleep. 

But when he walked into his hotel room, closed the door, and turned around, he froze. 

There sitting on his bed was a large bouquet of purple flowers, a gold box he recognized as a box of chocolates, and a small folded note. Vinnie went to his bed and picked up the note to unfold it. 

Could you please open the door?

As if on cue, there was a knock at his door. He jumped, then put down the note. An ominous feeling was stirring in the pit of his stomach; he had an idea of who the flowers, chocolates, and note had been from...

Sure enough, he opened the door and scowled. “What do you want?” 

Gene stood there, hands behind his back, actually looking a little sheepish. “Can we talk?” 

“About what? Seeing me half-naked? After you barged in on me?” 

“Vinnie... Can I just come in, please?” 

For a moment, Vinnie seriously considered shutting the door in his face. Then he sighed heavily and let him inside, closing the door behind him. He turned and crossed his arms as Gene stood in the center of the room. “Well?” 

Gene sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I entered your room. I thought it was my room, and my floor.” 

Vinnie gave a raised eyebrow of skepticism. “And I’m supposed to just believe you???” 

“... Yes?” 

He frowned. “Well I’m not convinced,”

“Seriously, it was! I was tired, I thought this was my floor, and I think your room is in the same placing as mine! I swear I didn’t mean to barge in on you like that.” 

“Well it wasn’t funny. You gave me a heart attack.” 

Gene sighed. “I know...” He went to the bed to pick up the flowers, and offered them to Vinnie. “Look... I’m sorry. It will never happen again. I swear.” 

Vinnie looked down at the flowers. Then he looked up at Gene, and his surprisingly sincere expression. A part of him wanted to refuse. Shove Gene out of the room. Maybe even for extra measure visibly throw the flowers and the chocolates in the trash. 

Then again... wasn’t this the most sincerely Gene had looked at him in literal years? 

“I...”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, Bugsthy! Bugsthy pal! There’sth a friend here to sthee ya! Sthurvival of the fittestht. And besthidesth, it’sth fun! Hoo-hoo! Hoo-hoo!” 

There was yet another knock at Paul’s door. He sighed and got up to answer. Again? Why couldn’t he just watch Looney Tunes in peace for just one night? This television station seemed to play Looney Tunes shorts 24/7; how many channels did that?? 

He opened the door, and found Gene standing on the other side. He looked like he had hurriedly buttoned his shirt, his hair was all disheveled, and there was a dark blemish on the side of his neck. And he looked very satisfied. 

Paul raised an eyebrow at him. “So I guess the apology went well?” 

Gene smiled. “Yep,” 

“You gave him the purple hyacinths, right?” 

“Like you suggested. I don’t think he recognized them, though.” 

“Didn’t think he would. It’s still a nice gesture to actually seek out the right flowers. So is that all you came to tell me?” 

“Pretty much,” 

“Okay. Can I go back to watching my Looney Tunes now?” 

“Sure thing. You’ve been watching a lot of Looney Tunes lately.” 

“There’s a channel that plays them in the evening. I think it’s reruns of the Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, but I can’t be sure.” 

“I think I’ll check that out,” 

“Like how you were checking out Vinnie tonight?” Paul grinned. Gene blinked at him, and he sighed. “Didn’t land, did it?” 

“You’ve got to work on your jokes, Paul,”