"I LOVE JAPAN, " I STATED, MAKING Lydia giggle as she grabbed her glass of wine from the small table and took a sip. I wrapped myself tighter into the robe I was wearing and took a seat next to her on the small wooden bench in the spa. One of the wine bottles we had shared was already a goner and we were halfway through another one. Our girl day has turned into a girl weekend, then into a girl week, and it seemed that it was about to keep going that way until we flew back to New York. Which meant that I would have so much paperwork to do when we returned, but right now, in the warm bathhouse, the thought didn't bother me at all.

The hotels that we slept in were quite luxurious, a lot more than the ones that we used to book when I first started working. KISS seemed to have a huge stardom here on the other end of the world and Lydia and I had decided to make the best out of that. Visiting Japanese bathhouses and enjoying the massages the hotels offered was only the start.

"Hey, I wanted to get you on your own to ask you something, " Lydia started, putting the glass aside, making me look at her questioningly.

"If you could fuck any of the guys, who would it be?"

Her question made my jaw drop and my eyes widen so much that I thought they were going to jump out of my head. What the fuck are you talking about? Why are you asking me this? What do you expect me to say? And why the hell are we discussing this when the four of them are in the same building, probably in a room a few feet away?

"This is a dumb fucking question, " I started, examining her face to see if the look on it would change, "and what you deserve is me saying that it's your husband."

Lydia rolled her eyes, but her expression changed. I guess I've touched a nerve here, considering the cold war she was currently leading with my other friend on the crew. Jen didn't fly with us to Japan and Lydia seemed calmer than usual since we got here. I instantly regretted my words.

"Very funny. I just wanted to ask, you know, talk some stupid shit just for fun. You don't need to snarl at me right away, " she snapped back, crossing her hands in front of her chest and looking at the other direction. The room got terribly quiet, the tension was so thick that I started to feel like it was going to choke me.

"What do you mean exactly? Is this like, fuck and go kind of thing, or more like the romantic 'I want to be with you right now, but wake up next to you in the morning' and that sort of stuff?"

Lydia stayed quiet for a moment and I was convinced at this point that she wouldn't even bother to answer me. I was going to reap what I had sown.

"Okay, " she finally answered, turning around to face me, "Let me ask the question in a different way. What is going on between you and Paul?"

I felt my mouth drop and my eyes felt like they were going to jump out of my head. The primary shock stepped back to my ultimate confusion

"Ugh, what?"

Lydia moved a lock of hair away from her face, then reached out and slapped the top of my head, half scoldingly, half affectionately.

"L, baby, I love you, but don't lie to me, okay?"

I wasn't lying, I really didn't realize what she meant. There was nothing between me and Paul, right?

I must have looked so terribly puzzled, that Lydia turned my face to hers and looked me in the eyes.

"Look," she started, waving her hands in the air to illustrate her point, "you," she said, putting her palm in front of her, "and Paul," she continued, doing the same with the other one. "Together, " she finished, clapping her palms together.

"You really want me to slap you, don't you?" I frowned in a few seconds, realizing what she meant in the first place. Lydia disregarded my comment, furrowing her eyebrows with a grin and moving a lock of hair away from her face.

"Whatever you say," she twittered with a small smirk still on her lips, "wanna go for a swim?"

✵✵✵

Paul was laying on his back, his eyes closed as he felt the massagist's hands work their way down his back. Her skilled fingers did magic to his tense body and in that right moment, he decided that if he could do what they did to him to himself, he would never even leave his home again.

His bliss was interrupted by a hurricane of thoughts getting in his head. While he and Gene we're laying on the massage tables, Ace and Peter were God knows where doing God knows what, and it was causing yet another headache. They didn't want to admit it, but their abuse of drugs and alcohol was getting worse every single day, and Paul was afraid it would reach a point when the wouldn't even be able to play. Which was what scared him most.

Don't think about that, he thought to himself, as long as they do their job, everything is alright. Kiss is safe. God knows he wouldn't have it any other way.

Gene cleared his throat, making the singer open his eyes and look at his friend, who was currently inspecting him with his big black eyes. Paul always hated that cold look his friend could give, he felt like the bassist was peering straight into his soul, calculating and finding things that even the Starchild didn't want to think about.

"What? " He couldn't help but ask, the words probably coming out a little ruder than he wanted.

"I was just wondered if you're gonna actually figure things out with Lillian, or you're just going to let that slide and write sad songs about it later?" Gene shrugged his shoulders, like it wasn't a big deal.

Paul glared angrily at the man, hoping that he looked threatening enough. The fact that his face was squished against the table didn't help much.

"It's none of your business," he gritted out, making a small smirk creep its way on Gene's face. God, I hate that man.

"So I'm right, you do like her."

Paul rose up, startling the short massagist with the sudden fast movement. He turned around and gave her an apologetic smile, nodding politely and laying back on the table. His expression turned back on Gene, who was now obviously trying not to laugh.

"Man, you're so fucked up, " he stated, shaking his head. Paul just stared angrily at the bassist, hoping that it would make him silent again. "So, when are you going to ask her out or..."

"For fuck's sake Simmons, why don't you shut it already?!"

Gene couldn't help but snort. "Alright, but when she ends up in Frehley's arms, don't come whining about it to me, " he stated, making the singer hiss a curse at him. "I hope you don't act like a caged animal around her too."

The comment, of course, made Paul bare his teeth, illustrating the bassist's point perfectly. Gene decided not to talk to him anymore about it and turned his face to the other direction, relaxing again and closing his eyes. It wasn't any of his business anyway. For a moment he wondered why had he ever started the conversation in the first place. He shouldn't have pressed Paul, especially about something like that, after how well he knew him.

The silence was heavy and uncomfortable, finally broken by Paul's sigh and the sound of him getting up. Gene cracked an eye open and followed the singer out, watching as his friend grabbed his robe and walked outside of the room.

✵✵✵

The rest of the tour was pretty hectic and I could say I was getting on Bill's nerves with my constant whining. He had found me about an hour after I left the spa with Lydia and I ended up doing paperwork for the rest of the day. I had the feeling that I was going to pass out with exhaustion, but since a tired Bill was at the same position, I couldn't really complain. At least he taught me to appreciate coffee, not like, but appreciate, which I would always be grateful for. The following days were just as busy and I sadly admitted to Lydia that our little vacation was over.

Another thing that was way too stressful for me to handle was the magnitude of the KISS fanbase in Japan. Every place we visited, the drive from the hotels to the venues and back, to the airport or to the bathhouse required twice more security guards than we needed in the States. I was so glad to ride in a different car than the band because once they were inside the vehicle, people surrounded it and piled one over the other like crazy. I mentioned to Ace that in the country where my dad came from there was a lovely saying about such situations. When he asked I explained that the older members of my family would say that people swarmed the band like flies swarmed over a pile of shit. The comment earned me a playful shove and ruffled hair, but it was completely worth it.

Despite the stress that followed, we managed to have some fun together. The guys asked me and Lydia to join them in a sushi restaurant in Osaka. Ace and especially Gene had the nerve to make fun of me for not being able to grab the chopsticks right. However, I was the one who had the last laugh, when the bassist dropped half the piece he was about to taste back into his plate. He was going to play it off like nothing had happened, until he heard a quiet laughter from a nearby table. The two pretty brunettes that were sitting close to us were snickering at Gene, looking at him almost sadly. Paul, who was sitting next to me put his hand over his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter. When Gene gave up and grabbed the piece with his fingers, the singer was shaking.

"You could ask for a fork, " he commented, making his bandmate glare at him, "or maybe ask one of the ladies over there to come and feed you."

"They would come, but they seem too busy making fun of him," I noted quietly, and Paul giggled, giving me a conspiratorial grin.

To my surprise Gene didn't answer. He frowned, his eyes moving from me to Paul a few times and he sighed, looking like a war general who suddenly realized he was outnumbered and had to retreat. I felt my face form a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, don't frown," I said reaching out and touching his hand carefully, like I was trying to comfort him, "you'll learn."

"We'll go only to sushi places from now on, so you can train," Paul added and I poked him in the ribs with my elbow softly, laughing. Gene mumbled something about not being able to trust anyone around here anymore and surprisingly let it go, returning back to his meal. I couldn't help but notice the small smile that creeped its way to his face.

It was a joyful moment and I took the time to appreciate it, since I had noticed these didn't happen so often anymore. There was this awful tension that was seemed to have sank into everyone in the crew and was leaving me with an uncomfortable feeling inside.

The fights between the band members now seemed to occur more often. For the time I had spend with them I had started to distinguish the two teams — there was always Ace and Peter versus Gene and Paul. The arguments were about anything and everything — who slept late, who trashed their room, who sucked at playing their instrument, who couldn't sing. Instead of working things out in a few hours, the guys wouldn't speak to each other for days.

My eyes stopped on Gene and Ace who were now having a laugh together, probably a joke the guitarist had said. Nah, I shook my head, whatever it is, they'll work it out. Kiss will prevail. I believe it.

✵✵✵

I'm so sorry for not posting so often. I don't have much time to write lately and I want to give you quality content (or at least the closest to quality content I could produce)

Thank you for understanding :)