Chapter Text
Ezreal let himself drown in the couch with a pout on his lips, his injured ankle nicely wrapped so he didn't feel any pain. Today definitely wasn't his day, even if he could say this wasn't his week, not after all the wrongdoings he went through. He checked on his phone to look at the hour, still had twenty minutes before he came back to the apartment, so he got up and tried walking to his room without using his ankle.
He passed by Yone in the kitchen who only spared him a pitying look, probably knowing that Ez didn't want to talk about today's incident. The way to his room was slow, only letting out a sigh after falling into his bed and burying his face in his pillow, wondering once again why things couldn't go in his favor, what was he doing wrong? He's cute, has a nice body and a pretty voice, has so many charms and a funny sense of humor, he had watched thousands of people falling in love with him without doing anything, but this was more difficult than he thought.
His hands reached the oversized black hoodie onto his pillow and he put it on, aspiring the intoxicating scent of cigarettes, brandy, and an unpronounceable expensive cologne that Ezreal just adored, his fingers squeezed the fabric softly, closing his eyes as hard as he could, trying to forget not only the slight pain of his ankle but also the pain of his heart.
Fuck Shieda Kayn.
...
When they had their first meeting as a band some months ago, Ezreal was skeptical about his new bandmates. Every one of them looked so different from each other that was almost ridiculous that they were going to be a boyband. Ezreal still remembers being in the office where they met, chatting a little with Aphelios and Alune while they waited for the last member that was late, he was a bit pissed off by that, the rest of them were on time, but that idiot was already thirty minutes late. He stared with an angry look at the door when it opened, ready to speak out some sarcastic comments about being punctual to the newcomer when he got speechless.
Ezreal doesn't believe in a sort of thing like "love at first sight", he asked himself how much of a desperate person you have to be to think falling in love is that easy. Love was complicated, that thing of the butterflies when you see someone it's just anxiety, people need time to know each other before thinking about a romantic relationship, didn't they know how many psychopaths there are? Love at first sight was only two things to Ezreal: Stupid and dangerous.
Or at least that was his thoughts until that moment.
Even if he wanted to deny it, Ezreal felt his tummy flip at the sight of his new bandmate. He looked tall, with purplish-pink hair, wearing some ripped jeans on the knees, a tucked black shirt, and a leather jacket, his serious face didn't look at anyone first as he took off some bike gloves. He took a seat with a disinterested expression, Ezreal had a nice view from his seat next to Yone when the man looked at the producer, revealing his mismatched green and red eyes. "You are late, Kayn"
"Yeah, sorry, there was some traffic"
Ezreal shrank in his seat because, fuck, his voice is deep, and Ez would be lying if he said he didn't have a weak spot for deep voices.
"It doesn't matter, we still have time to discuss some things." Yone spoke calmly like always, clapping his hands together to gather everyone's attention "Guys, this is the other rapper I talked you about, his name is Shieda Kayn"
"Just Kayn is okay, I'm looking forward to working with you" and fuck, fuck, fuck the bastard dared to grin, Ezreal thought about going crazy because 'is he looking at me? '
The name was now impressed in his mind with unerasable ink while the weird feeling in his chest was getting stronger and it felt almost like... Butterflies .
"Dammit, this can't be happening, it's just a dream, right? I must have fallen asleep at some point, just need to wait to wake up" Yes, that was it, now he needed to take his eyes off Kayn's face, why did he look so handsome? What was with that smug look on his face? His hair seemed soft, Ezeral wondered how would be if he could run his hands through it...
Yone nudged him to get his attention back in the meeting. Everyone was looking at him, probably expecting something from him to say "Right, we were introducing ourselves"
"I'm Ezreal... I'm looking forward to working with you too, Kayn "
It didn't pass too much time until their next encounter because they moved all together just a week later. There were only six rooms and one of them was turned into their studio, fortunately, Aphelios and Sett agreed to share a room since they had some kind of relationship. Ezreal room was just next to Kayn's, he could hear him practicing on his guitar or listening to music through the walls and, after some days, he hadn't problems anymore accepting that hearing Kayn's deep voice singing before falling asleep was hot , after a week, Ezreal can say that, indeed, Kayn was really hot.
"I think I'm going insane, why do I feel so attracted by him? Maybe it's witchcraft, you know?" Ez was roaming in the living room until he crashed beside K'sante in the kitchen, the man was silently listening to his blabbering about how weird that feeling that he has every time he sees Kayn was.
"Have you considered a love shot?" K'sante sipped his tea and stopped him from saying anything before he could resume. "I know you don't believe in that, but what you feel is exactly like that, you just like him, but that doesn't mean you are in love"
Okay, that made a lot of sense to him, a crush probably. He was, in fact, interested in Kayn, possibly his attachment was the curiosity of knowing more. But how? They were just bandmates, weren't friends yet and Kayn didn't look like a very social person in the first place...
He glanced at the couch. Aphelios was on his laptop working on something, his headphones covering his ears completely, he wasn't a social person either and liked to be alone, but Sett sat beside him, offering him some tea, and that made Phel take off his headphones, smiling softly at his almost boyfriend. His mind transformed the scene, making him imagine Kayn and he in a similar situation and his cheeks blushed furiously.
Was that what he wanted and felt? Have something with Kayn like Phel and Sett had? Ezreal lay down on the counter, sighing tired.
"Why don't you try getting closer and know him? That could help you to understand what you feel towards him" K'sante gave him a little smile before leaving him on the table, thinking about his words.
That didn't sound bad, Ezreal believed that first, you have to know someone before having feelings. If he does that, then he could understand his own emotions.
And that's how his plan started.
...
Soon Ezreal discovered that Kayn was a workaholic. If he wasn't in his room playing some instrument, he would be near Aphelios writing lyrics or in the studio with Yone, the few times Ez saw him doing something different were when K'sante and Sett took him to the gym. And there was a little issue in his plan to get close. How Ezreal was supposed to have time with Kayn if he didn't even look at him? It was a recurrent situation. For some reason, in every band meeting they have, Kayn never looks at him, not even a glimpse, he's always talking with someone else and it was like Ezreal wasn't there in the first place, he had ignored him when he tried to talk to him. It was very frustrating.
"Guys, you have been locked here for hours, what about a lunch break?" Sett was looking at the trio in the studio, it was true that Yone, Aphelios and Kayn had been trapped there since that morning working on their song, but none of them went out even once to grab something to eat. Ezreal was kinda worried about them, giving Sett the idea of ordering some food for everyone without interfering with their work.
Yone looked away from the screen, he looked more tired than usual and nodded, getting up from his chair and mumbling about needing a cup of coffee. Phel also stood up, rubbing his eyes and running out of the room with Sett behind him, but Kayn stayed there, he didn't notice that the other two left, the earphones blasting music loud into his ears.
Okay, this was a moment, they were alone now, so Ezreal tried to make a move. He approached Kayn quietly, calling his name a couple of times, but the man didn't react. In the end, Ez shakes him by his shoulder, scaring him and making him take off his headphones. Great, now Kayn is looking at him, this is what he wanted... Now what?
"What?" Fuck, he didn't sound too happy.
"S-sorry... Everyone went to a lunch break, and we ordered Thai food if you want me to save something for you-"
"I don't like Thai food" and just like that, he put on the headphones again and returned his view to the screen.
Ezreal stayed there just a moment, trying to process what just happened before heading out to the kitchen. He tried his best to ignore Yone's gaze and the question of why he looked like a kicked puppy.
After that almost embarrassing moment, Ezreal tried his best to come up with a better idea to get close. He was paying attention to Kayn's likes every time he could, not wanting to mess up everything again and the next opportunity arrived. Ezreal was sent to buy some drinks for everyone one day they were practicing the choreography of their song, he was the less tired, already used to dancing for hours before wanting to quit, Kayn wasn't tired either, but he didn't stop practicing.
Once in the cafe, Ezreal looked into the piece of paper that Yone gave him, two iced lattes for Phel and Sett, a cold brew for Kayn, a double expresso for Yone, a protein shake for K'Sante, and his drink, a white mocha frappuccino. He couldn't miss it this time, feeling confident while ordering all the drinks and having some pop tarts as a dessert, just in case one of them wanted something sweet.
On his way back, Ezreal couldn't stop smiling, this time he would succeed, Kayn would look at him at least, maybe if he was lucky, he would get a smile, feeling his cheeks blushing just by the thought. 'God, this is what it feels to have a crush?' Ezreal wasn't sure, but he liked that feeling.
The boys welcomed him cheering, Aphelios hugged him, thanking him for the pop tarts. Each one took their drinks and sat around the room, Ezreal made himself comfortable in a corner, pretending to be on his phone to dissimulate his gaze on Kayn, the pink haired took a sip of his drink, making a face before leaving the vase on the floor and take his water bottle. What? Why he did do that? He didn't like it? Alright, this was a good time to make another move, right? So Ez approached Kayn.
"Hey, is something wrong with your drink?" he asked with a little smile, hoping to ease the tension in the air just a bit.
"I didn't ask for a cold brew, Ezreal"
Ah, shit.
Well, at least Ezreal can confirm that Kayn knows his name, but he wished it wasn't in this situation. He took the little piece of paper out of his pocket, reviewing what Yone wrote in it and sighed, at least this time it wasn't completely his fault.
"Yone told me to order that, sorry... What about if I share with you my drink?" Kayn looked at him for a second, blinking a few times before answering in a low voice.
"I don't really like sweets... But I like Americano, for the record"
Ezreal smiled widely, that was progress.