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Having dinner at The Crystal Rose had been Lux’s idea, although Ezreal was the one who had suggested going to a nice restaurant for their anniversary in the first place. He figured he should step up his game a little. Go all out for the fancy occasions. There was only one problem: he didn’t know any nice restaurants, or how to get a reservation.
“I can handle the reservations,” Lux says, scrolling through her phone. “The manager’s a friend.”
Lux is so cool. And smart, and classy, and nice-smelling, and apparently inundated with favors from really important people. And while Ezreal likes to think he also has all those qualities, he doesn’t actually know that many people outside his industry. Certainly not the “getting reservations at a nice restaurant on short notice” kind.
“Is this, uh, a Crownguard thing? It sounds like a Crownguard thing,” he says.
She shoots him a look. “It’s not a Crownguard thing.”
“O-kay,” he says. He shuts his mouth. It’s not like he meant to bring up Lux’s family’s ridiculous wealth and influence; he doesn’t want to make her self-conscious. Although she probably thinks she’s the one making him self-conscious, which, while considerate, ultimately presumes a level of ego that just isn’t there. Ezreal’s very secure. He can roll with the punches.
So later when they arrive at their reserved table at The Crystal Rose’s second floor dining terrace and walk right past Kayn and Yasuo, Ezreal lets that punch roll right off him.
“Oh—hey,” he says, after doing a double take. He quickly mentally revises some assumptions he had made in the past.
Kayn is seated across from Yasuo at a table set for two on the balcony. They’re both wearing suits, although the top three buttons of Kayn’s shirt are undone. He’s also not wearing a tie.
When their gazes meet, Kayn’s eyes are very wide. Ezreal offers him a beguiling smile.
Kayn looks at Ezreal. Ezreal looks back at him. Lux looks at them both.
“What?” Ezreal asks, deflating a little. “Do I have something on my fa—”
Kayn stands abruptly. He grabs Ezreal’s arm and starts dragging him away with a quick “excuse me” tossed in Lux’s direction. She stares after them, perplexed. Yasuo still hasn’t looked up from his menu.
Ezreal lets himself be pulled along, faintly bewildered. Okay, so, not exactly a foreseen development in his romantic evening with his girlfriend. But he’s sure Kayn has his reasons. He’s just not sure why any of this has to involve him.
Once they’re around the corner and out of earshot, Ezreal says, “Hey buddy, not that I’m not happy to see you, but what the heck is going on?”
Kayn hauls him into an empty single-occupancy restroom, closes the door, and locks it with the kind of grim force that would make Ezreal really worried if it were anyone other than Kayn. But it is Kayn, and while his bandmate usually has the whole bad boy troublemaker thing going on, something about his demeanor today seems off. Ezreal just hopes it doesn’t spell trouble for him.
Kayn turns back to face Ezreal. “What are you doing here?" he demands. It sounds weirdly accusatory, even though Ezreal is pretty sure he hasn’t done anything to earn Kayn’s ire tonight.
“Um, I’m having dinner with my girlfriend? Is that not allowed?” The last time Ezreal checked, going on a date with his girlfriend wasn’t illegal. Kayn’s little freakout was totally unwarranted. “What are you doing here?”
Kayn stares at him, shoulders hunched. He looks pissed off, and upon closer inspection, slightly jittery, which Ezreal knows by now must be a cover for something else. It’s like Kayn’s allergic to communicating his feelings like a normal person or something.
Ezreal racks his brain. “Is this about Yasuo?” he asks. “Because, dude, it’s none of my business. I mean, congrats I guess? Although it’s a little out of left field that you’re going out with Yone’s brother—”
Kayn looks horrified. “We’re not going out,” he says hastily.
“Oh, my bad. So is he like your sugar da—”
Kayn claps a hand over Ezreal’s mouth. Ezreal, on reflex, licks his palm. Kayn jerks away with a disgusted expression. He looks every bit like he’s considering punching Ezreal, which worries Ezreal a little, because then he’d have to explain to Lux why he got punched on their anniversary.
“Please don’t punch me,” Ezreal says quickly.
Kayn furrows his brows. But he doesn’t punch Ezreal, which he counts as a win. Instead, he goes over to the sink and washes his hands with more aggression than strictly necessary. Ezreal watches him. He feels a bit bad all of a sudden—because while, objectively, none of this has anything to do with him, he can’t help but to feel an odd sense of responsibility towards Kayn. His bandmate is not exactly known for making the best personal choices, and hanging around him sometimes is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Not that he wants to imply that Kayn’s relationships are a train wreck. It’s none of his business! Truly. And also, he’s still trying not to get punched.
Kayn shuts off the faucet. He turns around. “You’re not going to tell Yone, are you?” he asks, all in a rush, which is probably the worst possible confession Ezreal could be witness to. Like, jeez. What a mess. Probably not a band-ending mess, but still, definitely above Ezreal’s pay grade.
“Um, no,” he says. “Wait, why haven’t you told him?”
At that moment, they’re interrupted by someone knocking on the bathroom door. Immediately, Ezreal calls out, “Occupied!” while at the same time Kayn yells “Fuck off!”
The knocking stops.
“Look,” Kayn says after a pause, “I’m still figuring it out, and I don’t want to bother Yone. He’s got his own stuff to worry about. You know?”
Ezreal doesn’t know. “Sure,” he says.
Kayn seems to relax slightly, but he doesn’t look entirely convinced. “Really?”
“What I want to know is why Yasuo hasn’t said anything,” Ezreal points out, despite good sense telling him to shut his mouth. “I mean, he’s Yone’s brother. Also, he’s practically old enough to be your dad. Shouldn’t he know what to do?”
Kayn looks perturbed. “He’s not that old.”
“I mean, he’s pretty old.”
Apparently not even Kayn can argue with that, because he doesn’t say anything else. What ensues is possibly the most awkward silence in Ezreal’s life.
The thing is, Ezreal doesn’t even have a problem with Kayn kind-of-not-dating Yasuo. He’s pretty sure nobody else, Yone included, would mind all that much either, when it came down to it. In fact, the only person who seems hung up on it is Kayn himself. Ezreal briefly considers pointing this out, and then discards the thought.
Still, Kayn is clearly going through some stuff, and Ezreal doesn’t want to just leave him like this.
“Do you… like him?” Ezreal asks cautiously.
“What?”
“Do you like Yasuo?”
Kayn looks at him like he’s an idiot. “Why would I spend time with someone I didn’t like?”
“You spend time with me,” Ezreal points out.
“I like you, dumbass.”
“Oh.” Ezreal scratches his head. “Thanks?” He thinks that’s kind of sweet, actually. Kind of like how a rabid dog not biting your face off is kind of sweet.
Kayn grunts.
They lapse back into silence. Ezreal checks his hair in the mirror. Kayn idly picks at his nails.
“Right,” Ezreal says, straightening up, “Well, I’m going to go back and have dinner with my girlfriend now.” He puts a hand on Kayn’s shoulder in a way he hopes comes off as reassuring. “I’m sure you’ll figure this out.”
“Uh huh.” Kayn doesn’t look very convinced.
“And you should fix your shirt.”
“Fuck off.”
As Ezreal walks out the door, Kayn trails behind him. A passing waiter shoots them a judgemental look as they leave the restroom together. Ezreal tries to look apologetic. What else can he do?
On the balcony, Lux is sitting in Kayn’s former seat across from Yasuo. They’ve both got a glass of wine in front of them; Yasuo’s is half empty. As Ezreal watches, she leans forward and whispers something to Yasuo, and he smirks like they’re sharing a secret. Which they probably are. They’re probably best friends now, having forgotten entirely about their respective dates. Lux just has that effect on people.
“Hey,” Ezreal calls out weakly, and when Lux looks up and sees him, she smiles. All his previous inane thoughts evaporate.
“Hey yourself,” she says. “Got it sorted out?”
“Yeah,” Ezreal says, as Kayn grunts vaguely behind him. He ignores Kayn. He decides he’s going to ignore Kayn for the rest of the evening because Lux is smiling up at him, gentle and rosy-cheeked, and Ezreal feels something detach inside his chest and flutter away. He’s definitely got a dopey smile right now.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he says, as she tugs him back to their table.
“It’s fine. I think? Yasuo has some interesting stories.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.”
As they sit down, there’s the sound of breaking glass somewhere behind them. Ezreal doesn’t break eye contact with Lux.
“Do you want to move tables?” he asks.
“Why not,” she says, and takes his hand.