Chapter 2: The fool and the even greater fool (but all because of love!)

Ezreal stood in front of the door to Kayn's room. He glanced at his phone once again, making sure it was only ten in the morning. His eyes caught the bright red lips that reflected in the glow of the screen. Today was a day off, and the young man would never have gotten up on an alarm clock, but choosing between "sleep a little longer" and "dealing a cunning blow to the offender," he chose the second. The pink-haired rapper was no better — he always slept until lunch unless he had to go somewhere.

The pop-star prince put his phone in his pocket and pulled out a felt-tip pen, which was his main weapon. It was not his style to play sly and do something so crazy, and yet... It seemed that tough times required tough decisions.

"All because of that jerk Kayn... He has such an influence on me! I wasn't this vengeful before. And so touchy either!" The green-haired guy tensely bit his lower lip.

He tried to convince himself that his bandmate's recent words didn't hurt him, so he even attempted to do some psychological exercises... But it was all in vain. For some reason, the words about someone "more beautiful" for the role of Kayn's passion wouldn't leave his mind. Was it because Kayn was talking about someone else, not Ezreal? Well, psychology is psychology, but he wasn't ready to go that far into self-analysis yet...

"Okay, I even put on lipstick for this scumbag!" With this thought, the justice fighter quietly, but still decisively, opened the door in front of him.

Sett and Aphelios sat on the couch in the living room. The youth in the mask rested his head on his lover's shoulder and calmly played something on his phone. Sett, on the other hand, just enjoyed looking at his boyfriend. Moreover, the time of his observation should have been quite enough to gather his thoughts.

"Phelly, today is our anniversary, and I wanted to give you…" The man began.

"You've completely lost your fucking mind, crazy?!" Roared Kayn, as if in someone else's voice. His furious voice spread throughout the house. "Aren't you afraid of anything?!"

The two turned towards the stairs and the corridor on the second floor, fenced off with railings. Ezreal was running away from his bandmate with a felt-tip pen in his hand. It even seemed to the guys below that the lips of the green-haired boy were painted with scarlet lipstick...

At the same time, Kayn was overtaking him no less quickly, shouting curses. The whole punk's face was either drawn with a felt-tip pen or smeared with lipstick. At that moment, Sett and Aphelios were convinced that when they saw their vocalist, it was not their imagination. Kayn rubbed some of the marks on the go, but he didn't rush to rub off the lipstick from his own lips. Maybe the thought that it could be there didn't even occur to him.

And what significance did this lipstick have now? It will take the pink-haired rapper a long time to clean up himself.

After all, you can't just easily get rid of the drawn dick on your forehead...

Ezreal came to the edge of the stairs and swallowed nervously. He said quietly:

"Fuck…"

Kayn noticed his confusion and grinned maliciously:

"What happened, princess? Nowhere to run?" The lad sighed deliberately sadly. "You should have thought about it earlier!"

The young man turned his face to the pursuer, so his back was in front of the stairs.

To the misfortune of the unlucky vocalist, who would have run down long ago, some of the steps were being repaired: the guys had only recently moved the last of their things, and in the end it turned out that part of the stairs had rotted. One had to walk on it very carefully.

"There would be something to run away from!" Ez blurted it out fearlessly and with a hint of pride, facing the danger.

"Ha, it seems he doesn't consider you a person! He didn't even say "somebody"!" Rhaast chuckled, egging on the object of his amusement.

Sett and Aphelios continued to sit motionless on the couch, watching the events unfold. The silent one in the mask had long since put his phone on lock and removed his head from his boyfriend's shoulder. It seemed that he would be ready to act immediately if needed.

"Phel, maybe let's go somewhere else?" Sett asked with concern and shrugged. "It's just another quarrel between them…"

Aphelios shifted his mask to his chin, shook his head in disagreement, and showed a cross with his hands. Did he doubt that this could hardly be called just another quarrel? Or did he just mean that they shouldn't leave these two alone? Either way, the men didn't go anywhere.

It seemed that Kayn and Ezreal completely ignored their bandmates, fully concentrating on each other.

The rapper came to the green-haired youth almost closely and firmly grasped him by the chin. The thin, graceful hands with long fingers immediately grabbed the pink-haired guy's strong hold. Waves of fear and anxiety rose inside Ez. He understood that the opponent was bigger and stronger than him.

If at the very beginning of their acquaintance the vocalist still had a glimmer of hope to defeat him in a direct confrontation, later he realized that it was impossible. And although Yone strictly forbade them to fight and to inflict any injuries on each other, sometimes it still happened. In such cases, they tried not to lose their minds completely and did it in places that were usually hidden by clothing. So far, they were lucky.

However, later the blows were replaced by bites, hickeys and scratches... But Yone didn't know this either. Well, they hoped.

Ezreal had no shadow of a doubt that Kayn did not have to make any moral efforts to ignore Yone forbiddance. He could easily punch the green-haired guy in the face right now.

But while a heavy silence, full of tension, hung between them, the rapper's attention was riveted to the youth's palms. He involuntarily imagined how he and Ez could hold hands in a completely different way at this moment — intertwine their fingers, stroke the outer part of the hand with their thumb, gently squeeze each other's palms... All of this in an instant flashed before the eyes of the lad who's used to being rough and unruly. "Fucked up..." he said to himself and curled his lips in disgust, of which he tried to convince himself.

But for Ezreal, it seemed as if he was the one being awarded with such a gaze. It felt unpleasant and painful. "Not only not nice enough, but also so disgusting, huh?" he thought.

The pink-haired punk leaned closer to the vocalist's face, forcing him to move towards the edge of the steps.

"I'm gonna decorate your fucking snout so much that every one of your teenage fans will cry over this cute little face…" He growled with a threat.

"Make up your mind already — whether it's a fucking snout or a cute little face, kid," Rhaast sensed how angry the guy way and wanted to push him over the edge.

As soon as Ez heard these words from the lips of either his friend or his enemy, the youth grinned contentedly, barely holding back laughter, and blew an air kiss to Kayn.

The pop-star prince and Rhaast said the following words at the same time, which made the rock star feel as if the phrase echoed from the very depths of his consciousness:

"I've already decorated yours, baby."

"He's already decorated yours, kid…"

The demon guffawed:

"Give the princess an inch and he will take a mile! Ha-ha-ha! I like him, Kayn!"

"Bitches! You fucking teamed up, huh?!" the punk bared his teeth, like a wild beast.

Ezreal laughed loudly.

"What, even Rhaast is on my side?" the vocalist made the most innocent face he could muster.

"You think I'm joking?!" The angry man grabbed the offender by the chest and pulled him closer.

The smile disappeared from the guy's face, he again felt a surge of anxiety turning into panic.

"Get off! You're the one who fucking started it!" The young man's breathing was uneven. "How long ago have you seen yourself in the mirror?!"

"Oh, so that's what he's upset about... Heard that, Kayn? Your precious prince values his own beauty. Be careful with this!" Rhaast concluded. However, the rock star already understood everything even without his wise advice.

The bandmate's words quickly had an effect and besieged the punk:

"Damn, if my words hurt you, you could just come and tell me everything! No need for these dirty tricks!"

He instinctively, still firmly holding the pop-star, had tried to bring him closer, attempting to look into his golden eyes. The rapper was sick of all these theatrical, romantic maneuvers, but damn, Ez made him want to put sincerity into his actions and feelings into his words.

But the young man was already consumed by panic. He was scared.

"Get fucking off, I said!"

Ez did something the pink-haired guy didn't expect at all — pushed him in the chest. He wasn't prepared for such a strong blow, so he loosened his grip and let go of the green-haired youth's T-shirt. He involuntarily stepped back again, but his foot found no support. The vocalist's body leaned, ready to fall down. The last thing the poor fellow noticed before accepting the inevitability of what was happening was the widened eyes of Kayn, filled with horror.

"Fuck!" He shouted.

"Ez!" Sett barked, and Aphelios could only open his mouth wide in shock, trying to scream. Afraid of what would be next, they immediately jumped off the couch and rushed to the stairs.

Ezreal closed his eyes and winced.

And then he felt someone's hand grab his wrist and pull him towards them with such effort that Ez felt the pain. Then he opened his eyes again. In front of him was an incredibly concerned and no less serious face of the guy who promised to decorate his face just a couple of minutes ago. In the next moment, another hand rested on his back. The warmth of his palm brought to the vocalist a sense of calm and safety. A blushed Ezreal, with slightly open lips, looked at Kayn in admiration and surprise. The saved boy didn't even breathe.

The pink-haired lad also was staring at the vocalist without looking away. "How vulnerable he must have felt," the puck thought. Because of the emotions and adrenaline, the handsome face of the pop-star prince looked even more beautiful to the rapper. The hand lying on the guy's back on its own pressed him to the punk's chest. Ez didn't know whether he imagined it or not, but he felt that Kayn's heart was beating like crazy.

"Eh?!" unintentionally said Sett at what he saw, finding himself somewhere between the couch and the stairs. He didn't want to be surprised out loud, but the very possibility that Kayn could treat someone with tenderness... It was so strange! For a moment, the man thought that he probably imagined it, and Kayn maybe even was not hugging Ez...

"There's always some kind of crap going on with these two!" he thought angrily — this time he managed to restrain himself.

Aphelios, standing next to his boyfriend, painfully pinched him on the arm and put his finger to his lips.

Kayn noticed them and, taking Ez's forearms with both hands, moved the young man away from himself and placed him opposite.

"Hmm... The knight won't even demand a reward? How boring…" Rhaast asked disappointedly.

The owner of their body did not answer anything and only looked away in embarrassment.

"What a... fool you are," said Kayn, still averting his gaze.

"I know it without your words," Ez replied sorrowfully. "Let me at least wipe your lips off…"

The green-haired guy's fingers reached for the punk's lips to wipe off the lipstick, but he only avoided it and pulled his bandmate's hand aside.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let him do the opposite instead!" Rhaast's voice sounded even more dissatisfied.

Kayn had already turned his back to the cause of his concern and was about to leave, but then he stopped. Over his shoulder, he said quietly, so that no one except him and Ezreal could hear:

"Stop worrying about other people's words. You're so fucking beautiful, you know."

With these words, the rapper turned away again and headed to his room.

Ezreal blushed so much that his cheeks turned crimson. He was lucky this time – he stood with his back to Phel and Sett, so his friends couldn't see his unexpectedly strong reaction to the punk's words.

The young man was extremely delighted. Maybe someone could say that this pink-haired demon still remained rough and insensitive, even when he threw those words. But to Ezreal they seemed the most refined, witty, and gallant complement of all!

He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Hey, Ez, are you okay?" Sett asked with care.

Aphelios gazed steadily at his friend. The concern was frozen in his eyes.

"Y-yep, I'm f-fine," the vocalist was so worried that he began to stutter. Stupid childhood habit!

"So why are you stuttering then? Did Kayn say some bullshit at the end?" Sett's voice became rough and stern.

Ezreal gathered his inner strength and tried to overcome the excitement.

"No, everything is really fine," at his own risk, the lad turned to his bandmates and looked down at them. "He said, "Let's forget it." And I think the same. Don't say anything to Yone, okay?"

But it seemed that his words didn't convince his friends.

"Well, we just had a little argument. As usual," the pop-star prince forced a fake smile onto his lips. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Aphelios still stared at his best friend. He furrowed his brows for a moment, but then waved his hand in front of Sett, indicating that there was nothing to worry about.

"So... I'll go. I still need to wipe this off myself," the vocalist smiled wider and gestured around his lips with a finger.

Sett grinned, looked appraisingly at Aphelios and said jokingly:

"Come on, it doesn't look so bad. Maybe add this to the next clip?"

The silent guy just closed his eyelids and pokes his lover in the side with his elbow.

"Pf-f!" Ez laughed. "Alright, I'm going. Sorry for interrupting."

Sett involuntarily felt embarrassed and wanted to start denying everything, but then Phel leaned close to his ear:

"Let's go find a quieter place. I also want to give you something."

He smiled tenderly. Sett caught himself thinking that this was the first time Aphelios had spoken since losing his voice. And just that was a gift for Sett.

Aphelios' quiet and insinuating voice made the man forget about everything and blush. Intoxicated by the voice of his beloved, he said:

"Yes, Phelly…"