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When he first receives the invitation to join HEARTSTEEL, Kayn hesitates.
The other members — his possible future groupmates — can all be easily Google'd, and he doesn't even need to do that to know that 1) they're all well respected (to one extent or another) and that 2) some are living legends in their own rights.
He'd be the sore thumb in the group. A possible tarnish on their reputations. He's made a name for himself, a fact that he's proud of on good days and that he curses himself for on worse days, and unlike the others, people don't usually need to search his name to know he's (allegedly) bad news.
Rhaast croons to him from the back of his mind, though, promises of fame and glory the likes of which he deserves but has never gotten to taste, and it almost makes Kayn crack.
Almost.
He's got a habit of burning bridges (for better or for worse) and for the most part, he's never had to consider working alongside someone from his past.
At the same time, he seriously doubts Ezreal remembers ever meeting him.
———
Shortly after Ezreal made his burst onto the scene, Kayn's parents had pushed for him to do the same.
Logically, it sort of made sense.
Ezreal was young, a golden-headed role model of sorts, someone that kids and even parents respected. He was in tv shows and toy commercials, and rumors of him featuring in blockbuster films constantly cropped up.
Kayn, at the time, was around the same age. He was strong willed but quiet, not yet the walking red flag of a man he'd become later on down the road, but still not quite fitting the mold of "internationally loved child star" that Ezreal had shaped.
His parents pushed him forward regardless.
For a while, it sort of worked. He was the clear copycat, of course, the off-brand that companies reached out to when they couldn't get Ezreal — something that would irk Kayn when he was old enough to understand, but he hadn't reached that point yet.
The peak of all of this was when they were cast together.
Kayn wasn't a fan of Ezreal, by any mean. He still knew who Ezreal was, though, knew that this was the shining golden boy his parents wanted him to be, and so there still was that sense of excitement in his veins when he had been lead onto the set.
Ezreal was already there, sat on the floor with whatever toy they were supposed to be advertising. When he looked up, actually saw Kayn for the first time (to Kayn's knowledge), Kayn started to realize why he probably wouldn't ever match up to the boy sitting in front of him - his competition.
Blond hair to Kayn's black, amber eyes to Kayn's green. A softer face compared to Kayn's that, even as a kid, was strict and angled in a distinctly less-sweet way. They'd both been provided clothes for this commercial, but even the stylists seemed aware of the clear difference between them — Ezreal had been given a pastel sweatshirt and blue jeans, and Kayn had been given a layered long sleeve and darker corduroy pants.
Despite all of it, Ezreal had smiled at him — he'd always had bunny teeth, hadn't he? — and waved.
"I'm Ezreal! What's your name?"
"...I'm Kayn."
Ezreal had grinned even wider then, scooting closer to Kayn on the floor and pushing one of the toys his way.
"Let's be friends!"
Kayn had stared for a moment before finally settling on the floor and accepting the toy.
"Okay. Are you friends with everyone you work with?"
Ezreal had frowned. "They're too old. You're like me, though!"
Clearly, Kayn looked confused with the way he fiddled with the toy in his hands because Ezreal sighed, leaning over to look Kayn square in the eyes.
"You're a kid, right?"
The question was silly enough that Kayn had laughed in Ezreal's face, and the other boy — his competition, the name brand to his copycat — took that as a resounding yes.
They hadn't kept in touch after that, which was honestly to be expected. Kayn can't quite place how old he was at the time, but he knows Ezreal was somewhere between 7 and 9 years old, and that's all he needs to know to know that they really had no way to talk but through their parents.
Regardless, Kayn remembers that day well, and it's one of the few reasons why he never could bring himself to truly hate Ezreal, even when his own career as a child star crashed and burned.
———
When Kayn does finally accept the offer to join HEARTSTEEL, a 5th member has joined. Nothing shows up when Kayn searches his name, so he figures that this mysterious 5th must have some sort of dark past that will, at the very least, ensure he isn't the only one would could be responsible for the group possibly having a shit reputation.
His acceptance brings the group to a solid 6 members, and he finds that, surprisingly, the others don't seem to care about his reputation. Not even Ezreal.
Kayn's really not sure if Ezreal remembers him, much less recognizes him. He's admittedly changed a lot in terms of looks, and his history as a kid actor is buried behind his failed child popstar career and the dumpster fire of him in his last band and his current, much more shameful reputation of having been kicked out of said band.
Maybe that's why he hesitates again when Sett proposes the group tries to meet up for dinner sometime. To be fair, Yone also wants them to tour houses together, so it's not like Kayn can decline to show up (they all know he doesn't have much going on, anyways) but he still hesitates.
It's been a long time since he saw Ezreal face to face. Ezreal, still the world's golden boy, just with a new, sort of matured coat of paint. The thought of it sort of makes his skin crawl.
He shows up anyway, though. The last to arrive at the restaurant (because, of course, he has to stop at the hotel beforehand and freshen up and make sure his eyepatch is securely stuck over Rhaast's eye to avoid questions about that for now) and the second motorcycle to pull into the designated motorcycle parking, next to what he assumes to be Yone's bike.
Kayn walks in 15 minutes late, helmet under his arm and riding gear (aka a motorcycle jacket given to him by his old manager who he really should reach out to at some point) still on, and he recognizes Ezreal from across the diner.
The group all gets up from the table to properly greet him, polite handshakes (from Yone and Aphelios) and more eager invitations to the gym that next morning (from K'Sante and Sett), and then Kayn's facing Ezreal.
His hair's green now, amber eyes hidden behind the similarly gold lenses of his glasses. He gives a polite, if awkward, sort of smile, and Kayn watches it flicker as his eyes settle on the black medical eyepatch Kayn's taped over his left eye.
"It's nice to finally meet you in person, Kayn! Did... did you get hurt on the way here, or...?"
Kayn shakes his head. "Nah. I'll explain it later, but it's nothing to worry about."
Ezreal really grins then, bunny teeth showing properly, and he finally sticks his hand out. "Good to know! Welcome to the team!"
Kayn accepts the handshake with a grin. "Nice to finally meet you too, pop prince."
He cackles at Ezreal's expression, a vague mix of confusion, annoyance, and flattery, and Yone's already stepping in to tell them to sit down so they can finally order.
Together, they just sort of click.
Kayn and Ezreal bicker like long-acquainted friends, and yet Ezreal never does make any comment to suggest he recognizes Kayn.
Internally, Kayn's thankful. No one's made any mention of his previous attempts at fame aside from his last group, and the only one who possibly would've known Kayn from before then is Ezreal. That will make the whole Rhaast thing that much easier to lie about (or to eventually come clean about, whenever that may be).
He's sort of reborn, now. This is his second chance at fame — and he says second because he never could have without Rhaast, could he?
When he says goodbye to Ezreal for the night, though, and Ezreal still shows no sign of recognition, there's a piece of Kayn, buried deep, deep down, that mourns the loss of his friend.
He's starting from square one.