"You...You're not mad?" Sieon asked. He stared at her with his wide puppy dog eyes, the large brown orbs glistening with his tears.
"Not really," she told him seriously. Was she a little frustrated at the way they treated her? Maybe, but was she seriously angry? No. There was no reason for her to hate them. They could get through this and she wanted to make this work. Being angry at them would just reduce her chances of finding true happiness with her soulmates. "Could you all get on your feet? Please?"
"Are you sure?" Casper asked, looking hesitant. In fact, they all did. She gave them a pained smile.
"Yes, I'm sure." She told him.
"Not until you say, you forgive us." Hikaru replied and Oliver nodded.
"We're really sorry." Sieon pushed. Ezra remained silent, holding back his sobs as he bit at his lips.
"I'm really not angry. Seriously." She shook her head. "In fact, I'm the one who should have said sorry. I inconvenienced everyone," she let out a pained sigh. She really hated herself for that. "I made a huge mess of the situation and I made everyone-"
They were on their feet at the very next second, crowding around her as they spoke. It seemed the trick to get them to stand was to degrade herself. She bit back a smile as they surrounded her speaking rapidly in an attempt to comfort her. Their shoulders bumping into one another as they struggled to stand closer to her.
So cute.
"It wasn't your fault at all!" Sieon shook his head. "I would have fucked it up worse."
"That's not a good way to put it, but yes, we don't blame you at all." Oliver.
"It's not like you could have done much." Hikaru said quickly. "I mean, you did your best and that's what counts!"
"There's no reason for you to blame yourself for something you had no control of." Casper
"If anything it was my fault." Sieon.
"Blame our damn company for not enforcing better security." Oliver
"They're working on it but if they don't do a better job I'll quit just to protect you." Sieon.
"We'll all quit. We could move to the countryside, we'll take care of you." Casper.
"Guys." She stopped them again and they went silent. Their eyes glued to her face. She snorted smiling at how adorable they were acting. Quitting, moving? Boy-cotting the company? That was a little extreme. "We're even. Okay? I'm sorry. You're sorry." She clapped her hands together. "That's it. It balances out. Deal?" She glanced at them, her eyes meeting theirs as she spoke.
They remained quiet.
"I'm not kidding. I really just want this," she waved her hands as she tried to find the word. "Sadness to end. As I told MinJae, we are all on the same page. We only want the same thing." She nibbled on her lips looking at her hands. "I-I want my soulmates, okay?" She glanced up at them. "So deal?"
Sieon was beaming, happy that she wasn't angry anymore. Hikaru looked pleased, rubbing at his tears as he smiled sweetly at her words. Oliver was giving her a gentle grin and Casper smiled shyly. Her eyes rested on Ezra and her man gave a short nod as he looked away still conflicted and stuck within his own head.
"Ezra." She said, taking his hand. He looked at her then, pursing his lips together as thousands of emotions flickered over his features. There was hope, some confusion, but mostly uncertainty in his face. "It's okay, I forgive you." She told him carefully. Her words seemed to draw him out of his shell as he looked down at his feet, almost embarrassed at his own actions. He shifted his weight, clearing his throat from the wetness of tears.
"I fucked up."
"You did." His lips twitched at her blatant reply, but she shrugged her shoulders. "But I fucked up too. There's no point if I hold you to something you did wrong especially after you apologize and you know your mistakes. You just have to promise me you won't do it again." There really was no point holding a grudge on your loved one, it would only break the relationship and she didn't want that.
What she wanted was their love, what she wanted was her happy ending.
How the fuck was she going to get that staying angry at them?
"I won't." He was quick with his reply, his answer strong and certain. "I would never do that to you again." He shook his head to emphasise his point. "Never."
"It's easy to say things. You'll have to prove it to me." She teased her voice light and it drew out a smile from him. The upturn of his lips was sweet. It was soft and gentle like the dance of the morning sun over the horizon. It warmed her soul, lighting her up from the inside. Their smiles always did have that effect on her.
"I will. I promise."
"We promise too." Casper responded after Ezra's words and each soulmate nodded. The tension around them cleared softening into a happy glow that Amber basked in for a while. It was nice to look at them now without fear and worry in her heart and they seemed to feel the same way, watching her tenderly. Their eyes brimming with their own adoration and love for her.
Then Sieon stepped forward, fumbling as he pulled out a bouquet of roses. Her eyes widened as he held it to her, his arms stretched out completely (and a little awkwardly) straight. He was adorable like that with his bashful mannerism, shifting about shly as he practically thrusted the flowers in her face.
Not that she minded.
"We got this for you. Um, it's from all of us. MinJae included." He spoke rapidly in his excitement.
She took it from him with her free hand. The roses were huge, swathed in tiny baby breathes that danced at the sides in tiny sprigs of white. At the very centre of the arrangement, sat an adorable little white rabbit with curly fur. It was cute, awfully adorable with red beads for eyes and a little pink bow tied around its neck. She always didn't understand why lovers did cheesy things for one another, but at this moment the present was fitting and she really appreciated the gesture.
"It's cute!" She beamed, bringing the roses to her face to inhale deeply. The scent of floral sweetness filled her lungs and she grinned. Although she much preferred the scent of her soulmates. "Thank you." She stroked the head of the tiny rabbit. She looked up at them shyly, blushing at the sweet gesture.
She didn't know what to say. Her heart just felt so warm and so full.
"I know it's not as pretty as your soul flowers, but it's..." Casper seemed stuck, his cheeks blossoming into twin circles of pink. "Uhhhh." He was definitely bad at being romantic. He struggled to speak, something that was unlike the leader of the team. Amber bit back a snort, watching as he panicked. Oliver seemed to be unable to stand the team leader, stepping forward to take over.
"What he means is this represents our love for you." The minute the word 'love' escaped Oliver's lips he fumbled, desperately trying to explain himself as his cheeks reddened. "WELL, I MEAN THE LOVE WE WILL GROW TO HAVE. It's okay if you still don't love all of us I-WE-"
She laughed smiling at his words. "I get what you mean, stop panicking." Oliver flushed, scratching his cheek, a nervous habit that sent another wave of adoration through her. Then Ezra reached into his pocket and took her hand quickly, forcing her to drop her bouquet on the bed. "W-what?" He slipped the ring on her ring finger without another word. Her heart raced in her chest, pounding loudly at the sudden gesture.
Holy fuck!
"Mmm," Ezra hummed in approval, his voice low and deliciously gruff. "It fits perfectly. No need to get it fitted at the jeweller."
"Huh?" She squeaked, staring at the accessory.
It was a cool band of silver that circled her finger and dipped to form a 'V', drawing her eyes to a single, tiny diamond at the very tip. The diamond was awfully radiant, the dispersion of light creating an illusion that the gemstone glowed from within. The bouncing light that danced from mirrored surface to mirrored surface created a magical twinkle that blinded her eyes. This was no ordinary cheap crystal, and the sheer amount of sparkle it exuded was evidence of its worth.
"A promise ring." MinJae murmured from behind her, finally speaking as he moved to hug her, nuzzling her neck.
"It's our promise." Hikaru continued on softly. "It's our promise that from now on we will stay by your side," He grinned. "We will cherish you, we will take care of you forever and we will never let you go."
She cried then, unable to stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks at his words. Her sudden outburst resulted in more panic in the room as the guys tried to stop her from crying to which she had laughed at, all the while still crying.
She could not have been happier.
A/N:
I know many of you don't like/are surprised by how forgiving Amber is. And many of you wouldn't have forgiven her as well. 2 years later, I'm reading this again and I think she's an asshole. I've got to do a major update to this entire arc. I can really see that I'm writing this for the sake of the plot and not the character development.
The first time I wrote this my sole aim was just extreme miscommunication. I also thought everyone should forgive because ...(idk where this saying is from and idk if it's scientifically accurate) You know willow trees? When it snows, they bend their branches to accommodate the weight of the snow. It is why they will never break. The situation is like the snow, the willow tree is you and you're basically supposed to bend a little, to just let down your pride so that you (and your relationship) can stand tall again when the snow melts away(solving the issue together and letting time ease out the anger so that both can understand one another).
BUT URGH. I don't feel this way anymore.
Both parties are in the wrong. Sure, Amber was the one who almost died because they didn't want to listen. And yes, Amber is the least experienced and was traumatized by her initial meeting with them. I think she deserved to almost die, she screwed that one up on her own.
But that doesn't devalue the pain that IDOL experienced. To IDOL, Amber was cheating on them, she was fooling around with their already broken hearts and hurting their loved ones with her actions. She should have come clean instead of staying quiet, that would have helped her a lot more. I should have made her try harder, and I should have made it clear that they didn't believe her the entire time.
That being said thank you for the comments! I'll make sure to rewrite this entire segment. There will be a lot more angst, a lot more realism. For sure, this isn't going to go on easily.