Ezra
His soulmate was brilliant.
Amber had a strange talent for the body switching; she could harness the abilities that laid deep within their muscles and take what she'd learnt to imbed it within another. And from there, she would perform a new feat that they could never hope to achieve on their own.
It was fucking hilarious to watch Hikaru backstage, settling deep within Amber's body, but with his mouth wide open and gawking at the screen. His original frame was controlled by their darling, and she was pulverising a rap solo that Hikaru could never achieve with that much growl and that much heat.
And did she just take MinJae's signature body wave and do it in Sieon's body with his thumbs digging in his waistband, his hips gyrating, turning fans rabid and salivating? It was like watching a master class of their fullest potential.
And it did make Ezra feel a little strange, just a tiny bit attacked—God, fucking damn it, it was like a tight slap to the ass cheek, a paddle in her hands and a tug of a collar to his throat. Because he too had to watch himself with dance moves that rivalled MinJae's and the vocal control of JieMi's calibre. His sudden mastery in a new language when they waved goodbye to their fans was sensational, and he caught sight of tears in his supporters' eyes.
She'd stolen his body and forced his voice to reach new heights that he could never achieve without auto-tune and studio editing. And she'd walk out of there, down the steps of the backstage, sweating and glossy in his body, smiling so prettily as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Because it was that easy, and he was just a baby.
'Did I do well?' Would be the first question out of her mouth, so lacking in self-confidence that it should make him cry because there was no way someone that good could have that much insecurity. He'd show her that, begging for her to switch back so that he could kiss her on the mouth for a full minute and hope that their soul bond would not go crazy with distress.
Because she was a singer's wet dream, the motherfucking cheat code of all cheat codes. The diamond power booster in a game, the answer sheet in an exam. She was exactly what he wished for when he had bad days and just prayed to God for someone to take his place just so he didn't have to see another human face.
It was a strange boon to have her there and providing, a benefit that none of them had seen and only now realised. And he felt it, warm in his chest with their crazy child in his arms, loving it and hating it at the same time. Their curse was a golden experience of the wildest dreams.
Online, there were millions of confused fans with videos and lengthy posts about the extreme improvements that came from each member. The sudden burst of stage presence from a different member for each concert was as if it were all planned. And the curious change in dynamics, where they'd all gravitate around that now better member.
Of course, the team would react differently when it was their Amber in that body, their eyes shifting to hers and growing a thousand times more loving. Their bodies circling around her like planets to a sun. The fan service was always better when they seemed so much happier with her on stage.
Ezra supposed that they were getting used to the body switching, could see her within a new body. The quirk of her lips and the mannerisms that spun through her frame, resting in the twitch of her fingers. The way she tried to walk like that member but couldn't stop the sway of her hips from a different bone structure. And the amazing posture, back so straight and figure so poised just because they didn't have milk heavy breasts and so her chest was just so much lighter. (And fuck, her pretty boobs did hurt like a motherfucker, so heavy and thick on her body that he had to cup them just to walk sometimes.)
It wasn't too hard to look at a new face and see the outlines of their Amber.
And he could find her so easily with the sweet little glow of her skin, the firefly like glitter of her soul seeping through a new body. He'd recognise her anywhere. And of course, instead of his buddies, he'd go searching for her, his feet moving across the stage, wanting to get closer, to stare longingly at her.
Then he would pause mid-step, brows furrowed because that wasn't in the fan service and all the plans for the cameras. And he had to stay beside Casper and sing the next line—But wait, was that Casper right next to their Amber? Standing at the other end of the stage, with his arms around her shoulders?
Motherfucker. He'd stormed to them and then totally forgot about his plans to pull Casper away. He would have to finish that song at the wrong side of the stage, and with the wrong group of people. And they would make amends for their fans later, but first he just had to do fan service with his soulmate.
Ezra just had to let her carry him on her back and run across the stage in JieMi's body, making full use of her newfound strength. He just had to start a water fight with her and allow a full bottle of water to his face. He just had to get a towel to his hair, a gummy smile on his lips, his laughter bubbling through him so hard that he couldn't really breathe. Then he couldn't really sing, and his cheeks were hurting so much he just had to stop smiling for a second.
'Was it fun?' She'd smile at him later, bright eyed and beaming so widely as he scooped her smaller frame into his arms. 'I could carry you so easily!' God, of course, he'd say that it was fun. It was fun to see his soulmate so happy. He'd bounce her in his arms, his mood a million times better just because she was there by his side. And God, they were so stinkingly happy to have her there it was pathetic.
The trending videos of their performances in short little clips and with millions of views were all Amber. Amber with a smile that they did not have, and a voice they could not achieve without her. She was the perfect substitute. And he'd said that to her, swore it in a soft voice filled with awe again and again every night she managed something extraordinary. His hands laced with hers as she cradled their quietly suckling baby, who seemed so much more docile when it was her real mommy breastfeeding her.
The moments when she was just Amber didn't last long. She couldn't quite keep herself there, struggled to remain as herself. Had mentioned that it was like a building pressure in her chest, one that grew heavy and stinging the longer she kept herself there without a distraction to take her away from the tension.
And he'd seen it once, the pale looks on her face when she'd tried for too long. The blue that was etched in her features, the tremors that wracked through her frame. She'd stayed seated by their baby, looking worse with each minute that crawled by, singing weakly to Rumiko. Then vomited three times right after when she could do it no more in his body. Amber had seemed so weakened and sick from it; he'd spent a full hour sponging off sweat and calming her down.
The doctors said that it would get better with time. That there was no need to rush to force their souls to remain in place. That it was all just a side effect of being apart for too long, and now their needy souls had decided that slipping into the bodies of the other was the best it could do to heal. That it needed to stay within the other's warm, wet fleshy frame.
And for fuck's sake, wasn't that just an innuendo for fucking? Ezra reckoned making love would work the same, had licked his lips and squinted at the brochures that boasted on the miracles of sex for all soul related issues. The first question out of Sieon's mouth later had been about intercourse. And the doctors had seemed unsure, had nodded, and hummed when they'd mentioned their fears on switching mid-coitus.
'You could experience that,' was their agreement, 'it did happen with some couples. You can try, but you might switch.' They didn't seem sure, and Casper had deemed it unsafe, shook his head because not all of them were willing to suck another person's cock and balls. But honestly? Ezra didn't give a flying fuck. But he respected their privacy and so he remained waiting for the short little spurts of time when Amber was Amber.
And those moments were enough for him to give her plenty of kisses, but not enough love.
And then he'd asked with genuine honesty if she wanted to give music a go, because he would be her producer. And he went on lovingly, listing the things he'd do for her. A full album with ten songs. He'd do twenty if they included a track just for little babies, and one just for adults. In a breathy almost begging voice, he'd waxed poetically about a song with their sex noises, not just her moans.
'Were my masturbation sounds not enough for you?' She'd teased, drew a circle on his chest that had him shivering a little, his belly fluttering with butterflies, cheeks growing warm like a little schoolgirl's. 'You listen to that track all the time. It's getting embarrassing.'
'My best jerk off material, and I love it,' he promised. 'But I thought we could make a part two,' he'd blinked, 'but we'll have to be studious. Repeat a few times so I get the best ones. I've got a couple of ideas. An ASMR where one of us is struggling to cum, a diss track where I'm struggling to cum, and you make me do at the end. Or a love song where we both cum.'
'You're struggling half the time.'
'Thought it'd be fair since you did in the first one. But we could try all of them and see what sticks.'
'You just want a few tracks,' she'd teased. 'You want a few tries, perv.'
'Fuck yes, I do,' he agreed. 'But this time you'll get mine too.' He promised, allowed his voice to drop a little lower, a little sticky, just a bit more sensual. He'd hummed, made his voice rumble and twist around the word. 'Mm, your own track. I'll make one for no one else but you.' Those words had the effect he wanted, and she'd grown pink and had stayed far longer in her own body after that.
And of course, they would also do a song together with a music video where he'd be the king to her queen. Then he would fund all her promotions and buy all her albums, so she wouldn't have to worry about fans because he would be her biggest fan. To that she'd laughed, sank into his arms, so much tinier and sweeter in his clothes to kiss him on the lip.
'God, no,' she'd said, 'my talent is all you. You, but with a little of everyone else. It is a team effort.' Their baby had vomited milk down her front then, but it didn't matter that much when his lover was laughing and teasing the little one. Nothing like how Ezra had reacted when he was alone and struggling to burp her.
And as the tour crawled by, the countries they covered increasing, she'd taken her place right by their side, performing on stage for the entire show. Amber was no longer missing a dance or two, skipping out on a solo or changing the routine just to make it easier for her.
She could solve a million different problems that came with a new body within two hours. Was somehow even better at managing the stress of formation changes and last-minute stage problems then they were. And God, they weren't just as good as her, couldn't do things the way she could.
And Ezra learnt that quickly when a fight had ensued.