Work Text:
It starts, like many things in his life, with Dustin being incapable of not acting on a thought the minute it jumps into his mind.
He almost misses the Instagram notification. His phone only gives him push notifications if someone he follows likes or comments on a post, but he rarely pays attention. However, this time the notification comes about ten seconds after he posts the picture.
silent_samurai liked your photo
Dustin frowns at his phone and taps the notification curiously. It’s a fast like for anyone who doesn’t have his post notifications turned on, but maybe the dude just opened his Insta feed as Dustin posted, so it was a coincidence. He gives his own post a critical once-over.
It’s a barely edited selfie of him throwing up a peace sign in front of his latest restoration project: a badly beaten up old bass guitar. The caption reads, “Newest project officially STARTED!!! Jazzed about getting my hands on this baby. Expect the vid up by next Thurs 🔥🔥🔥 Thanks @tsunamitori for the hook up 🌊🐬”
He stares at it for another moment before slapping his forehead and muttering, “Duh, Dustin” out loud. silent_samurai is a guitar player; that must be why he liked the post immediately! Quickly, Dustin clicks through to silent_samurai’s page, an idea already taking root. He gets momentarily sidetracked looking at the latest pics to make sure he’s liked them all, like a friendy person would. They’re mostly black and white or sepia, none of them selfies, and all of them with only a few words in the captions. The most recent was posted yesterday: a shot of a computer set up in black and white with the caption, “editing day.” No emojis in sight. Privately, Dustin thinks that’s sad. But the post already has 500k likes and 4k comments, so he guesses the sentiment isn’t shared.
Regardless of the lack of emojis, he opens up a DM with silent_samurai and sends the following message without a thought:
deconstructingdustin:
Yoooooo dude!! SUCH a big fan of ur guitar skills 😱😱😱 I know ur in the Blue Bay Harbor area so like do you wanna collab or smth when I’m done with the latest project 🤭 even if it’s just a clip of u playing the bad boy when its done that would be soooo rad 😰 hmu if ur interested 🤠
He closes Instagram and puts it out of his mind to finish setting up the camera for time-lapse.
It’s nearly midnight when Dustin calls it a day on filming, shutting down the camera and lights before packing them away. He throws a tarp over his work so far and shuts off the work lights in the studio too. Idly, he checks his phone as he grabs his bags to head home. He dismisses a couple of new video notifications from his friends (Tori and Shane’s “Board Swap” finally went up, so he’s looking forward to watching Shane fall off a surfboard over and over again when he gets on the bus) and opens up an Instagram notification about bradleybros commenting on his recent post. He replies to the “Are you keeping it red???? -Hunter” with a few choice emojis (“🥴🤢🤮...💛⭐️🌟🌼🐝 🌝). He sees he has a DM notification and clicks on it reflexively, not even remembering his impulse message from earlier.
Timestamped within 10 minutes of his original message—
silent_samurai:
I don’t really collaborate; sorry.
Then, two hours later—
silent_samurai:
Sorry if that sounds rude. It’s nothing personal. I do quite enjoy your content. Your recent video with BradleyBros about dirt bike modifications to increase speed without compromising maneuvering was quite informative and entertaining.
Dustin rushes to reply.
deconstructingdustin:
Heyyyy man!! I was filming sry 2 ignore u!!!!! 😳😳😳 No sweat at allll I know ur a private person what with the no talking no face reveal stuff. I’m a big fan of ur work too though!!!! tbh i keep ur lowfi playlist on reeeepeat when I’m doing long haul projects 🥵 keeps me focused 😎😜
And yooo thanks for the love on that collab!!!! we all love helping fellow bikers out..... you bike?????
Dustin closes Instagram and opens the unread texts from his manager, not expecting a prompt reply from the ever mysterious silent_samurai.
As he waits for the bus, he shoots off a few messages to his manager about his upcoming commitments. Talking with his manager sometimes feels like having a mom again. Yes, he’s on schedule for next Thursday’s upload. No, he didn’t forget about the radio interview on Monday, and yes, he practiced the questions already. Yes, he’s sent the last collab footage to the editor, and no, he didn’t forget to thank the sponsor in the beginning and end of the video. He almost dismisses the Instagram notification he gets out of misplaced frustration, but then his eye catches the username, and he scrambles to open it.
The bus pulls up as he reads the message from silent_samurai, and he almost forgets to get on board. Almost.
silent_samurai:
No, I just think the mechanics of bikes are fascinating. You won’t really catch me doing much physical or outdoor activity voluntarily.
His face stretches into a grin as he replies.
deconstructingdustin:
Omg so ur not a real samurai???? 🥺 I’m heartbroken tbh 😨💔🤕
There’s a reply dinging before he can even lock his phone again, which makes him smile wider.
silent_samurai:
Sorry to disappoint. I was 13 and a nerd about samurai movies when I made the YouTube account. And I unfortunately got notorious before I thought to change it.
deconstructingdustin:
Oh so ur not a nerd now??? 😏😏😏
Worry flashes briefly that he’s being too familiar with a stranger (coming in a voice that sounds suspiciously like Tori’s), but he shakes his head to clear that. He’s just being friendly.
Luckily, a reply distracts him.
silent_samurai:
Haha, very funny. If you’re a fan, you know I’m a nerd about plenty of things, just not samurai movies anymore.
deconstructingdustin:
Lmao I do know how you get about new guitars... and old ones!! Which is why I offered to collab lolz. Again totally respect u not wanting to but the offer stands indefinitely! Like I said u could just do a clip of sound of u playing it u don’t actually have to appear or even show ur face to me!!!! We could do a dead drop of the guitar like in spy movies 😳🤯🤫🤭
He sends that, then quickly sends another message:
But like again totally fine if u don’t wanna 🙅🙅🙅🙅
He grimaces and locks his phone, looking out the bus window at the quickly passing nighttime cityscape. He always comes on too strong when trying to make new friends.
His phone dings, and he’s a little embarrassed about the speed at which he moves to open the notification.
silent_samurai:
I’ll think about it; I promise 👍
The one boring emoji makes Dustin’s heart soar, and he replies at a speed that almost concerns him with seven 🥰 emojis.
He smiles all the way to his stop.
~~~
interlude
YouTube trending page the day after
#1 Kira Ford - Prehistoric [OFFICIAL MV]
#2 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - New Official Trailer
#3 Minecraft SPEEDRUN-- SHOCKING ENDING?
#4 SURPRISE COLLAB! Marah and Kapri Makeover DECONSTRUCTING DUSTIN!
#5 Can a Pro Surfer and a Pro Skater SWAP BOARDS? BOARD SWAP with ShaneStorm!
~~~
Dustin didn’t mean to be a “YouTuber.” Really, truly, it was not in his ten year plan when he was in high school. Shane always had one eye on the internet for his livelihood, but Dustin was always more go with the flow. He started uploading his bike restoration processes (almost completely unedited with terrible camera quality and shit lighting) when he was 16 and found his first project at the dump. His videos started taking off when big names in dirt biking started sharing some of the more impressive ones right before Dustin graduated high school with a mechanics job lined up at a local shop. By that time, he’d kinda learned how to edit, had a slightly better camera bookmarked to buy after his first paycheck, and had started restoring more than just old bikes. Old clocks, old cars, old jewelry— He did it all. And has continued to do it all, to lucrative results.
“What if I found an old samurai sword to do next?” He voices this thought aloud to Blake as they both clean their bikes off after a muddy run. Blake gives him a look that isn’t necessarily discouraging, but isn’t exactly enthusiastic.
“If that’s what you wanna do man... Ask Kelly to find you one.”
Dustin nods thoughtfully. The problem is that Blake is too agreeable. Great for hanging, not good for bouncing video opinions off of. Shane, Tori, or Hunter were more likely to tell it to him like it is.
Or...
Dustin stops cleaning to pull his phone out and shoot off a DM.
deconstructingdustin:
Do u think I should do a samurai sword next??? 🗡
He pockets his phone and goes back to cleaning. He and silent_samurai have been messaging pretty consistently since the previous Saturday when they started up. Dustin’s sent a few memes for SS (as he’s taken to calling him) to judge, SS has sent a few nature shots to prove he goes outside sometimes (Dustin worries). Dustin thinks they’re friends, even. He doesn’t stress about not getting a reply for a few hours. SS said he’d be busy today until late. His phone dings a reply when he’s back home, almost immediately after his email pings him that the editor sent the finished video for today through. He prioritizes the email, since he can almost hear Kelly (his manager) fussing in his head about upload times.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Guitar Restoration Video Edited
Attachments: guitarvideodustin.vid
Dustin,
Hope this is up to par. As always, let me know any necessary adjustments.
Best wishes,
CyberCam
Editor for Ops Entertainment
Dustin snorts. Like he’s ever had to tell CyberCam to adjust anything.
CyberCam was hired by Kelly to edit for all her talent about a year and a half ago, so the dude edits for Shane, Tori, the Bradley Bros, and Dustin. He’s always prompt and professional in email but is absolutely hilarious in the editing. He’s got his own mini fandom within theirs, comments often reading “Like for a CyberCam takeover day” or “CyberCam appreciation comment” with thousands of likes each.
Dustin clicks on his edited video to “approve” (though he knows it will be perfect).
Dustin’s face comes up on his screen, holding the camera high above his head and grinning. “What is POPPING Dust Bunnies! Welcome BACK to a new restoration vid! Today uhhhh” (his camera self looks around his work room briefly before back up at the camera) “We’re doing a special project. Well, they’re always special, I guess.” He looks contemplative and text pops up next to his head saying Dustin’s three braincells working overtime up here...
And THAT would be CyberCam.
“Yeah, well, this old guitar is actually a GIFT from one of the viewers!” He moves the camera to show the old guitar leaning up against a workbench. “So that’s why it’s special. I can’t wait to pop this baby open and deconstruct her! And then, you know, put her back together... You know the drill.” More text that says Hi, first time viewers. Dustin winces, realizing his past self was definitely assuming that everyone was a repeat viewer. Good burn, CyberCam. “Anyway!” Dustin chirps on screen again. “This is the part where CyberCam puts up all the little arrows telling you how to like and subscribe and turn on post notifications. Do ya thing, CyberCam!” He points at the camera lens with a wink. Cut to a black screen with a noise like a TV cutting off. Small white text just saying don’t tell me what to do appears. Then the TV noise again, and Dustin’s face is back, and the little arrows he’s used to are there. On screen-Dustin says, “Let’s get started!” and then the video proper rolls.
As always, Dustin has no notes. It’s flawlessly edited with the funniest bits highlighted and CyberCam’s little text jumping in every so often to deliver a quip or explain to the audience something Dustin forgot to mention. Early on, CyberCam kept much of the snark contained to emails, but after positive reception on one of Shane’s videos, the rest of them asked that he unleash his full personality on them. They’d all seen an uptick in viewership since then.
Dustin finishes the video, shoots off a quick “Perfect thx man” email back, and then sets about uploading it. As it’s rendering, he opens the DM from SS to reply.
silent_samurai:
I think you would cut yourself on a samurai sword.
deconstructingdustin:
Hmmm interesting. Do u think u could capture that emotion in an emoji for me so I can understand it??🤔
He’s been trying to get SS to understand his need for emojis to communicate properly, but it’s been kind of an uphill battle.
SS messages back.
silent_samurai:
🙄
Dustin laughs, but then his video finishes rendering, so he posts it, then takes to his various socials to announce the drop.
YouTube Community:
“Dust Bunnies 🐰 What do you think of the final product? Will I learn how to play it? Or should @SilentSamurai just do it for me? 🤔” with a link to the video.
Twitter:
“Yo~ Dust Bunnies!!! NEW restoration vid is UPPPP 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Check out ‘Restoring a 75 Year Old Fan’s Guitar?’ live NOWWWWWW. Link in replies! Also spam @silent_samurai so he caves and lets me pawn this guitar off on him please 🙏” with a screenshot of the thumbnail included.
Instagram:
A picture of the guitar before restoration
Caption: “Restoring a 75 Year Old Fan’s Guitar?” is LIVE! 🤯 Check out the Insta story for the link. COMMENT if you think @silent_samurai should play this bad boyyyyyy 🎸🎸😉😜😉😜
TikTok:
A short loop of the final product with a glitter overlay and text saying “See the process over on my YT: deconstructingdustin 🥵🥵 And go bother @silent_samurai about playing this puppy 🐶”
About five minutes later, he gets another DM.
silent_samurai:
So much for “no pressure” right?
Dustin’s heart stops and plummets simultaneously. He scrambles to reply quickly.
deconstructingdustin:
Oh my god I’m so sorry!!!! I didn’t even think!!! I was just trying to joke around 😰😰😰😰😰 I’ll delete the posts!!!!!
He goes to do just that, but SS messages back quickly.
silent_samurai:
No, no, I was kidding too.
A pause. Then,
silent_samurai:
I guess this is why you use so many emojis.
“So much for ‘no pressure’ right 😜”
Good emoji use?
Dustin sighs in relief.
deconstructingdustin:
GREAT EMOJI USE 🎉🎊🥳
silent_samurai:
🥰
Dustin grins, a funny swooping feeling in his stomach.
He wakes up the next morning to a demanding text from Tori to “Check ur YT comments.” Still waking up, he texts back “Too early 👎 🖕”
There’s another text from Kelly: “When were you going to tell me about a new collab partner?”
That one makes Dustin pause. Timidly, he opens his YouTube app to check his comments.
Top comments:
DustyBunnySurfsToStormTheCharger 5 hours ago
omg Dustin and Samurai flirting is sooo cute 😍
1.5k likes
LesbianIconHunterBradley 2 hours ago
Dustin/Silent Samurai is NOT what I expected from my year but I’m not complaining
1.2k likes
CyberStan
No one:
Absolutely no one:
Not even Marah and Kapri:
Silent Samurai: Let me just ruin this whole fandom’s day 🤣🤣
Edit: omg guys thanks for the likes!!!!!!
1k likes
Dustin blinked at his phone, confused. His brain loads for a second before he thinks to check his subscription box.
SilentSamurai has uploaded a new video:
days into weeks — original composition
1:52 runtime
The title doesn’t tell him anything by itself. Dustin clicks through to watch.
Like most SilentSamurai videos, it is low production: obviously filmed on an old camera or phone, from a frankly bad angle, with almost no lighting, and not edited. The camera is on the floor as SilentSamurai’s form moves away from it, clearly having pressed the record button. The way the light source in the room is placed obscures most of his figure, but Dustin can make out the forest green beanie on his head, a dark face mask covering his nose and mouth, and a pair of glasses before he moves to where his head is out of frame. His guitar settles in his lap, and he strums a few cords before going into the song proper. It’s a beautiful cord progression, lacking vocals as always (hence the silent part of SilentSamurai). The small song is good, of course, and Dustin immediately wants it on a playlist, but he’s not sure why it would spark the comments that it did. It was posted last night shortly after Dustin’s video. He scrolls down a little to check the comments and clocks the already 900k views, and then the description box catches his eyes.
practicing for a collab, maybe... watch out Dustin.
His heart skips a beat, and he feels fully awake now. A quick glance at SilentSamurai’s comment section shows that it is similarly filled with gushing comments over their sudden public friendship and possible collaboration. Dustin’s confused by the reception but doesn’t let him bother him for long. He’s got other notifications to attend to.
On Twitter, he’s got a retweet from SilentSamurai on his promo tweet and a reply which is just a 🤔 emoji (which makes Dustin’s heart swell). On TikTok, there’s a duet with part of the guitar video he posted, no additional caption. On Instagram, silent_samurai commented: I guess if that’s what the people want...
All the interactions and comments leave Dustin warm and fuzzy all over. He closes all his apps before he explodes from happiness. His new friend likes him! He wants to collab!
He’s out of bed and making breakfast with a smile on his face (after giving Kelly a satisfyingly vague answer) when his phone buzzes with Shane’s contact. He grabs it with a “Hey bro; what’s up?”
“Hey man; when are you headed over for filming?” he asks.
Dustin throws a look over his shoulder at the kitchen clock. He winces at the 10:30am that blinks back. “Uhhhh gimme like ten? Fifteen? And I’ll head over.”
“Cool, cool, see ya soon man!” Shane hangs up. His insane preference for phone calls over texts always baffles other people. Not Dustin, though. He likes hearing his voice.
He eats his breakfast fast, throws some real clothes on, splashes some water on his face, brushes his teeth, and is out the door in ten minutes.
(Shane lives down the street from Dustin, which is convenient for collabs and inconvenient for when Shane shows up at Dustin’s house at 3 in the morning tipsy.)
Tori’s already there when he walks through the unlocked front door, setting up the camera and lights while Shane bangs around in the kitchen to the left.
“Hey Dustin; come help me!” Tori calls him over, seeming to be engaged in a fight with a tangled extension cord. Dustin rushes to assist her, managing to tame the beast within a couple of moments.
“So,” Tori prompts, settling back to watch Dustin finish setting up the box light. “What’s up with you and SilentSamurai, huh?” Dustin is glad his back is to her while he plugs the light in because he’s sure his face is burning.
“Nothings ‘up’ with us, dude,” Dustin says, maybe a touch defensive.
Tori laughs. “So he posted collab-bait all on his own? Come on, Dustin, spill!”
He turns back to her, huffing in annoyance. “Okay, so maybe I DM-ed him first, but he’s the one who kept it up!”
Tori looks a little too delighted by how worked up Dustin is getting. She raises her voice. “Shane! Get in here! Dustin has a crush!”
“We’re just talking a little, that’s all!” Dustin raises his volume to match hers as Shane sticks his head around the corner with eyebrows raised. At whatever face Dustin is making, Shane immediately laughs. “Oh dude, she’s right; you got it bad.”
Dustin lobs a (hopefully) dirty look at both of them before saying pointedly, “He liked my post first, okay.”
Tori shrieks. “Did you hear that, Shane?? Did you hear that? A boy liked Dustin’s post first!”
“Shut up!!” Dustin scream-laughs, reaching over to hit her. “We’re just friends, I swear!”
Shane laughs along with them for a minute before saying, “Come on, Tor, let him have his crush. He’ll tell us when he gets serious about it.” He disappears back into the kitchen as Tori gives Dustin one last teasing look before moving to help him with the other lights.
It takes them only about ten minutes to finish setting up (and for Shane to finish making snacks they don’t need). Before he knows it, they’re seating in front of the camera, and Shane is hitting record.
The collab is posted after the weekend; CyberCam rushed it so it could go up on Monday. Since it’s for Shane’s channel, he doesn’t see it until it’s posted.
It starts with Shane’s intro graphic like usual, then—
“What’s good Stormers; welcome to... uh... well I guess it’s a Q&A, right?” He glances at Tori and Dustin each to confirm.
CyberCam’s little white text interjects with, why are you unsure, Shane...?
Tori scoffs. “It’s your video dumbass.”
Shane shoves her. “Shut up! Okay, yes welcome to our Q&A! If you haven’t met me, I’m Shane. I like skateboards. And these are my two friends.” Shane’s socials pop up around his head as he intros. Then he gestures to Tori.
“I’m Tori. In Shane’s words, I like surfboards.” She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Likewise, her socials pop up around her.
“And I’m Dustin! I like… old broken shit?” He glances at the other two to confirm, but they just laugh at him. Explains why he likes Shane... comes CyberCam’s comment before Dustin’s socials also pop up.
Tori speaks. “We get a lot of questions about... us? What our relationships are, what our deal is, etc.”
Shane nods and adds, “We’re all seen a lot of new subscribers in the past year or so, so we just wanna make sure everyone knows who we are to each other!”
Dustin chimes in with, “By the way, thanks to CyberCam for editing our videos. I’m sure he is on the screen right now, but lots of you guys seem to stick around for him, so we just wanted to shout him out.” Sure enough, CyberCam’s words say way to make a guy blush
Shane claps his hands together authoritatively. “So! First question.” He reaches to pull it out of a jar in front of them with slips of paper in it. “From ThunderStormCharger here on YouTube: When did you three meet?” CyberCam has helpfully provided a screenshot of the question.
“We met in our senior year of high school,” Tori provides. “We, uh... well this is kind of an embarrassing story in hindsight but we took the same taekwondo class?”
Dustin grimaces. “We were all the worst in the class... but that’s how we got closer!”
Tori nods. “Yeah that and the... you know. The soulmate stuff.”
Shane says, “I think there’s another question about that in here...”
CyberCam puts up, what a tease.
Shane’s already pulled out the next question. They blow through a few about old videos, old collabs (a dating rumor about international pop star Kira Ford and Tori, which Dustin knows is not unfounded), and some menial stuff like favorite foods before Dustin pulls out the question, “From DustRoyalty on Twitter: do the three of you keep your soul marks covered on purpose?” Again, a screenshot is provided (with the 😳👀 emojis that were in the original, which Dustin appreciates).
Shane takes the question confidently, and Dustin is surprised that his own face on camera does not betray his feelings on the subject.
“Yes. It was a suggestion from our manager when we got one, and we all have the same manager. Hi Kelly, by the way.” He flashes a smile at the camera. CyberCam says hi Kelly :) “We each have kind of unique soul marks, and some of us have not met those involved in our soul marks. We keep them private because not everyone has our best intentions at heart, unfortunately. So we’d like them to stay hidden.”
Soul mark and soulmate talk always makes the group of them vaguely uncomfortable, Shane especially so before he met Tori and Dustin (and then Blake and Hunter). Unconsciously, Dustin rubs at his forearm where he should have a soul mark. That’s the thing Kelly suggested they hide from their viewers: they don’t have soul marks. Right where the first words you hear your soulmate say should appear on their arms, they all have nothing. It was a bonding point for the three of them. They hadn’t met anyone like that before, until they met Blake and Hunter a couple of years later. The five of them were advised by Kelly to hide their arms on camera since someone watching their videos might use it to take advantage of them. It had never really bothered Dustin when he turned 18 and no soul mark appeared; romance had never really been on the forefront of his mind. It only started to bother him when people started incessantly asking about it. Not having a soul mark usually meant that your soul mate had died before you got the chance to meet them. This is what Dustin didn’t understand about the whole thing: why didn’t the cosmos just reshuffle and give them all new ones, then? He liked Shane and Tori and Blake and Hunter all just fine, and all of them had blank arms. Couldn’t he get one of them instead of his (probably) dead soulmate? Not that it mattered all the much to him, personally. He loved all his friends regardless.
Tori on screen continues, “Our love life is very funny, though. Maybe CyberCam can show a dating tree?”
A TV cut off noise sounds, and the screen goes black. Dustin can almost hear CyberCam’s exasperation through the on screen text that reads why do i have to do everything around here before a crude relationship tree begins appearing, complete with stick figures. It shows Tori who is dating Blake and sometimes hooks up with Hunter (who both receive a real and unflattering picture complete with social tags since they don’t appear in the video), Hunter who is dating Shane, and Dustin who hooks up with Shane and Hunter. Then CyberCam adds another stick figure in the corner, labels it “CyberCam,” and adds the caption left out :( which makes current-Dustin giggle. The trio reappears, and Tori finishes with, “It can definitely be confusing for people, but we just all communicate with each other, so we don’t have issues, really.”
Shane plasters on a sickly sweet smile, and says “And we all looooove each other,” in a gross tone while moving to pinch Tori’s cheeks. She shrieks in mock outrage while on screen-Dustin cackles. Eventually, they move on to more questions, but Dustin keeps thinking about CyberCam’s little note. None of them have met CyberCam outside of emails, as far as he knows, so he’s pretty sure CyberCam was joking, but as the video wraps up, the comment still bugs him. Frowning, he scrolls down to the comments on the video. He’s a little taken by surprise by what he sees there.
Top comments:
silentstormcharger 3 hours ago
Thank you for clarifying and opening up about your dating life, and trusting your fans with so much! It’s always great to see how much you love and support each other no matter who is dating 💗 Real fans support you guys too!!
700 likes
reply from greenforeststorm:
but why are they so evasive about the soulmate stuff?? obviously they would just come out and say it if any of them are soulmates...
reply from gutiarnerd34:
literally who cares if they are; blake and tori are too cute together for anybody to bother with semantics
thunderpunks 57 minutes ago
like you wouldn’t smash both bradley bros if you got a chance 🙄
400 likes
CyberDustinStan 40 minutes ago
omg but did u see CyberCam get all jealous and how flirty he was with Dustin 😏😏😍😍
79 likes
This last comment makes Dustin pause again, worried about CyberCam all alone somewhere just editing videos of friends hanging out. He’s never thought about it before, but now the thought won’t leave. So he does what he always does: act on it.
He opens an email to CyberCam and pounds out a quick “Hey man. Sorry if this is weird or anything, but do you wanna hang out this weekend? There’s a new burger joint that’s supposed to be sick. Let me know!”
Feeling accomplished, he hits send and goes about his day.
He’s in the zone on his latest project, music blaring in his work station, when his phone dings with a notification. He checks it absentmindedly, but when he sees who it’s from, he turns his full attention to it.
silent_samurai:
So how do you plan to get the guitar to me for the collab?
A smile blooms quickly and easily, warmth flooding Dustin’s chest at the message.
deconstructingdustin:
My dude!!!!!!! Im down for however is easiest for u tbh bc I kinda feel like I backed u into a corner here 🥺
silent_samurai:
I promise you didn’t. I really do want to play the guitar.
Dustin bites his lip to keep from smiling even harder. Before he can reply, another message comes in.
silent_samurai:
What about the new burger place on Tidal Street?
deconstructingdustin:
Dino Bite Cafe???? Heck yeah!! 🍔 🍔🍔🍔When do you wanna meet??
silent_samurai:
Is tonight too soon?
deconstructingdustin:
MY DUDE!!!! NO OF COURSE NOT!!! What about at 6??? 😍😍
silent_samurai:
6 works for me. I should warn you about something before we meet, though.
deconstructingdustin:
Omg are u a spy😳
silent_samurai:
No, unfortunately. It’s just about the “silent” part of my name… I can’t actually speak? I’m not Deaf, so I’ll hear you just fine. I just can’t talk to you.
Dustin pauses before replying, trying to figure out how he’s supposed to react to that.
deconstructingdustin:
Will you, like, need help ordering ur food?? Bc I can totally do that 📝
silent_samurai:
No, I write or type what I want to say and show it to people, so I just do that for wait staff.
A moment passes before he messages again.
silent_samurai:
Do you not have any more questions?
Dustin thinks hard, wondering what sort of questions people usually ask to that.
deconstructingdustin:
I don’t think so my good bro but if I do I’ll let you know🦄
silent_samurai:
… Why a unicorn?
deconstructingdustin:
Bc ur special!!!!!!!!! 💫💫💫
silent_samurai:
Okay. See you at 6.
A pause. Then,
silent_samurai:
💗
Dustin grins at his phone before locking it and throwing it aside. Still grinning he flops back onto his bed.
Then it hits him.
Is this a date?
Frantically, he picks his phone back up and opens his group chat.
friends who date
dustin🌻:
🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘🆘 I THINK I HAVE A DATE TONIGHT?????
hunter🌸:
you think????
blake🔹:
With one of us? Did you just forget if you do or not?
@shane Maybe with him? I think he’s filming right now though.
dustin🌻:
NO I MEAN I THINK SILENT SAMURAI ASKED ME OUT AND I THINK I ACCEPTED PLS HELP WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO WEAR😰😰😰😰😰😰
hunter🌸:
txt marah and kapri idk man sounds rough
blake🔹:
Silent Samurai? Have I missed something?
dustin🌻:
HUNTER LET’S KISS LATER THAT’S A GREAT IDEA!!!!!!!! 👨❤️💋👨👨❤️💋👨👨❤️💋👨👨❤️💋👨👨❤️💋👨👨❤️💋👨
hunter🌸:
kk pls wait like 24 hours after ur date with silent samurai tho
blake🔹:
Do you two even know each other?
Hello?
Dustin?
Are you still here?
Dustin quickly mutes that chat (he definitely does not want to be in there when Tori and Shane get back) to text another.
the prettiest three people on youtube
dustin🌻:
🆘 I HAVE A DATE TONIGHT PLS HELP ME PICK WHAT TO WEAR
kapri🔮: Your date friends should be used to your usual clothes by now; what’s the stress? Formal occasion?
dustin🌻:
POTENTIALLY A NEW DATE FRIEND!!!!!!!!!! GOING TO A RESTAURANT😬😬😬😬😬
marah💐: OH NO
kapri🔮: I understand the panic now.
marah💐: DO YOU HAVE TIME TO GO SHOPPING???
dustin🌻:
NO 😨
kapri🔮: Hmmm okay do you still have those tight black jeans from that video with the piano?
Dustin thinks for a moment before replying:
dustin🌻:
YES WHAT SHIRT 👕
marah💐: Omg those jeans do make his butt look great though
dustin🌻:
MARAH WHAT SHIRT⁉️
marah💐: OH UH THAT YELLOW PLAID WITH THE THREE QUARTER SLEEVES?
kapri🔮: Yes wear that one and also send us pictures
dustin🌻:
OKAY THANK YOU 😘😘😘😘😘
Dustin rushes to shower and put on the dictated outfit. He takes a couple of pictures in the mirror that Marah and Kapri react with thumbs up emojis to, which he takes as positive. He grabs the restored guitar and is out the door by 5:30pm.
~~~
interlude: What searching “CyberDustin” on Twitter brings up today:
“when cyberdustin finally kiss and world peace is achieved”
“I’m so glad I’m not that only one noticing that CyberCam has been wayyyy more affectionate in Dustin’s videos recently… CyberDustin is sailing!”
“CyberDustin this and CyberDustin that but y’all are just out here IGNORING how CyberCam literally said Shane was his ideal type in a video six months ago?????? The dirt their ship is paid smdh.”
“the way you can see dustin get visibly more comfortable on camera as his relationship with cybercam gets better and better… call me delulu all you want! idc idc cyberdustin is superior”
“When Dustin Reveals CyberCam Is His Soulmate Then What False Gods Will You Worship?” (with the reply: “damn this blew up stream my cyberdustin fancam”)
~~~
He gets to Dino Bite Cafe right on time, only just now wondering how he will know if SS is already here. Luckily, the hostess greets him with, “Oh, you’re Dustin, right? The other part of your party is already seated on the balcony out back.” He returns her smile as she leads him through the cafe towards a backdoor. Being semi-famous has perks, sometimes. He is too busy paying a lot of attention to not running into things with his big guitar that he doesn’t remember to really look for SS until the hostess is gesturing to a table where a guy is scanning the menu. It takes the guy a minute to notice him and look up.
Woah, cute, is definitely Dustin’s first thought. So that’s what he says.
“Woah, dude, you’re so cute!”
SS makes a face at that, almost like he drank something sour. He looks back down at the menu as the tips of his ears turn pink.
Quickly, Dustin sits down, setting the guitar gently against the wall next to them. “Sorry if I’m being, like, totally too much or embarrassing or whatever. My friends say I have no filter.”
Specifically, Hunter has said that he has “never met a thought he didn’t immediately want to share with the class,” but that’s semantics.
SS looks up and presses his lips into a thin smile before looking back down again at-- oh it’s not the menu. It’s a small-ish tablet next to the menu. As Dustin processes that, SS pushes it towards him. Written in a blank note is, It’s fine. I think you’re cute, too.
Dustin laughs, “Oh thanks man. I’ll be honest; I almost forgot about the no talking thing. The tablet is a good idea!” He pushes it back towards SS, who types again under his last note.
I didn’t want you to have to squint at the notes app in my phone all night.
“Thanks dude; I appreciate it. Do you use the notes app everywhere else? Man, that’s gotta be annoying for you.” Dustin frowns at the tablet, trying to imagine that life.
SS shrugs, typing again. I actually don’t go out in public all that often. It’s just my dad at home, and I use ASL with him.
“That’s so cool!” Dustin exclaims. “Bro, I wish you had told me that earlier… I could have been learning.” Dustin pouts a little, wondering if the local community college offers classes. There’s always YouTube, he supposes. SS doesn’t type anything in response to that, so Dustin looks back up at him. His face is doing something weird again, almost like shock and fondness trying to war their way across his face. Finally he types,
That’s very kind. I can teach you a little today, if you’d like.
“Yeah, man, that would be rad. Can the first thing be your name? I don’t know what to call you besides SS.” SS tilts his head in clear confusion. “Like Silent Samurai, obviously.” SS looks at him for a moment, then starts to grin, then his shoulders start shaking in silent laughter. It makes Dustin’s heart feel heavy and full with joy, and he starts laughing too. When they both settle down again, SS types, I guess I have a confession here. Sorry if this makes things super weird…
Dustin looks up at him in confusion, but the waitress interrupts whatever was about to happen. Dustin realizes as SS points at what he wants off the menu that he hasn’t even glanced at the options. Instead of wasting time, he indicates that he’ll have whatever SS is having. When she’s gone, Dustin prompts, “Okay? So what’s the confession?” SS finishes taking a sip of his water and grimaces a little, almost like he’s embarrassed. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, pokes around on it for a moment, then slides it towards Dustin.
There, on SS’s phone, is Dustin’s email to CyberCam asking if he wanted to go out this weekend to Dino Bite.
It takes Dustin an almost ridiculous amount of time to look up from the email and put the pieces together.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Wait. Wait. No! Wait.” SS (CyberCam?????) looks at him patiently while he works it out. “Holy shi-- So you’re CyberCam??” SS (CyberCam!!!!!) nods. “So do I call you CyberCam??” is Dustin’s next question for some reason. He almost wants to put it back in his mouth after it falls out.
CyberCam rolls his eyes with a small smile and types, Just Cam is fine, thank you.
“Sorry, Cam, three braincells, remember?” That makes Cam silently laugh for a moment again. “Uh, I guess my follow up question is why didn’t you just tell me when I DM-ed you?” Dustin winces. “Wait that sounds like I’m mad. I’m not! I’m super happy my two friends are actually just one friend. Makes for planning events easier. I’m just curious.”
Cam nods, moving to type, I get it. I’m honestly not 100% sure myself. I guess I just wanted to see how you behaved outside of a more professional environment? Though, I’m not sure I can call how you respond to emails necessarily professional.
“Hey!” Dustin protests with a laugh. “I’m nothing but professional all the time!” Cam smiles again, and Dustin finds that he would really do anything to keep seeing that. Over and over and over and over.
The rest of the date(?) goes by too fast. Dustin learns a lot about Cam, more than he ever thought to ask since Cam started editing their videos. He lost his voice when he was a few months old in a fire that also killed his mom, so he grew up with just his dad (and a few beloved pet guinea pigs over the years). He wears a lot of high necked shirts to hide the scars from the fire that never healed. He went to countless speech therapists and surgeons while growing up, since speech is so important for soul marks. His dad wouldn’t give up on the idea of him regaining his voice. It was only recently that his dad gave up for good. Cam picked up guitar and video editing around his pre-teen years, one for love and one for profit. He never expected Silent Samurai to blow up the way he has, but he still refuses to make it his full time job.
It would take the love out of the guitar to make it my livelihood, Cam types. Dustin’s a little in love.
Cam teaches him as many basic signs as he can over the course of the meal (which is quite good, actually. Dustin makes a mental note to leave a nice Yelp! review). Dustin’s disappointed when they finish eating and settle the tab, wanting to keep sitting with Cam maybe forever.
So do you want me to just play the guitar on my channel? Cam types as they are gearing up to say goodbye. Dustin stares for a moment, pretty much forgetting why they were there in the first place.
“Oh! Oh, yeah, that would be great! And you can keep the guitar, man; I don’t even know how to play.” He gestures for Cam to take it. Cam’s face looks like he wants to argue, so Dustin quickly stands up. “No, for real, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. Think of it like a bonus for being the best editor ever?” Cam makes another complicated face before nodding.
They walk out together (Cam is a lot more sure about navigating the tables with the big guitar than Dustin had been) when it hits Dustin to ask. “Hey man, do the others know about the double life you lead?” He aims for joking with his tone, but he’s not sure he succeeds.
Cam shakes his head.
“Do you want them to know? I can totally keep a secret, if that’s what you want.” He holds the door open to lead them back outside, searching Cam’s face for an answer as he passes. Cam turns after he makes it out the door and mouths, It’s fine, at Dustin.
“Okay, cool, because I’m, like, totally gonna text them all right now.” Cam laughs again. “And I also wanna invite you to hang with all of us next time!” Dustin realizes how that sounds a moment too late. “I mean, not that I didn’t love the one on one! This was a great date! I wanna do it again! Wait, did you mean for this to be a date? I kinda thought it was one.”
Cam stares at him inscrutably for a moment too long, and Dustin starts panicking internally. “Uhhhh not that it has to be one! I’m also fine with being just friends!”
Cam puts the guitar down so he can type again as Dustin stutters a little more. He turns the screen towards Dustin for him to read, I’d like it if this was a date, but you should pay for me next date. You’re worth more than me.
Dustin smiles big and wide.
Yeah, he’s probably in love with Cam.
friends who date
dustin🌻:
I’M IGNORING ALL THE NOTIFS HERE MY DATE WAS GREAT AND IT DEFINITELY WAS A DATE AND ALSO DID Y’ALL KNOW THAT CYBERCAM IS ALSO SILENT SAMURAI???????? I’M DATING CYBERCAM NOW. HE’S JUST CAM😳😳😳😳😳😳
shane🀄:
WHAT
hunter🌸:
omg add him
blake🔹:
Wait, what?
tori🌊:
YOU LEAVE US FOR HOURS AND COME BACK WITH THIS??????
shane🀄:
WHAT DO ANY OF THESE WORDS MEAN
blake🔹:
You’re dating CyberCam now?
dustin🌻:
I HAVE TO DIE FOR 24 HOURS NOW BECAUSE MY DATE WAS SO GOOD BYE 🤸🤸🤸
tori🌊:
DUSTIN BROOKS I WILL SHOW UP AT YOUR HOME
shane🀄:
TORI I WILL MEET YOU THERE
~~~
interlude
What Cam and Hunter Text About
Hunter (YouTube):
dude did u watch the new ep of wipeout lmao so good
Cam:
I haven’t caught it yet.
Hunter (YouTube):
oh well txt me when u do its soooo good
Cam:
👍
--
Hunter (YouTube):
i just watched a kitten rescue video do u wanna see it
Cam:
Of course.
Hunter (YouTube):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoNqhPLiS-c
Cam:
Thank you.
--
Hunter (YouTube):
omg ur silent samurai???????????????
Cam:
I see Dustin wasted no time updating everyone.
Hunter (YouTube):
am i dumber than dustin how did i not put this together
Cam:
Don’t worry. You and Dustin are both dumb in your own unique ways.
Hunter (YouTube):
u sure do know how to make a guy feel special
Cam:
🥰
~~~
Dustin sees six months pass like this:
Month one--
- Dustin has his first date with Cam, texts his friends, then passes out for 12 hours.
- Dustin wakes up to Tori and Shane in bed with him. They both yell at him for 1-2 hours when they wake up. Not angry, just yelling. They get like that sometimes.
- SilentSamurai releases a video of a 4 minute original song that he plays on Dustin’s guitar. Small parts of the internet completely break.
- Dustin films, like, eleven videos because he’s on cloud nine, and he restores a lot of stuff when he’s happy. He only makes Cam edit five of them.
- Dustin finds out Blake and Hunter have known Cam IRL for three years.
- “You WHAT?”
- “Yeah we met him before we even knew you guys.”
- “WHAT?”
- “Our parents are family friends with his dad? IDK man, we just know each other.”
- “Did you know about the Silent Samurai stuff????
- “Nah, we figured that out when you did. We do know ASL though.”
- “WHAT??”
- Dustin makes everyone hang out and absolutely gets jealous when Cam and Shane have so much to discuss.
- Dustin enrolls in online ASL courses.
Month two:
- Dustin makes Cam FaceTime with him a bunch to practice his very bad ASL. Cam thinks it’s cute. Dustin is in love.
- Tori and Cam go on a date. Dustin is both thrilled and terrified by this, because if they get along well then he will never stop being made fun of. But maybe it’s worth it, to see the people he loves happy.
- It goes well. Dustin never stops being made fun of.
- Dustin films seven more videos before deciding to just stream on Twitch instead of filming so Cam doesn’t have to edit so much. Cam says this is not necessary, and edits Twitch highlights for him without Dustin asking.
- Dustin and Cam go on 4 more dates. Dustin is in love.
Month three:
- Cam texts Dustin a string of emojis without prompting, and Dustin has to lie down for two hours. Dustin is disgustingly in love.
- Dustin goes on dates with all his date friends, just because he’s so happy. Shane makes fun of him, but also kisses him more than usual, so Dustin thinks he’s happy too.
- Shane and Cam have their third date.
- Dustin’s fans start speculating as to why he’s been so happy lately. The most popular theory is that he met his soulmate.
- Kelly gets them all invited to next year’s VidCon, including CyberCam.
Month four:
- Dustin realizes that Blake and Tori have taken to including Cam on their own dates, which makes him realize that they can do group dates too.
- Cam makes fun of him for not realizing this earlier.
- Dustin doesn’t care that he’s being made fun of and goes out with Hunter and Blake to teach Cam how to not fall off a dirt bike.
- Hunter quietly adds Cam to the date friends group chat, confirming what they’ve long already known. Dustin takes one for the team and obliviously asks Hunter if he’s been on a date with Cam yet, just to watch Hunter squirm. It’s fun. It makes Dustin happy.
- The Bradley Bros win a Streamy. They all go to the awards show together to accept it, including CyberCam. #CyberCamFaceReveal trends #1 on Twitter for 12 hours straight.
- The Streamy footage gets overanalyzed to death, but the conclusion is that CyberCam HAS to be dating at least one of them. Kelly does some dramatic readings of Tumblr posts that night at dinner, which has them all in stitches laughing.
Month five:
- Cam walks through the back of a livestream Dustin is doing, clearly in his pajamas. Larger parts of the internet completely break.
- Cam maintains that this was an accident post-shower at Dustin’s place. None of the other five believe it was an accident for one minute. Cam isn’t very apologetic.
- Cam cameos in a couple of the other’s videos for short whiles. He finds it uncomfortable to be looking at the camera for very long, so he makes sure to stay there for only a moment or two before ducking out. The views on these videos soar.
- Blake buys Cam his own dirt bike for a video. Cam kisses him on camera. Very large parts of the internet completely break.
- “We’re gonna have to do another freaking Q&A. I hate those.”
- “We don’t HAVE to. Let the people wonder! It’s probably good for views.”
- “Hunter, you’re insufferable.”
- Dustin gets an offer to act in an upcoming YouTube RED show. He turns it down, but the other five tease him about it both on screen and off for weeks. Cam, behind CyberCam’s editing, is the worst offender. Ever the good sport, Dustin changes his display name on Twitter to be “daytime emmy nominee dustin”. Cam changes his display name to “dating daytime emmy nominee dustin”. It trends.
Month six----
They’re all lying around together in a park on a clear summer day. Tori wanted to do a picnic, so a picnic they had done. Cam is idly strumming his guitar, Hunter is probably asleep, Blake is showing off his island in Animal Crossing to Shane, and Tori is blowing bubbles. Dustin is just happy. Content. At peace.
Cam stops strumming and looks around at everyone.
Dustin get his attention and signs, You okay? (mostly in case Hunter really is asleep).
Cam smiles at him and signs back, Better than okay. Dustin smiles back, big and bright. He can mostly catch what Cam is saying with signs now. He’s practiced a lot with various YouTube content, the class he took, and with Cam. He’s not as good as Hunter and Blake are, but they have years of practice on him. He’ll catch up.
Cam waves to get his attention again. Can I show you something?
Dustin nods, wondering if it’s a meme or a kitten video.
Cam gestures to the group at large. Everyone. I want to show everyone.
A little confused, Dustin nods again and shakes Hunter to wake him. “Hey guys, Cam wants to show us something.”
Hunter wakes easily, and everyone else is paying attention now. Cam looks a little nervous, but he still smiles tightly at them all. Slowly, he puts aside his guitar and moves to take his thin sweatshirt off. Dustin realizes that he must want to show them the scars on his neck. He’s always been private about them and has been careful not to be shirtless around any of them.
Cam takes the sweatshirt off, and instead of going for his neck, he carefully rolls up his left sleeve to his shoulder.
Oh.
Not his scars then.
He turns his arm to reveal five sentences in small print stacked.
“Is that…” Shane trails off. Dustin realizes Shane’s gotten teary eyed.
Five YouTube intros. The first things I ever heard each of you say. Cam signs. At least, Dustin thinks he does. He’s gotten misty eyed, too.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Shane asks finally.
Cam looks down at his arm again. Slowly, he signs, I was worried you would be mad. Since I can’t say anything back. I know that’s stupid.
“Not stupid,” Blake says softly. “But we’re not. We’re really not. Oh my God. This is. Wow.”
“Can I kiss you right now?” Dustin asks. Cam looks up and laughs before nodding.
Dustin’s not sure who jumps first, but they all end up piled on top of Cam, laughing and laughing and laughing.
Definitely, definitely in love.
~~~
outro
Dustin’s subscription feed
invisible strings -- original piece
uploaded by SilentSamurai
Doing my boyfriends’ makeups… but I don’t know how to do makeup?!
uploaded by tsunamitori
Fixing Tori’s boyfriends' makeups
uploaded by Marah&Kapri
SOULMATE REVEAL???? Q&A with the date friends!
uploaded by BradleyBros