Chapter Text
“Nick’s coming over, is that alright?”
George rolled his eyes at his roommate, huffing out a breath through his nose. “You don’t have to ask me anymore you know, he practically lives here.”
Karl pouted. “I know, I just don’t wanna make you uncomfy.”
“As long as you’re not having sex on the top bunk, I’m not ‘uncomfy’, Karl.”
Karl baulked, throwing a sock in his direction in mock appaul. George kicked it off his mattress with his nose scrunched, laughing when his roommate threw another one.
It had kind of become a routine - George would get back from his long day of classes, shortly followed by Karl, and sometimes Karl's boyfriend Nick would be with him. Occasionally Nick would show up about an hour later. But more often than not he was in their dorm room in the evening, watching anime and eating bad Thai food with Karl on the top bunk. It didn’t bother George at all - their room was big enough to accommodate all of them, and Nick was polite, he never overstepped. Not that they’d talked much so far, with George usually curled up on the bottom bunk with headphones in, unwinding from his tiring days.
A knock at their door interrupted their banter, making George shyly retreat into his little corner of the room as Karl greeted his boyfriend.
“Nick!” The older squealed, tugging the shorter into the room by the arm, “How was class?”
Karl’s boyfriend was handsome, but it was obvious finals week was getting to him, looking scruffier than usual. He had dark bags under his eyes, and it looked like he needed a good shave. He never removed his hat inside, he noticed. George gave a polite nod to the younger as he stepped in, who returned it with a tired smile, turning back to Karl. “Yeah, exhausting, dude. I can’t stay tonight though, Dream’s helping me catch up on stuff, and I’m helping him edit a video.”
George had heard that name a few times now, and he couldn’t help the piquing curiosity of the mystery man that Nick lived with. He knew that they lived on the same block as them, in a dorm room a little bit bigger than theirs’, just the two young men on their own.
“Video?” Karl asked, head tilting to the side as he led Nick over to his desk, which had both of their seats dragged over to it with George’s permission, “Is he a film major or something?”
Nick sighed as his back hit the seat, closing his eyes slightly. He really did look exhausted. “Nah,” he said groggily, “his YouTube video, he posts on Fridays.”
“YouTube?” George questioned, head poking out from his bunk bed. “I didn’t know your roommate was a YouTuber..?”
“Yeah,” the younger looked proud of the fact, “just hit five million, can’t keep those fans waiting.”
“Five million?” Karl gasped, pulling his phone out to open the app, “What the honk, dude, what’s his channel name?”
“Sweet Dreams ASMR.”
George froze. The channel name sounded very familiar.
“Oh shit, it's an ASMR channel?” Karl said, typing into the search bar, “George, you listen to that stuff to fall asleep, don’t you?”
George squinted, a look of accusation on his face. “How did you know?”
“Because,” the taller smiled meekly, “you pass out and it keeps playing from your phone. Not the sound obviously, because you wear headphones, but I see the videos playing sometimes.”
George gave him a light-hearted scowl at invading his privacy, pulling his own phone out to investigate. He’d known Nick’s roommate was named ‘Dream’, so the wordplay for his channel name made sense. It was kind of tacky and cliché, if he was being honest. Scrolling through his folder of saved videos, it didn’t take long to find a few videos under that name. There was one at the very top, the tell-tale red bar at the bottom indicating that he’d watched the whole thing all the way through.
Dream was a faceless YouTuber. His videos were kind of point-of-view, with those fake silicone ears that sounded realistic when they were touched. He clicked on one of the videos, seeing a pair of large tanned hands gently rubbing the ears, his fingernails gently running along them, shiny with some kind of massage oil. He was thankful he had it muted, because he knew it probably would have drawn a full-body shiver out of him. He recognised a familiar mole on the back of his left hand, underneath the knuckle on his pointer finger. He’d definitely fallen asleep to his videos before, watching those hands.
“Well?” Nick was looking at him expectantly.
George blinked up from his phone. “Hmm?”
“Do you know him?”
“Oh,” he fumbled, “yeah, I’m subscribed, I have a few of his videos saved. I’ve kinda been watching him since I started college, actually.”
“No way dude,” Nick grinned, “that’s so cool. I’m gonna have to introduce you guys, now that you’ve got something to talk about.”
~*~
The opportunity came quickly - just the following week, in fact, when he was invited by Karl to join them for pizza at the younger’s apartment.
“Come on George, this is a good opportunity for you to get out and meet people!”
“I’m perfectly happy on my own,” George grumbled, but let himself be tugged down the street by his over-excited roommate. Karl always was better at social interactions out of the pair of them.
It was the middle of winter, but considering it didn’t snow in Florida, the streets were a dreary foggy gray. He grimaced as he accidentally walked straight through a puddle, hoping the wetness wouldn't soak through his sneakers to his socks. He pulled his scarf tighter around his neck as Karl’s grip on his arm didn’t let up.
“Plus, I’m just gonna be the awkward third wheel.”
Karl snorted, “You can third-wheel with Dream, don’t worry.”
George welcomed the warmth as he stepped into the building, unwinding his scarf as they made their way up two sets of stairs. They stopped in front of a door, the only one with a door-mat, he noticed. Which was kind of pointless, considering all the mud from his shoes was back on the stairs behind them.
His roommate knocked on the door, and George kept his eyes on his feet. He noticed that the doormat had words on it - saying ’I like it dirty’.
The door swung open, and a familiar face ushered them in.
Ducking his head, George bundled his scarf under his arm and scanned the room for a quiet place to curl up and keep to himself, eyeing up the sofa. Karl and George’s own dorm was too small for a sofa.
“Welcome!” a bright voice greeted them from the shared space, the second male making his presence known.
George’s eyes flicked up in curiosity, vaguely recognising the accent. They settled on a pair of light green eyes, giving him a warm look from where he was lounged against the kitchenette counter, a mug cradled in his hand against his hip.
He was attractive. George couldn’t deny it, he carried a feeling of confidence, presence. His dirty-blond hair hung just above his shoulders, wavy with different golden hues. His skin was tanned and freckled, which was a trademark of Florida-locals, and George quite literally paled in comparison. He had a strong jawline, large upper-arms, and even though he was slouched he could tell he was tall.
Karl cleared his throat. George blinked out of his stupor, eyes finding an interesting place on the floor to stare at.
“Hey Dream, this is George, my roommate! He watches your videos, too.”
Dream’s warm smile grew, splitting his face into an amused grin. “Is that right? Nice to meet you then, George.”
George nodded in response, wishing he could sink into the floor and be swallowed up by the earth. There wasn’t a more embarrassing way that he could have been introduced. Dream probably thought he was a weirdo stalker or something. He slipped over to the couch, bypassing the pizza on the coffee table, drawing his knees up and bringing his phone out to make himself look busy.
It was weird to put a face to a channel name, he thought to himself. All he’d seen of the younger blond man was his hands, his nicely manicured nails, that mole under his lower knuckle. He wondered how many other people that knew about his channel had also seen his face.
The couch sank as a figure sat next to him, and he heard the soft click of a mug being placed on the coffee table. He looked up, and that pair of light-green eyes was on him again, looking at him expectantly.
“Uh,” George said, not sure how to start a conversation, “Hi? I’m- I’m George. Sorry, I- don’t get out of the house much.”
Dream chuckled, stretching his legs out in front of him. “It's fine, George, there’s no pressure here to be someone you’re not. Cute accent, by the way.”
George felt his cheeks flush. “Thank you…”
“So,” Dream leaned back, keeping eye contact. “you watch my videos?”
The brunet nodded, still feeling a little star-struck. His gaze wandered down to the younger’s hands, which were very familiar. “Yeah, I fall asleep to them, I like the- uh, the ear-touching ones.”
Dream hummed, “Do you get the tingles?’
George nodded shyly, “When I put the volume on higher, yeah.”
“Lucky,” Dream smiled, sounding a little envious, “I don’t, so I can never tell if a video’s any good until it’s released and people comment on it."
“Really?” George said, “You make ASMR videos and you don’t even get tingles?”
“Nope,” the blond shook his head slowly, “but I’m good at giving them, apparently.”
George nodded in agreement, “Really good. If you ever needed to like, test something before releasing it, you can send it to me and I’ll let you know if it’s a good trigger.”
He wasn’t sure where he even got the confidence to suggest it, but he rolled with it, looking around the room so as not to make eye contact. Nick and Karl seemed to be in an engaging conversation on the younger’s bed about a new episode of some anime, greasy pizzas on paper plates balanced on their knees.
“Really?” The blond's eyes lit up, “Actually, I’ve been wanting to try something, maybe you’d be able to help me with it?”
“Yeah?” George said a little breathlessly, taken away by Dream’s sudden passion on the topic as he met his eyes again, “I mean, I can try and help, what is it?”
“Well,” Dream explained, “I’ve been wanting to do, like, real life stuff. Like with a real set of ears, not the silicone ones. I figured that if I set up the microphones properly, I’ll get some more realistic sounds. What do you think?”
George gawked. “You want me to be in your video? Like, my ears?”
He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it before, fantasised that it was his ears that were being touched. Not in a weird way, but he wondered if the added touch along with the sound would be a more intense trigger. He’d tried it out on himself before, but it just felt weird.
“Yeah, well,” Dream picked his mug up off the table, taking a sip. It looked like hot chocolate. “I can blur out your face if you want, but no one else really knows about the whole ASMR thing, just you guys so far. So you’d kind of be the perfect subject. Plus, if I can get some shivers out of you, that’s a pretty good visual trigger for the audience. I think a video like that would do really well.”
George nodded slowly, considering the proposal. “If you want to try- I mean, yeah, I can’t say no to that.”
~*~
George felt pretty awkward getting invited back to Dream’s place without the other two around. It kind of made sense, letting Nick and Karl stay at his dorm to do their business while George spent time with Dream, doing a different kind of business.
Actual business, YouTube business. Because Dream was getting paid for it, at the end of the day.
That idea made George feel a little better, a little less awkward. He was just there to work.
“Can I get you anything? Cup of tea?”
It seemed almost like a jab at him being British, but he said it with a genuine tone.
George shook his head, “Maybe after, I don’t want my tummy rumbling while you’re filming, your mics will definitely pick that up.”
He’d been shown all the equipment, the expensive-looking microphones positioned on different tripods and holsters in a circle around his mattress, bare except for a thin white sheet on the base. He wouldn’t be on a pillow, to give Dream better access to his ears.
Dream huffed amusedly at the thought, “Fair enough, although I’m sure someone out there’s got a ‘tummy rumble’ trigger. Are you all good to start then?”
George nodded, sitting down gingerly on the side of the single mattress, not letting his mind wander about the whole situation feeling like they were filming something else. Dream was fiddling with the lighting, turning on different ring-lights and testing to see where the shadows were. He’d decided on a crisp white light rather than a warm yellow tone. It almost felt medical, like he was giving an ear examination. He pulled his desk chair up to the very head of the bed, out of the way of the microphone stands.
“You can lie down now, George, let me know if it’s uncomfortable.”
Careful not to knock any of the equipment, George lay down slowly onto his back, feet coming up with bent knees. He knew that if he kept his legs stretched out for too long, his muscles would start cramping, so keeping them bent was the most comfortable long-term. He let his hands rest on his lower stomach, clasped together.
“It’s fine,” he said as the comfortable mattress shifted under his body. He took a breath and nudged a stray strand of hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear.
Once satisfied with his set-up, Dream took his seat. He placed large hands on the sheets on either side of his head, looking down at him from upside-down with a kind smile. George looked up at him with round doe-eyes, awaiting instruction.
“Cameras are on, microphones are on. I’m going to get started, so do your best to keep quiet. I can cut stuff out in-post if you need to sneeze or something, so don't worry.”
George smiled shyly, giving him a small reassuring nod.
Dream hummed, rubbing his hands together to warm them up a little. “If you need to have a break, just raise your hand and we can pause.”
“You sound like my dentist,” George poked back amusedly.
Dream’s smile turned into a grin. “If you have nice teeth, a dentist roleplay ASMR is on the table for the future.”
Rolling his eyes, George settled in his place, eyes trained on the ceiling above him. He suddenly felt a little self conscious about being on camera, but he’d told Dream that his face didn’t need to be blurred. Closing his eyes and taking a breath through his nose, he just hoped he could help Dream get enough good content to be able to release something.
He heard rustling above his head, remembering Dream saying he wanted to use rubber gloves to get some good sounds. Sure enough, the sounds of rubber dragging along skin could be heard from above him, adjusting and snapping into place around his fingers. He wasn’t big on rubber sounds, but he couldn’t exactly pick and choose. It was Dream’s channel after all, he was just there as a guest.
George didn’t flinch as he felt fingers gently cup the shells of his ears, on both sides, thumbs gently pressing into them. The sound was loud, but he assumed he’d get used to it. His skin was squeezed from the top cartilage down to the soft fleshy lobe, between gentle fingers, the pressure making the hair stand up on his arms a little. He heard the soft noises of the rubber against skin, almost sticky-sounding, vibrating in his ears. His even breathing and fluttering eyelids seemed to encourage the blond, squeezing back up to the top and then going down again.
He wondered what kinds of sounds Dream was hearing through his Airpods, how well the microphones were picking them up.
An index finger traced the cartilage inside his ears on both sides in symmetry, and he could feel the lightest scrape of a fingernail as it dipped in close to his ear canal. That definitely had it’s intended reaction, making his breath catch in his throat as his skin rippled with goose-bumps, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.
Dream did it again. And he shivered again.
He tried to keep his breathing normal, knowing the microphones picked up on the smallest of noises. Thankfully the blond gave him a break, hands coming to cup his head behind his ears, fingers rubbing at his scalp. It felt wonderful, like receiving a gentle massage, and hearing the noises of the gloves vibrating in his head. He was really holding in another tremble, his hands curling into loose fists at the restraint.
“Don’t hold back,” Dream said very gently, just above a whisper, “they’ll like seeing you shiver.”
He realised where he’d recognised Dream’s accent from before - that low whispering voice that he sometimes used in his videos, mumbling out incoherent words that didn’t mean anything but sounded heavenly. George gave a small nod, letting his muscles relax again as Dream drew his fingers through his curly hair, so carefully and gently. He didn’t stop the goose-bumps, but he did have to refrain from letting out a small whine of pleasure. Not in a weird way.
The sounds of rubber and rustling cradled his skull in a fuzzy embrace. He felt sleepy, remembering the effect that ASMR usually had on him. The hands went between gently massaging his scalp around his ears and squeezing his lobes, not dipping in too close to his eardrums, knowing it would be too loud with the gloves. Whenever Dream used his fingernails, the delicious feeling along with the amazing sound drew shivers out of him every time. He didn’t even know it was one of his triggers.
A thumb was rubbing inside the shell of his ear, and it sounded like when he’d put his ear up to a seashell, hearing the illusion of crashing waves inside. He felt like he was out there, in the ocean, being dragged further away from the shore with each wave.
It felt like it had only been a few minutes when Dream withdrew his hands, giving him a small squeeze on his shoulder. “I think we should wrap up here, just so that I don’t overwhelm you, okay?”
George opened his eyes, immediately regretting it and blinking at the harsh light that was still directly pointed at his face. He hadn’t realised how drowsy he was, his vision a little cloudy.
“Are you sure?” he winced, bringing a hand up to shield his face, “Do you have enough footage?”
The blond chuckled, pointing the ring light away to give him some relief. George sat up to try and clear his foggy brain a little.
“Yeah, we’ve been going for an hour, actually.”
“An hour?” George gawked, “Are you serious? Did I fall asleep or something?”
Dream grinned with pride as he peeled his gloves off, tossing them towards the bin with white powder still on his palms. “I don’t think so, but you were pretty blissed out the whole time. I got some good shivers out of you every few minutes.”
“That’s so embarrassing, I don’t even remember half of it.”
“Was it okay?” Dream stood up, coming over to stand next to where George was still sitting on the mattress with his legs crossed underneath him, “You feeling okay? Want that cup of tea?”
George nodded groggily, rubbing his eyes. “Tea sounds good.”
As Dream busied himself in the kitchenette, George mused at the ‘aftercare’ that he was receiving. The blond asked if he needed painkillers, if he was hungry, if he needed a shower. Then a warm mug was pressed into his palm, and he was directed over to the couch, where his joints popped as he found a comfortable position tucked into the corner.
“I’m fine, Dream, seriously,” he reassured as the blond asked him again if he was okay, “I’m more than fine, that felt really good.”
“Good,” Dream breathed, “I’ve just, uh- I’ve never done that before. You put a lot of trust into me, and I really appreciate it.”
George made a face. “You’re making it seem like we just had sex or something. You just fondled my ears for an hour, Dream, calm down.”
A delightful wheeze caught in the blond’s throat as his shoulders shook, looking at George in disbelief. “What?” he choked out, “Dude, don’t say that!”
George shrugged, blowing on his tea before taking a sip. “Don’t make it weird.”
“I’m not making it weird, you’re making it weird.” A smile wrapped around Dream’s lips though as he stood up to collect the memory chips from the cameras and microphones.
George watched as he uploaded the files to his computer, organising everything into folders. He was excited to see how the video would come out, how the audio would pair with the clips, if it would seem realistic. And the best part was he’d be able to relive it, watch the video again, with the ghost of the feeling of fingernails tracing along his cartilage.