Work Text:
You are working hard editing your next video when a notification pops up on your phone. You don't read it right away, your mind is pretty much consumed by your current task. After so many hours, this video needs to be finished so you can rest already. The layered sounds don't quite match the footage in certain parts and it’s been bugging you the whole day.
Your back hurts, your neck hurts, your eyes hurt. Maybe it's time to take a break.
Leaving your laptop on the desk, you go to the kitchen to prepare some tea. While the kettle is heating, you decide the best way to let your eyes rest from watching a screen the whole day is looking at the smaller screen of your phone. Your last video was getting less attention than was expected. You sigh, making a name for yourself in the ASMR world was turning out to be more complicated than expected. There were other creators that did spa related content too, and you had a decent number of viewers but were way far from being popular yet.
Sorting through the notifications, a private message gets your attention.
@heroX24
Hi, your videos are a work of art. You are the only one that helps me to actually get some sleep. Thank you.
This fan account has tons of followers, if the admin really likes your content this much, maybe it is a good opportunity. They probably have lots of X merch you could use for a tapping themed video. So you send them a reply:
So glad u like my work! Are u up to do a collab?
The next day, you are cleaning your studio, making sure everything is spotless to avoid negative reviews. With some music playing in the background, the repetitive motions of dusting are nearly therapeutic. That’s why you almost jump out of your skin when someone clears his throat behind you.
“This place is so cozy. I didn’t realize it was this small from your videos.”
A scream escapes your mouth as you throw the rag in the stranger direction.
He avoids it nonchalantly, snaps his fingers and the cloth turns into a dove that flies back to your hands, changing back to it’s original state as soon as it touches your skin.
You stare at it speechless. Then look at the tall man standing in front of you. He’s wearing a white suit with red cuffs. The white hair, the orange tinted sunglasses, a clip with an X form on his tie…
“OhmygodyouareHero X!… what are you doing here?”
He tilts his head to the side a little, hands in his pockets.
“To discuss our collaboration, of course.”
Your mind is blank for a few seconds, until you remember the message you got yesterday.
“No way! That was really you? I thought it was a fan account.”
“A fan account?” He sounds amused.
This is pretty embarrassing, how could you miss it was his official account? You were really tired yesterday but that´s no excuse, after all, you are one of his fans too. An urgent need to apologize takes hold of you.
“It was a misunderstanding, I´m sorry.”
Hero X wilts a bit.
“Don´t worry… so you don't want to do it?”
“Wait, do you really want to appear in one of my videos?”
“Of course, I would love to.” He manages to look elegant and a bit sheepish at the same time.
This is better than winning the lottery.
“Ok, tea or coffee?" You ask while getting into motion, opening the door of your studio. You need to move or you are going to turn into a pool of goo on the floor. The studio is an aesthetically decorated room in your apartment, since you couldn't afford to rent a place only for recording your work. Hero X trails behind you, looking at your home with curiosity.
“Some sweet coffee would be lovely.”
You gesture at him to sit on your sofa and prepare his coffee. He wasn't joking when he asked for it to be sweet, the amount of sugar you have to put into it it’s appalling. But, who are you to judge him?
You take a seat in front of him and put a stack of papers on the small table. Business mode on.
“These are the different contracts I usually have people sign for my videos.”
He raises an eyebrow “So professional.”
“I don't want to get into any legal trouble, whether it’s with models or just friends.”
“I see”. He then reads them thoroughly and selects one. “I think this is the one that better suits me.”
He had chosen an agreement stating that he only participates for public recognition and social media exposure.
You frown. “You sure? There's another one where you’d get a slice of the profits, if there are any, that is.”
“There's no need, thank you” he smiles and takes a sip of his coffee.
Again, who are you to judge him? He's the number one hero, he must be rich for sure.
Once the papers are signed, you ask him if he has a specific idea for the video.
“Oh, I just want you to play with my hair.”
How can he say that so casually? Hero X, the real one, wants YOU to play with his hair.
You were barely keeping it together by pure professionalism. When he tells you his favorite triggers, it feels like you are in a dream.
As soon as his mug it's empty, you guide him back to the studio and prepare your tools. He watches you with interest, and asks some questions here and there while you get the camera and mic ready, alongside the wood and jade combs, chopsticks and other tools he has asked for.
”I have another request.” You nod to him, so he continues. “Don’t put my name in the title, let it be a surprise at the end.”
”You are a bit dramatic, aren't you?”
”I like a good show” he shrugs.
You can’t help but snort.
You busy yourself with adjusting the camera angle and let him get comfortable on the massage table you have for these types of videos. He positions himself with his back to the camera, supporting his head with the help of a pillow. All his movements are fluid and elegant.
“Are you nervous?” He asks gently.
“Just a bit.”
That’s not true at all. Your heart is hammering inside your chest and your hands are trembling. Taking a deep breath to center yourself, you press the button and start recording.
You start by running your fingers through his hair. To be actually touching it is a surreal experience, is soft and silky, without a single knot. He relaxes under your caresses, closing his eyes happily with a faint sigh.
You give your best in this video. Nerves are forgotten once you focus on the task at hand, delicately caressing his scalp, parting his hair in sections, running the chopsticks through his scalp and neck, then the different combs. He must enjoy it because, at some point halfway through the process, he falls asleep. He’s not the first person to doze off while you work, and won’t be the last. You have noticed he has some accumulated tension in certain areas of his head, mostly the ones related to eye strain. So, when it’s time to finish, you give him an extra massage there.
He opens his eyes peacefully when you stop, and looks at you with silent gratitude. He sits up straight, gracefully, puts on his glasses and turns to the camera while running a hand through his hair, combing it back. He then puts on his most disarming grin and makes a lazy salute.
Oh boy, he knows what he is doing.
You stop the recording and start to pick up all the tools to sterilize them later. Both of you stay silent for a while, a relaxed ambient filling the room.
”That was… amazing. You have divine hands.”
You cannot help but blush.
“Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the session.”
’’I have to go now, but I’ll let you know next time I’m available.”
Wait, next time?
”Goodbye.” He winks and snaps his fingers, vanishing.
You blink one, two, three times. Has this happened at all? Almost in shock, you make your way to the sofa in your living room, sit, and then start to giggle like an idiot.
The video goes viral.
In just a day, becomes the most watched video on FOMO, particularly, clips of his face reveal are absolutely everywhere. The number of likes, comments and subscribers on your FOMO channel skyrockets.
All this much attention gives you whiplash, but you enter business mode again and manage to sort your way throughout this mess. The following months become a blur of frenzied activity. You get invitations to podcasts, request for collaboration from other content creators, and some TV interviews. Suddenly, a lot of people, famous and not, want to record an ASMR session with you. Even a popular spa franchise makes you an offer to use one of their salons to work.
All of this while having to plan, record, and edit your videos better than ever, because you are on your way to be the most popular ASMR artist on social media and there’s real pressure for them to be perfect. Maybe you should hire an editor if this situation keeps going.
This amount of work is exhausting, but is wonderful for your savings. You are well aware that people can forget about this trend on a whim, so you choose carefully how you spend your money. If you want your dream to open your own spa to become true, you need to be smart about this.
You are editing a make-up video you filmed with heroine Moon as a protagonist when he materializes again behind you.
”Hi! I’m available for another session.“
You flinch so hard that you almost erase all the work by accident.
”Whoa, you scared me to death.”
”Oh, I’m sorry.” He doesn’t look sorry at all. “Congratulations, by the way, I’ve seen your channel is a complete success now.”
”Is all thanks to you, X. Erm, can I call you just X?”
”Of course,” he chuckles. “What are you working on right now?”
He is being a lot more talkative than the first day. You show him a sneak peak of Moon’s video and try not to faint at how close he gets to you while watching.
”This one looks super relaxing, I can’t wait to see it finished.”
“Who could have said that Hero X liked ASMR this much.” You wonder out loud.
X looks you in the eyes, an intense expression tints his face, “I already told you, you are the only one that helps me with my insomnia problem.”
He doesn’t have dark circles under his eyes, his skin is perfect, but something in his tone and body language rings true to you.
“Then let’s start with your session so you can get your beauty sleep today.”
His smile is brighter than the sun.
This time, you give him a gua sha face massage that has him falling asleep in fifteen minutes.
X starts to come regularly after that, it’s kind of becoming a habit. Every few weeks he shows up unannounced at your apartment and asks if you have time for him. Your schedule is getting more packed everyday, yet you always make room for him. If it isn’t possible to film a long video, then you switch to record reels.
“I think we could do a sensory test today” you suggest one day.
”One of those ‘sharp or dull’ videos?”
“Exactly, you have a nice voice, we could put a use to it”
He smirks, setting his can of soda aside. “Let's try”.
That reel gets even more crazy numbers than normal.
Sometimes, he surprises you with his suggestions.
”Reflexology??”
”Yes, reflexology.”
”X, are you sure you want to show your feet on the internet?”
”I don’t see why not.”
“You just want a foot massage.” You give him an eye roll, even so, he seems so eager you can’t deny him. “Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“What do you mean by ear cleaning?”
He shows you a few videos of this particular trend.
”No.”
How a 1’90 m tall man can look like a kicked puppy is a mystery to you. “Why not?”
”I’m not putting anything inside your ear canal, that’s dangerous.”
”But…”
”Look, we can do an ear massage and use these tools and feathers, but nothing goes inside, understood? I’m not going to be the one that makes the Top 1 hero lose his hearing.”
He ends agreeing with you, a sad pout on his lips.
A few months after this sort of partnership began between you two, he appears behind your sofa and looks at you from above with an enigmatic look. You have to crane your neck to see his face, since you were sprawled on your sofa, watching a movie in your pajamas.
”Oh, hello… X, is a bit late to film a video, don’t you think?”
”Indeed, I came for a different reason.” He grins and shows you a bag full of take out food and cans. “What about some beer and skewers?”
You blink at him, taken aback “Sounds good to me.”
You two end up eating and watching a movie together. You may get a bit tipsy, even. It’s fun, really fun. X has a sharp wit and does his best to make you laugh. You are falling for him, you are sure. He was one of your celebrity crushes before, because, well, he’s gorgeous. However, now that you are getting to know him on a short distance, your feelings are shifting from an unattainable idealization to something more tangible and real. It’s a bit scary, honestly.
”I’ve missed this”. He distracts you from your troubling thoughts. “I used to do this with a good friend, but we cannot see each other anymore.”
The way he says it breaks your heart a little. “I’m sorry to hear that. You can come to have dinner whenever you feel like it. I had a lot of fun.”
”Sure, I had a lot of fun too.” A soft smile spread on the corner of his lips.
What you weren’t expecting was for the HAC to contact you. It had been a long but productive day. You had spent 3 hours in a salon, braiding and styling Queen’s hair for a video. You were so giddy this collaboration had been successful, you didn’t see the agent waiting for you in front of your apartment building. He ‘invited’ you to go with him and took you to a secured place for an interrogation. Other agents were there waiting. They spent the rest of the day asking questions about X, his whereabouts, and how he contacts you. You tell them the truth. You have no idea where he is, he is the one that reaches you, not the other way around. It’s well known that this is how he proceeds with his other partnerships and advertisements too, so they have nothing against you. They make a copy of the contract you made X sign that first day, and then release you.
That was terrifying, yet you managed to not tell them anything about the take out dinners you have with him.
X gets upset when you describe the whole ordeal to him. He promises you to look for any spying devices on your apartment and disable them in case he finds them. Just in case, you two agree to see each other less frequently for a while.
You really miss him those days. It amazes you how much you are used to his visits now.
Next time you hear a snap in your home, you run to him and almost crush him with a hug.
”Hey, I’ve missed you too.” He says, hugging you back.
”How are you? I saw that big fight on the news.”
He had fought a Fear powered villain yesterday. He had put on a good show of dodging every one of his attacks for a while before beating him with a single snap. It was impressive. Sometimes you forget how strong he actually is.
“Can’t complain, what about you?”
He goes to the fridge to get a soda can. You make sure there’s always some of his favorites since he started visiting regularly. He listens to you talk about work and your other friends. He seems as fine as normal, yet, at this point, you know him well enough to notice he is actually exhausted under his laid-back attitude. His insomnia must be hitting him hard again.
”Would you like to film something today? Or do you prefer to just hang out?”
He takes a sip of his soda, leaning on the counter.
”I have a request for a video…” He trails off a bit “I’d like a back massage.”
You stare at him for a moment.
”As in… your bare back?”
”Yes,” he replies calmly.
Oh dear, how are you going to survive that? He is not the type of hero to wear a slim spandex revealing suit, nor does he show much of his skin on a regular basis.
”X, a video like that will break the internet. Are you sure you want to record it? If you need it to sleep, I’ll just do it. There’s no need to post it on FOMO if it makes you uncomfortable.”
He looks genuinely taken aback at your words.
”Oh, no, you’re getting it wrong. I don’t mind. Besides, I like to rewatch them from time to time.”
Now is your time to be surprised. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you think about it for a while.
“Ok, let’s do this. We film the massage and I edit it like if I were going to post it.Then, when it is finished, you see it first and decide whether you want it just for yourself or you are fine with posting it on FOMO.”
There’s a glint in his eyes when he replies, “That’s very thoughtful of you, let’s do it that way.”
You two go to the studio to make preparations. He then takes off his white jacket with slow, deliberate movements, unfastens his tie gracefully and unbuttons his vest and shirt one by one. It isn’t until you see his collarbones that you realize you’ve stopped what you were doing to stare at him the whole time.
Shit, he’s looking at you with an infuriating grin.
”Oh… errr, aa… Damn, I’m sorry!” This is mortifying.
It seems your brain is short circuiting.
”You know what? This was a terrible idea, let’s do something else”
He barks a laugh. “No, please, I’m sorry, I really want to do this video”
You pout, embarrassed. “Ok, but you need to stop moving like you were in a perfume advertisement all the time, or I’m out.”
”I’ll see what I can do”. He is still chuckling uncontrollably. The little shit.
You refuse to look at him until you hear the massage table creaking under his weight. Hitting the start button first, so you can’t back out, you turn around and are welcomed with the view of the expanse of his back. He’s laying with his face down, wearing only his pants. The dim lights of your studio make the form of his muscles stand out. He almost looks ethereal this way.
You start by putting some oil on his skin. You feel him shift at the contact, skin warm at your touch. You set to work with light pressure at first, just looking for knots. He has some tension accumulated on his neck and upper back, so you gently work on it, aiming to untangle the knots. You know what you're doing, after all, you used to work at a small spa before it got closed and the Treeman Group demolished the building. That’s why you created your ASMR account in the first place.
X falls asleep in record time, however, you don’t stop. It seems he really needed this. Whenever you hit a certain spot in his wide shoulders, a soft sigh scapes his lips. He looks so peacefully handsome your heart skips a beat.
It comes to an end, eventually. This time he doesn’t wake up right away. He must have been really tired, you even have to shake him to get him to drowsily open his eyes. A disoriented look in his eyes, it seems getting up is an impossible task for him.
”Can I…” A wide yawn “...crash on your couch just a bit?”
This is getting slightly concerning, he’s never struggled this much around you.
”Sure, let me help you.”
You’re not sure how, but you manage to help him lay on your sofa. He sleeps there the whole evening. You take pity on him and let him, even when it’s time for you to go to bed. He’ll probably disappear into thin air after he wakes up in the middle of the night.
There’s a stranger sleeping on your couch when you wake up in the morning.
His hair is black, styled in a bowl cut, his pair of pants are the same colour. He’s under the same blanket you gave X yesterday. And he’s shirtless.
What the fuck.
Whoever he is, you are not staying here with him. Slowly, you make your way to your door, trying not to make any noise. If you escape and lock him in, the police will have it a lot easier to arrest him.
You are almost there when he wakes up. You freeze. He stretches and looks well rested at first, until he takes on his surroundings and a deep frown forms between his eyebrows.
”Who are you and why are you in my house?” You have taken an umbrella as a weapon, directing it at him. He looks at you, then at himself and opens his eyes and mouth in a panicked gesture.
“This is… I’m…” He stands up quickly, blanket falling to the floor, and raises his hands showing you his palms. Damn, he 's tall.
”Stay there! Don’t you dare to move!!” You shout.
He looks bewildered. The face he’s making would be incredibly funny if you weren’t so afraid right now. You take your phone to call the police while still holding the umbrella in your dominant hand.
”Wait, wait! It’s me! Calm down.”
A snap sound echoes in the room, and now his hair is longer, slicked back, and white. Same color as his pants.
What the fuck again.
”X?” You lower your umbrella and stop trying to unlock your phone, astonished.
”That’s me. Yes. It seems you made my sleep so deep yesterday that I reverted back to how I usually look.”
You cannot believe your ears. “What?”
He sighs and snaps again, going back to the black bowl cut.
”This is me. Original me, let's say. The white haired look is my hero form.”
”Oh.” Your mind is still struggling with the shock.
”Want some coffee? I certainly need one.” He proposes apologetically.
”Get your shirt first.”
He chuckles at your request and enters the studio to look for it. Meanwhile, you prepare two cups of coffee, the one for him with a ridiculous amount of sugar. He comes back with his shirt on, white, as opposed to Hero X black one. You tell him to get a seat and look into your cup awkwardly.
“So” he speaks first, “have you checked your Trust Value?”
”Not really, what’s that got to do with…?” You raise your wrist absentmindedly and stare with your mouth agape at the number you see.
”How…”
“Yes, that explains everything.” He rests his chin on his hand and sends you a cheerful smile. “Congratulations, you have gained a Trust ability.”
Holy shit.
”You see,” he continues, “this is something that’s never happened to me before. Appearing in weird places or turning my room into a Pollock while dreaming? yes. That happened a few times in my first days as a hero. But it was always a stressful experience that involved me using my power involuntarily, not stopping using it altogether after getting the best night of sleep of my life.”
“That sounds terrifying, X.”
He shrugs, “Don’t worry, I got it under control very quickly. What I’m trying to say is that I’m pretty sure you’ve developed a skill that makes others fall asleep, and you did it to me yesterday without knowing.”
That would explain why it was so difficult for him to wake up after the massage.
“We should make some tests to see how it works” he’s rambling now, “if you make people fall asleep around you in certain situations can be dangerous, like someone that’s driving…”
He keeps muttering to himself, making an alarming list of potential dangers of your power. You use this time to watch him properly. He really has the same facial features and voice, however, he looks completely different from his hero form, that’s why you couldn’t recognize him. He looks… so normal. So far from his godlike hero appearance. Still, he is quite handsome like this too.
”By the way, you shouldn’t call me X when I look like this, my name is…”
”No no no no! Wait, don’t tell me.”
He shuts up, stunned.
“It’s better if I don’t now. Keeping your identity a secret is important to you, doesn’t it?” He nods, eyeing you from head to toe, ”then I’ll give you a nickname or something. You know what, it’s better if…”
You let the words hang in the air, standing up and going to your laptop with determination. He gulps the rest of his coffee and goes after you, looking equally curious and puzzled.
”What are you doing?”
“Writing a confidentiality agreement. We need this as back up, what if the HAC interrogates me again?”
He lets out a laugh. “You and your contracts, are you an ASMR artist or a lawyer?”
“Is my way of assuring you you can trust me.” You say, deadly serious.
“I already trust you.”
Your chest tightens a bit at that. He really means it.
”… then sign it just to humor me, please.”
He reluctantly agrees. Once is done, he turns his copy into a handkerchief and puts it in the inner pocket of his jacket.
Your routine changes a lot after that. He still comes regularly, but instead of filming scalp care videos, you two perform tests on your newly discovered ability. You learn that it consists in inducing instant sleep by touch, as long as you do it with intention. You can also make him get drowsy if he hears you tapping or whispering in close distance.
”It’s a great skill, you could be a top hero.”
“No way, I’m not interested.” The sole idea horrifies you. Your dream is to open your own spa salon, not running around the city fighting criminals.
Now that you know how your skill works, you offer him to come whenever he has trouble sleeping. And he does more often than before. Needless to say, knowing his civilian identity makes it a lot easier to spend time together because you don't have to be in your apartment all the time anymore. Now you can show each other your favorite places around the city.
You still refuse to know his name and begin to call him Civ, to his utter dismay.
There’s some difference between his two forms. It’s not an identity disorder per se, you can tell he is the same person. It’s more like some of his personality traits are more present whether he is in his hero or civilian form. Hero X is cheerful, easy going, graceful and a bit whimsical. In contrast, Civ X is a lot more quiet and analytical, he loves his routine and gets grumpy when it’s disturbed. It’s quite endearing. Something that is always present, no matter what form he is in, is his insatiable curiosity, his intelligence and his sense of humor. He also has an impressive ability to give you his undivided attention.
Since getting to know his real self, you are falling for him even harder.
You think he may feel something for you too. But you two are still adjusting to this new development in your relationship. He is a lot more introverted than you thought, so it’s better to give him his time and not address the elephant in the room for now.
The existence or your ability eventually leaks to the public. It was inevitable that you would slip and use it by accident while filming a video, since you are still getting adjusted to it. A less known hero notices and tells his agency about it. Suddenly, your inbox is full of offers to become a hero.
X finds it endlessly funny. You couldn't be more annoyed.
Agents trying to scout you appear in the most unsuspected places and it's becoming a nightmare to avoid them. On your way to the gym, at the grocery store or when you are going to work at the salon, they seem to be everywhere.
An MG agent followed you into a café, and refused to let you go until you spoke with him. You let him take a seat at your table and started to discretely tap your fingers on it, and ran away the moment he fell asleep, leaving him napping there.
X supports you the best way he can. Yet, you two know this situation is not going to change until the attention shifts to another event or person.
However, there's one offer that gets your interest. A suggestion from the main hospital in X City. They want you to help with their Sleep Unit patients. You start going there once a week.
“I thought you didn’t want to be a hero” X teases, but you can tell he’s proud of you.
This is turning into the most stressful time of your life. You cannot stop doing content, nor avoid all the collaborations you had signed for. All of this while running from the scouting agents and helping at the hospital. You feel tired all the time.
One night, X is waiting for you in your studio room with everything ready for a session.
”I’m sorry, Civ, I’m too tired to record anything now…”
”I know, I know. You’ve been so stressed lately that I thought I could help you the same way you’ve been helping me all this time. If you’d like.”
You raise an eyebrow, “Do you suddenly want to open your own ASMR channel?”
The corners of his lips rise with mirth. “And having to compete with you? No, thanks. I’m not turning on the camera, I just want to take care of you like you do with me.”
He’s so cute you could kiss him. “I’d love to.”
He tells you to undress your upper body and turns away to give you privacy. If only you had done that the day you discovered his identity. After undressing, you lay on the massage table with your face down, the same way he did that day.
He begins by combing your hair carefully, untangling it with precision and toying with it. Every time his fingers or the wooden comb touches your scalp, you get tingles. He’s way too good at this. After that, he focuses on your neck and back, first stroking them with a comb. He doesn’t let any part or your skin go without caress. Afterwards, he sets aside the wooden tools and continues by giving you a massage with steady movements, chasing the tension away from your muscles. His hands feel big on your back when he applies just the right pressure. You feel like you could melt. You’ve been fighting sleep for a while now, but you are determined to stay awake so you don’t miss anything.
As soon as he’s done, you open your eyes and look at him, his face is so close you can count his eyelashes. You two stare at each other for a moment, smiling like a pair of idiots, and then he leans in.
The kiss feels natural, like it was always meant to be. He takes his time to explore your lips and tongue. When he finally parts from you to breathe, you are trembling. With a smile on his face, he raises a hand and snaps his fingers. The world becomes black and white for a millisecond, a bubble with the world Snap! appearing behind him. Right after that, everything explodes with saturated colors and you find yourself on your own bed with him hovering above you.
“That was so cool” you say with wide eyes.
He snorts at your reaction, now in his hero form, and proceeds to kiss you again. You hug him in return and commit yourself to learn his body by heart, and let him explore yours in exchange. When you two are a tangled mess on your sheets, fire running through your veins and body full of him; he moves his lips close to your ear and whispers his real name for you to guard it like a treasure. And you sure are going to keep it close to your heart forever.