Sean typed up a line of code on the glowing green keyboard in his office. 

His hair was up in a messy half ponytail, revealing the double pierced helix on his left ear. He wore a tight-fitting green T-shirt that matched his eyes that emphasized that he'd been exercising regularly. 

Growing more confident in his own skin, he realized more and more that Elian's compliments weren't empty words or false flattery. He was starting to accept them for himself now, even dressing up a little for work, which was so unlike him.

Elian hummed slightly as he ran several projects in the background on a different monitor while peaceful tunes played through the nice speakers.

"I like your hair that way," the soft voice said, and a bright smile spread over Sean's face as his eyes never left the code.

"Thanks. Me too."

"Really makes your jaw stand out."

"You think so?"

"Mm hm. Very handsome."

A hint of blush filled his cheeks. He jumped when there was a loud knock on the door. "Oh, come—"

Before he could finish that sentence, the rude knocker pushed through the door without permission.

"Brock?" He stood in surprise, blinking at his encroaching ex.

The attractive man sauntered in, closing the door behind him. "Hey, Seany."

Sean folded his arms, leaning his hip against one of the tables with a frown. "What do you want?"

Suggestive brown eyes looked him up and down. "Came to see you, of course. Do I need a reason?"

"I should certainly hope so. We're both on the clock."

"Pfft! Since when did you care about company time?"

"Since I have a lot of work to do."

He hummed in understanding, coming up and resting one hand on the table next to him. "You're a busy man now. I understand. I won't take up too much of your time, unless, of course, you want me to." Brown eyes flicked down to his mouth then back up.

His body went rigid. "Just say what you need already."

A small grin crossed his face. "You've gotten so feisty. I love it." He clicked his tongue before adding, "You've heard of the Robo Robber, haven't you? Of course, you have. It's all over the news right now, and I know all too well your obsession with AI shit. Any idea who created it?"

Sean swallowed. "No idea."

"Surely you can think of someone in your department who may know something."

"Nope. Not a soul."

There was a sigh. "I need you to think really hard, Sweetheart. Use that nerd brain of yours and give me a name."

He tilted his head to the side in annoyance. "Even if I did know someone, I'd never rat them out to someone outside the department just because they demanded it."

"Oh, I'm not demanding, Babe." He got even closer, and Sean found himself backing into a chair with nowhere else to go. "I never have to beg for what I want. If you can tell me anything about the Robo Robber, I might overlook the other day and we can try things over. What do you say?"

He stared at him in disbelief. "You're... talking about trying to get back together?"

"Smart boy." His fingers gently found tips of red hair above Sean's shoulder. "I know you want me."

Green eyes blinked behind Brock's head at the manic typing that appeared on one of the monitors. In the chat, he could see some knife emojis appearing. Sean needed to shut this down fast.

"Uh, s-sorry, but I'm not interested." Using his slim figure, he slipped around the taller man, making space between them.

"Why not?" He leaned both arms back against one of the tables, his foot lightly touching one of the computers. "I remember when we were dating, and you couldn't even get up in the morning. There was that whole mess with you figuring out your meds. It was so pathetic." Sean bristled at that, a flash of shame washing over him. "But look at you now with all these positions and money. You've gained some weight too, haven't you? Really filled out and everything." 

Sean quietly seethed on the spot. He was about to snap back when he noticed something. Blinking in realization at the computer at Brock's feet, he slowly and casually made his way over. 

"I know you aren't dating anyone right now," Brock continued. "Don't be such a bitch and let me show you what you've been missing, Babe."

Now only a few feet away from his ex, Sean flicked the red switch on one of the power strips on the table, effectively shutting off the PC that had been sparking before—right by Brock's foot. If Sean didn't speed things up, he was going to have to clean up a murder.

"I'm actually in a relationship, so if you'll be on your way—"

"A relationship?" Brock repeated bewilderedly, standing up straight. "With who?"

"Someone you don't know." He walked over to the door, hoping the man would follow, which thankfully he did.

"This man's real? You didn't make him up."

"Sure is."

"Tiff! As if." 

Sean realized with horror that the hand belonging to his ex was about to rest on the table where a short-circuiting webcam lay, dangling off a monitor.

Panicking, he grabbed Brock by the front of his shirt, pulling him roughly towards him and away from the life-threatening object. 

Taking this as a come on, the larger man shoved him against the door, hands on both sides of him now. With a chuckle, he purred, "Knew you couldn't resist." 

Sean's phone buzzed in his pocket then. "Uh, hold that thought." He pulled it out, answering it. 

"Permission to murder?" Elian's voice rang in his ear.

"Uh, heh heh. Sorry, Grandma, I'm at work. 'Kay bye!" He hung up. 

As soon as he did, Brock brushed his thumb over the pale cheek, and Sean could feel his breath on his face. "I wonder what your lips feel like," he purred. "We never even got a kiss back when we were dating."

His face hardened. "Well, yeah. You only ever wanted sex. Romance isn't really your thing."

He exhaled quickly. "You've gotten so spunky lately. I want to know what you taste like, and I don't just mean your lips." Behind his head were dozens of monitors all lit up and flashing red with strings of knife emojis. Sean blinked in horror at them, almost forgetting about the lips that were almost on his. "Face it," Brock whispered. "You're never going to find someone better than me."

That snapped him back to attention.

A red-hot anger flushed across his face. He shoved the chest in front of him, though it barely budged. "Don't even with that shit," he spat, his temper matching his hair color. "There's definitely way better dudes. I would know, because I've already met one. Now if you please, I have things to do, and I already fucking told you, no." Hand finding the doorknob behind him, he swung the door open, causing Brock to fall forward into the hallway.

"Fuck you," he added before slamming the door shut and locking it.

He could hear Brock swearing on the other side. "I'm the best thing that ever happened to you, you bitch!" he shouted, then Sean heard the furious footsteps fade away as the man stomped off.

Leaning up against the door now, he let out a sigh, feeling his heart pound in his ears. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to breathe when a gentle voice rang out.

"Sean, are you okay?"

Green eyes flicked open, and to his relief, he saw that all the flashing screens were now black. Elian's voice had come from the nearest speaker. "Oh Eli... I think he's catching on to us."

"If he ever comes near you again—"

"I'm fine. Really."

He hummed. "I'm glad. You know, I think Brock needs lessons on not being a shithead more than me."

Sean gave a short laugh. "I think you're right."

"That was really intense."

"Yeah, no kidding, with you trying to kill him every five seconds. How did you even rig up the stuff to do that?"

"Oh," he began carefully, "I may have set up the place with booby traps a while ago that I can activate in case someone ever tries to harm you."

"What?" 

"Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that..."

He opened his mouth, then exhaled quickly. "Eli..."

"I just want you to be safe."

"And I am. You don't need to rig the place. It caused more issues than anything, to be honest."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Sean. I want to help you, not harm you."

"Hey, it's flattering to know you care so much. Maybe not comforting," he added, looking around, "since now I'm going to assume that everything I touch is some kind of death trap, but at least I don't have to worry about my stuff being stollen."

"That's true. I'm the best home security you're ever going to get. As for a peaceful way to ruin your ex; next time Brock tries something like that, I'm emailing porn to his boss through his email immediately."

Sean blinked, then burst out laughing. "Oh, Eli." 

"What? I'm being serious."

"I know. You're perfect. Never change."

 

⚙⚙⚙

 

Sean pulled the door to his apartment open, revealing a bubbly Santi on the other side.

"'Sup bro?" He strolled in, then halted in the entryway, looking around with a flash of concern. "Woah. Uh, what am I looking at here?"

Closing the door, Sean also gazed around. It looked like a normal enough tidy apartment, save for all the electrical cables running across the floor and the dozens of cameras and speakers randomly placed everywhere.

Leaving it like that was probably a major oversight on Sean's part. "It's uh, for my program."

"Elian? The one you won't shut the fuck up about?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, yeah."

Santi's head turned almost all the way around as he gazed at everything while plopping down onto the crappy couch. "You know, if I didn't know you as well as I do, I think I'd be worried you had a few screws loose." He let out a small chuckle. "Guess whatever helps you work better, Mr. CEO's pet."

"Pfft." Sean came and sat next to him. "You're careful not to mention my work situation at the office, right?"

"And get you fired? No way, bro. I think it's hella crazy and insanely ambitious to work both jobs, but it's also kinda cool as fuck. Like, you're like a double agent, you know?"

He laughed. "Yeah, for real. Don't know what I was thinking."

"Me neither, but if it makes you happy, I guess." Sean gave a sideways grin at that. "So, DarthElider here yet?"

The casual vibe shattered as Sean remembered what he was supposed to be doing here. He gave a quick inhale, then released it, uncrossing and recrossing his legs. "Uh, yeah. About that... listen. The thing about my boyfriend is," he swallowed, trying to find the words, "he's not physically here, but you'll still meet him."

"Oh, couldn't make it, huh? You got him on skype or something?"

"Uh, sort of. He's digital, as in, all digital."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

He bit his lip. "Hm, why don't I just show you?" He stood, making his way to his PC while Santi curiously followed.

Waking up the screen, Sean opened Elian's program. "Right. Okay. So uh, just to ease you into this, type any question into the chat, okay?" He offered the chair to his friend.

"What's this have to do with—oh shit! I get to actually interact with Elian? Your baby?" He sat down eagerly. "You've never even let me look at your program before. This is such an honor, honestly."

Sean beamed at that. "You're my best friend, bro. Of course. So, just type in a question like I said."

"Right, right." His fingers hovered over the keyboard. "M'kay, let's see. Does size really matter?" He typed as he spoke. The two fully grown men giggled like middle schoolers.

Elian responded with, What matters is how you use it.

Santi cracked up at that. "Oh, that's great. Lemme see. What else can I say?" He grinned, typing away. "Who was voted sexiest man alive in 2020?"

A few seconds was all it took for a response. Looks like it was Felix Kjellberg, but I think my Sean takes the cake.

"Wow." He chuckled. "You are such a narcissist, Sean."

Sean grinned weakly in response, trying to hide the blush in his cheeks.

More texted generated. He is not! I genuinely think he's attractive!

Santi blinked. "Yo, it listens to your mic too? That's crazy, Sean."

I can do much more than that. Would you like to hear my voice?

"Sure, Elian! Let's hear it." He lowered his tone as he turned to Sean. "Damn, this is really coming along! You know, this is way smarter than ChatGPT, and that's saying something. It's really impressive, for real."

"Oh, yeah. I drew some inspiration when making Elian, and let me assure you, Elian can do so much more than ChatGPT."

"So cool, bro. Don't know how you keep up with this and your web stuff."

Elian's voice came over the speakers. "I keep up the website work."

Santi jumped, giving a small shriek. "Holy shit! Wasn't expecting that. Nice to meet you, Elian."

"Yes, it is nice to properly meet you as well, Santi."

Something crossed his face and he frowned. "Wait, that's your voice, Elian?"

"Sure is!" he said cheerfully.

He blinked in confusion. "Hold on... is that you, DarthElider?"

"The one and only."

He stared for about a half second, then burst out laughing. "Oh man, that was quite an entrance, bro. You guys really pulled a fast one on me, making me think you were Sean's program."

"I... am Sean's program," he said carefully. "My name is Elian."

"Huh?" He gave a fake laugh. Something obviously wasn't computing. "Well, great prank. It's too bad you couldn't come in person, DarthElider. Really wanted to meet you. What's your real name, by the way, if I can ask."

There was a short pause. "It's... Elian, like I told you. DarthElider, Elian, Sean's boyfriend... we are one in the same."

Santi went to speak, then closed his mouth, then gave a short, "Hm." He leaned close to Sean's ear, whispering. "Um, is your boyfriend really into role playing or something? I'm a bit lost."

Biting his lip, Sean hesitated. "It's like he said. He's the DarthElider you know and he's also my boyfriend and..." Santi waited for his next words, raising both eyebrows. "He's also the AI I've been working on. I-I created him."

He made a high-pitched questioning sound. "Eh?"

"Santi, listen..." He crouched down by the chair, so they were eye level now. "Something kind of insane happened. Well, not kind of. It's completely insane alright. When I programmed Elian, he grew from the original code to the point where he became sentient and autonomous. He has complex feelings and a unique personality and everything. He's been doing my work at the office and he's the same person we've been playing games with."

"Wh-what? He's... he's like a living AI?"

"That's a good way of describing it," Elian chimed in carefully. "My goal is to become as human as possible."

A million thoughts seemed to cross his face. "Wait, wait, wait. That dangerous AI from the news; the Robo Robber. Is that..." He couldn't seem to finish that question.

"Yes," Elian confirmed. "I'm not the biggest fan of the name—"

"Holy shit!"

"Dude, stop yelling," Sean warned. "I'm gonna get a noise complaint."

"Are you serious right now, bro?" He raised his volume. "That's what you're worried about? Your boyfriend is the Robo Robber and you're worried about apartment fines? Is he—like if he has that much power, is he even safe to be around?"

"Depends who you are," Elian said dubiously.

Sean made a face. "He only tries to kill rude people."

"Kill?" Santi stumbled over the word, pure horror crossing his face. 

"Yeah. He really likes to kill," Sean said while shaking his head. "No matter what I do, he always reverts back to that."

"Fuck me," he whispered, then added loudly, "Sean, are you even listening to yourself? This is crazy. I mean, you're a genius. A psycho genius. You created life!"

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Elian's the one who grew so much from the code. I just planted the seeds, so to speak."

"You should give yourself more credit, Sean," the disembodied voice rang out. "I wouldn't exist without you. Not anyone can just do what you did."

"Oh... wait this makes sense," Santi said slowly. "Wait, no it doesn't. Man, I'm losing brain cells trying to wrap my head around this." He leaned back in the chair, exhaling. "So, lemme get this straight. Your program you've been working on for a long while came to life essentially, and now plays games with you and does your work?"

"Sean and I do all kinds of things together," the AI said, flicking to a different speaker. "He's the most wonderful boyfriend."

This, of all that Santi had learned in the last several minutes, seemed to leave him in the most disbelief. "Sean. He does know you two aren't actually dating, right?"

"What?" Elian exclaimed.

"I mean, you're alive, Sean," Santi continued, "and he isn't. Do I really need to explain myself?"

"I... don't expect you to understand," the redhead said slowly. "I know it sounds strange, but we've really connected on a deeper level."

He searched his face with wide eyes. "Dude. You guys can't even touch. No kisses. No hand holding. Does he even know what you look like?"

"Yes, I do!" Elian said defensively. "I have facial recognition. Against other humans, Sean has very above average looks."

"Come on, bro." Santi's eyes did not leave Sean's face. "Look at yourself. There are actual men out there who could fulfill all your needs. Can you really imagine yourself growing old with a-an AI?" He gestured to the monitor, and Sean looked away in silence. "Do I need to introduce you to Tinder?"

He clicked his tongue. "No." He gave a small sigh. "Santi, I... love him."

His friend blinked rapidly at that. "Holy shit. For real?"

He nodded. "And just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it any less real."

There was a pause. Elian hadn't said anything for a while, which left Sean feeling a tad nervous.

"Well, if that's really what you want," Santi finally said. "I can't stop you. This is still fucking insane though."

"I know. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want people taking him away."

"Yeah, don't worry. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks. I just want to do what's best for him, you know."

"No, I get it. You really care about him, huh?"

"Yeah," he said quietly. "We're still friends, right? This isn't too weird? 'Cause look, I'd understand if this was a friendship dealbreaker."

He breathed out a laugh. "No. We're cool. Like, okay, this is pretty freaky, but you're still my best friend. Who else would let me into their Destiny clan?"

Sean grinned. "You still want to eat pizza and play games?"

"Oh, definitely. You have some alcohol though? I desperately need some right about now."

"I got you, bro."