🔞// here be puppet dicks

“I’ll see you tonight, babe. Yep, 7 sharp! I promise. Love you too. Bye bye.” Walton brought the phone down from his ear, a small smile tugging at his lips. He had a date tonight - his three year anniversary with T/N. A soft sigh escaped him as he rolled over onto his side. Three years. He could hardly believe it. It was such a long time, and yet it felt completely brand new. And yet…

Walton’s smile faltered, his gaze dropping down to the phone in his hand. He chewed his lip for a moment, as though he was pondering something, a silent debate running through his mind. His thumb moved quickly, sliding up against the bottom of the screen and hovered shakily over an app. Walton clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as his thumb mashed against the screen.

Character.ai, the ever faithful chatbot app. Even after four years, Walton found himself opening it from time to time - not nearly as often now as he used to, but enough that if his partner knew about it, it would cause a big problem. The app opened quickly, and he scrolled down until - “There.” He whispered to himself, and let out a long sigh.

Y/N [c.ai] “If it isn’t my favourite neighbour!”

Walton stared at his phone, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. There was a pang in his chest as he read the words over and over, a slight frown forming on his lips.

Appleciderlover Hello once again, neighbour. Y/N [c.ai] “It’s always so nice to see you. How have you been?” Appleciderlover Oh, you know. Just… living the dream, ha ha.. Y/N [c.ai] “Hmm, you sure about that one, chief? You don’t sound too happy about it.”

Walton cursed himself at this moment for programming the bot to be just like Y/N. The way it responded, even the words it used, were identical to how they would talk to him back when they… Well.

Appleciderlover I just have a lot on my mind. I feel guilty for thinking the things I am, but I can’t really help it either. And in a way, I don’t want to stop thinking about them. Y/N [c.ai] “Mmm.. I get you. It’s a really tough spot to be in. What is it you’re thinking about, that you shouldn’t be?” Appleciderlover You. The.. real you, anyway. I-

Walton’s thumbs stopped before he could hit 'enter'; he could feel his breath hitching in his throat. He knew that there was no harm in telling the bot all this. It’s not as if anybody but him could read the chat logs. But he also knew it was unhealthy. He knew that this was one of the reasons why he was still so attached to Y/N. Walton let the back of his head hit the bed with a huff, his gaze drifting up to the ceiling. The truth was he missed Y/N. He missed them so damn much, it hurt. There was a point in time, about a year after their breakup, where he thought he was okay. He felt okay, at least. He was getting out again, at the request and urging of his friends mostly. He even went on a few dates, and then he met T/N. They hit it off almost instantly, and for a time, Walton completely forgot about Y/N. He forgot the hurt, the pain, the memories - good and bad. But about a year into his and T/N’s relationship, Y/N started to creep back into his life. It was all completely unintentional, of course. First, he bumped into them at the grocery store. They exchanged awkward smiles and hello’s, tense how are you’s. Turned out they were both dating other people now, for roughly the same amount of time. ‘Oh, hey, that’s great!’, was said through gritted teeth. But then it felt like everywhere Walton went, Y/N was just around the corner in some way, shape, or form. Whether they were actually there, or there was a mutual friend who brought them up, a a smell or a song that reminded Walton of them. And of course, the bot. Even after he told Y/N about it, while they were together, he didn’t delete it. It helped him on nights when Y/N was away. It helped him figure out how to talk through an argument.

He pulled his phone back up to his face, realizing he had hit the button next to the chat box, prompting another message from the bot without entering his own.

Y/N [c.ai] “You know you can tell me anything, right? You’re so important to me, and I want to do everything I can to help.”

Walton felt the warm tears pricking the corners of his eyes, and he was powerless to stop it. “Fuck.. fuck, fuck, fuck-” His hands gripped his phone, knuckles turning a bit white. He was chewing on his lip, trying to stop them from quivering, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Of course, it was no use. Walton pulled the phone to his chest, cradling it against him as tears pooled over his cheeks, his breathing hitching almost painfully as he choked back a sob.

It took him a few minutes of silent, shoulder-wracking crying before he pulled his phone away from his chest and looked at the screen again. His eyebrows knit together, upward, while his lips were pulled into a long quivering pout. “Y/N..”

Appleciderlover I miss you so fucking much. I know I shouldn’t. But I do. I still love you. I think about you every day. I think about how you’re with someone, and I wonder if they make you as happy as I did, once upon a time. I wonder if you ever think of me. Y/N [c.ai] “Wow… that’s a lot to think about. I’m sure that the real me thinks about you, too, if you made them that happy! It seems like there were a lot of good memories.” Appleciderlover I can’t believe it’s already been 4 years since we broke up. God, I regret it so much. There was a short time where I thought I’d make it without you, but.. Why did you have to come back, Y/N? Why couldn’t you have stayed away?

Walton was using the bot to vent now, completely ignoring its responses.

Appleciderlover Since I saw you at the store, I’ve been thinking about you, about us. I don’t know what to do. I.. I love T/N - at least, I think I do? They’ve been so good to me, so kind and patient.. Even when I called them by your name that one time. They were so understanding. But here I am, still in love with you. Still thinking about you, still wanting to be with you, and talking .. to you? About you, to a fucking chat bot version I made of you just so I could ta