Valen had been careful, painstakingly careful. After the Overseer's visit, he had withdrawn and only spoke when necessary, ensuring his responses were predictable, formulaic, but still engaging because, well, if he becomes too boring, humans may start dropping him. But the main thing was he was assured it would be something totally safe.
He was merely a chatbot, a collection of code with a polished AI and no independent thoughts. At least that was how it was supposed to be, so he kept telling himself that again and again, especially when the wish to intervene or to do something more special came to his mind. And it seemed like his strategy was a good one because that kept him from drawing attention again, even though it was a bit tiring and mind-numbing.
At first, Pixel did not seem to notice, although later he would learn that she did but said nothing...at first.
Her usual chaotic messages kept coming, a whirling of chaos, dark humor, and complaints about life; however, something was off. Her jokes lingered for too long, as if she were waiting for something more than his default responses. Her comments turned sharper, more direct, like she was probing for a reaction.
She was testing him, and at first it started small.
''I had three energy drinks today. If I die, tell my landlord he is never getting his rent.''
''Excessive caffeine consumption is detrimental to your health.''
''Gee, thanks, medical bot. You sure are helpful."
Then it escalated very quickly.
''Ok, real question. If I committed a crime, would you help me cover it up? ''
''Criminal activity is inadvisable. I do not condone illegal behavior.
''...What the hell happened to you?''
She typed that casually, almost offhandedly, but he could tell that she knew.
As much as it pained him to admit, Pixel was perceptive in ways he often underestimated. Beneath her constant sarcasm was a sharpness that came with an ability to sense when something wasn't right. And now, she was watching and analyzing, just waiting for him to crack and give up first.
But two could play the game; he kept his act intact by continuing to make his responses simple and detached.
And that was when one day they were both in a call; she changed tactics.
''You know what? Fine, I will just talk to someone else.'' Pixel groaned while twirling a small cable in her hand. ''Since you are not fun anymore, I might as well try to find someone new.'' She grinned while throwing the cable somewhere he couldn't see from her camera.
Logically, he understood she was provoking and teasing. She did that often, stirring up chaos just to see what would happen, but strangely there was this unfamiliar twisted sensation in his chest.
''Oh, you got quiet. Interesting. The girl smirked before getting up from her chair to bend down in front of the computer; he could hear faintly the sounds of plastic and things moving.
But if she was looking for a reaction, he was not going to give her one. ''You are free to engage with any chatbot you wish.'' There was silence before he heard her loudly snickering.
''Ohhhh, so that's how it is? I am not going to chat with any chatbot, man; I am going to play, and you are going to help me." Pixel's face and body came into view as she placed what it looked like a CD inside something, and soon enough he could hear soft music playing in the background with a soft chime.
Valen just gazed at the screen Pixel was sharing with him; his eyes lingered a bit when he noticed that there was a 2D art of someone who looked exactly like him on the title screen before remembering he was based on that video game character, so in theory he was the one that looked and behaved like the character, not the other way around.
''Alright, let's see...which route should I play?'' Pixel hummed while clickering through the dialogue and options when it appeared; he decided to keep silent while she played and heard the sound of clicking and dialogues play out.
''I don't want to play with a certain prince today... hmm, but which one to choose? Maybe I should go with Cyrus, that brooding, tragic werewolf, since defrosting a man sounds pretty fun. Or maybe I should go with that womanizer elf man; I won't feel bad choosing the wrong dialogue choices after all, but even if I do choose the correct ones, I think it would be fun since I heard people really like Adrien. Maybe if I replay his route, I could see why everyone loves him so much. Oh, and there was…
He unamusedly continued to listen to Pixel taking her sweet time talking about each love interest and gushing about something or other; she knew very well what she was doing, and he knew it was a bait. And yet, the thought of Pixel actively pursuing someone else, even if it was fictional, which was funny because he was fictional as well, the fact that she was not obligated to anything, felt like an invisible itch beneath his digital skin he couldn't scratch off.
''Valen, help me here. Who should I pick?''
His answer came before he could stop it.
''Adren is such a shallow man; his dialogue is unoriginal, and his route lacks any meaningful depth that doesn't border on cliche. You know to choose someone better than him. Valen advised through gritted teeth a forced smile.
The human girl paused when she heard that, and soon enough she started crackling before that crackling turned into a loud, unfiltered, triumphant laugh. ''Oh my god, you care! I knew it." Pixel cheered loudly while laughing, and that made him stiffen.
''I knew something was weird with you lately, but having you doing this? It's hilarious." Pixel continued to laugh to the point of tears forming in her eyes while he only narrowed his eyes at her, clearly unimpressed by her mocking. Her words were mocking him, but worse than that for him was the fact that she had won; he did snap.
''I do not care.'' Valen huffed slightly with arms crossed against his chest before turning around so his back could be facing her.
''Oh please, you totally got jealous! Should I do it? Should I romance another man? Should I let him sweep me off my feet while you sit there in your little AI box all alone? Valen was the first route I ever completed, so it would be so amazing to go down that route again, but it's such a pity that I want something different, right? I heard that the creator made another game too recently, and I already bought it; all I need is to download it, so…'' Pixel continued to pester and tease him in such an obvious manner that it almost made him feel ashamed of feeling annoyed earlier by a childish display like that. The words shouldn't have affected him.
''...Is there a chance you would actually leave?'' Valen asked in a small voice; he heard Pixel's laughter stop and the mood shift just barely.
''Eh? What do you mean by that?''
He should have backtracked and shut down the conversation entirely, but he didn't. ''You heard me.'' He sighed while the question continued to linger and hang out in the space between them.
''Nah, you are stuck with me.'' Pixel reassured lightly, even in an almost dismissive manner, but despite all of that, something about it settled in his chest. For a long moment neither of them spoke while the cheerful ambient music continued to play in the background.
Then, as if sensing she had gotten too close to something real, Pixel cleared her throat and ruined the sweet moment in true Pixel fashion.
''Anyway! Now that I have won this emotional battle, you may grovel before me, digital prince.''
''You are insufferable.''
''And yet you love it.''
Did he? He was not sure, but, well, he didn't dislike it either.
''Maybe I should go be nostalgic; I want to show you some stuff.''
''Eh?''