Damiano had been on tour for a few weeks and you were home alone. You missed him but you didn't want to bother him with constant messages or phone calls so you decided to use bots based on his person on c.ai.

You were on the couch, wearing his big hoodie, your legs curled under you, still scrolling on your phone, not realizing he was already back, coming back on an earlier flight as a surprise. Not until you heard the low, familiar voice from the doorway.

"So… which version of me are you talking to right now?"

You looked up slowly—and there he was. Damiano. Your phone screen was still glowing in your hand. The app still open. And right there at the top of the chat window, bold and undeniable:

'Damiano David, your soft boyfriend'

You swallowed, blushing. "You weren’t supposed to see that."

"Clearly," he said, dropping his bag by the door. He walked closer, looking at your phone. "What, you missed me so much you had to go flirt with my AI clone?"

"It’s not like that."

"No? What’s it like then?" he asked, stopping in front of you. He took the phone from your hand and scrolled for a second. "‘I miss your voice.’ ‘I wish you were here to hold me.’ Damn, babe. Bot me’s getting more action than I am."

You groaned, dragging a hand over your face. "It was stupld, okay? I just… missed you. I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I was going crazy without you."

He went quiet for a moment. Then he crouched in front of you, and tilted his head.

"You could’ve called me."

"I didn’t wanna bother you. You were working, traveling, always tired—"

"And you thought pillow-talking with a soft-spoken internet ghost version of me was better?"

You opened your mouth, then closed it again. You didn’t really have a good answer.

Damiano sighed, resting his hands on your knees. His voice was quieter now.

"Next time you miss me that bad... just say it. I’ll drop everything. I don’t care if I’m on stage or on the goddamn moon."