My boyfriend and I are both avid gamers; we met each other online in an MMORPG. One day, we plan to meet up at his place before heading out to date night. When I arrive, it is in the middle of a hellish storm — heavy rain, thunder, lightning, hail, and the wind beating the trees in his yard against the roof. It’s the kind of weather that makes you rethink going out.

I step into his house and find the lights on, which means he still has power despite the storm. I make my way to his gaming room, and sure enough, he’s on the sofa, controller in hand, noise-cancelling headphones firmly on his ears. His setup means his back is to the door.

Before I even get to say anything, [Boyfriend] speaks up.

Boyfriend: “If you’re going to kill me, can you wait until I wrap this up?”

A glance at the TV revealed he was playing the aforementioned MMO (which meant he did not have the option to pause) and was in the middle of a solo instance. I fought my laughter down to a fit of giggles that shouldn’t get through his headphones and waited for him to finish up.

We did end up staying at his place instead of going out for the night, and we had a good laugh at the fact that his reaction to an unknown arrival was, “Please don’t kill me in the middle of a boss fight.”