#why does this man have so many names

[starsstuddedsky]

11:59

reader x minghao

summary: your (very new) boyfriend has a surprise for you

genre: fluff, fluff, fluff

warnings: none? food mention kind of

wc: 1.7k

a/n: ur honor i am in love with xu minghao

You’re in bed when your phone rings. It’s 11:46, and you just finished your night routine, pulling your blankets straight before climbing into bed. You smile, looking at the name with ridiculous heart emojis that Minghao insisted he didn’t add. 

“Hi,” you answer. You feel shy, pulling the bright green throw blanket over your lap. 

“Happy birthday,” Minghao says. His voice is muffled, as if he isn’t holding his phone to his ear. 

“Well, I had to make up for not being there,” he says. “And I didn’t want to keep you up too late.” 

“Up too late?” You repeat. “You’re funny.” 

“Up too late?” You repeat. “You’re funny.” 

“I just care about you,” he says. The words make your heart glow. It’s been two weeks of officially dating this boy, who you’ve had a crush on ever since you met him. Two weeks of waking up to a living dream that you float around in like a kite in the wind until you see Minghao and he brings you back down to earth. It’s hard to believe that this is real life sometimes, these past two weeks feeling too good to be true. Everything in your head is categorized into before or after. 

It’s too early to even think about the L word, but Minghao makes you feel like maybe one day that word won’t be so scary. 

“Are you still there?” He asks. 

“Even I can’t fall asleep that quickly,” you say. This is the first time since you started dating that he’s gone on a work trip. It’s common for him, something you knew before. You just wish the first trip he goes on after isn’t on your birthday. But you know he isn’t happy about it either and you don’t want to make him feel any worse about it. 

“Well, if you’re up…” he says, stopping before he finishes his sentence. 

“Am I getting birthday presents already?” You sit up. 

“There may or may not be a surprise in a few minutes,” he says. “I recommend wearing something other than pajamas, though.” 

“Why? Am I going to be filmed? If Mingyu is involved at all, I’m not going outside. He’s a safety hazard, especially when it comes to surprises.” 

“I know better than to involve Mingyu,” he says. “Just be ready.” 

“So cryptic,” you say. “What should I expect? A box? Something smaller?” 

“You’ll know it when you see it,” Minghao says. “What are you wearing?” 

“Trying to get me out of my clothes already?” You toss the phone down as you change. 

“If you want to be caught in just your Batman T-shirt, that’s up to you,” he says. 

“I thought you liked my shirts,” you say. “Besides, I wore Batman yesterday.” 

“I’m sorry, it’s the one with the microscope and DNA jokes, isn’t it?” 

You glance at the shirt that you were about to put on, a little strip of DNA wearing jeans that says cute genes. “You know if you’re going to tease me about being a nerd, I'm just going to hang up.” 

“First of all, I’m going to make it very clear that I think it is absolutely adorable that you are a nerd, and second of all, if you think that I am not proud that I am dating a giant nerd who loves science puns and is also the smartest person alive, then I have made a serious mistake.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

You don’t know what you’ve done to deserve Minghao. You’ve had partners in the past who were intimidated by your academic career, and it has ultimately caused the end of all of your past relationships. But Minghao, even before, was always interested in hearing about your research and genuinely supported you. Even if there is a fair amount of teasing. 

“You’ve got to stop leaving me hanging and let me know when you’re falling asleep,” Minghao says. 

“Not asleep,” you manage to say. “Just trying to decide if I should wear my good sweatpants or not.” 

Minghao laughs. “You better choose quickly, your surprise is almost here.” The clock reads 11:53 as you decide to wear your favorite pair, checking in the mirror to make sure you don’t look like a total mess. You’ve already washed your face and it’s too late to do any makeup, but you fix your hair a little and decide it’s the best you’ll do on such short notice. 

You aren’t sure what to expect. This is the first time you’ve had any event that involves couples and gifts, but Minghao is a thousand miles away, and you’ve barely been dating. Still, he doesn’t hang up, seeming to get more nervous the closer the surprise gets.

“I am fully clothed and waiting by my front door,” you say at 11:57. “When is my surprise?” 

There’s muffled sounds, then nothing. You pull your phone from your ear and see that he hasn’t hung up, but there’s no sound, even when you turn the volume up. From the distance, you hear a car door slam shut and the lock beeping twice. 

“Minghao?” You say again. 

“Sorry, accidentally muted,” he says. His voice is clearer, as if the phone is against his ear. “I’m still here, and your surprise will be here in about thirty seconds.” 

The door to your house is a thick slab of wood that for some reason doesn’t have a window. You and your roommates have lamented this many times, having to open the door to check if there is a package, and, even worse, when someone knocks. You always joke that it’s going to get you killed one day. It’s excruciating today, pacing back and forth in the entryway in anticipation. You could look out the window around the corner, but a part of you is excited by the surprise, enjoying not knowing. 

“Do I get a countdown?” 

Minghao laughs. “I’m not that cheesy.” 

“Well, you’ve got less than a minute until my birthday, so, you better tell Seokmin to hurry.” 

“No need,” he says, ignoring your second attempt at guessing. “Open your door.” 

“No warning? I don’t get any hints?” 

“Stop stalling and open the door before it’s too late, I want you to get your surprise before midnight.” 

“Fine,” you say. You rest your hand on the door knob, savoring the excitement a second longer before pulling it open. In hindsight, you realize you should have turned on the porch light because at first all you see is a shape in the darkness, a figure standing on your doorstep. Maybe it’s because you are certain he is a thousand miles away, but it takes you a full five heartbeats to recognize Minghao. 

“Happy birthday!” He says, flipping his phone to show that it’s midnight. He’s still wearing a suit, looking like he came straight out of a hallmark movie where the male lead realizes he needs to throw away his overly pretentious job for true love. 

“Minghao!” You cry, throwing yourself into his arms. You are a little too excited, and he nearly falls over from the force of your hug, using the momentum to spin you instead. You cling to his neck as your feet briefly leave the ground. You’re back on the wooden porch after a moment, but you don’t let go. You think you might actually be glowing when he presses a kiss to the top of your head. 

“Are you surprised?” He asks. 

“I thought you were in London!” 

“I pulled some strings and got a flight back this afternoon. It was actually cutting it really close, my flight was delayed, and then Jeonghan was late picking me up from the airport, and my car wouldn’t start. My original plan was dinner.” 

“I like this more,” you say. 

“More than free food?” 

“I’m going to be cheesy and say that any time that we’re together is more than enough,” you say. “Even better than free food.” 

He squeezes his arms around your waist. “I bet we can guilt Mingyu into cooking for us. We can get free food and be together. Two for the price of one.” 

“Two for the price of one? How much time have you been spending with Jun?” 

“It was an eight hour flight,” Minghao says with an over dramatic sigh. 

“How did you survive?” You ask with fake pity. You finally loosen your arms from his neck so that you can see him. 

“Anything for you,” he says with a sly smile. 

“You’re so cheesy,” you say, but you’re smiling too. He leans closer, until his nose brushes against yours. 

“Can I kiss you?” He asks softly. His breath lightly brushes against your lips, smelling faintly of mint. 

“Yes,” you whisper. He smiles and presses his lips against yours, soft and warm, and the best birthday gift you could have asked for. Though it isn’t the first kiss you’ve had with him, it still feels like it, and you have to lean away after a few seconds. Eventually you’ll be comfortable enough to do something more and maybe stop embarrassing yourself, but for now you settle for a chaste kiss. 

When you open your eyes, Minghao is smiling. He taps your nose. “Should we go annoy Mingyu?” 

You tuck your head back onto his chest. “In a minute.” 

“And you call me cheesy?” He says, but he pulls you even closer. 

“Shut it,” you say. “I’m just really happy you’re here.” 

“Me too,” he whispers. 

This is something you never could have imagined before. The simple happiness of being with someone, of being happy just by being together. 

Minghao isn’t perfect. He has to travel a lot for his job, and sometimes his teasing can hurt your feelings. But you aren’t perfect either, and you know that he will work just as hard to make the relationship work. That’s all you can really ask for. 

Love is a scary word, and you know neither of you are ready for it yet. But the dreamer in you can see the future, your birthday a year from now, where maybe it isn’t so scary anymore. And that thought makes you smile.

[galaxbees]

"just once, i'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say, 'sure, let's go. right now. no strings attached.'"

→ top right img stolen from @ladygwyndolin

[attackjester]

chris mclean total drama 🤝 ed teach our flag means death

guys who have long ass crime lists and a shit ton of homoeroticism

[squidsinyoursoda]

dumpster puppy and rabid possum, my favorite genres of depression

[genshinimpactbrackets]

[burned-out-match]

childe x reader | financial burden

segment 1 (I don’t really want to call this a chapter... it’s really short... I’m still working on it!)

Four years. Four years you had known him. 

Liyue harbor was a lovely town. You had grown up there, living in a tiny shop just underneath the main business places. Your father owned a junk shop. That term is not used lightly… he always had a fascination for trinkets. He was your hero, though. You learned at a young age how to help him manage his business… counting funds, pricing products, dealing with customers… and you’d never thought that much of your simple life. That’s how all the stories start, though. 

A quick ‘ding’ from the door was what caught your attention. You looked up, seeing some fatui officers stomp into your family’s store. One of them was a pyro agent. What did they need force for, you wondered… that is, until one of them yelled at you. 

“Are you the owner of this… establishment?”

“Maybe. What do you need from me?”

You didn’t have the patience for more irritation from the bank. They needed to mind their damn business. Always trying to wring money from you and your dad…

“It would be in your best interest…” the officer took a step forward and invaded your space “to treat your superiors with respect.”

“And what exactly makes you my superior? The badge on your coat or the polish on your boot?”

The officer sighed, frustrated by your stubbornness. Pinching their nose, they spoke again.

“We’re here to shut down the shop. Your business is failing. Your loans are not beneficial to the bank. This little… place… is being confiscated from you. Have your personal items gathered and your place of residence adjusted by tomorrow.”

Shit.

Another one of the officers looked around the room, scoffing at the contents of the store. He snatched up a small item and stuffed it in his pocket.

“You gonna pay for that?”

“Why would I? It’s not like you’re gonna sell it before tomorrow.” He spat his words, offering a glare in your direction. The pyro agent gestured towards the door, not saying a word, and the group left the shop shortly after. 

A sigh left your lips as you wondered what to do about this situation… What would you tell your father? Should you try to fight back? Where would you go? How would you survive?

You looked out the door to see a man arguing with the fatui officers. They seemed to respect him, which was odd considering the attitude they had just dished out at you, but you didn’t think much of it. That is, until the man crossed his arms, shook his head, and nodded towards the bank. Odd.

Your night was a busy one. Your father was out of town, so you’d have to chase him down in the morning. Meanwhile, you busied yourself with packaging up goods. After countless hours of sorting through sales records, everything was a blur. 

You awoke to the sound of a bell coming from the front of the shop.

[noitsbecky127]

i enjoy darklina but i don’t think they’re good for each other, like, at all. i just think it’s sexy and fun and i want them to make each other worse

[skrmbrks]

blacked out and drew this

[roses-luckride]

RIDDLER BRAINROT REAL?!? (NOT CLICKBAIT)

[iwasbored777]

I love how people who hate the idea of Gwen and Miles being together cuz they're interracial "couple" always forget that Miles is a child of interracial couple

[deancasforcutie]

everyone: *talking about how Cas' confession demands to be addressed in any Supernatural followup* *still phrasing it like it's an obstacle or accident they didn't think through and not the emotional climax the whole season was building to and the whole text supports, like the trap it laid on the network to demand acknowledgment in this way somehow wasn't always the plan*

Bobo "emotionally invested" *queering-the-text-to-defy-and-expose-censorship-constraints* *wrote-the-confession-to-expose-how-it-was-already-queer-and-pull-fandom's-pants-down-on-heteronormative-bias* Berens:

[virgoscringe]

resting on deck

(also some closeups since i love how their faces came out)

[lorstandian]

people who do wow battlegrounds should be studied

[alexaatla]

normal oak, dungeons and daddies’s biggest punching bag

[iftitah]

.

[boilingrain]

I'm still thinking about how out of all of the crimes that he has committed, Childe went to prison for something that not only did he not do but something that he physically could not have done