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Daphne had reacted with surprise when Shaggy and Scooby had proposed a horror movie marathon, but looking back she should have realized that by horror movie, they meant Vincent van Ghoul. Which was certainly dramatic, and maybe even spooky to an extent, but with all the stuff they’d seen, it could hardly be counted as scary.
She watched with mild amusement as the two of them shivered under the blanket, stress-eating the cheese puffs placed on the coffee table in front of them. Fred had already fallen asleep in the La-Z-Boy, and they were barely through the second movie.
“Zoinks!” Shaggy yelped as van Ghoul revealed that he was a clown in disguise all along. Daphne stifled a laugh, but noticed that Velma had left her spot beside her on the loveseat.
“What’s up, Velm?” she called into the kitchen.
“O-Oh, I’m just getting more snacks,” Velma’s voice called back.
Daphne frowned and looked at where Shaggy and Scooby were sitting. The cheese puffs were almost gone, sure, but they still had a spread that would last them until at least halfway through the movie. Mystery Incorporated’s grocery expenses were already by far the biggest sapper from their income. “Don’t bother, we’ve got plenty out here!”
“No, Daphne, I like the way she thinks,” Shaggy encouraged. “You can never be too prepared when it comes to movie snacks.”
Scooby nodded vigorously. “Getting scared makes me hungry!”
“Look, you’re making them think this is okay!” Daphne exclaimed, gesturing with her arms, though she knew Velma couldn’t see it. “Hold on, I’m coming in there.”
She reluctantly stood up from the sofa, blanket still bundled around her shoulders. “Don’t bother pausing it,” she told Shaggy, who shot a thumbs-up back at her.
She continued into the kitchen, expecting to see Velma heating up popcorn or pouring pretzels into a bowl, but instead stumbled upon her girlfriend sitting on one of the barstools, typing something away into her phone. “Velma, sweetheart?” she asked gently. “You okay?”
The girl in question straightened like an electric current had gone through her, flipping her phone face-down on the counter. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine. What’s—uh… what’s up?”
“Well, I thought I was coming in here to stop you from spoiling the boys rotten with snacks,” said Daphne, sitting next to her and draping her blanket over the two of them. “Do you not like Vincent van Ghoul movies?”
Velma sighed. “I’m fine with most of them,” she said with some frustration. “I’m just not too keen on this one.”
Daphne wracked her brain for the title of the movie. “Killer Clown Carnival? I mean, sure, monster clowns have kind of been done to death, but I still think there’s some charm in it.”
The other girl groaned and buried her face in Daphne’s shoulder. She mumbled something into the cloth of her nightgown, and Daphne laughed. “What was that?”
“I’m scared of clowns,” Velma grumbled, her cheek still pressed against her girlfriend. “Don’t laugh.”
Daphne was dangerously close to laughing simply at how adorable Velma was being, but held it in. She began to card her hands through her dark brown hair. “Oh, baby, don’t be embarrassed.”
Velma made a face. “But it’s embarrassing. We’ve seen so many monster costumes and robots that I should be immune to this stuff by now. I’ve faced more vampires than I can count!” She looked up at Daphne. “But something silly like clowns just… I freeze up.”
Daphne put her hand on her head, pushing it back down to rest on her shoulder. She kissed her softly on the head. “You’re allowed to be scared of silly things,” she began, “I still hightail it across the street when I’m jaywalking because I’m scared a car will hit me.”
“But that’s like, at least slightly sensible,” Velma reasoned.
Daphne shrugged. “I guess, but not that much.” There was a pause as they sat huddled next to each other, slowly syncing up the rhythms of their breathing. “You don’t have to come back out to the movie if you don’t want to.”
“I do,” Velma assured. “I was just in here to… cool down a bit.”
Daphne nudged her head with her shoulder. “If you want, you can hold my hand and cuddle during the scary parts.” She waggled her eyebrows, and Velma snorted.
“Do I really need an excuse to hold my girlfriend’s hand?”
“No, but it might help!” said Daphne.
Velma laughed, grabbing her hand and bringing it to cup her cheek. “Yeah, maybe a little.”
The two sat huddled together in the kitchen for a few minutes more, because neither really wanted to be the one to untangle herself from the other. But eventually, Daphne stood up, taking the blanket with her, and Velma groaned and followed with reluctance. They walked back to the den to see Freddie had somehow been moved to the couch, where Shaggy and Scooby were clinging onto his half-asleep form in pure fear.
Shaggy perked up when he saw the two of them, and eagerly motioned for them to join on the couch, which, though crowded, definitely had enough room for two more. The five of them sat there together while Clown Vincent van Ghoul made monster balloon animals onscreen, and if Velma spent most of the film with her face buried in Daphne’s shoulder, nobody would say anything about it the next morning.