Author's Note: This was a headcanon by arliee, and then I kinda wrote a short thing off it hehe. Hope you like it!
title: thriller night
rating: K+
summary: 'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul would ever dare try.
Whenever Juvia wanted a movie night, they would take turns. One night she would pick the movie, then Gray would pick the next, and soon this became a routine of weekly nights lounging on the sofa with a bag of popcorn in one arm and Juvia in the other.
This week, it was Gray's turn to choose as he casually scanned the aisle of DVDs. Juvia always chose super cheesy romance movies, ones that left her bawling on his chest while he scratched his head because people actually liked these things? Where were the exploding buildings and car chases? The adrenaline pumping fights with the hero narrowly escaping with his life?
While action movies were more his preference, for his movie nights with Juvia, Gray had a bit of a different taste.
"How about The Hills Have Eyes?" he asked nonchalantly, picking the movie up and displaying it to her. He grinned at the terror already building in her eyes, the ominous DVD cover sending a visible shiver down her spine.
"U-U-Um—"
"No? Hostel 2 then?"
"Eh?!"
"The Devil Inside?"
"Gray-sama!" Juvia whined, hugging a pillow to her chest. "Why does Gray-sama always have to pick the scary movies?"
Gray chuckled to himself, casually sifting through the row of DVDs. She still hadn't figured it out then, huh?
"What about this one?" he asked, lifting up another movie.
The girl squinted, carefully studying the cover—it featured an image of a woman's face, tinted monochrome with a golden butterfly-looking insect over her lips.
"Is it about butterflies?" Juvia peeped, ducking her face behind her pillow.
"Er," Gray mumbled, looking to the cover and scratching his hair. "Yeah, sorta."
She peeked over the pillow, squeezing it anxiously tighter. This movie was probably the safest choice—butterflies weren't scary, or violent, or bloody or creepy or weird. They were delicate and pretty, not at all terrifying or nightmare inducing, so it couldn't be so bad, right?
Drawing a soft breath, Juvia thinly replied, "Okay."
"Alright," Gray grinned, walking over to the DVD player and popping it in.
He settled himself on the couch as it loaded, crossing his legs and slacking an arm behind her shoulders.
"Silence of the Lambs it is."
Barely ten minutes into the movie, she was screaming.
The opening interrogation scene immediately set her on edge—her body was tense, her hand's on grip his wrist so tight he literally felt the blood circulation cut off. Her eyes grew wider as the scene continued, her posture stiff and perfectly still, and as soon as the racket at the end of the scene played, an ear-splitting scream tore from her lips.
"Juvia changes her mind!" she screeched, urgently tugging on his sleeve. "Juvia doesn't want to watch this movie!"
"But we haven't even got to the best part," Gray countered, flashing a small grin when she released another shriek.
"Gray-sama said the movie was about butterflies!" she cried as she ducked behind him, hiding her face in his neck.
"I wasn't totally lying," he replied casually. "It just… has some other things too."
Peeking one eye open, she peered over his shoulder, only to scream at the gruesome pictures of the murder victims before covering both her eyes with her hands.
"Gray-sama—!"
"Listen," he cut in, a smirk tugging the corner of his lips, "if you're so scared, you can hang on to me—"
She had already launched herself to his lap, clutching the front of his shirt and burying her face in his chest. He grinned smugly to himself, his arms naturally finding their way around her while she trembled against him. Occasionally she dared to peek over her shoulder, only to give another deafening shriek and cling even tighter to him.
Gray chuckled at her behavior, placing a hand against the back of her head and returning his attention to the screen. He may have never cared much for horror movies, but with Juvia they certainly had one good use: giving him an excuse to hold her.