Stay – Flynn x F!MC

Summary: After discovering Tanner’s body on his yacht, Flynn and MC (Jesse) try to figure out their next move and find some comfort in one another.

Notes: This takes place after the events of Chapter 4 when Flynn and Jesse discover Tanner’s body on his yacht. I’m building off an HC I started with my last Flynn fic (Together) that he and Jesse have already slept together. I hope you enjoy it!

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“Shit, what do we do?” Jesse asked as she surveyed the yacht. Tanner’s blood had begun to congeal on the floor and she felt the bile rise in the back of her throat.

“We need to go. Now,” Flynn said. Jesse didn’t move, her eyes still fixed on Tanner. “Jesse.” His voice was softer now and he took her hand in his. That broke her out of her revery and she looked down at his hand. Flynn squeezed her fingers gently. “Let’s go.”

The two of them hurried out of the yacht, scanning for the guard who was nowhere to be found. Flynn led her down the dock and back towards the gate. They had nearly reached his motorcycle when Jesse suddenly stopped.

“Jesse, we need to go,” Flynn insisted.

“We have to call someone,” Jesse said, reaching into her pocket for her phone. “We can’t just leave him there.”

Flynn considered this and then sighed. “Yes, okay, fine. But don’t call on your phone?”

“Why not?” Jesse asked, already dialing the numbers. Just before she hit the call button, Flynn snatched the phone out of her hand. “Flynn!”

“Jesse, I can’t be linked to a murder scene, especially not to a Sterling, let alone my missing sister’s fiance,” Flynn said. “You think they’ll look for the real culprit? They’ll take one look at me and haul me in while the real killer goes free.”

“Well, then, what do we do, use a carrier pigeon?” Jesse asked. Flynn pocketed her phone with one hand and gestured behind her with the other. She turned around and saw a payphone standing forlornly underneath a nearby street light. “Seriously?” she asked incredulously. “I had no idea there were even still payphones around anymore.”

“Yes, Birchport is quite a marvel,” Flynn said sarcastically. “Do you need change?”

Jesse shook her head. “No, I have some.” She turned and headed towards the payphone, digging into her pockets as she went. Jesse didn’t realize her hands were shaking until she pulled out the coins and they immediately dropped to the sidewalk, pinging against the cement in the yellow glow of the street light.

“Dammit,” she muttered, crouching down to collect them. She felt tears brimming at the edges of her eyes but she couldn’t understand why. It was just change. But as she fumbled for the coins, she couldn’t stop thinking of Tanner in the yacht, the way his throat had been cut from ear to ear. She’d never seen a dead body before.

“Hey.” Flynn’s voice was soft, but still Jesse jumped, startled. “Do you want me to make the call?”

Jesse swallowed hard, pushing away the mental image of Tanner. “No, I’m okay.” She took a composing breath and stood up as Flynn handed her the change. He didn’t look like he believed her, but he said nothing as she dropped the coins and began to dial.

“Birchport Police Department.”

“I’m calling to report a crime,” Jesse said, swallowing hard. She felt Flynn standing close behind her, leaning in to listen to the receiver.

“Can I get your name?” the voice on the other end asked.

“Tanner Sterling has been murdered,” Jesse said, ignoring the question. “He’s on his yacht. Someone cut his throat.”

“Ma’am, I need–”

Flynn hung up the phone.

“We need to go,” he said.

“But–”

“Jesse,” he said. “You reported it. You said it was a Sterling. Trust me, the cops will show up. They may not care about many people, but they definitely care about the Sterlings so they’ll be here soon. We have to go.”

Jesse nodded and Flynn took her hand as they walked back to his bike. They climbed on and Jesse wrapped her arms around him, resting her cheek against his back. Everything felt so wrong, so confusing, but in that moment, with arms around Flynn and the rumble of the bike beneath them, everything felt like maybe it could be okay.

When Flynn brought his motorcycle to a stop in front of the B&B, Jesse didn’t want to let go. Still, she forced herself to climb off.

“Are you going to be okay?” Flynn asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jesse said. She’d meant to sound light, but her voice was strained. Flynn didn’t miss that and he settled the bike on its kickstand before standing beside her, pulling her against his chest.

“Do you want me to walk you in?” he murmured, his lips close to her ear.

“No, I’m okay,” Jesse insisted. “Really.” She let go of Flynn and turned away to walk inside. She made it about halfway up the walk before she stopped. Jesse turned around to see Flynn waiting beside his bike.

“Could you … maybe …” Jesse said, her words trailing off into the cool darkness. Without hesitating, Flynn walked up to join her and he took her hand in his. They headed into the B&B where Miss Harlenay was, thankfully, nowhere to be found.

Upstairs, in Jesse’s room, she flipped on the lights and glanced around, the irrational part of her brain half expecting to find Tanner’s dead body on her bed.

“Expecting a boogeyman?” Flynn asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, kind of,” Jesse admitted with a small laugh. She lay down on the bed, kicking off her shoes as she stared up at the ceiling. Smooth and light blue, it reminded Jesse of an endless sky. The kind that’s perfect for a wedding. What should have been Kate and Tanner’s wedding.

Flynn lay down beside Jesse and she rolled onto her side to face him. He did the same, brushing a strand of hair back from her forehead. She closed her eyes under his touch, both loving and needing to be cared for in that moment. Jesse felt Flynn’s lips gently press against her forehead before he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

“Have you ever seen a dead body before?” Jesse asked quietly. She reopened her eyes, not wanting to see Tanner’s crumpled form play across her mind again. Flynn’s tattoo crept out from underneath his shirt collar and she gently traced the thick black lines with the tips of her fingers.

“Once,” Flynn said, but then stopped.

“Was it … were you in jail at the time?” Jesse asked.

Flynn pulled back and looked at her, a wry, amused grin on his face. “Not everything is quite as dramatic in jail as what you see on TV.”

“Sorry,” Jesse said, a warm rose spreading across her face. Flynn laughed and kissed her cheek before he curled his arms around her again. They settled into a quiet rhythm and after a while, Jesse wondered if Flynn had fallen asleep when he finally spoke again.

“It was my grandmother,” he said. “I was fourteen. She got really sick so we went to the hospital to visit her. Our mom had to talk to the doctor so she left me and Kate in with her.” He paused and Jesse could hear him swallow. “Things were fine and then … I don’t know, something changed. It’s not like the alarms were going off, but I could tell something was different. I pulled a couple bucks out of my pocket and sent Kate out to the vending machine. Then, once Kate was gone … my grandmother held my hand while I sat by her bed. She squeezed my hand three times–that was her way of saying ‘I love you’–and then her heart just … stopped.” Flynn stopped again and took a deep breath. Jesse could feel him shaking a little, but his voice was steady. “Then all the monitors and alarms went off and everyone came pouring back into the room. But my grandmother had a DNR so … that was it.”

Jesse wrapped her arm around his waist and pressed him to her. She felt Flynn tighten his grip on her a little and they lay there, holding one another.

“Thank you for telling me that story,” Jesse finally said quietly. She gently kissed him on his neck, her lip brushing the edges of his tattoo, nestling back into his arms.

“Do you want me to stay?” Flynn asked.

Jesse nodded. They lay together, neither bothering to undress or even turn off the light. They didn’t say anymore that night, just before she fell asleep, Jesse had the thought that right there, with Flynn, she felt safe in this town that was anything but.

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