Summary: A random little drabble about Flynn and MC (Shay) being there for each other in the wake of Kate’s disappearance.
Despite his angry outburst at the police station, the only person Shay really wants to be around right now is Flynn. Kate’s parents are understandably a wreck, her mother nearly inconsolable. Shay doesn’t know what to say to them, because really, there’s nothing to say. Their daughter is missing, their son had been accused of being involved (though ruled out quickly, thank god, Shay thinks), and there are no concrete leads.
When Flynn storms out of the police station after (loudly and repeatedly) insisting that they weren’t doing everything they could to find Kate, Shay follows after him. She spots him heading for his car and calls his name. He doesn’t turn around, but he slows down.
They don’t say anything for long, quiet moments after she gets into the passenger seat and he peels out of the parking lot. Shay watches out the window as he drives. She doesn’t know this town well, but she’d been here enough times with Kate during college to recognize some of the street names.
The town was usually quaint and charming, but now, near dusk, with gray clouds overheard and Kate not there, it’s not nearly as idyllic. Flynn takes a sharp left down a poorly maintained road. It’s bumpy and full of potholes that he navigates around easily. He pulls off to the side and gets out.
“You coming?” he asks Shay. “There’s a flashlight in the glove box.”
Shay isn’t particularly a fan of wandering around when it’s about to get dark, but she trusts Flynn more than she trusts sitting alone in his car. She grabs the flashlight and follows him. They walk a little way before coming to a clearing that looks over the town.
Flynn stops. He doesn’t say anything, just stares out at the valley below them, the sprawl of buildings and trees dotting the landscape. His hands are in fists at his side, his jaw clenched. Shay recognizes that look. She switches the flashlight to her other hand and tentatively reaches out. Her fingertips graze over Flynn’s hand.
He doesn’t look at her, but she feels him relax. She doesn’t say that they’ll find Kate, or that the police are doing everything they can. As much as she wants to believe those things, she doesn’t know that they’ll find Kate, and she doesn’t know this town.
Flynn looks at her when she shivers, then shrugs out of his jacket and settles it around her shoulders. It’s sweet and considerate, so at odds with what Shay initially thought of him and how he comes across. But she’s caught him every so often in these moments, where he seems to soften.
Kate had once teasingly told Flynn he had a soft spot for Shay, when Shay had been out of the room and they hadn’t known she was just outside and about to walk back in.
“Whatever you say, Kate,” Flynn had snorted, and it had left Shay wondering.
“Thanks,” Shay says, slipping her arms into his jacket and zipping it up.
He shrugs. “Can’t let you freeze, Holbrook.”
They stand there a little longer, until the sky turns a deep shade of purple and lights from the town start twinkling. Even with the flashlight, Shay somehow manages to run into roots and rocks that she swears weren’t there when they walked out. Flynn stops abruptly and Shay nearly jumps when he takes her hand.
“You’re going to break your ankle,” he says.
“Am not,” she says, but she doesn’t protest too much.
She likes the feeling of his fingers laced with hers, the warmth of his skin and the firm grip he keeps. Part of her feels guilty, that one of her best friends is missing and she’s thinking about how good it feels to have Flynn hold her hand.
But part of her remembers the way Kate had insisted to Shay that they’d be good for each other and had laughingly admitted that yes, she’d purposely arranged it so she and Flynn would be walking down the aisle together at the wedding. Shay smiles sadly.
They reach Flynn’s car, but he doesn’t let go of her hand. Instead, he keeps his fingers threaded in hers and stands in front of her. His gaze is focused somewhere behind her at first, before he looks at her directly.
“Thank you,” he says.
Her brow furrows. “For what?”
“Believing me,” he finally answers, and she knows he’s referring to all the people who had suspected him.
She steps closer. “Flynn. You’d never hurt Kate. I know that.”
“Still,” he says gruffly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Flynn tilts his head down, studying her. Shay can feel the anger and frustration and sadness radiating off of him. She knows those feelings all too well, so she drops his hand and loops her arms around his neck. Flynn grunts out a surprised noise, but he hugs her back, his arms tight around her waist.
“Come on,” he says after a minute. “I should get you back.”
“I know,” she mumbles into his shirt, but she doesn’t let go. Not yet.
“That means you have to let go, Shay,” Flynn says, but he keeps his arms around her when she finally does.