Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luna sighed, running nails along her scalp in an attempt to soothe herself. She had found herself unable to sit still, attempting to ignore the non-wavering stares people sent her way as she paced along the airports floors, dragging her suitcase alongside her, setting its handle against her hip. Luna hadn't been able to just sit around and relax in quite some time... especially since... well, what had happened.

Breathing exercises did nothing to cease her anxiety as Doctor Myers had reassured her they should. Nor did restless pacing either Luna supposed, but what else could she do? She felt wretched scurrying around and basking in her nerves and even more wretched just sitting there and attempting to patiently wait for the planes preparation to halt.

She wasn't frightened of planes. Luna had never been frightened of planes. She'd gone on her first flight at the age of seven to move to New York, then moved away again when her father got a new job in Toronto, then they moved again when Luna was eleven to Washington. And to add upon that, Luna had gone on flights alone as a child too, being sent away to her Grandma's was a frequent task to her during the summers.

Luna's parents had always taught her to be independent in that way. Growing up flying, Luna was never really afraid of it and she wasn't now either, it was just the prospect of being so far away from her family now that made her so anxious.

She'd lived in Washington far enough from her family not to have frequent visits but it was still somewhat of a comfort understanding they were just mere hours away from one another. Still, Luna hadn't ever been close enough to her parents to ever rely on them for safety, so she didn't understand why she was panicking so much now.

Luna's anxiety had spiked since that night. It had spiked so high, Luna could hardly continue her work without freaking out and checking her windows and cameras every few seconds. Not only did this disturb Luna's investigations, it worried her friends who suggested she take a mere break.

Her friends didn't understand. Luna had never spoken to anyone about what happened that night, or about the strange man she met named Tanner, or the file he gave her. They all just assumed she was tired, or hungry or spiraling with grief from her cousins death. Her parents didn't understand either, they tried to provide her support, coming over frequently and offering her small attempts at medication suggestions.

Luna didn't tell them and honestly... she wasn't sure if she ever planned to. The cops would be called, obviously, and an investigation would likely be run. But Luna doubted anything would come of it, she hadn't heard much of Adam's associates or Adam himself but reading criminal documents often, she could take away that he was practically a dark web legend. And his associates weren't caught often and when they were, they didn't stay in containment for very long.

Tanner had mentioned Adam, he'd skimmed over owing favours to him. Luna was drowsy from the drugs, but the chat she shared with Tanner wasn't very forgettable.

If Tanner was working with Adam, Luna didn't think the cops would be able to catch him... and honestly even if he wasn't working with Adam at all, he seemed like the type to not get caught. Therefore if Luna tattled and allowed her friends and family to contact the cops, Tanner and the kidnapper likely wouldn't even be caught, they just might be a little pissed if they found out...

Luna clutched her messenger bag closer to her chest, absentmindedly skimming her fingertips over her documents until eventually her fingers brushed along the edge of the folder.

Luna had taken it practically everywhere with her after Tanner had given it, keeping it strung to her side at all times... but Luna hadn't mustered enough strength and bravery in herself to even open it just yet.

Tanner... he'd said it contained all the information Luna needed regarding the Blue Blood Killer, but still every time she went to pry it open, she felt like she was choking. It was half the reason why she was moving to Japan... to be able to investigate the killer and finally open the folder far and tucked away safe from her past.

Luna sighed and slumped slightly, finally settling against a wall, picking at her cubicles and biting on her nails thoughtfully. She'd miss her family... but she didn't really plan to return for a lengthy visit. They'd have to visit her because Luna really didn't feel like going back.

The speaker let out a sing-song chime followed by the voice of an agent, calling Luna's flight number and informing everyone it was time to board the flight.

Luna reluctantly trailed into the forming line towards the gates, staring up at the screen hanging overhead everyone, displaying their final destinations.

Yokohama, Japan hadn't really been a thought-out decision by Luna. When she realized she wanted out, she really wanted out. Luna just typed in recent flights and figured Japan was far enough so she booked it. It was wretchedly expensive but her parents offered to pay it sympathetically.

Luna could've paid it herself but it might've taken a larger chunk from her travel funds and after being suspended from her office job years back, she wasn't exactly rich just with her crime catching program and side investigations. She was lucky her mother was so insistent on Luna "taking a break", she argued Luna down and paid it. Her father wasn't as persistent or arguable about the situation, but he wasn't unwilling to pay.

Luna still couldn't help but feel guilt as she neared the desk, boarding ticket clutched between fingers. Her mother and father were retired surgeons, so they could definitely pay it off but it just made her feel so strange whenever she accepted help from others. Her remorse didn't mix well with her unease.

"Identification or passport and boarding ticket?" The agent at the desk inquired, extending her hand.

Luna dug out her passport from her bag and handed it to the agent, sliding her boarding pass onto her palm. The woman only briefly stared at them before handing them back and gesturing Luna away with a small smile.

Luna took a deep breath, trying not to spare the airport another glance as she travelled into the gate and walked along the carpet. The plane wasn't very far, which was lucky for Luna considering it didn't give her much time to rethink anything. She didn't have an emotional connection to Washington in particular but she was going to miss her family... and maybe even her small house too, even considering the... event that had occurred within it.

Luna boarded the plane, nodded at a flight attendant as she travelled down the aisles. She'd been careful to reserve herself an aisle seat, the window seats were just too bright for her and who actually wanted the middle seat? But she didn't get the luxury of having a seat in the front due to the fact the flight was packed as is considering the Christmas season was closing in.

She'd miss her family for Christmas too, but she wasn't one to get too festive anyway so Luna was sure her family would have as good as a time without her there anyway.

Luna sat in the same row as a quiet business woman, whom fixed Luna a warning glare as soon as she sat... like Luna would be loud or something. Another woman was squashed against the window, but she seemed pretty reserved as well, to Luna's relief. So the flight would seemingly be quiet, which was fine by her. Luna could hold a conversation like an average person, she wasn't introverted but Luna wasn't extroverted at all either. And she just couldn't bring herself to talk with someone without them speaking first typically.

She leaned against the chair, tugging her laptop out of her bag, trying to ignore how anxious she felt.

As soon as they'd take off Luna would be away from all of this, she'd be free from what happened months ago.

She'd be free.

☠︎︎  ☠︎︎  ☠︎︎

Clint sighed, leaning over and dusting himself off. With a lack of moving vans, he had to shove things into a variety of suitcases which included the dissembled chair. Clint hadn't taken anything else except for that chair, but somehow everything (including himself) managed to get drenched in sawdust and now reeked of wood and felt like splinters. He was thankful his clothes were in a totally different suitcase... but it didn't make the situation any better.

This was Clint's fifth location swap. First he moved a few neighbourhoods down from his old house, then he moved in with his friend, then he started to crash at work, then Clint figured he didn't want to be around any of the past at all and fled town and after months of wandering from apartment to apartment aimlessly, he finally booked a flight and left.

Cutting off the dark web was easy enough, Clint just deleted his browsing history and when paranoia got a better hold of him he dropped his device off at the dump as well. But he still never could shake the feeling that the strings to it weren't entirely disconnected... and like they'd never be at all.

That's exactly why Clint decided to hop countries. It was going to hopefully be a new start, a fresh life, away and apart from the looming memories of Adam's games... and Amalea's screams.

Japan was admittedly a large jump, but it's not like Clint was leaving much behind. He had a few minor friends at his job, sure, but they weren't really close to Clint, besides he cut his parents off years ago. Nobody even questioned the move, which was fine by Clint, it just made things easier for him overall.

Even if they did question it, what would Clint say? He's running away from the past? That's too vague, they'd want him to elaborate and there was no way in a million years that Clint would admit to scrolling along an illegal website. He'd be arrested and Adam would likely still be running free, so the moment Clint would pop out of jail he'd probably be taught what exactly happened to snitches in the dark web world.

Clint attempted to shake away his thoughts, the reason why he moved was to escape from all of this, he shouldn't be thinking about it so constantly. But sometimes it was difficult to ignore.

A small knock at the door nudged Clint out of his thoughts and he looked up with a frown, suddenly recalling where he was. Right, Yokohama, in an apartment, with other residents nearby. Clint wondered if it was his new neighbours at the door, did Japanese people do that? Greet people? Probably, it was basic etiquette.

Clint approached the door, still trying to brush the sawdust off of him as he pried the door open, grimacing as it let out a shrill squeak and slid roughly against the wood below. The apartments weren't exactly old but they weren't entirely new either and sometimes it could evidently be told... like with the doors.

Two people stood behind his door with bright smiles. The first thing Clint could pinpoint was that they didn't look Japanese, the woman looked like a classical American with silky blonde hair and large dark brown eyes. The man had a darker shade of skin than the woman and a buzzcut sliced across his head, his smile was wider and more genuine. Their arms were linked together affectionately, seemingly a couple.

"Hello!" The man said, extending a hand. "You must be our new neighbour. We've been waiting for one ever since our old one left!"

Clint took the mans hand, shaking it, trying to soften the frown that was always instinctively etched across his face. He sounded American, Clint wondered how long the two had been living there for.

"I'm Max and this is Dina." The man informed Clint, gesturing to the woman who waved and also offered her hand.

She had cold fingers, Clint could see a ring looping over her finger, likely signifying engagement.

"Hi." She said shortly.

Clint tried not to feel extremely awkward as he met her eyes and she furrowed her brows.

"Hi." Clint replied curtly.

"We hope you'll enjoy your stay here!" Max exclaimed. "You don't have to worry about us, by the way. Me and her try to be as respectful as we can, no parties, no noise- which I don't think you'll have to worry about from any of us anyway, the walls here are thick. I just hope we can expect the same respect from you!"

"Ah." Clint muttered.

Clint hadn't hosted a party before in his life, or attended one in years, these two probably didn't have much to worry about.

"I'm Clint." Clint informed the pair.

"Cool! My brothers named Clint!" Max replied.

"... Yeah."

Extroverts.

Dina broke out into a small smile, clearly the more reserved orientated one of the couples. She wrapped her arm around Max's chest, staring at Clint apologetically.

"Sorry, he's a bit of a chatty one," Dina explained, "he's just excited to get another neighbour after the previously one left. He was a bitter guy, but I can tell from the looks of you that you're not."

She needs to look a little harder.

"Well, I see you have unpacking to do, so we'll quit bugging you now!" Max reassured him, much better at finishing the exchange than Clint would've been. "But while we still have you, we just wanted to invite you to a little gathering in our room tomorrow at noon. It's basically just where some of the residents on our floor come over and we all chat a little, just for fun. Would you like to attend?"

Oh, a social gathering. Great.

"... Sure."

"Great! We hope to see you then!" Max cheered, taking Dina by her arm and beginning to gently steer her away.

As soon as it was safe, Clint shut the door behind them and internally cursed himself. He really wished he could come up with excuses quicker, it was just an instinctive reaction to agree no matter the topic when someone was socializing with you, to Clint anyway.

Clint recalled his therapists words, he had always been vague with Dr. Sophie but she always caught the hint somehow. When she discovered Clint was moving, attempting to start anew, one of the pieces of advice she gave him was making friends, informing him that it would assist in the moving on process. Clint was hoping to be alone, deserted from everyone while he internally recovered, but if getting friends would help him then... then so be it.

Clint's apartment wasn't small, but it wasn't too large either. He had a bathroom and a bedroom, including a large living room and kitchen tucked off against a wall. Clint doubted what he had packed would be able to fill the place.

But he'd have to make do.

☠︎︎  ☠︎︎  ☠︎︎

When the plane finally landed it was pitch black out. She knew it snowed in Yokohama, but it was still a little surprising to see the dried snow and ice littering the sidewalks as she stepped out of the airport with her suitcase in tow, other passengers flooding out behind her. Luna could've sworn there had been at least eight crying babies on that flight but she'd thankfully bought noise cancelling headphones for a reason.

She'd picked new ones up at the airport after she'd disposed of her old ones back home, mainly because of Luna's growing paranoia it was near impossible to wear them previously but she figured she was safe enough in an airplane. 

Luna stood near the edge of the airport, awaiting a taxi. She wasn't willing to charge near the edge of the street for one but because others were, it left her waiting behind, awkwardly maneuvering her bag over her arm and readjusting her grip on the suitcase.

Luna hadn't packed much, no old furniture, just the five outfits she already owned and her investigations. She'd purchased one of the smaller apartments so she figured she wouldn't need much anyway and she never really had any decor that was special to her. Except for her great grandmothers urn, but she was bringing that. Her mother would probably kill her if she discovered Luna didn't drag it along.

She'd likely have to go furniture shopping tomorrow, but for the time being Luna could settle with her blow-up mattress she used during college that she was pretty sure had a hole in it because every time she awoke on it; it was fully deflated to the floor.

As Luna stood, speculating about her tomorrow plans and retracting her phone from her pocket to check the apartment locations again, suddenly unease prickled up her neck. Luna had felt paranoid constantly ever since her house had been invaded, so it wasn't exactly a new feeling to hit her... but for some reason, this feeling felt strangely different. Immediately Luna tried to shake it off as her anxiety expanding off of things again but it just felt so... odd.

Like something was poking at her. Like someone was watching her...

Luna remembered that feeling.

Luna hurried towards the edge of the street, accidentally nudging a man aside, waving a taxi her way. Watching with urgency as it slid beside her, before seizing the door and clambering inside before anyone else could. The driver said something in Japanese, which Luna unfortunately hadn't put much research into, but after just saying the apartments names, he seemed to get the point.

The feeling didn't leave her until the car had fully driven off. Luna knew she must've just been overcome with paranoia and it must've just been nothing but an overreaction.

But Luna wasn't willing to risk it.