A/N: Okay, while I know that I should update other stories, this is something that I've been thinking about for awhile now, though whether people will be interested in it, I'm not sure. But I have this fic now and it's because of DemonFoxGirl1000's review from over a year ago about whether Kid (Eustass) might have 'subliminal memories' after what Doflamingo did to him in the warehouse in A Twisted Game, and about how he would be doing in general after what happened, among other things. It made me think about how I never really precisely resolved how the ordeal would have affected both Eustass and Law in the end, so this is the result.

I hope to keep the plot more in control so the pacing doesn't lag or stretch on for too long. My guess, guess, is a 50,000-75,000 word fic. There's a beginning, middle and end in mind for the fic (aka it's been scribbled down in a notebook), and the majority of this fic will take place in an abandoned hospital. I wanted a paranormal investigation to be the setting for Eustass to come to terms with things that happened to him, and for Law too, though more reluctantly (while being terrible and making them have more trauma to go through).

I would say read A Twisted Game first, but since it's such a monster of a story, I'll try and make an attempt to have this fic be able to be read without much input from the previous story. I'll also go over characters and their occupations as I come to them in the fic, (for the most part, character ages are the same as canon unless otherwise stated). For starters, Eustass (mechanic/reluctant ghost hunter) and Law (doctor/surgeon) are the ones who are the alive characters, and were referred to as such in ATG (Trafalgar and Kid were the ghosts/spirits, and will make cameos, hence the distinction). Any future A/N's will be at the end of a chapter (and hopefully not as long as this one).

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece. I apparently just wanted to write more psychological trauma and have a ghost haunting where the people investigating will be toyed with.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eustass Kid didn't believe in ghosts.

Do you like to play games? Because if that is the case, I know of some good ones.

At least, the red haired man used to not believe in them, until one perfectly ordinary case turned out to be a living hell for him and everyone involved with it. A case that Eustass had not expected to ever experience in his life, nor would he have ever anticipated that he would play host to some spirit that had used his body as their own.

Oh, what kind of games would those be?

It still fucked Eustass up every time he woke up, and what was worse, the more exhausted he was, the higher likelihood the red haired man would have to occasionally hear those spirit's voices, like they were somewhere nearby. Only, it was in his head, and Eustass hoped that he was only imagining things, because he didn't think he could handle a repeat of something so fucked up.

You know, games. Some could be as tame as a hand of poker, others...would be quite dangerous in nature.

Possession had been far from the red haired man's mind when he'd been blackmailed into helping Sabo and Koala run their ghost hunting business. Or paranormal investigations, as they put it, and all because Eustass had mistaken Dragon, their boss, for someone else. The red head supposed it could be worse, but then again, he couldn't think of anything worse then being forced to do something against his will, and still be able to feel it, despite the lack of control.

The whispering voices Eustass could do without. None of the other investigations had ever left a mark like that one did. At most, Eustass might have had the uncomfortable feeling of being followed, or thinking he caught a glimpse of something in the night.

This, however...this was far different and quite a bit more disconcerting.

I didn't know you were such a sicko, doc.

Tonight, the voices of those two spirits plagued him, and Eustass blamed seeing what amounted to a film reel of Trafalgar and Kid's life before they died. Eustass had been all but forced to watch Kid try to get through to Trafalgar in order to bring him back out of the past. It was a torture to go through, being unseen and unheard, and when Eustass died, he hoped like hell he didn't become a ghost. It didn't seem like any fun, especially if you messed around with the living for too long and caught the eye and attention of someone who could kick your invisible ass.

And a pirate can't be? I find it hard to believe you've never done something...risky.

Eustass sometimes wondered if some of the snippets of this whispered conversation were unfamiliar. It wasn't like he'd tried to eavesdrop on the life and times of his doppelganger and his lover's lives. He'd just shut it out, mainly, and Eustass hoped he would wake up and that what he had been experiencing at the time was all a terrible dream.

That it wasn't made it that much worse, and the voices made it all the more real.

I suppose so, but...

Some nights were worse than others, Eustass mused, as he desperately tried to ignore the whispers and focus on the task at hand. But it seemed that tonight was going to be one of those nights where he got little to no sleep. It didn't help that he was supposed to handle the sensitive ghost hunting equipment carefully and not break it, but the voices were trying his already stretched patience.

But...?

Eustass growled low in the back of his throat as he closed a camera in its small container with more force then was necessary, as the whispering continued on as if not giving a damn that he could hear it and was questioning his sanity.

But I like the way your twisted mind works. I wanna see these games of yours.

Then follow me.

A few more smaller pieces of equipment, such as the EMF devices and some digital recorders, went into another case, and the red head closed them with a little less force. He waited a moment to see if any more voices in his head were going to hold conversations.

Nothing.

Wasn't that a fucking relief?

A half a year should have been more than long enough for that nightmare of a case to be put out of his mind, as well as that damn whispering in his head. But it was still there, dogging every step of his life, and especially later in the evening, when he was worn out and had no way to filter his thoughts. Eustass felt that those six months should have seen a decrease in nightmares that were the result of that case he'd been roped into helping out on.

But that wasn't the case.

It had been six months since Eustass had felt a ghost touch him. To let him know that the spirit was there, and to make Eustass a believer with every frigid caress of that unseen head.

Eustass picked up the last of the suitcases holding the equipment and carried them out of the room, and headed down a clean, fancy artwork lined hall of some pompous asshole. By the time the red head was to the front door, he couldn't wait to get back to his shitty apartment. Perhaps he might get a decent night's sleep, if he could stop thinking about the past. Stop thinking about what happened and get a move on with his life.

A hand caressing him...a hand touching him where he didn't want to be touched but, being possessed, couldn't prevent the spirits from doing what they would. Eustass stumbled but made it to the van with the trunk's doors open. He hoisted the suitcases in hastily, trying very hard to put the thoughts of what the spirits did during that possession. But between the whispered voices in his head and the soft breeze mimicking a caress of hands, Eustass squeezed his eyes shut and breathed in deeply.

He wasn't going to lose it here; he had to keep it together.

Who knew what Sabo would do. Or Koala, for that matter.

Eustass had been good at hiding his troubles over that hellish case, even though he knew the others had to have known he hadn't brushed it all off like it was nothing. That the memory was still there. The red head sat down heavily in the space that was left in the back of the van, and bowed his head over, trying like hell not to fly in a panic at the memories bombarding him.

It had been months since he was forced to watch and feel his body being used, as Law's was used, for two spirits to be able to physically interact with one another.

To fuck, for the most part, and quite vigorously, at that.

Eustass had sworn off sex for the time being, because when he'd tried to bang the hot chick he'd picked up a month or so after the case was over with, he couldn't go through with it because even having her touch him was too much. Eustass had missed getting laid that night, and every night since all the shit had gone down, and he really wasn't happy about it. Because it was completely different, but even when the red head tired again two weeks ago, he just couldn't do it. Not when the memory of what had happened hit him, and it sucked because he had actually been halfway to fucking either a woman (or a man, he'd been heavily drunk and therefore couldn't remember) and had lost his shit then and there. His bed partner had fled and Eustass had a graphic, humiliating dream later that night when his tired ass was finally home and in bed. It wasn't the best of thoughts, because of who was in the dream that night.

The worst nightmares were when Doflamingo was in them.

And even though it had been months since Eustass had been mistaken for his damn spirit look-alike and was accordingly raped in front of Trafalgar in that macabre themed warehouse full of weapons and traps, it was still vivid in his mind. Even though he had been blindfolded and gagged at the time, Eustass wasn't likely to forget, no matter how hard he tried. It should have been enough that it had happened all that time ago, but it wasn't.

Eustass' hands slid up into his hair and fisted there, hanging onto something solid. To let himself know that he wasn't anywhere near that warehouse, and that his body was his own, and no one was making it do something he didn't want it to do.

But it didn't help. It never did.

It was still there in his mind, and Eustass hated that he was forced to relieve those horrors when he fell asleep. Not every night, but a good chunk of them that made it hard to want to go to bed in the first place.

Even with those spirits of Trafalgar and Kid gone, Eustass still couldn't get any peace of mind. The red head started to tap one of his feet on the ground beneath him as he remained seated in the van, trying to think of anything but those fucking spirits and the hell he went through because of them. The only thing that kept Eustass from completely going over the edge, the red head decided, was work. Though his preferred job in a mechanic shop was on the back burner for the time being, as Sabo insisted more and more over the past two months that he assist in more paranormal investigations, despite the red head's clear reasons why he didn't want to do it.

Being reminded of failed assassination attempts was a pretty low blow, but Eustass admired the thought behind it all the same because that blond ghost hunting bastard didn't hesitate to use that piece of information to his advantage now and again.

Not that any case in the past several months had been anything to be concerned about, so the red head couldn't really complain.

"Hey, Kid, what are you doing? Going to sleep already?" A feminine voice teased.

Eustass' hands slid out of his hair as he lifted his head to give the petite, short haired woman before him a scowl.

It had no effect.

The red head wasn't surprised; Koala wasn't intimidated by him in the least but, and for good reason. She could kick his ass and lay him out on the floor the instant Eustass even so much as made an attempt to grab her with unfriendly intentions. And the reason he knew this was because it had happened before. And the most recent time had actually happened during the course of the current yet now ending investigation, and as much as Eustass wanted to get her back for it, he'd have to leave it for another time.

"Sabo wanted to know if you needed a ride home." Koala was watching him with something between interest and concern.

"I'd rather take the bus." Eustass didn't want anyone to be concerned for him, and he most certainly didn't want a clunky ghost hunting van in the vicinity of where he lived. He'd get laughed at by the idiots he had to live around, and since the red head tended to beat the shit out of anyone that laughed at him, walking a mile or so from the nearest bus stop was much more preferable.

"He said you'd probably say that. Here." Koala pressed a backpack into Eustass' chest, and waited for the red head to take it before stepping back. "There are some cameras and digital recorders Sabo wanted you to look at and see if they're salvageable."

"More work." Eustass grunted, but again, didn't complain about it too much. He liked to work on machines, and it put the more unpleasant thoughts to the back of his mind when he did that.

"Are you all right? You roommate says you're not getting a lot of sleep lately."

Damn Killer and his perceptive nature.

"I'm fine." Eustass hedged as he got up from the van and shouldered the backpack. The red head started to walk away, down the long and winding path of a driveway of the asshole who owned the mansion they'd finished investigating.

"Marco said you could talk to him, Hawkins or Perona about what happened, you know." Koala called after the retreating red head.

"Fuck off." Eustass grated without looking back. "I said I'm fine."

-x

Koala watched Eustass disappear into the distance to catch a bus and side glanced to a hedge. "I told you there's something going on with him."

"I thought so, but it could have been from any of the previous cases. But that reaction..." Sabo emerged from behind he hedge and loaded one last suitcase of equipment into the van, before closing the doors. The wavy haired blond looked over his shoulder at Koala. "It's from the case with those spirits that possessed him and Law, isn't it?"

"It's the only big case we've had in awhile. It's the only one that would make him act...unlike himself."

Sabo smiled slightly, as if he found that statement amusing.

Koala rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Okay, makes him act different than what we've see of him while working with him."

"Think Kid'll blow a gasket if we have another case in the next few days?"

Koala heard a cell phone go off, and Sabo answered it, retreating a short distance to converse in low tones. When he came back, the petite woman saw another, more obvious smile, and couldn't help but return it. "Another case?"

"Yes, it is."

"Kid'll blow a gasket, all right." Koala confirmed. "Good thing I gave him broken equipment to deal with."

"Should I break the news tomorrow morning?" Sabo asked as he and Koala got into the van.

"Might as well let him get some sleep so he won't be grumpy and scare the client."

"True."

"When are we meeting them?" Koala asked a few minutes later.

"Tomorrow evening." Sabo said. "I doubt this mansion case has any evidence and will therefore be wrapped up by afternoon tomorrow."

"Kid is going to hate you for not getting a full day off."

"I know." Sabo agreed, but he didn't look concerned about the red haired man's reaction to another case so soon after the previous one.

-x

Eustass endured the hour and a half long bus ride to the outskirts of the city, and trudged the last two miles needed to get home. The red head snorted softly over the idea, again, of someone like Koala being cornered about him. It wasn't as if there hadn't been opportunity to bring it up before, but then again, the nightmares had begun a week or two after everything had been settled, and it was then that the full weight of what had happened could really sink in.

It was a bitch, all things considered.

Eustass closed his eyes briefly before opening them as he crossed the street that led to a sidewalk that ran parallel to where he lived.. As the red head made his way toward a run down, walls peeling apart piece of shit apartment, he let out a relieved sigh.

It was home.

And it was better than any snooty mansion in that Eustass was going to be able to do whatever the fuck he wanted and swear whenever he wanted. He'd barely been able to hold his tongue in that mansion he, Koala and Sabo had been investigating, and the only thing that had curbed the potential to swear was the embarrassing throw down he'd had between himself and Koala, who'd sent his ass over a slim shoulder when he'd tried to intimidate the shorter woman.

He'd failed spectacularly and Eustass would be taking that with him to the grave, just like all the other times it had happened, as few as they had been.

The red head paused just outside the front of the apartment, sending a suspicious glance in the direction of a poorly kept parking lot. He could have sworn he'd heard something, but then again, Eustass felt that he heard something all the time ever since that…incident…that led him to realize that ghosts were real, if they so chose to show themselves to the living.

Under certain conditions, according to Marco and Hawkins.

Eustass could have done without ever getting that confirmation of life after death. His life was hell right now because of it, but at the very least, unlike when he had been putting equipment away earlier, he heard no whisper voices inside his head.

With a weary, irritated sigh, the red head shouldered the door open, because it had been ages since the apartment itself had a main lock to keep anyone from just walking in. On the outskirts of the city, no one was likely to come calling, and certainly not any police, as even they were disinclined to come anywhere near this place unless absolutely necessary. So, short of some massacre befalling all the residents, no help would be coming should someone get hurt. Just the way Eustass tended to like his living situation, since he did, on occasion, do some illegal things.

The most recent thing that happened, however, and involved a car, had not been his fault.

Nope, it hadn't been.

And Killer would never find out about it.

The red head stomped down the hall and toward a stairwell, and, after checking to make sure no one was hiding to try and steal from him, again, made his way up to the third floor. Eustass prowled the rest of the way down the hall, his eyes avoiding the area where he had been shot. Or rather, where the ghost Kid had gotten his body shot and Eustass had to deal with the aftermath of that.

Dammit.

Eustass shifted the backpack to his other shoulder and snarled as he jabbed a key into a shitty lock to get into his apartment. The red head forcefully pushed the door open before he shut and locked it moodily at unwanted memories already surfacing once more. But it was three in the morning, and Eustass really wasn't all that surprised that he couldn't keep those thoughts reigned in.

As the red haired man set the backpack on a chair in the small dining room, he realized that the apartment was quiet, indicating that Killer likely had an overnight shift he was covering for someone, either in a bar or elsewhere. The only mercy was that Bartolomeo was no longer living with them, and Eustass didn't have to hear all of the hero-worship the green haired teen had for Ace and Luffy.

Eustass trudged to his bedroom, shedding clothes as he went, until he finally collapsed into bed in nothing but boxers as he let out a relieved sigh. Maybe tonight he'd be able to sleep without being woken up by memories. It would be nice for a change, because the only times the red head could manage any length of sleep was when he was too exhausted to remain awake and would fall directly into a dreamless sleep.

Or maybe Killer just drugged him when he didn't know it. Just like his friend was apparently snitching to Sabo and Koala about his well-being or lack-thereof. The red head wouldn't hold it against his friend if that was the case. He hadn't been sleeping well and couldn't hide it as easily from someone he shared an apartment with.

Eustass did fall sleep that night, and he fell asleep quickly this time around, but it was not a dreamless sleep he fell in to.

-x

Unseen hands caressed him in a mockery of a caring lover. A voice taunted him and another man in the room, derisive and arrogant over what had happened leading up to this exchange.

It was the warehouse again.

It always seemed to come back to that.

A dark warehouse filled with instruments of death, and a man hellbent on getting what he wanted that he didn't even realize he had the wrong man.

Trafalgar and Kid may have fucked like rabbits back in the house, and Kid had been an unwilling voyeur as well as receiving the physical sensation, but...

But this…

In the warehouse..

What had happened there was worse.

Much worse.

Those large hands forcing him down…

Touching him.

Forcing him to kneel there and take it.

Unable to fight back.

Eustass had the most vivid recollection of this particular event. Unwillingly, of course, and unable to do anything to stop it. Nothing to do but go through the same hell each time he had this nightmare.

The pain and humiliation.

The fear.

The anger of mistaken identity.

And the sensation of Trafalgar gripping his hand as if in silent apology.

And yet...

And yet, the caresses were different this time.

More heavy.

More calculated.

And worse, curious.

A voice spoke, as it had many times before, but this time, it wasn't anything that Eustass recalled ever being said. That, accompanied by a blaring alarm that wasn't usually apart of this nightmare, drove Eustass toward waking up. That struggle to wake was aided by the blond's words. It was almost as if Doflamingo were speaking directly to him, and that this dream was not the same as the replay of the warehouse as he was used to experiencing.

'I thought you were gone, just like Law. Are you not?'

Fucking hell.

Eustass felt that sounded ominous.

-x

Eustass woke with a harsh gasp, breathing hard and covered with sweat. The red head held still, momentarily confused by where he was, until he realized that he had buried himself beneath the sheets of his bed. Eustass took a few breaths, the blaring from the dream louder now, and the red head was able to put a word to what it was.

Alarm.

Killer must have set an alarm for him. Eustass wasn't sure whether to be grateful or not, and decided, after Doflamingo's worrying, disturbingly clear words in his dream, that he was grateful for the alarm being set in the first place. he didn't want to know if the dream would have changed more had he not woken up so suddenly.

A pale arm snaked out from beneath the sheet as Eustass seized the alarm clock and threw it against the nearest wall. It shattered, and silence reigned, until Killer's voice spoke directly outside of his bedroom.

"I know you have been having nightmares, Kid, but could you try to stop breaking all those alarm clocks?"

Eustass shook the sheets off of his head to snarl at the door wordlessly before he rolled out of bed and gathered up some clothing. He waited a few minutes before exiting the bedroom, snagging a towel as he prowled into the bathroom for a shower. Eustass stayed in the shower longer than usual as he ran his hands through his hair vigorously, hoping the water was enough to remove the imagined touch on his skin, as well as removing the traces of sweat that he'd woken up with.

Satisfied that he was as clean as he was going to be able to get, Eustass toweled off and dressed in sweats as he went into the small kitchen of the apartment, where a plate of food immediately was held beneath his nose. Eustass took the plate and lounged on the couch moodily, traces of the nightmare still lingering in the back of him mind that he strove to ignore. He was rather twitchy that morning, though a glance at the clock in the living room showed him that it was nine in the morning.

Six hours of sleep.

The irony.

Eustass grumpily ate his food and chose to think of it as coincidence. At the very least, he was going to have one or two days off before he had to meet up with Sabo and Koala again, and be dragged into ghost hunting hell. But at the very least, nothing as extreme as half a year ago had happened again. At most there had been cold spots and occasional EVP's that sounded like it might be someone from the other side making contact with the living.

A knock on the front door caused both Eustass and Killer to go for the nearest weapon at hand. It wasn't overreaction considering the area they lived in. What could be a friendly caller could just as easily be someone with murderous intentions. The red head had a hand around a gun, and after exchanging nods, Killer opened a door, a kitchen knife in hand.

Who they expected to see, neither man was sure. Maybe a polite burglar or a blissfully unaware cop. Or one of their neighbors, which would have been a rare occurrence, since most of them kept to themselves. But it most certainly wasn't who was standing there on the other side of the door.

Law.

What a fucked up sight to wake up to.

Upon closer inspection, the dark haired doctor was disheveled, pathetically thin and wore torn and dirty clothing, with dirt smudges on his arms and face. Law had more pronounced dark circles under his eyes than the last time Eustass had seen him, and there was an edge of desperation in those golden eyes.

Eustass struggled to remind himself that this wasn't Trafalgar the asshole spirit, but Law, who'd been possessed by said spirit. It helped that Law didn't look at him anything like Trafalgar had. That possessive edge was nowhere to be found, and for that, Eustass was very grateful.

"I don't suppose I could stay here for a day or two?" Law's voice was tired and resigned, as if he didn't particularly care if the answer was yes or no. "The police are still looking for me for what I did while I was younger, and not for when…" The dark haired man cut himself off, before he shrugged and offered a self-deprecating smile. "I had a job but was discovered, so I had to make a run for it. I don't know where Marco lives, as he was who I was supposed to find, so I came here instead."

It seemed to Eustass that he wasn't the only one who was still affected from being possessed by the mirror image of himself. As to how Law knew where Eustass lived, the red head knew that it was because of those damn spirits as well.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. The police might decide to come around. Kid did hijack a car a week ago…" Killer commented aloud.

"How the fuck do you know about that?" Eustass interrupted before he could stop himself. With a grimace at the unseen yet no doubt judging look from behind the long blond bangs, Eustass sighed and turned to Law. "A day." The red head grunted as he eased his gun down before letting go of it.

Law looked relieved as he stepped into the apartment, but as soon as Killer shut the door, the dark haired doctor's knees buckled out from beneath him and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"He must have been running for days. I remember the news stories." Killer commented as he picked Law up easily and laid him out on the couch that Eustass had vacated. "He doesn't seem to be doing too well. How did he even make it here in that state?"

"Fucking ghosts." The red head growled under his breath as he stared down at the unconscious Law and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now. Neither of them exactly had pleasant memories because of those bastards harassing them and possessing them, and seeing one another wasn't likely to improve things.

"Not something you planned on happening on your day off?" Killer questioned.

"Gee, Killer, what the fuck do you think?" Eustass countered sarcastically, and to add to his ire, the red head's cell phone began to ring. The red haired man answered it with a growl of "What?"

Could this day get any worse?

The short answer was yes, it fucking could and did.

'You're awake already?' It was Sabo. 'Well, I was going to leave you a message, but I'll just tell you since you answered. We got an urgent case called in. It's at the abandoned Grand Line Hospital. It's two miles from your apartment.' Sabo's voice lowered, as if speaking to someone. Probably Koala. 'Be there this evening at six o'clock. Seven at the latest. Bring the EMF's you brought home to fix the last time. And as many batteries and extra tripods as you can carry. We have a lot of ground to cover.'

"Hey, wait." Eustass protested, but Sabo had already hung up on him. The red head snarled at the cell phone's blank screen, "Fuck."

"Kid?" Killer ventured, when it looked as though his friend were about to throw the phone.

"Ghost shit tonight." Eustass mumbled, dropping the phone on the kitchen table instead of destroying it. He was displeased at not having the whole day off on top of Law randomly showing up at the apartment.

"Get some sleep before you go?" Killer suggested.

Eustass was going to say 'to have more nightmares?' but cut himself off at the last second and grumbled some curses under his breath.

"You know if you hadn't made the mistake of trying to assassinate Dragon, then-"

"I thought it was someone else." Eustass defended immediately, but he didn't say any more, still unhappy with the whole situation in general.

"You could take him with you." Killer indicated the slumbering Law. "Didn't you hear him say that Marco was supposed to help him be somewhere safe while things were straightened out?"

"Dammit." Eustass cursed again, but knew that it was a good idea. Marco didn't always show up at investigations, but on occasion, he did. In any case, the red head was starting to feel that it was a perfectly shitty start to the day.

The dark haired doctor suddenly woke up with a harsh intake of air before it was let out shakily. Law looked around like he didn't know where he was. But as soon as recognition dawned, the doctor dropped his gaze to his lap and let out a slow sigh. "May I use the shower?"

"Over there." Killer indicated the direction of the bathroom. "Closet in there should have towels." As soon as Law stumbled over and into the bathroom and closed the door, Killer rounded on his friend. "I'll go with you tonight. I don't have any other commitments for the next few days."

"It's usually nothing but static." Eustass countered lamely, but didn't argue against Killer tagging along. If nothing else, his friend might be able to prevent him from trying to get into another fight with Koala.

Eustass brushed past his roommate after it set in that he was going to be doing another case so soon, and went straight for the cupboard full of liquor. The red head opened a bottle and drank from it in several large gulps, reveling in the burn that came from the alcohol as it entered his system. Law's appearance made those memories from before clearer than Eustass wanted them to ever be, when the red head wanted nothing more than for those unwanted thoughts to leave. For those unwanted touches and caresses and whispers, and the revulsion of feeling his body being used by those spirits…used by…

The red head threw the mostly still full bottle away from him with enough force to shatter it, getting wine on his pants in the process, but didn't care because he was desperate for those memories to stop plaguing him.

But they didn't.

They kept coming back no matter what he did to distract himself, be it work or drinking himself into a stupor.

It always came back.

Eustass snarled something unintelligible.

What a shitty way to wake up indeed. First Law, then more ghost hunting via Sabo.

Eustass stalked into his bedroom to change out of wine soaked pants, and when he took them off, he unwillingly caught sight of some scars down the front of his thighs. He knew, if he looked in a mirror, that he would see scars down the left side of his face, his neck, his sternum and waist, as well as thin, jagged scars down his back, all of them courtesy of Trafalgar the fucking spirit who had told him just how much he'd looked like his lover and even used a knife to make them look even more similar and…

The red head rooted through a dresser for pants, making a futile attempt to banish those thoughts. Being awake wasn't much better, considering he had those scars as a reminder of unpleasant events, as well as a body that would occasionally react to those memories, much to Eustass' humiliation and embarrassment.

Eustass shrugged into a tank and a new pair of pants, before he ran a shaky hand through his hair and let out a harsh exhalation and headed for the door to wait for Law to finish his shower and make the suggestion of tagging along on an investigation.

So much for having a day off.

If nothing else, Eustass was pleased that he got something right, and it was how he thought Law would react to him.

When Law finally did emerge from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, the golden eyed doctor was clearly not at all happy to look Eustass in the eye for longer than was necessary, now that he no longer had to run. The red head knew the feeling was mutual, because he couldn't look at Law for very long either.

It was a shitty morning all right, and it wasn't looking like the rest of the day was going to be any better, considering he and Law were likely going to have to see one another throughout the day and into the evening, whether they liked it or not.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Longer first chapter because this is one of those fics where I may do lots of updates for it in a short amount of time, or I may only do one on occasion, depending on how I feel any given day (and then take time to update other fics). This is also a kind of up in the air will there be any romance, because it will mainly be Eustass and Law struggling with how Kid and Trafalgar were around each other and whether any feelings that might be there are real or if they are imagined because of what they went through. I'm going to try not to confuse people but I'll see how it goes.