Trafalgar Law hated irony.

He'd tried so hard to make sure that his past of smuggling and occasional assassinations didn't follow him into his new life. And even after being very careful, to cover his tracks and secure a real job, his past had caught up with him anyway, and Law's life with a legitimate job was over. No matter what the dark haired doctor now chose to do, Law would never be able to have a normal life because of what Trafalgar, the spirit that had resembled him so much, had done while in control of his body.

And Trafalgar had done those things because of Doflamingo.

Assassination and killing people in plain sight was something Law still couldn't fathom Doflamingo pushing Trafalgar to do, when it wasn't even the spirit that would take the fall for those crimes. Then again, the dark haired doctor had the feeling that he missed a lot of what had gone on between the spirit and Doflamingo. There had been blanks where Law felt as if he had missed weeks of his life, when Trafalgar's spirit had possessed his body.

Law still couldn't quite figure out why his former boss had done what he had done, or why exactly he had been so obsessed over Trafalgar and the other spirit that had been residing in the house that Law had been renting. The last the dark haired doctor had seen of Doflamingo was in a house in the woods, and when he had woken, the man was gone and Law had found himself in the company of Marco and Hawkins instead.

The doctor wanted more explanation from Doflamingo, but doubted, for the moment, that the other man would come out of hiding for him. It was far more likely that Law would receive a call from an unknown number when Doflamingo had found somewhere to settle down, out of sight of the police that were searching for him. Marco seemed to be looking for Law's former boss as well, and the doctor couldn't get an answer from him either.

Marco...

Law would need to find the man to try and get help in finding somewhere to lie low for a time, until things could be sorted out. The previous place had been great, until that one person recognized him and spilled the beans, prompting Law to flee with only the clothes on his back.

The dark haired doctor tried not to think about how he'd gotten lost in the woods for a few days before finally snagging a map at a rest stop off a highway. He'd used that map to find his way to that rundown apartment in the middle of nowhere, at the edge of the city he'd moved to before, and used the slim hope that Eustass Kid wouldn't immediately turn him back out on his ass. After all, Law wasn't sure how the red head would react to seeing him again, and considering how their first meeting went, the doctor had good reason to be wary.

Then again, Eustass mistaking him for his doppelganger of a ghost wasn't all that surprising, and Law supposed he couldn't really blame the red head's rather violent reaction of trying to choke him. Especially not after the spirit had harmed Eustass with a knife and left lasting scars that wouldn't do any good in making that particular memory fade.

But Law had nowhere else to go but into police custody, so he made the gamble and knocked on the apartment door labeled 32. The doctor had been so downtrodden and hungry that when the door opened, he didn't bother doing much more than make sure he'd gotten the right people before asking for a place to stay. Eustass' growl of agreement in the form of specifying a day was a relief, and as soon as Law had stepped into the apartment and heard the door close behind him, the doctor knew that he was safe, for now.

He promptly fainted, much to his mortification, as the short reprieve he'd been given sunk in. It was unfortunate, because Law avoided sleeping when he could as of late, hence his haggard appearance.

Dreams, after all, were no longer welcome to the dark haired surgeon.

-x

'I thought you weren't going to leave me.'

It was the same dream.

'Where were you, Trafalgar?'

Or rather, one of many nightmares that involved Kid and the spirit's near constant harassment once Law had caught sight of him in a mirror.

'I know that you can see me.'

When the dark haired doctor knew, for sure, that there was a ghost in his house, and it, in return, knew that he knew it was there.

That was when everything went to hell.

'I won't let you go.'

The hands, one flesh, one metal, caressed his skin, the same as always. And just the same, Law couldn't get away, held firmly in place by those hands. No matter how much the doctor protested in these too real dreams, that he wasn't the person Kid wanted, there was no escape.

'Don't lie to me.'

Kid was as in denial as he had been when Law had shown him newspapers and the like to inform him that he was dead. And the red haired ghost still insisted that Law had his lover somewhere in his mind.

'I know you're there.'

Law couldn't stand these dreams. Seeing them. Living through them night after night. Reliving the same hell he'd been forced to go through while he'd been awake.

The touching.

The groping.

And embarrassingly enough, the sex.

'I won't let you out of my sight.'

It was the same since Law had started having these nightmares, but this time…this time, things changed. Because while it had started out with the red haired ghost groping him and whispering his insistence that Law was someone else, it changed, and soon, Kid was gone altogether.

And in his place, Doflamingo appeared.

Or rather, two larger hands, neither one metal in sensation, touched his bare shoulders, running along them lightly. But thankfully, it didn't appear to be sexual in nature, at least until the voice spoke. It was Doflamingo, all right, and his voice was curious, though with an edge to it. The voice was also much clearer than Kid's had been, and focused.

Almost...aware.

'Which Law are you?'

Naturally, the dark haired doctor couldn't say anything in the dream, despite how very much he wanted to assure Doflamingo that he was not the spirit of Trafalgar, because Law guessed that the spirit and Doflamingo had had a very different relationship than subordinate and boss.

It seemed that the Doflamingo in this dream was rather sure in his assumption of who Law happened to be.

He was wrong.

'I thought you went to the land of the dead.'

Those large hands roamed somewhere much more intimate, and Law squirmed internally.

He wanted, needed, to wake up.

'Or was that all a trick? Did you get Marco to shield you, then help you find a way to come back? Was that apology you gave to me a lie, to throw me off?'

Law managed to squeeze his eyes shut when teeth bit down lightly on a shoulder, one large hand palming his dick with a very clear intention, the blond's voice forceful and demanding.

'Tell me.'

Having his former boss give him a hand job and explore his neck with vicious intent woke Law up a lot faster than Kid harassing him as had happened in previous nightmares.

-x

Waking up in terror with people around to see it made Law rather self-conscious, and his wired mind quickly latched onto asking for use of the shower. It was the only thing the doctor could think of where he would have some privacy to calm down.

Neither Killer nor Eustass seemed inclined to ask what had woken him up.

Law went where Killer indicated the bathroom was, and the doctor was glad of the retreat he'd made into that room. Law needed to collect his thoughts, and remind himself that nothing was going to happen to him. That the spirits were gone, and no one was going to possess his body ever again. Law needed to be alone, however briefly, because he couldn't bear to look at Eustass without having silent panic rise within him, despite knowing that the red head wasn't going to harm him.

At least, that was the impression the doctor had.

Law soaped up and scrubbed the dirt off his arms and face, reveling in being clean for the first time in days. He was far thinner than he would have liked, and it was the result of all of those nightmares, coupled with long work hours to counteract them. It left little time to actually take care of himself.

Sleeping was even worse than it had been before. The dark haired doctor never had much luck with getting to sleep, and now it was damn near impossible to get through the night without waking up at least once from unpleasant memories. Law ran his fingers along his scalp, working in the shampoo vigorously to get the last traces of dirt and a few tiny leaves out of it. He was feeling better already, and of course, that was when he chose to linger on what had woken him up.

Doflamingo.

The dark haired doctor braced an arm against the nearest tiled wall in the shower, shifting uncomfortably at what had happened in the dream. Law took a glance down, and closed his eyes, a hint of an embarrassed flush crossing his cheeks. Apparently his body was still reactive to anyone touching him, whether or not it was reality or in a dream. Law fidgeted, incredibly reluctant to touch himself to get rid of his half hard dick. It was bad enough that it was Doflamingo in a dream that had prompted it, but another thing altogether for it not to go away after he'd woken up.

Embarrassing.

To make matter worse, lingering on the nightmare only made Law recall that the Kid in his dream had also been touching him. And considering that Eustass, who was outside of the bathroom, looked so much like the near daily nightmare of the red head that was in them...

Law let out a slow sigh. It was hard to distinguish the two red heads, since they looked so alike. Law let his head rest just below the arm bracing himself against the wall and let out a softer sigh. It seemed like he wasn't going to be able to ignore his dick after all.

Again, embarrassing.

With a quick peek at the closed door through the curtain of the shower, Law let his free hand drop down to take his cock in hand. He got some relief from just moving his hand along, but the process was made quicker when Law's thoughts unfortunately lingered on Eustass and the way he had handled Trafalgar when the red head had brought him to his apartment, and knew that Law's body was still being controlled by the spirit. Law thought about the way that Eustass had tricked Trafalgar into thinking that he was his lover, by pinning him to the couch and grinding up against him, to distract him.

Law squeezed his eyes shut, his breath hitching as his hand made surer movements. Even if Eustass had not intended to do anything, Law, forced to take a back seat in his own body, had felt Trafalgar responding to Eustass' actions. And in turn, Law experienced a sense of arousal and lust that was not his own, and felt ashamed that he was thinking about Eustass at all while he hurriedly tried to jack off. And to add to the humiliation of the situation, the red head in question chose to check up on him in the moment, catapulting Law closer to the edge, and confusing him even more.

"Oy, Trafalgar, you aren't trying' to drown yourself, are you?"

"No." Law managed to keep his tone level, even though his body was screaming at him to make incriminating sounds as he got himself off. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Just checkin'. Killer said he didn't want to deal with a body."

"He won't have to." Law confirmed, and believed that Eustass had left, until the red head's voice sounded outside the door again.

"Got something to talk to you about when you're done in there."

Law made some hum of agreement, because he didn't trust himself enough that he wouldn't just whine something instead. He was very aroused, and was confused as to why, and hoped like hell that it wasn't because of Eustass. Law recalled, again, the way that Eustass had touched Trafalgar and breathed against his neck, which had turned the spirit on even more. And it subsequently turned Law on against his will, since he was still subjected to the sensations of his own body.

At that lovely thought, Law came, and, tanned skin flushed with embarrassment, cleaned up the evidence. Though he was no longer hard, the dark haired doctor now had another problem to deal with. The reaction he had to the thought of Eustass, which wasn't nearly as repulsive as his reactions to Kid, who had been harassing him.

Law honestly wasn't sure he wanted to know why.

The doctor shook his head and located a towel in a closet that had been mentioned. Law dried himself off, before he wrapped the towel around his waist securely. Eustass had said that he wanted to talk, and Law figured that the red head likely wanted some answers. The only thing was, Law wasn't sure that he would be able to look the red haired man in the eyes without remembering in vivid detail how Eustass, and not the spirit that looked like him, had been on Law's mind while the doctor had jacked off.

When Law exited the bathroom and headed into the living room, he found Eustass lounging on the couch. But as soon as they made eye contact with one another, the dark haired doctor knew there was going to be some trouble. He couldn't look the red head in the eyes, as he'd suspected, and Law knew it was because the longer he stared at the red head's scarred features, he was only further reminded of Kid and the way that the spirit had harassed him and made his life a living hell.

It was hard to separate the man before him from that spirit, and from the way Eustass couldn't look him in the eyes for very long in return meant that the red head likely had a similar problem. This could be a bit more trouble than either of them would like to deal with, but if they couldn't even manage a conversation, nothing would get accomplished.

Law closed his eyes briefly, look a deep breath and let it out. When he opened his eyes, the dark haired doctor kept his gaze locked on the red head's nose, as that was easier to stare at than those amber eyes. Even if they didn't have the mocking, possessive edge in them, Eustass' eyes looked too similar to his doppelganger's.

"So, Eustass-ya, what did you want to talk about?"

The red head seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, before he gave a shrug to whatever it was that had briefly bothered him and offered a half grin. "Since you're on the run from the cops and I got to go to work later, thought you could come along."

Law assumed that Eustass meant the half smile to be non-threatening, but as it was far too similar to how Kid would grin in the damn mirrors or his dreams the doctor had seen him in. The smile Eustass gave Law did nothing but shut down half his mind to prevent himself from panicking, while the other half desperately made the attempt to use logic and reason to convince the doctor that nothing bad would happen. Law needed to remember that Eustass wasn't the red haired ghost. That Eustass wouldn't hurt him like Kid had. At least, Law hoped that would be the case.

"Where would this work be?" Law queried, as soon as he trusted himself to speak.

Eustass stopped smiling, as he clearly noticed Law's discomfort, and didn't know what to do about it. So, he seemed to focus on the question instead. "The old abandoned Grand Line Hospital."

"Why would you work there? It's abandoned because it hasn't been functional in over fifty years." Law gave Eustass a funny look as if he were pulling his leg.

"Remember Sabo and Koala?" Eustass prompted, not seeming too put off by the doctor's reaction.

Law recalled and promptly dismissed the house he'd met them in from his mind. He wanted to keep a clear mind and thinking about the place he rented too much made him spiral out of control and dangerously close to la-la land. "Why would you go there?"

"They do paranormal investigations. They're being called in to go investigate the hospital, starting this evening, for some interviewing about the place. Probably." Eustass explained, sounding like he was being more patient than he would normally choose to be.

"And why would you want to go anywhere that could possibly haunted after what happened?" Law demanded, and glared at Eustass as he made brief eye contact as he continued, sounding incredulous, "And why in the world would I want to go with you to…to go look for…for ghosts? On purpose?"

"Because it's my job, unfortunately." Eustass grunted in reply.

"I am not going anywhere near that hospital. You can't make me." Law said firmly. The dark haired man was well aware that right now, he was wearing nothing but a towel, and Eustass outweighed him. The red head was also taller by inches, so if he wanted Law to go, the red head could always toss him over a shoulder and make him go. "I will stay here." Law shut his mouth and warned Eustass off with a withering glare. He was never stepping foot anywhere remotely near something claiming to be haunted. He didn't need any more nightmares. Eustass was clearly unstable if he chose to go hunting ghosts after being possessed and subsequently raped because of it.

"I'm not going because I want to. And Killer's going with me this time. You wouldn't want to be here alone, knowing the kind of area it is." Eustass said. He seemed a bit perplexed as to why Law backed into a wall to curl against it defensively, and added, "I'm sure my neighbors and the people that might be out roaming the streets saw you come here. If they see me and Killer leave, you'll be fair game."

Law's eyes locked onto the front door, and his voice came out as apprehensive. "There's a lock."

"A lock anyone could break through." Eustass countered with a derisive snort.

"I'm not going." Law repeated firmly, his back still to the wall. An anxious feeling swept through him, and even more so when the red head got up off of the couch and started to make his way over to him. The dark haired doctor pressed his back as hard as he could against the wall, stopping just short of letting out an embarrassing yelp when Eustass grasped his right wrist, which the red head used to keep him from moving away from the wall. When the red head didn't do anything but stand there, Law hesitantly opened his eyes and peeked up, unfortunately meeting Eustass' eyes for too long as he let the other man see the fear and alarm in them. The dark haired doctor hastily dropped his gaze, though Law twitched when Eustass' grasp tightened, even though it was likely a subconscious act as the red head started to gripe at him.

"What the fuck is your problem? Why'd you look at me like that?" Eustass demanded.

Law couldn't speak; the raised voice was enough to send the doctor into a panic because it was the kind of tone that Kid would use when Law desperately tried to tell him that he wasn't his lover. Law discreetly made the attempt to free his wrist from the other man's grasp. To duck away and put as much distance between them as he could, but Eustass' grip was like iron. Law wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm not that fucking ghost!" Eustass continued on, unfortunately making things worse by seizing Law's other wrist and forcing the doctor's arms against the wall to loom over him in an attempt to make eye contact again. That Law wouldn't look at him only seemed to make the red haired man angrier. "Dammit. I know those fucking bastards looked like us, but we're not the same."

"Stop." Law's voice was barely a whisper, the dark haired man unable to prevent himself from quivering as Eustass began to stray even further into being too much like the spirit that had harmed and traumatized him.

"Look at me." Eustass growled, and he sounded, if possible, even more pissed off than before. "Look at me, damn you."

"No." Law's voice was inaudible. The red haired man's grasp was bordering on painful, but luckily, before Law could break down into a complete mess, Eustass' roommate intervened, seeing what the red head couldn't.

"Let go of him, Kid. You're scaring him, which I don't think was really your intention." Killer's voice was level, but firm. "Let go. Now, Kid."

Law felt Eustass abruptly let go of his wrists, and as soon as the dark haired doctor realized just how badly he'd been shaking, he sank to the floor and drew his legs to his chest. Even though he only had a towel around his waist, Law rested his forehead on his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs to take in a few shuddering breaths.

"Fuck."

The dark haired doctor heard Eustass curse softly, and it was clear that the other man realized what he'd been doing. And that he had been making things worse. Law was relieved that Eustass kept his distance, because the red head's actions were far too close to Kid's that Law had forgotten, in an instant, that it was Eustass that had seized his wrists, and not a spirit that had looked like him. Law took another deep breath and let it out, desperately trying to calm himself. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he felt a little sick.

How on earth did Eustass think either of them could stand to go somewhere reportedly haunted? There weren't any ghosts around them right now and they were both a mess.

It was a bad idea.

Law flinched when a hand lightly tapped his shoulder, but it was not Eustass' voice that spoke.

"When you're able to, you can go into Kid's room and find some clothes. There should be some smaller clothes that he still keeps around even though he can't wear them anymore." The blond's voice sounded next to Law, indicating that Killer had crouched down to speak to him.

Law could only manage a nod. He needed more time to collect himself. It took far longer than the dark haired man would have liked.

A half hour, in fact.

Ten minutes more to get to his feet, and, without looking at the red head brooding on the couch, Law went into Eustass' bedroom instead in search of something to wear. The room was dimly lit by the light streaming in from what little of the curtains had been drawn back. But it wasn't dark enough that Law would begin to question his sanity if he thought he saw a shadow move.

A mind was a funny thing, and the doctor knew it could play tricks if he was too worn out. So, Law resolved to get what he needed from the room, and leave. What gave Law pause right before he dove into Eustass' dresser drawers was the floor length mirror in one corner of the room. Why the red head would have such a thing, Law didn't care, but he found that he was always unnerved and jumpy when faced with one, after what had happened in the place he'd rented. Even a brief peek at his reflection in the semi-dark room was enough to have the hair rise on the back of his neck when the doctor turned his attention to the dresser.

He'd just have to ignore the sensation.

Law knew he was imagining things. His mind was telling him there was something there, because there had been in the past.

But not anymore.

Not that Law could tell, anyway, because he avoided mirrors as often as he could, and just walked by them quickly if he had to in the hospital he had worked in, until he'd been forced to make a run for it.

But back to his main reason for being in that room.

Clothes.

The doctor went through the clothing in the dresser to find something that wouldn't drape on his frame too much. It took some time, but Law managed to find a nearly fitted, black T-shirt with the words 'fuck off' splashed across the front in large neon yellow print.

The dark haired man felt it was appropriate, given the situation.

Law was even happier to find a pair of jeans that, while they hung low on his hips, didn't trail over his feet when he used a plain black belt from the closet to hitch it around his waist. His own shoes, while dirty, would do. He doubted either Killer or Eustass would have something his size anyway.

The doctor looked over his shoulder at the mirror in the corner of Eustass' room, and with a resigned sigh, cautiously stood before it to scrutinize his appearance. With a quick peek in the mirror, and keeping his gaze firmly on his own reflection, Law his hands through his hair and gave the still damp hair a brief shake. Deciding relatively quickly that the hair was a lost cause, Law left it alone. Just as the doctor turned to leave the room, he unwillingly faced the large mirror again, and let his eyes rove over his own reflection a little more closely. While Law had avoided looking for too long in a mirror out of fear of seeing Kid reflected there and ready to taunt and harass him again, the doctor's gaze lingered briefly.

Law knew he was pathetically thin and that he was in serious need of a shave, but apart from that, he really ought to at least try to eat better if he couldn't sleep as well as he used to. Or at least, get as much as he'd been able to before ghostly interruptions had made rest less frequent and hard to come by. Law briefly searched his own face, and decided that since he had only gotten at best a few hours of rest in the past few days, that his own reflection didn't seem right.

It was odd, but then again, the doctor hadn't really been able to get a good luck at himself in the past several months. He'd been too busy working to keep his mind off of other things and at minimum keeping his facial hair trimmed as he liked it.

Most unfortunately, as Law headed back toward the door, he caught sight of another mirror on top of the dresser and could see his reflection there as well. With a frown, Law went over to the dresser and looked at himself in the mirror there, determined to show himself that there was nothing to be concerned over. That he was being silly. Law was about to look away when he thought he saw movement in the other mirror. Law stared, and his heart leapt in panic when it looked as if his reflection in the other mirror had...moved while he'd been still.

Law quickly spun toward it, and cautiously made some movements with his arms. His reflection mimicked him, down to his strained features. Law let out a shaky breath and stepped toward the mirror, until he was almost right in front of it, then stepped away and looked over his shoulder at the other mirror.

His face seemed to take up too much of the mirror and was too detailed for how far away he stood from the smaller mirror...

Law immediately closed his eyes and took in a slow breath before he let it out. When he opened his eyes, Law reasoned, he would see the reflection as it should be. It was just a trick of the light, or the few shadows it cast, in that room. Law opened his eyes, and wasn't reassured in the least bit.

The mirror didn't even reflect his face, because all the mirror could reflect were his feet from where he currently stood.

Law swallowed down the panic welling within him, and decided he needed to leave this room before his own mind fucked him over and left him a gibbering mess. How the hell could even Eustass sleep in the room with those mirrors? With another, longer breath to calm himself, Law turned back to face the floor length mirror and squared his shoulders.

"You're imagining things. Mirrors only reflect what is in front of them." Law told his reflection firmly. "There's nothing wrong with you but lack of sleep and regular meals."

'Are you sure that's all?'

Law froze completely in place. That voice…that whisper…it had sounded suspiciously like his own, but for the arrogant and smug tone.

No.

No, no, no.

He was gone.

That spirit, Trafalgar, was gone.

Marco and Hawkins had said so.

Lack of sleep.

Yes, that was all. Law was just imagining things because he was so exhausted, which meant he just needed a good night's sleep, nightmare free, and he'd be fine. There was nothing to…

Law could have sworn he saw his reflection smile sharply at him then and there in the floor length mirror, and more worryingly, had taken a step forward as if to reach out to him. The hand had started to rise, or at least, Law thought it had, but it could have just been because he had raised his hand as well as he started to back away, even more startled and panicked than before. But when Law confirmed the sight of the smirk in the mirror in the half shadowy room, and the fact that the hand seemed to extend, shadowy and unnatural, in his direction, the dark haired doctor did the only thing that seemed to make sense in that instance.

When prompted about the incident later, he would blame lack of sleep and vehemently deny seeing anything at all.

For the time being, Law scrabbled backward into the opposite wall of Eustass' room and let loose a loud scream the likes of which he hadn't allowed himself in months. The sound was full of raw terror, as Law was certain that in that moment, his own reflection was about to reach out of the glass to drag him kicking and screaming into the mirror to relive the hell that he had gone through all those months ago.

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

A/N: Have I ever said just how much I love ghost stories/movies with horror, angst, tense situations, worrying things and psychological mindfucks in them? Especially in the setting of an asylum, or hospital, which is most certainly going to have room half full of mirrors in this fic, for Law to deal with. Because I absolutely love to mess with characters psychologically (help, the fic is already 10,000 plus words in!). Getting to the hospital itself will happen in the next chapter. This fic might be one of those rapid fire update fics after all, but don't hold your breath on quick updates if they don't happen (rainy days seem to be good writing days though).

Funnily enough, while horror movies are great for inspiration, I've realized that they're also the main reason why I no longer keep or have any mirrors in my bedroom.