This is the fic that I've written for the One Piece Big Bang event over on Tumblr. I felt I needed to post it here since I mentioned it in passing, despite the rating going up (and I will take this fic down if it later becomes an issue).

My artist partner for the event is collapsedteam (Collapsed Lil). (FYI, I will post a link around HERE when the artwork has been posted). I absolutely loved the scenes that were chosen to be drawn, because to me, I felt that it was a perfect example of Kid and Law's relationship throughout the entirety of the fic (the art is very nice to stare at). Also, I wanted to thank Collapsed Lil for putting up with my weird writing process of going from a scrap of an outline to an outline to draft to revision, which took a little longer than intended (thank you as well for the input!).

That said, I hope that you all enjoy what came out of my last minute decision to change story ideas a few days before the claiming last December (I just love to torment myself, I guess). I certainly had a lot more fun than I ought to have had writing this, despite staying up late many nights fine-tuning everything this month with revisions and wanting to chuck my keyboard out the window a few times.

Warnings: Some physical violence/roughness (guns/knives included), explicit con/dub-con (smut and hand jobs/blowjobs), intoxication, swearing, mentions of drugs, attempted suicide, traffic accident, amputation, some psychological torment and a whole lot of denial.

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece.

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

The club was dark as the music pulsed throughout the building, reverberating from the patrons' chests to the very ceilings. The crowd was equally as loud, if not more so than the music itself at times. Personal space was of no concern to those in the club as both men and women ground up against one another without any hint of shame. The general disregard for hygiene seemed to go hand in hand with the time of day, so by the time it reached into the early morning hours no one seemed to give a damn.

Everyone in the city who frequented the club knew that it was a fact that the earlier on in the evening one arrived at the club, the better it was for those who wished to breathe. But as soon as people began to arrive in the early morning hours, those who ran the club didn't give a shit what people may or may not smell like. That was mainly because those running the club had their hands full with more important things to deal with from midnight and on. One of those important things happened to be making sure that those who were high and those that were drunk were not fucking one another in the dark of the club.

There were standards and then there were health code violations.

In order to keep the cops from descending upon the club night after night, there happened to be a strategically placed hotel directly across the street for the sole purpose of keeping the club clean. And to keep the nightclub cop-free, the patrons were urged to go to the hotel instead of one of the club's bathrooms or one of the booths, should the atmosphere and music put one in the mood to hump and fuck.

The other important matter that the management of the club had to deal with was the fact that their building was also a hotbed for the peddling of illegal drugs. This was mainly because the cops did not often venture this deep into the slums at the outer edge of the city without obvious reason. Like violating health codes. At least, the nightclub wasn't searched very often for there to be any real concern of being caught in the act of buying or selling. And with those drugs came the freely flowing alcohol in the club's very generous sized bar area.

The bar was for the paying patrons to use when the body heat became too much from being in close proximity to others or for when the booze would happen lead to interesting offers once one was back on the dance floor. Or on the rare occasion, there would be someone who came to the club to drink their troubles away in a place more obscure than a bar. It was a place for one to be overlooked within a crowd of distracted and more often than not happily drunk patrons.

One such individual was Eustass Kid.

The red haired young man kept to himself at the edge of the bar. And as if to further deter unwanted company, Kid wore a snarl on his face; as if he would love nothing more than to fuck up someone else's evening if he was given incentive to do so. But for the most part, Kid wanted to be left alone in order to drink himself into a drunken stupor. As to why he had wanted to get himself shit faced, Kid was getting further and further away from the fact with each drink.

It had to do with driving. That much the red head could remember, as well as the panic he'd felt, buzzed as he had already been. Maybe it had been a near miss with another car. Or maybe Kid had just imagined clipping that other car, even if the red head had felt a spark of fear over potentially going into the ditch from the momentum.

Huh.

Maybe Kid had hit something but obviously everything was fine if he made it to the club. And to ensure the memory go away, Kid continued to drink. He had the money and he'd keep going until he could no more.

Another drink and Kid slipped further from reality as the club's cranked up music settled deep in his bones. It seemed to reflect his need to let go. To push everything away and keep it that way.

There were too many people crowding the bar now, so Kid took two drinks with him and went to the relative seclusion of one corner of the club. It was quieter there, sitting in the booth, and he knew that he would be less likely to be disturbed by some other drunk.

And that's when it happened.

Kid had no idea if it had been one minute or ten. Hell, even an hour for all he knew, as both glasses he had in front of him on the table were empty. All Kid knew was that he suddenly wasn't alone, as hands had settled themselves onto either of his shoulders. Kid caught a brief glimpse of gleaming eyes, before the owner of those hands made themselves at home on his lap.

"Mind if I join you?"

The words greatly hinted that the stranger was interested in doing more than just having a drink.

Kid knew it from the way the stranger had straddled his lap and ground lightly against him. The red head had enough booze in him to not be offended at this point in time. In fact, Kid wasted no time in sliding his hands down the stranger's back, his fingers hooking into the back of what felt like jeans. Kid dipped his fingertips down bare skin teasingly as he spoke up in a drunken slur.

"You wanna drink or do you wanna fuck?" Kid didn't see any reason to hide the thought and was rewarded with a barely distinguishable smile from the stranger on his lap.

"Both of those are options? Do you normally offer to fuck strangers?"

"Nah, I don't. But you're already on my lap. Thought I'd ask." Kid mumbled back, leaning forward to mouth a line along the man's shoulder. The arms on the red head's moved to press against his chest to get his attention and to stop him from continuing his actions.

"I believe I'd like a drink before we continue this." The stranger reached around with his other hand and gave Kid's ass a squeeze.

Kid got more drinks. Fuck if he was going to let an opportunity pass him by to get laid. And if the only payment needed was booze, the red head would happily oblige.

Though with the stranger perched on his lap, it made it difficult for Kid to flag someone down or to get up for those drinks.

-x-

The rest of the night was a confusing mess.

Kid was fairly positive that he had left the club with the stranger who had been feeling him up. That he'd gotten to a hotel; probably the one across the street from the club meant for this kind of encounter. What the red haired young man did remember were the stranger's devious words and his wickedly sensuous touch despite Kid being drunk off his ass.

The red head thought that the two of them had had a conversation but hell if he would remember it. If it had happened at all. Kid had to have fucked the stranger, no doubt about that. The red head could tell as much even without the massive hangover that hit him the moment he opened his eyes. A shower would be in order, as well as a futile attempt to clean his clothes of dubious crusted matter. It was a shame that the red head couldn't remember the fun he'd obviously had with the stranger.

Not to mention it was a surprise that someone had allowed Kid to fuck them while drunk. Most people weren't so trusting of him, in or out of the bed with his temper. His little one night stand was braver than most and Kid felt weirdly satisfied.

Though that memory blank he had about what had happened was mainly because Kid felt like shit. His head was ringing from the after effect of being in the noisy, drugged and alcohol ridden club. But Kid's purpose in going there had been fulfilled.

He couldn't remember why he'd gotten smashed in the first place.

Mission accomplished.

Now all Kid had to do was get in good enough shape from his drinking binge in order to get back home. And hope to hell he didn't work that day. Even if he did have to work that day, Kid still wouldn't go, because he didn't want to risk making a mistake.

The red head flopped over onto his side, cringing when his face was hit by the sunlight streaming in through a window. Kid glowered at the light for a moment as if it had somehow made things worse.

Fuck.

How long had he slept?

With a grimace, Kid settled on the bed facing away from the sunlight, his thoughts drifting back to the early morning hours before he'd passed out. A faint tinge of a blush rose on pale cheeks as something else became apparent. It seemed like he had been very shit faced indeed. The red head could have sworn that he'd fucked the stranger, because there was no way he would have bottomed drunk. His ass, however, said otherwise when he'd turned over onto his side. Kid groaned something before he lie inert on the bed with a sigh.

Kid guessed he shouldn't have been surprised. Guy was smart to not let someone like him fuck while drunk. The guy who had fucked him sure had done so enthusiastically. Kid couldn't remember the last time he'd been so sore. Kid hoped it had been worth the fuck, because hell if the red head could remember who he'd been with. Other than the fact that the guy had had mesmerizing eyes and a voice that would have had Kid on his knees and blowing the guy if he hadn't already sat on his lap in the club.

Kid sighed. Sometimes getting drunk was inconvenient because the red head would have loved the chance to fuck his one night stand now that he was mostly sober.

Instead, the red haired young man found himself all alone in the hotel. There was no trace of the man who had gone there with him. It figured; Kid again wouldn't have minded a repeat now that he was aware again, but supposed the guy from the club had decided otherwise. And as the red head cleaned up in that hotel room and retrieved his clothes from where they were thrown all over the place, Kid lamented that it was a shame indeed that he'd probably never see the guy again.

It wasn't like Kid would recognize him anyway, if the stranger ever crossed paths with him again. Kid figured it was best to forget about this one night stand entirely, which would have worked out, had the stranger chosen to forget about the encounter as well.

-x-

2 years later

-x-

A drink at an out of the way bar on the outskirts of the city was the perfect way to end the day. It was such a good idea that Kid decided that several drinks were in order. He'd done a damn good job fixing a junk motorcycle that day, especially when it was supposed to be in good condition to begin with.

The red head had nearly slugged the fucker in the face when he first caught sight of the bike.

That damn idiot client had somehow managed to kill his motorcycle the same day he'd gotten it, and that was the real reason that Kid had been called over. Sure, the red haired mechanic didn't mind doing onsite jobs but he usually liked more warning. Both as to the real state of the vehicle and more than an hours' notice to ensure he actually had the necessary items to fix what was broken. Kid had gone to a party with some friends the night before and was still hungover when he was called late in the morning that day for work.

Not that that mattered. A job was a job and as it had been further from home the red head could charge a little extra. Kid just hadn't realized how fucked up the bike was. It took a better part of the day to get the machine even slightly ready for a fix and by the time the red haired mechanic had finished it was well past nine at night.

But in all that time Kid had managed to not punch the guy, even as he hovered in the background and anxiously asked over and over if the bike was fixable. Kid had not bothered to give that answer; there wasn't any machine he couldn't fix given the right parts and the time to get things back together and working.

At least the red head had gotten paid more then he'd originally anticipated by a very grateful idiot. Kid figured he'd be back the next time the guy wiped out.

But more money meant a stop on the way back for a drink or two. Or so Kid thought, when he realized that the bartender kept giving him drinks that he hadn't paid for. It wasn't until the mechanic got offered a third beer that he hadn't asked for that Kid felt compelled to speak up.

"You going to charge me for somethin' I didn't order?" Kid asked as he took a sip from the mug of beer nonetheless.

"That gentleman over there paid for them." The bartender indicated one corner of the bar with a jerk of a thumb over his shoulder.

Kid turned slightly on the barstool he was seated on in order to get a better look. And then the red head turned around completely to better size up the other man as he took another gulp of beer.

The one who'd bought him the drinks was quite a looker. Slim but with the potential for concealed muscle beneath the clothes he wore based on the way he held himself. Dark black or blue hair was mussed up as if the other man had been wearing a hat. The gleaming eyes, with an odd golden hue to them, were looking at Kid as if contemplating him in return.

Kid assessed the man a moment longer, taking in what appeared to be hospital scrubs beneath a jacket, and wondered whether the man worked or was a patient at a hospital. But at the amused smirk that fleetingly darted across the other man's lips, Kid decided it might be entertaining to rile the guy up. He seemed like a smug asshole at first glance, and Kid loved playing with those kinds of people. Even if Kid knew that he could be an asshole as well, it didn't mean he didn't want to have fun now and again. Plus, the dark haired man might keep buying him drinks and Kid was looking to get buzzed that day.

Kid didn't quite manage to hide the stumble he'd made as he got off the stool to go join the dark haired man at the table in the back. The red haired mechanic stared a moment before he grinned a little and sat down in the booth next to the stranger.

"Any reason you're buying me drinks? 'Cause I don't remember seein' you before." Kid could have sworn he'd seen a flash of disappointment cross the man's face but it was gone in an instant as the man shrugged in return.

"I felt like it." The smirk reappeared as the man's golden eyes gave Kid a once over, and then again, more slowly and appreciatively. "Besides, you're my type, so why can't I buy you a drink?"

Kid blinked at that, drained the beer while mulling it over, and then peered at the dark haired man to see if he was yanking his chain.

The smirk didn't leave.

"And what type would that be?" Kid was used to strangers flirting with him even if it didn't happen often. It was, however, the mechanic's first time to be blatantly raked over with an appreciative look, by another man, and an attractive one, at that.

Not that Kid was overly interested at this point in time. Had he been in the mood for it, sure, something might have happened. But not now. Kid was only at the bar for a few drinks. He had not gone to the bar to get laid, or so he kept telling himself.

Kid tensed up as the dark haired man slid from where he'd been seated up against the wall to press up against the red haired mechanic. The stranger offered him not a beer, but a glass of what appeared to be whiskey. Kid took the offered drink but tilted his head to the side to narrow his eyes at the other man, suspicious of his intentions. The red head didn't think he was giving the other man any ideas, but clearly, in one way or another, he was, and it annoyed him for some reason. Perhaps he should have sat in the seat of the booth opposite of the stranger.

The smirk just deepened as if the other man were amused with Kid's defensiveness.

"You got a name?" Kid asked, trying for conversation as he absently fended off a tattooed hand from giving his left thigh a squeeze. "Cause you're acting like you know me." The red head gulped the whiskey down, because he'd be damned if he passed up free booze.

"Trafalgar Law." The dark haired man said with the briefest of pauses as he watched Kid go back to his beer. Law rested an arm on the table so he could prop his chin up on his hand. "And you are?"

"Thought you knew me or somethin'." Kid snorted, keeping an eye on the other man's nearest hand, as if expecting the guy to try to feel him up again. It wouldn't have bothered the red haired mechanic most nights, but right now, Kid was not in the best of moods.

"Perhaps I'm mistaken." Law said, his golden eyes glittering oddly in the low lights of the bar. "You seemed familiar from across the room." The dark haired man's gaze lifted to stare at Kid's vivid red hair that was held back with a bandana. "That color is very hard to miss in a crowd."

Kid grunted something in agreement before he frowned at Law when the other man laughed softly. Kid's drink was momentarily forgotten, as he didn't particularly like it when people chose to laugh at him. "The fuck is so funny?"

"Nothing." Law said even though it didn't sound like he meant it. The dark haired man took a sip from his own glass before he glanced at Kid out of the corner of his eyes. "And you still haven't given me your name."

"Eustass Kid." The red head grunted in return as he drained the beer and set the mug aside. He discreetly scooted to the edge of the booth even as Law slid closer. "You better not be tryin' to get in my pants. Even drunk I'm not that stupid." Kid wasn't up for getting laid, and especially not by someone with ulterior motives. Law was lying about knowing him and the only explanation for that would be that the dark haired man had to have met him while Kid drunk at some point and the red head didn't remember.

It was as shame, but Kid tried his hardest to avoid associating himself with those he'd met while drunk. More often than not it was an embarrassing meeting for both parties, what with the red haired mechanic remembering little to nothing of the encounter.

"You have a ride home?" Law asked, changing topics completely as he watched Kid pick up another drink, another shot of whiskey, that had been within his reach on the table.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Kid said dismissively, knocking the drink back and setting the empty glass on the table. "Driven buzzed before."

"Not the brightest idea, seeing as you are crossing from buzzed to drunk in a short amount of time." Law commented, and he seemed to be meaning something more than he said. But he didn't elaborate so Kid didn't bother pushing for more information.

Not that the mechanic would have wanted it anyway.

"Seriously, what the fuck do you want?" Kid grumbled as he shifted to the very edge of the booth as Law himself slid closer and closer into his personal space. The red felt a questing hand around the back of his waist. "Quit touching me." It'd been at least two years since Kid had gotten laid, astonishingly enough, and it made him get a bit aggressive when anyone happened to show interest. Mainly because Kid was the one who wanted to make the first move and right now, Law was getting on his nerves.

Instead of vice versa.

Dammit.

Kid's own quest to rile the guy up was backfiring as the red haired mechanic found that he was the one being riled up instead.

"You know, it'd be a shame if you were involved in a traffic accident while driving home." Law said casually, acting as if he didn't just cop a feel of the other man's ass. Or notice Kid's inner turmoil about the whole situation in general.

"The hell?" Kid was desperate for sex all right but not with this touchy-feely jackass that had claimed to know him. Though the thought made Kid wonder why he would ever even be interested in Law in the first place. A few reasons came to mind, but the red head strove to ignore them. He wasn't giving in that easily. "Why would you care about what happens to me anyway?"

"Well, you have a nice tight ass." Law damn near purred as he leaned in close against Kid's left side, his hand searching. "It would be a shame if it weren't around anymore."

"I said to quit-hey!" Kid growled something unintelligible as the dark haired man gave his rear another squeeze out of the blue.

"I bet you have good muscle tone beneath that shirt." Law commented, unconcerned by the way the mechanic's ire was steadily getting close to the breaking point as he leaned up against Kid more comfortably. Law was still feeling Kid's ass up and chose to sneak the hand up the red head's lower back beneath his tank soon after.

"Fucking hell. Stop that." Kid swatted Law's hand away and glared at the other man to warn him off. His efforts were rewarded with a smirk and a disappointed sigh that was clearly overdone just to irritate Kid.

"I'm tryin to drink here." The red haired man said irritably. "I don't know you. So stop that."

"I can see that you don't." Law left some money on the table before he pointedly dragged himself slowly over Kid's lap to get out of the booth, all the while ignoring the irritable growl that issued out of the mechanic. The dark haired man walked away from the booth, his voice clearly disappointed. "That's too bad."

Kid watched Law go with disinterest, wondering what that had been about. But with more money in front of him, Kid made sure to get the good stuff, ready to put the random incident behind him. The red haired mechanic had no idea that he'd set even more things into motion by ignoring Law's none too subtle hints.

It put Kid seeing the other man again a lot sooner than he would have liked.