Eustass Kid stumbled through the crowds of sweaty students dancing in his dorm room, an empty bottle in his hand and a half naked girl hanging on his shoulder.

"Come back to my dorm, Kiiiid!" She whined above the deafening music, pressing her cleavage against his arm and not-so-subtlety pulling up her short dress.

He was drunk, and she knew that. Hell, everyone at the party was either piss drunk or high on something, and she was no exception. She just wanted to have some fun.

After nearly an entire school year of inactivity, Eustass Kid had suddenly thrown a huge party. Nobody, not even his closest friends knew why, but none of them seemed to care.

No one cared to ask why Kid had called for the party with such urgency.

No one wondered why the dorm was already littered with empty bottles and drugs.

No one asked why Kid drank the most.

No one seemed to notice that their host looked so... Empty.

Kid snorted and pushed the girl off of him, the crowds quickly separating the two.

He didn't need some slut. He couldn't even think of embracing anyone except for-

With a snarl, Kid tore a mostly filled bottle of vodka from some dancer's grasp and lifted it to his lips. He chugged down nearly half the bottle with practiced ease, trying to drown his sorrows in the harsh liquor.

Kid swayed, his already blurred vision shifting in and out of focus.

One leaden footstep after the other.

Another drink.

He needed it. He needed these impurities. He needed to fill that empty void deep within him.

Another pair of eyes watched the redhead as he swayed through the mass of dancing students.

Penguin sat with a few others, a grim look hidden beneath his ever-present hat.

He knew why it was today- why the party had to be today.

It was the anniversary of his death, after all.

Everyone handled grief in their own ways, Penguin understood that perfectly, but Eustass Kid seemed to want to suppress everything he was feeling. Penguin just wanted to stay sober enough in case the redhead broke.

Someone crashed into him, though, pulling his attention away from Kid just long enough for the party's host to disappear.

Where was he going? Kid didn't even care anymore. He just let the alcohol take him.

Stumbling out of his dorm, Kid was relived to find the hall empty and much quieter than inside.

He took a final swig from the- now empty- vodka bottle and turned to look back at his closed door, collapsing onto his butt.

Drunken eyes trailed aimlessly up and down the hall until they caught sight of the dorm room next to his own.

With a grunt Eustass Kid hauled himself back up onto his feet, his body swaying with the effort.

Stumbling forward, the redhead crashed against the door. Pulling the key he carried everywhere out of his pocket, Kid tried to open the lock with numb fingers, succeeding after a minute or two.

Kid swayed into the empty dorm, the door shutting and automatically locking behind him as he sat down at the desk.

All Kid knew was that he needed to see him; to hear his velvet voice.

"Fuck..." He cursed, fumbling clumsily with the laptop.

He was angry. Angry that his hands refused to obey him; angry that no amount of alcohol filled the emptiness he felt inside; angry that Trafalgar Law had to die.

"FUCK!" He cursed again, throwing down the empty vodka bottle against the laptop's keyboard in his fit of rage.

The glass shattered, sending razor shards everywhere as the computer screen flickered to life.

Trafalgar Law showed up there, a smile on his face. "I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . . "I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . . "I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . . The video just kept repeating that one line.

Eustass Kid watched the man he had come to love with tears in his eyes, his rage melting into sorrow.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

"Fuck..."

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

"Why the hell couldn't you have told me that before, huh?! Fucking tell me!"

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

"YOU SHOULD HAVE FUCKING TOLD ME!"

Kid threw down the desk chair and collapsed to the glass covered floor as the video repeated that one damned sentence over and over again.

"You should have fucking told me..."

Kid weakly slammed a fist to the ground, only to cringe in pain as a piece of glass embedded itself into his skin.

He brought his fist back up to stare with drunken eyes at the blood dripping down his skin and the glass protruding from his flesh.

Glass... Glass was so very tempting.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

With numb fingers, Kid reached down to grab a razor sharp shard of glass, not minding the tiny cuts he got on his fingers.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . . "I... I like-"

The recording was momentarily drowned out by one one rattling the door handle. "Kid?! Kid, open the door!" It was Penguin's voice that called out to him.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

Kid didn't listen to the man frantically trying to get in. He only had ears for one voice as he held out his wrist.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

"Kid, open the fucking door!" It was Killer this time, followed by a banging, as though the two were trying to break down the door.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

The shard's razor edge broke through skin and flesh easily, spilling blood down to the floor. Kid didn't care. All he cared about was Law, and how he'd see him soon.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

Kid smiled peacefully and closed his eyes, just listening to that voice as his consciousness began to fade.

"I... I don't want you to die, Kid."

The redhead's eyes snapped open in surprise at the sudden change in words just as the door broke down.

Killer rushed into the room, then stopped in shock at the state of his estranged best friend. Penguin ran in after him, already moving to treat the near-fatal wound Kid had caused.

There was blood and glass surrounding Kid everywhere as he sat on the floor. On the desk was a laptop repeating part of a video over and over again. Killer only vaguely realized that the man in the video was the same man Kid had been searching for what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . . "I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him." . . .

It was unnerving, and obviously broken. Killer moved to turn it off.

"DON'T!" Kid suddenly shouted, making both men jump.

"I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

"Don't... Don't turn him off..."

Kid's eyelids began to droop as the wailing of sirens became apparent above the muffled noise of the party next door.

"Don't turn Law off..."

The paramedics showed up just as Kid passed out.

"I... I don't want you to die, Kid."

~

There wasn't much that could be said.

Eustass Kid had gotten out of the hospital a few days after the incident.

Everyone knew, but no one could find the right words to express their sorrow or condolences. But that was fine. Kid didn't want anyone's pity.

For weeks no one approached him, not even Killer or Penguin.

Everyone was just stepping on eggshells around Eustass Kid, until someone didn't.

Kid looked up with sleep deprived eyes from his desk in surprise at the boy who practically jumped out in front of him.

The boy grinned and held out his hand. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"

It was the obnoxious boy who Kid had fist confronted nearly a year ago- the one who looked so sad when Kid mentioned Law's name.

The redhead cringed at his own thoughts, but shook the boy's hand anyway. "Eustass Kid."

There was a few minutes of silence between the two as Luffy sat down next to Kid and the class began to shuffle out of the lecture hall.

"You know, he really liked you." Luffy finally stated, a small smile on his face as he stared at his group of friends chatting at the front of the room. "He wouldn't be happy if he knew you were this sad."

"I... I don't want you to die, Kid." The words flashed through Kid's mind almost as soon as Luffy finished speaking. Even if it had just been the blood loss and alcohol talking, Kid just couldn't forget those final words.

"I can't just-"

"I'm not asking you to forget him." Luffy interrupted. "And I'm not asking you to stop being sad. Just... Be sad with others. Don't let that emptiness swallow you up."

Luffy smiled again at that and stood up. "Be with your friends. Let them understand."

Kid was still staring at the boy in shock as Luffy skipped off back to his group.

"Let them understand... Huh..." Kid muttered to himself, standing up and grabbing his things.

No, he wouldn't stop being sad, and no, he would never forget the love he could have had... But it was a start.

Kid slowly made his way over to Luffy and  the group- the people he recognized from Law's journal- the people who also mourned the tattooed man's loss.

It wasn't acceptance, but was a start.

~

"I want you to be happy."