Chapter Text
As a working psychologist in a hospital, it was not often that you got to work with the doctors on a regular basis. It was only when patients who experienced extreme trauma, both physical and mental, that you had to work with the health department. The patient’s care is of most importance to collaborate on the case together with your other colleagues. It was even less likely to happen since you received your promotion as the lead psychologist. You oversaw the other mental health clinicians, their cases, research, and offered your vast knowledge and experience to mentor them. Patient cases were simply no longer in your line of work anymore until…
Every Wednesday the cafeteria served onigiri. The day that you never packed your lunch. You arrived late, stuck in a meeting with the other department heads and tried to contain the sounds that emitted from your stomach, begging for hunger relief. You recalled the man next to you, who you didn’t recognize, smirking or stifling a laugh with a cough each time it growled. Professionalism was not something you took lightly, and you had to stop yourself from either glaring at him or wishing for the floor to swallow you whole. It was a bodily response (somewhat) out of your control, and he obviously appeared to have no regard in hiding his amusement. Yet, you worked your ass off to receive your lead title. Not many women at this hospital had even though many had deserved it. There was no reason to cause a scene in front of the other leaders, let alone the Chief Health Care Operations Officer, Matthew Lattice. You continued to remind yourself each time the man next to you reacted to the growls.
“Before we start closing, I wanted to briefly introduce the new lead surgeon, Dr. Trafalgar Law.” Matthew gestured towards the man sitting next to you. “He has been working at this hospital as a surgeon since he was nineteen. I am grateful you have finally accepted this position, and I expect nothing but great things from you, Dr. Trafalgar.” Dr. Trafalgar gave a slight nod in acknowledgement before Matthew gave the words you were waiting to hear since the meeting started, “meeting adjourned.” ‘Thank fucking god,’ you had thought. Everyone stood up to leave, the man next to you was at the door before most of the others, as if he were on a mission. You wondered what had him in such a hurry, but you felt that same pull to quickly leave as your stomach growled once more. With the little energy you had left, you almost jogged to the cafeteria. Onigiri was a fan favorite, and never guaranteed. In your hungry, dissociative state, you hadn’t realized you were at the end of the line and bumped into the person in front of you.
You looked up to apologize to the person and said, “Sorr- oh. It’s you,” and glared at the lead surgeon while grabbing a tray to fill with food.
He smirked. An expression that suited his face all too well. “Well, if it isn’t the woman whose stomach could be heard from around the world. I could barely even hear Matthew with the gurgling it made every five seconds.” The mocking tone was not lost on you as his gold eyes peered at you through his inky black, disheveled hair.
Warmth spread through your cheeks. Futile to your attempt to stop spreading. “I didn’t know that it was illegal to be hungry during a staff meeting. I’ll keep that in mind for next month, Dr. Trafalgar,” the sarcasm dripped from the words.
The smirk stayed on his face, “It’s good to know your place.” With that, he turned to the person serving lunch and asked for an onigiri. Your jaw and free hand clenched. His hand outreached for the rice ball, and you saw the word ‘DEATH’ on his fingers and an insignia on the back of his hands tattooed. The reply you wanted to say was interrupted by his request. The food server pulled out a questionable looking meat to replace the tray they were putting away.
“Was that the last one?” You tried to hide your disappointment, but failed miserably.
“Yes, but we have meatloaf here!” The server smiled and attempted to put some on your plate. You don’t mind meatloaf, but meatloaf from the cafeteria? Everyone who ate it got food poisoning. The new lead surgeon was already gone, sides loaded, and scanning his badge to pay. He turned to meet your glare, as if he felt your eyes burning into the back of his head. The sly smile plastered on his face was hard to miss, and he walked away to eat his lunch.
“I’m okay, thank you” you attempted to say politely and smile. It was not the cafeteria’s fault after all. However, you couldn’t help but be pissed at the person who had taken the last one. That onigiri was all you were looking forward to today. Instead, you loaded your tray with side dishes, scanned the cafeteria, found your friend, and sat down to eat.
“You okay?” Ikkaku’s face across from you was filled with concern. You generally had a decent handle on your emotions, but the hunger, disappointment, and annoyance were too much to handle at that moment.
“What makes you ask?” voice tight as you responded.
“Well, for one, your food is now hanging off the tray from the force you sat it down with. Second, the permanent scowl on your face, and third… Who are you looking for?” Ikkaku looked around and dropped the last point as she noticed you searched the cafeteria for your newfound annoyance. Her question fell on deaf ears as you locked eyes with the man who ruined your day. Okay, that was dramatic, but still. That onigiri was the only thing keeping you tethered to that meeting, and the surgeon was only a few tables away. Dr. Trafalgar met your eyes while listening to his friends. He grabbed his onigiri, stare never faltered, and brought it up to his lips. The bite was small, and he chewed slowly. As if he were savoring each morsel that fell on his tongue. One of his friends asked him a question, and the eye contact broke. The smirk on his face was clear as day.
“That bastard,” the growl escaped your lips. Ikkaku followed your eyes to Dr. Trafalgar and found the answer to her question. She was used to your constant need for profanity even though it took others you worked with off guard. Ikkaku was one of the few colleagues you could show your personality with around work. Almost everyone else expected a perfect, professional demeanor from you as the aura you gave off was serious, professional, and no nonsense. The position as lead in the hospital demanded no less.
“Oh, well I guess I have my answer. Spill,” amusement colored Ikkaku’s words and she laughed. You faced each other while she waited to hear the story. You sighed.
“It’s stupid,” you bowed your head in embarrassment while the events of today played in your head. You continued to pick up your fork to push at your lunch. ‘Oh I am so ordering delivery later.’
You were only human, yet it was hard to show anger in front of others. People expect mental health professionals to be levelheaded and emotionally regulated. Even if you worked with dicks who couldn’t hold space for an emotion as simple as hunger.
Ikkaku reached across the table and lightly grabbed your other hand that was resting. “You know I got you,” she comforted you with her touch. Ikkaku saw how much you stifle to meet the demands of the hospital. Always holding space for others, but never yourself. She moved her hand back to her side of the table, “you can be angry, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” you rolled your eyes, but grateful for the validation and space to listen. “I think it’s just my food aggression,” you joked. “I was super hungry in that two-hour meeting that could always be an email, I haven’t been able to eat since eleven a.m. yesterday, and that onigiri was going to be my saving grace,” you grumbled.
“Okay… what does Dr. Trafalgar have to do with that?” clarified Ikkaku.
“Wait, you know him?”
Brown eyes rolled into her skull, “I know of him. I don’t know how you haven’t, quite honestly. I mean, I know you work in different departments, but he is well known around here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Answer my question first,” she stated. You hadn’t tried to change the subject on purpose. The curiosity you felt was real, but you didn’t mind if the subject wasn’t brough up again.
“Fine,” you huffed. “My stomach was growling, and he was sitting next to me. He obviously found it extremely amusing by how often he reacted to the sound.”
“Okay… and…?” Ikkaku knew there was more. You were more than capable of dealing with annoying men.
“And he took the last onigiri, which was replaced with meatloaf.”
“That bastard,” Ikkaku repeated your words and shuddered at the thought of swallowing the mystery meat. She understood and looked at your pitiful plate of sides.
“Now, spill what you got on him,” you demanded. Ikkaku put her hands up in surrender.
“I don’t know much. He received his Ph.D. by the time he was fifteen and joined the hospital when he was nineteen. A prodigy, no less. Perfection is all he tolerates, or so I’ve heard from the other nurses. They said he doesn’t often yell, but rather uses his icy glare and cold words, not caring who is there to witness, making it known that you have fucked up and will fire you on the spot.”
“Is that even allowed?”
Ikkaku frowned and shrugged, “The hospital kisses his ass most of the time. The surgery department was falling to shit before he joined. Now, it’s thriving. I heard they have asked him countless times to be lead surgeon, but he always refused. Until now. I wonder what changed his mind,” her face turned to wonder, and she continued eating. You turned your face back to the prodigy. He wasn’t looking in your direction. Instead, he was eating the last few bites of the onigiri, ‘DEATH’ on his fingertips, and listening to the conversation at his table. You couldn’t help but wonder either. What made him change his mind after several years of the hospital begging for him to take the role? He didn’t seem like someone you can wear down. Something had to motivate him to take the role. Something big. “I see you,” snickered Ikkaku.
“What?” you tried to feign innocence but totally failed.
“You’re psychoanalyzing him,” she smirked.
“Shut up,” you mumbled and stuffed a slimy vegetable into your mouth. You shivered from the texture and temperature it was. She laughed, but didn’t press anymore. Instead, she started talking about plans for the upcoming weekend, the first weekend you both had off in weeks.
XXX
Five hours had passed since lunch with Ikkaku. You poured yourself into your work and ordered food since then. The wrappers were still on your desk as you prepared for the upcoming summit. It was your first time attending, and you wanted to be sure everything was perfect. A crisp sound of a knock against the frame of your office door. Your assistant, Anya, poked her red head through the already partially cracked door. “Matthew has asked for your presence in his office,” she stated. Confused and anxious, you found a quick stopping point, and left your office while closing the door. It was not often Matthew asked for you, and it was hard to quell the nervous feeling in your stomach. You hopped on the elevator, and tried to calm your nerves. ‘You aren’t in trouble. You aren’t in trouble. You aren’t in trouble.’ You tried to rationalize the out of the blue request. His office door was closed, you lightly knocked, and entered after you heard, “come in.”
You peered inside while opening the door and saw Matthew standing by his side of the desk. The other side had two leather chairs to sit on. One was occupied by another person, their hair black and messy. ‘Oh, no,’ you had thought.
“Please, sit,” Matthew smiled with a gesture and sat down. You timidly walked to the other chair, avoiding eye contact with the person next to you, and eased yourself into the other chair. “Do you know why I called you and Dr. Trafalgar into my office?” Matthew asked. His voice was smooth. Not scolding.
“No, I am not sure.” You attempted to hide your confusion and anxiety as you answered his question.
Matthew nodded, “That’s good. This case is extremely high profile, and mustn’t be taken lightly.” You briefly glanced at Trafalgar, but his expression was unreadable. “You and Dr. Trafalgar are the only ones at this moment I trust to handle this case. Have you heard of Donquixote Doflamingo?” You could have sworn you saw Dr. Trafalgar’s index finger twitch on the arm rest in response, but it was so subtle and brief, you weren’t sure.
“The drug lord and human trafficker?” It was all over recent news. The FBI had seized his home; the operation took at least a decade to catch him.
“Yes, well they want you to take him in. Gain his trust. There are more victims that they have not been able to find. It is up to you both to find that information,” informed Matthew.
“Respectfully, I do not understand. Why me rather than an investigative psychologist, and how is Dr. Trafalgar involved?” None of this made any sense. The confused and almost protested tone was not missed by the Chief Health Care Operations Officer nor Dr. Trafalgar.
“Your background in investigative and forensic psychology was not missed by the police force. You used to work on crimes before and had a knack for opening criminals up. I know you gave that role up and came to the hospital, but your skills are valuable and needed. As for Dr. Trafalgar, you will find the information he has on Donquixote quite helpful, I am sure,” Matthew explained and they exchanged a quick glance with each other, which did not go unnoticed by you. You took another brief look at the lead surgeon, still with an unreadable expression on his face. His cool swagger did not falter. If anything, he looked too comfortable in the chair he was sitting in. “I know you left that field due to personal reasons, but they are specifically asking for your expertise. However, you would have to leave your position at the hospital for the time being. Authorities are asking to keep this under wraps. Think of what this could do for your career.”
“What about my position here? I cannot just leave my team and research,” you spent so many hours on the presentation for the conference and prepping, just for your work to be insignificant and not shared with the other hospital psychologists from around the country.
“We are not asking for you to leave forever. Just until the rest of the victims are found. Your research and team will be here. Your position will be here after the case is complete,” you saw the desperate look in Matthew’s eyes, a look that you had never seen before. You wished you were being fired instead, with anxiety creeping back up into your stomach. Yes, you were good working with the criminal justice system, but you left for a reason, and you did not want to go back. You rubbed your sweaty palms against your pants and swallowed the lump in your throat. Doflamingo was no ordinary criminal. You heard the awful things he did to his victims on the news. They were treated like slaves. There were more victims out there to be found, and with the proper steps, you could likely find them. You clenched your jaw as you could tell the decision was already made. Also, your strong sense of justice could not let this go. Caring about other people came at a cost, but one that you were willing to pay. The idea of what it could do for your career, being the psychologist that broke Doflamingo, was not your drive, rather, that these people deserved to be found.
Your hand found its way to your forehead and rubbed it, “When do we start?”
“They wanted you to start tomorrow, but” Matthew said as you looked at him shocked, “I was able to get them to wait until Monday for you to process everything, as well as grab things from your office you may need for the case as well to say your goodbyes.”
“What am I telling my team?”
“I have sent out a memo to the department regarding your non-permanent departure as well as the interim lead. They are aware that you will not be in the hospital and know that you are not able to provide details due to confidentiality,” Matthew explained.
“I don’t understand how I have to leave my lead position, but Dr. Trafalgar only recently accepted the title. Why are we being treated differently?” You tried your best not to ask through gritted teeth. It did not feel fair that you had to give up the position you worked so hard for, while Dr. Trafalgar got to keep his.
Matthew sighed, “Dr. Trafalgar only became lead surgeon to work on this case. Doflamingo has connections that run deep. By making Law – I mean – Dr. Trafalgar lead surgeon, he is protected from Doflamingo’s scrutiny. Lead surgeon positions are known to be taxing, that way Donquixote assumes that Dr. Trafalgar is working with patients at the hospital rather than helping on the case.” It didn’t make much sense to you, but the answer satisfied you enough to simmer the anger you felt. “If neither of you have any more questions, you may see yourself out.” Both you and Dr. Trafalgar stood up to leave. As you walked to the door, Matthew called out to you, “Thank you, again doctor.” You gave a quick nod and followed the surgeon out the door and closed it.
Dr. Trafalgar was already halfway down the hallway. “Hey, wait up!” You called out and walked quickly towards his direction. He sighed but stopped. “Are we not gonna talk about what happened in there?”
“We start Monday,” he said simply, unbothered by the conversation that happened inside Matthew’s office.
“Okay… But I still think it would be great to get a head start. At least exchange our numbers-”
“If you wanted my number, you should’ve just asked,” his smirk deepened when you responded with a glare.
“If you want to work together, don’t be such an asshole,” you hissed.
“Unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with me,” the smug tone almost slapped you in the face. Your felt your fingers dig into the flesh of your palm. He was right.
“Regardless of if I am stuck with you or not, you could be less of a dick.”
“And you should be sure to eat. I would hate to hear that constant stomach of yours,” he teased while turning around and walking away. “I’ll talk to you Monday,” Dr. Trafalgar waved and continued to go back to his department.
Fuming, you turned around and walked back to the elevators to begin preparing for the upcoming weeks. ‘Ugh, what am I going to tell Ikkaku? She’s going to hate being at the hospital alone.’