Title: Tricked and Treated

Rating: K+

Summary: At a halloween party hosted by Whitebeard's family, Luffy is dragged along by a friend, Sabo. At the party, he quickly finds interest in the Apple Bobbing game. When he sees Ace trying to "hog" them all, he runs to save his apples and instead saves Ace from his narcoleptic fit. AceLu

"You're sure there will be food there?" Luffy asked accusingly, looking at his blonde friend questioningly.

"Yes, Luffy," Sabo returned with a sigh for the fourth time that night. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing bringing Luffy along to a party where no one knew him, but he was sure the teen would be fine, even if he was a little put out about not trick or treating. "What Halloween party doesn't have food? There will be plenty."

Luffy gave a Sabo a slightly suspicious look before settling into semi-contentment. If he was foregoing trick or treating for this, there was no way he would do so without the promise of food - and plenty of it.

There was a whole second of silence before Luffy opened his mouth again, "So... when will we be there?"

Sabo clutched the steering wheel. As much as he loved Luffy - and he really did, he was like a little brother to him, his nonstop questioning occasionally grated on ones nerves. Thankfully, they were only a block from the destination. Then he could pass Luffy off to some poor sap who was hopefully extremely tolerant or deaf.

Sabo didn't answer and Luffy didn't push it. Sabo was thankful the heavens blessed him with this small gift. The house was also close enough that Sabo didn't have to worry, Luffy couldn't get another question in edgewise before they had pulled up in front of a large house.

Luffy didn't hesitate to jump from the car, looking at the large house with wide and excited eyes. "It's so big! How many people live there?"

Sabo rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the car. Sure, it was a result many people got upon seeing the house, but Luffy seemed to almost exaggerate it. "Err... Eight or nine right now. They come and go but I think Ace said he had fifteen brothers..."

Luffy's eyes widened further, looking at the house with renewed excitement. Sabo ruffled Luffy's hair with a fond grin, before dropping the straw hat he had retrieved from the backseat on Luffy's head.

"Oh! My hat! Thanks, Sabo!" Luffy said with a laugh.

"Honestly, what pirate wears a straw hat?" Sabo asked in response, but laughed along with Luffy. He couldn't help it.

"What French Revolutionary officer wore a top hat and carried a rusty old pipe?" A voice pitched in from behind them. Both turned to see a girl smiling at them.

"K-Koala, you're here?" Sabo asked. He felt his face flush slightly at the sight of his longtime crush. He honestly hadn't expected her to be here. Though he really should have. Knowing Ace, she had been invited just to spite him. He spotted the small, round ears sprouting from her ears. "Wait, did you actually dress as a Koala?"

She grinned at him, reaching out and tugging on his cheek in teasing manner. "Is there a problem with that?"

Sabo winced, forgetting how strong the girl was and how much she adored teasing him. "No, not at all."

Koala laughed and released his cheek. He instantly rubbed at it, but never lost his grin. "Who was that with you?"

"Oh, Luffy?" Sabo asked, having been completely distracted from the teenager by the very pretty woman before him. "He's my..." He paused, realizing after a moment what she had said. "Wait, where'd he go!?'

XoX

Luffy moved through the crowds of people with surprising ease. He wasn't even fazed by the large and growing crowd of people. Right now, he was a man on a mission. He needed to find the food and find it as soon as possible!

It didn't take long, of course. Sabo had been right when he said there was plenty of food, it was just a shame that it was spread throughout the entire house instead of one convenient location. Luffy wasn't at all put off by this, instead seeing it as an adventure. After all, it was such a huge house - who wouldn't want to explore at least a little bit?

"Pfft, this'll be a breeze, just watch!"

Luffy, arms full of his spoils from his journey throughout the house, glanced around to hear who the voice had come from. It was arrogant but friendly, almost teasing.

The voice belonged to a young man, Luffy learnt as he wandered towards the small group people. He munched on the food in his arms, barely processing the tub filled to the brim with water. He did, however, notice the apples bobbing within it and the dark haired, freckled youth who was in the process of having his hands tied behind his back. Small horns protruded from his hair, and all he wore was a pair of flaming boxers and a cheap red cape, seeming to deem a shirt unnecessary. Then again, it was halloween. Luffy barely shouted "pirate", so he couldn't really judge.

"Sure, sure," another man replied lazily, smirking at the teen before he finished tying the knot. "Careful not to drown now."

The man just cast a glare at him before leaning over the bucket. Luffy stepped forward, suddenly curious. A game and food? It looked like fun!

He licked his fingers as he watched, already finished the food previously overflowing his arms. Maybe they would let him go after this guy went, though he didn't really wanna wait.

The man didn't keep him waiting either, immediately dunking his head into the water in an attempt to catch one of the glistening red fruits. He came up moments later, hair dripping and taking a deep breath of air before diving in again. This time, the man didn't come up. In fact, he stopped moving altogether, slumping over the barrel. The group of people around him, previously buzzing with conversation, went quiet.

"You don't think Ace really..." The brown haired, disco-dressed man with odd hair muttered, completely deadpan. The blond one with hair that reminded Luffy of pineapples looked incredulous.

"OI! STOP HOGGING ALL THE APPLES!"

Before any of the people could do or say anything, Luffy marched up. He huffed, grabbing Ace from the water and pulling him out. As he did, Ace woke with a start.

The group looked on with both confusion and interest as Ace straightened in an instant, spraying the surrounding people with water.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid?"

Despite the glare directed towards him, Luffy held his ground. If anything, he seemed even more entertained as new realization dawned on him. "Ne... were you sleeping?"

"Shut up, idiot!"

"You were!" Luffy burst out laughing as a small flush spread across Ace's cheeks.

"I'm narcoleptic!"

"Oh."

Ace already found himself growing annoyed with this teen, and he had barely spoken with him for a minute. It only seemed to spike his anger when the kid simply shook his head as though he were in the wrong, before leaning over and snatching up an apple between his teeth.

"See ya!" Luffy said, the words followed by the crunch of an apple as he took off.

The crowd watched as Luffy took off with almost shocked expressions. They were silent until Ace angrily snapped, "God damn it, untie my hands!"

XoX

Ace rubbed his wrists as wandered through the crowds of people. Where the hell was Sabo? He should have been here by now, right? And maybe he would know who the annoying kid with the straw hat was. Even Thatch, Izou and Marco hadn't known, and Thatch took it upon himself to know almost everyone.

When he finally spotted the blonde kid, he was dancing with Koala. Ace smirked, a feeling akin to success rushing through him. Really, it was about time. The two of them have been making eyes at each other for ages. It had really been getting on Ace's nerves. Although, that didn't mean he was going to make this any easier for them.

Ever the cockblock, Ace slid up to them. With ease, he pushed himself between them and took Koala's hands in his. She looked shocked for a moment before grinning.

"Might I have this dance?" He asked jokingly, and she laughed. He quickly let go of her hand, though, and stepped away. Sabo stepped forward, giving Ace a half hearted glare.

"Really, Ace?" He asked, exasperated. He wasn't upset with Ace, but... Wait... "What the hell are you wearing?"

Ace glanced down at his very minuscule amount of clothing, and shrugged. "Thatch dared me. Izou backed him up - there was no winning."

Sabo rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you're really put out by that."

"You know it," Ace said, winking at Koala who rolled her eyes in response.

"You're lucky you're gay," she said, pushing Ace away teasingly. She stuck out her tongue at him before looping her arm through Sabo's. "Now, I have a revolutionary officer to woo. Shoo."

Ace faked looking offended, stepping back with his hands up in mock surrender. "So rude! At my own party to!"

Either way, he turned and walked away, leaving the two lovebirds to themselves. No matter how anyone looked at it, it was his victory anyways. He was the one that dragged both of them here, after all.

"Hmph!"

Ace wasn't watching where he was going. He barely processed that someone had bumped into him until the poor kid was sent sprawling across the ground.

"Shit, sorry," Ace said quickly, crouching down to pluck up a straw hat before holding his hand out to help the victim of his distracted state up. The kid either didn't notice or ignored him, jumping to his feet completely unfazed.

"Oh! My hat! Thanks!" the dark haired boy made to grab his hat. He fell short with his fingers a mere inch from the hat. Instantly, Ace recognized him and his eyes narrowed on the kid. The kid himself seemed to recognize Ace.

"It's you!" They both said at the same time, before their eyes narrowed on each other.

"Don't copy me!" Again, in complete sync. Ace's eye twitched in anger before they both continued, "I'm not copying you!" They each looked at the other, eyes suspicious as they sized each other up. Then together again, "What the hell are you supposed to be?"

Luffy was the first to puff his chest, answering proudly, "I'm a pirate!"

"Huh," Ace muttered with a snort. The teen was barely pulling off the look, with the red vest and yellow sash. "I'm a demon, can't you tell with the horns?"

Luffy tilted his head, blinking non-comprehendingly before shrugging. "Not really... Now gimme back my hat!"

Ace had completely forgotten about the hat until Luffy mentioned it. He turned it in his hands, holding it just out of Luffy's grip when the boy made a move for it. Ace smirked, looking at the boy as his face fell. "I don't think I will..."

"C'mooon... please?" Luffy pouted, and Ace was startled to find that the look was completely adorable. He felt a flush sneak across his face and froze. Luffy took advantage of this and plucked his hat out of Ace's hands, jamming it down over his head. When Ace didn't respond, Luffy glanced at him, head cocked. "Are you okay?"

Ace snapped out of it, glaring at Luffy. "Of course I am, you idiot."

Luffy was unaffected by the insult, breaking into a huge grin and laughing. "Okay! Do you wanna dance?"

Ace didn't even had a moment to answer, getting dragged across the room. The kid had a surprisingly strong grip. He found himself wondering again who this kid was as he was completely swept up into the crowd of people. The pirate-boy was far too close for his liking, pressed against him due to the overcrowded room. He was thankful for the darkness of the room, lest the kid see his flushed cheeks.

Ace, despite being one of the party hosts, was not particularly fond of the entire "dancing" scene, and was not exactly comfortable.

"You know what? You can dance, I'm going to... go elsewhere."

Ace fought off Luffy's grip and moved through the crowd until he broke free from it. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy, as Luffy staggered out of it moments later. Catching sight of Ace in an instant, Luffy practically bounced over. Ace eyed him wearily.

"Don't like dancing?" Luffy asked, looking almost put out, but quickly got over it. "That's fine. Let's go for a walk!"

And then the optimistic boy had him by the wrist, dragging him out once more. "Walk? Where? Why me?" He questioned dumbly, only to have the boy grin in response.

"'Cuz I like you!"

Ace wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

XoX

"You know there is plenty of candy back at the party, right?" Ace asked, though you could tell he had long given up hope. Luffy pouted in response and Ace instantly pushed back any thoughts his imagination tried to throw his way.

"It's no fun if you don't have to work for it," Luffy scolded, as if Ace were a small child who did not understand something no matter how many times it was explained. The boy continued as he lead them up yet another driveway, "It's like you've never been trick or treating before, Ace..."

Ace didn't quite know how he ended up in this situation. Somehow, Luffy had managed to snag two pillowcases from his house and had already lead them around a good portion of his neighbourhood. Ace found himself tagging along, knowing full well he could refuse and yet was rendered completely unable to deny this boy. A boy whose, embarrassingly enough, name still escaped him. By this point, he couldn't even bring himself to ask - the kid used his name far to frequently and casually.

"Don't you think this is enough though?" Ace asked, glancing at their almost stuffed pillowcases. Well, his almost stuffed pillowcase. Luffy had been eating the candy as they went, and his was filled with more wrappers than candies. "You can have mine, just please go back to the party."

Luffy's eyes lit up at the prospect of more candy and readily agreed. Who was he to deny such a deal, after all? The two made their way back, Luffy occasionally managing to escape and hit up a few houses along the way. Ace allowed it, finding himself unable to tell the carefree teen off, and soon enough they were back.

The party was in full swing, people now spread across the lawn in groups. They were anything but quiet and Ace was sure the cops could show up anytime if only for the noise reports the neighbours would begin to send in.

Luffy spotted someone and for the first time in what felt like hours, ditched Ace to bolt towards the figures.

"Sabo!" Luffy greeted, bouncing in place in front of the small car that belonged to the mentioned man. Sabo, laying back down across the hood with Koala beside him, sat up upon hearing his friend call his name. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Ace with Luffy.

"Luffy?" Sabo asked.

"Ace and I went trick or treating and he gave me all his candy - isn't that great?" As Luffy continued on, Sabo shot a questioning look at Ace, who could only shrug in response. The kid had really suckered him into it, what could he do? Wait - Sabo had known the kid the entire time? "It was really fun!"

"Glad you had fun!" Sabo exclaimed, pointedly ignoring Ace's glaring as Koala sat up next to him. "Good timing, though. We have to get you home or Garp will kill me and I agreed to give Koala a ride home..."

Luffy nodded as the two slid off the hood of the small car, before turning to Ace. His smile was wide and toothy, and before Ace could do or say anything, Luffy pressed a kiss against his cheek. "Thanks for going trick or treating with me!"

It was such an innocent gesture and Ace felt himself grow even more frustrated. "You tricked me," he accused, not really knowing what else to do except lash out. To his surprise, Luffy's grin didn't falter and he smiled innocently instead.

"And you treated me!"

Luffy stuck his tongue out as Ace turned red. Before he could stop himself, he pulled Luffy towards him by the teen's red vest and kissed him fully. Luffy didn't pull away, but instead returned the kiss. When he pulled away, Luffy looked almost dazed and continued to grin. He stepped back, seeing a look sent at him from Sabo, and cleared his throat.

"Happy Halloween, you dork."