Ace honestly didn't know what to do. Kidd was freaking out, Luffy looked to be on the verge of tears, and in the middle of it all stood Law with a damn proud smirk. AU, slight ooc. Ages: Ace - 20, Law - 20, Kidd - 18, Luffy - 17.

It was supposed to be a nice, relaxing day. Ace had planned on taking his brother to the zoo and his brother's friend, Kidd, had decided to tag along.

But then Trafalgar Law showed up.

And things just sorta…went downhill from there.

There were three things Ace learned about Kidd. One, the redhead hated Law with a deep passion. Whenever the two of them met up, snarky and witty insults were thrown back and forth so fast that it was almost hard to keep up with the two. The second thing Ace learned was that Kidd had a natural talent for anything mechanical. The teen proudly stated that he would one day become a great mechanic, and Ace had no doubt about that at all. The third thing the freckled male learned was that Kidd had trypophobia – the pathological fear of objects with irregular patterns of holes, such as beehives, ant hills and lotus seeds.

So it was no surprise that when Trafalgar Law suddenly appeared at the zoo, Kidd gave a dark smirk and strut right up to the medical prodigy. Ace could already see both teen's had an insult ready to fly on the tip of their tongues and turned over to Luffy. "I'm going to go check out the little gift store. Want something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good," Luffy answered, waving off his brother as he became completely focused on the two friends who were throwing witty remarks back and forth. Seeing his brother was entertained by the bickering males, Ace left for the gift shop. He figured as long as Luffy was there to break up any fights between Kidd and Law, nothing drastic would happen.

The gift shop was small and homely. The shelves were lined with various merchandise; stuffed animals, toys, books, clothes, masks, puzzles, trivia games, feathers, photos, magnets, postcards. And while some of the stuffed animals did look rather cute – he was sort of a sucker for soft things that looked very cute – Ace focused on the refrigerator and freezer located in one of the corners. Going over, he took out two sodas and four popsicles. He had no doubt Luffy, Kidd, and Law would gladly accept the frozen treats in order to keep cool in the humid temperature.

Bringing the food items over to the counter, Ace gave the cashier just enough money to cover his purchase and headed out of the store. He instantly opened his popsicle, popping it into his mouth and letting its delicious, frozen surface cool his mouth. As he turned the corner, he picked up the sound of a commotion; holding back a sigh as he figured he would find Law and Kidd at each other's throats with Luffy laughing his ass off on the side.

But that was not, in fact, what he saw.

Ace…honestly didn't know what to do. Kidd was freaking out, looking like he was about to pass out, and Luffy appeared to be on the verge of tears. In-between them stood Law, smirking proudly at the state of the other two males.

The thought of simply walking away from the madness crossed Ace's mind.

If he walked away now, he would have three popsicles and two sodas all to himself. That itself sounded like a good enough reason to turn away and continue on through the zoo as if he didn't know the other three males. However, he couldn't just stand by and let Kidd hyperventilate, even if there was a 'doctor' there to help him. Giving one more sigh, Ace approached the chaos with a brave and patient face; hoping the popsicles wouldn't melt before he calmed everyone down.

"Alright, what's going– what the fuck is wrong with your arms and legs?!" Ace yelled, stopping dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Law's limbs. The surgeon had his hoodie's sleeves rolled up to his elbow and his pants rolled up to his knees; exposing his forearms and shins that were decorated with spots.

No, Ace's mind corrected. Not spots. Holes.

Well, at least he knew why Kidd was freaking out now, no doubt his trypophobia had kicked in. Now he had to figure out why his brother was about to cry. Handing a popsicle to the amused medical prodigy who happily said thanks, Ace moved over to Luffy's side. "Lu…? You okay?"

"H-He said insects are living in his arms and legs… That he's friends with Hercules beetles…" Luffy turned to look at Ace, and it dawned on the freckled male that his brother was amazed by Law's holes, and that his tears were tears of probably admiration, not hurt. He passed a popsicle to his brother and ruffled his hair. Ace moved to Kidd next who was looking everywhere but at the holes in Law's limbs.

"Here, have a soda and popsicle," Ace offered. Kidd took the soda and opened it, downing the contents in seconds. The older male raised an eyebrow at the action but since it appeared to help calm the redhead down, Ace didn't say anything. Kidd reached for the popsicle next, muttering a thanks as he stuck of the frozen delight into his mouth and let out a long, deep breath. "Feeling a little better?" Kidd nodded his head, probably more quickly and longer than necessary. Giving a nod back, Ace turned back to the last male. "So, mind explaining those…holes?"

Law chuckled. "I painted them on," he answered with an amused smirk. He stretched out one arm, giving Ace permission to touch the marks. Ace ran a hand over the male's arm, raising an eyebrow as he did. He took the time to look them over closer, too. They appeared to look like the holes from lotus seeds. Odd...

"Ace, I wanna go see the lions~!" Luffy's excited voice had Ace removing his hand from the medical prodigy's arm. The surgeon then rolled down his sleeves and pants to cover the holes. "Lions, lions, lions! Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys!"

"Alright, alright, enough with the bouncing," Kidd mumbled, color finally returning to his face. "Later, freak," Kidd grit as he walked past Law.

"Likewise," the man answered, a smirk playing on his handsome features. "Thanks for the popsicle, Portgas-ya." Ace waved off the thanks.

"Anytime. Take care, Law." The male left the zoo, leaving the three to themselves once more. "Alright, shall we?" Luffy nodded enthusiastically as he finished off his popsicle. Beside the hatted teen, Kidd also nodded, though still clearly distraught over having his trypophobia come out at such a time and in front of his rival no less.

Huh, Ace thought as he, Luffy and Kidd continued their way through the zoo. If he painted them on, then why did it actually feel like he had holes in his skin?

A/N: DUN. DUN. DUUUNN. XD Quick little one-shot. Again. I can't stop writing one-shots. XD Was it okay? If not, 'pologies. Leave a review, please! :D

For those of you who are reading Memory Trap, do you guys think I should add Law's thoughts to the chapters? :o I don't know and need advice. ^^;

Your shy ice elemental,
~»roo the psycho«