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There was a name on Smoker’s wrist, and it never did anything but cause him trouble.
According to his parents, it was supposed to be the name of his soulmate – the name of the person who would make him happier than anyone else.
They were soulmates and happily married, always head over heels for each other. Maybe he should’ve found it nice, that there was someone like that for him out there. Maybe it should’ve been comforting. People said it was romantic.
Smoker honestly just found it strange, and a bit creepy.
He didn’t even know this person, yet he was supposed to wait his whole life to meet them? He couldn’t ever possibly know true love until he met them? Even though there was a chance he never would, and another that things wouldn’t work out despite them being soulmates?
Smoker hated people forcing him into things he didn’t want, and it was no different if the pushing was done by the ever mysterious ‘fate’.
He also hated that he was judged by a name that wasn’t his.
“Ace,” the neighbourhood kids giggled, “that’s a boy’s name, right? Not even fate could make a pretty girl ever like you.” Smoker could ignore them.
It was much harder to ignore the piercing gaze of the marine instructor at his physical examination when he enlisted to fulfil his dream of defending justice in a world overflowing with pirates. “Portgas D. Ace. Do you happen to know that person already?”
That instructor didn’t ask anyone else the same question, and he had it out for Smoker for the entire duration of his training at HQ. For the longest time, Smoker couldn’t make sense of it. He was a headstrong guy, he’d clashed with other higher-ups on occasion, but it was always because of something he did. He could live with that. But to be treated poorly for something he neither wanted nor had any power to change? That just pissed him off beyond belief.
And nobody could tell him what was wrong with the name, either. It wasn’t a simple reason like the kids back home.
Smoker did research. There was nobody with a significant criminal record named either Portgas or Ace, there was no reason to suspect his soulmate to be anything but ordinary.
Except perhaps that strange D. His parents had puzzled over that, because a soulmate’s name on your wrist was supposed to be their true, full name. Middle name included or in some rare cases excluded, but never shortened.
It was pure chance that let him overhear a conversation between two retired veterans who referred to the late pirate king as Gol D. Roger instead of Gold Roger.
More digging into old newspapers, and he found the name used and printed on wanted posters. Even more digging – he was already at the archive, after all – and he found another infamous criminal, Rocks D. Xebec.
Though from what he could tell, that guy had been Roger’s enemy and they weren’t related.
Not that he could find much.
And then he was promoted to Captain, and stationed all the way out in East Blue, where his logia powers would almost certainly be wasted.
It really was a toss-up if this was because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut when his superiors were full of shit, or because of the name on his wrist that nobody seemed to like.
At the very least, Logue Town was close to the Grand Line, so Smoker was never bored in the years he spent there. He built himself a reputation of being reliable and dutiful, but somewhat unapproachable. With his wrist always covered by his jacket, nobody asked anymore.
Smoker liked it like that. He made decisions for himself. He wasn’t afraid to break some rules if the rules were wrong, and nobody would ever convince him that was wrong, no matter how decorated or experienced they were. Fate had never done anything to instil Smoker with a particular trust in it, so Smoker wouldn’t trust it.
He wasn’t waiting to meet his soulmate.
The curiosity never quite vanished, though.
So when Vice Admiral Garp stopped by Logue Town to restock on his way to the Grand Line, Smoker took the chance he got while they were having dinner together.
“Sir, excuse the personal question, but what does the D. in your name stand for?”
It actually made Garp stop stuffing his face and look at Smoker with curiosity.
“That’s a question you should be more careful about asking.”
Still less than subtle, it was the most avoidant and indirect answer he’d ever heard Garp give. Something was definitely up, but Smoker knew there were eyes on them now. It was better not to ask again.
He tried to shrug it off. “It’s not like I know anything, I was just curious. My soulmate happens to have a D. in their name as well. That’s why.”
A simple truth to let them think he was just a romantic fool, not trying to dig up history nobody was supposed to know.
Garp, at least, was happy with that reply, laughing loudly and clapping Smoker on the back. “How exciting! Maybe they’ll be just like me!”
Smoker cringed. As much respect as he held for the hero of the marines, having him as a soulmate would probably be insanely annoying.
He could live without that.
But he’d already wanted to live without a soulmate, anyway, so it wasn’t a big loss.
With that, he thought he’d closed that chapter forever, but a few years later, he got a call from East Blue’s HQ, asking if he’d made contact with the soulmate whose name they’d recorded on his wrist during his enlistment. When he answered with an honest ‘no’, they informed him the captain of a rookie pirate crew recently being sighted causing trouble a few islands over had been identified as Portgas D. Ace.
Now that they had a name and a photo of him, he would receive a bounty of 25 million berry that would be delivered with the newspaper all over the east tomorrow.
As per protocol, Smoker was now to inform his second-in-command of the probable connection, and make them aware that they were to take command should the criminal ever appear in the territory of their base.
Smoker himself was to avoid contact if at all possible. Even a hint of him trying to help his probable soulmate would be seen as treason.
How annoying.
This whole soulmate business never stopped causing him trouble.
Now he had to have the most awkward conversation of his life with Tashigi, who certainly didn’t contribute anything to make it more bearable. It already was slightly weird that her soulmate was his old friend Hina, they really didn’t need to add her pitying him for his criminal soulmate to this.
Smoker had never wanted a soulmate, anyway. Perhaps fate had been kind and tied him to someone who didn’t want one either, and that was how they fit.
From the daring grin on the wanted poster he couldn’t help but look at the next morning, it seemed likely enough that Portgas D. Ace only wanted freedom, with nothing to tie him down.
Either way, when the Spade Pirates laid anchor in the port of Logue Town about a month later, Smoker followed his orders and did absolutely nothing but stay at the base.
Tashigi did manage to find their captain, but as she detailed in her report to Smoker, he’d only been blankly staring at Gold Roger’s execution platform until she’d attacked him. After which he told her he wasn’t in the mood to deal with the navy, dodged any of her attempts to take him out with the powers of his fire logia, and then swiftly vanished into a back alley so Tashigi couldn’t find him again.
Maybe she’d forgotten to wear her glasses, but it wouldn’t have made a difference.
Portgas D. Ace was quickly making waves in the Grand Line, proving he’d been way out of her league regardless. It felt like every week there was a new headline featuring him as he got further and further away from Smoker. Nothing more than a name, printed on paper and inked into his skin.
By the time he’d made it halfway around the world, the World Government was willing to offer him a position amongst the Seven Warlords.
An offer that Portgas D. Ace swiftly turned down.
For the first time in his life, Smoker wondered if you could avoid fate. Maybe they’d been meant to meet in Logue Town. What if they’d felt the magic? What if it would’ve been enough for the pirate to see the error in his ways? Maybe, if they’d have let fate do what it always intended to, Firefist would be a Warlord now, taking the chance to turn his life around to be with his soulmate.
It was a silly thought.
He buried it immediately. There was no point thinking about what-ifs like that.
Smoker had a job to do, people to protect.
And Portgas D. Ace had a journey to take into the New World to challenge the Four Emperors.
Reportedly, he caused trouble in Whitebeard’s territory, and then suddenly, the news stopped.
But the name on Smoker’s wrist never faded, and so he wasn’t truly surprised when he read months later about Firefist now being Whitebeard’s Second Division Commander.
This time, Smoker thought, maybe this would be it. Even with the occasional news, his soulmate was now permanently out of his reach in the New World.
Chapter closed.
For two years, he was right, and then another pirate crashed into Logue Town, making an absolute fool of Smoker and for some reason getting help from the leader of the Revolutionary Army while he was trying to escape.
Smoker couldn’t let it slide. He couldn’t simply remain where he was.
He had to catch Strawhat Luffy, and if he had to get to the Grand Line to do so, then so be it.
It wasn’t exactly easy to follow his path, but through an intercepted call from Baroque Works, it was likely Strawhat was heading to Alabasta and possibly even involved in the brewing civil war there, so Smoker headed there as well.
Looking around in Nanohana, he wasn’t sure what exactly he’d expected, but it certainly hadn’t been the report that Portgas D. Ace was laying dead in his food in a restaurant in this same town.
Now, to be entirely correct, he should’ve sent Tashigi to check it out.
On the other hand, if he truly was dead, Smoker was not making contact or in any way helping him, so technically he wasn’t going against orders.
Though, as Smoker had expected, the pirate wasn’t actually dead. When they entered, he was happily munching on his food.
For just a second, Smoker hesitated.
Should he introduce himself? Finally find out what his soulmate would think of their bond? Or should he simply do his duty, and arrest the pirate in front of him?
Should he give fate a chance despite everything?
He decided against it. It wouldn’t end well. There was no recognition when Smoker announced to Portgas D. Ace that he was arrested, only a lazy grin as he objected.
Smoker already had a hand on his jitte to take him into custody by force when something crashed into him from behind, catapulting him straight into his soulmate and both of them through the wall.
What the hell.
Of course, it was that nuisance Strawhat, but to Smoker’s immense surprise, as he went to chase after him, so did Firefist. And when Smoker tried to wrap the Strawhats up in his smoke, fire interfered, protecting them and giving them a chance to escape.
“Sorry, but that’s my little brother, so I can’t let you arrest him, either.”
…Seriously? They were brothers?
Fire charged toward him, so he didn’t exactly have the time to process it. If he didn’t turn himself entirely into smoke, he’d be roasted alive. In the heat of the fight, Smoker pushed back with all he had, his smoke billowing around the fire until it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began, a dance of equal forces meant to harmonize and not fight.
At first, it seemed like there would be no winner, their strength too equal and each element too intangible, but then he could feel a very solid body slamming into his own, hitting him instead of going through the smoke as it should.
Smoker quickly grasped his jitte, but then a hit landed on his shoulder, causing him enough pain to drop it, and before he knew it, he was on his back, Portgas D. Ace sitting on him with that same smug grin he’d had on earlier in the bar as his own jitte was pressed into his throat.
Shit.
The fire was still raging around them, cutting off all of Smoker’s subordinates, but the smoke evaporated along with all of Smoker’s energy.
“Carrying seastone around with you when you’re a devil fruit user, don’t you know that’s dangerous?”
“Shut up,” Smoker growled. Nobody had ever taken it from him before, but then, it had also been a long time since he’d fought someone with haki. And since nobody had ever properly taught him that, there was nothing better at containing pirates with fruit powers than seastone.
But this was no East Blue rookie, it was a Whitebeard Commander. Smoker should’ve been much more careful.
Before he could wonder if he’d die at the hands of his supposed soulmate, Tashigi’s voice cut through the roaring flames. “Captain Smoker! Are you alright?”
…That idiot.
The effect was instant, as the pirate’s cocky grin turned into an expression of disbelief. “Your name is Smoker?”
And there it was, the recognition that confirmed to Smoker what he’d known since he’d first seen his wanted poster: this was truly his soulmate, and Smoker’s name was written on his wrist.
“So I’ve got your name on me, Portgas. What are you gonna do about it?” Smoker’s voice was a snarl.
This really was the worst possible way for this to go. He could do nothing but wait on a decision, because the seastone of his jitte was still on his throat, even if the pressure had lessened considerably. The feeling of powerlessness in a situation like this made his skin crawl.
Rather than providing an answer, Portgas used his free hand to lift Smoker’s arm and reveal the letters on his wrist.
“It really does say Portgas D. Ace.”
And for some inexplicable reason, that made him smile. And not just a little. He was outright beaming, as if the sun had just risen on his face.
“Yeah, now what, huh?”
Portgas blinked. “Well, I’ve really gotta catch up to Luffy, or he’ll be gone before I get to talk to him. But meet me at 7pm at the bar across from the restaurant we just ran from, then we can talk.”
With that, he shot Smoker one last grin, threw the jitte aside and bolted away, melting with the flames still surrounding them.
Half a minute later, the flames died down, and there was no trace left of the pirate.
As Tashigi and the rest of his subordinates came running from him, Smoker could feel fury rise in his chest. Who the hell did that brat think he was? He hadn’t even waited for Smoker to agree! Why did he think Smoker would agree to what sounded like a date with a pirate? He had a job on the line! And morals!
The audacity to just assume…
Oh, Smoker was absolutely fuming.
And still, that evening, he excused himself for bed very early.
Maybe he wasn’t technically allowed to chase after Portgas, but nobody would be able to say anything if he ended up properly handing him over. He couldn’t waste this chance when the pirate had given him his future location so easily.
Sadly, even though Smoker arrived at the bar about ten minutes early, Portgas was already there, so there was no time to scout the perimeter or set up a trap.
With this many civilians around, a direct fight would result in way too many casualties, so what could Smoker do?
Get Portgas drunk and make him let down his guard. That would be his moment to strike.
He didn’t even really have to try, as Portgas was already holding a large mug of beer, and pushed another one in Smoker’s direction. “You really came.”
Smoker raised his eyebrows. “Didn’t expect it?”
“Dunno.” He shrugged. “I mean, I figured it was 50/50. Not like I know you at all.”
“Right. Other than the writing on our wrists, there’s absolutely nothing connecting us.”
Portgas took a sip of his beer. “You don’t believe in fate, do you?”
“I don’t like that I don’t get a choice. Besides, what do you expect me to do? Throw away my job and everything I care about just because of some name? A name that’s been causing me nothing but trouble all my life? You wanted to talk about this soulmate business, and maybe we could’ve, but I don’t have talks with pirates.”
Smoker knew he was being rude, more than was strictly necessary, but if there was anyone who should get to hear his honest thoughts about soulmates, shouldn’t it be his soulmate?
If it affected Portgas, he was doing a great job hiding it. “Nah, I get it. You’re way better off without me. A romp with a marine captain could be fun, but I don’t really have the time right now, anyway.”
“Busy doing Whitebeard’s nefarious bidding?”
It was at once an accusation and a barely concealed effort to get Portgas to spill information about the Emperor he was working for, but all he did was snort. “Oh, absolutely. Very nefarious. But thankfully, I’m not so busy that I can’t spend an evening talking, so entertain me, will ya?”
Hadn’t Smoker just told him he didn’t have talks with pirates? “Should’ve become an upstanding marine instead of a filthy pirate if you wanted that.”
Portgas laughed as if Smoker had made the funniest joke in the world. “Sorry, man, that was never an option. My gramps kept saying the same thing when I was a kid, but I bet he knew it was never gonna happen.”
“Your grandfather?” Damn it, Smoker couldn’t reign in his curiosity before it moved his tongue, but at least he could chalk this up to trying to gain information about a potential weak spot.
“Yup, he’s a marine, too. Always tried to raise me and Luffy into good, respectable navy soldiers.”
“He clearly did a shit job of that.”
“Oh,” Portgas grinned, “you have no idea.”
From there, somehow, against Smoker’s will, things just flowed naturally into an evening of conversation. He didn’t even gain any useful intel, just got to hear about Strawhat’s tendency to get eaten by alligators as a child, which really was a terrible omen considering Smoker was pretty sure he was about to fight Crocodile. Even when Smoker asked about the Whitebeard Pirates, all he got was a story of how Whitebeard once had a trivial fight with his first mate, which led to Marco dyeing the famed crescent moustache neon green while his captain was sleeping.
And as Smoker slowly took sip after sip of the beer Portgas had pushed his way, and then another, he eventually started revealing small things about himself as well. Nothing that could be used against him, certainly nothing that could be seen as treason, just pointless things that came to mind. Like the craziest places he’d ever found Tashigi’s glasses in, or the worst restaurant he’d ever been to in Logue Town.
By the end of the second glass, the bar was considerably emptier and quieter, and the chill of the desert night was slowly creeping in through the open door. Smoker had completely forgotten why he’d even come here, and was simply enjoying the meaningless small talk.
Until Ace drained his glass as well, and silence stretched between them for a bit. “It’s getting late. Time to go, I guess.”
He simply got up when Smoker nodded, and went to leave.
It was up to Smoker to remember they needed to pay and do it – though he wouldn’t be surprised if Ace had left the bill to him on purpose. Damn pirates.
Smoker wouldn’t have been surprised either if Ace had simply vanished into the night in the time it took Smoker to fish out the berries and hand them to the bartender, but when he stepped through the door, Ace was standing right next to it, looking up at the starry sky with an unreadable expression on his face.
“You’re still here?”
Ace looked at him, once again grinning. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
It took Smoker a second too long to remember the obvious answer to that question. “It’s my job to arrest you.” The street was pretty empty at this time of night, so if Smoker wanted to try, he could.
“You’re not going to, though.”
Not ‘you can’t’, not ‘I wouldn’t let you’. ‘You’re not going to’.
Smoker hated that he was right.
“Then what now?”
“We say goodbye. I’ve got my nefarious business to attend to, and you can go chase after Luffy again if you want to.”
And then we never see each other again. Ace didn’t say it, but Smoker heard the implication loud and clear. That didn’t mean he had to acknowledge it.
“You don’t mind me arresting your little brother?”
“You can’t stop Luffy. He’s going to be Pirate King one day.”
There were a million things that should be on Smoker’s mind after that statement. Like that he’d basically already had Strawhat in custody in Logue Town and earlier today, and he’d only escaped with interference from others. Or that it was strange to voice his support like that when his loyalty should’ve been with his captain, wouldn’t Whitebeard consider this treason?
But all he could think about was that Ace was suddenly inexplicably very close to him. And he was getting closer.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out where this was going when Ace reached out to pull Smoker’s cigars from his mouth. Smoker understood, but he made no move to stop it.
He simply remained where he was, and let Ace press their lips together.
The contact was warm, feeling almost too hot in contrast to the chill of the night air, but it didn’t last long.
“Sorry,” Ace said as he returned the cigars, “that was selfish.”
“Exactly what I’d expect a pirate to be.”
“Right.” Ace smiled at him again. “Sorry about that, too. Bet it’s a real hassle having my name, but there’s nothing I can do about that. Trust me though, it could’ve been way worse, so you can be glad it’s just this.”
What? None of that made any sense to Smoker. But Ace didn’t give him the time to ask.
“Goodbye, Smoker.”
“…Goodbye, Ace.”
Smoker watched silently as Ace turned around and vanished into the night with one last wave.
So, this was it. For real this time.
Smoker had gotten exactly what he wanted. A soulmate who agreed with his choice to not force something that wasn’t there.
He’d kissed his soulmate, and there had been no magic. He wasn’t suddenly someone else, he wasn’t suddenly in love, he still wasn’t willing to throw away his job and his life and his morals for a stranger. Fate had no power over him.
He took a deep drag of his cigars.
It was the least satisfying closure he’d ever had.
His brain was swirling with questions. What had Ace meant with that last statement? Why had he kissed Smoker in the first place? What did he really want? Why had he smiled when saying goodbye, but his eyes had shone with a deep sadness?
Ace had talked so much that evening, and still Smoker felt like he didn’t know him at all.
And now he never would.
With a sigh, he turned around, starting the trek back to his ship. He had to pursue Strawhat, and he had to uncover what was going on in this country. What were Crocodile’s goals? Why was the princess with a pirate crew?
He didn’t have the time to sort through the feelings roaring in his chest, so he simply wouldn’t do it.
The Alabasta situation turned into a whole mess that had Smoker saved by pirates and Tashigi ordering their subordinates to help said pirates, and in the end, Smoker still had to fight his superiors to stop giving him undeserved credit for solving it all.
He was still promoted to Commodore for it despite his insistence, but whatever. A higher rank meant less people bothering him for doing what he wanted.
There was always work to do even as he lost Strawhat’s trail, only to then read about him destroying Enies Lobby for a woman who’d been his enemy last Smoker had heard.
He pointedly ignored the lack of news about Ace.
Until it was impossible to ignore the news when they were finally published.
Smoker’s entire crew was ordered to Marineford immediately, to assist as guards for an execution that would almost certainly draw the ire of Whitebeard.
The execution of Portgas D. Ace.
Smoker had no idea how he felt about that, but in the end, it was what it was. Pirates were responsible for so much death and suffering, they deserved exactly what they caused.
With Whitebeard in the picture, HQ needed every soldier they could get to Marineford in the time until the execution. Every single one – except Smoker.
Smoker’s crew was ordered to Marineford, but despite Smoker’s request to be allowed on the battlefield as well, to show his loyalty and his dedication to his duty – to justice – over the name on his wrist, he would be spending the war in a locked, guarded room.
Just in case.
After all, they now had recorded Smoker’s name on Ace’ wrist as well, so there was no doubt it was a soulmate bond and not a coincidence of a shared name with some random person.
It pissed Smoker off to no end, but with orders directly from the Fleet Admiral himself, he had to obey.
At least until everyone believed he would, and only the one guard was left.
Sure, the walls of the room were seastone, and they’d put him in seastone cuffs, but Smoker knew how to pick a lock, and it wasn’t hard to escape through the seastone bars of the window once he could turn into smoke again and squeeze through without touching them.
Smoker would fight in this war, whether his superiors wanted him to or not. He always did what was right, rules and orders be damned. He wouldn’t be sitting back on a cushy bed while Tashigi and all of his men fought the strongest man in the world.
He arrived just in time to hear the Fleet Admiral announce to the world why exactly they were fighting Whitebeard.
It wasn’t to show their strength, or to declare their intent to properly fight the Four Emperors, it wasn’t even because the crimes Ace had committed were just too severe to overlook in a just world no matter the price.
It was because his father had been the Pirate King.
Suddenly a lot of things clicked into place.
Smoker really had gotten lucky. There could’ve been Gol D. Ace written on his wrist, and he wouldn’t have ever been allowed to join the navy. Hell, they might have killed him on the spot for it, without even explaining why.
After all, they sure didn’t sound remorseful at all for announcing to the whole world they’d been trying to kill an unborn baby just for its relation to Roger.
It certainly dulled Smoker’s enthusiasm to fight for the navy, but he did it anyway. He was a man of his duty, and everyone he cared about was fighting in this war. He’d known the organisation wasn’t perfect when he’d joined, but they were still the best choice. Better than the pirates on the other side.
This wasn’t the time for doubts. It was war.
Smoker fought to the best of his abilities. He did what he could, though as Ace had told him, he once again failed to stop his little brother from doing whatever the fuck he wanted.
Still, when fire spread above the battlefield to display Whitebeard’s symbol, Smoker couldn’t help but feel relief.
Why? This wasn’t supposed to happen! He wasn’t supposed to be influenced by the name on his wrist!
He needed to end this.
Once and for all.
If Smoker was the one making sure Portgas D. Ace met his end here, nobody would ever be able to question him again. He would be free.
Forcing his way through rows of fighting marines and pirates wasn’t easy, but with logia powers, it was doable.
Thankfully, Ace slowed down to bow to Whitebeard and thank him, and then again to fight Admiral Akainu.
Smoker made it there just in time to see Strawhat stumble and fall as he reached for his brother’s vivre card.
The world felt like it slowed down.
Smoker watched his superior as he was about to execute a criminal with 300 million berry on his head who’d caused incalculable damage to the World Government and would continue to do so if given the chance.
He watched a man that had committed genocide aim for a boy who’d saved a whole country without ever asking for a reward or recognition.
Smoker watched a criminal with 550 million berry on his head, whose entire existence was an affront to the world, try to intervene in due justice.
He watched a desperate older brother attempting to shield his little brother from harm, laying his life on the line. A life that had been deemed worthless and dangerous before he’d ever been born.
There was a choice to make here.
Not a choice for or against fate, not one about soulmates.
It was a choice Smoker had to make many times before, a question he’d never been able to shake:
What was the right thing to do? What was just?
And once he had his answer, no rules, no laws, and no hierarchy could hold him back.
His arm turned to smoke mere seconds after Akainu’s had turned into magma, and he let it grow and shoot out, wrapping itself around the brothers and lifting them up, out of harm’s way.
“Smokey?” Strawhat asked, clearly baffled.
“You shouldn’t even be here!” Akainu spat as he readied the next punch that Smoker knew he wouldn’t be able to dodge.
Ace only stared at him in disbelief.
They only lived the next punch because Jinbei was there to block it.
As Smoker put the brothers down next to him, Ace finally found his voice.
“Why?”
Magma splattered everywhere, melting the ground just inches away from them. “Now’s not the time. Just take your brother and get out of here!”
Ace nodded, picking up his exhausted brother and throwing him over his shoulder. But as he turned to run, he grabbed Smoker’s wrist to pull him along, too.
“What are you doing?” he demanded to know.
“They’ll kill you if you stay here.”
Well. Yeah. They probably would, now that he thought about it.
“Shishishi, so you can be stupid too, Smokey!”
“I don’t want to hear that from you of all people!”
His complaint wasn’t acknowledged as the three of them ran across the plaza and towards the bay, the rest of the Whitebeard pirates forming a cluster around them as they all retreated.
All of them except for their captain.
When Smoker was ushered onto one of the smaller Moby Dick ships that hadn’t sunk, Whitebeard was standing on the plaza all by himself, landing devastating blow after devastating blow, making Marineford crumble.
It was one man against an entire army.
Smoker watched it, not knowing how to feel.
Up until a couple minutes ago, he’d been part of that army. Whitebeard had been one of his enemies, a boogeyman in the newspapers, since Smoker could remember. Still, watching from this side, he couldn’t deny seeing his strong back felt reliable.
Even if this was his end.
Everyone knew it. Tears were streaming down Ace’ cheeks as he called out for his chosen father, thanking him for the mere act of loving him.
Other voices joined in, until basically every Whitebeard Pirate was screaming their gratitude at the top of their lungs.
Smoker could not share their grief.
But he shared some of their shock as Blackbeard showed up, giving Whitebeard the final blow and stealing his devil fruit.
By the time Red-Haired Shanks also made his appearance to stop what fighting was still going on and giving the Whitebeards the time they needed to escape, Smoker had given up on making sense of the whole situation and everyone’s motives. He had no idea if any of it was even his business anymore.
He was pretty definitely fired and would receive a bounty with tomorrow’s newspaper. Like he was some kind of filthy, spineless pirate.
What was he supposed to do now?
Nobody was really paying him any attention. Most pirates were still crying, even as Marco the Phoenix had taken command, directing everyone he could to keep the ship on course and treat the injured.
Smoker’s gaze found Ace, who was cradling his now unconscious brother.
As his soulmate, maybe he should’ve gone to console him, but Smoker still had no idea if that word was supposed to mean anything, and he certainly had no idea what he could offer that would help Ace feel better.
Marco got to Ace before Smoker could make a decision, pulling him into a quick hug before his eyes flitted over to Smoker for a moment. “Who’s that marine? I saw him save you, but…”
Right. They’d taken him with him, but it wasn’t like he was truly welcome here. For all they knew, he was an enemy, but it wasn’t like Smoker himself even knew what he was right now other than kinda fucked.
When Ace replied, his voice was so quiet it was difficult to understand his words from where Smoker was leaning against the railing.
“Smoker.” Marco’s eyes widened, so he had to know about the name on Ace’ wrist. “I met him in Alabasta, but… I thought that was it.”
Ace was facing away from Smoker, so it was impossible to tell what his expression was. But Marco saw fit to place a hand on his shoulder. “Just go talk to him now. I’ll take care of your little brother.” As Ace nodded, Marco took Strawhat out of his arms. “Holy shit he’s about to kick it!”
“Huh?!”
“His pulse is barely there. But don’t worry, I’ll fix him up. Trust me. You go talk to your soulmate, and then you can come to the infirmary, because you definitely need some treatment too. I’ll have Luffy stabilized by then, and you’d just be in the way if you come with me now.”
It was much more hesitant this time, but Ace nodded again, watching as Marco hurriedly carried Strawhat below deck.
A few deep breaths later, Ace turned around, walking directly towards Smoker, who didn’t even attempt to hide that he’d been watching Ace the entire time and listened in on their conversation.
Ace stopped an arm’s length away from Smoker, only meeting his eyes for a short moment until he looked down at the ground again. “Thank you.” His voice was clear, but he was stiff, and it seemed like he didn’t quite know what to do or think.
Smoker couldn’t blame him – they’d talked, and kissed, then said goodbye forever, and here Smoker was, giving everything up to save Ace’ life.
“I didn’t do it because we’re soulmates.” Maybe it sounded defensive, but it was the truth. A name wouldn’t have been enough for him, no matter what fate decided. “I only do what I think is right. In that moment, you and your brother didn’t deserve to die. You deserved to live. That’s all.”
His gruff words made Ace sniffle and wipe at his already red eyes again. “Thank you,” he repeated, “that… People usually say the opposite, so… it means a lot.”
“Your standards for meaningful compliments are way too low.”
“I know.” Ace huffed out a wet laugh. “Everyone’s been trying to get it through my thick skull.” He took a deep breath, and took a step to the side, so he could stand next to Smoker at the railing and look out over the sea. “I’m not usually this pathetic, I promise. It’s just…”
“You don’t have to justify yourself.” How many near-death experiences did he have during that war? Three? Four? Adding to that the terror of seeing people he considered family dying for his sake, his biggest secret being broadcast to the entire world, and all of that right after a likely miserable stay in Impel Down? The fact that he was still capable of having a normal conversation despite it all truly spoke to his mental fortitude.
Smoker would’ve just curled up in a ball and tried to avoid everyone, possibly yelling at them to leave him alone.
Ace took the permission to be quiet for a while, as Smoker used his best intimidating expression to scare away anyone who came too close.
“Sorry,” Ace started back up again eventually, voice less shaky and more wistful, “I ended up causing you even more trouble with my name, even though I said I wouldn’t.”
Smoker scoffed. “For the record, they wanted to let me sit out the war. I went against orders, and I helped you to keep my own integrity. I caused my own trouble. Don’t take my credit.”
That got a laugh from Ace. “Alright. But I still feel bad?”
“Why?” It wasn’t like he’d done anything to Smoker. He wasn’t responsible for Smoker’s actions, or for fate matching them, or for people causing Smoker problems because of their soulmate status.
“I… You know, I’ve never been sure if I wanted a soulmate or not. I mean, I thought you’d have my birth name that I hate, but regardless, I knew the world wanted me dead. So there was no good outcome. Either you’d hate me too, or you wouldn’t, and then my cursed blood would ruin your life. Which it still did, sort of.”
He threw Smoker a lopsided grin, though there wasn’t much joy in it. “But, you know, the only other option would be an empty wrist. It would’ve been confirmation that I’m supposed to be alone, that I really don’t deserve a single person in this world. So, even though I knew it was terribly selfish, I’ve always been… happy. To have your name.”
“And now?”
“Now you saved me. But you also said you don’t want to let fate tie you to someone. I don’t know, I wasn’t prepared for that? This isn’t you hating me or wanting me, it doesn’t even really have anything to do with me at all…”
Smoker shrugged. “Not everything has to be about you, does it?”
“But this should be,” Ace instantly protested. “How can you know if fate is real or full of shit if you don’t even try? Can’t I at least have the hope that there’s one person on this planet who’s meant to love me?”
“You have about a thousand people who love you enough to fight a war for you despite not being meant to. Isn’t that way more meaningful, in the end? Would you go back to thinking nobody likes you just because I end up thinking you’re insufferable, even though you have so many others who’d beat me up just for insinuating that? That would be stupid.”
Ace crossed his arms defiantly. “Maybe, but it would also be stupid to not take the super obvious hint and at least see if it works out. What are you gonna do, try to own fate by avoiding it all costs even if it could be good for you?”
Well… Smoker had been close to doing that, earlier. He’d been planning to kill Ace, just to get rid of fate.
“I guess it’d be stupid, yeah. If I always did the opposite of what fate wanted, it would still be controlling me. I would’ve gained nothing. I have to make my own decisions, completely independently of fate and its suggestions. So, no, I’ll never love you because of this name on my wrist. It’s just not enough. But I won’t let it stop me from loving you, if I do end up with feelings like that once I get to know you more.”
“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Ace grinned up at him, this time with actual mirth in his eyes. “Well, as you just said, there’s about a thousand people who think I’m very lovable despite all the trouble I’m constantly causing them, so I’m sure you’ll come around.”
It was so obviously false bravado, Smoker couldn’t even be annoyed.
“Cocky. Self-absorbed.” He grinned back. “I can’t say I hate it.”
What an absolute mess his life had become. But when Ace beamed up at him with a radiance that rivalled the sun itself, he couldn’t help but hope that it would all work out in the end.
Smoker would see where his decisions led him next.
With Ace.