(it's a small ship but hoping my ship manifesto + this list will be helpful. yes the list includes wips and yes you should still read them!!)

Once Burned by irrelevant (e, 8k) smoker meets ace in loguetown before either of them know who the other is, i.e. marine and pirate. this fic is literally canon to me

Smoker read the question clear in the kid’s eyes. His mouth thinned around nothing; his lack of cigar bothered him more than it should have. “This is a bad idea.”

thin red line by irrelevant (m, 23k, wip) smoker and ace keep meeting. no explicit romance but amazing characterisation for both characters + discussions of OP morality and overall my favourite fic exploring their relationship

between pirates and marines, sex isn't the real taboo. that would be friendship.

the rock by irrelevant (t, 29k, wip) ace lives but is smoker's prisoner. excellent ace characterisation + amazing angst

Ace’s body feels like it’s been beat six ways to Sunday, buried for three days, then dug up and the whole process repeated, but he gives indifference his best shot. “Up to you, Captain. This is your party.”

irreverant by tangerinedarker (5k, e) inspired by the rock. ace is smoker's prisoner + first kiss + only one bed. surprisingly really sweet with a sprinkle of angst

“You stay awake, I’ll buy us dinner,” he hears Smoker offer, then more feels than hears him come and stand next to where Ace sits, his lighter clicking somewhere above his head. Eyes still shut heavy, he leans sideways until he feels that familiar denim, the warmth of Smoker’s steady hip on his cheek, turns and nuzzles his face in like it’s his best hope for a pillow anytime in the next hour.

igniting in the tomb by mokumera (7k, e) Ace POV, development of smoker and ace's enemies-to-lovers relationship across various islands

The story of how Ace and Smoker start an affair, how things get complicated, when it ends—then, you may know the rest.

pirate is a pirate by tangerinedarker (12k, e) another fic exploring how ace and smoker's relationship develops. mild cnc, putting the brazil in one piece <3

“Portgas D. Ace,” he calls out. The red beads shift as the pirate’s head turns. “Que gato,” Portgas mutters, running an eye up Smoker, over his bare and freckled shoulder. “And here I thought I was finished with my meal.”

softer than clay by mokumera (3k, e) ace lives AU. ace loses his devil fruit powers, smoker helps him get them back. implied sexual assault, angst, happy ending

“I’m not kidding,” says Portgas. He reaches for Smoker’s hand, touches the back with his fingers. His skin is—not freezing, but it may as well have been. Compared to how hot Smoker knows he runs, he’s corpse cold.

to fight the cold by mokumera (1k, m) ace lives AU. smoker leaves the marines to save ace, short and sweet

“My brothers and I promised each other we’d live our lives exactly how we wanted,” Ace says quietly. “Without regret. I didn’t realize at the time how hard that would be.”

Don't talk before you finish your coffee by tangerinelighter (1k, t) smoker joins the straw hat crew ft relationship reveal. really love this

Where’s the HR department in the Straw Hat Pirates? And what kind of information should you keep secret from your new weird rubber teenage captain, exactly?

late night drive by tangerinedarker (1k, t) modern AU, hockey player/college student ace and sheriff smoker

Ace is pretty happy about getting a ride in Smoker’s car, and not even handcuffed in the backseat either. But he does wish they were headed back to Smoker’s place for a night of fun instead of en route to the hospital.

Devil's Paintbrush Road by tangerinelighter (1k, m, wip) western AU, cowboy ace and deputy smoker, wip but can be read as one-shot

The kid’s a sunnuva—something. Smoker won’t speak on his mother. But his job is getting harder by the day thanks to that little devil running rampant all over town.

chain me down, set me free by TheSkyIsMyHome (6k, t) Ace lives AU. i usually don't fw soulmate fics but i liked this one

I don’t think I have ever rendered anything more tender and loving than I did w Smoker’s bombas

thank you for the ask for my absolute fave rarepair!!!

Ship It <3

What made you ship it?

the arabasta scene when smoker tries to arrest ace during their dramatic confrontation in the spice bean restaurant (episode 94) and ace is like nah :) let's have some fun though! [shit eating grin]

and then they fight each other to a standstill bc they literally cannot defeat each other!! both ace ("give it up. You may be smoke, but i’m fire. a fight between your power and mine would never end.") and smoker (“it seems there really is no end to a fight between flame/fire and smoke.") say this canonically.

i think also i love the trope of serious predator marine and teasing prey pirate...(other ships that this could be applied to: kobylu, namitash, pirate hunter!zoro x pirate luffy)

and also i love pirate x marine ships. the enemies while lovers of it all

What are your favorite things about the ship?

bright and nihilistic goof x gruff and optimistic seriousguy, ace's canon daddy issues + smoker looking like that (ok i know he's like 32/34 in the show but he's a silver fox), thinking about how smoker would react to ace's canon suicidal tendencies, doomed lovers + the absolute tragedy of it all (ace dying, smoker seeing all the shit the marine/WG do and still not leaving!!), enemies while lovers, the whole thematic parallel of smoke and fire

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

hmm again the fandom is so small (i think there's like 2 ppl here and one of my fave acesmoker authors is currently in another fandom and everyone else wrote fic back in like 2011) but i guess it's the same as my answer to the zolu ship ask which is i think they both switch in terms of topping/bottoming and also both switch it up for dom/sub

(i think the more popular dynamic is top/dom smoker and bottom/sub ace which like again. what a waste lol)

(oh also. i prefer acesmoker to smoace for the ship name LOL. or mokumera from their devil fruits bc it's pretty and alliterative)

quick fic rec: i honestly adore irreverent by tangerinedarker - basically ace is smoker's prisoner bc the execution has been postponed and there's this one incredibly tender moment where ace makes a comment about him not being as hot as he could have been (since the effects of impel down and seastone captivity) and smoker's reaction to this is so!!!!

a few more fic/author recs (indulging bc this is a rarepair ok): anything by irrelevant but especially thin red line (yes it's incomplete. yes you should still read it), anything by mokumera but especially softer than clay

       Title; Q Pairing; Smoker/Ace Rating; PG-13 Circle; Mokumera