Disclaimer: I do not own a single thing!

Sexyshewolf: I'm so glad that you love this story! I just loved the idea of Ace and Smoker as a couple! I hope you like this next chapter! ;)

Okay, guys. This chapter has the shit you've been waiting for! It gonna be chalk full of yaoi, so if your squeamish about this sort of thing, then your gonna want to skip over this chapter ( and the next one too). You have been properly warned! ;) hehehehe

Hellfire

Chapter 8

Smoker's words were swallowed as Ace's lips kissed his. His mouth opened in surprise and the raven took advantage by shoving his tongue in Smoker's hot cavern, entangling their tongues in a dance for dominance.

The captain grunted, but automatically kissed the man back roughly. His arms slid under Ace's coat and around his waist, pulling him against Smoker's chest.

He felt Ace's slender fingers tangle in his thick hair, yanking his head into a different angle to kiss him better. The raven tasted like cinnamon whiskey, his soft mouth working fervently against Smoker's.

Smoker shoved the younger man against the nearest wall when Ace's hot hands slipped under his shirt, running them up and down his back and sides and over his ribs. He let out a shuddered breath when the raven's warm lips kissed the spot where his jaw connected his neck. Smoker was sure Ace could feel his pulse pounding under his lips. God, how he had wanted this.

The captain growled in pleasure as he freckled brat planted soft kisses down his neck and bit his collar bone, sucking at the skin between his teeth. His hands tightly held Ace by the hips, pressing them closer together. It wasn't until Smoker had shoved a knee in between Ace's legs and licked the shell of his ear, causing the raven to let out a breathy moan, that he realized what he was doing.

He shoved himself away from Ace like he had been shocked, breathing heavily. Everywhere the fucking brat had touched burned, leaving fiery trails along Smoker's skin. His cock throbbed, and his hands ached to touch Ace's creamy skin, but he made himself stay where he was.

"We-I-I can't do this," he tried to say firmly, but his voice sounded hoarse and uncertain even to his own ears.

His head was buzzing with want, his reaction to Ace's advances were unnerving him. Did he really want the raven that much?

As he watched Ace smile lazily at him, slipping his coat slowly, and then draping himself on the couch to look up at him through half lidded, lust filled eyes, Smoker realized yes, he wanted Portgas D. Ace. He wanted him more then he had ever wanted any man or woman in his life.

The freckled brat's face was pink with drink and his movements were sluggish and jerky, but his body called to Smoker, and his lips asked to be kissed.

The captain used the rest of his energy into self control to grab his coat and say, "I'vegottogo," he said quickly, then he raced out the door and to his parked car down the street.

The cold night air hurt hi lungs, but cleared his head. He leaned against the car, his forearms resting against the glass of the care window. Unexpectedly the sound of a sob escaped his throat.

Smoker's heart pounded painfully against his ribs as tears threatened to fall. God, he hadn't felt like this since Hina. The feelings he was experiencing were beyond confusing. He had been so resolved earlier to use Ace, deciding that he was not to be trusted, but the second he thought the raven was in danger he had freaked out.

He yanked the crumpled note he had shoved in his pocket sometime during his and Ace's...exchange. We are watching you and your partner. Stop or else.

He had gotten that note the night after the first fire. Even though the threat wasn't enough to stop Smoker, he had been intending to ask Ace about it, and find out where the raven stood. Or rather that had been his purpose, but then then he kept putting it off, but then... well, Ace's disappearance had been worrying. Smoker was man enough to admit that, but did he feel the way he did about Acebecause the raven reminded him so much of Hina, his first partner in the field and in life? Or was it something else, like the pain they seemed to share about their pasts?

Either way, the attraction wasn't healthy and the shitty brat had only come on to him because he was drunk. Smoker wasn't going to take advantage of a man in that state, especially if that man was someone he was going to see every day in the work place.

he put a fist to his lips. God, he must be losing it. His feelings seemed to be on his sleeve for the last week and half. the captain shook his head and got into his car, driving back to his empty house. He needed a good nights sleep, and he'd deal with the freckled brat's reaction tomorrow.

It turned out that the next morning Ace was so hungover all he could do was groan and clutch his fingers in his shaggy black hair.

"That's what you get for being a drunkard," Smoker scolded, dreading the inevitable.

"Shut up, you bastard," The raven groaned again as he replied. "I can't even blink without my head killing me. Everything after the bar is hazey..."his voice trailed off as he swallowed some pills and took a drink from a water bottle.

The liquid was a slightly tinted yellow color.

"That better be fucking white grape juice, " the captain growled.

"Yeah, yeah," Ace waved a hand dismissively as he laid his head down.

"Ace," he sighed, just biting the bullet, "about last night-"

"Oh, yeah," Ace shot his head up, but regretted it, massaging his temples, "Yesterday I went back to the burned apartment building." He tossed his phone to Smoker. "I took some pictures..."

The captain looked at the photos, his eyes widened in surprise.

" You actually had the initiative to go back to a crime scene, and actually found something?"

He then shook his head, not wanting to get off topic. Either Ace didn't remember or he didnt want to talk about last night. Smoker didn't blame him, but he was never one to skirt around his problems.

He placed Ace's phone down, "Ace," the seriousness tone made the said man look, well squint, at the captain. "About last night, do you remember anything about it?"

Ace slowly shook his head, but a blush dusted across his freckles. "Not really. It's all pretty dim."

Smoker rubbed a hand over his face. It looked like he would have to do this the hard way.

"Well, I'm sorry, but we... something happened..." God, why was this so hard? "Well, we kissed."

Bluntness was the only way to go in this situation. Ace paled, his usually creamy skin pasty.

"You mean that was real?" his voice full of embarrassment, and horror, but Smoker was surprised when he continued, "I'm so sorry. I've been told I'm a clingy, indiscriminate drunk." He covered his face in shame. "God..." He mumbled.

The captain didn't know what to expect from Ace, but an apology wasn't it.

"Well, I didn't exactly stop you..." he scratched at he back of neck awkwardly. The fact that they were even having this kind of conversion was beyond weird. "I just wanted to say forget about it and not let it make us...weird."

Ace shrugged carefully,"Aren't we already weird?"

His teasing tone put Smoker at ease.

"Yeah,"Smoker agreed and dropped the subject.

The raven;however, was quiet and solemn the rest of the day, but whether that was from his hangover or from their discussion, Smoker couldn't tell.

That evening they moved all of copies Tashigi made. The last box was carried into Ace's apartment, getting set up in his spare bedroom.

"Are you sure your okay with this?"Smoker asked, his voice full of skepticism.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Yes, Smokie, I'm sure. I've been in some pretty sketchy situations before, and I'm not about to let scumbags like Crocodile, and Blackbeard fuck with peoples lives if there is anything I can do about it." The raven assured Smoker after he had showed him the note and explained the danger. "i appreciate your concern, and find it cute, but I'll be fine."

The older man snorted as he let out a cloud of smoke.

"I see that hand of yours is getting better. Next time think before you barbecue it, yeah?"

"Yeah, "the raven smiled lightly, wiggling his fingers. "At least i can move it now, although it itches like hell."

His laugh warmed the captains face. He couldn't help but think of those hands on his body, in his hair, on his-

"Well, thats good for now," Ace straightened after having to bend over to fix a stack of boxes.

He wiped his hands gently on shorts carefully before placing them on his narrow hips. His shorts rode low on his hips, so low on his hips that it should be against the law, briefly drawing Smokers attention to the v mark that lead down into the ravens underwear before he snapped his eyes up in embarrassment.

"Hey, old man, want some dinner?" Ace asked, heading out of the bedroom, either oblivious to Smoker's awkwardness, or choosing to ignore it, and walked in to the kitchen.

"You can cook?"Smoker asked in disbelief, trying to distract his perverted mind.

"Well, a little, yeah," came the reply.

"That's not very reassuring," He retorted, but walked into the living room and sat down.

Not even five minutes later smoke billowed from the direction of the kitchen with Ace's exclamation of "FUCK!"

The captain jumped up from petting Ace's cat, and practically flew to the kitchen. Inside he found Ace trying to put out a small fire that had ignited in a pan.

"Gah!" he yelped and finally shoved the burnt food under the water from the tap. The cold water hit the hot pan with a loud hiss.

"You are so fucking hopeless. I'm surprised you are still alive," Smoker chided, shoving Ace out of the way.

He grabbed a new pan, then the flour, eggs, milk,and salt to make pancakes. Ace didn't protest, but hopped up on the counter and watched the older man pancakes themselves were done in no time, but he had to make alot because the skinny brat ate like a fucking horse, but he didn't mind.

"I didn't know you could cook," He said around a mouthful of pancakes as Smoker started to wash up the pans before getting himself some food, too.

"Well, not everyone has their own personal 4 star chef to cook them meals. Some of us have to learn,' he grunted, then added as an after thought, "Plus when you have a wife that hates to cook, it's pretty much learn or die." He stiffened as he realized what he had let slip.

He heard Ace sputter and choke. "You- you're married?!" he exclaimed when he recovered.

Turning back to Ace with some more food, he poured a generous amount of syrup on his pancakes before replying curtly, "Was married. She... she was- she died."

Painful, horrifying images came to the front of his mind before he pushed them away.

He felt the ravens dark eyes bore into him as he ate, avoiding to look at anything other then his food. It was a few moments before either of them spoke.

"That sucks," was all Ace said, but Smoker knew that Ace knew the pain of losing loved ones as well. No words could describe the sorrow.

"Yeah," he sipped a cup of hot coffee that he had made as he prepared dinner. Then, "How the hell did I roped into cooking and doing the dishes when you invited me?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Ace shrugged and hopped off the counter. He opened mouth, "Listen, Smoker-" he was cut off when his cell rang his pocket. The raven sighed and pulled out the phone and answered it with out looking at the ID. "Hello?"he asked lazily, but after a moment Smoker saw his whole body tense up.

Curious, Smoker continued to eat, feigning disinterest, while he watched the exchanged. The brat was standing ramrod straight, his face dark with anger, but his tone expressionless before he turned away.

"Yes," he said coldly to the other voice on the line. "Yes, sir. I understand. Don't worry about it-NO!" His quiet voice suddenly gained volume, almost panicked, but then dropped again, "No. That's not necessary. Alright, yes, until then."

The older man was rinsing his plate off when the raven turned back around.

"Trouble?" he asked casually.

"No," Ace sighed tiredly, but clenched his hands into fists by his side. "Just an annoyance."

Smoker only hummed in agreement as he dried the plate, and hunted through the cabinets until he found the right one, and slipped it inside along with Ace's. When he turned around, the brat had his head in his hands, his back facing Smoker. But even from behind he could see Ace's shoulders shake with repressed sobs. Smoker was surprised, but cautiously approached his partner, reaching out hesitantly, and patted his shoulder a little awkwardly.

"What is it?" he asked dutifully, half hoping Ace would tell him, the other half telling him to get lost.

"I'm just so tired!" he exclaimed, a sob catching in his throat. "I'm so sick of myself! I'm so damn weak that I can't-I couldn't even protect the people who matter the most to me! I just want to die!"

Misery was pouring out of his words, and Smoker was frozen in shock. What the hell? Ace buried his head in his arms, curling in on himself. He looked defeated, and Smoker didn't like it.

" Hey, you damn brat, what the fuck are you going about? Where the hell did this come from?"

He gripped Ace's shoulder and turned the man around to face him. The raven's gray t shirt was spotted with tears, his nose pink. Dark hair curtained Smoker from Ace's face, blocking his eyes. Without thinking, the older man ran his fingers through the silky stands, brushing them away.

He sucked in a breath at the pain that filled the face and big, dark eyes before him. Ace's eyes refused to meet Smoker's. his bottom lip trembling. With one of his hands still on Ace's shoulder, he placed a finger under his chin, forcing the raven to look at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked again, this time really wanting to know. His voice was soft, and gentle. He recognized the look of torment on the young mans face.

He watched as the other man tried to collect himself, trying to patch the cracks in his fuck-the-world, carefree persona.

"Nothing," he lied, "I'm just having a really bad day. I had another attack after you left last night..."

The grip of Smoker's hand tightened. "Bullshit. Was it that prick on the phone? Do you need my help to kick his ass?"

His words were serious, Ace just smiled sadly, teas still clinging to his dark lashes.

He leaned his forehead on Smoker's shoulder. "No, that's alright." he sniffed, letting out a weak laugh.

He froze again as Ace wrapped his long arms around Smoker's neck, squeezing him tight. After only a moment of hesitation, Smoker wrapped his own arms around Ace's waist. When Ace looked up at him in surprise, their noses almost bumped, their breath mingling. It was then that Smoker threw aside his jumbled, confusing thoughts and gently pressed his lips against the ravens.

Immediately the said man kissed him back, arms tightening around his neck. Smoker ran his tongue over Ace's bottom lip. This caused the young man's mouth to open, letting the older man's tongue inside to glide over his. Smoker let out a deep throated groan as he kissed the dark haired man harder. Damn everything. He couldn't fight these feelings right now. He had so much pent energy, it threatened to engulf him, as he kissed the man in his arms.

The taste of sugar and syrup filled his senses as he and Ace kissed. Hands found their way under Smokers coat, pushing it off of his broad shoulders. It fell to the floor with a thud before Smoker lifted Ace onto the the counter. The raven wrapped his legs around his waist, pulling him closer while he grabbed a fist full of Smoker's thick hair, kissing him hungerly.

Pulling back, Smoker panted heavily as Ace's fingers traced the dipps in his muscles, and gently taking Smoker's bottom lip between his teeth and sucking it. Smoker loved the feel of Ace's hands running over hi body, responding with soft groans and squeezes to the ravens ass to encourage him to continue.

Ace planted kisses along Smoker's jaw and the corners of his mouth, making the older man ach with want.

"God," he beathed against Ace's mouth as he captured his lips in a passionate kiss, "Why you? You annoy the hell out of me," another kiss to the raven's neck, "You're the most mouthiest, reckless brat I know," and another kiss to the other man's collor bone as he slid his hands up Ace's shirt and played with the ravens hard nipples, "But I can't stop thinking about you."

Ace let out a sexy moan as Smoker bit his neck and sucked.

"Good...GOD! Good taste ...maybe?" Ace answered brokenly as Smoker bit his shirt and teased his nipples through the fabric.

"Mmm.." Smoker hummed in mock contemplation, "Not likely," he whispered, his breath tickling the ravens now wet skin.

Ace shivered, but slide closer to Smoker, pressing their hardened members together, eliciting a moan from them both. Every sound that Ace made added to the heat in Smoker'sgroin, driving him crazy. Finally he couldn't take Iit anymore. He lifted Ace by his fantastic ass, and carried him to the bedroom.

BWHAHAHA! The suspense! I'm sorry,but it seemed like the perfect place to stop.