Age

Characters: Clione, Law, Shachi, Penguin. Rating: K. Warnings: None

Many of them were thinking it, but it was Clione that voiced it later that day, when Penguin and Shachi returned from wherever they'd stashed the newspapers they'd swiped from under the captain's nose and settled down to eat.

"Earlier," he began between mouthfuls, having managed to successfully seat himself at the same table as the captain and the two senior crew members. "You two said you were Captain's big brothers... does that mean you're older than him?"

It was a risky question, Law never giving a consistent answer about his age, but the way he hadn't really refuted the claims earlier – Clione might have only been on the crew a little over a year, but he knew the difference between Law seriously protesting and Law trying to save face against Penguin and Shachi's mischief – implied that maybe there was some truth. He wouldn't be surprised at all to find that the pair knew how old their captain was, and probably far more besides.

The side glances they gave Law cemented Clione's belief – Penguin's more so than Shachi's due to the shades hiding what the ginger was thinking – as did the pregnant pause while they waited for him to answer. For his part, Law kept chewing, finishing his mouthful of rice in no hurry and reaching for his glass of water after swallowing.

He didn't speak until he'd drunk half the glass, by which time the entire present crew's attention was firmly fixed on him.

"They are," Law admitted at last, lips curling into a smirk that signalled an imminent smart comment, most likely at someone's expense. "Not that you'd know from the way they act sometimes."

"Hey!" the pair exclaimed in unison, and Uni took that as his clue to chip in.

"I can see it with Penguin, Captain," he said, and several of the crew nodded. Penguin quite clearly big-brothered half the crew, with Shachi and Law prominent in his priorities, so to find that he was genuinely older than their captain wasn't as much of a shock. "But I'm afraid I can't believe it with Shachi."

The ginger spluttered as they laughed, Law's smirk taking on a definitively smug aura, as if he'd expected someone to say it. Clione wouldn't have been surprised if it had been carefully orchestrated with that exact outcome in mind. It had certainly had the effect of diverting the conversation back onto the pair, and away from Law's age. Still, in the confines of his mind Clione did the maths. Penguin and Shachi's ages were no such well-kept secret – twenty six and twenty five respectively, with little under a year between them – so for Law to be younger than them he would have to be no older than twenty five, if it was only months between him and Shachi. He figured that was likely as, all joking aside, Shachi didn't act older than Law. He had his moments of seriousness, as they all did, but there was a steel to Law that Shachi either didn't have or hid far better.

Considering the way he hid from his problems, as best Clione could fathom from his disappearances whenever certain topics came up, he was fairly sure it was the former.

Law, on the other hand, Clione would honestly have pegged as closer to thirty. He had his playful streak, but there was no doubt he was a seasoned pirate, and Clione didn't even want to think how young he must have started, or why, to give off that aura so young. And Ope Ope no Mi aside, Law's medical knowledge was incredibly advanced, on par with renowned doctors easily more than twice his age.

No-one else had asked the question out loud, content to tease Shachi on his immaturity while Penguin and Law laughed and the ginger sulked, and Clione decided against it as well. They didn't need to know how old their captain was, anyway. All that mattered was that he was their captain, and good at it. It was hardly a secret that Penguin and Shachi supported him, so to find that the three of them considered it a sibling-like relationship was of no surprise at all.

Penguin had swiped Shachi's hat, ruffling the ginger hair patronisingly as Shachi whined before realising that he could drag Law – sat between the pair of them and not aware of the danger until too late – into the heart of the chaos. Law let out an undignified yelp as an arm wrapped around his midsection and he was bodily hauled until he was half in Shachi's lap, the ginger reaching up to rest his chin on his captain's shoulder with a grin, carefully removing the fluffy hat to ruffle Law's own hair.

Law flailed, long limbs not quite as under control as maybe he'd have liked, but he never made a Room to Shambles away from the attack and Clione realised that in that situation, and only for as long as that situation lasted, Law really did seem like the youngest.

Someone mentioned how the crew might react to finding out Law is younger than Penguin and Shachi, and that tied in well with the 'little brother' comments in Tease and Distract (chapters 123 and 124), so here's a follow on from that.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari