The river cut through the jungle like a blade of glass. Zoro moved through it without hesitation. His massive tiger body displaced the water in slow, powerful waves, green-striped fur darkened where it broke the surface. Fish scattered. Leaves trembled. His eyes—half-lidded, sharp, eternally annoyed—were fixed straight ahead as he swam toward the opposite bank, jaw clenched around his prize.

And clinging to his back, claws dug in and tail streaming like a banner of gold, was Sanji.

“Oi—oi! Slow down, moss-brain!” Sanji snapped, sharp-toothed grin flashing as a splash narrowly missed his face.

"I’m not a waterproof accessory, you know!”

Zoro didn’t answer. He never did when Sanji complained. The tiger simply surged forward, muscles rolling beneath striped fur, as if the fox on his back weighed nothing at all.

Sanji huffed, ears flattening as he adjusted his grip. His fur—bright amber with white accents—was already damp at the edges, but he refused to let go. Foxes didn’t like water. Everyone knew that. And Sanji especially hated it. Yet here he was. Because Zoro had stepped into the river without looking back, and Sanji had followed without thinking.

That realization made his chest tighten more than the cold water ever could.

“You’re doing this on purpose,” Sanji muttered, leaning forward despite himself. “Trying to drown me so you don’t have to listen to me talk.”

Zoro finally spoke, voice low and rumbling, vibrating through Sanji’s bones.

“If I wanted you quiet,” he said, “I’d have left you on the bank.”

Sanji blinked, then he scoffed. “Tch. Like I’d let you.”

The river deepened. Zoro’s paws no longer touched the bottom, and for a moment Sanji’s claws scraped uselessly against wet fur. His tail lashed, heart jumping into his throat—until Zoro shifted slightly, just enough to steady him. It was subtle. Careful. Almost gentle.

The tiger didn’t slow down, didn’t look back, but his movements adjusted all the same, carving a smoother path through the current. Protecting the fox clinging to him as naturally as breathing.