A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, Lilybud and ConcordBroken! I'm afraid this chapter is definitely the shortest one so far, but it honestly might be my favorite out of all of them, so I hope its content will make up for its length, haha. Makes me want to go ice skating again. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
-CCM
004. Ice Skating
Rio and Sanjay stood together at the edge of a pond, where the children of Echo Village were skating about happily on its icy surface. Energetic as ever, Toni zipped around on his ice skates with unbridled energy, not a wobble in his stride. The boy was followed closely by a giggling Hina, while Niko trailed a bit further behind, his young face alight with glee.
Rio beamed at the frozen pond before her, then back at Sanjay. "Come on! Let's do it!"
Despite the clearly apprehensive look that crossed the young man's face, Rio took hold of his hand and pulled him forward. "Haven't you ever gone ice skating before?"
Sanjay shook his head, eyeing the surface of the ice with some trepidation. "I'm afraid not. Where Amir and I are from, the weather is much too warm for such activity. The ponds never freeze over like this."
Rio grinned mischievously. "Well, don't worry! It's easy. In fact, I'll teach you."
Without warning, she quickly pulled Sanjay onto the ice before he could protest any further. Fearing he was about to fall over, Sanjay instinctively grasped Rio by the shoulders, struggling to steady himself and almost knocking the girl over in the process.
"Oh… Oh, my, I-I apologize, Rio!" he stammered, his face darkening in a blush.
But Rio merely laughed. "Calm down. It's all right! You just have to keep your balance, is all. Once you get used to the feel of the ice, it's easy!"
Taking a deep breath, Sanjay fought to stand up straight on the blades of his skates, unused to the feel of the slippery ice beneath his feet. However, his legs just wouldn't stop wobbling, and he very nearly tumbled over again.
Rio giggled at him, placing her gloved hand on his arm to help him balance. "You can't just stand there; you have to move around!"
She suddenly dragged him forward by the hand toward the trio of children, who were now cheering the pair on with enthusiasm. After almost falling flat on his face for a moment (which would have been tremendously embarrassing), Sanjay found that he could actually stay up on his feet if he just concentrated on keeping his body steady and relaxed, his legs moving at a slow, rhythmic pace.
The couple exchanged a smile as Sanjay finally let go of Rio's supporting hand and began skating slowly on his own, tottering a bit every now and then as Rio skated expertly alongside him. She patted him on the arm proudly before abruptly taking off on the ice in one powerfully quick, fluid movement, not a tremble in her posture.
"Just follow my lead, and you'll be a pro in no time!"