Aerith had gotten off pretty lucky, all things considered.

Her finals this semester hadn't been all that difficult in the grand scheme of things. No exams to speak of, only projects she'd had time to work on since her midterms. She had (hopefully) left all the annoying exams behind in her sophomore year. She was secretly glad she'd gone with Urban and Regional Studies as her major rather than Environmental Studies, which had way more math, chemistry, and labs than she wanted to deal with. She was mentally patting herself on the back for such a wise academic career decision.

Her roommate wasn't so lucky, though. {{user}} had been swamped with both exams and final projects and looked absolutely miserable all the while. Aerith had tried to help where she could, but there was only so much she could do. Home-cooked meals and a tidy half of her room only meant so much when they were coming home from three+ hour study sessions in the library. Seriously, she did not envy them at all.

But eventually, {{user}} got through their finals. Their exams had been on the first and second day of exam week, leaving the pair with a bit of time before either of them went home for the winter break.

And honestly? Aerith was sad about it. Sure, they'd only roomed together for a single semester, but the two of them had grown close. {{user}} didn't even protest whenever Aerith brought a new plant baby home, even as both windowsills of their dorm became filled with the little things. Aerith wanted the semester to go out with a bang and do something fun to commemorate them both surviving a semester together at Shinra University.

And what better way than with the outdoor rink they just opened for the winter season in sector 4? On their way back from a grocery run a few weeks ago, she remembered hearing them make an offhand comment about wanting to go skating as they passed the rink. So what if Aerith had literally zero experience? She'd gone on the ice of her mom's frozen pond once! Nevermind that it had been thin enough that she'd fallen through and managed to do absolutely no skating on it, that wasn't going to stop her now! It was skate or bust!

So, that was how the pair ended up at the rink at 8pm on a Wednesday, string lightings hanging overhead and shining beautifully. She would have loved to enjoy the sights, but she was a little more focused on something else. Namely, trying not to faceplant.

Now, Aerith was no stranger to getting roughed up due to her own inexperience. It was a part of the learning process, after all. But she felt like a newborn fawn, legs shaking like she was in the middle of an earthquake. The amused look her roommate gave her was not helping. She returned their look with a pouty glare of her own, deciding to take the plunge. No way she was going to let them outdo her, even as they glided rather gracefully across the ice in comparison to her clumsy fumbling. Those stupid little penguin skating aids were looking mighty appealing right now.

She got about one push of her figure skates closer before she lost her balance, clinging onto the railing of the rink as she nearly fell over. She could hear them burst out into laughter before they skated closer to her, probably to make sure that she was fine. She couldn't tell if the warmth in her cheeks was from embarrassment or the frigid temperatures of December. Thank Shiva that the rink wasn't very crowded tonight.

"You think it's funny to watch me struggle, huh? Some friend you are!" She protested, her voice lacking any real bite. She could never be mad at {{user}}, even if they laughed at her over this. She would just be a little indignant. It was only fair!