Sonic and Shadow friendship! Sort of. I don't like this story as much as my first one. But I went to the trouble of typing it so here it is any way.

The Ribbon Dancer

In the Olympic Village in London, a blue hedgehog was laughing his head off at the black hedgehog who stood next to him.

Sonic was rolling on the floor, holding his sides. In between bouts of laughter, he managed to gasp out, "You- you seriously signed up for ribbon dancing?"

"Yeah, so?" Shadow asked thinking, why did I agree to share a house with him?

"Dude that is the girliest sport ever! I have to tell Knuckles about this." Sonic got up and sped away in search of his hotheaded friend.

Shadow sighed in annoyance. Great. Now they're all going to know and I'll never get any peace. Of course it inevitable that the others would find out, but Shadow had been hoping it would take a little longer. Forget them. They don't matter. What matters is winning the gold medal.

Throughout that day and into the next, the guys teased Shadow mercilessly. Sonic dubbed Shadow the "ultimate ballerina" after catching him twirling around during practice. The girls were nicer, even offering to help Shadow practice. He always declined and told them that this was something he had to do himself.

Finally, it was time for the event. Shadow was the last to go. He started his routine, and the guys in the audience started cracking up.

"Oh man, he does twirl!" exclaimed Knuckles.

"I told you he's a ballerina," replied Sonic.

Shadow ignored the remarks and continued his routine, executing the moves flawlessly. The judges were impressed with Shadow's grace and agility. When his routine ended, the announced that Shadow had set a new record. As he accepted the gold medal, Shadow's eyes shown with a light that hadn't made an appearance for a very long time.

Outside, everyone grouped around Shadow offering congratulations. Everyone, except for Sonic. Instead of congratulating him, Sonic smirked and asked, "Why did you want to compete in ribbon dancing away? Did you make a promise to Maria?"

Immediately, the light disappeared and Shadow's expression darkened. Too late, Sonic realized he had crossed a line. "Shadow I-"

"Just shut up!" Shadow snapped and stormed off in the direction of the village.

"Shadow, wait!" Sonic called and ran after him. Shadow threw a chaos spear at Sonic, knocking him to the ground. He turned on the rockets in his shoes and skated away. Sonic could feel the weight of everyone glaring at him and resolved to find Shadow and apologize.

After an hour of searching, Sonic discovered that Shadow had locked himself in his room. He knocked on the door and called out, "Shadow? Buddy? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought up Maria. Shadow?"

Sonic listened for an answer. He didn't hear anything and was about to leave when the door suddenly opened revealing Shadow. He was wearing his usual scowl and he looked as though nothing had happened.

After an awkward silence, Shadow spoke, "You know what's ironic? You're right. I promised Maria that we would compete together in ribbon dancing someday."

Now Sonic felt even guiltier than before. "Why didn't you tell me that before? I wouldn't have given you such a hard time about the ribbon dancing if I had known."

"I didn't tell you because it's none of your business!" Shadow snapped.

"I'm really sorry Shadow. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

Shadow thought for a moment, then grinned.

Half an hour later, the entire Olympic Village was laughing at Sonic as he twirled in the village square, wearing a sparkly pink dress, and yelling, "I'm the ultimate ballerina!"

Shadow allowed himself a small chuckle at the sight and thought, maybe sharing a house with him isn't so bad after all.