By Any Other Name

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This is, to use the correct term, a brainfart (I laughed hysterically when I heard someone else use that term ^^) Also, this will probably be really strange because it's late and I'm singing 'White Rabbit' to myself, which always starts weird things if you ask me. When logic, and proportion, have fallen softly dead and the white knight's talking backwards… Go ask Alice!

Rated PG-13 for a bitty bit of cursing. Remember, if you're not a fan of my coupling, don't flame me, because I won't listen! You're just wasting your own time.    * blah * = thoughts

**

Silence. The waves of anger were almost palpable. If the air were a color, it would be red. Despite the fact that this was most obviously not reality, this kind of thing did not happen. The sky was a clear fresh blue, like generally always.

Bloody sky, thought a certain blonde haired wavemaster, due to the lack of anything else to take her anger out. Always bloody hanging there. Doing nothing for anyone. Rather like the player beside her.

*Bloody Crim.* She supposed it wasn't his fault that he had to take a stupid stinking conference call, but the timing was horrible. Crim had apologized and logged off, around fifteen minutes ago. Then Bear had disappeared, too. There was just her left.

Well, there was someone left, but she was trying desperately to ignore him, so it made little or no difference. Except that when she was alone she could curse at the sky, while in his company she had to control herself.

He was stretched lazily on his back, eyes barely open in the flashing sun. Untidy fringes of hair passed his eyes, cascading down his face, and his tanned visage was completely relaxed. He emanated relaxation, seemingly. Catlike and feline, he seemed to merely be sunning himself. If it weren't for the clothes he wore, which left no bare skin except for the ends of his finger and left pretty much everything to the imagination, that is.

But if you looked closer, like the blonde was doing (ostensibly) in complete boredom, you could see the tight coils of tension winding through his back, the every so slight glances in her direction, the barely perceptible tapping of the foot. Never entirely at rest. He was always crouched, it seemed, if not physically then mentally, ready to spring on any chinks in armor he found. Again, it made not difference whether this armor was physical or mental. He always attacked viciously, it seemed to her, taking an almost obscene delight in his prey's despair.

Or maybe she had just been on the receiving end a bit too long.

Even more and more like a cat, it seemed. She watched him interestedly now, momentarily ignoring rather than forgetting her irritation.

How he adjusted that headband every now and then. How  you could see the tips of his eyebrows when he frowned. How there seemed to be bruised hollows beneath his eyes, and how he was never still. How he continually fiddled or fidgeted with various straps, buckles and hangings. How he stretched in a very feline, graceful way, continuing her cat-theme. Strangely enough, this conflicted with her other theory about him, about him being a dog in spirit. This, she said, explained his bitchiness.

How his eyes seemed to be deep, murderous pools of blood. How they were slanted, giving him a narrow, crooked glance. How he seemed to be directing this glance at her.

'BT, quit it! You can stare at me without making it so obvious, you know. I also give out autographs and do special signings every Tuesday and Thursday.'

'Oh, shut up Sora,' she said, exasperated. 'Go back to staring and the sky and being quiet.'

'Aw, being a bit huffy, are we? There's no need to get so annoyed. Just because you're mean to me doesn't mean I won't give you an autograph.'

'Humph. I know tons of people who would willingly give me one, but that's besides the point because they'd be asking for mine.'

'But you don't have to be so bitter about not having mine! I mean, being horrible to me because you're afraid of your love for me is one thing, but-'

'I do not want your stupid autograph, Sora!' BT howled at him. The Twin Blade nearly fell off his perch at the force of her voice. 'And I do NOT love you, you awful obnoxious reprehensible horrible idiotic little moron-brat of a kid!'

There was silence for a second. Sora looked at her uneasily, wanting desperately to tease her, but not wanting to annoy her so much that she'd gate out and leave him to staring vacantly at the sky.

'Besides, what kind of a name is Sora, anyway? It's very common,' BT said after a while, obviously in a bad mood and wanting to grumble at something.

'Getting annoyed 'cause Crimmy-kun's not here?' Sora smirked.

'Shut up and answer my question.'

'For your information,' Sora said, 'I don't care that it's common. It means something, you know. You're probably just too dense to figure it out anyway.'

BT ground her teeth and refrained from attacking him, mainly because she knew he'd win.

'But,' Sora said, in a sugary tone, 'I'll tell you anyway. You know that I'm pretty unique, ne?'

'Well…' BT ground her teeth again. 'I suppose… But,' she added, 'I think it's a good thing. I don't think normal, sane people could deal with more than one of you.'

'Yes, quibble if you must. You're so immature, BT,' Sora smirked at her again. BT longed to wipe that expression off his face with something long, pointy and preferably very painful.

'Do you have a point with this?' she asked, wishing she had Sora's apparently non-existant point in her hands right now.

'I do. It's very pointy. Anyway,' Sora said, 'There's only one sky, too, remember?'

'Yeah…?'

'Well, Sora means sky. One sky. One Sora. All fits, doesn't it, ne?'

BT was surprised. 'I never thought you went as deep as that.'

'Well, I actually prefer the sky idea because people need the sky to live and the sun depends on the sky, like everyone else, but pretty much that's it,' Sora said, shrugging. 'So what's the deal with your name?'

'Nothing's the deal with my name,' BT snapped.

'Aw, BT, what's wrong? I told you what my name means. Don't you wanna share? After all, sharing is caring,' he added as an afterthought.

'In that case, really count me out.'

'Well, what does it stand for?' he persevered. 'Did you make it up yourself? Brilliant and Tenacious? Bowls of Tangerines? Bitc-'

'Shut up!' BT snapped at him. 'It's none of your business, Mr. Omnipotent Sky, what BT stands for!'

There was another silence. Sora moved back slightly, fearing another outburst.

'Please?'

'Pardon?' BT blinked incredulously at him.

'I said, please?' Sora added, the sweetness in his voice almost overwhelming. *If his voice was a physical thing,* BT thought, *I'd be drowning in sugared honey.*

'With cherries?' he added.

*Yes. Sugary honey with cherries.*

'Why do you want to know so badly, anyway?' BT added sourly.

'Well,' Sora said, moving around on his tree, 'I want to make sure you don't have self-esteem issues.'

'Pardon?' she repeated.

Sora promptly fell backwards, hanging from his branch from his knees. 'Well, for all I know, BT could stand for Butch and Trashy, so I-'

'You little runt!' BT snapped, swiping at his head with her staff and catching his temple. Sora crashed from the tree and fell in a very undignified, un-catlike way, forming a heap of black and purple on the ground.

There was a few more minutes' silence.

'I'm not going to kill you because you're going to tell me what it stands for,' he suddenly said in his normal sing song tone, interrupting her thoughts. Quick as a wink, he leapt up into the air from his current mess of limbs, landing behind her and drawing his katars.

'You're such a… a…' BT shrieked at him, trying to find several new words to describe him, mainly because she had used up all the synonyms for nitwit.

'A…?' Sora questioned, and she could almost sense the eyebrow sliding up.

'You're such a bitch!'

'BT, that hurt. You don't normally react like that at all. What's wrong? Are you still afraid of your love?' he questioned her silkily.

'I haven't saved for ages and – damn!' Now he knew he really did have a hold over her.

'Well, why don't you tell me?'

There was some more silence, to add to the worthy amount already accumulated. *Why isn't Crim here?*

'Fine,' she said after a few seconds. Suddenly, she was slightly ashamed of her chosen alias – it wasn't worth all this trouble. However, Sora was the one making such a big deal out of this. Let the disappointment be his.

'Bacon and Tomato. There, see? A BLT only minus the L, because I hate lettuce.'

Sora released her, resembling a cat again. Only this time, BT could put exact words on his likeness. He looked exactly like the Cheshire Cat, with that huge smile plastered all over his face.

BT growled, a scowl darkening her face, and promptly gated out, not waiting for his reply.

'Bacon and Tomato, hmm?' Sora addressed the air. 'No, that's wrong. Beautiful and Trying, that's what it is.'