"Eh?" Randy was caught off guard by the question. "You lookin' to hear anything in particular?"

Kurt shrugged, "J...just talk," he sighed, "anything you're willing to tell me will do..."

"Oh..." Randy gave a nod. He'd never told Kurt anything about himself before; in fact, he'd made a point of not doing so, just as he had with all previous cases. But now it seemed only right to give him something, and not just to fill the silence. "I am Randy VIII, special class. I got twelve brothers. My father's in the military. So are two of my brothers, and so am I. I was born to be a fighter. More so than most... an' that ain't always a good thing."

Kurt snorted but didn't comment, "I am Kurt Kraus, formerly prominent officer of the third Reich, I have a half brother named Klaus and a dead sister named Anna, my mother was mad, my father absent, I am what I have made myself, a soldier."

Randy smiled faintly, wondering where they might have been at that point, had they had this conversation much sooner. "I always did love a soldier," he commented, "long before I ever was one."

"I became a solider at twelve, it is all I really know," said Kurt.

"I got categorized as warrior-class and started gym training at four, got categorized as special-class at eleven and started specialized training at home. Then I officially got inducted into the military at fourteen and spent the next three years in a training facility," Randy VIII explained.

"So young, did...did you not wish for a normal childhood?" Kurt asked.

Randy shook his head. "It's all I know, either, and it made me happy." He bit his lip, debating whether to mention the apprehension that had surrounded his final class confirmation. "...For the most part," he settled on adding.

"For the most part?" Kurt echoed.

"I dunno how much I can tell you about what it means to be special-class... but we're more aggressive than normal warrior-class, to the point that everybody was hopin' I wouldn't turn out that way. But I was, an' even some of my own brothers were scared of me, and for a while, I was scared of me, too," Randy VIII admitted with a blush.

Kurt gave a small nod, "I know what it's like to be feared....and hated, my mother hated me for being the product of an incestuous rape, the citizens were afraid of me when I became an officer, when I became a vampire...everyone was afraid of me and there were moments when my hunger and strength frightened me," said Kurt.

Randy listened with interest, taking in every word and falling even more in love as he realized how deep the similarities actually ran and how amazing the differences were. A small part of him wondered if there was hope for the two of them, though he knew better than to seriously entertain the thought of ever becoming friends. "I ain't afraid of you," he said with a small smile. The statement was neither intended to be a challenge nor a comfort. It was simply the truth, and though there was not much to it, it said a lot.

Kurt's face darkened, "So I'm aware..." he growled, "If you were... perhaps we wouldn't be where we're at now..." his eyes blazed with sudden malevolence.

"Maybe not." Randy's smile faded, though he didn't seem at all ruffled by the change of tone. "Maybe we wouldn't be here if we'd had this whole conversation a little sooner... but things are what they are." He tilted his head. "You ain't afraid of me, are ya?"

Kurt was silent for a moment, "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?" he asked at length.