"Yeah, yeah..." Randy VIII waved a hand dismissively. "We'll see."

Seven ruffled his hair, "I think maybe you an' Kurt have a shot at surviving this thing!"

"Maybe you right..." Randy VIII kissed him on the cheek. "But I think you're nuts."

"But if I am right then you'll be happy won't you?" asked Seven.

Eight thought about it for a moment. "I guess so," he agreed with a faint blush. "But... I like things the way they are."

"You sure about that?" asked Seven as he put an arm around him.

Randy VIII nodded firmly. "I mean, I love our fights. I like what we got. I don't need anything else."

"not even if it would make Kurt happy?" asked Seven.

Randy VIII frowned. "He'd be happier if I just up an' left," he muttered.

"But if he can't have that...maybe something less...violent?" Seven suggested.

Randy VIII took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. At length he nodded. "If that's what he wants."

"How will you feel if he does want that?" asked Seven.

"I dunno," Eight replied as he tugged at one of his ears. "I mean, that's... That's just weird to think about."

Seven studied him, "If you say so Baby Boy..."

Randy VIII kept quiet. He wasn't sure what other kinds of feelings and possibilities lurked beneath the surface, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

I wasn't too much later that he discovered that Kurt had struck up a relationship with a woman. What Randy VIII found most interesting about this, though, was that the woman happened to be his cousin. While they hadn't kept particularly close contact in recent years, Randy VIII and B had spent a fair amount of time together as children and tended to meet up along with various other members of the family from time to time.

Kurt found that B had a spontaneity and vigor that greatly appealed to him and it wasn't long before he found himself wanting to get serious, while he was with B he almost forgot about Randy VIII completely.