To NailPolishBunny- Sorry… I'm trying to work on this, really, I am, but…
"They'll be sharing your room until their own is finished." Father Maxwell concluded, and Quatre nodded. "I'll leave you three to get aquainted, then. Show them around for me, Quatre, and don't forget that you have kitchen duty tonight."
"Yes, Father." Quatre agreed dutifully, bobbing his head. "I didn't forget."
The old priest smiled and left, closing the door behind him, leaving the three boys in pensive silence.
Heero, the smaller of the brothers, spoke first. "Are you Cathy's brother?"
"Yes." Quatre said warily.
"Do you know who hurt her, then?"
"Heero!" Trowa hissed, spinning the smaller brunette around to face him. "What have I told you about asking questions like that?"
"Not to?" Heero ventured, blinking.
"Exactly. Now apologize."
"He doesn't have to." Quatre said softly. "It's an honest question, and I don't really mind answering it." The blond sighed and sat down on his bed, looking at the ground. "It was Daddy. Daddy hurt Cathy. He killed Mommy, too, and he hurt me. He wasn't a very good Daddy."
"I see." Trowa said quietly, his visible eye bright with... something. Tears? Thought? Quatre couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, is disappeared after a moment, leaving the emerald orb empty-seeming. "We never knew our father. We can't even be sure if we have the same one, since we both take after our mother for the most part. Not that it makes any difference; since Mom can't handle having kids anymore, we might as well be orphans anyway."
"Oh." Quatre said, unable to think of anything else, and the silence began to grow again.
For the second time in less than a minute, Heero broke the silence before it could become uncomfortable. "Why do you have kitchen duty?"
"Because I hit someone."
"Why?"
"Because he made fun of Cathy."
"Why?"
"Because of her eyes."
"Then he should have been hit." Heero decided, nodding sharply. "He shouldn't make fun of people 'cause they're different. S said being different makes us all special, and that if everybody was all the same, the world would be really boring."
"S?" Quatre repeated, blinking. That didn't sound like much of a name...
"S of S&G. They had an act with the circus before it broke up." Trowa explained. "S liked to spend time with us between shows. He was always telling Heero stuff like that."
"But it's true." Heero protested stubbornly, crossing his arms and pouting.
"How about that tour Father Maxwell mentioned?" Trowa asked with a sigh.
"This is the church proper." Quatre explained brightly. "At least, that's what Father Maxwell calls it. We come here for evening Mass before dinner and on Sundays before breakfast."
"What if you don't believe in God?" Heero asked, and Trowa almost screamed. Heero was forever asking questions, pestering people until they answered him, and some of those questions were highly inappropriate.
"Father Maxwell said that even if we don't believe in God, God believes in us." Quatre answered, apparently used to being pestered. "If you don't want to pray, you can sit in one of the back pews and just listen, but it would be dis-re-spec-ful to not come."
"That's okay, then." Heero decided, nodding to himself.
"And back over there's the confessional. We don't use it, since Father Maxwell and Sister Helen know us all, so we have to go to another church if we've got something we have to tell a priest. Sometimes, we even go visit the Priestesses of Artemis. They're really nice.
"That's the door to the kitchen and dining room." Quatre continued, and Trowa found himself wondering where the boy got his energy. "After dinner, I have kitchen duty, so I have to help clean up, but Duo - I'll introduce you to him later, he's my best friend - Duo's not in trouble right now, so he can show you around after that, and Cathy will probably want to help. I usually help make dinner, too, but I can stay with you if you want me to."
"Cooking's for girls." Heero stated, frowning. "Boys aren't supposed to cook."
"That's not true!" Quatre exclaimed. "I love cooking, and I'm not a girl! Sister Helen's teaching me, and she says I'm a... uh... prod... prod-o-gy. That means I'm really, really good at it."
"Cooking is for girls." Heero repeated firmly. "Maybe you should've been a girl, but God got it mixed up and made you a boy instead, like Aunt Hilde, only opposite."
"Huh?"
"Aunt Hilde's a girl, but she says God should've made her a man." Heero explained, ignoring the looks his big brother was giving him. "She's a great fighter, and she like guns and wants to marry a woman. She fought tigers in the circus!"
Quatre turned helplessly to Trowa, silently begging for something resembling a coherent explanation.
"Hilde trained the tigers and lions for the ringmaster." Trowa said, taking pity on the poor blond. "She insisted we call her Aunt Hilde. She has a gun show now that the circus isn't together anymore, and she has a girlfriend."
"Ooh..." Quatre said, understanding finally dawning on him. "That makes sense."
"It made sense when I said it, too." Heero pouted, glaring intently at the floor.
"Umm... Let's go meet the other kids, okay?" Quatre suggested.
"This is Janice and Violette." Quatre said brightly. "They're the only girls here besides Cathy."
"And one of us is still more smart than all the boys put together." Janice spoke up, sticking her tongue out at Quatre.
"Smarter." Trowa corrected quietly. "It's smarter, not more smart."
"Looks like you're not the smartest anymore, Jan-Jan!" Duo exclaimed, laughing, as he bounced out of hiding and attached himself to Quatre's neck. "So there. Who's the new guy, Q? Is he your bestest friend now? Are you leaving me?"
"You're my bestest friend, Duo." Quatre said calmly, trying to pry the brunette off. "You know that. Trowa and Heero are gonna be living here, though, so I'm showing them the church."
"Have you showed them the attic yet?" Duo demanded gleefully, bouncing up and down without once loosing his hold on poor Quatre. "Have you, have you, have you? Hi, I'm Duo. Which one's Trowa?"
"Him." Heero said flatly, pointing at his older brother. "You're loud."
"Heero!" Trowa all but wailed, groaning. "I'm sorry; he has no manners."
"Then we should get along great." Duo said, grinning. "I have no manners, too."
"Have you seen Jason and Ash?" Quatre asked, finally managing to slip out of Duo's chokehold.
"They went with Father Maxwell somewhere. Jason got stuck with charity duty for pouring syrup all over the bathroom, and Ash is such a goody-two-shoes that he wanted to go, too." Duo explained, hanging off Quatre again. "And Cathy's in her room, trying to read those bumps again."
"Bumps?" Trowa asked curiously.
"Yeah, bumps. They're supposed to be like words for blind people. Her teacher gave her a book. I can't remember what it's called, though... I think it starts with a B..."
"Braille." Quatre supplied. "You wanna help make dinner tonight?"
"Nah." Duo said. "Sister Helen might make me peel stuff again. I don't like peeling stuff. 'Specially potatoes. They're slimy."
"We'll help." Trowa volunteered, smiling in at inarticulate protest from his younger brother. "Think of it as a learning experience, Heero." He said. "And what was it S said about learning experiences?"
"'Nothing is pointless unless you fail to learn from it.'" Heero quoted dutifully. "'The only things worth experiencing are the ones that teach us something.' 'Always try; even if you fail, at least you know for sure you can't do it.' 'If-'"
"That's enough, Heero."
Didn't I say 'fun at the Maxwell Orphanage'? So three more characters have been refered to. Any requests as to who should be introduced next?