Marcello half-expected it by now. He shook his head. "Not exactly," he said. "It's just that...we love each other, but we don't want exactly the same kind of life. I want to get married and have a family. The Countess doesn't know if she does. I told her I would wait until she made up her mind."

"So you won't go until she tells you she's made up her mind." Maalech looked a little confused at that. "Girls are stupid" he finally settled for, shaking his head. He didn't understand why people would want anybody that much so be confused about it. Somehow it had slipped his mind that Meg was a girl as well, but she somehow transcended those boundaries for him.

"What if she never does? Will you wait around forever?"

Marcello gave the boy a plaintive look. "I don't know. She promised she wouldn't make me wait so long," he said, and then smiled tightly at the boy. "Anyhow, I have you and Meg and Donal and Acorn here, and that's a good enough family for me for now."

Maalech was quiet for a little, looking as if he was considering what to do. After a moment's hesitation, he gave Marcello a quick hug, stepping back again almost once it was done. His moments of physical affection were rare, like the sun in autumn over here.

"I don't know what I would do. If..." he was trying to find a situation of equal horribleness "... if Meg wanted me to become a farmer or something, and I wanted to be a Weaver. I... I don't think I would do it. Not even for her."

Marcello smiled slightly at that, and put a hand appreciatively on the boy's shoulder for just a moment. "It's not the same thing," he said. "Meg's...well, she's more like a mother and a teacher and a caretaker to you. And I'm not willing to live a life that isn't the kind of life I want. Even for Niabheara. That's why I'm staying here until she makes up her mind."

"I hope she decides she wants to have your kind of life, she didn't look very happy last time I saw her. I think you would make her happier, you're good at that." Maalech said the last as if it was a verdict he had decided on weeks ago. "But maybe she doesn't want to be happy. Some people just don't. My mother was like that."

Marcello nodded. "With her, I'm afraid it runs in the family. I'm afraid she doesn't think she's allowed to be happy."

"I didn't think that happiness was important either. It just seemed like something people talked themselves into being. But that was before I came here. Maybe... maybe it just takes a bit of time for her to get used to it? It's really scary, because you know you're just going to get hurt, but eventually you grow tired of waiting for it to start hurting. I..." He looked a little ashamed as he continued "I kinda thought you or Meg would just... stick me somewhere and go away."

Marcello raised both eyebrows at the boy. "Of course we wouldn't," he said. "We want you here with us. If we didn't want you, we wouldn't have pretended to." He smiled at the boy. "Come on, I'm going numb in my fingers. So you...you want to be happy, now?"

Maalech nodded and followed where Marcello would go. "I... yes, I kinda want. It feels good. But I wouldn't know how to go about it. At all. I mean you and Meg do all the work, I just... I dunno, dares to let it happen I suppose." He was quiet a little at the last, skinny arms wrapped around himself for warmth. "It's harder than i thought."