Gabe honestly could not see what Brendon saw in this guy. They had a moment to just study, try and pinpoint exactly what made him so special- but to them, there was nothing. Sure, he was relatively tall (probably almost 6 feet, nowhere near Gabe’s height), but apart from that- his eyes were nice, they supposed, a sort of honeycomb colour, and his hair was dark and looked like it could be curly if he just left it to dry. To be fair, the more Gabe looked, the more they kind of understood- Ryan was, underneath many layers and a misleadingly lean appearance, fairly built, enough that Gabe could tell. And he was a guitarist- when Ryan put his hands in his lap, that was obvious. Well, appearance was all well and good, and Ryan could be classed as  on the spectrum of Brendon’s ‘type’, but from what they saw, he was quiet and unassuming and painfully socially awkward. The Brendon that Gabe knew didn’t have the patience for those kinds of people- usually. Suddenly Gabe phased a little out of interrogation mode; though Brendon was sometimes oblivious, he wasn’t [i]stupid.[/i] Maybe they should trust his judgement a little more. This nervous PA didn’t seem like a potential threat.

Even so, they retained the image and mindset of grilling this guy to find out what, if any, his intentions were, and whether he knew just how vulnerable Brendon was making himself by even committing to what could only be described as an elongated fling for such a long time. They kept it subtle at first, noting that Ryan had the audacity to look a little apprehensive, and the foresight to look confused. Gabe hopes they wouldn’t have to, like, prove that they knew, but they would if Ryan refused to admit to it even after they revealed that Brendon had [i]told[/i] them. Casually they kind of dropped a warning- mentioning the breaking of Brendon’s heart that they hoped was pointed rather than general. Brendon was by no means in love with Ryan, in fact Gabe wasn’t even sure how he really felt about him. They did know that he mentioned Ryan too often for it to be completely unattached, and the way he spoke about him... Against Brendon’s will, seemingly, he always ended up smiling, his eyes even crinkling at the corners. If that wasn’t on the way to  Brendon’s guarded heart, nothing was. But they weren’t going to tell Ryan that. Yet.

Fed up of dancing around it, they dropped it on Ryan that they knew, they’ve known all along, since the first morning after it happened when Brendon had called them, angry and frustrated, complaining that he thought somebody just cared about him again and all they did was be patronising and expect him to immediately fall in love. Or something. Gabe didn’t really follow- they were still in bed and half asleep. They watched carefully as Ryan seemed to curl up a little more, resigning his eyes to the floor. Gabe felt no sympathy and just pried, not willing to give up and determined to do something on a scale of warning to straight up threatening this guy not to hurt Brendon in any way that was his control. But they could only do that if he started to talk. [i]You’ve got it all wrong. Trust me.[/i] Gabe looked doubtful. [b]”Are you sure? What I heard sounded pretty telling, and I heard it from Brendon, not my own intuition.”[/b]

[i]That’s not- I wasn’t trying to be self-righteous, or an asshole, you have to believe me.[/i] Gabe was feeling generous, so they opted to hear him out, even though they made their distrust plain in their expression, gaze still intense and searching. [i]I just... I just want him to be okay, and watching him come home with people who don’t give a shit about him night after night, that’s...[/i] Okay, Gabe knew. They had tried to speak to Brendon about this in the past but was brushed off because Brendon didn’t [i]care[/i] whether all of these brief hookups cared about him, because he didn’t particularly care about them. But Ryan- Ryan he’d trusted and hours later he’d felt like he was on the receiving end of a pretentious lecture on morals and safety. Not something he wanted from someone he planned on sleeping with anyway- and apparently he had been forgiving because it was still happening. And that irritated Gabe, because Ryan was a hypocrite, no matter how you looked at it.

[i]I know he says he doesn’t need anyone, or whatever, it just seems like... such an empty life.[/i] Gabe stayed quiet for a second, before exhaling and leaning forwards. [b]”It’s not empty. He’s not empty. He doesn’t need you to psychoanalyse him. He’s not empty, he just fills his life with questionable things, but who am I to judge him? Who are you? It’s not our place. We can advice, but don’t- before you go around giving him life advice, regain his trust. He doesn’t trust you right now.”[/b] Why were they giving him advice? Gabe clenched their jaw. [i]Coming Home with strangers every night, then waking up to an empty bed and resetting the cycle. And he deserves better.[/i] [b]”And are you better, Ryan?”[/b] Came the instant response, as Gabe raised an eyebrow. He talked all that talk, but what did Ryan really want? Was this for Brendon’s sake, or his? Gabe wanted to find out because it wasn’t clear yet. 

[i]I know, that's not necessarily me, just. I dunno, I'd even be happy to see him... find someone else, maybe. Anything's better than what he was doing.[/i] Okay, good, Gabe was impressed, but not entirely convinced. This guy clearly wasn’t a gold digger or anything like that, but his intentions were still vague and unclear. Gabe rested their chin in their hand for a moment, considering him, before sitting back again. [b]”So, Ryan- what do [i]you[/i] want from Brendon? And don’t say nothing. You’re sleeping with him, for fuck’s sake.”[/b]