Niles took a slow sip from his drink, watching Gabe. He tried to force himself to remember what he was supposed to be doing. Going out to see Amanda. Finishing his plans. But it was so hard to remember that when Gabe was right here, and the chair was so comfortable. And there was Connor. The one who helped him through so much. The memory of those arms around him, of that soft voice telling him everything was okay always chased the memories away. Almost always. Like a barrier between him and those awful things.

He lowered his glass, his free hand resting on Gabe's thigh. His gaze dropped to somewhere below the other's chin, not really seeing him anymore. Before everything went bad, he remembered the two of them. Walking with Niles back to the room he and Gabe shared. Still smelling of sweat and grass from their games in the afternoon sun. Walking beside them, wishing he were between them. Sometimes Gabe would change his shirt, or maybe just drop his bag off. Niles couldn't remember. But then he'd leave. With Connor. Leaving Niles alone.

His thumb rubbed in slow circles, as he tried to remember it. How many times had it happened? Was it real, or just his memory twisting things? Finally, he looked back up to Gabe's face. "You and him used to go off without me," he summarized. "Tell me...about what you two would do."