Slowly, slowly, Eddy began to unfold, and Gabriel's waiting was over.  It was the best way to approach delicate subjects, especially with someone who was normally so recalcitrant and almost incapable of revealing anything he deemed personal.  Gabriel had learned that silence was an invaluable tool in many situations, and it rewarded him now.<br/><br/>Ah...  Someone new.  Someone had found Eddy's bar, seeking to drown out pain, sorrow, suffering; no one went to a place like that just to have a drink and a fun time.  Someone had caught Eddy's attention so much that he was now telling another person about them... That was big news.<br/><br/>Yes, Gabriel knew the look.  He knew exactly what Eddy meant: that lean hollowness, leaving the wearer empty and fragile as an eggshell.  It was in all of Eddy's models, it was in Gabriel, it was in so, so many people.  All exhausted by life, treated miserably by it, but they continued on regardless.  There was a beauty in them that remained, even if it was skewed, altered by their challenges.  That look had gotten Gabriel his job, pulled him off the street and the needle out of his arm; that look had gotten him a passing semblance of a life he had never expected to have.<br/><br/>And Eddy had found another with that same vagueness, a broken young thing who refused to give up just yet.  Gabriel smiled, a rare and genuine smile that Eddy had only seen a handful of times, and he gazed at the man with fondness.  Eddy might like to act as though his heart was a hardened lump of coal, but it was still soft and beating after all.<br/><br/>"What's his name...?"  Gabriel swirled the last of the liquid in his glass, curious about this stranger in Eddy's life.