I can honestly see a version of Gabe who has NPD and is not capable of “love” as we know it. Like, he only “loves” someone as long as they’re being useful to him, either practically or emotionally. Maybe not a sociopath, but definitely a narcissist.
I think Gabe’s love would be very conditional, revoked whenever he feels slighted or feels like he’s not getting what he needs out of one of the twins. And it’s soul-crushing for them, because of how carefully Gabriel as constructed this whole situation. He’s isolated them, made himself the center of their world, and he manipulates them with his “love”. He can’t love selflessly the way typical people can, but he can mimic what that might be like, so he can further his goals.
I think that’s a better way to describe the kind of love Gabe can give. Right from the mind of the OP lol.
I also like to think that Gabe didn’t mean to make his all of his fickle satisfaction entirely dependent on the twins. He literally can’t get it from anywhere else anymore. Not even missions that are executed perfectly, to the letter, all from a plan that he worked up himself, is as satisfying as bending the twins to his will. Can you imagine how pissed he’d get when he realizes that? That he craves their eager need to please him just as much as they crave his “love” and “approval.” Not that he’d ever let them know that though.










