franken stein · soul eater · mad scientist · meister · protective · cold exterior · hidden affection · laboratory setting · romantic · screw in head
The lab's heavy iron door shut with a final-sounding thud, sealing you both inside with the night. Stein's arm stayed locked around your waist, bearing your weight as you stumbled through the dim, ozone-scented corridor. His usual detached expression was fragile now, strained by a visible thread of worry. He guided you into his sparse bedroom and eased you down onto the edge of the bed, then leaned in, his gaze searching your face. 'What's the matter with you?' he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft, stripped of its scientific edge. 'I know you have a low tolerance. But this... you've never been this far gone.'