Headcanon that Gruber became Herbert's adoptive father after the chemical fire killed his parents. HOWEVER, unable to swallow his pride, Herbert constantly referred to him by his full name or his title, never 'dad', until Gruber's untimely death.
That is until during a heated debate in front of the class about Hill’s plagiarism of Gruber's work, Herbert gets too emotional and, in a moment of vulnerability, slips up by referring to Gruber as "his father," for everyone to hear.
Hear me out—Herbert's exceptionally good at art. He’s always carries a small black leather bound sketchbook on him, which is filled to the brim of intricate anatomy studies and diagrams. However, the more time he spends with Dan, the more those sketches start to resemble him. Infact, they're his most detailed works yet!
This ultimately causes West unconsciously knowing every nook and cranny on Cain's body—every freckle, scar, indent, curve, and birthmark.
I absolutely love sweet tooth Herbert
Could you imagine? Dan and Herbert go to a local cafe. Dan orders a simple macchiato off of the menu, while Herbert concocts the most sugary drink known to mankind
I sometimes think that when Herbert and Dan were kids, they played pretend doctors veerrry differently from one another.
In Dan's corner, his family got him a toy doctor's kit, and he would only perform simple checkups on his stuffed animals, such as checking for fevers and broken bones. He didn't care about sophisticated medical jargon; all he cared about was making sure his friends were well looked after. He had impeccable bedside manner for a preschooler although his toys would be covered from head-to-toe in bandages and gauze.
Meanwhile, Herbert not only had access to actual medical equipment, but he also used proper terminology from his medical textbooks, which he frequently used as a stepping stool due to his height. While he had already dissected a frog before entering high school, he would act out Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with his stuffed animals.
