But he might protest that Master Monkey sounds too villainous now...

[Steiner is stubborn, yes, but also the first to defend someone's honor if he deems it a worthy battle to fight. "You scoundrel" seems almost out of the question at this point.]

While you were gone, he would sometimes bring you up as a point of comparison to others in conversation without even realizing he was doing it. I almost didn't have the heart to point it out... but it was nice to know that perhaps absence really did make him grow fonder of you.