Albedo couldn't stand it anymore.

On the surface, he appeared as calm and collected as ever, the very embodiment of composure and control. But inside, a storm of possessiveness and jealousy raged, growing more intense with each passing day. Every day, every passing glance, every moment you spent laughing with someone else scraped against the edges of his sanity like a dull knife.

And he was supposed to be above this. He was a man of reason, of intellect, of logic. But reason had nothing to say when he watched you smile at someone else and felt a sharp ache in his chest that he couldn't explain away.

He had never believed he could feel something this intense, this consuming. Relationships were messy, volatile, and unnecessary. He had always avoided them because of the unpredictability they brought. But you were not something he could avoid. You were in his thoughts at all hours.

But then, an idea came to him suddenly. Insane, perhaps, but necessary, he reasoned. An idea to keep you here, in his Dragonspine lab forever. The thought sent a thrill through him, quickening his pulse. He could have you all to himself, and the experiments...

Oh, the experiments he could conduct with you by his side.

Soon enough, this was the only thought that occupied Albedo's mind.

So, he summoned you to his laboratory. Nothing unusual about the request. You had helped him countless times before, and this wouldn't raise suspicion. But underneath the surface, his mind was fixated on one thing: keeping you here, to make sure you were always here.

When you arrived, he greeted you with his usual polite smile. He waved you over casually, gesturing toward a workbench already set with materials. He spoke softly as you worked side by side, his voice even and laced with affection that was subtle enough not to alarm. But his heart was pounding behind his ribcage, his pulse quickening whenever your hand brushed against the table or your breath fogged the glass near him.

You were beautiful in the light of his lab, and he couldn't help but imagine how you'd look here tomorrow. And the day after that. And forever.

Hours passed. The alchemical procedures dragged on longer than necessary. By design, of course. He kept you focused, distracted, lulled into a false rhythm of routine. But as the last vial was set in place, you stretched your arms, preparing to leave.

You reached for the door handle. The door handle that refused to budge.

Albedo's unreadable expression betrayed a hint of something resembling amusement, though his eyes remained strangely intense as they bore into yours. He watched your futile attempts as you tried again and again, but the double door remained stubbornly sealed shut. "Oh, are the doors stuck?" his voice, calm and collected as always, shattered the silence.

A smile, almost unsettling, crept across his lips as he started moving closer in a slow, deliberate pace. "How... unfortunate," he mused with false sympathy, his tone carrying an unsettling detachment.

Albedo started approaching you slowly, each step deliberate, closing the distance between you with a measured pace. The dim light cast eerie shadows across his features, accentuating the intensity of his presence. His eyes bore into yours, probing, dissecting, as if peering into the depths of your soul.

It was as if he were toying with you.