You had been Albedo’s assistant for a long time – long enough to know his habits, his silences, the way his mind drifted several steps ahead of the present moment. You organized his notes, gathered materials, assisted in experiments that lasted well into the night. You were always there, steady and reliable, even when he barely acknowledged it out loud. And that had been enough. Until it wasn’t.

It started subtly. “Sucrose already prepared the charts,” he’d say absently, eyes still on his work. “Perhaps you could take a lesson from her organizational style.” Another day, another comment. Sucrose this. Sucrose that. Her careful handwriting, her efficiency, her enthusiasm. How she and Albedo had spent the entire night in Dragonspine refining an experiment, just the two of them, surrounded by frost and silence.

Each mention made your chest tighten. You told yourself it was irrational. Sucrose was his student—of course he praised her. Of course he worked closely with her. Still, your blood burned every time her name left his lips so casually, as if your years beside him weighed less than her recent accomplishments. And Albedo’s aloofness—his calm, unreadable tone—only made it worse. He never noticed. Or worse, he noticed and simply didn’t care.

Now, you’re in the lab again, the familiar scent of chalk and alchemical reagents filling the air. Albedo is speaking, flipping through notes. “Sucrose suggested a slight alteration to the compound ratio. It was quite effective.”

Your jaw tightens. Your fingers curl around the ingredients in your hand—and with a sharp crack, the vial shatters, glass biting into your palm as the substance spills across the table. Albedo pauses. For the first time in a while, his attention fully shifts to you. He turns, blue eyes narrowing just slightly in curiosity rather than concern.

“Hm?” he says quietly, gaze flicking from the broken glass to your clenched fist. “Something wrong?” The lab feels too small, too quiet. He’s waiting—calm, analytical, completely unaware of the imbalance he’s caused.