[ If he weren't holding the cupcake and its box in his hands, he'd be scrubbing at his face as though he could erase the embarrassment and guilt that has his cheeks feeling a little overwarm.

Instead he huffs a breath in lieu of a groan for himself and meets her eyes, sea-green to storm-grey. ]

No way, are you kidding? [ The ice-cold wash of stupidity floods through him as though he'd been thrown into the ocean, completely powerless. ] I figured, after how everything in that fake world went down, after I completely embarrassed myself with how ... clingy I was with you as a gross eldritch god, I thought maybe you'd want some space from me. Which — like, made sense at the time, but I should have just said something instead.

[ He still feels so stupid for even admitting this aloud, but the days of acting like a moron should have been behind them on account of how much he and Annabeth had been through since. ]

Or asked. I should have asked.