[ she momentarily forgets about the cupcake as she listens, taking in what he says and the expression on his face, feeling her own heating up in the process. ]

[ he wasn't avoiding her. the amount of relief that fills her so immediately is almost stupid. she's still harboring her own guilt about her actions in the illusion, but at least in this moment she can believe his promises. ]

[ annabeth aggressively shakes her head, feeling her cheeks go even redder as she acknowledges her own part in the feral way they apparently fell in love. she reaches out and pulls him to sit on the bench beside her, stubbornly tangling her fingers through his. ] Percy. I'm pretty sure I was just as obsessed with you. You don't have anything to be... embarrassed about. You don't have to hide from me.

[ and admittedly, there's a part of her that can't get over the fact that he was at her side for eight hundred years. even if it was an illusion - that's a long time to be loved. it's almost unfathomable for her and her trajectory of abandonment. ]

I'm the one who didn't want to leave. I thought maybe you needed space.