"N-no no no, it's okay," Martin babbles, reaching out for John's hands without any clear object besides his own drunken desire to reassure (undercutting that with his own frantic tone of voice). "I'll just, erm, well—"

Christ, what? Wear a scarf indoors all day, as if that isn't the most bloody obvious thing in the world? Find some non-absurd way to allow himself to be seen only in profile? Give Eliot and Kat the day for no reason, while they're all in the middle of a large revision project? He's too drunk for this.

"You didn't realize," he says, also helplessly, mortified but more concerned about making sure John doesn't feel awful about something he did enjoy receiving.