Daphne let an eyebrow quirk, along with the corner of her mouth, at his return. "I don't know," she mused, pretending to think. The act was only furthered when he leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips. "I think any of the wearing down came from you. You're incredibly persistent despite how many times I tried to tell you how awful I am." She was smirking, joking, but there was a tiny kernel of truth to it. Ernie had never listened when she acted grumpy or said she was mean. He hadn't listened when people at school questioned his sanity for staying friends with her either. He definitely had seen something nobody else, herself included, saw.
As he drew her close, she couldn't help the huff of laughter that escaped her at his teasing, even as the proximity almost immediately soothed the frayed edges of her nerves. "You might have to concede a few things to me over the next several months, all hormones considered and all," she informed him with a smile. "I'm sure I can find a way for you to still pull your weight, though," she added, smile turning impish and wicked as she nestled against him a bit more pointedly.