I don't know what I did to deserve this. There were times Ellie thought the same -- times like this, with David pushing her hair behind her ear, smiling down at her. It was frankly overwhelming at times, in fact, how meaningful the littlest actions he took seemed to be.
"Just being yourself," Ellie told him, linking her smallest finger with his. "That's enough for me." Then she giggled, amused at the cliche that had come spilling out of her mouth; still, a moment later she looped her smallest finger in his, expression softening. We should've been like this, he was saying. Like what? she thought of asking. Maybe there was no need to say anything at all. Maybe they could be the sort of people who simply magically ended up together, and never had to explain themselves. Couldn't they...?
"I'm glad you're willing to take me," Ellie commented instead, watching as he gathered the duffel. "I'm..." She trailed off, semi-distracted in watching him prepare, the little smile he gave his supplies. The sentence never quite picked itself up again; instead she began pulling him playfully toward the door, stepping over a giant sleeping Dog on the way.