Marten, the over-thinker, is trying to live in the moment. Padma, who describes herself as not always thinking before acting, is starting to think things through. Each is trying to compensate for a self-perceived weakness, and in so doing, will only make things worse. Further pillow and post-pillow talk has the potential to alleviate or exacerbate.
Neither Marten nor Padma is evil, or stupid, not the way Jeph writes them. Were they real people, I'd say cut 'em some slack and hope it ends with the two at least liking each other.
The story parallel I see here is "The Gift of the Magi," in which a young couple with little money buys each other small Christmas gifts each knows will mean a great deal to the other -- but to afford the gifts, each makes a material sacrifice that renders the gifts useless. Of course, from this, the couple discovers What's Important ...