3 little words

I roll over, half asleep, and I put my arm around him. It's only a small gesture, but it's one that makes him smile in his sleep nonetheless. He sighs, and using the arm I've just laid across his stomach, I pull myself closer to him. He's so warm, and I am overcome by the speed at which my heart beats. The fact that a smile to myself in the dark doesn't quite express just how much I love him makes me settle for planting a kiss between his shoulderblades, and mumbling 'i love you' in a dark room, shutting my eyes again, content with my life and marvelling at how much better it is because of just one person. He's laying on his side, with his back to me, but it makes me love him even more. For someone so rugged, so tough, he almost looks vulnerable when he has his back to me. It's like he's showing his weak side, trusting me to lay behind him, trusting me to hold him tight, trusting me to not harm him. He probably doesn't know this, he's not the most romantic person, but with his small gestures, he does say these things to me. The way he absentmindedly reaches for my hand while we're watching TV, the way he strokes my hair when I'm laid across him, and he doesn't even realise. He doesn't realise what I see when he speaks to me. He has no idea what I think when we have an intelligent conversation. He doesn't have a clue what I feel when I observe him from across the room. Funny, how 3 little words cover all of these things when I'm saying goodbye. I just say 'I love you' and everything I feel is expressed to him. Just those three little words.
I roll over, half asleep and put my arm around him. His hand closes over mine, and we both sleep soundly, peacefully.