Ah, love. It starts out so sweet, so innocent. At first, you spend every waking moment together talking about your similarities and how cute the other is. You never leave each other's sides unless you absolutely have to. He gets you roses frequently. She surprises you with homemade cookies. You're both plastered on one another's Instagram pages for a good month or so.

You're both perfectly happy and perfectly spoiled.

Fast forward a good chunk of time later and you've reached the committed relationship phase. You've overcome a lot of fights and disagreements and you've earned your spot in the good couple rankings close to Lily and Marshall and Monica and Chandler. You don't spend as much time together, but it's still enough for the two of you to stay connected to one another. You fight every now and then and one of you has probably accidentally walked in on the other while using the bathroom.

Your relationship has reached its peak. All cliche, romantic gestures have mostly been done by the both of you.

But all romance is not dead just yet.

If you're anything like me, you still find perfectly quirky attributes about your SO that make you fall in love all over again. They do little favors and gestures that make you blush. By now, you know that there are other ways to say "I love you" without actually saying it. Here is a list of eighteen things that me and my SO do to say "I love you."

1. They Buy/Make You Food

All fights, accomplishments, stressful days or stages of boredom end with good food. It's the ultimate love offering or mood booster and they know that.

2. They Take You Grocery Shopping With Them

There is nothing less romantic than grocery shopping, right? Wrong. Tagging along with your significant other while they buy milk, frozen pizzas, and easy mac and cheese can be one of the most romantic gestures ever (at least in my book).

3. They Let You DJ

They might as well be handing you a ring instead of the aux cord.

4.They Send You Pictures/Videos of Your Favorite Animal

Puppy videos are the window to your soul. And they know that.

5. They Ask You To Text Them Once You're Home Safe

Nothing says 'I love you' more than being concerned for your well-being and safety.

6. They Let You Know When You're Being Annoying

Love is being honest with each other. And once your SO has sung "Uptown Funk" in Elmo's voice all afternoon, it's time to bring in the power of honesty, er love, into practice. In the name of love, of course.

8. They Make Your Coffee The Way That You Like It

I know that he takes his coffee with two creams and two sugars and he knows that I take my coffee right when I wake up to avoid attempted homicide.

10. They Let You Cry To Them

I don't know about you, but I cry a lot. And normally, I cry in front of my SO more than anyone else. And they understand that you're hurt about something serious like failing an important test or you dropped your last bite of sandwich on the dirty floor (which is also pretty serious).

11. They Binge-Watch Netflix With You

Right now, my SO and I are watching Lost together (his first time, my second time) and there is nothing better than just relaxing with the person you love and watching five straight hours of quality entertainment. It's much easier to justify a binge watch when you're doing it to spend quality time with one another *hehe*.

12. They Let You Do Your Own Thing (And You Let Them Do Their's)

It is always important to be independent of your SO once and awhile. And if you both understand this and give each other the time to have a girl/guy night, it's even better.

13. They Dislike the People That You Dislike

That know-it-all you cannot stand from Psych 1101, she hates too. That guy from English 2200 she wants to punch in the face, you square up. It's a never ending circle of disliking people in the name of love.

14. They Support You When You Need It

Worried about a final? They got you. Want to eat a whole pizza in 30 minutes. They got you. Need a daily reminder that you aren't as dumb as a sack of beans. They got you.

15. They Clean For You

True love is getting down and dirty... by cleaning their dirty bathroom to be nice. I believe that nothing says "I love you" more than cleaning the 2-week old spaghetti dishes from the sink that you have procrastinated cleaning because your roommate and you can't stand the smell.

16. They Let You Use The Bathroom First

This is more on the gross side (which is something that becomes completely open between long-term couples). You both just got back to their dorm after eating your weight in burritos, queso, chips, and salsa on Moe's Monday. Suddenly, you both feel the, *ahem*, urge and they let you go first. So thoughtful and honestly probably the most selfless acts of love there is.

17. They Dance Badly With You

Really, there is no greater love than sacrifice. Especially a sacrifice of dignity when your song comes on and they get dragged onto the floor with you.

18. They Love You For Who You Truly Are

In the end, you can both sit down and analyze your SO and know that they truly love you despite your constant need to hold hands and be fed. They look past your bad days and harsh words and you do the same for them.

Because loving someone unconditionally is all the sappy, romantic gestures, but also accepting someone for who they are without seeing them through the eyes of Nicholas Sparks. Once you realize that you love someone, things do not get easier, in fact, they get a lot harder. But the outcome of those hardships only strengthens the love that you each share.