it's not just another 4 letter word

How come a compliment from a complete stranger makes my day but one from someone who's more than familiar hardly, if ever, gets an "oh ok thanks"?

Maybe it's instinct. When you're too used to something, you assume it's ordinary and normal.
He tells me I look beautiful when he picks me up from the gym. He tells me I look beautiful when he picks me up on New Year's Eve. Is it practised? You know, one of those guy things. Another "am I looking fat?" answer kind of thing. Guys are supposed to be good at that.
But he's different. He's not like other guys. He doesn't look at girls. Much less talk to them. He's loved me ever since he knew what love was. Or so I'd like to believe.
After a point(the point comes somewhere in the 2nd year of your relationship, assuming you've known him/her for more than 3 years before you jumped right in.).. anyway, after a certain point, you know when to expect his first call in the morning, even though you beg him not to wake you up, you know what he'll order in every restaurant in the city, you know he'll bring you flowers only when you remind him to, and even then you can bet he'll say "the damn shop was closed!", you know he'll bring you a gift every new year and every festival, you know he'll crib about the petrol hike and continue to take you on those long drives, you know he'll tell you that you're looking exotic, breathtaking, incredible and some other synonyms later, he won't really try to be innovative and he'll go back to plain old "beautiful".
Maybe it's the certainties that form the foundations of a forever relationship.

"What's so romantic about growing old with someone? When does old begin? With the first sachet of hair dye? Or when you start cutting down the sugar? For that matter, when does young end? You know it won't ever. Not when your eyes meet across a crowded room, and the magic is the same as the moment you met." - O&M

Thanks Shwetha for reminding me how precious this is. :)