The first few times he says it to her the words are laced with anguish and shame, forced from his lips like some kind of sin he is begging her to absolve him of with pleading eyes and furrowed brow. Words that precious should never carry so much weight, so much pain, so much inescapable guilt and yet the impossibility of their situation crowds around them and suffocates whatever joy and light those words would usually bring leaving only the stabbing, hollow, sting behind. It is this sting that leaves her gasping for breath and looking away every time he utters the words her heart so desperately longs to hear, but her mind shrieks that she has no right to. It is the weight of her own regret that has those same words lodging in her throat and choking her into silence while her very soul screams them back to him.
The first time she says the words to him she is almost certain she will burst if she has to hold them inside of her any longer. She is covered in grime from her battle with the Snow Queen, blood and mud caked on her trousers and streaked across her face, but she couldn't care less. All she sees is the beautiful thief in front of her, finally free of his bond to his wife and smiling at her like she is the sun itself and the words burst forth from her before she can stop them.
"I love you. I. Love. You."
Before she can say it again he closes the distance between them with two quick steps and pulls her into his arms, molding his mouth over hers. His left hand tangles in her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss while his other arm wraps around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground so that her body is flush with his. It is like this, with his arms still firmly wrapped around her and her feet slightly off the ground, their limbs tangled and chests pressed together that he breaks the kiss and grins back at her, his blue eyes swimming with affection and relief.
"I love you too, milady. I love you too."