Q: what am I supposed to do when in little conversations my partner keeps saying things like "you're terrible" but he says that by saying that he means that he loves me? like why can't he just then say that he loves me?
A: there might be some interesting stylistic nuance that he's conveying, but, regardless, you aren't perceiving it. so i think it's probably important for the two of you to start talking about how you communicate, so you can understand each other better