It's pretty straightforward for me. If I can ask, "do I love this person? Do they love me?" and ask "are we in some kind of ongoing communication and contact?" and answer "Yes" to both, then by my definitions I'm in a capital-R relationship with that person, probably as a sweetie, maybe a partner if there's also chemistry. And my willingness to support that person and be there for that person and be loving and affectionate all follow from those fundamentals, for me.