Ah. Well, that explains your reaction when I told you, about 18 months ago, that I considered us to be *friends*. For me, friendship is more what the others are describing. As a friend, I might or might not feel *love* toward you, but I certainly care about you and you could be very significant to me.

Would it help if you were to make this a three-dimensional map, like those political affiliation things that we've done in the past? It feels to me like you occupy a space somewhere in amongst friend and chosen family. For you, that doesn't seem to make sense (as here) unless there's a sexual or romantic component. While "chosen family" for me CAN have sexual or romantic components, apparently it doesn't HAVE to.