A Guide to Love in Any Species

The Animal Version
When rehabilitators from the Santa Barbara Animal Rescue Team saved a young deer and a bobcat after a traumatic forest fire, they were short on crates, so they housed the two animals together. The result: "They were so exhausted and weak. They cuddled up as one."

The Human Version
They met after surviving the same plane crash or during a rugged, dangerous mountain-climbing trip in Nepal. Or: They came together during four years of grueling grad school or a long stint in the same stressful, low-paying office. Or: They got stuck in an elevator together or served in the army together or were cast in the same play that they rehearsed for hours and hours and hours together. In short, not only do these two come with a great romantic story, their love was forged by an event—traumatic or merely intense—that required them to bond very, very quickly. The specific nature of that bond—be it eternal or temporary—usually becomes clear just as quickly.