what makes a relationship tick?

I think you need both, as well as trust, and communication. A relationship will never go anywhere without a foundation, and those four are the cornerstones in my book.

Communication is the main foundation for starting a relationship and keeping it in tack . If communication should be misunderstood everything will fall apart . Passion is very important , you must feel attractive to that person not just physically but for the person they are on the inside . How they live their daily life . Honesty; be honest with yourself and your partner and respect their feelings . I think all that fall under love category , because if you really love someone you dont want to see them hurt . :)

Both are important. No matter how many temptations you are faced with, as long as you love and respect your partner, you would not dare give in. The fear of losing someone is a good reason enough for respect and love to exist in a healthy relationship. Thinking about how will you start functioning again once that person leaves you, is hard to deal with.

I don't see how the two can be separated. I just don't. So I can't add to this discussion except to say that Love and respect must go together. I think if you just respect someone, they are on your level of 'friendship love'. If you just Love someone but do not respect them, then you are in for heartache because their personality will disappoint you every time and you will always have to rationalize the fact that they are just idiots. They are idiots because they cannot be respected. So you can love an idiot, but it will be a little harder.