This again? Of course this again, you poor deluded souls. Their relationship was the ONE THING they did consent to, the one thing that happened that made them happy and the one thing that was real in their lives. In their own words, they reminded each other how to be human. And because freedom of choice, and the questioning of authority that went with it, was the last thing the Red Room wanted from them, they were both punished severely in different ways when their relationship was discovered.
And for fuck’s sake, it wasn’t sex that their relationship was based on, although, boy, did they ever enjoy that, it was the acceptance and trust that both had been deprived of, the ability to be loving people and not weapons, with the sex as a happy bonus. The sex was good because of what they meant to each other–an affirmation of their humanity–not separate.
When reunited, it was over a year before they got together–and it wasn’t because they wanted sex, even though both of them remembered just how good they were together in that way–it was because the acceptance and trust returned, along with
friendship and unshakable faith in each other. Then they got back together, as equals, friends, and lovers.
Some people seem to feel compelled to twist it into something it wasn’t, but the fact is, it may well have been one of the healthiest and most mutually supportive relationships in comics, in that it’s based on absolute and undying respect.
Addendum: There wasn’t a big age gap, either. In the comics, It was about a 3 or 4 year age difference and both were adults. So…not a thing.