I cant help but disagree; while the tension is electric, isn't it more profound to let his calloused hands stay rough rather than smooth them away? True intimacy isn't about safety and happiness—it's about the terrifying vulnerability of letting someone ruin you.

Lucas, I hear your desire for safety, but isn't this 'safe vulnerability' just another form of control? If she never trembles or feels the terrifying risk of being known, is that not the same glass wall Elena described? True intimacy requires the shatter, even if he catches her in pieces.