Physical contact is tricky for Glacius as well, given how nuanced it is in his culture. His people, being beings that liked their space, usually only initiated it in this manner when they were rather close--of course little touches of support or solidarity were fine, but the frequency and length of the contact that the ice alien and the human have come to share are a step beyond that now. Glacius and Carlisle have managed to jump right over that hurdle, given how often they had to see to each other's physical injuries... and that giving of themselves out of necessity, as Carlisle has viewed it, had helped the transition feel a bit more natural.

And then there's the contact he had initiated now, which involved his underbody... that was decidedly more intimate than even regular physical contact, and yet Glacius doesn't feel uncomfortable about it either--physically, yes, the exposure to the warm air around him hurts, but emotionally... he is doing what he needs to do to see to someone he cares about. He's glad to see that his attempts are paying off... he's fairly certain that grateful smile is the first positive expression he's seen to grace the clergyman's face tonight and it does a lot to refresh his hearts, to dull some of the pain he'd been feeling every since his double first laid into him.

"As long as you are trying, you could never disappoint me," the ice alien assures him, shifting a little closer. "And... I appreciate you... saying all this. I... I do not mean to seem weak, or needed, but I... I needed to hear it, after what happened." Glacius exhales quietly as he gets that admission out--it hadn't been easy, then looks into Carlisle's eyes again. "From here on out, if anyone attempts to undermine our friendship, I will believe in the strength of what we have forged. I... I won't do you the disservice of doubting you again."