So I am confused. It has been a bit so I may have forgotten but what is Ian holding back from Lena in the newest chapter during my pure Ian/Lena run? She commented multiple times (in her head) how he seemed to be holding back. Was this something from chapter 12 I am forgetting?
In the Holly trinity run it had that weird cut to her with Ian alone but I am guessing that one was a bug because it seemed so out of place and random.
Yes, Ian is still holding back from forming a true connection again, because he is still hurting from Gillian's betrayel. Lena sort of knows the story, but doesn't really know how deeply it affected Ian. There is a scene at the end of chapter 11 if they're both loyal to each other, where Lena thinks to herself that Ian is helping her move past the hurt she suffered at the hands of Axel, and that she hopes she can do the same for Ian.
So that line about how she's noticing him holding back is a call back to the pain and the hurt he is suffering, and that while he has likely moved past Gillian thanks to Lena; he isn't ready to make that similar connection again.