I think people tend to overemphasize the physical passion side and miss the more subtle emotional landscape. In a story like 'The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics', the central tension wasn't just attraction, it was the profound intellectual intimacy and shared purpose. The characters fall for each other's minds first, sharing a secret language of science and art that their society dismisses. That creates a kind of emotional exclusivity that's incredibly potent.
Passion then erupts from that foundation of being truly seen and understood in a way no one else sees you. It's less about a 'scene' and more about the lingering touch after a shared triumph, the silent communication across a crowded room. The most electric moments are often the quiet ones where a character chooses vulnerability, revealing a fear or a dream, and the other doesn't just accept it but cherishes it. That's the core dynamic I look for – passion as a natural outgrowth of deep emotional safety and mutual recognition, not the other way around.