Teddy can't stand it when James is like this, lying next to him, chattering away at nothing, as if they had not just shagged. He's naked and smoking a cigarette, grinning up at Teddy as the words drop lazily off his tongue.
"...it's mad, isn't it? And last week I was talking to Rose and she said..."
It's not as if Teddy expects flowers or heartfelt confessions or anything. He knows that, to James, he's just another warm body to keep him company. He probably does the same things with his Quidditch teammates, and with the bunch of arseholes he calls friends. Teddy is his best mate, but when it comes to this, he's just one face in a lineup.
"I'm gonna shower, " Teddy says, getting up. "I've got to be at work by nine."
James stops mid-sentence. "O-okay."
Teddy doesn't mind, not really. James has no obligation to him. Somewhere in between their jokes and motorbike rides and drunken nights spent binging Muggle movies from the 80s, there was a little bit of this, too. It doesn't have to mean anything.
Teddy turns on the shower and lets the water drown out his thoughts.
It's too quiet in this room, after their early morning shag. James can't let the silence go. He fills up the air with empty words as he watches the other bloke sitting, shirtless, every inch of him haloed in the lamplight, the iron-black magical tattoos on his arms and upper chest, shifting and curling in mesmerizing patterns.
He's not even looking at James.
The words James really wants to say are stuck on his tongue. What's the point? Teddy hears only what he wants to hear. If he tells him he loves him, the reply is always "Sure thing, mate, I love you too," but James doesn't mean it like that. What he means is this, them, this closeness between the sheets. But how do you talk about things like forever without sounding too clingy, too naive? They're best mates, isn't that enough for him?
Teddy stands abruptly. He mumbles something about work and runs towards the bathroom.
"O-okay," James says. He watches him go and says nothing, even though it's cold this morning and Teddy's absence leaves a chill at his side.