Adam did not quite know what to make of that expression. Too many times over the years he had seen it employed for uses many and varied, and not just by his old friend James. It was unsettling on a deep, animal level, a fact compounded by James' new proximity: They were so close now that the slightest shift in posture brushed them against one another, a motion at once feather-light and strangely forceful. Adam could not have said how it had happened, but at some point he had lost all control of this interaction, once again at James' mercy, playing thoughtlessly into his hands. But he took not a single step back, even straightening up as he fought to show a certainty he did not feel.
"It is good to see you," he said, though the moment the words slipped free, Adam wondered if they were true. "Just... a surprise," he added, equivocating. With marked effort he kept his black eyes on his friend's, unblinking in spite of the discomfort his steady gaze caused. At last he quirked a broader smile, attempting to laugh, at least, at his own boyish awkwardness. "So what brings you back," he asked, "after all this time?"