Um. I wouldn't go quite so far as that analogy... but, er, yeah, sorta. I mean, Avon can't even tell the woman he actually loved that he loved her. And Cally's really not that much better, when you look at her. It's just not a show that encourages sentimentality, and they're not sentimental characters.

I read one fic where they came close to being functional lovers, and it worked only because it was clearly delineated as a purely physical convenience thing, and the 'l' word would have put a screeching halt to the whole thing, and the whole arrangement was a little awkward, despite the good sex.