Chalcogen bonds (ChBs) are often interpreted as -hole driven electrostatic interactions between a chalcogen atom and a Lewis base, yet their covalent character remains under active discussion. Here, we present a real-space, reference-free study of prototypical complexes (; ) using the Interacting Quantum Atoms (IQA) energy decomposition within the framework of the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules. Molecular electrostatic potential, Laplacian, and electron localization function analyses confirm the presence and modulation of -holes upon complexation, while IQA formation energies reveal a broad stability range, from weakly bound to strongly stabilized systems. Energy decomposition shows that exchange-correlation contributions systematically dominate fragment interaction energies, whereas the classical Coulomb term can be secondary or even destabilizing, ruling out a purely electrostatic description. Atomic-level analysis further demonstrates that stabilization arises from a collectiv