Emma knew she probably looked like an idiot, standing there open-mouthed, blinking furiously at the man in front of her, but she didn't care. It really had been a long time since she had seen the youngest Jones brother and the years had been good to him. So good.

It didn't really matter to her anyway, she'd promised herself long ago that Killian Jones was off limits, this just made it a little bit harder to remember why she'd decided not to pursue him. Emma closed her mouth and opened it again in quick succession, struggling to think of something, anything, to say to him, when a large hand clapped around Killian's shoulder making them both start.

"It's good to have you back, brother!"

Right, that was why she had never gone entertained the idea of her and Killian - Liam. Her best friend. The only constant she had had in her entire life. Emma knew, as soon as she first realised she had feelings for her best friend's brother, that she could never be with Killian. The risk of things going sour would not just ruin the tentative friendship that she had with him but would also potentially destroy the almost lifelong friendship she had with the eldest Jones.

Liam had been there for her through the hardest parts of her life, being moved from home to home had been bearable knowing that Liam would always be around, his grin wide as he waited outside each new foster home, ready to walk to school with her. The year she was moved to a new home outside of Maine, to a new school, new people, had been the worst without Liam's constant teasing and easy conversation. They had talked on the phone every day and Emma had known then that her friendship with Liam was the most important thing in her life, the only thing, the onlyperson, she could truly rely on. They'd both laughed and hugged and clung to each other the day she moved back and was able to enroll at her old school again.

He'd been there through the ups and downs, good grades, bad foster parents, getting accepted to college, Neal. Ok, maybe he hadn't been there in person, but Emma knew if it weren't for Liam then she would have given birth to her son cuffed to a hospital bed with no other choice than to abandon him, just like her parents had done to her.

Her son. Liam had become like a surrogate uncle to her precious Henry and Emma was thankful that he had such a strong male presence in his life, Liam not allowing him to miss out on any of the things the other boys did with their dads. Henry always boasted to his friends with pride in his voice when he told them how his Uncle Liam owned a ship and that he was it's first mate but Uncle Liam had told him that one day he would be a captain just like him.

So, yeah, Killian Jones was out of bounds as far as Emma Swan was concerned. It had been easy to hide her crush from him in high school, easy to hide it even from Liam who could read her like a goddamn book, but that was before. Before Neal, before Henry, before gangly, ears too big, lips too small, glasses-wearing, comic book reading Killian Jones had shown up looking like a freaking adonis. Emma bit her lip as she looked at the man in front of her and tried to reconcile him with the Killian she knew, shy and awkward. This man was none of that. He exuded confidence, he looked good and he knew it, an air about him that gave him an appeal that he never had when he was younger. Emma shook her head a little, realising she was still staring at that both Liam and Killian had quirked an eyebrow at her, both giving her identical quizzical looks, heads tilted to the side.

"Alright there, Swan?" God, even his voice was sexier than she remembered. She had always loved both of their accents, had spent nights curled up on their couch getting them to repeat certain words just so she could giggle or sigh at they way their tongues curled around the words.

"Yeah!" She squeaked before clearing her throat and stepping forward to wrap Killian in a hug. "It's so good to see you, Killian. You, ah, you look good."

"Oh, I know, Swan." He murmured into her ear before pulling away. Emma had to stop the shiver that was working it's way down her spine from the way his breath felt, warm puffs against the shell of her ear. "But it's always nice to hear it from someone as lovely as yourself."

Emma swallowed thickly at the way his eyebrow raised, his head tipped forward slightly to look at her fro under his lashes, tongue pressing lightly into his cheek. She forced herself to blink and was mentally congratulating herself on not swooning under his gaze when Killian was wincing, successfully distracted by a clap round the back of his head.

"Sorry, Em. No doubt you remember that this idiot is insufferable at the best of times. Clearly that hasn't changed." Liam raised his eyebrows at his brother, who was now rubbing the back of his head, eyes narrowed at his sibling.

"Aye, sorry, lass." Killian turned his attention back to her, his smile warm and genuine, "It's good to see you, Emma."

"Are you back for long?" Emma was proud at the way her voice came out even and calm, something she didn't feel on the inside.

"Aye, actually, I, uh, I wanted to ask Liam here," he gestured to his brother before reaching up to scratch nervously behind his ear again, "If he wouldn't mind having me here indefinitely."

Liam grinned wide before grabbing his brother in a big hug, clapping him on the back while thoroughly agreeing to having his brother back for good. Killian smiled at his brother before turning to Emma and extended his arm, inviting her into their embrace. Emma moved forward allowing Killian and Liam to wrap their arms around her, squeezing her tight as she melted into them. Liam squeezed again, pressing her face into Killian's chest and she breathed deep inhaling his scent.

Well, she thought, this makes things a lot more complicated.