About an hour into their call, while Killian was describing one of Alfie's particularly amusing trips from the day, that had resulted in the little boy face-planting into wet sand, he was interrupted by a sharp rap on Emma's trailer door.

"That's probably someone from wardrobe," she explained, as she leaned back in her seat to call out, "It's open."

Killian wasn't sure he'd be able to handle the rest of the call, knowing that Emma was undressing somewhere just off screen, so he prepared himself to say his goodbyes. But was stopped dead in his tracks when someone he didn't recognize made their way up the steps, and into the small room.

Because Killian knew instantly that the person who had come to see his friend wasn't from the wardrobe department.

"Hey Emma. Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise you were busy."

"It's okay," she assured the newcomer. "I was just talking to Killian. What's up, Graham?"

Graham!

Killian had heard about him. He was playing one of the extras in the movie, but from what Emma had told him so far, Graham seemed to be more interested in her, than he was in the production schedule.

Not that Emma had realised it.

Killian was certain she was clueless about how men looked at her sometimes.

"I was um..." Graham paused for a moment to fidget awkwardly, and suddenly Killian felt his stomach begin to churn. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was coming next.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a drink with me, before you head home?" he asked nervously.

Killian felt like he was watching a train wreck. He couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from the screen, as he waited for Emma's answers. And yet, at the same time, he felt a little sick watching the entire scene unfold. There was a large part of his brain screaming NO, NO, NO on a loop, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

From everything Emma had said about the guy so far, Graham was the perfect kind of date for her. He was relatively new to the industry, which meant that he wasn't the kind of jaded scumbags she had often described meeting for dates. Emma seemed to enjoy all of their interactions together on set, and had even gone as far as to describe Graham as someone who could become a good friend.

And yet, every one of Killian's instincts was telling him that he hated the guy.

"Killian!" Emma called out, startling his attention back to her once more.

"Sorry. Mam was just yelling something at me," he lied. "What's wrong?"

"I was asking if I could call you back later tonight?"

"Yes, of course," he told her, putting on his best smile as he did, while he cursed himself internally. Killian had been so busy fixating on all of the ways in which he hated Graham, (like how his eyes were a little too narrow, suggesting that maybe he shouldn't be fully trusted), and had completely missed Emma's answer to the guy's question.

Surely she wouldn't have accepted his offer, right?

"Call me when you get some time," he told her.

"I will do. Send the boys and everyone else my love."

Emma waited just long enough for him to nod his agreement before she reached out to end the connection. But he still managed to catch the way she turned to face Graham as she did, flashing Killian a glimpse of her bare back in the process.

"Fuck," he cursed, slamming his own laptop closed with his frustration.

Why did he suddenly care so much about who Emma spent her time with? It had never been an issue for him before.

"She's not gonna date him," a soft voice whispered from the doorway.

Killian jerked his head up to meet his sister-in-law's eyes, before narrowing his own.

"I was coming to tell you dinner was ready," she rushed to assure him. "I promise I wasn't eaves dropping. I just caught the tail end of your conversation. I did announce my presence, but you seemed pretty out of it."

"Sorry. Long day," Killian chuckled. "What um… why would you think I cared if she dated Graham or not?"

Anna hesitated for a moment before she took a step to place herself fully inside of the room, and closed the door softly behind her.

"It's okay, Killian. I'm not gonna tell anyone else. You can trust me."

"Trust you with what?" he laughed. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Anna."

"I think you do," she replied. "I think you're trying to fight it, but deep down, I think you know exactly what's going on."

"As you seem to know so much, why don't you enlighten me?" he snapped back at her.

Killian had never spoken to his sister-in-law that way before, but she was poking at something even he didn't quite understand, and lashing out had seemed like the best way to make her stop.

"You have feelings for her," Anna replied gently. "And that's okay."

Killian didn't need to ask who the her was. There was only one her in his life that it could possibly be.

"I don't have feeling for Emma," he protested.

All of his feelings for her were completely platonic. The kind all friends shared with each other. And his current sexual attraction to her was just a result of seeing her bring his favourite superhero to life. It was more of an attraction to Dream Girl, than it was to Emma.

At least, that was what he had been telling himself.

"She's my friend. Nothing more."

"You know… there was a time where we all believed that." Anna propped herself against the edge of the desk, careful not to sit on the expensive technology that was spread across it, as she fixed Killian with a heavy stare. "And I'm sure you and Emma believed that too. But it's okay for feelings to change. To grow and develop. That's natural."

"Nothing's growing and developing," he spat back at her.

Killian really wasn't sure where Anna was getting this ridiculous idea of hers from. But it was the last thing he wanted to hear from her that evening.

"Really?" she asked, cocking a brow in his direction as she folded her arms across her chest. It was a look Killian had seen plenty of times before. Although, it was normally only aimed at his nephews, when they were misbehaving.

"So it honestly wouldn't bother you if Emma went on a date with Graham? Maybe you should call her back and tell her that," she encouraged, slipping her hand into her pocket to pull out her phone. "I'm sure Emma will love knowing she has your support here. And as you're her best friend, I'm sure she'll wanna tell you all about it too. Tell you about where he takes her, and what they do. She'll probably tell you about their first kiss, and how giddy it made her feel inside. And a few months later, she's gonna wanna tell you about how perfect the moment was for their first time together. How gentle and sweet Graham was with her."

Killian screwed his eyes shut as if that would help block out the images his mind was creating at Anna's words. Emma in a pretty dress, similar to the one she'd worn for Tribeca Film Festival, sat opposite Graham in a restaurant, as the two of them laughed together. Graham holding her hand as he walked her back to her apartment, and the kiss he'd give her goodnight. Their naked bodies writhing together on top of her colourful bedspread, as Emma arched her back and called out Graham's name.

"Yeah. I didn't think so," Anna pointed out smugly, as she watched the emotions flit over his features.

But Killian could barely hear her.

All of those invasive thoughts and strange feelings that he'd written off as being just a product of their closeness had come rushing back to him, hitting him in the gut one… after another… after another. Culminating in his irrational hatred for the man he had just watched ask his best friend out on a date.

Killian didn't hate Graham, he was jealous of him.

"Are you okay?" Anna worried, as she rushed over to where he was standing. Killian looked like he was about to fall down.

"Oh God," he whispered, as it finally hit him.

His back collided with the wall behind him, and he felt himself slowly sliding to the floor, until he was able to cradle his head between his legs.

Anna was right.

Their friendship had started off as exactly that. A friendship.

The two of them had always been close, but it wasn't like it was now.

Somewhere along the line, they had developed a closeness that had managed to sneak up on them both, transforming their friendship from one that was supportive and platonic, to that of being intimate and loving. They'd started seeking the kind of comfort from each other that could only come from the person who knew you best.

The kind of comfort he'd watched Anna and Liam offer to each other throughout their relationship.

And while Killian still loved Emma as his best friend, he was starting to realise that his feelings for her were no longer as platonic as he had once believed them to be.

"I'm falling for her."

"You're probably the last person in the world to work that out," Anna chuckled, as she slid down to the floor beside her brother-in-law. "But it's okay, Killian. This isn't a bad thing."

"How is this not a bad thing?" he worried, tugging on his hair anxiously.

"Why would it be?" she countered. "You're single. Emma's single. You have this insane chemistry with each other. There's literally nothing bad about this situation."

"I can think of a million things wrong with this situation," he threw back at her. "Like the fact that she doesn't feel the same way about me, for a start. Or how about the fact that she's my best friend, and I really don't wanna lose her. Or how about Graham, who she's now about to go and get drinks with? How about..."

Anna cut him off before he could say anything else. She could see the way his mind was spiralling into despair, and that was the last thing she had wanted to achieve that evening. "Okay. First of all… you're not gonna know how Emma feels about you until you ask her. For all you know, she loves you just as much as you love her."

Killian snorted out a, "yeah, right," but Anna barrelled on as if she hadn't heard him.

"Secondly, Graham is not an issue. Trust me. Emma has no interest in him romantically. At all."

"You can't possibly know that," Killian protested.

"Oh, really?" Anna fished her phone back out of her pocket to pull up her most recent message thread with Emma. She'd wanted to thank her friend for thinking of Alfie and Adrian while she had been travelling, and as most of their conversations tended to do, things had spiralled from there.

"I'm sure she won't mind you reading it. But just in case, allow me to highlight the key points for you." Her fingers scrolled up a little to the place where Graham had first come up, and Anna read aloud as Killian skimmed through their conversation. "'He's a sweet guy, but he's not really my type. I feel like the wardrobe girl, Ruby, would be a much better match for him. They have a lot in common.'"

She cocked a brow that screamed, I told you so, but Killian was far too busy freaking out over his revelation to tell her to knock it off.

"Mum," came a yell from somewhere just outside of the door, and Killian's eyes widened in fear. He wasn't ready to face anyone else just yet, and he'd forgotten that he was stuck in a house full of his family.

"Don't worry," Anna assured him, "I'll take care of everything. I'll tell them that you're not feeling well and sneak you some leftovers a little later, okay? Take as much time as you need."

"MUM!"

"I'm coming, Alfie," she yelled back, before turning soft eyes back to her brother-in-law once more. "Just remember, this isn't a bad thing, Killian."

She squeezed his bicep gently before pushing herself back up to her feet to leave the room, and find her son, who was waiting impatiently outside for her.

Killian heard through the crack in the door as Alfie asked if his uncle was okay, before Anna replied with, "Uncle Killian's just feeling a little poorly right now. I'm sure he'll be fine in the morning."

But Killian wasn't sure he would ever be 'fine' again, after his revelation that evening.

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