A/N: Thanks for all the comments, follows, and favorites! They mean so much to me:)

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The bar wasn't crowded just yet, but he could see the stirrings of a good night. On nights like this they usually waited for each other at the bar or at least somewhere close by. And it looked like she had been able to save him a seat.

"Hey, did you hear from Neal?" Killian slipped onto the barstool next to Emma.

He watched as her eyes went wide and how she patted down her jacket.

"Did you talk to him?"

And it made Killian smile. "I'm almost tempted to think that you are avoiding his calls. How is it that he can never reach you, Ems?"

Emma pulled out her phone and searched through the contents.

"He said that he won't be able to make it tonight," he told her as she still looked through her text messages.

"He said that he's going to go in tomorrow morning for some overtime, so drinking has to be out for the night," Emma murmured, looking down at the screen. "He's sorry." Her eyes flew up to his, a look of something that hinted to curiosity.

"Yeah, I talked to him," Killian assured her. "He said you weren't answering. I'm lucky that I found you." He didn't know what it was. He didn't know what that peculiar look was. Why her eyes seemed a bit sad and her mouth just slightly turned down.

"Maybe you're not up to this either. Did… did you want to just go home?"

There was a lift of her eyebrows as she watched him.

"No," she said after a short pause. And then that sadness turned into a frown. "No. It was a long day at work and I just want to unwind."

So what was that look for?

"Are you sure, Emma?"

She offered him a half smile. "Yeah. I'm looking forward to relaxing with a few shots of tequila. Don't you want to join me?" She grabbed at his hand and squeezed tightly.

"I'm all for it." And he was. It had been one of those days for himself.

"Good." Emma signaled the bartender. "Tequila shot. Please."

"Make that two."

Emma nodded. "You're going to venture out with me, and I like it."

It made Killian smile. It was going to just be the two of them tonight…

"Neal's going to work on a Saturday, which means…"

"He won't be able to go to the gym tomorrow," Emma finished for him. "It'll be just the two of us. That's fine. Neal would have been off on his own anyway. It's no big deal."

Killian sat up straight on the barstool and turned to look at her.

"You know who would likely be keen on joining us, since Neal can't make it?" He shook his head. "I'm sure if I called her-"

"You're not serious," Emma huffed, rolling her eyes to showcase her pure disgust. "I know you're not about to suggest calling Ariel to invite her."

Killian caught his lip with his teeth, trying to contain the grin. "You said that you were going to be nice."

Her eyes squinted on him. "And I also said that I would be honest. They are two in the same, Killian."

"Hey." He pulled her into his arms. It was instinctive, the need to hold her in that moment. "Hey. I was only kidding."

Her arms went around his shoulders and she held him tighter in their embrace.

"You better be." The murmur came close to his ear, soft and alluring.

Killian felt his mind began to race. It was supposed to be a conciliatory hug. Something to appease his teasing her. What it was not supposed to be was warm, cozy, intimate. It wasn't supposed to speed up his heart. He wasn't supposed to breathe her in and not want to let her go.

But that hug was all of those things and so much more.

He felt her fingertips hold firm at the nape of his neck as he pulled back.

"Tequila's here."

Emma pushed herself off of him and back onto her barstool.

It was a quick and fleeting glance between them. Quick, fleeting, and nothing.

"Bottoms up, Killian." Emma smiled. She lifted her shot glass and waited for him to do the same. "Now let's see if you can keep up with me."

He loved the sass. She was going to be fully on tonight. So…

"I think that is a challenge, Ms. Swan. One that I fully accept."

He watched her over the top of his glass as both shots went down.

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He didn't know who he would have considered the victor in her contest. Not when he had the forethought to stop after a few of those tequila shots and beers. Emma, in all her tininess, had not had that much forethought. Killian was sure he had lost count of how many she had actually downed.

His decline of moving to the dance floor had not deterred her in the least. The bar was now at full capacity, and it had been a little difficult to keep track of her out there.

Killian eventually caught sight of her, making her way through the throng of bodies and back his way. Even if it was clear that she was drunk, he couldn't help but smile. It wasn't sloppy (yet), just a certain buzz that she seemed to be quite enjoying.

"Killian."

He found the fact that she wasn't slurring a positive.

"Killian, why didn't you come with me?" Emma poked out her bottom lip as she moved even closer to him.

"I'm dead tired, Ems," he told her with a shake of his head. "Just looking at you is exhausting."

Emma ran her hands over her face, scrubbing roughly at her cheeks. She opened her eyes so that she could watch him. There was a slight twinkle about those eyes.

"I think I won," she said matter-of-factly.

Looking up at her, he guessed that he would concede to that. "I think you won."

And it made Emma giggle. She broke out into a fit of giggles.

Killian watched as she moved quickly over to him, her steps surprisingly fluent.

Arms outstretched and ready, she plopped herself down onto his lap. Those arms closed around his neck loosely and she laid her head down on his shoulder.

She was… drunk, Killian thought with a slight smile. His fingers danced over the back of her head, tempted… They found the silky strands of blonde hair that fell down her back. For a moment, they lay just like that, hovering over that spot. And then… his fingers buried and tangled themselves deep into that mass.

"It's late," he murmured. "We should get going."

There was a moment of silence. She was so still that he wondered if she had actually dozed off. His fingers deepened their search in her hair as his free arm draped over her lap. He would wait, just another moment. Because, lying against him, she felt...

"Killian?" His name left her mouth on a hushed breath. Emma pushed herself away from him so that she could see his face. And once again, like before, there was a sadness there.

Emma's eyes opened wide as she looked down at his chest. Her mouth was tense and formed a straight line.

"What is it, Emma?" He didn't know. He didn't like the sadness. Didn't know what had caused it. But he knew that he wanted it to go away.

Her hands found his chest and moved slowly up to his shoulders.

Her pause lingered as her eyes fell on any part of him but his face.

"Ariel has green eyes."

It came out of nowhere, maybe a place from her drunken haze. Killian had to think about that. Her eyes weren't blue. Or brown. Hazel, no. So…

"Yes, Ariel's eyes are green."

Emma looked up at him then.

"Do you like that her eyes are green?" she asked him softly.

Such an odd…

"Because my eyes are green, too."

The shining jade orbs.

"I know, Emma."

"Do you?"

"Of course."

Her hands closed firmly over his shoulders.

"So? Do you like her green eyes, Killian?"

He shrugged from underneath her hands. "I like her eyes."

Her gaze narrowed down on his. "What about my eyes then? Do you like my eyes, Killian?"

Emma had gorgeous eyes. Those eyes, shrouded in an apparent sadness, were still beautiful now.

"I-"

"Because you never seemed to notice my eyes before," Emma continued in her soft and sad whisper. "You never seemed to notice anything about me. Not my eyes. Not my mouth. Not my body. You notice absolutely nothing about me. Why?"

It had come out of nowhere- this lie. Because he noticed her.

"Emma, you're drunk," he reminded her.

She tilted her head back.

"Why did you bring her?" she whispered, looking straight into his eyes. "Why did you want me to meet her, Killian?"

She was all over the place with her thoughts, and he didn't know if he was following her correctly.

"I wanted to know what you would think of her, Emma. I wanted you to like her."

"You don't even like her," she told him with a deep frown creasing her forehead. "Not like that. And you shouldn't. She's a mouse! A little mouse who is not worthy of you."

Killian smiled at that. Both hands came to rest at her waist.

"I heard that tequila has a way of making you crazy, not honest." He squeezed there. "But it's serving as some sort of truth serum for you tonight." He sighed as he peered confusedly into her face. "You don't like Ariel."

"I like you!" Emma's hands closed over his and she held on tight.

It was the way she had said it. She was drunk… and she was saying things… and they didn't make sense.

"You don't know her, Emma." Killian licked at his lips, nerves leaving him feeling a chill. "I see you and Neal together. You're happy. I want that, too."

Her face turned into a scowl as her hands moved again. They were quick to find their spot back on his shoulders.

"You're an idiot, Killian Jones." And maybe this time there was a bit of fury behind those eyes. "Two years. I've loved you for two years."

"Emma, what…" Because he didn't know what she was saying. She couldn't be saying…

If Killian had done anything, it was tamper down any and all things related to looking at Emma as anything more than a friend and the girlfriend of his best friend.

"And that means nothing to you," she continued, the anger building. "Two years. Then you have the nerve to put some mouse in front of me and say that she is the one you like. You look right through me on a nearly daily basis, and you don't see me."

But he did see her. Every day he saw her.

"Emma, you're drunk and you don't know what you're saying."

Her fingers moved up and towards the back of his head. He felt the way they sifted through the hair there, feeling achingly good, as she pressed her chest against his.

"I know what I'm saying." She was so close. "And if it means you'll for once in your life say that you notice me as a woman who is vital and beautiful and worthy of you, I'll say more."

She was drunk and he shouldn't…

"Emma." His hand moved from her waist so that he could caress her cheek. It was a soft cheek, warm and inviting him in.

Something was wrong. Either he really was here in this moment and drunker than he previously believed, or this was all a dream his subconscious had dreamed up. There was no alternative. There was no way that he was actually living this moment. There was no way that Emma was saying things that he had never before let him dream possible.

But that cheek felt real under his palm. Soft and smooth.

Her eyes closed instantly at the touch, and he could feel the tremble that ran across her whole body.

"Emma."

"I love you, Killian." Her eyes opened languidly. "I'm in love with you. And I have been in love with you, you idiot, for a very long time."

His eyes locked on hers. This was real, right? Every word out of her mouth had been spoken to him. Every touch had been more than just a touch, but a caress.

"Emma."

He didn't know who had moved first. He didn't know whose fingers entwined in the other's hair first, pulling them closer. He didn't know whose lips had reached for the other first, signaling this soft and gentle first kiss. He didn't know who moaned first in delight, but heard the intermingling of theirs together.

A kiss that began timidly soon turned into something more.

She was a vixen- a minx. Her hands came to capture his face on either side, pressing his head back. It was her tongue that invaded his mouth as she positioned herself on his lap so that most of her was pressing up against his chest.

Killian followed where she lead. It was a firm hand that grabbed at the back of her head, pulling her down to meet his mouth. Her deep moans and light tremble encouraged him.

She tasted of tequila, but she tasted of so much more. This was Emma. And that fact tore a low growl from him.

She was grinding her hip against him, driving him a bit mad at the feel. She was still sitting across his lap, and all he could think about was what it would be like to have her straddling him instead. Then maybe he could drive her crazy, too, at the feel of his immediate arousal.

His arousal.

Killian's eyes sprang open as his thoughts brought reality back into the forefront.

Shit.

He pushed Emma away from him, pushed her back.

Emma was hesitant to move, a moan escaping her throat as she moved back on the search for his mouth.

"Emma."

Shit.

Neal.

What just happened?

"Killian?" She finally opened her eyes and looked at him. "Do you love me, too?"

Shit! What just happened?

"Emma." The panic was setting in. "Emma, get up." He didn't wait for her to do it herself. Instead, he lifted her up off of him, standing her up in front of him.

She was drunk. She didn't know what she was saying. And he had kissed his best friend's girlfriend. He had made out with Emma, and had wanted to do more. He had been living out a dream that he had not let himself reach too far at.

Killian was quick to stand up.

"We have to get out of here," he told her.

"Are you going to take me home?" Her eyes looked hopeful as she came to drape her arms over him once again.

This was Emma.

"I'm going to take you home," he agreed.

Killian was appreciative of her fluidity at the time. He took her hand in his- just her hand. His heart was still beating like mad.

He didn't look back at her, as he moved them through the bar to the exit. His head was still muddled with misund

erstandings. Looking at her would not help in the matter.

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Pulling up to a red light, Killian took a skeptical glance over towards the passenger seat.

Emma had fallen asleep the moment he put her in her car. He was hopeful that she was just asleep and hadn't actually passed out due to all the tequila she had downed.

Shit.

It was the thought that repeated like a mantra in his head.

She had said a lot in her drunken state. And he didn't know if he was supposed to take her at face value or believe that it was all a mistake.

Did Emma love him? She had said she was in love with him. Had been in love with him for quite some time.

But what about Neal?

Killian's foot hit the gas and he shot out into the darkened night.

Neal and Emma had been together for over two years.

Neal was his best friend.

He'd never betrayed his best friend in all the years that they had known each other.

Emma, to his knowledge, had never been unfaithful to Neal.

So how in the hell was this possible?

Killian swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He didn't know what to do now. He had no clue what the outcome could possibly be after…

He glanced back at the sleeping Emma.

He couldn't delve into his own feelings for her. He wasn't supposed to. But…

She had kissed him. Emma had grabbed him with all the force inside of her and kissed the hell out of him. Right there in that bar. She had sat on his lap, had told him that she not only loved him, but was in love with him And then she had set his whole body on fire with her mouth and her hands and her hips.

Emma thought that he didn't notice her? It was a full-time job in keeping those thoughts at bay. It was all he could do to acknowledge that she was a taken woman and just a friend. But he did it. Every single damned day.

Killian grabbed for his phone out of the console. Hesitantly, he pulled up Neal's number.

Damn, he was nothing but a bastard for this.

The phone rang a total of three times.

"Yeah?" Neal's voice was groggy at best. "What?"

It was instant guilt that washed over him.

"Neal." Killian glanced back over at Emma. Her head was slumped onto her shoulder and she was completely out.

"Yeah?" He could hear Neal clearing his throat.

"Em… Ems got… a little drunk," he staggered out.

"Yeah?" There was a smile in his voice.

"Yeah. So… I'm on my way to drop her off." And he threw another quick look her way. "I'm going to drop her off. We're in her car. And I'll just catch a cab back to the bar."

"Um… yeah. Yeah, okay." There was a loud and long yawn from his end of the phone. "You're a good man, Killian. Thanks."

Killian heard the tiredness in his voice. He heard the ease in which Neal trusted him. Trusted him with his girlfriend enough to send her out late at night at bars with just the two of them. Trusted him with a key to their apartment. Trusted him wholeheartedly with everything that was his.

"We'll be there soon."

He disconnected the call almost immediately.

How in the hell had he let this happen?

Emma was…

And it was still an internal struggle. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let his mind leave what had happened between them just minutes prior change what reality was. Not even for a moment.

Emma had been drunk. She didn't…

Did she?

Had he missed something? Had his need to keep his own mind free and clear of elusive thoughts made him blind to the truth? That Emma had feelings for him?

But what about Neal? That would mean he was blind to it as well. If he had an inkling, then why would he let them get so close?

"God damn it, Emma."

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She fit snuggly in his arms. Holding her tight against him, Killian pushed his key into the keyhole and turned.

From what Neal had said, he had expected him to be right in the living room. He would have been able to hand Emma off to him. Mentioning the activities of the night would not have come up. For one, Emma wasn't in any capacity to defend herself. And another thing was that Killian wasn't all too sure how to defend his own actions.

He had betrayed his best friend. He had tarnished their friendship. Killian also knew that by not coming clean, he was even more in the wrong. But he had made up his mind, finally, when they made it to the apartment: tonight was not the night to confront any of this.

All those thoughts were for nothing, because when he opened the door, he was greeted by only the soft light of the lamp that sat on the end table.

Nervousness still coursed through his body as he stepped inside. He felt Emma stir for a moment in his arms. Her head readjusted on his chest and her arms tightened around his neck.

It wasn't until Killian moved into the room that he finally saw Neal. He had attempted to be up and waiting for Emma to get home, but hadn't actually made it. He was laid out on the couch, facing away from them. Arms outstretched and falling onto the floor, he looked like he'd had a night himself.

Killian swallowed the new lump forming in his throat. Emma wasn't heavy, but it was the situation that was weighing him down.

He moved then, his steps light against the carpeted floor. He wouldn't disturb Neal. Maybe if he didn't see or talk to him, then it would be less like lying. He wasn't ready to lie to his friend just yet.

Holding Emma tightly against him, his steps led him to their bedroom.

Killian was more than relieved that she had slept through their trip back home. It made the situation a lot easier. For the night at least.

He laid her across the side of the bed that he knew was hers.

It was a quick mental flash that ran through his head. Laying Emma down in the bed and immediately following with his own. Her lips drawing his to hers like a magnet. An open-mouth kiss that was full of heat, just like earlier…

Killian mentally cursed himself for that thought. In all this time, he had never had such vivid ideas about Emma. The second she kissed him, it was like she had unlocked all those hidden desires. They were going to take a lot more will-power to stay deep down and not creep to the surface.

He watched as Emma turned on her side and how she snuggled up with her pillows.

She would wake up and tell him that it was the alcohol. She would wake up and say that she didn't know what came over her. She would laugh and say that Neal would get a kick out of it- after he punched him square in the jaw.

Killian's fingers rubbed the imaginary spot. He would let Neal take a swing at him. He would deserve it.

He looked at Emma once more, and…

She bent his head back and fisted her fingers right at the nap of his neck. The hunger of that kiss had made him pull her head down to him, holding firm because he had not wanted her to go anywhere. The feel of her hip and bottom grinding against his middle. The need for more. Right there in the bar, surrounded by strangers.

He needed those thoughts to disappear. He needed to forget. And yet they wouldn't leave his damn head.

Killian's steps were quicker out of the bedroom and down the hallway. He had to get out of there. He couldn't continue to be around either one of them. Knowing that he was the only one who was currently affected by the scenario only made it more difficult.

The door shut quietly after him. He didn't look back. He wished that that would be enough and that all those thoughts and ideas would stay locked inside there. He wished to not be haunted by thoughts of Emma- because that's what thoughts were at the moment: hauntings of his mind and his heart.

Because Emma had said she loved him. She had said that she was in love with him. She hadn't mentioned the fact that she was in a relationship with his best friend. No. Instead, she had kissed him with passion and intensity.

And she had awakened something in him…

Damn. How could this go any way but horribly bad?