Belle makes a mistletoe ball and a deal with Gold: one kiss per berry. Naturally he cheats.

The mistletoe ball was really very pretty, Belle decided as she examined her handiwork. It was the first thing she'd made at one of Rapunzel's Saturday crafts classes that she was genuinely pleased with, and unlike its less successful brethren, it wouldn't be cluttering up her small apartment. This creation had a very particular destination in mind.

"Lovely," Rumpelstiltskin complimented her as she finished attaching the decoration to the light fixture in the shop's back room.

"Merry Christmas!" she chirped, getting into the spirit of the new holiday. The custom of mistletoe harkened back to the Enchanted Forest's Solstice Festivals, but those festivals hadn't had the brightly colored lights or candy canes that she so enjoyed in this world.

"Very merry indeed," he agreed, his eyes shining as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. He'd been shy of her since she moved out of his home, and Belle had hoped her gift would be a big enough hint that she'd appreciate a kiss or two. They might not be ready for more just yet, but she missed the closeness they'd shared in the few days after her release from the asylum. It was good to know that he wanted to kiss her after what had happened the first time.

Belle sighed against his lips, enjoying the moment before he released her, looking nervous, like he expected a smack for his presumption. "Lovely," she pronounced, stealing his own word before reaching up and carefully plucking one white berry from the mistletoe ball.

"What are you doing?" he asked in the bemused tone he seemed to use only with her.

"You know the rules," she scolded, tucking the berry into her pocket, "One kiss per berry. Once the berries are gone, no more kisses."

He looked so blank at her statement that Belle wondered if he actually did know the tradition. If he hadn't, he did now. He gave the ball a critical look, apparently counting the berries, and she stifled a giggle. She'd deliberately chosen the mistletoe sprigs with the greatest number of berries, so as far as she was concerned, he didn't have anything to worry about. They hardly had to ration themselves.

Apparently Rumpelstiltskin quickly came to the same conclusion, leaning in for another, slightly longer kiss before plucking a berry for himself. "One kiss, one berry," he repeated, and Belle was pleased he'd decided to play along.

Once back at her apartment, she couldn't bring herself to part with the berry, so she retrieved a small dish, placing it on her nightstand and placing the berry inside for safekeeping. It represented the first kiss of their newly reformed relationship, and she wanted to hold onto the memory for as long as she could.

As the weeks leading up to Christmas passed, more berries joined the first one in her dish, and Belle blushed to look at them. Each kiss got a little longer and a little deeper as they slowly relearned each other. They'd had one magical- if brief- kiss at the Dark Castle, and upon their reunion they'd all but thrown themselves into bed. It was nice to slow down and explore.

Explore they did. Hands wandered over bodies- still chaste if only just- as tongues met and mated, the pair of them learning every crevice of the other's mouth. Rumpelstiltskin always tasted faintly of tea and cloves, and Belle thought of it as the taste of magic. Occasionally she wondered what she tasted like, but it seemed an odd question to ask.

No matter how many kisses they shared, there were always more berries hiding in the greenery, and she congratulated herself on how well she'd chosen her sprigs, the ball swaying on its gold velvet ribbon as they plucked off berry after berry between increasingly-hungry kisses.

After their latest encounter, Belle wandered home in a happy daze, her fingers playing with the berries in her pocket. When she attempted to place them in her dish, they rolled off the top of the pile onto the floor, and as she bent to retrieve them, she noticed for the first time just how full her little dish was. Surely even her laden sprigs couldn't have held this many berries.

Suspicious, she retraced her steps, forgoing the front door of the shop for the back and easing inside as her eyes found Rumpelstiltskin standing beneath their mistletoe, a purple glow encasing it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or smack him as clusters of white berries reappeared where a moment ago there had been none. She settled for drawling, "I believe that's called cheating."

He jumped at the sound of her voice, turning to face her with the air of a dog that knew it had done something wrong and hoped that if it looked cute enough, it wouldn't get in trouble. "Ah! Belle."

Nothing more seemed to be forthcoming, and she stepped further into the shop, closing the door behind her. "Haven't we discussed misusing magic?" she asked.

"I'm not trying to kill anyone this time," he said quickly. "You said that I could use magic for the greater good."

Indeed she had. His power was too great to be denied completely. As long as he was using his magic to benevolent ends, Belle didn't disapprove. "I don't think that extra kisses constitutes a greater good."

"I disagree," he said, stepping closer and sliding his arm around her waist. "Kissing you is the greatest good of my life."

She gave in, melting into him as his mouth found hers, their tongues sliding against each other as he showed her just how good kissing could be. Her eyes flickered open as he released her, focusing on the chipped cup that sat in a place of honor on his workbench, all but overflowing with berries. "You're incorrigible."

"That's why you like me," he said, a bit hesitantly.

"No," Belle shook her head, smiling tenderly at the stricken look on his face, "That's why I love you."

The next time she glanced up, the mistletoe ball was so covered in berries that the greenery could scarcely be seen, and she chuckled before wrapping herself around him again. They had a lot of kissing to do if they were ever going to make a start on the second and third balls she'd made.