Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor do I own any of the characters. Everything belongs to ABC.

A/N: Hello, fine readers. Many people who read my Golden Swan Christmas fic recently suggested that I do something special for New Year's. So, here it is. Much in the vein of my Christmas story, I hope it will be a fun little fic that everyone can enjoy.

It takes place sometime after the curse breaks and it's a little bit AU in the sense that it does not follow the second season very closely.

A Simple Kiss

Another year gone, Mr. Gold mused quite morosely as he arrived at the diner for the New Years' party that Granny and Red agreed to host. It had been Henry's idea—to change up the routine of their boring, hazy lives and embrace the idea of a year that would not be a replica of the past twenty-eight.

Stealthily his eyes roamed to the clock; it was 7:45. The party had rightly begun at 7:30, but he always did enjoy being fashionably late. It allowed him the chance to make an entrance.

Everywhere, people commented on nothing but the rate in which time flew by nowadays. He didn't see the cause for celebration—he stopped counting the years at least a century ago. He especially hated to be reminded that it was one additional year that he was without his son.

The air of celebration, however, was heightened this year due to the curse breaking. Families reunited for the holidays, lovers joined together once more in each other's arms, children were returned to their parents. It would be the first New Year that they could all be free of the chains wrought under the Queen's curse.

The diner had been lavishly decorated for the occasion, but he expected no less from a youthful spirit such as Red.

Silver streamers spiraled down from the ceiling; banners plastered the forest wallpaper and reminded everyone of the upcoming New Year; Granny sported neon green glasses with 2013 shaping the frames. A television had been set up in the corner so they could watch the ball drop at midnight. Grumpy lingered in front of it, hopelessly trying to explain it to Nova, that klutz of a fairy.

"But I don't recall watching this miraculous ball drop before," she protested, motioning vaguely to the flickering television screen. Grumpy rested a hand on her arm to calm her down.

"That's because we were stuck in time, remember? And you have little knowledge of it because of your true self waging war on your mind. According to Emma's friend Google, we count down the last seconds of the year, that shiny ball drops, and then that's it. It'll be the New Year before you know it." Nova stared hard at the screen as though watching it happen.

"But…what if the ball gets stuck on the way down?" Grumpy tossed his head back and chuckled, as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd heard all night.

"It can't possibly get stuck, sister. Otherwise…I mean, obviously…someone would have to…." She gave him an uncertain stare. He whirled to Charming sitting in a booth beside him and nudged his arm. "Charming, tell her the ball can't get stuck." Charming glanced up from smiling at his true love and offered Grumpy a blank look.

"Uh….ball?" Grumpy pointed his finger to the television screen. The prince's face flashed with recognition. "Oh, the ball! No, it can't get stuck, Nova. Google said so. I'd swear my life on it."

Gold observed the exchange from afar and shook his head in amazement as he approached the bar. If I were Charming, which I'm glad I'm not, I wouldn't bet my life away so easily. What ever would Snow White do without him? Besides not have someone to play a rousing game of hide and seek with?

"Happy New Year," Red chirped from behind the bar where she was preparing trays of food and drinks for the guests.

From what he could see, the choices consisted of mugs of beer and baskets of chips. From her earlobes dangled a set of silver earrings that were shaped in the numbers of the New Year—2013. He leaned his cane against a stool, settled into a seat, and smirked at her. Still playing waitress, are you?

"Not yet, dearie," he corrected, if only to drain some of her bottled excitement. No such luck. She practically leaped over the table at him, her small warm hand catching his icy, rough one.

"Right, but it's close. Can't you feel it in the air?" She grinned, flashing a sharp set of white teeth his way. He peered over the length of the bar to see her bouncing on her toes. Granny should tie a block of cement to her feet or she'll float away.

He could feel something in the air, but he chalked it up to Red's hairspray, Regina's black cloud of a mood, and perspiration. His brown eyes traveled over the thickening crowd of guests, the chatter drowning out their conversation.

"I believe Snow White and her dear prince are doing enough feeling for all of us," he remarked. Red's attention snapped to the lovebirds in question. Occupying a red pleather booth, Charming and Snow weaved their fingers together over the tabletop, hardly able to keep their eyes off each other. How romantic.

"I'm happy for them," Red gushed with a blissful sigh. Of course she'd be satisfied—she'd just been promoted to Emma's godmother. At least she was the kind without wings. "Speaking of the Charmings…"

In his ear, Red began humming a marriage theme and pointedly eyed the entrance to the diner. The diner's door opened, the little bell's chime lost in the murmur of the crowd. All he saw was red and gold, enough to snag his attention.

In walked Emma and little Henry, who immediately made a beeline for the lovebirds. Emma must have sensed his gaze on her back, for she turned her head and those green gems connected with his. She gave a weak half-smile, but not an overly friendly one.

He knew she'd been avoiding him at all costs and he didn't truly blame her after all he had put her through.

He'd flaunted the fact that she finally believed in the curse, thrust a sword in her hand, had her fight a dragon clearly during an inconvenient time of the month, and stranded her in an elevator shaft while her child lay in a hospital bed dying due to a sleeping curse originally meant for their blessed savior in the first place. At this rate, he was pleasantly surprised that she hadn't bombarded his house with bricks.

"Imagine being the lucky couple to share the first kiss of the New Year," Red purred with increasing anticipation. His focus remained on Emma as she slid into the booth beside Charming. "I'll bet Snow and Charming will be the ones to do it. Share the first kiss, I mean. They're practically inches away from locking lips right now."

Oh, no. He wasn't walking—or limping—into that trap.

He could predict Red all too well, whether she was playing the role of Ruby or not. To him, nothing really changed in the long run; they were one and the same. Unless you were unfortunate enough to be Charming, whose counterpart was a weak, bumbling idiot at best. Right now, he understood the hook Red was casting out and he wasn't biting. Not even a nibble.

"Or it could be one of us," she hinted. Didn't she have food to prepare? Drinks to serve? Moons that required howling? He rolled his eyes and offered her an unmoving, stony expression.

"After that bet last Christmas, the last thing I intend to do is get involved with any more of your childish games," he insisted. Slightly perturbed, Red raised an inquisitive eyebrow, challenging his words. She blew a strand of her red-streaked hair out of her eyes. She hadn't yet resorted to hair dye.

"Isn't that what most of your customers say? They don't want to get involved with you? And yet they're desperate enough to go to you, anyway," she pointed out. You can't fight the inevitable, the underlying meaning rang in his ears.

He gazed longingly at Emma and fantasized sharing that first kiss of the New Year with her. Wouldn't the townsfolk be surprised? The savior and Rumpelstiltskin, a dangerous match. He snickered as he imagined the expressions of horror on the faces of her parents.

"Please, dearie. If the two of us competed for the first kiss of the New Year, I think we both know who would come out victorious." Red seemed to size him up and he wondered if she was ranking him in her head on a scale of one to ten. She did that with most men in town as Ruby, but he never heard what his score was.

"Yeah, I suppose we do," she humbly agreed, her shoulders slumping. Clever girl.

"Me," they announced simultaneously. Their heads jolted up in shock and they wore matching glares as they examined each other. He made a show of roving his eyes about the diner. "Is there an echo in here? Because for a moment I could have sworn you claimed you would win."

"I did say that," Red returned boldly, ignoring his narrowing eyelids. He scowled in distaste, but she brushed that off, too. "Archie and I are ten times more likely to kiss than you and Emma." He winced at the haughty tone of her voice. So young, so confident. So naïve.

"Let's not exaggerate the truth, dearie. You and Archie haven't even shared your first kiss yet," he argued, his fingers curling over his knees under the bar. Oh, did he loathe it when someone dared question his abilities. Did Red honestly think him not good enough to warrant a kiss from Emma Swan?

Red's ebony irises brightened considerably and he knew he only succeeded in adding fuel to the fire burning deep inside her heart.

"To your knowledge," she countered. "What better time to have our first kiss than to share it as the first kiss of the New Year, then? Every first kiss needs a memorable detail." And he hated it when someone used his words, too. He had a feeling Red had been connecting with the wretched cinder-girl too much.

In the corner, Emma brushed her golden waves over her leather-clad shoulder and smiled down at Henry across the table. Oftentimes, the notion of getting into Emma's good favor was too valuable to resist. It would be worthwhile, after he had inevitably struck a rough patch in whatever fragile acquaintance they had forged.

And wouldn't it be something, to succeed in sharing the first kiss of the New Year with Emma? To perhaps bring her closer to him, convince her not to hold him within arm's length? The pros definitely outweighed the cons in his mind.

What would be the harm, really? It was just a simple kiss. Unless Emma begged for more. Very well—I'll bite.

Decision made, he deliberately leveled a steady gaze at Red, who was clicking her nails patiently, and his lips split apart in a toothy smile. She skittered back immediately, red lips flattening in a distrustful line. No more clicking.

"May the best couple win," he declared. Red planted her hands on her hips and nodded once, accepting his challenge. This could prove to be fun. Perhaps it would add a little spice to an expectedly dull party.

Red rushed off to serve the first tray of drinks and food to the guests, each one greeting her with a smile and wish of a happy new year. Scanning the room, he made significant mental notes regarding the potential competition. If he had any chance of succeeding in this little game, it was best to know his enemy.

No doubt Red and Archie would turn out to be his main opponents, even if Archie was currently unaware of the minefield he'd been launched into. Red would likely be suspicious in case he tried anything funny to up the odds, and she would ultimately do everything in her power to ensure that she and Archie shared that first kiss. He was thankful tonight wasn't a full moon.

Then there were the lovebirds. The head-over-heels, kissing in the street, "I will always find you" true love sweethearts. A perfect fairy-tale couple, weren't they? Nothing but hearts, doves, and rainbows. It made him want to brush his teeth until the gums ached. He was pretty sure he'd already suffered a cavity just by looking in their direction.

Another tricky variable, nonetheless. And knowing those two, they wouldn't be able to keep their lips apart for too long. He was certain Regina still had tongue marks on her mirror. They had twenty-years of lost time to make up for. Something would have to be done about the lovebirds, indeed.

Oh, yes. His mind was sailing into treacherous waters now. There was no stopping it, no turning back.

It was critical that he must impress Emma enough to earn that kiss at the end of the night, but he couldn't very well stitch his hip to her hip and hope their lips met first, could he? He wasn't the "sit around and pray" type. Oh, no—this was a tender matter that may very well call for a little…sabotage. Insert evil laugh here. He almost giggled.

He'd presented the challenge to Red, had agreed to take part in her game. He never gave his word that he would play nice. Four hours to go.

It was only unfortunate that New Years' didn't come with mistletoe.

…

And so the game has begun. What will Gold do to gain that kiss from Emma? You shall see. Hope everyone had a decent Christmas/holiday!