Killian didn't understand this 'Christmas' thing. Twinkling lights and decorating trees. And the singing. Good lord, the singing.

He'd expressed the general sentiment at the beginning of this ridiculous party to Prince James/David/whatever the hell his name was, so many people here went by two names as if that was normal. Yes, sure, he went by "Hook" as well as "Killian", but the former was more a nickname meant to strike fear into the hearts of merchant sailors and the King's Navy. This was just… confusing.

Anyway, he'd mentioned to Prince DaviJames that he didn't really understand the whole "Christmas" thing, and the pitiful excuse for a royal had slapped him on the back, handed him a plastic cup, and said, "Yeah, but any chance to drink, right?!" in the most annoyingly charming way.

Like Killian had ever needed an excuse to drink.

Storybrook was the worst.

Maybe if the people in town were afraid of him, or acted, just a little bit, like they didn't like him. But Queen Snow had given them all some big guilt trip about how "they had all made mistakes" and how they needed to "accept Hook" and "rehabilitate him."

If "rehabilitation" meant "invite him to lame parties", Killian was pretty sure he'd rather be locked up in Sheriff Swan's little cell.

It was then, during his drunken grumblings to himself, that the Princess Aurora, stumbled into his arms.

If anyone in town had a right to hate him, it was her. He had stolen her heart. And the one brief exchange they'd had about it wasn't exactly filled with closure.

"You took my heart. Right out of my chest. While I slept. Really, as if sleeping wasn't bad enough for me already. You had to make it worse by stealing my heart."

"Well, yes, but… I got it back."

She had stared at him silently for several moments before a small smile cracked her face and a short laugh escaped her lips.

The princess had then turned and walked away.

They had barely exchanged two words since, but every time she saw him, she smiled. Which made him inexplicably angry, and even more inexplicably pleased.

And here she was now, slumped awkwardly in his arms, smiling up at him, her cheeks red from the alcohol.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she managed between giggled. "I still haven't gotten the hang of dancing in these shoes."

It was then that Killian realized, yes, she did seem a bit taller. Aurora smiled up at him expectantly, and it was just as he was realizing that, yes, he should probably let the sweet drunk girl go, that she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He was going to blame the alcohol for not being able to keep the shocked look, which Aurora was now giggling at, off his face.

"Not that I'm going to complain about a pretty girl kissing me," he managed once he caught ahold of himself. "But what-?"

Aurora's finger pointing upward drew his attention to a strange plant hanging from the doorway. "Christmas tradition!" She said happily. "You stand underneath the mistletoe with someone, you have to kiss them!" She then extracted herself from Killian's hold and found her way back to Snow and Ruby.

Initially, Killian balked at the idea of anyone "having" to kiss him. But hey, if it got the Princess to kiss him, he'd go out and find every plant of mistletoe there was.

THE END