AN: So, just for the off-chance that Never Have I Ever is not known in every corner of the world: It's a simple enough drinking game. You phrase a sentence with "Never have I ever" and end it with anything you've either done or haven't done. Usually the point is that you haven't done it, and the other has. If you've done it, you drink – or eat a pocky, in this case.

Third Hour

Mamoru shook his head exasperatedly, and gave a huff, before continuing at her prompt.

"Never have I ever skipped school," he said, rather bored, and held out a pocky from the box, but didn't eat it.

Usagi rolled her eyes, and grabbed his pocky, instead of getting her own, and devoured it in one go. Seriously. Was this guy like, the biggest goody-two-shoes in the world?

They'd been at this game for quite a while now, and so far she'd learned that this guy basically has never done anything.

It was quite surprising, really. She wouldn't have guessed from his looks.

"Never have I ever injured myself trying to impress someone I was interested in," she said, instead, and grabbed a pocky without looking, then ate it.

He snorted, but didn't eat.

"You're playing this wrong, you know?" He chuckled. "You're supposed to say things you haven't done."

She shrugged. There weren't so many things she could think of that she hadn't done. Plus, she liked Pocky.

"Never have I ever eaten a whole pizza," he said, still that bored tone, and Usagi, biting off her Pocky, rolled her eyes.

"C'mon," she said, chewing, "gimme something less lame."

He huffed, rolled his eyes to the ceiling, and then squinted a bit, before his eyes returned to hers, with a smug smile this time.

"Never have I ever been in an embarrassing video that was uploaded to YouTube."

Usagi's eyes widened, and this time, his did too, when she grabbed his uneaten pocky from him, and ate it.

"Which video!" he demanded, scandalized.

A lot. Sadly. Courtesy of being the roommate of someone who vlogged every aspect of her own life, Usagi could be seen on the Internet when she tried on the coat of another customer in Minako's favorite department store in Shibuya, when she apologized to a lamp post when she ran into it and thought it was a person, when she sniffed Luna's mewling butt to see if it was her cat who smelled or she, when she got roaring drunk off what she thought was juice, when she asked a designer to make her a wedding dress for free, ate anything that ever fell on the floor, slept through an earthquake, tried to play the violin in the middle of the street, plus, her very regular morning hurricanes, when she overslept that were caught on camera in very meticulous detail ever since she moved in with Minako Aino.

There were memes of her and all.

"Um…" she blushed. "It's not a big deal."

His dancing eyes lingered on her a little, but thankfully, he let it go.

Usagi cleared her throat. "Never have I ever had a paranormal experience," she said, and bit off her pocky.

I mean, nothing big, and all just in her head, probably, but, once she'd imagined her cat could talk, and thought she was really watching over her, and sometimes she felt her dreams could predict the future, but that counted, right?

But to her surprise, this time he bit off a pocky as well.

Usagi blinked. Of course, she didn't cut him the same slack about not explaining.

Which he'd gotten by now, they were playing this game for rather a while now, so he just spoke. "Sometimes it feels like I know what other people are feeling," he said, with an awkward shrug, "and I had some very strange dreams, as a kid." He crossed his arms, it looked a bit guarded. "You?"

She blinked. "Um, dreams, as well. And my cat is weird."

"You have a cat?" he smiled.

She nodded. "Two, technically. My roommate has one, too. They're quite strange, really. Behave like awkward, little humans."

He chuckled, and it looked real. It made her smile.

"Well," he said, and lifted a pocky, "Never have I ever volunteered at a cat shelter." And ate.

She giggled, eyes widening, charmed. "Really?" she exclaimed, excited.

He shrugged, a bit bashful. "For a little while," he admitted. "In my first years of university. I like cats."

"Ok," she said, wiggling a little in her spot on the floor, "Let's see. Never ever have I shoplifted."

This time she didn't eat, and it was her turn for that scandalized look, when he pursed his lips, and did eat a pocky.

"WHAT?" she exclaimed, and he flinched. "What did you steal?"

"…jewelry," he mumbled ominously. "But I had a reason, and I brought it back afterwards…"

She blinked. "Why?"

He shrugged, and Usagi snapped her mouth shut, because he looked like he was closing up, and she regretted the question immediately.

He sighed. Shook his head, as if shaking something off, and willed on a smile. It seemed forced. "Never have I ever failed a class."

She rolled her eyes. He knew this already, but she ate a pocky, anyway. Obviously.

She looked at him for a while. Pondered his mood, if she could ask what she wanted to ask. Then changed her mind to something … slightly safer.

"Never have I ever fallen in love at first sight," she said. His eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat at his look, and she grabbed a pocky, unsure whether to eat or not, really, when he shook his head, sharply…

…and grabbed her hand with the pocky, before she could do anything with it.

"Look," he said, swallowing. "Maybe we can just… talk? Without the game?"

She looked at him, her eyes widening. There was so much she still had up her sleeve. "But…! Never have I ever re-gifted something that was gifted to me! Never have I ever rehearsed what to say on the phone! Never have I ever masturbated to porn!"

He chuckled, as she went on.

She continued. "Never have I ever danced a whole night through! Never ever have I told my mom that—"

His look darkened, and she broke off immediately.

They looked at each other, and for the first time in hours, the silence was uncomfortable again.

She sighed. "Fine," she huffed after a beat. "What do you wanna talk about?"

He shrugged, started frowning, as if he were searching for a topic.

So she inclined her head, and took pity on him. Conversation seemed more her forte than his, anyway.

"How do you know Motoki?" she asked, and he exhaled, as if in relief, relaxing.

Obviously a safe topic for him.

"We were in the same class. I tutored him in English and he stuck around, somehow. Wouldn't leave no matter how grumpy I was, just ignored my silent treatment," Mamoru said with a smile.

Usagi giggled. She could absolutely picture that.

"We used to flock to the Crown just because of him for years," Usagi said, giggling. "I had the biggest crush on him in middle school."

Usagi blinked again, when the smile once again slipped from his face, but then he exhaled, and the darker look was gone, as if she'd imagined it.

"Of course, you would," he said.

She threw him a curious look. "Why is that?"

He shrugged. "It fits. He's a bubbly, happy, sunshine person. Like you are."

She smiled, cocking an eyebrow. "And how exactly do you assume to know that, then?" she laughed.

She started a little when she saw the shadow of a blush, but then he rolled his eyes, grabbed the special edition box of pocky and waved it in an awkward angle.

She rolled her eyes, as well, but smiled. "Because I have pocky? Oh c'mon."

"Besides," he said. "Everybody always goes for Motoki."

Usagi gave an amused snort. Took him in, how he sat there, all sexy eyes and dark beauty. Right. As if they didn't all go for him. Motoki didn't stand a chance.

He shrugged at her, oblivious."I mean, I get it. He's the warmest person to be around. He's gentle and kind."

Usagi smiled. "You seem to really like him."

Mamoru gave a curt, sheepish nod. "He's my best friend."

Usagi's smile widened, and he blinked.

"What?"

She shrugged. "Makes you all the more likable? Motoki is a great guy. If you're his friend, you can't be all that bad..." she said, with a flirty slur that surprised even herself, and he chuckled.

They fell into silence, again. Comfortable, once more, and she stretched her feet out a little.

"So," she said, smiling. "Would you say you're the kind of person who values friendship over family, or family over friendship."

His smile fell immediately. He cleared his throat.

"Never thought about it," he said, curtly.

Usagi blinked. Taken aback.

"Well," she said, a little unsure. "What are your parents like? Are you close to them?"

He shook his head. "Ask anything else."

His face was dark, his eyes focused on the wall beside her.

Her face smoothed over. She crossed a line. She felt it.

"Well, what else do you want to know?" Mamoru asked, and crossed his arms over his knees.

Usagi frowned. It couldn't have been a more closed off gesture.

She inclined her head, and her voice dropped a few decibels. Less excited, more empathic. The kind she used on her kids, sometimes, she realized with a start. When she didn't want to scare them away with too much enthusiasm. Like a skittish, neglected kitten.

"I don't know. Anything?" she said with a smile. "What kind of music do you like?"

This seemed a safe enough topic for him. At least the white-knuckled grip he had had on his knees loosened, and he reached for his phone, beside them as their temporary lamp.

A few swipes and taps on it and he put it back down to the haunting first few strokes of a bow across cello strings, accompanied by the softest melody she had ever heard played by a piano.

Usagi's heart clenched immediately. She had never heard something so sad. Or so beautiful.

"What is this?" Usagi whispered.

"Rachmaninoff. The last of his 14 romances?" Mamoru said. His hands had returned their grip on his knees.

She couldn't say anything. Instead her eyes flew to his, as they simply listened for a few moments.

He cleared his throat, looked away from Usagi's eyes. "I like classical music. The romantic period especially."

She nodded mutely. The music reached a crescendo. It felt as if she were listening to grief. To loss.

"Are they all so sad?" she whispered, after a while.

He blinked, as if he'd never seen it from this angle. As if he wanted to deny there was anything sad about it, and then thought about it, and couldn't.

He cleared his throat again. "I do have happy songs…"

He bent over again. More swipes on his phone, and cello and piano were exchanged by a different cello and piano.

The melody was more uplifting, and yet still so, so haunting. Yearning, in a way. Longing. Her eyes found his, again. They were warm.

"Salut d'amour," Mamoru shrugged, with a slow smile. "Elgar. He wrote it for his fiancée. It was the first work he ever published. There are people describing it as insignificant, salon music… but, to me, it's one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written."

Usagi smiled, and cocked her head curiously.

He blushed. It looked adorable.

"What?" he asked, a bit startled.

"I wouldn't have pegged you for the type to listen to this kind music."

His smile was questioning. "Why not?"

She shrugged. "I think I misjudged you, overall."

He blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?" His tone was a bit offended.

It was her turn to blush slightly. "I mean, c'mon... those smirks? The smiles you threw me when you caught me staring, before? They were practiced. It was so apparent you're a player, but now..."

He frowned. "A 'player'?" he repeated, as if testing out the word, totally clueless.

Usagi blinked, surprised. Blushed even further. "Um, you know... people who make a sport of going on dates? Who have a lot of one night stands for the fun of it? I mean – not that there's anything wrong with that, just—"

Mamoru frowned all the way through her explanation, and she broke off startled, when his hand shot out toward her, and he grabbed a pocky from her stash.

He held it up indignantly, not biting off of it. "Never have I ever had a one night stand," he said.

Her cheeks were flaming hot when she met his offended gaze to the soft tunes of a wistful cello. Yeah, she had misjudged him…

She reached out, broke off half of the pocky he held out, and bit off it.

Mamoru snorted. "Half a pocky?"

She must have been glowing in the dark, from the heat she felt radiating off of her face. "Um," she started, mumbling, "I did have sort of a one night stand once, at least it was planned as one," she looked up at him, "but then I briefly got together with the guy afterward."

His face was giving away nothing.

"That doesn't count, then" he said.

Usagi swallowed. Took him in, the way he sat there. Those impossibly long legs clad in those delicious black jeans, bent at the knee with his foot right next to hers…

She couldn't possibly be blushing even more, and yet she did.

"Um, would you… ever want one?" she murmured.

Her eyes widened the moment the words had left her mouth.

He blinked at her, not understanding.

"A one night stand," Usagi clarified, bright red.

This time his eyes widened, and he spluttered, his knees snapping shut. "Um…"

Usagi felt her heartbeat pick up, when his eyes stared at her, blinking.

He pursed his lips. "Um... actually... no…"

Oh.

Usagi's face fell.

"What about you?" he asked.

Her heart rate picked right back up, but she didn't want to misunderstand. "What about me?" she asked, instead.

And maybe she imagined it, but it looked like he was blushing, as well.

"Would you want one?" he asked. It sounded a bit lower to her ears.

With you I definitely would…

Her blush was stuck in place, and she stuttered. "I ... yeah. I always…uh…" she swallowed, "… wanted to know what it feels like? But... I fall in love too quickly. So I guess maybe it's not a good idea in the first place? At least my roommate Minako always says I'm not the type for it, anyway…" she trailed off.

He nodded, but stayed silent, and completely unreadable.

It unnerved her.

She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Why don't you want one?"

Again, his face reacted first. A deep, slow frown. He took his time answering.

"I think it's nicer when you have feelings, I suppose. I don't fall in love easily. I know what it feels like to have sex with someone you don't love... and… I mean… If I don't manage in a relationship, then how would it...?" he trailed off, the creases in his forehead and between his brows deepening as he did, and he exhaled audibly through his nose, lost in thought.

She frowned, acutely aware, once again, of the music that came from his phone. This haunting, gentle romantic melody. Salut d'amour, he'd said. Hello to love, or something like that, her French was nonexistent apart from perfume bottle lingo. And the song before that… so devastatingly much longing and loneliness in it. Haunting, sad, lonely songs about love... and he doesn't fall in love? Usagi had never heard anything sadder.

"So, you've never fallen in love?" she whispered, almost to herself.

He gave her a look that was at the same time utterly intense and unreadable.

He swallowed. His voice was thick, when he answered. "I didn't say that."

So, the songs I used for this chapter were quite self-explanatory, but here they are!

Vocalise, Op 34, No. 14 (Arr. For Cello) – Sergei Rachmaninoff

Salut d'amour, Op. 12 – Edward Elgar

I've put links on my tumblr (floraone), if you wanna have a listen ;)

Anyway, my hugest thanks go of course to my beta UglyGreenJacket, and her hilarious Never Have I Ever skills ;)

In Germany we wish people a "good slide" into the New Year. So, all of you, please slide safely!^^