Hey guys! Welcome to my long standing fic, 'Never Again.' It's basically an X-Men Pyro/Colossus fic, but not really set in any one particular universe. There are bits taken from the Ultimates, bits taken from the movies and bits I wanted to put in myself so if you're expecting some kind of total uniververse accuracy you're in the wrong place.

This fic however will have some scenes of an adult nature in later chapters so if you're in to that stuff (and let's face it, who isn't?) then stick around!

FYI- this fic is undergoing some overhauls. Changes are being made, so if I miss anything out just let me know!

R&R! - HLW x

John heard about Northstar's accident approximately four months, three days, two hours and seven minutes ago... More or less. Admittedly he had OD'd about a month before the news made its way down the grapevine, but he felt bad all the same. Pete was his friend, or at least he used to be; and if John was serious about this whole fresh start thing he'd been trying then he had to at least call. This was his Everest. It had taken him over one hundred and fifty days to pluck up the courage to pick up the phone, it was now or never.

Pete was so sick of the way people in the mansion were treating him, they all seemed to skit round him like a little puppy. He didn't need or want their pity; he just wanted normality. Ro was the only one he could talk to without getting those 'I'm so sorry for your loss' glances, and he was thoroughly sick of it. It had been five months, why couldn't people just act like they used to? He groaned and the thought occurred to him, that maybe he should pack up and leave for a while to see if things sort themselves out, maybe with time... His train of thought was cut short as his phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Uh... Hey... Pete" he heard the person on the other end of the phone stutter, as if he didn't actually expect him to answer. "It's John." Piotr couldn't help but smile, the man on the other end of the phone seemed nervous, and to the best of his memory John was never nervous, hell John was never anything but angry.

"Hello Pyro." He murmured whilst trying to figure out why on earth he was calling. The mutant known as Pyro had been all but MIA ever since the battle at Alcatraz three years ago, and was presumed dead by the majority of the X-men;

"Well at least we know he's still alive" He murmured as the other man continued his nervous ramblings.

"Um, I'm not Pyro anymore. Well, no, I mean I am Pyro, but I just go by John now; if you don't mind."

"Ok, what you want, John?" he said putting extra emphasis on the last word by letting his thick Russian accent show. He wasn't going to judge John, or write him off as a lost cause; but his past did paint an interesting picture. So instead he moved over to the refrigerator and withdrew a bottle of water, opened it and took a sip.

"Erm, well I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner. You know, catch up?" Pete almost spat his drink out at the suggestion, the two of them out for dinner? Well I suppose we were friends before all the ugly near apocalyptic stuff kicked in, he thought weighing up his other options. It can't be as bad as sitting around here all night.

"Sure, Where?" He muttered, intent on leaving the mansion tonight, at whatever cost. Pete heard a sigh on the other end of the line, he'd probably been holding his breath since 'Hello.'

"How's Dane's, say about nine?"

"Make it eight." Pete was determined to be in control of this situation, he wasn't sure what Pyro was up to; but there had to be something. "If this is some kind of trick I'll snap you in half like pencil, fire boy." John laughed,

"Ok, it's a deal."

Several hours later Pete walked into Dane's and looked around, he was already on guard half expecting some kind of lame ambush. Needless to say he was pleasantly surprised to see a man whom at first he only half recognised sitting in a booth. Alone. John, or at least John for now, smiled waved, and stood up as Pete approached.

"Piotr," he smiled extending a hand as the other man loomed in front of him; a hand which was looked at questionably for several seconds before it was shaken.

"Please call me Pete." He grabbed a menu and began to select his order

"Ok Pete. I know this may seem odd me calling you up like this and asking to meet, but I really just wanted you to know that I'm not the same guy that I used to be, I'm not here to hurt you." Pete nodded, he had heard this too many times before. People pretending to change did not impress him, if John had any hopes of convincing him that he was a new and improved person some evidence would need to be presented. A waitress came over and took their orders. Silence ensued for several painful seconds. "Look Pete, I know this sounds retarded but before all that near extinction stuff we were pretty close and I guess I just wanted to apologise for treating you like shit." Another silence, John knew that Pete was still trying to figure out whether he was legit or not, he couldn't blame him. After all his reputation preceded him.

"Why?" were Pete's only words after deciding to give the other man the benefit of the doubt.

"Why what, why do I want to apologise?"

"No, why did you leave?" The response was almost immediate, John's entire body language changed; his gaze lowered, his eyes sunk, his head bowed and for the first time Pete saw John fidget. He gulped then cleared his throat.

"Ok, that's a fair question I suppose." John's eyes made their way upwards and fixed on Pete's, "are you sure you want to know this?" Pete didn't understand, what could have possibly happened to make John seem anxious four years after the event? Pete nodded. "So, you know how I was always angry whilst at the mansion?" he asked as if it were common knowledge, "Yeah, well there was a reason." He paused and took a deep breath, whatever was about to be reviled was obviously hard for him to talk about. "You see, Bobby and I were sort of a thing when no-one was looking." Peter's expression did not change; it was hard for john to tell if the larger man was registering what was being said. "It started a couple of months after I arrived, we kept it PG y'know a kiss her and here, slowly leading up to make out sessions and the occasional hand job before bed." He smirked, "But it all changed when Rogue arrived. At first I thought it was a good idea, to have one of us engaged in a mild flirtation. Cover our tracks so to speak. But then the lines got all blurry." John's voice was growing thicker with emotion, and despite himself Pete felt a flicker of empathy towards the man. "Bobby started to develop feelings for her, strong feelings that I didn't recognise until it was too late; with hindsight I can tell that he was simply growing frustrated with his inability to touch her, but at the time it just felt like our relationship was progressing. It got to a point just before the school got attacked; Bobby and I made love for the first time." His voice seemed to hitch on the words and he had to choke back the tears, he would not let Pete see him cry.

"So afterwards we were lying in bed and I told Bobby that I loved him, we slept hand in hand and the morning after he wakes me with a kiss." John had to clear his throat several times before continuing. "So we get on with our days and at lunch time he calls everyone together, says he's got an announcement. I get so excited," he scoffs. "I think that he's about to tell everyone about us and tell me that he loves me, that we're officially together, but what does he do? He announced that he and Rouge are officially going steady and that he is 100% 'off the market,' I swear I thought I was going to throw up. Anyways, that night I slept outside, I couldn't face him. Then the night after that I slept on Jubilee's floor and that's where I was when the school got attacked." He forced himself to smile and look at Pete, "Then when we went to Bobby's parent's house and I totally lost it, I mean lost it. I felt so empty. I went on a downwards spiral that only really ended the day after the battle of Alcatraz, after facing off against Bobby I realised that I had no anger left, no more reasons to fight. It wasn't long after that I started a new life, got a job as a manager in a bar and became a volunteer at the homeless shelters around town, even wrote a novel. Magneto eventually got his powers back of course and once he did he came looking for me but I told him I was happy the way I was and that I had no interest in killing anyone anymore." He smiled once more and nodded, "and that's about it." Pete hadn't realised that his mouth was hanging open until the waitress bringing their food had asked him if he was trying to catch flies in that thing. None the less, he was shocked. All of this had gone on right under his nose and he had no idea, just shows how good of a friend you were he mused as John began to take a bite out of his burger. Pete smiled; John had told him the truth. No lies. No silver lining. No pretence. The truth, everything. "So, what's new with you Pete?"

The two talked for hours, just sitting, laughing, and reminiscing. Pete told John about Northstar and in turn John told Pete how he didn't use his powers anymore unless it was an emergency; something about fire making him angry. After a couple of hours it dawned on Pete just how much Pyro had changed, well for a start he wasn't Pyro anymore; he really was John. He had a steady job, an apartment, a new attitude; he even looked healthier. Pete was willing to bet that some of the students at the mansion wouldn't even recognise him now, not that he'd ever want them to by the sounds of things.

"Finish up guys, we're closing in ten!" Came the voice of a waitress somewhere behind someone doing something, John didn't care he was having too much fun; he honestly couldn't remember a time he'd laughed so much. Despite all his expectations about how awkward dinner would be he'd had a blast.

"I think it's time we should get going," Pete smiled as he put his hands on top of John's. Upon contact one eyebrow was raised and john got the message, their friendship had been re-established and all was well again. Pete began to rise and John followed,

"Need a ride back?" Pete nodded,

"That would be nice." John made his way over to the counter and paid the bill, gesturing for the other man to follow him out of the door.

"How much do I owe you?" asked Pete, reaching into his pocket and digging out his wallet. The smaller man shook his head

" 's on me." He muttered whilst rustling through his bag to obtain two helmets, one of which was thrown at Pete with a wink. He groaned,

"What is it with you Americans and Harley's?" John bit his bottom lip as he counted the number of mutants he knew who owned motorcycles, "I guess we just like the wind." No matter how many times Pete, or Colossus for that matter, rode on the back of a motorcycle he still felt like he was going to fall off. He gripped John a little tighter than was strictly necessary, but he didn't seem to mind and besides his hair smelled like Raspberries and Vanilla; Pete had a thing for Raspberries. A few minutes later they arrived at the X mansion; Pete slid off the bike and turned to regard the other man

"I had a really nice time tonight," He smiled, breathed slowly and cocked his head to the side. He had three options: to walk away, to kiss the man, or to do something in between... He chose the latter.

"Yeah me too big guy, me too;" He heard whispered into his ear as he drew John in to a hug. It wasn't X-rated, it wasn't flashy, but at least it was honest.