Pietro is dumb and Rogue explains why

Pietro had wondered around after his nightmare a lot. Finally he found himself in the X-Garden. Where Artemis broke up with him. Pietro gulped at the thought. He turned to leave, when he spotted someone under a tree with a dog that looked familiar.


"Rogue? Is that you?" Of all the people Pietro had expected Rogue had not been one of them.

Rogue heard a somewhat familiar voice, she turned around with Karim walking around her feet, "Pietro?" she asked when she saw him.

Pietro walked over and started smiling. Rogue while brutally honest was also one of the smarter members of the old Brotherhood. Given the fact that she left that really made her the smartest.


"I wasn't expecting you here. Well here with the hero's yes, but not here." Pietro indicated the area around talking about the world in general.

Rogue shook her head, "Yeah... the Protectors attacked Xavier, and... well I'm here?" She shrugged, her southern accent just as strong as ever, "But you're here? I'd at least think you'd be able to out run the collar."

Pietro chuckled lightly. "Not how it happened with me. I was walking to work from my car and everything went black, and I woke up in the stadium with Mystique standing there."


Pietro sat under the tree as the dog ran around.


"So how's life Rogue?" Pietro turned away trying to avoid his own thoughts.

Rogue's eyes widened a bit at the mention of her adoptive mothers name, but she tried to brush it off.

"So how's life Rogue?"

Rogue looked towards the ground, "Lame. I open my heart for a guy, once... and he just goes off with another woman. I guess even if we weren't even together and he did that... I don't know what to do. So... life? Sucks, majorly but I'll make what I can out of it." Rogue sighed moving the white section of her bangs out of her face, looking at Pietro. Something seemed off about the man.

"Well at least your issues are some idiot fault my issues are my own fault." Pietro sighed and looked down. "I had a shot, a real shot with this incredible, smart, funny, beautiful, sexy woman, and I screw it up, and what makes it worse is my biggest mistakes happened after she dumped me." Pietro laid his head back on the tree. "How stupid can I be?" Pietro asked mystified.

"Because, Pietro. You're a womanizer. It's just who you are. You use women as an escape... and that's all you see women as. I'm different because you see me as a man. I'm not girly by any stretch of the means except for having body of one. I don't act like a female and that's why I'm as good as I am. But that's also why you actually see me as on your playing level. You don't treat women like their equals. You... belittle them without truly seeing what you've done." Rogue huffed lightly, trying to think of better words to describe the man as... but all in all she was right.

Pietro nodded his head realizing she was right on most of what she said.


Pietro sighed. "Right on most count, Rogue you usually are. I think I'm starting to figure out why I do that. I took some psychology in college and once I started thinking about it I think what I do is I use these women to get the affection I didn't from my dad or anyone else for that matter." Pietro held up his hands to stop Rogue for speaking. "I'm not trying to make excuses, I think it's just what I've been doing. But this girl... You know I have a pattern with women. I've been thinking about this most of the night and all day. What I do, is I meet a girl that I could have a real relationship with, then I do something to mess it up on purpose, sex to early, a conversation I know will start a fight, something. Then..." Pietro held up his finger to make a point. "Then I get them to break-up with me so I can have someone to blame that's not me. And after that I use random women to make me feel better about me, and then the whole thing starts all over again." Pietro put his head in his hands. "Last night I was with the third woman since the break up and after that I have this nightmare and realize," Pietro was near tears. "If I ever had a shot of getting that girl back... Which I did want. I just blow it. And you know something? This woman is the first one that after the break up, even without seeing her for a month, still makes me want to be a better man. That's never happened before." Pietro lifted his head back showing one tear.


"And you know Rogue I never thought of you as a guy. I had a huge crush on you in high school. You were the ultimate girl that you can't have. I never flirted with you because I knew you weren't interested and would kick my skinny, white ass." Pietro grinned at her saddly.

Rogue sighed after he finished talking, "You fucked other girls? I don't think she's going to appreciate that, Pietro. I think you've screwed up more than you could realize but... I'll have to talk to her and congratulate her on making you a better man."

"And you know Rogue I never thought of you as a guy. I had a huge crush on you in high school. You were the ultimate girl that you can't have. I never flirted with you because I knew you weren't interested and would kick my skinny, white ass"

Rogue's mouth cracked up into a wide smile, "Damn straight I'd kick your ass." She loudly covering her mouth. Before taking a moment, "Wait, I was the ultimate girl that you couldn't have? How is that possible? I mean I can understand my curse getting in the way, or is that was you meant." Rogue was hoping it had nothing to do with her abilities but she knew deep down it was most likely the reason.

"For the record we broke up before I even noticed other girls still existed." Pietro sighed, "And I'm not a better man, not yet. I want to be but don't know how. And as for you, your powers were only part of it. You were without a doubt one of the hottest girls in school, bare none. You were graceful, elegant and you made Goth look like the thing to be. I noticed an almost 10% increase in girl goths at school over our time there, and all their looks were based on you. It was obvious. Then there was the fact you were the only one of us to ever leave the brotherhood and turn your life into a complete 180, I might not have been a villain when I was caught technically but I never tried to become something better, like you did."


Pietro sighed this was a hard thing to ask, knowing Rogues current opinion of him. "Do you have any suggestions for how I can talk to her again? I know I won't get another shot like the one I had, but I would like to maybe be friends with her. Do you think that's possible?"

Rogue was shocked to say the least, she wasn't goth on purpose. She just dressed the way she felt. Lonely, depressed, and the world was far too dark for her.

Rogue had a sudden idea, "Well, you wanna fix yourself, for yourself and her correct? So, why not come to the good side?" She didn't want to mention her transfer to the side of good was because she didn't know how to control herself, she was constantly becoming possessed and she needed help from Xavier, something Mystique could never give her, "And maybe that will show her that... you're changing. It might help your chances, but I severely doubt she'll want to look at you for a while but time fixes everything when dealing with matters of the heart." Rogue shut her eyes thinking lightly, "And if not? Then move on, plenty of other vixens around the multiverse waiting for a adorable speedster."

Pietro leaned his head back, and ran his fingers throw his hair. What did he really have a the brotherhood? Three woman that he slept with and had no feelings for beyond hormones, one that would kill him soon as look at him if she had her powers working but was fairly nice besides being psychotic, memories of watching a very sweet woman murdered, his little sister almost raped, never relaxing, and four guys he really could careless about. But Xavier's had Artemis, his sister, watching his sisters boyfriend. That's when Pietro stopped an looked toward the mansion. I was like a sudden weight lifted off his chest and he could breath.


"Do you think I'd be accepted up there, really? And I never told you why Artemis broke up with me. I told her I wouldn't feel guilty if I killed someone in the Arena. After thinking about it I don't know if that's 100% true but I can't say it isn't either." Pietro looked at Rogue for answers.

"Pietro, you may think you won't regret it... but you will. Every moment... of every day you'll wonder what would of happened if I hadn't killed... It happens to me... it happens to best of us." Rogue sighed, shallowly, "And if you're willing to change, no one will mind. Actually, people will help."

"Ok then, I'll go and get my stuff latter and call Lorna so I don't have to worry about me walking in on her new boyfriend." Pietro smiled his first real smile that did not directly involve Artemis, or Lorna.


"So now that you have helped to start fix me. Tell me what idiot that has a shot with you is making you miserable?" Pietro smiled hoping he could help Rogue the way she was helping him.

Rogue nodded.

"So now that you have helped to start fix me. Tell me what idiot that has a shot with you is making you miserable?"

Rogue's eyes could not make contact with Pietro's, "Remy... he and I... I kissed him and it great... first one since I was 13..." Rogue's eyes watered, "I... your sister came up, out of nowhere. And he told me that... he'd be right back and he'd explain everything. I have not seen him since he ran off with Lorna..." Rogue's eyes were at their capacity for holding back her tear. Rogue wiped her eyes, her emotions getting the better of her.

Pietro nodded. "Lorna told me about that. I don't know what happened to Gambit but Lorna told me everything. What happened was that back home he flirted with her a little and she got a crush. When she saw you she got upset. He followed to talk to her, nothing happened between them." Pietro explained.

Rogue listened to him, "But that doesn't explain his disappearance..." Her gloves hand made it's way to her mouth, covering it trying to keep herself from uttering the words screaming in her mind, "You... you don't think something happened to him... do you?" her southern accent shook her words dramatically.

Pietro looked sadly at Rogue. "I couldn't say but all things considered, it wouldn't surprise me. For what it's worth I hope he's ok."

Rogue's throat started to hurt at the thought of Protector's doing something to Remy. Rogue shut her eyes, "So..." Rogue needed a topic change before her mind went into deeper details of what they could be doing to Gambit.

Pietro could tell that Rogue needed a change of subject.

"So any other friendly faces around here?"

"A few. Kitty Pryde, Logan, Storm..." She paused, "Batman, whom I sure you know. Uh..." Rogue paused again, not really remembering if there was others, "I dunno 'bout others. But those are the ones I know about."

"Didn't realize Wolverine and Storm were here. And I do know Batman. He's cool. Hey did anything ever happen between Storm and Old Wolvie? We always had these debates back at the brotherhood." Pietro asked curiously.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure, I haven't actually... talked to Logan. He's been gone since I got here. So, I dunno if it's happened. I only saw Storm after I murdered Catwoman in the arena." she said the last part quietly, in a whisper.

Pietro breathed out when she mentioned killing someone. "So you get that huh?"