Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters, dialogue, lyrics, and/or situations are not my own. I repeat: I do not own anything.

"[Jean] had a lamb, His eyes black as coals"

"May I sit here?"

"Sure, be my guest," Scott answered, his words coming out slightly more slurred than normal.

Marie pulled up a chair next to the X-Men's team leader who was sporting only a pair a lamb ears in celebration of the Halloween dance they were supposed to be chaperoning. He doesn't seem like the type to dress up—I bet it was Jean's idea. Unfortunately for him, his Little Bo Peep was presently preoccupied with the mansion's wolf on the far side of the room.

When she had seen the blatant way Jean had been flirting with Logan, Marie's eyes had immediately searched for Scott. She had hoped that by some insane stroke of luck he had remained oblivious to his fiancée's actions, but he had not.

Scott currently held an almost empty cup of the spiked punch, I bet the boys paid Kitty to spike it for them, but from the way he had slurred his words Marie surmised that Scott had been drinking long before she found him.

"You know, just because you're chaperoning the dance it doesn't mean you're not allowed to enjoy yourself. Why don't you join me for a dance?" Marie asked, hoping that a it might take his mind off the fact his wife was cheating on him.

"Thanks, but I'd rather just stay here," he answered before taking another swig.

"Sure, we can just talk. I can get to know 'The Fearless Leader' much better." Marie angled her chair to face him, ready to get the conversation started.

"I think I'd prefer that. I can get to know 'Little Red' too." Scott added, taking notice of her costume.

A small blush appeared on her face as his eyes appraised her attire. Her dress showed a lot more cleavage than she was comfortable with, but Jubilee had insisted that no would care since it was a Halloween party.

"There's not much to me." Marie was slightly uncomfortable with having the focus on her. She had spent much of her time at the mansion avoiding others. It wasn't until just after she had joined the team that she had gained control. It was still odd for her to have others be comfortable enough around her to actually want to get to know her.

Even in the dim light of the dance Scott noticed the darkening of her pale cheeks. "That's not true. I know for a fact that you are very interesting." It was true; he had always found her alluring. She was the mystery of the mansion after all.

"Oh, tell me then, how so?" Marie asked, curiosity now outweighing her initial discomfort.

"Well, for starters, no one here seems to know your real name." Seeing her roll her eyes, Scott continued. "You didn't honestly expect us to believe your given name is Rogue, did you?"

"Of course not, but just because most don't know my name it doesn't necessarily mean that no one does."

"Oh, Logan," Scott added for her, saying the other man's name bitterly.

"Yes," she admitted, "but we do live with telepaths. I'm sure a few have picked up on my name but have been kind enough to respect my privacy and remain quiet."

"I suppose you're right." Even the passing mention of Jean seemed to further dampen his mood.

Wanting to cheer him up she continued on. "By the way, my name is Marie." Noticing the surprised look on the man's face, Marie couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Now, it's your turn to tell me a little something about you."

They spent the following half-hour telling one another about their families and various interests. Marie learned that Scott had lived in Alaska before joining the Professor and he learned that she wanted to study law after she got settled in with the team. However, as much as he enjoyed getting to know the youngest member of his team, Scott still continued to drink. As his alcohol intake rose, his inhibitions lowered, and he became more daring in his words and actions towards the young pretty woman sitting next to him.

At present his hand was resting on her upper thigh after telling her she would make a sexy lawyer.

Marie was not oblivious to Scott's advances and had played along, not wanting to reject him in his vulnerable state.

"I'm sure I would. A low cut top and short skirt will surely win me a case—if the judge were male."

"I don't think it would matter if he were a man. I can't imagine anyone not getting excited by you exposing some skin."

"Oh," Marie said, glancing at her hands as she blushed for the second time that night after remembering the amount of cleavage her little black dress was exposing. Sure enough, when she looked up, Scott's gaze was on her chest.

No longer content with simply flirting Scott stood up and walked behind Marie. Placing both hands on her shoulders, he leaned in to whisper into her ear.

"Marie, let me touch you. You have no idea how long I have imagined myself touching you." Scott nipped at the delicate flesh of her ear to emphasize his point.

"Can we play the game your way? Can I really lose control?"

Marie let out squeal of both shock and desire, but she quickly regained her composure. The smell of alcohol on his breath let her know that Scott was not in his right frame of mind.

"Scott, don't say that. You have Jean. You love her."

As much as she wanted to believe his words Marie knew it was just the alcohol talking—she had to remind him of that. Unfortunately, Scott didn't let himself be swayed by her poor attempt to stop him and continued to murmur in her ear.

"I did, but that doesn't mean I never thought about you. I still do."

Oh my, she thought in response.

Marie had had a crush on the man, whose warm breath was tickling her neck, for a while. The knowledge that he was, at the moment, willing to indulge her crush made it harder and harder to resist him with each passing moment. Think of how Jean would feel about this!

Deciding that perhaps Marie needed a little more persuasion, Scott slowly ran his tongue along her jaw line and was promptly rewarded by a soft gasp and a deep blush.

Ah, forget Jean.

"I think about you too," she said, her voice coming out low and shaky. Noticing the rising intensity of Scott's exploration, Marie threw all caution to the wind. She loved the feeling of falling, of losing control. "Maybe we should finish this conversation somewhere else. I doubt we'll remain undetected if we continue."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Scott had grabbed her hand and had proceeded to lead her towards the exit. Lucky for them, they had been sitting at the table closest to it or else they would have been seen escaping the party hand-in-hand.

Not wanting to wait to climb the two flights of stairs to her room Scott led her to an empty classroom on the same floor as the dance.

"If we play very quiet, my lamb, [Jean] never has to know"

Once the door was shut Scott's insistent mouth was on hers. Marie noted that his kisses were nothing like how she had imagined—they were better. She had imagined his kisses being slow and tender not hungry and insistent.

As their kiss increased in its fervor, Scott's hands began to roam her body. He unknotted her red cape, eager to explore the gentle curves of her body. Marie's own hands found a home on his scalp. She loved the feel of his thick hair between her fingers.

When Scott's mouth left hers to suck on the exposed flesh of her cleavage, Marie's conscience began to make itself heard.

I shouldn't be doing this—he's engaged!

He's engaged to a woman who has no problems cheating on him.

Sure, but that doesn't mean I get a free pass to have sex with him. This isn't even like him—he's drunk!

He obviously wants this.

Now, but what will happen in the morning? When he's sober?

An uneasy feeling started to settle over Marie, and it wasn't from pleasure.

"If I cut you down to a thing I can use, I fear there will be nothing good left of you"

I can't do this, Marie thought desperately.

"Scott, we need to stop," she stated firmly. Gathering all of her strength, both mentally and physically, Marie pushed him away. From the expression on his face she could tell that her actions had caught him by surprise and had also helped him to regain some clarity.

"I'm sorry," Marie began, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I should have just let you be instead of staying and letting myself be seduced you."

At the mention of his attempt to get her into his bed Scott lowered his head in shame. He didn't think he could take looking at her innocent features with his guilty conscience.

"The truth is I like you too much to let you damage yourself by getting involved with me on a drunken whim. The way you made me feel is amazing but that doesn't justify me getting between you and Jean." Marie's words continued to spill from her. Now that she had started she had to keep going. "As much as you want to be with me now, tomorrow you're going to realize that it was a mistake and you're going to hate yourself for hurting Jean the way she hurt you. I can't let you do that. I'm sorry."

Now it was her turn to look down. Marie wasn't sure what Scott would think of her ruining their chance to be together over concern for Jean. Regardless, Marie knew she was doing the right thing.

Scott could tell from her voice that her words were sincere, and he felt even guiltier for putting the burden on her to make the right choice. It had been his problem and he had dragged her into it.

"No, Marie, I'm…"

"I know. You don't have to say it."

After months of getting to know him Marie knew Scott was a decent man. He was loyal, considerate, and responsible—one night of poor mistakes to suppress his pain did not change that. Marie didn't need to hear his apology.

Nevertheless, Scott felt the need to let her know that what had happened—or not happened—was not her fault.

"Thank you," he said, hoping he managed to convey his gratitude with two simple words.

Marie understood what he was trying to tell her. He was thanking her for giving him a chance to change things between him and Jean, to set things right.

She favored Scott with a warm smile before grabbing her cape from the floor and turning to leave. As she reached for the brass doorknob a sudden surge of confidence ran through her as she remembered Scott admission earlier that night. Marie turned to face him once more.

"Once things are set right I'd like to lose control again, together," she whispered, just barely loud enough for Scott to pick up.

Leaving behind a thoroughly shocked Scott, Marie opened the heavy wooden door and left.

After a few moments of staring in stunned disbelief at the space where Marie had been, a hopeful grin appeared on the team leader's face. In the morning he would set things right.

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