TITLE: Tales of the Past
AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: Xander and Cordelia share a moment with two very special people in their lives
SPOILER: Slightly Hero, but mostly my previous stories in this trilogy
DISTRIBUTION: Sandee, of course - My site - http://planetslaythis.homestead.com - Crystal and Butterfly if they want it - A Soul's Redemption - Anyone else - sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-PG?
DISCLAIMER: I own Chase and Maya. Xander is mine and everyone else belongs to Joss. Okay, Joss may've given our dear Xand life, but he lives at my house and is my love slave. He eats when I tell him to eat, sleeps when I tell him to sleep, and he even kissed my toes the other day. It's great having him around g


The pier was our spot. We always came here on our dates, probably because it's where we had our first kiss, and because it was sort of sacred to our little family.

She rested her hands on the railing and sighed, and I could see from her face that she was thinking, but I didn't dare ask what about.

"You look beautiful."

She did, always. Everyday, she woke up looking like a Goddess.

"Xander, I'm a mess." she pulled the clip holding her hair up but didn't shake it down, so it sort of stayed on her colder in one big curl. It was so unique, something only she could pull off.

"You look perfect." I touched her cheek gently. "Like an angel."

She smiled that sweet but nervous smile she's never given anyone but me. "You're gonna make me cry."

That was the last thing I wanted. This was supposed to be the second most important night of our lives together (the first being the wedding), and I was going to make her mascara run.

"Don't cry, Cordy," I whispered.

"How can I not?" she asked, smiling through the tears. She took a sunflower-printed Kleenix out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes before sniffling and tossing her head back, her hair blowing wildly in the wind before resting on her shoulders in soft waves. God, she's beautiful.

"So," she smelled the rose I'd given her earlier that evening and looked out at the water. "You said you had something to ask me."

Here it goes. Cordelia's mouth formed an O as I got down on one knee. I pulled the little velvet box out of my pocket and dropped it twice, causing Cordelia to giggle nervously. I finally got a firm grip on it (my hands were shaking) and opened it. "Cordelia Lauren Chase, we have been through so much, and all I've realized over the past two years is that I love you more than anyone or anything on this Earth. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I don't care if it's here, on the Hellmouth or in Paris. Hell, I'll go to Indonesia if I have to. Will you marry me?"

"Maybe."
"MAYBE?!"

"Stand up."

I stood.

She grabbed me and kissed me in a way she'd never kissed me before. She pulled away and smiled.

"Okay, I'll marry you."

Once a May Queen, always a May Queen.


*****


"And that's how it happened?" Maya asked enthusiastically.

"That's how it happened." Xander popped a pretzel in his mouth.

"I don't ever wanna get married." Chase announced.

"You will," Cordy said. "When you get older, you look at things differently."

"I *never* thought I'd be married." Xander confessed. "When I was little, I used to tell Willow that I'd always be the best man and never the groom."

"That's because you weren't going to marry her." Cordelia said.

"I almost didn't marry you." Xander confessed. "I was scared to death the day of our wedding."

"So was I." Cordelia said. "With reason."

"Come'ere," Xander stood up and went chasing after his wife of twelve years.

"EEEEEEEW!" Maya said, covering her eyes.

"Please don't kiss." Chase begged.

"We're married and we're in love." Xander said as he caught up with Cordelia and tackled her on the leather couch. "And we're going to kiss."

And they did, warm and passionate the way it had been when they were first dating.