profoundly-grey gave me the prompt 'When Words Aren't Enough' + Xander/Cordelia
Things to know: Xander has had his name legally changed to Xander (he got tired of people calling him 'Alex' or 'Alexander' because that was his legal name), Xander and Cordelia never broke up in S3, they've stayed together since then, and are both 25 now.
Honestly, Cordelia could hardly believe this was happening.
But here she was, standing at the altar next to Xander, about to be married. The minister was almost to the vows now. Just a pair of 'I dos' and she'd go from being Cordelia Chase to Cordelia Chase-Harris. No way am I completely swapping out my last name for his! Xander hadn't been remotely bothered by that, which she hadn't been surprised by, and he'd actually decide he'd be Xander Chase-Harris too, when this was all done. That had surprised her a little, but it also suited her just fine.
It had taken months of planning for her to get the wedding the way she wanted it. It wasn't the dream wedding she'd had as a kid, but as a kid, her dream wedding had also included her being a movie star, so that had been tossed out the window from the start.
And the most important part – that Xander was here – was really all she really needed for the wedding to be perfect.
With her dad in prison – finally caught – for the last three years, and since he'd never been much of a father to her anyway, it had been Giles who had given her away, which suited her just fine.
Taking a breath, she focused her attention on the minister as he turned to Xander.
"And do you, Xander Harris, take Cordelia Chase to be your lawfully wedded wife? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to love and to cherish for the rest of your days until death do you part?"
Even though she didn't doubt that he'd say the words, her breath still caught in the second between 'until death do you part' and Xander saying 'I do'.
"I do." Xander said, the surface, the words sounded wholly inadequate – how could just 'two words' really encompass all that they were intended to mean? A pledge of commitment for life, of love without reservation… but they didn't sound inadequate at all. Because it wasn't the words. It was the fact that Xander was saying them here, now, with such complete genuineness in his tone.
It was all Cordelia could do to not cry, hear heart threatening to burst out of her chest. Almost there.
"And do you, Cordelia Chase," the minister began, turning to her, "take Xander Harris to be your lawfully wedded husband? For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, to love and to cherish for the rest of your days until death do you part?"
"I do." Again, it didn't seem to be possible for those two words to be enough. Enough to convey just how much she loved Xander, how happy he made her, how much of their lives they had shared, how much she wanted him in her life for the rest of it. And they didn't feel like enough, even as she said them, were there any words for that, really? Cordelia didn't think so.
"Then by the power invested in me by God and the State of California, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Cordelia turned to face Xander directly as he reached one hand for the bottom of her veil and lifted it, then put her arms around his waist and pulled her in for a deep kiss, which Cordelia returned, her arms snaking around his neck, the dam within her bursting and a few tears of joy trickling down her face as they kissed, not quite crossing the line of what was publicly appropriate, but dancing right up to it.
The words 'I do', might not have been enough, not really, but this kiss… she put all her feelings into her: her love, her happiness, her commitment. And she could feel the same from Xander. They were interlocked together perfectly as they kissed, their lips molding to the other's without flaw.
There were no words for how much she loved Xander and how much he loved her, but they didn't need words.
I love you, Xander Chase-Harris.