Title: Five Birthdays Never Seen on Buffy: Part One
Quiet Time: The Chase Estate: Fall, 1998
Characters: Xander, Cordelia
Rating: Not sure...
Author's Note: I tried to put these as close into canon as I could, while still having them between the seasons (mostly).


As the sun dipped lower in the sky, and the last invited guest left, she turned the music up just a notch louder on the stereo and started to dance. The kind of dance you dance when no one else is watching, a dance of pure joy and confidence.

Which wasn’t hard to do, because she was Cordelia. Enough said.

But while she was dancing, she didn’t notice the gentleman standing at the back gate, leaning on it, coat and present in his hands, just marveling in her joy and confidence.

It was only until he tapped her on the shoulder and almost got whacked by one of her arms waving around in the air that she was aware of his presence.

"Oh, I’m sorry--Xander!" She squealed, in spite of herself. At that moment, thoughts of, "I am Cordelia Chase, I do not squeal--except during extreme shoe sales" were pushed aside at seeing another source of joy in her life: her boyfriend.

And even better, he’d brought a present.

"Couldn’t come empty handed, could I?" He asked, smile on his face as he handed the package over.

"Absolutely not," Cordelia agreed. "I’m so glad you’re here!"

"Um, Cordy? Where are all the people? This was supposed to be a party, right? And parties need people, right?" Xander asked nervously.

"Oh, that party’s long done. I’m ready for the next one to start," she said, with a knowing smile on her face, as she sat down at a nearby picnic table. Xander came forward, a big smile on his face as he imagined what she was implying. Then, as if catching himself, he stopped and held out his index finger. "Wait a second, this isn’t about you not wanting to be seen with me, is it?"

"No, silly. I knew you wouldn’t fit in with all those rich types, so I shooed them away so you and I could have some time just for us," She assured him in that no holds barred way of hers.

"Oh, that really boosts my ego," Xander muttered. She stood up again, meeting him where he stood shifting his weight from one foot to the other in the spongy grass.

"And because I wanted a moment with just us. No one else." A pause. Xander looked a little uncertain at her response. "Do I lie?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows. Xander relaxed, saying, "No, I’m pretty sure your technique of non-tact is world renowned by now." She looked at him. "Why’d you get this fancy?"

"Well, I just figured, being with all these ‘rich types’--which I guess I’m not--I should look in kind. Being that they’ve all left, can I take the tie off now?" He asked, pleading with his eyes.

"Yes. Do." Cordelia prompted, and Xander complied by ripping the tie off and undoing the top button of the shirt, leaving just enough of his chest bare as to make him--and Cordelia was surprised she thought this--sexy.

"Aren’t you going to open your present?" He asked.

She’d almost forgotten! She grabbed the small box wrapped in cheesy birthday paper--"It was all Mom had around"--and inside was an elegant box. Opening it, she found a heart necklace, similar to the one he’d given her on Valentine’s Day last year, but with carvings of roses and vines adorning it. "Wow, Xander." She looked up, and he had this uncomfortable look on his face. "What?"

"Well, it’s just that the last time I gave you something like this, you dumped me." Xander looked at her curiously. "You’re not gonna dump me, are you?"

"No!" Cordelia laughed. Not the fake laugh she’d practiced to attract college boys, but a real laugh, one that had melody within it that made it twinkle on the warm breeze that surrounded the two of them. "Xander, it’s lovely."

"I just thought, that with the last one, it kinda got mangled after it was used for the spell and all, that I should help us start fresh." He smiled, happy that she liked the gift. And she did. This time, she’d wear the necklace so it could bounce upon whatever top she wore the next day at school, not hidden behind her clothing like she’d done before.

"So, what do you wanna do now?" Xander asked. "You choose, Birthday Girl." She took his hand and motioned for him to climb atop the picnic table. At first he looked confused, but then she daintily joined him and he wrapped his arms around her. The stars had started to poke through the sky now, and they sat, gazing at them for a good long while, sometimes speaking, sometimes just enjoying the moment.

Before, she might have said she’d wanted Xander to come later so that she could have her joy privately with him, without the troublesome muck of society’s reaction to their couple-ness.

Now, she wanted him to come later so they could have a joyful moment, just the two of them, without her high school society to get in the way.