Title: Best Laid Plans 7/16
Author: Forsaken2003
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I own none; all belong to Joss Whedon
Comments: Always welcomed!
Summary: Xander decides he wants to help Spike and Buffy get together. What better way than to pretend they are dating?
Warnings/Spoilers: Season 5
Beta'd by: Whichclothes

Part Seven

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Xander asked. They'd been walking around town for almost an hour and Spike hadn't said a single word. "What happened?"

"I'm done," Spike growled. "I should have known your plan wouldn't work!"

Xander grasped Spike and was just barely able to stop him from walking. "What are you talking about? Did something happen with Buffy?"

"Of course something sodding happened with Buffy! And it's entirely your fault," Spike accused.

"Don't get mad at me. Just tell me what happened and maybe I can help fix it," Xander said trying to calm Spike down. An angry Spike was a sloppy Spike.

Spike balled his hands into fists so hard that his nails cut into the skin. Blood dripped on the ground. He told Xander of how Buffy still thought Spike was beneath her. How she was playing with him, making him think that maybe she was interested in him only to knock him down. "She just wants to torment me!" Tears of frustration burned Spike's eyes. Buffy was like every other girl he fell for.

"Spike, I don't think she is trying to torment you." Xander took hold of Spike's wrist rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. "She's fighting what she's feeling. Buffy wants to keep picturing you as the bad guy when she knows it's not true."

"And how long will it take for her to accept that I'm the one meant for her?" Spike asked, pain in his voice. "Maybe I should just leave. Track down Drusilla, maybe she'll take my sorry arse back."

Panic rose in Xander's chest. Why did Spike leaving scare him so much? "You can't leave, Spike!" Xander said a little too forcefully. Spike looked at him with large eyes. "Look, I know I'm the screw-up in the group and I only have a good idea like once a year but can't you just trust me?"

Spike stared at Xander, trying to figure out what got him so riled up. In the end he decided it didn't matter what caused it. It shocked Spike but he actually did trust Xander. Maybe more than he should. "All right, Xan. I'll give it a couple more weeks. If I feel like it's getting me nowhere I'm ditching this bloody town. No looking back this time."

Xander let out a sigh of relief. He had somehow managed to convince Spike to not give up. But was the feeling of relief for Spike or for himself?

"Why don't we up the ante?" Xander said. A very bad idea had popped into his head.

"What's going on in that noggin of yours?" Spike asked, wondering if he should be afraid of Xander thinking of another idea.

Xander smiled. "You should move in with me!"

"Huh?" Spike said, knowing he sounded like an idiot.

"You should move in with me. Buffy will see exactly how serious we are and will really think about exactly what she wants in life," Xander said excitedly.

Spike squinted his eyes. "But you've only got the one bedroom," he commented.

Xander had forgotten about that. That could be a problem, though the thought of waking up with Spike in his bed sounded so very good. No! He was not going there. Tara wasn't right! "So? I also have a couch…but the girls do have keys to my place. If you moved in with me and they found you on the couch more than twice, they'd think something was wrong."

"How big exactly is your bed?" Spike asked suspiciously. Moving in was a good idea but it had been over a century since he'd slept with a man. This would just be sleeping though, unlike what he did with Angelus.

"It's a king size," Xander replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. "There is plenty of room for both of us."

Spike grunted. There would be a lot of benefits living with Xander. The main one making Buffy jealous and hopefully making her finally accept Spike was the one she was meant to be with. There was also getting out of his dank and dreary crypt. Also, since Spike smashed his television he would still be able to catch up on Passions. Plus Xander's company wasn't too bad. "Fine, buy blackout curtains and I'll move my stuff in tomorrow night."

"Great!" Xander said with a little bounce. Spike raised his eyebrow at his reaction. Xander coughed. "It'll just be nice to have some company. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment. It just gets a little lonely."

"Oh… well, remember it will only be temporary." Spike then turned and left Xander standing there. He needed to go kill something.

When Spike arrived at Xander's place the next night he was pleased to see that every room had blackout curtains. The place was the tidiest he'd ever seen. Spike almost wondered if Xander was trying to impress him. He quickly got rid of that idea. After all, why would Xander try to impress him? "Xander?"

Xander rushed out of the kitchen. "Oh, hey, Spike, I wasn't expecting you until later."

"Yeah, well I had everything already packed." Spike tossed Xander a giant bag. "That's my blood."

Xander opened the bag to see at least a week's worth of blood. "Why don't you put your stuff in the bedroom? There's a spare drawer and some space in the closet."

Spike made his way into "their" bedroom. "You went all out didn't you, pet?" he called out. He stared at the bed which had a dark red velvet blanket with matching pillow cases. "You're gay side came out, has it? You gonna play the nice little home maker?"

"Ha ha!" was Xander's come back. He walked into the bedroom. "If we are going to make this look convincing we need to make it look like you actually live here. Do you like it?" Xander asked, worrying his lip. When Spike looked at him he continued. "What I mean is, it something that you wouldn't bitch about?"

"It's fine." Spike ran his hand over the fabric. It had been ages since he'd had slept in something so luxurious.

Xander nodded, pleased with himself. "We should grab a bite to eat and then meet the others at the Magic Box to give them the good news!"

"Are you sure this will work?" Spike asked, following Xander through the apartment.

"Spike, this is me we're talking about. I'm not sure of Jack shit. If it is successful you get Buffy and if it's not at least you got out of the crypt for a couple weeks." He turned the stereo on in the kitchen as he fried himself up a steak.

Spike perked up when he heard Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses played. "Love this song!" He cranked it up and began to sing along with it.

"I love Bon Jovi," Xander replied, happy to see that they had something in common.

"I went to see him live once," Spike screamed over the radio, not moving to turn it down. "Just after his album Slippery When Wet came out. One of the best nights on my unlife!"

Xander's mouth dropped. "Are you kidding? I'd kill to go to his concert! Too bad Bon Jovi will never come to Sunnydale."

Buffy was the only one who looked up when Xander and Spike came into the shop. She had to stop the scowl that threatened to cross her face. Why did she care so much? She shouldn't. Xander looked so happy, how could she have feelings towards his boyfriend? She was such a horrible friend, because she wanted to believe that Spike was just trying to make her jealous by being with someone that was so close to her.

"Hey, guys!" Xander said excitedly. "We've got some great news." When he gained everyone's attention Xander nudged Spike's shoulder. "Come on, babe. This involves both of us! Don't make me babble."

"Oh, but you know how much I love to see you babble," Spike purred, sending shivers down Xander's spine. "It makes me want to kiss those luscious lips of yours."

Xander's knees turned to jelly but somehow he managed to stay upright. Having his arm around Spike's slim waist helped a lot.

"W-what's the good news?" Tara stammered out.

"Xan-pet's asked me to move in with him," Spike replied with a smile.

Buffy's and Willow's mouths dropped.

"Moving in?" Buffy asked. "You guys haven't even been together that long!"

"Now, Buffy." Giles stepped in. "Xander can make his own decisions, he doesn't need us intervening."

Buffy stared at Giles in disbelief. "The hell he doesn't! Has everyone forgotten that Spike is a vampire and soulless!"

"Buffy, you have to see that Spike really does care about Xander and Xander cares about Spike," Tara said. "Maybe even more than they both know."

Spike gave Tara a funny look; he shook his head and turned his attention to Buffy. "You know I am fully capable of caring about someone and when that person has it I will do anything for them." His gaze smoldered with Buffy's. Buffy turned away first.

"Well, we should celebrate!" Willow said with a smile. She was bound and determined to show her support for Xander's and Spike's relationship. "We should go to the Bronze!"

"Sounds fun but I'm dead tired," Xander said, wishing he was actually up for it. "What about next week? What do you think, babe?" He nuzzled his face against Spike's neck.

The warm puff of air from Xander's breath made Spike moan. Throughout this entire charade the one very good thing about the whole thing was the warmth of Xander's body constantly pressed against him. Spike sighed as if he were being put out. "I suppose we could. After all I can't let you go alone, can I?"

"Why can't you let Xander go alone?" Buffy asked confused. She was disappointed that they weren't going out tonight. She wanted Spike's attention on her. It was cruel to want her best guy friend's boyfriend attention on her, but she couldn't help it.

"Because the boy is mine!" Spike let out a possessive growl.

Giles was late for his date at the coffee house. "I would like to close up." Everyone looked at him, not understanding his announcement. "Get out!"

They all scrambled out of the shop except for Spike who purposely walked slowly just to piss him off.

"Lord, give me strength," Giles mumbled and closed the Magic Box for the night.