Father of the Brat

Disclaimer: I don't own anything affiliated with Buffy. It all belongs to Joss Whedon. I just borrow it. I'm not making any money from this, it's purely for fun.

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Xander smiled at the waitress as she seated him and left. He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes, thinking of the person that he was going to be meeting here.

Willow Rosenberg.

They hadn't really become friends until their junior year of high school when Willow had become his tutor. After that, she had become his best girl friend and he had become her best guy friend (besides Oz, of course). They could tell the other things that they wouldn't tell their boyfriend or girlfriend and it bothered Xander that they had lost touch over the years. This was just giving him an excuse to look her up.something he had never thought to do, which may make him a bad friend. Who knew?

Xander sighed and let his mind drift back over the years to the day he had found out who his tutor was going to be.


~~~~~~


Eighteen years ago, Sunnydale High.

Xander rolled his eyes as Spike laughed. A sight that some would have found strange, considering his spiked platinum blonde hair, leather vest, tight jeans, combat boots, the bicycle chain around his wrist, and the eyeliner he wore. Xander didn't see what was so funny about the situation really.

"Sorry, mate, but the look on your face is priceless. So, Willow Rosenberg's going to be your math tutor. What's the big deal? She seems like a nice enough chit." Spike told him.

Xander shook his head. "It's not that, Spike. It's the principal of the thing. A tutor? Come on.that'll completely cut into my free time!" he whined.

"Like you do anything earth shattering with it." Spike muttered, suppressing a grin. Xander shot him a dirty look.

"Do you know what the worst part is? She has a boyfriend! She's been dating that guy, Oz, forever it seems! I'm not even going to get the benefit of spending my free time with a pretty girl who could become my girlfriend. And the reason for that is because she's someone else's girlfriend." Xander explained to Spike.

This time it was Spike who rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You're such a whelp, Harris." was all he said as he began to walk faster, leaving Xander behind.

"I am not a whelp!" Xander yelled after Spike. He paused. "What's a whelp, anyway? Spike!" Xander ran after Spike as he walked, laughing, down the hallway


Buffy stared at Willow in disbelief. "You're going to tutor Xander Harris in math? Why?" she asked.

"Well, last year he got such.well, bad grades in math that it was decided for him that he'd get a math tutor right away at the beginning of the year." Willow replied.

"And they picked you." Buffy nodded. "I can see why they would. What with you being a math genius and all." Buffy frowned. "Who's they anyway?" Willow grinned.

"They would be the powers that be. Or, you know something like that. Actually, I've been thinking of asking Xander if he'd mind doing the tutoring at lunch sometimes that way he'd at least get some free afternoons.oh, or maybe we could do the sessions at the Bronze so we could be there when Oz practiced and get music at the sametime!" Willow nodded, pleased with her own logic.

"Oh my God." Buffy gasped. Willow turned to her concerned.

"What? What's wrong, Buffy?"

"If you're tutoring Xander Harris, does that mean that you're going to have to spend time with Spike Giles too?"

Willow's grin returned. "Oh, I see. That's the way it is."

"What?" Buffy asked, confused. She stared at Willow. What was Willow getting at?

"The reason you gasped like that. It's the possibility of spending time with Spike Giles.if the tutoring sessions are during lunch that is. Because, you know that he and Xander are best friends and so they'd both be likely to be there at lunch.where both of us and Oz would be.and you want to spend time with him because you like Spike!" Willow finished triumphantly. Buffy gaped at Willow, a horrified expression entering her eyes.

"I do not!" she protested. "Spike is so not crushworthy!" Buffy exclaimed, stretching the word 'so' out. Willow laughed and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh yes he is. If I weren't with Oz, I'd have a crush on him. Admit it Buffy. Spike is definitely crushworthy."

Buffy widened her eyes and shook her head frantically, waving her hands in front of her face. A gesture which seemed to cause Willow to laugh even harder and nod her head as if disagreeing with whatever Buffy was silently trying to say.

"I do not like him, he is not crushworthy, and I don't have to admit anything. No, no, no.that is of the bad. You remember what you said before you and Oz? Boys equal badness. Liking boys would be even worse. Liking boys leads to sweaty palms. So, no I don't like Spike. I don't like any boys! None. Absolutely none. No." Buffy said, shaking her head and wrinkling her nose. Willow smiled knowingly at Buffy and her complete denial. Buffy so liked Spike. She just wouldn't admit it.


~~~~~~~


Present day...restaurant that Xander is meeting Willow at....

"Xander?"

Xander looked up, pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice. He broke out into a huge smile and stood up, wrapping the person in a hug.

"Hey Willow!" He laughed as she grinned up at him.

"Xander, as glad as I am to see you, breathing is becoming an issue." Willow told him, returning the hug. They stopped hugging and sat down, the happiness of the reunion showing on their faces. "So, what's up? Why the sudden call? I mean we haven't talked in.what? Five, six years?"

"Hey I sent you a letter!" Xander protested. Willow raised an eyebrow at him.

"Xander, that was about three months ago and it was an RSVP for my wedding." Xander grinned sheepishly at Willow when she said that. "So, what's the reason?"

"Buffy and Spike." Xander told her, simply. Willow smiled slowly.

"Ah, so you've noticed too?" Xander nodded in reply. Willow listened intently as Xander told her everything he knew about Spike's reaction to Buffy and how he was acting lately. Once he was done with that, Willow did the same about Buffy and her reactions.

"So, what do you think we should do about it?" Xander asked once Willow was done.

"Nothing. For now." Willow paused. "We'll see how they do on their own. And if they screw up, that's when we.help."

"Help?" Xander questioned. Willow smiled, sweetly.

"Well, I don't like the word interfere."