The Stranger Things Series by Esmeralda is an important part of the Spander history. It’s an epic series that consists of many chaptered stories. Interestingly, the author started writing the fic before S5 aired in the US, so Spike’s backstory is different than canon. I love the adventures the guys go through, and my favorite of all the stories is The Promise where Penn shows up and things get scary and bloody! That chapter was intense.
The only downside for me is the way Xander is written, the author admits she wrote Xander with his S2 image and characterization in mind. So he reads younger than he is in S4. Other than that I adore the series so much, especially the Angel/Doyle pairing.
Shakatany said about the series, “It veers off canon in the 4th season. In the first story “The Deal”, Spike, in order to rescue Xander from becoming a demon sex toy, needs to prove his “claim” on the boy. Unable to be the one to penetrate a virgin Xander because of the possible pain setting off the chip, he must persuade and guide an astonished Xander to be the “doer” in front of his demon captors. In the next story, “The Arrangement” Spike and Xander decide that they have something real but the chip is an obstacle so Spike takes Xander to LA so Angel can “break him in” with Spike in attendance. Esmeralda stage manages the three of them beautifully and logically but of course Xander is Spike’s and eventually he can claim his boi. In subsequent stories Doyle joins in the fun as Angel’s companion and there is a time or two that it’s the BtVS version of “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”. However the series is more than just PWP. There are major obstacles in the path to happiness like the return of the Initiative and Angelus.
Esmeralda is a very capable writer and her characters ring true even as they depart from canon into slashheaven. The first story “The Deal” was written in 2000 and since then this series has grown into 9 complete multi-chaptered stories and a 10th which is a WIP. It’s up there with “Repossession” and “Quantum Xander I&II” in the length department. There are not many writers out there who have been writing as long as she has and is still producing fabulous fics. Go and enjoy.”