I think
@hoponlilmama has.
Personally, I like Spike (Angel season 5)/Fred. Now, that's really out there!
Thanks for tagging me, NAS!
By the way, I also shipped Fred and Spike a little. I could see it happening, they were cute together.
Of course, Spike could generate chemistry with a paper bag, hence why you see a number of fic pairings with him and many characters. 🤣
Back to the original topic,
HannahRose, I've shipped Spillow for many, many years.
This is how it plays out in my mind, hopefully I'll make sense explaining myself here: Willow was the quiet one, the bookworm. Somewhere deep down, I think that appealed to Spike, who as we learn in S5 was a poet, a man of words. And I think that would appeal to Willow.
In the series, the scene where Willow shows Spike sympathy and compassion when he tries to stake himself (the episode is Doomed, I believe?), that moment serves as a catalyst for a shift in their standing (wouldn't exactly call it a friendship at that point!)
He was the one who knew how heartbroken she was over Oz. He offered to turn her - something Spike doesn't really do. He's lowkey got a thing for Willow, remembering what she wore a year prior (Lover's Walk) and finds her cute.
I've seen a number of fics that follow my same trail of thought. One could also look at it as the 'good girl with the bad boy'.
From what I've seen with fanfic, their pairing was pretty popular. Nothing compared to Bangel and Spuffy fic of course, but there's a lot. I've read a number of great stories with them, ranging from cute little G-rated fics, all the way to the adult fics.
The other alternative I sometimes consider is if the Dark Willow storyline had a longer arc, Spike could've been drawn to her darkness and they could've had a fling.