"Ughhhh! *Yuck*!" 

Xander carefully put the coffee mug full of warmed cow's blood down on the 
kitchen counter, stepped back and gave a full body shudder complete with 
twitching arms, stomping feet and facial expression twisted into a look of 
utter disgust. 

"Oh *god* Spike! How in the name of the Hellmouth can you *drink* that shit?" 

One last shudder and a brief bout of the dry-heaves washed over him. By the 
time his uncontrollable reaction was done having it's way with him, he was 
left grimacing at the taste in his mouth even as he glared invisible 
death-rays at the evil blood filled coffee mug. 

"Huh? What?" 

Xander turned around to see a sleepy, not very much awake yet, Spike come 
shuffling into the kitchen. The blonde vampire's hair was sleep mused and his 
blue eyes blinked blearily around. He hadn't bothered to actually put on any 
clothes for his trek out of the bedroom, instead opting to simply wrap 
himself up in the fleecy red blanket from their bed. To Xander, he looked 
adorable...and very tempting. 

With a frown and a sigh, Xander pushed the naughty thoughts out of his head 
and forced himself to concentrate on the problem at hand. He pointed at the 
blood filled coffee mug. 

"I'm bitching about *that*. The blood." 

Sleepy Spike was a cuddly creature...and not in the least bit snarky. Even 
with non-Xander shaped people. He was also slow to pick up on anything 
besides the concept of 'hold me and go back to sleep', so Xander couldn't 
really get mad about the look of baffled innocence that was sent his way. Nor 
the way Spike curled up with the fleecy blanket on one of the kitchen chairs 
in an attempt to get comfy. 

"Why are you mad at my breakfast luv? And why is breakfast come so early 
today? I'll eat later. Let's go back to bed. We got soft fluffy pillows in 
bed..." 

With a sigh and a slight grin, Xander shook his head. How did his husband 
manage to dissolve his anger in seconds without even trying when he spent so 
much effort working at being the most annoying creature on the face of the 
planet? It was a mystery. 

However, he'd have plenty of time to ponder the complex man which was his 
lover later. Right now he had a problem. A *gross* problem. 

"Uh...Spike? You *do* remember Giles telling me I had to start drinking at 
least one mug of blood a day, don't you?" 

The blonde's expression was one of sleepy confusion. Big blue eyes blinked 
twice and then he slowly nodded his head. 

"He said it'd be good for the baby. That was right before the witches and the 
Slayer all made those cute little "eww" faces at him. Bloody funny it was 
too." 

Xander offered up a wry smirk. The girls *had* made funny faces when Giles 
had suggested the new addition to his diet, but even *that* didn't make up 
for the fact that *he* was the one expected to *drink* that stuff. 

"Yeah, well...I just tried some. And let me tell you...nasty doesn't even 
come *close* to describing the taste." 

Spike gave vent to a little amused snort. Then he closed his eyes, a look of 
concentration settling over his features as he inhaled deeply from his perch 
on the chair. When his eyes sprang open, he gazed up at Xander as if he had 
all of the answers to the universe tucked up his proverbial sleeve. 

"Well, pet. That's *cow's* blood. I would have *told* you it sucked if you 
would have just asked. It's just...*bland*. All herbivores are. What you need 
is a nice cuppa O positive. That'll do you good." 

Xander blanched in horror. 

"Um, no. Not doing the 'eat humans' thing Spike. Not gonna happen, so just 
wipe that thought clean out of your head right now." 

Spike gave a light shrug and grinned. 

"Up to you luv. But there isn't anything you can do about it. It's like 
comparing cheap hamburger to a steak. Ain't happening." 

Xander turned back to Spike, a retort on his lips when his mind replayed what 
Spike had just said. Cow's blood was 'hamburger'...but everyone knew that a 
hamburger tasted soooo much better if it had condiments on it. So, maybe 
Xander *could* improve the taste...if he dressed it up enough. Right? 

Without saying a word, Xander turned to the cabinet next to the refrigerator 
and began pulling out various mugs, cups and glasses. Then, he picked up the 
quickly cooling mug of cow's blood and divided it up between the cups he had 
just gotten out. When all of the blood was as evenly divided as Xander could 
make it, he began to glance around the kitchen...thinking. 

"Uhhhh...Xanpet? What are you doing?" 

Xander flashed him a quick grin. 

"Trying to find a way to make this stuff palatable. What else?" 

Spike just stared back in shock. 

Rifling through the refrigerator, Xander grabbed the orange juice. Squinting 
at it in thought for a moment, he finally shifted around and poured out a 
tiny bit into the first glass of cow's blood. He swirled it around to mix it 
up a bit and then turned to grin at Spike. 

"Let's see what a little liquid sunshine does for this, hummm?" 

Spike just looked faintly ill. Grinning, Xander lifted up the glass to his 
mouth. He had only a brief second to notice the grimace of horror on his 
husband's face before the orange juice/blood combination was poured into his 
mouth. The citrusy sweet tang of the juice battled the thick coppery taste of 
the blood as the mixture swirled on his tongue. 

Xander gagged. 

"Ewwww!" 

A soft chuckle from the blonde demon wrapped in the fluffy red blanket 
grabbed his attention, distracting him from the disgusting taste in his mouth. 

"I can't say I'd argue with you on *that* assessment luv. I'm just impressed 
you had the knackers to even *attempt* it. Even Dru wasn't *that* buggered in 
the head." 

Xander's face screwed up into a smirk as he tried to keep his laughter from 
bubbling up while he quickly placed the glass into the sink for washing. 

"Well, *thank* you for that lovely visual Spike. I always wanted the mental 
image of your ex being skull-fucked running through my mind." 

Xander turned to sort through some cabinets next while Spike's throaty 
chuckle filled the air. 

"Naughty, naughty. Language, pet...people are going to say I'm a bad 
influence on you if you keep that kind of talk up." 

Xander couldn't have stopped the amused snort from erupting, even if he had 
wanted to. Carefully, he pulled down a small brown bottle of vanilla extract 
and turned his head to smirk over his shoulder at his husband. 

"Spike. You *are* a bad influence on me. Get over it." 

Spike's throaty chuckle rumbled through the small kitchen and Xander's smirk 
melted into a genuine smile. He really enjoyed this side of Spike and he 
wished that he wasn't the only one who ever got to see it. The other's only 
ever saw nasty snarky evil Spike. The ruthless blonde demon who thirsted for 
blood and death and mayhem. But ever since they'd been cursed, Xander saw so 
very much more. 

Spike was intelligent, witty, observant, loyal, thoughtful and sensitive. He 
had a highly developed sense of humor and a way of making even the toughest 
situations seem like child's play. He was brash, uninhibited, shameless and 
playful. He was also looking at Xander with an expression of unmitigated 
disgust. 

"Please don't tell me you just put some *vanilla* in that blood?" 

Xander blinked in surprise and confusion. He turned his gaze fully on his 
husband. 

"Um...yeah?" 

That's when Xander had the pleasure of seeing *Spike* do the whole 'ewww 
gross!' dance of wigginess. Complete with full body shudder. 

"Cor! That's just...gross. What's next? Bloody melted cheese floating on top 
as if it were a bleedin' bowl of onion soup?" 

They *both* shuddered at *that* thought. 

"Look pet. If you *really* can't stand the taste of the cow's blood and you 
honestly know you won't be able to drink human blood, then the best thing for 
you to do would be to drink from *me*. S'not like I'd mind or anything...and 
me being the baby's father, it *would* be the best thing for him." 

Xander blinked in shock, a little tendril of fear uncurling in his belly. 

"Spike...I don't want to get *turned*...I'm just trying to do what Giles 
*said* to do. Besides, if you turned me, wouldn't that kill the baby too?" 

Spike looked back at him, his face completely blank for a second. Then he 
blinked rapidly and shook his head. Xander silently wondered what that was 
all about. 

"As lovely a vampire as you'd make, Xanpet...that's *not* what I meant. You 
won't turn if I don't drain you first. Drinking from me won't hurt you...and 
it won't hurt the baby either. And I *know* I taste better than any *cow's* 
blood." 

Xander frowned in thought. The idea of drinking *any* blood was a wigginsy 
idea, but Giles insisted that it would help the baby be healthy. To be 
honest, he didn't think Spike's blood would really taste all that 
different...at least to him. *Spike* might be able to tell, but his vampire 
senses were sort of designed to be able to determine the smallest differences 
in blood...by taste. Humans didn't come with that nifty feature. And the fear 
of accidentally turning was real...but Spike wouldn't lie. Not about Xander's 
health and Xander knew that. So... 

"How would I do that anyway? It's not like I have my own set of fangs that I 
can just bite you with." 

Spike looked startled. 

"You serious about this pet?" 

Xander paused for a second, thinking through his options, before he nodded 
his head slowly. 

"You sure this won't turn me or hurt the baby?" 

Spike nodded. 

"And it won't hurt you?" 

"No pet. Won't hurt me at all." 

Xander nodded his head more decisively. 

"Then yeah. The worst that can happen then is that I still don't like the 
taste. Right?" 

Spike stood up and smirked. 

"Oh...I don't think that'll be a problem. In all my years, I've *never* heard 
of a human who *didn't* like the taste of vampire blood once they got some." 

A sizzle of nerves and fear raced down Xander's spine at those words. He was 
just about to announce that he changed his mind when the blonde let go of one 
edge of the fleecy red blanket in order to reach out a hand to him. The 
blanket shifted to reveal silky pale flesh, the bright red a startling and 
exciting contrast. Xander let his eyes travel down from his husband's 
handsome face to his muscular chest, down to his lean waist and narrow hips 
to his thick penis which hung from it's nest of dark curls. And from there 
his eyes traveled over lean muscled legs that ended in small neat feet. 

A hungry smile on his face and a stirring in his groin, Xander suddenly was 
interested in drinking something besides Spike's blood. His smile quickly 
turning into a leer, Xander reached out and grasped the hand extended to him. 

"Come on pet. Let's take this discussion to the bedroom." 

All thoughts of blood drinking wiped from his mind, Xander couldn't help but 
think that was the best idea he'd heard in a long time. 

"Yeah, the bedroom..." 

Spike chuckled low in his throat and turned, leading Xander out of the 
kitchen, through the living room and into their bedroom. Once there, the 
blonde vampire gentle settled Xander on his back across the length of their 
bed. Xander reached out, ready to pull his lover against him, but Spike 
shifted out of the way. A pout forming on his lips at the unfairness of it, 
Spike just smiled mysteriously and knelt by his side. 

With a wink, Spike shifted into gameface. Xander was confused. He had long 
since stopped being frightened by the sight of his husband with fangs, but he 
didn't understand why the blonde demon had brought them out. Then, with his 
newly elongated fingernails, Spike reached up to his own chest and sliced a 
line open right below his collarbone. 

Xander watched, mesmerized as a thin line of blood welled up in the shallow 
cut. Droplets started to form into dark red beads, growing heavier as he 
stared. 

Moving carefully, Spike shifted until he was stretched out along Xander's 
side. Then he reached out with one hand and gently cupped the back of 
Xander's head, urging him to lean over. To bring his mouth down to that cut. 

"Drink." 

At once curious and frightened, Xander leaned forward only to pause at the 
last second. He was fascinated...even as that very thought of drinking blood 
was repulsive to him. But he *had* to...for the baby if nothing else. And 
yet...the cow's blood had been horrible, what if this was the same? 

Not wanting to take too much, in case it tasted disgusting, Xander slid his 
tongue out of his mouth and gently ran it along the length of the cut. 
Vaguely, Xander heard Spike moan softly, but he was too caught up in the 
explosion of taste across his tongue to really pay attention. 

Spike's blood was like the cow's blood...yet not like it as well. It too, had 
a coppery taste and was thick and sweet, but that's where the similarities 
ended. There was something about the taste of Spike's blood that...called to 
him, whispered of things unknowable in a language older than time. It 
was...intoxicating. 

Careful not to hurt his husband, Xander leaned down for more of the dark red 
blood. He pressed an open mouth kiss against Spike's cut flesh, laving it 
with his tongue, and then he sucked on it, pulling more of the thick liquid 
into his mouth. 

There was a...darkness to the blood that was missing from the mug of cow's 
blood he had tried, and failed, to consume earlier. It was lush and rich, 
like fine brandy. Even though it was of a cool temperature, it burned him 
with a sudden warmth as it flowed down his throat and into his stomach. 

Somewhere in the back of Xander's mind, a voice was shouting at him that he 
was drinking in the very essence of a demon, a creature of utter evil, but he 
also somehow knew that it was this very wickedness, this darkness which made 
Spike taste like an erotic slice of heaven, a debauched angel. 

Xander sucked on the open flesh of his lover's body, pulling more of that 
darkness into himself, a true hunger for it burning through him like wildfire. 

He was only vaguely aware that he was rocking and thrusting against Spike's 
body, his cock painfully hard in his boxer's. And Spike was also thrusting 
and pressing back against him, his own cock leaving a trail of wetness along 
Xander's thigh. 

Once again, Xander ran his tongue along the length of the cut on Spike's 
chest. His husband moaned, louder this time. Then, before Xander even 
realized the vampire had moved, he had his boxers torn from his body and 
Spike was shifting them around so that their hardened lengths were pressed 
tightly together. Xander felt a cool hand wrap around both cocks tightly and 
begin pumping them in a steady rhythm. 

Xander shuddered and moaned as sexual pleasure crashed through his body. He 
could feel his heart pounding behind his ribs and his cock throbbed against 
Spike's. Rich thick blood spilled across his tongue and he wasn't sure where 
the thought came from, but he acted on it instantly. With a low growl, Xander 
bit down on Spike's chest, tearing at the edges of the cut, opening it wider 
so that the blood ran more freely. 

A large splash of erotic liquid evil poured into his mouth and down his 
throat even as Spike howled and trembled against him in orgasm. One last 
swallow of dark red blood and then Xander slammed into his own completion, 
throbbing and twitching in Spike's arms. 

Gasping for breath, Xander could feel his hammering heart begin to calm as 
Spike began to purr in sated happiness. A lazy sense of contentment and 
safety lay over him and he slid his tongue out to lick at Spike's wound, 
nuzzling it gently. 

After a long moment of cuddling, Spike's preternatural healing took over and 
the bleeding stopped even as his flesh began to repair itself. Smiling, 
Xander rested his head on his husband's chest, feeling the vibrations of his 
purring transmitting themselves to him. Finally, Spike spoke. 

"Well luv...better than that nasty cow's blood?" 

Xander grinned harder. 

"Oh yeah...*much*."


END