I am here (WangXian fanfiction)

Never argue with a donkey

The late afternoon sun was hot as Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan and Apple walked along the road. Lan Zhan was a short distance ahead of Wei Wuxian who was having a battle of wills with the stubborn donkey.
Lan Zhan had put a little distance between them as they walked because mind was troubled. Between Wei Wuxian's nightmare last night, his relapse this morning and setting out on their trip back to the Lotus pier it had been a long day already. He was feeling weary and worried about Wei Wuxian's health. He'd begun to notice gradual changes in his energy. Lethargy being the main one. Well, at least more than he normally exhibited. He tired easily these days and sometimes when Wei Wuxian thought he wasn't looking he saw him hit his own body in anger or frustration. That's when he would take Wei Wuxian outside, find a quiet place and play the guqin for him. Sometimes Wei Wuxian would play Chenqing while he played. But mostly he would meditate, going through the mental exercises he used that helped him find his balance. Lan Zhan would then lay him down on a blanket and massage his muscles, using his healing energy to ease the pain in his body. It usually gave him enough reprieve that he would feel better for a while. But something had shifted and the frequency of the episodes had increased in severity. Lan Zhan didn't know what had caused it.
Startled by a sudden commotion behind him he paused his thoughts and looked to see what was going on.

Wei Wuxian felt the tiredness settling into his muscles and the awful cramps in his calves wouldn't let up. He really, really, really disliked this body. He used to have energy and could walk for hours without feeling tired. He'd been trying to increase the stamina of Mo Xuanyu body for months. But it just didn't have the capacity. The weakness of this body made him feel so angry sometimes, so much so that he would hit himself. It also didn't help that the stupid donkey at this very moment, refused to move. He tugged at Apple's lead, Apple of course pulled back and flicked his tail with an irritated swish. Wei Wuxian glared at the donkey, Apple glared back and fast as lightning tried to bite Wei Wuxian. "Gahhh!!" He jumped back but not fast enough. Dangling from the donkey's mouth was a piece of his sleeve! Shocked and unable to utter anything coherent he yelled, "You... You.. You! Ahhh!" Dropping the sleeve bit to the ground Apple let out a series of brays that to Wei Wuxian's ears sounded a lot like he was being cursed at.
That was it. He was tired, hot, his calves were cramping and now the donkey was cursing at him. He'd had enough, "Move you stupid ass! Or I don't know, maybe you could at least be helpful and let me ride you for a while!" But Apple was not in the mood. They had woken him from a lovely nap in the warm sun. Packed him up without a second lunch and dragged him down a hot, dusty road. He was thirsty, he was hungry, he was very, very put out. So, Apple didn't budge. He let out another string of brays at Wei Wuxian and dug his hooves in to the ground.

Lan Zhan watched the pair go at it. Man yelling at a donkey, saying he was tired and a donkey braying at a man, saying he was tired. He shook his head, rolled his eyes and sighed, "stubborn asses." He walked back towards them. Wei Wuxian and Apple looked at him as he approached, both about to tell him all about their grievances but Lan Zhan held up a hand and both man and donkey fell silent. Huh, the silence spell worked on a donkey?!
The smallest of smiles tugged at Lan Zhan's lips as he watched the pair stare at him indignantly. Ignoring them he reached into the pack on Apple's back and pulled out two apples. With an apple in each hand, he held them out and said, "Eat".  Ohhh the looks he got from man and donkey. Lan Zhan struggled not to laugh, instead rolled his eyes, huffed and again said, "stubborn asses". He tossed an apple at Wei Wuxian who caught it and then proceeded to stalk away, plopping down in a shady spot off the road. Lan Zhan furrowed his brow as he noticed that he had a slight limp as he walked. He would deal with that in a moment but first, he lifted the silence spell and held out the apple to the donkey. Apple took it gently, and glared at Wei Wuxian while he ate it.  "Feel better?"  He asked as he led the donkey over to another shady spot where the grass looked sweet. Apple huffed and continued to eat his apple. With the donkey reasonably sorted Lan Zhan patted him on the neck and then walked over to where Wei Wuxian was sitting. As he sat down Wei Wuxian crossed his arms and blurted out, "He Started It!" To which came a braying response, "Did Not!".

Heavens help him, Lan Zhan was in a dangerous position. He wanted to laugh, but he knew that it would only make things worse and he was tired of the bickering. So, he schooled his face and said firmly, "Children, behave".
Man and Donkey glared at each other but said nothing more. At least they'd stopped arguing. Lan Zhan decided to use that moment to snatch the half-eaten apple out of Wei Wuxian's hand and take a large bite out of it. Wei Wuxian's mouth fell open, "Hey, that's mine!" Lan Zhan just looked him and smiled a mischievous smile. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to distract Wei Wuxian, "Do you want it?" he said quietly. "Come and take it." He took another bite of apple and held it in between his lips. Wei Wuxian's eyes took on a glazed look as he focused on the bit of apple held between Lan Zhan's lips. "Lan Zhan... " he started to say but Lan Zhan leaned in and gently kissed the apple to his mouth. Wei Wuxian took the piece and chewed it, slowly. Lan Zhan took another bite of apple and again held it between his lips, this time waiting for him. Wei Wuxian brought his mouth to Lan Zhan's and took the waiting piece of apple. He chewed it and swallowed it again. This was about to repeat for a third time but Wei Wuxian had other ideas. He took Lan Zhan's face between his hands and smashed his lips to his. He no longer felt tired and heat of a different sort flooded through his body. He was hungry and but not for apples.