commission — kinich x reader, SFW, oneshot
summary — kinich was tasked to handle a group of bandits taking camp in ameyalco waters, but he certainly didn't expect to see that you had gotten there first.
themes — fluff and humor, veterinarian!reader, ajaw being ajaw, developing relationship, kinich gets a bit flustered but nothing major, slow romance with these two
WC: 1.8k | ao3
The commission was simple enough. Find a group of bandits loitering around Ameyalco Waters, handle them swiftly, and earn a generous payout. The job was clear, the pay was copious, and Kinich wasn’t one to let an opportunity to make easy mora slide. Before the commissioner could even tell him the full details, he was already halfway across the Scions of the Canopy with his claymore in hand.
As he traveled to the marked destination, Ajaw buzzed around his ear, slinging insults and mockery per usual.
“How dare you interrupt the Almighty Dragonlord’s slumber for this!” the pixelated dragon exclaimed, zipping from Kinich’s left to his right repeatedly, giving Kinich his first Ajaw-related headache of the day. “I hope you die doing this stupid commission! That you die, you hear me?!”
Though he was used to the incessant death threats, they didn’t make him any less annoyed. Swatting Ajaw with the back of his hand, he ignored the loud “Gah!” that the Saurian made in turn. Eyes focused on the road ahead, Kinich said, “Pay attention. The sooner we find the trail, the sooner you can get back to bed.”
“How dare you patronize me?! You should be begging for my forgiveness right now, you ungrateful wretch! If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t even be able to take this stupid commission—! Gah!”
With another smack of his hand, Ajaw tumbled through the air. Kinich rolled his eyes before turning his attention to the soil ahead.
The ground was turning softer, damp from the pond waters that surrounded the vale. There were faint impressions of footsteps, three pairs that appeared to be dried and set. Those ones must have crossed the area some time ago.
But there was another pair of footsteps. These ones were far fresher, the soil around them still moist and impressionable. Whoever made them must have been wearing heeled boots, judging by the tracks. The ridges that crossed the prints looked different from the smooth-soled ones of the other three—these shoes were clearly built for outdoor exploration. And judging by the designer emblem printed into the ground, they were expensive, too.
Kinich lifted a hand to his chin in thought.
“What’s wrong with you?!” Ajaw barked. “We found the footprints, so let’s follow them!”
He shot his companion a glance, but said nothing. Continuing further past the boggy marsh, Kinich felt something unsettling begin to dwell within him. When the first patch of bright red blood appeared before him, he immediately kneeled before it to investigate.
A quick swipe of his finger through it was enough for him to recognize what had happened. It was the blood of a Koholasaurus.
The boot prints in the marsh were growing more interspersed. Whoever owned those shoes had started running.
Kinich would follow their lead.
“What the—?! Where are you going?!”
Ajaw’s cry fell upon deaf ears. For reasons unbeknownst to him, Kinich’s heart was pounding a mile a minute, and as he rounded the corner of the stone structure that hid the rest of the marsh from view, his eyes fell upon an unexpected sight.
“Hey…you’ll be okay.”
Your voice was calm, but your surroundings were anything but. Three men laid unconscious around your feet, your sword laid on the ground beside you. You held a roll of bandages in one hand, furling it around the wing of the injured Koholasaurus as you whispered gentle reassurances.
When the beast’s eyes landed on Kinich, it let out a feeble, strangled cry.
Immediately, you grabbed your sword and lunged at him. Right before your blade could strike his throat, you stopped. Kinich remained where he stood, staring back into those fierce eyes of yours without a shred of animosity.
A woman who tended to a Koholasaurus like it was a child, then brought her blade to anyone she perceived as a threat, could only be an honest person.
As if you heard his thoughts, your harsh expression immediately fell. You pulled your arm back, and with an elegant twirl of your blade, it dissipated into golden light. Looking rather awkward, you said, “I’m sorry. I thought you were another bandit.”
Before Kinich could reply to you, Ajaw made his presence known.
“Oh, come on! You were so close to killing this guy! The Almighty Dragonlord is displeased by the lowly girl’s actions!”
Your eyes flicked over to the pixelated menace with a blink. Quickly, you shook your head.
“I have to tend to this one,” you said, turning your back to him. “You seem capable. Will you lend me a hand?”
You knelt at the Koholasaurus’s side again, your attention devoted to the injured animal. Kinich’s eyes swept towards the knocked out bandits at your feet before he materialized a pixelated rope.
“Huh? You’re just gonna listen to her?! Who died and made her queen?!”
“Saurian,” you said, in a tone that was calm yet commanding. “Your voice is distressing to the Koholasaurus.”
“Wh—?! What gives you the right to speak to Ku’hul Ajaw this way?! Why, I oughta—! Gah!”
Immediately, Kinich grabbed Ajaw by the tail. With a sharp swing of his arm, he sent the Saurian flying into the air, spewing obscenities and insults as he tumbled across the valley.
Kinich quickly returned his attention to the bandits at his feet. He knelt to bind their wrists with rope, taking action while they were still unconscious. It didn’t take very long for him to realize that said bandits were the same ones he was briefed on just that morning.
“…Both of us were commissioned for the same job.”
He didn't ask for clarification, so much as he stated his observation. Behind him, he heard the sound of you unraveling bandages and shushing the whimpering animal.
“It seems that way,” you answered. “I guess I got here first.”
“I guess you did.” He finished the last knot in his rope before asking, “How much did they offer you?”
“How much…? That doesn’t matter. I took this job for free.”
Of course you did. He could tell by the way you knocked the bandits unconscious instead of killing them. By the way those designer boots of yours stamped into the ground. By the way you tended to a hurt Koholasaurus like a gentle matriarch. You were someone who didn’t see the value in mora like he did, and as little as he knew you, your every move told for it.
It was different, to say the least. Your actions could be interpreted as sheltered and naive, but also kind and charitable. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure if one held more value than the other.
“If you want,” you said, “I can pay you whatever your guys offered you.”
“Hm? No, that’s not necessary. You handled them.”
“You helped me.” You nudged at the bandits with your head. “That rope isn’t mine. It looks like it costs about…forty thousand mora?”
“Well. Considering the material, it’s more like fifty thousand,” he said plainly. “But I don’t need you to pay me.”
You looked up at him with something inquisitive in your eyes. It was like you were analyzing him, and the longer you stared at him, the more unusual he began to feel. The sensation started in his stomach, light and free like he felt when he was cliff diving, yet his body remained fixed to the ground. When your lips curled into a smile, it was as though you reminded his heart how to beat again.
How strange.
“Then…how about you help me with this one?” you asked. “I think it’s looking for its parents. If you take my commission and find them for me, I’ll be sure to compensate you appropriately for it.”
He swallowed. “How much are we talking?”
“Hm…about fifty thousand mora?”
Talk about overcompensation—but that fact didn’t look like it bothered you in the slightest. He supposed it was payment for a service. With that in mind, he casually said, “Deal.”
Your hand stroked the head of the Koholasaurus, who placed its chin in your lap. Smiling at Kinich fondly, you said, “Thank you. Please be careful.”
Abruptly. he turned away from you. He had never been spoken to like that before—full of such bountiful warmth and kindness—like he held some deeper meaning to you. The way you wished him well, how you babied the Koholasaurus in your lap…you almost reminded him of a young mother.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Kinich asked, “What’s your name?”
“My Ancient Name? It’s—.”
“No, your actual name.”
“Oh. I don’t really…well. I’m a veterinarian, so feel free to call me Doc.”
Like Ifa. Your dress suggested you were from the Flower Feather Clan as well. “I’m Kinich.”
“Kinich…? Ah, you bear the Ancient Name Malipo, don’t you? I’ve heard all about your Saurian companion, too.”
As though summoned, said Saurian companion came rolling back into Kinich’s field of view with a scream. As he launched insult after insult Kinich’s way, the man tuned it all out. Playing on repeat in his mind was the way you said his name: Kinich.
It sounded pleasant on your tongue. Sophisticated, but soft.
“…I’ll be back,” he said eventually.
You gave him a nod. It took Kinich a moment to realize that Ajaw had gone radio silent.
The mouthy dragon looked at you, then at Kinich. Before he could intervene, Ajaw placed a pixelated blush right over his face, complete with pink heart eyes to boot. With a loud cackle, Ajaw jeered, “Someone’s in loooooove!”
“Stop that,” he hissed, waving the pink pixels away from himself. He found you interesting, sure, but he most certainly was not in love with a woman he had just met.
The young Koholasaurus let out a soft whine. You laughed.
“No, he’s not my husband,” you said. “But yes, he is very nice.”
Kinich’s eyes widened. “You…understand the Koholasaurus?”
“Hm? Oh, yes. That’s how I found those bandits so easily in the first place.”
“What, you want a medal or something?!” Ajaw asked. “You still stole the Almighty Dragonlord’s commission fee! How will you repay His Magnificence for this?!”
“We’re going to find the Koholasaurus’s parents,” Kinich said, grabbing Ajaw by the tail as he did. “Shut up and come with me.”
“Huh?! That kind of request sounds like chump change!”
“Fifty thousand mora,” you supplied.
“Fifty thousand—?!” Ajaw’s sunglasses grew bigger, like his eyes were bulging, as his pink mouth simultaneously opened wide. Waving his arm around, he snapped, “Kinich, this woman appears to have an incredibly disposable income! Court her now, in the name of Ku’hul Ajaw!”
“Gh—! Shut up, already!”
Heat that wasn’t from the blazing sun overhead soaked into Kinich’s face. As he trudged forward, dragging Ajaw along behind him, he heard the lilting of your laughter. It made his ears tickle, but he did his best to ignore the feeling.
He had a job to do, first and foremost. Any thoughts of you could come after payment was received.
a/n: really funny that i thought i'd never write kinich but here i am with this one xD this was a work done for a fic/art trade with @laro80, who is a super talented artist so please check her works out! anyway, if you liked what you read, please consider leaving a me a heart! (˶>⩊<˶) ♡ reblogs and comments appreciated! if you would like to be tagged whenever i post genshin x reader, please check my rules here! thank you! icymi! chai's last non-lohen post: sfw/nsfw headcanons, multi imagines (1.1k notes) masterlist
⊹ ˖ fellow authors, i do not mind if you are inspired by my works to write something similar, but please credit me if you are. these concepts mean a lot to me, so i would really like to be credited for any of my personal ideas that inspire you. thank you!
