Work Text:
Kinich wore an orange scarf that faded into yellow, and a long-sleeved black shirt, when he knocked on the front door of a very loud house, with barely a second to breathe before he was being dragged in.
“You made it!! You’re gonna love our food!” Lyney pulled him around by his arm, and Kinich let Ajaw come out to roam, barely catching a glimpse of the dragon before he was off, hopefully not disrupting anything.
“It’s–quite loud here.” Kinich mumbled as he had to dodge shoulders left and right behind Lyney, “Oh, yeah… I have a big family, and we go all out for the holidays.”
Lyney dragged him until they were in the much less crowded kitchen, where a very tall woman stood, with white and black hair tied up into a bun and a black apron around her waist.
“Father!! This is–” “Malipo Kinich, I’ve been waiting to meet you.” The woman turned, cutting off Lyney and revealing the red snowflakes patterned on her apron.
“I’m Arlecchino, or ‘Father’ as the children call me. Lyney has told me a lot about you.” Kinich found it hard to be intimidated by her, given the whole…festive atmosphere.
"Greetings, wish I could say the same… but Lyney hardly mentions his family..” He glared lightheartedly at the man beside him, “Heh…well, anyway! Father, I was hoping he could stay for dinner!”
Lyney hadn’t even asked beforehand?
“'Tis the season of giving, Lyney. Of course, he can stay." She waved her hand around dismissively, like it was already decided upon. "Now pick up an apron and help with these cookies.” Arlecchino turned back to the counters.
Lyney whispered to him a small ‘goodluck’ before joining her, throwing on a pink apron, and grabbing ingredients from their fridge.
Goodluck for what?...
“Newcomer!” A tiny child tugged at his arm, dragging him back into the crowd.
Children.
Kinich is now starting to understand what that goodluck was for.
He ends up getting taken to some corner, where a bunch of little ones sat, various blankets and stuffed animals with them.
“Look! I found this guy wandering around with Lyn!” All the kids looked up at him, “Hello… I’m Malipo Kinich, a friend of Lyney’s…” The kids pulled him down to sit with them–
Why are they so strong?? They can not be older than twelve.
“Are we sure he is good for Lyney? What if he is bad!”
Well, ow.
Kids are hurtful.
“Oh, I know! We should test him!”
What?
Kinich looked around at all the skeptical eyes on him…
“You. What’s Lyney’s favorite color?” One of the little girls pointed at him, her glasses catching the light and making them glow, “Uh, he likes purple? But he doesn't really have a favorite. He finds all colors pretty when used correctly.”
The kid huffed as if disappointed, while grumbling, ‘he’s right’ under her breath.
“Well, what about favorite animal then? Hm?” A boy who was holding something that looked suspiciously like acid asked.
Should he be scared for his life?
“He loves his birds and Rosseland very much, but…” He frowned.
Lyney also liked Blubberbeasts and has enough plushies to prove it.
But he also got close with the Saurians in Natlan…
And also the Puffins, and Chic Badgers in Nod Krai...
“Weasels. He favors them for their misunderstood reputation.” But now he’s starting to wonder if they really want him to be right, as they seem utterly offended by his answers.
“Well-well, what’s his last name?!”
Which one??
Lyney has said he has multiple, but none at the same time.
Curse that magician and his crypticness.
“Uhm…” He crossed his arms…
Should he have asked Lyney to quiz him before this?
“I guess it’s–”
“There you are. Lyney said you might need some help.” Kinich looked up to see Lynette, standing behind him, holding a biscuit.
“Now, what’s going on here?” She placed a hand on her hip, looking at all the children who were surrounding their guest. “Didn’t father teach you guys manners?”
All the children whined, “But Lynetteeeee! We just wanted to make sure he was right for Lyney!!” The other kids nodded along, “Yeah! We haven’t even heard of him before now!”
Kinich sighed.
Children really were hard to reason with.
“Well, surely you can trust Lyney’s judgement. If not, then trust mine.” She grabbed Kinich by his collar, hoisting him up to stand beside her.
“He is under our protection, so I don’t want to see you all causing any trouble for him.” Lynette put pressure on his neck, “And if that changes… Everyone will know.”
Oh, cool. So it’s just a family thing.
Lynette said her goodbyes to the children before dragging him through the crowds by the collar.
“I can walk…” He grumbled, but he supposed it was better than having to navigate the crowd himself. “Hush.”
A cookie was shoved in his mouth– “Lyney made it, and wanted you to try it.” She explained, blissfully slowing down long enough for him to actually eat the cookie, and then they were back on the move.
How she even pulls him along this easily is anyone's guess but his own.
Kinich let himself get taken to wherever he is now.
Lynette released him and went to sit on the floating chair beside the coffee table, “Sit. I’m sure you’ll get dragged somewhere else soon, so you might as well rest while you can.”
She gestured to the other floating chair while reaching for the tea set that was in the middle of the coffee table.
Okay…
Kinich took his designated spot. He didn’t oppose the tea handed to him; the change in pace was nice…and unsettling after being under interrogation by children.
They sat in silence, and Kinich took the time to admire the scenery.
There were children running through the house, young teens playing games, pulling pranks, others were trying to keep everyone in line…and failing miserably.
But there was no anger to be found, no irritation, just…family.
Kinich smiled, looking down at his tea…
He understands why Lyney enjoys the holidays so much now.
Lynette also seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere, as now that he is able to pay attention for longer than ten seconds–she has her own festive headband on, long white antlers poking out from where regular–human–ears would. She also had a green coat on, fluffy fur covering every seam.
He placed his finished tea down on the table… Lyney wasn't wearing anything like that… was he?
“Wait… you aren’t going to quiz me, right? Because I do not know what Lyney’s last name is.” Kinich tensed in the chair–not another test.
Celestia above, if you can hear him– “Hmm, no. I don’t really do quizzes; I prefer tests. But, just in case, Lyney’s last name is–”
“Malipo!! C’mon, you’re gonna miss storytime!!” The boy from earlier appeared at his side–already dragging him out of the chair and through the halls.
Not even Celestia can save him now it seems.
Kinich searched for any sign of escape–not that he was opposed to listening to stories, but he thinks the pilgrimage was less chaotic than this.
He finally caught his break when they reached a new area of the house– “...Where exactly are we? Wait–what even is your name??”
The boy looked up at him, “Oh, uh, my name's Hozan. We’re at the book corner!” Hozan pulled him to sit, and Kinich looked around, observing the many other people there.
...How many relatives did Lyney have?
“...and what’s everyone else's name?” He felt it was only right to learn all of Lyney’s family's names…after all, Lyney took the time to learn his. But also, there was a very clear difference in numbers–how does Lyney keep track?
“Uhhh, well, that over there is Alisa and Merei.” A girl with red hair waved at the mention of her name, with the teen beside her nodding their head toward them.
“And over there is Taras, he is kinda mean though…I don’t like him.” Kinich nodded along, not all siblings or cousins got along after all.
“And then there is Ayaan… Lucero… Inayah…Kevin…Amy…” Hozan pointed to everyone with their names, and Amy actually waved to him, a smile on her face, though the eye patch she wore was a bit odd…
Does she have an injury?
And unlike the other children, she wore none of the festive colors; instead dressed in all purple and pink…but Kinich already felt his head starting to drown as it tried to keep track of their names, so he ignored that for now.
“Oh! And my big brother Kleber should be here eventually!”
How many people lived here?
“Hmm, I’m sure you know of Freminet though… he does the storytimes!”
Oh, thank Celestia, a familiar name.
“Yeah, I’ve hung out with Freminet a few times, helped him repair some things back in Natlan.”
Kinich ended up talking with Hozen about the power in Natlan, how it works, and the difference between Phlogiston and Indemnitium–Amy had even joined in with her own commentary, despite not knowing anything about either power source.
She told them about how Mondstadt ran on the power of windmills, and then the sound of footsteps quieted all conversations, while Amy returned to her spot over by Inayah and Lucero.
“Uhm…Hi…I brought a few books for everyone…” Freminet stepped until he was in front of everyone, taking a seat beside a festive penguin pillow.
They reserved a seat for him…how sweet. For children who interrogated him not even thirty minutes ago at least.
“Did you bring the reindeer book!!” Uh.. Alisa spoke up, leaning forward in her spot on the blankets. “Mhm… and a few others..”
Freminet reached into a small bag he brought, pulling out three books. “I got uh…Ruodolph le renne au nez rouge…”
He turned the book around to show everyone the reindeer on the cover, “And uhm… Frosty le bonhomme de neige…”
Next was a book with a snowman and a hat on the cover, “Then I also brought, uh.. La legende du sapin…”
A dove was on the cover of this one, curled up in the branches of a tree.
“Rudolph!” Alisa pointed to the book with the deer, “Alright… is that what everyone wants?” Freminet took the book, looking around for any objections…
Then he opened the book to the first page, being sure to show everyone the illustrations, “Rudolph was… different from the other reindeer…their glowing nose makes the others fear them… leaving them sad and alone…”
That can not be how the book goes…
Kinich narrowed his eyes. He had read a similar tale to Kachina, Rodolfo el reno de la narzi roja, and it certainly didn't mention fear.
“...when the ruler heard them, they told them to let it show…” Ruler? Now that was certainly new.
“Rudolph went off to tell them… that they had a new idea…though the other reindeer heard them, they didn’t let them know…” Freminet flipped the page, bending forward to look at the text more carefully.
“So Rudolph went off to show them... how their shiny nose could help them… when the moon was high and low…” He showed the illustration to everyone, two moons all lined up in the sky.
“Rudolph went off to join them, letting themself show their glow…” The page turned, a new moon appearing at the very top of the two moons, “All the other reindeer mourned them, under the moonlight's glow…”
Kinich looked around at the children. Isn’t that a bit morbid?...
“Again! Again!!”
Apparently not.
Alisa clapped her hands, entirely unbothered by the fact that the reindeer died.
“No!! I wanna hear about Frosty!” Hozan pouted, crossing his arms to show his disappointment.
“I think it’s only fair that Hozan gets to hear the story he wants, since we just read Rudolph,” Kinich explained, earning all eyes on him, along with the angry eyes of a child.
“...you’re right, it’s only fair we read every story the same amount…” Freminet mumbled, switching the books in his hand, “But fremmy!!! I wanna hear about the reindeer again!!” Alisa whined, kicking her legs out on the blankets.
“I’ll read you Rudolph, later as many times as you want, okay?” Merei spoke up, placing a hand on Alisa’s shoulder.
Kinich almost forgot they were even there.
“Okayyy…” Alisa quieted down, scooting up to Merei until they were able to curl up on their side.
Freminet opened the book, turning to the first page, “It started with the dreaded cold… the snow falls to make your fingers ring hollow…”
Are any of these happy?
Kinich was starting to be thankful that he hadn't been read any of these as a child. Granted, he wasn't really read anything as a child, but still.
“The children stomped down the town, looking for an open window, where the very brave all roam…” Freminet turned the page to an illustration of three children all gathered by an open window.
“Someone reached out to shield them, from the very snow that haunts them, taking them all the way back home.”
Kinich looked at the kids; Alisa was even falling asleep.
“The children looked up to see them, following the arm that froze, finding eyes made of stone… The children looked back to the window of snow…”
Another turn of the page, “Finding the opening closed… the hand took them to the fire, where the snow all goes…”
Freminet took a second to make sure everyone got to see, “The children all gathered around the flame, not listening to the cold ones' woes…”
The page turned, showing three children sitting by a hearth, many more flooding in from the edges of the illustration, a snowman behind them.
“The cold one watched them, even as they felt their heart grow so very warm…the cold one left the flame… to the very brave who roamed… even as they melted to water, they let the fire grow…”
He turned the page, showing an empty scene, with only a few lines and a shadow of three.
“The children all turned to tell them… that they really saved them alone, though they couldn't hear them, they had to let them know…”
Does every book in the pile end in death?
The children had almost all fallen asleep.
Amy had Inayan tucked under her arm, leaning against Lucero, who looked moments from drifting off, even Hozan, who had huddled up to Kinich during the story, had fallen asleep sometime near the end.
How can they sleep after that?
“Freminet, I wanna hear about our family!! I want that book!”...Ayaan interrupted, jolting the other children from their short-lived rest.
“I… uhm.. I guess I can read it?... but I didn’t bring it with me…” Freminet stood up, walking over to a shelf full of trinkets and books.
“...what family book do they mean?” Kinich whispers to Hozan, who was wiping the sleep clinging to his eyes, “Oh, it’s about our family name… and how it came to be..” He yawned, flopping onto his stomach and gathering up the blankets under him as a makeshift pillow.
“There you are!” Kinich turned to find Lyney standing behind him, absolutely covered in flour, “You look like you had fun.” He looked up to see Lyney’s face, which was also covered in flour.
“Ugh, don’t even get me started! Lynette accidentally tripped and poured an entire bag of flour over me and my cookies!” He huffed, trying and failing to clean the flour from his face.
Kinich stood up after seeing him struggle for a minute, “Here, let’s go to the bathroom, and I’ll help you clean up.” He took Lyney’s hand, vaguely recalling where he last saw a restroom–somewhere near where Lynette had dragged him…
Lyney pulled him to a stop, “Here, my dear.” He opened the door, revealing the room they were searching for. “Your house is a maze,” He grumbled, even as he pulled Lyney inside, shutting the door and turning on the water.
“The towels are in the cupboard,” Lyney supplied, watching Kinich as he grabbed a few washclothes.
He let the water run over the cloth, bringing it up to clean Lyney’s face, watching him squint his eyes whenever the rag got too close…cute…
He pulled the rag back, folding it over onto a cleaner side before bringing it back to clean the rest of the flour off his face.
He did forget Lyney wore makeup, and it was certainly coming off with the flour…might as well clean the rest off…
He brought a hand to hold up Lyney’s bangs, letting his fingers run through his hair while wiping where the bangs covered.
“There, it should be cleaned up now.” Lyney turned to look in the mirror while Kinich washed the rags.
“...good thing I didn't do any special makeup today, or else it’d have been useless…” He chuckled, looking at the bit of mascara that had smudged, glad he bought the waterproof one. “So, did you have fun? I saw my siblings drag you away.”
Kinich huffed, putting the washrags in the laundry bin, “I suppose I did, if you consider interrogations fun.”
Lyney giggled, taking him by the hand and pulling him along through the halls filled with photos of family and friends and up a set of stairs, “My siblings are just a bit protective of me..”
A bit? Really?
They stopped at a door, Lyney pushing it open to reveal a small bedroom with a large window, blackout curtains pushed to the side, and a bed in front, with various plushies of all different creatures.
“Father said I was free for the rest of the day, so I thought…maybe we could unwind a bit? Hm?” He tugged him over to his bed, giggling softly as he opened up the window and crawled out, sitting on the roof outside like it was second nature.
“Are you sure this is safe?...” Kinich hooked his leg over the window, not very gracefully, making his way toward Lyney. “Mmm, mostly. I used to come up here when I was younger, and I haven't fallen yet.”
Kinich sat beside him, letting him rest his head on his shoulder, “So, what were you up to while I was baking?” Lyney looked up at him, and Kinich looked out to the night sky,
“Hah, first I was interrogated, then saved by Lynette, just to be taken to a storytime–” Lyney chuckled, pressing himself closer to him, “Yeah? And then I found you, right?”
Kinich hummed, “Yes–also, Fontaine has really creepy children's stories–Why were they all ending in death?!”
Lyney shook his head, waving his hand around, trying and failing to hide the quiet giggles he couldn't get rid of– “No, no, those are our stories. Fontaine has different ones, but these work for our family best.”
Kinich gave him a look that said ‘Really’, causing another fit of giggles to take the man beside him, “It’s true! The one with the dove is my personal favorite.”
Hm, he didn't get to hear that one…
Kinich smiled, even if he didn't get to really hear the story, seeing Lyney so happy…made him happy too.
...Hopefully, that one doesn't end up with a dead dove.
“Anyways, what were my siblings even interrogating you about? You aren't that suspicious.” Lyney recovered from his fit of giggles, talking softly, as if anyone could hear them.
“Well, mostly about your favorite things, colors, animals…” Kinich drifted off in thought for a second, “Your last name, too, they wanted me to tell them it.” He looked at the man resting on his shoulder, the calm, peaceful smile on his face.
“Of course, they did…” Lyney closed his eyes, cozying up to the warmth of another beside him, “Speaking of…what is your last name? I remember you said multiple but–”
Lyney shut him up with a hand sneaking around his waist, moving so his chin rested on his shoulder instead, letting him talk directly into his ear.
“I am Lyney, Lyney Snenzhevich, my dearest Malipo Kinich.”
Kinich was stiff as a board, feeling the heat rising in him–Snenzhevich… “Lyney–”
Kinich paused.
...
He was asleep.
“Archons, you sure know how to pick a time and place.” He shifted until he could carefully pick Lyney up, bringing him back inside to rest properly.
Completely missing the blush and giddy smile adorning the ‘sleeping’ magician's face.