History Main / KeepTheReward

* Averted in ''Film/DevilInABlueDress'', as the hero's PsychoSidekick asks for the reward on his behalf, knowing he's too soft to do so.
* In ''Film/Aquaman2018'', David Kane/Black Manta tells [[BigBad Orm/Ocean Master]] that he can keep the reward offered to him for hijacking a submarine for his FalseFlagOperation, and that he wants Arthur/Aquaman [[YouKilledMyFather for leaving his father to die]]. Later, when Orm gives David Atlantean weapons and armor to hunt down and kill Arthur and tells him that he’ll be rewarded, David tells Orm that killing Arthur will be his reward.

* In a three-part episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', [[TheHero Ash]] and [[TheRival Paul]] are [[TeethClenchedTeamwork forced to team up]] in a tag-battle tournament, even though they pretty much despise each other. Miraculously, they win the tournament and are rewarded with a pair of Soothe Bells, which help foster a Pokémon's bond with its trainer. Paul wastes little time tossing his bell to Ash, having no use for it. Since his main defining trait is that he's a {{jerkass}} who doesn't care about making his Pokémon happy, this is no surprise.

* When Kyon [[spoiler: traveled 3 years back in time]] in the third ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' novel, for the task he had to do, adult Mikuru offered him to kiss her younger self while she was sleeping, as a reward. Kyon tells us that he didn't do it. Then again, he is an UnreliableNarrator who knows that if he boasts about doing something to Mikuru, Haruhi and/or Mikuru will find out, and all hell will break loose. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Literally, if Haruhi gets involved.]]

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda''

* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Heavy Metal Queen" centers around a space trucker who only goes by her initials and has a running bet going regarding her real name; by the start of the episode she's already got a sizable pot. At the end of the episode, Spike reveals that he knows her name thanks to past association with her late husband, but only takes a couple of bills out of respect for the both of them.

* ''Series/{{Rome}}''. Marc Antony and Cleopatra have cut off the grain shipments from Egypt, so Octavian asks his estranged mother Atia (Antony's former lover) and Octavia (Antony's wife, and Octavian's sister) to go to Egypt to convince him otherwise. Atia gleefully screws an expensive villa in Capri out of Octavian in compensation for doing his bidding. However Antony refuses to see her, so when she returns to Rome she gives Octavian an ArmorPiercingSlap (knowing he's engineered the event to [[PretextForWar discredit Antony before declaring war]]) and tells him to [[WomanScorned crush Antony]]. When a [[EvenEvilHasStandards shamefaced Octavian]] offers her the villa, she tells him to keep it and storms off.

* ''DevilInABlueDress''. TokenEvilTeammate Mouse knows Easy will do this so he gets the reward from Daphne himself and gives half of it to Easy. Easy tries to return the money to Daphne the next day, only to find she's already skipped town.

** Played with in the Galuna Island Arc, when Erza refuses the 1 million jewel reward from the natives because the mission was an S-Rank that was stolen by Natsu and Happy, though she does allow Lucy to accept the Golden Celestial Key that was also part of the reward.

-->'''Haley:''' What was I going to do, take a percentage of their dirt?

-->'''Roy:''' Normally, I would say that you didn't need to do that, but we're sort of on an "every possible advantage needed" type of quest. So I'll just say, "Thank you."

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Variant. When the heroes try to give their employer a report on how much danger she's in, she (reasonably) comes to the incorrect conclusion that this is part of some trick to rob her, and executes an escape clause in their contract. This means they're not getting any more money, and they most certainly don't have to send her the report. They send the report anyway, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness which makes her realize they're telling the truth]].

* ''JourneyToChaos'': In ''A Mage's Power'', the owner of the Long Horn Item shop gives Team Four a free item from his shop for the comedy routine (i.e. novice bickering) they performed while painting his shop. Nolien is about to say something along the lines of this trope [[DefiedTrope but Tiza elbows him in the stomach and accepts]]. [[spoiler: This scenario turns up again after the climax when Nolien heals Princess/Queen Kasile's injuries, but this time, it's reversed; Nolien elbows Tiza out of accepting a big reward.]]

* ''Series/KungFu'': Kwai Chang Caine doesn't really care about money, so this is his usual reaction to being offered it. For example, in "The Stone", Caine stops a gunman from shooting Isaac Montola. Isaac thanks him and offers a huge wad of cash to compensate him, but Caine ignores it to Isaac's confusion.

Contrast DudeWheresMyReward. Related to ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules and ThinkNothingOfIt. Compare IFeelGuiltyYouTakeIt.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Zig-zagged in the original trilogy with Han Solo. At the end of ''Film/ANewHope'', Solo sticks to his mercenary motives and leaves with his reward before the climactic space battle [[spoiler: some time after that, he has a [[ChangedMyMindKid change of heart]] and returns [[BigDamnHeroes just in time to help Luke destroy the Death Star.]]]] After this, however, he keeps the reward so he can pay back his debt to Jabba the Hutt, but delays and delays due to his commitment to the Rebellion, Luke, and Leia. At the beginning of ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' he finally decides to go to Tatooine to repay Jabba, but the Empire gets in his way.

* In ''Manga/Zom100BucketOfTheDead'', Akira escorts a bunch of people to safety from the zombie horde with the help of a sharkproof (and thus zombie bite-proof) suit. Kencho points out that Akira could easily bask in the praise and gratitude of the survivors to become popular, but Akira declares that real heroes don't need a reward and leaves without getting one.

This could be due to a change of heart while completing the task, apathy and lack of caring in the reward in the first place, finding reward in the actual task, being generally good-hearted, or a certain disgust with the reward and/or [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame the reward-giver]]. If the reward is considered ill-gotten or immorally received, it is sometimes followed with "Keep your dirty money", or some variation of such by a morally-inclined protagonist.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', after con man Dimitri returns the lost princess Anastasia to her grandmother, Marie, he refused the reward and left without telling her, so as to draw her contempt and hoping to sever any ties so that she could live happily without him to drag her down.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' sequel ''[[WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar The Return of Jafar]]'', near the beginning of the movie Aladdin saves the Sultan's life and the Sultan offers to make him Royal Vizier. In the end, he turns it down, because he says he wants to have adventures and see the world.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', the title character turns down the Emperor's offer of a position on his council in favor of a simple farm life with her family. However, the Emperor insists on giving her ''something'' so she accepts his imperial medallion and the sword of the BigBad.

* In the movie ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', the hero Lone Starr was promised a million spacebucks for the return of Princess Vespa, which was the exact amount he owed to gangster Pizza the Hutt, who later dies offscreen. Near the end, Vespa laments how greedy Lone Starr was in taking the money anyway and leaving, only for her father to point out that he only took 248 spacebucks for food, gas, and tolls. Lone Starr had asked the King not to tell Vespa so that she wouldn't realize that he had fallen in love with her, but couldn't be with her.

* Several types of quests in ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade'' allow you to deny the reward, in which case you'll gain honour points. If it's a "Rid Village Of Bandits" quest, the village in question will think more highly of you if you refuse reward.
** In the first case, being honorable is not very useful compared to being rich. But in the second case, their few spare bits of food and trade goods are rarely helpful once you're into the game properly, so it's much easier to refuse it.