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"Jeez Rick," Morty says as he's holding a drunk staggering figure of his grandpa, "we don't have to go to adventures when you're this plastered, yo-yo-you could just take a break for tonight and call me in the morning. It's Sunday tomorrow anyway."
Rick's weight is nothing to Morty nowadays. He's used to carrying him, whether it may be away from shooting enemies when he's fatally wounded, or when he's drunk like this and doesn't have enough bodily coordination to get to his room and sleep on his own bed alone. "There," Morty announces proudly, "you're delivered."
He takes off Rick's lab coat and shoes and puts them away next to his bed, and grabs Rick's blanket to drape all over his grandpa. Rick reflexively reaches for his flask but Morty beats him to it.
"I'll be keeping this-"
"Morty."
"You're already drunk."
"Fucking fine," Rick says without bite, putting a hand over his eyes and sighing.
Morty stays there for a while. He looks after Rick, waiting for him to fall asleep as he reads all the papers pinned beside the wall of his bed.
"Someday, you're going to grow up," Rick softly says in the quiet of the room. "And you're going to stop wanting to do these things with me because you're going to be busy with real life, no matter how boring it is. Be it Jessica or a shitty office job, you'll be preoccupied." Morty looks at his grandpa's adorably grumpy figure and brushes his hair. Rick doesn't slap his hand away as Morty expects him to, instead the older man surrenders to the touch like a neglected cat.
"I'm stealing your teenage years, Morty because I missed stealing your childhood away. I know... I'm just selfish like that, but I’m not selfish enough to make you hang out with an old fart like me when you're older. I’m not your dad. I’m not that pathetic..." His words were already slurred but Morty didn't stop him from droning on, just comfortably listening to Rick say whatever he wanted. Sometimes this was nice. "-And god if the roles were reversed, I’m going to leave my insufferable ass in a heartbeat. I’m even surprised you've tolerated me for this long after- after everything I’ve done to you."
"Yo-you could- you could just say sorry you know?"
"I could, but we both know I'm not the type to."
"I forgive you anyway Rick."
"That's very stupid, Morty. ‘mmm very stupid of you."
"I know but... what else can I do right?"
Silence stretches on for a while and Morty thinks Rick finally fell asleep but instead of snoring, he hears him ask another question. His grandpa turns to face him, holding his wrist like he's glass. Morty couldn't really pinpoint exactly why Rick looked so young in this moment.
"If I asked you to sleep with me would you do so with no questions asked?"
Morty reaches for the hem of his yellow shirt as a joke, raising his eyebrows in a mock-challenge.
"Jesus, Morty. Not that kind of sleeping." Rick laughs with him. "I'm not gonna fuck you-"
"-yet," Rick mutters under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Fucking nothing- and I meant sleep beside me Morty.”
“Why did you say no questions asked for?”
“Do I look like the kind of guy who invites someone in their room for a cuddle session?”
"Oh."
"Yes, 'oh'. And I'm not asking for judgement, a yes or no answer will do.”
Morty hopes Rick doesn't see him blushing and smiling so much in the dark as he lets his grandfather open the blanket so he can make a space for himself in the cramped single bed. After a few twists and turns, they both find a way to make themselves fit in the bed. Their shoulders were the only parts of them that were touching but still, it felt oddly intimate.
"Don't you think this is weird?” Rick grumbles.
Morty laughs. "Weird? This is where you draw a line? You put things up my ass when I'm asleep, Rick."
"For science," Rick retorts but then he realizes how stupid that sounds. "Okay you have a point there Morty, but you didn't have to phrase it that way."
Morty keeps his eyes to the ceiling and hums, keeping this sacred night in memory. "And that's the thing. We do weird stuff all the time. This is... this is just one of them, Rick."
"Do you like it?"
"Am I saying no right now?”
Rick chuckles. "Fuck, Morty. When did you get so sharp?"
"I don't- I don't really know... but yo-yo-you can do more, you know? If you wanted to."
"I take that back, oh god you're so fucking stupid," Rick groans, wiping his face with his palm.
"I mean it."
"Right," Rick drawls. "Now watch me take great advantage of that statement by making you fucking lay your head on my chest like we're in some goddamn Nicholas Sparks novel." Morty does as he's told but he embraces Rick really tight, taking advantage of the situation himself.
"What did you drink tonight? I'll get you some more tomorrow."
"Shut up Morty," Rick says, but he pulls Morty's whole body to lay on top of him, not being satisfied with just his head, and trapping him there with a reciprocated hug. Both of them are silently wondering why it took them such a long time to do this. Seconds, minutes, hours- they don't really know how much time exactly passes by when they were too busy of thinking how to stay this way together without letting each other know they wanted to. But Morty felt his chest go tight with some unnamed emotion he didn't really want to let go.
"I'm in love with you Rick," he blurts out in the darkness. He opens his mouth to say more but no words come out. Morty braces himself for the impact of a rejection, hugging Rick so tight as if he's going to vanish into thin air. In all honesty, Morty expected the confession to come out when they're in a life and death situation.
Not like this.
Not in the quiet of the night when they're comfortably laying down Rick's bed, surrounded by the sanctity of science and their home. He also expects Rick pushing him off and laughing cruelly at him for being so naïve and childish, and not him sighing and stroking a dexterous hand against his curls.
"You think I haven't noticed?"
But that. Morty expected that. The smugness that was undeniably Rick.
"Are you in love with me too?" Morty whispers back like it's a secret that they already share.
"What do you think baby?"