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Rick threw open the car door and put aside the Dungol roots – amazing healing properties – he’d cut down on his way back from the business deal, brushing hands down on his pants as he got rid of the last lingering dust from the Dungol flowers – highly toxic.
Looking himself over, he nodded and went for the garage door. “I’m back!” he called as he entered the kitchen, knowing it was only his grandkids home for the weekend. He hadn’t expected a response – they were probably in their rooms doing whatever – and was surprised when an excited cry of, “papa!” came from the living room.
He poked his head into the room and nearly lost his shit right then and there. On the TV was some kind of interdimensional cable cartoon, and the table was full of small snack-pieced fruits and vegetables, along with the odd cracker. Morty – obviously in littlespace, judging by the sippycup in one hand and the jumbo crayon in the other – was sat in the couch with some colourful pages before him, and…
Curled up against the armrest, keeping one eye on her phone and the other on her brother, sat Summer looking bored.
“Papa!” called Morty again, bouncing a bit in his seat as he held up one of the colouring pages.
“H – hey, baby, did you draw that?” Rick managed to say, brutally wrestling his surprise to the ground. He stepped fully into the room as Morty nodded furiously, looking quite proud of himself. “Right, you – you, uh, having a good time with Sum-Sum here?” Saying so, he gave Summer a pointed look.
She snorted and looked up from her phone. “I’ve known about this little guy for a few weeks, grandpa, don’t worry.” She reached for the sippy cup Morty had dropped and placed it back on the table without a second thought. “I don’t think he, like, meant to regress? But here we are, so it’s whatever, I guess.”
Rick didn’t answer, just sat down beside Morty on the couch and made intrigued noises as he showed off his artwork. It seemed to be some kind of robot, and Rick pocketed the information for later, wondering if Morty would like it if he built a miniature copy.
“Summe’ ‘eally nice,” said Morty, beaming up at Rick.
Rick raised an eyebrow at Summer. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she said dully, glancing up from her phone. “Can you take it from here? I need a shower.”
Snorting, Rick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I – I got it.” He reached over and ruffled Morty’s hair. “Isn’t that right, angel? I – I got it.” While Morty nodded eagerly and returned to his drawing, Rick cast a last look at Summer’s retreating back. “Summer? Thanks.”
“Don’t sweat it,” she mumbled, gesturing dismissively over her shoulder as she left the room.
Rick watched Morty draw for a little bit, then shook his head with a smile and leaned back into the couch. “You – you had a good time with Sum-Sum, huh? She nice?”
“Mhm!” said Morty, kicking his feet a little. “But papa eeeven nicer!”
Chuckling, Rick placed a quick kiss to his curls. “You d – do know how to butter up your – your old man, huh, baby?” Morty stuck out his tongue at him, and Rick grinned, comforted at his blatant enjoyment. “Lis – listen, Mort, how – how do you like a visit to Miracles tomorrow, hm?”
Morty lit up, eagerly nodding as he latched onto Rick’s sleeve. The stars in his eyes spoke enough of the honesty behind the statement – not that Morty really could lie in littlespace.
“Alright, baby boy, we’ll – we’ll do that, then,” Rick muttered, smiling tenderly as Morty leaned into his side with a soft squeal.
Curling an arm around him, Rick made a note to himself to get Summer an extravagant gift for her next birthday.
*
After he’d put sweet little Morty to bed, Rick made his way to Summer’s room, knocking on the door and waiting impatiently for her response before entering. He’d only made that mistake once, and being chased out of the room while his furious, half-naked granddaughter flung books after him ensured it would never happen again.
“What’s up?” was the call of permission to enter, but Rick was still a bit tentative when he pushed the door open and stepped inside. He’d had nothing to fear, though: Summer was fully decent and sat by her desk tapping away on her computer, looking intensely bored.
“Hey,” said Rick, and put the bottle of vodka he’d brought on her desk. “Got you this. As – buUrp – a show of my – my immense gratitude.” Though the last part was said sarcastically, the vodka was an honest enough gift.
Summer glanced up, way less bored now. “Oh, hell yeah!” She grabbed the bottle, quickly stuffing it away in one of her drawers. “If I’ll get rewarded like that every time I watch over that shithead I’ll do it more often.”
Rick shifted. “Yeah, that’s why I – are you any good at it?”
She tsk-ed. “I’m not a caregiver, grandpa. But… I am a big sister.” She shrugged, then started tapping away at her computer again. “Comes with some benefits, you know. Anyway, yeah, sure, I’ll babysit him or whatever if you can’t, I guess, if I get something in return.”
“Sponsored afternoon to Blips and Chitz every tenth babysit,” said Rick instantly.
“Every third,” said Summer, without looking up.
“Every fifth,” said Rick, “take it or leave it.”
She huffed. “Deal. Not like he’s a brat or whatever.”
Grinning, Rick made a note to copy Morty’s adventure card and rebrand it as Summer’s babysitting card. “He – he’s a real, real sweetheart. You – you’re doing grandpa a real favour here, Sum-Sum.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just be more quiet next time you fuck, I’m trying to sleep here sometimes, too.”
Rick tensed, briefly, then laughed heartily and made for the door. He wasn’t the least bit surprised Summer knew of their less-than-innocent affairs. “No promises,” he threw over his shoulder, shaking his head fondly.
“Hey, grandpa Rick?” Summer called, and Rick stopped, giving her a raised eyebrow. She smiled. “Thanks for the vodka.”
He grinned, offering her a salute before shutting her door.