Chapter Text
It wasn’t uncommon for Ricks all across the multiverse to install security cameras to monitor the Smith household. Rick C-137, for example, had done precisely that.
Rick C-106, however, had refused – first out of a lack of desire to watch his family’s sexual behaviors, and later out of a respect for their privacy. Still, there were other ways to monitor the household… like heat scanners that would show where there was currently activity. For the most part, Rick used it to check for intruders.
Tonight, when he woke to the shower running at three am, he used it to check who the hell was awake at such an ungodly hour.
Jerry and Beth were both in bed. Summer wasn’t, but it seemed like she might be at her desk, not that Rick cared, she was an adult and could do whatever the hell she wanted. Maybe he’d stop by with some snacks for her later, who knows.
But Morty’s room was empty.
Rick frowned and slipped out of his bed, sneaking into the hallway on quiet feet. Something must’ve happened for Morty to shower at three am – no one in the house appreciated a good night’s rest as much as Morty.
He knocked on the bathroom door. “Morty? It, it’s Rick.” There was no response. When he tried the door, it creaked open. “Sh – shit, Morty, don’t you lock your doors?” Rick said, trying to lighten his tone to not sound as worried as he was.
There was dead silence from the shower, and that was worrisome. No movement from behind the curtains, nothing but the constant rush of water.
“M – Morty?” said Rick. “I – I’ll open the curtains!”
Was he imagining that, or was that a whimper? Countless scenarios of Morty laying hurt and bleeding instantly flashed in Rick’s mind, and he gritted his teeth and tore the curtains aside.
Morty sat on the tiled floors, naked as the day he was born and curled up with his knees pressed to his chest. He didn’t look up at him, stubbornly keeping his gaze fixed on the floor.
“Morty,” said Rick slowly, “wh – what happened?”
There was no answer. Morty ducked his head lower.
Rick turned off the shower. He knew his beloved well enough to read the signs. “Are – are you little?”
Morty’s head whipped up, and he stared with wide eyes and puffy lips. He’d been crying.
Exhaling slowly, Rick knelt before him. “That’s okay, b – baby, papa – papa’s here. Do you wanna – is everything okay, buddy?” Again there was no answer. Morty had a tendency to be quiet in littlespace, but going completely nonverbal was a rarity. The worry crept back in full force, and Rick frowned. “It’s – you don’t have to talk, love,” he muttered, reaching for the closest towel and wrapping it around Morty’s shoulders. “Just – if you can, can nod or something for papa that – that’d be real nice. Can you do that?”
Without looking up Morty nodded slowly.
“Good boy,” Rick praised, rubbing against the towel gently, knowing Morty undoubtedly was cold after he shut off the scolding hot water. “Are – are you hurt somewhere?” A shaken head. “Do you feel – are you sick?” Another shaken head. “Was there – did you have a nightmare?” Again, a shaken head.
Rick fell silent, trying to figure out what was wrong just by inspecting Morty… but nothing seemed amiss. At last, he figured he could always try putting him back to bed, or distracting him with some cartoons or something, and then talk it out with a big Morty in the morning.
Or maybe even big Morty didn’t want to talk about it, in which case Rick wouldn’t pry. Not everything was meant for sharing.
“Let’s – let’s get you back to bed, love,” said Rick. “Do you – you wanna cuddle with papa? Take a nap?”
Morty nodded. When Rick reached across him to hug him to his chest, Morty’s thin arms wound around his neck and held on tight – but when Rick made for Morty’s bedroom, he squirmed and made a sound of complaint.
“Shh, baby,” Rick muttered, kissing the side of his head. “Papa just – just needs some clothes for you, b – baby boy.”
The moment he opened the door, Morty buried his face in Rick’s chest and let out a pained whine. It didn’t take long before Rick realized what was wrong.
There was a sizable, dark spot on Morty’s bed – and the room smelled of urine.
Rick paused. Morty tensed in his arms. “Did – did you wet the bed, Morty?”
Morty began to cry.
“Wh – baby, why – it’s okay! It’s okay, love, it’s okay, why are you…” He hesitated a second, then sighed. “Oh, Beth…”
“S – sorry pa – papa,” Morty gasped out, in-between choked sobs as he hid his face from sight. “I – I – I – didn’t – ”
“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay,” Rick muttered, brushing a hand down Morty’s back in calming motions. “Papa – papa’s gonna fix this, okay? Can you sit here for – for a moment, I’ll… I’ll get new sheets.”
Morty nodded, sniffling and whimpering even as Rick gently lowered him to the floor and tucked Rosa into his lap. He then made quick work of getting the device fondly called ‘water-sucker’ among Ricks before grabbing fresh sheets. While a wide-eyed sniffling Morty watched, Rick utilized no less than three devices to clean the bed, change the sheets, and then at last make it.
“Do you – do you want a pair of pajamas, Morty?” Rick asked, as Morty was still naked on the floor beyond the wet towel over his shoulders. “Or – or just a shirt?”
Mumbling, Morty managed to stutter, “shirt.”
“Okay, baby,” Rick softly said, finding one of his favourite shirts – a blue one with a UFO print – before helping him on with it. With the ‘water-sucker’ Morty’s hair quickly became dry. “There you are,” he muttered, and ruffled Morty’s hair a bit. “Do you – you wanna sleep with papa tonight?”
“Mmnh…” Morty squirmed the way he always did when he had something to say, but struggled with the words. “Don’ wanna… wet papa…”
It was tempting to say, ‘you’re not going to’, but Rick knew better than to offer empty promises. “Then that would – it’d be okay,” he said instead. “I l – I love you, Morty, there’s – there’s no shame in wetting the bed, okay? But – but if you’re worried, I – then I’ve got something for you. Come with me, angel.”
After leading Morty to his room, Rick dug around in his closet until he found the package he’d hidden away all those months ago when he first realized Morty was an age regressor. It’d lain unused until now, waiting for a moment just like this.
Rick presented Morty with the adult pull-up diapers with a flourish. “Com – comfortable, of course,” he said, nodding proudly as he gestured for Morty to step into them. “Cellulose, polypropylene, polyethylene, and the most absorbent polymer on the market, Morty, these – these babies are the best you can – can get on this side of humanoid.”
With some help – and one hand fisted in Rick’s nightshirt for balance – Morty managed to slide into the diapers. They fit snugly against him, the glow-in-the-dark stars against the royal blue background a nice contrast to Morty’s gorgeous dark brown eyes – which were now twinkling slightly as he gave a childish giggle.
“There – there he is,” said Rick warmly, and pressed a kiss to Morty’s forehead. “You – you ready to go to bed now, little one?”
Nodding enthusiastically, Morty all but ran for Rick’s cot. Chuckling, Rick followed.
He would never get tired of his wonderful Morty… but tomorrow they really did need to have that talk. Why would wetting the bed make Morty feel so bad? What on Earth had been done to him?
Pulling Morty half-way onto his chest and tucking his head underneath Rick’s chin, Rick decided right then and there he’d get to the bottom of things.
Come morning, of course.