Chapter Text
When Prime stepped out of the swirling green portal, a dimly lit room greeted him. There were various toys strewed all over the mossy colored floor, and in one corner of the room, sat a small wooden crib. Inside the crib, laid an infant with mousy brown hair, dressed in a space-themed onesie.
"Soooo, this is what Beth popped out, huh?" Prime quipped out loud to himself.
"Can't believe your father's fucking Jerry of all people. Well grandson, you're a lot cuter than I expected!" Prime loomed over the crib, staring right at the baby. Morty caught Prime's eyes, and identical gray-blue eyes met each other. Huh. Prime noted that Morty's eyes were an exact copy of his.
"Isn't that interesting. You kinda look like your dear old grandpop. Must be rough for Beth." As Prime said the last part, he gave a low chuckle, and the infant gave a small coo at the noise. Prime reached out his right arm into the crib and lightly poked Morty's chubby cheek with a finger. The man let out a satisfied hum as the baby giggled.
Before this spontaneous visit, Prime had a growing desire to check in on his dimension, a desire that was sparked by Morty's birth. Constantly seeing other Ricks and Mortys probably just added to that. It was purely out of curiosity. He wanted to see whether his grandson would be like all the other Mortys. It was an itch he couldn't help but scratch. Prime hadn't expected anything to be different, but Morty's eyes proved him wrong (a rare occasion). A part deep down inside Prime was pleasantly surprised at this revelation.
Morty grasped his grandfather's finger, the same one that was poking his right cheek. Morty let out a squeal as Prime glanced down at the child. The man absently noticed how Morty didn't hesitate to reach out to him.
"You have the survival instincts of wet toilet paper."
Morty seemed to be a little too comfortable with strangers. Well, Prime technically was his grandfather, but Morty shouldn't have been aware of that. It was a little strange. The baby didn't even cry. Though, Prime thought that if any crying did happen, he would have to duct tape Morty's mouth shut. Fortunately, there seemed to be a lack of moisture in the baby's eyes. How convenient.
Prime went to grab Morty, gently lifting the infant up into the air as he let out happy giggles and coos.
The man's face suddenly got weirdly soft as he opened his mouth to speak, "Hey grandson, have you seen the stars, yet?"
Prime brought Morty close to his chest, gently stroking the child's head as he quietly murmured, "There's a million stars up in space. The universe is so vast. Maybe…I'll show you one day." The last part was said more hushed than the rest.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to get going." Prime lowered Morty back into the crib, slightly hesitating to set him down. The baby whined as he saw the retreating figure of his grandfather. The man took out his gun and made his way towards the neon green portal that was shot out across the room. Without fully stepping through the swirling mass, Prime glanced back at his grandson.
"I'll…come back." With that, he gave a small wave at Morty before being completely swallowed by the portal.
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6 year-old Morty Smith was currently curled up on his bed, wishing for his ears to detach from the sides of his head. His parents’ screams penetrated right through the boy's paper thin walls. He had his fuzzy blanket wrapped around him like a cocoon, trying to drown out the shouting. Morty sorely wished for the noise to stop, and a morbid thought popped up. He imagined his mom lunging at his dad, ripping Jerry's throat out. They should just be quiet.
???
Uh…what?
Morty was confused and terrified. Why…why did he suddenly think that? He didn't really want that, he just wanted the shouting to stop. The young boy was quite disturbed, and questioned why in the world he'd thought up such a morbid thing. Morty was so overwhelmed by guilt and confusion, that he didn't notice a wet bubbly sound and a neon green glow that appeared near the door.
"Wow, this room barely changed since the last time I was here." From the swirling mass stepped out Rick Prime, with a portal gun held in his left hand.
Morty's blood turned cold once he heard the voice. His breathing picked up, turning short and quick. He immediately shut his eyes, praying that the stranger wouldn't notice him, though he damn well knew that that's unlikely to happen. The boy heard heavy footsteps, accompanied by slight clicking noises, and his heart rate quickened every time the footsteps got closer to his bed.
It had suddenly gone silent, and Morty held out hope that the stranger left. However, that hope was dashed away immediately when he felt a light tap on his back.
Prime watched the ball of mass on the bed flinch from the touch, slightly quaking.
"C'mon grandson, I know you're there. Not a very good hiding spot, I'd have to admit." Prime sounded amused, and he went to gently tug on the blanket.
"H-h-hey!"
"Oh? So you can talk!" Prime gave a harder tug, though the blanket barely budged.
"…"
At this point, Morty was more confused than afraid. Grandson? What was this guy talking about?
"W-why did y-you call me, grandson?" The boy's grip slightly slackened, allowing Prime to completely yank the blanket off with a clean tug. Morty's dusty, blue eyes widened, as he felt the cool air immediately hit his skin. His body gave an involuntary shudder.
"You heard me. You're my grandson." Prime gave the child a wide smirk, waiting for Morty's reaction.
Morty knew he had a grandfather. He had overheard his mother drunkenly ramble about his grandfather on multiple occasions. It wasn't far-fetched to believe this man was actually his grandpa. Afterall, they had the exact same eyes.
"O-oh…ok."
"Ok?"
"Ok." Prime slightly tilted his head to the side and looked at the child with furrowed eyebrows, a little confused. He didn't expect Morty to have accepted it so easily.
"So…uh…where have you been?" Right. Prime knew he would have to face this question sooner or later. Well, he obviously couldn't tell the kid that he fucked off to who knows where just cause.
"Uh…w-well I was doing…spacey things. Yeah." Prime sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.
"Oh! T-that's so cool! Is that how y-you came here." At that, Morty pointed towards the swirling green portal. The man hoped that whatever he was about to say next would be enough to distract the boy.
"You bet, bud. I was actually here to wish you a Happy Birthday."
Oh.
Morty…didn't expect that.
"O-oh, t-thank you, Mr…?" Prime chuckled, "Right, I didn't tell you my name, huh? Well, I'm Rick Sanchez, your handsome, amazing, genius grandpop." The man knelt down to Morty's level, and reached a hand out to ruffle the young boy's hair.
Morty flushed slightly, and glanced down at his space carpet. In an attempt to chase away how flustered he felt, he nervously brushed his right foot through the fibers of the rug.
"I meant to visit sooner, but things got suuuper busy. You know, space stuff." Prime put off visiting Morty, busying himself by messing with the inferior Ricks. He couldn't admit that he was just afraid of getting attached to Morty.
"Say, why don't I show you space. So, you could see stars and shit. It'd be my birthday gift to you."
"R-really? You would d-do that?" Morty's head shot up, and his face beamed as he looked right at Prime. His eyes sparkled, and his stunned expression made way for a warm, bright, gap-toothed grin.
Prime's face slightly softened, and the corners of his mouth quirked up, revealing a wobbly smile.
"Of course. You're my grandson."