Chapter Text
The sun rays came to illuminate the room and soon the singing of the birds woke up the two drowsy lovebirds. They were entangled, arm in arm, their bodies covered with bite marks and hickeys of all kinds, attesting to the intense night they had had together.
Morty sat up first, rubbing his eyes to try to adjust his vision to the brightness, yawning as he tried to get his thoughts back in place. He turned his head, seeing Rick blink as he had just emerged from his sleep as well. They really hadn't slept much last night and it showed.
The boy snuggled up to his lover, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before rubbing his head against his neck.
“Good morning, R-Rick.”
The scientist placed a hand in his grandson's hair, stroking it gently as he returned the kiss to his forehead.
“Good morning, baby. Did you sleep well?”
Morty nodded despite the dark circles under his eyes and his sleepy look.
“Better than ever.” He replied before kissing his lover.
They intertwined their tongues as Rick rolled the teen on his back and pressed his body against his. Once they finished sharing a passionate kiss, they held each other tightly, pressing their foreheads together, just enjoying each other's presence. After several minutes of staying like this, the old man sat down and yawned, looking around for an indication of what time it was. When he saw that it was already almost 10 o'clock, he kissed Morty one last time before getting up from the bed.
“Hmmm… We'll have to go down and join the others soon.”
His grandson whined. “Aaaaw, a-already? Can't we - can’t we stay up there a-a little longer?”
He gave Rick a pleading look, which was only answered by a box of tissues that was thrown at his feet.
“Aren't you excited to know what I had planned for you? Let me remind you that it's officially Christmas morning. Come on, wipe yourself down then wait for me to open a portal to the bathroom, we could use a good shower. I'll take care of the bed after.”
The boy wanted to protest, but after a quick glance at all the dried cum on his body and on the sheets, Morty blushed a little and finally complied.
During their mutual shower, where Rick helped the teen wash the hardest parts to reach, they had to convince themselves not to have another “intimate” moment despite their proximity, gently caressing each other as the water ran down their skin in a pleasing way.
The scientist was even surprised that Morty didn’t seem to be in any pain even after such a torrid night, probably one of the other side effects of the Miamis' drug. He himself was feeling pretty good except for the lack of sleep. Rick felt that he would most likely buy more of their pills regularly, even if it meant having to see the two bastards again.
Once they were both completely clean, Morty got dressed and went downstairs to join his family while the old man took care of removing all traces of their lovemaking from his room. When it was also his turn to go to the lounge, he saw that he was once again the last to arrive.
Everyone had their eyes on him, no doubt eager to know if something had happened last night and if he had finally met his Secret Santa. Shit, he hadn't thought about whether he was going to reveal everything or not. Hmm, he would have to improvise, fumble around first to see how much of his family, besides Beth and Summer, would be able to handle the truth before giving any more information. He took a quick glance at Morty and was glad for once that his grandson had put on a sweater instead of his usual yellow shirt, this would avoid many complications.
Rick barely had time to sit down when Joyce immediately slipped cookies into his hands before sitting down excitedly in a chair across from him, her eyes sparkling as she giggled at the thought of getting answers. The scientist ate them slowly, taking advantage of this moment when he didn't have to talk to think about the possible questions he would be asked. Taking his time, he looked at the rest of his family and saw that they were already opening the gifts they had received. Since some of the packages had been given during the week, there were far fewer than originally planned, but they were still enjoyable.
Morty had just finished opening the gifts from his parents and grandparents, and was now working on removing the wrapping from what Rick had given him. His eyes lit up and he flashed a giant smile when he discovered that he had received a Portal gun from the Portal license.
“It won't let you travel through dimensions, but at least you can still have fun placing shortcuts everywhere. Of course, I've modified it so that you don't have to aim at exclusively flat surfaces covered with moon powder, and you can even make smaller portals. Just make sure you don't do the stupid thing of putting a portal on top and underneath you, because unlike the protagonist, you don't have long-fall boots to get you out of it by yourself.”
The boy stood up and threw himself into the old man's arms, hugging him tightly as he repeated thanks in every tone. Summer looked indignant as she grumbled about how she never got such nice gifts from her grandfather, but when Morty motioned for her to look at what he had given her, she smiled with satisfaction as she discovered the contents marked with the Citadel's seal. And although the knowing wink they shared was not discreet at all, no one made any comment on it.
Once everyone had finished opening their gifts, everyone settled down to start talking and exchanging their impressions of what they had received. Until of course Joyce decided to ask the fateful question.
“I'm sure no one dared to ask, although everyone was eager to know the answer, but did you finally get to meet your secret admirer last night, Rick?”
The scientist felt again everyone's insistent gaze on him, as well as Morty's hands clawing harder at his lab coat. The kid had stayed on his lap after thanking him for the portal gun and was doing his best to hide the blush on his face.
Rick hesitated for a while, then finally answered. “I did.”
Everyone got excited, except for the two Beths and Summer who did their best to feign surprise.
“Wonderful!” Joyce exclaimed. “And what happened? What was their last gift?”
The old man let a few seconds pass before each of his replies, adding a kind of tension to the atmosphere although he noticed that even his grandson's accomplices seemed intrigued to know what he had received.
“It was a very clever one, a journey in a solar system made of twelve planets made of food. We spent a lot of time on the one made of sweets.”
Joyce squealed in delight while the other family members simply awed at that.
“Ooooh did you two take any photos of the place? Or you two together?” The lady enthusiastically asked.
Rick remembered the picture of Morty’s face completely recovered in white whipped creamed, and immediately stated “Nope. Didn’t think of that at the moment.”
His grandson suppressed a chuckle while Joyce sighed in disappointment. “Aaw, too bad. I would have loved to see what such a planet looked like.”
Many others agreed and Summer even expressed her desire to visit such a place one day. Morty was sure he already knew what one of his sister's next requests would be when they got home…
Joyce coughed then resumed her questions. “Anyway, were you satisfied to find out who your secret santa was? From the look of delight on your face, I'm sure you had a great time with him.”
“Oh for sure he did!” Summer laughed. “I doubt his dark circles are because he's been fooling around with candy all night.”
“SUMMER!” Both Beth and Morty shouted at the same time, which earned the latter suspicious stares from others.
Jerry rubbed his chin and squinted as he examined his son's face, humming as he saw his red cheeks and embarrassed look.
“Tell me, Rick… By any chance, isn't your secret santa someone young with whom you never had a romantic past before?”
The scientist raised an eyebrow, puzzled. “...Yes? Why this question?”
“Ah! I knew it.” Jerry suddenly exclaimed, getting up to shout his joy. “Dad, you owe me $50! I told you it wasn't one of his exes.”
The man held out his hand to Leonard, who took out his wallet and grumbled before giving him the requested amount of money in front of the stunned eyes of his peers.
“I should have known better, there were too many clues that led to this. My instinct was right.” The wrinkled man muttered.
Rick and Morty exchanged a confused look before they glanced back to Jerry and Leonard, blinking at them. They were not the only ones to do that, however, as everyone else was now staring at them with a shocked expression.
“Wait a minute, who are you implying with your question? Don’t tell me you are… Suspecting Morty?” Beth asked in disbelief.
Her husband shrugged. “Hey, I know I'm not the smartest in the family, but there are some things that don't deceive. I've had a feeling for months that there was something weird going on between these two. And I’ve already been warned about this possibility by other Jerries at the Jerryboree. They said that they ended up here forever after they, uh, caught their Rick and Morty together.”
Everyone was speechless, but Beth quickly turned angry.
“You knew all this for so long and you didn't tell me anything? Why!?”
Jerry began to cower, not liking it when his wife raised her voice against him, especially when his family was there to witness it.
“I-I was afraid of your reaction! I was sure you wouldn’t believe me and call me crazy or something like that!”
Beth let out a cry of irritation before sighing, running her hand over her face as Space Beth gently patted her shoulder. Leonard looked embarrassed and stared at the floor, not daring to look his loved ones in the eye, as if he had something to hide. Summer noticed it, however, and decided to investigate.
“And you, Grandpa Leonard…” She started to ask, gesturing with her hands towards her brother. “Why aren’t you…
That
surprised that my dad could think that? Like, it’s Morty he’s talking about. My baby bro, your grandson!”
Leonard scratched the back of his head, not sure what to answer. “I guess I… Felt it too? I know Morty very well, so I sense when he has feelings for someone. I must also say that Rick was not very subtle about his behavior towards me or the kid in certain situations.”
He backed up his words with a glare in the direction of his counterpart, pointing with his eyes to his arms wrapped protectively around Morty and holding him close to him. Shit, the scientist hadn’t even realized that he had instinctively hugged the boy when his father had begun to confess his doubts about him.
“Fair enough.” Rick muttered, still not releasing its embrace of the teen. “However, I would like to kindly point out that I’ve still not confirmed your statement. Morty does have something to do with this, but don't expect me to tell you the whole story.”
Joyce looked in disbelief at her husband and son before turning to Beth.
“...And I thought I was the only one who had doubts about my little Morty. I had never dared to talk about it for fear of creating a bad atmosphere. I had seen that it was a sensitive subject for you, Beth, when we went for a walk or when... You know, you had your discussion with the kid. But I was also one of those people who thought, like my husband, that it was a pretty alien lady who was behind it all, with the help of my grandson to make her declaration, perhaps a bit on his behalf.”
“O-on my behalf?!” Morty stammered with a shocked expression.
Joyce took some sips of her bowl of hot tea before replying. “It wouldn't be the first time I've seen stories about people with unconventional attractions, but despite their impossible love, they were doing their best to still make their loved one happy. Even if it's not with them.”
Her grandson stayed silent, trying to take in what she had just told him. Meanwhile, Space Beth thought for a moment before looking in the direction of Jacob, who was the only one who hadn't expressed an opinion so far.
“We haven't heard from you yet, Jacob. What do you think? Did you too think for a moment that Morty might be the one behind it all or part of it?”
The man hummed, then gave his answer. “I'm not familiar enough with Rick and Morty to offer opinions on their relationship, but from what little I've seen and heard about them, it wouldn't surprise me that much. Although I do side with Leonard and Joyce on the expectations of an alien or other dimensional entity, nonetheless.”
It wasn't something that happened frequently, but Rick was surprised. He didn't expect them to be so attentive to his closeness to Morty, much less take so calmly the idea that their little boy might romantically love his grandfather. They were definitely all a family of weird or even depraved people, he was sure of that.
The scientist coughed, gaining everyone’s attention on him.
“The only thing I can say about my Secret Santa is that they are very special to me, dare I say unique, the prime version of themself in a way. And yes, we fucked and are now together. So make your own conclusions, I don’t care what you may think of it anyway.”
Jerry and both Beths glared at Rick while Leonard, Joyce and Jacob seemed to be pondering his words. Summer, on her part, was trying to contain her laughter. The family didn't ask him any more questions after that and the festivities continued all day, until it was time to say goodbye.
The grandparents hugged their grandchildren, saying they were really happy to have spent so much time with them, before hugging their parents one last time and wishing them a safe return and happy holidays. Once away from Leonard and Joyce’s sight, Space Beth discreetly kissed Beth and Jerry before heading back to her ship, giving her loved ones one last wave before disappearing into the stars.
“Fieew, we had a great time, right?” Summer joyfully asked during the return trip.
Her father and brother nodded, looking particularly happy as he was holding Rick’s hand. Her mother, however, had a stern expression on her face. After a few hours, when the two teenagers fell asleep, Beth spoke up.
“Dad?” She started in a low voice, looking at her father through the rearview mirror. “Did you really… Have sex with Morty?”
The old man stayed silent at first, simply staring back at her daughter while keeping his fingers interlocked with his grandson’s.
“... Maybe. I mostly said that to sow doubt in Jerry's parents' minds.”
Beth squinted her eyes. “... I see.”
“As long as the person you had sex with wasn’t one of your exes...” Jerry added, unperturbed.
“JERRY!” His wife shouted in an outraged tone. “Are you seriously that fine with that just because of a stupid bet!?”
“Hey, that's still 50 bucks made easy! For once I can make money on my own…” He pouted, deciding to refocus on the road instead.
Beth face-palmed. “I can’t believe it… You value our child's well-being at $50…”
“I never said that! I… It’s just that… Listen, we both know it was bound to happen. And does Morty look sad? I think he looks better than ever, personally.”
Jerry pointed to Morty’s blissful face, peacefully asleep against his grandfather's shoulder.
Beth clenched her hands, ready to snarl something back, but looked at her son’s serene expression before calming down and sighing. “...I guess you’re right. Sorry.”
Rick frowned. He knew that his daughter had accepted his relationship with Morty and she had even broached the subject of sexuality between the two, but she still seemed kinda off somehow. Perhaps being directly confronted with this bothered her in some way? He might have to find something to reassure her, then.
“Sweetie, I want you to know that I will never do anything to the kid that he doesn't want or hasn't given me permission to do. At least intimately speaking.”
Beth remained silent for a few moments before she nodded. “Just… Treat him well, okay? Please, do it for me.”
“I promise, Sweetie, I will.”
“Good…”
The rest of the trip passed without a hitch, with Beth glancing over at Rick and Morty from time to time, smiling a little when she saw the tender look her father had for the boy. Once they arrived and settled back into their home, Summer quietly came to check on her brother as he put his gifts away in his room.
“Hey, bro.”
Morty turned his head toward her. “Y-yes, Summer?”
She whistled as she walked quietly to the bed and sat on it.
“So, how was it?” She asked with a smirk.
“What d-do you mean?” Her brother stuttered with a confused look.
“You know…” She motioned for him to come closer. “The night with him.”
The boy blushed furiously and stared down, trying to hide the wide grin that was spreading across his face.
“Oooooh it was good, right?” Summer teased him.
“A-amazing.”
“I bet.”
She got up to brofist Morty and hug him.
“I can’t believe my baby bro is now a man.” She said in a proud voice.
“Hey! I-I had sex before!”
Summer rolled her eyes. “Suure.”
Morty broke from his embrace to squint at her. There was something fishy about her coming into his room only to congratulate him on something as bizarre as… Having had gay incest sex with his grandfather?
“Okay, s-spit it out. What do y-you want?”
“Oh, nothing, baby bro… Just think of me from time to time when you take a trip to a nice area with a souvenir store… Or when you return to the food galaxy.”
His sister put on an innocent face, ignoring the jaded look on Morty's face. The boy hurriedly wrote something down on a piece of paper before giving it to Summer.
“Here, you c-can borrow Grandpa's portal gun w-when I'll be... Alone with h-him during the night.”
The girl squealed and kissed her brother on the cheek before leaving his room. Morty sighed. He’d better take more pills than expected tonight if he wanted to distract Rick long enough for his sister to enjoy her escapade... The night will be long, but for his greatest pleasure.