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Morty never knew anything was different about his family until he reached kindergarten. He realized right away that the other kids never had to deal with the mood swings, or worry about harsh hands and hurtful words. Most of the time everything was ok but way too often his house was a scary place to live in. These thoughts went through Mortys head as his mom stood in the kitchen swinging around a bottle crying and screaming about how he and Summer had ruined her life. She had managed to spill wine all over the kitchen and herself. Morty took in the glassy quality of her eyes and the hard line of her mouth that was almost always frowning unless Rick was around. Ever since Rick moved into their garage Beth has been happier than ever and incidents like this have been happening less and less. The only person who was unhappy about it was Jerry but it's not like their dad would ever hurt them. Morty debated to himself if he should go try and calm her down before Rick got home and decided there was too much drama in the house. He took in the way Beth was stumbling around the kitchen and decided she was most likely too weak to do any damge. Morty took a slow step forward so as not to startle his mom. Her eyes widened as she noticed her son for the first time.
“What the fuck do you want” Beth slurred out stumbling again and having to reach her hand to the counter to stabalize herself.
“Mom” Morty said in a placating tone, holding up his hands and taking another step towards her. “Why don't you hand me the bottle and go lay down,” he said in a soothing tone while trying to reach for the botte.
“Hey that's mine you little shit” Beth screamed wildly swinging the bottle around.
Morty tried to get out of the way but the bottle made direct contact with his skull, shattering as soon as it hit him. Morty is used to pain, he has had to be with the way he grew up. He numbly brought his hand to his head and felt blood already welling between his fingers and dripping to the ground.
“You made me break my bottle you stupid shit” Beth mumbled making her way to the fridge to find a replacement. She was still digging through the fridge when Summer stepped into the kitchen.
“What the fuck mom” Summer yelled exasperated taking Mortys head into her hands and tilting it up to look at the wound. “Shit there's glass in it” Summer said sounding annoyed but Morty could hear the underlying concern. Summer led Morty to a chair and sat him down before walking up to Beth and grabbing her by the arm. “I’m putting her to bed wait here” Summer said as she was leaving the room.
Morty sighed before slumping back in his chair. Sometimes he did wonder if Rick knew about how Beth got. Rick is extremely smart and he has been living with them for years. Heck they have even been through a couple versions of this family together at this point Rick probably knew Morty better than anyone else in this house did. It was a little disappointing that all Beths seem to be resentful of their kids to this extent but it was just a fact of life. He was startled out of his thoughts by Summer entering the room again. She had a scowl on her face and was carrying a washcloth and some tweezers.
“For the glass” Summer explained when she caught Morty looking. She quickly pulled up a chair opposite of Morty and tilted his head back so she could start digging for glass. “What did you do to piss mom off this bad” Summer murmured her attention more on Mortys head then on the response he would give.
“I don't think she meant for the bottle to break” Morty answered quietly, more trying to convince himself than anything. “Ow’ Morty whined when he felt a glass shard get stuck.
“Sit still you big baby” Summer scolded playfully before frowning when she found more glass. Morty half heartedly glared at Summer but quieted down.
Summer was still trying to get the glass out of Mortys head when the door connecting to the garage burst open and Rick came barreling in. “Morty, do you know where my portal gun is…” Rick's voice halted when he noticed Summer and Morty. “What the fuck are you two doing” Rick asked sounding annoyed. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Mortys face, batting away Summers hands. Rick was surprisingly gentle as he examined the wound. He let go just as suddenly as he grabbed Mortys face before gripping his shirt and pulling Morty to his feet. “I’ll fix him up” Rick sighed like he was being put out. “Clean up this mess” Rick said to Summer gruffly, still pulling Mortys shirt as he led him to the garage. “Come on you little gremlin” Rick said fondly, leading Morty to a stool and shoving him down on it by his shoulders.
Rick quickly turned to the shelfs and started muttering to himself as he threw a ton of stuff on the ground. Morty watched him anxiously and he played with the hem of his shirt.
“Ha” Rick suddenly shouted holding up one of his tools. Morty jumped at the sudden shout but quickly settled down knowing he was safe here. Rick went up to Morty and grabbed his chin and a pair of tweezers came out of the gun and swiftly got out all the glass in minutes. He then pulled out a spray which instantly sealed the wound so you would not even be able to tell it had been there. “So… you gonna tell me what happened?” Rick asked casually, leaning against the counter folding his arms across his chest.
Morty shrugged “You Kn..Know Ju..Jus..Just an accident with a bo..bottle.”
“Yeah…” Rick drawled looking intently at Morty. “What type of accident?” He questioned nonchalantly. When Mory remained quiet Rick got a dark look on his face. “How about I go ask my daughter and see what she as to say about this”
“No wait, moms sleeping,” Morty yelled, jumping off his stool and stepping forward. “Please dont bother her”
Rick frowned “did Beth do this, I know it's not exactly uncommon for Beths I have been trying to keep an eye out for it.”
Morty sighed “she really does not do it as much with you around, there would not have been signs to notice.” Morty said sadly.
Rick's face seemed to get darker. “Well I'm putting a complete stop to it, and if she pulls this shit again I will make it clear we are not sticking around” Rick angrily snarled.
“We?.” Morty asked hopefully.
“Well yeah I can't leave my Morty in conditions like this” Rick tried to say in a more joking tone. “Come on, you and I can go on a classic Rick and Morty adventure while we wait for Beth to sober up.
Morty felt a warmth in his chest he never really felt before Rick moved in. “Ok Rick” Morty said, unable to contain his smile.
“Yeah Yeah whatever gremlin child” Rick said trying to sound annoyed, but Morty could see the slight smile on his face.