The Journals

:(3):

       That night, Morty had sat up wondering what Rick was thinking. After he'd realized what Morty meant, Rick had stared for a moment before he walked out of the garage and up to his room, locking the door behind him.

       "H-He probably h-hates me. His dumb, gay grandson" Morty was laying on his stomach, crying into his pillow. There was no point in flipping it. He had already cried on the other side. The time on his phone read 3:34am as the light blinded him. 

       Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Morty rolled over and sat up, hugging his knees to his chest. "I-I knew I shouldn't have s-said anything. I-I should've just... I shouldn't feel like this. It's... wrong." He was so lost. This was the first time he'd ever thought about his feeling being wrong, bad, disgusting.

        "Why me? Am I the only Morty like this? Gay? A-" Bolting up, Morty had an idea. He raced out of his room, stumbling as he pulled on a pair of pants while walking down the stairs, and ran into the garage. Rick was asleep in his room, so Morty knew he had a little while. Digging through a few boxes, Morty found the portal gun Rick had finished earlier. This one, hopefully, maintained a full charge. The old one had trouble keeping battery power for more than an hour anymore.

       "I-I have to see for myself." Punching in a few coordinates, Morty found himself hopping through several dimensions, peeking in through windows or asking the other Morty's. They had all promptly shut the door in his face, but he was determined. 

       He had been searching for several hours now, exhausted. His desire to know if there were more like him pushed him forward. The portal gun had enough charge to go through one more dimension before he had to head home. Aiming it, Morty's finger had barely made contact with the button before a voice rang out.

       "M-Morty? W-Where'd you go, sweetheart?" That was definitely a Rick. "Sweetheart?" Morty's heart was beating rapidly. Was this Rick in a relationship with his Morty?

       Watching from a nearby bush, Morty watched this dimensions Rick stumble around, looking for his Morty. They had been playing hide and seek. "Ha!" He watched the Rick pick his Morty up off the ground, holding him triumphantly. "Found you again." The duo laughed and Morty felt his heart squeeze.

         That was what he wanted. He wanted to play games like that with Rick. He wanted to be with Rick more than anything. In this dimension, Morty didn't look much older than sixteen. He felt a pang of jealousy. He had wanted that for so long. 

       He had had enough when he saw the two moving closer, sharing a very loving kiss. Pulling the portal gun out of his pocket, he made his way home. 

        "At least I know I'm not the only Morty like me... he's lucky." He moved to put the portal gun back, "Rick would never appreciate that."

       "A-eugh-ppreciate what, sticky fingers?" Morty felt his heart jump to his throat when he heard Rick's voice, scaring him. "N-Nothing, R-Rick. Just, y'know, making a few trips and whatnot. S-Sorry for n-not telling you. Or asking."

        Rick grabbed the gun, inspecting it. "You went through 24 dimensions? A-eugh-lone?! M-Morty, what the hell?! What's so important you had to go through 24 dimensions?!" He was growing louder and louder, becoming more angry with every word. Morty found himself flinching away.

       "I'm sorry... I just wanted to know. I had to..." Morty felt a few tears fall down his face. Rick rarely got this mad, but he'd never gotten this mad at his Morty. Sure, he'd been close, but never this mad. Almost as soon as he saw the tears, however, Rick's expression softened and he put the gun down on the desk.

       "Jesus, Morty... Morty, look. You can't do that. You can't! You cannot go on adventures without me. I-I know you're an adult, you can handle yourself, but there are people out there that even I can't fight. What the hell is so important to you that you had to go off to 24 fucking dimensions to find?" He was holding his hands out, grabbing onto Morty's lightly. "You just got into college. Don't ruin it for yourself. Don't turn out like me, kid."

        At the sudden contact, Morty felt his face heat up, but he didn't pull his hands away. "What did you have to find, M-eugh-orty?" Rick almost looked worried. His brow furrowed and his eyes searched for an answer. Did he actually care? Morty was so confused for a moment. Rick never cared this much about anything.

       "D-Don't worry about it, Rick. It..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. "What, Morty?" I sighed, looking at the floor.

       "Well, you see... I kinda like this guy, and I wanted to know if other Morty's were like that. And I found one, and they were so happy. The other's I had seen were the same as me and the other guy. Nothing was going on between them. But these two... they were in the last dimension I had visited. They were so happy, and they l-loved each other. And I was jealous." Rick didn't seem to understand just who the other guy was.

       "Who is it?" 

       "D-Don't worry Rick."

       "Morty...?"

       "It's not important Rick. Just drop it."

       He pulled Morty closer to him, his eyes continuing their desperate search for an answer as he stared into the younger's brown orbs. He was so close.

       Morty's hands were being held in Rick's, his face was so close. Morty couldn't help himself. He leaned forward, enough to press his nose lightly against Rick's, before turning his head more, pressing his lips to Rick's. He felt him stiffen for a moment before he pulled back, tugging his hands free. "M-Morty...? I-It's... me?" He looked so lost, standing from his chair and walking away. "M-Morty..." He shook his head, a deep, sad look in his eyes, before he left the garage. From within the house, Morty heard his bedroom door shut. 

       "Shit." Running a hand through his hair, Morty made his way to his room. "I-I'm gonna leave early." The sound of a silent house was all that he heard in response.