Morty was so rudely awoken at nearly four in the evening the next day with the sensation of his body being thrown every which way. "AJ," Morty grumbled, looking up to find the toddler jumping around on his bed. The child stopped, flopping the entirety of his body onto Morty and causing the man to exhale sharply, throwing his pillow at the toddler before he sat up. "Calm yourself, heathen," Morty mumbled, grabbing the toddler and pulling him carefully towards himself. "I'm not even awake yet. Too early to parent."
        Morty had thought he was talking to himself, though he nearly had a heart attack in the next moment. "It's four o'clock. I don't think it's too early for anything."
       "Jesus on a fffffreaking cracker. Rick!" Morty exclaimed, listening to AJ laugh at his sudden outburst. "The kid let me in and I don't effin' know what he was babbling on about, but he just come in here and dog-piled you, so that was a thing."
        Morty nodded slowly, still trying to understand life as he woke up slowly, pulling his blanket over his middle as he was still prone to sleeping in his boxers. "Good job opening the door, I guess," Morty commented.
       "You attacked a toddler with a pillow nearly twice his size," Rick laughed, grabbing AJ as he requested to be picked up. "In my defense, I'm not even awake yet." Morty sat up fully, looking around for his pajama bottoms and eventually pulling them on. "No sleep with that animal." AJ laughed as though he knew Morty had been talking about him, pointing at the man though saying nothing. "I would say I wonder why Sam didn't let you in, but I don't know where he's been going lately. What'd you stop by for?"
       "I, uh.." Rick seemed to be looking for a reason while Morty checked his phone. "Just seeing if you needed help with AJ is all," Rick eventually stated to Morty's amusement. "You are as attached to the damn kid as he is to you, aren't you?" he taunted. "You like Krabby Patties, don't you, Squidward?" Morty questioned, bringing back the tummy tickler and watching AJ squirm while Rick held him. "Daddy, stah!" AJ squealed, giggling consistently until Morty finally gave in, letting the kid breathe and finish his giggle fit as he laid his head on Rick's shoulder, hiding from the tickle monster. Rick sighed, setting AJ down on the floor. "He's a cute kid," he commented, watching AJ run down the hall to his room.
       "Yea, well," Morty went through his closet, grabbing a nice outfit, "keep him distracted long enough for me to change, would ya?" Morty watched as Rick nodded, the man quickly moving down the hall. Morty grinned at the childish squeals of delight as he shut his door, pulling his usual black pants around himself and finding his red dress shirt, falling back into his usual style before he stepped into his socks and converse. His hair was combed, his face washed before he set his curls properly. 
        "Still clean up good," Morty announced, stepping from his room and wandering down the hall. He found Rick being attacked by a stuffed Patrick Star, grinning as AJ stopped and handed Spongebob to his father. "Unjegar!"  he announced. "Patar," Morty replied, holding Spongebob up and watching AJ imitate a fire. 
       "Since you're here, what time do they want us over there?" Morty questioned, continuing to play with AJ. "I suppose around five-ish." 
       "Are you leading, then?" Rick shrugged, "Don't matter to me. However you wanna do it's fine." 
       Morty nodded, gathering the Spongebob toys AJ loved to take everywhere. "C'mon, baby," he urged, gathering the kid and his toys. "We're gonna go bye-bye." AJ traipsed behind Morty while the brunet put the toys in his knapsack, having finally caved and bought a new one, before he grabbed AJ's shoes. Morty helped the toddler pull his tennis shoes on, going over his outfit to make sure he was clean and smelled fine. It was odd. The toddler could go from strawberries to stinky feet in seconds. 
       "Follow the leader or carpool, I guess?" Morty questioned, standing with a final once over and staring at Rick expectantly. "I'm fine either way," Morty continued, wandering through his house while Rick followed. They made their way outside, Morty pausing to lock the door while AJ ran over and demanded to be lifted again. "'ada," he whined, opening and closing his hands while he held his arms up. "You're officially his walking jungle gym," Morty announced, shoving his house key in his pocket. He grinned when he found Rick picking AJ up with a light sigh, wandering over towards the two. "I'm assuming, since you two are damn near inseparable," Morty stated, wandering to his car and tossing the knapsack in the back seat, "that you are coming with us?" Rick nodded, wandering over to Morty and allowing the brunet to tuck the toddler into his carseat. "Yea," the man sighed, smiling softly as AJ pulled a funny face. Morty shrugged, shutting the back door now. "Sounds good to me. Gotta grab anything from your car before we go?" Rick checked his pockets, obviously finding his phone and wallet, and shook his head. "Alright," Morty announced, "you're driving with a dad. Good luck surviving." Satisfied with his teasing, Morty climbed into the driver's seat, watching Rick round the car and hop up front. Morty put the address into his GPS and found that Al only lived roughly 45 minutes away, muttering a 'cool' before he made his way down the streets, laughing to himself whenever Rick would turn around and play with AJ.

       "How the hell does that man get anywhere on time?" Morty questioned incredulously, staring at the light that never seemed to turn green. He sighed heavily when AJ began to voice his own frustration, digging around in the backseat blindly while willing the damn light to change. He found what he was searching for, grabbing a Hi-C juice box as the light finally changed. "Can you open this for him?" the brunet questioned, offering the juice to Rick as he began to drive again. "Yea," was the quick response before the object was removed from his hand and quickly placed in the toddler's, stopping any and all tantrums and avoiding having toys thrown around. It was never fun to handle in a moving vehicle. 
       "If he starts any funny business," Morty warned, finding Al's house and pulling up to the curb, "I'm gonna kick his butt in front of his girlfriend." Rick laughed quietly, stepping from the car as Morty did the same.
        "It's the whole fam damily!" Al announced, stepping from his house. Morty waved before he worked at putting AJ's toys in the bag and grabbing the toddler from his carseat. "Crap," he grumbled, digging around for AJ's other shoe. "Rick, before you run off to your diabolical scheming with Al, can you check that side for his shoe?" Morty called over as Rick shut his door. The man nodded, looking through the other side. The brunet caught sight of Al pointing exaggeratedly to Rick leaning over the backseat, making the 'ok' sign and nodding, enticing the brunet to roll his eyes and shake his head. Al pouted while Rick stood triumphantly. "I win," he declared, holding the shoe up. Morty sighed, shutting the door and rounding the car. 
       Once Morty rounded the vehicle, Rick shut the door on his side and finagled with AJ until he managed to get the shoe onto his foot. The toddler kicked several times with fits of laughter, having made it slightly more difficult, but Rick was proud in the end. 
       "You are a functioning family unit!" Al explained as Rick and Morty neared the porch. "Just do the damn thing already!" Morty laughed, shaking his head at the man while AJ stared curiously, eventually hiding in Morty's shoulder. "If you ask nicely, I'm pretty sure Rick will give you the warning I gave him in the car."
       "Car pooling, taking care of another man's kid, working as a team. C'mon!" Al whined, though he grinned as he ushered the two into his house. 
        The home was quaint, delicate, and reminded Morty of his own, though the rooms were nowhere near the setup of his own home. It was a cute one story home, obviously decorate by Al, mostly. Morty saw images of famous mobsters pinned up on every wall, model guns near each display. The walls were a dark, almost blood, red, paired with dark hardwood floors. 
       "Never would have guessed you were a mob-fanatic," Morty commented to Al's amusement. The man shrugged with a wide grin. "I've been too busy reelin' 'em in for ya to tell you anything." Morty sighed heavily. If anything, this man was going to be the death of him. No matter what he said, Al still firmly believed him playing love-doctor was going to be in any way beneficial for Morty. He had yet to understand that the brunet simply didn't have it in him to put himself out there like that anymore. He didn't have the time to maintain a nice relationship with a decent guy, anyway. Not with the hours he worked, nor with maintaining the child. He was doomed to be forever single simply because he was too stubborn to admit that Al was right. But to do that would land Morty in a corner, and he would be trapped by Rick once again.
       "Al, can't you be normal for one day?" Morty turned to find a woman walking up from behind Al. "Hi," she introduced herself with a wave. "I'm Shoja, but you can call me Sho." Morty smiled politely, watching as Al introduced them. "Sho, this is Rick and Morty, and the little bugger is AJ. You can't honestly tell me right now that they don't look like a family, can you?" 
        Sho looked over the trio in front of her with a curious glance, and Morty took the time to wonder why she looked familiar. She was a very shapely woman, standing at roughly Morty's own height with vibrant blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her hair lay in waves, barely passing her shoulders, and a pair of glasses sat high on her nose.
       "Are you telling me they aren't?" Sho finally stated after a long while. Al nodded, grinning cheekily. "Apparently," and here went Al with the drama again, "they gave it a go, but everything went wrong, and I've been a middle man."
        "Huh," Sho hummed, shrugging after a moment. "You know what they say about that, though, right, Al?"
        The man nodded and Morty groaned in slight annoyance. "If you can be friends after something like that, then it can mean one of two things. Either there was never anything there, or you're both still absolutely smitten." 
       "I'm gonna sic my kid on you," Morty grumbled, setting AJ on the ground after a second. The toddler tugged on the knapsack and Morty handed it down to him with a light sigh. "Not the adorable little heathen!" Sho called out. 
        "She's absolutely perfect for you," Morty grumbled, accepting the Spongebob toy that was handed to him. Sho and Al laughed, each nodding. "Well," Al sighed, dramatically throwing an arm over Sho's shoulders, "living room's that way. Make yourselves at home, keep it PG, and I'll be out in a sec." Morty nodded, watching AJ grab his bag and run to the couch, climbing onto it with great difficulty and sitting with his toys. Morty sighed, walking over to the couch and giving him the same quote that keeps him from making a mess. "Cleanliness is next to managerialiness," he muttered, grinning when AJ put a few toys he wasn't using back in the bag. 
       "You never talk as much as you used to," Morty commented as Rick sat beside AJ on the couch. He shrugged, accepting the toy handed to him. "Never really know what to say."
       "You guys are lame." Morty huffed when he heard Al walking into the room. The brunet sat on the opposite side of the couch, the toddler in the middle playing Spongebob wars with Rick. "All that happens in here is you talking and him moping. Really, children, I didn't send you in here unsupervised just so you could chat like you're having your English tea."
       "I'm gonna kill you," Morty grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't kill me! I'm not the one stealing your son!" Al fought back, feigning terror. AJ laughed and the man grinned at the toddler. "Listen to your son. I'm pretty sure that translates into 'jump his bones'."
       "You are the most profane man I have ever conversed with," Morty announced with a laugh, grabbing his phone as it went off. "Second most annoying man I know," he grumbled, answering Sam's call. "Yea?"

"Did you eat all the peanut butter?"

       "Why is it always peanut butter with you?" Morty questioned with a laugh.

"Peanut butter is a blessing! Now where'd you hide it this time?"

        "Run to the store and buy your own already. I'm not sharing mine, and stay out of the crunchy stuff. That's for AJ, not you."

"Ugh, fine. I'm gonna go buy my own peanut butter, and I'm not leaving 4% for you anymore."

       "Sounds fine to me. Go buy your fetish-food. Later."

"Bye, dick-ass."

       Morty rolled his eyes with a laugh, hanging up the call and finding Al staring at him expectantly. "You sound like such a dad," he commented with a snort. "Well, gee, it's only my second kid," Morty grumbled, playing with Larry the Lobster while AJ beat up the muscle man. "Blegh," AJ voiced, signalling Morty to play out the character's death by violently, though carefully, dropping Larry over the side of the couch. "Not the hot oil!" Morty remarked to AJ's amusement, watching the child thrown into a fit of laughter. 
       "Second?!" Al nearly shrieked, making Morty jump with a laugh as he gathered Larry from the floor. "Yes. I dated a girl, my high school crush, actually, for most of a year, and she had a kid. He called me 'dad' and I went with it until she found his actual father. Joke's on him, though, because it isn't hard to see the kid isn't his, either. They moved to Michigan, though they did come back and got married here. I wonder how that went. I believe I was 22 then."
       "Why would anybody want a kid so young?" Al asked incredulously, watching as Morty pulled Larry from AJ's mouth. "Yucky," he protested, wiping the toy off on his jeans. "I wanted something normal, and she was normal, just with a kid. So I raised her son, and it never mattered anyway. I used to keep a toy around, one he left behind, but I don't know what happened to it. That was probably the hardest thing to do, leaving him with his mother because I couldn't follow. So yea, second kid. That was the first time I ever left everything."
       Al looked like he was having a bit of trouble processing this, and Morty was glad to have finally shut the man up. "I think that was the second time we tried for something and it never worked."
       "Jesus, you really are a man for second chances," Al taunted with a cheeky grin. "Yea, well, there's a difference in being gone a year and being gone for almost six."
       "You never did explain why you left, to any of us." Al seemed more interested now in hearing Morty's story than in trying to get him together with Rick, which made the brunet happy. He found Rick keeping AJ occupied and grinned, turning back to Al. 
       "I got shot, and Gary decided enough was enough. I had gone what he apparently calls 'full Morty', and it's not really pretty. It was fun, definitely, but neither healthy nor safe. Gary knew that, so the second I was awake, he took over. O' course, I was under multiple things, so I wasn't in the proper state to protest. The only reason I didn't come runnin' back was because that bit of sense came back and I just... I was never meant for that. Hell yea, I could do it no problem. But I want to see myself actually grow old. I don't wanna be dead before I hit thirty. I barely lived to see 24." Morty played Larry the Lobster once again, being attacked by Spongebob while AJ had Rick play as Patrick, trying to have the man also attack Larry the Lobster. "What did I do to deserve this?" Morty laughed, watching his action figure get tossed around and, apparently, blown up. 
       "Where'd you get shot?" Al questioned. Morty held Larry in his left hand, using his right to poke almost in the center of his abdomen, just near his diaphragm and barely missing his lung. "An inch of free space stopped it from hitting my lung. Rick was shot in almost the same place once, before I retaliated." Morty grinned, feigning Larry's second death. "Well, shit," Al muttered. "Skip the necklaces and/or tattoos, let's just get matching gun shot wounds!"
       "It's what got him stuck in power." Rick finally decided to join in while Morty dropped Larry from the air, watching AJ giggle as the character bounced. "Jack was pissed at me. I doubt you know who he was, but he used to be the man in charge of everything. Mean bastard if ever there was one. He had two guys come over, people I used to know in highschool, and they're dragging me an' him out of my damn house. One of 'em's gettin' at him, and this was when he barely understood sex jokes." Rick gave a laugh while Morty glowered at the couch. "We finally get there, and the first thing that happens is the kid gets a cigarette put out on his tongue."
      "It's still a little funny," Morty stated. "Never has felt right." Al nodded, urging Rick to continue the story and actually appearing interested. "We go out to that farmhouse in the dirtier part of town, and Jack's being an idiot. Wound up getting shot pretty much in the same spot, but he.. he was quick. Saved my dumb ass too many times now," Rick finished with a laugh while Morty nodded. "Always getting in trouble. Kissed the nastiest motherfucker on this planet last time. I thought he was dead after everything he went through, but he came back. Gone now, though."
        Al laughed slightly at Morty's statement, shaking his head with a look of wonder now. "Why the hell'd you kiss him?"
       "Let me just say this. That man was no prince charming. He came back to get this dumbass and I wound up going in the backroom, wondering where the hell they are. Wound up leaving us alone just to turn some music on, so I got the key for the drawer holding my gun. Almost ended badly, but I managed to get it over there. The idiot's all 'don't you realize what happens when you're a little tease?' and I swear I was gonna be sick. I thought it couldn't be worse, but next thing I know I got this man, who I swear has never seen a toothbrush, on me in the nastiest kiss of my life, waiting for him to grab the damn gun before I threw up in the dude's mouth. Oh my God, it took a day to get that out. So. Gross." Morty visibly cringed at the memory, laughing as he heard the other two do the same before he found himself playing as Spongebob now. 
       "Well, good on you. I never woulda seen you as the kind to own a gun, but whatever." Al shrugged, leaning into the small bean bag he sat in. Rick shook his head, grabbing Al's attention. "You wouldn't believe it if you'd seen him. He could go from this to absolutely insane if you said the wrong thing. One minute it's a conversation with the sweetest bartender, the next you're looking at a kid in shorts and a crop top saying your last goodbye at the end of a gun. When I say full Morty, you cannot begin to fathom how insane it got. That man, the one we thought was dead? Threw him through a window instead of shooting him outright. He was dying from a bullet wound, but he survived that and a 20 foot fall. Used to be the best shot around."
       Morty grinned proudly, giving a short laugh as he nodded. "Duuude," Al breathed, staring in disbelief. "I wanna see it," he whined, pouting like a child. Morty sighed lightly, feigning yet another character death for his violent toddler. "Nah. That was almost too far, and probably because I was high on attention. I didn't come back just because I like to dance, ya know. Still a greedy little shit." It was Rick's turn to laugh now, shrugging lightly before nodding to Al. "I can still see that, ya know," Morty reprimanded with a grin. "But it's true. I used to have the most atrocious stutter, and it took everything in me to talk to people. But I figured out, my first night up there, that it didn't matter. All those people loved me, and they were all there to see me. So, ya know, throw that attention my way and see where it gets you."
       "One night on that stage and I already had the biggest joint around," Rick stated with a laugh. Al nodded. "I noticed, when Gary was all 'that's the kid I was talking about'. I thought I was gonna be out of a job, and then one new dancer comes in and suddenly I'm still working." 
       "He's the only one that changes things up. Works with faster music, changes the show a few times a month, and is the only one with that type of frame. I keep telling everybody, thick is better than the twigs they have, and nobody listens. People are always asking how much it would take to have him in their club, working for them." Morty laughed, attacking the pudgy belly on his child. "Never heard about that one." 
       Rick nodded, laughing as he glanced down at the boy laughing his head off. "Had one man offer a million, too. They all want you in their clubs. Mine's not the only one that hits dry spells like that." AJ squealed, reaching out to Rick and shouting 'ada' several times before the man valiantly saved him from the tickle monster. AJ looked over at Morty and giggled, hiding his face in Rick's neck before he was so rudely betrayed, tickled once again. 
       "Well you better watch out, then. The day you ship me off is the day I come after you." Rick started laughing as he continued to attack the child, AJ squealing and trying to run from the tickles while the man laughed and shook his head. "What?" Morty questioned, rescuing AJ. "HA, now I'm the hero." AJ hid behind Morty and the brunet laughed, watching the toddler peer around and hide again. "I was going to pull an 'Al'."
       "I don't know if I should resent that or not, but do tell," Al stated, leaning forward in his bean bag chair and poking AJ in the side. The toddler squealed and ran around, hiding in front of Morty now. "Nah, it's not worth it," Rick laughed, holding Spongebob up as he was told to do by the toddler. "Now even I wanna know how you were gonna pull an 'Al', and I'm about done with him today."
       "Hey!" Morty heard to his amusement, giving a haughty laugh. "I said I was gonna come after you. If you're belittling my skill, I'll fight you." Rick laughed again, setting the toy down. "I was going to remind you that it was a one time thing, and one time only," he iterated. Morty heard a snort from behind him, laughing as he found Al losing it. "That's a little more than PG!" Al stated between laughs. "Even I held back! That was nowhere near as bad, but I held back!" Al announced, his shoulders shaking as he tried to stop. "So did I!" Morty snorted, watching Al hit his knee. "Bad, Morty!" he announced, pointing at the brunet shakily.
       "Alright, ya nasties." Morty turned with the other two, each still laughing, as Sho stood in the small doorway. "Food's done. Is he fine without a hi-chair?" Morty nodded, gathering AJ and settling down with a few loose giggles. "He's fine, just gotta sit with me if he's not in one." Sho nodded, smiling as the four wandered after her. "PG. I said PG," Al muttered, grinning as he sat next to Sho. 
       Morty took a seat across from the pair, seating AJ next to him while Rick sat on the other side of Morty. The table was longer, designed for six, and Morty wondered if they often had company for dinner. A six person table for two was a bit odd, but whatever. "Hope you're all good with spaghetti," Sho stated, setting a couple of pots on the table. "Ghetti!" AJ yelled, bouncing in his seat. "Daddy, ghetti!" Sho laughed, cooing as she sat in her seat. "Obviously he's good with it." Morty nodded with a laugh, ruffling the toddler's curls. "Spaghetti and lasagna. His two favorite things in this whole world."
       "Yea, well, just make sure his father's the only one getting the big noodles," Al calmly stated, laughing even after Sho whapped him over the head. Morty snorted, laughing harder and covering his mouth as he did so. "That was borderline PG," he commented. "Borderline." Al grinned triumphantly, both he and Rick settling down after Morty. "Alright, just eat without dying is all I ask," Sho grumbled with a smile as she made plates. 

       Dinner was, surprisingly enough, relatively calm, without any quips from Al. "That was wonderful, Sho," Morty commented, glancing over at AJ. "Thank you, Morty. He thought so too," she pointed at AJ. "He got it all over his face." Al snorted next to Sho and Rick ducked his head, his shoulder shaking as he obviously tried to hide his laughter. "I swear to God, you two aren't allowed to hang out anymore," Sho reprimanded, flicking Al. Morty nodded, accepting the napkin she handed over and cleaning AJ's face. "I could live with that."
       "But then who would get you your hunka-hunka?" Al whined, grinning as he pushed his plate up. Morty rolled his eyes, sighing as he finished cleaning AJ's face. "I'm gonna kick your butt, right in front of Sho. She might even let me do it."
       "Pfft, like you could," Al grumbled. Rick shook his head, "I wouldn't issue him any challenges. He really could." Morty grinned triumphantly, watching Al grumble to himself. "And I would let him," Sho clarified with a grin. Al pouted further and Morty laughed, watching Sho gather the dishes. "Do you want any help?" Morty questioned. Sho nodded, "That would be lovely. I can't get him off his ass for anything." The brunet stood from his chair, nodding in understanding. "My roommate's the same exact way. Always me doing everything." Sho sighed, "It's nice when somebody actually helps, though."
       "Right?" Morty agreed, helping clear dishes and put them on the countertop in the kitchen for the woman. "So," Sho began as she stacked some dishes, "I was told, by Al, of course, that I was supposed to help him get you two to 'just do it', as he put it. Any particular reason he's trying to get you two together?" 
       Morty sighed, leaning against the counter while Sho rinsed the dishes off. "He's been trying to set me up with somebody because, apparently, he doesn't think I have it in me to be a single dad for life. He came up to me, after trying to set me up with damn near everybody in the club, and said 'there's only one man that could handle me'. He was talking about Rick, which I eventually got. He found out we tried to make it work before, and he's trying to put us together a third time."
       "What went wrong the first two times?" Sho questioned, honestly curious. Morty sighed, "I don't really know. I used to be completely different, and then I wound up changing. I guess I did it for him without thinking about it. I didn't like who I was becoming, so I left him and everything behind. But I don't think Al understands. We were more fuck-buddies than we were an actual couple. There was never any sort of understanding there. It was just... friends until we both needed it. I ran back to him the second time, only because I missed it a lot. I was only gone for a year. This time, I was gone for almost six. Al doesn't understand, because I haven't told him everything that happened. I mean, yea, if it hadn't happened, I'd probably be right back where I was. But you can't forgive something like that."
       Sho stopped rinsing the dishes off and sighed, facing Morty now. "That sounds like something I said a while ago, about Al. He, uh.. he used you, didn't he? Hurt you so bad you couldn't walk?" Morty thought for a minute before he nodded slowly. Sho smiled sympathetically, leaning against the counter. "One night, Al came home from job hunting, shit faced drunk. He woke me up, screaming at me. He was so out of it, he didn't know what had happened when he woke up. But we talked it out. I said I would come back once he gave up drinking like that. It took almost two years, but he called me one day. 'Baby,' he said. 'I fixed it. I love you. Come home right now, please.' I had moved out, I was living with my parents. I came home, and he had the most romantic set-up. There were candles all over, a big apology, just for me. It was hard, at first, but we made it work. We are where we are because I gave him an option. You are where you are because you haven't talked to him about it. I can see that. You promise to talk to him about it, and I promise I'll talk to Al about trying to set you up." 
       Morty stared at Sho with a mix of shock and awe. She was the last person he expected to hear this from, Al was the last person he expected to hear this about. It's not something you ever expect. "He didn't remember it, either," Morty mumbled. "But he came over to drop my phone off and asked me what he did. I told him, and he asked me if I still loved him." Morty stared at the floor. "What'd you say?"
       The brunet sighed. "I said 'How could I ever love you after everything you've done?', and I watched him leave. I'm always... always the one crying about it. But, seeing him with AJ and looking at how he's changed, I think my answer woulda been 'yes'. Plain and simple. 'Yes, I still love you, because look at how much you've changed, how great you are with my kid.' If that had been him months ago, I could have said yes. He messed it up, and I'm still the one trying to fix it. Every time. But he doesn't want to fix it."
       Morty found Sho grinning, but not at him. "Daddy!" Morty heard, spinning around to find AJ running after him. "Hey, kiddo." AJ giggled, clinging to Morty's leg now as the brunet laughed. Sho went back to rinsing the dishes, though she still grinned. "I did say I was told to help," she mused. Morty sighed, leaning down to grab his kid. "She's a good one, ain't she?" With AJ in his arms, Morty spun around, finding Al waiting in the doorway with a shit-eating grin. "I got you to say it, and I ain't the only one that heard." Morty stared, wondering if Al was just being a dick. His assumptions were proved incorrect when he saw Al press the door to the kitchen back. Rick seemed to be looking everywhere but at Morty, his hands in his pockets and his eyes darting around. Morty gave a slightly embarrassed laugh, shifting the child in his arms. 
       "Remember the ass kicking I promised you, Al?" Morty mused, watching the man run to the safety of Sho. "She can't protect you all the time, you know."
       "Who said anything about protection?" Al called out, shouting when Sho splashed him with the dish water. "Uncalled for!" he protested. "Wanna talk about uncalled for," Sho grumbled, finishing up with the dishes. 
       Morty laughed, setting AJ back on the ground. "You ready to go?" he asked Rick, watching the man finally look at him. "Yea," he mumbled, smiling softly when AJ came over and hugged his leg. "Hold on, Morty, I got something for you! It's a late birthday present." Morty groaned, spinning to face the man. "I swear to God, if it's anything like everything else you had them buy, you're gonna die tonight." Al laughed, grabbing a small bag from the counter before he hid behind Sho. "Hide me," he stated dramatically, peeking out over her shoulder. Sho rolled her eyes, taking the bag from Al and handing it to Morty. "If you gotta, I'll move and you can kill him. He annoys me sometimes, too."
       "Aw, I thought you loved me!" Al pouted. "I love it more when you keep your mouth shut," Sho grumbled, grinning when Morty laughed, grabbing whatever was in the bag.
       "You have your BDSM bear, and now you have your rope bunny!" Al stated as Morty removed a bright pink rabbit. It was more for adults, bound and gagged, and Morty laughed loudly, shoving the toy back in the bag before AJ saw and asked for it. "Al, you're a dead man when I next see you."
       "Meet me at high noon, pardner," Al drawled, standing from his hiding spot. Morty shook his head with a grin, holding the bag to his side and away from AJ. "Well, thanks for having us over. It was really fun, even after wanting to beat you senseless all day." Morty directed to Al, smiling politely at Sho. "You have the right toys to take care of that on your own," Al retorted, earning another flick. "I'm gonna kill him if you don't," Sho grumbled. "Team effort," Morty announced with a laugh. 
       AJ gave a short complaint, holding his bag. "Do you have all of your toys?" Morty questioned. The toddler shook his head, pointing out into the living room. "What?" Morty questioned. "Go get your toys." AJ shook his head again and Morty sighed, walking out to the other room. He found that the child really did have all of his toys and could only further wonder what his issue was. 
       Morty spun to leave the room, met with an unfamiliar face. "Where is Al Turyl?"