Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

Morty lay in his bed, exhausted from yet another day of treacherous adventure with his grandfather, Rick. It was already 2 AM, but tomorrow was Saturday, so he rested easy knowing he would be able to sleep in the following morning. As if on cue, Morty’s phone lit up with a message on screen.

From Rick:

Mooorrrrtttyyyyyy are you up ?

From Rick:

I know you’re up Morty

From Rick:

Cmon Morty don’t leave me hanging

From Rick:

MmmMMooOrrttyYYYyyyy

From Rick:

Come to the garage now Morty you gotta come right now it’s important

The teen sighed and pulled off his sheets, knowing the harassment would continue until Rick got what he wanted. That was always how their relationship had worked. Morty made his way to the garage only to find it empty.

“Uh... R-Rick? Are you i-in here?”

Morty called out.

The lights were still on and a half empty flask filled with a green liquid lay sideways on Rick’s workbench, spilling onto the floor. The brunette could all but question how Rick was able to drink that stuff. The garage door swung open, causing Morty to jump. Rick walked through the doorway, making sure to close the door behind him.

“Morty you’re here, good. We-we gotta go Morty. I n-need you to come with m-me.”

Rick placed his hands on Morty’s shoulders and pulled him along.

“Ah jeez Rick… W-What’s so important?”

 The teen stepped back and watched as Rick pulled out his portal gun and motioned for Morty to walk through it.

“No time. G-Gotta go before it’s t-too late. L-Let’s go Morty!!!”

Rick shoved his grandson through the portal, following close behind.

When they emerged, Morty scratched his head in confusion. They were outside some kind of alien game store. He prepared to ask what they were doing there, but Rick shushed him and walked through the doors, Morty following in suit. The older man walked up to the counter where a Gromflomite was standing behind the register.

“Rick, long time no see. How you been?”

“Oh yeah I’ve been good, sorry to hear about Krombopulos Michael. Tragic. He was an awful dude.” Rick replied.

Morty remembered this name. It was the assassin Gromflomite he accidentally killed on one of their adventures.

“Yes, the absolute worst. I miss him every day, but witherin in my own self-pity don’t pay the bills for this dump now that Michael and his pay are gone. What can I do you for?”

“I need that favor I asked for. It’s giftwrapped, right?” The alien nodded and looked over at Morty.

“Morty, is it? You got a terrible Rick on your hands. Lucky bastard, you are. I’ll be right back with your order, Rick.”

She walked into a small room in the back of the store, leaving Morty speechless.

“It’s their waAAy of complimenting someone, M-Morty. Being the worst basically means you’re the best. Being awful is great, blah blah blAAh. You catch on after a while.”

The brunette nodded in understanding, pretending it made sense to him. He hated looking dumb in front of Rick, even though Rick had a habit of making Morty feel inferior to him.

“Here ya are. Don’t worry bout payin, I took care of it. You always took care of my Michael. Sa’ least I could do.”

 The alien winked at Rick, who returned a smile.

They exited the store and Rick opened a portal to Morty’s room. Rick sat on the bed and pulled out a red gift-wrapped rectangle.

“Here.”

Rick handed the gift to Morty, who hesitantly accepted and sat next to Rick.

“W-What is it?”

“Well gee Morty I don’t know, why don’t y-you try opening it.”

The teen shrugged off his grandfather’s sarcasm and unwrapped the rectangle. To his amazement, it was the new Two-Brother’s video game he had wanted for months.

“Gee Rick... I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Uh how-how about ‘Thank you’?”

Morty's face grew red as he faced Rick.

“T-Thank you Rick. Do... do you wanna play with me?”

Rick sipped from his flask and pondered his grandson’s request.

“Sure, why not.”

The two played Morty’s new game early into the morning. By 4 AM, Morty was fast asleep on the floor. Rick smiled at him and unplugged the game, turning off the tv. The older man scooped the teen up in his arms and carried him into bed. He carefully covered the brunette with his blanket and sat there for a moment to stare at him. After a few minutes passed, Rick leaned over and kissed Morty on the head. As Rick stood to leave, Morty reached out for his arm.

“H-Hey Rick...?”

Rick paused and looked over at his grandson, eyes barely open.

“Wha-What is it Morty?”

“W-Will you stay with me…?”

Rick blinked and looked over Morty in confusion.

“I-It’s just... I’ve had a lot of fun with you a-and I don’t want you to go yet… W-Will you stay?”

Rick hesitated before making room for himself on the bed. Morty rolled over and laid his head on Rick’s outstretched arm, wrapping himself around Rick’s chest.

“Goodnight Rick.”

 Morty whispered, already falling back asleep. Rick’s face blushed a deep red as he ruffled the hair on the teen’s head.

“Yeah… Goodnight Morty.”

Chapter Text

Rick blinked at the light shining in his face. He looked around the unfamiliar room for a clock. 6:30 AM.

“Shit.”

Rick turned over to realize he was still in Morty’s bed. Rubbing his eyes, Rick got up and made his way downstairs. When he entered the kitchen, there was already a plate of eggs waiting for him, next to a perky Morty.

“M-Morning Rick.”

Morty smiled at him and Rick gazed in his direction.

“Yeah uh, morning Morty.”

The two ate in silence until Morty got up to leave for school.

“W-Wait Morty where uh where you goin?”

 Morty blinked in confusion and pointed towards the bus.

“I have to get to school before I’m l-late.”

 Rick drank from his flask and got up to clean his plate.

“M-Morty you know how I feel about school. No-Now I can’t tell you what to do, cause that’s Jerry’s job, but even though he sucks at it, I won’t step in. But I got a tip that there was a traffic jam on the main way to Blipz N’ Chits, so they’re closing down the main entries.”

 Rick leaned against the counter and looked at Morty for signs of understanding.

“W-Well jeez Rick how… how are we gonna get in?”

 Rick smirked and reached into his labcoat.

“Portal gun bitchessssss! We’ll be the only ones in there, Morty. We-We can play any game you want. We can even send in Robo-Morty so your parents won’t know.”

Morty hesitated as Rick stared at him with that same old smirk that always convinces Morty to do what he says.

“O-Okay, but can we put Robo-Morty on a ‘don’t talk to Jessica’ switch? Last time he embarrassed me and-”

Rick waved him off.

“Yeah yeah Morty, but let’s be honest. That robot probably had a better chance t-than you anyway.” Annoyed, the brunette followed Rick into the garage.

“Blipz N’ Chits biiiitch!”

Rick exclaimed as he opened a portal. Morty followed him through it and was surprised to see a couple other Ricks and their Mortys playing games of their own. Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet.

“Here, put this on. I-I’m sure I can recognize you in a crowd, but just in case.”

Morty put on the bracelet that read “Rick C-137’s Morty”. He blushed to himself. Morty smiled and waved at some of his alternate Mortys and played a few Earth games with them. The teen was glad he allowed Rick to pull him out of school today, he desperately needed a break. Rick walked over and smiled at Morty.

“Hey Morty you haven’t eaten yet. W-Wanna grab something from the food stand?”

 Morty smiled and nodded his head. When they approached the stand, Rick ordered a plate of nachos to split and two Rootbeers. Morty loved days like this with his grandfather. His mind went back to last night, how peaceful it felt to be held through his nightmares. Rick doesn’t know he still has them. Even though he puts on a douchebag façade, Morty knows it would still worry him.

“This is nice Morty. Real nice. We gotta-We gotta do this more Morty. You know grandpa- I-I’m getting pretty old Morty. It’s nice to just sit back and relax.”

The teen smiled shyly at Rick. He liked hearing his grandfather’s more sensitive side speak. Even though he doesn’t outright say it, Morty knows this is Rick’s way of saying he enjoys Morty’s company. Or at least he hopes so. Either way, it still makes him feel good.

“I’ll be right back, I gotta u-use the bathroom.”

 Rick kind of grunted in acknowledgement and with that, Morty got up to find the bathrooms. When he walked in, his jaw dropped. Sitting on the counter was another Morty. Between his legs stood a Rick, leaning over to kiss him. Without meaning to, Morty let out a shriek, causing the other two to turn their heads in his direction.

“Woah woah, hey there. H-How long have you been standing there?”

The Rick threw his hands in the air, as if to surrender.

“U-Um not…not l-long. I-I’m sorry, I’ll just-“

He turned to leave, but the other Morty called out for him to stay.

“I-I’m Morty S-108, which dimension are you from?”

 The other Morty offered a friendly smile.

“Oh uh… I-I’m Morty C-137.”

Morty S-108 reached out his hand. Morty accepted and shook hands.

“It’s nice to m-meet you. We uh... we know your Rick pretty well.”

The other Morty looked over at his Rick. The Rick reached out his hand as well, Morty accepted.

“L-Listen Morty, there’s a lot of Ricks and Mortys that are like us so don’t let yourself get freaked out.” Nodding his head to the Rick’s comment, Morty allowed himself to breathe.

“You um… Y-You said you know m-my Rick? Ho-How do you know him?”

 The Rick and his Morty looked at each other with similar expressions. The Rick turned to Morty.

“He uhh has come to us for advice for stuff in the past and I’ve lent him some crystals he needed. Nothing too big, we just get along better than other Ricks at the Citadel.”

Morty stared at his feet, trying to hide his red face.

“Look kid… I-I could wipe this from y-your memory if you want. I’m sure your Rick won’t mind.”

The Rick smiled at Morty, but Morty shook his head.

“N-No it’s okay… I just, I uh d-didn’t know there were Ricks and Mortys that are uh… Y-You know, but I guess w-with infinite dimensions and all it makes sense… I-It just caught me by surprise is all. Sorry for uh… interrupting.”

 The other Rick and Morty laughed. Morty looked up and saw their kind smiles. He felt a bit more relaxed about the situation.

“You’re pretty c-cool Morty C-137. Feel free to visit us in our dimension a-anytime. Your Rick told us what happened to your dimension so I-I understand if you ever need to like, you know, talk to someone about stuff. It gets pretty lonely being a Morty sometimes so I-I get it.”

The Rick elbowed his Morty.

“What? It does, especially when y-you go out on your adventures a-and know more about the universe than me. I-It’s like, us Mortys are smarter than normal people b-but dumber than all Ricks, so i-it gets annoying sometimes.”

The Rick looked at his Morty with an understanding smile and ruffled his hair.

“Well let me tell you Mortys a little secret about Ricks: We need our Mortys. You can’t be the Rickest-Rick without the Mortyest-Morty. We balance eachother out, that’s why every Rick has access to a Morty replacement. Mortys can survive without Ricks, but we can’t survive without you.”

 Morty S-108 blushed and held his Rick’s hand. Morty held his arm in his hand, wondering if that were true and if his Rick really couldn’t live without him. He definitely felt like he couldn’t live without Rick.

“You should probably get back to your Rick, but Morty here is right. You can stop by our dimension i-if you need to talk or have any questions.”

 The Rick and his Morty walked towards the door, but Morty stopped them.

“I-I uh… actually do have a-a question.”

 The Rick and his Morty stopped to listen to the teen.

“H-How do uh… like, how does i-it even work?”

 Morty S-108 smiled at his Rick and answered Morty.

“We keep it o-on the downlow at home… but Earth is really the o-only place that is against it, so we’re able to act h-however we want anywhere else.”

The Rick placed a hand on his Morty’s back and cut in.

“Yeah this planets a real pile of shit M-Morty. We just make sure we don’t get caught by people who matter. Thing is, nobody really matters. So who cares?”

 Morty nodded his head and awkwardly smiled at the other two.

“W-Well… best o-of luck to you two then, I-I guess.”

The two smiled and walked off. Morty did his business and washed his hands. As he reached for a paper towel, the brunette began to stare at his reflection. (“How could they be so cool about it? Like it’s normal. Is it normal? Or am I just too inexperienced to know what I’m talking about as usual? Maybe Rick will know.”)

 He began to question if the night before may have meant something more to his Rick, but he quickly shoved away the thought. Morty knew his Rick better than that.

Chapter Text

“What took you so long? I almost thought you fell in.”

Morty sat down at their booth and apologized. They continued to eat in silence until Morty’s thoughts began consuming him.

“H-Hey Rick?”

Rick looked up and raised an eyebrow.

“W-Why did you get me that game anyway? I-It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I do! I love it! I just w-wanted to know, you know, why?”

 Rick drank from his flask and looked at their empty plate.

“I just figured you could use some cheering up, w-with your parent’s divorce and all.”

Morty thought over Rick’s words and smiled.

“Look M-Morty, I know it’s not easy, especially because Jerry is a complete moron that just likes to make things difficult, but y-you’re still my adventure buddy so I need you to be okay.”

 The brunette felt his face begin to redden. He never gets to hear things like this from Rick, so he decides to soak up every moment of it.

As they finished their drinks, gunshots went off in the middle of the arcade. At first Rick didn’t react, assuming another Rick got pissed off about losing his high score or something, but jumped to his feet when they heard Jerry’s familiar screams of terror. The two ran over and tried to see what was going on.

All the Ricks were yelling “Who’s Jerry is this?” They were all prepared to fight, because in every universe that exists a Jerry Ricks despise, there also exists a Beth that they need to keep happy. Morty caught sight of Kiara, Jerry’s alien ex-girlfriend, and sighed in frustration.

“It’s ours, C-137.”

 Morty called out. Some Ricks walked away with their Mortys, but a few stayed behind to either watch or help take down the crazy alien chick. Morty S-108 ran over.

“W-What the hell is he doing with that thing?”

The other Morty held up his laser gun and shot at Kiara.

“I-I don’t know! T-They broke up WEEKS ago a-and I thought they were on g-good terms!”

The other Morty looked at him with a clearly confused look.

“Your Jerry hooked up w-with a telepathic ALIEN?”

 Rick S-108 high fived Rick C-137.

“Intergalactic dating website? Nice. My Jerry wouldn’t go for it.”

 Rick C-137 drank from his flask.

“Yeah well our Beth and Jerry are divorcing so I was a-able to push him over the edge.”

The two Mortys stared at their Ricks in disbelief as multiple things were being thrown and blown up behind them.

“What?”

 The Ricks replied in unison. Morty C-137 screamed.

“R-Rick! Do something!”

 Rick rolled his eyes and pulled out his cellphone.

“Who are you calling?”

 Rick shushed the teen.

“I-I swear to god Rick i-if you’re ordering pizza I-“

 Rick flicked Morty on the nose, leaving him quiet and feeling violated.

Kiara stopped the racket as her phone rang.

“Hello? I am in the middle of something.”

“Kiiaaaaraaaa, baaaabe, what are you doing right now?”

Morty stared at Rick in disbelief as Rick    S-108 laughed.

“Rick! Oh, nothing at all. I am just running some errands.”

“Yeah w-well looks to me like you’re tearing apart Blipz N’ Chits chasing after my son-in-law.”

Kiara looked around and met eyes with Rick. Letting Jerry down with a harsh thud, she made her way over.

“I did not know this was your son in- wait, that means you are married? WE ARE SOUL BONDED YOU DISGUSTING-“

Kiara lifted Jerry once again, preparing to throw him into a wall.

“Woah woah take it easy, Jerry and my daughter are getting a divorce. But you see I can’t let you kill him ‘cause you know I got grandkids and shit so I need their shitty dad alive.”

 Morty shyly waved as he took cover behind Rick’s back.

“YOU. You are the reason Jerry dumped me.”

Morty rolled his eyes.

“Jeez w-will you chill out? That was weeks ago. Why a-are you mad at him now?”

Kiara placed her hands on her hips and looked angrily at Jerry.

“Your Jerry had invited me to dinner to make up. But you know what he did? He never showed up! I was left there for hours, waiting for him to make it to our reservation only to be stood up! So now, he must pay.”

Rick facepalmed.

“Dad! Why did y-you stand up a FUCKING TELEPATHIC ALIEN?”

 Jerry made an effort to stand and rested his arm against a broken chair.

“Well you see, I um uh… I uh… forgot?”

 Jerry smiled in what he probably thought was charming, but ended up enraging Kiara even more. Before she could blow Jerry to bits, Rick butt in.

“L-Look Kiara, I get revenge is important to your kind so I won’t get in your way, but can my grandson say goodbye to his dad before you, you know kill him?”

Kiara pondered his request before hesitantly obliging. Rick and Morty ran over to Jerry’s side.

“Gosh Morty, I’m so sorry I let it get this far. All because of my forgetfulness, you won’t have a dad anymore. I won’t get to see you graduate or go to prom or get laid for the first time resulting in teen pregnancy… Morty I-“

Rick opened a portal in the floor, causing Jerry to fall through with a thud.

“Yeah yeah whatever, jump in Morty!”

The two jumped through the portal, landing on the couch. Morty looked around and saw Jerry laying crooked on the floor. Rick and Morty sigh in relief as Beth and Summer walk in.

“Dad, why is Jerry broken in the middle of my living room?”

 Rick grabbed his flask, letting Morty cover for this one.

“Dad decided to date s-some telepathic green alien woman e-even though he’s a closet racist and couldn’t handle her avocado shaped h-head so he dumped her and blamed it o-on me and Summer so she tried to kill us and we escaped but then DAD had to a-ask her out on ANOTHER date and then he-he stood her up! He stood up a super meta alien woman so she tried to kill him AGAIN a-and Rick got us through a portal and dad somehow missed the couch because for some reason his brain j-just doesn’t function and now he’s on the floor and probably has a broken leg, but who cares. A-At least it’s not like he ALMOST GOT US KILLED by STILL sucking at relationships and not learning from a-any of his mistakes as a shitty dad or-or husband!”  

Morty took a deep breath and ran up to his room, leaving the others in shock.

“Did… Did Jerry really get an alien girlfriend?”

 Without looking up from her phone, Summer confirmed Beth’s question and sat on the couch.

“Can somebody get me to a hospital… please? I uh, I can’t feel anything below my waist.”

Beth snickered.

“Neither could I.”

Summer stuck out her tongue. “Gross.”

“Alright well you guys get Jerry to a hospital so we don’t have to deal with someone dying in the living room. I’ll go check on Morty.”

Beth and Summer sighed in annoyance.

“It would take way less time to just drag him out by the curb. Make him someone else’s problem.” Summer put her phone in her pocket and grabbed Jerry’s arms.

“Not until he fixes this. Grab his legs.”

Beth mumbled her disliking of the situation as she grabbed Jerry’s legs. He yelled out in pain, causing her to grin. Summer rolled her eyes and helped bring Jerry to the car.

Chapter Text

Rick made his way to Morty’s room, only to find the door locked. He knocked, but got no answer.

“Morty, it’s me. Come on Morty, let me in.”

He received no answer or acknowledgment.

“Morty, I just wanna make sure you’re okay. A-And I know you’re not so just open the door Morty.” To his pleasing, he could hear Morty shuffling inside and unlock his door. Rick waited for a moment and opened it to find Morty back on his bed.

“Hey buddy. How uh, how you feeling?”

 Morty wiped his tears with his blanket.

“I’m so sick of it all Rick. H-He always has to ruin everything! I-I was having a great day with you a-and somehow he even messed that up. Just like his and mom’s marriage, just like me and Summer, just like everything. He ruins everything and doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. How-How can someone be so stupid Rick? He has to know w-what he’s doing, it has to be on purpose.”

 Morty sobbed into his blanket.

“Look Morty, some people are born smart and some aren’t. And then some are born like Jerry. They are so stupid they don’t understand h-how stupid they are.”

 Rick laid a hand on Morty’s shoulder.

“I-I wish he would just leave, Rick. It’s not like we need him. W-We did fine without him while he was still here.”

Rick scratched his chin and sipped from his flask. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up.

“You know Morty, you could always go on a vacation. You know just like, get away from it all.”

Morty wiped his eyes and looked at Rick.  

“W-What do you mean? There’s nowhere for me to go, Rick. A-And I don’t wanna be alone.”

 Rick thought for a little longer and then ran to the garage without a word. A few hours passed and Morty began to doze off. His phone buzzed, waking him up with a start. It was Rick.

From Rick:

Come to the garage

To Rick:

Why?

From Rick:

Jesus Morty just get to the garage don’t waste time

To Rick:

I’m tired Rick. Just leave me alone.

From Rick:

So help me Morty I will barge into the bathroom in the middle of you showering and portal gun you straight to the girl’s locker room COME TO THE GARAGE

To Rick:

JEEZ RICK OK IM COMING

As always, Morty was left with no choice but to follow Rick’s demands. He opened the garage door and screamed in horror as he was met by another Morty. The other Morty copied him exactly.

“Pretty good. Huh M-Morty?”

Morty eyed Rick and then the other version of himself. He moved his hands, which the other Morty weirdly followed.

“Uh, Rick? W-Who’s Morty is this? A-And why is he copying me…?”

The other Morty asked the same question.

“Can it Morty C-137R. Listen Morty, I was thinking about what you said about going on vacation.”

“You mean what YOU said?”

“Christ Morty we don’t have time to be pointing fingers around. Anyway, I created this clone for you so we can go wherever we want.”

 Morty’s eyes grew wide.

“Wait, y-you mean like one big adventure?”

“Yeah sure Morty, whatever goats your float. Anyway, this Morty will act just like you and when we get back, you just download the memories this Morty made to your brain so it’s like you weren’t gone a-at all.”

Ricky grabbed the other Morty and turned it around, exposing its neck.

“His neck says Morty C-137R so we can tell which of you is real and which isn’t. Don’t worry about that though, like I told your mom, the clones turn off with a switch.”

“Wait m-my mom? Is... Is she-“

“Don’t overthink detail Morty. Anyway, whatever you wanna do it’s up to you.”

Morty bit his lip in deep thought before asking Rick a question.

“Wait… w-won’t you need a clone too?” Rick brushed him off.

“I disappear all the time Morty. Nobody is gonna be surprised when I don’t show up for dinner or come home from school like you Morty.”

The two (technically three) sat in silence.

“Okay.” Morty agreed. “Okay, l-let’s do it.” Rick smiled.

“Yeah baby, adventurreee!”

“But,” Morty interrupted, “there’s somewhere I-I want to go first.”

Chapter Text

“M-Morty I-I just don’t see why you wanna go there. T-There’s nothing there we haven’t seen here.” Morty crossed his arms in a huff.

“You said we could go away Rick, t-that’s my only condition. I just want to see them and and then w-we can go.”

Rick sighed and rubbed his index to the crease in his forehead.

“Fine, w-whatever Morty. We can go b-but I’m not staying long. In and out.”

 Morty mumbled a whatever and followed Rick to the ship. During their ride, Rick explained to Morty how the cloning worked.

“W-Wait… how did you get m-my DNA?”

 Morty questioned Rick, who huffed in frustration.

“Relax Morty. I didn’t jerk you off i-in your sleep, little pervert. I just got a strand of hair from your hair brush and hoped nobody else used it.”

Rick pulled up to a familiar house.

“W-Wait, what would happen if somebody did use my brush? W-Would it make a clone of them instead?”

“Not really. It’s just gross using someone else’s brush. Jeez Morty.”

 Still freaked out by Rick’s explanation, Morty got out of the ship and rang the doorbell. Summer S-108 answered the door and yelled for her grandfather.

“Uhhh grandpa Rick? There’s another you and Morty here. Do I use the laser gun or the doorstep dungeon?”

 Muffled yelling was heard and Summer nodded.

“State your uh dimension?”

“Rick and Morty C-137.”

Summer nodded and yelled for her Rick that they were safe. Rick and Morty S-108 made their way downstairs. Rick’s hair was disheveled and Morty’s shirt looked like it had been pulled on from all angles. Summer barely glanced at them as she pulled out her phone and headed for the living room. The Morty S-108 smiled at the two guests and offered to bring them to the garage. They followed, Morty being amazed at how similar their houses look. When they entered the garage, he noticed it appeared more like a bedroom. There was a key lock on the door, a dresser, a desk, and a bigger bed than the one Rick had to sleep on at home.

“Ever since our Jerry a-and Beth started going out partying together, we’ve made do with what we had and created a legit living space. It’s nice and all, but it still gets cold at night.”

 The Rick winked at his Morty, making him blush.

“So your parents a-aren’t divorced?” Morty questioned S-108.

“N-No, they decided to deal w-with their problems by drinking more a-and going out all the time. I-I guess it’s easier than facing responsibility, y-you know?”

The Rick rubbed his Morty’s shoulder and smiled.

“It’s cool though. W-We get the place to ourselves, Summer minds her business, Beth’s happy and Jerry is gone. We pretty much rule this place. Ain’t that right Morty?”

 His Morty smiled in agreement and rested his head against the Rick.

“Well weeEE just w-wanted to stop by so we’re gonna gooOO now.”

Rick turned to walk out the door.

“A-Actually…” Morty stuttered, “I-I was wondering i-if we could maybe… stay here for a-a little while?” Rick gave Morty an angry look as the other Morty replied.

“Sure, I-I think that would be cool, don’t you Rick?”

The other Rick furrowed his brow and sighed.

“I don’t care, but t-they’re gonna have to share your room.”

Rick and Morty stared at each other as Morty batted his eyes in a way of begging. Rick sighed in defeat.

“Sure, whatever, that’s fine.”

 Rick made his way up to S-108’s room.

“Jeez t-thanks you guys. I really appreciate it.”

 S-108 waved it off.

“Don’t mention it. S-So what are you running from?”

 The Rick and his Morty looked intensely at Morty.

“W-Well uh… a-actually Rick said I needed a vacation from our dimension, w-with my parent’s divorce and all…”

 The other two nodded in their understanding.

“A-And I guess I… I wanted to be able to talk to someone w-who understands me you know? A-And I thought, w-well, who better than myself? E-Even if you and your Rick have a different kind of relationship than me and my Rick, I-I still feel like we’re pretty much the same.”

 S-108 placed his hand on Morty’s shoulder.

“You know I-I feel the same way. Dinners almost ready i-if you want to bring your Rick down to eat. I-I’ll go let Summer know you guys will be staying with us so she doesn’t, y-you know, try to kill you again.”

Morty thanked S-108 and went upstairs to gather his Rick.

“H-Hey Rick, dinners ready. A-Are you gonna come eat with us?”

 Rick grunted in response, laying on the bed. Morty curled up next to him and flicked him on the nose.

“Y-You know it’s rude to refuse dinner at someone else’s house, Rick.”

Rick chuckled and reminded Morty that it is technically their house, just a different version of it. Morty felt stupid, but wasn’t about to back down. Morty attempted to push Rick out of bed, but Rick rolled over and wrapped his arm around Morty, trapping him.

“Aw Rick n-no fair.”

 Morty struggled against the older man’s grip.

“L-Life’s noT fair M-Morty.”

Rick grumbled as he fell asleep. Morty continued to struggle, but finally gave up, allowing himself to fall asleep once more in the man’s arms.

Chapter Text

Morning came quickly, the sun’s light shining on Rick’s face through the window. Rick tried moving his right arm, but found it was trapped under a sleeping Morty. Rick S-108 walked in and offered a kind smile.

“Nice to see you two comfortable.”

 He leaned on the doorway.

“Shut up. W-What are you doing in here?”

“There’s food in the kitchen. Figured you’d be hungry since you missed dinner last night. But I see you were busy.”

“It’s not like that, asshole.”

Rick S-108 shrugged and left the room. Rick looked over at Morty, face reddening. He gently shook the brunette, who did not stir. After receiving a slap to the forehead, Morty shot upright.

“Jeez Rick, w-what was that for?”

The older man sipped from his flask and told Morty they should get something to eat. Rubbing his face, Morty stood and followed Rick downstairs. Morty S-108 and his Rick were already cleaning their plates.

“I-I gotta get to school, but help yourselves to a-anything in the house.”

 S-108 grabbed his bag as Morty looked to his feet. He hoped things at home were going okay. The teen worried that his clone might stir up trouble, but if Rick was telling the truth about the two acting identical in the same situation, he knew that he’d be no more embarrassed than usual.

“I’m gonna drop him off before I head into the garage so you guys got free rein. Just don’t touch my shit.”

Rick S-108 pointed at Rick and Morty before smiling and walking out the front door. Morty sighed and made himself a bowl of cereal. Rick raised an eyebrow and took a seat next to Morty.

“W-What’s the matter with you?”

“I-I don’t know… I-I just, I guess I’m starting to worry about how things are at home. I hope everyone is okay.”

 Morty pushed around his cereal with his spoon.

“Look Morty, we can go back whenever you want. I-It’s no big deal. I personally don’t think you’re ready to go back, b-but that’s your choice Morty.”

 Rick leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head.

“Yeah, y-you’re right.”

 The two sat in silence as Morty continued to toy around with his breakfast.

“Hey R-Rick…?”

 Rick’s eyes stayed close, not bothered by the sudden break in the silence. He grunted in response, encouraging Morty to continue speaking.

“D-Did you know that uh… t-that Rick S-108 a-and Morty S-108 are uhhh, y-you know, together? L-Like a couple?”

 Rick’s eyes shot open and he nearly fell from his chair as he leaned to sit up straight.

“T-That’s not our business Morty.”

 He pulled out his flask and allowed himself a large swig.

“I-I know I just, um… y-you know…”

Morty splashed at his cereal with his spoon out of nervousness.

“No Morty, I don’t know. W-What is it I should know Morty? It’s their life. I-I don’t care what they do with it. This isn’t m-my dimension.”

The teen could feel himself sinking into his chair.

“I-I was just w-wondering how that, I-I don’t know… happens?”

 Rick sighed in frustration.

“How does anyone fall in love Morty? I-I told you, it’s just a chemical reaction in the brain. I-It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.”

“You think t-they’re in love? S-So it’s not just like a-a sex thing?”

Rick rubbed his index to his forehead.

“I mean, yeah Morty I-I’m sure it’s a sex thing too, but people fall i-in love all the time. Who’s to say they’re not?”

 Morty rolled Rick’s words over in his head a few times before speaking.

“It’s just weird to me I guess. I-I thought us Mortys were too stupid to fall in love. I figured that’s why I don’t feel like I’m in love with Jessica.”

Rick rolled his eyes.

“Of course you’re not in love with Jessica, dumbass. Y-Your gross teen hormones just make you see everything as something to put y-your tiny little weanie in.”

Morty crossed his arms in protest, but Rick walked off into the living room before he could speak. A moment later, the sound of the tv played. Morty could tell Rick was surfing through the channels by how often the background noise was changing. He couldn’t get the thought of Rick S-108 loving his Morty out of his mind. The teen thought about how lucky they were to have fallen in love with someone they get see any moment they choose. For a moment, he was jealous, but was quickly filled with disgust at the thought of envying incest. Deciding that he didn’t want to think of this anymore, Morty went back upstairs to play video games in S-108’s room. After a couple hours passed by, Morty’s eyes grew heavy. He decided to close his eyes for a minute and let himself rest. The teen heard the bedroom door slam open and saw his Rick in the doorway.

“R-Rick? What are y-you doing?”

 Morty stammered, but Rick would not reply. There was a devious look in his eyes, aside from the blue glow that was obviously the effect of snorting more crystals. He always hated when Rick was high, it put him at his weirdest. Morty never knew whether to expect an attempt at his own life or signs of an actual human being that cares about others. With the way the light from the tv reflected off a knife in Rick’s hands, Morty knew this was definitely not the latter. He bolted for the door, hoping to slide threw Rick’s legs and escape, but Rick caught him by the collar of his shirt.

“This is aAAll your fault, you little shit!”

Rick swung his knife at Morty, but the teen kicked the older man’s hand away and squirmed free of his grip. Morty leaped down the stairs and ran for the garage, hoping to find Rick S-108. When he opened the door, it was completely empty aside from a portal gun on the workbench. Morty grabbed it and opened a portal right as Rick barged into the garage. He ran through and ended up back in S-108’s room. The brunette sighed a breath of relief and allowed himself to relax. Before he could fully close his eyes, his bedroom door burst open again. Just as before, Rick stood in the doorway, but this time with much more disgust and anger behind his eyes. As Morty ran, Rick yelled about how useless and disgusting he was. He made fun of his tiny shape, his voice, the way he walked. Everything Rick said stung Morty in his heart, even though he knew Rick didn’t mean anything while he was high. Morty made it back to the garage and opened another portal. Once again, he was in the safety of his room. Morty walked over to the door and locked it, hoping Rick would get the idea and stay out. He took a step back, but felt himself hit something.

“Miss me bitch?”

 Morty screamed and shot up on his floor, Rick sitting in the edge of his bed.

“So,” Rick began, “when were you gonna tell me you were having nightmares again?” Rick looked at Morty, who was on the verge of a panic attack. If he breathed any faster, he was sure he’d faint.

“H-Hey Morty, i-t’s me buddy. I’m not gonna h-hurt you. Just, tell me what the nightmare was about.”

 Rick patted on the bed next to him, making room for Morty to sit. Making his way over, Morty began to give Rick the details of his nightmares. When he finished, he noticed Rick’s sour expression.

“Morty… y-you know I would never do that, right? I-I’m not some absent-minded monster.”

“I-I know Rick. I don’t know w-why I have these dreams. T-They just happen. Except…”

Morty trailed off.

“Except…?”

Rick questioned.

“E-Except for w-when you stay the nights with me… I-I guess it makes me feel safe a-and I know you’re not gonna hurt me.”

 Rick nodded and Morty began to cry. Reacting fast, Rick wrapped his arms around the teen to console him.

“L-Look Morty, I’m not gonna hurt you. If I ever did, just assume i-it’s not me and you need to kill them.”

Morty laughed and wiped his eyes.

“You’ve been asleep for hours, you hungry?”

Morty nodded, remembering he skipped breakfast and dinner the night before. The two decided on ordering pizza and watching interdimensional cable. Morty S-108 walked out of the garage, hair disheveled.

“Hey you guys, w-what are you watching?”

He walked over to the end of the couch.

“Gazorpazorpfield, i-it’s pretty cool. W-Wanna watch it with us?”

The other Morty shook his head to decline.

“I-I’m a little busy right now,  I w-wanted to say goodnight before you two head to bed.”

Rick tried to sneak a look at Morty without moving his head and noticed how uncomfortable Morty got by the idea of sleeping.

“Yeah, w-we should be getting to sleep soon. We got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“C-Cool, what are you guys gonna be doing?”

 Morty looked at his Rick as well.

“Y-Yeah Rick, w-what are we doing?”

Rick got up and stretched as he headed upstairs.

“Y-You’ll see Morty. It’ll be great Morty, you’ll see.”

 S-108 walked over to Morty and sat down.

“You doing o-okay? You seem really, uh, I-I don’t know, I guess stressed.”

 Morty appreciated the concern.

“Y-Yeah, just having nightmares i-is all.”

 He smiled shyly.

“Ah man, I-I’m sorry to hear that. I-I used to have nightmares too, really bad ones, but m-my Rick fixed them for me.”

“H-How did he fix them? W-Was it because of you two being together?”

The other Morty laughed.

“N-No, but we did start dating around then. H-He took me out a-and let me do whatever I wanted. I-It was really nice.”

 S-108 smiled to himself, remembering the day he fell in love with his adventure buddy.

“Wow, t-that sounds great. I-I gotta be honest, it’s still a little weird to me seeing you two together. Not that I don’t support it, I-I do. I-I’m glad you two found each other, y-you know… in that way. I-I’m happy for you.”

 Both Morty’s smiled at one another. Rick S-108 called out for his Morty to come to bed, so he said goodnight and went back to the garage. Morty yawned as he rubbed his eyes. The brunette went upstairs to find Rick asleep shirtless in the bed. After composing himself, Morty crawled in bed next to the half-naked man. He never noticed before how well-built Rick really was, but then again, he had never been this close to the man without his shirt off when they weren’t fighting or about to be killed. The teen carefully laid his head on the older man’s chest, breathing in his scent. The comfort of Rick protecting him instead of attacking him was enough to calm Morty’s nerves. He made himself comfortable and stared up at his grandfather. Morty struggled within himself to not do anything stupid, but he couldn’t resist. Curiosity got the best of him as he leaned up to kiss Rick’s cheek. Morty could feel the heat rushing to his face as he allowed himself to be filled with guilt and satisfaction. Is this how it felt for the S-108s? Morty lowered himself back down and rested his head back on Rick’s chest.

“G-goodnight Rick.”

Morty whispered.

“Night M-Morty.”

 Rick responded, to Morty’s embarrassment. His cheeks burned red, but the teen relaxed as he felt the older man’s arm wrap around him, allowing him to fall into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

Morty woke up to the scent of pancakes. They smelled like the ones Beth used to make every Sunday morning when they still had family breakfast. Following the smell, Morty found Rick at the table, two plates of chocolate chip pancakes in front of him.

“Uh m-morning Rick.”

Rick looked up from his pancakes.

“Morning M-Morty.”

 Rick went back to scarfing down the pancakes in front of him. Morty’s stomach growled, so he took his seat and tore away at his plate.

“Christ Morty, take it easy. W-We aren’t in a rush.”

Morty slowed down his pace and swallowed the mouthful of pancakes in his mouth.

“S-Sorry Rick, where are we going anyway?”

 Rick drank from his flask.

“Where do you wanna go?”

Morty looked at Rick for any sign of joking, but found none.

“Uh h-how about Blipz N’ Chits?”

Rick rolled his eyes.

“I asked where you wanna go, not where you think I’d be okay with.”

 Rick cleaned both their plates.

“I-I know. I w-wanna go though. It would be fun, don’t you think?”

Rick shrugged and smiled at Morty.

“Alright, b-but if you wanna leave, just let me know.”

 The two walked to the ship as Rick threw Morty the keys. Morty mentally cheered to himself, he loved driving the ship.

They arrived and found it to be rather empty inside, aside from the occasional game hog here and there. Morty played all of his favorite games, but had an awful feeling of paranoia. He remembered the last time they went to the arcade and how his dad had ruined it. Anger began to take control of Morty, but he instantly relaxed as he felt a hand land softly on his shoulder.

“You doing okay?”

 Morty turned to be faced with Rick and gave an awkward smile.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine.

” It was obvious Rick didn’t believe him, but he didn’t push. The two decided to go out for ice cream and a movie before heading home. When they returned, the house was empty. Morty called S-108, but he said he and his Rick would not be back until morning. Rick and Morty went to the living room to watch tv and both flopped onto the soft couch. Morty was exhausted, but wanted to spend more time with Rick before their night ended. He got comfortable and watched as the man with ants in his eyes accidentally set his own things on fire, Morty’s own eyes growing heavy. Before he could make sense of what was happening, a pair of hands was around Morty’s throat. He kicked and screamed, but nobody was around to hear him. The teen kicked the attacker in their face and rolled over to be met with Rick, eyes glowing an electric blue. Rick lunged at Morty, but missed and fell onto the couch. Morty got up to run, but was tackled to the floor. He kicked and screamed and began to cry as the Rick pinned him down.

“L-Let me go! I-I don’t know w-what I did, but please!”

Morty pleaded to be released as he cried harder.

“Morty!”

Rick screamed at him, the voice sounding too faint for someone so close.

“Morty, it’s me, W-Wake up Morty!”

Morty looked up to his Rick on top of him, concern in his eyes.

“Shit Morty, what the fuck happened?”

 Without bothering to answer, Morty latched himself to Rick’s chest. Rick sighed and rubbed Morty’s head to comfort him.

“We’ll fix this Morty. I-I promise. L-Let’s just get you upstairs, you don’t have to sleep but you should at least lay down.”

 Too tired to argue, Morty allowed Rick to carry him upstairs. Rick removed Morty’s shoes and shirt, understanding the teen was too worn out to do it on his own, before removing his own shirt and coat. Rick laid down, allowing Morty to place his head on Rick’s chest.

“M-Maybe this will help l-like you said Morty, maybe i-it will stop the nightmares for a bit.”

Morty curled into Rick, causing him to blush. The brunette looked up at Rick, curiosity coursing through his veins again. His hands twitched at the thought of holding Rick’s face down to his own.

“Y-You know if you’re planning to kiss me again Morty I-I’d advise you to just stay where you are.”

Morty’s chest burned with embarrassment before Rick spoke up.

“I-I can just come to you.”

 Rick grabbed Morty’s hand into his own and bent his head down, placing his lips against the brunette’s. Morty’s stomach fluttered as his face deepened with red. This was exactly what he wanted, though he never knew it till now.

Chapter Text

Morty spent the day watching TV with Summer S-108. He answered all her questions about his and Rick’s dimension and provided pictures of her alternate self. The two enjoyed each other’s company, this Summer being slightly more social than Morty’s Summer at home. She revealed that she was all too aware of Rick and Morty S-108s’ relationship.

“H-How did you find out?”

“They weren’t really trying too hard to hide it, honestly. I picked it up in bits and pieces.”

Morty leaned onto his front legs with interest. Summer enjoyed the attention and shared her story with him.

“At first, I just thought Morty clung to Rick because Beth and Jerry didn’t give him much attention, but Rick didn’t in the beginning either so I don’t really know how they got so close.”

 Morty thought back to when he and his own Rick developed their relationship.

“W-Well, my Rick sort of creeped his way in I guess. One day, I-I only had my parents and sister, a-and all of a sudden, Rick showed up. For someone reason I, I-I don’t know, it was like I’ve know him for years. We just kinda clicked, y-you know?”

 Summer smiled.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. They clicked right away too, maybe it’s just love at first sight or something. Assuming love doesn’t care about incest, or age, or personal hygiene.”

Summer gasped and held her hand to her mouth.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sooo sorry. I totally just offended your relationship right in front of you.”

Morty shook his head nervously.

“N-No, don’t worry about it. My Rick and I aren’t a couple. W-We just go on adventures together. He’s-He’s my best friend.”

 Playfully rolling her eyes, Summer continued with her story.

“Well anyway, I started noticing how they were spending nights in each other’s rooms, but I just assumed they were up doing science stuff all night.”

 Morty felt his face redden, remembering Rick spending the night in his room.

“So one day I had to use Morty’s phone to call grandpa Rick and he answered like ‘Hey baby, miss me already?’ and I gagged SO hard.”

Summer mocked Rick’s voice, trying to make it sound goofy and seductive. Morty laughed and encouraged her to continue.

“I tried to pretend like it never happened, but then the next day I walked into the living room and literally caught them swapping spit on the couch, right where you’re sitting.”

 Morty looked down at his seat and slightly moved over.

“They tried to wipe my memory, but I was so not gonna let that happen. So I wiped theirs while they were sleeping.”

 Summer noticed the terror on Morty’s face and laughed.

“Relax, I just made sure they forgot that I walked in so they could start looking me in the face again. Now I just kinda keep a lookout for when mom or dad get home and make sure they don’t get caught by someone that’ll try to break them up. I’m the coolest, honestly. I’d tell them they owe me, but they don’t know they owe me. So it’s whatever. Guess that’s my ticket to heaven or something.”

 Morty asked Summer how she was so cool with finding out her brother and grandfather were a couple.

“I mean, duh I was grossed out because like, old people. Ew. But I mean, not only has Rick not really given us a ‘grandfather impression’, but like, when you look at the universe from a Rick perspective, you realize how little social standards matter. We’re all going to die one day and when we do, all we’re going to have left is whatever happiness we made for ourselves. So in the end, who cares? Morty is finally happy, Rick isn’t a depressed asshole anymore, and mom and dad have no idea. Nobody makes a big deal so nobody gets hurt in the end.”

 Summer gazed out the window, deep in thought. Morty admired how insightful she was and wondered if his Summer back at home was the same but just didn’t share these kinds of things with him.

“D-Do you talk to your Morty the way you’re talking to me now?”

“Nah, even though you’re technically my little brother, I see you more as a friend. Plus, it’s easier to keep things to yourself. It feels nice letting all this out though. Thanks, Morty.” Summer shared an appreciative smile and Morty returned the favor.

“Y-Yeah no problem. I wish my Summer at home could talk to me like this. I-I know she has a lot going on in her mind too. A-And I mean, I get it. Things are shitty and you don’t want to tell anyone, but she’s my sister a-and I wanna be there for her.”

Summer rested a hand on his knee.

“So talk to her. If my Morty came in right now and asked to talk, I’d listen. You guys are so similar, so I guess that means me and your Summer are similar too. She might appreciate it, or she’ll yell in your face and tell you to drink piss. But who cares, at least you tried right?”

 Morty nodded and thanked Summer for the advice. She looked back to her phone and began texting her friends, probably gossiping about whatever is going on in this dimension’s high school circle. Morty unlocked his phone and frowned. It was nearly dinner time and Morty had not seen or heard from Rick all day. He tried to distract himself with TV, but couldn’t stop wondering where Rick had gone off to. The front door opened and two silhouettes stumbled in. Summer whispered to Morty that he was going to enjoy this, followed by a wink. Beth and Jerry stumbled into the living room, more drunk than Morty had ever seen in his dimension.

“Heeey *hic* kids. We thought you would be *hic* asleep by now.”

 Beth attempted to use her sober voice, but the slurring and hiccups gave her away. 

“It’s seven O’clock, mom.”

 Summer replied, not looking up from her phone.

“Oh,” Beth looked at an imaginary watch on her wrist,

“so it is. Have *hic* you guys eaten yet?”

 Morty and Summer shook their heads.

“Wellll I for *hic* one am starving. L-Let’s *hic* go grab something to eat. As *hic* as a family. S-Sound good y-you *hic* guys?”

Summer opened her mouth to decline, but Morty’s stomach growled, causing her to second guess herself.

“Sure, whatever. I’ll drive, just clean up the vomit on dad’s shirt before we go?”

Beth looked at Jerry’s shirt, who then sniffed the green stain to clarify to himself that it was, indeed, vomit. The two stumbled upstairs as Summer and Morty put their shoes on. Summer headed to the garage and returned with what looked like a dart gun. Morty made no comment, not sure what to make of the situation. Beth and Jerry all but fell down the stairs, all clean (though hair still disheveled). Summer, barely looking up, aimed and shot a dart into both their arms. The drunk adults fell to the floor, asleep.

“W-What the hell Summer? What was that?”

Morty panicked and stared at the messy lump now on the living room carpet.

“Relax, it’s to sober them up on the way to the diner. Just help me get them in the car.”

Morty nodded approvingly and took hold of Jerry’s legs, allowing Summer to carry the now completely limp Beth into the car. Summer and Morty sang songs together that came onto the radio and made fun of some of the most popular ones.

“How do people even call this music? It’s literal garbage.”

Morty laughed.

“I know, right? I-I could put a fork in the washing machine, add in some auto tune a-and probably make it on Top Ten.”

 Summer howled in laughter, waking up Beth and Jerry. They were soberer now, but would be much better once they got food into their stomachs. Summer pulled into a Shoney’s parking lot and helped her parents out of the car. The four were seated and ordered their drinks. Summer ordered coffee and waters for the adults and treated Morty to a milkshake.

“So Morty,” Beth began, “how was school today?”

 Morty froze, not knowing how to respond. Summer placed a hand on his shoulder and answered for him.

“Actually mom, this is Morty C-137. Him and his Rick have been staying with us the last couple days.”

 Beth took a moment to process the new information, but then smiled at Morty.

“Ohh, well it’s very nice to meet you Morty C-137.”

Morty smiled at her when Jerry spoke out.

“W-What’s wrong with your universe? Why do you and your Rick need to stay with us?”

“Jerry!”

 Beth snapped at her husband.

“It’s called a dimension dad, and Morty needed a break from home. His parents are getting a divorce. You know, because that’s what you do in a failing marriage. You get. Divorced.”

 Beth’s face turned pink as she picked up the ‘Adult Beverage’ menu. Jerry folded his arms.

“But what does his Rick have to do with it? I mean, come on. Do we really need TWO Ricks? Isn’t one enough?”

 Morty grew uncomfortable, pulling out his phone again to check on his messages. Nothing.

“His Rick came with him, dad, because he didn’t want Morty to be alone. When you care about someone, you look out for them. You don’t just ignore people when things go to shit.”

 Summer huffed and looked over her menu, avoiding eye contact with her father. Jerry stirred the straw in his drink before daring to speak up once more.

“Well if he cares so much, where is your Rick now then?”

Summer slammed her fists on the table and grabbed Morty by the arm, pulling him out of the booth.

“That’s it, we’re leaving. Find your own way home.”

The two stormed out, against Jerry’s protests. When they got in the car, Summer hesitated before pulling out of the parking lot.

“Jeez Summer, a-are we really going to leave them here?”

 Summer waved her hand and winked at Morty.

“Don’t worry, they’ll find their way back. They always do, sadly.”

They were quiet for a bit, letting the radio play its terrible songs. Summer pulled into an ice cream parlor.

“I’m sorry about dinner, I didn’t think about how it would’ve affected you to be out with your alternate parents with what’s going on in your dimension. Let me make it up to you.”

Morty assured Summer she didn’t have to, but she insisted. The two found a cozy booth in the back and talked as they enjoyed a large banana split together. Morty couldn’t help but to check his phone again. It was already almost nine O’clock at night.

“So, where did your Rick go anyway?”

 Summer asked, trying to be mindful of her wording.

“Honestly? I-I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him or seen him all day. I… I really hope he didn’t abandon me here.”

Summer offered a sympathetic hand.

“I don’t think he abandoned you, Morty. He’s probably just out doing Rick things.”

Morty agreed, it did make a lot of sense. It wasn’t unusual for Rick to disappear, but Morty thought Rick would at least tell him before leaving him alone. After their ice cream, the two teens made their way home in silence. Summer wrote down her phone number on a napkin and handed it to the brunette.

“I’m going out with some friends tonight, but call me if you need anything. I’ll be right over.”

 Thanking her, Morty made his way up to S-108’s room and got into bed. He checked his phone one last time, but still nothing.

To Rick:

Rick? Where are you?

To Rick:

Everyone’s gone and I really don’t want to be alone… when will you be back?

To Rick:

I thought you said you’d stay with me?

To Rick:

Sorry for blowing up your phone… I’m just worried and freaking myself out

To Rick:

Good night Rick…

The teen curled into Rick’s spot on the bed and sobbed. He dreaded the idea of having nightmares, especially knowing there was nobody home to help wake him up. Hours passed before Morty grew tired from crying. The teen knew if he let his eyes close, he’d fall into another nightmare, but he was too tired to care. Morty’s face was sore and wet from all the tears, but he still felt comfortable enough to close his eyes and relax. The bedroom door opened, worrying Morty. Every nightmare started this way and he didn’t know why. Rick walked through the door and stood over Morty, who was pretending to be asleep. He heard a sigh and a slight chuckle as Rick put his flask on the table and crawled into the bed. Morty was frozen in fear, knowing this was the end and hoping that if he died in his dreams, he would still be alive in real life. Rick went to place his hand on Morty’s face, but the teen flinched, causing Rick to retreat quickly. He almost seemed… hurt? Rick made himself comfortable and leaned close to Morty’s ear.

“I’m sorry f-for being gone so long today.”

Morty was still too scared to move, but started to relax. He wasn’t sure if this was a new dream or not. Rick rested his hand on Morty’s side and hesitantly kissed the brunette’s head.

“I-I’m a jerk, a-and that’s probably why I’m the bad guy in your nightmares, but… d-don’t let these dreams get to you Morty. You’re gonna be just fine.”

The teen allowed himself to loosen up, giving Rick room to move in closer.

“Goodnight Rick. A-And… thank you for coming back.”

 Morty closed his eyes and let the feeling of relaxation take hold.

“Always will, you little peanut.”

 Rick chuckled to himself and soon allowed relaxation to take over as well. The two slept throughout the night, dreaming of nothing but each other.

Chapter Text

Rick and Morty sat in the living room, watching random shows on the tv. Morty was playing with his thumbs, anxious to know where Rick had been randomly disappearing to every few days. As much as he tried to glue himself to Rick’s side, somehow the older man always found a way to slip out of sight undetected. Rick eyed the antsy teen from the corner of his eye.

“Jesus Christ Morty, what’s got you so fidgety? It’s distracting.”

Morty’s face grew red. He took a deep breath and looked at Rick.

“Rick? W-Where do you go when you leave? I-I know it’s none of my business but i-it feels weird being left alone here.”

Rick sipped from his flask and laughed.

“THAT’S what has you so anxious? I didn’t know you cared enough to miss me the second I’m not under your radar.”

Morty’s eyes widened.

“W-What? N-No no, t-that’s not what I meant! I-I-“

“Relax M-Morty, I’m just messing with you. I-I’ve been going back to our dimension to check on how things are going. And a-also to keep your mom from thinking I abandoned her.”

“W-Well… didn’t you? Technically?”

Rick looked away from Morty, focusing on a smudge on the wall.

“Well yeah, but I-I don’t want her to think that.” Morty pushed.

“Why did you? I-I mean, you haven’t really gotten a-any benefit from it.”

 Rick examined Morty before quickly focusing back on the smudge.

“You seem happy here. T-That’s my benefit.”

 Rick’s cheeks glowed a faint pink, but vibrant enough for Morty to notice.

“Rick? C-Can I talk to you about something?” Rick clicked off the tv and turned to listen to the teen. Morty grew anxious at the amount of attention Rick decided to give him.

“I-I was just thinking, you know, w-what if-“

 Rick S-108 burst in the room.

“W-We got a problem.”

S-108 pulled out his phone and showed the two a message from the Citadel.

“Uprising of Rickless-Mortys has come to prove danger amongst the Citadel?” Morty stared at the message in confusion as Rick shouted out.

“HA! I told those narcissistic fuUUcks their Citadel was shit. Terrible fucking system.”

 Rick S-108 rolled his eyes.

“I’m one to love bragging but w-we gotta do something about this.”

Rick snickered.

“Not my problem.”

Rick S-108 pulled up a live feed of the Citadel. There were multiple Mortys either being cuffed by Ricks or shooting anyone that tried to get near them. A dirty looking Summer in a blue top stood in the center of them. She wore what looked like the carcass of a monster as a headdress. Rick sighed as Morty slowly started to understand the situation.

“I-Is that…”

 Rick confirmed and followed S-108 into the garage. Morty S-108 sat on the counter talking to Summer.

“What the Hell is going on?”

 Summer questioned. Rick S-108 explained what happened in C-137 and how the Summer from that dimension convinced all Rickless-Mortys to rise against the “careless ricks”. Summer was shocked to hear about what happened to the C-137 dimension and looked over at Morty.

“If you want, you can stay here while the Ricks take care of it. You don’t need to go with them.”

Morty shook his head.

“I-I have to go. It’s my fault for leaving her there.”

 Rick shook his head and put his hand on Morty’s shoulder.

“Don’t blame yourself Morty. There was nothing we could have done besides staying there and turning into cavemen like the rest of them. I wasn’t going to let that happen to us.”

Morty’s eyes began to water, thinking about everything that happened that night he lost his dimension. Rick pulled Morty into a hug, reminding him what would have happened if they tried fixing things in their dimension just like the dead Rick and Morty they replaced did. S-108 opened a portal after ordering his Morty and Summer to keep an eye on the house. Rick released Morty and looked him up and down before going through the portal.

“M-Morty, where’s your bracelet?”

Morty held up his wrist, almost forgetting he was wearing it.

“Good. I-If S-108 needs you, he’ll be able to tell which one you are. Stay close, okay?”

Morty nodded and followed Rick through the portal. When they entered the Citadel, they were greeted with complete chaos.

“Uh, R-Rick?”

Morty tugged on the older man’s arm.

“W-What exactly do we do?”

Rick thought for a moment before reaching in his pocket. He pulled out a bottle filled with a purple liquid, followed by two guns he kept strapped at his sides.

“Fill your gun with this and shoot any Summer you see. D-Don’t worry, it won’t kill them. They’ll just be knocked out for the next 24 hours.”

Morty did as he was told and followed Rick into the chaos. Rick attempted to constantly stay in front of Morty to prevent anything from hitting him, but the two were separated by a Succinylcholine bomb. Rick threw Morty as far from the bomb landing as he could as he bit down on a pill to prevent the effects. Each bomb only had enough chemical power to paralyze anyone within five feet of its landing, but a Rick could never be too careful. Morty crashed into a pile of rubble, causing his vision to blur for moment. Though it was barely a minute, it was long enough for Morty to lose Rick. The teen refused to allow himself to panic and continued running through the chaos, attempting to stop the other Mortys. The sooner they were put down, the sooner he could find his Rick. Mortys were dropping one by one all around him. He was caught off his guard by something striking him in the back of his legs. In agonizing pain, Morty turned to see Summer C-137 standing above him.

“Hey little brother.”

Chapter Text

Morty gulped, terrified by what his sister had become. She was far more gruesome looking than when he had last seen her. He attempted to run, but was grabbed by the arm. She had yanked him so hard that his wrist began to bleed. Morty kicked his former sister in the gut, causing her to release him. He started to run as Summer jumped at him once more, ripping off his bracelet. Morty continued running until he was sure of his safety. The teen pulled out his phone to ask Rick where he was, but it had been shattered. Morty stood alone in rubble, listening to the gunfire from a distance. He felt so useless not knowing what to do. He wanted to help, but he was too frightened by what had just happened. Morty thought about Rick and how mortified he would be if anything happened to him out there. The teen nodded to himself as he ripped off the bottom of his shirt, tying it tightly around his wrist to stop the blood flow. The teen pulled out his gun and walked back towards the chaos. Rick made his way through the crowd, taking down as many rebel Morty’s as he could. There were few left, but he didn’t care. His main goal right now was to find Morty. Rick cursed himself for losing his teammate in the chaos, wishing he had ran just a bit faster. As he ran through the rubble, Rick bumped into S-108. He looked at Rick with pity, handing him a blood covered bracelet.

“I-I found this with Summer C-137. She was taken down, but I-I thought you should have it.”

 Rick looked at the bracelet being placed into his palm. His eyes stung with the threat of tears. Rick denied this being his Morty’s, but knew by the writing that it had to be. Rick dropped to his knees, allowing the tears in his eyes to fall. S-108 knelt by his side.

“I’m sorry you-you never… y-you know.” S-108 gave Rick a pat as he walked off to join the others in the last remaining minutes of the fight. Rick sat by himself, drowning out the noise around him with the sound of his sobbing. A rebel Morty approached him from the front, raising a gun to his head. Rick didn’t move, not caring what happened. The Morty tightened his finger around the trigger and the sound of a shot rang in Rick’s ears. The rebel fell to the ground, a purple stain smeared on his forehead. Rick turned around to see his own Morty, gun in hand. The older man jumped to his feet, staring at the boy. Before Morty could open his mouth, Rick engulfed him in his arms.

“Jesus fu-ucking c-christ M-Morty, don’t fucking scare me like that again.”

Rick held on tight to the teen for a moment longer before releasing him and taking his face into his hands.

“Are you hurt? D-Did anything happen to you?”

 Morty shook his head.

“H-How did you know it was me? I-I don’t have my bracelet.”

 Morty eyed the bracelet in the man’s hand.

“I don’t need a-a stupid bracelet to pick you out in a crowd, M-Morty.”

Morty smiled as his eyes filled with tears, but Rick didn’t notice. His attention focused onto Morty’s wrist.

“Christ, w-we gotta get you out of here.”

“W-What about the others?”

Rick pulled out his portal gun.

“T-There’s barely any left Morty. They’re fine, I-I promise.”

The two went through an open portal, entering their garage.

“A-Are we home?”

 Rick nodded and helped lift Morty onto the workbench. His hands lingered on Morty’s sides for a few moments before moving to his wrist. Rick unwrapped the blood-soaked cloth to reveal a deep cut.

“Wow, you wrapped this up real good Morty. I-I’m almost proud.”

 Morty blushed. Rick reached into his cabinet to pull out a first aid kit. He rinsed the wound with a dark blue liquid causing Morty’s arm to feel numb. Rick stitched the cut closed and rewrapped it with proper bandages. He filled a shot glass with a smoky green liquid and offered it to Morty.

“Drink this. It’ll get rid of any possible infection you could have gotten while you were in there.”

Morty drank, surprised by the lack of taste. Rick helped Morty down from the work bench, allowing his hands to linger longer this time. The brunette looked up at him, eyes full of expectancy and curiosity. The older man leaned down, allowing his lips to brush against the teen in front him. His grip on Morty’s side tightened, pulling him closer into the kiss. Morty wrapped his arms around Rick’s neck, allowing himself to get lost in this rare moment. Their hearts raced as they finally let go of every fear that continuously held them back from allowing this moment to happen. A knock was heard on the garage door, causing the two to quickly pull apart. Summer walked in, followed by another Morty and Summer.

“Uh, hey… Grandpa Rick? Um, these guys wanted to see you.”

Rick nodded and Summer walked off, leaving the four to themselves.

“S-Sorry to barge in like this, I just wanted to make sure y-you got back safely.”

 Morty S-108 spoke. Summer S-108 offered a smile.

“A-All the rebel Mortys were taken down. Some of them w-were brought back home, but the ones that have no home w-were sent to a temporary housing department. After Summer C-137 was taken down, the rest of the Mortys just kinda gave up. T-They didn’t know what to do without any orders.”

 Rick nodded and Morty raised some concern.

“W-What about Summer?”

 Morty S-108 explained that her memory of the uprising had been wiped and she was being returned home after they are sure she is stable enough to be left alone. The few chatted for a bit before Rick opened a portal to bring the S-108s home. Rick and Morty tagged along to make sure they were safe. The four entered through the kitchen at the same time Rick S-108 walked out from the garage.

“Morty?”

Morty waved and Rick S-108 smiled to himself. He approached Morty and patted his shoulder, letting him know about what happened back at the Citadel. Morty was shocked to hear how heart broken his Rick was when he was convinced Morty had died.

“S-Sorry for the scare… I-I didn’t mean to worry anybody.”

Rick S-108 smiled and told him he was glad he got out safe. They said their goodbyes as Rick and Morty headed back home. Rick shut down Morty’s clone and returned it back to the basement. He went to the living room and turned on the tv, surfing through channels before deciding on the simplest thing. Morty sat next to Rick, anxious just by being so close to him. The teen yawned, exhausted from the day he managed to survive through. Rick looked over and chuckled, wrapping his arm around the brunette. Morty rested his head against Rick’s chest, content with the way things turned out.

“So what w-was that question you were gonna ask me?”

 Morty thought to himself for a moment.

“W-What if… I fell in love with you?”

 He could hear Rick’s heartbeat pick up through his chest.

“Well,”

Rick kissed the teen’s head,

“I guess that would make two of us.”