Rickamarole

Written by Kat_Aclysm

Rated : - T for language. I've downrated this because it doesn't have mature themes in it.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, this is a work of fanfiction. Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim animated comedy. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon.

NOTE: Doesn't fit anywhere particularly in the canon. Just another adventure with some fluff.

Chapter 1 – Science, Bitch!

It was supposed to be just another quick adventure – get in, get out. Just another weapons drop-off to some dumb little rogue planet within the Gimbaloid-9 Nebula and back again - simple. The instructions had reached him via a heavily encrypted channel on his spaceship console about nine hours ago. Rick had been out collecting more soldering wire and electrical components for the devices he was working on, and he was only too happy to put his current project aside for the paid work.

Rick had been so busy working on the specialist weapons order that he had completely forgotten about dinner. If he had bothered going, he would have noted that Morty wasn't present either – the kid had gone to bed shortly after he had gotten home from school.

It wasn't that Rick wasn't a particularly inattentive person, just incredibly busy. Getting paid thousands of Schmeckles was a huge motivator as well. If he had known the situation prior to flying out, he would have changed his strategy entirely.

It was after midnight when the weapon was finally finished. Rick celebrated this fact with several mouthfuls of scotch from the silver flask he kept in his lab-coat pocket.

He tucked the flask away again and added the finishing touches to the inside of the device. Once the handle and trigger had been connected into position, he aimed the weapon at a garbage can in the corner of in the garage. With a loud burp he squeeze the trigger and fired – the garbage can completely disintegrated with no noise and no trace whatsoever.

Rick grinned from ear to ear, feeling quite pleased with himself. "Woo-hoo, make it rain, baby! Th-this thing's gonn-UUURP make me some bank, yo!" He put his hands in the air and cheered to nobody in particular. After another moment he had disarmed the weapon and placed it into a foam-lined storage case that was waiting nearby. Once he had locked it up properly, he headed towards Morty's bedroom. The kid always seemed to like running errands with him, and the brain-wavelength shielding provided Rick with the perfect excuse to spend time with his grandson.

The hallway was dark as it was the middle of the night, which was to be expected. When Rick reached Morty's bedroom, he gently opened the door and peered inside – Morty was dead to the world and curled up under a few layers of blankets. Rick stared at him and felt a momentarily pang of regret for having to wake the kid up.

"No time for your sentimental bullshit, old man." Rick thought to himself as he placed a hand on the light switch by the door. "Gotta get this shit done."

"H-he-hey, Mo-OURGH-ty," He burped and momentarily fanned the air - that one reeked strongly of scotch. "M-Morty, you got to get up. You gotta come with me."

"Mmm-mmmmph..." Morty groaned in protest, not wanting to be woken from his state of deep sleep. "G-guh... go away..."

Rick sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Morty's shoulder. "H-hey don't be like that, M-Morty. Come on buddy, wake up." He began to shake him gently. Morty felt warm to the touch, but Rick didn't seem to notice. "We... w-we gotta go on another adventure, M-morty."

"Ffff. Go away..." Morty groaned again and rolled over, his back facing Rick now.

Rick had lost his patience by now. He stood up, grabbed Morty by the leg, and began dragging him toward the doorway. Morty almost lifelessly slid along the bed, though was finally woken up with an abrupt start when his head hit the floor.

"OW, ow oww!" Morty cried out, his hands scrambling to grab at anything to stop himself from being dragged further. "Rick!? Wh-wh-what are you doing!? You're tugging too hard... that hurts! Stop it! Rick!?"

Rick dragged him out into the hallway, then shut the door behind them. He let go of the kid's leg and crouched down next to him in the hallway.

"Morty," He said plainly, "K-keeURP your voice down." He reached into his coat pocket and grabbed his silver flask, taking another quick chug from it. "Look – I need you to come with - I wouldn't be waking you up if it wasn't impor-UGH-tant, right? I just have a quick dropoff to make. Then we can go get some ice-cream afterwards, whatever you want. W-what do you say, buddy?"

"W-what do I say?" Morty sat up, He was bleary-eyed and tired as he glared hard at his grandfather. "Geez, Rick, what can I say? How about running it yourself and letting me go back to bed, huh? It's like, what, four in the morning? I got school in the morning, y-y-y'know. I need sleep."

"We haven't got time for that!" Rick hissed back at him. "Come on, Morty, it'll be fine." He emphasised the last part as he narrowed his eyes.

"Aww come on, Rick," Morty glanced off to the side a he began to shiver in the coldness of the hallway. He was already missing the warmth of his blankets. "I don't feel so good. Can't I j-just go back to bed?"

Rick rolled his eyes and made a loud harumphing sound. The kid was likely telling the truth, but he was incredibly dismissive of it. His tone was gruff and annoyed now. "Don't be a baby, M-Morty. Suck it up. We'll be fine! Ju-ju-justURP get this done, and you can go back to bed. Simple."

Morty lowered his head, defeated. "O-oh alright, Rick... geez. Y-you win again."

"That's the spirit." Rick momentarily ruffled Morty's hair and got to his feet. "C-come on Morty, it'll be good. You'll see. Now, c'mon. Get dressed and meet me in the garage." He walked off down the hallway, smirking to himself that he had his own way yet again.

Morty got to his feet and headed into the bedroom to get dressed. He had a sinking feeling about the situation, and he was upset with himself about how easily persuaded he was. He was tired, he didn't feel well, and he was cold. But he was willing to do whatver Rick said.

He hastily pulled on some pants and a t-shirt before he combed his hair. He considered going back to bed - his stomach hurt and he was really tired, but if he went back to bed now, Rick wouldn't like that at all. He put his shoes on and walked out to the garage.

Rick was already busy loading the ship up with supplies when Morty arrived – several guns and some gadgets were being tossed into the trunk as backup incase the situation went downhill. Morty climbed into the passenger's seat and did up his seatbelt. Rick slammed the trunk shut and climbed into the driver's seat, flying the ship out into the horizon.

Morty said nothing and hugged his stomach, lowering his head as he did so. Rick glanced at this movement, but said nothing and continued driving. He had already pushed the kid into coming on the adventure in the first place, he wasn't ready to upset the kid so soon.

Rick reached into his coat pocket and took a quick sip from his flask. "C-cheer up lil' buddy," He burped loudly. "This won't take long. Th-this'll be aaaaalll over before you know it." He offered Morty a cheesy grin.

Morty did not look at him or respond as he closed his eyes, resting his head against the side of his seat.

All he wanted to do was go back to bed.

To Be Continued...