Prompt by FluffyCat.
"Rick, you need to be nicer to my dad!" Morty exclaimed, following Rick into the garage.
"Actually, I don't," Rick replied cooly, not even looking back. He sat down at his desk, tinkering with his latest invention.
"It's his house!" Morty shouted.
"So?" Rick asked.
"It wouldn't kill you to have a bit of respect," Morty replied.
Rick sighed and laid down his invention. He still didn't look at his grandson. "Look, I don't want your stupid advice. Nobody wants you here anyways, so why don't you just go back to Jerry?"
Morty sucked in a breath. If Rick would have turned around, he would have seen the pain warp Morty's face. But he didn't, so Morty quietly let himself out while trying not to cry. His heart was clenching in his chest from pain.
He made his way up to his room. Nobody here cared about him. He thought Rick did, but apparently not. He was done with his family. They didn't need him, so he wasn't going to need them anymore.
He slammed the door to his room, not caring if anyone heard. A few tears slipped down his face, but he wiped them away with his sleeve. Now was the time to be strong. He grabbed his backpack and emptied it of all his schoolwork. Moving to his dresser, he packed a couple of sets of clothes and his deodorant.
Next, he moved to the bathroom. He didn't stay long. All he needed to do was grab his toothbrush and his toothpaste. He slipped them into his backpack and left.
Nobody stopped him as he walked out the door. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't particularly care. Any place was better than a home where he was unwanted.
He hit the street and headed for the nearest bus stop. He had his wallet in his pocket and enough money to buy himself a one-way ticket out of here.
Why are you such a grumpy douche, Rick wondered. He couldn't focus on the project in his hands. His mind was consumed by what he had said to Morty.
The boy must have been pretty pissed to have just stormed off without a word. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had been way too harsh, and now he was going to have to apologize.
It wasn't enough to simply apologize though. He wanted to make the boy happy again. Perhaps pizza and a movie would do. Rick smiled to himself as he thought about how surprised Morty would be.
Leaving his project on the table, he headed for the kitchen. He ignored Beth and Jerry as he headed for the freezer. He pulled out a frozen pepperoni and sausage pizza, Morty's favorite. Man, Morty was going to be thrilled when he saw what he had planned.
"What's that for?" Beth asked, looking up from her phone.
"Morty and I," Rick replied. "We had a bit of an argument, so I'm going to make it up to him with pizza and a movie."
"That's great, Dad," Beth responded. "Morty'll love that."
"I hope so," Rick said. "He was pretty pissed."
Jerry mumbled something under his breath, but remembering what Morty said, Rick decided to ignore it. He set the oven to preheat and decided to go tell Morty about his plans. He headed up to Morty's room. He was pretty sure he had heard the door slam. Which is why he was surprised to find it open.
"Morty?" he called out, pushing the door open further.
A pile of books and papers were sitting in the middle of his floor, but strangely, the boy's backpack was gone. It didn't take Rick long to connect the dots. Morty had been so upset that he'd ran away.
"Shit," Rick murmured, running back to the kitchen. Beth and Jerry were still there. "Did Morty leave?" he asked, trying not to let the fear show in his voice.
"I think I heard the front door open," Jerry mused, not looking up from his tablet.
Rick suppressed a scream at Morty's idiot parents. Luckily, Morty's phone had a tracker in it, so it wouldn't take long to hunt him down.
"Nobody wants you here."
The words echoed around in Morty's head as he walked, head down. Tears stained his cheeks, but he didn't care. Soon, he would finally be free.
It had occurred to Morty that he was probably going to be on his own for the rest of his life, but that was okay. Nobody had ever cared about him before, and he didn't expect anyone to start.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he paused to look at it. Rick was calling him, probably so he could use his brainwaves for another stupid adventure. He hit ignore, and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.
While he was distracted, rough hands suddenly grabbed him and pushed him into the alley. He tried to scream, but there was a hand over his mouth. He struck out with his arms, hitting one of his attackers in the ribs.
"Stupid kid!" the man exclaimed. He roughly grabbed Morty's shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Morty felt a wetness pool under his nose, and he could smell the blood. "Get everything he has," the stranger ordered.
One man ripped his backpack away, while another roughly searched through his pockets, stealing his phone and his wallet.
"Go," the first man ordered. "I'll catch up."
The man's shoe hit his eye. Morty cried out in pain. Next, it hit his stomach, and the wind was knocked out of him. Lastly, it his his back. Morty groaned, tears freely running down his face.
As the stranger ran off, Morty curled up into a ball and started to sob.
Rick grit his teeth in frustration. Of course the boy couldn't just answer his phone. At least he still had the tracking signal. He raced his ship towards Morty. It looked like he had turned down an alley, and Rick knew how dangerous those could be.
Suddenly, the signal went out. Rick felt his stomach clench in panic. Had Morty turned off his phone? The kid really didn't want to be found. Rick's heart was heavy with guilt. He hadn't realized what he said would affect the boy so bad. In that moment, he never hated himself more.
Finally, he arrived at the alley where Morty's signal had been cut off. He jumped out of the ship in a hurry. "Morty!" he shouted.
He was answered by a groan, and his eyes fell upon the huddled form of his grandson. "Shit, Morty!" he exclaimed, rushing over to him. Blood stained his face, and the kid had a black eye. "What happened?"
"Got mugged," Morty mumbled.
Rick gently cradled his grandson and sat him in the passenger's seat. He used a water bottle to wet his lab coat, then used it like a towel to clean the blood off Morty's face. Once he was done, he crumpled it up and threw it into the back. "Let's get you home, okay buddy?"
Morty didn't answer as Rick climbed into the driver's seat and took to the skies. The kid didn't say anything the whole ride home, and Rick grew more and more worried. His silence was troubling, especially since the boy loved to talk. Rick was starting to get the feeling that Morty wasn't pissed by what he had said. He was devastated.
Rick pulled into the garage and hopped out. When it became clear that Morty wasn't going to move on his own, Rick picked him up again and carried him into the house. Beth, Jerry, and Summer had gone out, leaving the two of them home alone.
The boy began to shiver in Rick's arms, causing Rick to worry even more. He set Morty down on the couch, picked up a blanket, and wrapped Morty up. It was then that Morty started to cry.
Rick pulled him into a hug, letting Morty cry into his shirt. "Shh, you're safe now," he said soothingly.
"But nobody wants me here," Morty said softly, echoing Rick's words from earlier.
"That's not true," Rick argued. "Your family and I love you very much. We need you, Morty."
Morty sighed and leaned back into the couch. "Let's get you warmed up," he suggested.
He went into the kitchen and retrieved a bowl of Beth's soup. After warming it up in the microwave, he took it back to Morty. When Morty made no move to take it, Rick took it upon himself to take the spoon and start feeding him.
Morty grew more and more relaxed as Rick continued to feed him. "I'm sorry about what I said," Rick told him. "You're not unwanted, Morty. I love you."
His grandson smiled and leaned into him. Rick put an arm around him, smiling to himself. "Thank you for coming to get me," Morty said.
"You're welcome, buddy," Rick replied. "Would you like to watch a movie?"
Morty nodded, and Rick handed him the remote. They spent the rest of the evening like that, pressed up against each other. Rick vowed to be more careful what he said to Morty when he was drunk and grumpy. The kid was tough, but only so tough. Everybody needed to feel loved, and Morty was no exception.