Prompt by FluffyCat.
It was just Rick and Morty sitting on the couch late at night, scrolling through interdimensional cable. Rick was flipping through channels aimlessly while Morty leaned up against the arm of the couch, dozing off. "Don't fall asleep on me now," Rick said, reaching over to shake Morty's shoulder. "I've found something that'll really wake you up."
Morty yawned. "What's that?" he asked.
"Another dimension's version of Alien. I've seen it before, it's got a lot more gore," Rick answered.
"Ah geez, Rick, do we have to watch something so violent?" Morty asked.
"Are you scared?" Rick teased. "What are you, five? Just watch the damn movie."
Morty sighed and resigned himself to an hour and a half of blood. He flinched when the first thing that happened was a big, gross, fifty-two teeth jump scare. Rick laughed hysterically. "Come on, Morty, lighten up," he said, giving Morty's shoulder a gentle shove. Morty sighed. He could tell it was not going to be an enjoyable night.
A half hour later, and Morty had already seen more blood than he had wanted to in his entire life. He say curled in on himself with one arm clutching his knees and biting the nails of the other hand. Rick glanced over and grabbed his wrist. "Stop biting your nails, it looks dumb," he complained. Morty huffed and went back to hugging himself.
A woman on screen was being tortured and bloodily mutilated. Morty could feel tears pricking at his eyes, but he wiped them away really quick. He couldn't let Rick see. He was tired of the teasing. Now was his chance to prove himself.
Rick looked over with a smile. "What do you think of that, Morty?" he asked.
Morty gave a nervous laugh. "Pretty- uh- pretty cool, Rick," he replied.
"Pshh," Rick said. "You're paler than a ghost. Wait a minute, you're not scared, are you?" Rick grinned.
"No!" Morty replied indignantly. "There's just... bad lighting in here."
Rick snickered. "Yeah, bad lighting my ass," he said. "You're scared."
"Am not!" Morty exclaimed.
"Then prove it," Rick taunted.
Morty grit his teeth and turned back to the TV. All that was left of the woman was a pile of organs, which the aliens were shoving into their mouths. She had been ripped clean to the bone. A bit of bile rose in Morty's mouth, but he swallowed it down.
The scenes changed, each more gruesome than the last. Finally, all the main characters were dead, and the aliens had taken over the planet. Morty felt frozen to his seat in fear. His hands were trembling, and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. "Come on, scaredy cat," Rick joked. "Let's get you to bed before your mom yells at me."
Morty nodded mutely, not trusting his own voice. He started walking towards his room when Rick stopped him. "Morty?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. "You gonna be alright?"
"I'm fine," Morty huffed in annoyance and stormed off to his bedroom. Once the door was closed, he leapt into his bed, buried his face in the pillow, and cried. He and Rick saw aliens on a daily basis. He couldn't just dismiss the movie as fiction when he knew how real aliens were. And he couldn't stop seeing his own body, mutilated and stripped just like the woman's had been.
He didn't know how long he lay like that, crying into his pillow, trying to keep silent but failing, until there was a gentle knock on his door. "Go away," Morty sobbed.
Whoever it was didn't listen, because the door opened, and the weight of another body pressed down on the bed. A hand started rubbing his back, and Morty turned to see who it belonged to. He was surprised to find Rick sitting on the edge of his bed. "What are you doing here?" Morty demanded.
Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I realize I was being an ass, teasing you for being scared like that and forcing you to watch a horrifically graphic movie," he said with sincerity. "I'm sorry."
Morty sniffled. "Can you just stay with me until I fall asleep?"
"Sure, buddy," he replied. He pulled the blankets up around Morty and gently stroked his hair. Under his breath, he began to lightly sing a melody.
"Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Hey Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better
And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah."
Rick stopped singing once he noticed the kid was asleep. He sighed to himself. What the hell had he been thinking, introducing and already anxious and traumatized kid to an X rated movie like that? He brushed the hair out of Morty's face, feeling a pang of guilt deep in his heart.
"I'm only saying this because I know you can't hear me," he whispered. "But you're such a brave kid, Morty. So brave. You don't have to prove that to me or anyone else. I won't subject you to that again. I love you, and I don't want to see you hurt."
He stood up to leave when he heard the kid shift. He froze, hoping he hadn't woken him up. "I love you too," Morty mumbled. Rick looked back at him. He had a smug grin on his face. If this was his revenge- catching his old grandpa being sentimental- then Rick deserved it. "Asshole," he murmured. Morty giggled. "Go to sleep," Rick said.
"Goodnight, Rick."
"Goodnight, Morty."