It was 11pm. By this time everyone was in bed and fast asleep… besides Rick.

Rick was in the garage as usual, sitting at his desk and working on some sort of gun. 2 hours had gone past and Rick's head was feeling heavy. He placed his project out of his way to the side for later progress and reached into his jacket, grabbing out his usual flask and taking a swig. Rick's eyes were sagging, and his hair was a mess. He'd just come back from a long 3 days out in the universe and hadn't gotten any sleep for the past few nights. It wasn't long before Rick passed out from the lack of sleep and his head hit the bench.

-Morning-

Morty rubbed his eyes and opened them, looking around the room and getting out of bed. Morty stretched and studently remembered that Rick had come back home last night, and he didn't have a chance to say the usual yelling of 'where have you been?!' But now it was more of a 'where have you been?' from the passing days Morty had relaxed about it and knew Rick would be back eventually. Morty went downstairs in his PJ's and to the garage, peeping in and seeing Rick sleeping on his bench with a face full of drool. The thing going through Morty's mind the most was…. Why did Rick leave Morty out of this adventure? It wasn't normal for Rick to leave Morty behind. But Morty knew there would've been a good reason… right?

Morty poked Rick and he sat right up, flicking his right arm at Morty and saying "Fuck off you lit-!" but he opened his eyes and stopped as soon as he saw Morty. "Oh, its j-*burp*just you" he said taking a sip of his flask right after. Morty folded his arms and looked disappointed. "What are you staring at M-m-m-morty?" Rick seemed to be drunk. Who am I kidding, Rick was always drunk. Morty rolled his eyes "y-you didn't take me with you" Rick raised the side of his eyebrow in a matter of 'huh?'. "d-don't act like you have no idea what I-I'm talking about!" Rick just ignored Morty after that and got back to his gun project from last night.

Morty was getting a bit mad and closed his fists. "R-rick!" Morty grabbed the gun and held it up in the air. Rick put his hands in front as if to catch the gun if Morty dropped it. "Be very c-*burp*careful with that Morty" Rick said while keeping his eyes on the gun. All Morty wanted to do was smash the gun so he was able to get Ricks full attention, not thinking about the consequences. "I-I want to know w-w-why you didn't take me on t-this adventure" Morty finally said. Rick didn't pay too much attention to what Morty said, he just wanted the gun back and for it not to be damaged. "P-please hand over the gun M-m-morty and I'll answer okay?" Morty started to calm down and handed over the gun as Rick took it and let out a sigh of relief as if the gun was really important.

Morty tapped his foot, waiting for an answer to his question. "s-so why d-didn't you take me on this adventure of y-yours?" Morty said, his voice cracking as Rick looked down at his lap with his flask in his hands and the gun back on the bench. "L-look M-m*burp*morty… Y-you just keep getting hurt. Your f-f-f-f-fragile Morty" Morty's expression changed from mad to a little shocked and upset as he held his hand that had been stabbed and strapped from their last adventure. "o-oh…." Morty said with a sigh feeling weak and unwanted. Rick was still looking down at his flask as he took a long sip and slammed it into the bench, trying to snap him out of his own little sappy mood. "I'm b-busy Morty. Go and have breakfast o-or something. Leave g-granpa be" Morty walked towards the door with his head down as it felt like his heart dropped into a black pit of nothingness and deep deep darkness nowhere to be found. Morty slowly opened the door all the way, Rick turned his head around and so did Morty. They both made eye contact, but Rick quickly looked away if something was on his mind. Morty could sense it, this wasn't Rick's usual mood. Something must have happened those past few days and Morty wanted to know what it was.

Morty had gotten dressed and finished breakfast, staring at his plate thinking about Rick and why he hadn't even bothered to go to the kitchen for breakfast. Morty thought it might be a good idea to bring some breakfast to Rick or at least a box of Simple Ricks that were kept in the cupboard. He got up from his seat, putting his plate in the sink and going through the cupboards. Morty kept his hands far from the eyeholes, remembering what happened when his father took one. So he grabbed a box of Ricks usual wafer cookies and walked into the garage. Rick herd the footsteps right away. "M-morty *burp* I asked you to leave me a-alone" He said in an irrorated voice, but Morty just ignored it, walking over and placing the box of wafers next to Rick and his project. "Y-you skipped breakfast" Rick stopped working on his project and turned to Morty "M-m-morty what don't you understand by l-leave me alone. I-I was going *burp* to be o-out soon anyway" Morty looked a little concerned. "Rick, you've been gone f-for a few days, can't you at least come and eat something? Just eat these" Morty pushes the wafers closer to Rick with a puppy face. Rick just rolled his eyes and ate one of the wafers "happy?" he spat. Morty just nodded. "Now leave me alone" Rick said looking back at his work. Morty let out a sigh, bowing his head. Morty knew something was up with Rick. Was he pushing Morty away or maybe this was just normal and Morty was making everything else up. "Y-you need a shower too, you s-smell" Morty finally said. Rick looked back at Morty "I-I-I-I don't tell you when you smell!" Rick said with an attitude. "J-just look at yourself, you're a mess" Morty protested. Rick gave up the fight pretty easy and thought a quick shower might be good. "f-fine *burp* Morty" Morty felt a little relived to hear that Rick was going to get out of the garage.

Rick walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and turning on the shower. He looked at himself in the mirror, looking at the sags under his eyes and his filthy hair. Rick let out a sigh as he got undressed and hopped into the shower, feeling the warm water run down his slim elderly body. As Rick washed himself off he noticed some blood on his chest, he froze for a moment. Rick's heart sped up and his eyes shrank into horror. He yelled out something but quickly put his hand over his mouth as tears ran down his cheeks.

Morty heard the yelling from his room and ran to the bathroom. He knocked on the door, wanting to know what the hell was going on and getting more worried by the second. "R-rick!" but there was no answer. Morty repeated. But still… no answer. Summer peeped out of her room "Can you keep it down?" Morty turned to Summer "Did you he-" but he stopped as soon as he saw that Summer had her earphones in, he just nodded and she went back into her room. Morty stared at the door for a moment. Morty heard the shower turn off. He knocked on the door softly "Rick…?" he murmured.

The door slowly opened and Morty came in, closing the door behind and Rick leaning over the mirror with a towel around his waist. "What do you w-*burp*want Morty?" Morty had small feelings for Rick and he couldn't lie about it, it just made him worry 10 times more and he knew he'd never be able to tell Rick. Right now wasn't the time for it, he needed to find out what's going on. Morty walked up to Rick and touched his hand. Rick's hand flinched and moved out of the way as his head turned to Morty. "R-rick.. what happened? I h-heard you yell" Rick wanted to think of something to say real fast and seem less suspicious. "Y-you know Morty I-I-I-I saw a t-t-t-thing, a-a-a-a pirate Morty, it was a pirate! Y-y-y-you know how I hate t-t-them Morty" He said trying to seem as drunk as possible. "Oh god Rick, you r-really need some water" Morty was really worried about Rick but there wasn't too much he could do to get information out of a drunk man. "J-just go to bed Rick" Morty said pulling Rick's arm and opening the door. "F-f-f-f-fine Morty *burp*" Rick said as Morty pulled Rick into his own room and onto the bed. "n-now sleep!" Rick looked a little confused, still with only a towel around his waist. "W-w-w-w-why 'your' r-r-room Morty?" Morty ignored what Rick had to say and he left the room, closing the door and leaning against it with a sigh of relief.

Rick laid down on the bed and looked up at the roof. He tapped his side and realised he didn't have his flask. Rick sighed and looked around Morty's room. He needed something to ease his emotional pain. Something happened when he was gone. Something bad.

Morty was leaning against the door in thought. Hoping Rick was okay and if he lied or not, Morty knew Rick didn't take his flask in the shower and it doesn't take a second to get THAT drunk… right? Maybe for Rick but he didn't completely understand what was going on or what had happened those past few nights. Rick was hiding something, he knew it. That man was always hiding things behind his back and Morty would do anything to find out.

-Chapter 2-

It was 9pm and Morty was thinking about going to bed. Morty hadn't noticed if Rick left the room or not but he didn't go to check because he didn't want to wake Rick from a deep sleep. He excused himself from the dinner table as his parents talked on and on about Rick and how Morty was missing out on school.

Morty knocked on his room door and slowly opened it. Rick was still sleeping surprisingly. Morty locked the door behind and walked up to Rick. Ricks drooling face somehow looked attractive. He noticed Rick was still just wearing the towel. So many thoughts started racing through Morty's head. But he knew he couldn't, he just couldn't. Why was he attracted to this mad man? Why did he look so… hot? Morty wondered to himself. Rick seemed to be in a really deep sleep and Morty chose to take off his shirt and shorts, the door was locked and if anyone chose to knock he'd be able to get dressed quickly and say he couldn't sleep because Rick stole his bed or something. Morty slowly got into bed and hesitated a little, putting his arms around Rick and pulling himself close. This moment felt magical. Morty was having the time of his life and all other thoughts left his mind.

Rick squirmed a little and mumbled something, rolling a bit and pushing Morty off the bed. "Ah!" Morty said as he fell off the bed and hit the hard-cold floor. Rick opened his eyes after hearing the thud. "w-what the fuck mo-…." Rick was looking down at Morty, staring at the kid with barely any clothes on. Morty was looking up at Rick, his heart going as fast as it could, Morty was nervous now and scared that Rick would mention this to his parents. Rick looked frozen as Morty's face turned red. "aw geez.. R-r-rick, please don't kill me" he said nervously. Rick let out a sigh and helped Morty up. "G-get into bed and go to sleep you dimwit" Morty did as Rick said but felt the need to stop Rick and question him about the last few days. "Rick… What happened the last f-few days?" Morty said, grabbing Ricks wrist and making eye contact. Rick took his arm back and walked to the door. Morty was worried, if he was going to stop Rick he had to do it fast. Morty ran up to Rick, hugging his waist. "R-rick! Please tell me!" Rick froze, and his towel fell down. Morty wasn't paying attention but Rick started to freak "M-morty!" Rick yelled out. Rick pulled away from Morty and picked up the towel from the ground. Morty caught a look at Ricks dick and blushed madly as his own dick erected. Rick looked mad as he put the towel around himself and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Morty was in shock and sadness. What had he just done?... Morty laid in bed and pulled the covers over himself. Waiting for the night to pass by but it felt like forever. Right now all he wanted to do was die in a hole and forget any of this happened.

-Morning-

Morty slowly opened his eyes. He didn't want to get up… the thoughts from what happened last night were racing through his head. So, he laid in bed for a little longer.

Rick was back in the garage, all clean from yesterday and wearing some old clothes while his usual clothes were put in the wash by Beth. Rick was working on the gun once again and he'd almost finished it. "Just a few more tweaks.. aaannnddd*burp*…. Its done!" Rick said holding up the finished project. "Finally." he said to himself. Morty was still in his room, staring at the sealing.

Morty could hear footsteps coming from the hall but he wasn't bothered by it. The deep thoughts in his head couldn't be removed. So he softly closed his eyes and rested. Rick slowly opened Morty's room door and snuck in. Morty could hear the light footsteps, whoever it was, they thought he was asleep and that's what he wanted. Rick sat on the side of the bed and pulled out the gun he'd finished, leaning over Morty and putting his arm on Morty's arm. Morty sat up right away at the touch, his face close to Rick's and the gun pointing now to his chest. "R-rick?!" Morty said as his eyes shrank. Rick didn't know what to do, this wasn't meant to happen.

Morty looked at the gun and back at Rick. "Y-y-you were going to shoot me?" He said, shocked. "Morty y-y-y-you know I'd never kill you" Rick said but Morty didn't feel 100% sure about that. "Was it cause of last n-night? D-do you hate me now?" He said with his voice cracking a bit. Rick sighed and put the gun in the side of his pants, getting off Morty and brushing off. "I-it's a *burp* memory eraser gun" Morty thought for a bit, trying to make sense of this. "S-so you want to wipe what happened last n-night?" "basically" Rick didn't hesitate to tell Morty. After that Morty didn't know what to say. Morty didn't want to forget about last night but at the same time he did.

"Rick. Just do it" Morty stood up from his bed and in front of Rick with his arms out. Rick looked at Morty as Morty closed his eyes, waiting to be hit with a lightning rod or some shit. Rick stared at his grandson for a second but then pulled Morty into a hug. "You pathetic *burp* l-looser" Rick said as Morty's arms rapped around Rick and embraced the hug. The hug didn't last too long, after that Rick just left the room and went back to the garage. Morty couldn't help but let out a little smile. He was reminded that Rick cared about him even if his grandpa would wipe his pathetic little brain.

-Chapter 3-

Rick was in the garage, staring at the gun for a while. The reason he'd made it in the first place was to wipe his own memories from what happened those… past few days. He wanted to forget it, he wanted to forget it all before the memories got him into big trouble. But this is Rick we're talking about. What's Rick scared of other than pirates?

Morty waddled downstairs and felt like grabbing some ice-cream for him and Rick to cheer themselves up. Morty carried the ice-cream to the garage door and peeped in. "heeyy Ri-…" But he froze as soon as he saw Rick with the gun to his head. Rick turned to look at Morty, a little annoyed that Morty had to ruin everything. "Aw Geez!" Morty dropped the ice-cream and ran to Rick, pulling the gun away. Rick just… sat there? "R-rick! Why would you need to wipe your memory! Y-y-you've seen a ton of shit before! What I did can't be t-that bad?" did Morty want Rick to keep the memory? Rick pulls away from Morty. "L-look what you've *burp* done M-morty! You ruined the i-ice-cream! L-look, it's all over the floor!" He said trying to change the topic. "S-sorry Rick.."

Rick got up from his seat and pushed Morty out of the way, placing the gun on the table. "t-this is your fault Morty! C-clean it up!" Morty shamefully walked over and started cleaning up the mess he made. "I-I-I need a clean w-workspace Morty! I c-c-can't work in this filth!" Morty mumbles stuff to himself while cleaning the floor with something he found on the washing machine.

Morty stopped. Tears start to fill his eyes. Rick sits back down in his chair. "Y-you know what Rick!" Morty said standing up and throwing some cleaning product at the wall as it smashes and makes a loud noise. "I-I'm sick of this! Why do I even try to be nice o-or even care!" Rick was stunned without a word to say. Morty stormed out of the garage and ran upstairs. "Morty?" Beth said in confusion, walking into the garage and seeing the huge mess. There were no words. Jerry saw Beth and peeped into the garage. "What's going on?" Rick didn't reply, and Beth was frozen. She looked upset, but then again she looked shocked and… maybe a tiny bit angry? Rick ignored them both, opening a portal and stepping through just before Beth could say 'Dad!' to try and stop him.

Morty was in his room crying and sobbing into his own pillow. "Why can't I have a normal life like a n-normal kid! Why does Rick hate m-me! Why does h-he want to c-control me by wiping my memories cause its n-not what HE wanted!" Morty felt a hand on his shoulder as he stopped yelling into his pillow and looked up. It was Rick.

Morty stuffed his face back into his pillow and ignored Rick but he couldn't block out the sound of Rick's words. "M-morty… I'm sorry. I d-d-*burp*don't hate you. Do you r-really wanna know what happened?" Morty nodded his head as he mumbled something into the pillow that sounded like a yes. "Get up you s-sack of shit" Morty sat up and faced Rick. "P-please don't call me that", "fine" Rick said in reply, rolling his eyes.

Rick took Morty's hand and lead Morty through an opened portal. They walked through as the portal closed behind. The world looked… normal. The same as home. Morty was confused. "D-did we just teleport outside?" "N-no Morty" Rick said in return. "This is where I was for 3 days"

Morty was confused and blushed a little when he realised Rick was still holding his hand. Rick noticed and let go right away. Morty let out a sigh. "So w-why did you drag me all the w-way over here? Why did y-you come here?" Rick looked off into the distance. "Morty. Listen. This i-i-isn't like back home. O-one thing is d-different Morty. A-a-and what could that be?" Morty didn't know what to say. "I-I don't know Rick", "We'll let's find out" Rick reply's.

They walked around to the garage window and peeped in sneakily. Rick whispers "Just l-look so we can get this over with" Rick had no intention of watching so he went off to the side of the house and sipped his flask. Morty was looking into the garage. The setting looked so normal, he didn't understand what was different. Rick was working on an invention. Soon after a Morty walked in the room, the other Rick put his full attention on Morty and they hugged. Morty was wishing Rick cared about him as much as this Rick did.

The other Rick touched the other Morty's cheek and…. They kissed passionately. Morty blushed and was a little shocked. In this universe…. Rick and Morty were in love.