Hey guys, my first Rick and Morty fanfic here. Huge fan of this show and thought I'd take a shot at a short story for starters and get the feel for writing for this. Let me know what you think, this is the start of the episode 'Whirly Dirly Conspiracy' and Morty getting Rick to go off on an adventure without him for once. I know they cuss in the show but I don't recall how the rules go for cussing on this forum so I'm going to censor the most foul language for now- lemme know if it's actually not a big deal lol. Only covered what would have been the first part of the episode but I have been considering building off this and continuing to write Morty's thought process throughout the rest of the episode. Not sure yet so just gimme your input about it, whether it's good as is or if I should keep goin'. Thanks everyone, enjoy!

One day...

One frickin' day was all that he had wanted.

One day where he could be free of Rick and all of the shit that came with him. A day where he could have just a small amount of peace and relaxation.

He had even pulled off a nice little trick to get Rick to head out on an adventure without him.

Of course, it wasn't easy. He wasn't sure his idea would even work. Why would Rick ever go off and do something simply because his grandson had asked him to?

But after the events of the post-apocalyptic Earth expedition and watching his childhood heroes known as the Vindicators be destroyed before his very eyes, Morty just wanted to catch a break from all of this chaos.

Before Rick had gone off with Jerry, Morty had come to the decision to at least try and get the free day that he so desperately desired.

Morty hatched a plan and quietly walked into the garage, where he observed Rick hard at work on another of his gadgets.

'Now or never, Morty...'

Contorting his face into a worried expression, he walked forward until he stood beside his grandfather.

His mind was going 100 mph as he approached Rick's work bench.

'Will this work? Will Rick see that it's a ruse and call me out on it? Will I be seen as a pu**y for giving such a weak excuse to get out of doing things?'

After all, he was dealing with the smartest being in the universe. Getting tricked by a kid? Not likely. But Morty knew he had to try.

As Morty stopped, Rick looked up from his latest project, his work goggles strapped to his face.

"Hey, Morty. Could you hAAnd me that vial on the top shelf there next to you?" The old man asked with a repulsive burp.

He looked back down at his work, reaching out a hand as he waited for Morty to give him what he'd requested.

When he didn't get his vial, Rick took his goggles off and turned, irritated at his grandson.

But upon seeing the worried, far off look plastered on Morty's face as he was looking away from his grandpa, Rick held back from lashing out at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What's- what's up with you?"

Morty nervously scratched the back of his head. A signature Morty move that he knew he made whenever he got anxious.

"I- I don't know, Rick. I can't help but wonder how my dad's doing through all of this. Last time I spoke on the phone with him, he didn't sound like he was doing good and he sounded a bit distraught. More so than he has been."

Rick frowned, looking slightly annoyed and uninterested, but stayed silent as Morty continued.

'Amp it up, Morty!' A small voice seemed to scream in the back of the teen's mind as he hesitated for a moment. 'Convince him.'

"Rick, I'm afraid my dad might do something... something very drastic," Morty blurted out, looking Rick in the eye as he emphasized his last two words.

Rick scoffed and rolled his eyes before turning back to his project.

"Come on, Morty. I'm sure your dad's fine... for- for the most part. Look, when parents get divorced they get emotional, they'll cry, th-th- they'll act out at times, but they turn out fine in the end. I mean, Jerry's Jerry, he'll always be an emotional wreck and will probably continue to depend on others for his happiness because he's a spineless worm but there's- there's not much you can do about that, Morty."

Morty frowned.

"No, you come on, Rick. I'm being serious! I mean the man's in an old... crappy... rundown apartment for God's sake. He has no job, he's got no friends for support and whenever he tries to reach out to mom, she slams a figurative door in his face. You- you don't think that's enough to possibly drive him insane and make him do something, I don't know, crazy?! I don't know, Rick. I just think-"

By this point in his speech Morty had already chosen to kick it up a notch and was now pacing around beside Rick's work bench as he continued to ramble. He had to make Rick believe that he was genuinely concerned about his father's mental health.

In all reality, Morty knew that his father would probably turn out fine on his own. Jerry was many things: lazy, cowardly, could possibly become homeless any time now- but suicidal? Morty was pretty certain his father wouldn't go that far.

But Morty felt that if he continued this facade, sooner or later Rick would have to take this 'matter' seriously, wouldn't he?

He noticed during his spiel that Rick was no longer focused on his project. Instead, he was now staring at the wall straight ahead with the utmost annoyance on his face as he continued to listen to Morty's rant.

Rick was growing increasingly irritated. 'Good!' At this rate, Morty hoped, maybe Rick would leave just so he wouldn't have to hear his pitiful grandson whine anymore and bother him while he worked.

Finally, Morty quit pacing and faced the old man.

"Rick, I came in here to ask... if you would take my dad on a, uh, a small little adventure?"

Rick whirled around in his seat, facing Morty with the most perplexed look.

"What the f**k? Are you kidding me, Morty?"

"He needs to have his mind taken off of-"

"No, Morty! Didn't I already say that there would be NO adventures with your dad? Didn't you hear me say that, Morty? I feel like I did, in fact, say that and made that perfectly clear."

"Yeah, you did..." Morty agreed, then looked down with the best 'sad' expression that he could muster. He hoped it was enough.

Rick groaned dramatically in defeat, making Morty look back up slightly with hope as his grandpa stood up from his chair.

"Alright, fiiine! If it'll give you a peace of mind then you won't be in here to distract me with your incessant complaints."

'Yes, it worked!' Morty thought triumphantly, trying hard not to allow the biggest of smiles onto his face. 'I can finally have a free day!'

"I'll help him get a win so he's not so down," Rick stated, swiping his flask from his work bench. "Not that I think he'll be that desperate but hey, if it's worrying you that much then I'll see to it that he's doing OK. I even know of a place I can take him to that'll be a good fit for him."

Morty formed a small, grateful smile. "Really? Gee thanks, Rick. That'd mean a lot."

"Yeah, yeah," Rick said, lazily waving a hand in Morty's direction as he headed over to his ship. "We'll go have a good time, grab some drinks and shit."

Climbing into the ship, Rick looked back at Morty, who was having the hardest time containing his sheer excitement. His plan had actually worked!

"Be back later. Stay out of my shit or else!" Rick said, shutting the door.

And with that, Morty opened up the garage door and Rick flew out.

As soon as Rick was out of sight, Morty threw both fists in the air.

"Yes! Freedom!"

Of course the teen knew that this would only happen once in a blue moon. But if he could get just one day in as a break every now and then, he'd be a (fairly) happy camper.

The boy walked ecstatically out of the garage and into the kitchen.

Not overly familiar with having a calm, relaxing day without Rick around to spoil it, Morty wasn't exactly sure what to do on his 'day off'. But he figured he'd start with a good, decent breakfast.

Finishing up his meal, Morty helped himself to some of the coffee his mother had just recently made.

Savoring his drink's taste, Morty walked contentedly into the living room.

'It's going to be a good day...'