Disclaimer: No.

A/N: Enjoy 2k words about protective Rick! Feedback is appreciated3


Morty'd told Rick it was a trap.

It was a handy skill of his, where he could literally sniff danger. He always felt the eyes that watched him. It would've been pretty cool to show off to everyone, but Rick had burst his bubble and laughed at him, mocking his new 'superpower'.

They'd been on an alien planet for a deal Rick had to make. After a while it was just Rick trying to sleep with the dealer, so his usual sharp attention and awareness had faltered. Morty on the other hand, had been bursting with anxiety. He told Rick to scan the crowd for any old enemies that might be looking for trouble. At first he'd ignored the kid, but his patience had worn thin, not to mention his horniness, and he'd yelled at Morty and scolded him, because it was his 'paranoia' that was going to get them killed one day.

Morty tried to find a less crowded spot to get away from his grandfather's arrogance for a while, but it had been a mistake. He was freaking kidnapped that day.

That day, being about two weeks ago. In those days Morty was heavily tortured, though he guessed that his half human half unicorn (?) captor was mostly bored. He'd overheard from some of his henchmen that the hybrid was trying to make a deal with his grandfather in exchange for Morty's safety and person in general, and he couldn't help but snicker at that. If Rick couldn't blow this place up, he'd leave Morty there and get a new one. Something told him that the scientist would be more than happy to do that. It wasn't a guess, it was his sixth sense.

Today was supposed to be when the deal was made. Morty was insignificantly thrown into a small cage, mouth taped and limbs tied up. There was a dark colored piece of fabric thrown on his figure too, he supposed so Rick couldn't see him at first.

He silently groaned and whimpered at how the tight ropes were pressing into his open wounds, making him feel dizzy and nauseous. He was almost sure that they'd broken his wrist, but the most he could've done was to keep it in place with a torn piece of his t shirt. And seriously, how tacky and fucking old was this Brazen Bull business? Though he was let out after about fifteen minutes. This guy was a total noob at this. In any case, his back also hurt like a motherfucker from the hot bronze against his skin.

He just wanted to go home. He silently prayed that the deal would go well.. also Rick would give him some of his healing cream when they got back. He was exhausted and everything hurt.

A dramatic creak echoed in the cave-like castle, making Morty internally squeal in joy.

"Ah! So it was you who dragged me over two thousand fucking light years to get a grandson back." Rick's voice faintly rang in his ears and he couldn't help but feel hurt and replaceable.

'A' grandson, he'd said.

"Mostashar 'O Doaleh, my greatest enemy!" Rick gasped with fake drama. "Of course I have plenty of those, so-"

"Quit playing games with me, Sanchez." The other growled.

"Oh! Oh, of course, your highness! I mean you still might be sour that I helped turn your people against you. Also, when did the unicorn fusion happen exactly? I wasn't there for that part..."

Morty only stared at the dark ceiling of the cave, annoyed and frustrated. Unless Rick was going somewhere with this, he was going to kill the man for just standing there.

"Your name's kinda long, don't you think? How 'bout a short for that? Hmm, like uh, fucking.. Mosy! Yeah that suits you. What about Mozy? Didn't Mozy in your culture mean-" A snort of suppressed laughter. "Banana?!" He exploded.

Morty's eyes watered as he tried to move into a less painful position, only for it to become worse and some blood to flow out. He gritted his teeth.

"Amusing." Rick's enemy hummed. "Do you know that the life of your grandson is currently in my hands?" Morty wanted to thank him for bringing it up.

"Heh! Do you know that his life is worth every other version of himself, which is equal to him- and relatively and basically speaking, he's worthless?" Morty's eyes fell on the ground to his right. He saw that one coming, but it hurt anyway. It usually did.

"Do you really expect me to believe that, Rick Sanchez?" Mostash... uh, Mozy chuckled with a tone that implied he knew something Rick didn't. That confused Morty, because that was impossible.

"I don't give a shit what you believe. Where is he anyway?"

"We both know you'd bail if I kept up my end of the bargain first!" Another growl.

"Eh, fair enough. Here's the weapon you wanted- a bitch and a half to craft, lemme tell you." A shuffling of clothes was heard.

"Ah! Fantastic craftsmanship by the almighty-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fantastic and all- I'm wasting my time here, where's Morty?"

"Firstly, where's the other weapon?"

Morty could sense the confusion in Rick's pause. "What? I thought we agreed on this one?"

"We did. And the perfected model of your new-"

"Oh, he-ell, no!" Rick cut him off. "Do you know how dangerous that model even is? There's a reason I didn't finish it, motherfucker! We're talking about erasing entire fuckin' universes from existence!" Morty's eyebrows rose high.

"I already told you, I am not working on that shit anymore. Those big projects usually end up with my allies turning against me, let alone you. W-what makes you think I'm gonna agree to that?"

Morty desperately squirmed in the dark place. He knew where this was going. Rick was going to leave and there was no telling whether or not he'd eventually came back for Morty.

A disgusting horse-like laugh echoed in the dim and humid cave. "Do you keep forgetting I have your grand-earthling as my prisoner?"

"Actually, I do. Proof that I don't give a flying fuck. So you ain't getting the weapon either if you're not giving Morty back. No, extra, payment. Got it, smartass?"

Morty held his breath, curling into himself further if that was possible. Suddenly the space felt cold.

"Fine by me. Nice not doing business with you, Sanchez. It always ended badly for the both of us." Morty's eyes widened in incredulity. That was it? Rick wasn't even going to search for him a bit?

"Uh-huh. I just wasted fuel on my way here. Adios, puta madre!" Footsteps started to fade away, feeling as if they stepped on Morty's heart and hope.

"Perhaps I'll let this- uh, Morty's flesh cook for dinner then." The teen's brain froze. Wait, what?

The footsteps stopped in their tracks as well. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Rick's voice spoke, unreadable and even.

"I thought you forgot about this boy!" The hybrid mocked with fake enthusiasm.

"What do you mean by 'letting his flesh cook'?" Morty barely recognized his grandfather's usually cheery voice as it was strained, quiet and edgy.

"Oh, wait, didn't I tell you? He is somehow getting friendly with one of my pets here. Not sure if you've heard it before- the Brazen Bull?"

"You fucking what?!" The loud yell made Morty jump in his spot. He didn't understand what was going on, so he decided to just listen.

"Sanchez, give me those weapons, I know you have them all ready." The captor's voice turned serious.

"Y-y-you're fucking bluffing, that's obvious as fuck!" Rick yelled instead of answering.

"Actually, I'm glad you said that! Someone's filming him right now, do you want to say hi?"

Then it clicked. The purpose of being put into that torture wasn't torturing him at all.

It was supposed to be for recording it for his fucking grandfather.

Morty snickered silently, amused that the half-unicorn had thought this would work. The guy had literally no soul.

The video- or audio as much as Morty could hear- started and Morty tensed over the sound of his own agonized scream.

"Rick, help!" Wait, he was calling for the scientist the whole time? Now he just felt stupid and weak.

Rick didn't remark on anything at all as Morty continued to beg for help and scream in anguish. But the other snickered cruelly.

"Are you still certain that you hold no love for this youngling?" Morty would've laughed if he wasn't in so much pain. "Give me what I want and he lives."

Morty swore that for a few minutes the only sound in the cave was his past self's shrills. Finally Rick chuckled, sounding like he had the darkest idea in mind. "Wow, this is impressive. Bravo!" It was like his usual jokes and pokes, but only this time they didn't have any humor. "I mean eh, a little ancient. 'Emotional blackmail', am I right?"

Morty quietly whooped. He knew Rick wouldn't be affected!... wait, what was he celebrating?

"Real cute stunt you're pulling here... but your plan had one fatal flaw, Mostashar." The voice grasped an edge to it and he assumed Rick was stepping closer to his enemy.

What Morty heard next was not what he expected at all.

"You underestimated my attachment to this kid." The grave words echoed in the cave and rang in an incredulous Morty's ears.

"Excuse me, what?" Mostashar voiced out Morty's thoughts.

Rick scoffed. "I mean, Jesus Christ! If only you knew how while ironic but true my family matters to me, you wouldn't go around pulling this kinda shit." Tortured Morty screeched a plea for help in the background.

"Because I'd pity you?" The hybrid seemed to pull himself together quickly.

"Because you'd shit your pants if you knew how far I'd go for my bitch of a grandson." The hiss was more quiet and dark, but it only bounced off the walls more quickly to reach Morty's ears, who was stunned. "You either tell me where you're holding him or I'll make you regret being born."

Mostashar's laugh sounded slightly forced by then. "How do I know you're not bluffing? You can't use a gun in the sacred mountain."

"Oh, I don't need a gun." A choked gasp was heard from the other. "I'll give you three seconds, two, one- oh, who am I kidding?" He chuckled. "I'll just track him- Oof!"

Morty couldn't see Rick and the half-unicorn, but from the sounds and cussing, he guessed it was a one on one fight.

"Mother- Ugh. You fucking bastard- think you could get away with this!?" Rick's out of breath, but outraged nonetheless voice bit out as more signs of hitting was heard. "I'm going for your fucking family next, let's see how you'll like that-"

"Arrogant fool- ugh! Your dear grandson can die with my command right now!" It was a weak bluff, so Morty supposed he was losing the physical fight. He started to feel dizzy from the blood that had formed the pool he was laying in.

"Command them if you fucking dare! I'll destroy you molecule by fucking molecule! I'll cut off your horn and shove it up your asshole- fu-fucking tear your skin apart dumbass!"

Morty started to slip into unconsciousness, giving up fighting the drowsiness.

"You don't know- you just don't fucking know! He's worth more than any weapon and gun you're desperate for. You thought I was gonna fuckin' give you the gun for him or shit? I'll give away all my supplies and inventions but I'd do it trying to save him...!"

The boy's eyes slipped closed.

Morty gasped back into reality, feeling like no time had passed at all, but he was sitting in Rick's spaceship now, bandaged up and cleaner than before.

"So you're awake." Rick's casual greeting elicited an embarrassing squeak out of him and he jumped out of his seat.

"Aw, jeez! You gave me a heart attack, Rick!" Morty said, out of breath and glaring at the older man. "What the hell, man?"

"Oh, you don't get to be offended, you little shit!" Rick suddenly poked at his head roughly, looking angry. "You just fucking wandered off after telling me you smell danger or some shit. How fucking dumb are you?!"

"You bring me along cause I'm dumb!" Morty defended, crossing his arms as much as the pain allowed him.

"Do you know how much of an inconvenience was it for me to get to that hell hole and unsuccessfully make a deal with that dickhead?" He scolded. "Why did I even fuckin' come back anyway? I should've left you there to learn a lesson or something."

The last part triggered his last memory before losing consciousness, making him freeze. They were in so much paradox with each other that Morty suspected them to be nothing but hallucinations.

"Just-" Morty's voice broke and he cleared his throat, making Rick snort. "Ju-just for clearance, was I kidnapped by a half unicorn man for a week or two or am I not feeling well?"

"Nope. That's about it." Rick replied, seeming to have forgotten about his anger. He looked ahead as he drove the ship in space.

"Oh." Morty's eyes widened as he stared at his grandfather, who looked as casual as ever. Like he wasn't the one threatening to shove a man's horn in his ass for Morty's sake.

"Stop staring at me like a fucking creep." Rick eventually snapped. "What's with you today, Morty?"

"N-nothing. S-sorry Rick." Morty quickly turned around to stare out the window so Rick wouldn't see his smile.

"Hey Rick?" The scientist answered with a groan. "Uh, can you not go for his family?" His sheepishly requested with hesitance.

He saw Rick still for a moment, then meet Morty's eyes in a short wave of surprise.

"I mean, they did nothing wrong..." He dropped his head and scratched his arm anxiously, mumbling under his breath.

Surprise was quickly replaced with annoyance on Rick's face. "You're a sneaky bastard, you know that?" He shoved Morty's head to the glass, not too harshly. It used to make him feel bullied, but now it felt playful and like a light physical joke.

Morty couldn't keep in his giggles. "Yeah, I-I know it, Rick!" Rick rolled his eyes and went back to the wheel. Morty gazed out the window.

Huh. His sixth sense was wrong.