AN:/ This one is a bit shorter, but it makes a big leap Rick and Morty's status. Let me know what you thing. I am kind of ho hum about this one. Your thoughts would help a lot!

The ship descended slowly, clinking and squeaking as it touched down to land in the middle of a barren canyon. No immediate threat in sight, Morty let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, glancing at his Grandfather and Jesse nervously. Rick was definitely planning something, and Morty didn't want Jesse's blood on his hands.

Rick handed them each an oxygen device that suctioned onto their faces, fitting snugly around their nose and mouths.

"Tha-OUGH-t, that will last about three hours, but we should only be here around one," Rick said and promptly opened the spaceship to let them all out. Gravity was dense on this planet. Morty's legs felt like bricks.

"So...shadows, Rick?" Morty asked, wondering if maybe Rick heard how ridiculous that sounded, he'd reconsider.

"Yeah yeah, we will get to that in a minute, but first we need some equipment out of the trunk. Jesse go grab it will you?"

"Uh, sure."

Morty waited until Jesse was out of earshot before grabbing either side of Rick's lab coat with his fists and pulling him in close to whisper fervently, "What in the hell, Rick. Why are we here. What are you planning?"

"Planning Morty?"

"Don't play stupid, Rick. You are anything but stupid."

"Alright Morty, you c-OUGH-aught me, Morty. I am trying to get us all killed." He whispered back, eyes shifting in mock conspiracy.

"You don't expect me to believe that you just all the sudden had an itch to go to an exiled planet, Rick. That this mission had absolutely nothing to do with Jesse?"

"So, what if it did?"

"I knew it, you are planning something. Trying to kill him."

"No Morty, not kill him. I am just going to rough him up a bit."

"Why, Rick? Why?"

"Because that guy is bad news, Morty. Real bad news. I know his type."

"I don't think that is any of your concern Rick."

"The fuck it isn't, Morty."

"Oh Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I-I mean just look at that guy, Morty. Can you say 11 o clock news? He went all 50 shades of GI Joe on your ass earlier and if that doesn't raise a red flag, I didn't raise you right."

"You didn't raise me, Rick."

"Whatever."

"I just don't understand what you have against good things in my life Rick."

"Oh Jesus. Not-not this again, Morty. This guy isn't good. The way he called you to heel like some dog...that- that isn't right Morty... drove me crazy, Morty."

"It did?"

"Yeah. No. Not like... You know what I mean, Morty. I am a concerned grandparent and as such it is my job to nail that guy's ass into the ground, no pun intended."

"None taken," Morty said. "But I like him, you know? He's not all that bad. Kinda quiet, and yeah sure, I mean, lately he has been a little more possessive."

It was Rick's turn to grab onto Morty's clothes, his nose was so close that Morty couldn't look at it without going cross-eyed. "Did he hurt you, Morty."

"I…" Morty faltered. "No...not really, just a few names and stuff... and-and you know maybe he...maybe the last couple times we… ya' know.." Morty's face flushed, he didn't even like admitting what he had done to himself, much less Rick. " Jesse had started off all gentle, ya know? At first... but lately, he has been a little more demanding."

"Like how?"

Morty burned. "Oh, nothing big… ya' know...just small things. Tieing me up and w-whips and stuff."

Rick's eyes took on that dangerous glint again, he didn't bother hiding it. Seeing it up close made Morty's knees go weak. He recovered after a moment and spluttered out. "But...but isn't that just how it is, Rick? Isn't that how a top is supposed to be with a bottom?" Morty's voice was a few octaves higher than it should have been.

Rick took a breath and set Morty back down, backing up to the side of the ship and sliding down to a sitting position. He put one hand over his eyes and tilted his head back, rubbing them as if he had a terrible headache. "No, Morty. No. Top, Bottom, Middle, Left, Right, whatever you guys have going on, it-it-it doesn't matter. No one has the right to hurt you or do anything you don't want to do…you should know that, Morty. That is elementary shit, Morty."

"Sorry, Rick...I just… I had never… with a man before… you know?"

Rick clutched his heart as if it were bothering him.

Rick's voice dropped to a low flat tone. "I understand, Morty. I know that and Jesse should have too...but he didn't. And for that, Morty. For that, I am going to make him-"

"Hey, is this what you was looking for, Mr. Rick? You're packin' some pretty impressive heat here, sir. Expecting a little more than bugs?"

Rick couldn't quite suppress the venom as he said. "No no, it's just a precaution, Jess buddy. Nothing to worry about. Come on, we have a good few miles to cover before I can get my shadow essence."

Jesse shrugged, grabbed an AK, and started walking. Morty hung back a few feet with Rick.

His Grandfather began pulling guns and grenades and rifles from a duffle-bag. "Rick…y-you don't have to do this. We can just go home and forget about it all. I won't talk to him anymore…I'll find someone else..."

Rick shoved a semi-automatic into his chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. "No, Morty. I am not letting him leave this planet."

"Oh jeez, oh no, Riiiick…"

"Yeah Morty, I am going to kill him. He is gonna suffer for what he did. A-and you better keep your mouth shut about it, Morty. He deserves this."

"No, he doesn't Rick, he's just a creep...come on...don't kill him."

"You can't talk me out of this, Morty."

"This is really none of your business anyway, Rick!" Morty said louder this time, his voice scaling to anger. He may not have any real feelings for Jesse, but he didn't want to see him get blown up, or shot, or…

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Or eaten…

"What in the sam hill was that?" Jesse asked, spinning around with his AK drawn up to his bulky shoulder.

"That would be the bugs. Don't worry," Rick said again, smoothly. "They aren't giants or anything, maybe only four to five feet tall. Th-they they just have the metric density of about thr-OUGH-ee elephants. Y-you're going to want to shoot from a distance. If they accidentally step on you...yeesh..." Rick shivered for visual effect. "Okay Morty, let's go."

"Now wait a minute," Jesse said, coming to a halt. "I thought Morty was going to be with me. I can take care of these bugs no problem, then while you're chasing your shadow or what have you, we can have a little alone time…" He winked at Morty. "Betcha ain't never had Hankey Pankey on a different planet before, eh, Morty?"

"Um...Actually I…"

"Y-y-OUGH-eah sorry buddy, but Morty sticks with me this time. He is the only one small enough to fit into one of the weed roots here to grab the Moliscat shadow. Just get you some bugs."

"Oh...well alright then, if you say so, Mr. Rick."

"I say so. Meet us back at the ship in about an hour and a half." Rick replied, slapping him on the back once more before forcefully pushing Morty in a different direction.

" I dunno Rick, I have a bad feeling about all of this. You think Jesse is alright?" Morty asked for the eighth time since they left. The terrain was the same and different. They were still in the canyon, but the smog in the air was thicker and the ground was covered in gigantic tree stubs and

"Who cares? Fuck, f-for fuck's sake will you shut up about him, Morty? I am trying to scan for a thermopaptapic root, Morty. It is an anomaly that is rare even in this place. I-It takes a lot of concentration... and silence."

"Thermopaptapic? I don't know, Rick, that sounds kind of made up."

"What do you know you little shit?"

"Your right, Rick. As always." Morty said.

"Damn straight," Rick said.

They continued quietly for another mile or so and Morty tried to relax. Jesse would be fine. Rick was surely just playing around. Maybe he was right though, Jesse was no good. He should really be focusing on Rick anyway, now that he knew the basics.

Morty had really been trying over the last week to get Rick's attention without also gaining any skepticism. It was harder than it looked. Morty wasn't exactly what you'd call subtle, if Morty liked someone, you would pretty much know it by the cheesy handwritten notes and god awful one liners. Luckily, all it really took to get Rick's attention was to tell him how great he was. However, even that didn't seem to get Rick flowing the right way. He had tried changing up his clothes and using a different cologne. Morty knew Rick didn't care about those things, but it wasn't like he had many options.

Morty took a quick glance around and then back to his Grandfather's tall straight back. They were completely alone, without the eyes of their family and weight of social pressures to burden them. It was now or never to kick it up a notch. If he never did, nothing would progress with him and his Grandfather. As it was, they had gone nearly two years without even admitting to themselves their feelings for one another.

He waited until Rick's back was turned before throwing himself to the ground, hard.

"Ow! Oh fuck. Oh Jeez."

Rick barely shifted a hair toward him. "Clutz. Hurry up. I think I found the perfect root. I need you to crawl in. It will be a tight fit, but I think you can do it, Morty. Just think thin thoughts. Morty."

Morty hissed in as he tried to stand. Fuck... he had actually fucked something up. Leave it to a Morty to get the job done, amiright? "A-ah, you know Rick, I-I think my ankle is all twisted. Maybe broken. I don't know if I can walk any farther."

"Well then crawl you little shit, I didn't come all this way so you could pussy out on me. 'Ow… oh jeez...I fell and broke my ankle, Rick' Don't give me that bullshit, Morty. I've watched you take a Zermamnathon laser bullet and keep playing "Roy: Return of Roy" so you could win a bet against for free ice-cream on my expense. Which...if I remember correctly and correct me if I am wrong, Morty. You lost."

"I had just taken a fucking bullet, Rick, what did you expect?"

"I expect you to get back up on those two noodly prongs you call legs and squeeze into this tiny hole to grab that shadow."

Damn this man was more difficult to crack than a Cromulon force-field.

Well, he had tried...Morty guessed that was all he could do. Maybe Rick just wasn't someone who wanted to show off. Maybe he didn't like the whole 'rescue me' bit. What would it take to get him to make a move on Morty first?

One feeble limp at a time, he made his way over to where Rick was standing.

"Atta boy, now g-get in there. OUGH." Rick said, pointing down to fleshy tube sprouting from the ground.

Morty narrowed his eyes. "Way to not mention this thing is slimy, and ALIVE, Rick. You you you KNOW I hate slimy things."

Unibrow pressed down, Rick handed Morty a syringe and pointed threateningly to the root hole. After a moment more of bitching, Morty began to squeeze in.

"Uuuu...Ohhh. Gross. Oh GROSS. It feels like I am wiggling up a fallopian tube, Rick. A-and I have a frame of reference because of that one time you shrunk me down and put me one of my mom's vitality pills and told me to block up her vag antennas because you would blow up the planet if she had another kid with my dad. "

"That's great, Morty. Hurry up, I hear some of those bugs heading our way. What you are look-OUGH-ing for is a large hairy bump in the tube. Once you find it, poke the syringe into its shadowed side and pull out at least 20 CC's."

"I-I am not seeing anything like that here, Rick, are you sure this is the right one?"

"I am a genius, Morty."

"I know, Rick."

"F-fuck they are too close to run away now Morty. We are going to have to scrunch together, Morty. Make room, I-I am coming in."

"There is no room, Rick. OW!"

"Move Morty!"

"There is nowhere TO move Rick. Ow! Stop!"

THUD. THUD. THUD.

"I have to get far enough in or they will see my legs, Morty," Rick said, pushing his way upward and up beside him.

The thudding got louder and something crunched down hard, sealing their exit. An odd buzzing sound took place between two of the bugs, Morty suspected some sort of language.

After a few minutes of effort, Rick managed to stretch the sides of the root enough to make room for them both, but just barely. Morty's hands were pinned down at his sides and one of Rick's thighs pressed in-between his. Morty would have considered this progress if at that very Moment, the earth shook and the root was plucked from the ground with them still hidden inside.

"Wh-what's going on, Rick? What's happening!?" Morty squeaked, trying to wiggle his way back down toward the exit that no longer existed.

"The insects like to eat this root Morty, we got to get out of here Morty….just...just calm down."

"Oooh Rick, I-I don't want to get eaten! I've got to get out of here. I'm super claustrophobic. And the slime is starting to sink into my clothes, Rick. You know I hate small spaces. Why did we even come here?"

"I-Its ok, Morty. They like to boil the root, and the nearest town is about an hour away. Just stop moving. I'll think of a way out of here. S-s-stop squirming, Morty."

"I can't do this, I hate these types of situations. I don't want to, to be boiled alive, Rick. I think if I can just get my hands free I can scratch a hole in the root. " Morty said.

Ricks breath came in labored huffs. "M...Morty, s-stop moving...please."

"I'm only trying to SAVE OUR LIVES here, Rick! You aren't the only one uncomfortable. My hands are still pinned. I think they are holding us upright, but if I use my legs I think I can wiggle upward and see if I can find the other end of the root."

"No don't! Morty...o-oh…. Morty. S-stop. T-this is bad."

"I know Rick, why do you think I am….trying….to….." Morty trailed off.

"..."

" Rick…?"

"Fu...you know...this isn't….I-I don't…. Sometimes when certain stimulus-"

"Rick, you're hard."

"Oh...I um...this isn't what you think, Morty. W-what is a little ch-chub between relatives anyway, Morty."

"Right now, choose RIGHT NOW? Fuck we are going to be insect food, Rick!"

"What do you mean choose, Morty? Oh f-fuck...stop moving for the love of…."

Rick stilled, voice heavy as he said. "Y-you're doing this on purpose."

"What? No! I am just trying to find a way out."

"Everything. The last couple weeks. I knew it. You've been acting differently."

"What? No, Rick no."

"I see now," Rick said, voice dripping with certainty. Rick placed his hands on the root an inch away from either side of Morty's head and began to rhythmically and oh so slowly roll his hips into Morty's.

It took everything in Morty not to moan. A simple change in the way Rick talked could set every nerve ending Morty hand on fire. It only took two or three gentle pulses of pressure between his legs to have him erect and straining against the fabric of his jeans.

Rick's voice dropped even lower, almost a purr, dripping with a truth Morty couldn't decipher. " ' Over it…' Morty? Isn't that what you said? Really now…Every single move since that night in the Mind Blower chamber, yes it is coming together...well played, Morty. Very carefully planned, and-and-and almost perfectly executed. You wanted me to notice you….well, Morty. Here I am…"

"Oh...R-Rick…" Morty flushed. He couldn't believe this was happening. His entire body grew hot and he shivered against Rick's frame. The feeling of his Rick's weight on him was more than enough. He could die happy now.

Rick put a finger to his lips and slid it down his neck. "But I think you forgot who you are dealing with, Morty… you opened this can of worms, see. I can't stop myself now." He popped Morty's shirt open, button by button, every movement slow and deliberate and sensual. Every few seconds he'd push his massive cock into Morty's stomach gently. Morty could feel his nipples responding and his dick gave a hard twitch, searching for something…searching for everything. "Rick...yes…" Morty begged.

"This is so messed up, Morty. I am about to fuck my own grandson so hard. You will be ruined. I am going to ruin you, Morty, do you hear me? And you are going to love. every. minute. of. it.

Morty grew hotter with Rick's words, but he had no idea if it was in anger or in wanton lust. "There is no Grandfather...no grandson. There never was. It was just Rick and Morty. Always R-Rick, oh mmm, and Morty. Forever. Outside of time. O-Outside of rules. We don't need rules, Rick. We only need each other."

Now was the time for action. Morty pushed away from Rick as much as he could to free his hands. He tore off the rest of his shirt and tugged his pants down. In the same beat, he began working on Rick's lab coat. Rick chuckled before stopping him.

"Bold words, Morty. Impatient words. You are so...young...let me teach you... " Rick chided.

"Ok Rick. Teach me. Give me everything you got, Rick."

"Damn, Morty, you are going to stop an old man hearts like that," Rick replied. "Not here...Not like this. Let's get out of this mess first, then I will….what did you say? Give you everything I got."