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It’d been a few weeks since Rick had rescued Morty from KB-66. They hadn’t left the sub-lab since then. They’d been hanging around and Rick scoured the notes from X-19. He found out that he’d used a special alloy to make his spine, so it acted much like his original. As he grew it would change its shape to fit the new body it had been introduced to. Rick was more irritated that he hadn’t known this alloy existed. He made immediate plans to go acquire more of it, only after he decided to let Morty out of the sub-lab. Which he hadn’t decided was safe, yet.
Mostly they’d been exploring their new relationship. Morty was pleased to find it was exactly as he had imagined Rick to be with someone he truly loved. He was still snarky and rude—he wouldn’t be Rick if he wasn’t. They were mostly the same as they had been before. They talked science, planned adventures, and spent general time in each other’s presence while Rick invented things and Morty worked on his school or his own special guns. Intermixed in that though, Rick showed he actually cared. He would occasionally come up behind Morty and drag him into hugs or would drag Morty into his lap while they both worked on their own projects. Rick also tended to kiss Morty randomly at times Morty could literally never predict, he’d tried. For example, one second Rick would be ranting to Morty about the difference between the subsidence in the center of a black hole and the gravity well, and the next he would drag Morty into a kiss. Some of them were small and swift and some of them were filled with emotion that drowned Morty. So far, each and every one of them had left him entirely breathless.
Convincing Rick to give them a chance was the best thing he’d ever done.
Currently they were sitting on the couch in the sub-lab, the television droning softly in front of them. Morty was straddling Rick’s lap, their faces attached at the lip. Rick had taken to running a hand up Morty’s back the other tangled in his hair. Morty was completely absorbed in Rick he didn’t even hear Rick’s phone ring for the twentieth time that day, he only realized when Rick pulled away from him letting out a long and annoyed groan. Glancing over to the next cushion that held Rick’s phone he let out a giggle leaning back to sit on Rick’s lap. “I have an idea.”
“Is it going upstairs and seeing our family?” Morty asked, cocking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. Rick had almost refused to let Morty cut his hair after it had settled on a length. Morty conceded when Rick begrudgingly admitted he loved being able to run his fingers through it while they slept or while they kissed. They hadn’t made it to sex yet, but Morty was in no hurry.
Rick didn’t even tilt his head back when his shot a glare towards Morty which caused him to giggle again. “W-Why the hell would think that?”
“Well,” Morty shrugged and reached over to pick up Rick’s phone. He scrolled through the notifications of missed calls. There was indeed at least twenty of them. From both Beth and Summer. “T-They obvi-clearly aren’t going to stop calling, and we have to go out there sometime. Sure, we have the secret to immortality but is this how you want to spend it? Wasting away in the sub-lab?”
Rick rolled his eyes and sat up, closing the distance between them and catching his lips in another kiss. Morty’s mind blanked a little and he leaned into the action. When Rick pulled back and glared down at him. “I am b-beginning to feel undecided about you having more of my traits. T-This manipulation you’ve begun to use against me is becoming very annoying.”
Morty chuckled a little and shrugged. “I just think it’s f-funny how even though you’re completely aware of it, you still fall for it. Every time.”
Rick stared at him for a moment and then stood up causing Morty to fall to the floor. Morty squeaked and sat up to glare at Rick who had moved to stand beside the TV. He crossed his arms and smirked down at Morty. “Not this time.”
Morty chuckled softly pushing himself up so he sat on the couch. He leaned back and crossed his arms across his chest. “Alright, Rick, w-what was your brilliant plan?”
“We leave now,” Rick answered simply with a shrug to follow and he turned to survey the sub-lab. Almost as if he was checking to see if there was anything down they would need to take with them.
Morty burst out laughing, shaking his head. “I’m not looking for a n-new d-dimension, Rick, not unless we absolutely have to. And you and I both would rather castrate ourselves than live on any Citadel.”
Rick rolled his eyes and turned back to face Morty, who surveyed his expression. It was reminiscent of the normal annoyed expression when Morty said something stupid, but different. There was something underneath. Morty presumed it was Rick’s possessive panic, but it could have been something else fear related. “Wow, got my genes, but still a dipshit. I’ll find the dimension, jackass.”
“T-Th-That’s not the point, Rick,” Morty rolled his eyes back and leaned forward. “Come on. I know you hate talking but spit it out. Are you still to riled up from me being kidnapped or what?”
Rick turned with a growl. Morty sighed and stood to walk over to him. Rick still had issues expressing himself, and most often still refused to in entirety. But sometimes. Sometimes Morty could coax out a normal response about how Rick feels about a situation. The truth behind the façade. “It’s nothing. I’m fucking fine.”
Morty wrapped an arm around Rick’s middle, sliding around so he was standing in front of him and placed his chin on Rick’s chest so he could look up at him. “Rick, tell me. Please?”
Rick let out another groan and raked his fingers through azure hair. He tilted his head back and refused to look at Morty as he spoke. He’d gotten a bit better at voicing his problems, mostly because Morty had made him swear he would at the very least try. “I-I-I can’t. C-Can’t let them see you. Can’t let you out.”
Morty nodded. He understood that. Rick lived a dangerous life, the only way he’d found that completely protected those he cared about was to abandon them, cut ties completely. It was something that had served him well so far. Diane survived and so did Beth. Morty was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but since Rick had realized his feelings that vague protectiveness had ignited into an inferno. Since he had no desire to leave Morty in any sense of the term, this was the catharsis he could come up with. “I thought so. That’s alright and I would be more than happy to stay down here until you’re ready, b-but we have to tell them s-something, Rick. M-Mom is going to figure out that something more went down than what we planned to tell her. Y-You told Summer we would be back. I know that’s your signature line when you’re going to leave but it’s not going to work here. Summer, at least, deserves the truth.”
Rick groaned again and tilted his head back forward to scowl down at him. Morty did so love Rick. He was beautiful in every way, even when scowling. Morty discovered something new to love about him at least once a day. Right now, it was Rick’s collarbone. He was still tall and lanky, a complete make up of bones and muscle, and his collarbone stood out. Morty noticed it now as it was right in front of his face and moved with each breath Rick took. “Can’t you go back to following behind me blindly, instead of forcing your shit logic into my obviously half-baked plans?”
“Because I’m not just your Morty sidekick,” Morty answered throwing him an unimpressed look, which caused Rick to smirk a little. Morty knew it was all a front. Rick had made it more than clear he loved Morty’s new mind, and he loved the changes wrought on him, just as much as he had loved the original. “I’m your boyfriend, f-f-for lack of a less cringy term, and that means making sure you know the full con-consequences to your half-baked plans so we don’t get ourselves killed.”
Rick smirked and leaned down cupping Morty’s cheek to guide him into a slow kiss that left Morty wide-eyed and breathless. Rick chuckled and gently knocked his forehead against Morty’s. “Boyfriend is a shitty label. I-I-I always did hate it. Labels in general are f-fucking shit. But I suppose you’re right, I would never let you run off with a half-baked plan that I saw ending horribly.”
“So, we’re going upstairs?” Morty asked, grinning a little. He’d won. And judging by the dreadful look Rick was shooting at the ladder, Rick knew it too.
Rick nodded begrudgingly. Morty snickered a little earning him a sharp glare, which only brought out more snickers. Rick sighed and pulled out his flask to take a swig before burping and turned back to Morty. “We have fucking ground rules, though.”
Morty’s stopped to give Rick his full attention. He’d won but that doesn’t mean Rick wouldn’t put his foot down if he thought the danger was too real or if Morty wasn’t taking the situation as seriously as Rick had labeled it. “Name them.”
“You do not leave the room without me,” Rick snarled out, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling down at Morty. Morty stifled the grin that threatened to spread across his face. Rick was angry at himself for having these rules, Morty finding it amusing was not going to help in any way shape or form. “You do not go outside. You will remain within arm’s reach at all times.”
Morty nodded firmly, giving Rick a small smile. Rick’s tension didn’t relax but Morty knew he could work that out later by letting Rick smother him. “I-I’ve got it, Rick. I’ll follow them. If Jerry is already here, and it would make you feel better, you can raise the blast shields.”
“That would just be suspicious,” Rick told him with a roll of his eyes. Morty knew that, however he sometimes said silly things to get a reaction out of Rick, it was more amusing now than it had ever been. Also, he wanted to give Rick the option, he would face the consequences if it helped Rick so they solved the family issue. “It’s fucking whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”
Morty chuckled slightly and followed Rick as he snagged Morty’s hand, dragging him towards the ladder. He stood there for a moment and Morty waited patiently. This wasn’t anything new. The last couple times Rick had locked Morty away from everyone and everything, he went through this exact scenario, minus the kissing and leaving together bits. Rick would bitch about him being fine and that he wasn’t panicking on the inside, but then pause at the door or ladder, in this case, before finally pulling himself together. Morty had always figured it was best to let Rick sort that out for himself, it was a plan that hadn’t failed him yet, so he kept at it. Rick took a deep breath and started to climb the ladder, Morty followed closely behind.
They exited the sub-lab without much to show for it. It wasn’t some grand adventure, and no one popped from the shadows to drag Morty away. Morty ran his fingers through his hair. The blue had settled more and became full on streaks through the brown causing it to have this greenish look in places where the blue tried to blend with the brown. Rick loved it, said it was like his own little permanent mark on Morty. Morty loved it for the exact same reason. He was still wearing the grey t-shirt and sweats Rick kept in the sub-lab. He was barefoot and he currently wasn’t wearing any underwear. He definitely did not look like he’d just gotten back from running errands. It looked more like he’d rolled out of bed. He sighed, it is what it is.
Rick glanced over him, and turned towards the door to the garage, only to pause. Morty glanced up at him. “Rick?”
He turned silently and hooked a finger under Morty’s chin, leaning down he dragged him into a slow but claiming kiss. “Because I won’t be able to do that with your parent’s around.”
Morty let out a small giggle, which caused Rick to smirk as he turned back around and walked through the door. As soon as the door opened, Morty could instantly hear the sound of people scrambling. He stepped into the kitchen, to see both his parents and his sister tripping over themselves to reach him. Summer was the first to catch sight of him. Rick had informed Morty that she was the only one who knew the truth. Her eyes widened as she looked Morty over. Beth was next to notice, confusion and what Morty knew to be mostly mock-concern filtered across her face. Jerry looked livid. Rick rolled his eyes at the family’s antics. Letting out a nervous laugh, Morty raised his hand in a little wave. “H-Hi, guys. How’s it going?”
Rick didn’t stray from his side, even as Summer ran forward to pull him into a hug. “Morty! You’re back!”
Morty hugged her back, grateful to take his eyes off his emotionally compromised parents. “Hey, Summer.”
Summer, the godsend that she was when it concerned Rick and Morty things, wrapped an arm around his shoulder and dragged him into the living room. Rick followed closely behind, especially after Morty had reached back and snagged his lab coat. “How was business?”
“How was business?!”
They all three turned to look at Jerry, who had yelled. Beth cocked her head and stepped forward, her hands up on her hips. “Were you really out on business, Morty?”
“Yeah, mom,” Morty nodded and sat down on the couch. Rick followed suit, keeping quiet and sitting next to him. Something Morty was mostly thankful for, given that Morty was better when it came to handling family things without being a dick. “I had some things to take care of for Rick, and then myself.”
Beth’s brow furrowed and after a speculative moment, she nodded. “Alright. You’re okay?”
Morty nodded with a grin. “Yeah, mom! I’m fine!”
She smiled and nodded. Morty had grown to appreciate her lack of motherly instincts to make her care more. It made lying to her the easiest thing in the world. “Alright, sweetie, you were gone for so long, I was getting worried. Did your business go well?”
Jerry shook his head and moved past Beth to stand between them. “That’s it? Our son is missing for an entire month and that’s all you have to say, is your business going well?”
The rest of the family mostly shrugged, Beth and Rick rolled their eyes in perfect unison. The next action differed though, Rick just scoffed while Beth crossed her arms. “I have no idea what kind of business my father gets up to, I know Morty has taken to it and started his own. I’m not going to suppress it. He’s getting older now and needs his independence, Jerry.”
“I’m fine, dad,” Morty told him, placing a hand on the back of the couch to vault over it, and stand behind it. He received a warning tug of the shirt from Rick that he was straying to far. He leaned back against the couch and Rick relaxed. Jerry looked surprised at the agility of the action, did he know anything about Morty at all? “Honestly. I’ve even got upgrades to my cybernetics.”
Summer joined him on the other side of the couch, and from the sound of it Rick had started watching TV. Her and Beth looked interested in his augmentations and full metal limbs, while Jerry looked increasingly upset. Summer punched his shoulder and leaned back against the couch. “Booyah! Let’s see them!”
Morty chuckled at her and instantly switched out all his limbs, he had to stand on one foot to transform one of his legs before placing the barrel on the ground and then transforming the other one. Beth’s eyes widened. “Wow, dad, you weren’t messing around this time.”
“What the hell do you think took me so damn long?” Rick growled out, turning from the TV to look at her. “Now, Morty can essentially protect himself from anything that may come along. Hey, Mort. Don’t forget your eyes.”
“Oh, yeah!” Morty instantly started to blink and activate his eyes. Rick had changed out his other eye for something a little cooler. It wasn’t a targeting system like the other one, Rick had made a full interface. It changed color on the outside to pale grey, but on the inside it was all for Morty. He could now more easily access everything X-19 had done to him.
“This is awesome, Morty!” Summer explained looking over the guns Morty had transformed his limbs into. “Is that a cannon?”
“A meson cannon,” Morty nodded, he flipped them all back turned back to normal, and giving her a little smile. When he glanced up at his parents. Beth looked rather impressed, she seemed content as long as her son was safe. These kept him safe. Jerry looked horrified.
“What the hell have you done to my son, Rick!?” Jerry shouted, coming over to drag Morty by the arm in front of Rick. Morty let him because he would have hurt his father if not, and it’s not like it hurt him. “You’ve turned him into RoboCop! How dare you change him this much?! This has gone too far! My son is a full arsenal for your asinine field-trips, and I won’t have you using him this way! He can never change back, don’t you get that? He’s fifteen! How can he get his education now when he has to focus on the upkeep for your equipment!?”
The entire family reeled back for a second, one thing above all else standing out to them. Morty scowled up at his father. Guess that answered his question from before. Jerry didn’t know Morty at all. “Fifteen?”
Rick rolled his eyes and growled as he leaned forward. Summer was just looking at Jerry like he’d lost his mind, and Beth just threw up her hands before leaving the room. Morty snatched his arm back from Jerry, causing him to turn to Morty in shock. He stepped over to Rick, who was now leaning on his elbows glaring at Jerry. “Fifteen! Jerry, you f-fucking idiot. F-F-First of all, Morty is seventeen. You were at his seventeenth birthday party, you dipshit. Second of all, I only replaced what was missing. Would you rather he be able to walk and protect himself or would you rather he be confined to a wheelchair like every other earthbound four-time amputee?!”
Jerry sputtered for a moment but then seemed to gather himself. He gestured to Morty, Morty really wasn’t interested in talking to his father, period. How the hell did he not know his own son’s age? “How is Morty supposed to pass his classes if he going on these month-long trips for you and your so-called business? His hair is blue, Rick! What the hell is that about? And his eyes? When did his eyes get removed?! Those were purely you, Rick! You can’t just experiment on people because you feel like it!”
Rick growled again and rolled his eyes, he leaned back and Morty hummed slightly when he ran his fingers through Morty’s hair. That was the signal. Morty had been working on his innocent act. “I didn’t dye his hair blue, and Morty, why don’t you tell your idiotic excuse for a father why I had to change your eyes?”
“They had been torn out,” Morty answered in a soft voice, almost a whisper, blinking innocently over at his father. They had worked on this story since they first decided to stay. Jerry would never accept the changes to Morty. He forced his voice to sound sad and put upon. “The guy that wanted those baby neutrinos that Jerry destroyed when he caused me to lose my arms, wasn’t to happy when I went to tell him we were going to need more time. So, he took my eyes as payment, instead.”
Summer let out a horrified yell and turned on dad. Rick smirked as she glared at him. Jerry looked between the three of them like he couldn’t understand why they weren’t on his side. “M-Morty is still paying for your fuck ups, Jerry, and you want to get angry about me making it easier for him?”
“We both know that’s not what you’re doing, Rick,” Jerry protested, turning his glare on to Rick, who took it with all the grace of a mob boss. Morty had to resist giggling. He did always enjoy it when Rick shut Jerry down, like he was doing right here. It wasn’t the whole truth and he would have some massive explaining to do to Summer, but Jerry never needed to know he was kidnapped. Never deserved to know. “You need him for your stupid science! There is nothing about this that is helping Morty, you couldn’t help Morty if you tried!”
Morty turned to glare at him, and his fingers twitched to pull out one of his guns. Shooting Jerry would be infinitely satisfying, especially when he tore into Rick like that. Rick helped Morty all the damned time, he made that whole program on the tablets for Morty to learn everything he needed for high school. He made the replacement limbs for Morty. He single handedly forged Morty’s independence. Morty moved to stand in front of Rick, he could practically feel the older man’s wicked smirk as he watched the events about to unfold. “W-W-What the fuck do you know, Dad? You’re never even here! I don’t even go to school anymore! Because of Rick I can take care of myself, because of Rick, I-I will now have a life you could only ever dream of! N-Next time you want to let shit spill through your mouth, shit you know nothing about, ch-ch-check your damn facts first.”
Apparently, Beth had re-entered the living room with a glass of wine. She held a small scowl on her face while Jerry was utterly stunned. Morty had never talked to him like that, and he’s entirely sure it was the part of him that was Rick, but he didn’t care. Jerry had belittled what he was to Rick and Rick himself for the last damn time. “What do you mean you don’t go to school anymore, Morty?”
Morty turned towards his mother, his entire stance softening, more like his normal self. He couldn’t talk to Beth like he had Jerry, he needed her to believe wholeheartedly that he was still her newly independent little boy. He scratched the back of his head. “Well, you know how I really struggle in a classroom setting?”
Beth nodded and moved to sit in the recliner. Morty shrugged, “W-W-Well, I found I learn better by myself, so I decided to drop out. But, Rick, he’s helping me study and learn things and I’m going to get my GED.”
Beth eye’s widened and her eyes flicked between the two of them a soft smile on her face. “Aw, dad. Thank you. Morty you do whatever you need to, honey. Have you decided on colleges yet?”
Jerry sputtered and looked between all of them as if he was the only sane one there. Morty glanced towards him and couldn’t help but let out a smirk as he went back to the couch to sit by Rick who was attempting to brush off Beth who was cooing over him taking care of Morty. “What? Seriously? How can any of this be okay, Beth?”
Beth paused in her conversation with her father. Morty had been far to entertained by his father’s reactions to pay attention to it. Rick turned towards Morty after glaring at Jerry. His hand tangled in Morty’s hair and out of habit he leaned back into the touch. Summer was currently on her cell-phone, but she did glance up at the affectionate gesture. Once Morty’s safety had been established and they talked a little, she zoned out. Or maybe she was just telling her friends about Morty’s upgrades, she tended to do that. Either way, didn’t matter, she was never one of the things Morty had to worry about. “Jerry. Our son has found a way for him to learn. A way that works for him, why can’t you be happy for him?”
“Our son is made of metal, Beth!”
“Because you” Rick growled out, turning from Morty to level a murderous glare on Jerry, “blew off his f-fucking arms! And an accident caused him to lose his legs. His eyes were torn out, once again, because of you. I had to replace his entire spine to get everything to work together right, it was so fucked up! G-Get off your damned high horse, Jerry. O-Or I’ll tear you down myself.”
Jerry was pushing at Rick’s limits, Morty was contemplating stopping him if he went to far. He wouldn’t mind letting Rick kill Jerry but he was sure his mother might have some issues with that. If he continued to tear at Rick, especially about his cybernetics, Morty might kill Jerry himself. Rick blamed himself entirely for Morty having to replace literally all of his limbs and then some, it was something Morty had been trying to work on, but he could only do so much. Morty turned as Beth stood up and plopped herself by Morty to cup his chin and look at his eyes. “I didn’t notice the eyes before, Dad, what the hell do you mean by Morty got his eyes ripped out?”
Rick groaned and glared at her. He raised his eyebrows at Morty, before turning back to Jerry. Right, one annoying person at a time. Morty grabbed his mother’s shoulder. “I’m okay, mom. I gave them up. Those baby-neutrinos that Jerry blew up that caused the loss of my arms? Well, they were for an associate of Rick’s and mine, he was a little angry that we told him we needed more time.”
Beth instantly turned on Jerry. Morty had to stifle the smirk that threatened to spread across his face. Rick utterly failed. That was almost too easy. “What the fuck, Jerry? Get out.”
Jerry turned to stammer at Beth as she stood and pointed to the door. “W-W-What? Beth?”
“Get out, Jerry,” Beth repeated a furious glare etched into her face. Rick leaned back and rethreaded his fingers through Morty’s hair for a second before laying it behind him on the back of the couch. “You’re not welcome here, until you can accept what’s happened to Morty. My dad is right, he’s helping Morty continue to have a normal life with what has happened to him because of you. So, get out, now.”
Jerry stammered for a moment before hanging his head and walking out the door. Beth turned and sighed when they heard the door slam. Summer looked up and clapped. “Nice, Mom.”
Morty scooted a little closer to Rick, who had moved on already and was once again watching TV. Beth shot her a little smile before turning to Morty. “Morty, honey, are you sure you’re alright? With everything?”
Morty nodded in the affirmation, giving her a grin. He really was fine with how everything had turned out. He really only noticed his limbs were any different when he went to use their other features. He wasn’t any more traumatized by the new bits than he had been by anything else. It just was. “I-I promise, Mom. I’m fine, great even.”
She nodded and moved back to sit in her chair. Summer glanced over to Rick and Morty, Morty caught the slight furrow of her brows as she took in how they were sitting. It wasn’t their normal sitting position, the one that had caused Summer to comment on the day he’d gotten kidnapped, but it was a hell of a lot more affectionate than the normal foot of space between them normally when Beth or Jerry were in the room. Morty didn’t say anything and she didn’t either, she merely turned to watch the TV, Morty following. He’d explain once mom left. She did deserve it, after all.
Contingency.
Morty conceded that as well, while Rick and Morty didn’t share everything with her. She did work as a valuable contingency for things that they did decide to tell her about. She’d definitely help if or when Beth found out. He wasn’t entirely sure how much to tell her, though. Morty pulled out his phone and open up his text thread with Rick. He typed in his question and nudged Rick to show him the phone. Rick took it out of his hands and began typing his reply.
Not yet.
Morty nodded and closed his phone, setting it in his lap. That was fine. Morty didn’t think it mattered and revealing all information to anybody with no reservations is a good way to get yourself betrayed.
They ended up watching a few episodes of Ball Fondlers together in a pleasant silence. Which Morty appreciated. It helped Rick adjust to having to share Morty once again. After the third episode, Beth’s phone went off. She stood up leaving her wine glass on the table next to her. “I have to go. They need me at the hospital. Glad your home, Morty. Be safe, guys.”
She left after receiving mumbled farewells in reply. All three of them remained silent until they heard the door shut. Rick picked up the remote and muted the TV. He pulled out his flask again and took a long drag before letting out a belch. “A-Al-Alright, Summer. Spit it out.”
“What actually happened?” Summer asked, dropping her phone into her lap and turning towards Morty. Rick glanced at how close she had gotten and pulled Morty into his lap, so he was sitting in their normal position.
“Morty got kidnapped, I brought him back just like I said I would. End of story.”
Summer gave him an unimpressed look. Morty gently smacked his chest. They both knew that’s not what she wanted to ask. “The Rick that kidnapped me upgraded my cybernetics. He sent me through training like our Rick, and then I killed him. That’s the end of the story.”
“Oh, nice,” Summer nodded impressed and held out her fist. Morty reached across the couch and bumped it with his own. “And your eyes?”
Morty shrugged. The story wasn’t that far off from the truth. His eyes had been torn out, just not by who he said they had been. “X-19 did one of them. The one with the targeting system in it. Then his Morty ripped out the other one. Rick had to replace it once we got home.”
“Cool, cool,” Summer nodded again, she seemed to be avoiding what she really wanted to ask. Morty glanced up at Rick and could see he was becoming annoyed with the pussy-footing she had started. “I hope you tagged him back for it.”
Rick groaned and Morty let out a laugh at him. Rick tilted his head to glare softly at her. “He did. F-F-For fucks sake, Summer, ask the question you want to ask or get the fuck out of here.”
Summer rolled his eyes and sent a glare right back at him. “Fine, Jesus. What happened between the two of you?”
Rick turned back forward and then leaned his head into his hand. Morty had sat up a little, fully prepared to answer the question in his place, when he was pleasantly surprised. “You were right.”
“What?” She asked looking at him in surprise. Morty glanced between her and Rick. Was he really going to be the one to tell her? Morty had fully expected for Rick to shove that off on him. “Right about what?”
Rick let out an irritated growl but didn’t turn to look at her. “You were right about Morty and I.”
Summer’s eyes widened in realization before she started laughing. Morty scowled a little bit. “What’s so funny?”
“You mean you were serious?” Summer let out through her laughs. Morty sat up straighter but leaned back into Rick’s hand when he threaded his fingers through his hair. “I thought Rick was lying just get me to butt out of his business. I hadn’t thought you two weren’t actually together yet!”
Morty rolled his eyes then and stretched out a foot to kick her. “Shut up. Don’t tell mom.”
Summer rolled her eyes and picked up her phone turning back to face the TV. “I’m not an idiot, Morty. I know that. Are you ever going to tell her?”
“Maybe one day,” Morty shrugged and snuggled in closer to Rick. Taking advantage of the fact he was allowing himself to be affectionate in front of others. Rick didn’t say anything else, just picked up the remote and turned the TV back on.
Morty didn’t expect him to. Rick was always quiet after one of his ‘Lock-Morty-Away’ sessions. He’d need the peace if he was ever going to let Morty out of the house again. Morty didn’t mind at all though, now that he thought about it. Days on end smothered in nothing but Rick, it sounded like a dream come true. He was feeling a little clingy himself, so he really didn’t mind.
He just hoped he didn’t get as aggressive about his protective possessiveness as Rick did. Now that he was thinking about it, he was certain. If Morty gained Rick’s protective possessiveness they would really have a problem then. Rick nuzzled his nose into Morty’s hair as he settled into Rick’s chest.
Morty had never been so glad that he thought about it.