Archive of Our Own

"Stay by my fucking side, kid." Rick demands, grabbing Morty by the arm and pulling him closer. He's already in a bad enough mood, having to come to the citadel, he doesn't need his shitty little grandson running off and getting captured by the freak Ricks who hang around.

Maybe they all look the same to Morty, but Rick knows better. He can spot them just by the look in their eyes. They way they look at his Morty.

Sick, disgusting creatures.

"Geez, Rick, it's not like- not like there's monsters around. I mean you-you leave me alone all the time on like, actual hostile planets, but here? Where it's safe? Why can't I take a look around? There's some things- there's a lot of neat stuff I wanna look at." Morty complains

"Trust me kid," Rick says, turning his head just slightly to watch a Rick start following them. Piece of shit must've overheard and is waiting for Morty to shake Rick loose to snatch him up. "This place is filled with monsters."

Morty rolls his eyes. "You know Rick, you shouldn't talk about yourselves like that. You're-you're not that bad a guy, Rick." Morty puts a comforting hand on Rick's arm.

Rick sighs, guilt flooding through him because he is. He is a bad guy and he knows it. He's only a step above these freak Ricks because he doesn't act on his urges.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't have them.

"You have no idea, Morty." Rick mutters.

"But I do, Rick! I know you!" Morty presses, and it hurts because the kid sounds so genuine, he has no idea how little he really knows. "You can be mean, but... You have a-a good heart, Rick."

Rick just scoffs.

"I mean it!" Morty continues. "I know I can be ungrateful s-sometimes, when we're on adventures, and I'll call you lazy and think that- say that you're being too careless, but later on, when I really think about it? You were just trying to keep me from getting anxious. All you wanna do is help me relax and open up!"

And God why does the kid have to phrase it like that? Rick watches as a trio of Ricks look over at the words, perverted smirks on their faces. They all have Mortys. Small, sad little things with heavy eye bags and dark bruises on their necks. Rick is on the brink of homicide, the only thing keeping him from killing those Ricks is the fear of putting his own Morty in danger.

"I get it, kid. You like me, big deal." Rick says, trying hard to keep all of his emotions out of his voice because he's feeling far too many and they're all annoying as shit. He takes a moment to drink from his flask to try and drown them.

"I love you, Rick."

Rick spits the fluid out of his mouth, choking and coughing. Why the fuck does Morty have to say that?! Especially when he's drinking?!

Morty worriedly flits around him. "Aw geez, Rick. Are you okay?"

Rick pounds on his chest, trying to get all the fluid out of his lungs. "Ugh, yeah." He grimaces at Morty. "Watch your mouth, kid."

"But a-all I said was 'I love you'?"

"And I said, 'watch your mouth'."

Morty frowns, "Geez, Rick, it's not like a little lov- a little affection will kill you."

"I don't know, Morty, I did nearly choke to death there, so..."

Morty rolls his eyes and smirks, "Don't be such a baby."

Rick snorts. "That's rich coming from you."

They fall into an amicable silence, Morty staying close and occasionally pressing his shoulder against Rick's arm. Usually, this would annoy Rick, but right now Rick is glad for it. He needs to know Morty is by his side at all times, lest he lose the kid.

During one of those presses, Rick reaches his arm out to wrap around Morty's shoulders. He knows it'll send out the wrong message to other Ricks, but it helps ease his fears of losing Morty here. Relief fills him when Morty doesn't move away, doesn't acknowledge the possessive hold.

He can feel Morty's head twisting and turning against his side, looking all around them. "This place r-r-really is cool, Rick. All these Ricks and Mortys just hanging out, running around..."

Rick grunts in dissent. Morty wouldn't think it was so cool if he knew how much danger he was in just by being here. If he knew that all these Rick were waiting for Rick to slip up just once, make one small lapse in judgment. Rick squeezes Morty's shoulder tighter, pulling him against him harder.

Morty chuckles. "Geez, Rick. You're so tense. Loosen- lighten up, will ya? You're gonna crush me."

"Sorry..." Rick mutters, his grip loosening up by just a fraction.

Morty looks up at him with those big, dumb concerned eyes. "Are you f-feeling alright, Rick? It's not like you to apologize so easily."

Rick looks at him, annoyed. "Do you want me to be a jerk?"

"No, but..." Morty sighs. "This place really bothers you, huh?"

"More than you will ever know." Rick sighs. They're almost at their destination. A small Rick convention. Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead at this sort of thing, but there's a panel on how to get past that stupid new butthole scanner at inter-dimensional customs. Rick could waste his time trying to figure it out himself, or he can hear it from a Rick who's already done it.

He just hopes the Rick holding the panel has an easy solution and that he's not wasting his time here. He's asked other Ricks for advice before only to get instructions that are way too much work. At a certain point just running and gunning through whatever barrier is ahead of him becomes the easiest option.

He stands in the lobby of the convention center, and is glad it isn't terribly crowded.

Morty's eyes are wide with wonder as he takes in all the booths and Ricks and Mortys hanging around. "W-w-w-wow, Rick! A whole convention dedicated to you!"

"Yeah, Morty, pretty lame, huh? Like, how fucking narcissistic do you have to be to come here?"

"Rick, you're here?"

"Yeah, and I hate it."

They wander around a little bit. The panel isn't for another two hours. It's not like Rick to be early for anything, but he was foreseeing more trouble getting here.

When Morty tries to tug himself out of Rick's hold, Rick can't hold back a small growl. As soon as he hears the noise leave his throat he forces himself to stop, but Morty has already heard it and is no longer pulling away.

Rick sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, feeling embarrassed over the ridiculous noise he's made. "What's got you so excited?" He asks, looking around.

There's a Morty waving them over, well, probably waving Morty over. He's sitting with two other Mortys at a square table, one open chair left. Just behind the table is a row of chairs, and three Ricks sit shoulder to shoulder, watching over their Mortys and chatting.

"Can I go make friends with myself, Rick?" Morty asks.

Rick looks the Mortys over. They all look healthy, not scared at all. The Ricks don't look like assholes, well not like any more of an asshole than being a Rick naturally makes you. "Yeah, sure." Rick agrees with a shrug, turning them so he can walk Morty up to the other Mortys.

"H-h-h-h-hey!" Greets the Morty that was waving them over. "Sorry if this is awkward, but... Wanna play? This game is a lot better with four people."

Now this close they can see cards spread all over the table.

"Um, sure, what is it?" Morty asks.

"MagRick: The Gathering." He answers.

"I've, uh, never played..."

"Do you know how to play Magic?"

"Yeah."

"It plays just- it plays the same, it's just legally distinct so the-the Ricks who made it don't get sued. Turns out Hasbro has interdimensional lawyers."

"I don't have a deck..."

"You can borrow one of mine."

Morty turns back to Rick. "Do we have time, Rick?" He asks, those fucking puppy dog eyes aimed at Rick.

"We've got ti- two hours, go nuts." Rick answers. Then he points at an empty seat with the three other Ricks. "I'm gonna be sitting right there, okay? Don't get taken away by any other Ricks."

Morty scoffs. "Rick, I know who you are."

That sticks with Rick as he goes to sit down. Does Morty know who he is? If any other Rick came up, would he be able to tell the difference? Rick isn't some gimmick Rick, he's a normal Rick. He's not ashamed to say he looks exactly like the three douchebags he's sitting next to.

... Douchebags is a harsh word. They seem like nicer Ricks than Rick is used to, definitely not like the freaks he has the keep away from Morty. If Morty did make friends with their Mortys, and wanted to visit them, Rick might begrudgingly oblige.

They easily make space for him in their conversation, a discussion of proper terraforming techniques and how to identify planets with the potential to be habitable. It's not exactly exciting, but there's something calming about how easy it comes. None of them look at each other while they talk, they keep vigilant watch over their Mortys.

When a lull comes, the Rick sitting next to him (In Rick's mind, he's been calling him Rick #2) bumps him lightly with his elbow. "New Rick," He says. "What's brought you here?"

"The URRP panel about sticking shit up your ass for customs."

He can see Rick #2 nod out of the corner of his eye. "Ah, same as us then."

"Wouldn't be here unless I needed to be."

The Rick next to Rick #2 (Who Rick has decided is Rick #3) scoffs. "Yeah, this place is fucked. I can let my Morty run free on fucking planet Xarcars. You know the one? It has- The one with the big tittied man eating plants? But I practically have to hold his hand here."

"I thought about getting one of those child harnesses." Says the Rick furthest (And that's Rick #4). "But Morty would've been pissed."

"I'm scared to even fucking blink." Rick #2 says.

Rick #3 says, "It's fucking gross how many of me are creeps. Like shit, thanks for the self-esteem issues, assholes."

"I've had to take a piss for like, the last hour." Rick #2 says, "But I'm worried the second I go in, some piece of shit Rick will come out and take- dupe my Morty into thinking he's his."

"Yeah," Rick #4 agrees, "I don't know- That kid couldn't pick me out of a line-up."

"You know what- what my Morty said to me?" Rick says. "He said he wouldn't get taken away by some strange Rick because he 'knows me'." Rick does sarcastic finger quotes. "What the fuck does that even mean?"

Rick #2 scoffs. "Sounds like he's getting a little too cocky."

Rick #3 shakes his head. "Sounds like he's getting too close."

Rick #4 suggests, "Sounds like it's time to run a test."

"Whatcha got in mind, Rick?" Rick asks.

"Alright, so if you're like me, you told him you're sitting there, and not to go with anybody except the Rick sitting there, right?" Rick nods and Rick #4 continues, "Find a random Rick to sit there, and tell them to try to take your Morty away after about a minute. See if he goes with the stranger."

Rick chuckles. "Oh man, that'll fuckin'- that'll show him." Rick looks over at the Mortys. They seem pretty distracted in their little game. Now's the perfect time to slip away. Rick finds a random Rick standing around alone and gives him the plan.

Loner Rick has nothing better to do so he shrugs and agrees, casually slipping into Rick's seat. Rick stays close enough that he can hear, but far away enough to try and blend in the crowd, which is pretty easy to do when the crowd is like 70% him.

Loner Rick eventually stands and walks up to Morty, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder (Rick can't help the way he tenses up at seeing another Rick's hand on his Morty). "Alright kid, we need to go." Loner Rick says.

Morty looks back at the Rick with an annoyed look. "You're not my Rick." He says, complete confidence in his voice.

Rick is stunned. How does the kid know that's not him? He looks exactly like him, he sounds exactly like him. He is him. They're Ricks.

Loner Rick furrows his unibrow. "Don't be a shit, kid. Let's- URRRP- let's fucking go."

"No!" Morty says, leaning away from the stranger. "Go away! You-you're not my Rick!"

Loner Rick's voice lowers dangerously, his hand wrapping around Morty's arm, "Morty, stop giving me shit and-"

"Hey!" Interrupts the Morty sitting across from him. "Y-y-you heard him! Get lost!"

Loner Rick sneers. "What're you gonna do about it?"

All three of the other Mortys stand up, crowding around the loner Rick and pushing him away. They're all shouting at him to leave, standing around Morty protectively.

Morty's eyes are darting around the room, and eventually land on Rick. "Rick!" He shouts. "Get over here!"

When the fuck did Morty start ordering him around? Rick stays where he is. He knows Morty is looking right at him, but he can't really know he's the real Rick. He couldn't pick Rick out of a crowd.

Could he?

Morty sighs, looking frustrated, then gets up, walking right over. "Rick!" He says, tugging on Rick's lab coat. "Come on, what's-what's wrong with you? Y-you were the one freaking out about us being here."

At this point Loner Rick has left, and the Mortys have returned to their seats, looking over at them with concern. The Ricks are looking over with stunned expressions.

Morty gently pulls them back to the table in silence. Rick's trying to think of how Morty could identify him. Is his hair messed up? Does he have something on his face? Is his fly open? What is it that Morty sees that he's not seeing?

"Sorry ab-about that, guys." Morty apologizes. "Thanks for the back-up, though. You three are cool- pretty cool Mortys."

"Hey, no problem, dawg." The Morty sitting diagonal says. "Don't even-even trip, broh. Us Mortys, you know? We-we-we ride together, we die together."

"Preferably no dying, though." The Morty next to him says.

"Alright, now who's turn was it?" Morty asks, picking his hand back up.

"No!" Rick says, picking the cards out of Morty's hand and laying them back on the table. (Face down, he's not that big a jerk.) "You can't- This is- How did you know that wasn't me?"

Morty looks at him like he's a moron. "Rick, how many times do you- do I need to tell you. I know you. I know who you are."

Rick looks over at the other Ricks and gets an idea. "Hey, Ricks." He calls.

They stand and walk over. "What's up, Rick?" Asks Rick #2.

"Alright, here's another little te-experiment. We're men of science, after all. We," Rick gestures to himself and the other Ricks. "Are going to line up in a row, and-and then you little shits are gonna cloORRRP-close your eyes and count to ten. We're gonna shuffle around and then you'll open your eyes and try to match-find your Rick."

Morty raises an unimpressed brow. "Why can't you just accept that I can identify you, Rick?"

"Shut up," Rick says, forming a line with the other Ricks, "And close your eyes."

Morty looks back at the other Mortys who all shrug. The form a line as well, then close their eyes and cover them. Morty counts out loud, slowly.

Rick smirks and makes a small hand gesture, which the other Ricks seem to understand immediately. All four of them stay in their own spots, but stomp their feet to make noise for the illusion of moving around.

They still as Morty hits ten. All four Mortys look up.

The Ricks try their best to keep blank faces as confusion falls over the Mortys' faces. They huddle up together, like a little football huddle, and the image is so cute Rick wishes he could take a picture. They whisper to each other a bit, occasionally glancing over.

Finally they break apart. Morty speaks up, "I don't understand, Rick. I thought- We thought you were gonna shuffle?" He gestures at all four Ricks. "You're all s-still in the same spots."

Each Morty makes their way to their own Rick, to the shock of the Ricks.

"How?!" Rick asks, "How do you know?"

"Rick!" Morty yells, pulling at his own hair in frustration, "Why can't you just accept that I-I know you! Do you think that I'm so dumb that I can't- that I don't kn-know my own grandfather? I spend almost every waking second of my life with you! My-my life revolves around you so much, I dream about you! You teach me about alien cultures, you take me on adventures, you keep me safe, you help me have fun, you make me feel needed. You're practically the only reason I wake up in the morning! Rick, I-I'm in love with you!"

Fear shows on Morty's face as he says it, as if he didn't expect the words to come out of his own mouth, and he slaps his hands over his mouth. His eyes dart around, taking in his surroundings. Rick's doing the same, fear also on his face. He's scared, he can admit it. He's scared of Morty's feelings, of how they came to pass and what he's sure is his own influence in them.

He's also scared of how everybody around them heard the loud confession, all eyes on them. Normally, Rick couldn't give less of a shit about other people's opinions of him, especially Ricks' opinions of him, but this is as far from a normal situation as he can get.

He looks at his new Rick friends. Rick #2's face is carefully blank, Rick #3 looks sad, a weird look of guilt in his eyes, and Rick #4 looks curious, watching with rapt attention. He looks over at their respective Mortys. Morty #2 is staring at his feet with wide eyes, an intense blush on his face, Morty #3 looks hopeful, hands clasped together at his mouth like he's praying, and Morty #4 is watching intensely, both his hands over his heart.

He looks over the crowd, Ricks and Mortys all looking over with emotions ranging from disgust to joy and everything in between.

Finally, he looks back at his Morty. The boy has tears in his eyes, staring resolutely at Rick's feet, not his face. He still hasn't said anything. He doesn't know what to say. He's scared of what he wants to say.

Morty's hands lower from his mouth. "I-I-I... I'm sorry, R-Rick..." His voice is watery, weak. "I didn't- I don't- You don't..." Morty's eyes flick to his face then back to the ground. "I'm sorry..."

Morty turns and bolts, as if his life depends on it, disappearing into the crowd.

"Morty!" Rick calls, chasing after him, fear's icy grip taking his heart for an all new reason now.

A scared, alone, lovestruck Morty? He won't last two minutes out there. Rick has to follow, has to keep on the kid's path. He pushes Ricks and Mortys out of his way, chasing the sound of footsteps as he's led outside and God that's so much worse.

At least inside the convention hall it's well crowded, well lit, full of security to keep things from getting out of hand. Outside there's alleyways and creeps and no way to tell where Morty went.

"Morty!" He calls out again, looking around to try and find his missing grandson.

"Don't think, just run!" Yells Rick #3 as he pushes Rick's back, encouraging Rick to keep going. "We'll help you find him!"

And indeed, all three Ricks with their Mortys by their sides have followed him out and are running in different directions, splitting up to find the lost Morty.

Rick runs down the street, head on a swivel as he continues calling out for his Morty, as he looks for any trace of the boy. He runs through twisting and turning paths, following nothing but his instincts as he eventually makes it to a seedier part of the citadel. There's no Ricks around, only Mortys who glare at Rick as if he's intruding, and maybe he is.

He walks up to a group, "Have-have you seen a Morty? Probably crying? Wearing a yellow shirt?" He asks.

A tough looking Morty wearing a yellow tank-top glares at him, "Aw geez, Rick, that sounds like every Morty I've seen today." He sounds sarcastic.

"Please, I need to find-"

"I think you need t-to find the door, buddy." Interrupts a different Morty, this one wearing gray, "If he came here? It's probably- it's to get away from you. And I can't blame him."

Rick sighs in frustration. He's not gonna get anything from the locals, so all he can do is keep running.

Then he hears it. The sound of Morty crying. His Morty. He knows it because it's one of his least favorite sounds in the world. He slowly approaches the mouth of an alleyway, where his Morty is sitting with his back against a wall, two Mortys standing in front of him.

"Aw geez, Morty, don't cry." Says one of the Morty's, all coated in tattoos. "You're gonna- gonna do great here."

"Yeah." Agrees the other Morty, this one has his ears pierced. "Mortys who genuinely- who fell in love with their Ricks always p-pull a higher price on the street corner."

"You wouldn't believe how many Rick's a-a-are into sweet, sappy sex." Says tattooed Morty.

"Or into trying to break that love." Earrings Morty says, "It's the look of betrayal, I think, that's what does it for them."

"Ugh, Ricks..."

"I know, right?"

Rick can't stand to hear it anymore, scared of what life Morty would have to live to survive here. The thought of Morty selling his body to any Rick who walks by, of those Ricks touching him, tainting him, breaking him, hurting him... It makes Rick sick to his stomach.

Rick finally steps in, making his presence known. "Morty." He croaks out. When did he start crying?

Morty freezes, curling himself further into a ball. "G-go away, Rick... I... I'm gonna live here now, s-so you don't have to deal with me..."

"Morty, I-"

"Get lost, Rick." Earrings Morty says, stepping in between them. "This one's not- he's not ready yet. Go-go-go find one on the corner."

"That's my Morty!"

"Not anymore." Tattooed Morty says, also getting in the way now. "He's a free Morty now."

Earrings Morty shakes his head. "You Ricks... You think you can just w-waltz right in, take whatever you want. Y-you make me sick!"

Ricks about to get real angry when Morty's soft voice pulls all of their attentions. "It's okay, guys... He... Just go, let me talk to him."

"... You sure you don't want us to kick his ass?" Asks earrings Morty.

"I'm sure."

"... We won't be far." Earrings Morty says as both the Mortys leave.

This just leaves Rick and Morty. Alone in an alleyway. Morty is still curled up, still won't look at him, and now that Rick's panic has subsided, he realizes he still has no idea what to say. He doesn't know how to deal with Morty's love confession.

"I'm sorry, Rick." Morty apologizes again. "I- You probably missed your panel."

"I don't care about that, Morty." Rick says, crouching down in front of Morty. "You really scared the shit outta me there, you-you know? Running away like that. I told you it's not safe here."

"Yeah, I... I can see that now." Morty's shoulders are shaking. "Sorry to worry you..."

Rick sighs and reaches out to gently pull Morty's face from his knees, forcing the boy to face him. Morty's eyes still look down and away, not yet ready to look into Rick's face. "Morty, what you said... About... About being in- about your feelings?" Morty closes his eyes, braces himself like he's expecting a slap. "It's- You don't- You shouldn't..." Rick sighs again. "Look, Morty, I don't really know what to say."

"Just tell me the truth, Rick. Tell me- t-t-tell me it's disgusting... Tell me you hate me for it..." Morty's eyes squeeze further shut as tears drip down his cheeks.

"Morty," Rick's hand gently caresses Morty's cheek. "I could never hate you."

Finally Morty opens his eyes, looks up at Rick. There's a shimmer of hope in those eyes.

"In fact," Rick continues, "I shouldn't... Shouldn't be saying this, but... I've been... I have..." Rick sighs in frustration, his free hand coming up to cover up his face. "Shit, Morty, I love you too."

Morty gasps. "R-really?" He whispers, so full of hope.

"Yeah, I've... I've loved you for a while now, Morty." Rick moves his hand from his face, but now his eyes are lowered to the ground, "Look we shouldn't-"

Rick is interrupted with a kiss. Morty's soft, eager little mouth pressing against his.

Rick tries to pull away but Morty follows, his hands grasping Rick's lab jacket to keep him close. "Morty." Rick tries to say, but it's muffled. He leans further back and ends up falling, laying flat on his back. Morty takes the opportunity to climb on top of him, continuing to press quick little kisses all over Rick's face.

"Morty." Rick tries again now that Morty's no longer blocking his mouth. Morty keeps going, kissing up Rick's jaw. "Morty!" Rick shouts, and that finally stops the kid.

Morty pulls back, heaving deep breaths, his pupils wide as he smiles down at Rick. "Yeah, Rick?" Rick can feel something hard poking into his stomach.

"Geez, don't get so hot and bothered over some fucking kissing." Rick says, pushing Morty off of him. "Look, this is a bad idea."

"When has that ever stopped you before, Rick?" Morty asks with a smirk.

"Don't be such a little shit."

"Don't be such a square."

Rick's eyes narrow. "What the fuck did you- did you just call me?"

"A square."

"Listen here-"

"No, you listen here." But Morty doesn't say anything else. It just goes silent.

"Y-you know, Morty. Usually when you say 'listen here' you-you have something to say."

"... I already said pretty much everything that I wanted- that I needed to say back at the convention."

"Then why interrupt me?"

"Because I'm sick of- I don't want to hear any of your bullshit, Rick!" Morty shouts, standing up. "You break all kinds of rules, and-and-and you take me on dangerous adventures but you won't dick me down?!"

All the air escapes Rick's lungs, he actually starts coughing. When he regains himself he asks, "Wh-who the fuck taught you to say that?"

"The nice Mortys I met here."

"Oh my fucking God..." Rick sighs. "Fine, I see your point. Just- Christ... Let's just get out of here."

"So you can dick me down?" The smug little piece of shit asks.

"Shut the fuck up, Morty!" But now Rick is smiling too.

As Rick stands, his phone starts to ring. He answers it, "Hello? This is Rick speaking, how did you get this number?"

"I got it through Rick means." Replies a voice, Rick #3 if Rick had to guess, it's a little harder to tell just by the voices. "Which is to say I hacked your phone."

"Asshole."

"Yeah, anyways, did you find your Morty? It-It's getting late."

"Yeah, I got him, he's fine."

There's sound on the other end, like somebody moving the phone away from their mouth, then Rick #3's voice is fainter, "Yeah, he's fine, quit your blubbering." More sounds and now his voice is loud again. "That's good to hear, I'll let the other Ricks know. Hey, my kid wants to know if you'd be down to- down for dinner? He wants to talk to your Morty again before we go home."

"Let me ask Morty," Rick says, then turns away from the phone to talk to Morty, "Hey, wanna see your little Morty friends again?"

"Yes, please Rick!" Morty says, now excited to hang out with those Mortys again.

Rick turns back into his phone. "He says yes."

"Okay, cool." Rick #3 says, "Alright, already texted the-them, meet us at the Rick-N-Out in front of the convention center."

"... Was that the best 'pun' they could do?"

"Look man, they can't all be winners. See you soon."

"Alright, bye." He hangs up. "Alright." He turns to Morty. "Let's get the fuck outta here." He pulls out his portal gun.

"Wait!" Morty says, then he runs out to the entrance of the alleyway. "Morty?" He calls out, and the two Mortys that he had been hanging with when Rick found him show back up. Guess they really meant it when they said they weren't gonna go far.

"Good to see you worked things out, Morty." Earrings Morty says, giving Morty a brief hug.

"Yeah," Tattooed Morty says, giving Morty a hug right after. "But hey, you always got a home here if you- if you need it."

"Thanks for being so nice, guys. It was- I'm glad I met you."

They wave at each other as Morty returns to Rick. Rick raises one side of his unibrow in questioning. "You really liked those guys? They were trying to convince you to be a prostitute."

"Aw geez, Rick, don't judge them for that it's- that's the only way they can survive. Besides, I met them when they- they saved me from a creepy Rick." Morty explains.

Rick feels his heart squeeze at the idea of Morty being attacked. He looks to the alley entrance where the two Mortys still are. "Thank you." He calls out to them. They give him a thumbs up and wave.

Rick portals them back to the convention center. The Rick-N-Out is pretty close, and in front are the three pairs of Ricks and Mortys they met earlier.

"Morty!" All three little Mortys call out, rushing Morty and hugging him. They all start chattering at him, excited, talking over each other.

"Come on guys." Rick #2 says, "We can talk inside."

The Mortys rush into an extra large booth as they get inside, continuing to talk. The Ricks all get into line to order.

"So..." Rick #4 starts, breaching the question they all have in mind, "What did you say?"

And Rick regrets agreeing to come see them. He doesn't even wanna look at them, he knows he can't hide his guilt.

"You know, saying nothing says a lot more than you think." Rick #2 says.

Rick sighs. "Look, I told him I love him." He distinctly hears one of them quietly gasp. "I understand if- if you guys hate me, I know it's fucked up, but let my Morty be friends with your Mortys, alright? The kid doesn't- he could use some good friends."

The other Ricks don't respond, probably thinking it over. After they all place their orders they start walking back to their booth. The Mortys are all smiling, and as the Ricks get closer, they all climb out of the booth, walking up to their respective Ricks.

"Rick!" Morty #4 says, grinning brightly up at his Rick, "Morty's bravery has inspired me, I-I- I love you, Rick!"

"Me too, me too!" Morty #3 says, grabbing his Rick's hands and jumping up and down excitedly, "I love you, Rick! I've always loved you!"

"Yeah!" Agrees Morty #2, grabbing his Rick's lab coat and batting his eyelashes up at the old man, "Dick me down, grandpa!"

Rick stares on in horror as the Mortys all babble their undying love to their Ricks. He looks at Morty, "What the fuck did you do?!"

Morty shrugs, smirking smugly, "Just gave them the- a little push in the right direction."

Rick #4 looks exasperated but happy, Rick #3 is silently crying as he hugs his Morty tight, and Rick #2 is glaring at Rick, but there's no real heat to it. "You two are fucking menaces." He says, but there's a lightness to it, a joy.

"Of course we are." Rick replies, "We're motherfucking Rick and Morty."