Soulmates

“Great!”

It’s been a fuckin great weekend away. It’s nice to be able to let our guard down without having to worry someone will catch us.

“Y-yeah, he’s my grandpa.”

Sure am. Don’t give a fuck.

“Nope, me neither.”

“Thank you!!! It really is, but I’m sure we’ll find a way through it. I- I mean, we always do, right?”

Always. I’ll wipe her memories when we go home.

“Or we could just leave.”

“Come on, baby. Talk to me.”

“Where do you want to go?” Morty asks, gaze locked on the drink clutched in his hands. “When we leave home, I mean.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere.” Rick assures him again, and Morty nods.

“I know.” He agrees as he had every time they’d revisited the topic over the last two days. “I know we don’t have to. And I’m not saying we have to run immediately upon getting home, but we have to have the option on the table.”

Rick sighs, reluctantly nodding.

“We can go whatever you want.” He says, resting his hand gently upon Morty’s. “Where do you want to go?”

Morty thinks about it for a moment. He hums softly, taking a sip of the bright green liquid in his martini glass, and then hums again. Eventually flips his hand over so he can tangle their fingers together.

“I don’t care where we go, as long as we’re together.”

“Likewise.” Rick grins, leaning in to steal a sweet kiss. “Come on, let’s go play some games.”

They both down the last of their drinks and Rick tosses some money onto the counter before letting Morty pull him away into the arcade. His heart warms, arm buzzing with pleasant energy where Morty holds him. Concern briefly tugs at the edges of his mind, but he shoves it away.

“Oh trust me, I-I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

Me too. Hard not too.

“Hard, huh?”

“It’s great! Everything is themed black and blue, and the carpets are so soft that I considered sleeping on the floor.”

Except the beds are better than the floor, haha.

We just got to a hotel on a planet called Roflaxulon Eight, were going to stay here for a few days and clear our heads. Might go to Blips and Chitz later to celebrate, or we might stay in and watch movies. We haven’t decided yet.

“What does that mean?” He whispers, and Rick turns to smile fondly at him.

“Let’s take a chance, go far away, and never look back again. Since I said I loved you in Las Vegas it’s never been the same since then.” He recites, and Morty’s heart flutters.

“What’s next?”

“You’ve got all that I need, looking at all or nothing, babe it’s you and I. With you I know that I’m good for something, so let’s go give it a try. We’ve got our backs against the ocean, it’s just us against the world..” He trails off when Morty lightly takes his hand, pressing a light kiss to Rick’s palm.

“It is.” He agrees, and Rick smiles, moving his hand to gently cup Morty’s cheek.

Morty leans into it, nuzzling his cheek into the touch.

“What’s on your mind?” Rick asks softly, and Morty flicks his gaze away.

“You know what’s on my mind.”

“No.” Rick disagrees gently. “I know what’s bothering you. I don’t know what you’re thinking about it, though.”

Morty purses his lips, turning his face further into Rick’s palm as tears threaten to spring free.

“I think I want to leave.”

“Huh?”

“Home. Leave home.” Morty explains, and Rick relaxes slightly. “I don’t- I can’t- Rick.” He says helplessly, gaze finally meeting his grandfathers, and Rick rubs his thumb gently over Morty’s cheek.

“We don’t have to leave, baby. We can-“

“I don’t want to hide. I don’t- I hate having to pretend that you don’t mean everything to me.” He insists, and Rick’s cheeks flush lightly.

“It’s okay, querido. I know it doesn’t mean anything, I know you love me. We don’t have to move out just so you can-“

“I know.” Morty interrupts fiercely, lurching forward and taking Rick’s face gently in his hands. “I know that you know I love you. And I know that you know I would scream it to the world if I could, but that’s just the thing; I want to. You mean so much to me, Rick, I’m sick of hiding it, it- this isn’t something dirty! I know it can sometimes be taboo but this isn’t something to be ashamed of or keep behind closed doors. You’re- you’re my soulmate. My other half- my- my person. I want everybody to know that.”

“Nunca dejas de sorprenderme, mi alma.” Rick whispers, leaning in so he can slot their lips together.

When they part, Morty squeezes his cheeks slightly.

“I want to leave. If you’re ready, then I’m ready. I just want to be with you. Forever.”

“There are no words for me to describe how much I love you, Morty.” Rick whispers, and Morty smiles.

“I love you too.”

Rick shifts, gripping Morty’s hips to pull him back into his lap. Morty doesn’t protest, snuggling into his arms immediately, and Rick’s left arm gently encases him while the right grips the steering wheel.

“We’re almost there.”

“I’m in no rush.” Morty murmurs back, nuzzling his nose into Rick’s throat. Rick hums softly.

“Do- I assume you mean the stuff with my mom? If so, yes. That sucked. I guess I have some thinking to do.”

Are you okay?

“Oh, just one second, I forgot my charger!” He bolts out of the room, and Rick snorts a laugh.

A minute or two goes by, and then the door opens again.

“That was quick. Are you ready to-“ Rick turns and sharply breaks off when he realizes its Beth standing behind him and not Morty.

“Dad, can I talk to you please?” She asks, all of her previous anger gone from her voice.

“Yeah, yeah of course sweetie. What’s wrong?”

“I need you to answer something honestly, I know it’s going to sound silly but I need you to be honest with me.”

Uncomfortable, Rick nods.

“Alright.”

“Are you... are you and Morty-“ She falters, expression twisting slightly. “Are you and Morty-“

Rick flounders mentally for a second: he knew Beth was catching on but he didn’t expect her to ask him straight out so soon.

“Are Morty and I what, Beth. What exactly are you asking me?” He asks, doing his best to sound annoyed, and he thinks he sees a flicker of hope in her eyes at the anger.

“Are you and Morty involved?” She finally blurts out. “Like- physically?”

“What?!”

“Well come on dad, you two have been really fucking weird lately-“

“Beth what the fuck!?”

“Mom what the fuck!?” Morty joins in as he returns, charger firmly grasped in his fist.

“I need your word, right now. Both of you. Tell me I’m wrong- promise me I’m wrong. Promise me or..... or don’t come back.”

“You’re wrong.” Morty says before Rick can say anything, too many thoughts whirling around in his mind. “Rick and I have just worked through a lot of our differences and we’re basically best friends.”

“Nothing is going on here, sweetheart.”

Beth looks at them both for a moment, and she eventually decides she trusts them, and her posture relaxes.

“Okay. I trust you.” She takes a step back, away from the ship, and gestures to it with her left hand. “Have fun on your trip, boys. Happy New Year.”

With that said she heads back into the house, leaving the boys alone in the garage. After a moment of silence, Rick turns to Morty.

“Morty-“

“Can we just go please?” Morty asks weakly, tears stinging his eyes, and Rick immediately nods and opens the passenger door for him.

“Yeah- yeah let’s go, let’s get out of here.”

Morty doesn’t reply, climbing into the ship without so much of a glance toward Rick. Rick stands motionlessly by the door for a moment, brow drawn up in concern.

“Are you okay?” He asks as Morty draws his knees to his chest and buries his face in his arms.

A weak sniffle escapes the boy.

“Can we leave please?” He croaks, and Rick nods.

“Okay.” He agrees again.

Quickly he closes the door and rounds the ship, climbing into his own seat. Within a minute, they’re out of the garage and in the clear midday sky. Once they’re clear of the house, Morty starts bawling.

Immediately Rick engages autopilot and turns to reach for Morty, but Morty is already climbing across the seat divider. Rick puts his seat back as far as he can and reclines it and Morty doesn’t hesitate to crawl into his lap, burying his face in the crook of Rick’s neck as shaking hands grab fistfuls of his lab coat.

Rick immediately wraps Morty into his arms, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

“It’s okay, baby, I’m here. I’m here, and I’ll never leave.” He whispers, and Morty nods weakly. “Rick and Morty forever and ever.”

“Rick and Morty a hundred years.” Morty croaks, and Rick manages a small smile.

“And even longer than that.”

“Promise?”

“With everything I have.” Rick replies firmly. “I won’t let you go.”

Morty sits up so he can look Rick in the eye. His own are puffy and red rimmed from crying, and Rick lifts his hand to gently brush away the tears on Morty’s cheeks.

“We’re going to have to leave.”

“Yeah.”

“Where will we go?”

“Let’s worry about that later, baby. For now, let’s focus on each other, we’ve got a few days ahead of us where we don’t have to worry about that. Right?”

“Right.” He agrees, managing a small smile.

“Beautiful.” Rick murmurs, and Morty’s cheeks flush a little darker as he giggles. “C’mere, just lemme hold you.”

Morty sags back down onto Rick’s chest, face returning to its previous burrow in Rick’s neck, and Rick’s arms immediately encase him. One moves slightly to card through Morty’s hair, and Morty sighs softly.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“As long as I’ve got you, I’ll be okay.” Morty whispers, and Rick squeezes him tighter.