Burn in Hell | C137cest AU

Interruptions - Chapter 09

       Morty heaved a heavy sigh, watching AJ play in the living room. It was Wednesday, his last full day with the kid until next Monday. They had been playing with the figures he had, though both were sort of unamused. The Backyardigans played on the television in the background, AJ seeming pretty amused when Morty would make sounds to go with the characters. 

       Morty's phone began to ring in the other room, though AJ seemed more intrigued by it that the older brunet. The toddler took off running, grabbing Morty's phone and looking at the contact. Morty had just begun teaching him how to work a phone and how to at least recognize names and ID's. "Dad!" Morty heard when the toddler put the phone to his ear. "Yea!" AJ ran over to Morty, holding the phone up. "Daddy it's for you! Dad wants to talk." AJ looked so serious it was almost funny, though Morty was less than happy to pick up the phone. 

"Hello?" Morty sounded heavily unenthused. 

"Hey, Morty, listen, I gotta talk to you about the kid." Morty heard the man sigh heavily on the other end. 

"What about him?"

"You gotta make him stop calling me dad. I'm not gonna be around, anyways, and I don't want those damn people coming to my house and going through it all."

Morty couldn't believe it. The man that had been so happy to bring the damn kid up was calling it quits. He gave up faster than Morty thought possible.
"I--" Morty began, though he gave up and sighed. "Fine. And if that's all you called to talk about, then awesome. I have a kid to take care of and a whole lifetime of mistakes to fix." With that, Morty hung up the phone, not bothering to hear Rick's burst of incredulity.

       "Hey, AJ, we're gonna play a game. We're gonna ignore dad for a while, okay? It'll be real fun." Morty smiled down at AJ, putting his phone away while the toddler laughed unknowingly. "Ignore dad?" he asked, as though ensuring he understood. Morty nodded, walking towards the kitchen and ignoring the incessant buzzing in his pocket. If Rick wanted to play the asshole card, Morty was waiting to trump it. How many tricks did he have up his sleeve, though?

      "Hey, AJ, how does Mac 'n' Cheese sound?" Morty questioned, going through the cupboards. "AJ?" he called when he heard the kid laugh. Walking into the living room, Morty was met with a peculiar sight.

       Sam was standing there, the front door slightly ajar, the toddler playing with the man. But Sam looked different. His hair was a mess, his face was bruised, and he looked... drugged up, either by his own actions or by another's.

       "Hey, Mo!" he called when his attention was finally on the brunet. "How's it goin'?" Morty chuckled uneasily, grabbing AJ's hand and leading him to the kitchen. "Ah, it's just gr-great, Sam. We were a-a-about to make lunch, though. D- Did you want anyth-thing to eat?" Morty worked to hide the slight edge of fear in his voice. There was something about Sam that put him way on edge right now.

       "Yea," Sam whispered, directly behind Morty. He was uncomfortably close, Morty feeling like prey right now. The brunet shuddered slightly, masking the movement as he shook some salt in to the water on the stove. AJ sat at the counter, waiting patiently without a care in the world. 
       "A-A-Are you -- Do you want a l-lot or j-just a little?" Morty very nearly trembled while Sam didn't move, save for his hands peculiarly on the brunet's waist. "Definitely a lot," Sam snickered, his hands squeezing Morty's love handles. Morty had been here before, but this wasn't lighthearted and almost loving. His heart was beating a million miles a minute. Right now, he wished he hadn't just completely shut Rick out. Right now, feeling like he was about to die, he wished his last words to Rick were an apology. He needed the man to look after his kid, anyway.