Burn in Hell | C137cest AU

Personal - Chapter 43

       When Morty stepped foot in the club again the Friday following his most recent trip to the hospital, after passing out again at Rick's house, he didn't know what to expect. Maybe everybody would be the same, and possibly more upset because the brunet was back. Sure, they'd been polite when Morty was unsure of who he was, but that was just politeness. He didn't know if their view of him had finally changed or what. 

       The time spent with Rick, when the man would slip away from his club and hang out with the brunet for an hour or two, was definitely different. It was the most positive change the brunet had witnessed. But he was growing a bit suspicious. He'd only been back for a few days, but Morty was witnessing something he'd seen before. Rick was being secretive, and doing a shit job of playing it off.

       But whatever, Morty thought. He made his way into the club, greeting Gary with a quick hug as he apologized for the man having walked in that evening on the two doing some 'weird shit', as Gary had put it in his texts. 

       The club was filled again, as Morty had noticed a few more individuals were in here than usual. He felt complete, though, dressed in Rick's style, almost, with his gun tucked where it belonged, the brunet's pocket watch hanging on a new outfit instead of his work uniform he had yet to need again.

       The man, to Morty's absolute surprise, was right in front of the door when the brunet had entered. His back was turned, caught mid-conversation, but that didn't stop the brunet. He crept up and stood beside Rick, running his hand over the man's rear as he did so. Rick jumped, looking almost ready to kill somebody, before his eyes landed on the cheekily grinning brunet.

       "What are you doin' here, baby?" the man purred, throwing an arm over the brunet's shoulders with a grin. "Got bored," Morty replied, looking around the small circle Rick had no doubt been conversing with. 

       "Is that him?" one of the women surrounding him asked, a drink in hand and her own arm thrown over her middle. "This," Rick stated, nodding with a chuckle, "is Morty. Wave, baby, and give 'em that smile." Morty grinned, flashing his stage grin with a simple wave as he glanced around the circle. Rick chuckled, squeezing the brunet's shoulder in appreciation. He took a drag from a joint that had no doubt been going around the circle, passing it to the side opposite the brunet, to Morty's slight appreciation. He sure as hell wasn't opposed, he just didn't want to embarrass himself. The last time he smoked with Rick, he was more energetic than he'd ever known, his body practically vibrating as he had tried to sit still.

       "Looks good," one of the men commented, taking the joint. He followed the normal suit, passing it along with a flirtatious wink towards the brunet. Rick growled loud enough for only Morty to hear, the brunet giving a soft chuckle. 

       Rick checked his phone, most likely having received a text. Morty looked elsewhere, not wanting to read into his business even though he had every right to. 

       "Gotta go," Rick muttered, tucking his phone away. "You comin'?" Morty glanced up, finding the man watching him expectantly, and nodded, following the man to the back room. When the door shut behind the brunet, he decided to voice his curiosity. "Whaddya gotta g-get done ba-ack here?" He looked around, seeing nothing had changed, to his appreciation. 

       "Nothing important," Rick responded, wandering towards the couch. Morty followed after, still peering around the room when Rick pulled him towards him, the brunet landing on the man's lap. He laughed, adjusting to a more comfortable seating position as he faced the man. "Just wanted them to stop looking at you like that," Rick rumbled. "Didn't expect you to show up."

      "Yea, well," Morty tapered off with a laugh, throwing his hands onto the man's shoulders. "I just got bored a-at home." 

       Rick gave a smile, leaning forward and resting his forehead on the brunet's shoulder. "You have no idea how bad I hate myself for going back out front," he mumbled, Morty giving a soft laugh. "Y-You can always c-c-come back here and s-stop that."

       "That is true. You're back, so I can stop sulking," Rick mumbled into the brunet's shoulder, turning his head to no doubt add to the marks lining the brunet's neck. Morty drew in a short breath, gripping the man's shoulder lightly for a moment before he pulled away, kissing the bruise he'd left behind before doing so.

       "And, since you're here," Rick mumbled, looking for something in his pocket, "that means I don't gotta interrupt your beauty sleep at two in the morning today."

        Morty furrowed his brow, wondering why Rick would even come by his house at two in the morning after his 'shift', if you could call a twenty hour day such a thing. He'd been back to his old self, save for hospital trips every so often, for nearly two months now, enjoying how well things seemed to be between he and Rick.

       "Fuck," Rick grumbled, running a hand through his hair while he thought. "I need to get up," he finally mumbled, waiting for Morty to ease himself from his lap. "Be right back," he stated, stealing a kiss while he fished his keys out of his pocket. "Love you," he muttered, heading towards the back door. "L-Love you," Morty responded, sighing when he heard the back door shut.

       What was he looking for that had been so damn important? Whatever. The brunet was just happy he got a 'love you' out of it, smiling to himself as he thought about his finally being able to say it back. Ever since he had tackled the man in his home, things had changed quite a bit.

       Morty glanced up curiously, finding Rick heading back down the hall when he'd heard the door open and close. He threw his keys onto the mini bar, wandering back towards the brunet. "Are you okay?" Morty asked, seeing his cheeks were actually dusted pink and he approached borderline nervously.

       "Yea," Rick whispered, one hand held behind himself. "I just, uh, gotta figure out how I wanna do this because I completely forgot the plan." 

       "Plan?" Morty whispered to himself, seeing Rick scratch his neck and think for a moment. "Alright," the man blurted, staring at the brunet now.

       "So, we've sorta known each other - with mild interruption - for maybe four years? If you take out the time you became a pastor," Rick chuckled while Morty furrowed his brow slightly, wondering where this was going. "And you - hopefully - are fully over hating me, though I wouldn't be upset if you ran to your parents when I'm being a jackass." Rick gave a slightly nervous laugh, as though saying 'please don't actually do that'.

       "But, when you were in that coma, and even before that, when we were almost a team with AJ and we both realized we weren't all too bad together, I realized something." Rick pulled his hand from behind himself, held tightly in a fist around something Morty obviously couldn't see.

       "I want," Rick stated, fidgeting with his fingers for a moment, "more than anything right now," he produced a gold banded ring with a small moissanite gem in the center, "for you to put all of the bad behind us, and keep telling me you love me, and please - please - say you'll marry me."

!!!See You In Book Four!!!(Hopefully)(Please)(I know my stories are shit but please come back)