Because I care.

        Those three words were all you'd wanted to hear since he left. They were all you desired as you walked away from the life you two had shared, the memories you were left with, unable to chase away.

       Because I care.

       Those words completely invalidated anything you'd ever been told by Morty, the boy who'd proven to be little more than a hateful creature. They had invalidated anything you ever thought, having come straight from the man himself, having been full of honesty, truth.

       Because I care.

       That was all you'd ever needed to hear from him to know it was true. That was all you'd ever wanted from this man, the man that had taken you under his wing as his assistant, the man who'd been aroused by you the first day you worked for him, the man who sparked something within you when his hand had lingered far too long on your hip when he'd pulled you from his lap, ensuring you were safe as you continued on your trip. The same man you'd lied to about everything, who you'd acted as a stranger around.

       The same man that found it within himself to come to your rescue when you thought you'd chased him away. The same man that took care of you just now, when you felt as though there was nobody there for you, when you felt the earth could swallow you up and nobody would notice the difference at all.

       As you watched Rick retreat from the room, leaving the door open just a hair as he moved to sit on your couch and think, those words were in your mind. They were burned into your memory, along with the adoring features of his face, the same ones that said he'd seen quite a bit, that he had quite the stories to tell, but the features that also said he could be as passionate a lover as he could ferocious.

       This was the man that you'd slowly begun basing your thoughts around without realizing it. Yes, you'd recently started to remember your time with your first lover, but Rick was slowly starting to occupy more space in your mind. And, the more you thought about it, the more you realized that a small part of you was willing to try again, but the larger voice screamed back, making that thought shrink back down as you shook your head, standing slowly to pull the outfit on. It was funny how one night spent in your room could leave the entire space smelling like Rick, a passing realization that brought a sad smile to your face as you pulled the shirt over your head and buttoned your pants. 

        As you took a deep breath, relishing in the slight undertone that Rick had left behind, you steadied your breathing and dried your face, trying your best to look presentable, not as broken as you just were. You took a small, hesitant step towards the door before you took another, and another, until you made it to your door, opening it slowly and stepping out. There was something about Rick that made you want to be strong again, something that pulled you above the thoughts you were drowning in, something that filled you with new life.

        As you walked from the room, Rick turned to face you, curiosity burning in his eyes as to whether or not you were alright now. You gave him a small smile before wringing your hands together. Pursing your lips, you wandered to the kitchen, not having eaten in quite a while. It may not have been something new to you, but even you knew it was pushing the boundaries when you neglected to eat for days. A simple apple wouldn't suffice, and it was later in the afternoon now, nearing lunch.

       Sighing, you shut the refrigerator door and moved to the living room. "Um," you began, "wanna, uh, wanna go to lunch?" Rick gave you a confused glance for a fleeting moment before he smiled softly at you, "Sure."

-x-

       For most of the walk, you and Rick had remained relatively silent. You had decided not to take the truck, nor a portal, and agreed on walking. The air was cool, nearing mid-fall temperatures. You left your sweater and lab coat at home and regretted it as you walked down the street, the wind seemingly making the air cooler.

       "Are you alright?" Rick looked down to meet your gaze. You never really noticed before that he was a good three inches taller than you, at the very least, his electrifying blue eyes captivating you momentarily. You forced yourself to look away, "Yea." Absentmindedly, you ran a hand up your arm, trying to create a little friction to get slightly warmer. You kept walking for a little bit, rubbing your arms and heading through the town. You felt something drape over your shoulders and looked over to find Rick smiling softly at you as he gave you his lab coat. "It's not much, but it is kinda cool out." You looked astonished as you pressed your arms through the sleeves of the material. Somehow it was softer than your own, more plush, almost. It was longer, too, reaching down slightly past your knees. "I feel like this was designed for a giant now that I'm wearing it." You chuckled weakly, looking up to see Rick smiling at you. You smiled back, looking down at the sleeves. They were slightly longer than your own, dangling from your fingertips by a good four inches. "I feel like a child in this."

        Rick laughed, patting you on the head, "You could be, sometimes." You stuck your tongue out, flapping the sleeves wildly at Rick. He smiled down at you, watching you attack his middle with his own sleeves as he put his hands in his pockets and threw his head back, laughing genuinely.

AN: Alright, I don't have the time to do it, so if somebody would draw me a fanart of this part, I will love you forever. I can see it in my own description, but I wanna see what you come up with. Rick getting attacked with his own lab coat sounds adorable and I wanna see somebody draw this.

       He really does care.

       With a laugh of your own, you stopped flapping at Rick and the two of you continued on your way. A great weight was lifted from your shoulders, it seemed, as you looked over at Rick walking near you and smiled before looking back in front of you. 

       The two of you walked, both smiling widely as you did so, enjoying the company of one another as you made your way down the street, towards the line of restaurants. "What sounds good today?" You glanced around, tapping your index finger to your lip thoughtfully. "Does Chinese sound good to you?" You looked up expectantly at Rick. He shrugged, "Yea. Sounds good."

        You clapped your hands together, the sound muffled as the sleeves fell over your hands once again. You grabbed Rick's wrist and dragged him towards the restaurant. "Leggo!" 

       Once inside the restaurant, the two of you were instantly ushered to a booth by a very attractive waiter. He leaned over and set menus in front of the two of you, and you looked away, not wanting to stare at him. He wasn't Chinese in nationality. (I didn't know how to say that without offending anybody >~<). "What can I get you to drink?" He pulled out a scratch pad, popping the gum he was chewing as he stared down expectantly. "Um, I'll have a blueberry lemonade." He smiled down at you before scribbling on the notepad and looking over to Rick. "Coke." 

       "Alright, I'll be back to take your orders." He walked away, and you reached for your menu, smiling at Rick. You found it getting warmer, so you set the object down again and moved to shrug out of his lab coat. "Do you want this back right now?" He looked away from his menu and smiled, shaking his head, "No, we still need to walk after this."

       That damn smile. That fucking smile that made me weak in the knees, and fucking breathless. He's got it. He's fucking got it.

       You couldn't help but smile back, blushing slightly. That smile was your favorite, and it always had been. You pulled your menu up, using it to hide your blushing face from the staring man as you looked over your choices. Your wallet sat in your back pocket, and you'd checked for it several times, so you knew you didn't have to worry. You'd pay for the meal, as a gift of sorts. Something nice for a friend.

        When you'd chosen, and managed to cool your face, you set the menu down. After a few seconds, your phone buzzed in your back pocket.

*MORTY*
Did Rick find you?

*YOU*
Well, I mean, I was in my apartment, but yea.

*MORTY*
Where'd he go? He hasn't been home in a while.

*YOU*
I took him out to lunch.

*MORTY*
Oh, ok. Have fun ;)

       Chuckling, you put your phone away, looking up to find Rick looking at you. "Morty was looking for you," you explained. Rick nodded, setting his menu down. The waiter came back with your drinks. "Are we ready, or do we need a few?"

       He set your drinks in front of you, staring down expectantly, though he seemed to be more focused on you. "Are you ready?" You glanced over to Rick. "Yea, go ahead."

       "I'll have the orange chicken with white rice, please." The waiter gave you a wide smile before scribbling down your order and taking your menu, turning to Rick, "And you?"

       "I'm actually having the same." The waiter repeated the process, taking Rick's order and walking away with a smile. You looked over to Rick, "Are you serious? That's funny." You laughed, resting your chin on your fist and taking a drink of your lemonade, enjoying the combination of blueberries and lemons ;). 

       "Thanks. F-For, y'know, all that." You set your drink down, smiling sheepishly. "I really appreciate it." Rick smiled softly, sitting back in his seat, "It was no problem, (Y/N)."

        That made you feel really happy. He hadn't just waved it off, he smiled and gave you an actual response. "That idiot was wrong about you." Rick gave you a puzzled look and you laughed airily. "You really do care. It's just hard to make you show it."

       Rick looked away from you for a moment before looking back, "Can't always believe that kid." You nodded in agreement, taking another drink from your cup. There was a duo sitting a few booths from you, laughing. Your attention was drawn over, finding two men on what appeared to be an actual date, not just a nice gesture. You looked away when you saw one lean over and quickly kiss his partner, making your heart swell before it sank again. It wasn't often that you saw that, but it was often that it made you almost jealous. 

       When you looked down, Rick quickly turned to see what had your attention, turning back with an 'oh'. You noticed his motions in your peripheral vision, making you blush slightly yet again. Rick chuckled lightly and took a very long drink, setting his cup down as the ice clacked softly. 

       Your waiter returned with your plates, setting them gracefully down in front of you both and stepping back. "Need anything else?" He sounded rather chipper. You exchanged a glance with Rick, both shaking your heads, "No, thanks. We're good for now." You watched as he smiled down at you and walked away, "Alright, enjoy."

        You did, too. You and Rick ate in relative silence, enjoying your lunch. Every once in a while, you'd exchange words, laughing or blushing as one or the other finished speaking. You both smiled at one another a lot, as well, both content in this moment. 

       When you'd finished, glad that they had given you just enough, you pushed your plate back. Rick finished shortly after, doing the same before he took a long drink from his coke. The waiter made his way back over, having noticed that you'd finished as he was making his rounds.

       "Are we doing dessert today?" He popped one hip out, resting his hand on it. Again, the two of you shook your heads at one another and laughed, "No thanks, just the bill. I'll take it." Rick was about to protest, but you held a hand up, "Nope, I got this. My treat." Smiling, the water pulled your ticket out, scribbled something on it, and handed it down to you. You pulled your wallet out, looked at the bill, and handed him a fifty. The bill was $43 even, "It's all set. Thanks!"

       He took the bill and smiled, walking away. "Have a nice evening!" 

       The two of you stood and gathered your things. You shrugged back into Rick's lab coat, laughing as you took in the sleeves yet again. Rick led you outside and you wandered down the street. "So," Rick handed you the slip from before, "he left you something." He held the ticket out to you. The words 'call me anytime' were written above a phone number with a winky face. 

       You stared at the slip, taking it from Rick's hand and staring down at it incredulously. "At times like these, there's only one thing you can do." You folded the paper several times, walking over to a garbage bin and dramatically throwing the paper in.

       Rick laughed and the two of you made your way down the street, chatting for a while.