The morning was cooler when you woke up, clad in only your boxers. There was something particularly warm about your bed today. You leaned down to grab your blankets, noticing an extra set of legs. You jumped slightly, looking up to find Rick's sleeping face.

       As peaceful as ever.

       Assuming this was a dream, you grabbed the blankets and pulled them over you, nuzzling closer to Rick. You threw an arm over his middle and buried your face beneath his chin, the steady sound of his heartbeat relaxing you. This had been all you wanted, a regularly occurring dream. All you wanted was to have your Rick back, the way he used to be, when he'd surprise you with small gifts or kiss you all over your face until you laughed again.

       As you were lulled back to sleep, your stomach pressed against Rick's side and your face nuzzled beneath his chin, an arm wrapped around your middle while the other rested atop your head. You smiled sadly as you drifted off to sleep, wishing you didn't have to wake up from this.

-x-

       Once again, you awoke to find your bed slightly warmer than you'd ever remembered, finding Rick still there. As you looked around, taking in your surroundings and finding yourself in your apartment, it occurred to you that this was, in fact, very real. However, you weren't as put off once you realized you were in the same clothes you slept in, and Rick was fully clothed as he snored lightly. As you moved around, searching for your phone while Rick's arm was wrapped firmly around your waist, you felt him move. You remained still, wondering if he was going to wake up. Instead, he rolled over, bringing you with him, and pressed up against your back, his hand resting on your stomach as he exhaled slowly, his breathing evening out once again. Looking up, you could see your phone. Deciding against grabbing it, you sat and waited for Rick to wake up.

       It didn't take very long for him to get up. You had sat still for about half an hour before he mumbled something incoherent and sat up slightly, his hand still on your stomach. He looked generally confused, glancing down at you through slitted eyes. "This question defines my next action," he muttered. "Is this real?"

       You nodded, confused, as you watched him slowly pull away and sit up, rubbing his eyes with the base of his palms. He stretched, groaning as he did so, and sat cross-legged on your bed.

       Suddenly feeling very cold, you reached down and grabbed the blanket, pulling it over yourself as you grabbed your phone, checking it for the first time in 3 days. You had several messages from another unknown number.

*UNKNOWN*
(Y/N) are you alright? Rick and I are worried.

*UNKNOWN*
(Y/N)?

*UNKNOWN*
(Y/N), please answer. Even if it's just a letter?

*UNKNOWN*
Please at least read these? Leave me on read, IDC, but read them so we know you're alright.

*UNKNOWN*
Rick's coming over if you don't answer me.

*UNKNOWN*
We're really worried about you.

*UNKNOWN*
Rick's coming over.

       You scrolled through the notifications, effectively assuming the messages were from Morty. You hummed, looking to see if you had anything else. You had a YouTube notification. Markiplier had another video, but there was nothing else. You quickly added the video to watch later and shut your phone off, rolling until you were effectively burritoed. It was nearing the end of summer, and some days were colder than most. You sighed, content, as you nuzzled into the blanket, opening your eyes momentarily to find Rick staring at you with an amused smirk. You shut your eyes again and sighed, putting your hands beneath your chin and relaxing for a moment.

        The weight of the bed shifted and you heard Rick walk out of the room. The sound of the bathroom door creaking shut told you where he'd gone as you sat up with a sigh, removing the blanket from yourself. You checked your phone once again, having neglected to look at the time, and found that it was fairly late in the afternoon. Your sleeping schedule had caught up to you again. You groaned as you set the phone back down, sitting up with a sigh.

        The sound of running water came to an abrupt stop before you heard Rick's returning footsteps. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. He looked at the ground, neither of you saying anything as he folded his arms over his chest and chewed his lip. You stood silently and made your bed, unsure of what to say to him. A simple 'hello' wouldn't suffice, but anything else would be strange.

       So you settled on, "What's up?"

       Rick looked up and met your gaze, no longer chewing his lip as he looked at you, almost studying your features. He cleared his throat, "Uh, haven't done much other th-than thinking lately."

        You stood awkwardly, running your hand along your arm. After a minute or two, you walked out, passing Rick and grabbing your basket of clothes. You rifled through and pulled out an outfit, grabbed a towel and some boxers, and crossed your front room. "I, uh.. I'll be a few. Gonna shower." Rick nodded and waved you forward, moving to sit on your couch.

       As you stood beneath the heated water, watching it flow down your legs, you thought. It had been a while since you remembered your relationship with Rick back in your dimension. It'd been a while since you found yourself missing that. You hadn't really thought much about it, having been too busy, buried in homework or another dude's ass. There hadn't been time to think about it.

       But, ever since Rick hired you as his assistant, you've found yourself thinking about your Rick more and more, before Morty turned him into a robot or whatever and started to control him.

       You thought about how it felt to wake up with Rick's arms over you, how it felt to nuzzle against him again, feeling like nothing could ever bother you. You remembered how he would take you on adventures when you'd had a particularly rough day at school, how he'd kiss your forehead and tell you it was alright when you'd mess up one of his inventions. He used to take you to an ice cream shop, just down the street from your house, and he'd buy a cone for each of you. You would always wind up stealing some of his, content with your flavor, but wanting a little variety as he'd choose something different.
       He used to take you to the beach in the middle of summer, showing you off as he held you close in the water, kissing you with the most passion your teenage body could handle. At 16, everything had been so blissful. He was so gentle with you, never harming you. He'd make sure you knew you were loved, knew you were cared for. The nights you would sleep at his house, after you'd give yourself to him in the most intimate ways possible, he would hold you close, running his fingers along your sides and lulling you to sleep, reminding you each time just how much he loved you.

       Those had been the parts of the relationship you missed the most. He had been the most caring man you'd ever met, a drastic change from the men you found yourself fooling with now. It was a heavily noticeable change. You'd gone from absolute, doting sweetheart, to funny, shielded man, shoving love away and replacing it with a good, hard fuck when you found yourself needing to get away from it all.

       Maybe it was because of the way he'd changed. Maybe it was because you'd hoped to find somebody who would go from abusive to caring in the same way Rick had gone from caring to abusive. Maybe you could turn somebody else around like that. But you wouldn't ever try again. There were too many ways that love could go wrong.

       And that was what hurt the most. You didn't want to find yourself in another relationship ever again, but you found yourself infatuated by Rick, the same Rick that had shown up last night and held you close as you fell asleep. Held you close as you felt the world breaking, and mumbled something that you didn't quite catch, yet it'd comforted you all the same.

       As you stood in the shower, rinsing off, you felt your shoulders shake, tears forcing themselves out as you slumped against the wall. You sobbed, trying to avoid making sound, as you let the water run over your body again. You'd not cried this hard, or this much, in a long time, but it all came out just the same.

       You sank to the ground, the water hitting your head and rolling down your back as you sobbed violently, feeling as though you couldn't breathe. It felt like the world fell around you. You released pained cries, no longer caring what Rick thought, nor anybody that heard. The world was falling around you, and you'd pushed away the only man that could fix that. He was gone now, a slave. Only you hadn't been the one to push him away, yet you felt that all the same. You must have done something to drive him away, because he stopped loving you in the blink of an eye. There was something unlovable about you, something that kept people from coming back to you, kept them from staying.

       The world was shattering around you, the water running down your back as you pulled your knees tightly against your chest, wrapping your arms around them and pressing your head between the harsh bone. The sobs ripped from your body as you screamed, constantly willing him to love you again. You never said a name, but you felt as though the world knew who it was you wanted. Your throat burned with the force of the sobs as you screamed into your knees, pulling your head back and releasing an ungodly, tormented sob, the sound unrelenting as you felt the tears wash away in the water, feeling it splash on your neck and run down your chest.

        Your throat clenched as you struggled to pull yourself back to earth, unable to settle down as another wave of pain coursed through your body, felt in your soul as you remembered that damned smile he would give you, how he'd ruffle your hair and pull you into a deep, loving kiss. You remembered how it felt when his lips moved against yours, how his hands would hold you in the most loving embrace as he pressed his body against yours.

       You screamed, no words coming out, just the same pained sound. As you drew a breath in, your lungs on fire, you brought your fist up and threw it at the side of the tub, a gut wrenching sob emitting from its spot, buried deep within you, as you brought your fist back and continued to beat on the hard surface, your knuckles becoming more pained.

       Your arms pulled around your knees once again, knuckles an ugly shade of red as you pressed your face into your knees. "I loved you. Why wasn't that enough? Why couldn't you stay with me?"

        As you continued to sob uncontrollably, having more flashbacks to when he gave a damn, the water stopped flowing, something you failed to notice. You hadn't even noticed the bathroom door open, the most pained expression in the poor man's eyes as he took in your broken form. You hadn't noticed him in the room until a towel was thrown around your shoulders, your body pulled from its curled spot in the tub and carried back to your room as you were laid on your bed, the figure retreating back to the restroom.

Your body still shook with the sobs as you cried the only name you could think of. "Rick... dammit I loved you, Rick..."

       "Four damn years." You heard a soft voice mutter from the side of the room. "You really loved that bastard." There was a hint of pain, absolute torment underlying in that whisper. You couldn't respond as you took in oxygen, praying for the burning in your chest to go away.

       The towel was laid across your middle as you laid with your face to the wall, your hands pressed firmly to your eyes. There was another material dragging softly along your legs before it moved towards your arms. It was a towel.

        Rick was trying to be gentle, not trying to scare you, as he toweled you off, trying his damnedest to be comforting. He was successful in drying you off, having gingerly rolled you over and taking care of the other side, before he held your clothes out to you, pausing to see if you would take them. Not wanting him to have to dress you, you shakily grabbed them, pulling one hand away from your puffy face as you barely gripped the outfit you'd chosen. Rick gave you a smile, soft and sad, a whisper across his pained features, before he moved to leave your room.

       "Why?" Your voice cracked, coming out in a higher tone than you knew it should have.

       Rick spun around slowly, "Because I care."