"So Rick just moved into an already abandoned family?"

"Correct, they were abandoned by their own Rick for twenty years"

"I still cant believe it..." I shake my head in disbelief. "Im sorry to just march in here like this..."

"I appreciate that you're being considerate but I dont find your company to be problematic" He responds and I nod. He's been very kind.

"So how come you named her Tamara?" I look at the tiny, sleeping form in his arms.

"I named her after her mother Tammy" I recognize that name, wasnt it Tammy who kidnapped Beth? And... Beth? Back when the Gromflomites attacked us? Were they two a couple?

"Can I hold her?" I ask.

"Naturally" I stand up and he gently hands her over to my arms, her little form feel so vulnerable in my embrace and I feel my lips tug upwards.

"Hello Tamara, arent you a cutie?" I smile and she smiles back up at me. "Were you two bonded as well? You and Tammy?"

"We were"

"So where is she now?" If she was on that ship Rick blew up...

"She is dead" I lower my head. Tamara has no mother.

"Im sorry to hear that..."

"Its okay, she was... destructive" I nod at his words. I guess we're two when it comes to difficult soulmates...

"So how are you holding up? Does it hurt a lot?"

"I have Tamara now, she makes it easier" He responds and walks forward to ruffle her hair. Tamara make some random sounds at the sight of her father, he seem to be a good dad.

"You're very different from Rick" He continues and I look up at him.

"Why do you say that?"

"I experience you as kind and gentle."

"Rick can be gentle"

"I assume but not like you, im must offer my deepest condolences that you are bonded with a man like him" Im ready to argue back but I manage to persuade myself that there's no use, I know he's right... I didnt like it first either, I thought that the universe fucked up and im still not sure if our bond is supposed to be?

"You know... you almost killed him..." I stare at him. "Rick I mean, before he fixed you." Birdperson looks back at me with an expression I cannot read.

"Cant you guys get along? I know you ment a lot to him, even though he wont admit it" I continue, before he can respond a portal suddenly appears next to us. I stare with chock as Rick walks out, his brow furrowed, clearly angry and he starts marching over to me until he notice Tamara in my arms which makes him stop dead on the spot. His eyes moves between me and Tamara which makes me hand her back over to Birdperson who doesnt say a single word, nor do he seem surprised that Rick is here.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Rick is the one to speak first.

"I wanted to talk to BP" I explain, trying to stay calm but Rick's burning annoyance is like needles on my skin. Rick look at me and I try to read his mind until his gaze moves to something behind me.

"So you're behind this you little shit?" I follow his eyes and spot Morty peaking from the other room, his back is hunched with shame as he walks out.

"I was the one who wanted to come here, I asked him for help" I protest and stand in front of Morty. Rick glares at me.

"Lets just fucking go"

"But im not don-"

"I dont care!" Rick interrupts me and reach forward to grab my wrist. He drags me along as he gets Morty, the entire time without giving BP a single glance. He shoots another portal and before we're pulled through I wake an awkward goodbye to BP. As soon as we're home Morty escapes from the garage into the house, I contemplate doing the same but instead I turn to face Rick, feeling desperate, why is he so angry? Does he not understand what im trying to do?

"I just wanted to-" I begin.

"I know what you're trying to do" His back is turned against me as he speaks. He did a 180, from annoyed, almost angry to low and silent.

"I just... I cant understand why you act like nothing matters" I admit and take a slow step towards him.

"Because its the truth?"

"So absolutely nothing matter?"

"Are your ears dirty?" He raise his voice and shoots me a glare over his shoulder. I take a deep breath to collect myself, his words affect me more that I would've wanted...

"No..." I sigh deeply and rub my nape, my gaze drops to the floor as I search my head for the right thing to say. Does he know that I know? About his past? "I...Im sorry about your wife and daughter..."

"What did you say?" He turn fully towards me.

"Birdperson told me what happened" I explain and dare myself to look up to meet his eyes. His expression is hard to read, dull almost? "I know its not easy to move forward, I lost my parents and I dont think that wound will ever heal but its in the past, and so is the pain you're carrying. You shouldnt let it affect you to the point where you cant liv-"

"I never found him" He moves his head again, tearing away the eye contact.

"What?"

"I wasted my entire life searching but I never found him, the fucker who did it. I gave up" He slump down on his chair. He never found peace? "I thought that maybe I was going to find something else that mattered but all I found was infinite possibilities, worlds and... Ricks"

All this time he was just playing a roll, being another Rick in a family he never had... Im not one to vote for revenge but hearing that he never got an ending...?

I take a moment to think before I speak again.

"If you want to party the rest of your life away, im fine with that" He look strained when he turn his head towards me, melancholy so deep in his features it has become a part of him. "If you want to spend another lifetime trying to forget..."

"What are you saying?" He cock a brow and I walk towards him.

"No matter what you choose to do, if you want to take drugs and live high the rest of your life just to cope? Then whatever but I will stay" I kiss him before he can protest, he tense up at first but then kisses me back. Rick has been drinking away his sorrows, he have tried everything to erase the past from his mind but every high must come down and after escaping for so long he never had the chance to find peace.

"Fuck baby..." He leans back to breathe and then proceed to deepen the kiss. His arms comes around my torso to press me greedily against himself and he tilts his head down to suck on my neck.

"I wont go anywhere" I breathe "I want to stay with you"

"I fucking want you to stay too" He speaks against my sensitive skin. I put my hands on his chest.

"Look" I say and he comes back up so we're face to face. "I dont care what you do to manage, but you're wrong, life do matters"

"I might just have an idea on what can make me feel better" He grins and I feel a blush take form on my cheeks, staining them bright red. "Let us move to a better setting huh?" He doesnt wait for me to respond before he shoots a portal. I yelp as he lifts me up, my hands instinctively intertwine behind his neck and my legs around his waist to keep me from falling. He carries me through, his hands under my thighs and im placed down gently on his bed, the springs creaks as he do. I watch in awe as he dispose of his lab coat, it pools around his legs and the next to go is his shirt.

"I want to try something" He reach for his desk, pulls out a drawer and holds up a tie.

"I didnt know you wore ties?" I chuckle, entertained but at the same time curious of how he'd look.

"I dont" He corrects me with a mischievous smirk "Its not for me" He leans over my form and place it over my eyes. I lift my head slightly so he can tie it behind my head, instantly understanding what he got in mind.

"Really?" I grow nervous. Its all dark now.

"Really" He assure me "Oh fuck, hold on, I forgot one thing" I hear him mess around "One second, dont you dare fucking move." I hear a portal being shot and shake my head. He seem exited, what does he have in mind?

Surprisingly soon I hear another portal and unable to see I bite my lower lip in anticipation, patiently waiting, he did tell me not to move.

"Rick?"

"Shh..." He shushes me and I feel a presence move closer. What did he get? Is it something weird? I flinch when I feel a hand on my leg, it moves painfully slowly upwards, over my knee and further. I shiver and instinctively clamp my thighs together.

"Spread them" I lower my brows and step back on to earth. That didnt sound like... The moment I inhale, wanting to feel the sweet scent from my soulmate i realize something is wrong and sit up abruptly. I tear the tie away from my eyes and stare up at the stranger hovering over me, his hands still resting on my thigh and one of his legs are bent up on the bed.

"You're not Rick" My voice is weak, merely a whisper and I feel my pulse rise with fear.

"Im Rick alright" He rolls his eyes, on his lower lip a scar and his hair has a white strand in it, the hairstyle slightly different from my soulmates.

"But you're not my soulmate" I cant feel his scent, I dont feel the pull from our bond, this must be another Rick? But why? I quickly move my legs away from him and cover back.

"It took you a while, I didnt think you'd notice so I was going to take the opportunity for a snack" He moves forward and lick his lips which makes me stand up and back away just as quickly. He doesnt even speak the same way my Rick does.

"What do you want?" I question, my hands start to feel clammy and I wipe them against my pants.

"What do I want... what do I want..." He stares directly into my eyes as he chants, slowly moving closer. A portal suddenly opens behind the stranger and my Rick walks out, in his hand a bottle of something. As soon as they notice each other they raise their guns and aim at one another, the bottle in his hand is dropped and slowly rolls over the floor.

"Who the fuck are you?" My Rick asks. His eyes glancing at me and I stare back in chock. What is happening?

"Im you? Duh" The stranger laughs and rolls his eyes.

"What the fuck do you want?" My soulmate's finger press the trigger tighter but the other one does the same. I cant breathe. They wont kill each other will they?

"For starters...You have a soulmate, you're not supposed to, this is my universe" As he mention soulmate he glance behind at me, giving me a wink to which I frown in disgust.

"You abandoned them" Rick spit. So this stranger is the one whom's place Rick took?

"They're stupid, what's the point of being stuck with a bunch of losers?" The stranger chuckles, it's low and dark, evil if I were to explain it in a simple way.

"Get to the point, I have things to do" Rick grunts and glare at his other self.

"Her" The stranger nod back towards me and I take another step away from him, my back hits the wall but its not far away enough.

"Her? Why the fuck do you want her?" I see Rick's arms tense slightly at his words. I wish the stranger didnt stand between us, I feel unsafe.

"She's supposed to be mine" Rick widen his eyes before furrowing them tightly together.

"Get the fuck back to where you came from before I turn your unibrow into two brows, with a bullet" Rick grunts.

"Or I can just..."

Everything happens so fast after that. Shots are fired and suddenly im falling. I dont even have time to scream before I land in dirt. Dust flies up and annoy my eyes and airways. I cough, wipe my eyes and look up.

Where am I?