Chapter Text
Morning arrives like the plague, bringing with it the gift of pounding headaches and sore, aching limbs.
Lightning complains incessantly, shrugging on discarded clothes from the night prior. “I just wanna get home,” he mutters to Mater. “And shower. And sleep. And maybe never wake up again.”
Mater chuckles. “You might be onto something there, buddy.”
The drive home is silent. Even the radio couldn’t drown out the strange new silence between them. Mater didn’t even dare to look over at him- did I do something last night?
And Lightning looked withdrawn, constantly squinting and pitching his face in thought. Mater didn’t have the guts to ask him what he was thinking about.
He regrets it the moment he lets Lightning off at Doc’s. Lightning waves a measly goodbye, and ducks into the house faster than the eye could see. Mater fully regretted bringing him out to the bar, even if it helped him find his identity because more than that shifted, and it wasn’t fair.
A shower is just what he needed, though, and he relishes in the warm water washing over his sinful body. Renewed, reborn, and ready to delve into the night's activities, Mater makes his way to Flo’s. He counts on a single person to be there, and of course, she’s there waiting.
“Well?” Sally raises an eyebrow. “Tell me what happened!”
She looks far too excited for the headache Mater was still attempting to ward off. “Oh, well, uh, I think he should tell you.”
Sally pauses. “Did something happen?”
“Something,” he echoes. “I dunno. He’s weird this morning.”
“Oh, Mater,” she frowns. “I wouldn’t think too much of it.”
Mater smiles something bittersweet. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Now, I dunno ‘bout you, but I would kill for a bagel right about now.”
Sally leans back in the booth. “Get me one, too,” she requests. Mater hums affirmatively, and departs for the counter.
The moment he turns his back, Lightning breezes through the door with a yawn. He looks like a million bucks, hair still wet from the shower, face gleaming. No matter where he went, he always did his best to look formidable.
She beckons him over at once, grinning like an idiot. “Okay, spill, since Mater won’t.”
Lightning laughs. “We found out I’m bi, I think. I spent some time researching in the shower,” he shrugs, his cheeks dusted pink. “So there’s that.”
Sally cheers. “That’s fantastic! I’m proud of you!” She says, entirely honest. “So you liked the club?”
This is where he shrugs. “It was cool and all, but definitely a one-time thing for me.”
“Wait.” She purses her lips. “I thought that’s what made you realize you were…” she trails off, following Lightning’s gaze to-
“Oh,” she mouths. “Ohhh.”
Mater cheerfully conversed with Flo while he shoveled an everything bagel into his mouth, blissfully unaware of Lightning’s focus.
Lightning chuckles quietly. “Don’t make a scene, please. He doesn’t know.”
Sally nearly gasps. She looks like she's about to say thousands of things at once, but she muffled her knowledge. It would be better if they found out for themselves. “You should tell him.”
“I knew you would say that,” he sighs. “It’s not that simple. Like, I didn’t think- him of all people- y’know?”
“I get it,” she says slowly. “Did you just realize or is it a new thing?”
Lightning shrugs. “I don’t know, actually. It was like… awakened. Like a beast.”
“That’s weird,” Sally rubs her forehead. “You’re weird. Both of you.”
“Tell me about it,” Lightning leans on his elbows. He notices Mater making his way over to the booth, his face lighting up at the presence of Lightning.
Mater holds out a bagel to Sally, who takes it gratefully and stares them both down like a hawk. “Well, hey, Lightning! Sleep well?”
Lightning scoots over, painfully aware of the distance on the bench he’s created. “I only showered, but a nap still sounds great.” The tiredness in his voice seeps through without filter, emitting sympathy from all parties involved.
The tow truck driver appears like he wants to say more, but a ringing on his phone distracts him. “Aww, shoot. Just a moment.” His attitude flips immediately as he cruises out the door, cheerfully greeting the caller.
Sally lets Lightning sit in silence, but she sends knowing looks his way. He pretends not to notice.
“I gotta go pick up a feller cross the county line,” Mater informs them a few minutes later. “Enjoy yur morning, Miss Sally, and you too, Lightning.”
As he leaves, Lightning decides to take his too. “Well, looks like I can escape the terrifying confines of homosexuality for the next few hours,” he says, almost too gleefully. “I think I’ll go mope at the butte.”
She stands up with him. “Do you want me to send him your way?”
“What?”
“He’s going to come back,” she states. “Do you want to talk to him?”
Lightning scratches the back of his neck. “Do I have to?”
Sally reaches for his hand. “It’ll make you feel a lot better to get this off your chest,” she reasons softly. “Even if it’s the partial truth.” She clears her throat. “Besides! Maybe he’ll feel the same way.”
He looks highly skeptical, but agrees nonetheless. “Sure. If he asks, you can tell him where I am.”
She pumps her fist in victory, and as he leaves, he catches her filling Flo in on the gossip. Just what else does she know? He thinks with an eye roll. That’s the downside of a small town.
Everyone knows everything.
-
Mater knows quite a bit about Lightning, and if there’s one thing that can fix anything for him, it’s racing.
It’s pedal to the metal, gear grinding, tire spinning racing. Whether it was practice laps, or the real, televised thing, it could ease his worries at once.
Once upon a time, racing was partially the cause of his worries, but that was before he ever found a home in Radiator Springs.
When Sally told him that Lightning was at the butte, he nearly face palmed. Of course he is.
But it did beg the question- was there a reason he was there? Or was something worrying him?
He was inclined to believe the latter.
Driving out the butte was a short, yet wonderful ride. The scenery returned to uncivilized desert in mere seconds when leaving town, and the rock formations around Willy’s Butte were positively eye-catching.
Even more attention-grabbing was the red corvette that zipped around the track, tires grasping at the fine dirt and leaving a trail in its wake. Mater parked his truck on the ridge, where everyone would sit to watch the rookie race, and sat on the front where the hood should have been.
The red car took the turn as he always did, turning his wheels to the right to slide left, and whip back onto the track with deadly precision. It was only one of many tricks Doc had taught him, but it was clearly Lightning’s favorite.
Lightning appears to notice him by the fourth lap, taking the turn slowly and rolling back up the road a little ways before he kicked the car into park and got out. Mater’s heart skips a beat at the sight, sunlight glittering like gold in his hair, eyes the color of the sky.
He waves, and walks over to meet him. Mater bites his lip. “Hey, Mater.”
There was that dreadful tone that made Mater nearly start the truck and leave.
“Hey, Lightning,” Mater greets. “You’re getting purty good at that.”
Lightning shrugs. “It’s nothing, really.” He crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back and forth. “I think we need to talk.”
Mater’s face falls. “Oh, uh, alright. What about?” He leans back on his palms to appear laid-back, but his expression betrays all evidence of that.
He exhales quietly. “I don’t really know how to say this, without it coming off as weird but…”
A quiet ringtone drifts between the silence of his words. They stare at each other, one more mortified than the other.
“You should, uh, take that.” Lightning sighs.
Mater tediously picks up the phone, breaking eye contact with a sharp pain in his side. “Hello?”
The voice on the other end of the phone sounds desperate, near tears as she talks hurriedly. Mater frowns, nodding at each word. “Yeah, of course, ma’am. I’ll be there shortly.”
Setting down the phone settles the sense of finality between them. It feels like giving up.
Lightning looks anywhere but him. “So I guess we can talk later.”
Mater swallows sickly. “Yeah. Uh. I’ll see you around.”
The last thing he wants to do is leave, but the first thing he wants to do is get out of this conversation, and if this was the only way…
You’re a coward, he scolds himself as he climbs into the driver’s seat. He watches Lightning walk away, his arms tense around his chest. You’re a good-for-nothing coward.
He believes it.
-
The news reaches him at the pace of a snail.
His job took the entire night, as the distressed customer needed to be towed a few cities over, and he didn’t return until midnight. He didn’t want to bother anyone at that time, so he went to bed riddled with anxiety and woke up just the same.
The first indicator of the news he should have noticed instantly. Luigi’s Casa Della Tires was temporarily closed, as well as Sarge and Fillmores’ respective businesses.
A large, red hauler was nowhere in sight, Doc’s house with the blinds drawn.
He was gone.
Lightning left early for his next race, Sally texted him, I’m surprised you didn’t know.
“Yeah, me too,” he mumbles aloud, and shuts his phone off in petty retaliation. “Great. Just great.”
Mater keeps to himself for the day, tinkering around the impound lot and ignoring the messages that roll through his phone.
This way, he can pretend everything’s fine when it’s not fine because he’s so in love with this guy it hurts and—
Oh. Love. Okay.
He doesn’t want to admit it at all. But it’s certainly, unarguably love. And it’s the very last thing he ever wants to lose.
By the time he finally picks up his phone, there are plenty of messages from Sally, Ramone, and even Lightning. The preview doesn’t show the content of his text.
Ignoring the other contacts, he clicks on Lightning’s and expects the worst.
lightning: sry i left
And that’s it. He lets out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding.
mater: that’s okay!!!
mater: we’re giod rught?
He holds his breath again. But the response never comes.
Mater clicks onto Sally’s instead, a few minutes later.
sally: soo are you guys together?
sally: he didn’t say anything when he left
sally: wait
sally: don’t read that
mater: huhh
mater: why wuidl we be toegher
He watches Sally’s typing icon pop up multiple times until she finally settles on,
sally: i assumed u confessed. no other reason
mater: ok
“Okay,” he repeats. “Okay.”
His phone buzzes again and he taps on the notification at once.
lightning: ofc
lightning: it wasn’t that srs anyways
mater: r u see
mater: sure*
lightning: ya:)
Mater still feels like it was something, but he’ll have to let it go, for his own sake.
There’s a pounding at his door that he can’t ignore, however, and with a huff, he crosses the room in stride, ditching his phone on the bed.
He passes by a mirror in the hall. He doesn’t recognize the person who looks back at him, like a ghost behind the glass. Mater sighs again, shaking himself out of the trance, and opens the door.
“Hello?”
Sally puts her hands on her hips. “What happened?”
“Yur nosy,” Mater accuses lightly. “I dunno what happened.”
“He chickened out,” she curses under her breath. “That’s it. C’mon.”
Mater pauses. “C’mon where?”
She seems to think it over for a moment. “Pack a bag, we’re leaving tomorrow.”
He agrees despite lacking the entire context, because life’s greatest journeys were surprises. If Sally wanted to take an impromptu road trip, he wasn’t going to complain.
Mater packed a bag as instructed, throwing a few pairs of clothes into it along with toiletries. He didn’t know how long they would be gone, so three sets should be fine, he reasoned. The rest of the day was spent in solitude, a complete contrast to his usual day.
The sheriff was even concerned enough to swing by that night, suspicious about what his true motives were. Mater might even be a bit convinced that Sheriff wanted him to do something reckless.
By noon the next day, they packed up their stuff into Sally’s pale blue Porsche, sailing down the freeway.
“You never told me what we’re doin,” Mater reminds Sally a few hours down the road. “What’s all this about?”
Sally adjusts her hold on the steering wheel as she merges into the left lane. “We’re going to Lightning’s race.”
“Oh,” he says, suddenly unwilling to go. “Er, why?”
She looks distraught, so distraught as if there’s something killing her to say, but she inhales instead. “‘Cause.”
Mater slumps in his seat, fiddling with the seams of his pants. “Okay.”
“Yeah.” Sally turns up the radio, but there’s a grin on her face, and it makes his skin crawl. He likes to assume the best of everyone, but this was just so odd and uncalled for that Mater begins to jump to conclusions against his will.
He finds himself watching out the window at the passing cars. He’s not nearly as good as McQueen at identifying them, but just the act of it makes him think he’s just a little bit closer to his best friend.
That maybe the things they had in common would trump whatever was attempting to drive them apart.
Some sort of old thunderbird goes roaring past, and his chest plummets and he wants to vomit out the window. Mater spares a glance at Sally’s phone, where the directions are displayed on the black glass.
The GPS reads just seven more hours, but the sky darkens. Mater silently reminds himself to ask Mack how he does it, driving all this way for hours on end. It was truly remarkable. He yawns, crossing his arms over his chest and laying his head against the headrest of the seat, slowly drifting off to the occasional gust of wind from the passing cars.
He wakes up an amount of time later to the view of a Marriott hotel. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes. “Are we here?”
Sally shakes her head. “His race is tomorrow at noon, we’re still two hours out. But I am so tired, I can’t stay awake,” she admits. “You look like you haven’t slept in weeks.”
“A lot on my mind,” he replies, painfully aware of his aching limbs from the uncomfortable nap. “I can drive tomorrow, if you want.”
Stepping out of the car and retrieving their bags, Sally laughs. “No offense Mater, but with the state of your truck, I wouldn’t trust you with a golf cart.”
“Now that’s fair enough. Last time I was in a er, golf cart, I done crashed it in the lake. Had to fish ‘er out myself.” Mater reminisces.
Sally chuckles. “See? My point exactly.”
They’re lucky a room is open as they check in, heading up to the third floor and settling in for the night. The time read 11:46pm as Mater hopped in the shower, and Sally took time to plan their route tomorrow.
He slots himself into the linen sheets as she takes her own shower, listening to the water cascading through the wall. His phone feels like a burden, but he opens it anyway.
lightning: what r u up to?
lightning: don’t do anything fun without me
lightning: i doubt ur already asleep but if u r, goodnight i guess
mater: me and miss sally toik a ride
mater: but sleeping now
lightning: sounds nice
mater: why arnt u asleot
lightning: you know how i am b4 a race
mater: i already told u once and i’ll trll u agaain: ur gunna win that pissed on cup
lightning: haha close enough… thanks buddy
lightning: goodnight ill cya soon
mater: goodnight can’t wait to seee u won tomorrow
He glances up as Sally enters the room, wrapped in a towel as she fetches her clothes. “I didn’t tell him,” he says, pulling the covers over his eyes.
Her response is somewhat muffled. “Oh, good. It’ll be a nice surprise then.”
Mater hums in agreement, rolling over in bed. “Goodnight, Miss Sally.”
“Goodnight, Mater.”
-
Maybe they should have coordinated setting an alarm, because they didn’t wake up until eleven.
Sally ushered them out of the room at light speed, both of them tripping down the elevator and out to the parking lot. She flew out onto the road at illegal speeds, to which she thanked her car for achieving.
Mater reads off the directions. “Three hours? I thought you said two hours!”
She grins a devious smirk. “It’s a good thing we’re friends with Sheriff, then, isn’t it?”
He grips the door handle with white knuckles as she guns it down the freeway. “Not all of ‘em!”
Despite it all, she was right. The trip only took a little over two hours, and using Sally’s pit pass, they made it within the last thirty laps.
“Didn’t think I’d see you both here,” Doc greets them as they arrive. Sally shushes him, pushing a finger to her lips. “Oh. Nothing, rookie. Eyes on the road.”
Mater marvels at the sight- Guido and Luigi cart off used tires towards the back of the pits, while Fillmore and Sarge call out helpful metrics to Lightning.
Doc looks completely in his natural habitat, leaning forward in his chair as Cal Weathers attempts to overtake Lightning. Mater barely catches the maneuver that Lightning pulls, but it causes Cal to slam on his brakes and fall back a notable amount.
“Wow,” Mater mutters. “Sure has evolved since I was last here.”
Sally nods, nimbly avoiding a lost pittie as he navigates back towards a blue-hued pit. “Looks like he’s going to win, which is good.”
Mater tries not to think about the alternative. Lightning fresh off a loss was something that time and time again nobody wanted to deal with.
The laps tick down quickly, until the white flag flashes past everyone's vision. Mater wanders closer to Doc in order to eavesdrop on his commands.
Approaching from the outside, front bumper neatly aligned with Lightning’s back bumper, is Bobby Swift. His purple car takes space inch by inch.
Doc listens to something Lightning says intently. “Drop lower, rookie. Your left is clear. On turn four, swing out wide and cut him off.”
Mater adverts his attention to the track, grinning stupidly as the red corvette drifted away from the purple car, hugging the edge of the track. As they approach turn four, Lightning slides the wheel back to the right, cleanly cutting off Bobby’s path and securing the victory by a car-length.
The Radiator Springs crew cheers wildly, giving each other high fives and hugs. Doc closes out the line with a, “expertly done, hot-shot,” and joins the pit below.
Sally whoops and hollers as the corvette slips into pit lane, coming to a halt in front of them. Lightning slips out the door, the grin on his face priceless and bouncing excitedly to join them.
He slides past Sarge with a firm embrace, and as he turns, Mater notices the moment he sees him down to the nanosecond.
His face lights up impossibly more, mouth parted in surprise, and Mater holds out his arms in welcome.
Lightning, the roar of adrenaline in his blood from his well-deserved victory, barrels towards him and pauses mere centimeters from contact. “Mater!” His voice sounds like a melody, eyes gleaming brightly, but his hesitance was palpable.
And finally, finally, like a broken string, he goes, “Fuck it.”
Mater tries to ask him “What?” but he moves so swiftly and muffles his words immediately as he kisses him.
He gasps, his breath stolen at once. His hands fold over the racer’s back, shutting his eyes and kissing him back all the same.
The crowd's cheering went silent in his ears, and the burning stares were ultimately ignored. Everything is so bright behind closed eyelids, the soft embrace of Lightning’s hands and the heat of his body so close to his own.
Lightning draws back with a flushed, breathless look. A grin grows in place.
Distantly, Mater notices Sally cheering even louder.
“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” Mater asks, unable to recognize his own voice.
“Yeah,” Lightning dimly registers Mater’s hands still on his back. “That’s okay?”
Mater can only laugh as a response for a solid few seconds. “Lightning, I’ve liked you for ages.”
Lightning shakes his head, mouth parting into a gape. “Really? I had no idea-”
“Hey, kiddo,” Doc appears beside them, and Mater nearly jumps out of his skin, his hands returning back to his side. “The cameras,” he brings up carefully, almost a question, somewhat a warning.
He’s surprised to see that hardness in Lightning’s eyes. “I don’t care. They’ve seen worse.”
Doc chuckles, stepping away to join Sarge and Fillmore with a supportive pat on Lightning’s arm.
Sally jumps over to them next, lazily sprawling herself across both their shoulders as if in a group huddle. “Congrats, homie-hopper.”
Mater can’t withhold a laugh at Lightning’s expression. “Now that’s not fair,” he grumbles. “Wait!” He straightens up. “You knew!”
“I did!” Sally yelps. “I knew about you both the entire time! So you should thank me for everything! I didn’t even spill the secret!”
Lightning looks over at Mater, a new, fond look across his face. “Well, thanks then, Sal. You’re a good friend.”
“Yeah,” Mater agrees. “Thanks, Sally.”
Sally gives them both a parting grin, and skips away.
“I’ve gotta go get my other trophy,” Lightning tells Mater with a glint in his eye, but his expression never goes serious.
“What was your first one?” Mater asks obliviously.
Complete with another kiss on the lips, Lightning smugly goes, “You.”
Mater doesn’t try to hide the effect of his words. “Aww, well, I think you’re a trophy too.”
Sarge pretends to throw up behind them, and Fillmore berates him. Luckily, neither of them notice, but Sarge surely tries. “Gross,” he mutters.
“I think they’re cute,” Fillmore replies adoringly.
Glaring daggers at him, Sarge groans. “Don’t embarrass me. I’m out.”
Fillmore shrugs and trods after him.
Lightning brushes a strand of hair out of his eyes. “I’ll be back,” He steps away. “I’ll look for you!”
His retreating figure slips through the pits, leaving Mater to go, “did that just happen?”
And as Lightning accepts his trophy, but his gaze searches the crowd for his, he knew it did happen.
And it was better than he could have imagined.
-
“When did you realize?” Mater asks that night on the drive back. Half of the crew were upfront with Mack, while Fillmore, Sarge, and Sally napped in the back. As luck would have it, the trailer had plenty of room for Sally’s Porsche, and she was spared the lengthy drive back.
Lightning sat beside him against the wall, yawning periodically as the night grew. “Knew what?”
Mater slips him a hand, which the racer gratefully takes, and clarifies. “That ya liked me.”
“Oh.” Lightning pulls one leg up to his chest, slinging his free arm over it. “That’s kinda funny, actually.”
“What is?”
If he didn’t know Lightning as well as he did, Mater might have missed the tinge of red on the tips of his ears. “At the gay club I realized,” he muses. “I wasn’t really watching the strippers.”
It dawns on him quicker than he expected. “You were looking at me?”
Lightning chuckles. “Yeah. You should have seen my face. I thought I was so wrong for that.”
Mater shrugs. “For the record, I was watchin’ you too.”
“I noticed,” Lightning nods. “In the car. Didn’t think much of it then.”
A comfortable silence drapes across the trailer, and eventually, Mater has a drooling, passed out Lightning on his shoulder. He’ll wake up with the worst neck cramp of his life afterwards, but Mater doesn’t have the heart to stir him.
So he’ll just let him be.
He’ll call it love the day that Lightning does, even though it’s already been love for him.
After waiting this long, he could wait an eternity- that’s the thing love is about.
In his pursuit of happiness, he found it. And that’s all he could have ever wanted.