"shit!" he hissed opening his eyes. his heart was beating in his throat, but he pressed the gas harder, speeding up. suddenly he couldn't breathe. "it's okay. it's okay don't do it. don't do it Lightning." he murmured to himself, trying desperately to catch his breath.
Sheriff flew down the road in his cruiser, going after Lightning as quick as he could. he relaxed once he caught sight of him, but his relief was quickly replaced with more panic when he saw the car swerve, avoiding an invisible object.
"Sheriff have you found him yet?" Mack called over the radio.
"I've got eyes on the kid, he's serving all over the road, thank god no ones out here!" Sheriff said.
"where are you?" Doc hissed.
"two miles from town and counting he just keep speeding up!" Sheriff said. the radio went silent and suddenly Sheriff heard an engine behind him, Doc was coming up fast in his rear view, determined to catch up to the kid before he hurt himself. he knew the Hornet would speed past his old Mercury Cruiser any day and moved over a little so Doc could pass. Sheriff turned his attention back to the car in front of him, but found it was gone.
"where'd he go?" Mack ask, coming up behind them in his cab.
"he just disappeared." Sheriff said looking ahead. he felt his heart drop. "oh god, straight a head on the left is that smoke?" Sheriff ask.
"Mack call for Red have him meet us out here!" Doc hissed, easily speeding around the Cruiser. Sheriff moved out of his way, following after him. when he finally caught up to Doc, he was jumping out of the Hornet. he ran towards the crashed car, Lightning had hit the Radiator Springs welcome billboard. the front end was destroyed and the car was on fire.
"kid!" Doc shouted, running over to the car. Sheriff skid to a stop, following him over. Mack wasn't far off. "did he have his helmet on?" Doc ask, trying to find away around the fire to get to Lightning.
"not that I saw." Sheriff said. Doc nodded.
"kid! kid can you hear me!" Doc shouted, stepping back. "Lightning! kid!" Doc shouted. he turned hearing sirens. Red came flying down the road in his fire truck, lights and sirens blaring. he pulled up to the car, silently pushing Doc and Sheriff back. he was in his fire retardant firefighter uniform, and he wasn't playing around. shy as he may be, he wouldn't hesitate to yell at his friends to get away from the fire until he had it handled, thankfully they stepped back and let him do his job.. he grabbed the hose from his truck and set to work.
"the kids still in there Red." Sheriff said. Red nodded at him silently, soaking the car down until all that was left was a smoking husk. he dropped the hose and ran over to the driver side, leaning into Lightning. his face was bleeding and he wasn't conscious, though Red silently suspected he wasn't conscious when he crashed. he reached in carefully and shut the car off, gently feeling Lightnings neck, then stepped back and gave Doc a thumbs up. Doc and Sheriff immediately ran over, dragging the young racer out of his car.
"kid? Lightning?" Doc ask, shaking him gently. "kid! hey!" Doc shouted. Lightning groaned quietly, but didn't move. "Mack get him loaded up in the cab, I'll follow you in the Hornet. take him back to my house. Sheriff-" Doc started.
"I'll wait for Mater to tow it back." Sheriff said. Doc nodded watching Mack scoop Lightning up.
"idiot kid." Doc glared. they headed back to the town, passing Mater in his tow truck.
Mack took the injured man back to Docs, laying him on the couch gently. he stepped back letting Doc patch up Lightnings face. Lightning didn't wake, but he did whimper as Doc worked on his face. Mack walked over once Doc was done.
"what happened?" Doc ask.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing. he came storming out of here a few hours ago. he went and hid in his room at the Cozy Cone, then suddenly he came out and sped off in his car. said he was training." Mack frowned.
"I went off on him earlier because he was playing 'twenty questions' and 'how many things can I ask Doc while his head hurts' and I wasn't playing." Doc grumbled. he sighed. "he was trying to say something or ask something and I snapped at him." Doc added, feeling guilty.
"huh." Mack frowned.
"get his car fixed. I'll deal with the kid." Doc said. Mack nodded hesitantly and left. Doc waited silently in the kitchen sitting at the table, waiting for Lightning to wake up. about twenty minutes after getting Lightning back to the house, he whimpered softly and groaned. Doc stood and poked his head into the living room. Lightning moved a little bit, before something seemed to click. he sat up screaming and looked around. "kid its okay." Doc said walking over. he knelt in front of Lightning gently. "hey, Lightning, it's alright." Doc assured. Lightning looked around before his eyes landed on Doc as he panted.
"b-but... I... I was.... the, my car-" Lightning sputtered.
"breathe kid. it's okay. you're not in the car." Doc soothed. Lightning relaxed a little, nodding.
"okay." he mumbled.
"what were you thinking?" Doc ask.
"I needed to think. I think better when I drive." Lightning mumbled quietly, sounding slightly ashamed of himself.
"think about what kid?" Doc ask. Lightning shook his head at him, refusing to answer the question. "well. you totaled the front end of your car, so you're stuck with the Hornet until its fixed." Doc said standing. Lightning nodded a little. it was quiet a moment before Doc sighed. "look Lightning, I'm sorry I snapped earlier, when my head hurt. what was it you wanted?" Doc ask.
"I don't remember." Lightning said immediately, not looking at Doc. that was a lie and both of them knew it.
"kid, come on, spit it out." Doc murmured. Lightning shook his head.
"I can't remember." Lightning repeated. so the kid was scared to tell him now. Doc frowned, sitting on the couch.
"kid, whatever it is you had to tell me, there's no reason to lie to me and say you can't remember." Doc said. Lightning sat up, pulling himself away from the older man. Doc raised an eye brow, why was the kid putting distance between them? "kid?" Doc ask.
"I remembered the wreck. I can remember the sounds and the smells. I can remember the feelings... the pain..." Lightning murmured. Doc nodded and looked at him.
"yeah I remember that from my wreck." Doc said. of course he remembered a lot from Lightnings wreck too, but he wouldn't say that. he would never admit to the man beside him how afraid he'd been.
"do you remember what you thought your last thought would ever be? or your biggest regret?" Lightning ask, looking over. Doc frowned and sighed a little.
"yeah... I thought my last thought would be 'I can't believe this is how I die. after all that stupid shit I did.' and my last regret..." Doc trailed before chuckling softly. "I never finished college. I dropped out before I became a doctor." Doc said, looking over at Lightning with a small smile. Lightning didn't smile though, seemingly thinking. "what was yours kid?" Doc ask. that had to be what this was all about after all.
"I thought about what would happen to you guys. my friends. especially Mater and Mack..." Lightning said. Doc nodded and watched him a moment, but the younger didn't speak again.
"and your biggest regret?" Doc ask, raising an eye brow. Lightning swallowed hard and curled up.
"I... um..." Lightning got quiet for a moment. he sighed. "not having the courage to tell the person I fell in love with that I loved them before I died." Lightning mumbled, looking at the floor. Doc seemed surprised.
"well, you're alive kid, why haven't you done it yet?" Doc ask. Lightning shook his head.
"I tried." Lightning murmured honestly.
"what happened?" Doc ask.
"they... didn't want to listen." Lightning mumbled.
"who is it?" Doc ask after a moment. Lightning shook his head.
"it doesn't matter." Lightning said, getting up off the couch, his head spun a little. he stumbled and Doc was immediately on his feet. he easily caught the younger and held him up. Lightning hissed some, his head slamming against Docs chest.
"you okay?" Doc ask.
"that hurt." Lightning mumbled.
"I bet. you hit your face on the steering wheel pretty hard." Doc muttered, lifting his face carefully to study his nose.
"don't touch it!" Lightning yelped, pulling back and covering his nose when Doc had gently touched it.
"take it easy kid, I'm not going to hurt you." Doc said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm fine." Lightning mumbled, pushing away from Doc. he headed for the door.
"where are you going?" Doc ask.
"to talk to Mack." Lightning mumbled. Doc frowned a little but watched him go.
"alright. I'm making dinner in a bit." Doc said.
"okay." Lightning said, shutting the door behind him. Doc sighed and sat back down on the couch.
he got up after a bit and started dinner like he'd told Lightning he would do. he made spaghetti, Lightning liked spaghetti and Doc hoped he'd feel better. Lightning came in quietly, looking at Doc. Doc paused and turned, looking at Lightning.
"kid?" Doc ask. Lightning sighed slightly.
"Doc." Lightning mumbled. Doc walked over and gently grabbed the youngers shoulders.
"kid? you alright?" Doc ask. Lightning nodded slightly, before leaning against him. Doc looked confused and held him gently. he held the younger tightly, just standing there with him. "Lightning, kid, are you okay?" Doc ask softly. he felt the younger mans shoulders start to shake a little and became more confused, but held tighter. "kid what happened?" Doc ask.
"I'm an idiot." Lightning muttered quietly. Doc looked confused and pushed him back gently.
"kid, come on, you're not making any sense here." Doc said. Lightning sighed looking at him. "whats wrong?" Doc ask.
"I'm an idiot." Lightning mumbled.
"you said that already." Doc said. Lightning sniffled. Doc grabbed his face gently and pulled him closer frowning. "kid, are you okay? are you having a stroke or something?" Doc ask frowning. he looked into the youngers eye's carefully until Lightning pushed him away.
"stop it." Lightning mumbled.
"then tell me whats wrong." Doc said.
"I'm an-" Lightning started.
"don't say it!" Doc huffed. Lightning looked at him. "I need answers. stop saying you're an idiot and tell me why you're a fucking idiot." Doc said. Lightning snapped his mouth shut and looked at him. he pulled away from Doc. thinking over what Mack had told him. Doc watched him stare off quietly. he sighed and looked at Doc, it was a look of pain and Doc walked over. Lightning sighed.
"I ask Mack what I should do and he said that just need to walk up to the person and kiss them like in those weird Anime shows he watches, but this isn't a cartoon and I could ruin everything." Lightning said. Doc frowned slightly thinking quietly.
"well, you can do it Macks way or you can just tell them how you feel kid." Doc shrugged. Lightning huffed.
"I'm an idiot, I just need to stick to racing." Lightning mumbled. Doc raised an eye brow.
"kid everyone deserves love." Doc assured.
"how come you never seem to have anyone?" Lightning mumbled. Doc rolled his eyes.
"because I'm gay you idiot. I'm not just going to bring random men around." Doc snapped. "it wasn't accepted back in my day." Doc added. Lightning bit his lip and looked away. "so go tell this girl how you feel and stop moping around." Doc hissed. Lightning deflated at little still refusing to look at Doc. it was silent, Doc staring at Lightning who was doing whatever it took to avoid his gaze, then it hit Doc. "unless..." Doc said. Lightning shrugged a little at him. "oh... I see... not Mater is it?" Doc ask. Lightnings head shot up.
"what!? no! Maters my best friend!" Lightning huffed, glaring Doc down. "not to mention completely straight and would never ignore me if I was talking to him." Lightning said. Doc nodded in agreement to that.
"no but Red would. is it Red?" Doc ask, curiously. "could be M-" Doc started thinking out loud.
"its you!" Lightning shouted. Doc got quiet looking at him. immediately Lightnings face lit up brighter than his car, he quickly covered his mouth. he turned and took off to the spare bedroom Doc had been letting him stay in. Doc just stood rooted to the spot. he had seriously not expected in a million years that he'd say that. after a moment he walked over to the door and knocked on the door gently.
"kid?" Doc ask. it was silent. "Lightning? open the door." Doc said softly.
"why? I already know what you're going to say. I'll get Mack to help me move out later." Lightning mumbled.
"would you open the door kid?" Doc ask.
"go away." Lightning muttered.
"is this what you were going to tell me earlier?" Doc ask.
"yes." Lightning muttered. Doc sighed softly and leaned against the door way.
"kid, please open the door." Doc said.
"why so you can reject me to my face? tell me I'm an idiot?" Lightning.
"well, you are an idiot, but not for the reasons your thinking." Doc said. Lightning opened the door and stared at him quietly.
"then why am I an idiot?" Lightning muttered.
"because you just ran off." Doc said.
"of course I fucking ran off what was I supposed to-" Lightning started he was cut off when Doc slammed his lips against his. Lightning stared in shock when the older pulled back, watching him smirk.
"you didn't honestly think I sat up in the hospital with you the whole time, both times, because I was just a concerned crew chief did you?" Doc snickered, watching the youngers face go bright red again.
"well kinda... I also assumed it was because you were my friend..." he muttered. Doc chuckled and walked away.
"you gotta lot to learn kid." Doc said.
"h-hey! you can't just kiss me and walk away." Lightning said.
"why not? you told me you loved me then walked away." Doc replied. "come eat dinner. it's getting cold." Doc added. Lightning stared after him a minute then followed him to the kitchen. they sat down at the table silently, neither quiet sure what to say. Lightning poked at his food, lost in thought, while Doc at and glanced at him occasionally from across the table. "what are you going to do with that information kid?" Doc finally asked. Lightning blinked at looked up at him, shrugging one shoulder awkwardly.