Human!Lightning McQueen x Reader (Title TBD)

Giving Friendship a Try

12/25/23

"C'mon!" Mater told you with a smile. "We can do this!" After he had come to get McQueen, you came back to town to see all of the town folks trying to tide up their business and the town itself in one way or another. Apparently they all felt the same way you did! The new road was nice, but it made the town look even more in desperate need of a fixer upper. And so, here you were trying to help Mater make his sign look more straight.

Since the sign was tilted so far to the right, it needed to be pulled to the left. He moved the ladder out of the way, the rope now securely tied around the top of the left post. "Alright, ready?" He asked as he picked up the end of the rope. You nodded and stood in front of him, grabbing further up the length of the rope.

"Pull!" Mater gave the cue, and you both grunted as you pulled the sign upright into the perfect position. At the peak of your guys' pull, you froze when you heard Mater pass gas. "Oh, Lord." He exclaimed quietly. You turned to look at him with a questioning and unamused look. When you heard creaking, you looked back at the sign and the two of you watched it lean further still and come to rest more right-heavy. Now the sign looked exactly as it did before, just reversed in the direction it was tilting. Mater couldn't help but snicker, to which you playfully rolled your eyes at him.

"Mater!" A firm voice snapped from out of nowhere.

Mater flinched. "Huh?" The two of you turned to see Sheriff approaching.

"I need you to watch the prisoner tonight."

"Well, Dad Gum!" He smiled. Then his face fell flat and serious. Well, as serious as Mater could ever look. "Wait a minute, what if he tries to run again?"

Sheriff rolled his eyes. "Well he obviously isn't gonna be allowed anywhere near his car, so you won't have to worry about him drivin' off. But keep an eye on him!"

"Yes sir!" Mater saluted, then stiffened out and leaned forward, one eye open and the other clenched shut. He looked ridiculous, the way he hooked his buck teeth onto his lower lip and his nostrils flared. Sheriff sighed with another roll of his eyes, clearly not amused by Mater's antics. Then again, Sheriff was never really one to tolerate nor accept them, so it wasn't of any surprise.

Sheriff then turned to you. "(Y/N)? Would you mind helping Mater keep an eye on him?"

"What?" Your face fell in disbelief. "Why me?"

"Because I know I can rely on you to keep both of them in check in the rare event something truly bad happens."

"But Sheriff-" You whined.

"Sorry, missy, no buts!"

"Heh heh." Mater chuckled. "Butts."

Both you and Sheriff rolled your eyes. "Good luck." He told you before walking off.

You groaned in dismay when he was out of earshot. "I can't believe I have to watch that...that... racer!"

"Well, what's wrong with that?" Mater asked you curiously, eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong with that? What isn't wrong with that, er, him!" You pointed at McQueen, who was in his beaten down race car, very agitated by Luigi and Guido who were heckling him. Well, it was mostly Luigi keeping him from doing his work. Guido looked like he was fixing a tire leak on one of the rear tires, which would help more than hinder. McQueen did not look amused at all. In fact, he seemed very agitated. "He's rude and he's cocky and I just can't stand him!"

"Aw, you don't mean that, (Y/N)!" Mater told you with a small smile. "I think he's purty nice! And cool, too!" You sighed, knowing Mater couldn't possibly understand. While you loved Mater's big heart and desirable optimism, that meant he failed to see the bad in just about anyone. A trait you truly wished you could have but unfortunately lacked. "Besides, he likes ya! You should try to be friends with him!"