Human!Lightning McQueen x Reader (Title TBD)

With Each, a Plan

2/27/24
(A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, college projects caught up to me as did life in general. Enjoy!)

McQueen was hard at work, and by hard at work, I mean practically laying down in his car as he pulled Bessie behind him. It wasn't exactly rocket science steering that big hunk of metal and bubbling asphalt, especially considering his car was of professional grade with immaculate alignment. He didn't even bat an eye at the thought of his car beginning to slowly drift off to one side or another, mostly because he knew there wasn't even a chance of it happening. He could've put down a cushion of sorts under the gas pedal, propped a long metal pipe up with the help of the roof of his car, and left it resting perfectly there on the gas pedal just enough to keep his smooth snail's pace while he went elsewhere. Such is the make and model of a real race car, or at least his race car!

However, while he wasn't working too hard pulling Bessie on that late, late night, he was working hard with something. He was thinking long and hard about everything, literally everything. The sad rundown state of Radiator Springs, the townsfolk that lived there and had treated him nicely, his friend Mater whom he had gradually warmed up to, Doc Hudson who was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet but for some reason seemed ashamed of the fact, the conversation he had with Doc earlier that day, the beautiful (Y/N) who had captured his heart so effortlessly, how bad he felt about your encounter after Doc stormed out of the garage, literally just everything.

He had waited for hours for you to come back out of your room after retreating in there with streaming tears and eyes red and puffy. He wanted to talk to you about what happened, to apologize that he had interfered with matters not involving him and to make sure you were no longer hurting. Eventually, you did come out, but it had clearly been quite the calculated move. The second Sheriff gently ordered him back to work, his car strapped back up to Bessie and already pulling the ridiculous thing, you emerged. You jogged right over to your car, slid in the window, and started the car. McQueen had called out to you desperately when he noticed, but his calls fell on deaf ears. You ignored him, refusing to face him, and you sped out of the Cozy Cone lot and rocketed down the road and out of sight.

McQueen knew exactly what was going on and where you were going. He knew for certain you were still in distress, still very much hurt and head spinning from what had transpired, and you had reached your limit. He knew you had waited for him to go back to work to slip out from hiding so that you would be able to avoid him. Clearly you weren't yet ready to talk to him, maybe even didn't want to in the first place. In terms of where you were going, the destination was obviously Wheel Well. He knew the drive there would begin to calm you and get out the frustration at the forefront of your mind, and upon arriving at Wheel Well, simply sitting at the edge of the cliff outlook with the beautiful view all around you would heal your aching heart with some time.

There was just something he needed to do about it all, but what? How in the world could he possibly make up for accidentally letting your hear such troubling truths and reveals, or for meddling with the business that was strictly confidential between you and your father? Not even just that, but what could he do for everyone else? There was Sally, who agreed to let him move out of his cell and into a Cozy Cone, Flo who was always very hospitable and offered him food and refreshments, Luigi and Guido had even offered him some deals on tires and fixed them up after the cactus incidents while Ramone had done a rather good job of getting out all the major scratched and dents when you had taken his car over for repair.

"Whatcha thinkin' so hard about, son?" Sheriff asked him from where he sat on the hood of his police car. As always on these last night shifts, the old man needed a good cup of coffee to help keep himself awake to keep the rookie under surveillance. However, he was far more relaxed about it now than he was a few days ago. A smirk rose to the man's lip, peeking through his wirey silver moustache. "You thinkin' about (Y/N)?"