The Letters
Word Count: ~1k+ words
(Main) Characters: Lightning McQueen, Smokey, Doc Hudson (reference/memories)
Warnings: Sentimental feelings? Everything in here should have been established in Cars 3.
A/N: Hope you enjoy reading this one. To tell the truth - even I got a little teary-eyed writing this one. All rights of the lines that were from the movie Cars 3 belong to Disney and Pixar. :)
"Come on. I wanna show you something."
Smokey turned and drove toward a garage. Curious to know what he might want to show him, Lightning followed close behind him.
"You got the first part right. The crash broke Hud's body and the no more racing broke his heart.
He cut himself off. Disappeared to radiator springs. Son-of-a-gun didn't talk to me for 50 years -
But then one day the letters started coming in - and every last one of 'em was about you."
And with that, Smokey opened the garage.
And inside?
Lightning couldn't believe his eyes.
There were pictures.
Dozens of them on the wall.
All of him and Doc.
"Yeah, Hud loved racing but coaching you?" Smokey sighed, "I've never seen the old grump so happy. … Racing wasn't the best part of his life - You were."
Lightning was speechless.
He didn't know what to feel right now. All of his emotions were hitting right where it hurt most and honestly?
He didn't know whether to feel sorrowful, ashamed, or happy.
How come he didn't know about any of this before?
All he knew was that he had been wrong. So so wrong.
Racing wasn't the best part of his life - You were. Racing wasn't the best part of his life - You were. Racing wasn't the best part of his life - You were.
The words rung over and over in his head.
Staring up at the photos and various letters that were tacked up to the board above, Lightning drove closer to observe the photos up close.
There was one of them at pit row at the Piston Cup circuit in LA - right after his rookie year - Doc was on the crew chief stand, smiling behind him right as the photo was taken - and he seemed genuinely happy.
"Lightning! Lightning - over here!"
Reporters had started flocking around him right after he left the track and the blinding flashes were everywhere.
He just sighed and pushed through the relentless sea of reporters as they all tried and failed to get a word out of him.
He smiled as he entered pit row where his friends were.
Friends.
He liked the thought of that.
It left him feeling warm and fuzzy inside and he secretly thanked the manufacturer for somehow managing to wind up in Radiator Springs that fateful night.
As he approached them, Mater piped up.
"'Ey guys! It's McQueen! Go best frien' whoooo!"
Lightning chuckled and this time, he gave a genuine smile to his loyal pit crew - aka half of radiator springs - that he was proud to call his family.
He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so … so - … so happy.
And he hadn't even won.
It felt like the right thing to do.
"Well - this grumpy old racecar I know once told me something. It's just an empty cup."
He chuckled recalling the very words he had managed to tell the King before pushing him across the finish line.
Although he hadn't been particularly good at showing it - he had been a huge fan of "The King."
The Dinoco "King" somehow managed to keep up just the right amount of friendly charisma to his fans and the press but ultimately kept himself humbly rooted by his friends and family at Dinoco. He was one of the most decent racers Lightning had the chance to meet.
"Come on Lightnin' - get in here!"
He snapped out of his thoughts and saw that Flo was beckoning him to join the group picture.
He hurried his way over and as Flo yelled "cheese!" the photo was taken.
She had also managed to get one of Lightning and Doc together that day.
Lightning smiled to himself. He'd never forget those memories.
Smokey pointed at another one -
"And this here is when you and Doc went around Willie's Butte"
Lightning glanced at the other photo - chuckling in remembrance.
Him and Doc were having a friendly race together and as Doc was rounding turn three he suddenly turned his wheels the other direction and disappeared off the cactus cliff.
Lightning, suddenly panicked for his mentor, stopped and reversed back where he had last seen the dark blue Hudson Hornet.
As he approached the overhang, he searched the scenery - not a Hudson Hornet in sight.
"Doc?"
"Not all my tricks Rookie!" Doc yelled as he suddenly appeared and flew past him, down past turn four and crossed the finish line.
Lightning had been so utterly shocked and confused at Doc's mysterious disappearance and reappearance that day that he had finished the lap with slow speed and a bewildered look on his face.
And when he had crossed the finish line, with mixed expressions and struggling to find the right words to his crew chief - Doc was staring at him smugly, laughing.
Lightning couldn't help but tear up a little.
He didn't cry much - the only other times he had or had come close to was when he was forced to leave Sally when Harv had practically put Mack's job on the line in order to get Lightning back on the trailer to go back to LA and the other time being at Doc's funeral.
You got a lot of stuff, kid
He could almost hear Doc's voice as he thought about those few words that had always motivated him to work hard when he trained for his races.
A warm fuzzy feeling was building up inside him and he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was but feeling a renewed sense of self, Lightning blinked and nodded to himself.
He then turned towards Smokey, catching the attention of the orange pick-up truck, as they glanced at each other for a moment in comfortable silence.
And after Lightning took a deep breath, looking up at the photos one more time, he nodded to Smokey thankfully.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"You're welcome kid."
Lightning felt a small smile creep on his face.
Smokey took one last sentimental look at the pictures before turning back towards the red racecar.
"Hud saw something in you that you didn't even see in yourself - now, are you ready to go find it?"
Lightning, determined to make his late mentor proud, nodded with a burning resolve.
"Yes sir."
This one's for you Doc.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this! As always, reviews are appreciated :) I loved this scene with all my heart and I thought I would write about it. Hope I did it justice!