Title: "A Day Late and a Dollar Short"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: G
Summary: Nothing will ever keep Mater away from Lightning.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.

"But - But you've got to let me in!" the old truck cried, shaking from his hook to his tires and making quite racket as his old parts clunked together. "I'm Lightning McQueen's biggest fan!" Tears welled inside of his windshield. He couldn't believe helping one semi had made him late to his beloved's biggest race of the year!

"That's what they all say," one of the guards mocked, and they all laughed at Mater.

The tow truck's metal burned red hot with indignation. He thought of sticking his tongue out at the cruel guards but then remembered how Lightning had told him that wasn't nice and had asked him not to do it again after he'd been caught doing so in a photograph. The crazy reporter who'd taken his picture had plastered it on newspapers and sent it all across the world, but that wasn't the bad part. The bad, and ridiculous, part was that the reporter had claimed he'd been giving the raspberry to Lightning! He'd never stick his tongue out at his boyfriend, but these guards deserved it as they continued to chuckle and guffaw at him!

"But it's the truth!" Mater tried again to tell them. "Lightning McQueen is my bestest bud in the whole, wide world, and I'm his right hand truck!"

Another memory came to him as he thought of the last time the vehicles around them had not believed their bond. They had laughed and sniggered at Mater so much that their snide remarks and cruel behavior had hurt him, much like he was hurting now, but Lightning had pleaded with him to ignore them and continue to come to his race. He had told him how important he was to him and proclaimed that the thought of racing without him in his pit was unimaginable. He wanted and needed him, so Mater had come.

His tow swung. He grinned as his tears slowed and picked his cab up a little higher. The other cars had all been shocked when he had drove in to the waiting area for the racers with Lightning right beside him and smiling. Lightning had even introduced him as his best friend, and that thought, even now, still warmed Mater's old battery, piecing it together and keeping it from falling apart once again.

He looked back to the guards with his cab still riding high. "Look," he demanded, ignoring the whistle that passed through his gaped, front teeth. "You might not believe me, but that doesn't matter. Lightning needs me. I'll buy a ticket. How much are they?"

It hadn't been that long ago that buying a ticket to a race such as this would have been impossible for the little, tow truck, but Lightning always made sure he had spending money. Even when Mater told him he didn't want to buy anything, that he had all he could ever want in Lightning and their other friends at Radiator Springs, Lightning still persisted in having bills stuffed in hiding places in the insides of Mater's doors. It didn't matter how much the ticket was, Mater thought proudly, he was sure to have enough. He started to open his door, but the guard stopped him cold.

"They're two hundred dollars at the gate, but it doesn't matter. We sold the last ticket yesterday."

Mater's smile crashed. Tears even larger than the ones he'd already shed dripped down his windshield. His tow and cab both sank low, and one of his rear tires squealed in mud. He didn't have enough. He was one, stupid dollar short, because he'd bought himself some oil at the last pit stop. Worse than that, there weren't any more tickets to buy even if he'd had the money. He was a day late and a dollar short. "Daggum!" The guards laughed again at the despairing look on poor Mater's face.

"What's the problem here, boys?"

Mater instantly started grinning again. His eyes lit up as the guards snapped to attention. His tow swung, and his cab lifted. "Lightning!"

"Mater," Lightning asked, casting accusatory glares at the guards, "what are you doing out there?"

"They wouldn't let me in." Another whistle passed between Mater's front teeth. "They didn't believe me when I told 'em you're my best friend."

"Boys, I'm ashamed of you," Lightning told the guards, opening the gate himself. "I told you I had a friend coming and to let him in. I told you his name was Mater, too, Carl." He fixed the lead guard, the one who had given Mater the most trouble, with an especially heated glare. He'd had quite the conversation with him, in fact, when he'd demanded to know why any truck would be named after a tomato. "I could have your job for this, you know."

"Don't do that," Mater spoke before any of the guards could. He felt all of their eyes upon him but ignored them all as he focused his gaze on Lightning. "I'm sure the fella's got family somewhere, Lightning. They shouldn't suffer just because he's a jerk." Again, Mater felt the desire to give the guard a raspberry urging through him, but he ignored it to the best of his ability as he drove toward Lightning. He did, however, steal a glance out of one of his side mirrors at Carl and grinned at the sight and sound of his engine sputtering in indignation. What he'd said was clearly bothering him far more than merely sticking his tongue out at him would.

"All right, Mater," Lightning conceded with a bright smile solely for his beloved tow truck, "but only if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. I don't want no kids or wife hurting because o' me, Lightning." This time, Mater did turn and look directly at the guards. "But you better be sure you let me in next time."

"Yes, sir, Mister Tomato," Carl quickly replied.

"It's Mater!" Lightning and Mater declared, chiming in together. They looked at each other once more and laughed happily. Lightning's engine vroomed, and Mater did his best to match his purring sound despite the coughing of his antique engine. He pulled up beside him. Lightning touched his front bumper delicately to Mater's cab.

Mater relished the moment both because it was a small sign of how much Lightning loved him and because their display of love made all the fancier cars around him, except Lightning himself, of course, cough, choke, and sputter in shock. He would have loved to have stayed in that moment for a very long time, glowing in Lightning's love and his superiority to the guards, which was only because Lightning did choose him for his best friend and lover, as they had made such fun of him and his dismay, but he heard the announcer calling for the racers to get ready to start. "We'd better hurry," he said, his tow swinging.

"Yeah." Lightning agreed. Then he winked at him. "Kachow! I'll race ya!"

Mater flipped around backwards and beat him to the side of the starting line. Once there, he kissed him again. "I'd wish ya luck, but ya don't need it. You're gonna win."

"With you by my side and in my accelerator," Lightning said, beaming, "I always do." They kissed once more, and then Lightning took his place to beat the other racers as he always did these days with his whole being shining with Mater's love.

The End