A/N : After seeing a Twizzler commercial, here's a short fic I came up with (I'm telling you, Cruz and Lightning are my life lol). This story is also humanized. Hope you enjoy!

It was a quiet afternoon in Radiator Springs. The townsfolk were doing their normal routines, making sure that their shops were in good condition for any traveling customers. While everyone was enjoying the tranquil day and the cool, summer breeze on the desert horizon, Cruz was sulking outside of the Cozy Cone Motel. She didn't sleep well the night before and she missed her training session with Lightning that morning (due to sleeping in).

Although she knew that he would understand, she couldn't help but feel bad about the situation. She's never missed a training session with him, and her perfectionist nature was making her feel guilty about it. Lightning was passing in front of the hotel and saw Cruz sitting on the curb. Her back was arched and her hands were under her chin. He heard her sighs and went over to the area.

"Hey, Cruz," he said as he sat down next to her.

"Hey, Mr. McQueen," she said in a somber tone.

"Mater and I are going out of town to do something fun. He won't tell me exactly what we're doing, but I thought that you should come along. It might take your mind off of things," he said with a smile.

"No, you guys go ahead. I'm fine sitting here," she said with a sigh.

Lightning gave her a small pout. He knew that she was still upset about missing practice. Personally, he thought that it wasn't a big deal, but he knew how important consistentcy was to her. He also knew that she had a nasty habit of beating herself up about the most insignificant circumstances. He'd been meaning to give her the morning off anyway, seeing how tired she was, but she didn't take kindly to that idea.

"I got you something. It's your favorite!" Lightning said in a sing-song tone as he placed a pack of Twizzlers on Cruz's lap.

She picked up the package and stared at it with a blank facial expression. "Thanks anyway, Mr. McQueen, but I'm not in the mood for candy right now," she said with a frown.

"Okay," Lightning said as he took back the package.

After a few moments of silence, Cruz felt a tickle on her nose. Without realizing it at first, she saw a Twizzler wiggling in front of her face (she didn't even hear Lightning open the package).

"What are you doing?" she said as she jumped back.

Lightning sat there waving the Twizzler around with a giddy smile on his face.

Cruz gave him a puzzled look. "Did you just wave a Twizzler in my face?" she asked as she grimaced at him.

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Did you see the commercials? Those people couldn't keep a straight face once a Twizzler was shaking in front of them."

Cruz tried hard to conceal her laughter. She ended up having a crooked smile on her face as she tried to hold her breath.

"Ah, there's that smile," Lightning said as he smirked.

"Leave me alone," Cruz said as she turned away from him.

"Come on, just take a bite. It will make you feel better," Lightning said as he continued to wave the Twizzler in her face.

"No thanks," she said as she covered her face with her hands.

She felt the Twizzler graze her knuckles. Lightning wasn't giving up without a fight. She lowered her hands away from her face and glared at him. He kept poking the corners of her mouth until she bit the end of the Twizzler and snatched it out of his hand.

"You're so annoying," she said as she started to laugh.

"Good! That means I'm doing my job right," he said as he ate a Twizzler.

"You shouldn't believe everything you see on TV, Mr. McQueen," she said as she shook her head.

"Well, it worked didn't it?"

"I can't believe you did that," Cruz said as she nudged his arm.

"I wanted to experiment on you," he said with a smug grin.

The two burst into laughter as they continued to eat their sweet treat.