Got the idea for this one while riding my horse. I kid you not, I was running a jump course and suddenly I was like, 'dang, I got a cute idea.' My mind works in mysterious ways.

Time Setting: About a month after Cars 1.

~Those Three Words~

They had been going strong as a couple for weeks now. They had entirely skipped the 'dating' phase- as soon as they were reunited, they dove right into being serious. No questions asked.

They returned to Wheel Well a lot, almost daily. Like right now. It was sunset, their favorite time to be there. Dusk brought colorful, soft rays of light to stretch across the sky and give the entire desert below a glow. The clouds were a fluorescent pink, complimenting the twilight sky behind it. They were leaned up against one another, silently taking in the scenery and the fact that they could be together. Again, their favorite time.

Lightning thought about how quickly the two of them had become so serious. He knew she was 'the one' somewhere between their first drive and the re-lighting of the town. (And of course, she thought the same of him as well.) And since then, they made sure to be at each other's side whenever possible. Which was easy, seeing as they had spent the past month working together to re-open Wheel Well. When they weren't working on the motel, they were taking drives, talking with the townsfolk, or spending time under the neon. Whatever they were doing, they did it together and did it happily.

But something seemed… missing. Like something major was about to happen for them, some kind of milestone, but he just couldn't place it. For a relationship that was built entirely on the concept of taking life slow, they sure were moving fast. Sometimes he worried that it might be a problem, that moving so quickly was unhealthy for them. But his concerns always faded away whenever he saw how well they kept up with the pace. Speed was just in their nature.

Suddenly, Sally stretched, interrupting his thoughts. "We should probably be heading back, it's getting dark. We don't want you going off road again, Stickers." She teased, gesturing to his artificial headlights with a grin. He rolled his eyes with a smile.

"Not my fault." He retorted with good nature. She chuckled quietly and turned towards the road.

Something suddenly rang clear in Lightning's mind.

"Wait, Sally-" he stopped her. She turned back around.

"Hm?" She noticed his serious expression, and realized what he was about to say. He inhaled, ready to let her hear the three words she'd been wanting to hear all night-

"Race you there!" He shouted with a large smile, then went zero-to-sixty towards the town. She laughed whole-heartedly, wasting no time in following him.

"Stay on the road this time, hotshot!" She called as she caught up with him.

Oh, he loved her alright. And he'd tell her when the time was right. After all, they both kinda liked goin fast.

Tadaa! I like this one. Has a moral to it. It's hidden, but it's there.

Fandom Fun Fact: In the original script, Lightning and Sally's first date was to a drive-in movie. It was changed to fixing the neon because that seemed more meaningful.

Author Fun Fact: I go to private school, but uniforms aren't required.