Lightning muttered sitting at the bar, he was only in his late twenties and getting too old for these after parties. as a matter of fact, he'd just turned 27 today, not that he'd shared that with anyone. he'd never shared his birthday with his friends, not Mack in the ten years they'd known each other and not his Radiator Springs friends in the five years they'd known him. Sally always tried to guess, randomly asking him through out the year how old he was and gradually narrowing down the months each year. last year she'd actually managed to narrow it down. Lightning still remembered the day she walked up to him and proudly proclaimed : so you're a July baby. I know that much for sure. he'd shrugged at her and nodded, finally coming out and saying that he was born in July. it was a game for Sally, not for Lightning. they didn't know his first name, why would he want them to know his birthday? well Doc knew his first name, but he assumed it was normal to come clean to your boyfriend eventually that your first name was Montgomery. he hated his name, his birthday, his home town, his past, everything. if it happened before he was 23, he hated it. he shook his head and muttered to himself.

"happy birthday Lightning, you made it another year older." he muttered, sipping his drink. Doc sat beside him after a few minutes.

"hey, not going to get out there and have fun?" Doc ask. "it is your win they're all celebrating after all." he added. Lightning shook his head.

"getting too old for these parties." Lightning muttered. Doc huffed.

"you're only 26 Monty, you're not too old." Doc chuckled.

"27." Lightning muttered, taking another drink. Doc looked over, frowning.

"I missed it again? damn it." Doc grumbled, looking around the room. Sally wasn't the only one trying to figure out his birthday. the difference was, Lightning trusted that Doc wouldn't do something for his birthday, even if he didn't trust him enough to tell him his birthday.

"not really. I just turned 27....15 minutes ago." Lightning muttered. Doc looked at his watch, 12:15 AM July 9th.

"so todays your birthday then. only took five years for me to get it." Doc said. "happy birthday." Doc said, patting his thigh.

"I'd rather you didn't. it's just another day." Lightning said. "and don't tell Sally, or anyone for that matter." Lightning added. Doc nodded a little, looking back over to him.

"I won't. no one knows your name and no one will know your birthday. sure like to hide a lot from your friends kid." Doc said. Lightning shrugged a little.

"I don't want them to know." Lightning muttered. "not even going to let Sally figure it out. when she gets close to narrowing it down I'll lie." Lightning shrugged.

"she's been asking how old you are everyday since the first of July." Doc said.

"and I'll tell her 26 until October." Lightning replied. Doc chuckled slightly and pulled something from his blazer, holding it out to the younger.

"here. she gave this to me to give to you, she thinks I've been hiding your birthday from her. told me to give this to you." Doc said. Lightning looked at the card and pulled away from it.

"on my birthday?" Lightning ask. Doc shook his head.

"no. just anytime, she wants you to open it on your birthday so she can see when it was opened." Doc said amused. Lightning pushed it away.

"I don't want a birthday card Doc." Lightning frowned. "I don't want to celebrate my birthday, I don't want anyone to know, especially Sally, that it's my birthday and I'm not taking a card from her." Lightning said. Doc nodded slightly and leaned back towards the bar tender, ordering a drink for both of them. Lightning looked over confused at him, Doc didn't drink often. Doc held out his drink to him, Lightning took it confused.

"well, happy birthday Monty." Doc murmured. Lightning smile slightly at him, in almost a sad way, before downing the drink.

"thanks Doc." he murmured. Doc nods and sipped his drink. Lightning was about to take a sip of his own when he felt something on his head. he frowned and reached up, pulling off a 'happy birthday' head band. he wiped around quickly, finding Sally standing there. she was grinning ear to ear. "what?" Lightning asks.

"we are celebrating your birthday." Sally grinned.

"it's not my birthday." Lightning grumbled, turning back to his drink.

"you can't lie to me. I watched Doc give you the card." Sally grinned. Lightning glared at Doc then at her.

"then you saw me give it back and tell him it's not my birthday." Lightning snapped.

"I told Doc to give you the card on your birthday." Sally said. Lightnings head snapped over to him and he glared Doc down.

"you did not. you told me to give it to him whenever so you could try and find out his birthday." Doc said.

"I know its your birthday Lightning. I heard you-" Sally said. Doc immediately jumped off his stool to defend his young lover. he didn't know why he hated his past so, but he didn't care. everyone had their reasons and Doc was going to fight for his lovers right to not tell her.

"listen Sally, he said it wasn't his birthday and I know for fact it isn't his birthday." Doc said. "I gave him the card because you said to give it to him whenever. he didn't want it and handed it back." Doc added, showing her the card in his coat pocket.

"oh come on Doc I heard-" Sally started.

"if you listened properly kid, then you know he said it wasn't his birthday." Doc said flatly. Sally stepped back and looked confused.

"oh come on. its one day of the year we're celebrating you for something other than racing." Sally said.

"its just another day. I'd rather be racing than celebrating some stupid 'special' day." Lightning huffed. he dropped some cash onto the bar and pushed Doc out of his way. he wasn't sure if he could trust the older or not at the moment. "I'm going to the hotel." Lightning murmured. Doc turned and dropped some money of his own, following Lightning out.

"you alright?" Doc ask. Lightning ignored him, stalking silently towards the hotel just down the road. Doc frowned, looking around. he quickly grabbed Lightning and dragging him into a nearby alleyway. he shoved the younger against the wall, watching the shocked look on his face. he held him there glaring. "look kid, I know you're pissed. I could've done a better job and I should've waited until we were in the hotel room to give that card to you, but you don't have to be all pissy at me." Doc said.

"were you in on that with her?" Lightning ask, ignoring basically everything Doc had said. Doc looked confused.

"what?" he ask.

"were you in on that with her? did you see her standing behind me or something?" Lightning snapped.

"no. why the hell would I do that?" Doc ask. "your birthday is just like your name Monty and I don't share that with anyone." Doc added. Lightning stared at him silently, giving him a dirty look, but not quite a glare. Doc sighs and leans closer. "look, I wouldn't do anything like that to you, ever. you know that. we have things we share with each other that we don't share with the others. I trust you with that information. do you trust me?" Doc ask. Lightning sighed slightly.

"yes I do." he mumbles. Doc smiled and leaned closer, kissing him before pulling back.

"then you know I wouldn't do anything like that." Doc said softly. he kissed the youngers forehead and stepped back. "come on. we'll go up to the hotel room and celebrate your win. how about that?" Doc ask. Lightning nodded following him out of the alley. "was there anything you wanted for your birthday?" Doc ask curiously.

"no. not really. just wanted to win that race yesterday." Lightning said. "it was good enough for me." he added. Doc smiled and wrapped an arm around him.

"thats alright. we'll celebrate the win then. I won't say anything about your birthday, but next year, you better expect something." Doc said. Lightning groaned. "you can't go all out for my birthday and not do anything for your own." Doc smirked. Lightning huffed slightly.

"karma's a bitch Doc." Lightning muttered. Doc chuckled softly and kissed his head.

"thats alright." Doc assured.