A/N: Yay, my first El Tigre story!! :) I love El Tigre, it has such an awesome humor and an equal flow of drama to keep you captivated. I really like the chemistry between Manny and Frida, too. They're such great friends and I love to see how they interact with each other. Frida is so hilarious!! :P Anyways, I just got a random thought one night and was like, "What if Manny and Frida decided to cook tacos?" Pure disaster, right? So thus the plot bunny was born! *crickets chirp* Ah..well..I hope you like this oneshot and I hope I keep everyone in character....I don't want to do anything to spoil the wonderful series!

Disclaimer: I don't own El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera and never will. Sadly. *sighs*

"Dude, so then I was like, why'd you decide to wear pants in the first place? Know what I mean?" Frida was informing her best friend of some very..interesting news as they walked in the door of the Rivera household.

Manny nodded absentmindedly, as he usually did when Frida got too weird, and looked around at the dark room. "Hey, Dad? You home?" he called, only to receive an echo.

"Spooky." Frida shivered, then flicked on the light. She then spotted a hastily-written note on the coffee table and pointed. "Hey, what's that?"

Manny picked up the piece of crumpled paper and read it aloud. "Mijo, I have to work overtime again tonight. Go to Frida's house and spend the night there, because I won't be home until late. Love, Dad." His brows knitted together in frustration as he crumpled the note in his hand. "That's the third time this week!" He shredded the note into pieces, quite violently as paper shredding can go.

Frida watched him, her blue eyes widened slightly. "..Little tense there, Manny?"

"No! I'm mad!" Manny sighed, his anger crumbling to sorrow. "Dad's never around anymore and he either always works late or fighting crime...I never see him anymore, and when I do, he's not himself. He doesn't get enough sleep, so basically, he acts like...a mix between Sartana and El Oso."

"Whoa...that's pretty bad. I've been there." Frida shuddered, then changed the subject as she plopped on the couch. "Well, at least you have Senor Chapi and Little Mule, not to mention your Granpapi!"

Manny shook his head. "Are you kidding, Frida? Senor Chapi and Little Mule are pets. And Granpapi is always doing a crime or locked up in his room eating chips and guacamole."

Frida looked sympathetic. "Aw, your Granpapi hasn't gotten over Sartana yet?"

"Nope. He still cries over the shrine he made of her."

Frida's eyes nearly bugged out. "Say what now? A shrine?" She tried to force back laughter, but a few muffled snorts escaped.

Manny's eyes widened as a lightbulb appeared over his head. "Wait, Frida! What if we made dinner for Dad and Granpapi tonight?"

Frida looked at him strangely, hands on hips. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Manny shrugged. "I dunno. Random thought, I guess."

"Well, there's a few minor problems in your idea." Frida frowned. "For starters, hel-lo? Don't you remember? Your dad won't get home until late tonight and we're going to be cooking dinner for him?"

Manny paced around the room, a thoughtful look on his face. "You're right. But Dad hasn't had a good meal in days, and neither has Granpapi. In fact, I haven't either, for that matter," he added, almost hungrily.

"Well, I guess I can spend the night over here instead. Tomorrow's Saturday, anyway. You still got the spare clothes I keep here?"

Manny laughed nervously. "See, about that..." Just then a flashback started and it showed Little Mule in Frida's clothes, complete with the goggles. Don't ask why.

Frida shrugged. "No matter. Once in fourth grade I went five days wearing this same outfit."

Now Manny looked at Frida strangely. "Don't you always wear the same outfit?" he asked, gesturing toward her clothes.

"No! I mean without changing!"

"Oh." A disgusted expression crossed his features and he wrinkled his nose. "So that's what smelled so bad that year."

"Never mind that." Frida ran her hands up her arms to roll up her sleeves to find out she didn't have any sleeves to roll. So much for dramatic movement. Her blue eyes narrowed in confidence. "We got work to do."

Manny nodded. "I--(Frida cleared her throat)--I mean we, will cook dinner for Dad and Granpapi. This I swear!" he shouted, determinedly sticking his finger in the air.

Manny and Frida rummaged through the kitchen, only to find dirty pots and a few rats scurrying from the haven't-been-used-in-such-a-long-time kitchen. Frida frowned. "Okay. This could be a problem."

Manny waved his hand. "We can buy stuff for tacos at the store. No biggie."

"Alright. But since this is your idea, we're using your allowance."

*****

"MANNY!!! MANNY!!!" Frida's frantic voice screamed.

Manny literally dropped the items he was holding and ran past several begaffled customers to find Frida, wide-eyed and obviously in dreamland. "Frida? What is it?"

"Chuuuurrroooos." Frida held up a bag of churros, drooling. "They're on sale, Manny! Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"No, Frida!" Manny exclaimed, crossing his arms. "We're only buying stuff for tacos, remember? I'm low on money anyway; I'll be lucky enough if I can even buy all the stuff we need!"

Frida stared at him through teary blue eyes, doing the puppy-dog pout. "But Maaaannnyyy," she begged. "They're sooo goooood. And churros go with tacos quite nicely, if I may add." She dropped to her knees. "Please, Manny, you're killing me here!" She grabbed the cuff of his t-shirt and pulled him until they were nose-to-nose. "Chuuuurrroooos."

"Okay, fine, fine!" Manny stumbled back when Frida released his grip. "But nothing else, you hear me?"

Just then they turned around to find a huge aisle full and crammed with cakes, pies, and cookies. Their mouths hung open and slightly drooled. Frida straightened, a sly grin curling the edges of her mouth. "Y'know, Manny...we also need a dessert."

They exchanged lingering glances, then in a shot they took off down the aisle, grabbing as many sweets as they could. When they finally walked out of the store, carrying LOTS of bags filled with desserts and a single bag of churros, they whistled happily for not even a block when Manny realized he had blown all his money. He dropped the bags he was carrying and smacked his forehead. "No! I did NOT just blow my money on all that stuff!" He sighed and slumped his shoulders. "There's only one thing we can do, Frida. We have to ret-"

"No." Frida whimpered, clutching all the bags of goodies with wide eyes. "Don't say it."

"We have to return them," he said dramatically.

"Nooo!" Frida wept. "We can't! We just can't!"

Manny placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard, Frida..."

Frida looked at him for a long time, then scrambled off, carrying all the bags which were slightly weighing her down. "Not on my watch, Rivera!" she shouted over her shoulder, taking off like a shot until she was out of sight.

Manny sighed. "I knew it would come to this," he muttered, then spun his belt buckle. "EL TIGRE!"

Frida laughed like a maniac on the loose and hid in an alley. She made sure nobody was following her then started to rip into her churros.

"Stop right there." El Tigre suddenly stood at the entrance of the alley, speaking as if he were consulting a villain. "You are not going to touch any of that."

"Who's gonna stop me?" Frida panted and picked up her bags then ran as fast as she could down the alley, only to find a dead end with a high chain fence. She glanced over her shoulder to see her best friend the superhero catching up to her quick. She then proceeded to climb up the fence, trying to do it cool like she'd seen on TV, but failed miserably. With all the bags she was lugging, she lost her balance within two steps and fell flat on her back. Manny towered over her with a knowing look.

"Fine. Take them away." Frida shoved the bags toward her friend, then buried her head in her hands. "Just make it quick. It's too painful!" she wailed.

Manny took the opportunity he was given and quickly exchanged everything except the churros for taco products. It was painful for him to see the clerk ssssllllllooooowwwwwlllllyyyy exchange all the desserts right before Manny's eyes. Anyway, a half hour later, a sour Manny and Frida were in his kitchen sorting through their ingredients for tacos.

"Aw, man! Why didn't you get the kind that can stand up on their own?" Frida demanded, holding a box of taco shells.

Manny took out the lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and avocadoes and placed them on the counter, ignoring his friend's statement. "Okay, I guess I'll grate the cheese and cut the lettuce."

Frida placed the taco shells on the counter. "Why don't you cut the tomatoes and avocados, too, Manny?"

Manny stared at her in disbelief as he held the cheese grater. "But then you wouldn't be doing anything at all!" he exclaimed.

"Nope," Frida said proudly. "I'd be supervising! My papa always tells me it's very important. Otherwise, complete dunderheads wouldn't know what they're doing!"

Manny frowned angrily. "Did you just call me a complete dunderhead?!"

Frida scratched her head buried beneath her blue hair. "That's what Dad always calls you."

"You are no help at all, Frida!" Manny slammed down the cheese grater.

Frida planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "You're lucky I'm doing this much anyway! After all, this is your dad we're cooking for!"

"That's not the point!"

"Then maybe you don't need my help after all." Frida started to walk out of the kitchen, her head held high, when the phone rang.

Manny angrily grabbed the phone. "What is it?!" he snarled.

"...Mijo?"

Manny's enfuriated countenance changed into shock. "Oh, Dad! It's you! I'm sorry, I-I thought it was, uh...one of those telemarketers. So what's up?" He noticed that Frida loomed closer as he talked on the phone, not leaving the kitchen to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Well, mijo, I wanted to call and tell you I'm coming home!"

"You're what?!"

"Oh, I knew you'd be happy!" Rodolfo sounded enthuisastic. "They let me off work and there's not any crime today, not that I can see. The villains must be taking their once a month day off! Oh, and I've got a surprise for you and Granpapi! I'll see you in fifteen minutes." The phone clicked and Manny stared at it in pure shock.

"Uh..Manny?" Frida asked.

"He's coming home! He's coming home! In fifteen minutes!" Manny panicked. "We've got to hurry if we're going to make dinner!!"

"Okay, Manny!" Frida grabbed a butcher knife and a tomato.

"Not that knife! A normal-sized one!" Manny started grating the cheese as fast as he could.

Soon after the cheese, tomato, lettuce, and avocadoes were poorly chopped, Manny set the table as Frida turned on the stove to make the taco meat.

"First you simply turn the stove to 400 degrees Fahrenheit," Frida said in a British accent, to nobody in particular, as she was pretending to have her own cooking show. "Then you put this pan thing on the stove, then you add water..no, no, you add the meat and chop it!"

Meanwhile, Manny set up the taco shells on the plates and carried the bowl of grated cheese to the table, the bowl of lettuce, and the small plate of tomatoes. He set them all in the middle of the table.

"What am I missing...oh! Beans!" Manny exclaimed, slapping his forehead. "Frida, make some beans, too!" he shouted to the kitchen.

"Right-o, Manuel!"

"Stop talking in that British accent!" Manny yelled. He hurried to the kitchen.

"Manny, what are those chopped avocadoes for?" Frida pointed as she put a pot on the stove for the beans.

"Oh, for the guacamo.." Manny slapped his forehead again. "Arrrrgh! I forgot to buy the guacamole mix!"

"You can use those to put on the tacos, Manny," Frida suggested, and he liked the idea. He took the the small bowl and placed it on the table. Frida, meanwhile, added the taco seasoning and water. "Then you stir it and...Manny?" she called. "Is the meat supposed to look like this?"

Manny raced to the kitchen, where Frida was standing on a stool to reach the stove, and peered at the pan of meat. It looked watery and soupy, with chunks of meat and seasoning flowing around. "No! You weren't supposed to add the water yet!" He groaned in exasperation and slapped his forehead for the third time that day. There was a big handprint. "Well, how are the beans coming along?"

Frida blanched. "Uh, well...I kinda..beans?"

"What?!" Manny looked at the beans. They turned out alright except for the fact that they STUCK to the pot. It was hard and crusty. "Frida-"

Fortunately and unfortunately, the door opened and Rodolfo walked in. "Mijo, I'm home!" he yelled, then chuckled to himself. "That rhymed!"

Manny raced in the living room. "Hey, uh, Dad, uh--don't you have something else to do? Oh, look, a-uh--Superman!" he pointed out the window. Superman, flying outside, waved back at Manny.

"Mijo, it's good to see you!" Rodolfo happily embraced his son.

Suddenly a big explosion erupted and smoke poured from the kitchen. Gasping, Rodolfo and Manny ran into the pitch-black kitchen. Frida stood in the middle of it, her hair standing straight up and her clothes blown back. Every inch of her body was covered in black, except her big blue eyes. Smoke came out of her mouth as she emitted a cough. "It's uh, good to see you..Manny's dad," she greeted sheepishly.

"Manuel Pablo Gutierrez O'Brien Equihua Rivera! What is going on here?!" Rodolfo roared.

"Uh, Dad...I have a confession to make." Manny swayed back and forth on his feet uncomfortably. "Since you haven't been home and Granpapi's been...uh, isolated.."

"I'm in mourning!" came Granpapi's voice from out of nowhere.

"Frida and I..wanted to make you guys dinner. Tacos. Your favorite. But it, um, didn't turn out so well."

"That's putting it mildly," Frida muttered.

"Oh, Manny! That is so thoughtful of you!" Rodolfo embraced his son again. "I am so proud of you, mijo. But you didn't have to go to all that trouble. The surprise I mentioned on the phone was take-out! I wanted to try Chinese!" Rodolfo held up two Chinese to-go boxes.

Manny's eye twitched. "..Meh?"

"Si!" Rodolfo beamed. "Why don't we all sit at the table and enjoy it? Frida can join us. We'll worry about the sabotaged kitchen later..wait..SABOTAGED KITCHEN??!!" Rodolfo gawked at the pitch black, smoke-filled room. Manny and Frida had already raced out the kitchen, swiping the to-go boxes.

"I think it turned out pretty well, don't you think?" Frida asked, smiling. She and Manny sat at the table, opening the to-go boxes.

Manny nodded, staring hungrily at the steam that was rising from the Chinese food. "Yeah, it did."

A/N: LOL!! Finally got it finished! Well, I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot...I'm sorry if it took up your time. I think it was pretty stupid and pointless, but whatever you reviewers think is what counts! Anyways, I read on Wikipedia that the next season of El Tigre is coming out soon!! WOOO!! THE SHOW HAS NOT ENDED!!! YAYYYY!!! XD I love the humor of that show and I love the characters. Anyways, please review and make my day! Hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Seriously, though...can't you just see all this happening? XD I'm out!