Work Text:
Buffy smiled, she liked their Valentine’s Day tradition. It had started with their first Valentine’s, when Faith couldn’t even visit on the actual day. A week later they had talked about it, talked about how they felt about Valentine’s Day. While Faith had a harsher line against it than Buffy did, Buffy liked that they didn’t do things the “traditional” way.
She could hear Faith scowling in her head:
“It’s a fake holiday. You know it’s created by the greeting card industry. All these people buying crap, they don’t even treat their girl nice a week later!”
Buffy shook her head, but she was smiling. Even though Faith said all that, she did still give Buffy flowers every Valentine’s Day. That was the only gift allowed, cards were not allowed at all. And Buffy would let Faith pick which restaurant they would go to, if they went out for Valentine’s, that was her “gift” to Faith.
Typically they would just cook at home, not really treating the day different than any other. But sometimes they decided to go out to eat.
Buffy had tried to explain it to a co-worker one time but she didn’t understand.
“So you don’t have reservations already?”
“No,” Buffy smiled at her.
“Faith has the reservations made then?”
“Nope.”
“But she’s picking which restaurant to take you to?”
“Yep!”
“And it’s a surprise for you, where you’re going?”
“Uh huh!” Buffy said cheerily.
The co-worker shook her head, clearly confused.
Buffy heard noise in the hallway, Faith getting home. A second later she heard -
“B? You ready to go soon?”
“Yeah Faith, I already walked the dogs.”
Faith ambled into the bedroom, eager to give Buffy a hug.
“How was work?”
“Good. Fine.” Buffy hugged Faith.
Faith beamed at Buffy, now giving Buffy a kiss.
“How was your work?” Buffy asked Faith.
“Good. Stupid.” Faith gave Buffy another kiss.
“I love you Faith,” Buffy said it quietly.
“I love you too Buffy. Not just because it’s Valentine’s Day. Everyday.”
“Same Faith.” They grinned at each other.
They kissed again.
“Ready to go soon?” Buffy asked. She was hungry.
Faith grinned, “Yeah, lemme just change my jacket.”
They headed out a little later.
FADE
“Here we are!” Faith told Buffy loudly.
“Can I open my eyes?”
“Yes Buffy, you can open your eyes!”
As Buffy watched Faith gave a broad sweep with her arm, gesturing to the facade of the restaurant.
‘Taco Johnny’s’ read the sign.
Buffy started laughing. “Taco Johnny’s!”
“The one and only!” Faith grinned. “Well… this location of the famous fast food chain.”
“The one with those ads?”
“Yeah!” Faith said enthusiastically.
(They preferred nice local restaurants, but the prices were typically way higher for Valentine’s Day. And getting reservations was ridiculous, the same restaurant that had several tables open would be fully booked a month in advance. It was just too much. Hence their “tradition.”)
They had made fun of Taco Johnny’s, both the food and the ads. There was way better Mexican food on Lake Street, and even some of the suburbs had good local restaurants. So their expectations were low.
“So it’s like trashy Tex-Mex?”
“It’s Mexican inspired fake Tex-Mex by white Midwesterners.”
Buffy groaned.
(If they went out on Valentine’s, they tried to go to a different fast food restaurant. The weirder the better. White Castle had been a highlight, but then again that was actually a solid staple. Not that they ate there usually. They avoided fast food as much as they could. Typically the food wasn’t very good, but it was good to try something new. If it was a place they had been to before they had to pick new menu items, new to them. Of course Chik-fil-A was out, that had been an easy decision.)
“Did I ever tell you how I got banned from McDonalds?” Buffy asked.
“What??” Faith was surprised.
“Yeah, there was an incident when I was a little kid.” Buffy looked a little embarrassed.
Faith was going to ask her about it when the person in front of them finished their order. Making a mental note to ask about it later, Faith began to place her order.
Later they carried their trays to their table. Buffy was trying the shrimp tacos, hard shells and Faith was trying the beef tacos, also hard shells. They shared some potato oles. Potato Oles were Taco Johnny’s version of round flash-fried nuggets made of potatoes.
Buffy made a face after a few bites of her taco. Faith grimaced.
“That bad eh?”
“Yeah it’s pretty bad.” Buffy cleaned her mouth with a napkin and then subtly pushed the tray towards Faith.
“Wow. You aren’t gonna try to finish them?” Faith was surprised.
“No. I’ll uh, eat something else at home.” Buffy smiled despite herself. It was amazing the food was this bad.
Faith gamely pushed up her sleeves.
“OK, if they’re that bad I gotta try them.” She took a sip of her drink and then grabbed the taco.
She took one bit and made a face. After her second bite she pushed the tray back a little.
“Wow, yeah, that’s… ooof. That’s something else. Never knew shrimp could taste bad like that.”
Faith reconsidered her own taco. “This is like gourmet compared to… that.” She finished her taco and then offered one to Buffy. Each combo had three tacos but neither of them were gonna try to finish Buffy’s three.
“Want one of mine? It’s not bad. Practically good.”
Buffy smiled. “You sure?”
“Yeah B. I mean, that was… terrible. Please!” Faith gestured to her tray.
Buffy grabbed it and heartily took a few bites. She groaned with pleasure.
“These are just average but compared to the shrimp, wow…”
Faith looked at the potatoes. She tried a few. They were edible, better than the shrimp tacos for sure. But they were kinda greasy. She shrugged and had a few more.
“What’s your verdict on the potatoes?” Buffy asked.
“Decent, but greasy. And not in a good greasy kinda way.”
Buffy shrugged, copying Faith. She tried a few.
“Yeah I see what you mean. But to me they are too salty.”
They finished the beef tacos and ate most of the potatoes. Mostly because they wanted more food than because the potatoes were good.
“We’ve got some leftover pizza in the fridge.” Faith helpfully reminded Buffy.
“Oh good. Let’s go!” Buffy was already standing up, gathering their things on the trays.
Faith chuckled.
Outside the restaurant Faith grabbed Buffy’s hand.
“I’m sorry that was kinda shitty. I didn’t realize how bad it would be.”
“It’s OK. We tried it! Now we know just how bad it is. We can make fun of it with authority.”
Faith pulled Buffy in for a kiss. Neither of them worried about their breath. They wanted to feel each other close. Buffy kissed Faith back.
They pulled apart. Faith’s eyes were sparkling. Buffy grinned at her.
“Let’s go home where there’s pizza!” Buffy said enthusiastically.
And they headed home, eager to forget the not-great fake Tex-Mex food.