Title: Fisticuffs and Flirtation
Author: Vesica
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em and have no rights to 'em. Just playing in other people's sandboxes. I promise to put everything back like I found it.
Summary: You never know what you might run into in a dark back alley of London. Or who… (Faith/Kingsley Shacklebolt)
Author's Note: Written for the LJ community Buffyverse1000 and their quest to get 1000 drabbles featuring 1000 unique Buffyverse and crossover pairings.



Kingsley couldn't believe it had come to this. Months of digging and searching to find this Jr. Death Eater only to stumble across him in a Muggle pub while conducting another investigation. Worse, the little punk decided to make a run for it, literally, pounding out the back door of the pub with five Aurors hot on his heels.

They saw Zabini duck into an alleyway and followed, wands drawn as soon as they were out of sight of the main street. But not fast enough. The 'Avada Kedavra' hit one of his colleges right in the chest. They all scrambled for cover; at least everyone but Kingsley. He saw a shadow along the wall move and froze, as a young woman appeared next to Zabini and planted a fist in his stomach. The wizard shakily raised his wand, only to have it batted away by a hand that soon got up close and personal with his jaw.

For someone who never had much reason to fight with his fist, Zabini wasn't doing too badly. Or he wouldn't have been against a normal opponent. This girl, however, had him off his feet more than on and within a few minutes the alley was quiet again, Zabini unconscious at her feet. She stood over him, still in fight stance, daring any of the Aurors to come closer.

"You looking for him I'm guessing?"

Ah, an American then He motioned for the others to attend to their fallen comrade, but of course it was too late for him. He tried to make his voice soothing and took a cautious step forward. "Yes. Thank you for your help, Miss…?"

Ignoring the question, she nudged the boy with the toe of her formidable boots. "Kinda figured he wasn't a good guy, what with the shooting death rays at people. What's with the sticks anyway?" she asked, stepping on Zabini's wand, snapping it in two.

Well, she was already involved and they could always make sure she forgot this whole incident. The important thing now was to secure Zabini before he came to. "They're wands. We are wizards. Aurors actually."

"Hmm. Never saw anyone use a wand before but okay. So, what's an Auror?"

He dug back through memories of Muggle Studies and came up with a word she would understand. "We are like police. May we?"

She seemed to bristle at that. Perhaps police was not what he meant to say. The other Aurors froze, clearly wary of approaching her. "What'd he do anyway?"

"He killed a number of people. Innocents, children."

That did it. Her fists relaxed and she held up her hands as she stepped away. "Good enough. He's all yours."

The other Aurors swarmed to Zabini muttering binding charms and preparing to Portkey back to headquarters. One started to come up behind the young woman, though Kingsley was trying to subtly wave him off. He was stretching his wand towards her temple when, without even turning, she caught him in the shin with a kick.

"Not smart," she said, not batting an eye.

He couldn't hold back any longer. "What are you? I've never seen anyone fight like that."

"Vampire Slayer."

The Auror clutching his leg gasped. "You're real?"

She arched one brow and smirked at him. "I don't know Einstein. What's your leg think?"

A Slayer? There had been rumors of a new force for good being active in London and The Quibbler even had sightings of young women fighting monsters. The Ministry, of course, had denied the existence of any such beings. But to see one in action, standing right in front of him...For the first time in his career, Kingsley had no idea what to say. "It's just...Well, there were legends about Slayers but..." he laughed nervously, "no one in their right mind believed Slayers existed."

She gave him a look that clearly said she thought the brick wall he was standing in front of was smarter than him. "Well, here I am. So, I think I deserve a little more explanation about this Auror business. You know, a little colloboration in fighting the good fight and all. Plus I'd like to know if there are anymore killers with death rays wandering about where I am likely to stumble into them. Or have to stop 'em for you."

"Um, yes. Thank you again for your help." Kingsley was thinking fast. Was it worth bending the rules to get more information about this Slayer? In the end, it was picturing the annoyance on Fudge's face to find out he was wrong yet again that convinced him. He instructed his men to return without him and turned to the woman.

"Now, your explantion. Perhaps we could get something to drink and have a chat, Miss...?"

"Faith. Stop calling me Miss. And what do they call you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and In Charge?"

"Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Well, Kingsley, I'd say chat sounds fine and you buying me a drink even better. Though if you make any funny moves with that stick, you might not live to regret it. I like my brains non-scrambled, thanks."

She knew about memory charms too? She was interesting, very interesting.

He smiled and pocketed his wand. "No scrambling, no wands. You can trust me."

She all but said she didn't trust him in the least. He offered his arm and turned on his best lady-killer smile. "Okay, you don't trust me. Just give me a chance to surprise you."

Her eyes widened in surprise before she smiled in return, a lovely smile, and took his arm. "You just reminded me of someone is all. Lead on and don't be stingy with the drinks. I have a feeling this is going to be a long chat. The kind that might turn into breakfast."