I've been reading Fast and Furious/BTVS crossovers lately. There's not much out there, and the ones I've read have all focused on Brian or Dominic. Nothing against those two characters or the actors, but I wanted to write something centered around Luke Hobbs as I am a devoted fan of Dwayne Johnson, the nicest guy in Hollywood. This is NOT a real story. I'm just playing around with a series of one-shots that put him and Buffy in scenes together. There may be a few that follow the chapters, but not serious evolved story as I do NOT have the ambition to write one. F & F franchise has way too many characters. I might write chapters having him interact with other characters, but mostly Buffy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fast and Furious characters or BTVS. I'm not sure who created F & F as I was too lazy to look it up. Whedon is the genius behind Buffy.
Chapter 1: Not Just a Game
******Los Angeles******
Buffy wasn't quite sure how Angel and Spike had convinced her that she should coach the girls' soccer team. The slayer house in Los Angeles that she had been over the past two years had two girls that were twelve years old and were crazy about soccer. It didn't matter that Buffy knew very little about soccer. Somehow, Angel volunteered his son as her assistant coach, which was a bit surreal. However, Buffy had reached the ripe old age of twenty-nine without any serious connections or possibility of children of her own. Her friends could sense her depression and listlessness, and they wanted to find a way to engage her.
Strangely, Connor was around Dawn's age and a Los Angeles beat cop. Angel had been beyond proud when his son graduated college with a degree in criminal justice. Connor had been a cop for the past two years, working the night shift. It suited his natural personality and allowed him to keep an eye on the supernatural activity in town. The slayers in Buffy's house were very happy to have a cop on the force that could help them when a situation called for police presence.
The girls on the soccer team had been practicing hard the past few weeks, and today was their first real game. Buffy found herself both nervous and excited. If the girls lost, she wasn't sure she'd handle it very well.
"You ready, Buffy?" Connor asked after he finished warming the girls up.
Buffy nodded. "As ready as I will ever be," she said.
"Go Buffy!"
She turned and saw that Willow and Dawn had came to town for her game, which totally surprised her. Quickly, she went over to give them a tight hug. Both girls live overseas, so she didn't get to see them nearly often enough. Dawn whistled at Connor. "Looking hot in those shorts, Angel-baby!" she called, causing him to glare. For some reason, her chosen nickname of Angel's son pissed him off to no end, which made her continue to say it. Dawn may have a degree for Oxford, but she was still a total brat at times.
"I can't believe you guys are here!" Buffy exclaimed, happy to see them.
"We wouldn't miss your first game," Dawn said. "I promised Giles that I'd record it."
"Buffy, it's time," Connor called, bringing her back to the game. She nodded and waved at her surprised guests.
"Are you girls ready?" she asked when she joined her team.
Jasmin and Damaris, two of her slayers, grinned. "We are so ready!" she said.
She'd already spoken to her slayers about not using their extra strength. Giles was totally against slayers playing sports, thinking it was unfair. However, Xander had decided in the Cleveland house he oversaw that it gave the girls an opportunity to both let off some energy and practice restraint. He argued that it was unfair to continue to force them to always hold back and pretend to be average when they were far from average. Xander insisted that they already had a horrible destiny in so many aspects, so why shouldn't they be allowed to compete in sports if they wanted?
Of course, Giles wasn't convinced until it showed that the fights between the girls over trivial matters actually decreased significantly. Sports was a positive outlet for all their pent-up aggression, so it was now accepted in all the slayer houses.
The other team came over from the side lines, led by a giant of a man.
"Oh my God! Who's the demon coach?" Buffy asked, her jaw dropping as he got closer. The man was well over six feet of solid muscle.
"He's not a demon, Buffy," Connor said, grinning at her. "That's Luke Hobbs—100% human. His daughter is on the team. He's a government agent of some kind—a total badass but not a demon."
"Seriously?" Buffy asked. "I didn't know human stock could come in that shape and size!" She'd never really be into muscle-bound jocks, but his guy was completely drool-worthy.
Connor chuckled. "Wait 'til you see what he's taught the girls to do," he said. "I think he used to play rugby. He does this New Zealand haka that's pretty cool."
"A hock what?" Buffy asked, frowning in confusion.
Connor was unable to answer as the opposing team got to glaring and formed some type of formation. Then they began the chant as they slapped their thighs and stomped their feet. Their coach was leading the chant, and it wasn't in English.
"Taringa whakarongo!
Kia rite! Kia rite! Kia mau!
Hī!
Ringa ringa pakia!
Waewae takahia kia kino nei hoki!
Kia kino nei hoki!
Ka mate, ka mate!
Ka ora' Ka ora' !
Ka mate, ka mate!
Ka ora' Ka ora' !
Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru!
Nāna ne I tiki mai whakawhiti te rā!"
A Upane! Ka Upane!
A Upane Kaupane"
Whiti te rā,!
Hī!
Buffy and her girls were awestruck as the other team performed their New Zealand dance with fierce intensity. "Oh my God!" Buffy exclaimed, having never seen the cheer performed.
The slayers on the soccer team were duly impressed. One of them looked at her and said, "Why don't we know that?"
The referee blew his whistle, signaling the start of the game.
Quickly, the chant was forgotten as the game commenced. The other team was every bit as tough as their chant warned. Buffy and Connor both shouted directions as the girls fought hard to stop the other team.
"Sam!" Coach Hobbs called to his daughter.
Buffy saw him communicate to her without words, and then she moved, cutting off Sally, one of Buffy's girls and stole the ball from her. Before Buffy's team could react, they scored a point.
Her girls, though, moved to get the ball back. Jasmin drove it down the field, passing it to Damaris, who scored, tying the game.
The game was hard fought. However, it was clear that their opponent was more skilled, and they won the match four to two.
Buffy was very disappointed, but she knew there was no shame losing to a team that talented. She walked over to shake the coach's hand after the game.
"Congratulations, Coach," Buffy said, offering him a smile and a handshake. Never had she ever had to tilt her head so much to talk to another person.
Hobbs looked down at the very cute blonde, giving her a warm smile. "Thanks. It was a hard-fought game. Your girls did good," he said, honestly. Normally, his girls didn't have to play so hard. "A few of your players have some incredible skill."
Buffy gave him a beaming smile, causing him to blink a moment at its intensity. "Yea, they're special. This was my first game as coach," she admitted. "I don't know much about soccer."
"Really?" Hobbs said, surprised. "I would never have guessed."
"I'm Buffy Summers," Buffy introduced.
"Luke Hobbs," Hobbs said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Do you go to a special place after your games to celebrate?" Buffy asked. She found herself reluctant to end the conversation. It'd been too long since she'd met any man so compelling.
"Normally, it's pizza," he said. He surprised himself by extending an invitation. "Would you and your team like to join us?"
"That would be great. I know the girls really want to know about the chant," Buffy said. "Which place to you go to?"
"We go to Village Pizzeria in Windsor Square," Hobbs said. "It's about ten minutes from here."
"Sounds great. I'll see you later," Buffy said, giving him another bright smile before she walked away.
Hobbs found himself watching her walk away before his team demanded his attention. She was very appealing. He wondered how old she was?
Willow and Dawn were on the field, grinning widely as she approached them.
"Was that you flirting with the insanely hot coach, or am I dreaming?" Willow asked.
"I'm think we've entered some alternate dimension. My sister is all about the work and never flirts with guys," Dawn said with a smirk.
"Ha-ha," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "But, he did invite us to join his girls for pizza."
Dawn squealed excitedly. "Yes! That man was gorgeous!" she exclaimed.
"He looked like he's nearly two decades older than you," Connor said disapprovingly. He'd grown to really like Buffy and understood why she was so adored by his father. Even though it would probably never happen, he couldn't help but want her to end up with his dad.
"Forties isn't that old," Willow said. "Especially if you consider some of the other guys she's dated—like your father." Connor just glared and said nothing.
"Let's not make it out to be more than it is," Buffy said cautiously. She'd not had a serious boyfriend since Spike. Not that he'd ever really been her boyfriend the way Angel and Riley had. When she'd found out that he was still alive and had been for a year before contacting her, she'd been deeply hurt. Things were never quite the same between them again. She still didn't speak to Andrew after the games he'd played with the two vampires over her decoy double. Giles hadn't escaped her wrath as he hadn't even told Willow or Buffy when Angel had called needing help. It took her a year before she stopped being pissed. After all she'd sacrificed, she didn't know how anyone thought they had any right to dictate who could or couldn't be in her life.
"Well, let's go. I'm hungry," Connor said impatiently.
They loaded up the bus and headed to the pizza place. Thanks to Connor's speeding, they actually made it there first. The girls piled inside ready to eat. Buffy, Willow, and Dawn followed after them to make sure the staff knew that they weren't in a rush and another group was coming.
Connor went through the bus collecting all the cell phones the girls left behind. He stuck them in his backpack to hand out as he didn't trust the citizens of Los Angeles to not sneak in the bus while they ate and rob them blind. He was almost at the restaurant's entrance when he felt someone grab his arm. Instinctively, he grabbed the hand and bent, sending the person hard over his shoulder.
Hobbs had just been trying to get the assistant coach's attention and couldn't recall his name. When the slight young man had managed to flip him, Hobbs stared up at him, blinking rapidly as the kid's eyes widened when he finally recognized Hobbs.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" Connor said, reached down and pulling Hobbs to his feet.
Hobbs frowned, looking at the slight size of the guy. He was about five feet ten and lean. There was no body mass on the kid to indicate that he should be strong enough to ever flip someone Hobbs size or so effortlessly pull him to his feet. "That's some hidden strength you have there, kid," he remarked.
Connor winced. Buffy was going to kill him. "It was adrenaline, sir. I grew up in a tough part of Los Angeles, and I had to learn how to fight. My dad is a private detective and taught me self-defense," he said.
"Since you were very young?" Hobbs asked. That was a possible explanation, but he was still impressed and curious about the man's ability.
Connor nodded. "Yes. I'm a police officer with LAPD, working the night shift, too, so I tend to be hyper-vigilant," he shared.
Hobbs relaxed. "Well, that explains it," he said with an easy smile. He was glad the girls had gone inside and weren't around to see his take down by the kid. Sam would never let him live it down.
Connor smiled. "I don't think we've officially met. I'm Connor," he said.
"Luke Hobbs," he said, shaking Connor's hand. "We better get inside before the girls eat all the pizza. I let the owner know yesterday that we'd be coming, but with your team here, it's more than expected."
Connor opened the door for the older man. "Yea, and Buffy and the girls can really eat," he remarked.
That surprised Hobbs as girls that looked like Buffy rarely ate anything but bird food. Between his career and his daughter, he never had much time for a personal life. However, he could admit to being intrigued by Buffy.
It looked like the adults had commandeered one of those large round booths that allowed for six. However, Hobbs took up a lot of room, so he grabbed a chair to sit on the outside. Connor sat on his right next to Dawn, who he'd had a crush on ever since he'd first met her. Buffy was on the other end, smiled in greeting.
"Glad to see you again," Buffy said. "Thanks for inviting us."
"My pleasure," he said. "Your boy here has quite the situational awareness going for him."
Buffy frowned and looked at Connor. "What did you do?" she asked.
Hobbs was surprised to see a look of fear coming into the police officer's eyes at Buffy's look.
"I sort of flipped him when he grabbed my arm from behind," Connor admitted.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"It's fine. I'm okay," Hobbs assured her. "It was an impressive feat, considering my size. Also, none of my girls saw it, so how about we not tell them? My daughter would tease me until the end of time!"
Buffy grinned at the man, relieved that he was so good-natured. "Well, if you're sure you're okay," she said.
Hobbs nodded. "I am. I'm sure I'll have a bruise or two, but that's nothing that I'm not used to in my line of work," he said.
"Connor says you're a government agent," Buffy said. "What branch?"
"The DSS," Hobbs said.
Buffy looked confused and glanced at Willow, who explained, "That's the Diplomatic Security Service—the law enforcement branch of the United States Department of State."
Hobbs nodded, impressed that she knew it. "Yes, we are," he said. "Not a lot of people really know us as we mostly work overseas helping out diplomatic missions. We serve as guards for the Secretary of State and other state officials who travel abroad. Occasionally, we hunt down international terrorists—that kind of thing."
"Sounds dangerous," Buffy said.
"Not really," Hobbs said. "I have a well-trained team that knows what they're doing."
"That sounds exciting," Dawn said. "I'm Dawn, Buffy's sister."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Buffy said. "That's Willow, my best friend. They live in England, so I don't get to see them as much as I'd like."
"Did you come in for the game?" Hobbs asked.
Dawn nodded. "It's Buffy's first time to coach, and we wanted to support her. Too bad she lost," Dawn said with a smirk.
Hobbs grinned. "Well, I've been coaching for two years, and most of those girls started playing at least then," he said.
"Most of our team is brand new," Connor said.
"Then you should be very proud. They did a good job. You have some real talent on that team," Hobbs said. He looked at Buffy and asked, "What do you do?"
"I have my own self-defense studio," Buffy said, reaching into her purse for a card to give him.
Hobbs was once again surprised. "You teach marital arts?" he said as he read the card. "Summers School for Girls, teaching various forms of self-defense for girls, including Tai Chi, Tai Kwon Do, kick boxing and street fighting."
"I run a foster home of sorts," Buffy said, giving him the cover story. The Los Angeles slayer house had only ten slayers in it, so it couldn't be an actual school. Her role as house mother and self-defense instructor explained any odd behavior that anyone might witness. "Two of my girls wanted to join the soccer team, so that's how I got into this new role."
"Wow, that's impressive. Not enough people want to really spend time investing in kids that aren't their own," he commented.
"It's kind of what I do as I had a mentor growing up that did the same thing for me," she said. "I had a mom and a good home, but Willow and our other friends lived in a town that had a lot of dangerous elements. Giles taught us self-defense and gave us something to do that kept us focused and on the right path."
"Oh, that reminds me," Dawn said, "Giles said that I needed to remind you about the conference call Monday at noon your time."
Buffy nodded. "Okay," she said. "I won't forget. How long are you and Willow going to be in town?"
"We have to go back Monday morning," Willow said.
The server interrupted, passing out the drinks they'd already ordered. Hobbs gave her his drink order as they ordered the pizzas for the group. Hobbs had pre-ordered for his girls, so they were ready. "How about we share the pizzas I've already got passed around and your pizzas can be the extra they will probably still be hungry for?" he suggested.
"I'll tell the girls to get one piece only until the rest is here as they aren't known for their self-control," Buffy said as she went over to her girls. They had a few of Hobbs girls in each booth, which surprised her. It turned out that more than one wanted to be taught the pregame chat.
After the food began arriving and the girls were settled with a piece, Buffy sat back down next to Hobbs.
"How long have you been studying marital arts? Connor said he'd been taught all his life," Hobbs said.
"Not me," Buffy said. "I was a cheerleader until I was fifteen, and then I got into martial arts. Never looked back. I'm twenty-nine now, so fourteen years, I guess. I started training other girls about seven years ago."
Hobbs was glad she wasn't as young as he originally thought. "I've taught Sam a few moves, but nothing too serious," Hobbs said. "Do you have room for a new student? I think she'd get a kick out of being taught by someone your size."
"Sure," Buffy said, smiling happily. A chance to see this hunk of a man twice a week? She'd make room.
"Great," Hobbs said. "I'll bring her by on Wednesday. I'll have to talk to her mother."
Buffy felt a stab of disappointment but hid it. "So what does your wife do?"
"Sam's mother is a nurse, but we're not married. It's been about five years now since we split," Hobbs said. "My job isn't really good for a serious relationship. Most women don't like that I have to leave at a moment's notice. It can be very demanding."
"I think Buffy could totally relate to a job that's demanding," Dawn said with a knowing grin.
Buffy shot her a look of warning—she so didn't need her baby sister make embarrassing comments. "I had that happen once with an ex," Buffy said, thinking of Riley. "He wanted my life to evolve more around him. When I didn't lean on him enough to fix all my problems, he bailed."
Hobbs nodded. "Some men don't like women who are too independent," he said. He winked at her. "I find it sexy."
Buffy's face got hot as she was pulled into his warmth. Finally, she forced herself to speak. "That's good to know," she said, smiling.
The rest of the meal had the group chatting of inconsequential things as Buffy's sister and Willow knew not to say anything slayer related in front of Luke.
Hobbs enjoyed watching the interaction between Buffy and her friends and sister. It was obvious they were very close.
Buffy liked the man's sense of humor and underlining intensity she sensed in him and was really enjoying lunch.
"I've got to get home to sleep," Connor said, looking at his watch. "I have a shift that starts at eleven tonight."
"Well, that's our cue as he's the driver," Buffy said. Connor got up, and Willow and Dawn got out of the booth after him. Willow gave Buffy a wink as she turned to shake Hobbs' hand, saying goodbye. They didn't linger, going to the tables to collect the girls, leaving Buffy free to say a more private goodbye to the incredibly sexy coach.
Buffy got up more slowly, reluctant to say goodbye. Hobbs stood and held out his hand to her. "It was great talking to you," he said. "I'll probably bring Sam by one day this week if her mom says it's okay, and she usually does."
"I'll look forward to that," Buffy said, giving him a warm smile. "Thanks for letting us join you for lunch."
"It was nice," Hobbs said, rubbing his thumb across his hand in a gentle stroke before releasing it.
Buffy felt the caress all the way to her core and bit her lip to keep from reacting. "Yes," she agreed, nodding. "I'll be seeing you."
"I hope so," Hobbs said as he watched her once again walk away.
He would definitely make time to follow up on taking his daughter to her studio.
*****End Scene*****
So what do you think? Suggestions for other first encounters? I think I'll come up with a few scenarios and maybe write a few follow-ups if there's enough interest. Thanks for reading. Reviews=love=interest