When Lucy had asked Mabel to come with her to a birthday party for one of Lucy's coworkers, Mabel had agreed without much convincing. Kellan was out of town, and Lucy needed a designated driver. Now, Mabel wasn't much of a partier, but Lucy and her coworkers were all police officers, and how crazy could off-duty police officers get?

Apparently, she found out several hours later, extremely crazy.

Mabel watched with disgusted amazement as the officer celebrating his birthday (Rick, if she recalled correctly) chugged his fifth beer in a row. His opponent, none other than Lucy, was on her sixth, and there were fifteen seconds left in the ingenious "Who can drink more beer in a minute" competition.

When another officer yelled, "That's it! Stop!" Lucy slammed her bottle down on the bar, a wide, drunk grin on her lips.

"Knew I could beat you," she hiccupped, pointing a finger at Rick victoriously. "Women can shotgun 'em too, you know? Right, Mabs?"

Mabel agreed with a hesitant smile, wondering how hard it would be to get Lucy back to the woman's apartment. Mabel hadn't seen Lucy this drunk since college, and—from what she remembered—Lucy had been a nightmare back then.

"C'mon, Luce," Mabel tried when she saw another man demanding more drinks, "I think it's time to go."

Lucy, as expected, pouted. "But Mabs," she whined outrageously, teetering off the stool when Mabel pulled on her wrist, "It's not even that late!"

"No," Mabel agreed, tugging her friend through the crowd and waving goodbye to some of the other off-duty cops. "But you were drinking too fast, and your hangover will be bad enough without anything else. Come on."

Mabel was somehow able to convince Lucy to get into the car, and, once Mabel was sure that the other woman wouldn't try to escape, she settled into the driver's seat. Thankfully, the drive to Lucy's apartment was only several blocks, a fact Mabel was especially grateful for since her friend kept trying to escape through the car window at every red light.

"Okay, Luce," Mabel sighed wearily when she'd parked in front of Lucy's building, "let's get you into bed."

"No," Lucy swatted at the air weakly. "M'fine. Lemme sleep here."

"No can do," Mabel argued, pulling open Lucy's door and undoing the woman's seatbelt. "You'd hate me if I let you wake up with a hangover inside your car."

"Already hate you," Lucy replied, moving sluggishly as Mabel tried to pull her out of the car. "Le' go!"

"No chance," Mabel grunted, hoisting Lucy to her feet. Lucy still wasn't feeling agreeable, however, and went abruptly limp in Mabel's arms.

Now, Mabel wasn't huge. She was short, naturally petite, and didn't have much muscle, as it wasn't necessary when working at a herb store. Lucy, on the other hand, was almost six foot and heavily muscled from her many workouts and necessary job requirements.

When Lucy went entirely limp, she fell onto Mabel for support; Mabel successfully supported her drunk best friend for a solid second before she tripped backwards. Which led to Mabel lying on the ground, a half-asleep Lucy crushing her.

"Ah, crap." Mabel blew out a noisy breath, absently wondering if her bad luck would always be so consistent. "Lucy!" she called, only to gag when some of Lucy's short red hair fell into her mouth. Spitting out the offending strands, Mabel tried again. "Lucy! Come on, wake up! Lucy!"

No response, and Mabel groaned with frustration. "You have got to be kidding me," she told the air around her. "I mean, seriously?"

She attempted to move the woman several more times before giving up. The most she could hope for, at that point, was that Lucy would only sleep for an hour or so.

Yeah, right. You went to college with her, remember? When she goes down, she stays down.

With that depressing thought, Mabel resigned herself to a night in the parking lot.

Unless . . . No sooner had she considered calling Aleron was the demon standing above her, one brow raised. "Little One, do you need assistance?"

Body sagging with relief, Mabel nodded fervently. "Yes, please, Al. She's too heavy for me to lift by myself."

Aleron (naturally) peeled Lucy off Mabel as though the officer weighed ten pounds, at most. "No, Little One, you are just too tiny." He settled Lucy over his shoulder, then reached down and pulled Mabel to her feet.

She yanked her hand from his as soon as she was up, shooting him an unamused glare. "Oh, ha, ha. Very clever. Just help me get her to her room, please?"

He chuckled, but acquiesced. Mabel led him to Lucy's apartment, and they managed to settle the sleeping women in her bed in less than five minutes. After placing a note, ibuprofen, and a glass of water on Lucy's bedside table, Mabel led Aleron out of the apartment and down the stairs to the parking lot.

"Thanks for helping," she told him when they'd reached her car, "I think she would have crushed my ribs eventually, and that is not how I want to die."

She'd meant it as a joke, of course, but had forgotten who her audience was. Aleron only shot her a stern look. "Do not speak lightly of your death, Mabel. I am always glad to help; you must remember to call me when these things happen."

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized, lifting one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug, "I forget, sometimes. How did you know I needed help? I wasn't in danger or anything, was I?"

Aleron smirked, reaching a hand out to tug at her hair (one of his favorite things to do, it seemed). "No, Little One, you were not. I always keep an eye on you."

One of Mabel's eyebrows quirked. That would explain why she'd felt as though she was being watched lately. "So you're the one who's been creeping me out? Could you watch me in plain sight, next time? I know none of these people can see you unless you want them to, so that would be great for my stress levels."

A smile tugged at his lips, and he nodded. "I promise, Little One. I am sorry for 'creeping' on you." With another gentle tug on her hair, he pulled away and vanished.

Mabel rolled her eyes with fond amusement, falling back into her car with her awaiting bed at the forefront of her mind.

***

Mabel wasn't shocked when Aleron appeared out of the shadows as she locked her apartment door. The guardian demon was no longer subtle when keeping an eye on her, per her request. Whenever he was able, he walked her to her car and stayed with her until she was settled at the herb store, repeating the process in reverse when she came home.

What did surprise her, however, was the shy, almost embarrassed look on his face.

"Good morning," she began slowly, brows furrowed with concern. "Are you alright?"

His eyes darted from hers, sweeping over the dimly lit halls of her building before coming back to her. "I would like to . . . try something."

Mabel's hand tightened around her purse, and she swallowed down the nervous lump in her throat. "Okay . . . what?" she sincerely hoped he wasn't about to whip out his sword and use her as a practice dummy.

Instead, he took a step closer, then another. He stopped directly in front of her, leaning down until their faces were inches apart.

"What are you doing?" Mabel's voice was a breathy whisper, her heart beating an erratic rhythm.

He didn't answer, instead pressing forward until their lips met.

Of all the thoughts racing through Mabel's mind as she deepened the kiss, the one she focused on was a form of déjà vu.

Oh, sweet Heaven, I am so screwed now.

***

"So," Mabel broached one night when they were sprawled out on her couch in front of her TV (she was sprawled out on top of him—Aleron sat ramrod straight). "Are we dating?"

Aleron scrutinized her carefully and, seeing that she was serious, snorted with disgust. "Please, Little One. I am a guardian demon from Hell. I do not date."

Mabel huffed and shifted until she was sitting a foot from him, inwardly amused at the slight pout that appeared on his lips. "Well, I am a human, and we date. But," she heaved an especially dramatic sigh, "If you don't want to call it dating, then I guess we'll have to meet in the middle."

Aleron blinked. "I have never, and never will, meet anyone in the middle."

Biting back a grin, Mabel widened her eyes and stuck out her lower lip, eyeing him through her lashes. "Oh, okay. We'll just call whatever this is off then. What a bummer." No sooner had the words left her mouth was he plucking her up and settling her into his lap.

"I enjoy meeting in the middle on occasion." He stated firmly, leaning down to steal a kiss.

Mabel laughed, "Alright, Casanova. So—dating?"

He scowled. "I am not dating you. I am . . . watching over you."

"Hm. I'll call it a relationship, then."

He turned away, as if offended, but Mabel soothed him with a flurry of kisses; he had no protests after that.

***

Being in a sort-of relationship with a guardian demon from Hell was not what Mabel expected.

Then again, she'd never really been sure what to expect in the first place.

In the several weeks that Aleron had been 'watching over' her, Mabel had discovered many things about the most dangerous being in the city: he didn't need sleep, didn't have to eat but would if she asked him to, liked Shakespeare, loved to watch her do anything, and was extremely protective.

The hardest thing to come to terms with was the fact that he tried to kill anyone who so much as looked at her for too long.

She'd already saved a grocery store clerk's life after he told her she was "looking good today!"

Aleron had vanished in a fit when she'd scolded him about it later, but had reappeared in less than an hour when she'd started cooking, staying silent but placing his hand on hers in a sign of apology.

Her life was stranger than most, that was for sure, but Mabel found herself enjoying every minute of the unconventional relationship.

***

"Mabel?"

Mabel snapped her head around to Aleron, already worried, since he'd called her by her given name. Setting down the knife she'd been using to chop up a pepper for her stir-fry, she wiped her hands on a towel and spun to face where he was leaning against the refrigerator.

"Yeah?" she stepped closer, eyeing him with confusion, "What's wrong?" He was avoiding her gaze, staring determinedly at his shoes. "Aleron?"

He sucked in a slow breath, as if readying himself for something terrible, and Mabel felt her own shoulders tense in response.

What the heck is wrong?

They'd been having a relaxing evening, she'd thought. She was making them a dinner that he would nibble on, and they'd been talking the whole time—she'd just finished telling him a story about a sweet family that had come into the herb store that day. So what could be bothering him?

When Aleron finally raised his head to meet her gaze, his eyes were hesitant. "I would like to ask you a question, but I do not know how you will react."

Not what Mabel had been expecting, but she thought she could handle it. "Okay . . .? What is it? I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." She said the last part teasingly, hoping he would at least smile, but his face remained anxious.

God, this question must be awful.

"When you speak of the family you met today, you smile. And yet, you have never mentioned your own family. Do you have a family, Mabel?"

Mabel's entire body sagged with relief, and she couldn't stop a relieved smile. "Oh, that's all?" She didn't mind speaking about her nonexistent blood relatives (Lucy and Kellan were her family through everything except blood).

Aleron only looked more confused at her blasé attitude. "You are not upset?"

Shaking her head and trying not to laugh (honestly, for a shadowy giant, he could be adorable sometimes). "No, Aleron, I'm not upset. This is a question I can handle." Mabel moved closer to him, grabbing his hands in her own and staring up at him kindly. "Besides, you can ask me anything, okay? That's one of the perks of . . . 'watching over' me." She tacked on a wink, pleased when he actually managed to quirk a grin.

"Now," she continued, running her fingers over his knuckles, "my parents. I don't really have any; my dad's been in prison since before I was born, and that's all I know, since my mom never told me his name. Mom and I were never close, and she died when I was sixteen—I didn't have any other family besides them.

"I met my best friend, Kellan, in elementary school; I lived with her family for the last two years of high school, after my mom died, and we went to college and everything together, too, so I'm much closer to her family."

Aleron absorbed the information carefully, nodding slowly to show he understood. "And you do not miss your parents?"

Mabel shrugged. "This makes me sound awful, but not really. I never knew my dad, so that wasn't a problem. Losing Mom hurt, but she's in a better place, now, so it's okay." What Mabel didn't say was that she wasn't truly sure where her mother was (a drug addict who'd died of an overdose, her mom wasn't exactly Heavenly material), and she wasn't about to ask.

Ignorance was a bliss, after all.

"What about you?" she asked after a moment, sending the question back to him, even though she had a feeling she knew the answer already.

Aleron scoffed derisively. "I had a demonic brother," Not what Mabel had been expecting, "But I have not seen him for many years, and I hope to keep that way. He was a disgusting disgrace." Now that sounded more like something Aleron would say; the demon looked at her for a long minute, then added, "Though I do not mind the idea of us being a family."

Ignoring his words about his brother, Mabel's stomach filled with butterflies, and she thought her face might crack from the large grin that overtook it. "Hmm, not a bad idea, Aleron. We can be our own little family—the two loners. Don't tell Kellan, okay? I think she'd prefer not to know. Lucy too, for that matter—they'll think I replaced them."

He just shook his head amusedly, snatching her arms and tugging her into a tight embrace.

Yeah, she decided, relaxing against his chest, she could get used to this situation.