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Here you go“ Dean says, expertly ducking to avoid the plastic plate being flung his way. “Hope you like it. Rowena helped with the recipe.”Sammy’s colleague and her boyfriend, who to their credit immediately accepted when his brother invited them to their by now traditional Halloween party, still look a bit nervous as they take the cups with punch out of his hands.“And do you... make a habit of living with ghosts?” Emily eventually volunteers.Dean shakes his head. “Don’t worry. They are just here for the ambience. After tonight they go back to their lovely haunted home.” Reginald appears next to him; maybe it’s just his imagination, but he does look a little less forlorn than usual. “You like it and you know it.”The ghost vanishes. Dean has to give it to them – all the ghosts they’ve temporarily relocated have been well behaved enough. They only throw the plastic stuff, and they don’t hit anyone – well, at least only throw directly at people who they know have experience with jumping out of the way.“I see” Dave replies carefully.It can be a lot to take in, Dean knows that. Most of Sammy’s colleagues aren’t even used to Crowley showing up and whisking him away, even after it’s happened countless times. So for Emily and her boyfriend to make the effort... “I know.”Emily looks around. “No offense, but I highly doubt you do.”Dean follows her gaze. Eileen and Crowley are discussing something in sign language – most likely a book, since they are both gesticulating passionately; Crowley is showing his eyes, although he doubts it’s intentional; Natasha the ghost maid is hovering near Charlie and Rowena; Gilda is checking on the punch since a few magical ingredients make things taste much better but also carry the risk of things going awry rather suddenly; Benny and Andrea are making sure the collected monsters with more eccentric tastes have all the blood and meat they need; it’s a normal –Alright, maybe he doesn’t know. It’s been so long since he has lived a life that could be considered normal by human with little to none daily contact to magic.He can’t help it; he throws his head back and laughs. “Guess not.”When he stops laughing, Emily is smiling at him, her cheeks slightly pink, and Dave clears his throat.He feels Cas step up to him and assumes his snare is turned on again – but when he looks at him, he’s busy glaring at the couple which is odd and –Oh. That’s what Emily’s blush was about. He has to take care. Can’t seduce Sammy’s colleagues away from their boyfriends. He takes Cas’ hand and squeezes it. “I’ll get us more punch, sunshine.”“Please, my love” he answers, his expression softening.As he is filling their cups, Crowley appears next to him. “Come on Squirrel, we almost had a slaughter for Halloween! It would have been amazing!”“I have no idea what you are talking about.”“Oh why you were chatting up little Miss Curiosity, and may I add she’s not the only one of them to find you extremely attractive by the way, he’s just better at hiding it – Cas was busy glaring daggers at the two of them. I was prepared for the siren rage to start.”“There is no such thing” Dean says simply, “And we both know you’d stop anyone from ruining the evening.”“Will you be silent?” Crowley hisses, his eyes bleeding red again. “I am trying to uphold my image here! Demon, remember?”“Family to us” he shrugs and permits himself a smile when this little fact shuts Crowley up, as it inevitably does. Then, to prove just how much he Does Not Care, he moves away from Dean without another word and starts looking after Reginald and Natasha.When Dean returns to Cas, Emily and Dave, Sam has joined them. They seem to be doing well. “Here.”Cas kisses him. “Thank you.”Dean trades a glance with Sam, but he doesn’t seem worried, so yes, Emily and Dave are doing just fine, it appears. “I just annoyed Crowley. It was fun.”“Ah yes. The demon.” Emily’s voice sounds a little flat, but that’s normal when people first meet Crowley and don’t realize yet that he’s really not that bad. Yes, he has his bloody rituals (pun intended), he can be a sarcastic bastard, and the less said about his and his mother’s fights the better, but by God, Dean wouldn’t have him any other way.“Yeah. Remember when we first met him, Cas?”The story of the frog storm gets a laugh out of them, at any rate.It’s some time later – Dean is in the kitchen checking that they still have enough for anyone to eat or in some cases feed on – he hears someone clear their throat behind him. “Dean, can I talk to you?”Ah. He knew it. There’s usually a reason why someone suddenly decides to embrace the supernatural – if there is more behind it than curiosity, that is; and Emily and Dave decided to jump right into the deep end. She could after all just have started by chatting up Crowley when he came to the office. But here they are.“Let’s go outside” he says, taking two drinks with him.Rowena, Charlie and Gilda have done a wonderful job of making the neighbourhood as creepy as possible, and there is a rather impressive spider web hanging on their porch. Emily doesn’t seem fazed by it.The one thing it’s not, however, is cold. A spell has ensured that none of them will freeze on this most magical night of the year.“So what did you want to talk about?”“I –“ she bites her lip. “I won’t lie. I’ve always kept away from...” she trails off.“Monsters” Dean says simply. “It’s what we like to be called.”She gives him a look and he realizes he referred to himself as part of the group again. Oh well. “Seriously, just ask.”“It’s not so much a question as...” she sighs. “I have a baby sister. We’re very close. Like you and Sam.”Emily hasn’t been working at Sam’s office long, so she doesn’t know they were estranged for years. He has an idea where this is going. “Ah.”She tilts her head in a gesture not unlike Cas’ signature move. “They’re right about you.”“Who?”“The others at the office. They say you always seem to know where someone’s going when they talk to you. Some think you have a bit of magic of your own.”Dean can’t help it; he laughs. “If I have any, I got it by osmosis.”She smiles then grows serious again. “My point is – I – I mean we knew she was – and I never cared, but our parents are a bit old-fashioned and had some problems with it – but then they apologized – but now she’s dating a mavka.”“The few I’ve met have all been lovely ladies. The hollow back is something to get used to, though.”Another slightly nervous smile. “Yes. And the thing is – she told me –“ and now there are tears in her eyes. “It’s what she said about magic and how she thinks they are in for a long haul and –““Ah, she gave you the you have to make a decision speech” Dean says. “I had that talk with Sam too. Under more dramatic circumstances, though.”He doesn’t think there will ever come a day when he’s not thankful Sam chose to save Crowley with him.“Yes. And – well – here we are.”“Good of Dave to agree to come with you. Not everyone’ so open to it.”She smiles a real smile as she looks back at the house. “He’s a catch, isn’t he.”“Suppose so. But hey, I got a pretty good one myself, even if I’m the one saying it.”They are silent for a moment and then Dean says, “There’s simply no easy answer for you. Either you want this, or you don’t. And this...” he waves towards a tree full of very real looking skeletons Rowena charmed onto their lawn that afternoon. “Does it take a while to get used to? I didn’t need that much time, but then who am I to say how you’ll cope? Is it worth it? Again, for me it is. It always has been. But it’s your decision. And that’s more than you can say about a lot of things in life.”“I guess so” Emily answers. “Thank you, Dean. I better go and make sure your husband sees I’m hanging around Dave so he doesn’t want to murder me again.”Dean laughs and she leaves.A few minutes later, Cas joins him. “I thought she might want to talk to you alone.”“She did. She’s looking at a monster for an in-law, you know.”“Ah, that explains it.”“IT does, doesn’t it?”Dean smiles and draws him closer. It’s Halloween, in about half an hour, at the stroke of midnight, Rowena will demand they undergo one of her old Samhain rituals, and as he kisses his husband, he can hear a werewolf howl a few streets down the road.Everything is perfect.