Dean had had a few awkward dinners in his life, but eating dinner with Crowley and Sam may have been the worst. At the same time, though, he felt good about it. Sam may hate that the two of them were together, and he may not be one of Crowley's favorite people in the world, but they were both trying. They were cordial at dinner and no fights broke out, so Dean considered that to be a success.

After they ate, Crowley teleported Sam back to the bunker, with nothing worse than an irritated look from the later, and Dean decided to go ahead and go to bed. Demons may not have any real need of sleep, but he certainly needed to relax after the day he had had. He laid down beneath the covers, and a few seconds later he felt Crowley settle beside him. He rolled over to face him, propping his head up on his hand to look down at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked for the second time that day, tracing a hand absent-mindedly over Crowley's chest as he spoke.

"I've been worse," Crowley muttered, his eyes glued to the ceiling.

"Maybe I shouldn't have…"

"No, Dean." His eyes met Dean's, his expression sure. "I'm glad you did. She got you killed, and she deserved worse than what she got. I just wish that I had been able to."

"She was your mother, Crowley, of course you didn't want to kill her."

"I'm a demon, it shouldn't matter."

"Do you really want to get into what shouldn't matter just because you're a demon?" He dipped his head down and pressed his lips against his shoulder.

Crowley chuckled. "I suppose not." He reached a hand up, cupping the back of Dean's head to pull him into a kiss. "Are you okay?" he asked when he pulled away.

"Yeah. I mean, Sam finding out went better than I had thought it would. I don't know what you said or did while I was dying, but thank you."

"You're welcome, but that wasn't what I was referring to." He brushed his thumb over the skin beneath Dean's eye before sliding his hand down to rest on his side.

"You mean, am I okay with being a demon?"

"I know you agreed to it, but the idea is one thing, reality is another."

Dean studied Crowley's face for a moment, noticing how worried he was. "You think I'm mad at you," he realized.

"I figured you would be, yes."

"Crowley, I'm happy. It's like I have all the benefits of being a demon while still being me."

"I didn't know you thought there were benefits to being a demon."

"Hey, I'm going to have fun with these powers. And…" He rolled on top of Crowley. "Now we're the same species."

Crowley grinned, running his hands slowly along Dean's sides. "Something that I very much intend to take advantage of."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well… ruling Hell all on my own gets lonely. Not to mention, it's a pain. If I had you at my side…"

Dean just stared at Crowley in surprise for a moment. "You want me to help you rule Hell? Me?"

"You're a demon now, Dean. Maybe not a proper one, but no one has to know that. So what do you say? Want to be my queen?" He smirked.

"You are not calling me queen."

Crowley chuckled. "Is that a yes?"

Ruling Hell went against everything Dean believed in. Then again, so did dating the King of Hell and being a demon. So, why not take it a step further? "You really want to share the throne?" he checked.

"So long as it's with you."

Dean smiled. "Then, sure. Looks like you could use the help and I would just love to kick some demons' asses into line."

"I thought you would."

"Something tells me it won't go over too well, though."

"Dean Winchester as a demon and ruling Hell alongside me? Oh sure they'll hate it, but no one will be stupid enough to cross us. You were the biggest threat to us when you were human, someone would have to be a complete moron to take you on now that you're a demon."

"Good point."

"One more thing."

"What?"

"With you ruling Hell, and with how often you're here, it would make more sense if you were to move in with me."

Again, Dean was struck speechless. He loved Crowley, had become a demon for him, but somehow had never realized the permanence of their relationship until this moment. He didn't know why, but this request, of all things, made reality sink in. He had been sure when he had started dating Crowley that it couldn't last; it was the least stable of all the relationships he had ever had, and none of his relationships had been stable. And now Crowley wanted him to live with him, have a life together. The request was for permanence; something he had never believed was possible between them. But he was sure he didn't ever want this to end, and so maybe it could work….

"Dean, say something," Crowley pulled Dean back from his thoughts, his voice tight and his expression worried.

Dean couldn't help but laugh briefly before he kissed Crowley fiercely. He pulled back after a minute, grinning at his boyfriend. "Thought you'd never ask."