Election years always seemed like more work. Dean had been fresh into his post in Magical Cooperation when Ross had been elected and now, he felt the pressure more acutely. Maybe it was because he had good experience now, was good at his job, took it seriously. Maybe it was because Don Juan's brother was running and things felt weirdly personal. He didn't know, but he did know he had far less free time than he would like and he was starting to feel a little burned out.

Even now, as he dressed in a suit for the night's event, he was wishing he could maybe just stay home and... go to bed to sleep. Get some actual, restorative rest without letting the stress wake him up constantly. Still, he wanted to be taken seriously in the department and he had some decent foreign connections that were going to be there tonight, so he was going to put on his best social face and do what was expected of him. He would settle in once he was there.

"Impossible, I'm afraid." Because as good as it sounded, Dean couldn't go skipping the event and he couldn't give Don Juan any wiggle room to try and persuade him to. "My Italian is needed tonight."