This little group had traveled together before, but when everybody is dating it's just different, you know? So many stories spend all their time just teasing and showing missed opportunities. Chen would know, she'd just watched a bunch of anime that hadn't been willing to show a full on kiss even though the characters were perfect for each other. But, there's something special about being together when everyone knows you're together.

It's the little things. It's the way that Hyra puts her hand possessively around Yue's waist when they're standing and looking over the hill they just hiked up in the late afternoon to look at the terraced lake. It's the way that Chen plays with one of Rose's curls that falls into her face as they stare at the sunset, absent-mindedly twirling it around her finger because it's there for her. It's the way that Rose holds out her arm and lets Chen snuggle into the space by her side and rest her head with the hair draping over that arm like it's the safest place in the world. 

These things are the magic of being in love, the magic of happily ever after even if it's not actually ever after yet. And it's an infectious kind of magic. See how Chen and Rose grin when they catch Yue and Hyra sneaking a kiss? It's like being in on the joke. Look at the way Hyra and Yue's eyes sparkle and their cheeks rise in laughter when Rose sweeps Chen off her feet entirely and puts her on her shoulder to get a better view of the sunset and then insists on keeping her on the shoulder all the way back down the hill. 

When they get down and go for dinner at the only little inn at the nearby town, they smile and lean in close to each other. They get to enjoy a gentle fire and the manic contrast of the inn's small radio, playing some old world CDs with high energy girl group music that doesn't seem appropriate for a relaxing dinner after a hike. But it also must be the only songs the place has or that can be found for miles and so they have a special quaintness to them. They get to try each other's food and share a special custard that's the innkeeper's custom recipe that she won't give out no matter how much Chen begs to be able to take it back to the kitchens of Ys. 

For a little while on a date like this, everybody gets to be free. To be more themselves than maybe they've ever had the chance to be, and to not have to worry about what anyone else thinks at all. It's even all the sweeter for knowing that there's more to do after it as they hold the whole of the world at bay to make time for each other.