"You're right," Devero says. He squares his shoulders and steps up to Koumyou, taking the offered hand and placing his other on the priest's waist again. He inhales deeply, and then manages a smile for his Sanzo. "So let's get back to it."

He waits for an appropriate beat in the current song, then leads them back into their waltz. "You know," he says wryly as they recapture the rhythm, "if someone had told me a month and a day ago that I would be getting exposure therapy for reality-bending magic soon, I probably would have laughed in their face."