It was a beautiful day, with white fluffy clouds, rolling across the perfectly blue sky. Not too hot, for there was a gentle breeze to keep cool.
Manami was lying on her back, in front of her family's graves that she already put flowers on, watching the clouds drift above her, with a hardened expression.
Al was leaving tomorrow… and here she was, avoiding him.
She knew it was dumb. She should be spending the day with him, having a cute little picnic where she would give him some kind of gift for him to take with him, so that he would think of her every time he looked at it…
Still, no matter what she tried to come up with, she gave up with blatant dissatisfaction. No matter what she did, it wouldn't change the fact that she was going to be alone again… and that thought terrified her.
Ed and Al would be travelling the world, and Winry would be in Rush Valley more often than not… and Manami still had a month before even thinking of her next concert.
She considered leaving Resembool to go stay at Gracia's in Central for a while to get a change of scenery, but… she was pretty popular there, nowadays. It wouldn't be often that she wouldn't be noticed by fans, or worse… invasive paparazzi.
She decided to stay in Resembool where it would at least be quiet.
At one point, she figured that she could maybe get started on cleaning up the ashes of her home and rebuilding it… but still, even with alchemy, it would be a big job. She couldn't help but become unmotivated at the thought of doing it alone.
Then the thought train would complete its cycle, and repeat over and over again.
Manami knew she was throwing herself a pity party, but she couldn't help it… and it was subconsciously driving her to go off alone to sit with her feelings more and more often.
She would figure something out… she had no choice.
"You gonna hang out here all day?"
Manami jumped when she heard a familiar voice, and quickly sat up to see Ed standing in front of her.
"U-Uh…" Manami stammered.
"Al's leaving tomorrow, y'know." Ed shoved his hands into his pockets.
"I'm visiting my family." Manami retorted, frowning a little. "But if you wanna try me, why are you here lecturing me instead of spending time with Winry before you go?"
"Oof," Ed scoffed, a lighthearted smile on his face. "Easy... I'm just making sure you're okay."
Manami blinked at Ed's response, surprised.
"Yeah… sorry for snapping." She averted her eyes. "I'm fine."
"... alright." Ed nodded, though he didn't believe her.
"..." Manami looked back at him. "In all seriousness, what are you doing here..?"
"I came to visit my mom." Ed gestured in the direction of Trisha's grave. "And I saw you here."
"Hmm…" Manami sighed and looked back to her family's tombstones.
"... Al hasn't said anything to you about me, has he?"
"He hasn't said anything, but he's not an idiot." Ed said simply. "We all know that you're avoiding him."
Manami looked back to Ed, opening her mouth to retort, but Ed spoke first.
"I get it." He assured her.
"... do you?" She sighed.
"I can't say I'm spending as much time with Winry as I should be, either." Ed shrugged again. "We've spent so much time together over these last two years, that I feel like I should be relearning how it is without her. Who knows, maybe it'll soften the blow."
Manami watched as he turned away to look out to the trees in the distance.
"... for her, or for you?" She asked.
Ed's eyes narrowed. "... for whoever it'd help the most, I guess."
"Well… it's not like you'll be gone long." Manami said, putting on a nonchalant front. "So… it'll be fine."
"..." Ed frowned a little at the sight of her. He knew that she was putting on a front this whole time, Winry having told him about Manami's chat with her, but he didn't want to pry.
Especially because she had no idea of what was really happening.
"Well… Winry and Granny said that they'll be finishing dinner soon when I left, so you might want to head back soon." Ed finally said, turning on his heel to walk to the graveyard's exit.
"Thanks..." Manami watched him leave, then looked back to her family's graves, before sighing softly to herself.
She waited a few moments for Ed to get a headstart before heading back, herself.
After dinner, Manami helped Al with packing up his suitcase. They were really quiet, both of them having a lot on their minds… though about different things.
Other than the general fact that Al was leaving tomorrow, Manami couldn't stop thinking about what Ed had said to her earlier. If it was so obvious that she was avoiding Al… was he not upset with her?
She glanced over to Al, who met her glance and offered a small smile. Manami tried to smile back, but her face twisted awkwardly instead.
"Is something wrong?" Al asked, going to shut his suitcase.
"..." Manami sighed softly, watching him. "I... don't want you to think I'm mad... o-or upset with you…"
"I don't. Not at all," Al assured her, turning to face her. "I know that this isn't easy for you…"
"Still... " Manami shook her head. "I saw Ed today and he mentioned that it was obvious that I was… well, I don't want to say 'avoiding you,' but…" Her lips pursed as she trailed off.
"Either way, I wanted to say I'm sorry… because I probably haven't been the best girlfriend, lately..." She apologized.
"Hey…" Al approached her and pulled her into a gentle embrace. "That's not true at all..."
Manami didn't say anything, avoiding his stare. Al chuckled softly and reached to gently touch her chin to lean her head upwards so that she would look at him.
"I don't know what brother said, but I'm not upset with you… and I certainly don't think you've been a bad girlfriend." He said, then leaned down to peck her lips.
"Mm…" Manami hummed as they pulled away. "That's good…"
She managed to smile a little. "I know you'll be back soon…"
"Right…" Al nodded and kissed the top of her head. "After all… you know I don't want to be away from you for too long."
Manami felt a blush rise to her cheeks and she couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"I'm glad we're on the same page."
Manami didn't really sleep that night. Every time she fell asleep, it was only for a short while, where would have numerous dreams that stressed her out to where she would wake up again.
She never remembered specifics of the dreams, except for the fact that they all involved Al leaving her— sometimes for Mei Chang…
Tonight was the worst night of all, but after days of having these nightmares… she didn't so much as cry— leaving Al to continue sleeping, none the wiser.
Eventually, it just got to the point where Manami just simply lay there, staring out the window, until she could see the sky outside starting to light up outside the window.
It was already morning.
Manami frowned. Why did Al have to take an afternoon train? This was going to be torture.
She glanced at the clock when it struck six. She sighed softly through her nose and gave up on the idea of sleeping. She knew that she probably looked restless enough to not even bother lying about the fact that she slept very little.
She slipped out of Al's arms and crept downstairs to the kitchen, only to find Granny Pinako. She was still in her nightdress and slippers, preparing what she assumed was the first pot of coffee of the day.
"Good morning, Granny…" Manami said quietly as she went to take a seat at the dining room table.
"You're the second to last one I'd expect to be up this early." Pinako said after looking back and seeing her.
"Let me guess… the last one would be Ed?" Manami chuckled weakly.
"He'll be asleep until ten at the earliest." Pinako rolled her eyes while Manami let out a small chuckle.
It was funny that, since they've come home, Ed would be the one to sleep in the latest. While they were journeying for the Philosopher's Stone, Manami was usually the last one to wake up.
"I take it you didn't sleep much." Pinako went to sit at the table with her, offering her a mug of coffee, which Manami took with a polite nod.
"That obvious, huh?" Manami went to stir in creamer and sugar into her coffee with one hand, while she rested her chin into her other hand.
"Hmm…" Pinako was quiet for a moment. "I suppose it's understandable. It's a big day today."
Manami lifted her mug to take a sip of her coffee, not noticing that a small corner of Pinako's mouth curled upwards, for just a second.
"..." Manami sighed softly, looking out the window that showed the front yard.
"You're going to miss Alphonse, hmm?" Pinako asked, breaking Manami's trance.
"Well… yeah." She shrugged, her cheeks flushing a little. "I mean, I understand… it's to be expected, you know? At one point, Ed and Al were travelling all over the country. Why wouldn't they want to travel the world?"
"I'm surprised you didn't want to tag along, considering that you did before." Pinako said, going to sip out of her mug.
"Well… it's not that I don't..." Manami frowned as she trailed off.
"You have your concerts." Pinako finished for her.
"..." Manami managed to smile a little at Pinako's answer. "Yeah… my concerts…"
There was that feeling again… the only word Manami could describe it as was "unfulfilled."
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy performing. She loved playing these concerts. Granted, the sudden burst of public attention was something to get used to… but that was only really something that she had to worry about when in Central.
But then she started to think about performing at these concerts… the thought of coming out in a beautiful gown, playing a beautiful piano, then looking out to the audience…
An audience that Al wouldn't be a part of.
It was just like her song… if Al wasn't there… it wasn't enough to make her happy.
And it would never be enough.
"..."
Pinako said her goodbyes to Al in front of the Rockbell home, as she was getting too old to walk much further out than the yard.
"I'll be home soon, Granny!"
"We'll be waiting with dinner!"
Then Manami, Winry, and the Elric brothers proceeded down the long dirt road to the train station. Other than some subjects of small talk, they were mostly quiet.
When the four friends approached the station, Ed and Winry came to a stop.
"Alright, we'll say our goodbyes here." Ed announced, and Manami blinked as she looked back at him and Winry.
"You don't want to see Al off at the trai—"
"We figured we would give you that time together, alone." Winry answered Manami before she could finish her question.
"Thanks, guys…" Al smiled softly at them before going to hug Winry first, then went to do the usual gesture with Ed where they crossed their forearms over each other.
"You be safe out there, little brother."
"Will do. And you stay out of trouble."
"No promises."
Al shot a smile to Ed before looking to Manami. He slowly reached out to gently take her hand, leading her inside the station.
"We'll be out here, Manami!" Winry called, and Manami managed to look back and nod before going inside with Al.
Once they stepped on the platform, Manami felt her stomach churn, and her heart started pounding in her chest.
It was hitting her hard. Al was leaving... in mere moments.
"You okay?" Al asked quietly, and Manami noticed that she was gripping his hand tightly.
"Y-Yeah… sorry…" She tried to make her voice sound stable, but it only came out in a croak.
She looked over to him and noticed immediately that he wasn't convinced, and he was giving her a sad smile.
They stopped in front of his train, where the speaker nearby announced boarding would start in a few minutes.
Only a few minutes, and Al would be gone…
Then what?
"M-Make sure you write…" Manami stammered.
"Of course," Al smiled down at her. "I promise to write to you first, even before brother."
Manami went to rub the back of her neck, not knowing what to say. Al's eyes narrowed a little as he watched her, seeing how nervous she was.
"... Mana—"
WHOOOO! The train whistle blared from behind them, making them both jump. They looked and saw the steam begin to rise from the train, and the doors to the carriages opened.
"..." Al quickly looked back to Manami, seeing her eyes just as wide and frightened as his probably were...
But his expression was for a different reason. He swallowed thickly as he felt the burning in his pocket.
"M-Manami…" He couldn't screw this up.
"I'll miss you…" Manami said through a forced smile. "I-I hope you have a good—"
"H-Hold on…" Al stammered. "I-I need to tell you something… it's important."
"Huh..?" Manami blinked in surprise, noticing how nervous Al was now all of a sudden.
Before she could say anything, Al suddenly lowered his suitcase to the ground and reached to quickly pull her into a tight embrace.
"Manami…" Al swallowed as he felt her arms wrap around him and hold him tight.
She didn't want to let him go.
"I don't know… if I can leave." Al said quietly, making Manami's eyes widen in shock.
"But… don't you want to?" She asked, pulling away so that she could look up at Al, but he still held her shoulders so that they stayed close.
"Of course…" He nodded. "But… I don't want to leave without you."
"I-I'm not going anywhere…" Manami tried assuring him, but he shook his head.
"No, it's not that…" Al hesitated for a moment. "I-I've already spent as long as I could ever want away from you. You've been by my side for almost three years and…"
He looked down for a moment, his brows furrowing.
"I…" He swallowed before meeting her eyes. "I don't want that to end… not even for a few months."
"..?" Manami stared back, unable to look away from his burning eyes.
"… I want you to come with me to Xing… I-I want you to stay by my side..."
Manami's eyes went wide, barely noticing that Al was taking his hands off her shoulders. It was only when he broke his eye contact with her that she noticed that he was fumbling to get something out of his pocket.
Before she could ask, she froze in shock when Al suddenly knelt down to the ground, on one knee, and presented the thing he pulled out of his pocket…
A beautiful ring... in a small black box.
"Manami… w-will you marry me?!"
Manami gasped. The words echoed in her head for what felt like eternity… and even then, she was having trouble processing what he just asked her.
Alphonse Elric was down on one knee...
"... y-you... want me to marry you..?" Manami whispered, still frozen in shock.
"Y-Yeah…" Al replied, the nervousness making him sound out of breath.
Though his smile started to fade, with how long Manami was taking to answer. She just stared down at him, still looking petrified.
"..." And then he noticed tears welling up in her eyes. His stomach flopped.
She went to wipe her eyes, breaking their eye contact. Al didn't know how to feel… his heart was still pounding, but his stomach was doing flips and making him feel sick.
But then, Manami made a noise.
"Huh?" Al perked up. "What did you say..?"
"I-I said of course!" Manami yelled, pulling away her hands from her face to reveal a teary, but smiling face.
"Of course I'll marry you!"
Al's eyes widened for a split second, but then he beamed back at her…
She said yes!
FLASH!
Both of them jumped at the white flash that came from beside them, and they looked over to see a photographer, but next to him stood…
"Congratulations!" Ed and Winry cheered.
"Oh my God…" Manami let out something between a laugh and a sob, looking back to Al as he stood and gently took her left hand so that he could slip the ring onto her finger with his own shaky hand.
"Here you go." Ed approached them and handed Manami a suitcase.
"Wait, what?" Manami blinked.
"You're going on your honeymoon!" Winry smiled brightly.
Manami could only let out another sob-laugh. "Aren't honeymoons supposed to be after the wedding..?"
"Like any of us do what we're 'supposed' to do." Ed rolled his eyes.
"Really..?" Manami looked back to Al. "You really want me to go to Xing with you?"
"I'm not the kind of guy to propose and then go on a trip without my new fiancé." Al answered, still sporting a smile that stretched from ear to ear, as he held up two train tickets.
"... well, hell." Manami went to wipe her eyes with her sleeve. "I guess I'm going on my honeymoon!"
"I'm so happy for you!" Winry squealed as she went to hug Manami tightly, while Ed gave Al a one-armed hug around the shoulders.
He whispered something in his ear that the girls couldn't hear, which made Al scoff and push his brother away playfully.
Winry pulled away from Manami to go hug Al, while Ed and Manami looked at each other.
"To think, after all that yesterday…" Manami shook her head. "You knew this was gonna happen the whole time."
"..." Ed only grinned, then stepped forward to pull her into a hug.
"You take care of my brother."
"... I will." Manami nodded and hugged him back tightly. "Thank you, Ed..."
"All aboard! Final call!"
"Manami…"
Manami pulled away from Ed's embrace to see Al offering his hand to her. "We gotta go."
"You two be safe..!" Winry said, tears filling her eyes as she and Ed waved goodbye.
"We will!" Manami took Al's hand with the hand that wasn't holding a suitcase, and they both ran to board the train.
It was when Manami and Al put their suitcases away and sat down that Manami could get a good look down at the ring on her left hand. It was a beautiful silver, with what looked like a sapphire jewel at the top. It was simple, yet gorgeous. Manami wondered to herself if Al had actually made this ring, using alchemy...
This was real… she was not only going to Xing with Al… but she was going to marry him, too.