Al and Manami stepped off their train in Central and found a phone booth to call for a cab. It was after maybe ten minutes of waiting that Manami was finally recognized.

"Manami Kami?"

Manami looked up to see a stranger, smiling that smile.

They were definitely a fan.

"It's Manami Kami!"

Heads began turning, people were stopping to look over.

"Manami Kami?"

"The pianist?!"

"Rebecca Wolfe's daughter..!"

Manami chuckled nervously. "We should get going…"

"Sounds like it." Al agreed.

Even though they swiftly turned to leave, they were too late. People began to follow them, and Manami noticed that one of them had a camera. She assumed that if there was a photographer following her, that meant that a reporter was nearby... and she got an idea.

"Miss Manami Kami!"

"You can go ahead and wave down the car." Manami smiled at Al after they stepped outside, in front of the station. "This might be a minute…"

Al blinked for a second, wondering why Manami was deciding to stay back.

"Nope," He smiled and gently put his arm around her waist. "I'm staying with you."

Manami smiled up at him and linked her arm with his— something she always did whenever she stopped to talk with reporters or fans. They turned back to see a man with a notepad walking out, followed by the man with the camera who Manami saw before.

"Hello," Manami greeted them, smiling at the photographer just as he finished readying his camera.

FLASH!

Al had just recently started to get used to the stars he would see after a camera's flash...

"Miss Manami Kami, what brings you to Central City? Are you preparing for another concert?"

"I'm not, actually..." Manami beamed. "I just got engaged today."

Al felt his cheeks flush as his eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to announce their engagement so soon..!

"You WHAT?!"

FLASH! Al was really seeing stars now, as the crowd had gathered around him and Manami.

It had gotten the attention of the security officers at the station, which it didn't take long to deduce that a celebrity was here. They were quick to step in, gradually getting the crowd to maintain a distance.

"Step back, please!"

"No shoving!"

"Tell me! Are you engaged to this man here?!" The reporter asked, his eyes practically bugging out of his head as he feverishly wrote in his notepad.

"That's right!" Manami beamed. "And we're about to go on our honeymoon!"

"WHAAAAT?!"

Manami eyed a car that pulled up in front of the station, just as the crowd roared from all around them. She began descending down the steps with Al, closely followed by the reporter and his photographer… as well as the group of fans.

"Are you eloping?!"

"When will you be back?!"

"That's all for now!" Manami turned to flash them one more smile as they reached the bottom of the stairs and stood by the car. The driver stepped forward to open the door for her, and Manami gave one last wave before she climbed in the vehicle.

"Wait!"

"I have more questions!"

"When are you getting married?!"

Their questions were cut off once Al climbed in the back seat with Manami and the door was shut behind him.

"Phew…" Manami sighed in relief, deflating a little in her seat as the car's engine started and they drove away.

"That was fast," Al chuckled softly. "I'm surprised you told them about this so soon…"

"Well, it gives them a bone to chew for a while." Manami shrugged, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks as she looked down to admire the ring on her hand.

"Besides… I'm all for screaming it from the rooftops at this point."

"Heh…" Al couldn't help but grin, his cheeks flushing as well.

How did he get so lucky?

"Congratulations!" Manami and Al were welcomed by Gracia and Elicia Hughes at the front of their apartment complex.

It had been a little over a year since they moved into an apartment… and it would still sometimes be strange to come here, instead of the estate they lived in with Maes.

Gracia had decided to sell the house, claiming that the house was getting to be too big... but Manami knew that Gracia was struggling financially in that house, yet she would still decline every one of Manami's offerings of money…

In the end, that house probably reminded her every day how Maes should be living in that house with them… and if he wasn't here, she didn't want to be, either.

It was a tough choice… but it seemed to be working out for them.

Elicia held a big bouquet of flowers, as Gracia pulled Manami into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you two..! Let me see..."

"How long did you know?"

"We've all known for at least a month, now!"

"A month?" Manami couldn't help but laugh as Gracia held her left hand in both of her hands, looking at the beautiful ring on her finger.

"Wow… it's gorgeous!"

"Heh..." Al rubbed the back of his neck, feeling bashful.

"Here, Manami!" Elicia handed off the bouquet of flowers to Manami. "These are for you!"

"Thank you, I love them..!" Manami went to hug Elicia, as Gracia went to hug Al.

"Look how much you've grown, Alphonse…" She pulled away, still holding him by the shoulders as she looked him over. "You've really become quite the man!"

"Thank you, Miss Gracia..!" Al beamed back at her.

After they went inside, Gracia prepared tea and cookies for the newly engaged couple. They sat in the living room, Elicia and Gracia on one couch, and Al and Manami on the other across from them, as they sipped tea and caught up with each other.

"So is Edward bummed out that he's still stuck with his metal leg?" Gracia asked.

"Well…" Manami looked to Al.

"He's okay with it." He answered. "He said that it serves as a reminder to keep him in line for the future."

"I think Winry would really be bummed if she had nothing to fix." Manami added, with a weak chuckle.

"Come on, Manami..!" Gracia laughed. "That's just silly!"

"That's my point!" Manami laughed as well. "They are silly, after all!"

"Mm…" Gracia hummed, wrapping her arm around Elicia, who hugged her back.

"It makes me so happy… Al, seeing you in your human body... and now you two are going to get married…" She turned her head to look at a photo on a nearby table.

It was the family photo Manami took with Gracia, Elicia, and Maes.

"... and I know he's just as happy for you both." Gracia said softly.

Manami and Al had both followed her gaze, smiling softly to themselves.

"Mm..." Manami hummed. "He is… that's for sure."

She felt Al rest his hand over hers, and they laced their fingers together.

"We've been treated so well…" Al said quietly, looking down to his lap. "So many people have cared for us, and brother too…"

He looked up to Gracia. "Now, it's our turn to repay the happiness that's been given to us."

"You mean like what the alchemist's believe, 'equivalent exchange?'" Gracia asked.

"No…" Manami shook her head. "Because it's not about being 'equal' anymore."

"Right," Al nodded. "If you take ten and give ten back, it's equal… but, if you take ten, then add something of your own… you give back eleven!"

"It starts with us..." Manami said. "And if everyone does it, even if it's a little, it can make a big difference!"

"We just have to prove that it actually works…" Al chuckled nervously.

"I say you have a pretty strong start…" Gracia smiled. "What better way to spread happiness than by sharing your own with a wedding?"

Manami and Al felt their cheeks burn, and they laughed.

"So… you're leaving tomorrow, then?" Elicia asked, and Manami nodded.

"... can you stay here tonight?"

Manami beamed at her. "I was hoping you'd ask that."

After Gracia's delicious home cooked dinner, Gracia insisted that Manami go with Elicia to play, and asked Al if he would help her clean up.

Of course, Al didn't hesitate to help her, but he did wonder for a moment why she asked only him for help... but he was quick to dismiss the thought.

They made small talk here and there as they cleaned up, nothing seeming out of the ordinary, until…

"..?" Al looked up from the plate he was drying, seeing Gracia closing the kitchen door softly.

"Miss Gracia..?"

"I wanted to talk to you alone…" Gracia looked up to him, gesturing to the small table near them.

"Sit at the table with me?"

Al obliged, setting his plate and towel down on the counter before crossing the room to sit at the table with her.

"You see…" Gracia began. "I wanted to tell you… when Maes was alive, he and I had a talk…"

"About what..?" Al asked, his eyes saddening a little when he heard Maes's name.

"Maes had this tradition in his family, where the father of the bride would give his cuff links to the father of the groom to wear on the wedding day. Since Maes never had a sister, his father's cufflinks went to him instead. So… naturally, we talked about how Elicia's groom would get his cufflinks, since she would get married one day… much to his displeasure."

They both chuckled.

"But then…" Gracia continued. "Manami came into our lives… and she and Maes got very close. It didn't take long for him— no… both of us, to see her like as much of a daughter as Elicia..."

"..." She looked down to her lap and sniffled, feeling her eyes water. "Shortly after you and Ed reunited with her… he said to me, 'Gracia, she's going to get married one day, too…'"

Al watched as Gracia reached down into her apron pocket.

"And so… he decided that he wanted one cuff link to go to Elicia's husband to be…"

She then pulled out a small box, opening it to reveal a single cuff link.

"And the other would go to Manami's…"

Al stared at the cuff link, eyes wide. He was overwhelmed with emotion, from how stunning the silver cuff link was to look at, to the sentiment that it held.

"..." Finally, Al let out a breathless chuckle, feeling his own eyes water as he reached to pick it up and admire it for a moment.

"Wow… I-I'm honored, Miss Gracia…" He looked back up at her.

Gracia smiled, going to wipe her eyes. "Back then, I told him how ridiculous it would be to give each groom a single cufflink… there wouldn't be another to match! You know what he said..? 'It'll add character!'"

They both laughed through their tears.

"Thank you… thank you both… so much..." Al sniffled and wiped his eyes with his free hand. "I promise to take good care of it… and I promise to take good care of Manami, too."

"I know you will…" Gracia nodded, and they both stood up to hug each other tightly.

Ring! Ring!

Gracia pulled away from Al, blinking in surprise as she went to exit the kitchen and go to the phone in the dining room.

"Who could that be..?" She picked up the phone. "Hello? Hughes residence."

Manami and Elicia looked up from what they were doing in the living room to watch Gracia.

"May I ask who's speaking?"

Another pause. Al exited the kitchen as Manami went to stand up, both of them watching Gracia as she met eyes with Manami.

"I see… one moment."

She took the phone off her ear and held her hand over the mouthpiece as she whispered to Manami. "Do you know anyone by the name of 'Richter?'"

"Oh!" Manami perked up. "That's Cedric!"

She almost felt a little bad, she totally forgot about him…

She stepped forward to take the phone from Gracia and put it to her own ear.

"Hello? Cedric?"

"Manami..!" He sounded breathless. "You're all over the papers right now! Is it true?!"

"Oh…" Manami glanced at the clock, smiling sheepishly to herself.

The evening paper was definitely out by now.

"Yeah, it is!" She beamed. "Al proposed today!"

"That's fantastic!" Cedric said excitedly. "I'd love to treat you to something to congratulate you, if I can!"

"Uh…" Manami's smile faded a little. "I-It's a little late, now… and we're leaving tomorrow afternoon."

"So soon…" Cedric sounded like he was thinking.

Manami thought for a moment as well. "How about you and I meet for coffee in the morning? I need to talk some stuff over with you before I go."

"I can do tomorrow morning." Cedric replied. "The usual spot at eight?"

"Perfect." Manami nodded.

"Alright, I won't keep you any longer. Congratulations again!"

Before Manami could reply, Cedric hung up. She was used to this, for Cedric was always quick to end a phone conversation, so that he could get to the next task at hand.

He was very meticulous, which is what made him such a great manager... but Cedric was also a great friend to Manami, as well.

"You probably should have called Cedric sooner…" Al said, approaching Manami as she put the phone on the receiver. "I hope he's not mad that he found out this way."

"He's not mad at all!" Manami smiled back to him. "He just wants to congratulate me with a coffee in the morning. I figured I could take that time to fill him in on the rest."

"... Manami…" Al frowned a little. "I don't know if we'll be back by the end of June…"

"I know." Manami shook her head. "And that's why I'm going to inform him that the next concert is cancelled."

"Huh?!" Everyone gasped in surprise.

"I've already thought this over." Manami shook her head, going to take both of Al's hands in hers.

"I had my mind made up before we even got here…" She smiled up at him. "If I'm going to travel the world with you, I really want to see it. I don't want there to be any scheduled time to come home— I want to be out there for as long as we want!"

Al smiled back at her, his cheeks burning as he fell in love with her all over again.

The next morning, Manami left for her meeting with Cedric, wearing a bandanna in her hair and sunglasses over her eyes. Thankfully, the small changes were enough to keep the general public from recognizing her.

She arrived at the small coffee shop where she and Cedric often met to discuss upcoming concerts… things like scheduling rehearsals, buying space in the newspapers to promote events, and so on.

She stepped inside to find Cedric already at the table they would normally sit at. It was just the perfect table, tucked away in the corner, where people wouldn't normally look.

He looked up, smiling immediately at the sight of her. His jade green eyes shimmered behind his spectacles as he went to stand up and reach to hug her.

"There she is! Congratulations, Manami!"

"Thank you, Cedric!" Manami grinned as she hugged him back. "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner… things got hectic, and—"

"No trouble at all." He assured her. "I'm just so happy for you both!"

He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the table where they sat across from each other. A waitress arrived and took their orders. When she left, Cedric reached under his chair.

"Here, I got you these."

Manami gasped at the sight of a bouquet of flowers in his hand, but they weren't just flowers… they were Peonies!

"Oh Cedric… I love them!" She smiled as she took them. "Peonies were my sister's favorite flower…"

"Not yours?" Cedric chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I—"

"I really like Peonies, too, Cedric…" Manami chuckled and shook her head. "Don't apologize."

The waitress returned with their drinks, which they both sipped on as Manami caught him up on the details of her and Al's engagement. Cedric listened intently, a smile on his face as he propped his elbows on the table.

"So, you're going on your honeymoon before the wedding?" He asked.

"Well, until yesterday I thought this was just going to be a trip for Al…" Manami said, after sipping her drink. "So, now that I'm coming along… why not just call it the honeymoon?"

"It's definitely an interesting take on the idea…" Cedric chuckled softly.

"If you've known Al and his brother for as long as I have, you'd be more used to it." Manami laughed, shaking her head. "They definitely do things their own way…"

"But are you sure a month will be long enough?" Cedric asked her, then went to sip his drink.

"Well… that's something I wanted to talk to you, about." Manami's smile faded a little as she set down her drink. "I was wanting to cancel next month's concert."

Cedric felt himself choke up on his drink. It took all of him to not spit it out, because it would surely spray all over Manami.

Instead, he swallowed the liquid in one, thick gulp.

"C-Come again?" He squeaked.

"The truth is, we don't know how long we'll be gone for." Manami explained, his expression making her a little nervous.

"It might be a month… it might be three. It might be even more. I announced our engagement yesterday because I wanted to soften the blow that… well, I'm gonna be taking a hiatus."

"H-H-Hiatus?!" Cedric set his coffee down now, his eyes wide. "Manami… I-I don't want to rain on your parade here, but you can't just… go on a hiatus!"

"Why not?" Manami frowned a little. "Everyone seemed to be really stoked about the engagement."

"A celebrity getting married is great!" Cedric explained, straightening his glasses on his nose. "A hiatus... means that plans are cancelled— money will be wasted… people who have already bought tickets are going to be furious..!"

"How about if the money isn't wasted?" Manami suggested. "We could refund anyone who bought tickets in advance. Break the contract with the venue and pay any penalty fees out of my personal finances. Any other money spent was on advertising spaces, which we could deal with that loss..."

"But..!" Cedric tried to protest, but Manami shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Cedric… but I've made up my mind." She said, with a tone that said this wasn't up for debate. Still, she offered a sympathetic smile.

"..." Cedric looked down in defeat, his eyes narrowing.

"... as you wish."

After a long moment of silence, Manami sighed.

"I should get going… thank you for the coffee and flowers, Cedric. I'm glad I got to see you before leaving."

Cedric perked up, watching Manami worriedly as she went to stand, going to stand up himself.

"L-Look..." He spoke up. "I don't want to leave this on such an awkward note… could I make it up to you, somehow? I just—"

"Don't worry." Manami smiled at him. "There's nothing to make up for. You're just trying doing your job, and I'm not making it easy for you. I'm sorry that I'm dumping all this on you now, but I have all the confidence that you can handle it..."

She went to hug him, and he hugged her back tightly. When she pulled away, he reached to pick up the bouquet of flowers and hand them to her.

"Take care, Manami… and be safe. I'll handle the rest here." He said.

"I'm counting on you, Cedric." Manami smiled at him and then turned to walk out the door.

Cedric plopped back down in his chair, taking a moment to process all this. Manami was leaving… getting married... cancelling her concerts...

He couldn't help but get a bad feeling… what if this ended up being more than just a short hiatus..?

What if it became… a retirement?

That would mean that he would be out of a job.

"..." He gritted his teeth, going to rub his forehead.

"Not again..."