Manami followed Maes and Winry until there was a stairway. They had gone up the stairs, but Manami remained at the bottom, prepared to sneak around the corner when they came back down. They didn't seem to go outside to talk to Ed and Al, either…
She could only assume that it was because Ed and Al were having some sort of brotherly moment that they didn't want to impose on.
Manami listened intensely to try to hear anything, to no avail... but, a few minutes later, she saw Maes and Winry turn to come down the stairs.
"!" Manami quickly turned to shuffle as fast as she could around the corner. She peeked as they walked by, without as much as noticing her. She waited until they were out of sight and quietly sighed in relief, then went to turn the corner to go up the stairs, but…
"Ah..!"
"Ma—"
In that split moment, Manami had bumped into Ed, and Al instinctively reached to covered his mouth before he could say her name. With his other hand, he quickly guided Manami to hide behind him just before Winry and Maes turned around. They blinked at the sight of Al's hand over Ed's mouth still, and both of them standing there awkwardly.
Manami held her breath from behind Al.
"Huh..?" Winry raised an eyebrow. "What are you guys doing?
"M-Ma-CHOO!" Ed pretended to sneeze into Al's hand.
"B-Bless you, brother..!" Al quickly caught on and played along.
"Since when do you cover Ed's mouth for him to sneeze?" Winry raised a brow.
"I-It was just a lucky catch!" Al squeaked.
"..." Winry stared at them, not seeming to be convinced.
"We'll see you back in your room." Maes went to pat Winry's back to lead her into walking away... but once she was turned, he pointed to Al's feet, making the Elric brothers jump.
He could clearly see a pair of feet, knowing it was Manami was behind him, but thankfully he also knew not to say a word.
Once they were gone, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"What the hell are you doing out of bed..?!" Ed hissed as Manami went to lean her back against the wall, still holding her abdomen with her free hand.
"I-I don't know..!" Manami sputtered. "I woke up to a loud noise, then heard that you were fighting or something, and…" She trailed off and looked up to see Ed's expression soften a little.
"You were worried…" Al said quietly.
"Yeesh…" Ed rubbed the back of his neck. "And you risked Winry seeing you just to check on us..?"
"Well, yeah..." Manami said, as if it were matter of fact— which, to her, it was. "You guys were acting weird and I... wanted to make sure you were okay, that's all..." She frowned, but was surprised to see Ed crack a smile.
"We're okay…"
"Yeah." Al agreed with his brother.
"I guess you've been gone so long, you forgot how we fight all the time." Ed pointed out, and Manami shook her head.
"I haven't forgotten that you guys fight," Manami scoffed. "But not enough to make Winry cry."
Ed flinched.
"Winry cried?" He quickly looked back to Al, who also jumped and quickly waved his hands.
"N-Not that much..!"
Manami watched the two of them, and she chuckled, earning their attention.
"Geez… you two really haven't changed." She shook her head, then stared at the floor for a moment.
"... I've been thinking... I think I'll be ready tomorrow…" She looked back up to them. "She'll be here then, right?"
Ed and Al's eyes widened. They knew instantly what she meant.
"Yeah, but..." Al trailed off.
"Are you sure..?" Ed asked.
"Yeah… I don't know if and when I'll get the chance again. I better not miss it..." Manami said, but then groaned in pain.
"But, for now... I need help getting back to my room..."
"I-I'll get you a wheelchair..!" Alphonse quickly reacted and then darted down the hall, leaving Ed and Manami alone.
"We… haven't changed, huh?" Ed sighed softly through his nose and he looked back at her.
"Sorry, was that bad to say?" Manami asked, to which Ed quickly shook his head.
"I guess it's nice to hear that, despite everything, we're still ourselves." He said quietly.
Manami didn't know how to respond at first. She thought about how everything had changed, the things they had all done since they last met.
"I guess… just because things change, doesn't always mean that the people change, huh?" She looked over to him, earning a weak chuckle.
"I guess…"
"Alright..!" Al hastily returned with a wheelchair and helped Manami sit in it.
"Much better…" She sighed peacefully.
"So tell me, how do you plan to go about this? Seeing Winry again?" Ed asked her, stepping in front of her chair while crossing his arms.
"Well… there isn't exactly a way to plan this..." Manami shrugged. "I guess when she arrives tomorrow, sit her down and brace her for a big deal, and then I'll just come in and try to explain everything the best I can." Manami looked down to her hand clenched tightly in her lap. She hadn't even noticed until now…
"I wasn't prepared when I had to explain things to you two, so..." She trailed off, feeling her throat tighten up.
"Geez... I'm already nervous…" She chuckled weakly.
Al hummed in response. "It's something worth being nervous about."
"But… you're doing the right thing." Ed added, moving so that Al could start pushing her chair and walking beside them.
"You should worry about resting for now..." Al pointed out.
"I agree." Ed walked ahead to approach his door. He stood in front of it, almost like a guard as he watched Al wheel Manami past him to her room next door.
"Until then, goodnight." Ed nodded to her, and she nodded back.
"Goodnight."
Ed waited until Al opened her door and pushed her into her room to go into his own. Meanwhile, Al helped Manami out of her chair and into her bed before rolling the empty wheelchair behind her nightstand. Just in case she needed it again.
"Thanks..." She adjusted herself to be comfortable and smiled over to him. He was being really gentle and patient about everything...
"Of course..." Al nodded to her. He knew now would be the time he should leave, but... he didn't want to.
"Listen, um..." He clenched his fists. "I wanted to apologize... I've been acting weird and I wasn't honest with you." He said quietly.
"The truth is, I fought someone outside of the laboratory. Someone like me. So like me that their soul was also attached to a suit of armor." He explained, making Manami's eyes widen in surprise.
"He twisted my mind to believe some awful things. Things that just weren't true..."
"I'm sorry you went through that alone..." Manami shook her head. "Is that why you asked me what favorite memory of us was?" She asked, and he nodded.
She thought for a moment, connecting the dots. "... I heard Winry say something about a fake brother..." She looked up to him. "Did you think that you weren't Ed's real brother?"
"... I didn't think I was a real person, period." Al answered quietly. "I was told that alchemists could fabricate memories while attaching a soul to something. I don't even know if it was true, but..." He shook his head. "It's ridiculous nonetheless. There was no reason to believe that. So, I'm sorry if I treated you any differently."
"Don't worry, you didn't hurt my feelings or anything like that."
"Even if I don't remember your favorite memory of us?"
Manami was caught off guard by his question and averted her eyes. That and her awkward expression answered his question.
"J-Just because I remember it, doesn't mean you have to." She stammered. "My feelings weren't hurt, it was just... surprising to know you didn't remember."
He knew she was lying, but he let it go.
"... well, I know you remember my favorite memory. Well, maybe not my favorite..." Al corrected himself. "More like the one that made the most impact on me. Though it's probably not the most pleasant memory for you."
"..?" Manami looked back to him, seeing that he had sat down in the chair next to her bed.
"... it was at Shiori's funeral." He started, noticing her expression harden a little. "When you played the piano."
"... why?" Manami's eyes narrowed, looking away again.
"Because... I knew how you didn't want to do it." Al said quietly. "But you did it anyway. You were so strong in that moment and, despite your pain, you still played the piano so beautifully..."
He hummed softly. "At the time, you just looked so mature and grown up. It was a strength I hadn't seen in you before. I just remember being so amazed by it."
"..." Manami shook her head. "There was nothing admirable about it..." She gritted her teeth.
"That was the time where I became nothing but sad and bitter." She clenched her hand in her lap. "All I could focus on after that was my own pain."
"So, you don't play anymore..?" Al asked quietly, and she scoffed.
"Of course not."
"Is it because you don't like it anymore?" He asked.
Manami shook her head. "... it doesn't make me happy anymore."
"... that's a shame."
"It's not a big deal." She turned her head.
"... your happiness isn't a big deal?" Al asked quickly, making Manami tense a little. She gritted her teeth for a moment.
"..." But then her fists loosened. She had given up the thought of happiness. She chuckled weakly and forced a smile to him.
"Let's stop... talking about it for now."
"Sorry..." Al apologized, but Manami shook her head.
"No, don't be... I'm just a little too tired to talk about it."
He knew that that wasn't the reason, but he had no intention to argue.
"I should let you rest." Al went to stand up. "Brother and I will be next door if you need anything."
"Thanks again," Manami raised a hand to wave. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." He walked to the door, glancing back at her once before he shut the door behind him.
He sighed and rubbed the side of his head. He felt so dumb... that was supposed to be a good conversation, but he just ended up upsetting her.
Manami sighed when the door shut and she went to rub her forehead.
"Your happiness isn't a big deal?" Al's words lingered in her mind, making her brows furrow.
Of course it wasn't...
Or, at the very least, it wasn't a priority.
She was her own harshest critic when it came to her mistakes. She expected everyone to turn their backs on her, and yet... even after admitting that she lied and ran away for six years, she was only met with, for the most part, patience and understanding when she revealed everything to the Elric brothers. They still cared so much for her well-being, even after lying to them.
Why didn't anyone resent her? Turn their backs?
Was she a bad person for expecting everyone to? Or were they just too good of people to meet her negative expectations?
Her heart suddenly dropped at the thought of facing Winry tomorrow.
"..." She sighed again.
The next morning came. To Manami's surprise, it was Ed who came into her room and not Al. She wondered if it was because of their conversation last night.
She probably upset him.
"Mornin'. Feeling any better?" Ed approached her bedside.
"I guess so... I got to walking around this morning." Manami watched as Ed came over, and then she went to ready herself to leave the bed.
"Al is talking with her now," He told her, his expression serious. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I can be." Manami sighed softly. "I wasn't ready with you and Al, and I was less prepared with Maes. I at least had a little more time to think it over this time throughout last night."
"Meaning you probably didn't sleep." Ed chuckled weakly, and Manami cracked a small grin.
"A little. Not that much." She admitted.
"Well, I wanted to tell you that we have plans to leave tomorrow. Can you walk?" He asked her, eyeing her over.
"Yeah... the only thing that hurts terribly at this point is my shoulder." Manami gestured her head towards her bandaged shoulder. "So I'll probably have my arm in this sling for a while. But I can walk and move everything else..."
"Good to hear." Ed nodded, but then looked down. "So... no more splitting up. At least as much as possible."
"Agreed." Manami went to get out of bed and stand up. Ed could tell by watching her that she definitely improved since yesterday.
"Alright..." He glanced to the door.
"Mhm." Manami nodded in agreement. "It's time."