"So… you're retired."
Roy sat at his desk, with Manami sitting across from him. He was fiddling with a pen, seemingly staring down at it to avoid her eyes.
"Yeah…" Manami nodded. "I'm sorry that I didn't say anything sooner…"
In fact, Manami realized in that moment that she hadn't seen or spoke to Roy since the Promised Day.
"I should have expected it." Roy said, not seeming to be angry or upset. "You have no reason to be a soldier, now that the Elric brothers have their bodies back."
Manami put on a small smile. "Yeah... that's true."
"How are they?" Roy finally looked up to her and met her eyes.
"They're fine." Manami answered. "Al's still getting his strength back… but internally, he's fully recovered."
"That's good to hear." Roy nodded.
"What about you?" Manami asked. "I was curious… is there a reason why Grumman stepped up to Furher instead of you? I mean… wasn't that your dream?"
"Still is." Roy clarified. "I just now have a pathway made out for me. Grumman's already arranged things so that, when he steps down, I will succeed him."
"Ah…" Manami nodded in understanding. "So you're being patient."
"Exactly." Roy smiled at her. "I've waited this long, what's a little longer?"
"I look forward to it." Manami grinned.
"Well, anyway… now that you're retired, what do you plan to do?" Roy asked, and Manami thought for a moment.
"That's… not entirely decided, yet." She chuckled weakly.
"Taking a risk? With no definite plan?" Roy scoffed. "Those boys have really rubbed off on you."
"..." Manami hummed. "Yeah… I guess they have."
They were quiet for a brief moment, and Manami went to stand up.
"I should get going. I've got to get home."
She then noticed something on his desk, and for a moment she didn't recognize it… but then it clicked in her mind.
It was the lucky charm she brought back from Xing, the souvenir she got for him.
She couldn't help but chuckle.
"Would you say that thing worked?" She asked, and he followed her gaze.
"..." He smiled at it for a moment before looking back at her.
"Well… considering that the Elric brothers managed to achieve what they set out to do, I have my future as Furher lined up… and I just now heard you— the girl who just last year was spending her life running away from her problems— finally say that she's going home?"
He grinned up at her. "I think so."
"..." Manami smiled back at him.
"Colonel…" She hesitated for a moment. "Thank you… for everything."
"Just call me Roy." He chuckled as he held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm no longer your superior officer, after all."
"Roy, huh..?" Manami scoffed and shook her head.
"Sorry... that's too weird for me to say."
"Yeah… it's weird for me, too." He admitted with a nervous chuckle, his extended hand drooping a little.
"I like 'Wind' instead of Manami, anyway." The brunette said, now offering her hand. "So how about I just call you 'Flame?'"
"Works for me." He said, and they took each other's hands to give a firm shake.
"Until next time, Wind."
"Mm." Manami hummed and pulled back her hand. "See you soon, Flame."
Manami spent the whole train ride staring out the window, thinking of the conversation she had with Grumman.
She had until tomorrow to make her choice, but it was already late afternoon by the time she arrived in Resembool.
She was happy to have a nice view on her way down the dirt road. Watching the sky turn from orange to pink as the sun set…
Before she knew it, she made it to the Rockbell house. Den was outside and barked as she climbed up the front steps.
"Just in time!" The door swung open to reveal Alphonse, smiling brightly at her.
"Dinner was just put on the table—"
He stopped when he noticed her expression, his own smile fading a little.
"... is something wrong?"
"Huh?" Manami wasn't aware that she was wearing an expression that gave her away. She could only force a smile to him, one that wasn't convincing.
"It's been a long day…"
Al's eyebrows furrowed a little as he took a step towards her, reaching to softly touch her cheek, then tuck her hair behind her ear.
"I missed you…" He said quietly, going to wrap his arms around her and pull her into a warm embrace.
"I missed you, too…" Manami murmured, closing her eyes as her face buried in his shoulder.
When she was close to Al like this… it was easy to forget everything else.
"Are you sure you're okay..?" Al asked quietly, after a moment.
"Yeah…" Manami sighed softly. "I'll explain it all at the dinner table."
Manami told everyone about the first two parts of her meeting with Grumman. Her fans were returned to her, and she was now officially retired.
It was then that everyone told her that they got a crate today, containing what was recovered of Al's armor. Al explained that he had Winry melted the armor down to become material for automail.
He had decided that reusing the metal to one day become someone's arm or leg… that would be better than keeping it in a storage room and collecting dust.
"I'm proud of you, Al." Manami smiled over at him. "Still… I can't imagine how weird that must have been, watching them melt a body you've had for so long…"
"Yeah… it kind of made me sick." Ed said, his mouth full of food. "But like Al said, it was all worth it."
Manami smiled again, but it quickly faded.
"I… talked about one more thing with Furher Grumman…" She admitted, and she felt herself shrink when she felt everyone's eyes on her.
"Well… Granny might know this already, but..." Manami looked to Winry. "I found out last month… that my mom was a famous pianist."
"Really?" Winry asked, her mouth open in awe. "That's amazing..!"
"Yeah…" Manami smiled a little at her, but then looked back down to her plate.
"So, that got brought up in conversation with Grumman…"
She paused for a moment.
"I…" She kept her eyes down at her plate and absentmindedly poked at it with her fork. "Was invited to perform… at the Inauguration Ceremony, at the end of the month."
"What?!" Everyone gasped.
"Manami, that's awesome!" Winry said excitedly.
"Congratulations!" Al joined in.
"Your mother would be so pro—"
"I… didn't accept the invitation..." Manami cut Pinako off. She didn't look up, but everyone growing silent was enough of a response.
"Not yet, anyway." She clarified, still not looking up. "I have until tomorrow to decide."
"Why wouldn't you do it..?" Winry asked quietly.
"..." Manami gave a weak shrug. "Because it's not as simple as it sounds. I'd have to prepare music, and even then—"
"You're overthinking it." Ed interrupted her.
"..." Manami sighed. She suddenly felt really bad. All she wanted now was to be alone.
"Granny… may I be excused from the table?" She asked quietly. "I'm tired…"
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Ed's eyebrows furrowed a little.
Did he upset her that much?
"You barely touched your plate." Pinako pointed out. "... bring it up with you, at least."
"Thank you… I'll be sure to clean it." Manami nodded and stood up, bringing her plate with her.
Everyone watched silently as she exited the room, then looked at each other. Al looked the most worried.
If only there was something he could do...
"Wait a minute…" He whispered to himself, earning Ed and Winry's attention.
"Brother, Winry…" He looked up to them. "Could you help me find something?"
Manami didn't feel much better in her room, but at least she managed to scarf down the food on her plate. She then approached the table where she kept the newspaper clippings and the record that the old lady from the hospital had given her.
She picked up the record, then crossed the room so that she could put it on the record player. She set the needle in place and stared at the player as it began to play, then went to to bed and sit down.
What was bothering her the most… was that if she did perform, people would probably have high expectations of her. They would want to hear her mom's music, which she didn't know any by heart… except one song.
Even then… Manami didn't know if she had any of her own music ready to perform. For the last few months, she just wrote bits and parts on scraps of paper… even so, any music that she wrote, she wrote with no intention to actually perform in front of people.
She sighed and buried her face in her hands. She took a deep breath, and then looked over to see the parcel containing the broken pieces of her fans sitting next to her plate on the bedside table. She lifted it up to empty out on the bed, then slowly picked the broken pieces and placed them carefully back together. Luckily, one fan was still connected to its other half by a splinter.
When she felt confident in her placement of the other pieces, she clapped her hands, realizing that she hadn't done alchemy in a long time... not since the Promised Day.
Would she even have a need to transmute again? Did she even need to fix these fans?
Still, she touched the fans and watched as her fans repaired, surrounded by flashing blue lights. She picked one up in each hand and stared down at them, but a soft knock at her door didn't let her get too deep into her own thoughts.
"Manami..?" Al's muffled voice came from behind the door. "Can I come in?"
Manami contemplated it for a second, but knew that she didn't want to turn him away.
"Yeah." She said quietly, looking up to see the door open and Al walk inside. He gave he a soft smile, before noticing her empty plate on her bedside table.
"I'm glad you managed to eat." He commented.
"Yeah…" Manami moved so that she sat with her legs crossed over each other on the bed. "Me, too."
Al nodded and went to approach her, carefully sitting on the other side of the bed. Manami said nothing and looked back down to the fans in her hands. Al followed her glance, smiling fondly at the sight of them.
"It's good to see those again." He said.
"Mm…" Manami hummed. "I guess that's all they'll be good for, anymore."
Al's smile faded.
"What makes you say that?" He asked quietly.
"If I'm retired, so are they." Manami didn't look at him, but tossed the fans aside to land softly on the bed in between them.
"..." Al reached to pick one up, tenderly holding it in both hands and thinking for a moment as he stared down at it.
"Manami…" He looked over to her. "Are you upset… that you're not a State Alchemist anymore?"
"..." Manami's eyes narrowed, still glued to her lap.
"No."
"That's not what your expression is telling me…" Al said, cautiously. He didn't want to upset her any more...
"I don't know..!" Manami vaguely threw her hands up in the air and let them fall back down to pat her knees.
"Everything's changed. Sure, it's a change for the better, but I just don't know where I am— who I am— right now... it's frustrating."
"You're still you." Al assured her.
"I know, but…" Manami groaned in frustration and held her head in her hands. "Before, I was the Wind Alchemist... and now that's over."
"Isn't that why you should perform at the ceremony..?" Al asked. "Maybe that's where your next calling is."
"So I could walk into a room full of people expecting me to be my mom?" She looked over to him.
"How do you know that's what they're thinking, Manami..?"
"That's not the point." Manami shook her head. "What if I'm not a performer? She was, but that doesn't mean I am."
She sighed and turned her head to look away.
"I just… don't want to make a fool out of myself."
Al grew quiet, looking down to the fan he was holding his lap... thinking of what he should say next.
After a moment, he slowly set the fan aside next to the other one on the bed, and went to unhinge his arm crutch so that he could take it off. He stood up, then walked over to her side of the bed and held out his hand to her.
"..?" Manami looked at his hand, then up to him. She was surprised that he took off his crutch...
"Don't leave me hanging…" He gave her a soft smile.
When he looked at her like that, how could she refuse?
Manami slowly lifted her hand to take his, though pushed herself up with her other hand so that he didn't have to pull her up to stand.
She watched as he went to put the hand he was holding on his shoulder, then rested his hand on her waist. He met her eyes as his other hand took hers.
"What are you doing?" Manami asked, as her brows furrowed in confusion.
"You ever learn to Waltz?" Al asked with a sheepish grin, leading her to start stepping backwards, then to the side.
"U-Uh, no…" Manami quickly looked down to their feet, feeling herself get nervous while he led her to step toward him, then to the side again.
"You have?" She asked, now starting to understand the box steps.
"Mhm." Al hummed. "Back when we had no leads and I had the nights to myself, I had plenty of time to teach myself a few things…"
"Really..?" Manami couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the suit of armor doing the Waltz.
"Yep." Al smiled, genuinely happy to see that he at least made her smile.
"Hmm…" Manami hummed. "Well, this isn't so hard, I guess."
"You think?" Al asked. "You got the basic steps down?"
"Oh, there's more?" Manami chuckled weakly.
Al slowly went to turn, leading Manami with him. They did their box step, then turned again.
"Exactly." He smiled. "You're pretty adaptable, you know."
"Yeah?" Manami blushed a little from the compliment.
"Uh-huh." Al hummed. "You always have been."
Manami looked up with raised eyebrows to see him smiling down at her.
"You're cautious, but you're smart." He told her. "And you're good at adapting to a situation to work with what you have..."
He slowly came to a stop, though kept holding her close.
"That's what made you who you are. Not the fans. Not the alchemy. Not the title."
"..." Manami's eyes trembled, his words having touched her.
"So…" Al slowly pulled away from her and reached for his back pocket. "If you're worried about that performance being an expectation of your mom and not you…"
"?!" Manami's eyes widened at the sight of her journal in his hand.
"Work with what you have…" Al held up the small book. "And make that performance yours."
"..." Manami was speechless, she could only reach to take the journal with both hands. She stared at it for a long moment, then looked back up to him.
"How did you..?"
"I'm sorry… I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get mad…" Al rubbed the back of his neck. "But it was an accident, honest..!"
He went to sit on her bed, and like a magnet Manami was drawn to follow and sit next to him, watching him as he spoke.
"Remember, that night after you and brother got out of Gluttony's stomach? When I woke you up from that really bad nightmare, and I stayed with you all night?" He asked.
"Your journal must have fallen onto the floor and under your bed somehow. I found it there, and it was open… I couldn't not see it."
"So… you've known that I've written music in this journal since then?" Manami asked, thinking back to anytime the journal was brought up after that, and remembered Briggs.
"Yeah…" Al nodded. "But, it's not like I knew how long ago or how recently you wrote it. I did know that it was something that I wasn't supposed to know about, so I never mentioned it…"
He gestured to the book in her lap. "Until now, anyway. Only because I thought you needed to hear it."
"..." Manami went to look back down at the journal, and felt tears come to her eyes. She sniffled, lifting a hand to wipe her eyes.
"... you don't have to do it, if you don't want to…" Al wrapped a gentle arm around her shoulders. "But… I know you would be spectacular, if you did."
He leaned over to kiss her cheek, then reached behind him for his arm crutch so that he could put it back on.
"I'll leave you be to think about it." He smiled at her as he stood up. "But if you need me, or anyone else… just ask, okay?"
Manami looked up to him and slowly nodded, a small smile on her face.
"Thank you, Alphonse…"
"Of course." He leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips before turning to leave the room, grabbing her empty plate on the way out.
Once he closed the door behind her, he sighed softly to himself.
"Good thing Winry had that journal, or I have no idea what I would've done..!" He thought.