The next day came, and Manami hadn't left her room. When it got to be noon, everyone was starting to get worried.
"Should someone go up to make sure she's okay..?" Winry asked, looking to Ed first.
"I'm sure she's fine…" Ed mumbled. "What do you think, little brother?"
Winry followed Ed's glance over to Al, whose lips pursed.
"I don't want to bother her… but…"
Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone looked over to see Manami walk in the room. She avoided their eyes, her lips curled into a frown as she went to walk past them to the telephone.
Everyone watched her back as she dialed and picked up the receiver to hold to her ear.
"Hello, this is Manami Kami. The Furher requested that I called him today."
A pause.
"Yeah… it's ocean, pineapple, amethyst, nine, two, zero."
Ed was the only one who understood what she said. That must have been her military code, for verification over the phone lines.
This was probably be the last time Manami would use it, since she no longer was enlisted.
Everyone watched her closely, holding their breaths in anticipation.
"Yes, I've made my decision." She took a breath through her nose. "I'll do it."
"!" Ed, Al, and Winry looked at each other, big grins forming on their faces.
"Yes… yes. Right. Thank you. Goodbye." The moment Manami put down the receiver, Winry jumped on her to hug her tightly.
"You're doing it!" She squealed in excitement.
"Yeah… I guess so..." Manami chuckled weakly.
After Winry pulled away, Al approached Manami and pulled her into a hug, which she returned.
"So, the ceremony is at the end of the month?" Ed asked.
"Mhm." Manami nodded. "But I'll need to go to Central a week beforehand for rehearsals. You can come with, if you want… apparently all travel, food, and lodging expenses will be paid for us."
"Wow!" Winry clapped her hands together excitedly. "I can't wait!"
Over the next week, Manami was usually found with her nose buried deep into her journal, writing feverishly. It wasn't until a few days before they were set to go to Central, that she finally told everyone that she had her performance ready.
Though, she refused to even show the music she had prepared.
"It's a surprise!" She would insist, especially to Alphonse.
And so, the day came to where they would leave Resembool. Unfortunately, Pinako had to stay home, for she was getting to be too old and brittle for travel, but she still accompanied them to the train station.
"You kids have a safe trip." She told them with a smile, then looked to Manami. "I know you'll do great. I'll make sure to listen on the radio!"
The Inauguration Ceremony was also planned to be broadcasted live on the radio, so people like Pinako, as well as Gracia and Elicia Hughes, would get to listen.
"Thank you, Granny." Manami went to hug her after Winry did, and they went to board the train.
"Excuse me?" A lady approached them after they got on. "May I see your tickets?"
Everyone blinked, but obeyed and handed her their tickets. Their eyes fell on Manami afterward, for it was Grumman who got them their train tickets.
"As I thought," The lady handed their tickets back to them. "You're in the wrong section of the train."
"Huh?" Manami blinked. "But—"
"Please follow me to the first class carts." The lady turned around and went to walk, expecting them to follow, but Manami's jaw dropped instead. She felt a clap on her back and looked over to see Ed.
"First class?!" He laughed. "Wow, Grumman wasn't kidding when he said 'guest of honor!'"
"I-I guess so…" Manami smiled nervously as they went to follow the lady, stepping into the next cart and stopping in front of a door.
"This is your compartment, Miss Kami." The lady pulled open the door for them.
"Thank you." Manami stepped in first to see seats like on the normal part of the train, except there was a table in between, with a nice looking tablecloth draped over it. She looked up to see racks where their luggage was supposed to go, so she first put her suitcase up there and kept her knapsack with her.
"Alley-oop!" Ed was putting up his luggage across from her, reaching to grab Winry's afterwards and put it up as well.
"Let me…" Manami turned to Al.
"I got it." He assured her with a small smile as he put his luggage up above their heads with a small grunt.
They sat down and the lady poked her head inside their cabin.
"An attendant will be with you shortly after departing, for your orders."
And with that, she closed the door. Manami then looked to everyone else, who were all grinning at her.
"Why didn't we ever ride first class before?" Ed asked.
"Because I wouldn't have fit in the compartment." Al laughed.
"That, and these tickets were probably expensive…" Manami hummed, looking down to the table in between them and seeing menus.
"Still, this is really nice!" Winry went to pick up a menu, and Ed looked over her shoulder.
"Whoa… they serve full-course meals?" He gasped, then ripped the menu from Winry's hands.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!"
It was probably the quickest train ride to Central there ever was, probably because they were distracted with the food and drink.
Al and Manami didn't order much, but Ed ordered almost the whole menu— and while Winry didn't order much, she partook in everything Ed got.
The train came to a stop and they stepped off, heading for the exit when they heard…
"Kami! Miss Manami Kami!"
"?" Manami looked over to see a man in a nice suit holding up a sign saying "Kami." He appeared to be a driver.
"Th-That's me…" Manami raised her hand.
"Your car is ready m'lady!" The driver smiled to her, then went to escort them out to a fancy car parked at the entrance.
Manami had a small flush on her cheeks from the embarrassment. Al couldn't help but think that it was adorable.
They were driven to the same hotel they stayed in plenty of times before. Once they entered the building, the woman at the counter beamed at them.
"Good afternoon!"
"Hello," Manami stopped at the counter. "I believe we have some rooms, under 'Kami'…"
"Ah yes, only the best one!" The woman smiled even brighter. "You four will be in the Presidential Suite!"
All of their mouths dropped when she said that. It was when they were escorted upstairs and the doors to the suite were opened that the reality to set in...
It was big enough to be someone's house! There were two bedrooms at each end of the suite, with a huge living room in between. In front of them was a wall made entirely of glass, with a door that led to a balcony— all looking out to Central city, where HQ could be seen in the distance.
"Holy crap…" Ed was first to whisper. Everyone else was still stunned into silence from the pure luxury in front of them…
"Oh, and Miss Kami…" Their escort chimed in. "The ballroom will be reserved for the duration of your stay, so you can use the piano anytime you wish."
"Th-Thank you…" Manami squeaked, forcing a smile through her shock.
The escort gave a nod and closed the door behind them, leaving them to stare around the suite in silence.
"..." Manami looked around, before noticing that there were small signs hanging from each doorknob. Each sign said their name, in a fancy cursive lettering.
Winry and Manami's rooms were on one end, while Ed and Al's were across the living room on the other.
"I-I guess we should unpack…" She heard Winry whisper behind her.
"Yeah…" Manami turned to walk to her room and opened the door, her jaw dropping to the floor once she saw what was inside.
"Whoa..!"
It was a room almost as large as the living room they were just in, with another glass window and balcony looking out over Central City, except there was a lavish curtain drawn over most of the wall. The opposite wall led to a large bathroom.
"We have a connected bathroom, Al!" She could hear Ed call for his brother.
"Aww, we don't..!" She heard Winry whine through her open door next door.
"I-I think I have the master bedroom…" Manami squeaked, and everyone else shuffled into her room.
"Wow…" Was all Al could say.
"Talk about lush!" Ed chuckled. "And you almost passed this up!"
"Heh…" Manami chuckled nervously. "Still, this is a bit much…"
"Hey, enjoy it!" Winry plopped on her bed. "You earned it— ooh, such soft sheets…"
Manami had met Al's glance, noticing that he looked a little uncomfortable himself. She figured that he was just as shocked as she was, but she wasn't aware of what else was on his mind…
Manami didn't know if it was because it was a different, more spacious room… or maybe the sheets… but she woke up in the middle of the night, wide awake.
For a moment, she wondered if it was because this all seemed like a dream… the fancy first-class train and car ride, this huge room and bed… she sighed as she stood up and crossed the room to approach a vanity, where she picked up a pitcher and poured herself a glass of water.
Even the water tasted… richer.
It was nice and everything, but it was still so much to take in… to think, this was the life her mom lived before eloping with her dad to Resembool.
"... love must really conquer all." She mumbled to herself, but suddenly...
Thud.
"..?" Manami's head instinctively snapped in the direction where she thought the sound came from. For a second, she contemplated if she really heard it at all...
But, if she did hear it, it sounded like it came from directly across from her room… which would've been Al's room.
"..." She went to her door and slowly opened it, seeing what little of the living room that was lit by the dim moonlight. She looked towards Al's door, seeing that there was no light peeking from under the door.
Manami knew that she may have just been hearing things… but, she still crossed the living room to approach Al's door. She didn't want to make any noise and wake anyone up, so she only pressed her ear to the door to listen for anything.
For a moment, there was nothing to be heard… but just as she was about to pull away, she heard a gasp of air.
"?!" Manami put her hand on the doorknob, slowly twisting it to see whether or not it was unlocked. When the knob turned all the way, she took a breath and slowly opened the door.
"Al..?" She whispered, only to be greeted by a whimper.
Something was wrong.
Manami quickly reached with her other hand for the light switch as she opened the door fully. The light flashed on to reveal Al, not in his bed, but on the floor. He was tangled in his bed sheets, curled in a fetal position, and trembling.
"!" Manami rushed over to him, falling to her knees to lift him up and cradle him in her lap. He wouldn't respond to her, only whimpering and still shaking.
She quickly deduced that he was having a nightmare.
"Al..!" She whispered, moving to cup his face in her hand. "Al, wake up..!"
"!" Al's eyes flashed open and he gasped, like he was suffocating.
"Wh-Wha..?" His eyes darted back and forth for a moment, before looking up to her. "M-Manami..?"
"You were having a nightmare…" Manami went to wipe away the sweat beading on his face with her hand. "You fell on the floor…"
Al's eyes squinted shut as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling himself up to bury his face in her neck. She could feel his trembling arms, and she slowly wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey... you're okay now…" She whispered.
"I-I'm sorry…" Al croaked.
"Don't be." Manami assured him.
They held each other for a long while, until Al calmed down, and he slowly pulled away.
"I thought I could…" He bit his lip.
"Could what?" Manami asked, noticing that he was hesitant to say more.
"..." But Al only sighed. "I haven't… been totally honest with you."
"..." Manami raised a brow, but she then shook her head.
"Can you stand up?"
"Mm-hm." Al nodded, and Manami went to help him up.
"Let's go to my room." She said with a small smile.
Manami had sat Al down on the end of her bed and brought him a cup of water before sitting down next to him.
"I figured we wouldn't have to whisper in here." She told him. "You can stay as long as you want."
Al shook his head. "No... I probably shouldn't."
"Oh, hush." Manami waved her hand dismissively. "You stayed with me when I had my last nightmare, so now I'm staying with you…" She paused.
"Or, rather, I'm keeping you in here with me." She corrected herself.
Al couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks. He turned his head and sipped his water to hide it.
"So… what do you mean, you weren't totally honest with me?" Manami asked.
Al looked back to her to see that she didn't look mad. That was good, at least.
"Well…" He avoided her eyes by looking down to his cup. "You know… how I told you I've had insomnia?"
"Yeah?" Manami nodded
"Well…" Al frowned a little. "It's kind of because… I have really bad nightmares."
"Like what?"
"… being trapped in the armor again."
"..." Manami's expression saddened.
"I wake up, realizing I can't feel anything anymore... and I can't find you or brother." Al explained, gripping his cup tightly. "I remember that we were separated up north… and I feel like having my body back was just all a dream…"
"Because you couldn't feel then, and you can't really feel in a dream, either…" Manami nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry… you don't have to say anymore." She put a hand on his shoulder. "I couldn't imagine… how scary that must be."
"It's been getting better… slowly…" Al said quietly. "In the hospital, where I couldn't make any contact with you or brother in the middle of the night… all these nurses and doctors who I don't know, trying to calm me down… that was the worst."
"..." Manami was speechless.
"It actually stopped… when we came to Resembool." Al said.
"Just the first night, where we had our…" He cleared his throat. "Talk… that was the only night I had the nightmare. But then, I woke up and saw brother, and immediately felt better."
"So, since you were sharing a room… your subconscious knew that Ed was always there." Manami said.
"Exactly." Al nodded. "So… I was a little surprised to find that we had our own rooms here. I thought we would get two rooms, me with brother, and you with Winry…"
"..." Manami slowly nodded. "I see… I'm sorry…"
"I-It's not your fault!" Al quickly assured her. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful! Really, I-I tried to not let it bother me—"
"So, why don't you sleep in my room tonight?"
Al froze, mouth hung open, and all he could do was stare at Manami after she asked that.
"... what?" She frowned a little at his reaction.
"M-Me? Sleep in…" His eyes fell on the bed.
The single bed.
Manami followed his gaze and felt a blush rise to her own cheeks.
"What?! I- I wasn't asking that to be perverted or anything!" She squeaked.
"N-No, that's not—" But Al's blush only darkened as he got more flustered.
Manami's cheeks burned a little brighter as well.
"Look, I meant this to be an offer to, like, cuddle." She held up her hands. "You know… like we did when we fell asleep on the couch together."
"Y-Yeah..!" Al quickly nodded, still a little flustered. "I-I mean… as long as you're okay with it…"
"Yes, Al." Manami sighed. "I'm the one who offered. It's only a matter if you're okay with it. You don't have to..."
"N-No, I'm okay with it…" Al swallowed nervously. "Sorry… thank you…"
"Don't be sorry," Manami chuckled and shook her head. "Come on…"
Al watched her as she went to crawl into one side of the bed, then slowly went to get up and crawled in the other side himself. He watched as she reached to turn off the light and then shimmied under the covers.
"Okay." He heard Manami murmur, and she rolled over on her side so that her back was facing him, then reached behind her to grab his arm and pull it over herself.
At first, Al's arm was tense as Manami pulled it over her... but he managed to relax, and he pulled himself closer to her so that her back rested against his chest, his arm now comfortably draped over her waist...
And he instantly felt ten times better.
Manami smiled to herself when she heard him sigh in content behind her. He sounded peaceful.
"See?" Manami asked in the darkness. "That way… if you start to have a nightmare… you can hug me tight…"
She rested her hand on top of his, holding it against her stomach.
"And you'll feel me here with you."
"..." Al felt his chest well up with happiness, and he hummed happily as he hugged her a little tighter.
"I love you…" He whispered.
"I love you too." She whispered back to him.
They both closed their eyes, and soon drifted off to probably the best sleep they ever had…