Manami felt herself stirring out of sleep, but she didn't want to leave the comfort of the arm around her and holding her close. She could hear Al behind her, breathing in and out slowly and deeply, still asleep.

Manami's eyes slowly opened to see sunlight peeking from behind the curtains. She let out a soft groan and stretched her legs before letting out a yawn.

Behind her, Al took a deep breath and also stretched his legs, his own eyes slowly opening.

"Mm…"

"Morning…" Manami murmured.

"G'morning…" Al replied, his voice just as soft, and his hold around her tightened a little as he buried his face in her hair.

They laid there for a short while, just enjoying being close like this.

"Did you sleep okay?" Manami asked, after a little while.

"Yeah… I slept great." Al hummed. "So much so that I don't wanna get up…"

Manami blushed softly and chuckled. "Me neither."

"Then let's not." Al leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, making her giggle.

"I'll have to at some point, y'know—"

As if it were on cue, there was a knock at her door, making the two of them flinch.

"Manami?" It was Ed, and he sounded a little urgent. "A-Are you awake?"

Manami went to sit up and nervously looked back at Al. He looked back at her with a matching expression.

"Manami?" Ed knocked again. "Al's not in his room. Do you know where he is?"

Well… it wasn't like they had anything to hide. Still, both Manami and Al were nervous of what Ed would think after learning that they just spent the night in her room.

It would definitely give the wrong impression.

Manami went to get up and approach the door, slowly opening it… but just slightly, so that he couldn't see inside the room.

"H-Hi Ed." She greeted him.

"Hey, do you know where Al is?" Ed asked.

"Yeah—"

"Good morning, brother." Al came up from behind Manami and opened the door a little more to reveal himself.

"... h-hi…" Ed's eyes scanned over the two of them, and Manami could see in his face that he was starting to look uncomfortable.

"Um… w-were you two…"

"No, brother." Al said, resisting the urge to sigh. "I had that nightmare again last night... and Manami found me."

"Oh…" Ed's expression saddened a little. "Al, I… I-I'm sorry… I had no idea…"

"It's okay!" Al assured his brother. "But, I think we found a solution to the problem…"

Both Elric brothers looked to Manami, and she shrunk a little under Ed's gaze.

"U-Uh…"

"He spent the night with you." Ed went straight to the point.

Manami didn't know why she was so embarrassed. They didn't do anything, but it felt like Ed was accusing her of so, just by looking at her.

"... well?" Ed crossed his arms. "Did it work?"

Manami was thrown off by his question, and it didn't look like he was upset at her... instead, it seemed like he just wanted the truth.

She knew he deserved that much.

"Yeah… I think so." Manami answered quietly, nervously looking away and going to hold her arm.

"..." Ed was quiet for a moment. "And you didn't do anything else?"

"No, we didn't." Both Manami and Al replied, in unison.

"..." Ed finally sighed and went to rub the back of his neck. "Granny would've killed you two if this happened back home."

"We know." Al chuckled weakly, but then his tone of voice changed...

"But… we're not home, are we?"

Ed blinked a few times, genuinely surprised by that reply, but then he chuckled.

"Touche." He patted Al's shoulder. "Smooth, little brother."

Manami's face went scarlet, and so did Al's.

"N-Nothing smooth about it!" Al stammered. "I really had that nightmare, you know!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"I did!"

"What's going on..?"

Everyone turned to see Winry walking up behind Ed.

"U-Uh, nothing..!"

Today was the first day of the rehearsal for the Inauguration Ceremony. Manami would have to go to these rehearsals alone, so she left Ed, Winry, and Al at the hotel. She had a car waiting outside, ready to take her to the Central Grand Hall.

When she arrived, she was already amazed at the size of the building just from the outside… but then she actually had to stop to take in the absolute beauty that was inside. It was a giant ballroom with a stage, and an exquisite diamond chandelier dangling from the ceiling.

She had never been here, yet she felt a sense of familiarity. Her mother performed here, who knows how many times…

"Miss Kami!"

Manami snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name, and she looked over to see Grumman and a few of his bodyguards approaching her.

"Lovely to see you today!" He smiled and reached for her hand so that he could gently kiss the top of it. "Welcome to Central Grand Hall."

"It's beautiful." Manami said, looking around once more.

"Yes," He gestured to the dance floor behind him. "Of course, only half of this room will be open for dancing. The rest will be occupied with tables and chairs for everyone."

Manami tilted her head. "Dancing, sir?"

"Of course!" Grumman looked back at her with a grin. "You would like to dine, dance, and enjoy the evening as well when you're not performing, wouldn't you?"

Manami gave a nod. "Yeah, you're right… I guess it's obvious that I haven't been to something like this."

"You'll get the hang of it." Grumman assured her.

There wasn't so much rehearsing of her performance as much as it was rehearsing the order of events that would happen through the night. Manami figured she would rehearse her music at the hotel, and that was why the piano was reserved…

But, as she got a grasp of the order of events, it came to Manami's attention that her performance would be the last event of the night. At first, she didn't mind, but… when they said their goodbyes and Manami was sent in a car back to the hotel, and she had time to think about it...

And the more she thought about it, the more she realized… she was terrified of the idea of being the last event of the night. After all… how could she dance and enjoy the night if she was going to be nervous until the end?

When she arrived back to the hotel, Manami didn't go upstairs to let anyone know she was back… she just went straight for the ballroom, where the piano was waiting for her. She approached it and opened the cover to the keys, staring at them for a moment.

She remembered the last time she was here… when she was entranced by the piano and began to play, despite her guilt. As she sat down on the stool, she wondered to herself… what if she never came in here and found the piano? Would she have never touched a piano again?

Manami smiled a little to herself when she remembered Al, still in the suit of armor, coming in here… he sat on this very stool with her, confessing that he messed with her keys when they were kids… because he wanted her to play more.

"Not even going to let us know you're back?"

Manami jumped in surprise and looked over her shoulder to see Al leaning back against the closed door. He must have come in so quietly that she didn't hear him… he did have a small smile spread across his lips, like he was happy with himself that he snuck up on her.

"Rehearsal is still going on." Manami stuck her nose in the air and went to turn back to the piano, pretending to seem disinterested. "Last I checked, you're not supposed to hear any of it because it's a surprise."

"Come on!" Al pleaded, going to walk over to the piano and sit next to her, going to take his arm crutch off.

"You can play the music I already know you're going to play." He grinned as he playfully bumped his shoulder against hers.

"Excuse you," Manami scoffed. "You don't know any music I'm playing for sure."

Despite their playful bickering, she lifted her hands to play the keys. Just random melodies to warm up her fingers.

Al remained quiet, closing his eyes and taking in the music. After a moment, he looked over to her, studying her face as she kept her eyes down on the keys.

"How was the rehearsal?" He asked quietly.

"Alright, I guess." Manami mumbled. "I found out I'm the last act of the night."

"That makes sense…" Al hummed, but noticed her furrowed eyebrows. "Is… that not what you wanted?"

"I mean…" Manami stopped playing and let her hands rest on the keys. "I don't want to sound like a brat, but… I don't know, it just kind of hit me that I'm probably going to be nervous all night."

She went to play the keys again, playing the familiar tune she played at Shiori's funeral. Al was quiet for another long moment, allowing her to practice but also allowing himself to enjoy the music.

"Well… I'll be there with you." He said, after a while. "And I'll do my best to make sure you have a wonderful night."

"Thanks, Al..." Manami smiled, though she kept her eyes on the keys. "That means a lot."

"Of course."

She only caught a glimpse of something reaching to take her chin and gently turn her head, but she realized it was Al's hand because she felt his lips meet hers in a gentle kiss. She smiled a little in the kiss and her fingers stopped on the keys as she returned it, feeling her cheeks burn a little as they slowly pulled away a few inches.

"Sorry…" Al whispered, grinning sheepishly. "I've just wanted to do that all day."

"I missed you, too." Manami grinned back at him, leaning forward to close the gap between them and kiss him once more.

Despite the stress levels rising for Manami as the big night drew closer and closer, she was still very grateful for this trip because she got to spend every night cuddling up with Al to go to sleep.

It was honestly her favorite time of the day.

She hoped that maybe they could convince Granny Pinako to let them continue this when they got home. After all, it helped Al sleep better than he ever had since he got his body back. That had to mean something.

Sure, they knew the risks… how bodies grew and got more curious as they were transitioning to adolescence. But Manami was confident that both she and Al knew that sleeping together wasn't to pursue anything sexual.

After all, they just got together almost two weeks ago. She definitely knew it was too soon for either of them to even think of stuff like that. She knew she herself wasn't ready, and Al… heck, she figured he was too busy figuring out his own body, and he would need plenty of time for that before even thinking of hers.

Still, it wasn't her or Al that she was worried about convincing. It was everyone else… it even took a little bit for Ed and Winry to accept their sleeping situation without awkwardness.

How were they supposed to convince Granny? That was something she would have to deal with later.

Today, Manami got a phone call saying that there were cars waiting for all of them outside. One car would take Ed and Al to a store to try on suits, while the other would take Manami and Winry to a different store to try on dresses.

Winry was excited to go, but Manami didn't like the idea of putting on a dress.

"Come on, Manami!" Winry giggled as they got in their car and drove away. "It'll be fun!"

"Listen," Manami said, looking out the back window at Ed and Al's car until she couldn't see it anymore. "I think the last time I wore a dress was at Shiori's funeral. You can't blame me for not being thrilled about this."

"What did you expect to perform in, a t-shirt and jeans?" Winry scoffed.

"No…" Manami frowned, her cheeks burning from embarrassment and she crossed her arms. "But if I had the choice, I would."

"Think of it this way," Winry held up a finger. "You're gonna be beautiful in a dress. I know there'll be a certain cuddle-buddy of yours who's gonna appreciate that!"

"..." Manami's cheeks turned redder at the thought of Al.

"He appreciates how I look regardless of what I wear." She stuck her nose up. "But it's good to know that you're looking forward to Ed appreciating how good you'll look."

Winry's face flushed a scarlet now, and she waved her hand dismissively.

"D-Don't make it about me!"

"I'd rather it be about you than me!" Manami couldn't help but laugh.

Manami and Winry were in dressing rooms next to each other as they tried on a bunch of dresses… Winry was having fun with it, but Manami noticed that her frowns were becoming more and more of a grimace with every dress she put on.

"I look so stupid." She muttered, glaring at her reflection in the mirror.

"No you don't!" Winry assured her from next door. "You just haven't found the right dress yet!"

"Neither have you," Manami grumbled as she threw the dress on the floor. "But you still seem to be having fun."

"Because I'm not overthinking it like you are." Winry said simply. "I'm enjoying the fact that I can try on whatever I want because Furher Grumman is buying these dresses for us!"

Manami resisted the urge to sigh. She couldn't help but feel like Grumman was seriously overspending… was this even his money, or the taxpayers'?

"Ladies?" Their attendant called from outside their dressing rooms. "I found a few more for you both to try on."

"Okay!" Winry chimed as they both opened their doors to take the dresses. Manami took her dresses silently and shut her door.

"Maybe it's not the dresses that don't look right… maybe it's me."

After that thought crossed Manami's mind, she felt a bad feeling form in her chest and surge through her. It was a feeling she couldn't describe. She quickly shook her head and went to pick up one of the new dresses and look it over for a moment.

It was really pretty…

Manami took a deep breath and went to put it on, and when she turned to look at herself in the mirror...

"Manami?" Winry had noticed that she was quiet for a while. "Are you okay?"

"..."

"Manami..?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm fine…"

Winry immediately came out of her dressing room and went to Manami's.

"I'm coming in."

The door opened and Winry stepped in. She gasped at the sight of Manami as she turned to face her.

She wore an ice blue dress that sparkled and shone like a diamond in the light. The dress had a bateau neckline that left the tops of her shoulders and collarbone exposed, but had sleeves that covered her arms and went down to stop just after her elbows. It hugged her waist, but then flowed out past her hips and down to the floor.

"Ahh..!" Winry covered her mouth with both hands. "Manami, you… you look like a princess..!"

Manami said nothing, but blushed a little in embarrassment.

"I-I guess I found my dress…" She said quietly.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror again. Winry giggled and went to zip the back of Manami's dress before putting her hands on the brunette's shoulders and look at her through the mirror.

"I agree! I definitely think this is the one."

Near the zipper, Winry saw the price tag dangling, and she snagged it to take a look at the price.

"..." Her face went a little pale, and she quietly let the tag go without a word.

"Definitely a good thing that the Furher is buying…"