"Manami, you look like you're gonna be sick…"
"It's not out of the question…"
Today was the big day. Manami and Winry were were getting ready in Manami's room, while Ed and Al were getting ready in the living room. Winry was helping Manami with her hair and makeup... but despite how pretty she looked, Manami wore this face that screamed dread.
The pressure was practically suffocating.
Winry went to take a small part of the top layer of Manami's hair and tie it into a low ponytail so that it could rest nicely over the rest of her hair.
"There."
"..." Manami slowly lifted her head to look at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't deny that Winry did a great job, that she looked really pretty, but she couldn't help but feel like... she looked unrecognizable.
She kept getting stricken with terror whenever she wondered what Al was going to think.
"You look beautiful." Winry assured her, almost as if she had read her mind, as put her hands on Manami's shoulders and smiled at her through the mirror.
"Are you two about ready to get going?" Manami flinched when she heard Ed's muffled voice from outside her door. "The cars are out front waiting for us."
The girls couldn't see yet, but Ed and Al stood outside their door, wearing matching black suits. The only difference is that Ed wore a crimson red vest and tie underneath his suit jacket, while Al contrasted his brother with a royal blue.
Al was blatantly nervous, too. He was positive that he was going to be stunned when he saw Manami. He just hoped that he wouldn't freeze up or say something stupid.
He already felt foolish that he had been fantasizing about how pretty she'd look… wondering what kind of dress she would wear, how her hair and makeup would look— if she would wear any makeup at all.
To his recollection, Manami had never worn any kind of makeup before.
"Remember," Ed clapped his hand on his younger brother's back. "Smile and compliment."
"I know…" Al nervously fidgeted with one of his cuffs.
"We're ready!" Winry called back, then went to take Manami's hand to pull her to stand up. "You got this."
"..." Manami slowly lifted her eyes to meet Winry's. "Do I?"
"Absolutely." The blonde nodded. "Come on…"
Winry went to gently take Manami's wrist and pull her to the door and open it. She had to basically pull her out the door when…
The Elric brothers both found themselves staring, wide-eyed.
"Whoa…" Ed was first to blurt out at the sight of Winry, wearing a slender pink dress that hugged her hips and flowed down to her ankles. Winry looked up to see Ed and Al staring, Ed particularly with his jaw dropped.
"Close your mouth, Ed." Winry rolled her eyes and went to take his arm.
"Really good at taking his own advice..." Al thought to himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
He looked back to see that Manami was still coming out from behind the door, staring at her feet and wringing her hands together nervously. She came into full view, and Al froze.
Thankfully, his jaw didn't drop like his brother... but he still stared at her with wide eyes, and he was rendered speechless.
"... ahem." Winry cleared her throat to get him to snap out of it.
"U-Uh..!" Al perked up, snapping out of his trance.
Smile and compliment!
"M-Manami… wow!" He smiled and took a step towards her. "Y-You look beautiful..!"
"..." Manami nervously lifted her eyes to meet his. "Yeah..?"
"Yeah..!" Al said breathlessly, but she could see the faint blush on his cheeks.
"Well… thank you…" Manami chuckled weakly. "Gotta say… you look pretty dashing yourself."
In fact, it was taking all of her not to swoon because of how handsome he looked.
Al smiled brightly, now having found confidence, and offered her his arm.
"Shall we go, then?"
"..." Manami smiled too, also feeling much better, and went to wrap her arm around his.
"We shall."
Out front, the group was welcomed by two cars, a driver standing in front of each one. Manami noticed that people walking by were stopping to stare at them. With how nice and fancy they looked, as well as getting into private cars, it was probably hard to ignore them.
Ed and Winry were directed to one car and Al and Manami were directed to the other. Al kindly helped Manami into the car first before getting in after her, and the driver shut the door behind them.
"..." Manami had grown quiet again, her eyes glued to her hands resting in her lap.
"..." Al reached over to place his hand over one of hers, making her look up to him and see his smile.
"I'll say it again, Manami… you look absolutely stunning." He said.
Manami blushed a little from the flattery.
"I'm glad you think so…" She moved her hand so that she could hold his, and they intertwined their fingers. "It's not like I do this kind of thing often... or at all."
"Nope," Al smiled. "But that's okay too. It makes it all the more special."
"..." Manami hadn't thought of it that way. She couldn't help but smile as she felt butterflies in her stomach.
"I meant to ask…" She changed the subject. "You didn't need your crutch?"
"..." Al's smile faded, and he averted his eyes. "I don't think so."
"... you don't know?" Manami asked, her smile fading a little as well. "And you're not bringing it in case you do?"
"We'll be sitting most of the night." Al said quietly, his brows furrowing. "I figured… you're already nervous… I... didn't want to draw any more attention to you with a crutch on my arm…"
"..." Manami opened her mouth to say something, but then she got a good look at his expression.
She could tell… after all the struggle with getting his body back, then having to spend all this time building up his strength back… for just one night, he wanted to feel normal. And probably wanted to look normal, too. But tonight, he wanted all of those things not just for himself... but for her, too.
Of course, she didn't care if he had a crutch, a suit of armor, or an orange and pink jumpsuit… but this was Al's train of thought, not hers. She had to be patient, just like he was struggling to do. Scolding him would just make him feel worse.
"..." Manami sighed softly through her nose.
"Well… if you need it, I'll be there to lean on."
"Huh?" Al looked back at her. Manami smiled back at him, her hand giving his a small squeeze.
"If you feel like you need it, then I'll be your crutch. No one will notice, and I won't let you fall. Sound good?"
"..." Al smiled softly at her.
"Thanks…"
"But..." Manami sighed softly through her nose. "Next time... could we talk about it, and agree to it together, before you make that call?"
"That's fair…" Al chuckled weakly, but he gave a nod.
They arrived at the Central Grand Hall, but were welcomed by a bunch of cars in front of them. Up ahead, there was a long red carpet leading from the entrance of the building to the street, and each car was dropping off guests.
Manami felt her stomach churn. A ceremony like this was bound to have a lot of big-wigs attending...
"You doing okay?" Al had noticed her grimace.
"Just the overwhelming pressure…" Manami croaked, putting her hand over her face and sighing into her palm.
Al smiled softly and put a hand on her back.
"You're going to be lovely," He said to her. "Remember what I told you?"
"..?" Manami opened her fingers and peeked at him from behind her hand.
"That you're phenomenal." He said. "But you're most phenomenal when you're confident."
"..." Manami couldn't help but smile from the butterflies in her stomach that he once again gave her. He looked so handsome… and then with him being so supportive and gentle… and the way he looked at her...
"You got this." Al assured her.
They felt the car move and they looked to notice that were one car behind the entrance. Through the driver's windshield, they could see Ed and Winry getting out of the car in front of them, and walking down the carpet to the front doors with their arms linked.
Al and Manami's car was next to pull up to the red carpet, and the driver got out so that he could open the door for Al and Manami.
"Thank you," Al thanked the driver and got out first, holding on to the car door to hoist himself up. He then turned back to help Manami out of the car.
They were welcomed by flashes of cameras and people standing behind a barricade, all staring at them. Manami felt herself shrink in intimidation, but then she looked up to see Al holding out his arm for her.
He was wearing that smile that made her melt. Everything and everyone around them faded from existence when she looked in his eyes like this. She smiled back at him and wrapped her arm around his, and they began to walk to the entrance.
At the door, they were each handed a card with the number fourteen on it. Once they got inside, they saw Ed and Winry approach them.
"You get fourteen?" Ed asked them, holding up his card with the arm that wasn't looped with Winry's.
"Yeah." Al nodded. "But what does it mean?"
"Excuse me," A man in a suit like Ed and Al's approached them. "Do you need assistance finding your table?"
"Is that what these cards are for?" Manami held up her card with her free hand, and the man nodded.
"I'll take those for you." He said with a smile before collecting the cards. "This way, please."
Manami couldn't help but be distracted by the beauty of the room as they followed the man. The chandelier she once admired was now lit up, making the crystals shine and sparkle even more magnificently than she had seen them before.
As Grumman stated, half the room was filled with round tables with beautiful tablecloths draped over them, with dinnerware that looked like it could've been something really fancy, like silver. The glasses already filled with water looked like they could be crystal.
It was when they began to approach their table that Manami saw who was already sitting at it, and he looked up and noticed her as well.
"Wind?"
Manami and Roy Mustang stared at each other for a moment of disbelief, before his eyes moved to notice Ed, Al, and Winry standing with her.
"You guys sure know how to clean up…" Roy chuckled weakly. "I didn't recognize you."
"Likewise." Manami grinned back at him.
"Ugh, we gotta sit with the Colonel?" Ed groaned, but wore a joking grin on his face.
"And Miss Riza!" Winry smiled brightly. "You look lovely!"
"As do all of you!" Riza smiled back at her. "It sure is a surprise, but a pleasure to see you again."
Al went to sit next to Roy, and Manami next to him. Ed sat at Manami's other side, while Winry sat in between Ed and Riza.
"No offense, but… what are you guys doing here?" Roy blinked. "Did Grumman invite you?"
Manami blinked in surprise. He didn't know about her performance? That must have meant that nobody did…
But of course, Ed didn't piece that together as quickly as she did.
"Yeah, Manami's gonna— YOWCH!"
"Figure out where the restroom is!" Manami had cut Ed off, but had to stomp her heel into his foot to get him to shut up.
"What the hell, Manami?" Ed growled in a low voice to her as she went to stand, but she leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"I don't think anybody but us knows. I think it's supposed to be a surprise."
Ed grunted in response. "Glad you don't wear heels often, you're deadly with 'em…"
"Sorry…" Manami chuckled weakly.
Roy raised his brow at the sight of the two of them. They were acting weird. He opened his mouth to speak, but Riza spoke up first.
"The restroom is that way." She pointed toward the front doors. "Past the entrance, and the ladies room will be to your right."
"Thank you!" Manami gave her a nod and quickly went to turn and walk towards where Riza pointed. Easily enough, she found the ladies restroom and sighed once she made it inside.
It was empty, and much quieter than outside. She honestly wished she could just spend the whole evening in here. She sighed heavily and and went to wash her hands and look at herself in the mirror.
No wonder Roy didn't recognize her. She barely recognized herself. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She didn't look bad by any means… it just felt foreign.
Everything felt foreign right now.
She let out another deep sigh and dried her hands before exiting the bathroom, to immediately notice a towering figure. She knew that moustache anywhere…
"Miss Kami?" Alex Louis Armstrong, dressed in a suit with a sparkling purple jacket, gasped at the sight of her. "Is that you?!"
"Er…" Manami knew she couldn't get away now... but before she knew it, she was pulled into a tight bear hug.
"Hngh!" She winced. "I-It's good to see you, Major— er, M-Mister Armstrong..!"
Manami took a deep breath once Armstrong released her from his hug.
"Please, call me Alex!" He took both her hands in his gigantic ones. "I'm so delighted to see you here! And you look positively stunning!"
"Th-Thank you…" Manami blushed a little from the flattery.
"What brings you here?" Alex gleamed almost as brightly as his radiating purple jacket.
"The new Furher invited us," Manami answered casually with a smile. "Ed, Al, and Winry are here, too."
"The Elric brothers and Miss Rockbell?" Alex gasped. "Then please, lead the way. I'd love to see them!"
"Hopefully they don't mind…" Manami thought to herself as she led Armstrong over to their table. Al was first to look over and, thankfully, smiled at the sight of them.
"Major Armstrong!" He called, making Ed and Winry turn their heads as well.
"Oh, Alphonse Elric!" Armstrong boomed, earning some glances from the neighboring tables as the gentle giant pushed past some tables to hug Al tightly.
"It still touches me to see you in your original body again!"
"Too tight..!" Al winced in his grip.
"Oh, my apologies!" Armstrong pulled away and Manami sat down next to him, offering a nervous smile.
"Edward Elric, Miss Rockbell! How wonderful to see you!" Armstrong had turned his attention to the two blondes.
"Hi, Mister Armstrong!" Winry greeted him.
"How have you been, Major?" Ed asked with a smile.
"Great, thank you." Armstrong then looked to Roy. "Oh! Colonel, First Lieutenant." He nodded to them.
"Hello Major." Roy lifted a hand to wave. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Most certainly!" Armstrong laughed, but then leaned in to speak in a quieter voice. "Have you figured out who tonight's special guest is?"
"No." Roy shook his head, then looked to Ed. "Word is that Grumman invited a special guest here tonight. There's going to be some kind of event."
Ed, Al, and Winry all glanced over to Manami, who was conveniently taking a sip from a glass of water to hide her (probably nervous) expression.
"I believe I see waiters taking orders, so I think I'll return to my table." Armstrong lifted a hand to wave. "I hope to see you all on the dance floor after dinner!"
Ed felt his eye twitch. "Dance floor..?!"