"No! Absolutely not! Revolution? A revolution, Erwin? You can't be serious! Please, tell me you're joking" Roy kept looking at his friend. They were sitting face to face in Erwin's office. Between them, there was a pair of tea cups and a pot, along with milk and sugar cubs.
Erwin looked back into the Colonel's eyes, steadily, with a smirk on his face. Roy's eyes were wide open in indignation. When he realized the Commander would not back away, he got up.
"Damn it Erwin! We are trying to survive, find a way to eliminate the Titans, the creatures that threaten to ravage mankind, and you want to bring down the King?! Our doom is literally scratching on our door and you seek power? I thought we joined this damn pathetic piece of a mess they dare to call Army to give humanity a chance, not to become strong and powerful!" he yelled
"Don't you ever say I am not devoted to my oaths again!" shouted Erwin and got up too, dropping his chair on the move "I am not going to bring down the King so that I can become King instead, I will do it to install democracy! Unlike you! You are the one who wants to become the Furor, top of the Birds! You are the one who seeks power and might for himself! Can't you see? We are trapped inside a prison we built ourselves, under the command of those supposed to take care of us, when the problem, the real problem is them, not the Titans! The fact alone that I needed to get through trial to take the boy under my custody is clear proof that they don't want us to learn! Where does the King live? In the inner of the Wall, in the middle of the formation, the safest place there is, while simple people risk their lives every day, only by living literally next to the Titans! Well, I am done watching lives go for nothing, serving masters who only need devoted sheep they can manipulate at will! I am going to build a new world, Roy. And you need to decide if you want to be a part of it. And learn that, if you dare to stand in my way, you are going to perish. I am going to overcome every single obstacle they throw in my way. So you're either with me, or against me" Erwin's chest was moving fast, short of breath. The Commander grabbed his jacket from the back of his fallen chair, wore it and headed out of the room, banging the door behind him.
"Damn it!" yelled Roy and kicked the tea table, dropping everything on the floor, braking the porcelain.
"So, how did he take it?" asked Levi, sitting down next to the Commander. It was dark now, no clouds in the sky, and a slim, dying moon among the bright stars. Erwin had spent the whole afternoon on the rooftop of the West tower of the HQ, throwing pebbles and thinking. Levi decided to check on him when it started getting dark.
"Not good. He thinks I want to become King" answered the blond man with a sharp voice, throaty after hours of silence.
"Tch. "Pretty damn ironic accusation, coming from this particular asshole" noticed Levi "Isn't Mustang the douche who wanted to become Head of the Dogs?" asked the Lance Corporal
"Yes"
Erwin shook his head.
"He doesn't get it"
"I don't think he doesn't understand. We can all understand why you would want to risk your fucking head with such a stupid action. I think he's scared" answered Levi calmly. Erwin looked at him, puzzled.
"Scared?"
"If you ask me, he is afraid of what would follow this madness. He shits his pants in the thought of how all this could tumble to the ground and on the shitheads who planned it. He just wants to keep his fucking position and get higher and higher in time. He's an egocentric piece of shit" he concluded.
Erwin thought of it. If he took the swearing out, Levi had a good point. Could Roy be afraid? Was that even possible for the Flame Alchemist? It could be. In times of despair, people tend to look for the safest path, they don't dare. He was a fool to believe his friend would blindly follow him. Roy had a strong personality, he wasn't made to obey, he was made to order. This whole idea was translated as a suicidal attempt to him. Levi was right. Roy Mustang was afraid. He was afraid he would be ruled over, even when he had given his soul to the cause.
"You are absolutely right" he exclaimed and got up. Levi hissed.
"Tch. Of course I am, you shithead. I am always right" he answered
"Yeah, about that…" Erwin started protesting, but he left his sentence in half as he tripped and found himself just a second later hanging from the roof, ten meters from the ground.
"You shouldn't say mean things, Commander. Whoever the fuck is our God, he just punished you" he heard Levi's voice from above and bit his lip in order not to yell even worse things at his Lance Corporal.
Erwin found Roy sitting on front of the big fireplace in the Mess Hall, staring into the flames, thinking. He thought it best he made his presence known before approaching. So he walked into the room and closed the big wooden door behind him with noise. Roy heard that. He got up, turned around and headed towards Erwin. The Commander opened his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted by Roy's fist, which hit him on the face and made him trip and make a few steps back to regain his balance. He shook his head to understand what had just happened and brought his finger to his nose. A river of blood was running from it. Great.
"You ignorant fool!" yelled Roy and punched him again. The hit found Erwin on the cheek, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood.
"How could you think I was against you, huh?" continued the Colonel, punching again. This time, Erwin raised his arm in time, avoiding the hit, but a second punch found him on the chest, pushing him a few more steps towards the door and leaving him breathless.
"I am your friend, you pig! I would follow you right into the open mouth of a Titan, if that was your command! How could you say such things for your best damn friend!?" Roy placed both of his hands on Erwin's shoulders and forcefully pushed him on the door. The Commander's back made an awful loud noise as it hit on the wood and the blond man moaned in pain. Roy stuck his face just an inch away from Erwin's and looked into the sapphire eyes for an answer. The Commander gasped and looked back at his friend.
"I'm… I'm sorry…?" he managed to say. Roy's expression changed. His face was now yelling "what-the-fuck-man-is-that-all-you-have-to-say?!". Then he let Erwin go. The Commander slid down the door and sat on the floor, wiping the blood from his nose and spitting saliva mixed with blood from his mouth. Roy sat down next to him, his back against the wood, staring at the other side of the room with the same expression on his face.
"Don't ever do this again" the raven-haired man said
"Agreed" answered Erwin, trying to understand if his top right fang was broken or not.
