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Levi remembers how Erwin looked then.
He had never seen so many colors on one person—his hair looked spun from gold, his eyes like a cloudless day, his cloak dyed in deep green, and a pair of wings that whipped in the wind. To him, Erwin seemed like an insurmountable summit; he could feel the vastness of his thoughts just at a glance—he knew that this man would carve out a legacy whether he wanted to or not; he knew he could change everything.
And Levi wanted to be there to witness it.
Levi recalls Erwin telling him about a man of the Scouting Legion, before he became Commander, a man whose arm was the only thing they could salvage. Erwin had told him that his mother stopped them, and they had to give her his arm in the middle of the road, in front of every person who had come to watch them return. She begged them to reassure her that her son had been useful, but they could not lie to her—Erwin said that that was the worst moment of his life and the moment that changed everything. That day, Erwin told him, was the day he swore that he would become commander and make certain that not a single death would go wasted.
When Levi asked him about the best moment of his life, Erwin only gave him a long stare and finally smiled a little. “I have to have some secrets, Levi,” he said and dismissed the conversation.
Levi never brought it up again.
It is a beautiful day.
Levi could ask someone else to brew the tea, but they do not meet his standards; the water is either too hot or too cold or the cups are dirty. Erwin never liked tea though, preferring room-temperature water over every other beverage. Everyone already thinks the Commander is the most straight-laced man in the entire Scouting Legion—only if they knew how true that assumption actually was.
He sits across from Erwin’s desk and crosses his arms. He looks up at the ceiling.
“I heard that you lost your arm.” Erwin doesn’t answer him.
“I bet it was quite a sight, you wielding a blade with only your left hand.”
He takes a drink of his tea. Erwin still doesn’t answer him. But that is not necessarily bad.
He hasn’t expected an answer in a very long time.