Meet Me at the Stairs

Disclaimer: Again, thank (or blame) James Cameron for Titanic and Isayama for Shingeki no Kyojin.

Warning: Feels. Character death (considering the movie, lots of character deaths if you really wanna go there). Celine Dion lyrics.

This is the Rivetra (LevixPetra) version of the Titanic AU. It'll be closer to the movie than anyone will be comfortable with.

When they hauled the safe out of the ocean, they expected riches. They expected fame. They expected museum pieces and auction prices, champagne and suits. What they didn't expect was to find a charcoal drawing of a woman wearing nothing but a necklace, and the old voice who called to tell them it was her.

She brought nearly all of her belongings, mostly pictures, onto the ship with her. Her granddaughter was kind and offered apologies to the men who carried the trunks into the small stateroom, rolling her into the center of the ship to meet with the men who were discovering Titanic. Without the wrinkles and lighter hair, they could see the resemblance she bore to the woman in the drawing. Given her age, they didn't question her status as a survivor of that terrible night.

They sat, and they listened.

"We had no money left. I was to marry Erwin Smith once we reached America. It was the only way to keep my family safe from the streets, living in rags and working as seamstresses. My mother was more distraught about the money than I was. My concern was with the man I was to be wed to, so stern and focused on his future to care about my own needs. Sure, he was nice, when he wanted to be, but he was a lion under everything." Petra began.

"So what happened?" a crewmember asked.

Petra looked at the restored version of her drawing, the memory coming back to her sharply. She closed her eyes, sighing, and imagined the ship as it once was, glorious and charging through the waters of the Atlantic.

"It all started when I tried to throw myself off the edge. The pressures of being a teenage debutante were too much for me at the time." She joked. Her eyes crinkled around the edges as she remembered. "A young man came to rescue me: Ackerman, Levi Ackerman. He coaxed me out of throwing my life away, urging me to live on. So honest, his face was, so open as he reached out to me. I took his hand but started to slip on my dress. He caught me, pulling me up and back over the rails."

He landed on top of her, staring into her eyes as they regained their breath. She smiled up at him, pushing back those black bangs from his forehead to see his eyes.

"There she is!" a voice called, and the deck hummed with running footsteps. Levi was hauled off of her, arms pinned behind his back, and everyone was shouting. Erwin glared, dragging her up from the ground.

"You dare violate my fiancé? You foul, wretched creature!"

"Erwin stop! He was trying to save me!" Petra called.

"Save you?" Erwin spat. "From what?"

"I was leaning too far over the rails and slipped. It was an accident. He pulled me up before I could fall." She explained, trying to placate the angry man.

They turned to him. "Is this true?"

Their eyes met again, Petra pleading. "Yeah."

"A hero!" they shouted, although Erwin still looked displeased.

"Give him some cash for his trouble, then. Come on, Petra, let's get you inside where it's safer." He took her by the arm, leading her away.

"Is that all he gets for saving me?" she asked, offended.

Erwin turned, putting the charm back on. "How rude of me, yes." He turned to the shorter man. "Come to dinner with us tomorrow."

Levi nodded, watching Petra leave.

"What does that have to do with—," one crewmember began but was hushed.

"Do you want to hear the story or not? If the necklace is what you seek, and the untold stories of the Titanic's last night, then listen." Petra chided him. They settled down again and she leaned back in her chair. "That night, Erwin presented me with the necklace as an early wedding present. He told me it was a diamond, the Heart of the Ocean, explaining its history. It represented his feelings for me, as he said. He wanted my heart to be like the necklace, open to him."

They were walking down the deck, Levi telling her about his past, Petra telling him about her future.

"Do you love him?" Levi asked.

"How rude!" she exclaimed.

He grinned at her. "Just say it."

"This is inappropriate. I'm leaving." Petra shook his hand for good measure, but was smiling as she walked away. "Wait, this is my section, you should leave instead!" He laughed at her, clutching his notebook tightly. She grabbed it from him. "And what is this?" She started flipping through it.

"They didn't think much of my work back home in Paris." He muttered.

Petra's eyes scanned the pages, flipping through. "Your…wife?" she asked, pointing to a woman who was featured in several drawings.

"No, a friend. Isabel. She was a prostitute, and didn't mind taking her clothes off for me to practice." He told her. Petra's cheeks colored. "Don't worry. She was like a little sister to me."

She saw truth in his eyes and looked away, back at the drawings. "I wish I could be like you…traveling free…"

"Really? What about your life of pleasure and riches?"

"I would throw it all away. Can you teach me how to live…truly live?" she asked him.

"Of course." He smiled, a rare thing.

"That night was the dinner, and when I saw him I thought it was a dream. He was dressed in a tailored suit, who knows where he got it, and his hair was combed back into place. His eyes were steel. I saw him as I descended the stairs and had to stop just to admire the view." Petra giggled. "The way he stared at me, I'm sure he was doing the same."

"Love at first sight, huh?" a crewmember asked with a smirk.

"I suppose. He took my hand and behaved like a proper gentleman, despite what I knew of his past. I pointed out all of the dignitaries to him, and he laughed at the gossip."

"So how did dinner go?"

"He was nervous, but splendid. They never suspected him. My mother and Erwin made a few crude remarks, but everything was tame. He looked lost at one point, but continued on flawlessly. He told them he worked where he went, how he won his ticket in a hand of poker. He charmed them, just like he charmed me. 'To make it count' he said, and we toasted his words." She smiled fondly, still hearing the glasses clinking and his smooth words. "At the end, he handed me a note to meet him at the stairs."

"Wanna go to a real party?" he asked with a smirk, hands in his pockets. She took his arm and he led her below decks. He introduced her to his friend Farlan. There was music, dancing, beer, and roughhousing. Petra watched Levi dance with a small girl, laughing at the lively people around her.

He reached for her, asking for a dance. "I don't know this dance."

"No one does, just move." He replied, taking her into the group. She laughed, exclaiming at the fast movements. They got up on the stage and showed her how to tap dance. They spun around, screaming.

After the song they went back for beers to quench their thirst, watching an arm wrestling match. Petra smirked at them. "You think you men are tough? Watch this." Giving Levi her train, she rose on her feet, up onto her tip toes, as the men watched in amazement.

Soon they were all holding hands, dancing and running around the room. It was the most alive she felt in years.

"He showed me how to have fun. Real fun, where you feel it in your heart and your cheeks hurt from smiling or laughing. I never wanted to leave." She sighed. "But alas came the morning. Along with Erwin's wrath. He yelled at me, telling me no wife of his would ever disgrace herself with that kind of behavior. I realized he had Mike, his bodyguard, follow me. I was frightened at his anger, and the thought of marrying him once we reached America had me wishing I took the plunge back at the railing. Only the thought of seeing Levi again, knowing it was forbidden, kept my hopes up."

"Nana, why didn't you ever tell me about this?" Petra's granddaughter asked, kneeling beside her.

Petra smiled, her eyes watery. She reached for her granddaughter's face, feeling the sift skin beneath her wrinkled fingertips. She brushed a dark strand out of her eyes, those same steel eyes she would never forget.

"I didn't want your father to know the truth. We never told him. Oluo…he was kind enough to take me in, despite having a child out of wedlock. He raised your father as his own." Petra told her.

"Levi's son? I'm…I'm his granddaughter?"

"Yes, Isabel."

"So my name…?"

"The prostitute." Petra laughed. "I never told your parents why, but I asked them to name you Isabel because you reminded me of the drawings he showed me. I thought it was a good way to honor his memory."

The girl looked shaken, but her eyes were bright.

"So…he died? When the ship sank?" a crewmember asked again. The room became silent, solemn.

Petra felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Yes. There weren't enough life boats. We were together when it happened. In fact, it was just after he finished the drawing when we hit the iceberg. We were running from Mike, whom Erwin sent after us, and saw it from the deck."

"Damn. They must have known it was out there."

"I spoke with the man who designed the ship multiple times. He told me about the lifeboats, and we were there when the ice warning came in to the Captain. They didn't seem worried…they kept the ship going at full speed. I think they wanted to arrive in New York early, make the morning papers. Titanic was already famous for being the 'Unsinkable Ship' come from Liverpool, but…I guess men value fame more than what it's worth. It certainly cost fifteen-hundred lives that night."

They were silent again, thinking about the weight of the Captain's actions, the actions of all involved. Isabel looked to her grandmother with this new revelation.

"So my grandfather. How did he die?"

Petra took a deep breath. "It was really Erwin's fault."

"Thief! He has the necklace, I know he does!" Erwin shouted the moment they stepped through the door.

Levi was grabbed and searched. Mike gave Erwin a subtle nod that Petra caught in passing, but wouldn't understand until much later.

"I didn't steal anything, what are you talking about? Petra, believe me." Levi looked to her, but she was confused. She didn't know if she could trust him now, even after giving him everything she had. All the men in her life used her for their own gain, why would he be any different?

One guard pulled the necklace out of his pocket. "This is the necklace?"

"Yes." Erwin held up the drawing for comparison. "I admit you captured the details quite splendidly, but I'm sure you were after the diamond all along, right, Levi?"

Levi glared at the smug expression on the blond man's face. "No, this is a trap! I put it back in the safe!" he exclaimed.

"This jacket was reported stolen as well, just this morning." The guard added, looking at the name stitched on the neck lining. "Come with us, young man."

"No!" Levi yelled, dragged away, struggling to get out of their grip. "I just borrowed it, I didn't mean—!"

"That's enough lies, Ackerman." Erwin snarled. Petra stared at Levi over her fiancé's shoulder, eyes wide and unbelieving.

"I didn't do it! Petra, you gotta believe me! You know I wouldn't do this, you know me! Petra!" she could hear his cries as they dragged him down the hall.

She could still hear his cries, even now. "They took him across the ship, where it was already beginning to sink, and chained him up. They left him there to die." She put a hand to her mouth, fighting back the emotions behind her memories.

"And that was it?" they asked.

Petra shook her head. "No. Of course not. I couldn't leave him, I knew that the moment they dragged him away. But I didn't know what to do. They were ordering everyone to come on deck, people were in life-jackets, no one knew what was going on." She replied. "But I knew. I left my family and Erwin behind. I searched for him until I heard his voice. The water was already seeping into the room by the time I got there. I couldn't find the key for the handcuffs, so I went for help."

"You guys only had an hour to get out, how did you survive?"

"I'm getting there." Petra said with a coy smile. "I found an ax and nearly chopped his hands off trying to set him free. Then we were practically swimming down the halls, trying to find a way out. It was madness."

"You both must have been freezing, even before you left the ship."

"Well, there were several times when I could have gotten into a boat. The first with my mother, near the beginning. We had another chance when they were taking the women and children, and Levi told me to go. He said he would find another way. Erwin had a deal with one of the officers." She gave a knowing look. "Of course, only for himself, I was sure. So I leapt off at the last minute, landing on the deck below. Levi and I raced to meet each other. They weren't letting the people from the lower decks up yet, so we had to break down the door. When we finally made it back up, the ship was sinking too fast and the boats were all gone."

"I can't believe they didn't have enough. And they were only half-full, right?"

Petra nodded. "The first boats only had half the number of people, all upper class women and children. The other boats were getting swamped by desperate people hoping for an escape. So we ran to the stern, hanging onto the railings where we first met. But before that, we had another run-in with Erwin." She gave a small smirk. "That is where the necklace comes back in."

They glanced at each other, excitement growing.

"You see…"

Erwin began to chuckle, closing his eyes and putting a hand to his head. They were on the stairs, a few levels below the main deck, having chased Petra and Levi down.

"I fail to see what's so funny about the situation, sir." Mike replied next to him, still upset about Erwin taking his gun and shooting at the lovers.

"I put the diamond…in the coat." Erwin began, a maniacal look on his face. "AND I PUT THE COAT ON HER!" he yelled, gesturing to Petra as she disappeared around the corner.

Mike stared at him with an unamused expression.

"So you had it with you the whole time?"

"I didn't realize ituntil later, but I'll get to that. We were at the stern of the ship, and as your simulation indicated, the ship split in half. We waited until the ship was completely under and kicked to the surface. The water was freezing, like thousands of knives stabbing my entire body. He told me this would happen when I was about to jump, but I didn't think it would be true."

"So you were in the water? But I thought everyone in the water died?"

"Most of them did. Only six people were saved from the water when the boats returned, including myself. Six. Out of fifteen-hundred." Petra whispered. She looked down at her hands, thinking of the way Levi held them in his last moments.

She broke the surface, surrounded by screams. "LEVI!" she called, looking for him among the masses of writhing bodies. Someone grabbed her, and as she called his name again she was pushed under. Nearly drowning, arms flailing for the surface, she thought this was the end. She was able to gasp for air when her head broke through the water.

Levi was punching the guy who tried to use her as a flotation device and dragging her away. "You gotta swim!" he told her. Her mind was still reeling from the cold and the near-drowning, but she tried to kick her feet as he dragged. They made it away from the larger group of people and near some piles of wooden furniture.

He wasn't wearing a life jacket. She dimly realized that as he pushed her onto a door. She reached out, trying to help him up, but the door almost capsized. She lay there, ice in her hair and clothes, clinging to her like death. He swam around to face her, putting his elbows on the door to keep himself afloat.

"It's getting quiet…" Petra whispered.

"Promise me…" his teeth were chattering, hands shaking as they clenched hers. His lips were blue, his hair nearly white, with icicles sticking from the strands. "Promise me you'll survive this."

She would've cried if she could. "I'm so cold, Levi." She whispered, lungs screaming. She could see their breath forming in the air, her limbs were numb and stiff, shaking uncontrollably.

"You're going to live on, and make lots of babies, and do everything you wanted, Petra." Levi told her. "Promise me." She clutched his hand. "Never let go of that promise. Do you hear me? Never let go."

"I'll never let go, Levi. I'll never let go." She gasped, holding onto his hand tightly.

Petra stopped, eyes clouding over. The crew glanced at each other worriedly, and her granddaughter put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, if it's too painful we understand…"

"No, no. I've never told anyone about him. I never even had a picture to remember him by. Your father was his spitting image, though. And you have his eyes." Petra said. "But the rest of him exists only in my memory. He died there, while we waited to be saved. He kept saying the boats would come, but they came too late. They almost passed me by. If it wasn't for that promise, I would've stayed there with him."

She was almost asleep, could feel herself slipping. A light passed over her eyes, and at first she thought it was heaven's gates. She looked around to see a boat gliding by. In the distance came muffled calls.

"Can anybody hear me? Is anybody out there?"

"Levi…Levi the boats…Levi…" she shook him, turning. His eyes were closed. She shook him again, but he was stiff. "Levi…" her voice cracked, tears freezing on her cheeks. She knew the inevitable happened. She reached out to touch his cheek, brushing some hair out of his face. He was frozen; gone.

"I'll never let go. I promise. I'll never let go…" she whispered, ripping her hand from his grip. She hesitated, hearing the call faintly as the boat floated away, before loosening her fingers. She watched as he drifted beneath the surface, disappearing in the dark ocean. His hand was floating up to her, and she wished she could hold it again and feel warmth.

"So I went over to the man who was blowing the whistle earlier. He was dead at this point, most of them were. I took the whistle from his mouth and tried to catch their attention."

"So that's it. The boats came back and rescued you. But the diamond…"

"…was still in my pocket. When I was onboard the ship that appeared in the morning to pick us out of the water, I reached inside the pocket and felt the necklace there."

"So you have it?"

Petra stared off into the distance, as if seeing the statue of Liberty all over again.

"Miss? Your name."

Petra was staring at the monument, the heart of New York, the dream of America in front of her. "Ackerman." She said without looking at him. "Petra Ackerman."

"Thank you, miss."

"There was no record of Levi Ackerman…and everyone thought Petra Ral died at seventeen on that ship."

"Of course there would be no record. He won the ticket, after all. He and Farlan…Farlan Church. Nobody knew who they were. Nobody cared. They were poor boys with a bad past." Petra muttered. "To answer your question, yes. I've kept the necklace this whole time, as a reminder of that night. It was the only time I ever wore it. I couldn't bear to sell it."

"And Erwin Smith? I heard he bit the bullet during the Depression."

"Yes. I never saw him again. He came looking for me on the new ship, but I hid. I could never love him."

"But you loved granddad…I mean, Papa Oluo." Isabel said.

Petra nodded. "Of course. I met him a few years later in America. He took us in, and we made a living together. I was able to do everything I wanted. I rode bareback on the beach. I took flying lessons. I modeled, did a little acting. I was restless, but having fun. I never would've done these things if I stayed with Erwin, if I never met Levi, if the ship never sank. I miss him, every day, but I'm thankful we met. I know he didn't regret it. He told me so, while we were waiting in the water."

The crew let out deep sighs, rubbing their eyes and shifting in their seats. Petra reached inside her pocket and took the necklace out.

"I'm old." She said. "I didn't know what to do with this until now, but I want you to have it." She handed it to the man running the expedition. "All I ask is for the drawing to be restored and kept with the family."

"Of course, grandma. I'll never let it go." Isabel smiled, holding her hand and squeezing. Petra smiled at her.

"Oh…I need to rest. That's my story, what happened that night on the Titanic and the necklace. I've done all I can now." She sighed, waving her hand. Isabel nodded to the crew members, who cleared a way for her to be wheeled into her room.

As she slept, she found herself roaming the halls of the ship, just like on the first day. She made her way to the dining hall and the doors opened for her, seeing all the faces of those who died when the Titanic sunk. The little girl Levi danced with, the musicians, the ship's builder, Farlan…they were all standing in a line leading to the staircase. She followed them, looking up to see Levi standing near the clock, smiling down at her.

They were in the balcony, all watching, but she only had eyes for the man before her. They embraced in a kiss, and applause erupted. Finally, she was with him again.

Author's Note: DON'T TOUCH ME RIGHT NOW. I hope you guys appreciate the dedication it took for me to dig out the old VHS tapes of Titanic just to get the scenes right. I know they're not word for word, but I dislike plagiarism so I changed them for sanity's sake. I also tweaked the story a bit because why not.