I decided to write a Titanic/APH crossover story to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. This story is based off of James Cameron's 1997 movie, "Titanic" (also my favorite non-animated movie). I am also very interested in the subject of the Titanic, and have read several books on it.

While my favorite pairing is America/England, I decided not to put this pairing into the story. Because let's be honest, 98% of the Titanic-themed fics/fanart out there have America/England as the main pairing. I wanted to try something new. Besides...Prussia/Italy is too adorable and needs more love ^3^

Main pairing: Prussia/Italy
Side pairings: Sweden/Finland, Russia/China, France/Seychelles, Poland/Ukraine (all of which are very minor and only show up in a few quick scenes)

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or its characters, and I don't own James Cameron's "Titanic", or the RMS Titanic.

'Titanic was called the ship of dreams. And it was. It really was...'

Titanic was ported in Southampton, England, on April 10th, 1912, waiting to be boarded by the many people who had a ticket. While first class passengers just wanted a nice getaway and try out this "unsinkable" ship, many of the third class ventured to America in search of a new life. However, everyone had no idea what would happen to this ship during its maiden voyage...

Feliciano Vargas, with the help of his chauffeur, stepped out of his luxury vehicle. He looked up at the glorious ship with disdain. Meanwhile, his mother, Elizabeta, and his fiancée, Roderich Edelstein, got out of a different vehicle. They both walked up to Feliciano, admiring the Titanic.

"I don't see what's so great about it. It doesn't look any bigger than the Mauritania." Feliciano said with slight bitterness.

Roderich smirked. "You can be unimpressed by some things, Feliciano, but not about the Titanic. It's a hundred feet longer than the Mauritania, and far more luxurious." He turned to Elizabeta. "Your son is hard to impress, Elizabeta."

Elizabeta chuckled. "So this is the Titanic. I heard people say that it's unsinkable."

"It is unsinkable." Roderich boasted. "God himself could not sink this ship!" He then turned to his personal servant, Ludwig Weilschmidt, and gave him the orders to make sure all of their belongings were brought onboard. The whistle sounded, letting onlookers and passengers alike that the ship was almost ready to take off. "Come on girls, we better hurry." Roderich told them, and guided them towards the ship. Elizabeta strolled elegantly on board, with Roderich not far behind. And while most considered it the ship of dreams, to Feliciano it was like a slave ship, taking him to America in chains.

Elsewhere...

Four men were around a table, playing poker. Three of the men were anxious, for they all bet everything they had in this match. However, one of them was as calm as could be.

"Gilbert, you have bet everything we have!" Antonio Fernandez Carriedo cried.

His friend, Gilbert Beilschmidt, merely removed the cigarette from his mouth and looked over his cards. "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose."

Their opponents weren't faring well either, from the sounds of them arguing. "I can't believe you bet our tickets!" One yelled to the other in their native language.

After dealing the cards, Gilbert called.

"Alright, moment of truth. Somebody's life's about to change." Gilbert looked at Antonio, who put his cards on the table.

"Nada." Gilbert said jokingly. Antonio, on the other hand, was not amused.

He then looked to their opponents, who each put down their cards. "Nothing, and...oooh, two-pair. That's gonna be hard to beat." Gilbert shook his head. "I'm sorry, Antonio."

Before Antonio could yell at him in anger, Gilbert stopped him. "I'm sorry...but you're not going to see your mother for a long time. Because we're going to America! FULL-HOUSE, BOYS!" Antonio and the other two men could not believe it. While the two men slumped in defeat, Antonio cheerfully played with the money and tickets they won. One of the guys punched the other, and began to threaten him. Meanwhile, Antonio and Gilbert were joyfully hugging.

"I'm going to America!" Antonio happily yelled.

"No, Titanic is going to America, in five minutes!" The bartender shouted. Gilbert and Antonio looked at each other, before hastily grabbing all their winnings and hurried out the door, running towards the Titanic.

"We're living in high style, now!" Gilbert yelled while running. "We're practically goddamn royalty, my friend!"

They both ran up the stairwell to board, just as the ship was taking off.

"Wait!" Gilbert yelled. "We're passengers!" And handed a crew member the tickets. The crew member looked them over. "Have you been through the inspection?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Gilbert explained. "And besides, we don't have lice. We're Americans! ...Both of us!"

After looking them over once more, the crew member let them aboard. "We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world!" Gilbert yelled. They both ran up to the deck, and waved goodbye to Southampton as Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage. Gilbert and Antonio then went below deck to where the third class cabins were, trying to find their room. When they finally reached their room, they put down their luggage and introduced themselves to their roommates, both of which looked at each other in confusion.

First Class...

"This is the promenade deck, sir." A steward explained to Roderich. "Will you be needing anything else?" Roderich looked out towards the ocean, shooing away the steward. In their suite, Feliciano and their maid were unpacking.

"No...it had lots of faces on it." Feliciano said, looking through the various paintings he brought with him. "We need more color to this room..." He quietly stated, trying to find a place to hang the artwork.

Roderich walked in on the scene. "Oh god, not those finger paintings again. They certainly were a waste of money." He smirked.

"The difference between Roderich's taste in art and mine is that I have some." Feliciano said to the maid. "They're fascinating. Like being inside a dream or something...there's truth but no logic."

"What is the artist's name?" The maid asked.

"Something Picasso..." Feliciano told her, while looking around for another place to put the paintings.

Roderich looked around as well, sipping some tea. "Something Picasso? He won't amount to a thing. He won't, trust me." He smiled. "At least they were cheap."

Later that evening, while Feliciano and Elizabeta were taking a stroll, they came across a young woman by the name of Natalia Arloskaya. History would call her the Unsinkable Natalia Arloskaya. Her husband struck gold someplace out west, and Feliciano's mother called her 'new money'.

The next morning, Titanic set out from the coast of Ireland, with nothing but ocean all around them for miles. On the bridge, first officer Arthur Kirkland stood watch, looking out with a smile on his face. The captain, whom everyone called 'Germania', stood beside him, with a smile equally as large.

"Take her to sea, Mr. Kirkland. Let's stretch her legs." The captain said.

"Yes, sir!" Arthur said, and walked to the cockpit. "All Ahead Full, Mr. Marino."

"Yes sir." Sixth officer Luciano Marino replied, and sent the message down below deck. The ship then began to travel at a faster speed, which was a sight to see.

Gilbert and Antonio ran up to the very edge of the bow and looked onward as the ship picked up speed.

Arthur returned to the bridge. "Twenty-one knots, captain." He told the captain, who outstretched his arms with a proud look on his face as he saw the most majestic ship of its time travel through the water. The maiden voyage of the Titanic would be his last voyage as a captain, before we retired.

At the bow, Gilbert looked over the railing. "Look, look, there!" He pointed to some dolphins swimming in front of the ship. "Look at that one jump!" Right when he said that, the dolphins began jumping out of the water, hoping to evade the oncoming ship.

"Wooo!" Gilbert hollered as he stood at the bow.

"I could see the Statue of Liberty already!" Antonio joked. "Very small, of course!"

Gilbert then outstretched his arms, and began shouting and hollering at the top of his lungs. "I'm the king of the world!" He cheered. "Woooo!" Antonio joined him in the hollering, as Gilbert outstretched his arms once more, feeling the wind hit his face.

...

Meanwhile, in the first class cafe area, Feliciano, Elizabeta, Roderich, and Natalia were sitting with Im Yong Soo and Kiku Honda. Im Yong Soo was the chairman of White Star Line, while Kiku Honda was the ship's designer. If anyone knew how the ship worked, it was Kiku. He was on board to take notes of anything that needed to be improved.

"She's the largest moving object in all of history." Im Yong Soo said proudly. "Mr. Honda designed her."

Kiku smiled. "I thank you, but the whole concept was entirely from Mr. Yong Soo. He envisioned a steamer so grand and luxurious, that her supremacy could never be challenged." Kiku explained. "And here she is. Willed into solid reality."

Feliciano, completely uninterested, put a cigarette in his mouth.

"You know I don't like that, Feliciano..." Elizabeta told him kindly. Feliciano stared at her, before blowing smoke into her face, causing her to look away.

"He knows." Roderich stated, taking the cigarette from him. Natalia looked at Roderich in disgust. "We'll have the lamb, with very little mint sauce." He told the waiter, before looking at Feliciano. "You like lamb, don't you, Sweet Pea?" Feliciano smiled sarcastically at Roderich.

"You gonna cut his meat for him too there, Roderich?" Natalia asked him with a sarcastic tone, causing Roderich to glare at her. Natalia awkwardly laughed before changing the subject. "So who thought of the name Titanic? Was it you, Im Yong Soo?" She smiled.

Im Yong Soo smiled. "Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size. Size means stability, luxury, and above all...strength."

Feliciano, growing tired of meaningless talk, decided to speak up. "Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Im Yong Soo? His ideas about the male preoccupation and size might be of particular interest to you." This earned a chuckle from Natalia and Mr. Honda. Elizabeta, however, was not amused.

"What's gotten into you?" Elizabeta asked him.

Instead of answering, Feliciano got up from his seat and walked away.

"I do apologize." Elizabeta told them.

"He's a pistol, Roderich. Hope you can handle him." Natalia smiled.

Roderich looked at Natalia coldly. "Well, I may have to mind what she reads from now on, won't I, Mrs. Arloskaya?"

Im Yong Soo was still confused. "Freud, who is he? A passenger?"

...

On deck, Gilbert has a pad of paper and a charcoal pencil in his hand, observing and carefully sketching a small child in the arms of her father, as they looked out at the sea. His sketch of them looked as realistic as it could possibly get.

"The ship is nice, huh?" Antonio was talking to another passenger, whom he just met.

"Yeah, it's an Irish ship." The man explained.

"It's English, no?" Antonio questioned.

The man looked at him. "No, 15,000 Irishmen built this ship! Solid as a rock." He then observed a man with a few dogs on leashes. He put a cigarette in his mouth. "Typical, first class passengers with dogs."

Gilbert laughed. "Ah, it lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things."

"Like we could forget?" The man smiled, before shaking Gilbert and Antonio's hand. "I'm Lovino."

"Gilbert Beilschmidt."

"Antonio."

Lovino looked at the sketchbook in Gilbert's hand. "Do you make any money with your drawings?"

However, Gilbert was distracted by something, or rather, someone, at that very moment. Up on the upper deck, he couldn't help but stare at a sight to behold. It was Feliciano Vargas, staring glumly out at the ocean.

Lovino noticed what Gilbert was staring at, and chuckled. "Forget it. You'll have a better chance of angels flying out of your ass than get with the likes of him."

Gilbert was still hypnotized by the young man he never saw before. He continued to stare, not even noticing Antonio waving his hand in front of his face. However, the gaze was interrupted when Feliciano's fiancée, Roderich, came up to Feliciano to reprimand him. Feliciano got angry and walked away from him. Gilbert frowned at the sight.

Late at night, after dinner, Feliciano just couldn't take it anymore. Without any warning, he darted out onto the promenade deck, and began running towards the stern, completely unaware of his surroundings. He began crying while he ran, and eventually ran past a bench, where Gilbert was lying. Gilbert noticed Feliciano running, and decided to check it out.

Feliciano made it to the stern, where he slowly walked up to the edge. Then, as if he were in a trance, began to climb over the railing, holding onto a pole for support. He looked at the icy water down below, eyes almost glazed over.

"Don't do it." A voice said from behind him. Feliciano cautiously looked over his shoulder to see who it was.

"Stay back!" Feliciano yelled. "Don't come any closer!"

Gilbert ignored him. "C'mon, just give me your hand and I'll pull you back over."

Feliciano got annoyed. "N-No! Stay where you are!" He looked down. "I mean it! I'll let go...!" He began to breathe heavily, when Gilbert flung his cigarette overboard.

Gilbert looked at him. "...No you won't."

Feliciano glared at him. "What do you mean, 'no I won't'? Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do, you don't know me!"

"Well, you would have done it already." Gilbert shrugged his shoulders.

Feliciano flinched slightly. "You're distracting me, go away!"

Gilbert shook his head. "I can't. I'm involved now." He began removing his jacket. "You jump and I'll have to go in after you."

Feliciano looked at him in disbelief. "Don't be absurd...you'll be killed...!"

"I'm a good swimmer."

"The fall alone will kill you."

Gilbert removed his shoes. "It'll hurt, I'm not saying it wouldn't. To tell you the truth, I'm more concerned of that water being cold."

Feliciano hesitated at that statement, causing Gilbert to look at him. "...H-How cold?" Feliciano asked.

Gilbert thought for a moment. "Freezing. Maybe a couple degrees over." He stood up. "Ever been to Wisconsin?"

Feliciano was confused by this seemingly random statement. "...What?"

"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around." Gilbert explained. "I grew up there, near Chippewa Falls. I remember when I was a kid, my father whom I went ice fishing with...ice fishing is when-"

"I know what ice fishing is!" Feliciano retaliated.

Gilbert stepped back a bit. "Sorry, you just seemed like...you know, an indoor guy." He went back to his story. "Anyway, I fell through some thin ice. And I'm telling you..." He looked down at the water below. "...water that cold, like right down there, it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can't breathe, You can't think...at least not about anything but the pain." He shook his head. "Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in there after you. But like I said...I don't have a choice."

Feliciano continued to stare at the man he's never met before until then. Why would he want to save him?

"I guess I'm just hoping that you'll come back over the rail, and get me off the hook here." Gilbert stated calmly.

"...You're crazy." Feliciano retorted.

Gilbert couldn't help but smile at that. "That's why everybody says...but with all due respect, I'm not the one hanging off the back of a ship here." He reached out for him. "C'mon, gimme your hand...you don't want to do this."

Feliciano let out a sigh, before grabbing Gilbert's hand and slowly began turning in order to climb over the railing. Feliciano stared into Gilbert's eyes, Gilbert of which sighed with relief.

"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt."

"...Feliciano Vargas."

Gilbert smiled. "I'll have to get you to write that one down. Maybe I should just call you 'Feli'?"

Feliciano chuckled at that, and tried to climb over the railing. However, his foot slipped, causing him to dangle over the edge of the stern, held up only by Gilbert's hand. Feliciano began to scream in terror. Gilbert refused to let go, having a firm grip on Feliciano's arm and hand.

"C'mon!" Gilbert yelled, trying to get Feliciano to climb back up. Feliciano tried, but lost his grip once more.

"Help me!" Feliciano screamed. Three crew members heard his cries and began running towards the sound.

Gilbert looked in his eyes. "Listen to me! ...I got you! I won't let go. Now pull yourself up, c'mon!"

With Gilbert's constant encouragement, Feliciano tried his best to grab hold of the railing, and managed to pull himself back on board the ship. He ended up collapsing beside Gilbert. Soon afterward, the three crew members came upon the scene. One of them looked over what had happened, and then saw Feliciano lying on the deck, part of his pants torn, with Gilbert next to him.

"You stand back, and don't move an inch!" The crew member yelled at Gilbert.

Rolling his eyes, Gilbert stood up and put his hands in his pockets. The crew member instructed the other to fetch the master of arms.

...

"Completely unacceptable!" Roderich shouted at Gilbert. "What made you think that you could lay your hands on my fiancée? !" Gilbert's eyes wandered elsewhere, causing Roderich to force his eyes back on him. "Look at me, you filth!"

"Roderich-"

"What do you think you were doing? !" Roderich asked Gilbert in disgust.

Feliciano intervened. "Roderich, stop! It was an accident...!"

Roderich looked at Feliciano. "...An accident...?"

"It was...!" Feliciano told him. Gilbert looked at Feliciano. "Stupid really, I was leaning over and I slipped. I was leaning over to see the umm...the..." He began twirling his hand around in a circular motion.

"...The propellors...?" Roderich asked, almost not believing what he was hearing.

"The propellors!" Feliciano nodded. "And I slipped...! And I would have gone overboard, but Mr. Beilschmidt here saved me, and almost went over himself."

Roderich smiled. "He wanted to see the propellors..." He chuckled slightly.

The master of arms looked at Gilbert. "Was that the way of it...?"

Gilbert looked at Feliciano, who silently pleaded him to go along with the story. "...Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

"Well, the boy's a hero then! Good for you son, well done!" Colonel Aiden Edwards, who was watching over the argument, exclaimed. "So it's all well, now back to our brandy, eh?"

Roderich began to rub Feliciano's shoulders. "You must be freezing...! Let's get you inside..."

"Perhaps a little something for the boy...?" Colonel Aiden Edwards said to Roderich.

"...Of course." Roderich said unenthusiastically. "Ludwig, I think a twenty should do it."

Feliciano laughed dryly. "Is that the going rate for saving the man you love...?"

Roderich smirked. "Feliciano is displeased...what to do..." Roderich then got an idea, and turned to Gilbert. "Perhaps you could join us...for dinner tomorrow evening. To regale our group with your heroic tale."

After staring at Roderich for awhile, Gilbert nodded. "Sure, count me in."

"Good, it's settled then." And Roderich walked away from him. "This should be interesting." He told Colonel Aiden Edwards, who chuckled. They, along with Feliciano, walked back to their cabins.

Ludwig was about to walk away as well, when Gilbert whistled to him.

"Can I uh...have a smoke?"

Ludwig slowly walked up to him, and gave him a cigarette. While he did that, he looked him over, and smirked. "You may want to tie those." He said, pointing to Gilbert's unlaced shoes. "It's interesting, the young man slipped so suddenly and you still had time to remove your jacket and your shoes." And with that, he walked away, leaving Gilbert standing on the deck, playing with the cigarette in his mouth.

...

In the first class suite, Feliciano was sitting in front of a vanity, looking at himself in the mirror. There was a knock on his door, and Roderich came in with a small box.

"...I know you've been melancholy lately." Roderich stated. "I don't pretend to know why." He entered the room. "I intended to save this until the engagement gala next week. But, I thought..." He slowly opened the box, revealing a large blue diamond necklace.

"Good gracious..." Feliciano stared at it in awe.

"Perhaps this is a reminder...of my feelings for you." Roderich told him.

"Is it a-"

Roderich finished Feliciano's sentence. "Diamond, yes." He proceeded to put the diamond around Feliciano's neck. "56 karats, to be exact. It was worn by Louis XVI, and they called it 'Le coeur de la mer'. The 'Heart of the Ocean'."

After a long period of thought, Feliciano finally spoke. "...It's overwhelming."

"...You know, there's nothing I couldn't get you. There's nothing I can't deny you...if you not deny me..." Roderich stared into Feliciano's eyes. "...Open your heart to me, Feliciano..."

Feliciano stared at Roderich, then back at his reflection in the mirror. He caressed the huge diamond around his neck while Roderich watched him, and once again, Feliciano felt trapped with no way out.

Wow, that was a longer first chapter than I expected. I honestly didn't know of a good place to leave off ^_^"

Character Legend for this chapter:

Jack Dawson - Gilbert Beilschmidt (Prussia)
Rose DeWitt Bukater - Feliciano Vargas (Italy Veneziano)
Caledon 'Cal' Hockley - Roderich Edelstein (Austria)
Ruth DeWitt Bukater - Elizabeta Vargas (Hungary)
**last name changed to match Feliciano's, since she's his mother in the story
Fabrizio - Antonio Fernandez Carriedo (Spain)
Tommy Ryan - Lovino (Italy Romano)
**last name not given, as to not be confused with Feliciano Vargas
Captain Edward James Smith - Germania
First Officer Murdoch - Arthur Kirkland (England)
Sixth Officer Moody - Luciano Marino (Seborga)
**no official name given to character, so I chose a name for him
Spicer Lovejoy - Ludwig Weilschmidt (Germany)
Thomas Andrews - Kiku Honda (Japan)
J. Bruce Ismay - Im Yong Soo (South Korea)
Margaret "Molly" Brown - Natalia Arloskaya (Belarus)
Colonel Archibald Gracie - Aiden Edwards (New Zealand)

More characters will be added after they appear in the fic, to avoid spoilers.

I hoped you like it so far!