Title: Hate is a Strong Word
Challenge: Show off
Fandom: Cross Ange
Pairing: Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi/Hilda Schlievogt, Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi/Salia Tereshkova, Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi/Tusk (Background)
Characters: Hilda Schlievogt, Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi, Salia Tereshkova, Tusk, Momoka Oginome
Rating: T
Genre: Drama/Romance/Angst/Comedy
Length: 3036
Content Notes: A brief implication of the canon semi-noncon (?) relationship between Embryo and Jill for anyone uncomfortable with that.
Author Notes: Originally was going to write a F/SN Fate Route Illya centric fic for this challenge but felt it wasn't appropriate, and choose Cross Ange after watching it and feeling several characters fit the challenge instead.
Summary: (Or, a little work based on Hilda’s canon feelings for Ange and a complete fanon writing of Salia’s opinion of Ange after she stops hating her, ending on the two’s present love triangle, or rather square if Tusk is remembered. Character study. Relationship Study. Three different perspectives.)

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I.

A SPOILED, ANNOYING LITTLE ROYAL who’s in need of a reality check that she’s just a Norma like all the rest of them before Hilda makes her final moments dedicated to accepting the truth—that is what Hilda first thought of Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi, the former eldest princess of the Misurugi Empire, upon their first meeting.

A disowned heiress who was sent to Arzenal upon the public revelation during her ceremony that she was actually an adopted Norma, Ange refused to accept her true nature and duty in the world despite everyone she had known having no problems disinheriting and dehumanizing her, hysterically and foolishly crying to return to a kingdom that long barred her even as she took flight in her machinery to fight against the invading dragons.

For a long time, Hilda hated every moment she saw Ange speak and walk around, cussing the uppity blonde every time she went to visit former Captain Zola’s grave, seething in pure rage at how she first solely managed to avoid every trap Hilda, Rosa, and Chris laid out for her, and those she later on avoided with the help of that mana-using maid of hers.

Even when Ange begrudgingly allowed her to get on the plane ride back to the kingdom in order for Hilda to reunite with her mother and it ended with both of them in a jail cell on a sour note with their own respective families, the small, somewhat growth of respect between them not enough for Hilda to suddenly bow down at her feet to Misurugi.

It did, however, lead Schlievogt to suddenly sympathize and then empathize with her.

Hilda wasn’t ever dancing at balls and walking around with a tiara, but she was a happy girl living at a warm cottage with her mother, once, and once Hilda had a fluffy bed to sleep in and wake up from. Her father had walked out on them after her mother told him she was with child, but her mother did all she could as a single mother to always make sure Hilda was fed, well dressed, and with as many toys as possible, a nice pie made with the apples of their backyard’s trees baked and feasted upon every warm Sunday.

One day, however, police came and took a crying Hilda away from her sobbing mother, and soon it became clear why Hilda’s father had left and furthermore why he never spoke much to her mother about his family background and why he used to always come up with an excuse on why he wouldn’t use magic in front of even his own wife and daughter.

Now, Hilda’s mother—mama—is for another Hilda, a human Hilda.

Ange’s older brother revealed her true identity for petty revenge, and her younger sister Sylvia disowned and whipped her for daring to try to come back for her. When Ange and Hilda made a pact by the time they got out of their prison cells, Ange to Hilda was a girl that was understandable in her actions once someone were to truly look into her past and present.

When Ange came back after being thrown into another world, she became a girl that was understandable for another one to crush upon and admire.

The days that the survivors of the attack on Arenzal who didn’t join Embryo waited for a change in tides were spent by Hilda reminiscing of her time with Ange and calculating the many ways that Ange and Vivian could possibly return, and with how little there was to do while hiding from Embryo outside of stocking weapons and going over plans Hilda had plenty of time to daydream.

Initially with thoughts fully platonic, as Hilda recollected more of all the times the two girls spoke or attacked DRAGONS together and had moments of hope in the hell that was their life, the redhead’s mind started to dwell on the beautiful short golden blonde locks that the exiled princess bore, or how under some lightning at certain points in the day her pink eyes could be mistaken to be as captivatingly crimson as Hilda’s hair, and on how well-fitting her blue pilot uniform was.

Hilda had seen a few magazines before on Ange when she was still a loved figure in her empire. She’d never dare tell Ange this but, if Hilda had stayed with her mother and Ange continued being a famous princess, Hilda would’ve probably ended up being a major fan and buying any tabloid featuring her.

As she currently watches Ange walk away after returning Hilda’s kiss and not rejecting her confession, though, Hilda is glad to have the Ange that is Ange now as the girl who has stolen her heart.

Tusk is a man and no doubt has probably embraced Ange in a way Hilda never could, but at the same time, Hilda can caress and give euphoria to Ange in ways Tusk would never be able to even dream of intimidating no matter how evident the romance is between the brunet and the blonde. Besides, Ange debunked the idea that a woman loving another woman is wrong.

Once Embryo is dealt with, our blossoming love will see the light and bloom like a lily, Hilda thinks to herself before she brushes her fingers onto her lips, her mind still on the kiss she shared with Ange and that Ange reciprocated.

Surely, this new world they’re fighting for will grant Hilda her wish.

 

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II.

A naive former princess who like the rest of the Normas once lived as happy humans on the mainlands, who sooner or later will eventually accept the fact that she is not human if she doesn’t want to be thrown in a grave trying to deny it—that is what Salia first thought of Ange, an opinion out of malice or contempt like that of Hildegard or Chris but of objective observation, even when Ange got three members including former Captain Zola killed.

Hilda used to scream that she wasn’t a Norma and try to escape too when she first came, but enough lectures and punishments from visiting human supervisors and witnessing the older Normas dying in battle made her soon shape up and shut up. Salia expected the same of Ange and saw Ange’s surprisingly quick improvement and kill count during missions as a benefit.

Then, however, Ange’s feats went too far.

Captain Jill—Alektra—gave Ange permission to use her old Para-Mail, the Villkiss that stayed chained up and unused for years even when Salia came of age and began to move ranks in the First Squadron, and soon the smoker suddenly started forgiving the excommunicated royal for mistakes and errors that Salia used to be forgiven for when Salia was young.

Several other Normas would get hurt in missions because Ange put her own goals and missions in mind, and to Salia’s misfortune the amount of DRAGONS Ange managed to eliminate was too massive and an improvement from previous versions of the First Squadron for Ange to get a little more than a few warnings the blonde wouldn’t take seriously, no matter how much Salia hated it.

In time, Salia began to hate Ange too.

She hated Ange’s ability to have so much gifted to her just to ignore it, just as she hated Ange’s inability to follow the rules as soon as something that even slightly catches her eye comes about.

She hated how exclusive meetings Captain Jill used to have with Salia about further plans and the time when Captain Jill still went by the name Alektra Maria von Loewenherz soon began exclusive meetings she’d have with Ange.

She hated how any attempt she made to use Captain Jill’s old Para-Mail was shut down or reprimanded while Ange continued to carelessly use it and barely show a sign of remorse whenever it got close to being completely destroyed.

She hated how she would be met with mockery and labor exercises if she so much as even thought of the world outside the doomed cliff where Normas are sent to fight till they’re killed in action by creatures of unknown origins while the most Ange received for keeping a political figure hostage and escaping to her old kingdom and engaging in combat with Prince Julio was a week in a jail cell that she didn’t even flinch at.

She hated how even as she tried to swoop in and defend Alektra from attacks when Misurugi forces came to commit genocide and imprisonment of Normas the only thought on the woman she saw as a sister was of Ange.

She hated how when Embryo took her in and clothed her in outfits he complimented and laid with her while whispering his admiration for her reservedness and obedience and intelligence the brightness in his eyes wasn’t anywhere as vibrant as whenever he talked about Ange and his plans for her in the future he envisioned.

She hated how when Ange was taken in and attacked her new superior at every turn, her actions were treated as cute and child’s play while he would give a look of disappointment to Salia if she so much as grabbed a hand that Ange would use to wield a knife or pistol to shoot a man that promised her everything the universe could create and preserve.

She hated how when Ange took her advice and left she was met with an assault to her rear like a little kid who snuck into the cookie jar and not a loyal soldier who sent a wild animal away before it leashed itself on an unprepared hunter with a jammed rifle.

(It hurt more that he kept telling her that she reminded him of Jill just like he did the first few times Salia was hesitant to lay in bed with him, something that only later did Salia knew the true meaning of.)

She hated how when she defended Embryo against the remains of Arzenal and fought against not only Ange but even Alektra for him, he barely gave it a nod as he instead went to retrieve Ange, who joined forces with a woman with feudal clothes that rode with the very DRAGONS that had been in danger of attacking humans for eons and would unleash the source of mana all to oppose and defeat the man who at the time Salia saw as a god could make a flawless, serene world where fighting DRAGONS in the first place could cease to be a forced duty.

Most of all, she hated the most how the words Ange threw to her were with a tone of pity similar to when she, Salia Tereshkova, spoke to Angelise Ikaruga Misurgui the day after the deaths of Zola Axberg, Coco Reeve, and Miranda Campbell.

Despite all the quarrels and violence between them, Ange eventually accepted Salia’s apology and didn’t treat her differently from the others once Embryo was defeated and everyone now lived in a new world where discrimination was vacant and happiness was not restricted or a means to manipulate others into dirty work, and once or twice Ange even pretended to be a magical girl with Salia and allow her to work part-time as one at the cafe she opened up with Tusk…

Salia always thought she was heterosexual. She was close to Jill and Zola, but with the former, she had a sibling bond, and with the latter, the teasing the deceased blonde did to her was always light-hearted and with nothing sexual or romantic in undertones like those aimed towards Hilda.

Lately, however, a feeling of wanting to be Ange not as a former ally turned enemy turned back to ally but instead as a romantic suitor started to surge, pure and earnest very unlike the manipulative and unhealthy infatuation she almost was trapped in during her times as the leader of Embryo’s Diamond Rose.

It’s gotten to the point where Misurugi will just say a few words to Schlievogt and she’ll have to run away before the former princess sees how red her face gets, or a similar feeling of envy the blue-haired Norma had towards seeing Alektra giving praise to Ange will rise inside of her when she sees Ange give a compliment to Tusk if he’s not accidentally falling on top of her or talking to a few curious women from the land of Aura.

What’s worse is that Hilda, who already was known for going from butting heads with Ange to following her like a lovesick puppy, has started to notice too, and these days Hilda has started to question Salia on her sudden increase of spending time with Ange compared to previous weeks when she’d help Ersha with the construction of more nurseries and Ms. Bronson on the nurseries and schools.

In the past, having such a love rival (or love rivals if she were to consider Tusk’s position) would’ve made her green-eyed with envy, but now? It makes her feel..warm, to know that she isn’t the only one with such strong feelings for Ange.

For once, Salia won’t mind sharing, as long as she can let her feelings known.

With all the repaints and reconstruction she’s been doing, maybe I should be her maid for a day alongside Momoka so she can get rid of any stress, Salia thinks as she presently watches the blonde repaint the door of Cafe Ange, before blushing at the intimacy of her idea.

To think she’d end up in love with the girl she once thought took everything from her.

 

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III.

As a former princess with a younger sibling, Ange is used to being clung to by other girls, either those related to her, worked for her, or went to school with her.

Even after all the months that have passed since Embryo was defeated and she left behind the world that spat at and chewed her out for the one that accepted her, Momoka continues to address and greet her with honorifics and tend to her at every moment, while Chris and Rosalie sometimes tackle her for hugs to quote on quote “help their childhood friend out in taking a next step forward”, whatever that means outside of Ange guessing the friend in question is a certain redhead that is much happier and flustered around her these days.

It reminds her of when she was an athlete back in Misurugi, and every game ended with her being bombarded by girls from not only her school but rival schools, with flowers and love letters in their hands, almost as much as the number of gifts she received every Valentine’s Day.

A friendly fight over who was the biggest fan of her would sometimes occur, but it always was verbal and everything ended with the girls screaming in excitement when Ange ensured them that she equally appreciated them all for their devotion to her.

In other words, nothing like what is occurring now, where Hilda is currently on her left arm and trying to drag her away to whatever the hell she has planned while Salia is on her right and trying to bring her to eat lunch with her at a new shopping mall that Jasmine requested to be built, all in front of Ange’s cafe that she just stepped out of for a brief lunch break.

“Hands off, Salia! You got to spend time with Ange yesterday already. It’s been one week since I even got five minutes alone with her, meanwhile,” Hilda complains as she tries to walk away with Ange.

With a determined face, Salia pulls Ange closer to her. “Last month, you spent almost every day except the last in her arms and dragging her around downtown. Even Tusk was not able to have much one on one time with her. Our lunch date will be quick, and then you can have her back.”

“W-Well, that’s just because sometimes I have to make up for the days I’ll spend away going on trips with Chris and Rosalie! A-Anyways”—Hilda moves Ange’s arm until they’re between her breasts—“Ange and I have big plans for tonight, which, no offense, but you won’t be able to exactly give your equal to. Although, that wouldn’t be the first time you’re lacking.”

Hilda looks down at Salia’s chest with a dirty smirk, though she quickly apologizes when Ange reprimands her for making such a joke. Salia, interestingly, does not get angry at all at the insult from the redhead.

If anything, much to Ange’s horror it just motivates her to add Schlievogt into her plans as well.

“If I can be on more balanced terms with her and you…I don’t mind being taught how to catch up.”

The shy smile on the small girl’s face makes Hilda’s eyes widen, while Ange blushes before looking around for a distraction, mentally sighing when Tusk comes out and spots her and pretends not to see her in distress as he instead sits down at a nearby table to speak with an elderly customer, a smile of her own appearing on her face when she sees Momoka coming towards them with a tray of three drinks.

“Here you go, Angelise-sama, Hilda, Salia,” the dutiful maid comments as she places the beverages on one of the many tables on the now-expanded Cafe Ange.

With an awkward laugh, Ange requests, “Momoka, can you please…help me? Or, uh, maybe try to convince these two to not rip my arms off?”

The maid in question cocks her head before flashing a bright smile.

“I am glad your options of love grow beautifully with every passing day, Angelise-sama!”

Momoka walks away just as Hilda turns Ange’s face to her. “Ange, you need to make up your mind! Me, Salia, or both of us?”

Salia cups Salia’s chin to look at her.

“If you go with my way,” Salia starts as her face turns as red as Hilda’s hair, “I wouldn’t mind if Tusk joins.”

Hilda immediately scowls. “Absolutely not!”

Ange sighs, not even bothering to fix herself up much when she almost falls after Hilda and Salia try to push each other away from the blonde at the same time.

Looks like her meeting with Salamandinay and Aura Midgardia will have to wait…again.

[FIN.]

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