(1)The Avengers: The Lost Goddess

17

The next morning, I was up extra early so I decided to go on a run. The beach was a ways away, but I decided to make that my destination. I got out of bed, trying not to wake Peter, and put on some spandex, a sports bra, and a sweatshirt.

Everyone else was crashed in my living room so I stepped around and over everyone carefully and was almost to the door when my name was said, startling me so bad I dropped my keys.

"Celestial? Where are you going?"

I turned around to see Steve sitting up on the couch.

"I was going out for a run."

He hesitated. "Would you mind if I come?"

I was suddenly very much regretting my decision to wear spandex.

"Sure. I'll wait outside."

He was out within a few minutes and stretched with me.

"Okay, now I know you're, like, bionic or whatever, but I only just started running and I am very much out of shape. So take it easy," I said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

He laughed. "No problem, darling."

My heart skipped about three beats but I recovered and smiled. So we started running, I pointed out the various shops and restaurants that I liked. He didn't even break a sweat but by the time we reached the beach, I was almost dying. We were about a block away when I kicked it and sprinted.

I hit the sand first and jumped around.

"Yes! I win, you lose!"

He laughed as he came up behind me.

"That was totally cheating. I didn't even know what you were going to do!"

"No excuses!"

He came up to me, both of us still laughing, and put his arms around my waist. My laughter immediately died in my throat.

"That was cheating," he said a little quieter.

I smiled a little bit and pulled away from him, out of his arms.

"Follow me," I said quietly.

I led him down to a lighthouse that wasn't used anymore. The rocks were large and the tide was low enough for us to use those rocks as chairs. The sun was just so barely over the horizon but the reflection on the water was gorgeous. I'd never been this close to the water for a sunrise.

"Celestial? Can I tell you something?"

I looked over at Steve. The sun was shining on his hair, turning it golden. His eyes sparkled, reflecting the ocean.

"Of course."

"I just wanted you to know that I think you're absolutely gorgeous."

"Where is that coming from?"

"Celestial, I know you think you're nothing, plain, not anything to make a deal over. But I want you to know that you're so much more than you give yourself credit for."

I ran my hand in the cold water and watched the sunrise ripple on the surface.

"You are absolutely gorgeous in my eyes, Cel. Sure Ariel may have been pretty to a lot of people. But I believe that everyone is beautiful in their own ways. To some, you may not have been blonde hair, blue eyes pretty. But to me, you're beautiful in every way. No matter if you dye your hair, cut it off, lose weight, gain weight.

"The point is, no matter how you look, I will always feel the same about you. It doesn't matter how you look, but I know how you are as a person. You put everyone before you, you care about everyone. I think that kind of personality is better than any way a person can look."