Beautiful

By Lady Comet

Fandom – Runaways

Notes – back at the end of BKV's run, I loved that they pointed out that Gert thought Chase would leave her because she wasn't conventionally "beautiful." It is a sad and sickening fact that many women feel this way about their partners because they're not a size 0. I wish they had done more with Chase's reaction to that. But since they didn't, here this is.

This is dedicated to all women who have ever felt like this, no matter what size they are.

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"Gert, I love you!" He insisted.

She turned away, her hand pressed against Old Lace's side as her purple hair fell forward to hide her eyes. "I'm not blind. I know what I look like. I knew it wasn't gonna last forever between me and.....hn."

He knew she was crying, and chose to ignore the tears rolling down his cheeks as his heart ached even more. "No! I'm sorry!" he pleaded. "God, why are you doing this?"

She walked away. "Just worry about our ship, Chase. Its the only thing in this place that's not broken beyond repair."

One year later…

Xavin looked over at Chase from their perch atop the mall roof. It was hot, and though she knew no one would bother them, she was still a bit uncomfortable and confused. "Remind me why I am here again?" she asked.

He smirked back at her despite the sadness behind his eyes. "Because you can make me invisible, and that's part of the point of this."

"Right," the Skrull answered flatly. "And why are you doing this, if I may ask."

He sighed, staring unseen at the people that flowed in and out of the doors below them. ".....Because I should have done this for Gert when I had the chance."

She simply nodded. "Improving the world one person at a time?"

"What?"

She smiled. "It is something Karolina said to me once, shortly after Gertrude's death."

He nodded, oddly touched by his both his alien friends. The prince turned her eyes back to the sidewalk, bidding him to do the same, but kept her hand on his shoulder and her Susan-Storm-Richards powers active.

A few minutes later, a generously plump redheaded woman stepped out into the sunlight. She stopped, blinking at the difference between the sun and indoor lighting, then reached into her purse to check her phone.

Chase took a deep breath and reached toward the pile of thornless red roses beside him. Leaning forward carefully so he wouldn't break contact with Xavin, he reached out and dropped one.

It fell quickly, landing not in front of her like he'd hoped, but beside her left foot. Still, she noticed it, and bent down to pick it up. She twirled it between her fingers, looked back up at the sky, and then – seeing nothing odd – turned to the note tied with purple ribbon to the stem.

"You are beautiful," she read aloud, staring in shock at the blocky letters. She looked around, sure that someone was playing a joke on her. Nothing looked amiss, so she read the note again, going over it many times in her head. Finally she folded it back up, adjusted her purse on her shoulder, and started walking toward the bus stop – the rose still in her hand, and a smile on her face.

Chase smiled too, grabbed another flower, and waited for the next fat girl to pass below. He had been surprisingly hurt when the woman he loved thought he would leave her because of how she looked. It was too late to fix that now, but he hoped he could make a difference for someone else.