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Lena sat on the edge of the cliff, letting her feet dangle and kick. It was one of those nights when her body refused to accept that it needed to rest. Sometimes on nights like this she ran, or talked with Zenyatta or Bastion or Genji or someone else who felt just as restless as her. But tonight, her brain felt too fuzzy to keep conversation and she was still sore from a recent mission. So she sat and looked up at the faint stars and the lights glowing on the mainland.
Lena jumped slightly and whipped around as she realized she could hear soft footsteps coming close behind her. Amélie stopped a few feet away, hunched over on herself like she was trying to hide in her hoodie.
"Sorry," She said softly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I saw someone sitting here from my window and I was curious."
"It's okay." Lena patted the ground beside her and waited for Amélie to come closer before continuing. "I couldn't sleep, but I didn't know what I should do."
"I couldn't sleep either," Amélie murmured, still standing. Lena reached up and held her cool hand against her face. Amélie squeezed her hand. Lena tilted her head. Amélie usually wasn't this out of it, even at two in the morning, unless something was wrong.
"D'you want to talk about it?" Lena asked after a while. Amélie shook her head.
"I don't know what to say. It's just all too much." Lena noticed Amélie's hands had started to shake.
"Let's go lie down," She suggested, standing up. Amélie nodded weakly and followed as Lena pulled her back inside. They crept down the hallways, careful not to disturb the inhabitants of the crowded watchpoint.
Lena led Amélie to their quarters, one of the few left that had less than three or four people jammed into it, and turned the small lamp on the dresser to a soft, soothing light. Amélie curled up on her bunk and hid her face in her arms. Lena hesitated for only a moment before she sat on the edge beside her. She rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe Amélie's tense, shaking muscles. Amélie placed her hand on Lena's, holding it against her shoulder, and looked up with watery eyes.
"I remember," She whimpered. "I remember every second, every day. I remember what they did to me, and what they made me do, and how many people I killed. I remember Gérard. He didn't even wake up." The dam broke and she began to sob, loud and strangled and heartbreaking. Lena reached over and stroked her hair with her other hand.
"Let it out. It's okay. You don't have to do anything like that ever again. You don't have to do anything for anybody." She soothed. She sat beside her, murmuring calming statements and encouragement as Amélie sobbed and babbled miserably.
After a while, Amélie finally calmed down.
"Thank you," She said, her voice hoarse.
"No problem, love," Lena said, laying down beside her and pretending she wasn't about the fall off the edge of the bunk. Amélie snorted and moved closer to the wall.
"You should sleep in your own bunk," She said.
"Too tired to move," Lena muttered. She moved closer until she was almost pressed up against Amélie's cool skin and not balanced on the very edge of the bed. She smiled when Amélie put her head against her shoulder. "Night."
"Bonne nuit, ma chérie."